Rest in Peace

Terri Schiavo died this morning after numerous appeals by her family and all sorts of other battles between her "husband" and her family. It grieves my heart to think that we can treat a human life in this fashion and it is sanctioned by the law. There have been many discussions about the real reason why her "husband" wanted her dead (including discussions about financial gains). Whatever the reason, it is just not right. I think we have sunken to a new low as human beings when we can televise the cruel starvation of another person over a two week period. The question I ask is, since Mr. Schiavo no longer wanted to be married to this woman why not divorce her and turn her over to her parents and family who seemed willing to care for her. I think we have treated her worse than what I've seen officials in that same country arresting people for because they have treated their dogs poorly. I have nothing more to say other than Rest in Peace. Time and God will judge in due course.

Yes!!!!!!

Nothing much to say today. I'm bigging up myself. I got back the art critique I did about a week ago and I am proud to say that my teacher has graded me a 9.5 out of 10. The grade wasn't so much what was elevating but rather her comments. She said basically for someone who keeps saying that they dislike art she was throughly impressed by my critique and that I should check inside myself again. She say "You've got it all right". We can now get going with our final two pieces which are both due week after next. I'm sure we'll do well though simply because the group is relatively focused and it's a small group so there is no room to slack off and hide behind others. Today has been pretty good so far. Blogger is messing with us again but I decided not to worry myself about it. Whatever. Have a great day or what's left of it anyway.

Holiday Recovery

Good morning guys. Contrary to Dr.D.'s last comment I am quite fine. I decided that I was going to take it easy over the weekend so very little of anything went on including blogging. I checked a few sites and dropped one or two comments but for the most part I was just chilling. Carried the Short One (soon have to stop calling her that cuz she is catching up her mother) to Good Friday Service at her request. The Tall One came along with us. It was good and the pastor made sure that it was at their level so they could understand. What our church does is have a children/teen service and an adult service. Wifey went to the later service. We spent the rest of the evening with family up in the Stony Hill back bush. The feloowship was good. Some friends dropped by up there and we were chatting and eating steamed and roast fish till hours. Saturday was a home day. just went and paid two bills and went back home. One of those was an ISP bill so I was without regular service for most of the weekend. I have an alternate provider but it too expensive for regular usage. That only use when it critical to life if yu understand mi. Nah not that bad but it's really costly so I only use when necessary. Sunday was Easter church and that was cool too. Pastor' sencouragement was for us to live our daily lives so that we can truly live our church lives. They should be one and the same. He spoke about carnival. He said there was nothing inherently wrong with carnival but rather something was wrong when if you can't do in church what you do out there on the road. Don't knock the event, knock the happenings. That kept a few people quiet. Spent the rest of the afternoon chilling out by Hellshire and sampling some serious fried fish and eye candy. My only real conclusion for the afternoon is that white girls without booty should be banned from wearing thong bikinis. Let me not expound any further. I'll leave your imagination to do the rest. The place was not crowded and it was quite relaxing with the friends milling around and the ramping and chatting going on. Yesterday was home and bed. Didn't even start the car. You will also notice that nowhere in all of this did I mention schoolwork so you know how that go. I just needed a break. Today now the hum drum of normally returns to my life so I'm off to do the corporation's work. They pay me to do that although I can more equate it to them giving me stipend at the end of each month cuz it just barely paying the bills...or is it? Anyway, I hope you are all still in the best of health and spirits (no doc and MB not that kind of spirit). So till I can find something else to chat bout later...I gone.

Holiday Eve

Hi all friends and fans and family. Today is known as Holy Thursday in church circles. It is celebrated in some churches as the Last Supper. Remember the famous painting by Mikey. Well today is the eve of the holidays for us in Jamaica. The season of bun and cheese if you will. The tradition here in Jamaica is for bun and cheese to be eating replacing many standard meals. Meat is replaced by fish on Good Friday (tomorrow). As a result, try as you might if you are able to purchase fish between today and Saturday you are one lucky smaddy (somebody/person). It is usualy scarce and expensive. Good old econ...few goods high demand = higher price. Tomorrow and Monday are Public holidays so we get a four day weekend. :) So in case I don't see you again until Tuesday...let me wish you A Holy, Peaceful and Happy Easter to you and your families. Peace to you all.

Post # 2 for Today...Humour

There is a factory in Northern Minnesota which makes the Tickle Me Elmo toys. The toy laughs when you tickle it under the arm. Well, Lena was hired at The Tickle Me Elmo factory and she reports for her first day promptly at 8:00am. The next day at 8:45 there is a knock at the Personnel Manager's door. The Foreman from the assembly line throws open the door and begins to rant about the new employee. He complains that she is incredibly slow and the whole line is backing up, putting the entire production line behind schedule. The Personnel Manager decides he should see this for himself so he 2 men march down to the factory floor. When they get there the line is so backed up that there are Tickle Me Elmo's all over the factory floor and they're really beginning to pileup. At the end of the line stands Lena surrounded by mountains of Tickle Me Elmo's. She has a roll of plush red fabric and a huge bag of small marbles. The 2 men watch in amazement as she cuts a little piece of fabric, wraps it around two marbles and begins to carefully sew the little package between Elmo's legs. The Personnel Manager bursts into laughter. After several minutes of hysterics he pulls himself together and approaches Lena. "I'm sorry," he says to her, barely able to keep a straight face, "but I think you misunderstood the instructions I gave you yesterday........ "Your job is to give Elmo two test tickles".

Showing of Age

Well my computer is finally showing its age. I made her at the end of 2000 and have had relatively trouble free service from her. The only thing I can recall having to do was to reload her OS when some sinister prankster gave her the blaster virus. Other than that I have not changed any hardware components. Well on Sunday night when I tried to save my files that I was working on to a floppy it refused to do so giving me an error message. Thought it was a bad disk and grabbed another...same issue. OK then. Tried a new drive that i had bought for someone some time ago but never used..same thing. Changed the cable.....whoa....isn't there supposed to be one empty space in the pin array....wtf am I seeing 2? Check the cable and wallah the missing pin. To cut a long story short I need a new motherboard. There begins the real issue. I can get boards to accomodate the processor but not the memory. Arrrrggghhh!!! The memory types have changed so rapidly over the past 3 years that mine was in vogue then and outdated now. So unless I can find an older type board or get somebody to do some really creative soldering, I need not only a board but memory modules and processor (although I can find a new board to take the processor since it is fairly up to date) as well. Start saving Scratchie, cuz memory not really cheap right now. Found a different solution for the time being though....enter USB...heh heh heh. Can you say external floppy. Well sometimes progress can be a good thing although not often seen right away. Over the past couple of years many of the computer suppliers have stopped selling the laptops with floppy drives and have instead outfitted them with CD burners. To starve off some of the complaints, and external floppy drive is easily available especially in markets like ours where floppy disks are still used heavily especially by students. Here lies my el cheapo way out...I just got an external floppy drive and turned off the onboard port for the one that is playing the a$$ plugged in to the USB port and I'm good to go. A little on the untidy side but hey it works. I'll just need to buy some stuff sooner than later. So my current wish list stands at: New ATX motherboard for Athlon processors (preferrably an Athlon-64) New processor (AMD all the way) New memory modules (whatever fits the board - 1Gb I guess..OK i'll stay at 512MB if I must) I'll reuse my other stuff. The only thing missing is a DVD burner and since I haven't missed having one I don't think I'll start now. Luckily I paid for multiple reinstalls of my software so that shouldn't be an issue either. What caused the pin to break though? Your guess is as good as mine. Maybe just vibration from the fans. I won't complain, 4 1/2 years trouble free service from bulk parts is good in today's tech world. Maybe I'll change boards. I've been using Biostars for a while. Maybe time for an Asus or a Soyo. I like the specs on the Soyo (all the specs except the price that is). Don't know if they make one for the new Athlons though. Whatever but I know it's gonna cost me a bit so I'm starting to save now. Besides I expect a contribution from each of you.. my account number is 0.............. the Bank of.............. Forget that I'll take cash instead. Send it cybermail. Sorry for the compi post you non tech people but sometimes I just gotta go off on a tangent. It keeps me sane. Later all.

Poking fun at the Irish

Hi y'all. Top o'di morning to y'all. Just thought I'd drop some smiles this morning. Smile even if you've heard them before. Top o' the Morning to you! Happy St. Patrick's Day! McQuillan walked into a bar and ordered martini after martini, each time removing the olives and placing them in a jar. When the jar was filled with olives and all the drinks consumed, the Irishman started to leave. "S'cuse me", said a customer, who was puzzled over what McQuillan had done, "what was that all about?" "Nothin', said the Irishman, "my wife just sent me out for a jar of olives!" "Water to Wine" An Irish priest is driving down to New York and gets stopped for speeding in Connecticut. The state trooper smells alcohol on the priest's breath and then sees an empty wine bottle on the floor of the car. He says, "Sir, have you been drinking?" "Just water," says the priest. The trooper says, "Then why do I smell wine?" The priest looks at the bottle and says, "Good Lord! He's done it again!" "The Brothel" Two Irishmen were sitting at a pub having beer and watching the brothel across the street. They saw a Baptist minister walk into the brothel, and one of them said, "Aye, 'tis a shame to see a man of the cloth goin' bad." Then they saw a rabbi enter the brothel, and the other Irishman said, "Aye, 'tis a shame to see that the Jews are fallin' victim to temptation as well." Then they see a catholic priest enter the brothel, and one of the Irishmen said, "What a terrible pity...one of the girls must be dying. Irish Cemetery Three Irishmen, Paddy, Sean and Seamus, were stumbling home from the pub late one night and found themselves on the road which led past the old graveyard.. "Come have a look over here," says Paddy, "It's Michael O'Grady's grave, God bless his soul. He lived to the ripe old age of 87." "That's nothing," says Sean, "here's one named Patrick O'Toole, it says here that he was 95 when he died."! Just then, Seamus yells out, "Good God, here's a fella that got to be 145!" "What was his name?" asks Paddy. Seamus stumbles around a bit, awkwardly lights a match to see what else is written on the stone marker, and exclaims, "Miles, from Dublin." Irish Predicament Drunk Ole Mulvihill (From the Northern Irish Clan) staggers into a Catholic Church, enters a confessional box, sits down but says nothing. The Priest coughs a few times to get his attention but the Ole just sits there. Finally, the Priest pounds three times on the wall. The drunk mumbles, "ain't no use knockin, there's no paper on this side either." That's five for the price of one. Later guys.

Monday Blues

It seems that Mondays are becoming my worst days. Maybe it's because I'm so damned tired after the ups and downs of the weekends. Well I can safely say 2 down and 3 to go after Saturday. We handed in the major project for one course and had the mid semester test for another. It made for a rather interesting morning. No rest for the wicked they say. Well Friday night was a no sleep night for me. My group left my house at about 10:30 and I continued to tidy up the project until about 1:00a.m. Saturday morning. Since we were having the test on Saturday morning as well guess who was up reading till it was time to leave for school. Trust mi...tired is not the way you want to do a test. I can't remember half of what I wrote and in all honesty, it may have been better if I had just gone to sleep because it was in through the eyes and out through some other orfice. Anyway the results will tell. We were not able to make our presentation as the tutor had to leave on an emergency. The rest of the day kinda just went. Yesterday I got up after having gotten much needed rest and went to church. The pastor was not his usual bubbly self and it showed in his sermon. He spoke about his call to the ministry and the fact that we as humans have an inherent habit of destruction. He recounts that when he announced his calling to service how the parishioners were elated at the idea. He said that these same parishioners would eventually turn around and lick him with some big stones. He said we must strive to temper our actions and try to ensure that we stay far from the gossip and malicious destruction of others by what we say and do. He spoke about the violence plaguing Jamaica and pleaded with us not to sit back and watch as it would eventually erode the very fabric of the island. He said that blocking out a community and declaring that it doesn't happen in our neck of the woods is not the answer. he told a story about a friend of his ( a person of means who said she was going home to her "ghetto". He asked her why she called it that and she told him that yes it was a gated community but in the same way we close our gates to keep other out it wsa the same way that the inner city behaved. The difference wsa that one was a gate the other used stones. The fact is that the majority of persons in garrison communities are there as victims of circumstances and were inherently good. The handful of criminals are the ones giving communities a hard time. Personally I think we have the power to change our nation. These criminals all have friends and family but until the mother and wives and girlfriends stop washing the blood soaked shirts and pants and say that it must stop we will continue to have issues. These guys are not operating in isolation. Yes there is the factor of fear but I think for the most part it goes beyond that. At what point does that cute baby that you bore stop being your cute baby. How many people does he/she have to kill before we understand that our nation becomes worse and worse as the retaliation and mayhem spreads further from our door steps. Thesecriminals are known to others and I dare to say that they are known to others who do not share their belief that human life is sold for the price of a tin of sausages. Reality is that that is exactly what some of these guys get to carry out their evil. Last week an eighteen year old girl was killed for a lousy cell phone. something that will be out of style in maybe 6 months if you are lucky. It needs to stop. I struggle regularly with my christian beliefs and my personal conviction that the scourge of vioence needs to be wiped out with immediate effect by whatever means possible. It sounds strange that one must be violent to eliminate violence but honestly I can't see ant other way. Lawlessness has taken over. It starts at home and until the mothers and fathers take responsibility for their children's upbringing there is no better to get. In my childhood, you strayed from the acceptable path and you got your ass whipped. Today our psychologist will tell you how damaging it is to the child's self esteem to be punished by belt. I treat them with the same disdain that I treat doctors who advocate these extreme diets and then a few years later tell you how damaging having too much of the same thing they advocated a few years before is. I'm getting into some real hot waters here so let me stop before I get myself into serious trouble. Later guys.

Hi all, This is a busy week for me so it's in and out for today. I have three projects due and a test on Saturday so all hell is here. It done bruk loose long time. Well I got back my grades for my short story that I posted about 2 weeks ago. I am pleased with myself. My first real effort at writing like this and I got my 9/10 (90%). yeaaaay to me. The other piece that I need to give in was due last night. I submitted a draft and was given some feedback on how to improve it. Well I have until Tuesday to give in the final paper. We'll see if I can do any better than the draft. At the same time we are working on another piece and a major project so I am swamped. The Portmore people are really getting into their thing with the causeway issue. I wish them all the best. The dog is back home after a two night stint at the vet. She is not a happy camper but she will live. This 3:00a.m. school work thing and me not working at all but it has to be done. We celebrated mom's birthday with a couple of cakes and some serious Chinese food. She loved it, plus her 2 sisters who still live in Jamaica came over so she was in seventh heaven. Students blocked the gates last friday to protest the non receipt of last semesters grades, the new computerized system and some other stuff. I'm an evening student so I wasn't their. I agree with them though. The university is too slack. I passed all my last semester courses. The one I was fretting about ended up to be my best grade. Weird. My GPA fell a little but I'm not worried. Anyway enough from me today. I'll try chat with you guys later. Enjoy the day.

Sex

Don't where this topic will go this morning but hey.... Let me start by before I get into my topic, wish Mom of Scratchie a Happy Birthday!!! She is 68 today. Hope she is around to see many more. The weekend was kinda ruff but I survived even got in a bit of web surfing on Saturday so it couldn't be that bad. The only abnormality was that I had to take one of the dogs to the vet yesterday and they have kept her to do surgery this morning. She has an ifection which has necessitated that she be sterilized. No puppies from her sorry to say. It is unfortunate because she was the one we were hoping to make some extra cash from as she is a Doberman/Rottweiler mix. Anyway is so things go sometimes. Tall One is worried about her (she is his pet). Anyway gone a bit off topic this morning. last week I was invited to a chatroom by a friend. Didn't know what it was all about so I thought I'd give it a try. Signed up and sat in the wings for a while just sitting in the corner. I said my hail ups and ting an ting and then just stopped writing. I can tell you that I'm getting old. The conversation moved from cars to house to weightwatching to wanting more butt and less breast and more breast and less butt and then somewhere in there it got really sexual almost to the point of gross. It was on the point of cyber orgy. I don't mind a flirty conversation but these guys might as well have been in the bedroom. I quietly made my exit. We have become such a sexually focused people. I guess we are all turned on or off by different things. I personally prefer to have a lady dressed in something sexy that leaves a bit to the imagination rather than standing in front of me butt naked. Maybe that's why I don't seem to gravitate towards these x-rated films. Too base. There should be some finesse to sex. Last week I heard an advert for a promotion. The promoters called it "Sinful Desires" and the prompts left very little to the imagination. The music videos that are aired need to be rated "X" in some cases. I know MB and the other have a thing for this lady. Roselyn Sanchez. I was up watching TV this morning and a rerun of Boat Trip came on. I've seen it before but I just love looking at this young lady. Can't big up her acting too much but she has this thing about her that just draws me to watch her movies. Her smile is captivating her figure well now.....she is a beauty. Strange thing is I can't remember seeing a nude shot throughout the movie and yet it was such a sexy presentation on her part. The hint of breast through sheer material and the swimsuits. In other words you really don't need to be butt naked to be sexy. Here is another for Doc. People get turned on by different things and we are sexual beings. Some persons like to see uniforms, feet, hands, swimwear etc. the list is endless. And yes some people like naked. That works sometimes but it gets tiring. I like to be teased a bit...curvy figures through material, a hint of a thong above the waist band. I guess the male in me. What floats your boat? Later guys.

Friday Again

Yowa yow!! Language and expressions are a heck of a thing aren't they. I'm certain that there are expressions that are unique to each culture and to each generation as well. When I was in high school many years ago the standard greeting was what I opened with. Shouts of yow could be heard right across the campus. When you leaving it was "mi ah go step zeen." When you heard a nother man tell ou that "Mi ah go work pon one project", though it conjures up thoughts of an diligent school worker slaving over an assignment nothing was further from that. In fact it meant that he was going to chat up some girl or the other. Women were likened to some animal namely a "chick" or a "beef". This evolved to them being inanimate object being referred to as a "ting". No not the soft drink we love so dearly in Jamaica. In my school days you knew exactly what a "batty man" was and it was not someone who looked at women's buttocks. Now a days they are referred to as chi chi man having been called "a mens" before that. See language evolving. I am still yet to figure out what is a "yush" but I'm sure at some point down the road Fyr will enlighten me :) . A girl's man has become "gallis" having been a "shotta" at one time until the term became exactly what it sounded like...someone who fired guns. My culture in my high school days was intolerant of alternate lifestyles (politically correct phrasing I think). I remember the unanswerable question "If you heard that they were beating battymen in Cross Roads what would you do?" Unanswerable because if you said you would go there, then it was assumed that you were going for your beating. If you said you would not go then you were afraid you would get your beating. See how boy pickney idle? I remember having a discussion with a young teenage girl at some meeting or the other and her response was "Bwoy, Scratchie, yuh a sample yuh nuh!" I pondered for days over what a sample meant to her. I eventually asked my son who advised that it was a good thing. It mean that I understood them, spoke their language (which I obviously didn't) and she could relate to me. Meaning I was an example. My son met his friend recently and he called out to him "Waddup dawg?" His friend responded "woof woof". I looked for a brief moment to see if Angry Dog was around but then I remembered that he goes "arf arf". Kami in her recent post spoke about the various fruits from the islands and the various names that each has in the different territories. I'm curious about the sayings in your country. Do you stay up to date with teenage talk? Anyways enough chat on senseless idle topics. Enjoy your weekends all.

Ramblings

Hi All, Just hailing you all up since I really haven't had the time to think through my posting. The week has started quietly and I'm hoping that it continues that way for the week. I missed school on Saturday. I was exhausted and then wifey announced that she had stuff to deal with so I ended up doing the domestic stuff. It was a well needed break though. Seems that all the excitement goes on when I'm not there. I told you all about the test I had done the week before, well it seems that there is a concern that the test was received by some students beforehand. I don't know what the decision will be but I hope I don't have to do that stupid thing again. One set of torture is enough. I should be at class this evening but we are supposed to visit the National Gallery on Thursday. This will take the place of our usual class. I'm kinda looking forward to it. Wifey is encouraging me to approach it with open eyes. Her grandfather was a noted artist and sculptor and has several pieces on display in the gallery. We still have one piece at home but most of the others are either in private collections or in permanent display at the Gallery. They are worth quite a bit I'm told....and therefore? This death by cancer has become really a worrying point for me. Yet another young lady who used to be my co-worker has died. I saw her photo in the papers and was told that she was a cancer victim. Sad. I have had to attend 4 funerals since the start of this year with another pending tomorrow. The young lady and I were not close so I'll b spared the agony of attending another. Wuld it be horrible for me to say that I wish not to attend any more funerals until my own? That's how I feel. A friend of mine once said that you know when you are getting old because you start attending less and less weddings and more and more funerals. Seems he had a point. More assignments are due so you will be seeing only shadows of me for a while. my addiction to you guys won't allow me to stay away but I can't kick it cold turkey so you'll see me araound from time to time for the next week or two. Anyway, gone about my employer's business. Later all.

Nothing better to do

TGIF

It's Friday folks and a day I welcome with open arms. I'm exhausted from a pretty hectic week but is so things go sometimes. I know i have a full day tomorrow but I hope to get in some rest time on Sunday. I got in a bit late today so I can't stop to chat this morning. My main purpose is to wish Sunshine a Happy Birthday! Do enjoy your special day. Rumour has it that she's still 35. I won't try to prove or dispute that. You are as young as you want to be. I'm still 25. I've gotta go do the corporation work so we'll chat more later. If I find something interesting I'll post it. Otherwise have a great weekend. Don't over do it now.

This Photo is of the Rose Hall Great House. The house is located about 6 miles from Montego Bay, Jamaica. This magnificent structure was built/rebuilt/restored somewhere in the mid 1700's to mid 1800's. It was owned by the then Custos of St. Thomas John Palmer. It is entwined in stories of witchcraft, sexual exploits and murder and is a popular destination for tourists local and foreign.

Little is known of the early days of Rose Hall Great House but it's story changes with the occupancy of the house by John and his new wife Annie whose marriage is listed in 1820. It is said that Annie was bored and "tortured" with her life in Jamaica, having been accustomed to the fast life in France. She was known as a hard slave owner and puts her at the instigator of many public beatings for slaves who disobeyed her.

It is said that she became involved in witchcraft and often sought the pleasures of young slaves on the plantation who she would toy with for a while and then disposed of them. Any slave she chose could safely assume that his days were numbered. She was said to have murdered John and her two subsequent husbands at the house along with several slaves who she desired. The lawless times prevented any action against her by the authorities.

Annie was said to have been killed by her own plantation overseer when she proportedly killed his intended son in law. He determined that the madness must stop. Her body was buried in a special grave on the plantation but folklore has it that the grave was not properly built and because of her involvement in witchcraft her ghost was able to escape the grave site. It is said that her ghost still roams the Great House.

Fact or Fiction? Your guess is as good as mine.

Have a great day all.  

Idle Time

Good morning all, I just decided to get a little idle this morning. Had to do the legal thing yesterday at the Tax man's abode. Stood 2 hours in line at the Tax Office to get the car licenced. Paid out $2000.00 of hard earned money just so that Babylon don't hold down black man. Imperialism at its best. When I reached the cashier he says, and I quote "Yuh know yuh coulda leave it till month end becuz yuh get 1 month grace". At that point mi coulda lick im dung. Apparently it expired at the end of February and not January as I had thought. Never even looked at the disc I just took wifey's word that the grace period had expired. Anyways, at least I won't have to worry about it again until August. Standing in line for 2 hours not really that nice though. My plants are doing well. I had three flowers this morning. Place looks better yuh see. Class last night was quite.....hmmmmm errrr how do we say this now?....different. We had an art exhibition. The head of the Art Centre on campus brought some art works and was educating us on how to identify media and category and provide description on paintings. She was certainly enthusiastic about her art. My awareness and appreciation is growing. Can't promise you that I'll go out and buy any anytime soon...I ain't that converted. Here is a bit of idleness for you today: A married couple was on holiday in Jamaica. They were touring around the marketplace looking at the goods and such when they passed this small sandal shop From inside they heard the shopkeeper with a Jamaican accent say, "You foreigners! Come in. Come into my humble shop!" So the couple walked in "I have some special sandals I think you would be interested in," the Jamaican said to them. "Dey make you wild at sex." Well, the wife was really interested in buying the sandals after what the man claimed, but her husband felt he really didn't need them, being the "sex god" that he was. "How could sandals make you into a sexfreak?" the husband asked the shopkeeper. "Just try dem on, Mon," the Jamaican replied. After some badgering from his wife, the man finally gave in and tried the sandals on. As soon as he slipped them onto his feet, he got this wild look in his eyes ... something his wife hadn't seen in years! In the blink of an eye, the husband grabbed the Jamaican, quickly bent him over a table, yanked down his pants, ripped down his own pants and grabbed a firm hold of the Jamaican's hips. At which point the Jamaican began screaming, "YOU GOT DEM ON DE WRONG FOOT, MON! YOU GOT DEM ON DE WRONG FOOT!"

The Donkey

Hi All, I'm not too bad today. Helped the Tall One a bit with another part of his assignment. There was a part that I couldn't figure out so we worked at it for a while and then decided that we needed additional reinforcements. He will ask about it today in class. Here is an interesting poem that I have heard many times. You may need to read it a few times to get it. THE DONKEY When fishes flew and forests walked And figs grew upon thorn, Some moment when the moon was blood Then surely I was born. With monstrous head and sickening cry And ears like errant wings, The devil's walking parody On all four-footed things. The tattered outlaw of the earth, Of ancient crooked will; Starve, scourge, deride me: I am dumb, I keep my secret still. Fools! For I also had my hour; One far fierce hour and sweet: There was a shout about my ears, And palms before my feet. Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936) My paternal grandfather was a very learned but very humble person. I remembered him this morning and some of the things he used to say to us. Things we half the time thought he was just kidding around chatting nonsense. I found out, after many years of not realizing it, that he was actually a straight "A" student with the exception of one year when he was not in the top spot of his year due to him having sustained an injury that kept him out of classes for an extended period of time. I think that year he came second in his year. He continued to excel right through school even when he was forced to work and send himself to school due to lack of funds. He held his job, did his schooling and participated in cricket and football. He loved his garden and family and was always willing to help. I think I finally settled to my schooling after seeing his record. Intersting the things that drive you to do better. The item at the top was one of his favourites. I really don't know what he saw in it. Maybe it was what it said about his own life...I don't know. What I do know is that he spoke it often. Grandpa died almost 20 years ago but his memory lives on in those whose life he touched in his gentle way. I have fond memories of him and remember him through his quotes. Have a great day all.

The weekend

Hi all, What's up. I'm not in a thinking frame of mind this morning so I'm just hailin yuh all up. Weekend was ruff. I was away from office sick on Thursday and Friday so I should have been resting right...wrong. Instead I was swatting for a test on Saturday afternoon for a course which I really can't stand but hey if you gotta do it, you just gotta do it. What can I say about the test...the results will speak. On Friday I was on my way to pick up my kids when the damn car start making all kinda noise. What the heck was that? Turned out to be a torn strut mount. Had to drive on some ruff roads the other day and I figure it got damaged at that time...oh great...more money that I hadn't planned for. Then the test. The multiple choice was ruff. Had to guess quite a few but the other section was good. I should get near full marks on that. Hopefully I'll pass. Didn't make it to church because I overslept. I was told that I'm lazzyyyyyy. I will probably agree. Then I realized that one of my favorite bloggers is "taking a break". I'll really miss her comments while she's not around. They usualy had great insight and encouragement but life is life. So much for ending the weekend on a high note. Kinda just puts the icing on a really sh*tty weekend doesn't it. The high points were my online chat and my gardening yesterday. Not that I'm putting these two things down but when you look at the whole picture, I need a life. I finally decided to get some flowers in the yard. It's not my place but I still think it should look decent nuh true. so off I went and spent yesterday gardening. School work will suffer slightly but I had had it up to my eyeballs with school work. BTW, I was told by a beautiful young lady that she actually reads my stuff here on a regular basis. She doesn't comment but now that I've been ID'ed I'd better be careful about what I write....Yeah rooight!!! Just to say thanks to those who stop by regularly and to invite those who don't speak to tell me that I'm chatting crap or otherwise if you insist. I'm just in a bad mood today so self pity is the order of the day. Now that that's off my chest...have a great day.

Short Story

Here is the story I've written for my Culture assignment. Hope you guys like it. It's long but I know you'll suffer through it because it's me. I have an exam tomorrow so I've been absent from the blog scene. I know you'll understand. The Circle of Life by Scratchie 2005 02 22 Billy turned down the long avenue that led to his house, just near the other corner of the road. He had passed this way many times before and although there were other more scenic ways to get home, he preferred to use this route as it took him past the church to which he had recently been appointed pastor. At sixty years old, he was not as agile as he once was but he was still tall in stature and by no means feeble. The years had taken their toll on him but he was a survivor and always had been. As he passed by the church, he stopped to look in. The doors needed to be fixed, several windows were broken and the yard needed to be bushed out but “Time will take care of all things”, he had told the congregation last Sunday. As he stood outside the church, his mood changed from happy and carefree to a more reflective, almost sad, but at the same time grateful one. As he moved away from the church, a strong voice from across the road shouted, “Hi Pastor. Tell the misses howdy for mi. Good to si yuh man, but careful how yuh walk by yuhself dung dat side. Di bway dem ah still terrorist yuh nuh!” The voice belonged to Miss Daisy. She had lived in the community all her life and had long since grown accustomed to its nuisances. Billy responded with his captivating smile and a wave and moved on. As he walked down the road, he exchanged pleasantries with several other persons who, upon his appointment, had also become his parishioners. As Billy pushed through his gate and made his way up the pathway, he was greeted at the door by Renee, his lovely wife. They had been married for twenty –five years and she had been his companion and soul mate for at least another ten before that. She had stood by him. He called her his salvation and although she could really only partially understand why, she knew her husband had his reasons. She accepted this place that she held in his life. It was a position she knew she would fill for many years to come, God’s willing. As he lay in the dark, a tear slid down his cheek and he remembered the seemingly insignificant exchange with Miss Daisy. Billy closed his eyes and the memories flooded back to him as if they were yesterday. It all started 35 years ago, but in truth it had started a long time before that. Billy had been the leader of a group of boys who called themselves The Untouchables. They all came from the nearby lanes that were a haven for criminal activity, even from way back then. Billy and his crew would emerge from the lanes to prey on the neighbouring community. Guns and knives were the weapons of choice, while their targets were anyone and everyone that happened to be in the wrong place at the ‘right’ time. The gang was infamous for housebreaks, armed robbery and automobile theft. They had been accused of rapes and murders but those were merely stories that had turned into folklore by over-active imaginations. Billy remembered the night he met Renee for the first time. He had seen her before, while he and his boys scouted the community for future pickings but he had not met her. As times grew harder, the gang’s activities became more daring. One night, as he and his boys moved through the community, they came upon a car parked outside a house. A man was standing beside it talking to a young lady. They seemed like an easy target. The rest of the gang stood back as Billy approached the couple, gun in hand. As Billy prepared to commit his crime he had no idea that the series of events that were to follow would change his life forever. As Billy pointed his weapon at the man with a menacing gesture and demanded money and jewellery, in what seemed like a flash, a gun appeared in the man’s hand and a police identification in the other. As a matter of instinct, Billy fired two shots in the man’s direction and turned to run. It was the first time in his life that he had fired the gun and definitely the first time he had faced such resistance from any of his victims. In essence, the hunter had become the hunted. The police officer returned the fire but Billy could not remember hearing the gunshots. He however felt the burning as one of the bullets tore through his shoulder. His friends had long since vanished, leaving him to sort out the problem he was in by himself. As he jumped over fences in a bid to escape, he could feel his shirt being soaked by the hot blood coming from his wound. As he turned the corner and ran through the church gate, his feet just simply would no longer carry him. As he fell in the church yard, he recalled that people screamed and his last memory, as he faded from consciousness, was the face of the young lady who propped his head on her jacket and ran to call for help, despite the promptings from her church brothers and sisters to keep away. Billy awakened in hospital five days later and found himself handcuffed to the bed and under police guard. The next day he was surprised to see the face of someone that had been a part of his dream. It was the same young lady who had gotten him help on that eventful evening. With the permission of the police officer guarding Billy, she introduced herself to him as Renee and offered to pray with him. Billy never spoke or offered any reaction as Renee sat by his bed and read from her Bible. She visited him three more times during his stay in hospital and during those visits he never spoke to her, not even to offer his name. She had asked him once but it was the police officer who told her that his name was Billy. Billy the Kid he called him and chastised her for “wasting her time on street trash who would probably kill her if he got the chance”. The trial was swift and Billy found himself sentenced to prison for a term of ten years. He did not see Renee for several months and had long since forgotten about her visit which he considered a bother since it bore no meaning to him, an illiterate ghetto boy with no future. Who cared what happened to him anyway? It was the way of life. He got caught so now he rots in hell. One Sunday, as he walked along the cold damp hallways of what he now called home, he heard singing coming from a room in the far corner of the prison yard. The voices of fellow inmates were heard as they sang and chatted. Billy was drawn to the music and as he looked in, he was shocked to see Renee and several of her church group leading a prayer meeting for the prisoners. Billy left without joining in but he heard the singing several times after that. He always stood at the door and enjoyed the music but never went in. On one such occasion, Renee came to the door and invited him in. He reluctantly went in and sat at the back. She offered him a song sheet and he took it from her, not wanting her to know that he could not read. He held it in front of him until the end of the meeting. During the meetings, the church brothers and sisters spoke of God in their lives. Billy listened but he could not relate what he heard to his own circumstances. At one meeting he stood holding his song sheet and Renee pulled him aside and asked him if he would like to join the basic school program that her church was involved in at the prison. He looked at her and she smiled and told him that she noticed that on several occasions he had held the song sheet upside down so she knew that he could not read. Over the next 3 years, Billy attended classes and learned to read and write. He never missed a prayer meeting. Renee continued to work with him until she was reassigned to another ministry in her church. On her last visit she brought Billy a gift; his very own Bible. Billy continued to attend the meetings but not as frequently and he read his Bible, probably because of what it represented and not so much for what it said, but he was proud of his gift. At the end of his sentence, Billy was determined to make a difference but more importantly, he was determined not to go back to what had brought him here in the first place. But where would he go? He remembered the interest and care of a young girl who saw the better part of a “misguided” boy. He had long since stopped blaming his situation on his absent father and his lot in life. He attended church that Sunday with the hope of seeing Renee again. His wondering eyes searched every pew throughout the service but she was nowhere to be seen. As he emerged through the doors, a bit disappointed, and stood on the front steps, a sea of faces greeted the stranger. The hand on his shoulder was as warm as the smile on the face of the person he saw as he turned around. Her greeting assured him that he was home. The rest of the memories passed in a blur: the business venture, the wedding, his reception into church, the children, the house. Here he was, almost three decades later, a different man; husband, a father, businessman, and pastor. If life had changed so much for him, it could change for so many others as well. He knew what he had to do. Renee had been his salvation; it was now his turn to follow the call to complete the circle of life.

CQ

I was reading an article in the Harvard Business Review last night after class and found it quite interesting. I thought I would share a bit of it with you. What the backside is CQ? Well since you asked and I'm generous with my ever widing knowledge base I will provide insight into this topic. CQ is ........wait for it............Cultural Intelligence. There I said it. Cultural Intelligence is essentially an individual's seemingly natural ability to intepret someone's unfamiliar and ambiguous gestures in just the way that person's compartriots and colleagues would (according to the article) and even mirror them. We live in a society where we are now constantly interfacing with other cultures. We are here chatting online with people from other countries, from other backgrounds and essentially from other cultures. It is no longer isolated to persons who do business abroad. We here in this circle of bloggers require a certain amount of CQ. According to the article, CQ is related to emotional intelligence but picks up where emotional intelligence leaves off. In it's opening paragraph the writer refers to a poster advertising the global bank HSBC. It shows a grasshopper and the message: "USA - Pest, China - Pet, Nothern Thailand - Appetizer". This one seemingly insignificant insect has three different meanings to three different sets of people, totally unrelated except for their interest in the grasshopper. CQ is essential in today's business environment. A Western businessman meeting with a Japanese investor stands to greet his guest and extends his hand. The Japanese man bows turns and walks away simply because a meeting in the US is opened with a handshake. In Japan the handshake comes at the end of the meeting to seal the agreement. By extending his hand to the Japanese the US businessman has indicated an end to the meeting. By having a high CQ the US businessman would have observed that the Japanese man did not approach with an extended hand and would probably have realized that this was not a part of their culture. One critical element of CQ is the propensity to suspend judgement. Instead we are required to observe current action and predict future action by observing interaction. CQ requires input from 3 sources: head, body and heart. Learning , doing and feeling. The Review puts forward a 6 step process for cultivating your CQ. This process involves identifying strengths and weaknesses, selecting appropriate training, apply training, reorganizes personal resources to support the desired approach, enters the cultural setting that needs to be mastered and finally reevaluate your progress. (Source: HBR October 2004.Article entitled "Cultural Intelligence" by P.Christopher Earley and Elaine Mosakowki) Examine your own CQ. Is it high or low. Later guys.