So I’m just going to start off the year with pictures from last Christmas with the family.  I am ashamed to say I do not have any pictures of Sharika, Sal, Sajee, Granny or Aunt Verbelle!!  But they are, of course, strong in my memory. Anyone needing high quality versions just ask. Although these files are more than good enough for sending by email etc.

Enjoy!

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I would go in more detail about it because it was an awesome hunt, but I just don’t have the time!  However, I did get a video clip of the final clue.

Think you can handle one of my scavenger hunts?  Try your luck at figuring out the password for the exact same post that my nieces had to figure out themselves.  Once you are in, you will see the second clue that they received.   It may seem a little weird at first, but if you were doing the actual hunt it would make more sense.

(clue: there is a hint to the password in this post and the password is funny)

I’ll keep you posted on all that.

Still no baby from my sister!

Today is also my dad’s birthday. Happy Birthday!

Today I was supposed to be welcoming a nephew into the family. However, it seems that it was a false alarm.  I’m pretty excited to meet him. I’ll finally have a boy to teach the wonderful sport of football too.  Unfortunately for him I have mini team of nieces that are well on their way of becoming top goal scorers themselves.

My diet is going well.. I havent slipped at all.

Today, I went to church with a good bit of family.  It served as a great opportunity to say my last goodbye’s to some aunts and uncles.

Right after church I met up with my cousin, Akili.  He had the task of helping me escape from the old birds and show me something exciting.  It just so happened that we did this on the same day as the Puerto Rican Day Parade.  It was a sea of 2.6 million loud half naked people everywhere I went. We walked from Central Park, past Times Square, through the market of Grand Central Station and all the way to  Union Station. I was happy to see the locations of some of my favorite shows, Project Runway and Heroes.  I was so tempted to run into the middle of Times Square and shout “Yataaa” in classic Hiro fashion.

However, Union Station had to be the best part. Not only did I get to be lazy and sit, I was able to watch the many kooky people that were there.  There was a man preaching about the negative effects of cell phones and the incompetence of today’s government, all in the same breath.  Another group were playing hacky sack in a giant circle, I watched as a random person would join in every few minutes.  This was all to the sound of some hippy looking kids banging drums and, get his, playing a kazoo.  Akili and I found it incredibly funny when, in the middle of the chaos, a young lady strolled across the park.  She clearly walked as though she was the prettiest thing in New York, that was until she tripped on her own foot!

It was the perfect place for people watching.  I wish I had my camera but no luck, I left it home.

We made our way home and I spent the night at his place, watcing basketball finals (boo Lakers!) and getting to know each other more.  He’s definately a cool and smart guy.

Baba Roots, which was founded by entrepreneur William Webb, is a herbal energy drink popular among young people in Jamaica. It is said to increase sexual energy and alertness. It is marketed in Jamaica as a homegrown and natural alternative to Red Bull. – Wikipedia

Today, I reunited with a handful of my family, seriously there is pretty much 1 for each finger. People I hadnt seen in about 15 years.  Watching my aunt and parents together has already opened doors to many jokes and you can imagine just how wide the doors blew open with this bunch.   These guys had a joke a minute, the men making fun of the ladies and the women replying with witty comebacks.  Of course the day couldn’t be complete without the timeless stories about thier good ol’ St. Vincent days featuring Ms. Lucy from Bayabou, or Francis from near the river in Mespo.  However, what took the night was when my aunts started asking if anyone knew “Baba”, Baba Roots.  My dad’s face stood puzzled as a small hot sauce looking bottle gets pulled out from the fridge.  Slowly the jokes start to go from innocent and lean towards risque.   Within minutes sexual innuendos were out on the table faster than my mom could say “hogwash”.  It was a pretty funny experience yet strains of awkwardness were very present.  I watched in total confusion as I watched my parents volunteer themselves the opportunity to partake of this bevereage.  My dad loved it.

Yesterday, Aunt Verbelle had told us about my mom and her crazy shopping, but I really thought it was being slightly exaggerated.  However, today I have learned just a little bit more about this woman I call mommy.  My mom flew into NY today and we picked her up at about roughly 11am. My dad and I looked at each other in disbelieve as without a question, or hesitation, Verbelle drove directly to a mall.  She knew exactly what my mom wanted to do because it’s thier routine.   We spent a good 3 hours watching mom conquer these stores. I think buying stuff from each is like a trophey for women.

Later in the day we went to church. Dad was doing a short sermon at a prayer meeting.  I found it weird that we were the first ones there. The meeting was supposed to be at 8pm, and we were the only ones there until about 8:15pm.  Anyway as I was sitting there I realised how good of a preacher my dad is!  He really shines and takes control of the crowd.  I know about the whole God is doing the talking thing but he is the perfect vessel for it.  I started to take note of  how he really uses his life expereinces, jokes and personality to convey the message… and people like it!

On the way home I got to witness my family saying some pretty funny things. “Chinese have no peripheral vision because of thier eyes.. they cant see a thing” … “But they can see money!”

Twas quite a day.

This whole day actually went very fast.  It could be because of the time difference, technically today is 3 hours shorter than usual.  We had a 5 hour flight to NY and got picked up by my Aunt Verbelle (Mom’s sister).  Throughout my evening in her long island home, I couldn’t help but be reminded of my mother and grandmother.  Some common traits she shares with my mother is the little “uh”  sounds she makes and the mumbling to herself.  Also, I caught her a few times singing quietly just like my mom does as well as the laughing smile while making the short “tih” sucking of teeth sound often heard from my mom.  Clearly grandma rubbed off on both of them.  The one thing that reminded me of my grandma was the way she had her hair. I really don’t know if my grandma ever even wore her hair in the same way but something just really struck me when I saw it.  It was sorta braided back against her hair and prepared for bed. Hard to explain.

Anyhow, tonight I’m sharing a bed with daddy. Let the snore war begin!