Am I Losing It?

Wah Gwan Mon!

This means, what’s going on, or how’s it going!

I had a reasonably good day today, other than the fact that I think I’m losing my mind!

I could have sworn that a few days ago I typed a letter and sent it to another person in our office for their action, but when I went to follow up on it, They had no idea what I was talking about. So I went to my computer to bring up the letter and I couldn’t find it anywhere. I suppose that I could have just not saved it, but I remember doing it. So I wrote it off thinking, I’ve been so busy, I just thought I had done it. So I retyped it and sent it to her and this time to my assistant as well, then I also sent it to myself just to be on the safe side. All is well that ends well, right?

One would think so…. but then, I go to the port and one of my supervisors asks me for a bundle of Velcro we keep on hand for securing stuff on our equipment. I tell him I put it on the top shelf in our storage container last week. He goes in there and comes back out and tells me it’s not there. I say OK nice joke…. and he looks at me with the most serious look and says he isn’t kidding. (Cue the Twilight Zone Music!!!!) So I’m thinking, I remember vividly putting it on the shelf, so I went to check for myself…Sure as I’m typing this right now it wasn’t there.

Now the people I work with are notorious for practical jokes, and those of you who know me personally are aware that I can dish it out with the best of them, but this is just weird! If they are playing one on me it’s a good one and they are playing it perfectly. Quiet frankly none of them are that good in the acting department, and I can usually tell a lie from a mile off. So all conclusions say I’m losing it!!!!

That settles it! I’m tired and I need a break! I’m going to Montego Bay tomorrow. The change of pace and drive should relax me and as the Jamaicans say “Mi tell im git dun wit duppy!” (Translation; “lose the ghost”). Not that I believe in ghosts mind you, but….It’s a better explanation than I’m losing my mind I suppose.

I promise I’ll take pictures for the next post, talk to you in a couple of days, until then, Lata Mon!

Shawn

I Like it!

I just figured I would start this post with this picture cause I like it. My wife Shani took it when they were here last time and I find it very relaxing. This waterfall is at a tourist spot on the way to the Appleton Estate.

OK, the goings on here have slowed, it's Sunday, the classes are finished and the instructors have left. This is my first full day off in a couple of weeks. I don't plan on doing anything today except attend Sunday school, then I'll catch up on my domestic chores. I have a helper (here in Jamaica the helpers get very offended if you call them house keepers) so the house is clean, but I don't let her do my laundry. Call it a phobia if you wish, but I like to do my own laundry. So I'll be doing that today and paying bills and such. It should be a restful day.

Let me tell you about Sunday School. My good friend, Steve is the teacher of my Sunday school class back in my home church in Louisiana. Every week he sets up his computer in the classroom and we do a video call so that I can attend. Now this has been a real life saver for me here, because he sets up early and I get to visit with everyone and see my wife and kids in church, it's comforting to me. Technology has made the world seem so much smaller.

I would set up video at my home in Louisiana but we live on the farm and the only bandwidth we get is by satellite. The connection is too slow to have a decent conversation. Anyone have any ideas on how to speed up the connection from Hughes Net, I'm all ears.

well, that's about it for now, Leave a remark or two, so I know you been here, or drop me an email at: connors_shawn@yahoo.com. Until the next post, Lata Mon!

Shawn

Anyone need a Tour Guide?

Whew, I’ve been busier than a one legged man at a butt kicking contest!

We completed the first of three certification classes for our new personnel last Saturday, it was a full week but very productive. We are conducting two classes this week to prepare our rookies to perform the full range of their new duties. Once they are certified on our equipment then the real training begins. They will continue to train on the job, for another 6 months or so before we complete their final evaluations.

Sunday morning, God forgive me, I had to work. We had to get the classes ready for this week, and finished at about 11:00am. With nothing on the schedule for the rest of the day, my visiting instructors asked where they could go to do some sightseeing. So I spent the rest of the day playing tour guide. After living here for almost 5 years I have become a reasonable facsimile of a decent Tour Guide; Hum…. maybe another career change in my future? I think not…. I have become accustomed to eating every day, and Jamaican tour guides don’t make enough to do that.

Anyway, I drove my guests to Ocho Rios, and since they have been to Jamaica before, we skipped the regular tourist spots, and instead I continued to drive around the north eastern side of the island, toward Port Antonio. We stopped at several spots for pictures and sampled some Jamaican food. We then headed to Frenchman’s Cove; this is my favorite beach on this Island.

(This is the castel in Port Antonio owned by a certain retired computer tycoon with the initials BG)

Frenchman’s Cove is a private, secluded beach that is set in a cove that is not accessible except by water or by privately owned land. The water is exceptionally blue, (the pictures don’t do it justice), and the cove is also an outlet for one of the mountain streams so the water pouring into the ocean is ICE Cold and crystal clear. The mix of the ice cold fresh mountain water and the bath warm salty ocean is exhilarating. When you wade into the waves you cross bands of water that are ice cold, then bath warm, then ice, then warm, etc.......

As with most visitors, my guests fell in love with this place and they are making plans to have their families join them after training ends, for a few days of R&R here. As for me, I again got to see this beautiful place through the eyes of a visitor. If I had to pick a favorite beach in the world, this would be at the top of the short list.
After spending some time here and eating a late lunch, we started back to Kingston, stopping from time to time to see the sights and getting snacks and stuff to drink. It was well after dark and very late when I got them back to their hotel.

By the way, as I said in the earlier reference about starving as a tour guide, they didn’t even tip me for my services, the nerve of some people ;-) Oh well, it’s good to know my instinct when it comes to my career choices is still in tact. Oh and did I mention, we all had a ton of fun? It was an adventure and they are still talking about it.

Until next time, Lata Mon.

Busy, Busy, Busy

I’ve had a tremendously busy day today. I started the day before the sun came up, because I woke up contemplating what route to take so that I could pick up our visiting instructors while avoiding traffic and still getting them to the office on time. They are here to conduct training of the new personnel that we hired last week for my program.

When I got out of the shower, I smelled breakfast cooking. Now, under normal circumstances this might concern me, but my good friend Mario is staying at the house this week as he is also attending this training. I went out into the living room, and he was in the kitchen. He had already gotten up and made breakfast for both of us. I was very pleasantly surprised.

I managed to get out the door and to the hotel before traffic got too heavy, then picked them up and it took about half an hour to get from the middle of town to the office and class room (about 3 miles).

I have been running all day making sure the preparations that I put into place last week were going without a hitch and surprisingly everything is going according to plan. It's been one of those days that I wish I could have gone home early and slept, but alas.....another run to the hotel this after noon / evening to take the instructors back after training ends for the day. I'm tired and will collapse when I finally get home. For now I'll end this post with a heart felt Hi and thanks for logging on. You are truley appreciated.

Pictures in the next posting, I promise.

Shawn