Hairstyles

Some of you might know that Jamaica has been under a weather warning for the last few days. There is a nice big wet tropical wave sitting over the island. So it's not the typical Jamaican rain we've been getting - but rather it's the grey sky and wet all day thing that's been going on.

Now, I don't think of myself as a super practical person. I can't change a tyre. I wear heels even though I know I'll be standing all day.

I am also not overly into hairstyles. I deliberately have one that I can wash myself easily and that doesn't require much attention. I live in the tropics, I want to be able to go swimming without having to consider a trip to the hairdresser afterwards.

Yesterday, I gave a girl from work a lift up the road. She started to complain about the rain - she had just been to the hairdresser. And she had got a hairstyle. The long, flowing locks kinda style. The miracle grow shampoo had obvious done it's work.

But the hairstyle can't get wet. Otherwise 'bad things will happen to it'. (My mind wandered at that point... bad things... maybe it would start attacking people like gremlins did when they got wet...)

So I was kind. I lent her my umbrella. (She with the hair didn't think to carry one... she was just fortunate that my mum is more practical than me and had given me an umbrella to keep in my car)!

So this morning, it was still raining. So I arrived in work wet from the walk from the car park.

But at least the hairstyle was still dry!!!

Mice

A group of us were lyming at a friend's house on Saturday night. A couple had brought their son with them, who is about 4. Another friend had his 8 year old daughter with him.

The kids were happily sat watching a dvd in the living. The adults were happily sat in the next room, playing cards and drinking.

Until we heard a scream and the kids came running. "A mouse, there's a mouse in the room.' After that, despite being reassured that a mouse won't attack them, the kids refused to go back into the other room all night.

On Sunday, I was at that house again, this time in the afternoon. The helper's daughter (7 years old) was running around the living room. And again, we heard the call. 'A mouse, there's a mouse in the room.'

But she didn't come through to where we were. We went to investigate, and saw the girl sat on the floor beside where she said the mouse had been. In one hand was a newspaper and in the other, was an empty Pringles can.

Apparently she knew what to do - when the mouse reappeared, she would chase it with the newspaper into a corner, and then catch it in the Pringles can and take it to someone for them to kill it.

I find it interesting to see how kids react to situations. Shows a lot about where and how they have been brought up!!!

(And for your information, as a child, I'd have gone for option c - use it as an excuse to persuade my parents to get another cat!)


* For the non-Jamaicans out there: to lyme - hanging out at someone's house.

Customer Service

This weekend, I decided that I had to finally deal with it. I had to bite the bullet, face the music.. whatever you want to call it.

My cell phone was dead. I could no longer pretend that it was just the area I was in, or that the battery needed charging, or whatever other excuse I was making for it. It didn't work.

So, being a typical girl, I took my friends along for support and we went shopping on Saturday. Also being a typical Kingstonian, one of my friends works for a large corporate organisation and hence gets a nice discount at certain cell phone shops, so we headed there.

We arrived in the shop. I got through the door... just... before all the sales assistants pounced. I thought, well, I know what I want so if someone helps me this shouldn't take long.

hmmm ... a sales assistant 'helping' ... forgot those words don't really go together!

I pointed at one phone I liked that was on display...
Sales: 'Sorry, that one is not in stock. '
Me: 'Ok, what about this phone?'
Sales: 'Oh, that one isn't in stock either.'
Me: 'Well, when will it be available'
Sales: 'I don't know about that one - hopefully soon'
Me: 'Soon as in a week, a month or a year'
Sale: 'I can't say'

After this happened in relation to about 6 different phones, I eventually found one that was in stock and that I liked! It's a camera phone and I've never had one before. I'm not overly technological, but usually I can follow when someone explains something.

Me: 'How do you downlaod the photos from this?'
Sales: 'What you want to do?'
Me: 'How can I get the photos I take on here onto a computer?'
Sales: 'You want the pictures on a computer?'
Me: 'Yes'
Sales: 'Why?'
Me: (thinking ... what? and you work here? none of your business!) (also trying to avoid looks on friends' faces!) Well, that's one of the good things about using a camera phone isn't it? You can use the photos elsewhere?
Sales: 'Oh, me just use it to take photos and show to my friends on the camera.'

At which point I gave up. I decided that I would do another typical female thing and ask my boyfriend to sort it out for me later.

Why do shops bother with sales assistants when they are so useless? I'll give the girl some credit - she did manage to charge me the right amount and use the machine for my multi-link card... but please, to whoever manages that shop - either train your staff or keep them tied to the desk, out of harms way!!!

PS The boyfriend has been busy so I still don't know how to download the photos!

Why does...

...time pass so slowly on a Friday afternoon?

And then why does it speed up and go at such a fast rate from about 4pm on Friday until Monday morning?

Rain

It's just started raining, the type of rain that I call 'proper rain.' One of the things I disliked most about living in England was the rain there. It drizzled on and off for ages. Not enough to really drench the place and make everything look different. No exciting thunder storms. And it kept going, and going, and going. When it stopped, the sky would still be grey. And then it would start again.

Here, it's different. You can tell when it is going to start. Everywhere gets darks. The thunder starts. The lightning streaks across the sky. People peer nervously outside. Those of us in an office start to save our work lots in case the electricity goes. And then the heavens open. The rain comes bucketing down. Suddenly the road becomes a river. If you step outside, you are instantly drenched through.

But despite all of this, it seems that half of Kingston have the urge to get into their cars whenever it rains. The roads become clogged. And everyone ends up just sat in their car, watching the rain.

And then, it stops.

And shortly afterwards, the sun comes out again. And everywhere feels fresh and clean. But the cars are still on the road!

Miaow

I am currently living with a friend for the summer. When I came home, I moved back in with my parents (more on that another day) but we had problems with the house we were living in. So we are moving to a new house... which is still being built. My parents are abroad at the moment and I refused to stay in the old house on my own so I am staying with a friend in the meanwhile.

Anyway, the point of this is that current housemate doesn't like animals so my cat is living with another friend at the moment. And I miss him! I have always liked cats - they are so aloof and independent. Unlike dogs who will love anyone who feds them, cats are a lot more fussy. If they like you, it really means something.

I went home last night, tired and not in the best mood, and there was a stray cat sitting at my gate. When I got out of the car, it came over to say hi. It miaowed at me for a bit, then rubbed itself against my hand. It then rolled over to show me its tummy. I started to smile. At which point it looked at me and miaowed again and walked off. The cat knew it had done it's good deed in cheering me up so it headed off about its business. And I went about mine, feeling happier than I had done before.

Gorgeous island

Ok, I have noticed that quite a few people reading this page are Jamaicans who ain't here at the moment. So in honour of you (and in honour of the fact that I got round to downloading some of my photos last night), here are some things to remind you of home. For the non-Jamaicans out there - hope these help inspire you to head here for a visit.

Long Bay: I think this is one of the prettiest and most unspolit places in Jamaica.

Lime Cay: one of the islands outside Kingston Harbour on an unusually quiet day!

Negril Sunset: I've always loved Negril, and always will!

A Country Rum Bar: I like the look from the outside - but tend not to venture inside!

Blue Mountains: View taken on way down from the Peak - hard work to get to but stunning once you do.

Hope that these will at least make someone out there smile today!

Monday needs

Sometimes a girl has to do what a girl has to do.

At lunch time, faced with the rest of the day in the office, drastic measures were contemplated. And then the decision was made for me. Temptation was put in front of my eyes and it was impossible to resist. It was hot. It looked amazing. It was going to be very bad for me.

But it had to be done.

So now the remainder of the chocolate chip cookies are sitting on my desk. I don't think that they will be there much longer!

Update (30 minutes later)
They have all gone. I feel a bit ill.

Vibes

Went with the BF to see 'Vibes' over the weekend. Had seen it advertised on tv and it didn't look overly good. But was pleasantly surprised when we got there.

I know this is becoming a reoccuring theme of my blog but I was amused by one of the differences between the theatre in England and here - the level of audience participation. Unless it is a children's show, the audience might laugh and clap, but neither anything more in England. Here, everyone joins in. Evidently most of the audience paid better attention to the tv ads than I did. Because when it reached a part of the play that had been used in the ads, everyone joined in with the actors. Very funny to hear the entire theatre reciting the joke along with the actors!

It was on at CentreStage, a theatre which is located where a drive-in cinema used to be. I used to love going to drive-ins, why have they all shut? I remember being taken to the one at Harbour View as a kid and thinking it was the best treat ever. You had the sea beside you, the cool breeze around you (so much nicer than air conditioning), and everything just felt more real when you were there.

And then when you grew up, there were lots more delights of a drive in. The only thing is that I must have lost my memory for a while as while I can remember driving there in my late teens, I can't remember any of the films I saw there in that period. I can remember ones from my childhood, but not from those years. I wonder why.

How to pose

On Friday, as is our regular routine, I went out with 2 of my girlfriends . We wanted to head to Acropolis, the new gaming lounge. However, being the weekend BEFORE pay day, that wasn't really a feasible option. So we ended up starting the evening with a few drinks at one of our regular places. And then moved on to meet one of the girl's friends at RibCage, a bar/restaurant.

I was reminded there of how sweet some guys are. The guys we met there had never met 2 of us before. Yet when it came times for us to leave, our bill had been paid. It's normal to have drinks bought for you, but we'd been pigging out with the food as well! And, before any cynics out there say anything, it was obvious that they were not going to get anything from any of us that evening.

Then we headed on to Christophers. Christophers is, supposedly, a 'jazz bar'. Ok, I don't claim to be really into jazz or to know much about it. But it appears to me that their definition of 'jazz bar' is somewhere where there is a pianist. Maybe playing some jazz type music. But in reality, just providing a background noise which ranges from reggae to soul to rod stewart. Sorry, but rod steward isn't jazz!

Anyway, the thing that is good about Christophers is also the thing I hate most about it. I find it really pretentious. Being there is all about being seen. Lots of air kisses going around. Lots of fake smiles. Lots of fake laughing as well! And to be honest, on a Friday night, after a week at work being polite to my boss and everyone else, I am not usually up to playing that game.

However, its pretentiousness means that it is an excellent place to sit on a bar stool and people watch. I enjoy observing body language. And my two friends are very good at knowing lots of kingston gossip. So we sat there and watched. We looked at who was greeting who with a very fake smile because about 5 years ago, one of them had had thing with the other's man. We looked at which man was on the prowl because his woman broke up with him because he won't give her the all important ring. We looked at who was doing the floating clothes look, not because it is fashionable, but because they are trying to hid a bump. And we looked at so and so, who was doing his best to be polite to the person who took the job he wanted - but you could see daggers in his eyes.

And it reminded me of how small Kingston is. After being abroad you forget just how much everyone knows everyone here.

And it also reminded me of the gulfs that exist in Kingston. Outside Christophers you have guys trying to make a living watching cars. You have people begging for anything to help them feed their crack habit, picked up in an attempt to escape reality. You have the mad man fighting with the New Kingston rats, looking in the rubbish bin to find any left-over pan chicken. But in Christophers, with its cocktails and air conditioning, you can pretend that none of that happens.

Keeping my wits...

One of my friends was just commenting on my previous post. She was teasing me that I said something about keeping your wits around you, while the regular phrase is keeping them about you.

So that got me thinking - what do our wits look like? If I am keeping them around me, do they hover around me like humming birds around a flower - fairly quiet, very pretty, a bit shy, ready to fly away at a loud noise? Or are they more like bees around a honey pot - loud, fearless, ready to attack if interupted. Or are they more like a winter coat, one that you pull around you to keep out the snow, something soft and warm.

Working Downtown

My current job (I like saying that... because soon I'll be able to say 'my new job'!) is based in an office in downtown Kingston. Now lots of Kingstonians from uptown have great problems with downtown. However, I'm different. I like working downtown.

Why? Well, several reasons:

1. The sea. Whenever I leave my office, I look down the road and see the Kingston Harbour. There is a sea breeze. It reminds me that I live in the tropics. I love the sea because of it's moods - some days the harbour is still, some days rough, some days blue, some days grey. There are birds flying over it - elegant pelicans, swooping down to catch fish. There are young boys and old men sitting beside it catching fish. It's a lot nicer than merely seeing building after building and busy roads.

2. The people. Now this is one that uptown people will laugh at as downtown is seen as being dangerous and unsafe. But the two main office areas in Kingston are downtown and New Kingston. New Kingston is where all the drug addicts hand around. In New Kingston, you get harassed all the time. I'm not saying that there is no harassment downtown, but I find it is a lot less threatening. Also, you get to meet some very nice people. There is the fruit man, who always has the nicest bananas and peels pine for you. There is the car park man who waves at you every morning. Then there is the old man that sits outside a building who always asks 'is everything ok my grand-daughter?' (Apparently his daughter has moved to Australia and he has never seen his real grand-daughters - how sad).

3. The wholesale shops. If you have time and energy, you can get some real bargins downtown! You need to know where to go and how to do it. Look confident. And keep your wits around you. If you notice that no one is going down the road ahead of you, then don't go down there to find out what's going on. One of my friends insists on putting her money in her bra for safety... And then you've got to learn how to shop. In the clothes shops, everything is hung up behind the counters. You yell for an assistant, you point at what you want, you hope they have it in your size, you push your way to the dressing room, you trust your friends to say it looks OK as there aren't any mirrors, you hand it to one person to get a slip with the price, you take it to another person to pay and there you go. One new outfit. In other shops, you can get any brand of toilettries you have ever wanted - again, as long as you know how to point and shout. Yes, it is a hastle, but it is cheap. And on current salary... that's a good thing.

4. Things to do. If you feel cultured, you can visit the National Gallery in your lunch time. It's just round the corner, it's cheap to enter and you often have the place to yourself. However, that is something that I have ceased doing, due to a bad experience attempting to date someone who worked there... ooops! But it is still an option for other people!

And finally, 5. The petrol. As everyone all over the world is currently complaining about the cost of petrol, one of the major advantages of working downtown is that the 3 cheapest gas stations in Jamaica are all very near my office. You can drive past them in a morning, decide which is cheapest that day, and buy it on the way home. Excellent.

Thursday afternoon blues

The problem with Thursday is that you are sooooo near the end of the week that you start to think about your weekend plans. You start to think about going out on Friday night. You start to think about not getting up on Saturday morning. You start to think about the fact that you have just ticked off another week in the job. You start to think of 2 whole days out of the office.

And you get all excited. And you start to smile. And you develop a little spring in your step.

And then reality hits ... it's still Thursday. You've got carried away again. You have to get up tomorrow morning and come to work. So the excitiment disappears, the smile fades and the spring is gone.

But only until tomorrow and then they can all come back again!

Traffic

I hate traffic. It is such a waste of time. And since the schools have started back, things are getting ridiculous. For example, this morning, it took me an hour to drive one mile. Yes - an hour for a mile. Whoa. And there weren't any accidents or anything, it was just regular traffic.

I moved house over the summer holidays so since the start of the school traffic, I have been experimenting.

Leave home at 8:00 - reach work at 9:05
Leave home at 7:45 - reach work at 9:00
Leave home at 7:30 - reach work at 8:55
Leave home at 7:15 - reach work at 8:50

Now, working on that equation, I would need to leave home at about 6:30 in order to get to work on time - I am supposed to start at 8:30. Hmmm, might be late lots!

And before you ask:
I live about 6 miles from work.
Yes, I drive. No, public transport isn't an option - it would involve 2 buses (the first one going in the wrong direction to where I want to be), a 10 minute walk at one end, a 20 minute walk at the other end, lots of harassment and too much sweat.

And that's the problem. Public transport here isn't really an option so everyone gets in their car and goes and joins the traffic.

But there is a light at the end of the tunnel - I'm moving house again in 2 months to somewhere a lot closer to the new job I will hopefully be starting soon!

Oh yeah, and I bought donuts last night so at least I had something to console myself with when I got to the office!

Yellow Butterflies

Every year, there is a time when thousands of little yellow butterflies appear. You can’t see them just anywhere, they congregate in certain places. They are only there for a couple of days. But while they are there, you can’t miss them. Some years there are more than others – this is a good year for them.

They can really cheer up your morning drive. Sitting in traffic, you feel like you are surrounded by them. You look out of your window and it feels like you are in a yellow cloud.

But then the traffic ahead of you clears and you have to move your car. At which point you realise that they are all over the road as well. And there are so many of them that when you start to drive, you start to add to the numbers of them lying there on the road.

Bouncy castles

I went to a birthdy party for a 4 year old on Saturday afternoon, and it reminded me of something I like a lot about being home - kids and adults mix here.

In England, parties were either for children or for adults. If it was a grown-up party, then people would find babysitters. Here, people bring their children. The children will all chill together, and not cause trouble and the whole family gets to go out. And if it's a kids party, then all the adults come too and stay.

But it is obvious who are the 'aunties and uncles' with no children of their own. We are the ones who spend the afternoon on the bouncy castle or in the pool, being the entertainment. Those who have their own kids are the ones who are sitting on the side, with a nice cold red stripe beer in their hand.

So the result was that I went to bed on Saturday night feeling like I was still bouncing, and woke up on Sunday morning with some new bruises.

However, I think that those parties are very important for anyone who hasn't had kids yet. They allow you to play with the children (which your biological clock says you should want to do) but to realise, once again, that the joy of going home to a quiet house, and sleeping in on Sunday, far outweighs the joy that a child might bring at the moment!

Trip to foreign

Friday night, after fish, we had to finish off a girls evening in the right way... with ice cream. So we decided to head to the brand, spanking new Hargen Daz shop. We drove into the brand, spanking new shopping complex where is it and headed into the shop.

Or should I say, headed into foreign.

Hmmm, I knew I hadn't used my passport, but still - we were experiencing culture shock.

The music on the radio was Maroon 5. I have nothing again Maroon 5, in fact I kinda like them. However, how many shops do you go into in Jamaica and hear them? No other ones as far as I know.

Then we looked around the room. Well, let's put it this way. Everyone in there looked like the kind of person who would be lying in the sun on the beach - rather than hiding in the shade. Didn't know there were that many people in Jamaica who looked like that outside of the tourist resorts!

And the final sign that we were in foreign... we approach the checkout. We already knew the prices were steep - but then they added tax! Normally at ice cream places this is included in the advertised price - but not here!

But the ice cream was gooooood...

So I will save up and return, but will carry my passport next time in case they remember to check at the gate before we are allowed to enter foreign.

Friday night

It's Friday!

It's nearly time to leave work!

And as I still retain some British habits, I am sitting at my desk listening to 'Party Classics' on Virgin Radio over the web - gets me in the mood to leave here.

So this evening's plan is to head to Port Royal for fish. Port Royal is one of those amazing places completely unlike anywhere else in Jamaica. You go, sit at tables on the pavement and get served incredibly good fish. mmmmm. Perfect way to chill out with the girls on a Friday night. There aren't many places in Ja where you sit on outside on the roadside to eat and watch the world go by.

Port Royal is also the starting place for trips to Lime Cay (see my photo), a pretty little island outside the Kingston Harbour. On a Sunday, it is packed with Kingstonians partying, but in the week, it can be your own private island. Well, Port Royal used to be the place to get a boat over - you'd head down there and find a friendly looking fisherman who would take you over and you'd hope he came back for you later.

Now things have gone upmarket - there are proper boats - with safety vests and everything - which you can get over. Lots more reliable... but not as much fun!

Anyway, fish - here I come!

Let's get started

Hi

Not sure what has got into me ... starting a blog ... but wanted to be able to comment some other people's blogs who didn't accept annoymous comments so this was the only way around it!

The way I see it is that there are 2 main problems with me writing a blog -
1. I'm lazy! I always have good ideas and intend to do things... but then get bored or forget or move onto something new so give up... so will see how long this lasts...
2. I'm in Kingston! Kingston is such a small place - everyone knows everyone and everyone knows everybody's business. I'm not known for being a subtle or discreet person... but had better be careful what I write otherwise I'll get myself in trouble.

But I'll see how it goes.

Since coming home, I keep noticing things about here that hadn't struck me before I lived away. And keep thinking that I want to share them, so this is a way to do that. Like how you can go nowhere without people trying to link into you somehow - oh, are you so-and-so's sister? or did you go to school with so-and-so? People don't do that abroad. Here we have the need to know your history and where you are coming from in order to relate to you now.

I've been back a year now... came home just in time for Hurricane Ivan... that was a good welcome home!

Anyway, will see how things go....

Bye for now!