Ol' years 2007

It's Ol' Years Day here in T&T, or New Year's Eve to you foreign people.

Anyways, i usually spend this day doing reflections of the year past, and trying to figure out what i want to accomplish in the next year. Back when i was in school this was easy: yuh know, get good grades, get a good job, make more friends...etc, etc.

As i've gotten older, it's become a little difficult for me to reflect. I DON'T like reflecting on the year gone by. Mainly because when i put up a mirror to the past 365-odd days I feel as though i've failed myself. Then i get depressed, and down and that is not how i want to begin the New Year.

2007: was not one of my better years. I've made new friends, lost at least one (maybe more) friends who i thought were close friends but it turned out otherwise...this hurt and hirt a lot. I've become closer friends with a couple people that i didn't realise had my back. I love you guys more than you would ever know. I've become more independent, haven't yet moved out of the family home, but that's more a matter of finances than anything else. I've realised how much i will and won't tolerate, and i have a firm believer in family, my faith (though i'm working on the practising part of this) and close friends.

To me loyalty, trust, dependability, respect and honesty are non-negotiable aspects of a relationship. Once they are violated, they are almost impossible to regain...especially the trust and honesty aspects.

I've always told close friends that i prefer to be single and happy than be unhappy in a relationship simply to say that i'm in a relationship. this has not changed, and quite frankly don't think it'll change anytime soon. I've never been submissive, never been docile, and despite my usually quiet and reserved manner I am very very opinionated. Soooo if i have to go against my true self to be in a relationship, then yuh know what " i'll continue being single"... sorry mom, there goes your grandkids expectations from me (yes i know being married is not a pre-req for having kids, but i'm a tad old-fashioned in that regard: if yuh can't stand each other why the heck r u gonna bring a little defenceless, dependent person into this world?!!!!)

So let's see:

• i'm changing jobs in 2008.


• playing mas for the 4th time


• plan to resume further studies, and finish part one of it hopefully before October 2008


• i also plan to get some travelling done this year: St. Lucia, Grenada?! maybe, we'll see.


• ...oh and let's not forget: LOSE a minimum of 15lbs this year as well.

well Happy New Year people, and I hope you make some attainable resolutions/goals for 2008.

Salud!

It's the final countdown....

WOW

• Six(6) days till Christmas day
• Twenty-four (24) days till my birthday
• Forty-seven (47) days till Carnival

...and somewhere in there I plan to be changing jobs.

Life sure has a way of doling out changes just when you think things r in a rut.

hey there Wining Kriminals :)

not sure if anyone noticed, but i've added a couple new blogs to my list of links.

AND one of them linked back to me *blush*, i feel sooo special :)

they've got some original, uniquely trini posts...makes for good reading, especially if yuh like Carnival.

Chaguanas East...

For the first time in the history of Trinidad and Tobago's political history, one of the central constituencies has gone to the People's National Movement (PNM). A day that wll go down in history... This is a newly created constituency and it has proven that the support that was previously solidly in the opposition camp, has shifted, and shifted in a major way.

Mustapha Abdul-Hamid is the new Member of Parliament for Chaguanas East... Congratulations.

Carnival stuff...

wow, now this is what i call useful info for playing mas...cause yuh know how pissed u'll be if yuh lovely headpiece (that yuh pay all that money for get wet.

Saucy did an initial experiment, and then CB (another blogger) did another one, using a different product.

Fabulous..these ladies take their mas seriously :)

10 things you can do to keep your IT job from taking over your life

hey, i'm borrowing this from a blog post on a tech website that i get regular feeds from....it's very relevant, especially to my field of work.

" * Date: September 17th, 2007
* Blogger: Jody Gilbert
* Category: 10 things, Career
* Tags: Job, Information Technology, Jody Gilbert
*

IT professionals don’t hold a monopoly on working excessively long hours or having job responsibilities cast a shadow over their personal lives. But for many reasons, it’s a field that invites long hours, persistent worries, and a reluctance — or inability — to mentally clock out when the workday should be over.

Some IT pros are all-but-indentured to a company that expects 24/7 availability. Some face a staggering gap between resources and work to be done. Others discover that effective time management is out of reach because of project volatility and constantly changing priorities.

For those trying to rein in their runaway professional lives, it doesn’t help that “You won’t be able to reach me” has lost its power. Cell phones, PDAs, and remote access tools have all but eliminated the refuge of inaccessibility. They might make your job easier, but they also make your job omnipresent.

All of these factors play into the phenomenon we call the pervasive workplace – when your job seems to permeate every corner of your life.

Discussion threads abound with horror stories of oppressive company regimes that keep IT pros stretched impossibly thin, pager-enslaved, and fearful of retribution (i.e., no more job) if they don’t live to fulfill the organization’s tech needs. If you’re stuck working for a company like that — and assuming that’s not your ideal state — it could be time to hit the job boards. On the other hand, you may be working for a great outfit that has enabled you to maintain perfect work-life balance. But if you’re somewhere in between, wishing you could scale back your work obligations to make a little more room for your personal life, here are a few ways to help keep the workplace at bay.

Note: This information is also available as a PDF download.
#1: Learn to dismiss or delegate

Managing your workload is one key to preventing chores from spilling over into your personal time. If your to-do list is busting at the seams and adding countless hours to your workweek, you have a couple of choices. One possibility is to toss a few things overboard. Maybe they’ll drift back. But if you carefully choose what to jettison, those things may not resurface for a long time — if ever. Candidates for dismissal include things in the “It would be nice to…” category — tasks that aren’t critical to daily operations or maintaining a secure and stable environment. (”It would be nice to update the company intranet to include end user resources… but it can wait.”)

Another possibility is to delegate tasks when you can. This can be tough — especially if it’s work you would have enjoyed doing if you had time or if you assume no one can handle the job as well as you could. But if you’re swamped, you need help. And there are benefits beyond lightening your workload. For one thing, you’ll break the habit of hanging onto everything until you can see to it personally (which may never happen). For another, you’ll be helping co-workers or subordinates expand their knowledge and skills, making them more valuable to the company (and happily, to you as well).

We’re not talking here about dumping a bunch of work on some poor hapless associate. There’s some upfront effort involved in selecting the best tasks to delegate, finding the best person to handle the tasks, and making sure that person has what’s needed to get the job done. But it should become an automatic part of your thinking when you’re thinking, “How can I get all this done?”
#2: Prioritize like crazy

This one goes hand in hand with the previous strategy: To make realistic decisions about what to dismiss or delegate, you have to be able to determine which items are critical (vs. trivial or even unnecessary) and what’s needed to execute on them. The more experienced you are, and the more familiar you are with your organization’s technology and business processes, the easier it will be to target the essential tasks on your list. But you may still find it helpful to develop a set of questions to help you figure out what has to get done and what can slide. It’s a good analytical discipline to develop and it will remind you to step back occasionally instead of just allowing yourself to get swept up in an endless succession of chores.

Here are some questions to help with the triage process:

* What will happen if this doesn’t get done this week (month, quarter, year)? Who will be affected?
* Are there dependencies that make it vital to complete this task?
* Can you do part of the project now and defer the rest until you have more resources?
* Can you permanently reduce the scope of the task or project or implement a simpler solution?

You may need to talk to a lot of people to make your determination, but that’s actually a good thing — someone may come up with a perfect alternative you’d never considered (or volunteer to help).
#3: Cross-train and document

Make sure you aren’t indispensable. If no one is equipped to cover for you during your vacation, what kind of vacation do you think you’re going to have? You’ll be checking e-mail, fielding questions, and putting in an extra week’s worth of work before you leave and after you get back. If you’re a manager, you need a lieutenant — someone who understands the processes, projects, and relationships you handle, even though it’s likely to be at a superficial level. That person can keep an eye on the day-to-day concerns while you’re gone (whether you’re on vacation, attending a conference, dealing with a crisis, or consumed with a full-time project) and worst-case, he or she can escalate matters to your attention or to someone at your level or above.

If you’re not a manager, you may be able to spread your knowledge and expertise by showing co-workers specific aspects of your job and parceling out your chores. Your colleagues should be doing this as well. In fact, a good manager will make sure your team operates this way, providing opportunities to cross-train and sub for each other in appropriate aspects of your work.

If you don’t have time to train someone to fill your shoes, or even a small portion of one shoe, documentation can help. Nothing elaborate — a checklist (”I have to do these nine things before leaving on Fridays”), a cheat sheet (”I follow these steps to double-check backups for the accounting database”), or a simple walk-through of a certain configuration procedure, maybe with screen shots inserted (however sloppily) in a Word doc.
#4: Don’t overpromise

It’s natural to want to look unassailable in our ability to give customers, co-workers, and bosses whatever they ask for. Sometimes, even an outrageous request seems doable because saying, “I can’t get that much done by then” sounds so lame. Don’t fall into this trap. If you’re a seasoned project manager, you know how to make a realistic estimate and establish a work plan that reflects what’s feasible, even given setbacks. But most of us are sitting ducks for misjudging our bandwidth.

No matter how hard it is, try to assume that everything is going to take longer than you think and that there will be obstacles that slow you down. Give yourself wiggle room on your commitments. (”I’ll try to get this done by next week, unless I get pulled into the final phase of UA testing. If that happens, I’ll let you know.”) Of course, not everyone is driven to meet their deadlines and fulfill their promises. But those folks probably don’t have a big pervasive workplace problem anyway. The rest of us need to be careful here.
#5: Nail down expectations before you take a job — or take corrective action

Do your clients or company management expect you to be available 24 hours a day? If you accepted a job knowing that would be the deal, you can either live with your commitment, try to renegotiate the arrangement, or quit altogether. But if you didn’t sign on for that kind of availability, you’ll need to take steps to redirect the terms of your employment.

First, make sure the boundaries are in place. You might tell consulting clients something along the lines of, “You can contact me between 8:00 AM and 6:00 PM. I may pick up messages outside those hours, but I can’t guarantee it.” Or you might tell your manager, “When I was hired, we agreed on some overtime for special projects, but nothing was said about 24/7 availability. That schedule isn’t going to work for me.” Obviously, this may be a difficult conversation to have, and there could be negative fallout. But if your situation is becoming untenable — your work is eclipsing your personal life and driving your stress levels off the charts — you have to be resolute, honest, and clear in what you’re willing to commit to.

Once you make your case, you’ll need to stick to your guns. It’s likely that you’ll be asked to make special concessions at some point (maybe on a regular basis). You can bend your rules where it seems appropriate, but be aware of the effect on the boundaries you’re trying to establish. For your own sanity, sometimes No is going to have to mean No.
#6: Implement a rotation to cover special projects and to staff after-hours duties

Because IT usually requires full-time monitoring and crisis response, as well as entailing work at odd hours to avoid disruptions during business hours, staff scheduling requires extra attention to make sure the burden is distributed reasonably. Things may get crazy periodically and require bursts of overtime — that comes with the territory. But if you’re routinely asked to pull all-nighters and work all weekend on top of your regular hours, something’s gotta give.

Most tech managers are well aware that driving their staff to the brink of burnout and beyond is not the way to establish a smooth-running, productive operation. So if you bring the situation to their attention, it’s likely that they’ll try to work with you to help ease your schedule and build in a decent amount of downtime for you. Does this work for everybody? Nah. There are some stinkers out there who will dismiss your most reasonable request as lack of initiative. But if you approach the conversation with some possible solutions in hand, you may be surprised at the results.

What kind of solutions can you bring to the table? Maybe you can get together with your co-workers and hammer out a rough schedule that spells out a rotation for weekend coverage, a tag-team approach for next weekend’s server room relocation, and a comp day for each person the following month. Maybe you can make the case for an intern to be brought in and then take over the responsibility for hiring and training that person to cover some of the routine tasks that keep you working late most evenings. Maybe you can offer a more efficient plan for handling a major deployment that will mean that nobody has to work all night Friday.
#7: Don’t telecommute unless you’re very good at compartmentalizing

Accessibility is a double-edged sword. No one can argue that being able to handle some of your IT tasks remotely rather than being forced to drive to the office in the middle of the night is a step in the right direction. But if you routinely do all or most of your work from home, you should be alert to the possibility of work seeping into various aspects of your home life.

There’s no shortage of resources available offering pointers for effectively managing your telecommuting environment and practices. One key recommendation is to make a clear separation between work and non-work so that you can focus steadily and productively on job-related activities and then turn them off, disengage, and be fully present in your home life. As a telecommuter myself, I’m especially amused by one prescription that suggests you should dress for the office, get in your car, drive around the block, and return to your house as though you were arriving at work. But as extreme as that gimmick appears, the objective is valid.

If your work is sitting in the next room and there’s something you’d really like to finish, you may find yourself saying no to Frisbee with your kids after supper so that you can knock out that task. “It’ll just take a minute” becomes another lost evening.

Maybe you don’t want to stage a phony drive to the office to put yourself in work mode. But unless you want your job to infiltrate your personal life — with potentially destructive consequences — you should consider adopting these tactics:

* Set up a dedicated area for working.
* Establish a work schedule and stick to it.
* Take breaks just as you would in an office environment.
* When it’s quitting time, quit.

#8: Help users become more self sufficient

If you’re being run ragged by users paging you at all hours, one solution is to try to educate them to handle some situations on their own. Teaching people how to do their own basic troubleshooting will improve their efficiency and decrease your support time and after-hours calls. The most efficient way to handle this education may be to put together a series of tips as HTML pages, organized by category so users can find the information they need quickly without having to scan a whole list. You can publish the tips on your internal network and provide a shortcut to them on users’ desktops or push them to their machines. Alternatively, you can burn the documents onto CDs and distribute them or simply print them out, although that makes updating the information more cumbersome.

It’s also helpful to make sure users understand when it’s appropriate to use the after-hours pager and when it’s not. This can best be accomplished with some written guidelines distributed in a handout. If you send out a regular IT department bulletin or newsletter, this information can be featured prominently as a reminder.
#9: Build in real downtime (and disconnect yourself)

You’ve probably heard reports citing statistics on all that unused vacation time — and how detrimental it is for worker health, productivity, and emotional well being to work without taking a break here and there. Yet time off may seem like a total impossibility, with projects stacked up as far as you can see, staff shortages, or business upheavals requiring all hands on deck. Nevertheless, you need to carve out some vacation time periodically. You’ll be vastly better equipped to wade back into the fray and to take on fresh challenges once you’ve recharged your batteries. And don’t vacation by sitting at home reading e-mails and fretting that you aren’t at work as myriad problems accumulate. DO NOT check your work e-mail when you’re on your own time. Make sure all your clients, bosses, co-workers, and partners know that you’re on vacation and unavailable. No IMs, no cell phone calls, no pages, nothing.
#10: Invest time and energy in building your personal life

Some people are truly passionate about the work they do and seem content to devote themselves to it single-mindedly. But most of us are likely to get a little sick of our work, even the aspects we truly enjoy, if that’s the only thing we have going on. It’s important to have a life outside work, something satisfying and engaging, whether it’s a sport, a hobby, social activities, or family relationships. Maybe you do have those things. If so, you’re done here. But if you’re drained and uninspired and bored when you get home from work, it’s time to shift gears. You need something to look forward to after work so that you can put work out of your thoughts for a while. That’s a good thing." the link is 10 things to keep your job from taking over your life

enjoy

TRIBE open registration - Day 1 aftermath

As i wrote in Saucy's comments:
shells said...
well, my take on open registration day 1: left my office, picked up my sis and a friend, got to Cascadia around 5:40pm. Parked and then walked up a bit...only to see at very least 200-or so people already there. Seeing a couple friends under a tent I went over and enquired. Apparently people had been there from early, these were people who got there abound 3-ish and had number 29 in the line. Numbers had been given out to the first 100 person that had arrived, they were all sitting under a tent in the order of the number. The next 100 persons had also been given numbers. You were only allowed entry to register IF you had a number. Anyone who did not have a number were given numbers to return today (day 2).
Well, i went to work: called in major favours, asked a couple people to register my cousin and 2 friends, but then i decided to see if it was possible to register online. I called a friend and was able to guide him through over the phone to register my cousin. (one less to regiter in that line)...my friends who were in position 29 and 80-something were still in the line (not in the room) by the time i completed registering one person online... one friend who was there was registered by my friend who went in just around then. All this time messages were coming out: Water Nymph femal SOLD OUT, Sun Goddess SOLD OUT!! There was panic outside, people starting fussing.

We left around 7-ish, went to a friends office and registered the last person on our list online. Completed that in less than 20 minutes (DSL connection NOT dial-up)

Sooo, morale of the story: if at all possible register on-line, i.e. setup your Senvia account, be near a DSL or T1 line connection, registration will be painless.

Shells
7:17 AM


A friend, his bro and a couple gals r on their way to register as I speak. I wish them luck, and hope they get through.

IP 2008

Island People's Presentation for 2008 is "Animal instincts"..
Went to the launch last night...
uhm, as Saucy said, you either like the costumes, or you don't. They were presented quite well, great show, great party, some sections are quite 'nekkid' (with a Brazillian wax required for anone playing in one section in particular).
I am always a fan of IP's costumes, because of the creativity...this year though, they have not wowed me. Some are outstanding, but in all I am glad that I am not playing in IP, 'cause there are few costumes there that I would consider wearing on the road.

This is one of the MOST impressive costumes ever...


and check the backview on Saucy's coverage here and here

Check out the pics...
Island People's website
Triniscene's IP's coverage

TRIBE- Lady of the Lake

Ok, it's Saturday August 18th 2007...and I am now registered to play in TRIBE's Lady of the Lake section, out of their "Myths and Magic" 2008 presentation.



I love the costume, was not so i love with the head piece, but it was the first costume that caught my eye, and then i found out a friend is playing there...i'm happy with my choice.

This costume "Black Magic" is loved by my sister, cousin and many many friends

It's aight i guess, but i'm not a big fan of black costumes 9even though i loved IP's 2007 Sahara Jumbie' LOL

anyways, on to the launch of IP's 2008 "Animal Instincts"

Ohh la la ...

Saucy's been on a roll! She's done lots of entries about TRIBE and their prices. she's even done a great price breakdown (and if yuh read the comments I apologise in advance for my bad spelling *blush*)

anyways, now it's to choose a costume.

And if anyone knows: What's d price of ISIS backline Option B????!!!!!!

oh my head....

my head is awash in sequins, feathers, beads, drapey cloth....oh my!
TRIBE has launched. I went to the mas camp today. NOw my brain hurts.
Which costume do I choose? The red and gold? The white and Gold? The fuschia/purple and gold??? (is there a pattern here...hmmn)
soo many pretty costumes, just one of me (and a limited budget)
*sigh*..i need a sponsor. Any volunteers?!

IP's launch is next Saturday August 18th 2007: I will be there, unless something urgent comes up :)

home on a friday ngiht..

its' 11:46am on a friday night.
This week was a 4-day work week in T&T, since Wednesday was Emancipation Day. It was the day chosen to commemorate the emancipation of slaves.

I was invited to two limes this week, one Tuesday night, and one Thursday night.
I turned down both invitations...or gently acknowledged but decline the invite.

Just didn't feel like being sociable.
Today was a bit of a bleh day, cause of work, but then CGB, LH and myself went for lunch @ Ruby Tuesday's in Grand Bazaar. Had oursleves a nice leisurely lunch. My mom emt me there and we went to Air Guard's nd Anniversary of their commisioning.
Niot bad...i ate (again), had one alcoholic beverage, and had to convince mom it was time to go.

All in all, not bad.

I also resumed gym attendance this week. I am the heaviest that i have ever weighed in my entire life. I don't knwo the actual number, i'm saying this based on how my clothes fit me. Almost everything is too tight, and then to top it off, my back has started acting up...a definte indicator that i am waaaay too heavy.

So it's back to my 4-to-5 day gym regimen, controlled diet. For my health, PLUS Carnival 2008 is just 5 months away (and those costumes r ridiculously skimpy, even skimpier than they were in previous years)

Laters

wow

It's been a while since i've blogged.
So much to update, but it's all related to that last rant.

I still am in a not so good state of mind, as it relates to work.
And as to my social life...hmmnmmn that seems to have disappeared. I've been liming now and then with my friend P and a couple co-workers and my sis, but that's it. Haven't been attempting to expand my friend network.
BUT i've been spending lots and lots of time on Facebook This site is higly addictive, i've reached the stage of checking it at least once every couple days. Soo much happens there, and i've rekindled contact with people i haven't seen since primary school days, people i worked with ages ago...it's sooo cool.

Anyways, i went this very very cool restaurant Benihana in trincity mall. I wish i had taken my camera cause this is an experience. The chefs cook at your table, and put on a show while they're at it. This was the monthly (hopefully) Girls' Lime that i've been part of for a couple yrs now. It was the second one for the year, yep we've been delinquent. Anyways, twas 10 young ladies ranging in age from 33 to 25...fabulous. Post-dinner was at M's house, for a gabfest and a couple glasses of wine. (which makes me wonder what will happen when that Breathalyser comes in effect cause we were a lil buzzed by the time we left there). Post wine-lime was a vent session at JG's place. I've forgotten how healthy it is to vent to a girlfriend, i felt sooo very unburdened after..love u JG.

So now it's Sunday, the weekend is at an end...TRIBE has launched, their website will be up and running on Wednesday August 1st 2007, tonnes of picks online...check 'em out
1. Triniscene
2. Saucy's Blog...check these entries for further info: TRIBE 2k8 Band Launch; More and More Pics; ...and finally a costume review
there's also some other bloggers with posts, like Carnival Jumbie for instance...

YAY, i'm sooo ready for Carnival 2008


Laters peoples

unloading...

hey, it's been a while.
i am bleeping pissed!!!

the only thing stoppinig me from going on a rampage cussing everyone who has caused me to be pissed, is that i am in office, and i need to continue receiving my pay cheque.

*inhale,...exhale...inhale...exhale* repeat.

the management of my department, has been demonstrating, repeatedly: for the entire week (and yes i knwo it's only Wednesday) WHY i cannot work here much longer... i will trip, my brain will say no more of this b/s, no more, no more, no more.

Bretty: i will update u in detail.

days like this remind me why people begin smoking...at least they have a focus for some of the pent up, frustration

Austen character.

Is it true?
I hardly let on to my emotions...only when comfortable.
So maybe, this chracterises me :-)

Take the Quiz here!

Favs

i am a Movie junkie of sorts...
i've seen many random movies that people probably never watch, all because i'm awake when lots of people r sleeping. LOL
anyways these are some of my favourite actors, for one reason or another.
if u can figure out why i like any of them, leave a comment or something :)

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Flixster

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DVDs 'R us...

As a bonafide Trini, I would be lieing to myself and all of you out there if I said that I've never purchased/watched a pirate DVD. In fact it's close to impossible to avoid seeing them on sale (just drive down Chaguanas on evenings, or take a walk down Frederick Street, Port of Spain. You can get 'pirate' DVDs for anywhere from $10 to $20 depending on who yuh buying it from.

So when I came across this article Cinemas use night goggles to nab pirates I paused.
What happens if this is done in T&T? Plenty people will be quarelling. All dem fly by night DVD/movie/video stores that yuh see popping up in every street, and neighboorhood will be out of business.

But..it will help ensure there will be no more of you sitting down home, putting in your newly purchased DVD, and exclaiming "What d a$$?!!! d picture jumping, bobbing and weaving so". u would be assured that the movie would be shown as the producers/directors intended u to see it.

enjoy the weekend folks :)

Ponderings,...

Warning: This post contains ramblings, random thoughts and maybe a few off-the-wall comments

Braces
After years of putting it off, and thinking and re-thinking, and over-analysing, i've made up my mind (again) to take the plunge and commit to getting braces. I've had a consultation done already with DR E. It was not very positive. he says basically that i have an overbite (yep, knew that), my lower teeth have titlted outwards in an attempt to match my upper teeth (could have told him that myself), and that my top teeth are very strong and well-seated (this i didn't know), sooo he's not certain how they'll respond to treatment.
The pluses to his prognosis: i won't have to have extractions done (or too many) as i have space. My teeth are healthy, and he says it seems as though i'm committed to the idea.
The negatives: his estimated time for me to be in braces is at least 2 yrs, cost is approximately $15K to $30K depending on my choices of metal or cermic, in-front or behind-the-teeth.
i've gone for the consultation, had to put it on hold to remove my wisdom tooth (which required surgery), had a follow-up review. and now i have two appointments coming up for the xrays, and molds. these r for august and september (cause this Ortho has 2 practises)

this being the case, i;ve decided to do some checkinig around and get some 2nd opinions.

Going back to school ...nooo, not high-school people, UNIVERSITY or COLLEGE. and full-time. I've done the part-time thing already, and personally i do not think i'm cut out for that. So i want to resume my studies, thing is: in what?! What am i interested in enough to give up a full-time decent-paying job, to go back to school for? Do i want to study here? in the US? UK? where? do i apply for GRE/SAT? what? Post-Grad or another BSc??? questions, questions, questions? makes me feel quite scared sometimes.

Changing careers sigh few things make me feel more despondent than thinking of doing the same thing for the rest of my life. Then i think about my job, which currently defies description. I am never able to describe to someone non-IT what i do for a living. and honestly, these days i'm not very fond of my job...i'm not being challenged, there's minimal structure, no major objectives. i am not motivated to some to work, other than ensuring that i get paid at the end of the month. So i've been thinking about changing jobs. again

is it any wonder that i have problems sleeping these days?q

T&T...#20

After reading this post What crazy looks like: Barbados weighs in I decided to go look see where T&T ranks. We're number 20... not good at all.
Not awful, but for a small country that's bad!!! We're higher up the bloddy list than countries like Italy, Portugal, Ireland, St. Vincent for crying out loud!!!
Trinbagonians...we need to improve our lifestyle.
And then i noticed yet another Burger King outlet has opened up. So our island now has 4 BK outlets, with the whooper, double whooper and the whammy triple-whooper.

I'm a recovering junk-food addict. There was a time that I could not go for more than 2 days without my fix, now maybe i can last a week or more. Sooo we need to cut out this junk stuff, get off our lazy butts and work out, change our eating habits.


My motivation is so that i won't have to go into hard-core training mode when Carnival comes around: What's yours?

Ramblings, etc...

Well, it's May 2007: 2 months since Carnival took place. This year I did not have such a good time on Carnival Monday and Tuesday. This had to do with some issues that occured with siblings and friends. Fallout from that included me making a decision to limit interraction with certain persons. Interestingly enough since then I have begun talking with some friends who I don't usually lime with that often. From this I have also realised that I have a tendency to ignore what would be good for me, in the interest of maintaining the status-quo and pleasing everybody.
No longer will I be doing that.
My new way of doing things will be to ensure that my feelings are not ignored...if necessary it may mean that I won't be liming that often. It has happened already, but it has had good results. The limes that I have been a part of are usually smaller ones, more conversation involved... minimal strained and uncomfortable silences. I like this.

Also, I had decided after playing mas this year that due to the treatment meted out to me as a masquerader by Island People, I will not be playing with them in 2008. I had a great time playing mas with them in 2006, my costume fit well this year, but the awful customer service, the way IP's management made masqueraders feel like 'beggars, looking for handouts' all helped me decide that I will play mas with TRIBE next year (God's willing)

Goals for the week...

I'm a member of the 'Carnival Biggest Loser' challenge weight-loss group. My aim is not so much weight-loss, as it it maintenance of my current weight, toning and maybe losing a couple vanity-pounds
So far, lots of advice has been posted regarding eating plans, exercise guidelines etc. This week the challenge is as follows:-
- Fasting for one day from dawn till dusk.
- Be mindful of PORTION SIZES.
- 100 ABDOMINAL CRUNCHES per day
- No eating after 8PM
It is when we make small changes, that they add up to BIG RESULTS!

Now I can handle most of the items listed, but the fasting for one day...now what will that accomplish? My body needs fuel, i'll become snappy, lethargic, in short not fun at all. So I will not be doing that one and add my own to the list i.e. 30 mins of cardio per day.

Will update on Saturday with how I did.

Neutrality...

where do you think I fall in the realm of good and evil??
I know B will say that I shouldn't even consider this, but I did the test...

AND ... apparently I am very neutral, and fit the role of peacemaker well.


How evil are you?

Diet concerns...

In recent years it's been suggested by many, that as a way of losing weight that one reduce the amount of calories that we eat.
I'm all for that, but i also belive that counting calories alone is not the way to go. It has to be balanced by exercise. Also i'm not one of those that belive that the calorie restriction that works for one would work for all.

so when i came across these articles, i was understandably a little disturbed.
Eating for Fewer Than One
Calorie Restriction, the Newest Eating Disorder
I did not realise that there are people out there who have taken the calorie-restriction to such lengths. It's unhealthy ( i think) and can only lead to problems (least of which is the loss of libido for men).
Our bodies are not meant to exist on such a little bit of food for any length of time...it'll think there's a famine and store everything that you eat as fat, with all the related problems that go along with that.

Moderation, moderation...that's key.

Pain

It's one of those things that happens to me from time to time.
My back acts up...as in extreme exruciating agony.
It happens when I gain too much weight, combined with weeks of no exercise.

I am sooo paying for all my inactivity these days. Sooo i've been living on Advil and trying not to aggravate the pain by sitting badly or moving around too much.

The only thing is: to remedy the pain I need to lose some weight, i.e. exercise, which means invoking some pain on myself...grrr

So bright and early in the morning I'm gonna resume with some cardio, some light weight-training, and get back into the monitoring of my food intake.

Wish me luck...
oh and check out The Carnival weight-loss support group

Links, links, links...

Ok, yes I amdit it: I am a chronic news reader. Odd News, Weird news, News satires, real news, doesn't matter. I will read it :-)

Some of the links that I read

The Onion
Reuters Odd News
The Guardian
Trinidad Daily Express
Happy News

Let's not forget those blogs that I read almost daily :-)
Brett
Trinidad Carnival Diary

These sites help me stave off total boredom on those days that I have no 'productive' work to do at the office.

How fast can you text?

I thought I was aight in terms of texting speed, but this just makes me seem like a rank novice :)


November, 13 - 3:23 PM

Singaporean is world's fastest text messager
Article source: http://www.dominicantoday.com/app/article.aspx?id=19620

Singapore.– A Singaporean student broke the Guinness World Record for the shortest time needed to type a 160-character SMS message on Sunday after whizzing through the task in less than 42 seconds in a competition.

Sixteen-year-old Ang Chuang Yang typed the SMS (short message service) message in 41.52 seconds, beating the previous record of 42.22 seconds set by American Ben Cook in July, according to Singapore Telecommunications, organizers of the competition.

"I'll try for 39 seconds next year," said Ang, adding that the trick to speedy text messaging was to use a mobile phone with larger keys on the dial pad.

SMS messaging competitions around the world use the same SMS text provided by the Guinness organization – "The razor-toothed piranhas of the genera Serrasalmus and Pygocentrus are the most ferocious freshwater fish in the world. In reality they seldom attack a human."

Carnival Biggest Loser

Hmmnnn...
Coming from an idea on a post by Saucy on her blog , a Yahoo! group was created: Carnival's Biggest Loser

Somewhere for the community of readers to post their weight loss tips, tricks, stories and be motivated.


Let's see what unfolds as time goes by

Abstinence the way to go?

This topic has come up a time or two.
Some view it as the way to go in regards to Sex Education...Personally I disagree, but i'll leave that for another time.

Take a read...and feel free to comment

is sex necessary?

then there's this blog entry No Sex Please

Welcome!

Welcome to the life and times of Shells (that's me).

I'm based in Trinidad and Tobago, working for an IT company as a Consultant.
Life here is similar to life in many other places, just under 28 to 33 degress Celsius weather.

Anyways, that's the first post.

Will blog later.