Tower Of Babel

Wait, is 5:30 AM, whappen? You nuh wake yet? You naw go work? Onoo loafing!! I am on LEAVE and I am up…so what a gwaan? Jus cool. Yeah, I know you been missing my little scribbles, but man been enjoyig himself to de max…weekend did irie and well spirited. So much so that I could only tip back a single RS Lite last night to celebrate with Legal Aid on his murdering his exams successfully! Congrats rude bwoy. I know that you put nuff effort and fretration into it. Brings to mind medical school for me.

Anyway, as you all know, I am off to Rufie and family today. I wanted to do a post yesterday, but I tell you, a peice of tiredness hold me after doing the heap o shyte that I had to in order to flash out. Listen, when you have responsibility and ting, you don’t jus jump inna plane and gone like in pickney and teenage days to rahtid. Pay dis bill, do dat, send fe dis…yadda yadda. Plus I did some private practice last night also. Anyway, I managed to get (more my body crashed and took) some well needed sleep. But I still could use a bit more…maybe in the aircraft later (though I am not a man to sleep in plane)…but we will see. While up so, I am to link the Angry Dog and finally meet Pebbles. Should be good meeting up. Can’t believe is six months since he was here and we met.

On July 5, I head to Florida. So, if Sunny wants to meet, or at least chat pon phone…she can e-mail me at wikidskindoc@yahoo.com with the digits! BTW, Seven, if you still read here, I hope to see you and Midas as well. I am going to send my FLL contact to MB by e-mail for him to forward to you.

Anyway, I naw linger too long. I have to go lick all my regular watering holes with a comment, and in addition, there is that four letter word to deal with…that ends in CK…..now, what the backside were you thinking I was referring to?? Is PACK I man a talk! I will try and drop een from time to time, after all, the blog is never too far from the mind, is it? Take care ’till I get back, when mi bredrin bredrin Mad Bull and family will be here also! More time peeps. The Doctor is OUT!

Well, it is Friday…not just any old Friday (if there is such a thing anyway). Woke up this morning to the soothing sound of light rain on the roof with grey skies. I don’t mind, it will help to give us some reprieve from the daytime heat we have been having to endure. I started by saying it is not just any ordinary Friday…..’cause it isn’t. Why so? Well, A. Today is payday, and B. as of this afternoon I will be on LEAVE! So, like a seventeen year old yute whose Fada let off the cyar key pon him to go street for the first time…..I inna some good spirits my people. I shall not allow anything under the sun to screw with my mood. I am looking forward to my flying out of here on Tuesday to see Rufie and the little one…..and jus chilling with not a care in the world. Aint life suweet!? No post linking any article of news today…..no need to depress anyone. TGIF… the leggo beast going street starting tonight. Tek it easy people! (All you who may have to slave away at work next week and not FEEL my mood…well…a so it go! )

Well, in case you haven’t heard, sugar from Caribbean countries (like Jamaica) suddenly is not as sweet as it used to be. The European Union Commission has decided to cut the price they pay for sugar imported from this region by a whopping 39% We have an expression here that goes…’Everyhere you turn you get frig!’ Sugar used to be a big income earner for us, and still provides livelihood for many. Now this. Bauxite and alumina production used to bring lots of money….not so for many years now. Ok, so we still grow bananas…Ivan came last year and blow down most of de tree dem. Industry just start to recover….locally we paying big bucks for bananas right now. That not so bad…we still have some tourists coming here. But, cause of crime, nuff of the other countries in the Caribbean getting favoured over us as places to lay off on the beach and sip rum. Yeah, but dat cool…we still a grow coffee…Yes, we still have plenty a grow up inna de Blue Mountains…Ivan did affect that too. Earnings from coffee don’t feed as many people as the sugar industry. Sigh.

Bwoy, the sugar tasting kinda bitter now. Would be lovely if the rest of the world could do a similar thing to OPEC countries and simply decide to drop the price of crude oil by 39% eh? Anyhow, I gone go get ready for work.

What a day I have had….work and more work. In addition, the heat drained my energy and had me wiping sweat from my brow while examining patients. Anyhow, I did what had to be done.

I was doing a bit of blog surfing and read Campfyah’s latest post. I might have gone a bit overboard in my comment there, but like her site is titled…”It’s all Good.” She cited two examples of what I referred to as racial stereotyping. After typing my lengthy comment, I mentioned that I might post something of a similar nature. Hear what, I tiyad. So, I went into my archives, and found a post from what I might refer to as ‘better blogging days’. Here it is. Give it a read. Finally, someone visited the site and wanted to know what the author looked like…sent me an e-mail. So, here is Dr. D. Comments on the old post and the pic, if you wish, are welcome. Peace.

That’s what we are being described as. Why so? Well, read this article. Another case of vigilante justice. Yes, it not right, but at the same time I can understand how the ‘vigilantes’ feel. You naw get nuh action from the authorities, so deal wid it on you own! I mean, if you are awakened by sounds from your garage one night, and looking through a window you see man trying to tief you wheels, you jus going mek dem gwaan wid it? After you wuk hard nuh ra$$ fe buy it. No sah! Next ting you call 119 and by the time dem reach, if them do come at all, you vehicle or worse, you life gone! Naw, it cyaan go so. Jamaica gone well bad….Basically the people sending out a message. We tiyad o de rubbish. Anyone know the solution?

Not a lot to report this morning and I kinda rushed, so have a good day and try to beat the heat…..it well warm already and is just a few minutes past eight! Drink plenty H20. Later peeps.

You might be wondering why I have used the date today as the title for this post….well, is because today is supposed to be the longest day of the year in terms of daylight hours…and it suppose to well hot. Yesterday did warm I tell you, but I was pleasantly surprised….the night cooled down nicely up by me.

Watched some HBO before I hit the sack. They had DEF Poetry hosted by Russel Simmonds. Guess who turned up amongst the artistes…nuh Bounty Killa. And in addition, the surprise act, Alicia Keyes! Now, me love dah woman deh better dan mi left seed people. She suweet! Overall, good bedtime entertainment.

You wouldn’t know how I looking forward to Friday this week…..I will be on leave Friday afternoon. In addition to that, our clinic on Friday afternoon at the hospital was cancelled by the boss on account of a conference which she’s attending….so, by midday, I will be free like a bird….tun leggo beast to ra$$…a look forward to a wikid Friday night lime…..and we are supposed to have been paid by then too! (Dem better doh try none o de shyte weh dem did do last month!) Anyhow, it is only Tuesday right now, so let me as a sistren of mine would say…’calm myself’.

Last night private practice was pretty busy…so though I came home tiyad like a dog, I have a few dollars to put in the kitty. You done know dem seh that ‘by the sweat of the brow, shall we eat bread!’ (If only there was an easier way…..not that I’m lamenting.) Enuff of me and my idle chatter.

I saw this headline in today’s Gleaner. I thought for a moment after reading it. If indeed these employees of the airline are guilty of ‘trafficking’ people illegally into the US, then they must suffer the consequences. However, if the converse is true and they are innocent, I can see wid how they feel. US officials can be pretty pig headed in the way they operate. They basically act by rote IMHO. They do not know how to use any level of common sense, especially at their ports of entry. Once a man fits a ‘profile’ they handle one and all like they are guilty of a crime, and can be damn feisty on top o it! Quite frankly, I am not looking forward to passing through Baltimore Washington International Airport next week. Because of its proximity to the White House, that place come ‘een like Alcatraz to rahtid. Anyway, let me jus cool. I hope that the true story with these employees of our airline will be sorted out. Having said all of that, I have on the rare occasion met Immigration officials in the States with a sense of humor, so let me not crucify all of them.

As you might have surmised by now, I don’t have a lot to share, so lest I be accused of chatting bare fart….I gone go get ready for work. Later will be greater…at least I hope so.

Hail up people…yes I know its Monday and even I am not in the mood to go to that place which helps pay the bills, but you know how it go…so why lament? I have visited two blogs authored by women since morning and bucked up on a similar theme at the two sites….lack of sleep…insomnia to rahtid! A hell of a thing when it tek you.

Sleep is so therapeutic. It is what helps our brains to rest, aids vegetative functions like digestion, autonomic functions like erections in us dudes (though that can well happen during our waking hours as well….once the stimulus/li are of the right kind! ) In fact (and I’m digressing a bit, but you dun know I am male)….some say that one of the reasons why we men get rigid inna de night is to nourish the tissues of that vital organ…the increased blood supply that comes with an erection bringing all manner of good nutrients with it! Anyway, back on track…..Sleep is vital to our well being and normal functioning, and though I don’t consider myself any expert on sleep and sleep associated disorders let me see if I can come up with some advice on how to induce slumber.

I find (for me anyway) some exercise helps (and that could include the pleasurable type involving a partner as well). Make the atmosphere conducive to sleep….no noise. Watch some TV from the bed…it should be turned down though. Get comfortable…minimal clothing (if any at all)….fabrics should be soft and bed clothes should be very loose fitting. Extremes of temperature make for uncomfortable sleep….so not too hot, not too cold. If you hot and sweaty, a shower before retiring is helpful.

One of the things I do almost involuntarily is to rub my big toes against the first little toe….suppem I been doing since my teens. (Yeah, I know dat one weird.) A cup of warm milk before bed may help some. No late coffee, tea or sodas….the caffeine is an eye opener. Alcohol may well help…but they say that too much leads to interrupted sleep. Since this is a blogging community…a little surfing until the eyes get cloudy can be helpful. Read… a novel, the newspaper, magazines that interest you. Hope this helps. For me, once I decide I turning in, if I really tired in ten minutes or so I am gone…though I tend to sleep lightly.

I hope that if you didn’t rest well last night, that tonight will be better for you. Going to work without sleep makes me feel like dawg shyte….brings back unpleasant memories of post call days at work when I was an Intern! (Constitution couldn’t tek dat again! ) Anyhow, it is get up and go time, so done the slumber argument for now.

Finally, a little humor does help to get us through the day. I’m linking an article I saw in the Gleaner this AM. Is not a joke joke still. But somehow, I rather like the analogy that the recent earthquakes were an indication of Asafa’s coming to break the 100 m. world record!

BTW, gwaan go wish Scratchie and wifey Happy Anniversary!

Have a good day you hear!

Ok, it is Saturday approaching noon and I feel in the mood to loaf round the yard in boxers, no shirt. I got in after 2 this morning and feel a bit tired, but there is no hangover to speak of. The lime was good as per usual.

Spent the last few minutes downloading pictures from my camera to the compi. Some of the photos were clinical…of patients which I had on the disc from long ago, others of the birthday bashment we had last week Sunday for my cousin. I am to print the nicer ones from the occasion and take along with me on my upcoming trip or she going vex. And there is one of local scenery.

Yes, it has been a while since I have posted a picture and recently I have been a bit up the creek for interesting ideas to discuss….perhaps an indication that I have already discussed nuff of the things that I wish to…and current events naw do it. Not everyone wants to read about news related stuff anyhow….there are newspapers and the internet…

Nevertheless, I have been mentioning how green the hills around us have become in recent weeks due to the rains…well the shot above showacses the look of the place. I was looking through the window from the office on our ward yesterday morning and I found the hills so pleasant to look at that I snapped them with the intention to share it here. I know that bloggers in Cayman and Florida nuh have no such hill vistas. Looking at the hills I had a quiet moment and just shared a few thoughts with the Almighty. Hope you like it…I certainly do.

Likkle more when I muster up some energy I going pass through the supermarket (not exactly a joyful experience) and then pick up a likkle suppem for Daddy for Father’s Day tomorrow. All those of you rude bwoys who have pickney, have a good one and all of you with Daddy’s…do something for him tomorrow nuh. Post not really a seh much, so hear wah…. I gone.

I woke up at about 5:30 this morning. Being quite early, I just laid in the bed listening to the sounds around me….the early morning birdsong was blissful. There is one particular bird that has a sweet and melodious chirp…I don’t know what type of bird though. Perhaps the birds were going all out rejoicing this morning, as today is the first in days that we are seeing some blue sky and a little sunshine, the days of rain have apparently ended. Nevertheless, with daytime heating increasing the humidity, I would not be surprised if we have a shower in the afternoon. (Start sound like weatherman to rahtid!)

Post sounding mundane so far? Perhaps. I find of late that I am not much into the sharing of opinions and am even less interested in posts where celebrity media hype come into play…who gives a fart about what these ‘celebrities’ are wearing or who dem sleeping wid? Cho! Maybe it is an indication of the process of ageing maturity. I find I have less time and interest in that sort of stuff. I now gravitate towards to the simpler stuff in life…sharing good times with my family and bredrins…..(I think you are all aware of how much I look forward to a Friday night lime with the crew)…Presently I am looking towards next week Friday when I go on some well needed leave. Then on Tuesday the 28th I head north to Rufie, Marc Antony and my neice. I will also pass chru FLL on the return leg and I know that my cousin Beloved who was here last week is planning a BBQ. Oh, Sunday is Father’s Day. Have to buy a likkle suppem for Daddy. Some Chiney food for Sunday dinner will work in addition.

Right now I jus here enjoying a large cuppa Earl Grey and the quiet inside the house, plus the fact that in about 90 minutes I will have completed four days straight of being on call….which (knocking wood) could have been more hectic.

Paid the cyar insurance yesterday….30G. Having done that, the account could use some topping up…so payday next week I think. Anyway, mek me not bore you any further.

Saw this in the headlines of the Gleaner today. My thoughts….four less dutty cockroach to rahtid! Unfortunartely, some of the employees of Super Plus were injured and have ended up in hospital. I hope they will recover from their wounds. The article almost sound like the stage for the filming of a movie eh? Poor us. Not to say that this could not happen elsewhere.

On the work scene, I had a bit of a touching experience yesterday. We have on our ward, an elderly lady that we have admitted for skin grafting of a Chronic leg ulcer. I had noticed that whenever I am at her bedside she tends to stare at me. I didn’t think anything of it and just put it down to being her. She is a sweet old lady…almost Grandmotherish….and as I don’t know my Father’s mother, and my Mother’s mom died when I was a yute, I really do not know what it is like to have a Grandmother. Anyhow, yesterday I was siting an IV on her and she said to me….”Doc. I have to let you know something. Maybe you have noticed how much I tend to stare at you.” I told her that I did, but I wasn’t bothered by it. She continued…”Doc. You look so much like mi son. He died in a car accident in England about six years ago. You looking after me so well that I feel as if you are my son reincarnated!” I could not respond but only smiled, knowing only too well how it feels to have lost to death, a close family member. She is to have her skin graft today. I hope for her sake that it goes well.

Well, I’m going to leave you all now. Nice link up planned for tonight. TGIF.

Well, the wet weather here continues unabated….we had a bit of a reprieve from the rains in the day yesterday, though under cloudy skies. By about 7 PM last night, the soothing sound of the drops on the roof started again, and continued all night. As I type here, it is falling quite steadily. I can definitely say that it does not make a man feel like getting up and going out to work, but, alas I got to go. This does not speak well for private practice later this evening as folks don’t come check Doc when weather like this prevails…they prefer to be at dem yard seeking shelter. I think it is a general Caribbean thing…after all, we are a people that live for sunshine and dry weather. One thing for sure, it has kept the place at a decent temperature.

On other news, the WORLD’S FASTEST MAN ASAFA POWELL was was welcomed home yesterday. More big ups to him.

Our local airline is joining their US counterparts in cost cutting measures. Effective July 1st, Air Jamaica will not be offering meals on flights shorter than two and a half hours. Instead they will be offering snacks (the usual pretzels and Coke handed out by US airlines comes to mind). So, all you hungry belly Caribbean people who accustomed to fly with your stomachs, better start to carry your plastic container with rice and peas and jerk chicken when flying to Miami from Ja! Oddawise, gas a go hold you!

Apart from that, I nuh really have much to share, so hear what…later will be greater…at least I hope so.