Mr. Snowman and the Nikon D60

My first Snowman

Hail crowd of people! It seems as if I haven't dropped post in a while! So what have I been up to? Well, I went out into the snow that remained on the ground for some time after the storm, in fact there are still patches of snow all over the place. I just couldn't resist the opportunity to go out with my camera to take photos. However, my outdoor experiences were not limited to just photography as I made my first snowman.... Well I had my first attempt at making a snowman. It was a small one though, only about 9 feet inches (thanks Pepper) tall and I had to improvise to make his facial features. But it was fun nevertheless, I was almost a kid again... hmm, did I really grow up? You can see more of my winter photos at my photoblog.

On Thursday it was down into the city, to explore... well not really, I still had that Nikon D60 on my mind. It was over US$500, but I really wanted this camera. It took a while and some serious consideration, but I made up my mind to just get it. After all, a few hundred of the camera money was earned right here on this site... shhhh nuh tell nobady! I went to BH Photos down in the city to get my camera as it has been recommended by my sister and some of my fellow bloggers. That store was like a photographers heaven, the had everything a photographer, professional and amateur would desire... except my Nikon D60. I was crushed, now my dreams of getting my camera were dashed. As I walked along the cold New York streets, a bright light shone from the side of one of the tall skyscrapers, it was the J&R store! So I wasted no time and it was full speed ahead to J&R. Not getting the camera at BH was a blessing in disguise, as I got the camera at J&R cheaper and was able to hustle a camera bag for a discounted price too! I only got one lens though, the 18mm-55mm which doesn't have much zoom. So now I plan to get the 55mm-200mm telephoto lens as some money has found it's way to me (thank you Mommy and big sis). Despite having to use the viewfinder to take photos instead of the display screen, I love this camera, the picture quality is fantastic! So without further ado (drumroll), here is the new Stunner Nikon D60!

My Nikon D60 and Camera bag

Tomorrow it's off to the city once again, this time to take a small tour to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and other places. I wanted to check out Madame Tussauds Wax Museum as suggested by GC, but it's a bit pricey. So I will check it out the next time I head to NYC, possibly in the summer. Well it's late and I have a lot of walking later in the day and a lot of reading in the night as I have your blogs to catchup on. Likkle more!

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White!!!

A view of the neighbours yard and the street.

Yes that's exactly how I would describe outside when I woke up this morning. Snow was everywhere, and not just light covering, several inches of snow! Snow was on the walkway, on the ground, on the trees, on the roofs, it was even on the windows trying to come in! I saw snow the last winter I came to New York but that was nothing compared to this.

My boots surrounded by walls of snow

I think the snow was over 6 inches high as my Tims sunk deeply in the white puffy layer of fluffy snow. It is not that bad to me right now, but I feel it for all those people who have to get out of bed and make their way to work in hostile, hazardous conditions like these. The most I did was to go outside to take a few pictures, and even that was hard. I only went out twice to take pictures. Why twice? Well within five minutes my hands were so cold and numb i couldn't even feel the shutter button! I have a greater appreciation for my climate now, as the most I have to face is heavy downpours of rain in the rainy season. Snow like this only serves on purpose, for couples to cuddle in bed and find ways to keep each other warm (wink wink).

Things should be warming up be the weekend, and I really hope it does as I have a few places to go and a few things to get before I fly out of this freezer to warmer temperatures.

PS: I will be posting more photos on my photoblog.

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Up Inna Di Cold!

Whhaaiiiii it cowl! I know I posted about how Jamaica was cold a few weeks ago, but that was like being in 96 degrees in the shade compared to the temperature here in New York. At first when I came up here, it was very cold, but it just seem to be getting colder and colder as the days progress. Yesterday, I heard on the news yesterday that a cold front was heading to the New York area and today it certainly did! It even started from Saturday evening. The forecast even went as far as predicting a snow storm, 6 to 13 inches of snow! I woke up to flurries on Sunday morning but I keep hearing the worse is yet to come. So as I sit here in the warmth of the house, I am gearing up myself to see more snow than I have ever seen before. So if that materializes, then you can expect to see quite a few snow pictures, heheheh.

Last night I had my first visit to Red Lobster and I totally enjoyed it! The food was great, and I ate my belly full. I had a dish which comprised of grilled salmon and shrimp fettucini and mashed potatos. I had to ensure I limited my intake of shellfood as I am somewhat allergic to shellfood, so I had to mix my seafood. This was preceeded by ceaser salad and some of the tastiest buscuits I have ever tasted. To wash this down, I had a tall glass of mudslide. It was certainly a feast, so much so that I couldn't even deveour the entire main course. I hope this doesn't throw me too much off course with my getting lean diet. I hope all of what I'm eating don't make me put on too much as I have not even done one act of exercise, not even in my mind!

I haven't done much shopping, just a few items, as I didn't plan to do much shopping. I am still hoping to get my Nikon D60, but parting with so much cash these days is making me have second thoughts. Later this week I hope to go down to the city to check out some camera stores. Until then I will keep considering and budgeting and watch the snowflakes accumulate.

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On Vacation!

I know I have been MIA like Allen Stanford for the past week, but things were a bit rough over the past few days. I haven't sorted out things totally yet but still working on that... On another note, it's that time of the year again that I look forward to, no not Carnival, although I look forward to that too. It's time for some relaxation, fun, resting, going out and traveling! Yes it's vacation time!

I am going on a very good break from work, almost one entire month! How cool is that! That is what I call a break, the sort of break that allows you to forget about work for a while and try to enjoy life. I wasted no time on Tuesday and activated my out of office response on my company email and darted out of the office at exactly 5pm. The good thing about this vacation though, is that I am only using 5 days out of my allotted vacation time. You see, I have been accumulating several days in lieu, as I have been working almost all the public holidays for the past few years. However, the company (or my department) wants us to clear all our outstanding days in lieu, so that;s exactly what I am doing. This means that I still have more than half of my vacation left, which I intend to take later on in the year. Now if only I had enough money to maintain all this vacation time I have.

My vacation has been split in two, part I plan to spend in New York and the rest I plan to spend touring Jamdown, So Thursday evening I will be heading to the airport to board my flight to the Big Apple and chill out... literally! In these hard times finding a cheap ticket is something one has to make good use of considering how bleak the future looks. So the next time I drop a post I will be in New York all being well. Likkle more!

PS: I am exploring the possibility of a travel blog, you can have a sneak peak here Mek A Trod

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Stanfraud?

Sir Allen Stanford, the man who brought excitement and a lot of money to the game of Cricket, West Indies Cricket especially, has been charged with fraud. According to The Gleaner, on Tuesday February 17, 2009 the US Securities and Exchange Commission formally charged Stanford and three of his companies with "massive" fraud centred around high interest rate CDs. The Securities and Exchange Commission's complaint, filed in federal court in Dallas, alleges that Stanford International Bank sold about US$8 billion of so-called certificates of deposit to investors by promising "improbable and unsubstantiated high interest rates." Reuters has reported that the US authorities have since frozen Stanford's assets have been frozen and a federal judge has appointed a receiver "to take possession and control of defendants' assets for the protection of defendants' victims."

Standford, to the still existing cricket fans, is a well known name as he is the founder of the Standford 20/20 Cricket tournament. this competition seems to overshadow even the Cricket World Cup due to its heavy prizes running up into several million dollars. There is no doubt that the West Indies Cricket Board WCIB and West Indies Cricket have benefited from the monetary inputs of Stanford. Standford's 20/20 Tournament brought something new to West Indies cricket and was seen by many as a last ditch hope to revive the dwindling love of Cricket in the region and to pump some well needed money into the coffers of the WCIB. However, with this new development, it seems that all this heavy funding will come to a screeching halt and the rich Stanford 20/20 Cricket will fail to exist. Already the England and Wales Cricket Board and the West Indies Cricket Board have immediately suspended all their ongoing negotiations with Sir Allen Stanford and his corporate group. Which simply means no more Stanford money for West Indies Cricket. Does this mean even more bad times for Cricket in the region? However, Cricket is not the only sport that will suffer from the loss of Standford's fat money, as his sports financing transcends to football (soccer) and golf.

Putting Sport aside though, this charge has serious implications for many of his investors around the world and even closer to home, here in the Caribbean. It is also frightening, as this is yet another major multi-billion dollar fraud charge coming just on the heels of the Madoff scandal. This leads us to wonder who is next? Which financial entity will be next? How many other companies and their heads have been playing around with our hard earned saving? I see a very frightening trend, and now I'm wondering if my money is just safer under my mattress.

Source: http://go-jamaica.com/news/read_article.php?id=6523 | http://uk.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUKN1737429520090218

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A Wok, A Zapper, Old Spice & Dinner... Not a Bad Weekend

This weekend I did a little splurging... well if you can call it that, I decided to treat myself to a something I have been wanting for a long time. No not a sensuous massage, no not my Nikon D60... soon buy that! I have been wanting to get myself a Wok for such a long time, but just couldn't find one at a decent price. So on Sunday one of my friends dropped by and suggested we go up to Azmart, to which I reluctantly agreed as I would have to drive, cho. So off I went to Azmart in search of my Wok. Now Azmart has some pretty decent stuff, but the thing is at times they are on the pricey side, but sometimes you get a decent deal. After going through a few Woks I finally found a pretty decent one for a price I was willing to pay and I quickly snapped it up!

My wok getting ready for some cooking.

But that was not the only thing that i found while there at Azmart, I also found another little item that I have been searching for a little while now. It all began earlier this year when I went to visit my friend over in Portmore. We were chilling and chatting, but i was constantly under attack from killer, suicide mosquitoes. So he handed me something, something that would change my life forever. It was one of those electrical Bug Zapper rackets, and let me tell you after that it was pure bliss as I heard and saw those evil mosquitoes fry and pop when I hit them with the zapper. It was like magic when I gracefully swung the small tennis racket looking instrument in their path and to see them die in dazzling sparks. I never knew killing mosquitoes would be so much fun! From then i vowed to get myself one, but my searches were futile, even H&L Rapid True Value where he got his was out of stock. It seems I was not the only one enchanted by this magical tool. But last night all that changed when I saw that special beam of light shining on the Zapper in Azmart. I quickly dashed towards it in slow motion with open palms. But unlike my fiends zapper which uses replaceable batteries, mine is rechargeable, endless killing power! I finally got it, now those invading, bothersome mosquitoes at my place will pay, they will feel my wrath! Mmuuuuuaaahhhhhhhaaahhhha. Unfortunately, despite my earnest search when I came home I could only find one mosquito, but the satisfaction of watching it fry and pop was just so awesome! mosquitoes be ware Stunner and his Zapper is here!

My bug zapper racket ready to kill!

But my discoveries didn't end there as when I went back downstairs I stumbled upon Old Spice High Endurance body wash that I have been looking for unsuccessfully in several supermarkets. All I could see the the smaller yet more expensive Old Spice Red Zone body wash. I was so happy to finally find my favorite body wash, but just beside it was the Red Zone, which I have always wanted to try but didn't as it was more expensive. But to my surprise Azmart had the red Zone for the same price I would pay for the High Endurance! So you know who quickly pawned up the Red Zone, and now I know where to get more when I run out. So my visit to Azmart was very fruitful and well worth the drive. So ladies if you a brotha walks by smelling damn good, it;s probably me, hehehe. Shhh, don't tell my friend as I was not to happy that I had to drive when she mentioned it.

All this happened on Saturday, but on Sunday I was so happy to have my Wok, that I decided to cook before work, and cook I did. I made baked pineapple chicken, rice and gungo peas and of course Vegetable Stir Fry. I just had to use my Wok, this is what I bought it for, stir fry! I can definitely see myself making a lot more stir fried food, which means a lot more vegetables in my diet. This might just work our goof for me as I will cut down on my starch intake which in turn will, with exercise, help me to loose some fat and look a little leaner. So look out for more Kitchen conquest, yes my friends Chef Stunner-yardie strikes again!

Sunday dinner.

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