No Water!!!

I am sure by now everyone has heard the saying, "Water is life". How true this statement is! The people of Kingston Jamaica have been seeing the reality of this more and more every day as this unusually long drought drags on. Residents and workers in the metropolitan region feel this more when it comes to piped water.

Since last year a lot of persons, myself included, have been living with water restrictions which seem to be getting even more stringent in the past months. When the first restriction was implemented, water was locked off at 10pm. a few months later it moved to 9pm, then to 8pm and then even to 7pm! Up to a few months ago it moved up to 5pm then to 4pm and now I have no piped water as early as 2pm! This is getting ridiculous now! And at this rate it seems we will be only having water for a few hours per day. I know it's a drought and we as humans have no control over that, but this problem is only compounded by the shortsightedness of the Jamaican governments and the ever worthless National Water Commission (NWC). Both these entities did not see it fit to increase the already inadequate reservoirs for the metropolitan area, which has grown (and is still growing) significantly since these reservoirs were commissioned.

Thanks to both the Jamaican government and NWC, the people of Jamaica are forced to suffer  from the scarcity of this precious commodity. It is true that one never really appreciates what one has until one looses it and I can testify to that. I took for granted the ease of life when these is a constant supply of piped water, but now I can definitely see how precious that privilege was! Now I have to go long periods without the precious commodity much to my discomfort as i don;t have a tank. It's even worse now that I am home most of the time due to this long span of unemployment. This lack of water has now forced me to adjust my lifestyle in so many ways. What do I mean? Well...

• Every day I have to catch water in jugs and pan before NWC locks off the water
• I only get to have a decent shower once per day
• If I need a bath during the lock-off I have to grab one of my 5 litre bottles
• If I have to do a big number I have to make sure I go early before they lock off the water
• The toilet doesn't get flushed often (that's putting it mildly) when I have to take a leak
• I have to force myself to cook earlier in the days before water is gone
• If I have to cook after the water is gone I have to make do with water from a bottle which makes cooking a real chore
• Dirty dishes and pots are piled up in the sink until the next morning
• Doing even the simple things like washing my hands is a challenge

These are just some of the things on the top off my head, but I am sure it will get only worse as this drought continues and the resultant water lock-offs intensifies. If this continues, life as we know it will get even harder and I am sure that cases of gastroenteritis and other poor sanitary practice diseases will surface and increase. We need the rain now, and a lot of it to quench this thirsty land and hopefully the idiots that run this country and the NWC will learn from this drought and it's effects. But then again, they all have tanks and can afford to get water trucked to them, so that's just wishful thinking.

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Mouse vs Stunner vs Trap

I have been having mouse invasions now and then in my apartment. I have eradicated the vicious mouse on each occasion, however I noticed several days ago that one has trespassed in my apartment once again. I came into the kitchen to make my self some breakfast when i came face to face with the evil rodent, who quickly went into hiding. But he was sure to make his vile intent evident by the loads of feces that he left on my counter and in my dish drain. Such blatant disrespect and a clear display for his lack of regard for human kind!

But it will not end this way, as I went to the supermarket the same day and bought several glue mouse trap. However, the evil varmint has not showed his face since!

I just hope he doesn't find any of this damn cheese!

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No JPS! NO!!!

No, is exactly what the Office of Utility Regulations (OUR) told the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) when they attempted once again to extort money from the Jamaican public. Once again JPS attempted a brazen attempt of high way robbery when it applied to the OUR for it's latest increase in its utility charges. The JPS applied for an increase to recover over four billion dollars from it's already burdened customers!

According to The Jamaica Gleaner, the JPS proposed that its customers pay a $4.2 billion dollars over a two year period by adding 6.75  cents per kilowatt hour to their existing high charges. This $4.2 billion dollars is not to improve it's service to customers or to make them more efficient, but to recover money payed out to its employees in a reclassification exercise that was completed in 2002. Now if this is not an outright plot of the JPS to rob Jamaican people I don't know what else is! Can you believe the audacity of this company to come up with a scheme like this, after the stunt they pulled off with the hurricane Ivan and Dean rip off and their recent rate increase?

Fortunately, the OUR  had the balls this time to tell them no, sparing the Jamaican consumers from outright robbery! The Jamaica Gleaner, reports that the OUR said that "the company's claim did not qualify under the z-factor provision, since the costs incurred were as a consequence of managerial decisions, as the JPS had agreed with the labour unions in 2000 to embark on the reclassification exercise." So JPS want us, the consumer, to pay for a management decision made between it, it's employees and their unions, next thing the will want to request a special increase for bonuses to their execs. Thank you OUR for standing up for the Jamaican consumers by telling the JPS no to their latest attempt of robbery! How is it that JPS is always plotting ways to extort more and more money from its customers? How come JPS? How come?

Source: http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20100304/lead/lead2.html

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Existing?

Image: http://honolulu.hawaii.edu

Are you living? Or, are you just existing? I find myself asking these two questions lately, every day in my short life that I watch go by I find myself asking these two questions even more. The more I think about it, it;s the more I lean to saying yes to the latter. I do feel like I am just existing, not truly living. Maybe it's the unemployment getting to me, maybe I am realizing that I am getting older. I don't know, but I can help feeling that way these days. Even though still being unemployed for six months now is getting to me, that cannot be the reason for me asking myself these questions and drawing closer to the answer of just merely existing.

At the moment I find that there a few things that I do enjoy as each day passes by. Don't get me wrong, everyday I wake up and I am able to get up out that bed I am thankful! God knows I am thankful for living to see another day, especially with all these disasters and the ever increasing crime wave claiming so many lives. But I just can't shake the feeling that I am not truly living, not truly experiencing what life has to offer, the many possibilities. It seems that my days are so transient, they pass by without me really feeling like I have accomplished something meaningful, nor do I feel like I enjoyed the day. I can still count on one hand the times I have said, "today was a good day" lately.

This feeling is not just confined to my present demise, no it extends way beyond that, to I time i have no control over anymore. I look back at my life, the brief twenty-nuff and I don't feel I have lived life as much as I should have. I don't want to sound ungrateful, as I am grateful for the milestones that I have passed. However, I just feel like I have not accomplished all that I should have. I feel like I have not had as much fun as I should have. Sometimes, it seems that I have just existed for the past twenty nine years, just merely going through the motions of each passing day.

But what is it to really and truly live? I don't think I know yet, maybe this is living, maybe it's not. I don't know, as I don't feel like I have truly lived, I am still wanting, still wanting more, more accomplishments, more fun, more... more living. I have heard many people speak of the experiences in life, the many things the accomplished, the many places they have gone, the many people they have met, the many wondrous things they have seen. Yet, my perception of my life, is simply dwarfed by what I hear being related to me by these persons who seem to be living life.

I don't know if all I just typed make any sense, maybe it's just a bunch of senseless ramblings. I might see this sometime in the future and wonder what kind of crap of a post this is. But until then, I do feel like I am just existing, yet giving thanks for every day I am blessed with. Maybe it's me, maybe I am the roadblock in the way of me truly living...

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Another Wonderful Trip

Once again I am sending out an "I'm still alive" post, that's what I term it due to my infrequent blogging. It seems Twitter and photography has grown so much that it seems to be crowding out blogging and suffocating my urge to blog. But it still lives one, somewhat.

Just in my previous post I am still unemployed and looking. Finding suitable employment in this hard economic time is like trying to find water in a huge desert as your thirst for life saving water grows exponentially. I am still indulging in my photography too in hopes that I will make some money from it to at least survive. that may be way off from now, but at least for now it helps me to keep my sanity in this challenging time.

Turtle Bay, Portland.

Speaking of photography, I went on one more of the monthly JWI/LOP group trip. this time we went to the easter coast of Jamaica, covering two parishes, St. Thomas and Portland. Once again it was a wonderful trip, which took me to places that I have never been before including Turtle Bay, which in my home parish, Portland. Other stops included Botany Bay, a quarry and a beach in Manchineal where we ate some curried chicken, curried lobster and fish. The fun on the trip was not limited to taking photographs of the scenery and of the beautiful models that spiced up the trip. Meeting up with people who you have become friends with through the common medium of photography and the internet and sharing experiences and jokes certainly add to the good times on these trips. The bus ride itself tends to be very interesting and amusing, to say the least! The conversation on the bust this time peaked when the original conversation morphed into man and woman story and fidelity, when the bus ignited it a combination of laughter and emotional expressions!

Two of our hot models on the trip

Of course the trip did not end without a hiccup, which happened just when we were ready to head back home from our final stop in Manchioneal Portland. One of the photographers who drove his own vehicle accidentally locked his key in his vehicle. Now locking your keys in your car in deep rural Jamaica and not having a spare on your person is not a good predicament to be in! Driving back to Kingston to get the spare key and then driving back to Manchioneal to open the vehicle is a hard reality to swallow. Also, calling wrecker to tow the vehicle back to Kingston would be a financial disaster and made breaking the side window look palatable to the mind! However, the flickr group decided to stick to the code of "never leave a soldier behind" and the decision was made to break into the vehicle, car jacker style. It took two hours and several attempts by several members of the team to get the door open. Now we all know how to break into a Prado!

I am still looking a job but also I am looking forward to the next trip. Food, rent and bills are important when spending my funds is being considered, but I still have to sacrifice some of this scarce funds for these trips. After all, it's one of the few outlets and sources of entertainment for me these days, one still has to try to enjoy life! You can view more of the photos on my flickr page http://www.flickr.com/photos/stunnerj/

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Irregular Posting, But Still Around!

Basking, originally uploaded by Stunnerj. A crocodile i spotted on the bank of Black River.

I have been so busy, and somewhat uninspired to blog lately. Being unemployed gets to me sometimes, but my photography and a website I am building has been keeping me occupied. So for now blogging has been placed a bit on the back burner. However, as I said, my photography has been more constant in my life these days. A part of my photography is the monthly Jamaica West Indies Flickr/ Lovers of Photography Flickr group trips that I look forward to every month end.

The latest trip on Sunday January 31 took me to Black River, infamous for it's crocodile population. It was a fruitful trip as we spotted two crocodiles basking in the midday sun at the very beginning of the tour. At first when we saw the crocodiles basking in the same position on either of two concrete walls we thought they were fake as they both laid there motionless with mouths open. But as we got closer were were totally convinced these were the genuine article as we say their eyes move as the watched us cautiously. One finally moved a bit when the boat got closer making us know they were not comfortable with us getting so close, much to our excitement! We spotted several smaller and even larger crocodiles and various birds along the river tour. These poor creatures were subject of several camera clicks, flashes and the attention of a boat load of excited photographers.

Apart from the wildlife and fun boat ride along the Black River, I also enjoyed a wonderful photo shot with a model who one of the photographers brought along. This young lady was beautiful, great facial features, beautiful skin and a banging body! The other big plus was that she knew how to work the camera and was a natural in front of the lens. It made shooting her fun and exciting, not just for me but for the huge throng of amateur photographers present. It was like a super model surrounded by hungry paparazzi seeking the best shot! We were so serious about getting hot photos of her that we literally stopped traffic, including a huge truck, which we ended up turning into a prop for our shoot!

Traffic Blocking originally uploaded by Stunnerj. Our Model striking a pose in front of the truck we stopped!

I am still job hunting and keeping my hopes up, even though it can be depressing at times. But despite the down times, I am glad I have my hobby of photography, photographers like those in the flickr group who make these trips a success and the special persons in my life to keep me going. So have no fear Stunner is still here!!!

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