Restaurant Week at Gimbilyn

Complementary Drink: Orange Sunrise

As decided by my wonderful voters it was decided that I would be going to Gimbilyn at the the Alhambra Inn  for Restaurant Week. After closing the polls on Wednesday I decided to call Gimbilyn restaurant to make reservations for dinner at Gimbilyn Restaurant. However, it seems that not only you my voters thought Gimbilyn was a good choice, as I was told that they were booked out for the entire weekend! How could this be? This meant that I will not get to sample the menu Gimbilyn had to offer? Nor would I get to go the the restaurant that my voters chose for Restaurant week?

Appetizer: Fresh Garden Greens

I must admit I was disappointed when I was told that they were totally booked so dinner for Thursday evening was definitely out of the picture and possibly for the rest of Restaurant Week. However, I was not in the mood to give up! So I called back and asked if anything at could be worked out for me to dine there for Restaurant Week, but once again I was denied, but this time with a glimmer of hope. The receptionist told me I could call back on Friday to check it there was any available slots. Friday morning I did just that wan with great results as they had two slots, one at 7:00pm and another at 9:00pm! Of course you know I opted for the 7:00 reservation time and it was all set!

Main Course: Pork Passion

The ambiance at Gimbilyn is certainly conducive to dining with it's dimmed lights and open air feel, with both dining inside or outside on a terrace. added to the cozy, enchanting feel was the music in the background, some 80's souls music. The staff at the restaurant was also very pleasant and courteous, especially the waiter that served our table. So, ambiance great, staff great, now what about the food?

Dessert: Tropical Pina Colada Cheesecake

After glancing through the restaurant's menu I had made my selection: for appetizer it would be the fresh garden greens, for entrée I definitely had the Pork Passion and finished off with the Tropical Pina Colada Cheesecake. All this was accompanied by the sponsored drink mix, called Orange Sunrise, which included Appleton V/X. The garden greens was a crispy mixed leafy salad greens topped with slivers of Parmesan cheese and served with a June Plum Vinaigrette. I didn't think the salad was extra ordinary but it was satisfactory nonetheless. My main course the Pork Passion was Grilled Smoked Pork Chops accentuated with a sorrel sauce and served with sweet potato croquettes and seasonal vegetables. This was good, and that's just not because I love pork! The meat was tender, well cooked and the sauce sorrel sauce gave it a sweet flavour. The only thing that would have made it better was if it was a little more deeply seasoned and spicy. Nevertheless, the light flavour was still good and I would definitely have another slap of the pork! The Tropical Pina Colada which boasted a combination of coconut rum, chunky pineapple sauce and toasted shredded coconut din't live up to my expectation but was just OK.

After dinner complimentary Martini

The Restaurant Week menu was not the end of the treats that Gimbilyn as our waiter presented us with coupons to get 20% off Country Style juices, a Virgin Atlantic competition entry form and stamped our receipt for a free mix at the Alhambra Inn's bar. Overall, my Restaurant Week experience at Gimbilyn was a good one and I would definitely dine there again.

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Gimbilyn It Is For Restaurant Week 2010!

The poll result are in and we have an undisputed winner for the restaurant I should go to for Restaurant Week! [Dramatic drum roll!!!] An the winner is... Gimbilyn Restaurant!!! here are the results of the poll, which was officially closed at 11:59pm yesterday.

KRW 2010 Which restaurant should I dine at for KRW Gimbilyn Restaurant 43.5% 10 Grogge Shoppe Restaurant 30.4% 7 East Japanese 21.7% 5 Hotel Four Season 4.3% 1 total votes: 23 powered by blogpoll

So it' soff to Gimbilyn Restaurant to sample their Restaurant Week menu, cuisine, service and ambiance! Thanks for your participation and your votes, I really appreciate it. Look out for my review of my Restaurant Week experience at Gimbilyn Restaurant in my next post!

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Wine, Spirits and Food Galore!

Tasty dessert from the Jamaica Pegasus booth

On Sunday November 14, 2010 the Jamaica Pegasus launched its two day event that features a culmination of wines, various spirits and food samples dubbed as the Jamaica Pegasus Wine, Spirits and Food Festival. I was invited to partake in this wonderful event that had a mixture of two of my favorite things, food and alcohol by the Director of Marketing of the Jamaica Pegasus, Prudence Simpson. I was thrilled when the invitation was extended to me to wet my palate with all the offerings! So with belly in one hand and my trusted camera in the next I was off to the Jamaica Pegasus! So what did this festival had to offer?

The Appleton Estate booth

I arrived at the Jamaica Pegasus at 4:30 pm and was greeted in the lobby by the wonderful Prudence Simpson who ushered me to the Jamaica Pegasus Grand Jamaica Suite, which was already a buzz with activity. There were several colourful and alluring booths neatly arranged in the large suite beckoning to the eyes. The booths raged from several wine & spirits companies to an array of food distributors and manufacturers, as well as the Jamaica Pegasus' own booth.

Santa Carolina Wines

I started off with the Jamaica Pegasus booth which offered a selection of pastries including my favorite, Black Forrest cake! After indulging in the pastry, I was off to moisten my palate with some wine. My alcohol consumption started off with Trivento Argentina which had a great assortment of wines, that I thoroughly enjoyed! I then made my way to the Tastee booth, then to the Worthy Park Estate booth where a lovely young lady made me a mix that included Rum Bar rum.

CB chicken ham

Next it was to the Mandingo booth, where I was a bit disappointed that Maliah Michel wasn't there, but the ladies there were enough to keep me occupied and to cheer me up with a mix! Next it was more wine at the Santa Carolina booth, food at Geddes Grant, more food at the Hunts booth, met a friend at the Nirvana booth, ate more food at the CB booth! But it didn't end there, oh no! I had Sex In The Sun at the Wray & Nephew booth, had another rum mix at the Appleton Estate booth, more food at the Celestial booth. I then topped it off with some Jablum Coffee with White Rum from the Jablum Booth and some soy ice cream from Country Farmhouse!

Nexus in performance.

But the festival wasn't only about food and alcohol, it also had live entertainment and giveaways! The performing arts group named Nexus gave an awesome and very entertaining performance which ad the crowns attention throughout their entire performance! I had never heard of Nexus before, but they certainly made a good impression at the Jamaica Pegasus Wine, Spirits and Food Festival! The Jamaica Pegasus also pleased it's audience with several giveaways including a weekend for two at their hotel. I thoroughly enjoyed myself, the wine, the rum mixes, the food, meet and greeting and of course taking lots of photographs! The festival end Monday November 15, so if you haven't gone yet you should check it out! Definitely something you should mark on your calendar next year too!

For more photographs of the festival visit my facebook fan page album Jamaica Pegasus Wine, Spirits and Food Festival. Remember to "Like" my page!

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Time To Live Local, Eat Global At KRW 2010

Every November for the past six years several of Kingston's eateries offer their culinary creations to the public at a discounted rates in what is called Kingston Restaurant Week (KRW). This well anticipated culinary experience, under the theme "Live Local, Eat Global", begins today Saturday November 13 and runs to Saturday November 20. The participating restaurants offer a three course meal consisting of appetizer, a main course and to top it off a dessert all at a price lower than their normal price. However, over the years the popularity of KRW has grown to include even more restaurants in the city of Kingston, and even beyond to include Montego Bay and Ocho Rios. The restaurants are grouped into four categories based on price ranges, namely:

• "Tasty" $1,450
• "Savory" $1,750
• "High Rollers" $1,750
• "Delectable" $3,300 and
• "Epicurean" for $3,800

I have been eating out during restaurant week from the inception in 2004, but due to budgetary concerns I have been limited to the Savory category. This year I wanted to elevate the luxuries for my taste buds and try the Delectable, but alas, I am even in more financial constraints this year and will be limited to the Savory Category yet once again. I am a bit disappointed about not going to one of the restaurants in the Delectable or Epicurean category as I was looking forward to try the talk of the town, Susie's Bakery & Coffee Bar or the restaurant overlooking the city, Strawberry Hill. So confronted with my immediate reality I have gone through the Savory and High Rollers for possible restaurant that I have not tried as yet and came up with a few choices. The choices are:

• Gimbilyn Restaurant - Alhambra Inn
• Grogge Shoppe Restaurant
• East Japanese
• Hotel Four Season

However I am still not sure which of these participating restaurants I will try for KRW. This is where you my values readers come in, yes I am relying on you to help me choose where to go for KRW. I will do this by a a vote, the restaurant that gets the most vote by Wednesday November 17 will be my choice for KRW! So here is your task: Check out the menus of the four restaurants that I have chosen and vote for the one you think I should dine at for KRW below. As easy as that!

I will provide a review with pictures of the restaurant that you choose, which will highlight my entire dining experience, including: ambiance, service and the quality and taste of the food. But just don't take my word for it, go out and enjoy KRW and let me know your experiences. Happy, discounted, dining!

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I Tested the Kingston Beta

Members pose for a photo at Kingston Beta 17 floor Jamaica Pegasus

I have heard about Kingston Beta for a while now and have been been invited to their meetings before but for one reason or the other I never got the chance to attend. So This time I made it my duty to be present for their November meeting, especially since this was their last meeting for 2010. But what in Kingston Beta? And why would I be interested in going to their meetings?

Michael Campbell of Virtual Mall Jamaica making his Pitch

According to the Kingston Beta website, it is a bi-monthly networking meeting and a startup pitch forum where both Jamaican and Caribbean tech, internet, mobile, business professionals, entrepreneurs and enthusiasts can learn, network and gain inspiration from others in the varied industries. Well as a budding entrepreneur and photographer, such an event would of course spark my interest and would be very advantageous to me! After all, I would get to network with individuals in many of these industries in a bid to introduce my services. It would also give me the opportunity to see what ideas and businesses are out there and to gain some experience and encouragement from those who are successful business people. Also, it would be a very good opportunity for me to work on refining my event photography skills... sshhh, nuh tell dem! Now I wonder to myself, why didn't I make it to these meetings before? [slap self in the back of head]

L-R: Chris Mills, Monique Powell of Roaming Donkey and Gordon Swaby

I consider my experience at Kingston Beta to be a good one, which was held at the Jamaica Pegasus, as it lived up to what it was all about. I got to learn of new businesses that are now on the market in the stages of breaking out to be successful ventures as well what help there is out there for those wishing to venture to the route of entrepreneurship. There were pitches (or presentations) from Roaming Donkey a online guide with a difference; Virtual Mall Jamaica, a local online shopping website featuring local companies; and ICT4D, a "Jamaican-based network organization established to define, promote and facilitate the use of information and communication technology in the development process." I also got to do a little networking, which I hope will pay off, and of course I took a lot of photographs of the event. It was not all just pure talking as there were several giveaways as well as wonderful finger food which I did enjoy! To learn more about Kingston beta you can visit their website http://kingstonbeta.com/ and follow them on twitter @kingstonbeta. The next Kingston Beta meeting will be in January, which I will make every effort to attend! Will you be there?

For more of my photos of Kingston Beta November 11, 2010 you can view them on my facebook fan page in the folder Kingston Beta November 11, 2010. Please remember to "Like" my page!!!

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Doubtful Tomas

Early projected path of Tomas

Just a few days ago all eyes were on the eastern Caribbean as a young hurricane called Tomas tore through a few of the Leeward Islands and almost completely destroying the entire St. Lucia. According to the the weather  website projected path Tomas had Jamaica lined up like a sniper looking through his aiming lens on his rifle. Jamaica was projected to receive a direct hit from what would be a category 3 hurricane called Tomas!

However as time passed Tomas seemed to loose some of his confidence and was downgraded to a tropical storm, but had the potential of regaining strength to a category 1 hurricane by the time it reached the vicinity of Jamaica. But that was not all, as it seem Tomas changed it's mind about a direct hit and was projected to head north between Haiti and Cuba, but was supposed to skim the eastern end of Jamaica as a strong tropical storm or category 1 hurricane!

Line outside Pure Water store Kingston Jamaica

With this sigh of relief, but still a heightened sense of preparation Jamaicans began to get ready for a similar downpour of rain like with our recent visitor Nicole, but this time with even some storm force winds! On the day before the storm people could be seen shopping for supplies! Even yours truly got caught in a line at the pure Water store getting some purified water even 2 days before the projected date of the storms arrival. Jamaicans were taking no chance with Tomas and got prepared to some extent.

The day of the storm the anticipation filled the air and this was also evident on Twitter as tweets were flying all over about Tomas expected approach. The countdown continued, the anticipation grew, the satellite image showed an ever closer approach... but... wait... Where was the rain? Where was the wind? Where were the outer bands? Where was Tomas? The hours went by, but all I could see was overcast skies, but no rain and no wind! As I checked the storm track I saw Tomas wobbling east of Jamaica, like an insecure, doubtful child! Finally the rain started, it seems it was here... What! It stopped! That was it? As the night went by, it all seemed that Tomas was a figment of the satellites imagery and our imagination. Tomas passed by Jamaica without even a good shower or puff of wind. The only evidence of Tomas we had was the overcast skies, a few short showers and the satellite imagery.

I am not complaining though, I am happy and give thanks that once again Jamaica was spared a disaster. Especially after how Nicole battered us with endless downpours. We braced ourselves, but never go hit. However, it's never a disadvantage to be prepared and those 3 tins of mackerel and corned beef I bought will certainly be eaten in the coming weeks! Jamaica missed another direct hit, yes we were bypassed by doubtful Tomas.

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Farewell Cool Ruler

Image from http://www.jahreggaeshop.com

The man dubbed as the Cool Ruler, an icon in the Jamaican Lovers Rock music, Gregory Isaacs has passed. This great Jamaican musical icon succumbed to his fight against lung cancer on October 25, 2010 in London at the age of 59.

Gregory Isaacs forty year musical career produced several hits such as Love is Overdue, Out Deh, Sad To Know, Big All Around, Rumours and my all time favorite Night Nurse. Like most great artistes he had his fair share of problems, due to his well known abuse of cocaine and subsequent run in with the law. Nevertheless Isaacs still managed to continue to produce hits and to have a successful career. He was also a staple and well anticipated performer at the Heineken Startime show which featured artistes and songs from the 70's.

Gregory Isaacs was certainly a great artiste and a powerful force in the Jamaican music and entertainment industry. Another great Jamaican icon has passed.

Enjoy my all time greatest Gregory Isaacs song, Night Nurse, below.

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New Photo Blog!

So true to my words in my last post, I finally got my own domain name and blog for my photography, joelfinnigenphotography.com! With the aid of my fellow blogger and photographer Jamaipanse I was able the setup the photoblog with relative ease. So now I have a platform to blog about my photography, yes a blog dedicated only to photography and my journey to photographic bliss!!! So far I two posts on the blog, on an introductory post and the other is about my first shoot with my new Nikon D90. The other good thing is that I now have my own domain name, which looks much better on my business card... which I have ordered from Moo.com. I could stay here and tell you a lot more about the new blog, but that would just spoil all the fun for you. So head on over to joelfinnigenphotography.com and explore!

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Opps, I Did It Again!

It has certainly been a while since I have posted anything here... I seriously think I have lost my Blogging Mojo. I used to be able to write a post sometimes even three or four time a week! but alas, I just can't seem to do that anymore, I'm averaging about one post a month now. I need to get that Mojo back, because it's not even that I am extremely busy to the point where I can't find time to blog. This is very urgent as I am about to launch a brand new blog... yeeesss, I said brand new blog. But this will be different, as it will be totally dedicated to my photography, so no random post about the weather, just pure unadulterated photography. I am hoping to start that blog by as early as next week. I think it will be a good Idea for me to document my journey in my passion, photography. I should have started that blog a long time ago, but procrastination got the better of me. Have no fear Stunner's Afflictions will still continue to be around for all my other useless musings. So you can look out for the launch of my new photoblog in a few days.

The bride's shoot shot with my Nikon D90

Since I am on the topic of photography, let me give you an update on how that is going. Well, I have improved a bit since I last spoke here about my photography, but I am still oh so far away from where I want to be. The journey is long, hard and very expensive, but photography is something I love so I am still walking the perilous journey. I have now done two weddings as a second shooter and have gained enough confidence to take on a wedding of my own, yes a a primary shooter. I have to admit, being a wedding photographer is one of the hardest jobs one can do! One has to be prepared to sweat, put up with pain all over: hands, feet, back etc, organize a chaotic bunch of nervously overjoyed people, get the exposure right, catch every special moment... and the worse thing is, you mostly only get one shot, no retake! And if you think it's finished there, you are wrong, as there are several days of post work in front of the computer to really wow the client. I have a few prospective ones in the wings, so I am looking to getting those contracts and of course the pay! Hehehe...

My new Nikon D90 and Nikon 18-105 kit lens

My passion of photography has cause me to do some really crazy things, get on my belly, climb up on dangerous ledges, venture into secluded places... and it still continues to make me spend money that I don't have! This is still true as it was demonstrated recently with two new major acquisitions. I had been noticing that my Nikon D60 DSLR was somewhat limiting my creativity and had started to toy with the idea of upgrading to a new camera. however, it was not until after my first wedding as a second shooter that I was convinced that if I am going to be serious about photography, I needed an upgrade. With this in mind and a lot of thought, calculations, budgeting and sweating I made a leap of faith, yes went out on a very frail limb and made two major purchases. I sold my Nikon D60 and upgraded to a new Nikon D90. At the time I could only afford the body, thus I was lacking a general wide angle zoom lens as I had sold the one I had with the D60 body. So a few days ago I again sacrificed and bought a 18-105mm lens, which I got just yesterday. Was all that money worth it?

A photo from my first model shoot with the D90

It certainly did! I shot the second wedding as a second shooter and was not disappointed and depressed as when I did my first with the D60! The D90 proved itself at that wedding! I must admit that even though I have not done much shooting with the D90, I am loving it! I did my first model shoot with it a few days ago and the camera was great to use. So I have no regrets making the move to upgrade my camera. Now I need some good fast lens, but that is for the future. Right now I will have to work with what I have and hopefully make some good money to support this expensive addiction. You can take a look at the photos from my first model shoot using the D90 here in the set titled Crissie.

Wow! that was a mouthful and a half! Please make this be the Mojo coming back... please...

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Fashion Over Cash...

Packed parking lot and crowded sidewalks at The Village Plaza on FNOJa

... Or is it cash over fashion? Well whichever it was, people were certainly out in their numbers for the Jamaica Observer's Fashion Night Out Jamaica (FNOJa) on the eve of September 10, 2010! The Constant Spring shopping area was a buzz with eager crowds pacing the floors of the stores and sidewalks of the shopping plazas. Traffic was thick, and parking was only a figment of the imaginations of drivers who arrived after 6:00pm! It seemed as if the entire Kingston metropolitan area descended on the shopping strip.

Customers inside Jewelry Collection Twin Gates Plaze

A very packed Ammar's Village & Mall Plazas

From all indications FNOJa as a great success for the stores who participated in this event as all stores were seeing more than their regular customer count. This was even more evident with stores like Collectibles and Xtras, which had to be letting in customers on a phased basis, customers who were already in endless lines at the doors of these establishments. This was just more than browsing customers in many of the stores, especially with the ones that were actually having a reasonable discount of 30% and up. I recall seeing the cash registers at quite a few of the stores being swarmed by eager customers making their discounted purchases.

Customers lined up at the entrance of Collectibles waiting on their turn to enter the store.

Some establishments employed creative ways to lure customers into their places of business and to advertise their services. Bling Bling had live mannequins in their store window which drew quite a large crowd of curious onlookers. In Motion Fitness Centre hand representatives dancing and giving out flyers, while the LIME store had a large screens and neon lights at the entrance of their store. Some stores certainly went the extra mile to get customer in and some certainly benefited from their participation in FNOJa. However, not all benefited greatly as the stores at Devon House seemed to be devoid of customers, which were sucked in by the hub of commercial activity brewing at the Constant Spring shopping plazas. Nevertheless, they still seemed to be happy with being a part of the event.

Shoppers looking at live mannequins at Bling Bling.

A dancer promoting In Motion Fitness Centre

The Impressive entrance at the LIME full service store.

The crowds seen at the stores in the plazas along Constant Spring road was certainly huge, so much so, it seemed even bigger that the crowds seen in the days before Christmas! One thing is for sure, FNAOJa seemed to be a success for the organizers and the participating stores... and maybe even for the consumers! This definitely looks like an event that will be returning next year as shoppers are always on the hunt for cheaper prices.

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Mini Bloggers Linkup

L-R: Irie Diva, Taylor, Marangand, Jamaipanese, Jamaican Dawta, Stunner, Bobby, Tami

Hot off the heels of the Jamaica Pegasus Tweetup, was a mini blogger/ex-blogger linkup on Saturday September 4 at relatively new spot called Scotchies on Chelsea Ave. I say ex-blogger as some have moved on from blogging the pursue other interests... something I can relate to as I am not blogging as frequently as I used to. The mini linkup was the brain child of blogger, now turned lurker, Bobby Minoramp seeing that it has been ages since we had a bloggers linkup... from 2006 in fact! It was cool reuniting with fellow bloggers and meeting the other bloggers who I have interacted on the blogsphere with, but had not had the opportunity to meet.

Chatting while we ate.

The location was a decent place for such a meetup as we had secured a corner for ourselves as well as two tables to ensure we were comfortably seated. The smell of jerk meats being prepared permeated the air and the chatter of patrons also followed suit. We had a good time getting acquainted and reacquainted over some Red Stripe Beer, Jerk Chicken, Jerk Pork, festivals and roast breadfruit. 

Scotchies Jerk Pork

I however, have a bone to pick with Scotchies for slow service and undercooked chicken which made me sick in the early hours of Sunday morning! Nevertheless, the linkup had a good vibe with fun people like: Irie Diva, Tami, Bobby, Taylor, Jamaipanese Marangand and Jamaican Dawta. Definitely would do another lyme like that again... But not at Scotchies!

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Jamaica Pegasus Tweetup Round Two!

The Twitter fountain on a projector screen at the Jamaica Pegasus tweetup

In June of this year the Jamaica Pegasus (@JamaicaPegasus) created history when they hosted the first ever corporate sponsored tweetup in Jamaica. It was a great event which saw not only the popularity of the hotel grow, but also it gave so many tweeters an opportunity to put the faces behind the tweets. It was hailed a great success by many and yet the Jamaica Pegasus hinted that they had plans for another tweetup in the future. But after the success of that historic even. could the Jamaica Pegasus really pull off another tweetup to compare?

Guests at the Jamaica Pegasus tweetup

That question was certainly answered not even on the day of the tweetup, but even several weeks before the actual tweetup on September 3, 2010. The Jamaica Pegasus decided to go bigger and better and this idea had some positive indications weeks before the event. Within approximately two days of sending out the invitation on Twitter, all the available invitations were gobbled up by eager tweeters who wanted to relive the experience as well as those who heard the good reviews and wanted to get the experience of a Jamaica Pegasus tweetup! Now they had the support, but could the Jamaica Pegasus really deliver to the anticipating guests?

A shot of the tempting food at the tweetup

With a larger crowd confirmed for the tweetup the Jamaica Pegasus moved the party from the 17 floor to their beautiful lawn of the "Gardens of the Pegasus" which was big enough to host a crowd that was twice as big as that of the first tweetup. As expected the Jamaica Pegasus delighted its guest with an open bar flowing with an unlimited supply of alcoholic beverages and mixes. But that was not the only thing flowing as the ever funny Elva (@Elvajamaica) kept the vibes going as she MC'd the programme and the mix master Captain Collin Hines (@captcollinhines) kept everyone swinging with some dangerous mixes from the turn table! The crowd after being fuled by some good food from the appetizing buffet, couldn't resist the mixes being dished out by Captain Collin Hines and the bartenders at the two bars! They hit the dance floor and partied the night away on the mini stage/dance floor as well as the lush lawn! The sounds of great music, laughter and friendly chatter filled the air at the Jamaica Pegasus, all a sign of a people having a good time.

Tweeters dancing up a storm to the music of Cpt. Collin Hines

Sticking with their bigger better plans the Jamaica Pegasus enlisted several other corporate sponsors for this event, such as, NCB (@ncbja), Jamaica National (@JamaicaNational), Secrets Resorts (@SecretsResorts), Palace Amusement (@PalaceMovies) Boingo (@boingo) and returning sponsor Calico Jack. Calico Jack provided their addictive rum punch to loosed the up the crown while the other sponsored provided even more good cheer with several prizes and giveaways including a Blackberry and a weekend for two at the luxurious Secrets Resorts! Hopefully these sponsors will realize the impact social media can have on the success and continued growth of a company in this competitive environment and jump on board to even host their own tweetups in the future.

Guest collecting a prize with MC Elva (left)

This tweetup gave me yet another opportunity to physically connect and reconnect with so many people that I interact with on a daily basis on Twitter. But it did not end there as just with the previous tweetup I met and am now connected to so many more tweeters. It was great hanging out with my now extended twitter family!

 L-R: @Jamaipanese, @IrieDiva, @djnarity, @KarmaizaDiva @Elvajamaica and me.

Me and @IrieDiva 

Me and @Reesy11

L-R: @Jamaipanese @StunnerJ @9970000

Me and  @sweetpersona

Me and  @captcollinhines

Kudos to the Jamaica Pegasus for hosting another successful tweetup and the biggest tweetup in the history of Jamaica! For tweets about the tweet up you can visit the twitter hash tags #jptweetup and #jptweetup2. To get a full eyeful of the Jamaica Tweetup visit my facebook album Jamaica Pegasus Tweetup II.

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Yendi To the Universe!!!

Miss Jamaica Universe Yendi Phillips. Photo: Yendi Phillip's Facebook page

I watched one of the most exciting Miss Universe competitions I have watched in a while, in fact it's the most exciting since Lisa Hanna won Miss World way back in 1993! What made it so exciting? Well former Miss Jamaica World and now Miss Jamaica Universe, Yendi Phillips, seemed to be poised to snatch the Miss Universe crown! However, an additional bonus was that I was sharing the moment with several of my followers on twitter. Somehow, having a 140 or less character conversation with several people in support of Yendi made the Miss Universe competition even more exciting! The hilarious comments and views of other tweeters just added to the whole excitement of watching Yendi's progress through the competition. So how did Yendi do?

Photo: missuniverse.com

I watched in anticipation, on the edge of my seat, fingers on the keyboard as Yendi made it to the top fifteen. Then it was time for the swimsuit section and let me tell you Yendi nailed it with that awesome body of hers, getting a whopping 9.426! How is that for booty power! And we all know Yendi has that! This score no doubt catapulted her to the top 10, which stirred a combination of relief and even more anticipation both for me and for the many Yendi and Jamaica supports on Twitter and Jamaica.

Photo: missuniverse.com

The next round was filled with more anticipation as they contestants paraded in their evening gowns. I will admit, Yendi's gown was OK, but it was certainly not the best in the competition. Nevertheless, our hearts got a small relief from the heavy pounding as she made it through to the final 5. Now it was the time for the dreaded judges question and Yendi did a very good job of giving a political answer. However I feared that her use of God in her answer may have struck a wrong chord with the judges if any of them were aithists. Then came the real nerve wrecking part, the announcement of the runner-up and the winner of the Miss Universe 2010!

Photo: missuniverse.com

Hearts pounding, eyes glued to the TV, fingers still on the keyboard tweeting! Fourth runner-up... Yendi wasn't called... Third runner-up... still no Yendi! Heart pounding even faster... Second runner-up... still no Yendi! Could this be? Could Yendi really be the new Miss Universe 2010? The anticipation builds as I wait, as the entire Jamaica Twitter posse eager waits breathlessly! Heart pounding faster and faster, eyes even more glued to the TV, ears tuned to the audio, fingers still on the keyboard... First runner-up... Miss Jamaica, Yendi Phillips! "@StunnerJ: NNNNNOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!" My heard plummeted in disappointment, so close yet she did not win the coveted crown of Miss Universe 2010. Nevertheless, she did well, she did Jamaica proud as reaching first runner-up is a very good feat.

Congratulations Miss Jamaica Universe Yendi Phillips, you did well!

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Deluge In the City and Danger In the Hills

Photo taken from Stunner Car Cam (AKA Blackberry). Intersection of Upper Waterloo and Shortwood road.

Yesterday evening I had a shoot in Portland, so I had planned to leave Kingston from mid morning or at least by midday. However, I went to bed late the night before... or I should say the morning and as such woke up late. By the time I got myself together and circled a couple gas stations in order to find one that actually had gas it was already past twelve pm. I woke up to sunshine, but by mid day the sky told a completely different story! Some mean, dark, heavy, scary clouds engulfed the city from the mountains hurling bolts of lightning and grumbled with thunder! Things looked really serious, some serious reain did a guh buss! I tried my best to head out of town before it started! Could I make it? Would I get out before the city was washed off the face of the earth?

I failed in my effort to get out of Kingston before the sky gave way to a deluge upon the land! I got gas on Constant Soring road, and by the time I made it to Upper Waterloo Road a few drops started to hit the  windshield, and by the time I made it to Shortwood Road I was in the middle of a deluge, extreme torrential rain, yes I was in what seemed to be a tropical storm from hell! For a moment I started to wonder, if I had somehow driven off the road in to a raging river! If you follow me @stunnerj on twitter you would have seen me asking if there was a surprise tropical storm! But don't just take my word for it... I have proof!


Video taken from Stunner Car Cam (AKA Blackberry).

This was not the end of it though, Kingston was not the only place to feel the wrath of the sky as the mountains of St. Andrew and St. Mary were pelted by the buckets from above! But this time I didn't only have the flooded roads to contend with in the treacherous mountains!

Photo taken from Stunner Car Cam (AKA Blackberry). One of many small waterfalls along the road.

Water washed along the road way, but also landslides claimed half of the roads in some areas, fallen trees in other areas along the narrow winding road and even waterfalls! Yes I had to use all my navigational and driving skills to avoid these obstacles along a narrow winding road filled with craters and stupid public transportation drivers, who love to try to cheat death! I even almost witness two large trucks colliding around a corner on the mountain side, but they skillfully maneuvered their way around each other. If my words aren't enough to convince you, then watch the video and photo below!


Video taken from Stunner Car Cam (AKA Blackberry).

Video taken from Stunner Car Cam (AKA Blackberry). Two trucks almost colling on the junction road.

Fortunately I made it through the junction road unharmed, but I was in for another shock! It seemed this rain was only confined to Kingston, St. Andrew and a small part of St, Mary!  By the time I cleared the junction road the rain had tapered off and upon approaching Annotto Bay the road was dry like the Sahara desert and the sky was light blue with just large patches of clouds along the shoreline. The only evidence of the torrential rain was the water on my car and the clouds that hung over the mountains behind me!

Photo taken from Stunner Car Cam (AKA Blackberry). Just outside Annotto Bay St. Mary.

I made it to Portland in good time despite the extended time it took to drive a normally two hour at most journey. The drive back was not as bad even though I had to contend with some thick fog in the mountains, which also extended the time it took to get back to Kingston. But once again, the Stunner completes his mission despite the many dangers and perils in the way!

Disclaimer: Please do not drive and shoot video and photographs. This was done by a professional with years of experience, training, much care and adherence to safety procedures.

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