What a fright I got yesterday. My mac book pro made a whirring. My life! Made an appointment to get it fixed. Here I am.
Guy basically took my computer. I don’t know where he went. He could have stolen it. Oh well.
Oh he’s back. He said that the plastic part of my battery broke off and went into the fan.
I think I will make a necklace out of this.
So now we are running tests to fix this. Yay.
One set back gone and now off to making musiqia!!!
Here’s a first!
And…
And…
And…
I can’t believe even in this weather people still laugh at me for wearing ski goggles. Well, a frozen face hurts more than hurt feelings! But my feelings aren’t even hurt, so even better for me. And not so much for the frosty sheeps!
I think this situation is silly and educational enough to be in a children’s book.
(copied from a conversation I had with a friend)
“omg
u know what happened the other day?
in the metro, yesterday
at the metro platform, a homeless man asked each person individually for money, and a nice man said, ‘i dnt have money, but i can give you food,’
and he was like, “yea man, that would be so nice”
and then the nice man searched all over his tote bag and hands him a pastry nicely saran wrapped
the homeless man takes it and continues to hassle others for money
then he walked right by me and dropped the pastry
right in front of the nice man”
So how, may I ask, can one stay compassionate to the homeless when they see things like this? Not to generalize, and understanding that homelessness is a complex issue that will not be solved with sandwhiches. And no, a simple smile and hello won’t solve a guy’s drug addiction and overall mentality. Don’t fool yourself. Maybe some people are hopeless, maybe some others are not. Maybe some need +$1,000,000,000 in therapy. Maybe some just need time. Maybe we need laws that are more fair to prevent people spiraling down like this. It all comes down to patience, resources, and more compassion. Also, many might not agree with me, but it is better to give your food and money to anti-poverty organizations like the United Way that have a professional staff that are better equipped to deal with this issue.
My Trip To Cuba
I did one of those all inclusive deals to Cuba. All you can eat, all you can drink deals. I was hesitant at first because I didn’t like the idea of living like a self entitled royal in a resort bubble while people behind the scenes are slaving away for less than a meagre wage. But I figured this could be an opportunity to meet some insiders and learn about the reality of the 2nd most visited Canadian destination. Plus, I always wanted to escape the harsh winter and this seemed to be the safest way. So here is my day to day:
Day 1.. At the Airport…
My partner and I arrived at the Santa Clara airport. Yes, it was nice to feel the heat in December. But the surprise didn’t end there…
Culture shocks:
A uniformed airport employee gets cozy on a bench with his arm around a female colleague. Later on, another female colleague joins him on the other arm.
A well groomed female employee had a very visible moustache, otherwise she had her hair tied up nicely, jewellery, makeup, neat clothes and all. I wrote it off as maybe a strange exception, but then I saw two other pretty women with moustaches. If only this trend was in Canada, I would save so much time and anguish!
And other observations:
Toilets were like North American ones, but they had no lids. I had to squat. This could actually be good for working out some important muscles, and its more hygienic because your arse does not touch a seat. But one wrong move, and then its havoc for the next users…
The roads were empty with the odd old-timey car. There are no street lights.
Finally at the resort…
Our resort is in a rather isolated island, miles away from any Cuban community. We had to pass a police check point. I thought that this was a place where Cubans were not allowed to go, but then I found out they were, but only if they paid like any other tourist. And some actually do (apparently, though I didn’t meet any).
As soon as I arrive, I drank myself silly with pina coladas, and throughout the week I fine dined as much as I wished, lobsters, shrimps, salads. There wasn’t one minute where I felt hungry. Even at breakfast time, I was still full from the dinner the day before. I found the food relatively good. I don’t know why many reviewers online said otherwise. I was happy.
Beware, the internet is flippin’ expensive and really slow! 12 CUC per hour! (which is around $15 CAD)!
In the bedroom…
It was relatively clean and spacious, but there were some minor problems, like the water pressure was low, and the toilet didn’t flush. A technician had to come a few times that week to fix the problems.
The next day…
In the morning, I could hear exotic birds chirping. It was like the sound of a pet shop, but better.
They made it a point to keep their guests of all types happy in the resort. Food, entertainers of all sorts, there’s a beach, volleyball, a ping pong table, even bingo. Oh and there was a gym, and a lot of stray cats around for people to pet. I found a room with a piano that I got to play with. But still, that is not what travelling was for me, so we bought these two day excursions.
Yay I found a piano!
Excursion 1 …
It was very well organized, in eight hours:
Excursion 2… The Jeep Safari
They gave tourists a fleet of jeeps to drive. In 8 hours we got to…
The best part of driving of the jeep safari is seeing all the kids running out to wave to us as we were driving by. I wish I had presents for them!
mmmm!!!! )(#*$)@#&$(*&#$ Sugar Cane!! Where can I buy some in Montreal!? Oh and a bird!
The last few days…
We were beach bumming around.
We snorkelled some more, I got used to it and saw a lot more interesting fishies.
Okay, I love this guy’s outfit so much.
Notes:
No, not everyone speaks English. And the workers are limited to the vocabulary of their jobs, “yes”, “no”, “Wine please”. I brought a dictionary with me, which was useful at times. I wish I took a Spanish class before coming. I could have gotten way more insider information!
There was a TV in our room. There were some English programs. We saw an interesting documentary about Hugo Chavez. Very interesting person.
Cubans are paid around 12 pesos a month. Housing included though…
We tipped tooth brushes and tooth paste since those things are luxuries. Apparently they could also use floss.
If you are in Santa Maria, buy your rum and cigars at the airport! It was expensive at the hotel and the “shopping mall” (an oversized gift shop for all tourists on the island).
