Chocolate and Caramel.. things that make you go mmmm...

I just love IP's description/narration of their 'Chocolate and Caramel' chapter of their 2009 presentation.

Suddenly my life crashes into someone else's, our paths cross one time too many...I find myself intertwined with a stranger I pass everyday… till now..."Hi"...was all it took...things coming together for reasons we sometimes can't see in the now...two things combined to add flavour to life's sweetness and bitterness...nevertheless I am living a life where two is sometimes better than one...it's the pleasure and comfort of unification...ahh… chocolate and caramel…the ultimate pair, the perfect bond of pure excitement...one small but precious taste of heaven's nectar.

TRIBE makup options

For those of you that follow the Carnival blogs, will know of Carnival Jumbie's post yesterday and then The Sauce's post today.

I saw both, and being an advocate of "yuh never know unless yuh ask"...I emailed the artist about make up options for African Love bird. Yesterday I was politely but firmly told that " Right now i haven't received many requests for African LoveBird. If i receive a few more i will definitely do it . I will keep you posted". Cool...no problem, at least I got a response.
Sometime today I got another email from the artist stating " I have decided to do a package as I have received many requests. I will send pictures as soon as i put it together." Seems that there have been multiple requests since my own request yesterday.

However it happened... YAY!!! Can't wait for those pics :-)


p/s:- The pic is courtesy www.carnivaltribe.com

It has begun!

First off...Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to ME!!!

Aight on to the business at hand: I went Amnesia yesterday. After Island People cancelling amnesia in 2008, when I heard that this was back on for 2009 I planned to be there. I think I only missed the first year or two of this fete. It has always been good. And this year was no exception.
We reached about 7ish, yes yes ah know lil late...but say what we reach! We heard from a friend who was already there that the food distribution was a lil different, but that the drinks were spectacular. Sooo with that as our warning we aprked and entered.
Entrance: The 'Arrive Alive' people were there to greet you, asking who was the driver cause they'll be doing random breathalyser tests when the party dun. Didn't drive so I walked on by. Decor was not as spectacular as previous years. Pretty lights. Lots of promotional items at the entrance, dancing characters in masks an' ting. Decent, decent.

Drinks: wow! Lots and lots of bars. Margarita station, Baileys station, Jose Cuervo station, wine station...etc, etc Then there were the other bars for other drinks like the Hypnotiq, Johnny, non-alcoholic stuff, water of course and the list goes on. I was introduced to a drink (new to me) Smirnoff, Crnberry and Sprite...try it.

Food: WTF was IP thinking?! Ok I understand that is 2009, economy on the downturn etc, etc. But yuh charge people $495 if they bought their tickts early, God alone knows what yuh charged those who bought tickets late or bought from scalpers. At that price I expect lots of options. Food was served on trays by some 'servers' who seemed to think they were in some sort of 50m dash! by the time yuh notice that someone bringing out a tray, they zoom on by you and yuh left with just d wafting scent of something delicious passing by! Not cool, not cool. So trinis, being trinis positioned themselves close to where the servers were emerging and mobbed the 'servers' as they were coming out. Drama. Not impressed at all.

Performances: Ah said we reached about 7ish, which meant that we missed the first performance Kes. Means I'll have to catch them perform at some other fete. But we did see Machel HD and The Asylum family. All I have to say about Machel HD is WOW!!!! That man is amazing on stage...the energy, the vibe, each year is something different and this year well you have to experience it. Asylum family is always a hit. Faye Ann looks great as an expectant mum and for all you detractors "She is PREGNANT...NOT SICK!!"

So all in all Amnesia was a great first fete to bring on Carnival 2009.

Looking forward to the next one.

What's going on with domain names?

Yes I love Tech Republic's Geek Trivia...and this seriously reveals my nerd-tendencies :-)

that said, you MUST read this Master of your (top level) domain!

It has begun

Happy New Year people...All the best for 2009!!

In less than two(2) months it'll be Carnival Monday. If you haven't already made your list of things that are to be done, DO IT NOW!!

So far I'm planning to be at two(2) fetes over the next couple weekends (God willing): Amnesia on Jan 11th and ONE fete on Jan 18th. Total cost to attend these: $1100TT...I'll give you a moment to absorb that...They are both all-inclusives, and usually quite good, but waaaaaay that is a lot of money. Sooo if I don't see anyone till the week just before Carnival please understand. At this rate I'll probably attend a cooler fete and one other fete and fete budget DONE.

Bring on Carnival...I can see that people are gonna have to be innovative/creative finding ways to enjoy themselves this Carnival without breaking the bank. I look forward to seeing some of that famed trini creativity.

2008 is ending

This was a pretty decent year.
It's not yet time to do a full recap but yep 2008 was aight.

In a little over three days we'll be into 2009 (or 2kwhhine as some are calling it!)
Soooo have you begun thinking of your 2009 New Year resolutions? Have you?

I'll be back in a dcay or so with mine.

Laters

Why?! why, why, why?!!!!

Ok, so yes I knew that with the economy around the world in the shambles that it is, things for Carnival 2009 would be expected. Yes, I was prepared for fete price increas, just as I was prepared for costume price increases.

With regards to costume prices, at least for TRIBE I was pleasantly surprised that costume prices did NOT go up by the margin that I had anticipated. However that said, it seems like people have decided to recoup these losses by the fete price increases.
Take for instance Witco's ONE fete. Last year, 2007, those tickets cost $250. This year, 2008, it cost anywhere from $300 to $400 depending on when you bought your ticket (no ah not putting what scalpers were calling for those tckts on the day! Suffice it to say you could have bought two or more tickets at the origanl price aight! steups). An increase of between 20% to 60% from 2007 to 2008. Now for 2009 a lil birdie has said that ONE fete tickets are to cost $600! A full 50% price increase in this time of economic turmoil!

WTF?!

Having one of 'THOSE' days?

How to Turn Around a Bad Day at Work

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Bad days happen to all, when you just wake in a really bad mood, when something (or nothing) has made you angry, sad, frustrated, disappointed. You still must rise and go to work, but you’re already seething. You try to work, but somehow every angry, dissatisfied client conspired to complain to you on the same day. Everyone sounds incredibly stupid and is out to annoy you. Luckily, here is what to do.

Steps

1. Accept your bad mood. Being in a bad mood is not that bad! Trying to force yourself to cheer up is much, much worse. Fighting bad moods only prolongs them, so if you’re mad or sad, be mad or sad. This does not allow rudeness and unpleasantness to innocents, it just means you need to recognize and accept your mood in order to be able to do something about it.
   
2. Tell others. Others will notice if you try keeping your bad mood secret with a happy mask and will wonder if they ticked you off. Tell them you are not having a good day. Simply say, "Listen, I’m in a really sour mood today. I’m not sure why, but it’s nothing you've done. If I do bite your head off, I'm apologizing in advance."
   
3. Look inside first. Successful people aren't always the smartest, but have acquired emotional skills, and rely on being able to recognize and to deal with one's own emotions. We tend to think that a bad mood is always caused by something or someone else (like trying to deal with a difficult boss). Bad moods aren't always connected to obvious, external factors. Perhaps you just slept poorly, are getting the flu, or are just having a bad day. Don't try to justify a bad mood. Instead, try to look inside yourself first, in order to ascertain possible precursors to your emotional state.
   
4. Remember the good stuff. When you’re in a foul mood, everything is bad. But the good things you appreciated yesterday, when you weren’t as annoyed, should be there - you just forgot them. Spend time considering at least one or two things that aren’t all bad (something you look forward to, a person you like, something nice that happened recently) and be thankful for that.
   
5. Let it pass.. You’ve been in a bad mood before. It passed, so will this. It’s no big deal. If you can't shake the mood, simply wait it out.
   
6. Take some quiet time. To avoid doing or saying something you might regret, withdraw a little if you can. Walk during your lunch break, sit and work someplace quiet. Take a long bathroom break. Consider going home early, or taking the day off.
   
7. Start your day over. Why wait until tomorrow to start your day over. Do it now. Leave your desk, or where ever - leave - decide to start over, as if you slept. Return to work with a fresh attitude. This really works, more so with practice.
   
8. Leverage Your Next Good Mood. Once the bad mood wear off, and you feel better, figure out what helped: was it a thought? a song? a friend? an event? When the next "red zone" comes, you will have developed an array of techniques to pull yourself out.
   

Tips

• If you have one bad day after another, you may need to do something more. Your job might be bringing you down; you may be suffering from stress. You may even be dealing with depression. If you think this may be happening, do something, talk to someone.
  
• As a preventative measure, do something so that a day starts well. Get a coffee, or some juice, and sit with a friend for 15 minutes. Or, start the day with a nice walk or any physical workout. A good start may help you to glide more easily over any bumps to come.
  
• Get physical! Go to the bathroom and jump up and down, breathe very deeply, take a quick walk at lunch or to the gym. Get that workout. Kick-starting endorphins is a natural way to better moods.
  
• Make sure that you are not living on sugar/candy bars. Quickly roller-coastering blood sugar levels can be unpleasant.
  
• There are some who, whether they admit it or realize it, enjoy being unhappy, and resist efforts to be cheered. If this is so, there is not much that can be done, until you admit it to yourself.
  
• SMILE for 10 seconds and think of something that really makes you smile to get your mind of the problems.
  
• Find a great song, and let it take your mind off of your present state.
  
• Laughter is priceless. Find a funny video, e-mail five friends, asking for their best joke, watch little kids play and laugh!
  
• Sometimes, you have to "fake it 'til you make it." Saying, "This is a terrific day" sometimes helps, at least see the possibility that it could. Think positive thoughts!
  
• Just smile. You may not feel like it, but just forcing yourself to smile may send signals to your brain that things aren't so bad. You may be surprised to feel your mood lighten a bit, in as little as 10 minutes or less!
  
• Watch taking work home with you, literally or mentally. Give yourself a fighting chance by taking care of yourself and drawing boundaries between work and personal time.
  
• Make your home and family your safe zone and priority. Your career shouldn't define you as a person--figure out what does and you'll be a step ahead!
  

Warnings

• Don't make huge decisions when you're in a bad mood - financial, emotional, etc. Let the negative state pass, before you choose poorly.
  
• Avoid blaming others for what you may be guilty of. If a loud phone conversation annoys you, consider your own conversations before saying something.
  
• This is not the day to "finally" let someone know what you think about him/her. This is time to write those things down, to get them out, but not to act on them, until your mood brightens.
  
• Bad mood days are like downward spirals. Resolve within yourself that tomorrow will be better, and do what it takes to make it so.
  
• If there seems to be a long string of bad days at work, and depression is a part of your life, check to make sure that medications are still working properly.
  
• Never quit until you have another job (preferably a better one!). It's tempting to say, "Take this job..." but if you're struggling this much, take it as a hint to start broadening your horizons. The job world is like dating--people already involved are more appealing. Use this to propel yourself to success.
  
• If you do quit, leave on good terms--burning bridges limits your options. "Living well is the best revenge." Leaving with class costs nothing and may pay off with good references and an open door if your new enterprise sours.
  

Related wikiHows

• How to Resolve a Conflict at Work
  
• How to Deal With a Bad Boss
  
• How to Lose Your Fear of Being Fired
  
• How to Call in Sick When You Just Need a Day Off
  
• How to Accept Criticism While at Work
  

Sources and Citations

• Positivesharing Original source of this article. Shared with permission.
  

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Turn Around a Bad Day at Work. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

I am shells' procrastinating soul

In less than 90 days Carnival 2009 will be upon us.
In less than 50 days I will celebrate yet another birthday.
In less than 30 days Christmas 2008 will be here.

Am I prepared?
For Carnival: uh nope. Costume has only had downpayment paid. Have not been inside a gym in months, have not bought ANY accessories or anything to be used for Carnival Monday wear. However, I do plan to pay off that costume before the end of 2008...will provide an update when it has been done! Gym wise: there is a plan (and motivation) for me to commence spinn sessions at very least twice a week until Carnival. Last time I did that many spinn sessions all my clothes started falling off of my slimmer frame LOL. Monday wear: hopefully I'll get some inspiration from the many mnay websites, or magazines something. I'm not that creative but I think I can manage something.

For my birthday: should I or shouldn't I do something for my birthday? Ah not talking d family thing, or the lime with friends thing. I talking something memorable, something different!!! We'll see, or rather my financial situation will determine what, if anything, happens.

Christmas: again NOPE. I had a budget, I did (stop the snickering!). Somehow said budget was forgotten. Said budget would have included savings so that I would not be reeling from the one-two blow of paying for a major car service and car insurance on the same day!!! Said budget would have had a portion for birthday/holiday spending. Hmmmmmnnn wonder what that budget looked like. Gots to go dig that up. Hopefully all the automatic trasfers that were setup earlier this year covered some portion of what I need now. Have to find those balances!!!

So yes, I procrastinate. I am one of those who can and most likely will find an excuse not to do something today. I am lazy, trust me on this, I am a lazy soul. This is a life-ingranined habbit that living with a Type A personality mother and brother and close to OC-level neat freak sisters has not cured me of. It's chronic!! Could be my way of rebelling from all that structure...who knows.
I do have moments though, where I wonder if I have a split personality 'cause I can be frighteningly organised and efficient on occasion.

*sigh* I do feel a hyper efficient episode coming on. Heart beat speeding up, thoughts racing at a million miles per hour...all signs that my body is gearing up to be in uber-organised mode for a while. Let's see how long it lasts!

p/s:- yes the title is a 'Fight Club' reference. Wonder how many people got it.

Another sad day in T&T

Personally not much depresses me more than reading in the newspaper or hearing on the TV news of a woman/man being killed during or after a domestic dispute. Or hearing that a child or children, left in the care of another child/children was hurt or died. Or hearing that a man took the life of his child/children and then his own after a domestic dispute.

WTF is that all about?!
I have never, ever been in support of children being left in charge of other children. Children are NOT adults. And while many kids (think back to when you were a kid) think that they know sooo much, they are still kids. No child should be given the responsibility of taking care of other children. That is insanity! Where were the parents? The guardians? In the case yesterday it states that the children's mother was/is a single parent. Nothing wrong there. What disturbs me is that she had no problem with her 5 year old child having the responsibility of taking care of his younger sibling on the way home from school. A FIVE(5) year old with responsibilities other than playing, colouring, learning to interract with other kids, learning to read and write?!!! Are we living in some twilight zone that I wasn't aware of?

Domestic disputes: I don't deny that sometimes spouses get into arguments. It is natural, it happens. What I can't understand is that sooo many people seem ok with the expectation that violence is a natural outcome of such disputes. It is not acceptable in anyway or at anytime to hit one's partner because of an argument. It's the "if I can't have you then no-one can" way of thinking and that to me smacks of some serious mental problems...ah lie?
Then to top it off by killing a child because of such a dispute...cowardly. Everytime I hear of such things my first thought is ...'if you can't handle the stress of the situation seek help. Seek counselling (thank you Elder's for those sessions on what counselling really is all about), talk to someone: a priest, a friend, a family member, someone you are comfortable with, someone! Why kill an innocent child?!'

My $0.02...I could go on, but I have to do d people dem wuk.
Laters

History has been made!!!

As at the time of posting at 12:24am TT time the US Election results:
OBAMA 338 vs Mc CAIN 127
I have witnessed a histotical milestone

Change...are they ready for it?

I tried, I really really tried.
I did not check the online polls during the day @ work, I refused to monitor the state by state opinion polls.

...then I got home.
I've been checking every 15 minutes.
What have I been checking so?

Unless you've been living under a rock, or been on some other planet yuh know I talking about the US elections. My preferred source of this one of the most addictive drugs of choice is via Yahoo!'s US election dashboard

But you can check it out at Msnbc or any other news website.

Some really really great news!

My good friend has had her baby!
A bouncing baby boy, all of 8lbs 4 ozs.

Soooo happy for her!

Congratulations chick!!!

The Good and the Bad...the Happy, the sad

Well, well....

The Good and Happy
What a week so far, and it's not even over yet.
I got my results from that PMP exam. Yep, already!!! I passed and am sooooo happy! That was a drain on energy for three(3) months and get seriously intense. But it all paid off. I can write may name with PMP after it LOL
Now to figure out how to break into the Project Management job market and get out of this helpdesk/support type of thing. I am tres bored with this job, and I've been here less than a year...sigh!

The Bad
Went to my doc and did not get news that I liked. I am officially weighin in @ 150lbs. That almost made me cry :( All I wanted to do after hearing that was just curl up and cry! Sooo what's on the agenda now: Flicking live in the gym. work out like a fiend three(3) maybe five(5) times per week. I may even be able to make it six(6) days a week...it's not like I have anything else to do with my time anyways.

The Sad
Do I sound slightly bitter, and bordering on depressed? Why yes I am. I don't eat all that much, and I don't eat unhealthily but I gained all that weight. grrrrrr...life sucks.

Before I get into some seriously maudlin ranting I'll stop here.

It's been a loooong time

As the title says, long time no blog.
Been busy, with launches, studies, social-life (or lack thereof)

Anywhos, not gonna bore you too much... here's a quick update:

• Attended band launches for TRIBE, Island People Mas and Elements
• Officially registered to play mas for Carnival 2009 in TRIBE's "Birds of a Feather" presentation - "African Lovebird" section
• Best of these launches (the fete) - Elements. TRIBE second, IP a distant third.
• Best of these launches (the presentation) - TRIBE. IP was ok, that song with the chapter names was AWFUL!!! Elements could have come better
• Best of these launches (originality) - Island People Mas deinfitley wins this with that 'moving stage!!!' TRIBE's 'birds' in cages was decent. Elements could have done more considering that 'Vegas theme!!!
• Best of these launches (ticket price) - IP wins this @ $150 per ticket (prev masquerader nah!). TRIBE was second @ $220 and Elements was most expensive.
• Best of these launches (value for money) - Elements wins with d multitude of free drinks that were on offer (ALL drinks were free!!!). TRIBE also had free drinks, but I didn't partake of much sooo other than the Cocktails I cyah really comment on this. IP comes in a distant thrid since drinks were 2-4-1 specials, good drinks eh but it competing with free drinks soo
• Best of these launches (overall) - TRIBE!! I biased eh so doh quarrel with me! But I have to say that a couple friends got sick after attending TRIBE's launch soooo it loses points for that.
• Began studying for the PMP exam...My God that is a lot of reading. 12 chapters geez an ages! I finish d book, but mih brain feels like it's fried a couple circuits now and then. Looking forward to that exam on 2008-10-20. Should be able to cool d brain a bit after that.
• Social life has dwindled to almost zilch. Causes: hmmmmnnnn still to be determined, though I have my suspiscions.
• Went to our annual Mayaro weekend, though this year it was in Tobago..so it became 'Mayaro HD: Tobago the new frontier!' This was aight, as usual there was a lil bacchanal (no long weekend with that many people would be normal without some issues right?!), I got sick raging fever an' all. Lots of alcohol, lots of time with friends, lots of time spent in and around a pool, more than 4 hours at the beach...downsides: that boat ride! Next time I going by plane.
• Monitoring that crisis looming in the US..take a read of this article. These people have got some issues to resolve!
• Oh and I resumed gym attendance...first time since August 19th 2008. Not bad, not bad...felt great. Aiming for three(3) days a week attendance minimum.

That's all for now.

Wish me luck in my exam and the run up to it which begins in earnest this evening!

Laters

Golden rules for finding your life partner

Received this in my email this morning.
Now, I'm not a believer in marriage for marriage sake, but for persons who enter a marriage to be in a long-term committed relationship with your partner, AND wish to legalise their union in the eyes of the country/state then yeah I'm for that. But if you're getting married because it's the norm, and it's the 'right'-thing to do after dating for x years then nope I don't condone that, especially if only one party is really interested in getting married: IMHO the second scenario is a recipe for divorce/separation after a few years.

That said, this article was a good read.

FINDING AND KEEPING A LIFE PARTNER

Golden rules for finding your life partner by Dov Heller, M.A

When it comes to making the decision about choosing a life partner, no one wants to make a mistake.Yet, with a divorce rate of close to 50%, it appears that many are making serious mistakes in their approach to finding Mr./Miss. Right!

If you ask most couples who are engaged why they're getting married, they'll say: "We're in love"; I believe this is the #1 mistake people make when they date. Choosing a life partner should never be based on love.

Though this may sound "not politically correct",there's a profound truth here. Love is not the basis for getting married. Rather, love is the result of a good marriage. When the other ingredients are right, then the love will come. Let me say it again: "You can't build a lifetime relationship on love alone"; You need a lot more!!!

Here are five questions you must ask yourself if you're serious about finding and keeping a life partner.

QUESTION ..1: Do we share a common life purpose?

Why is this so important? Let me put it this way: If you're married for 20 or 30 years, that's a long time to live with someone. What do you plan to do with each other all that time? Travel, eat and jog together? You need to share something deeper and more meaningful. You need a common life purpose.

Two things can happen in a marriage:

(1) You can grow together, or

(2) you can grow apart.

50% of the people out there are growing apart. To make a marriage work,you need to know what you want out of life! Bottom line; and marry someone who wants the same thing.

QUESTION ..2: Do I feel safe expressing my feelings and thoughts with this person?

This question goes to the core of the quality of your relationship. Feeling safe means you can communicate openly with this person. The basis of having good communication is trust - i.e. trust that I won't get"punished"; or hurt for expressing my honest thoughts and feelings. A colleague of mine defines an abusive person as someone with whom you feel afraid to express your thoughts and feelings. Be honest with yourself on this one. Make sure you feel emotionally safe with the person you plan to marry.

QUESTION ..3: Is he/she a mensch?

A mensch is someone who is a refined and sensitive person. How can you test? Here are some suggestions.
Do they work on personal growth on a regular basis?
Are they serious about improving themselves?
A teacher of mine defines a good person as "someone who is always striving to be good and do the right ";.So ask about your Significant other:What do they do with their time? Is this person materialistic?
Usually a materialistic person is not someone whose top priority is character refinement.

There are essentially two types of people in the world:
(1) People who are dedicated to personal growth and
(2) people who are dedicated to seeking comfort.
Someone whose goal in life is to be comfortable will put personal comfort ahead of doing the right thing.
You need to know that before walking down the aisle.

QUESTION ..4: How does he/she treat other people?

The one most important thing that makes any relationship work is the ability to give. By giving, we mean the ability to give another person pleasure. Ask: Is this someone who enjoys giving pleasure to others or are they wrapped up in themselves and self-absorbed? To measure this, think about the following:

How do they treat people whom they do not have to be nice to, such as waiters, bus boys, taxi drivers,etc..

How do they treat their parents and siblings?

Do they have gratitude and appreciation? If they don't have gratitude for the people who have given them everything;

Can you do nearly as much for them? You can be sure that someone who treats others poorly, will eventually treat you poorly as well.


QUESTION ..5: Is there anything I'm hoping to change about this person after we're married?

Too many people make the mistake of marrying someone with the intention of trying to "improve"; them after they're married. As a colleague of mine puts it: "You can probably expect someone to change after marriage for the worse" If you cannot fully accept this person the way they are now, then you are not ready to marry them.

In conclusion, dating doesn't have to be difficult and treacherous. The key is to try leading a little more with your head and less with your heart.

It pays to be as objective as possible when you are dating; to be sure to ask questions that will help you get to the key issues. Falling in love is a great feeling, but when you wake up with a ring on your finger, you don't want to find yourself in trouble because you didn't do your homework.

Another perspective...

There are some people in your life that need to be loved from a distance..

It's amazing what you can accomplish when you let go of or at least minimize your time with draining,negative,incompatible, not-going anywhere relationships. Observe the relationships around you.
Pay attention..
Which ones lift and which ones lean? Which ones encourage and which ones discourage? Which ones are on a path of growth uphill and which ones are going downhill? When you leave certain people do you feel better or feel worse? Which ones always have drama or don't really understand,know,or appreciate you?

The more you seek quality, respect, growth, peace of mind, love and truth around you...the easier it will become for you to decide who gets to sit in the front row and who should be moved to the balcony of your life.

An African proverb states, "Before you get married,keep both eyes open,and after you marry, close one eye"; Before you get involved and make a commitment to someone, don't let lust,pity,desperation, immaturity, ignorance, pressure from others or a low self-esteem make you blind to warning signs. Keep your eyes open,and don't fool yourself that you can change someone or that what you see as faults aren't really that important.

Do you bring out the best in each other?

Do you compliment and compromise with each other, or do you compete, compare and control?

What do you bring to the relationship?

Do you bring past relationships, past hurt, past mistrust, past pain?

You can't take someone to the altar to alter them.
You can't make someone love you or make someone stay.

If you develop self-esteem, spiritual discernment, and "a life"; you won't find yourself making someone else responsible for your happiness or responsible for your pain. Seeking status, sex, and security are the wrong reasons to be in a relationship.

WHAT KEEPS A RELATIONSHIP STRONG ARE:
1. TRUST
2. COMMUNICATION
3. INTIMACY
4. A SENSE OF HUMOR
5. SHARING TASKS
6. SOME GETAWAY TIME WITHOUT BUSINESS OR CHILDREN
7. DAILY EXCHANGES (meal, shared activity, hug, call, touch, notes)
8. SHARING COMMON GOALS AND INTERESTS
9. GIVING EACH OTHER SPACE TO GROW WITHOUT FEELING INSECURE
10. GIVING EACH OTHER A SENSE OF BELONGING AND ASSURANCES OF COMMITMENT

If these qualities are missing, the relationship will erode as resentment withdrawal, abuse, neglect, and dishonesty; and pain will replace it.

Happiness keeps You Sweet,

Trials keep You Strong,

Sorrows keep You Human,

Failures keep You Humble,

Success keeps You Glowing,

But..........
Only God keeps You Going!

Carnival 2009 - New Bands on the block

There are a few new bands coming out for Carnival 2009.

• Spice - with more information here
  
• Kaotic - more information here and pics here.
  
• Elements
  

Of the three, Spice sounds most promising, and their costumes definitely look hot, especially loving the bra design on the 'brown sugar' costume. :-)

Definitely looking forward to band launching season which began July 4th 2008.

As usual for more Carnival news, reviews and pics check out Sauce's blog.

Amazingly on point...remind you of anyone?!

The Nerd Handbook

Read it.
Digest it.
Maybe read it again.

I am amazed at how eerily accurate this is...


I LOVE IT!

Job update

As mentioned here in my Welcome! I used to work as a "Consultant".

Now though it's not true. I've changed jobs -again! This is my fourth(4th) job in ten(10) years. just typing that made me feel old!!

Now, my official job title is "Applications Analyst" or "Business Systems Analyst" depending on who you speak with.

Soooo let's see how this one goes

FYI: New Band on the scene for Carnival 2009

Yep: it's true.

One of the new bands to be on the roads for Carnival 2009 has launched. Their name "Elements"
It seems though that it's just been a quick, hey-this-is-me type intro, and nothing substantial.
As stated, I wish them luck, and really do hope that they do turn out to be a viable alternative and that it's not all hype, and 'smoke-and-mirrors'.

"Revelations" - by Saucy

"Elements Launch" - by Carnival Jumbie

Do you leave your computer on??

Why do we always leave our computers on?

This is a very pertinent question, especially now in this era of 'going green'...so why in the IT industry as well as in some non-IT industries, why do IT departments in general encourage leaving PCs on all the time?
As the article says, take some time to read ALL the pros and cons. Also note that the articles about 'Green Computing' have not generated much interest: 8 comments maximum between them all?? Most of the articles on TechRepublic pull in 20+ comments on average.

Soooo, what's your take on it?

Well, well...

Maybe this is an indication that things are happening?
But it needs more exposure...soooo cast your vote people!!!

Will you be willing to play mas without a stage for Carnival 2009? At last check there were 184 votes

Bacchanal LOL

This is the outcome of Saucy's blog entry today, which is really a follow up from another post about IP's pics on their website. Now I'm all for taking pics of friends and people that yuh know what, BUT when they're posted on a public website, listed as official band pics then people should not be subjected to seeing the same faces over and over. I would want to see pics of masqueraders, of all shapes, gender and COLOUR :)

At the end of the post about removal of one particular comment, you would realise that there are (at last count) 29 comments!!

My $0.02 is that: How in ages could that comment have been viewed as racist. she was making her opinion known, nothing else. For someone to view that comment as racist is mind-boggling.

Dating SMART Women

Came across this blog entry this morning and besides laughing aloud at how accurate it is, it made me think "Why do SMARt women date these dumb guys anyway?"

Thank you "Brown Girl" , you made my morning :)

Huh?!

This was on odd-news story:-

First from TechRepublic's article, and then this link to their sister site Gamespot.

What's this world coming to, when you can't even game online without 'Big Brother' looking over your shoulder?

Sexy, BALD men...

i defintely don't agree with all the names on this list of 'Sexy and Bald', but it's an ok start

Know anyone who you think should have made the list?...there are at least 50 pages of comments on who should have been added.

And I know a couple guys in real life who could be added LOL

Increase Your Metabolism

The entire article is posted below:-

Increase Your Metabolism - wikiHow

How to Increase Your Metabolism

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

If you're trying to lose weight and think your metabolism might be the culprit, there are changes you can make to improve it. But with the commercialism surrounding "metabolism-enhancing" products, it can be hard to separate fact from fiction (or advertising) and pin down techniques that are scientifically proven to change one's metabolism.

Steps

1. Understand what metabolism is. In the simplest terms, metabolism is the rate at which your body burns calories. The rate differs significantly from person to person. You and your friend can have the same activity level, diet, and weight but still gain or lose weight at different rates based on differences in metabolism.
   
2. Determine what is influencing your metabolism. There are some factors that you can change, and some factors that you can't.
   
   • Age - metabolism slows 5% per decade after age 40[1]
     
   • Sex - men generally burn calories faster than women[1]
     
   • Heredity - you can inherit your metabolic rate from previous generations[1]
     
   • Thyroid disorder - problems in the thyroid gland can slow metabolism but this is rare[1]
     
   • Proportion of lean body mass - metabolism increases with muscle mass[1]
     
   
   
3. Calculate your resting metabolic rate (RMR). RMR is often used interchangeably with basal metabolic rate (BMR); although they are slightly different, estimating either is sufficient for the purpose of losing weight. To calculate your RMR, use the Mifflin-St Jeor equation (which is more reliable than the Harris-Benedict equation[2]). There are also calculators online that can do this for you:
   
   • RMR = 9.99w + 6.25s - 4.92a + 166g-161
     
   • w = weight in kilograms; if you know your weight in pounds, divide by 2.2 to get your weight in kilograms
     
   • s = height in centimeters; if you know your height in inches, multiply by 2.54 to get your height in centimeters
     
   • a = age in years
     
   • g = gender = 1 for males, 0 for females
     
   
   
4. Adjust your diet accordingly. Your RMR will tell you how many calories you need to maintain your body at rest. Your daily consumption to maintain your weight should be:[3]
   
   • RMR x 1.15
     
   • E.g. RMR = 2000, so the maintenance intake is 2000 x 1.15 = 2300
     
   • To lose weight safely, consume no more than your maintenance intake but no less than your RMR.
     
   • Count calories by recording what you eat and looking up how many calories each food item contains (either on the food packaging or in tables provided in books or online).
     
   
   
5. Eat small, frequent meals. Extending the time between meals makes your body go into "starvation mode", which means it'll hold onto as many calories as possible and store them as fat. This is why fasting and skipping meals will only make things worse. In addition to having four to six small meals per day[4] eating healthy snacks will also increase metabolism.[1]
   
6. Drink water. As with food, depriving your body of water can encourage it to "hoard" rather than "burn". In order to encourage your liver to focus on metabolism rather than water retention, make sure you drink an appropriate amount of water.
   
7. Boost metabolism temporarily with aerobic exercise. Different activities burn different quantities of calories, but the important thing is to raise your heart rate and sustain the activity for approximately 30 minutes.
   
8. Boost metabolism in the long run with weight training. Muscle burns more calories than fat (73 more calories per kilogram per day, to be exact)[1] so the more muscle you build, the higher your resting metabolic rate (RMR). Every bit of muscle that you gain is like a little factory that burns calories for you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This is the only way to increase RMR, which accounts for 60 to 70 percent of the calories you burn daily.[5]
   

Tips

• There are no "fat-burning" foods. You might've heard that certain foods (like celery and grapefruit) increase metabolism, but it's just a myth.[4] While some foods and drinks like red peppers and green tea have been studied for their potential metabolism-increasing properties, there is no conclusive evidence that whatever influence they have on metabolism is significant enough to result in weight loss.[1]
  
• However, some believe that certain extremely low-calorie foods, such as celery, cause the body to burn more calories in the act of consumption than are absorbed by the body. Still, half an hour walking will burn many more calories than half an hour of chewing celery.
  
• Always consult a dietician or doctor before making a major change in your diet and exercise routine.
  

Warnings

• Avoid smoking as a weight-loss method. While nicotine is a metabolism booster and appetite suppressant, the health hazards far outweigh any benefits.
  
• Expect your metabolism to slow down as you lose weight. The more weight your body is carrying, the more calories your body has to burn in order to sustain itself, even at rest. When you begin restricting your calorie intake, you'll lose weight relatively easily because your body's high caloric needs are not being met. But after you begin to shed the weight, the body has less mass to carry and thus needs fewer calories. In order to continue losing weight, you will have to restrict your caloric intake even further in order to maintain a difference between what your body needs and what you are providing.[1] Let's go through a hypothetical example:
  
  • You are 200 lbs and your body needs 2500 calories a day to sustain itself.
    
  • You cut down your caloric intake to 2000 calories.
    
  • You lose 25 lbs. Now your body only needs 2250 calories to sustain itself because it's carrying less weight.
    
  • If you continue with your 2000 calorie per day diet (the diet that helped you lose the first 25 lbs) you will still be losing, but at half the speed. In order to maintain a steady weight loss you will need to reduce your caloric intake further. However, it is at the utmost importance you do not try to consume fewer calories than your RMR!
    
  • Another possible problem: If you continue with your 2000 calorie per day diet (the diet that helped you lose the first 25 lbs) you may actually gain weight back because of varying levels of exercise. Let's say you lose 50 lbs. on your 2000 calorie diet. Your sustaining calories might be 1800. You're actually consuming enough calories to gain weight, but how would that happen if you had stayed to your diet. This can happen when your exercise has burned through many calories. If you slowed on exercise at this point you would actually gain weight again. The point here is to recheck your RMR when you lose weight and compare it to your consumption.
    
  
  

Sources and Citations

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/guide/make-most-your-metabolism


2. ↑ http://www.adajournal.org/article/PIIS0002822305001495/abstract


3. ↑ http://books.google.com/books?id=gRrp3yphhC0C&pg=PT259&lpg=PT259&dq=%2B%22caloric+intake%22+%2Brmr&source=web&ots=En__f5a15l&sig=j7IwWkrMdgfTuDb5Fd27QqWNW14


4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/rev-up-your-metabolism


5. ↑ http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/features/jump-start-your-metabolism

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Increase Your Metabolism. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

Pretty decent reading...this is what i plan to do, as I really really need to lose these extra 10 to 15 pounds!!!

Carnival 2008 Review

Well, Trinidad Carnival for 2008 has come and gone.
I played in TRIBE's presentation "Myths and Magic" and I had a ball. Still doesn't compare to the year I played in IP's Enchanted Forest in 2006, but it came damn close.

Couple things that I didn't like:-
1. Security got lax as the days wore on. What happened?
2. Why were some sections hustled past judging points? while others seemed to take forever to cross? Or was it just my perception?
3. What the hell went on with costume distribution for some sections? It seems to me that no matter what section, whether from core designers or not, if a date is indicated for costume pickup nothing short of a disaster should prevent those costumes from being delivered.


Read some horror stories about experiences in other bands and it's not nice to hear that. It's great though, to hear that IP improved their sh*t this year. gives me hope, cause I genrally LOVE IP's creativity (not this year's presentation though) and to me the ultimate band would be if it were possible to have IP's creativity and TRIBE's management applied to ONE band! That, I think would be a force to reckon with.
Saucy wrote on her blog, that there is a development for TRIBE 2009, where there could be two options for the band, an all-inclusive and a non-inclusive. This to me has both advantages and disadvantages. But, we'll see what develops..just remember TRIBE "you have now linked your name with quality and great management", please do NOT sacrifice it for profit.

TRIBE in the air!!!!

I'm playing in TRIBE's 2008 Carnival presentation "Myths and Magic", section Lady of the Lake to be precise.
Collected my costume on Thursday January 24th 2008, in less than half hour. Everthing fits, but being the person that I am, I'm gonna go get some precautionary hooks put onto my waistband to prevent any possible "wardrobe malfunctions"... a la Ms. Jackson @ that half-time show LOL

...and now, I ready, i ready, I ready, ready for mas again!!!
Oh Lawd, I am soooo ready for Carnival Monday and Tuesday.
My headpice: it lil big, but I love it. Didn't like it before, but it's gorgeous. such detail, such working, it looks fab.
The waistbad: wow, lots of detail. And I'll be making that great 'swishy' noise as I walk. My only issue here, is that piece of cloth hanging from the middle of the belt. It looks good, but me thinks this could cause some accidents for not too sober LAL female masqueraders on the road. Good Luck with this gals (I'm actually thinking of doing some modifications to it, just not sure what to do with it yet).
The bra: it's a bra people. Nice workings, but it's a bra...there's not much to it, and much of me is gonna be exposed.
Arm/Leg/Neck pieces: gots some cloth hanging around my forearms and elbows, and not too much of anything to dangle around my knees bothering me. Nice necklace/chocker type thing for my neck...nice. All good.

I freaking LOVE my costume...and as i said, much of me is exposed. My stomach isn't the flatest, my legas aren't the firmest, my arms aren't the most buff, but yuh know what?! I don't give a shit. That costume is all mine, paid off in full, and I'll be on the road on Carnival Monday and Tuesday 2008 in mih costume :) And to top it off: my section is at the FRONT OF THE BAND!!! Can u say jamishness!!! LOL


On another note, I've been hearing some not so good things about some of the other sections. Screwed up distribution dates, variances to what was advertised...geez!
But what's T&T Carnival without bacchanal.

Six days, and counting...YES!!!

"Fixed Date" for T&T Carnival

So I was browsing the newspapers this weekend, and noticed an article about '...stakeholders wanting to make Trinidad and Tobago's Carnival a fixed date...' and that 'the shifting date often created problems for fixtures and other organisational headaches'

Now, that statement to me is one of absolute bs! Where, why, how did these so-called stakeholders come up with such a hare-brained idea?! Moving our Carnival would make it jsut like any other Carnival. One of the reason put forward, is that the head of Pan Trinbago (T&T's Pan organisation body) thinks that having a short season makes it difficult to organise pan sides, makes reheasals difficult etc. BUT the dates for Carnival are not a secret...anyone can find out the dates for Carnival, it's the two days prio to Ash Wednesday every year for the next millenia, and you can get a list of those dates form countless websites AND any Christian minister. As for the difficulties in organising, why is it so hard to organise a pan side, which consits of a probabaly a couple hundred players, and the people who organise mas bands catering for thousands have no problems?!
Makes me wonder about a certain somebody's organising skills

Anyways, I'll be monitoring this development...cause as far as I'm concerned, the mere fact that T&T's carnival is pegged to Ash Wednesday and NOT some arbitrarily picked date in the middle of the year, is what makes our Carnival so special.

Here are some links to blog entries about this:-
a local podcast and from the Trinidad Express

TRIBE Costume Distribution Schedule 2008

Checking email this afternoon and guess what I saw in my inbox...

THE TRIBE DISTRIBUTION SCHEDULE!!!

This is the one of the most welcome sights ever!, I almost started jumping up and down, and my brother has been looking at me strangely since then...I think I've had a grin on my face since I've seen it...

...wohoooo!!! Lady of the Lake - to collect on Jan 24th :)

Carnival in the air :)

Can you feel the vibe? Can you feel the energy?
Have you been to any fetes as yet?

I haven't, but wow I don't need to. Not when I see blog entries like these:

• Top 25 Soca tunes


• Monday wear ideas

Makes you wish Carnival Monday was tomorrow.

Soooo..yuh ready for de mas?

I know I'm almost ready...just have some last minute things to do.

*sigh* ...

Welcome 2008

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2008!!!

All the best to you, your family and your friends for this brand new year.

May this new beginning brings with it much health, wealth and everything that you want.

So enjoy the day, whether it's a holiday like it is in T&T or not.

Be safe and all the best for the next 366 days.

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