Wednesday 30 December 2009

Rob Me of My Sleep & Sanity

I missed out on the beach yesterday because I was busy picking up an old hobby of mine; painting.

It wasn't quite the same kind of painting that used to reward me with wall decorations, but it still reminded me of old times. It also required much more work considering I was painting only two of four walls with one of the hardest colours to paint. In the end, the red walls are something to be proud of. My painting partner accidentally got the paint on the other two walls as well because men are not usually as meticulous as women when it comes to things like that. Now I have to prepare to touch them up with white paint, which should be the easy part of the whole ordeal.

I cannot forget to mention the preceding action to the actual painting that took up the majority of the time. For some reason, the previous paint on the walls was stripping in some parts (Perhaps this is due to moisture that raises it from the wall) so we had to go over the entire wall with a scraping tool to strip off the parts that were troublesome. This meant plenty of dust, plenty of sneezes, and plenty of cleaning up.

In the end, the room came out nice. I feel like I am going to wake up in the morning feeling extremely sore–much better than extremely sick though. I went home and drank 3 glasses of orange juice and took a Claritin allergy medicine. I am going to nip these sneezes in the butt before they have a chance to keep me from my beloved beach and possible new years celebrations. Sometimes I think I am allergic to Jamaica.

After all of that hard work, I found just enough energy to go out to a little hang out spot last night with a few of my friends. We were all there socialising for maybe 2 and a half hours before my best friend and me became really tired. On the way back to the house, Jamaica decided to remind us of how careful we have to be. JPS decided to do a routine light check between 12 and 4am so the entire area where my bestie lives was without electricity. This was the perfect opportunity for a little "badmind" (as we call it) thief to burn a hole through the fence, break the car window, and go inside and steal the radio; and that is exactly what happened.

Parked at the top of her driveway, the monster (my favourite car in the whole world) was a target. When we pulled up to the house to open the gate and drive up into the driveway, we saw that the trunk and driver's door were wide open. At first she almost convinced me that I had left the trunk open, but when I saw that the door was wide open as well I realised that something was up. She pullled up behind the monster and shone her headlights so I could see that no one was there before using the flashlight to notice the broken glass, missing radio, and hole in the fence.

Whoever thought they got a good steal is in for a horrible surprise when they find out the radio was not really working anyway. I am pretty sure they did not want just a penny for their efforts, and hope they do not come back for something more. Still, the part of this that worries me the most is the fact that the car was only parked there for a day. For them to come fully prepared with a tool to burn out the fence as perfectly as they did means that we were being watched.

To perfect it, they waited until the light was gone to creep over and do the deed within about a 2 hour time frame from the time we left to the time we came back. The car was also shifted into second gear, probably because it gave them ample room to take out the radio. I am happy that nothing too valuable was left in there, that only the small back window was broken, and that the gate was locked. That prevented them from rolling the car down the hill and over to wherever it is they came from.

Needless to say, I did not get a very good sleep last night–despite how disgustingly exhausted I was after spending the day painting and cleaning.



Monday 28 December 2009

Jamaican Spirit

I purposely tried to avoid Air Jamaica for this trip for more reasons than one. Now I have come to the conclusion that Spirit is no better.

Based on my prior blog about the lost case of Jamaica's airline, I know some of you are thinking that Spirit and AirJa are now one in the same. However, it is to my understanding that the deal between the two was never finalised. Still, here I am on Spirit Airlines experiencing the same problems I tried to avoid.

I have been at the airport since 10 this morning, been awake since 8, and been annoyed since 12. After getting only 5 hours of sleep last night, I was hoping to venture to the airport this morning on time–which I actually did–and board the flight at 11 15 as stated on my boarding pass. How wrong I was.

The first announcement, which came 45 minutes after the scheduled boarding time, was that there was a problem with a flight attendant and she was sent home. This meant that we were forced to wait until another attendant came to take her place before we could board the flight. The announcer found it imperative to mention that "It may take 30 minutes, it may take an hour; we don't know. It all depends on when she can get here." Those were not very uplifting statements. Luckily, though, she only took about 5 minutes. We boarded the plane thereafter, all thinking we were minutes away from departure.

After everything was settled, Mr. Flight Attendant came on the speaker and told us to turn off all electronic devices and prepare for departure. Fifteen minutes later, still in the same place, the Captain finally found it necessary to let us know that we were not going anywhere because someone's bag was lost and they were trying to find it.

Maybe it is just me, but I think that sounds kind of crazy. How did they lose someone's bag when Spirit has its own entire section of the airport? On the other hand though, some airlines would probably disregard that one bag and just take off anyway–that is the silver lining I have found, along with the fact that when I arrived my bag was safe and sound.

All in all, the delay was only an hour and 40 minutes–it could have been worse. The runway was full of planes and we actually had to wait in a line to take off. (I guess the airport is just that busy during Christmas time.)

Still, the flight was very smooth and I am more than relieved to be safely home as the recent crash in Kingston had me a little bit more nervous than usual. I was not successfully able to pep talk myself by using the "more likely to get struck by lightning than die in a plane crash" statistic, and instead calmed my anxiety by listening to my Owl City playlist and thinking about the beach.

On that note, I had hoped to step off the aeroplane and into the sand but since that never happened, you should already know where to find me for the next two weeks.

Wednesday 23 December 2009

Christmas Shopping & Those Who Should Stay Home

Forget Black Friday; shopping during the Christmas season is the worst!

It is bad enough I already do not like to shop, but being in the mall and on the road with such incompetent people is enough to drive me crazy!

I spent the last two days between Sawgrass Mall and the area around Pembroke Lakes Mall. On Monday I sat in AT&T for more than an hour waiting on their system to resume -- apparently all of the computers were down. It was my second attempt to buy mother dearest's Christmas gift and I decided that I was not going to leave there without it. (Underneath the Christmas tree was far too desolate for three days before Christmas. We are not usually last-minute kinds of people.) Even though I was never a big fan of "good things coming to those who wait", eventually things did work out in my favour. My friend was able to give me a wonderful discount and I am forever grateful.

Though I am in no way trying to be greedy, yesterday did not work out quite as smoothly. I spent the last of my money on a gift for brother unlucky; an article of clothing that cost twice as much as the gift for mother dearest. He came up with the gift idea on Monday when he went to Sawgrass, and of course it was very much expensive. Prior to that, we had no idea what he wanted.

Aside from an empty pocket, the most aggravating parts of my day were the obnoxious people on the roads. You would think that people would be in the spirit of sharing and being courteous, but not even Christmas can bring that out anymore. They were all too busy being selfish money-angry impatient jerks who reminded me of my one time fantasy of owning a tractor with a scoop in the front instead of my little Fabian. Call it road rage if you must, but sometimes I wish I could just shove people out of the way with my tractor whenever they cut in front of me under the impression that my brakes are working perfectly. I thought it was common sense that if you are coming out of a plaza you are to wait until the cars are far enough in the distance that they do not have to break hard or switch lanes just to let you in, and in order to avoid an accident.

What if my brakes give out?

What's more is that for once I was actually driving the speed limit and it seems like the world cannot handle it. Between riding my ass at the mall while I looked for a lane to turn into, blowing horns while I let people through because I cannot block an intersection, and coming out in front of me at 5 miles per hour, I have to be thankful that Fabian and I are both in one piece and that I have low blood pressure.

Road Rules (according to moi)
*open to objections*

1. Malls usually have two lanes; one that is both a turning lane and a slow lane, and one for those who are not [yet] looking to turn or who are already finished and are looking to leave. You cannot drive in the turning lane with a hoggish attitude. It is understood that yes, people do have to break in order to turn so if you are in a rush please remove yourself from that lane and go into the other.

2. If there is a line of traffic that extends beyond, and would therefore block, where there is an entrance to a plaza, you are supposed to leave enough room so that cars on the other side can turn in. This means, if you happen to be right in front of the entrance, you should leave a gap for them to enter. (Especially if it is the entrance to a hospital; God forbid there is an emergency and you are the ass that decided to fill the gap.)

I'm sorry impatient lady, but the light is red anyway, so why should I rush to drive up and block the intersection? I still won't be able to go and neither will you if I can't.

I have come to my own conclusion about the loathsome behaviour of these adults.

All of those folks who really belong behind a computer somewhere far from the rest of humanity and away from consumers are now out and about; the same ones who know how to speak to humans only through a keyboard. They learned how to drive years ago and only get out for practise once, maybe twice, a year. They do all shopping online -- this includes shopping for a significant other on eHarmony or one of those other dating sites -- except during Christmas when they try to prove to themselves (and maybe some estranged family members) that they can be social and mobile too, just like everyone else!

My solution for dealing with them? The Golden Rule: "Do onto others as you will have them do onto you."

Did I blow my horn right back? I sure did. Sped up to cut them back off? Indeed. Drove even slower when they were too close behind? Of course!

And you know what? It felt good.

Monday 21 December 2009

For The New Year

I have heard that sharing your New Year resolution is a shortcut to not achieving it. Some people say it is bad luck to share it, just as it is to share your wishes at 11 11 and over your candles at your birthday party.

I do not believe in luck; I believe in blessings, so here goes my resolution:

For 2010, I plan to do two things.

1. Read the bible from front to back

2. Stop partying

In my defence, and for those who do not know me personally, I can probably count on my hands how many times I go out and party in a year (the summer would make me count my toes as well). Still, I always find that going out is most of the times not fulfilling. I often go through such stress just to get out of the house that by the time I am on the way I am ready to go right back home and get into bed.

Back in high school, I made it my goal to go to sleep at 8pm—or there about—every night. But wait, before you throw a fit, I was forced to wake up at 6am every morning. I always felt like no matter how early I went to sleep, being up before the sun would forever make me feel as if I did not get enough sleep—that is until I started going to sleep at 8. Being on the swim and water polo teams made me even more ready for bed by the time I got home from practice, ate dinner, and took a shower. (Homework? What is that? I am an A student, so let us just move on.)

As far as the partying, and aside from the fact that I would rather be sleeping, I will go ahead and list out the three reasons why I have decided to make it a point of change for the year to come.

1. The Outfit

For some reason, I am always compelled to go out and buy new clothes before I can go anywhere. Then, when I do end up wearing that outfit, it is practically dead—Miami gives me the feeling that I cannot wear one outfit more than once (luckily, I still have Jamaica and Orlando). Also, I have so many outfits in my closet that I have yet to wear, because I buy them to go out and then end up staying home. Some of my friends can attest to the fact that I have yet to wear my 17th birthday outfit despite the amount of times I have put it on or packed it to wear somewhere. This factor makes me feel extremely materialistic and too focused on worldly things.

2. The Time

All things considered, being on time is practically a cultural and unavoidable problem. However, people are normally motivated to be on time or early if the incentive is money. This means that when a party is free before a certain time, those who are wise will try their best to get there “for free.” When your sibling is brother unlucky, though, timing has to be thrown out of the window. The free incentive for girls is not motivation enough for him and his male friends to be ready when we are. I always stress myself out over this factor and get myself into that "why do I even bother" mood. Why should I have to spend $20 when five minutes ago the same thing was free? That's like seeing a sign that says "free diamond Rolex" in the distance, and then it gets taken down right in front of your face as soon as you get close enough to touch it.

3. The Actual Party

I spent my last Saturday night sleeping in the car while everyone else was inside enjoying themselves. I did this in order to not be a kill joy, and also because I found myself unable to breathe amidst my recovering bronchitis, the cold weather, and the cigarette smoking. I also found myself rather bored and bbm-ing inside the party for the short period I was there. In all honesty, that nap was the best part of the night. I put the chair all the way back, warmed up the car with the heater a little before I turned it off, grabbed the nearest jacket, and went to sleep. Even though my nap was great, had I known the way the night was going to play out, I would have chosen to stay home (my bed is far more comfortable than the chair inside my brother’s car.)

Usually, I only go out when there is a specific party I always enjoy or when it is a special occasion, but sometimes I allow others to convince me that the party will be enjoyable and those are the times when I do not enjoy myself. I am beginning to believe that I have to be mentally prepared—a few days in advance—for everything the night will have to offer in order to have fun.

Next year, I will not have these problems.

I have always said that I would much rather have a few people over, play a game or two, and just sit around and enjoy their company. I stand by that now more than ever.

Thursday 17 December 2009

More Positivity!

I went back to my high school yesterday and needless to say, there was no shoot out. I did not even see any of the folks I dreamed about. I spent most of my time talking with one of my favourite teachers about life after high school.

In a continuation from my last post, I am a big believer in good and bad energy and the idea that we attract everything to ourselves based on our attitudes.

We are so quick to hold on to that one mistake someone made even when there are a million other good things to be noted. We seem to forget that people have to deal with the consequences of their actions - or the actions of those around them - whether they have heard our opinions or not. There is a difference between being honest and being abhorrent. If your opinion is not asked for, it is not needed.

Never give someone else the power to control your smile. No doubt that people can contribute to your happiness, but they should NEVER be the determining factor. Your happiness, just like you, should be bipedal. Believe in yourself and your dreams and know your worth. Material things come and go but inner peace is something that no one can reach out and take from you. That is the type of wealth we should all be striving to attain.

As for hatred, it is always funny to me when I come across a person with a million enemies. They spend so much time rolling their eyes and convincing them self that they "do not care" that they fail to realise how much energy is really being given to the situation. When you "do not care" you are free from all opinion.

Most people think hatred is for the other person, but you see, it is more like a boomerang; if you throw it out, it is you who gets it back. The negative energy surrounds you because of that eye roll or profane comment - not so much the other person. If it is a mutual dislike then it surrounds you both. But why even bother? Disliking someone else is not going to pay your phone bill, nor is it going to get you an A in statistics, overwhelming joy, or inner peace - so why waste your time!

Forgiveness is key. I'm not saying you should be best friends with everyone, but some things just need to be let go. This is also true of people. If you hang with wolves you will howl. Freeing yourself from negative company is just as important as freeing yourself from negative energy. In fact, most times the two go hand in hand. Do not entertain meaningless or detrimental relationships. You and your company should spend most if not all your time uplifting, inspiring, and motivating each other - through both action and speech. ("Do as I say and not as I do" is not nearly as effective.)

You just always have to remind yourself you can do it, whatever it may be. Doing something positive for yourself or others should never be a question of who is going to let you, but rather who is going to stop you!

Tuesday 15 December 2009

Life Is A Menu

Last night I hosted another game of Kalooki.*
*yes that is a link go ahead and click on it.

It never included the same folks as the last game I hosted back in the summer, but considering the fact that they are still Jamaicans, the 8 o clock game never started until 12—no surprise there.

There were only about 12 people who came, 9 of which actually participated in the game, and half of which participated in drinking out my entire stash of Pepsi. I spent most of my time turning a blind eye to the fact that they were using it as a chaser, and that there would most likely be none left for me to indulge in this morning. I guess it is a good thing that they did not perpetuate my addiction, and I did manage to go the entire night without even so much as a sip. (Yes, I do deserve an applause.)

In the end yesterday was a good day. Brother unlucky and I went to dim sum in the early afternoon and two of my girls and I did some catching up. The food was delicious and I had longed for the outing which was full of laughs as usual. The conversation was entirely too arbitrary but it was still good for the soul. I surround myself with such wonderful people.

After dim sum brother and I headed over to Grandma's to decorate her Christmas tree. The afternoon had passed without her answering the phone, but we decided to go over there anyway. As it turned out she was unable to make it in time, but she came back to a fully decorated tree. I was thinking to leave a note that said "love, Santa" but the surprise factor had all but died when we found out she was expecting us. (But what a wonderful surprise that would have been!)

By the time we left her house we had time to come back home and relax a little and then people began coming. Kalooki is the only game that gets me competitive enough that sometimes I genuinely get either angry, frustrated, and annoyed, or extremely happy and proud. It was a good game though and I never needed to get too competitive.

Even though I did not win, I still went to bed feeling like it was a successful night. My brother finally met my best guy friend and I think they get along just fine.

As for today, I spent it trying to figure out if bad energy spreads the same as good energy.

Two of the people who were at my house until 3 in the morning had to wake up to catch a flight today. As the day progressed with me in bed, they both began to tell me of their traveling discrepancies - simultaneously - and mentioning that their trip is starting off horribly. I was even given the mental image of an airport filled with unorganized, impatient, and obnoxious passengers each carrying 10 bags and 5000 boxes.

Have I ever mentioned that I hate FLL airport? After being so used to Miami International, I cannot figure out how to properly transition from organization to chaos. The space between the entrance and the check-in desks is not enough to accommodate the millions of people who are now forced to patronize because Air Jamaica decided to stop going to Mia. Not to mention the fact that—if I remember correctly—bags are scanned in between check-in lines and I never quite understood why. I figure a normal airport would take the bag into the back and do it there.

I can only imagine how crowded and busy the airport was during this holiday season where Jamaicans from all over south Florida are trying to go home with Christmas gifts for their entire family. (I can also imagine the outrageous outfits some of them must have been sporting. That should have given my friends a good laugh in the middle of their frustration.)

In the end, all happened as it should have. In between trying to help them feel better I also spoke to some other friends and their morale was not any higher. At one point I felt a swarm of negative energy surround me. I started believing that my generation boasts far too much negativity and has a constant aura of bad energy. I know I sometimes get a bit down myself too but I try to stay as positive as I can.

It is far too hard these days to find someone who can uplift you, and it is the easiest thing in the world to find that most people do not genuinely wish you well.

"Friends that do not help you climb will want you to crawl."- Colin Powell


I found myself being the positive one today, and I will admit it was pretty hard. But I feel like it simply starts with a smile! As corny as it may sound, smiles send signals to both your brain and the brain of anyone else with whom you smile. They are the simplest and cheapest way to make your day even a little bit better. They turn the universe around to work in your favour! Try keeping your smile while you are in the worst mood, you will be surprised!

Remember that everything happens for a reason, and life is as beautiful and as amazing as you want to make it. As one of my friends cleverly said the other day, "Life is a menu; whatever you order is what will be delivered to your table!" - Robert Thomas

There could not be a truer statement. Oh and one more thing, happiness is contagious! :)

Monday 14 December 2009

Since I Left High School

After my last post, a friend of mine called me to inform me that she too had decorated her Christmas tree in purple and gold. This being before I actually began the decorating, I decided to change it up.

My tree now stands eight feet tall with green and silver decorations. I also sprayed some "snow" on a few of its branches, in order to give it the up-North-in-the-snow look I was going for.

Now for it to give off that delightful scent I've longed to smell.

On another note, and in regards to the title of this post, my high school friend and I plan to go down memory lane sometime this week to visit some of our favourite high school teachers. From what I've been told, with the graduation of the class of 2008 and 2009, my school has managed to transform itself into something like an inner city school. Apparently the student population is made up of ill-mannered and violent youth who care as much about their education as they do about the teachers and staff seeing their boxers and ass while they walk through the school hallways.

The fact that it is now a D school and that my old Spanish teacher has complained that some of the students cannot even read in English is all the evidence I need.

With that said, after church this morning I stayed up long enough to eat my mother's famous lasagna and then went back to sleep. During that time, my subconscious thoughts manifested themselves into a scary and realistic dream. It was one of those dreams after which I woke up and had to praise God that it was not real.

Here goes.

As planned a friend and I went back to my high school to visit our teachers - only the friend in the dream is not the same friend with whom I intend on going. In fact, she is one of my best friends from Jamaica. Nonetheless, the dream began with the end of our visit, or so we thought.

By the time I had finished talking with the two teachers I love dearly, the school bell rang. This meant that we were instantly surrounded by the same high school youth I was just talking about.

On the way to the parking lot I looked over and saw an old friend that I had not seen or spoken to since I graduated, so I walked over to say hi. Standing there next to him was a guy I am more than embarrassed to be dreaming about; we call him Eye Candie and he was my first "love" for half of my high school career.

In that awkward moment, he smiled at me and gestured for a hug. After we hugged, he started bragging about his new haircut (back in my days he had braids, which he had cut off after I asked him to, but clearly grew them back. [Indian hair grows too quickly.]) and saying "I cleaned it up" to which I responded "yeah, very nice." After that short conversation I walked away.

As my friend and I approached the parking lot, we saw a sexy new Chevy Camaro parallel parked right in front of where we were standing. (During half of the dream the car was white with 2 green stripes down the middle, and throughout the other half it was a chili red.) In true bestie fashion, we both decided to take pictures of and with the car. In true her fashion, she was oblivious to the fact that the bag on her back managed to scrape off a thick line of paint that extended from the top left of the hood to the top corner of the driver side door.

We both began to panic. She immediately called her brother (who in real life is not her brother at all, but her first boyfriend.) After the call we both decided to head back to the school and see if we could find the owner to apologise and come up with a plan. My welcome back greeting was by Eye Candie's girlfriend - the chick who succeeded me - as she came over angrily and shoved me by my left shoulder saying "I heard you're back to try and steal my man." To his I responded by saying to myself, "did she really just touch me?" and proceeded to end all argument and just hit her.

The fight lasted all of 2 minutes until gunshots began to rain in the school. Bullets flew all over the place from unknown shooters in unknown places. Everyone quickly reacted by running, as people were being taken down by the bullets all around. The dream suddenly became very real, and my bestie had all but disappeared. Apparently at some point during the fight she had decided to go back to the parking lot and leave a post it with her name, phone number, and an "I'm sorry" on the Camaro.

I realised then that I was alone. After successfully running away from the concentration of gunshots, I suddenly ended up inside my car, inside my garage. I found myself, key in hand, still worried. My heart was pounding, my breaths were short, and I was not safe inside my own garage. Before I could turn the car on and proceed to reverse onto the driveway, a charcoal gray Z35 with neon lights pulled up in preparation to reverse into my garage and park next to me.

It took the driver 2 tries to do it right, which gave me enough time to notice that he and the passenger were dressed in all black with skully caps and bullet proof vests, and to hide underneath my staring wheel. I had about a 2 second grace period where I needed to successfully reverse out of my garage and speed off without being caught, seen, heard, or followed.

And then I woke up.

Friday 11 December 2009

'Tis the Season

The semester is over and I am so happy to be home.

It was supposed to end nicely with three A's and a C (in statistics of course) but I realised last night that I was one question away from an A - rather an A minus - in world religions. Nothing upsets me more than an 89 or an A minus. All that says to me is "Haha you were not good enough for an A, I bet you thought you were! Haha."

With that said, I am getting two A's, a B+, and a C. Moving right along before I get upset again.

Being home for 2 weeks feels good. I recently got a new mattress and bed set that makes my bed ten times more comfortable. Mother dearest also went out and bought new towels - one of which I used last night and thought I was in heaven. It is the softest towel I have ever used, and I felt as if I should have been using it in slow motion.

One of my best friends came over yesterday and reminded us that we don't just have a house, but a "home," as he looked around at the painted walls and renovated kitchen that my mother designed. The house has always been welcoming and decorated with "a mother's touch." Now the coffee tables and shelves bear cute little snowmen, scented candles, and Santa clauses in the true Christmas spirit.

I'd love to say that it is beginning to feel a lot like Christmas, but the heat outside says otherwise. Still, all it takes is a fresh and scented Christmas tree, a few decorations, candy canes, and Christmas lights to put me in the mood. In fact, that is my favourite part of this holiday season.

In true Meisha fashion, I do have a complaint. This mild case of bronchitis that I have been dealing with since Sunday is rendering me unable to eat. I am not even able to swallow my spit without careful planning and preparation for the pain. My ears are clogged, my head is congested, and I am losing even more weight. Have I taken medicine? Of course not. I walk around every day stubbornly believing that my immune system will nip it in the butt all on its own. My patience is wearing thin and I really have no time in my Christmas schedule to be sick - but back to the decorations.

I cannot wait until our lights go up, and I plan to decorate the tree in the days to come (I am thinking purple and gold.) Yes, I take pride in my Christmas tree decorating skills and every year it boasts a specific theme. (Multi-coloured just does not work for me.)

Brother unlucky is coming home today so the Christmas shopping is soon come; that part I am not so enthused about. To me Christmas was never about gifts, it was about family time. It is just about the only time of the year that people slow down a little and look around at the blessings the Lord has bestowed upon them within the year. It is the time when we sit around at Grandma's house on Christmas Eve night, drinking hot chocolate and talking about life, while we await the midnight hour to watch the "kids" open gifts.

I have some warm and fuzzy childhood memories about Christmas at Grandma's. Now that I am older and gifts do not excite me as much, it is more about watching as my little cousins open their gifts and their faces light up like the Christmas tree beside them. Maybe that is just me though, because father's face lights up just the same when it is his turn to rip off the wrapping paper.

Have I mentioned my gift-wrapping talent as yet? Pardon my boasting, but my near perfect gift-wrapping is often called upon by others who are not so meticulous. I've wrapped many gifts for those who simply cannot master the art, and it bothers me a bit to see that all go to waste at 12 01 when the papers are savagely ripped off by my overly-excited family members. Nevertheless, slow gift openers - as I've dubbed them - are plenty more irksome than the "savage" ones. I'd like to say I am somewhere in between.

I missed out on all of these memories last year. By this time we were packed and ready to board the Air Jamaica flight to our second (or first) home. This year, I get the best of both worlds; Christmas preparations in Florida, and New Year celebrations in Jamaica.

I guess I have found the cloud with the silver lining.

Monday 7 December 2009

Swine Flu: The Con

For all overly patriotic, nationalistic, and close-minded individuals, let me be the first to let you know that the swine flu is a con.

Also, if you have not figured it out yet, if you are not amongst the top 1% of the world's wealth, the U.S Government cares as much about you as they do a single leaf on one of the maple trees planted on their 200-acre land. To go even further, I will also be the first to let you know that the United States is in fact a third world FASCIST nation. (Please, hold on to your panties and briefs.)

Now that I have gotten that out of the way, I will be happy to go in depth.

In 2005, it was foretold that toward the end of the year 2009, more and more Americans will begin dying off, as a part of the depopulation plan of the government, from preventable diseases such as CANCER, SWINE FLU, AIDS, HEART DISEASE, HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE.. And the list goes on. (The underlying theme to this “fight against Global warming” is that there are too many humans on the earth. They don’t give two shits truly care if you recycle or not.)

FACT: The earth has a natural ability to exude all excess carbon dioxide from its atmosphere and also has natural warming and cooling trends.
(Source: Huntsville's Earth System Science Centre.)

You mean cancer is preventable and Global warming is not a real issue? Yes, that is exactly what I mean. What we really needed to focus on was the overuse of non-renewable resources. Not the unreliable recorded temperatures of the Earth.

The way I see it, the swine flu was the second biggest and most blatant con I have observed in my lifetime, behind 9/11 of course. (I would not necessarily consider global warming a con because the earth is probably slightly warmer than it used to be.)

How many of you were told way back when we were still sad about the twin towers that the "War on Terrorism" was really just America going into Iraq for oil? (You all were, Michael Moore made a movie.) And how many of you primarily believed that? None of you did. I am completely certain that the majority of the population of this country genuinely believed that we went to war against Al-Qaeda. (Ha, remember that word?)

When was the last time you heard about Al-Qaeda or Bin Laden? Exactly my point. George Bush (brilliantly!) played on the temporary passion of the United States’ citizens. After the attacks of September 11, no patriotic citizen in their "right mind" was against the war. None! And who did we end up killing? Saddam Hussein. I truly truly wish I could accurately express how furious I was the day they killed that man. A publicly-televised HANGING? With NO OBJECTIONS from anyone in this country? You have to be kidding me.

That was the first con. It was never about the way he treated the citizens of his country. The Sunni’s and Shiites have been at war since before Christ.

As for the swine flu; did you take time to notice how much publicity was put into these “flu shots?” What better way to CON the population into getting a vaccination than by telling them that it will save their lives. They made it a nationwide
-->competition to get the flu shot – and the school with the most would win a free concert.

Now every cleaning solvent commercial talks about h1n1 - and even mentions that you, the viewer, needs to get the flu shot (again!). I have never seen such a publicized and emphasized vaccination in my life. It makes me wonder: why on earth would they want us to get it so badly? (Other than making us believe they really care about our well-being.) Give it a few years and I feel badly for all the folks who ran out like robots and got the vaccination.

FACT: The swine flu, also known as h1n1, was created in a laboratory. It is the same strain as used in 1918 in the Spanish Flu endemic.
(Source: Centre For Disease Control)

FACT: HIV/aids was also created in a lab. And just to emphasize the obvious, the world is just sitting around awaiting the day that enough of the dark-skinned Africans die out from said disease so they can take over the most important continent on the planet. (I am sure you have heard of the New World Order. As you know, Europe has been united, creating the EU and the Euro; a concept soon to be fully emulated by African nations - creating the AU; Caribbean countries into Caricom, and North America into NAU - that last name is still pending. You will never see that on the news though; after all, why would we need to know if the world leaders are uniting their countries into one? It is not like we live in this world or anything.) 

FACT: No disease can kill you unless you give up! Your mind plays an enormous role on the fatality of anything you feel you may have, but when every television station and news article is telling you that 500,000 people die from swine or cancer or whatever, when you are inflicted with the disease, you will automatically and subconsciously put a time limit on your life; unless of course, you have a wonderful support system. My advice to those who do not have that support; when you get sick, go to a different country for health care!

Do your research.

What people do not understand is that those who we elect into office to represent our needs, are not there to do anything of the sort. Change? Not at all. They are not implemented to cause change; they are implemented to keep everything the same. The events of this country have been carefully planned out by the "enlightened ones" since the days when the CONstitution was created. They have successfully kept the general public ignorant and complacent; making us believe that we are the world’s superpower. That is a joke! We have not been a superpower since after the First World War.

"Keeping people hopeless and pessimistic is the best way to govern them. An educated, healthy, and confident nation is harder to govern." Tony Benn

Everything is manipulated so that we remain ignorant; and the most popular form of manipulation is the media. They told us we were in a recession – lie – they told us swine flu was from pigs – lie – they told us George Bush was against terrorism – lie – they told us the world was going to end in 2000 – lie – they told us iPhones and 3G networks are the new cutting edge technology – lie – they told us that Cuba is inhumanely communist – lie – they told us that Castro is the devil – lie – they told us that free health care is a bad thing – lie – they told us that socialism is the second biggest evil to communism – lie – they told us that global warming is the biggest issue we face - lie - they told us that everyone in the world wants to be an American – lie – they told us that we are the biggest, richest, and most developed nation in the world – LIE; I could go on for days.

They have turned the idea of “independence” into sheer selfishness by completely avoiding the aftermath of being independent – interdependence. They have allowed and most times required that mainstream musicians – their puppets – spread their messages of materialism, greed, and lust through songs and videos that should be banned according to censorship, another concept that is slowly disappearing . All of this while the general population just sits around listening to the songs, taking the word of politrick-ians for The Gospel, and working their ass off day in and day out just so they can one day emulate the "success" of those people they see on MTV Cribs.

FACT: Most of the houses on Cribs are not the real houses of those people.
(Source: The celebrities who live in my neighbourhood.)

FACT: The Al-Qaeda "terrorists" that are being held on Guantanamo Bay – against the writ of habeas corpus – are the only folks on American territory who get free health care; that is more than we can say.
(Source: Michael Moore) 


FACT: In my home country, Jamaica, you can get better and more advanced cellular phones than what are available in the US electronic market, and there is a phone company that supports video calls.

FACT: In China, a man can ride a bicycle on a laser beam! But wait, that defies the limitations of the physical world was we know it ... Well, unlike our government, the Chinese government dedicates themselves to pushing their citizens to the limit. They want them to go above and beyond what everyone knows as "reality," creating out-of-this-world technology and breaking boundaries that have been around for years. Never wondered why almost everything is made in China, Japan, and Vietnam? Oh, I see. 

FACT: Fascism is a political ideology that seeks to combine radical and authoritarian nationalism with a corporatist economic system. (Corporate America!)
(Source: Encyclopedia) 


The best part is that most Americans opt to remain in the dark. If it is not directly written out on Chanel 4 news or in the New York Times, it is either “not true” or not worth reading. That is why there are so many things available online for those who seek it and the government does not care to remove any of it: they know that no one is going to look it up and the select few who do are crazy and will be largely ignored.

FACT: The unemployment rate of the US as of October 2009 is 9.5 percent. That is more than twice the rate of an ideal country. More food for thought; the unemployment rate in Cuba is 1.6 percent. That says a lot about our "democracy" doesn't it?
(Source: U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics)

And then they make us believe we are not a third world country. Oh please; that could not be farther from the truth.

Oh, and I am definitely prepared -- after this blog -- to not ever get a job in this country, but somehow I am okay with that because I plan to get out of here A.S.A.P.

Sunday 6 December 2009

Back to Andrew

I realise that I never finished posting my story; the one about Andrew having one year left to live.

I figure since I only have 2 days left in this semester, I can go ahead and post out the story until I get back to Miami and actually have something to write about. What! You mean the girl who always has something to say, has nothing to say ? Not quite. I have a few things in my mind that I need to get in writing, I just have not found the opportunity to do so; perhaps only because I spent the last few days anticipating an email that I swear will never come.

Oh but I did go back to Daytona last night with the same folks as the last time. I took note that Daytona's club scene is pretty dry, but they do have vibes. The club we went to this time was literally right next door to the last one. We also happened to pass the same "No colours" restaurant and noticed the sign still placed slyly in the window.

Another thing to note, it dropped to 44 degrees Fahrenheit while we were inside, and I almost died when it was time to leave. I totally forgot what it felt like to be freezing! Luckily, though, something told me to bring a jacket and it saved my life. I did wake up this morning with a cold, which I blame my friend for - who kept insisting I go home and take vitamin C and drink orange juice to avoid getting sick.

That was a total case of "talking something into being." And for the record, vitamins make me sick.

Now back to Andrew:

At first, Andrew displayed a lack of emotion unforeseen for one who received such detrimental news; but his calm expressions belied his inner grief. He remained that way for days; acting as if all was copacetic, until finally the shock began to abate and his true feelings became ostensible.

He was going to die in a year. This put his entire existence into disarray, as he was excited to begin life on his own. He wanted to travel the world and experience new cultures. He had plans to fall in love, marry, and have a family. How could he possibly live out his entire life in just 365 days?

All of a sudden, Andrew felt the world on his shoulders. There was no one alive who could possibly console him; not even a member of his close-knit family.

No longer would school be his first priority. Instead, Andrew decided he would head for the bank to apply for a loan. He planned to use every cent of it within the next year to go wherever his heart desired.

His first stop: Japan.

Tuesday 1 December 2009

Quitters Never Win

I have never been the one to quit. I always dive head first into anything I believe in, (after all I am a swimmer) and commit myself to finishing the entire race. If it took me years and years, I'd swim those 1000-meters.

As of late, I've been losing that ambition.

November was good to me. I never really had too many complaints. I spent most of my time equally focusing on both my school work and my social life. And let us not forget the Thanksgiving break, which I realise I have said nothing about. Do not be mistaken, my break was awesome. As usual, Brother unlucky gave me something to write about, very minor, but I just decided not to. There is simply too much irresponsibility and bad luck in one human being. My friend's response to his losing his blackberry - for the second time - was "if it wasn't for bad luck, he would have none at all." Enough said.

As for my newly and subconsciously adopted idea of "quitting life", I will admit that I do not enjoy it at all. I almost convinced myself to not write the 4-page Spanish essay that was due today, despite the fact that I already read the 300-page novel it was supposed to be analysing. Remember that? I'm sure you do, I complained about that too.

Thankfully something came over me and I decided to do it. It probably took me all of about an hour and a half to do it. If I invested as much time into productivity as I did into complaining I would be a straight A student.

Speaking of straight A's, another part of my quitter mentality is my satisfaction with a C in statistics. Mind you, I was borderline failing up until the last test, but I still should not be happy with the air of mediocrity that surrounds a C. What keeps me going are the three A's that I plan to get to balance out that nasty 2.0 in my semester GPA.

That should be easy enough; just one more week to end off the semester in a positive light.

There is one more thing that I am trying my hardest not to give up on. It’s the one thing that has kept me sane for the past few months, and promises to improve as time goes on. Therein lies the problem - time.

I have this huge fear of December 31, 2009. It could be my conspiracy theorist speaking again, but I feel this one is a bit more grounded. That date is said to begin Agenda 21 - the esoteric agenda of depopulation of the world by 3 billion. (Google it.)

I had hoped to spend this Christmas holiday in Jamaica with my family and him. I had all these plans for mistletoe's, zip lining, road-tripping, and ringing in the New Year. Everything was squashed when I found out I am not going anywhere. Spending New Years in Florida? Rough. Now I have no idea when next Jamaica will see my face.

Sounds like a minor issue, I know, but it is not so minor when your relationship depends on it. And plus, I was hoping to stock up on my vitamins and nutrients before it is too late.

But since that cannot happen, I hope Codex Alimentarius is joking.