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We never even got a chance to sit up straight and extend a warm "N'or… n'or" to our returning bosses. Yep. They breezed by us after throwing just the slightest nod our way. Hmmm. Clue #1 that they forfay-ed the "How to be Personable" seminar at Anger Management Camp. (We were even nice enough to remove all remnants of their predecessors —beanbag chairs switched for Corinthian leather swivel executive chairs… picture of Ghandi replaced by Napoleon crowning himself… papaya and radicchio cocktails replaced by Vodka, soybean ice cream replaced by, er, Vodka… blue corn chips by Vod…You get the point. We tell ya. No danger of being overwhelmed by sentimental heft around here. Esshhhiii. SELEDA, always in a state of influx, nonetheless welcomes back our former bosses, and thanks the interim management, our…inner child nurturers, if you may, for making this a rather peaceful change of power. Secretly, and we mean this in the nicest way possible, we were primed for a little top brass shikutcha true to form; alas, at least for now, it seems like life is back to regular insanity. (Which is why we were not very baffled by the new guy on the staff, the official SELEDA Upper Management Food Taster. We are Paar- rraa-nooiidd, therefore we are, new Chewataw.) It didn't take long for our beloved amed yeTeTa cappuccino machine to return to its rightful place —the cappuccino shrine —after languishing in the basement per the old regime's orders. We now have Tela Tassa size coffee mugs in the kitchen, and the occasional drunken brawl after editorial meetings is no longer considered boorish (in fact, it is tacitly encouraged, which suits us ju-u-ust fine). When we gather around to play "Who can volley the most acerbic retort at West Coast Ethiopians," we don't get irritable emails that chide us for "emitting radioactive negative energy," and the title of Most Selam Aderfrash Person of the Month is back to being high kibir. Life, our friends, is good. And still, we managed to do some work. Welcome to the Family issue! And what, you ask with justified incredulity, do you Qejmada, two-bit monCHaris know about family? Excellent point. But that minor intellectual infringement has not stopped us before so, here, we'll just sidestep logic the way only we can. As immigrants, our scope and familial definitions are constantly changing, the lines are getting blurrier and blurrier as we try to fit several cultures into our sense of reality. We at SELEDA, for example, are constantly confused: does the ferenj brother-in- law get a CHat fersho invitation? Do we marry our agot lij for a Green Card? You know, it's getting dicey, this family thing. Heartfelt and yeTebeqe thanks to this issue's writers who tackled, with finesse, such a wide spectrum of topics. As always, we will bequeath the first SELEDA baby as ye-adera lij to all of them who have once again made it possible for us to justify doing what we do best: sit back and take credit for other people's work. Thank you, dear contributors. It humbles us to no end that more and more readers are volunteering as writers, which means that a few less people will have SELEDA Editors' whip lash to point to at show-and-tell. Bummer. So, what's not new at SELEDA? Since we have thousands of (OK, hundreds… ok, tens… ok two, abo! Two!) new SELEDAites joining the madness every month, we thought we could make catching up on past SELEDA articles a little less… haphazard. Therefore, you will notice that at the bottom of mainstay features such as Life Diaries and SELEDA Salutes we have put a "Past Issues" link. Click and ye shall receive all past articles. Next month we will start a brand new feature called "Medrek," a debate forum where two writers will debate a specific topic through a series of give and takes. The chosen topic will follow that month's theme and, July being the Business and Finance issue - lest some bale suri CHewa stops us - we are thinking of inaugurating this feature with a riveting diskur on The Economic Benefits of Building a Baby Gap Smack in the Middle of Temenja Yaz SeferM. If you would like to participate on this new forum, please feel free to contact us. Speaking of wanting, nay, aching to participate, go to our new feature called Hamsa Lomi. It is an exhaustive listing of our upcoming issues and what kind of articles we are looking for. Take a gander, mull it over, discuss with your kolo shariks, and let us know what strikes your fancy. There you have it… all of what is new at SELEDA and we didn't even use a single foul word. Well, except "SELEDA" of course, but you know, that's been a problem for a while now. As summer approaches and we gear up to crash as many DC weddings as a non- yilugnta person can handle, we bid you happy reading. Remember to drop us a note about the articles that touched and/or infuriated you, and while you are at it, we would appreciate any tips on how to befriend our new and not-so-friendly colleague, Damte "Qimesew!" ZiQargachew. Call him Ziggy. Until July, we remain,
The Humble Editors |
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