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December 31, 2004

The Last of It

Today is December 31st. The last day of the year, and what a year it was! My God! Let me take you all on a short journey looking back at the year. First, the year began with me searching for and finding a job here in Grand Cayman. I left my job at the company I worked with in Jamaica and migrated. This was something I had planned to do for awhile, and which Natty and I looked forward to, so it was a good thing.

At the same time, preparing for my impending departure from the company I used to work for and for leaving the country in the early part of the year was causing Natty and I lots of stress. I didn't really document much of what was going on in this sphere in my blog, but trust me, it was a stressful period, with a lot of stuff going on in my life, both at the workplace and at home. This all took place in the first quarter of the year.

Finally we all moved. When we got here, there were a fair number of issues with the house we had rented prior to getting here. After about three weeks, things came to a head when the pipes in the bathroom downstairs developed a major leak and flooded the house out. We decided to move, and we had to find somewhere really quickly. Luckily things worked out. We found a great place, we didn't have much to move and all went smoothly with that.

we had a period of a couple of months of relative relaxation, which allowed us to gather our reserves for the tests that were to come later in the year. In that more relaxed intervening period, we entertained my parents-in-law, and we had a really good time during their visit. There was a lot of fun things going on. We went to the beach a lot, we went to great restaurants, we went out to the movies, we had fun exploring the place, we visited with friends alot and we had loads of fun. This idyllic period consumed the second quarter of the year.

Towards the end of Natty's parents' stay, M'Buthelezi came to stay with us too as she also migrated to Grand Cayman. Following quickly upon M'Buthelezi's heels was Hurricane Ivan! Indeed, I have joshed M'Buthelezi and told her that Ivan went to Jamaica looking for her, and not finding her there, he came to Cayman looking for her!

What a test Hurricane Ivan was! I won't go into it too deeply now, hell, my blog has somewhat documented the day-to-day problems which we faced, but suffice it to say that our lives were turned upside-fucking-down, and to date it still isn't one hundred percent back to normal. No electricity or water for extended periods of time, no school for MBJr. for a couple of months, no television or internet access (at home) from the time of the the storm up till now...

Following on from Ivan, Grand Cayman was rocked by the strongest earthquake in the Caribbean in many years. Although no one was hurt and no major damage to infrastructure occurred, it served as a heads up. One thing that we had not left behind from Yard was earthquakes, with all the problems which are attendant with that, and which have been brought into sharper relief by the Tsunami disaster in the Indian Ocean.

I have to note that we got off lucky with Ivan still, as a lot of people were in a much worse situation than we were due to Ivan. Also, here at the end of the year we see other people halfway across the world who have gone through a disaster that makes our hurricane look like it was just a little drizzle, so I won't complain too much... Check them out: 160,000 dead and climbing! Millions displaced and homeless! Probably much worse damage to infrastructure too!

Shit, if that had occurred here, possibly the Cayman Islands would be wiped out! While I am sure that Jamaica would fare better than Cayman, nuff nuff people would die there too! It is now a bit of a concern to Natty and I that we might face something like this too, as we have people here jumping to remind us that this type of an occurrence here in the Caribbean is not impossible either!

To say that it has been a momentous year would be a real understatement! We are definitely living in interesting times! Some good things happened during the year, but I probably won't be alone in saying that some pretty awful stuff occurred too. Thats why I posted that picture above, which is my current desktop background. That sunset seems appropriate to this time now... it represents the sun setting for the final time on 2004. 2004 is dead, long live 2005! Let us hope that the new year will be much more irie than this one, bwoy!

As the New Year approaches, many will also have turned their minds towards goals that they would like to accomplish and will be making resolutions about things they would like to change.

I guess the Bull is not really that much different from those around him. He too has been engaging in this type of activity. Of course, if you really want to achieve goals, they must be specific and measurable, so I have tried to add a measure of specificity to the goals I've set. I didn't bother to include the specifics here though. Here are some of my resolutions for 2005. See you next year.

• Save some money / make more money.
• Lose weight / Get some Exercise - lead a healthier lifestyle
• Enjoy life. It is short, and not to be wasted.

• Oh, and reload this rass PC, so that it'll recognise the USB port once more

Happy New Year, people!

Posted by Mad Bull at 12:35 PM | Comments (7)

Cho, Ra$$

I wrote a nice big post at home on my PC then copied it to a diskette to bring with me to the Internet Cafe. Now when I got there, the effing PC wouldn't read the file on the diskette and I am not going to retype all that shyte from memory.

Of course, people have been saying for awhile now that diskettes are obsolete, so I guess I only have myself to blame for insisting on using the stupid bloody things, nuh true? Actually, I would normally have used my USB memory stick to save the post to, but the computer I was writing the post on has its USB code all screwed up, hence I cannot use the USB memory stick on it.

I need to do is reload the bloody PC, something I've been avoiding as I was waiting to get back my internet connection before doing the reload. Having an internet connection ready is almost mandatory nowadays when doing a reload of a PC, so that you can download drivers and stuff like that, you done know.

Depending on how the day runs, I may copy the file later and try to post it again later, but in case oonoo doh see me, let me wish you all the very best for 2005! Y'all have a Happy and Prosperous New Year, seen!

Posted by Mad Bull at 10:23 AM | Comments (3)

We Got TV!

We got TV!!! We got TV!!! We got TV!!!

Thats what MBJr. was shouting over and over as the DSS Doc finished tuning up the dish and Spongebob's face swam into view on the TV screen. MBJr. was beside himself with joy! Did I mention before that he has been asking if we can go back to Jamaica so that he can watch TV? He has really missed it, and the look on his face yesterday afternoon was really a joy to behold.

Actually, no, its not cable, Weststar TV doesn't look like they will be in our area anytime soon, so I bit the bullet and got satellite TV. Now I have double the channels, for less money per month than I had before.

Big up to Seven and the DSS Doc for all they did in getting us up before 2005.

Also, yesterday I linked up with a bredrin who used to work with me at JPS. He has a Caymanian girlfriend and so they were on island for the Christmas season... We went to the Canton Restaurant in the Strand and ate some chinese food and ting. Great food! Afterward, we grabbed a couple of beers (and rum & cokes) by Hammerheads. We had fun. It was great to catch up on all the happenings at my old company too... T'was a good lime.

Posted by Mad Bull at 09:00 AM | Comments (1)

December 28, 2004

What a Gwaan

Not much on the personal side of things. Been watching a lot of CNN news to follow up on the Quake/Tsunami, you done know... 33,000 dead now. It were ruff, bwoy.

Did a little Bible reading, which was indirectly inspired by the quake. Natty has been worrying up herself bigtime with fears of the same thing happening here and she and Shoma were considering whether all this is stuff coming to pass which was predicted in Revelations, so I read some of that. Today we were talking about marriage (in general, not our own) and that made me pick up the Bible again, this time to read off the Acts of the Apostles and Paul's letters to the Romans and his first letter to the Corinthians.

Did you know that the Catholics seem to have based their celibacy thing on the writings of Paul in the first letter to the Corinthians. Imagine, the man said that it was his personal belief that it would be better for men to focus on God totally, which he felt they couldn't do if married, so it would be better for people not to get married.

He did follow that up with the proviso that it would be better for men and women to marry if they did not have wills of iron, and he did say that these were not rules from God, but just his own thoughts, and yet still, the Roman Catholics went and took up the burden 'pon themselves.

At the least, they should suggest celibacy but allow you to marry if you want, IMHO! As Bob Marley sang, "Dem crazy... dem crazy..." in his song "Crazy Baldheads".

Anyway, I did watch a couple of irie movies since I last posted and so I will big them up here. The first one was "Collateral" with Tom Cruise and Jamie Fox... I loved it, it did well wicked. Mad Bull endorsed to the max! Go ye forth and watch it. The second one I loved even more, if that is possible ( and it is possible)... It was a movie called "Snatch"! Trust me, it was irie! Go ye forth and watch that one too!

Anyway, I-man gone. Jamdown bloggers, link up with Scratchie, even if oonoo have to trek go to the man yard. Blogger link ups are good and pleasing to the Lord. This is my opinion still, not an edict from God, but I feel that I am a man of God (sorta) and so, give that which I have written some amount of weight, zeen? Go ye forth and enjoy the rest of the season! Peace on Earth and goodwill to men and all that good stuff.

Posted by Mad Bull at 12:48 PM | Comments (8)

December 26, 2004

Eight Point Nine!

Rass claat! Oonoo catch the news? Apparently an earthquake measuring 8.9 hit somewhere near North Indonesia and caused a huge tidal wave which has killed 9,500 people! Of course, this is just an early count! Hey, I am getting frightened, you know! Earthquakes seem to be hitting everywhere nowadays and Grand Cayman is kind of flat still. A tsunami of the magnitude they are speaking about here would really mash up the place! I really hope none of them of that magnitude lick anywhere near here anytime soon, bwoy!

We better pray for these people, bwoy, they are going to need all the help they can get!

Posted by Mad Bull at 02:12 PM | Comments (4)

Wha Di Christmas a Say?

Me in my D.T.F. uniform

How di Christmas a treat me? Well, I got a new job offer... I joined the Royal Cayman Islands Police, in the Drug Task Force (DTF). How do you like me in my uniform above? Nah, I'm just kidding, thats the dude from the game Halo 2. I just like the picture. While there is some amount of drugs on the island, I doubt that it would necessitate a team of people dressed like that still!

Anyway, Christmas is treating me well! I got a couple of well thought out gifts so I'm cool still. I bought myself a Wilbur Smith novel to read over the Christmas break, its called "The Sunbird" and its very good, nuff nuff excitement! Feel free to go buy it for yourselves, its "Mad Bull Endorsed", you zimi! Check hereso for other ratings on the book. I also have a couple of movies to go through.

On the Eve of Christmas Eve, we passed by Shoma's to drop off her daughter's present. We ended up chilling with some drinks. I watched "Bulletproof Monk" while I was there. It is your normal, run of the mill "Kickaz" (martial Arts) movie, nothing too intelligent, but it was fun still. Sometimes a kickaz is just what you need. MBJr. was cool too, he got to play some games on their XBox. He is quite the video game buff, so that made his night!

On Christmas Eve, we dropped by Piano Bert's to drop off some presents for his kids, and no, I didn't get his son any porn! While we were there, we were treated to some heavily spiked Sorrel and some irie christmas pudding! Good stuff! Bert's son decided to treat us to a fireworks show which MBJr. absolutely loved! It was a pretty good show still.

While this was going on, there was this crazy mutt that invaded the proceedings. Most dogs cower and hide when fireworks are going off, in my experience... this dog that lives down the road from Piano Bert was the total opposite, however. It was trying its best to attack the fireworks! The loud bangs seemed to attract it rather than frighten it. Very wierd.

Yesterday we went to dinner at Shoma and the DSS Doctor's place, there was some great food! MBJr. got on the XBox again, this time he got to play Halo2, which seems to be nothing much more than a hyped up, Microsoft produced game modelled after a game I used to play long ago myself, Doom, albeit with far better graphics. Natty and I played some Kalooki which Natty won!

Thats the first time that one of us has won at Kalooki since we've been here. I've run second a few times but neither of us had won the entire series of games previous to this! Big up, Natty!

What? How did I do in the game last night? Oh I came dead fucking last (DFL). Of course, the less said about this, the better.

Tomorrow we may have Natty's aunt and her cousin over to lunch. I'm contemplating a beach move too, although I may just wait until Wednesday for that, when most people are back at work. That should be interesting.

Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm on vacation leave Wednesday, Thursday and Friday! I don't go back to work until January fourth, dude!

So how di Christmas treating you?

Posted by Mad Bull at 05:14 AM | Comments (4)

December 24, 2004

Yow!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

So, I hope that you're all ready for the Christmas season? I'm not! No, not really... we got a few things left to do, but a so, still, you know. If we are done when Christmas Day dawns, then we done. If we are not done, then we are not, you simi?

We've still got the ham to do, and some presents to deliver, and I am also trying to get some TV into the house for Christmas Day, but if its after, well... no big deal, we'll survive. After all, Christmas is about family and friends more than TV, am I right?

Mamacita, M'Buthelezi and Elaine are in Jamaica, Seven and Piet are in Florida and Ciya and her family are in Toronto, so the family gathering here in Cayman will be rather small. Still, we do have a couple of friends to go check for Christmas Dinner here, including the DSS Doc and Shoma, and we're sure to link with Piano Bert as well over this week, so I'll let you know how that all goes. I'm sure we'll enjoy the Christmas, especially if we get the TV sorted. (* Hint hint, DSS Doc... )

Anyways, let me take this opportunity to tell you all thanks for stopping by and allowing me to bore you, and to wish you all a Merry Christmas and, just in case I don't get the opportunity to do so before then, may you all have an absolutely Smashing New Year!

   

Posted by Mad Bull at 12:36 PM | Comments (8)

December 23, 2004

Likkle Bit

Did you check out the Doctor's post this morning? No? Well, he wrote a short likkle thing of a post, just something for you to stuff your stockings with...

Well if such a learned man can do that, I guess y'all can't blame me for doing the same thing, now can you?

Here is a likkle, itty-bitty thing of a post. First, yesterday I posted a couple of pictures and a video clip. Based upon the comments, I figure that most people didn't click on the video clip. Let me urge you all to visit this link and check out the video clip now. It well wicked! : Click Me!

Secondly, the praises of Richard Grant, who I wrote about a couple of days ago, continue to flood in. Check out this one and this one. The man was loved, rasta!

Anyways, I'm gonna leave you with this little bit for now. If something burning comes up, I'll lay it on you later, seen?

Peace and love, you know.

Posted by Mad Bull at 04:05 PM | Comments (7)

December 22, 2004

Just Liming...

Last night, I was sitting in the car with MBJr. while Natty went into the toy store to pick up some presents for the little man. I don't remember how it came up, but MBJr. and I got into a discussion about Santa, and I was reminding him that he had seen Santa at school. "Remember Santa came to see your class at school? Didn't you meet him then?" I asked. MBJr. replied that he had met him but that a girl in his class had said that he wasn't the tral Santa. I asked him why she said that, and he told me that she had pointed out that this Santa who was visiting them waswearing a watch, and she didn't think that Santa had a watch!

I told him that Santa did have a watch! I told him that Santa had all the modern stuff that we have, like fridges, stoves, TVs, playstations, cell phones and so on, but in addition to that, he had a lot of cool stuff that we didn't have, like sleighs and flying reindeer and so on. You just know that I had to keep up the deception, right?

At the same time, I was struck by how observant the little girl was, and by how she drew conclusions on the basis of what she saw. Interesting, innit? Can you imagine if Santa and his crew did have access to all the technology we do have though? Maybe a scene such as the one below would really occur, nuh true?

Theres more. Click the link below for another interesting picture, and people, its only PG-13!

MORE...

Posted by Mad Bull at 04:27 PM | Comments (6)

December 21, 2004

Times Well-Well Ruff

If you were from Jamaica, and from Kingston, and I were ask you if you knew the guy who wiped windshields by Devon House, 9 times out of ten you would answer yes. Everyone knew him!

If I were to ask you what you thought of him, I'm certain that 10 times out of 10, the response would be favourable. Everyone who knew him liked him too.

He was a cool guy for true, just like they said in this newspaper article. In fact, he was one of only three windshield wipers that I liked in the entire island, because the range of emotions conjured up by all the other ones that I have come in contact with goes from mild misgivings to absolute disgust. Dem horrible, people, and I kid you not! Richard Grant was not just a nicer than normal windshield wiper, he was a fine human being, and a great example of a Jamaican man.

Anyway, Richard Grant was killed by gunmen recently.

"Since his death, the outpouring of love for Richard has been continuous." the article says. I can believe it. Here are two letters to the Jamaica Observer that back up what the article says...

Here is the first, and here is the second.

Richie will be sorely missed, and especially so by his family. The man had two sons, apparently. Dig deep, people and put a few dollars into the account to help out Richies family. Its for a good cause, and at this time of year, well, its just the right thing to do, you done know. You can go to any branch of NCB if you are in Jamaica, and pay the money into account number 354168243. I am going to try to find out the necessary info if people want to wire money to them, seen?

Bless.

Posted by Mad Bull at 05:54 PM | Comments (6)

December 20, 2004

Hulk-a-mania!

Yes mi friend, me deh at work again.

Anyway, as soon as I finish writing this short post, I-man ago flash! I just wanted to tell you all that I tried a new drink out last night (At least, its new to me) and I wanted to give you all a heads up. Us bloggers have to be on the lookout for good things to tell all bredrins about, nuh true?

Anyway, the drink in question is called The Incredible Hulk! Its made by mixing equal portions of Hennessey and Hpnotiq! The mixture produces a lime-green looking drink that should be served in a tall slim glass, because its one of those drinks that you use to profile as well as to get a good buzz on, you simi?

It tastes great, and while I only had one, I am sure it can lick off your head. Fellas, this one might be an even better "Leg-Opener" than Baileys, you done know!

Ladies, don't get mad because I said that, you see that I have put it up here for both the ladies and the fellas to see, so take heed, because you have been warned.

Posted by Mad Bull at 07:13 PM | Comments (7)

December 19, 2004

A Whe Dem Deh?

Bwoy, the Yard people blogs dem gone silent, Iyah!

Bwoy, I know that recently, I-an-I have been guilty of not posting much, but I have the escuse that I don't have an Internet connection! I tell you what though, I've just had a brilliant idea! I have been blogging since 2001, so just go check out the post for the day I missed, but in a previous year. Heh heh, that'll solve the problem in my case at least, but the rest of you, you will have to post something, yuh simi?

Yesterday was pretty decent, even though I had to go in to work twice. What was good about work yesterday was that everything went according to schedule, and there were no problems. Its always good when things go like that.

Aside from going in to run some month-end processes, there were other things I was happy I did. Natty and I went and got our christmas tree, and I watched "I Robot". Hey, Will Smith has managed to land some pretty good movies, hasn't he? Of course, a lot of the movies were of the same genre, some action hero type of movie, but he has played those parts exceedingly well, hasn't he! Hey, we know he does a reasonable job of comedy too, from his "Fresh Prince" days.

"I Robot" is a nice little movie to watch, and it features Will in the role he seems to love best. The man seems to have beefed up for this movie too, so the women must have loved that!

I enjoyed the movie, but at the same time, I'd like to see Will do some more serious movies too. He needs to take on some of the types of roles that actors like Morgan Freeman and Denzel Washington do. By that, I mean roles where what is focused on is their mind, as in the roles where they are top detectives, or where they are cast in some deeper, more serious role, like Morgan in "Driving Miss Daisy". Actually, I didn't see "Ali", I wonder if that would have fit the role that I'd like to see Will in? Hmmm? Any of you seen "Ali"? Should I see if I can rent it?

In other news, I need some ideas from you all? I have to buy presents for two girls and a boy. I think that the girls are between 8 and 10, and the boy is about 14. What do kids at those ages like nowadays? Hmmm. I think I should get one of the girls a CD or two, maybe Avril Lavigne and Usher, as she has their posters up in her room, but the other girl and boy I don't know that well... Actually, I'm sure the boy would probably like some porn movies because at that age most boys are so horny they'd phuck breeze if they could, and I do know where I could find a couple of DVDs to let off pon him, but somehow, I don't think his parents would appreciate that.

As for the girl, well, what do 8 or 9 year old girls like? I have no ideas, so fling some comment to me nuh?

Posted by Mad Bull at 05:59 PM | Comments (9)

December 18, 2004

Storytime Sinting

About this time of year here in Cayman, they have a sort of storytelling tradition or something. Over the years, it has become more formalised into an annual event with a billed name and everything. This year, inspite of Ivan, they had this event again. They called it "Gimistory 2K4", and the storytellers went to Elizabethan Square and told stories to the audience. This was a free event. Natty and I had planned to take MBJr. to it, but didn't get around to it still.

Maybe its a good thing we didn't though! Trust me, it sounds like something that can be enjoyed by the entire family, but at the same time, if your kids are really young, maybe it ain't such a good idea. One Saturday night, we decided to make our way down to the Bayside Cafe to eat. While we were driving, MBJr. asked Natty to tell him a story. Natty said "Later, when you are going to bed I'll tell you a story." Then she turned to me and said "We really ought to take him to the Gimistory thing, you know.". Then she turned the radio dial to Radio Cayman, and what do you know! They were broadcasting live from "Gimistory 2K4" down in Elizabethan Square! People, dis post kind of long, so click the link below if you want to continue to read this...

MORE...

Posted by Mad Bull at 02:57 PM | Comments (2)

December 17, 2004

Road Accident

OMG! Look at that! I saw the email subject "ROAD ACCIDENT!!! Thousands mourn!". When I clicked on it I saw why? This is terrible! All that beer!

I just thought I'd share...

On a totally different, more tragic note, did you all hear about the boy who, while surfing with friends, was torn apart by two Great White Sharks? What a terrible story, huh?

On the news report that I heard, the reporter noted that in Australia, the Great White Sharks are protected. Apparently though, the rules in the different Australian provinces vary, and in some provinces, you are allowed to hunt for Great Whites which have attacked humans!

Now I don't really think that hunting these sharks down will help anything, unless they know that Great Whites that have attacked humans once are more likely to do so again, maybe, but let me ask the question... just how do they propose identifying exactly which two of the Great White Shark population were responsible for the attack? What, do they think the sharks are going to do a Flipper-like dance on their tails, waver their fins at the hunters and say "Here I am, baby! Bring it on"?

If anyone understands how they hope to accomplish this hunt, please, enlighten me!

Posted by Mad Bull at 10:43 AM | Comments (4)

December 15, 2004

Earthquake

Bwoy, its pure excitement here at work this morning! Everyone is talking about where they were and what their experience was during the earthquake yesterday! Yah man, we had an earthquake measuring 6.7 on the Richter scale. It was the strongest quake since 1900. Its epicentre was 20 miles off Bodden Town.

We are so lucky though! Imagine that, 6.7 and yet so far, there have been no reports of injuries or structural damage! I heard on the news this morning that Dominica had one recently that measured 6 on the Richter Scale and they have several millions in damage!

So, how did it feel to be in the middle of such a big quake? I can't say! Not from personal experience anyway! I was driving home with M'Buthelezi and we didn't feel a thing! The first I knew of it was when we stopped at Hurleys Supermarket and everyone in there was all excited and chatting about it! We couldn't figure out what all the hullabaloo was about for awhile either. Once I found out, we called Natty and asked her if she had felt it. She was badly shaken, pardon the pun.

I didn't realise how badly shaken she was until I got home though! She was standing in the doorway by the front door with MBJr. with the door wide open! Now this is just not something that Natty would ever do under normal circumstances, you see, as Natty is absolutely terrified of the frogs that hang out by the front door in the nights, catching insects which are attracted to that vicinity by the lights shining through the windows! For her to be standing there like that showed me how bad it must have been. As these Caymanians would say, "It were rough!".

Posted by Mad Bull at 08:48 AM | Comments (9)

December 14, 2004

Gee Whiz! Its (Almost) Christmas!

Rass! Its December 14 already? The year is winding down now, bwoy. What a year it was doh, eeeh? This has definitely been the most eventful year for me in a while, and it is a standout year even in a period of eventful years! Check it out? I left a company I had worked at for twenty years, I migrated, and I went through that terrible storm! What a year indeed!

I need to start thinking about my resolutions for the new year now. I know one already! I have got to get more exercise! I went for a walk on Sunday, the first since maybe August!

I walked out part of Northward to Shamrock Road, west along Shamrock to Beach Bay Road, then down Beach Bay, right to the beach and back. It was a 5.2 kilometre journey, I measured it with the car afterwards! I am going to try to keep it up, even though I ddn't make it yesterday. I want to gradually add in things like push ups and sit ups/crunches. Wish me the necessary mental strength nuh? I need it bwoy, because me a get round!

Hey, one thing the walk has taught me is that there is quite a nice little beach at the end of Beach Bay Road. I need to find out if it has any dangerous currents, as there was only one couple there when I went. I hope it gets a bit more crowd than that still, because I like to swim in places where the dear little sharks have a lot of choice in the water, not just me one, you done know?

Like how the year is winding down, I guess now that the roof work is done, Natty and I ought to get into the Christmas decoration thing. I have to get a tree set up, and maybe get some lights for outside. we shall see. I'll definitely post at least a picture of the Christmas tree.

Guess what? I have thought up the beginnings of a plot for a short story. I like what I have so far. The ending is not yet fleshed out though. Maybe if you're nice to me, I'll even post it when (or if) I get done with it.

Posted by Mad Bull at 04:57 AM | Comments (7)

December 13, 2004

Some Laughs

Posted by Mad Bull at 05:18 PM | Comments (2)

December 12, 2004

The Office Party

We had a blast at my office Christmas party last night! It was awesome! First, the food... the food was great! The office party was kept at "The Grand Old House", one of the top flight restaurants on the island, and they had done a great job with the food.

There were four serving stations, one with Caribbean food, one with Asian food and one with European style dishes. The fourth serving station was for dessert. These serving stations were all buffet style, and you could go back for seconds and thirds if you wanted. Since the pants I wore had grown rather tight since I last wore them, I didn't make any second and third trips, but the food was great.

I had Tuna, Salmon, Mahi Cayman Style, Shrimp salad, some Japanese style chicken, rice and beans and vegetables. Sweet!

Apparently the management always does something funny to entertain the staff. This year was to be no exception. Four of the top managers dressed up in Beatle wigs and some crazy outfits, called themselves "The Buttles" and took the stage to "entertain" us for the evening! Of course it was all in good fun. They had electric guitars and drums but they were only faking playing them. They were really doing the singing however. They sang about five of the Beatles tunes for us! They didn't sound too bad either.

They had these bodyguards (other managers) dressed in special t-shirts saying "Security" on the front, and "The Buttles World Tour 2004" on the back. The bodyguards had the job of fending off the 'adoring' women fans (some of the younger, more nubile women from the bank). While they were performing, the women would rush the stage and hug one of them, before being expelled from the stage by the security. The women were standing around the stage with signs like "I love you, Mingo!",(Mingo being one of the Buttles of course) and "Be mine tonight!" and other stuff like that.

Following that, they had a sound system in place with a popular DJ from Vibe FM called "The Docter" at the turntable! I didn't think he was all that, but the tone for the night had already been set, and the open bars and the good vibes ensured that the dance floor was constantly filled until the very last song was played.

It was a lot of fun. I'm sure that it was the best office party I have ever been to. Thanks go out to M'Buthelezi for chillin' at home with MBJr. so that Natty and I could attend. Sorry you all weren't there!

Posted by Mad Bull at 10:59 AM | Comments (11)

December 11, 2004

Hammerheads

You know, I finally got out to a bar. Its the first time I have been to one since I came here. I went to Hammerheads on Thursday night to take out our consultant from England before he flew out Friday afternoon. Hammerheads was quite nice.

Its kind of like Peppers in Jamaica, with the entire bar area constructed out of wood planking, but the difference between them is that Hammerheads is right by the sea, ao that adds immensely to the ambiance.

Actually, now that I think of it, its more like that little bar down by Port Royal where we used to catch the boats to go to Lime Cay (click here for more pics), but its much more picturesque. Wow, I can't for the life of me remember the name of that little bar, help me out nuh Doc?

Hammerheads is quite a happening place, seems to get a nice crowd and ting! Of course, nuff more chat deh yah... click the link below fi continue nuh...

MORE...

Posted by Mad Bull at 09:46 AM | Comments (7)

December 09, 2004

Dem A Mi Enemy!

You know, these people at my office are out to get me! As an example, consider this. Today we were all laughing and chatting at work, I don't remember what about, but whatever the topic was, it spurred me to tell my colleagues this anecdote from my past. I said "When my sister (Seven) had just got married, her husband (Midas) had a lot of his friends coming by, non-stop!

Hell, he had his play station and tons of really cool games, and his friends were heavily addicted to these games, so who gave a shyte that Midas was now half of a newly married couple, you get me?

Anyway, one evening when I was passing through, a guy that her husband knew dropped by.

Now people, this guy was a major asshole, everyone thought so, and quite a few of the people that were there wished that he would leave. Being an asshole, however, he didn't pick that up at all, and so he hung around, like a tick on a dog! He was getting on everyones nerves too, you know.

Anyway, eventually he learned that one of the other playstation junkies was already upstairs playing the playstation. Since someone was already upstairs, he took his leave of us plebs and went upstairs to bother the poor soul who was up there. After all, that was probably his major reason for dropping by, you nuh seet?

When he had left the room, someone else who was there picked up his cell phone which he happened to have left on the coffee table. They asked if the phone was his, and then they used his phone and called people they knew all over the U.S., can you believe it? I know it was horrible, but the guy was awful too, you know?".

My colleagues all laughed for a bit, then one of them asked me "So how much was your phone bill?"

Now I ask you? With friends like that, who needs enemies, know what I mean?

Posted by Mad Bull at 05:09 PM | Comments (8)

A L'il White Lie

...can be useful sometimes. You have to know how to bowl them, you seet! This is a story a bredrin sent to me in an email. I thought I'd share it with you.

George Phillips of Meridian, Mississippi was going up to bed when his wife told him that he'd left the light on in the garden shed, which she could see from the bedroom window. George opened the back door to go turn off the light but saw that there were people in the shed stealing things.

He phoned the police, who asked "Are any of those people in your house?" and he said no. Then they said that all patrols were busy, and that he should simply stay in his house, lock his doors and an officer would be along when available.

George said,! "Okay", hung up, counted to 30, and phoned the police again. "Hello, I just called you a few seconds ago because there were people in my shed. Well, you don't have to worry about them now 'cause I've just shot them all". Then he hung up.

Within five minutes, three police cars, an armed response unit, and an ambulance showed up at the Phillips residence. Of course, the police caught the burglars red-handed.

One of the Policemen said to George: "I thought you said that you'd shot them!"
George said, "I thought you said there was nobody available!".

Apparently this is a true Story... my bredrin's comments were "I LOVE IT!". I do too.... hey, its not one or two people who have complained bitterly to me over the length of time the police took to respond in their time of need, you know! You would do well to remember this approach, because you may need to do something similar when YOU are in a scrape.

Big up to Mr. W.F., you done know that you large already, seen! Later, my crew...

Posted by Mad Bull at 03:47 PM | Comments (2)

December 07, 2004

Miss Dom. Rep. it is!

Well, queen of the Caribbean, that is, just like I predicted earlier. In terms of the overall competition, my choice came second overall, though she look much nicer than Miss Peru to me. Normally I put up the picture of Miss World, but Miss Dominican Republic fits the bill better to me, so....

People, can you believe that I didn't know anything about the fact that Miss World had been chosen? Hard work and lack of TV get me out, to rahtid!. Anyway, see I'm not so bad in picking the top girls still. In the Miss Jamaica, the girl I chose came second, and in the Miss World, my choice came second. Me large in these types of selection, Iyah!

Hey, all was not lost for Miss Jamaica after all, eeh? See, she won Miss World Scholarship! She mussi did really bright fi true!

Big up to her for that still!

Posted by Mad Bull at 02:43 PM | Comments (7)

The Morning Cup of Coffee

Good Morning. As I write this, a colleague at work is driving in to the office, about two hours early. She will run a couple of quick tests and if she is satisfied, she will flick the switch to allow public access to our new online banking system, and the work of the last week, especially Sunday and last night, will not have been in vain. That is a good thing! As Miss Lou would have said on Romper Room, clap us!!!

I just put on the coffee... we are just down to Folgers Special Roast now, unfortunately.

Since we have been here in Cayman, we have had to be drinking this drivel now and again. Whenever Natty or I passed through Jamaica (three times since April), we would pick up our normal brand to take back with us, Our normal brand is a 'B' or 'C' grade Blue Mountain coffee. To stretch this, I have been mixing our brand with the Folgers. That yields a decent tasting cup of coffee over a longer period of time.

I have also recently discovered a Cuban coffee called Cubita which is quite nice by itself, which helps the Folgers to taste fairly palatable, and which, when mixed with our 'B' grade, is absolutely wonderful!

I am going to have to pick me up a little baggie of the Cubita today. By the way, I saw something at CNN.com about Microsoft offering a blogging tool now too, sort of like a blogger service. Am I alone in feeling that Microsoft is getting into too many areas of our lives? I don't like it.

Anyway, me gone! I am going to cork my nose and drink down the Folgers, then I am going to get ready to go back to work. TTYL.

Posted by Mad Bull at 05:50 AM | Comments (5)

December 06, 2004

What a Gwaan

Bwoy, the weekend was pretty phucked up, what with some people coming in to repair my roof. They tore out the sheet rock on Saturday. They were to come again on Sunday and again Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, but they didn't turn up Sunday! Natty and the head indian on the team had a discussion re the time they were to come and he indicated they wanted to come before 8:00AM on Sunday! She suggested a later time and the guy said that they had another job, and so had to be there by then. The last thing she told him was that they were to come, whoever was awake would let them in.

They didn't come and said that Natty told them not to come! What a bunch of liars!

That has extended by one day the period
in which we will be living in a house swathed in dust and grime!

They better show up this morning and doh phuck themself, because living in this dust is just not right! I doh want to have to hurt nobody! Awoah!

The people who were putting back the shingles on the roof showed up on Sunday though. They were banging away all day on the roof. They told us it would be a one day job, but they ran out of shingles, so they will have to come back again too. To top it off though, I had to go in to work for the whole day Sunday. That just sucks, know what I mean?

Enough said on such gloomy topics, Iyah! Hey, do you know who is a pretty hot babe? Kate Winslet! I saw her in the "Titanic" and I did think so then, but my observation was reinforced considerably in this movie she did with Jim Carrey, 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'. In that movie, she played this zany girl with lots of issues. She was in a relationship with Carrey who was deeply in love and who thought the relationship was going well. He knew there were a few issues, but he thought they were ok, you know?

Oops! NOT! My girl was a bit unhappy with how things were going on, so she had this company erase all her memories of him and she just got on with her life!

Now she didn't break up with him, you know! They had a bit of a fight and she left. The next time he saw her (I don't think it was more than a week later), she didn't know him at all! In fact, she was smooching it up with another guy! Ouch!

He eventually realised that she had undergone this procedure and had her memories of him erased, and in an effort to get on with his life, he tried to have his memories of her erased too. I really liked this show. What a concept, huh? I can see why the show wasn't a hit, saying it was hard to follow is a bit of an understatement, but it was pretty decent once you struggled through it. Quite funny too!

But back to my original point. Did I tell you that Kate played a zany character in the movie? Throughout the show, her character had her hair dyed, at first blue, then red. Blue like an electric, bright blue, like you's see on a car... red as in bright, pinkish-red, kind of like nail polish. Even with her hair like that, my girl looked hottt!!! In fact, maybe that helped her to look even hotter. It gave her an air of being totally unconventional, on the edge, you know, and that made her all the more exciting!

In fact, I liked her hair so much that I am after Natty to drop in some blue in hers soon! Anytime she does it, I'm going to have to sing "You think it a go go so when I hold you tonight?" to her, you done know! Heh heh heh!

You know, if there is one thing you can say about Ivan, its that he sure got me watching up a ton-load of movies, bwoy! I can't remember when I've watched so many movies in my life!

By the way, a big up goes out to Robert Redford in 'The Clearing"!. The movie "Big Fish" can watch still, but doh let nobody hype it up or you will be disappointed. If you are a Trekkie, Star Trek Nemesis and Star Trek Insurrection were nice, Nemesis moreso than Insurrection. Hey, DATA seems to have gone offline on a permanent basis in Nemesis, you know? How dem coulda do that to DATA, (and indeed, to us, the fans) I don't know.

So what a gwaan in your neck of the woods? Anyway, I-man gone go get ready for work, TTYL.

Posted by Mad Bull at 05:30 AM | Comments (6)

December 03, 2004

Mi Late to Ra$$

Bwoy, I was LATE to work this morning! There was a four car accident by Spotts and the traffic was awful. The traffic remained snarled even after they cleared the smashed up vehicles away, because people were all slowing down and gawking at the vehicles, because two of the cars were left on the side of the road. Its so unfortunate that they have only one main road that basically goes the length of the island. I think that they definitely need to give some thought to building another major road like Shamrock road, man!

Anyway, I heard a couple of decent jokes on Vibe FM this morning. You know how they make a number of standard announcements while you are on flights? Well, these were some announcements which the flight crew made, but which were quite funny.

The first one was done by the captain on a fairly long flight. Apparently he had a very very "senior" flight crew, and when he levelled off he came on the intercom. "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. We have attained our scheduled flight altitude of 33000 ft and we have clear skies. We don't expect any turbulence and so we are going to turn off the seatbelt and the no smoking signs at this time. We will also be dimming the cabin lights, both for your comfort and also to enhance the appearance of your flight attendants."

He probably went on further, but that was definitely enough, nuh true?

On another flight, when they were landing, they smashed the plane down onto the runway and everyone got an awful bump. As they were taxi-ing to the gate, the flight attendant said over the intercom "Ladies and gentlemen, that awful bump was not the pilots fault. Neither was it the flight attendants' fault. It certainly wasn't your fault! Ladies and gentlemen, it was the asphalt! We have landed in LAX and would like to thank you for flying with us..." etc. etc.

I dunno about you, but I enjoyed those. There were more, but my RAM was completely used up by then. I hope you enjoyed them too... Have a nice day! TGIF!

Posted by Mad Bull at 12:53 PM | Comments (7)

December 02, 2004

Good News... Sorta...

Whuzzup, whuzzup, whuzzup! Hey, I have just had great news! You remember how months ago, an evil lady hit me in the back, thus crunching the Accord's rear bumper? The woman expressed an interest in dealing with it hersef, so as not to impact her insurance premiums. Since she was a Yardie like myself, I was trying to help her out. Well, she took a good long time to come up with the money, in fact she only came up with it when I got her husband involved and threatened to turn everything over to the insurance company. Unfortunately once she paid up, Ivan struck within a couple of days! Nowhere was open to repair the car for some time, and I was only able to get an order out for the new bumper on October 21.

Now the Accord is a Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) vehicle. You can buy them here in the Caribbean for less than the same American version sells for, and they tend to have a lot of performance features which don't come on the U.S. version, but the parts for some of them are quite scarce! My Accord is unfortunately one of those for which the parts are scarce. It had to be ordered from Japan and it wouldn't be available for about six to eight weeks!

Anyway, I passed by the garage which is doing the work today and they say that they have the bumper now! I am to bring it in to them on Monday. At last!!! YeeehHAWWW!!!

Anyways, while my baby will soon be restored to her beautiful, badass self, I don't really think I should keep her still! I don't want some other more essential part to go bad eventually and then I end up becoming a "walk-foot" for eight weeks, you simi? Now I have to contemplate selling her, and if I do that, deciding what I'm going to replace her with... Hmmm...

Posted by Mad Bull at 02:31 PM | Comments (6)

December 01, 2004

Blogs, Shots, and the the Borg

Guess what, Merriam-Webster, Inc. has declared that the word "Blog" is the most searched-for word on their internet dictionary site for the year! Wow! You'd think that people would know what a blog is all about then, huh? Not at all, my friends, not at all... Everytime people hear that I have a website and I tell them its a blog, I have to launch out and explain what the hell its about. I tell them its about everything and anything that interests me, but I find they have to actully go there and browse around for awhile to get the picture, you know?

Despite that fact, blogs seem to be increasing in popularity and number, more and more each day. They are becoming like the Borg! Click the previous link to check out an analysis of blogs as the "Borg" Journalism.

Speaking of the Borg, I have come up with an entirely new way to assimilate people into my collective (the chocolate consuming one, that is! ). I simply give them a couple Cadbury Shots or a Cadbury's Milk Chocolate bar with Caramel and BOOM! They're hooked instantly. I don't even have to buy these products for myself anymore. All my co-workers and my wife are buying them constantly, so whenever I feel for some, I just beg them a likkle piece!

Pretty cool, huh?

Heres a challenge for you! Do you think you can resist joining my collective? Have yourself some of either of these chocolates once, then see if you don't go back to buy more, often! I don't think you will be able to help it. As an English dude who works with me declared after I gave him some yesterday "They're bloody magic!". As the Borg say on Star Trek, "Resistance is futile."!

BTW, Spiderman II is finally out on DVD here in Cayman, I watched it last night! Excellent! Much better than the first one, IMHO! Give it a go if you haven't seen it yet!

Posted by Mad Bull at 05:23 PM | Comments (4)