Like all other political issues, I followed this one just a little more keenly. I guess deep down, the Trini is there in me and my nostalgia for my homeland and growing up days played a part in wanting to see this change. My family left Trinidad for good while the UNC was in power when we realized that our vote for them did not help us any bit. I believe that I can pinpoint exactly when Trinidad's fragile system of law and order began to tear apart at the seams.
Ami's major is political science and when there is an election, one with that major will be talking from start to finish. Apart from that, he happens to be closely related to a key politician and hence, his interest was somewhat more peaked than mine. In order to get him to stop analyzing Trinidad politics so much, my idea was to get rid of all the old farts and bring in a wave of fresh blood and progressive thinkers. Ami went into more details about checks and balances and how they should limit the number of terms that the prime minister and president serves. I agree with him.
Frankly, this situation seemed hopeless from the start. Elections are always exciting to follow up on but I think most of the people in our community already believed that PNM was going to win again. See, in Trinidad we like to think that we are not voting based on race but when we look at all our rationalizing (honestly!), we see that we are voting along racial lines. There is nothing more to it. Really, I wanted Dookeran to win this one. His party seemed to have some hope for the country as opposed to what I have read in the news for the past five years.
One wonders to what level a voter's brain must have disintegrated if he/she failed to remember all the wasted money, time, energy, blimps to monitor crime, aluminum smelters, PM's mansion, crime, kidnappings and whatever else I have left out. To anyone who would dare to say that Trinis vote based on issues, I would say think again. The helplessness is almost the same as what we felt after the 2000 elections when Florida went from Democrat to Republican in a matter of minutes...all at the will of Daddy Bush and Baby Bush.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Economizing
Last Sunday, Furgie and I both had to wash our cars. I learned a few things from Ami when it came to cars and I also learned about businesses that existed but I never utilized them. One of them is the carwash. It is located just a few minutes from our house and the best thing about it is that you are in and out in under 10 minutes. You wash the car yourself but you only pay $2.25 for five minutes. The key is learning to move quickly.
Earlier in the day, I went with Ami and then, in the night, Furgie and I both drove our cars over. The change machine was not working and we had exactly $4 in change. We also needed to vacuum both cars. This is what we did. Here is where you cannot beat a Trini and better yet, two Trinis. I pulled up on one side of the vacuum and Furgie pulled up on the other side. We opened up all the doors of the two cars and we were in and out of the car in the two or three minutes the machine gave us. The tricky part came after.
We had to do the wash with $3 and it cost $2.25 per car. I told furgie to drive my car all the way up in the washing area and I drove in with her car until we were bumper to bumper. Then we washed both cars, waxed them and dried them for all under $3. I just realized that this blog can also be named, "How to buss a business, Trini style!" Furgie's only worry was that the owner of the business would show up and make us leave or pay more money. I told her to pretend that we did not speak english and if that didn't work, she could always say that it was not two cars but a limo.
Now, up until then, Vin and my dad were skeptical about how you could possibly clean a car in just five minutes but after Vin saw the results of our work, he decided to try it out for himself. I think Vin has found a new and less time consuming way to clean the car.
Earlier in the day, I went with Ami and then, in the night, Furgie and I both drove our cars over. The change machine was not working and we had exactly $4 in change. We also needed to vacuum both cars. This is what we did. Here is where you cannot beat a Trini and better yet, two Trinis. I pulled up on one side of the vacuum and Furgie pulled up on the other side. We opened up all the doors of the two cars and we were in and out of the car in the two or three minutes the machine gave us. The tricky part came after.
We had to do the wash with $3 and it cost $2.25 per car. I told furgie to drive my car all the way up in the washing area and I drove in with her car until we were bumper to bumper. Then we washed both cars, waxed them and dried them for all under $3. I just realized that this blog can also be named, "How to buss a business, Trini style!" Furgie's only worry was that the owner of the business would show up and make us leave or pay more money. I told her to pretend that we did not speak english and if that didn't work, she could always say that it was not two cars but a limo.
Now, up until then, Vin and my dad were skeptical about how you could possibly clean a car in just five minutes but after Vin saw the results of our work, he decided to try it out for himself. I think Vin has found a new and less time consuming way to clean the car.
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
On Lockdown Status
Today will be what one just calls a bizarre day. First of all, the escalating crime situation in South Florida is starting to make ripples throughout the entire country. Seems as if every month, there is a cop shooting. I was talking with a very good colleague of mine when an administrator gets on the intercom and announces a "Lockdown." Never really experienced one of those in my life until today but the tension of it did not hit me until I got home, went to sleep and woke up several hours later.
It was a rather eerie situation. A cop was situated at every entrance to the school and all the kids were kept in the classrooms, without bathroom breaks from 8:15am until 11am. Thankfully for me and my colleague, we had our planning period and therefore, no kids with us. Okay, so what happened was even more disturbing.
There is a prison very close to the school and a prisoner with a double life sentence was being transported to court. For some reason, which the media believes is now pre-planned (no sh*t!), the prisoner is being transported in a specialized "ambulatory" police vehicle because he has a "back problem." Lo and behold, the police vehicle ends up in the parking lot of one of the many adult strip clubs in the neighborhood and the guy takes the gun away from the 74 year old police officer and shoots him then escapes.
Eventually, the entire chase led to all the schools in the county being put on lockdown status and yes, an even more stressful situation. Later on, I heard that Furgie's adventure was even more dramatic than mine.
Furgie worked over at the store. She had locked the doors when I called her but an hour after I called her, a cop car pulled up in the parking lot and two cops got out. They pulled out their guns and ran around to the back of the store and then back to the front, checking the premises. Then they asked to be let inside to talk with her. Turned out that they wanted to make sure that she was alright. After working there for so long, we have a good rapport with the neighborhood cops. Today, I was thankful for them. Furgie can be a little negligent when it comes to safety issues. At the time, when the cops came, she had a regular customer in the store and she was chatting up a storm while my mom was going ballistic at home after I told her that Furgie was still letting people into the store.
Okay, so finally, the guy was caught, the 74 year old officer died, and the lockdown status was lifted at about 1pm. Finally, I've seen the meaning of the word "lockdown." Come to think of it, I remember where this happened before: Trinidad, 1990. Abu Bakr and his attempted coup. Trini style lockdown.
It was a rather eerie situation. A cop was situated at every entrance to the school and all the kids were kept in the classrooms, without bathroom breaks from 8:15am until 11am. Thankfully for me and my colleague, we had our planning period and therefore, no kids with us. Okay, so what happened was even more disturbing.
There is a prison very close to the school and a prisoner with a double life sentence was being transported to court. For some reason, which the media believes is now pre-planned (no sh*t!), the prisoner is being transported in a specialized "ambulatory" police vehicle because he has a "back problem." Lo and behold, the police vehicle ends up in the parking lot of one of the many adult strip clubs in the neighborhood and the guy takes the gun away from the 74 year old police officer and shoots him then escapes.
Eventually, the entire chase led to all the schools in the county being put on lockdown status and yes, an even more stressful situation. Later on, I heard that Furgie's adventure was even more dramatic than mine.
Furgie worked over at the store. She had locked the doors when I called her but an hour after I called her, a cop car pulled up in the parking lot and two cops got out. They pulled out their guns and ran around to the back of the store and then back to the front, checking the premises. Then they asked to be let inside to talk with her. Turned out that they wanted to make sure that she was alright. After working there for so long, we have a good rapport with the neighborhood cops. Today, I was thankful for them. Furgie can be a little negligent when it comes to safety issues. At the time, when the cops came, she had a regular customer in the store and she was chatting up a storm while my mom was going ballistic at home after I told her that Furgie was still letting people into the store.
Okay, so finally, the guy was caught, the 74 year old officer died, and the lockdown status was lifted at about 1pm. Finally, I've seen the meaning of the word "lockdown." Come to think of it, I remember where this happened before: Trinidad, 1990. Abu Bakr and his attempted coup. Trini style lockdown.
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Tickle Tests
The Brain Test
My Result: Left-brained
It's also likely that you are methodical and efficient at many things that you do. You could also be good at math, particularly algebra, which is based on very strict rules that make sense to your logical mind.
Whether you realize it or not, this strength has likely been a help to you throughout your life — not just in the classroom. This is true because for work or recreation, people like you can tend to rely on your logical/mathematical intelligence to look at the world. From noticing patterns of behavior in people to being able to appreciate the visual beauty in a repeated design, your special brand of intelligence can make life both interesting and rewarding.
Sunday, November 04, 2007
Navraatri, Ramlila and Divali Preparations
A few weeks ago, I completed my ten day fast. The few people who heard about my fast wanted to know if I was crazy. Several people even ventured out to say that "my God must be a demanding kind of God to want this from me." The beauty of this is that nothing is demanded in Hinduism.....maybe suggested, even recommended, but never demanded. Your life is not damned. I related Krsna's words to Arjuna, "There is no unforgivable sin or sinner" to Dostoevsky's idea of one onion and the river of Hell. If anything, you build some kind of discipline from fasting. Food is something people will not readily give up...Not food but the taste of food.
While I fasted, my kids were inquisitive. Several of my students wanted to know what cranberries mixed with unsalted peanuts tasted like. They asked about my sweetened pineapples and about my dislike for raisins. Most of them did not know I was fasting but they established in their minds that their teacher had a wierd kind of diet.
My fast ended on the day after the worship of the nine girls. It was a successful one. I guess the key is to be mentally prepared for it and take it one day at a time. Even now, I am preparing for the other fast in March of next year when we celebrate Navraatri again.
Once again we heard the Ramayana and we remembered Ramlila as we saw it in Trinidad when we were little. It is hard to remember festivals when you live in a country where people work everyday but this time, I think I am excited for Divali. Maybe it is the thought of the last Divali I will spend in my parent's house but I am definitely excited. I was telling Ami that for us, it is such a wonderful day. Last year, after we had decorated the house with the diyas, for a fleeting instant I felt as if we were citizens of Ayodhya who had lined the streets with the very same clay diyas awaiting their king and queen's return. I know that at Christmas time, i will feel the same way when I think of a special day set aside for the world to recognize the birth of a supersoul but for this week, I am happy. The kind of nervous happy that you feel when something good is about to happen. Divali will be celebrated on Friday.
While I fasted, my kids were inquisitive. Several of my students wanted to know what cranberries mixed with unsalted peanuts tasted like. They asked about my sweetened pineapples and about my dislike for raisins. Most of them did not know I was fasting but they established in their minds that their teacher had a wierd kind of diet.
My fast ended on the day after the worship of the nine girls. It was a successful one. I guess the key is to be mentally prepared for it and take it one day at a time. Even now, I am preparing for the other fast in March of next year when we celebrate Navraatri again.
Once again we heard the Ramayana and we remembered Ramlila as we saw it in Trinidad when we were little. It is hard to remember festivals when you live in a country where people work everyday but this time, I think I am excited for Divali. Maybe it is the thought of the last Divali I will spend in my parent's house but I am definitely excited. I was telling Ami that for us, it is such a wonderful day. Last year, after we had decorated the house with the diyas, for a fleeting instant I felt as if we were citizens of Ayodhya who had lined the streets with the very same clay diyas awaiting their king and queen's return. I know that at Christmas time, i will feel the same way when I think of a special day set aside for the world to recognize the birth of a supersoul but for this week, I am happy. The kind of nervous happy that you feel when something good is about to happen. Divali will be celebrated on Friday.
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