As we continue to endure the pains of driving in traffic, on roads in desperate need of repairs following the recent rains, prepare for some more wet weather as predicted by the meteorological service, we can take pleasure in the more positive things in life, such as this view taken by me yesterday on my way home on the causeway, in traffic.  

Scary!!!

After all the rains, now the sunshine and now this. The picture you are looking at is a picture of a section of the Bog Walk gorge. Yes, people, the road that has been blocked/closed since the heavy rains. Don't ask how I got to be taking this pic this morning but for those who might be wondering what it's like around there ... this is only one of the worst sections there. The men who were hustlin' and letting us through, told us that the hole was approximately 10 ft deep and they have filled it with rocks, dirt, etc. to a level so as to allow vehicles to pass. No rally cars please, no lowered VTEC Integras, no Evos, no imprezzas, absolutely nothing lowered. I took some video footage also which I will attempt to post soon but believe me, it was scary looking down into a 10 foot hole.

“ …One Bottle of Milk of Magnesia, Please … “

Antigua Trip Conclusion

The food sucked. Put plainly and simply. I spend a lot of time in the loo on account of the “fine cuisine” at the hotel. My stomach is a funny one, doesn’t deal too well with drastic culinary changes. So, I was well prepared with my trusty stomach aids aka Tums, Extra Strength (maybe I should have put that in the title). I won’t gross you out with the details of size, frequency, colour, consistency, etc. of by BM … that would be too much for you to handle.

After about 3 days, Wednesday evening to be exact, was when my tummy was almost back to normal … 2 days before my return home, at which time, my stomach will go through the process all over again! Not a picnic for sure.

Anyhow, the week turned out to be nice. Apart from the learning experience, I got a chance to meet some very nice people, display my singing talent at a Karaoke, displayed my dancing talent to the group as punishment for being late one afternoon, and watching some of the other participants’ tearful goodbyes as we left the hotel on Friday morning. All in all a good week, with a few (un)-mention-ables …. :-)

C ya everyone.

Holiday ... Celebrate ...

I really need to stop coming with these "song-inspired" titles ... any guesses for this one?

I'm home again today having been boxed in by the effects of Wilma, making all major roads on which I would drive to get to work completely impassable. I was lucky enough to make it through Sligoville and into Portmore but that was where my journey ended. Another day wasted, another day unproductive, another day of rest. I don't mind the resting part but when I think about the pile up of work that will be there waiting for me, especially since I'd been gone all of last week, I'm sure whatever rest I've gotten will be eroded in a heartbeat whenever I do get back to work.

In the absence of anything of significance to post, here is a joke for you to have a laugh, no matter how small. Take care everyone:


Diary of A Woman's 6-Day Bahamas Cruise

DEAR DIARY .... DAY ONE

I am all packed and ready to get on the cruise ship. I've packed all my pretty dresses and make-up. I'm really excited.

DEAR DIARY .. DAY TWO

We spent the entire day at sea. It was beautiful and we saw some whales and dolphins. What a wonderful vacation this has started to be. I met the Captain today and he seems like a very nice man.

DEAR DIARY .. DAY THREE

I spent some time in the pool today. I also did some shuffle boarding and hit some golf balls off the deck. The Captain invited me to join him at his table for dinner. I felt honored and we had a wonderful time. He is a very attractive and attentive gentleman.

DEAR DIARY ... DAY FOUR

Went to the ship's casino ... did OK ... won about $80. The Captain invited me to have dinner with him in his state room. We had a luxurious meal complete with caviar and champagne. He asked me to stay the night but I declined. I told him there was no way I could be unfaithful to my husband.

DEAR DIARY ... DAY FIVE

Went back to the pool today and got a little sunburned. I decided to go to the piano bar and spend the rest of the day inside. The Captain saw me and bought me a couple of drinks. He really is a charming gentleman. He again asked me to visit him for the night and again I declined. He told me that if I didn't let him have his way with me he would sink the ship. I was appalled.

DEAR DIARY ... DAY SIX

I saved 1600 lives today .... twice ...

“ … and your room-mate is … “

Upon our arrival to the Airport in Antigua, it was pouring pussies and dogs. We were whisked through customs and immigration, not having to wait in line and were picked up and given a tour of the island by one of the senators.

We got to the hotel and all looked nice … at first. We stayed at the Royal Antigua Hotel on the south side of the island. We proceeded to the check in desk and went through the usual procedure. After completing the preliminaries, I was told that I would have a room mate, who had already arrived and checked in … A Room-mate??? WTF??? Now, I would prefer not to have a room-mate, I’m not used to having to share accommodations with a complete stranger. Don’t get me wrong … I don’t have a problem with having a room-mate. I have a problem with the sponsoring organization not communicating this ahead of time so as to avoid the “shock and awe” response of everyone who came only to hear that they would be sharing rooms.

So, I went to my room, wondering who she was, was she cool, all the usual questions … We hit it off so nicely that people thought we knew each other before the seminar. It was amazing at how comfortable we were with each other. She was skeptical too, and was wondering the same thing I was and neither of us was disappointed … (See, I told you that to know me is to love me, and I’m a very cool person … ). My room mate was also very cool, from Guyana, my age and just plain nice.

Anyway, I found the other persons who came for the seminar to be quite friendly and we meshed like a group on the first night at dinner before the seminar started. It was so refreshing. Persons from T&T, Barbados, Bermuda, Bahamas, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Grenada, Antigua (duh) etc., etc., etc. The training was also very informative. I’m glad I accepted the invitation to go as I learnt a lot about International Labour Standards and Framework Agreements.

Then comes the exciting part …

It's Rainin' My Body's Callin'

It's been raining consistently for the past 9 days I've been told, only having returned on Friday in rain and it has been raining ever since ... non-stop ... heavy ... light ... moderate ... and all other meteorological terms used to describe the weather.

Most people are quite annoyed with the rain considering it has caused the postponement of several events scheduled to be celebrated over this holiday weekend. I can't say I blame them, but for me ... personally ... I LOVE THE RAIN. Just listening to the sounds of it beating against my window, on my room, my car glass and on me, it is just so soothing, mesmerizing and extremely erotic. I think the rain is just sexy.

Can anyone name the tune and singer of my blog title for today? Sorry ... no cool prizes to offer but think it might be fun to add a guessing game today.

I drove through the bog walk gorge the on Friday evening and believe me, it is a sight when that Rio Cobre river is as angry as it has been in all this rain. I took some video of it with my camera and will attempt to post it shortly.

Today, my parents and I are going to a sort of family reunion in Westmoreland so I'm just killing time waiting for the bus to come with the rest of the kin to take us down. I'm not enthused about going on a bus on such a long journey. I feel uncomfortable taking a bus from home to work, something I've not done in the past 7 years or so. So I'm hoping that everything will go well. I'm silently praying that they will postpone the trip but don't think they will, considering that a few family members came from the states just for the event.

So, good mornin' to y'all and hope you have a great, fun-filled WET WET day!

My blog posts about my trip to Antigua would not be complete without a beautiful view of the sky, sunset to be exact. This picture is the view from my room at the hotel. 

“ … BWee 414, Charlie, Ecko, Romeo to tower … “

As mentioned in two previous posts, I traveled to Antigua on Sunday. As usual, my trip is always an eventful one with some amount of excitement. I met a friend at the airport who was actually going on the same training session as me and was sitting in the seat beside me so that was cool. We left a little bit late (not surprising) and expected to land in Antigua at 3:55 p.m.

By the time we took off and were on our way, there was a lot of turbulence as a result of the weather system over the Caribbean. We took it at face value until we were told by the pilot that we should be arriving in Antigua at 4:00 p.m and at 4:40, we were still in the air circling around the airport because of poor visibility, hence preventing the plane to land, in addition to the fact that there were 2 planes ahead of us also waiting to land. You can imagine the anxiety experienced feeling the plane speed up, then slow down, wheels opened only to speed up again, wheels go back in and we do that for a couple of times well without success. A gentleman across the row took the whole thing so seriously that he took out the life jacket from underneath his seat! That was not a comforting sight at all.

We all know that Air J has some of the best pilots in the world. I have flown on several airlines both international and domestic and am yet to come across pilots that handle the aircraft with such skill and expertise. This was a BWIA flight and when the pilot finally landed, I thought that one of the plane’s tires must have sustained some serious damage. I mean, it could almost have been described as a “crash” landing the way it sounded and the way it felt. Nonetheless, this was the first time I have applauded when the plane landed … and with good reason. The BWIA pilot did ok under the circumstances.

This is just the first part of the story of my Antigua trip so stay tuned!

The Oral B Triumph

The day before I left for Antigua, I saw an advertisement on cable for “The Oral B Triumph”. This is supposed to be the toothbrush of all toothbrushes. Oral B’s slogan ‘ “Brush Like A Dentist” is taking the toothbrush generation to a whole new level. Long gone are the days where you had a simple reach toothbrush … I’m not sure what there was before, I remember the reach toothbrush and Colgate Toothpaste … the toothpaste issue of which I will get to in a couple minutes.

Now-a-days, you have a toothbrush for supposed every known mouth issue – a toothbrush with a tongue scrubber on the opposite side, toothbrush with a dental floss thingie attached to the end, brushes with bristles designed to get between the teeth while brushing, brushes with extra length and at various angles to get to those “difficult to reach back teeth” and I could go on and on.

As for toothpaste, it is an even greater horror. It’s no longer just the regular Colgate. It’s now Colgate with Tartar Control, Baking Soda, Whitening, Gingivitis-preventing, mouth-wash, fluoride, mint flavoured, with pesticide and the lord knows what else formulated to give you the freshest breath, the whitest teeth, the cleanest tongue, the most beautiful smile, the most healthy gums and blah blah blah!!

What ever happened to just getting a toothpaste and toothbrush to keep your teeth clean. Man how times have changed. With all the products on the market to keep teeth clean and breath fresh, we still have people walking around with bad breath. It must be because they are so frickin’ confused as to what to get that they just decide to stick with just rinsing their mouth with water!!

Later dudes and dudettes …

Are we stressed or what???

I got this email the other day containing four pictures, 1 of which I've posted this morning. The pictures are supposed to tell us if we are stress or not. The pictures are stationery, and the more they move, the more stressed we are ... What you think?

Oh No ... Not Again!

Once again, I will be away from home for 1 week. I will be travelling to Antigua for a training seminar next week and as such will need to be away from my man ... again. I know I should be used to this by now, but it's like everytime it happens, it is a little bit harder to deal with and not easier. We have accepted the fact that I will travel from time to time, but the thought of us being apart is absolute torture. I'm not sure who is more depressed about it, him or me ... but sometimes I think it is a welcomed break for him ... [you know how you men are :-)].

Anyway, today will be a busy day in preparation for the trip and for me to get as much lovin' to last me for the time I'm away!

Enjoy the weekend everyone and next week if I don't get to blog while I'm away.

Forces of Evil

A couple nights ago, I watched the movie, "The Exorcism of Emily Rose". I have a passion for movies about the supernatural, particularly those that have themes about demonic possession. Among my favourites have been Stigmata and The Ninth Gate, Emily Rose now being added to my list.

Everytime I watch these movies, it gets my mind in a place that is sometimes very scary. I have a curious mind when it comes to the supernatural, demonic possession and religious rituals, but have a fear of being penetrated by the evil forces that control these states of mind. I was brought up in the church and believe in God. While I've not been an active church goer for about 4 years now, my relationship with God has never dwindled. However, the forces of the devil are so strong that I sometimes wonder if I should shy away from watching these types of movies, seeking information about evil. Technology has taken things a step further by incoporating visions of evil in cartoons, made-for-tv movies, video games, things that once were thought of to simply be a means of entertainment.

Is it possible that all the evil that permeates the earth today be as a result of mankind opening its mind to becoming possessed more easily than in the past? Some of the acts being committed these days leave one only to wonder what could possess a person to commit an act such as those we have seen across the world in the last 10 years or so. Evil has existed since the beginning of time, but have we turned our backs on religion and God, thus making ourselves more vulnerable to be overcome by the dark angel?

These are questions to which I had the answers. I tread carefully whenever I am putting myself in a position to be exposed to direct evil, and avoid it at all costs.

Watching this movie got me thinking too about how I would deal with a situation such as this, or if I was in the same situation as this young girl, what effect it would have on my family and loved ones. It's very scary but I simply keep God in my midst.

Why help never arrived ...