Easter and Beyond

The Easter weekend was one of fun, work, sleep, church, relaxation...

On Thur (Holy) we had classes but it was not beyond the afternoon so we stayed a bit at school and did some work, then I went home. Fri I stayed home and fasted and did more work.

Saturday I went to school to work on a group project but didn't end up staying very long which was fine with me. I then left to go to town, but I was terribly disgusted by the music that was playing in the bus that I came off and went to a supermarket instead. I got some of what I wanted; others I was not willing to pay their prices and I know I could wait. Caught a decent bus home and chilled a bit. In the night, classmates and I went to the Oistins Fish Festival. It was cool. We waited for food for a bit. The food was not the greatest. I danced a bit (and was told I could be drunk), we chatted and walked and took pics. I happened to have left my keys at home that night but fortunately my landlady was up and didn't mind having to let me in.

I got up at about 5 am to get ready for church. That was new for me because Easter Sun services I am used to are at 9am. But it was cool. I got to be home early and sleep before getting up to do more work. Monday I did more work...nothing much to speak of.

During the week, I had classes, work on another group project plus an individual one. I ended having to contact people back home but I think I did ok. It was indeed a relief to submit the reports and be free to enjoy and rest for my sanity break that I have been waiting for for a while now. Now I need to decide what I am going to do with my friends and plan accordingly because I really want to enjoy this week and renew my sanity.

New Adventures Indeed!

So this weekend was fun!

I started a new course on Thursday that is called Environmental Impact Assessment. We got group assignments, one of which required us to visit different places as groups. At first our choices were limited (sea mamal or plantation stuff), but then at the last minute she threw in another one about wind farms and I was sold!!!

Our group had 4 people, the other 2 groups 5 each. One member of our group (default) was not at school (or in the island). So the 3 there planned our strategy. So Fri morning we set out to visit a wind turbine in St. Lucy and then the site we're proposing to put up more in St. John. The taxi we took was a cool; the driver was like a tour guide and even stopped for us to visit the Mt Gay factory and take pictures at scenic locations during the trip at no extra charge.

On the way home I started to feel sick and I also got a headache, so I slept.

Saturday was not so hot. I was supposed to go to town with a friend but felt sick and was in pain so that didn't work out.

Sunday I went to church in Boscobel, St. Peter. It was nice. I left there and then went to the Kendal Sports Club to go "paintballing" (I think that's what it's called). And boy that was fun! Admitedly it was scary at first to hear the guns go off and holding it and all, but once on the field, it was scary as well as exciting.

Above is me in gear, and unfortunately I did not get to take a pic with the guns but we plan to go back so no horrors. We decided to split the team into the courses since half of us were climate change and the other in the coastal stream. On the field, it so happens that he (guide/owner) decided to split us and ended up spliting the group into exactly how we decided we were gonna split it. The first section involved grabbing a flag in the centre and returning unhit to the corner you belong to. If one is shot (with or without the flag), you must return to the corner, count to 5, and then return to the game. The first round in section 1, my team got the flag. We switched ends of the field and the other team got it on the second round. The third round was mine- I braved the shots and went to get the flag. And boy was that an adrenaline rush. I hear dem balls hot and I hate pain but I managed to go through without anyone hitting me. The last round (second section) was just shooting the other team. So happens that there wasn't really a winner since most people ran out of shots including myself (mainly because I shared some of mine and some fell out the canister holding them while I was running).

After that tiring exercise, we chilled inside and waited for our taxi. I got home and ate (and headache kinda went) and relaxed. Work awaits, but I doubt tonight is that night. We'll see.

So I can say I had a good weekend!

Bad Morning that Could be Beter or Worse

Today we had a group presentation to do that is worth 25% of our final grades for this course of Vulnerability to Climate Change and Impact Assessment. The didn't quite start out right...

I woke up late. Not because the alarm didn't go off, but because I was tired (left school 10 something) and got much "extra" sleep. On my way out, I grabbed my watch (nice, brown, leather-band watch that I treasure very much) and stuck it in my pocket so I could put it on on my way. I step outside (in slippers) and it starts to rain. Great! Already late so no turning back for shoes. Then half way to the NCF parking lot where I am supposed to meet the bus, I go looking into my pocket for the watch and realise that it isn't there. This turns my mood further down. I get to the car park and wait...wait...wait! The damn UWI bus didn't come at all. So seeing this was after 8 and my presentation is at 9, I go to catch a bus. The ZRs (mini-buses) were all full or playing loud music (and still relatively full), so we waited for the blue bus (Transport Authority/gov. buses) to come since we saw it.

I got to school in time, but things would have been sooo much better had the morning started out better. What is worse is that I thought about turning back to look for my precious watch and take the regular bus to school, but decided not to, so I kept mentally beating myself up because had I done that, I would have been able to get to school on-time and not waste time waiting on the UWI bus that did not turn up.

The presentations we ok I think. I was less than perfect because somehow I managed to zone-out a bit during it (while I am presenting, yes). So that being over, it means I can now try hard to focus on the material more in-depth for the exam scheduled for Wed. Long days ahead...

Grades

Last semester I could say I did pretty well. All A's. One course this semester already produced a (surprising) A, and more grades are yet to come. I will keep believing that I did well-enough to continue this streak, but truth be told, only God knows. One of the two grades I do not have is for a course that I've had issues with (to put it mildly), so I'm hoping...I really do want a distinction for this MSc. degree.

Down

I'm back in Bim 4 days now, and unfortunately I am not sure things are getting better. Last couple days were somewhat surreal, particularly when I recalled grandma's funeral. But today somehow it hit home a bit and that, plus others things that I will not mention just had me down. Couldn't focus well. It's sad though considering the day started out well- I went to church, took communion and went to Sunday School.

I have 1 week of classes for this course left, and the exam is next Wed. I NEED to regain focus. So I am praying hard that I do. I cannot afford to fail or start doing poorly having come this far. And I am working hard to honour Grandma so failure is not an option.

Here's to walking out in faith and declaring another A.

In the last two weeks, I've gone into mangroves through some not-so-pretty water, been to the beach to monitor sea urchins and seagrass, and snorkelled over corals to observed monitoring of those. I've also gone through a gully. This all for a course called Measurement and Analysis.

I did have fun, but only because I was able to use them to distract me from the fact that I lost my grandmother and I've still not fully come to terms with it. After all these trips, after I've left all the work and company, that's when it all went downhill and I cried in the privacy of my room with noone to bother or comfort me. But I have to keep pushing. Because a week ago when I got the terrible news, I made a pledge to dedicate this degree to my grandma and I can't let her down.

What-a-Depth!

Sun last I woke up after not sleeping very well, and I had a headache. I still got ready and went to church and was happy I did. I learnt a lot, some of which was about the degraded mental state of some people.

I had no classes during the week so Monday I stayed home. On Tuesday I went to school to work on an assignment with my classmates. It was interesting to say the least, because we were all baffled by one of the questions. After that I went to catch the UWI bus to go home and bwoy dat laptop heavy! Went back to school on Wednesday to study in the library.

Thursday was supposed to be the day the class went on the sub-marine. We got to school and found out after waiting that it was postponed because the waters were not clear. Great! So I went to the supermarket which took a LONG time (not happy about that) and then finally got their shuttle to take me home (for free of course)!

We went back on Friday and thank God the water had cleared. So we went to the venue and waited for our time. I bought a necklace in the gift shop as a keepsake (other things I wanted to buy were a tad pricey)! We went into a boat which took us out to the submarine, then we boarded.

It was cool yet slightly scary climbing down the steps into the sub, especially since I wanted to make sure the person above wouldn't slip and fall on me (bad, I know). I took a seat at the front so I could see to the sides and front quite easily. So while we waited for all to board, we had to endure ocean motions that were not too great. I felt a tad weird and some got sick. Things went well after we descended. And it was beautiful to be down in the ocean! We went to about 143 ft. I will admit I was expecting a bit more than I saw, but none-the-less it was really fascinating and exciting and a learning experience on top of it all. I think we spent about 45 min under.

After, the group I was with went on a bit of an excursion and it was a really good bonding experience.

On Sat (today) I woke up earlier than I thought I would, and did some washing. I also studied online with a friend and that was cool (productive too). Tonight I am attending a birthday party for a friend and I'm looking forward to that.