CityGirl

YES!!!!!!!  YES!!!!!  Thank you Veronica, thank you for lifting the spirits of all Jamaicans.  That’s how it is done.   I wonder if I was the only person standing in front of the television set with tears streaming down face. 

This victory is important in several ways.  We have come close multiple times but we have never won a 100m Gold in either the World Championship or Olympic games.  What’s more, we have had Jamaican/USA photo finish before but it’s usually the American athlete who’s declared the gold medallist. 

All hail Veronica, the true Champion!

I certainly did not see the disappointment that I suffered this morning coming.  I was set up!  Watching him go through the rounds, looking easy and relaxed.  Then watching Tyson putting much effort into his rounds, I was sure that Jamaica would have been rejoicing now at winning the 100m Men Gold medal.

I did not see this coming.   I wanted him to silence the critics.  Those naysayers (can we still refer to them as that?) who said that he can’t do the rounds, he doesn’t perform when it matters, that a great runner doesn’t just break the record but also collects medals from big events like World Championship and Olympics.  I was looking forward to the euphoria that I expected to sweep the country, even in the aftermath of Hurricane Dean. 

It wasn’t supposed to even to be close.  It was going to be a definitive win I thought.   Oh, we have this in the bag.   I was right, it wasn’t even close but it was certainly not the result that I anticipated.

It certainly put a cloud over my Negril weekend.  I felt like going back into my bed just so that I could wake up back and be told you were dreaming, the race hasn’t been run.

I am disappointed.  Jamaica is disappointed.   This is one bronze medal that the country is not happy to receive.  We might as well not get any.    A silver medal resulting from the most anticipated clash of the year would have been disappointing anyway you spin it.   A bronze is just vexing. 

I won’t watch the Olympic Men 100m event next year.  I’ll spare myself the anxiety.  I know he has done well, running sub 10seconds several times, equalling his own world record twice but tonight I’m in no mood to be understanding and appreciative of his previous performance.

This is the result we expected:  

It It actually feels wrong to complain about the ‘agony’ of waiting 4 days to get back electricity just so that I can watch tv and surf the net.  Afterall, there are people who survived the hurricane and are still trying to figure out where they are going to live.  I’ll just be thankful that neither myself or any loved one has suffered more than some leakage.

I’m now almost reluctant to leave this apartment and move into my new place when it is finally completed.   I have a special connection with this apartment now.  This is the second hurricane that we have undergone together without a scratch.  I am luckier than most.   After both hurricanes, Ivan in 2004 and then Dean last week, the only thing that was necessary for me to do was just to open my door and let in some fresh air.  No leaks, no water blowing in.   Nothing.  Oh yes, I had to throw away all the spoilt food.

These people in the pictures above weren’t so lucky.  The day after the hurricane, along with the rest of Kingston, I went over to Caribbean Terrace, a little seaside residential community nearby Harbour View to look on the wreckage that Hurricane Dean left in its wake.   It was even worse than what Hurricane Ivan did in 2004.   There was actually a couple in the red vehicle when it was thrown against the fence by the waves/wind.  I understand that they were trying to drive away from the house after the water started coming in. 

Actually I didn’t find the hurricane as bad as in 2004 with Ivan and that’s mainly because it hit during the day.  Hearing the wind howl and whistle in the pitch black night is 10 times more frightening.   I got a little frightened when I couldn’t reach my grandmother by phone after a point.  It turned out that a tamarind tree had fallen on the phone line temporarily affecting her service. 

I’m still trying to figure out how this palm tree ended up in this woman’s living room.   Notice all the sand inside?

One thing can be said about a hurricane (I still can’t remember if it should be ‘a’ or ‘an’ hurricane - what did they teach me in English class?) is that it certainly calls for creativity in finding ways to entertain oneself in the absence of internet and cable television.   No wonder there’s usually a proliferation (so I heard) of babies 9 months after an hurricane. 

So after spending one night taking pictures of my bare nipple in the darkness and the pattern that the flashlight made on the ceiling I decided to step up the entertainment the next night.  So armed with radio and flashlights, two girlfriends and I sat on the steps of my next door neighbor/close friend ’s apartment, drank Bailey Irish Creme and sang off-key to the wonderful love songs of the 80’s until past midnight, when half drunk we stumbled over to our respective homes, happy we didn’t have to spend another night shining our flashlights into the ceiling.

I didn’t even remember that listening to the radio was so nice.  We were reminded by Luthor Vandross, Jeffery Osborne and Michael McDonald that the love songs of the 80’s still reign supreme.  

We were also delighted to see that the moon was out.   And we looked in wonderment at the stars in the sky.  These are things that we normally don’t take note of.

We enjoyed ourselves thoroughly.  I’m sure the neighbors didn’t.

Footnote:

Thank you guys for all your prayers and good wishes.  Man that was one powerful prayer by Michele :)    Hey Kat, I’m still alive :) I hope the Jamaica bloggers didn’t suffer too much.   I tried to get in a post before now.  I went in to work one morning very early with the intention of posting but it turned out that the generator chipped out that morning so I had to wait until electricity returned at home. 

So I’m here lying in air-conditioned comfort, snacking on pringles while cooking curried chicken and rice while I await one of the deadliest hurricane to hit Jamaica to make landfall. 

I might as well enjoy the air-condition while I have it since Jamaica Public Service, the local electricity company has advised that it will be cutting off electricity at 10:00am tomorrow.  

Tomorrow morning I’ll have breakfast of fried plantains, scrambled eggs and the last of the bacon.  I’m trying to use up all the meat in the house rather than have them spoil in the fridge if there’s no electricity.  The curry chicken meal is for tomorrow’s dinner.

Hurricane Dean.  It’s expected to be a monster of an hurricane (Does one say ‘an’ hurricane or ‘a’ hurricane?  I can’t remember right now).  They say it’s going to be a category 5 by the time it hits Jamaica tomorrow.   Normally I find hurricane exciting, but that’s quite frightening. 

I’m not worried for me since I feel pretty safe where I am on the ground floor of my apartment building.  I haven’t even placed any tapes on the windows.   My mother spent the first day of her vacation here in Jamaica scrubbing off the tape marks that remained from Hurricane Ivan and I’m quite reluctant to mess up the windows again.  Especially since I have no intention of doing it myself and would more than likely pay someone to do it for me.

I’m actually very concerned about the effect on other’s whose residences aren’t as sturdy and the overall impact on the country’s resources.    I just know that Dean is going to leave a trail of destruction in its wake and that’s just so sad.  There are so many families whose members are just shivering in their shoes thinking about Dean’s arrival.   My own family isn’t exempt.  In 2004 when Hurricane Ivan hit the country, my grandmother who lives in rural Jamaica lost her roof.   I’m quite worried sick that there’s going to be a repeat of that.     However, while I’m nervous about that, she on the other hand isn’t worried, finds my concern quite hilarious,  and repeats between laughter her mantra that “God will tek care a we.”

Thankfully, it would appear that Dean will make landfall during the daylight hours.  It’s less frightening that way.  During 2004, Ivan made his appearance during the night and I was terrified listening the winds howling and the rain battering the doors.  I spent the night, curled up on the floor of a passage inside my apartment, with the phone clutched desperately to one ear trying to draw comfort from my mother’s presence on the other end of the line, wishing that I could transport myself via the same line to her home in Florida.

This will be the second hurricane that I will go through at home alone.   The first time I elected to do this even though I was invited to stay with friends.  The thought of having to share bathroom facilities with others in a situation where there is no water to flush toilets wasn’t an appealing one.  

The Jamaican election is 10 days away and the two political parties have agreed to cease all campaign activities in light of the impending hurricane.  I’m sure Prime Minister Portia must be kicking herself now for not setting a July election date.   I’m thinking that people who have been battered by hurricane and faced with the prospect of fixing damages to their homes, possibly dealing with the loss of love ones might be less inclined to focus on politics.

 The only possible positive about this is that the two parties in a bid to get votes might scramble over themselves trying to lend assistance to those who need it.   It might mean a less protracted wait for victims.

I’m really frightened.   The last update at 4:00am didn’t indicate that there would be any shift in its course.   I don’t know how well we can handle a category 5.  I hope my Grandmother will be fine.

I hope you Jamaican bloggers will be safe and dry.