Comp Time

When I work extra, I'm supposed to get the time back later as compensation time. According to my calculations, I have about 430 hours of comp time. According to works calculations, I have over 500. That's a quarter of a year. That's a lot of money. I wish they'd pay me for that time. You know I'll never get to take it all. I need to just take 3 months off.
I'm guessing the reason for the difference between their calculations and mine is that they marked me down as taking vacation when I was taking comp time.

Candelight showers

When I wake up at 3:30 Am, I use a small flashlight to move around the apartment because the OI Girl is sleeping. I think it's fun, and I have a little flashlight that I like using. When I go in the bathroom to shower, there is a candle that has been there since hurricane days. I light it and shave and shower with the candle lighted. Then I flashlight back to the bedroom and get dressed. I see the same plane fly almost directly overhead every day at almost exactly 4 AM when I'm walking the dog. It's very high, and the sound from the plane seems to come from about 45 degrees in the sky off from where I can see the plane. I wonder if, using that information, I can calculate the speed and or altitude of the plane.
The dog is funny. when we get back from our walk, he wants to stay outside, but after a minute or two, if I go ask him, he wants to come back inside. Once in, he makes a beeline for his bed. I think it takes hime afew minute4s to figure out what time it is. Then at 5:45, when I wake up the OI Girl, he comes over to her side of the bed and helps wake her up by licking her elbow.

Stuck.

I seem to be stuck. All day I think of good things to post about, but when I get here, I caint remember a thing.
Today is super nice, and I have a split shift because I'm working tonight. There's at least 6 cruise ships in today too, that means the beach will be packed.
I'm meeting a builder and architect at my piece of property today too.
The OI Girl practically lives at my house now, her lease is almost up at her apartment. But she's unhappy with her job because it's not challenging enough.
I'm at work and busy, so I gotta go!

normal weather lookin

Well, it looks like we're haveing normal weather again. I never made it to the beach yesterday, I cleaned my apartment. The OI Girl went to visit some friends and while she was gone I knocked off some major mess areas. I had a couple zones all covered with papers and seashells and bits and pieces of junk and I cleaned them all up and put them away. She was pleasantly surprised when she got back.
Now I'm back at work, I feel pretty good today.
Here's a picture of our work van, for no other reason than I like the van and the picture.

Do I dare to hope!

The weather looks kind of normal today, except for the wind being a little high. It is the normal fluffy clouds, passing by, albeit a little faster than usual. It might be a good day to hit the beach! (Finally)

Worlds most boringest blog

There's nothing to write about these days. My last week of posts have been uneventful. I worked this morning. It's still cloudy and miserable. I have taken three tests for my course in the past two days.
Out of sheer nothing-else-to-post-aboutness, here's a picture of my dog. He is a Carnivorous Monster, a Horrifying Beast. A Flesh-Ripping terror. Look at this picture, you can tell that at any minute the monster may erupt into a snarling hellstorm of fur-covered razor bladed fury.

I couldn't post yesterday, I was at work and gone too early. we had a remote broadcast, but the van was in the shop, and I had to go get it so we could use it.
Then I had to take it back to the shop and wait "just a few minutes" till they installed a part. Well, the few minutes was a couple of hours and by the time I got back to the station, it was time to go home.
I am also working on a friends computer. It is very loaded up with spyware and virus's. Also, I just found out that there were two anti-virus programs loaded, interfering with each other badly. It's a mess.
I'm glad it's a weekend, although I'm working Saturday.

Nuclear Winter

OK, I'm tired of this weather. Need some sun, that's why I live here. Hurricane season is over in a week.

Half way

With the lesson I just completed, and the test I took this morning, I am now more than half way done with my online course.
I'm going through another phase where, when I'm going through the day, I think "I can post on my blog about that" often, but when I get here to post, I can't remember any of it.
Here, it has been rainy for several days, but this morning it was clear with a strong cool breeze from the north west. Hopefullly it will stay clear and sunny long enough for me to get some beach time in.
Also, now that I seem to have incorperated study time in my daily schedule, I need to start working on a way to incorporate some exercise time in there too. I think I can easily combine beach time and exercise time..... That's what I'll be thinking about today....

Nothing to write about today

I'm at work, it's still cloudy and rainy. The OI Girl got back this morning and I'm going to go to lunch with her.
I'm excited she's back, but the weather and the fact that it's Monday give me the ho-hums.

bah humbug

When I got home last night from work, I could barely stay awake. I forced myself to wait and stay up till bedtime then when I went to bed, I wasn't sleepy.
Now I'm a little disgruntled because it's rainy and cloudy and dismal outside. I got up at 3:30 to study and found myself unable to concentrate.
So I took a nap. It's raining still.
Drat. I want to go to the beach.
I'm sick of studying. as soon as I finish one lesson, there's another, right behind it. (I've c0mpleted 47 out of 95)

How it should be

I'm at work already, I hitchhiked in, because the OI Girl is on the OI, I took her car home yesterday so she wouldn't have to pay for parking. I left my car at work last night and hitched a ride this morning. I walked out of my house at a 6, and was walking to the road and a car was coming so I stuck my thumb out. I wasn't even at the road yet and the car stopped. It was a girl who was late for work and she took me half way, to the Ritz. Then I was walking from her car to the road and another car came. I stuck my thumb out and it stopped and I had a ride to work way early. So I'm making some coffee and doing a blog entry.
That's the way it should be, if someone needs a ride, give it to them. I pick up hitchhikers and I'm glad I got picked up. I know it's dangerous some places, but it shouldn't be. It was still dark and the girl who was late for work still picked me up.
It's easier to trust people until they give you reason not to rather than vice versa. It's very difficult if you never give anyone a chance.

a good one!

Well, it's Friday, but I'm working tomorrow. The OI Girl is going to the Other Island tonight. She is very excited, as well as her old boss, who I kind of think is also her best friend. OI Girl's staying at her old bosses apartment, which is next door to where she used to live.
I'm working Saturday, three outside broadcasts, back to back.

Yesterday was good at the West Bay Heritage Day. There were some technical difficulties though, I always get interference from West Bay. Today is North Side Heritage Day, and tomorrow Pirates Week is over. It's been a good one!

My studying is going well. I've been getting up at 3:30, and studying from 4 till 6:30. I still need to pick up the pace a bit though.

Antiques

East End Heritage day was good. We didn't go on the air much because of the talk show. The talk show is good. It's on from about 12:30 to about 2PM on Tuesdays Wednesdays and Thursdays. (I added a link on the right lets you listen to Radio Cayman live streaming audio)

Anyway, there were a lot of antiques yesterday. Here's some pics: I was most interested by a lady who was selling plants there. I am going to buy some big mango trees in the near future.

Organ

wash basin

Old Newspapers

My Grandmother had one of these, with rollers that squeezed the clothes dry on top.


Today is West Bay Heritage Day. We're on the air from 4 till 6!

Monday! (not)

It's Wednesday, but it feels like a Monday to me, because I was off yesterday!!! And it was GREAT!
today is East End Heritage Day. We're broadcasting from 1 till 2:30. Above is a pic from my day off yesterday. It is from the public beach on Seven Mile Beach, looking south at George Town and the cruise ships.

Bodden Town

Yesterday was Bodden Town Heritage Day. I think it was great and I had a good time. I got to talk on the air a lot.
When we first got there, the parachuters came down, they jumped from a helicopter. The very first one waited till I thought he was going to die before he pulled the ripcord. They are very acrobatic. They do all kinds of loops and turns and then come almost straight down at a high rate of speed then even out and cruise parallel to the ground before landing like an airplane. It would be really fun to try that.



The two pics above are Steel Pan Drums. The second shows the detail, hitting different portions of the surface produce different notes.

Here are what Americans call "tops" but Caymanians call them (I think) "Jigs". I forgot.
You hold the string and kind of throw it/spin it almost like a frisbee but aiming down toward the ground. They can spin for a really long time. They are hand made out of wood from trees destroyed by Hurricane Ivan and most have a very sharp piece of metal like a nail sticking out the bottom to spin on. I couldn't make them spin, but all the children can. Most come with a special base to hold them and display them whey you're not playing with them. They are high quality and very Nice!
Today is George Town Heritage Day. Our newsroom is covering that and I am not scheduled to work for it. But I might go down there just for fun!

Fish take Holidays too!

Today is a holiday here, but I have to work this afternooon for Pirates Week. I went diving yesterday and took some pics. I'm only posting one though, it is an Atlantic Spade fish, far far from home. It is the first I've ever seen here, but there were always schools of them in Virginia Beach and Hatteras. This one must be taking a vacation!
Today I'm studying, and hopefully making it to the beach before work. The IO Girl is working now.

Pirates Week

Here's some pics from the Pweek parade

(click to enlarge)

Fish in a school

Turtle

Old boats and new

Mean pirates we don't like to see!

Nice pirates we DO like to see! Well, that I like to see!

Welllllllllll

Well, I really didn't get what I thought were any good pics yesterday, but since I promised, here's one of a Cayman Islands Race car. Nascar, I guess, but I never heard of it before and don't know who the driver is. And a pic of one of the pirate ships. I got to go onboard, it was pretty cool. Built in 1928 I think the guy said. It's a party boat with bars inside and out. (I bet the bars were added more recently than 1928)

Today is the parade, and a much better opportunity for some pics!

Pirates week

Pirates Week starts tonight with the street party and the song contest. We'll be broadcasting it live!
I have my camera ready so you'll see some pics tomorrow!

I think it's going to work!

This morning, my alarm went off at 3:30 AM. It was 3:32 before I heard it. I showered shaved and was all dressed for work and studying at 4AM. I studied from 4 tll 6:30 and I feel like I got a lot done. I think this will work pretty good! Now I can make a little time for some beach and swimming and exercise during the daylight hours. We'll see how I feel when suppertime rolls around....
Still no sign of Tica.

Heartbreak

Last night, the OI Girl stopped by on her way home for work, I had chicken cooking on the grill and we had a nice dinner. Things were good. I'm pretty much over my cold and she's getting over hers too.
After dinner and a little nap, she went home to feed her cat and called me as soon as she got home. Very upset. I went to her apartment as fast as I could. Her cat, Tica, had escaped through the screen and is missing. My girl is devastated, she was crying on my shoulder full blast, totally heartbroken. We walked around looking for Tica, but to no avail. We slept on the couch in the living room so that in case Tica came home, we could hear her.
She loves her cat, she needs her cat. It hurt me to see her so sad. I got up at 3:30 and looked again, and succeeded in waking up the thousands of dogs that live in the area. And the roosters.
I hope Tica can find her way home.

This is an older picture of Tica, she still looks the same, but has a pink nose now.

The New Plan

I recently calculated it would take 55 weeks to finish my course, I want to do it in 6 months, that's 26 weeks. The problem is fitting my 3 hours of daily studying into my day. Also I haven't been to the beach hardly at all either. Just study and work. So now I have a new plan:
I intend to go to bed at 8:30 or 9 PM, and get up at 3:30 AM and study till 6:30. Every day. That way, my 3 hours are done befrore anything else, and I can go to the beach after work, just like olden times.
The key is actually getting in bed NLT 9:00 PM. My problem is lack of prioritization. If I get in bed early, I can get up early.
I would really like to know what you think of this.

The perfect cold

Friday Morning, the OI girl started gettng sick. She came home from work early. Friday afternoon I started getting sick. We were both sick all weekend and she's takikng a sick day today. I, however, woke up this morning feeling OK, so I'm back at work. Perfect! Sick Friday afternoon, well just in time for a Monday morning!

Sugar, sugar!

I'm going to give up sugar. Or more specifically, candy. I'm a candy junkie. I was reading Anduin Andorians blog and she posted about giving up sugar, and describes it as an addiction. Well that's me. I eat a whole pack of life savers at once. In fact, once I open up the package of any candy I eat the whole pack. That sounds like me in an addiction. When I used to drink, I never woke up with any booze in the house, I'd stay up and drink till it was all gone. When I smoked, I was a chainsmoker.
Many months ago I wrote here about wanting to loose weight. I went from 200 LBs to 185 LBs, but I've been stuck at 185 for almost the whole time. I wanted to get down to 175. That's not heavy for me (I'm 6'1" tall), but 175 is where I'd rather be. Maybe giving up sugar would help.
I'm going to give it a go.

Am I gonna make it?

I just finished another section of studying. It took a week. If I spend a week on each lesson, it will take 55 weeks to finish my course. I want to be done by June. I'll have to pick up the pace a bit....

Tomorrows post Today!

Happy Friday!
THIS is a recording of a very entertaining speech by a young man from Dominica who won an essay contest and recited it at the FCCA Conference.
You will like the speech and his accent.

Warning!
after you hear it, you may want to take a Caribbean cruise!
(mp3 audio, 6 mins 35 secs)

Shoddy Ritz

Things went well yesterday at the broadcast from the Ritz, I was kind of nervous, using an untested system to broadcast, but it worked well. Because of rain, I couldn't leave any equipment outside. Because of the Ritz, the equipment can't stay in the van, I usually set it up on a patio. Yesterday I broadcast using an adapter that lets me hook up a mixer to a cell phone. I broadcast using that. In the studio, I put a new telephone interface in and then called and went through the interface.
It went pretty well and The Ritz had good coffee, while it lasted. But they always let it run out. And the chairs were backbreakingly uncomfortable.Shoddy

Happy November

This morning I'm leaving for work early, I have a broadcast from the Ritz, on-air at 8:45. You can hear it live here. I won't be talking though, it will be speeches and stuff and one of our newsguys. (The link should open your windows media player)