Don't play with it

I had a rather eventful weekend- an epic win and fail at the same time...


For some inexplicable reason I was a bit sad for the whole day Friday. I'm inclined to think that I'm still getting used to having classes on a Friday, coupled with the recent heat wave we've seemingly been having the last couple of days. After moping around campus I finally left and came to town and decided to make the best of my afternoon while I waited on confirmation of the night's events.

Funnily enough, I met up with Sher and we went to Jazz & Poetry upstairs the museum (1st Friday of every month). The Museum Bistro was also opened for service as advertised on this month's Jazz & Poetry flyer. Why is this a "funnily enough" moment? It is because this is the first time I've been to the event for the year. I've been hiding and scheming to avoid performing as sadly... I haven't really written that many fresh pieces for the year as I've been more caught up with trying to get my art off the ground. And having been one of the regular performers from last year, I feel somewhat guilty about going to the event and not performing.

This time I made it to the event, all happy and inspired to perform and participate in the event. The piece I wanted to perform was a piece I wrote a long while back about someone dear to me at a point in time when our relationship was very dramatic. Now, the piece ironically is as is and still relevant. It's not a love poem but a happy poem about being in love perhaps? And normally I perform according to which of my pieces speak to me, as that would also be the piece I could immerse myself in best and fall into character.

What ended up happening? Sher and I made it to the event. Neither of us performed. Algie wasn't there so the show took a different path than it usually does - good nuntheless just different. Algie normally would host and call the performers onto the stage once he's well aware of your capabilities to perform well - hence why I went into hiding and I didn't want to perform unless I was up to my par.

The night was still just as fun though. I've been bouncing into lots of old friends these days. Friday night... Eamon randomly popped up to collect his phone from Cemal, who also I didn't expect to see. Then Richie surprise visited with his cousin after work. Russel and his belle dropped by too, haven't seen him since earlier up this summer. A couple of Sher's friends that I met from previous excursions dropped by as well... Thus, it was an adventure.

***

Sitting by the Museum Bistro

Sher decided to be a girly girl for once, decked out in a flouncy skirt.

Richie finally got around to peek-see the event since he's also a poet/musician.

I left Sher's friend with my camera and she ran around taking shots of everyone, whether they were paying mind or not.

So the heart of Sher and Eamon's relationship lies with an onslaught of insults as greetings and such --- this is how their love. Thus, a "let's hug" photo is not unlikely since they are friends but a mean mugging shot is more possible...

Eamon n Sher. Mind you, this was the second time I've seen this dude over the entire summer! And it's fortunate we ran into each other 'cuz he flew back out already...smh

Kevin & Russel (Russel is the Russo from earlier posts). Now, Kevin is Richie's cousin. Richie is among a few close friends that calls me 'Shells' so he introduced me as much subconsciously without thought. His cousin in turn called me by my right name and said that he knows me from school. Now it's easy for me to timeline people because very few people call me by my right name today as 'Shelli' is easier to remember and pronounce. Turns out we went to kindergarten together. Small world huh?

Cemal a.k.a Shamz (if you've read my earlier posts)

Then it was time to leave the Museum Bistro. How'd we realize this? One of the caretakers came and showed us where the light switches were along with instructions on how to padlock the gate properly... It was only then that we took the time to look around and see that not only was the restaurant locked up but so was the room where Jazz & Poetry gets hosted. Naturally, who wants the responsibility of locking up a property that isn't theirs? The group of us started walking out to meet the tunnel and head to town to catch a bus.

Upon which we discovered there's a new Blackberry and Android store in town downstairs Bruce St. Mall.

Avi, Eamon & Shamz

Sher and I slightly perturbed at not getting the perfect shots we wanted.

This is as good as it got with Sher's iPad...sigh

Don't ask me when this happened...

And then Saturday night, Sher and I got bored and decided to dress up pretty and head to umbrellas. Sher lost one side of a pair of earrings that I gave her for her birthday before I even got to town. So she was sulky... When we got to Umbrellas the service was the fastest ever --- I think we got served within 10 minutes of our order. But the food was sub-par to what we're accustomed to, but ok nuntheless.


Upon leaving Umbrellas, we heard music coming from the SGU campus and decided to take our fastness and go see. We made it all the way into the yoga gazebo area only to realize that the party wasn't on campus but on the other side of the fence. Despair not, we had fun taking shots as I doubt we'd be willingly walking all the way back on SGU Grand Anse campus just for fun...

Myself

Sher

And then we got stranded in town... We took the chance as Bingo was happening at the stadium, therefore buses must run late right? Correct. However, it's more of a matter of when will the buses leave than it is whether you'd get one - it took Sherry until minutes to 2 in the morning to get home.

Posed off in front of the stadium waiting patiently...

Trying to make the best of it...!

Alls well, that ends well..
Deuces.

Meanwhile, back at base... St. George's University

Well life certainly has been one hell of a ricochet. If I had to say specifically, I'd say I've been walking around  inhaling deep breaths of that surrounding air of despondency. I can't even complain for myself without feeling self-centered because everyone's crying out right now really and truly. For one, government has yet to pay their workers for the month of August and although I've been crying about my school's long, tedious wait to get my summer student paychecks... and by workers I mean everyone within the various Ministries - be it teacher or tax man. It kinda seems absurd for me to complain still, no, yes, maybe?

~ ~ ~

Then this semester while initially gave the illusion of being light with 3 classes is probably even heavier than last semester with 6. One being science and the other two upper level senior courses, my life as I know it for the next 3 months consists of sifting through endless peer-reviewed/scholarly written papers/journals, field research and when I'm not under a stack of papers or writing a paper, I'll be calculating chemistry equations. The only good part of this whole arrangement is that I actually like field work - being granted the opportunity to see the island in the way most may never see? Always sounds good to me. This semester we're going to be doing research regarding the Grenada Hook-Billed Kite. A gorgeous bird, hopefully I'll get some shots and it won't be like our elusive Mona monkey in the last project.

Also, Dr. Pilcher always blows my mind with the professors she gets to come teach us. Last year, if you recall, I had posts about the botanist Dr. Lyons who had extensive experience in Madagascar and shared many of those experiences with us that I feel relatively well versed in some of the conservation issues over there. Then Dr. Kirkley last semester, our birds expert - first time I ever got to see a wild (but dead) owl that close and be able to touch one. And there are a few others that I can't remember the names of, but the tales of their experiences have always stuck. This semester? This semester we have Dr. Eves and her husband, two mammalogists who have a lot of experience working in Africa with the largest terrestrial mammals on Earth - elephants. And yes, I know what you're thinking - I was thinking it too. Elephants? *perked eyebrows* *rolls eyes* But in just 4-5 class sessions I've heard so much about them that it's changed my perceptions and heightened my awareness as to their importance - a reminder of every organisms importance on this planet... But that's another blog post coming soon.

~ ~ ~

Back to this posts original theme...

Thus, with the seemingly set pace for the rest of the year, I found myself trudging around campus, killing time between classes, slightly annoyed at having to be in school on a Friday... I had wanted to go to the beach so badly but I ended up taking an alternative route to school and forgot my beach stuff at home in all my haste. My thwarted plans leading to a quiet acceptance that I should just accept my fate, go home, wash some clothes or do some chores that I was planning to do on Saturday, and set some movies to stream for the night. However, Sher's been reminding me a lot these days that this is not the Shelli she knows - Shelli that she knows is a cheery, optimist and could have fun anywhere, broke or not. So I contacted her and we decided to have a beach day --- well prepared or not.  It was our first beach day in a long time - matter of fact, first time I saw her in a while too, if two weeks is considered a while...

Grand Anse beach

I decided to make a concerted effort to do this more often - after class every day if I can afford the time. When I used to teach, I used to come to the beach every weekend by myself and just enjoy the ambiance. There's something about the sea that just makes one feel at peace with the world and an inner calm with oneself. Of course, granted there isn't a million people with their children running up and down or boys looking for attention with their boomboxes parading up and down trying to display their not-so-accurate Jamaican dancehall moves. But even that provides some sort of entertainment to distract from the stresses of the outside world. It's as if all problems come to a halt as soon as your toes touch the sand and that blue-green water is within your line of vision. A few deep breaths of that clean, sea air to fill your lungs and your set for the night with a tranquil night's rest, the next day with a cheerful spirit in kinship with the shorebirds that fly freely and fishes than swim without bounds.

Honestly, who doesn't need a humbling reminder at one time or another that there's a world out there bigger than whatever we may be dealing with at the time. A world without boundaries with vast opportunities waiting to be conquered regardless of if we live on an island or not - in fact, as Dr. Eve's husband put it 'In case, you haven't realized... Earth is an island, our island" ...and the reminder that we always have the freedom to do and go beyond, lest we allow ourselves to be stopped by ourselves by the little pebbles that throw themselves in our paths.

Sher & I

Sher editing shots on her iPad.

And there's always a rainbow... if you just look for it.

Sun's about to set...

Laugh, Live, Love

And there ended the day...
Hope the photos of the beach brightened up your day a bit as being there brightened up ours.

Deuces!