The next decade....what's in store?
Musings of a yamfooted traveller still trying to shake off those last 20 pounds as she treks across the Caribbean
As I read the scorecard between Sri Lanka and England and saw Andrew Flintoff's name, I remembered what one of my dreams was about last night.
I was somewhere, can't recall, a room of some sorts, maybe like the eating area of a cricket ground and Andrew Flintoff and another English player (?) came up to me and casually started a conversation. Then Andrew asked me where I got my sneakers from.
Oh my goodness! I totally forgot! I had been wandering around the England dressing room a couple of days before, and in my desperation to find a pair of sneakers (the Queen's Park Oval here in Trinidad is a bit dusty and I only carried slippers!), I took the pair that I saw. True, it was a bit bigger than my yamfeet, but nothing that an extra pair of socks couldn't address.
Anyway, when he asked me, it was with a knowing look, that these were in fact his shoes! Yes, they were. I immediately apologized, and he was very sweet about it all. I promised to have them cleaned up and put back where I got them from.
Hagen Daaz Cookies 'n Cream ice cream, Horlicks, bread with peanut butter and nutmeg jelly.....just in case you're wondering what di hell I ate before going to bed to cause me to dream something so weird!
...but somehow I didn't feel jubilant. Maybe is because I am hoping it is not a flash in the pan, and that we can sustain this effort when we go to the Champions Trophy (I had visions of attending that in India in October....would have been a great 40th birthday present), and then meet Pakistan afterwards.
I think that must be what it is...that we need to win away before I get happy. But don't get me wrong...it is lovely to see smiles on the faces of the team members and everybody rallying around each other.
Did I tell you that I was not too optimistic after we had lost the first match and looked like we were going to lose the second? Here is that that story .
In the 70's I believe it was, cars used to be assembled in Trinidad. You can spot those cars now a mile away because they have the old time shape, and so many new cars have been imported into Trinidad.
Well, even if Oscar's car wasn't one of the old types, you got spot it....and hear it from a mile away. Painted in bright blue, red and white, it sat at the corner of the Republic Bank and bMobile buildings just off Independence Square. Unfortunately, it was the first in line at the taxi stand so I didn't have a choice. Well I guess I did because I saw another guy avoid it and go in the car behind. But I was in a hurry (for an interview that didn't materialize), so jumped in the front seat....
I thought the front seat was for one, but lo and behold there came an old man standing expectantly at the door. Reluctantly, I opened.
After Oscar was finished canvassing customers for the $3 ride, he got in to the car, reached somewhere under the steering wheel base and started the car. NOTE: He did not use a key! Then the car moved off. Sounded like a bad LIAT flight! Everytime he stepped on the gas, you heard VOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM as if the poor thing was struggling.
Turning on to Wrightson Road, I had a bit of fear as Oscar, who must be in his 70's, kept veering into other people's lane! Quite a few cars blew us.
He started out his conversation for the drive by saying he don't know how so much people in Trinidad have cell phone, how some have two and three, and is really a commodity they selling, not a service. He say he must be the only person in Trinidad not to have a cell phone....he cyaan afford it.
All four passengers got out long before me, and by the time he dropped me off at Long Circular Mall, my ear drums had had enough of the VOOOOOMING. The important thing though is that I arrived safely. Actually with these route taxis, I prefer to take the older fellas. No chance of disappearing in a cane piece with them!
When I went back to jamaica last week, I collected the umbrella that I had taken with me from Nevis in November 2004. It has sentimental value. I got it from The Hermitage hotel where I stayed.
I arrived in St Kitts with it, and the last place I remember seeing it was on the check in desk of the hotel I was supposed to be staying at. Then we got bumped for that first night and as far as I remember, I left it in the hotel room there. I called this morning (I only remembered I didnt have the umbrella last night!) and they say no they dont see it. Could I have left it in a taxi? Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, boo hoo hoo.
Tomorrow, I leave St Kitts, head to Grenada (through Antigua, St Lucia and Barbados!), drop my bags at home, re-pack and head to the airport again for a night flight to Trinidad to see the final two ODIs against India. Hopefully we will win on Friday and clinch the series. Sunday will therefore be a relaxing match. Lawks, mi heart!
I was walking back to the hotel here in St Kitts today from town. As in most Caribbean islands, the main town is on the harbour. Saw these big birds.....well actually before I saw the birds, I saw some beautiful fish.
But then I asked the fisherman if I could take a picture of the fishes and he said that would cost me US$2 and I walked off and shouted that I'm only a visitor and it was not for commercial gain. That would NEVER happen in Grenada. in Jamaica, yes
Anyway, so then I saw the birds and their picture was free! Here they are....
Everytime I see World Cup, I am thinking cricket, but I forget that there is a football world cup this year.
Of course you know the West Indies team beat India yesterday. This is why we watch cricket.
After the victory by 1 run, the players did a victory lap. I captured it on my camera....
I've been in Jamaica a week now. It's time today to move on to St Kitts to see the first ever ODI at the new Warner Park ground. Am excited to be back in Sugar City, a country I worked in for two months late 2004. If you search the October, November and December archives, you will find the entries done from there.
Go Windies! 1-1 in the series instead of 2-0
If you look at the photos to the right of this page, the first one is a picture of the wicket that Dwayne Bravo took to send back the last Indian man standing. Aint my camera great?
Yesterday West Indies played India at Sabina Park (that's for Dr D and all the other clueless-on-cricket readers of the blog!). As is customary, there was a post match press conference. There were about 25 media persons including myself in the room, when one of the West Indian cricketers walked in and said "Gentlemen, good afternoon".
I heard my voice on my tape recorder last night saying in a high pitched voice "and lady!". You see, I was the only lady there yesterday. There are other lady writers and lady commentators involved in cricket....just not enough and so the players not accustomed to us.....yet.
Anyhow, every now and then I google my name to see what's out there (who's spreading what false information etc). I enter the following words for the search - Cricket Michelle McDonald. Hear what the facety outaorder Googleman ask me....
"Did you mean: cricket Michael McDonald?"
I'm serious. Here is the link
Hrmph!
(But these things don't bother me these days...I just find it amusing really. Don't sweat the small stuff)
That's what the scale said this morning. But I won't get excited and change my weight tracker just yet. When I go to the gym tomorrow night, after a day of eating (which will include Ackee & Saltfish and Breadfruit!) I'll see what it says. If it reads 199, then look out for the change on the tracker.
That will be a great thing....after that, it would be about 20 more pounds to lose by 1 October this year.
Bought a new camera. You've seen the pictures on this blog, yes?
Anyway, it can do short video clips as well.
Here's one.....
Life is not measured with the quantity of breaths you take but with the quantity of moments that took your breath away!!
....she would have been celebrating her 97th birthday today. Hope you are resting well Grandma. (Actually she's tucked away at home somewhere).
She was in an advanced state of Alzheimers so I guess it was better for her to have been released from that hell.
Live it well and always think about what might be around the corner....
I am taking the opportunity to go to these shows here, where I know gun shot won't pop. So excited I was last week Saturday to be going to this.
I left home at about 9:30pm and walked it to the hotel (about a 15 - 20 minute walk). Did some stuff on the computer, then at 11:52pm I thought I should get going. The concert was slated to start at 10:30pm but you know how these shows go.....
Wondered how I was going to get there. It was being held at the Drive-in cinema, well, the old cinema. Hmmm, what should I do?
What any well thinking Island Girl should do......W-A-L-K. So up the road I went. About a 15 minute walk.
The concert was good. They have a clean, crisp, smooth sound. My friend Galliwasp usually makes the trek to the East Fest show in St Thomas that they have annually. When they had played "Tell me How Come" as their encore piece, I decided that it was time to head home. This was about 3:30am.
There was no hesitation about walking, so I did! About 20minutes away was my house. When I got by Food Fair to turn in, someone stopped who I knew, and gave me a ride up the hill.
Only in Grenada. Ah, what bliss. What freedom!
I try to tell people not to work up themselves over things they have no control over. So when I got an urgent message at work to call the landlord, this was going to be a test of that way of thinking. I just didn't know it yet.
I selpt in the hotel on Sunday night and Monday night. Shoulda gone home Tuesday, but because of what I had to do, I needed to be close by. I ended up planning to go back home on Thursday.
I come out of a training session to get this urgent message. I called the lady and she said she's not sure what happened, or when it happened but all of my things that were on the floor got wet. The pipe leading in to the washing machine burst, most probably with the fluctuation in water pressure that NAWASA has been sending down lately.
Because I am not really all that comfortable in the apartment (Jamaica = flat), I had not unpacked fully. So my suitcases were on the ground in the bedrooms. All the contents got wet. These included my folder with school certificates and work stuff, as well as unused journals.
Well, as I said to the lady, what's done is done, so I wouldn't be rushing home as I still had things to do at work. I reached home after 9pm to find that she had washed all my clothes, and put my papers out to dry.
Wasn't that so nice of her? She had also mopped up the water and generally tidied up. I was grateful. However, I kept thinking that she would have come in an seen the place in the mess (I just don't have the energy after a 12 hour day).
With kindness like that, how can I leave?