My computer, for some reason, has turned green. Not every time I use it, but about every other time. Usually I can still see the screen, but one time I couldn’t.

A computer programmer came by—he was staying at the hotel here—and told me my computer had a loose connection. I never had a problem with it before, but I wonder if all the movement during the trip out here might have affected it. My guess however, (though completely uneducated) is that it’s a byproduct of the relentless moisture in this town.

My towel, for one, has not once dried out thoroughly since I got here. I always have to use a slightly wet towel. I even went a whole day without showering once (it was raining, there was no electricity, and I didn’t want to take a cold one) and the towel was not dry by the second day either. I don’t have a second towel to alternate with, but I’m working on it.

My books, see below, are all warping. The covers curl back, the pages turn to waves. I have to keep my books stacked and compressed against each other to prevent this. Hopefully it’s not too late for these ones. In Denver, I could spill a glass of water on the ground and leave it there overnight. Mostly likely, it would be gone by the next morning. The humidity there often hovers around 4%. Here, to contrast, I just spilled a bit of my water bottle (a cup or so) in the corner of my room. I sat there for a moment, looking at it. Then, I got up, sponged it, and left the moist streak there. I’d like to dry it, but I don’t want to sacrifice my one personal towel or my single dishtowel—or anything else. I’m also curious how long it will take, if ever, to dry.

As for my computer—I’m not sure what to do. I backed up all my files, and I’m hoping for the best. There’s a special spot on the keyboard where I can press (hard) and sometimes it will return to normal. But I tried that this morning, and it stayed its lovely green—at least it picked a good color. Maybe it’s trying to camouflage—I have a computer gecko. Honestly, it’s pretty disconcerting, because my project is heavily computer based: I store my photos here (and resize and edit them for the blog), write one to four hours a day, record interviews that I store on the hard drive…and while I could use the internet café—it would add up, and it’s not private at all. It will be much harder to do my project without the computer, but they’re very expensive in Manila (almost 2000 for a good one).

So, if anyone wants to donate (or sell for a low cost) a laptop (even used but in good condition), just let me know. Matt could bring it out when he comes to visit. I don’t like to ask for such things, but why not? It’s for a good cause. I don’t want anything fancy here, and I certainly don’t want to part with my computer, but my friend may be seeing her last days.