Café Denim

Welcome to the Cesspit For Your Lives

2011-05-21T08:41:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I wonder if I walk around with that plastered to my forehead...
Now don't get me wrong, I almost enjoy being a dumping site, I feel like people only tell their real issues to people they trust and consider close friends. But it amazes me just how many people are comfortable enough with me to do that! It's ridiculous, really. And I've heard it all, I mean it, not that I'm gonna let out any secrets here of course, but there's nothing you can tell me that will cause me any genuine surprise... I'm sure of that.
My friends have started to notice too. Sometimes something big may get out and they'll tell me about it: "Hey OMG did you hear..." And usually my response is now: "Yeh they told me..."

Now myself and several people have a couple theories concerning this phenomenon. Perhaps I'm just a super friendly and trustworthy person. Or maybe I just tend to accept more crap than the average person because I have my own issues to deal with but use dealing with others' as a distraction (Hmmmm O.o).
One thing's for sure.... when you come to me... I CANNOT JUDGE YOU. I can advise, give my opinion, but I can never say what you did was wrong. I don't know I guess it's just that if you mustered up the courage to tell me something personal, who am I to turn around on you and crush you?
Oh and I'm a super great listener! I rather listen than talk, and I've realised a lot of the time, my friends feel better by simply talking about their stuff. You don't need to respond because most of time, your response won't mean much. But empathy is much more powerful than sympathy.... try it...

But yes I've realised that waste disposal is a dangerous business. Full of things that must not be repeated, sticky situations, and delicate responses. And while it'd probably be wiser and all-round healthier to stick this sign up...

I quite enjoy the one that's up right now... :)

WOW

2011-04-12T20:28:00.000-05:00

Ummmm....okay I have no idea why I'm back. Or if any of my followers will actually read this!
Time to blow the dust off this baby and get it up and running, while I have the motivation.
Nobody probably gives a damn but HEY! This thing is my little vent :) sooooo hello blogosphere.... I'm back and reay to begin... again.
The point of this whole post is to say hi :D and make you all listen to Con Te Partiro by Andrea Bocelli.... If you haven't already... loving it :D

Peace & Harmony

2010-08-02T07:55:00.000-05:00

Now that music is finally going somewhere in our church... there is one particular goal that I have at the front of my mind.

Singing in harmony. All the 4 parts: Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass

I mean.... we are a Mennonite church after all (look it up kids) and no matter how modern we may become, there are still a few fundamental ideas in worship that we should hold on to: And harmonising is one of them.

How many years have gone by with me sitting and painfully enduring the crappy choice of key by the leaders with no music to follow. Or the twisting and breaking of a deep-voiced male trying to sing the melody, and when the note was too high.... eh.... we could sing one a few notes lower... nobody will know the difference right? WRONG!

Now some of them may say that worship is not about how the music sounds but about how you feel and the connection with God.
But when a church is filled with crummy singing like that.... how can you even enjoy it enough to feel anything with God. Personally I usually recite the first 50 numbers in pi over and over to maintain my sanity.

Next is the famous excuse: I just can't sing.... or.... I just don't have an ear for music. What utter RUBBISH. The human brain is a musical machine. It enjoys interpreting the patterns and anticipating the oncoming combinations. So if all music you listen to sounds simply like random noise.... then I may accept the ear for music excuse... And on singing.... then just sing another part... or simply sing quietly then. If you know you can't sing well, why does everyone else in the church have to know it too -.-

So I leave you with that... in the hopes that next time I post about singing it will be about how beautiful we sound in church. We currently are working on the harmonies but we haven't sung them yet in church....

Eventually we may sound like this.... preferably not looking like this though :P

I know what's wrong

2010-07-18T12:36:00.000-05:00

Ok guys.... here's the real reason I've not been writing much these days.... it's because I haven't been reading! I figured it out recently. This blog began in the midst of a reading spree and the best posts were products of that spree... I think even the novelty of the idea kept me going for a bit after I stopped, but now that I've been doing this for almost a year :o (wow), I realise that good inspiration for writing, a lot of the time comes from reading (for me at least). So in order to break this little dry spell, I fully intend to start reading again. It is summer after all... sooo don;t give up on me just yet LOL. I'll be back... I hope

Thanks, Merci, Gracias, Grazie

Graduation!!

2010-06-25T23:56:00.000-05:00

And I'm back again, with another lame apology that you guys don't want to hear... And I'd love to blame my absence on those dreaded CSEC exams that I've been complaining about since God knows when, but let's face it.... those were over a long time ago... I've just been lazy.... and for that I sincerely apologise. But you don't have to accept it, just read. ;)

Now on to the good stuff. I've GRADUATED from my school... officially. And although I'm reapplying to spend another two years there, preparing for yet another set of hugely important exams (yes, prepare for the ranting), there's still a sense of freedom as I spend 3 entire months not being an official student of the school.

Now the Graduation Ceremony was great! Surprisingly... You see we (we being the students) all expected it to be some drab formal dinner sitting for hours at tables listening to speech after speech about how vibrant and full of life this year's graduates were... as they bored us to death...

It turned out to be quite the opposite though... There were only a few speeches and they'd been quite well done... i.e. short and sweet... and the rest of the ceremony was filled with us collecting some tokens (Dog tags with the school emblem printed on it) and then the dancing/hanging out part of the night.

Okay... before I move on... I don't know how many of you know me that well... but if you did, you'd know that I'm pretty much the quiet, self-conscious, awkward type of teenaged boy. I know it and I don't care frankly. So in other words, I am not exactly the kind of person you expect to actually DANCE... so it was a surprise, even to myself, when I found myself on the dance floor, without having so much as a care, and dancing... wait for it.... with a girl. You see the big thing about that was... I didn't take a date to Grad... and I'd never met this girl before in my life till that night...

My friends' reactions were hilarious! First of all, one of them was kinda into the girl I was dancing with, but he was to chicken to dance... and she even asked him first. And secondly, while I was dancing I turned around and saw one of my friends behind me just standing there. Over the music he shouted to me that he'd searched the hall a couple times looking for me but it never occurred for him to check the dance floor... It was ME after all. The whole thing was just one huge laugh.

But anyway... it was a wonderful night and everyone had loads of fun... I'd put some pictures up but I don't know if my friends would be open to having their faces open to the whole world :P

So 'till then just imagine a gorgeous guy getting down on the dance floor and you've got the picture ;)

-Levi Jeans

Change...

2010-05-27T18:47:00.001-05:00

Again... I apologise for my EXTREMELY long hiatus from blogging.... I've just been super busy. Really this time. Those pesky CSEC exams that I've been going on about for the past.... two years... have finally come around and boy is it an anticlimax... but anyways...

This post is mainly a congratulations to the new Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Kamla Persad Bissessar. After a grueling campaign battling the former governing party, the PNM, the People's Partnership prevailed with Mrs. Bissessar at its head.
The loss truly came as a shock to the PNM and its leader, Patrick Manning, who had honestly believed that they had this election in the bag. I mean he had to have believed that, having called snap elections in the middle of his term as Prime Minister.
But the people have voted for change. Change from the poverty, crime and corruption of the PNM's governance.
Anyways I have to go :P but again congratulations to the first female Prime Minister of Trinidad & Tobago and I wish her the best of luck in all endeavours... we all have full confidence that she will bring about the necessary change in our nation!!

Hair

2010-05-08T23:52:00.000-05:00

Why does it seem like my family is always harassing me to get a haircut.... I HATE haircuts...

Nevertheless I finally obliged on Thursday after weeks of my mothers nagging. But this time we weren't going to Dwight's, we went to Jean Paul instead... (Don't those names sound fancy?)

Now this is my first time getting my hair cut by Jean Paul, so I had no idea what to expect. Even when you tell a hair dresser what you want done, it's always different. I thought, like Dwight, Jean Paul would just do the regular scale down cut of my afro-ette. Boy was I wrong!

This guy managed to make my curls go straight and he gave me an almost emo hairstyle. I was shocked for sure, but still rocked the look to lessons. Well who told me to do that! One of my friends began stuttering as I approached the gate,"L-l-levi? W-What did you d-do to your hair??!!" I'll admit it was too much of a shock for some people but others were lovin' it :)

I'll post a pic but by the time I took it in the night, my hair had begun to lose it's silky softness and get that thick coarse feel again so it's not a perfect representation of what everyone saw.

Yesterday I tried redoing my hair in that style but to no avail. So what do I do instead? I pump some super hold serum into my hands and slick my hair up into a faux hawk... well, at least the closest thing to one that I could with my hair. Again at lessons, some were all love and others were just shocked. It was really funny actually.

Today though I just left it alone on my head :D in no particular style. But I'll continue to mess around with it while its short until I get my fro-ette back.

Some pics? :

BEFORE

AFTER

-LS

When Harry Potter Went to Church...

2010-04-20T18:40:00.001-05:00

Sorry for my long absence from the blogosphere! I've been pretty busy with exams approaching. In fact, I have French Orals this week! But still, it's no excuse for treating you all this way...

So recently I've found myself again debating with other Christians who seem to have found some interpretation of the Bible that tells them exactly what's what in todays world. I really want this Bible because apparently it says: "Harry Potter is 'demon ting' " and "Rock music is evil".

WOW!

People of Christian faith, I am telling you now, as I have said before and will always say.... there is absolutely nothing wrong with Harry Potter! No one can imagine how furious I was when there was that period with all the burnings of the books and marches etc. If there are two things every man should live by they are:

1. Don't ever burn a book! EVER.

2. Don't make your faith look stupid and ignorant.

I have made these points in my own church when I was much younger. When I was reading the HP Series, I would purposely take it to church and hold it together with my Bible. It was an invitation for debate and did I love it! To put it nicely... I definitely shut them up. I still don't think they agree with me but they can't really argue against me since I've already disproved most of their theories about the books.

Put simply, HP is a great book and movie series. It's amazing young adult literature full of original ideas and a well developed plot line and can do nothing but benefit young hungry minds.

Next up....

Rock music. Where did this argument that you cannot praise God with Rock music come from? Music is a medium through which anything can be expressed. A guy in my school was under the impression that you cannot praise God with rock because you cannot play rock with a pure heart. Apparently we must look at the roots of rock and because it originated with social rebellion and 'impure hearts' we cannot play it. Another is that 'Lucifer was the angel of music so he controls music and rock is Lucifer's music'.

Why? Because some fools make back masked tracks? Some heavy metal rock bands are satanists? All of that means NOTHING.

I guess the real reason I'm so upset is that these 'true Christians' who shun rock and HP Books, like to pretend like they have been blessed with this knowledge. As my message to them and partly as my own acceptance of the fact... Nobody KNOWS. I do not KNOW. They cannot KNOW. So stop acting like you KNOW.

How To Train Your Dragon

2010-04-03T16:00:00.003-05:00

How To Train Your Dragon must be my new most favourite animated film.

A hapless young viking, Hiccup, aspires to kill dragons and to become accepted into the society. But after finding the Night Fury he brought down and releasing him, he learns that there are much more to these creatures than they once thought.

The storyline itself is really good but I guess it's hard to go wrong when you're following a book right? The whole message was very Avatar-like in a good way. What separated this movie from other animated films for me was just the quality of the animation itself. Each person moved the way he was supposed to and reacted in the right way. It was just really well thought out. Toothless' almost feline appearance really separated him from the rest of the dragons with his sleekness and strength. It was amazing how his whole appearance changed depending on whether his pupils were slits or dilated.

Although not as cute or cuddly as the creatures in other animated films, these dragons managed to become as, if not more, loveable.

Jay Baruchel did an amazing job with Hiccups voice as did Gerard Butler with Stoick's.

I definitely recommend this movie to anyone. It's not only a kids movie and I've seen it 2ce, neither time in 3-D, so if you do get that opportunity, it'll probably be even better!

God Is Watching You

2010-03-18T21:01:00.000-05:00

Due to the insufferable heat we've been experiencing recently, we decided to go to the beach with our grandparents and uncle. Now I was looking forward to the drive because my uncle is one of those fun ones who constantly asks me,"But does she look good or not?" :P
Well the drive started alright. But Granddad needed to fill up the tank so we stopped off at the gas station. As we looked out of the windows, we spot this bumper sticker up on a slightly open door saying,"God Is Watching You." It's only when we look at what's behind the door and spot the toilette that we burst out laughing. Now my uncle pulls out his camera but can't get a good shot at the door and the toilette together. And did I mention he has multiple sclerosis which affects his legs? So he asks me to hop out and try to get the picture and I gladly oblige. Note that all this is while Granddad is filling gas.

Well I go fairly close to the slightly open door and snap once or twice. That's when the petrochemical distributor (you know... the pump lady?) calls across to me from on of the gas pumps.
"Yuh seein' sometin' in dere awa?!"
The expression on her face was scary as hell! It then occurred to me that a teenaged boy walking up to an ajar bathroom door and taking pictures doesn't really give a very innocent impression. And kids in this country can be total perverts! I flushed the brightest red I could with my brown complexion and explained.
"N-no it's just the... uh...the sign!"
"Aw-haw... the sign... okay." - And with that she turned away, probably reasoning that a boy with such a handsome, innocent face could never be up to no good... :D
Nevertheless it was still fairly embarrassing and facing the laughter of my sister and uncle in the jeep wasn't exactly the highlight of the day.
Just thought I'd share the experience with you guys because I must admit it was pretty funny...
I'll try to get the real photo and put it up for you guys.

Picky Eaters...Well kids...

2010-03-17T18:54:00.000-05:00

With the three days off between exams, I find myself slumping down in front of the television and giving my mind almost no stimulation as I stare at the mindlessness on American cable TV. One of the components of this mindlessness is Wifeswap - a show on Lifetime about women who trade places for 2 weeks and try to bring something to the other family. They usually pick wives of 2 extremes. A Christian and a Pagan or a playful, easy-going parent with a strict one...

One thing that seriously annoys me though is the lack of discipline in some of these houses... especially when it comes to eating. I mean, do people just like proving the American stereotype that the rest of the world has? (And it's not a good one for any of you under that misconception.)

I was fuming with rage when I heard a little boy say,"I hate mashed potatoes," or watched a mother say that she has to go to 3 different take out places each night to get what each child wants. What is wrong with these people? You're not allowed to say that you don't eat this or you don't eat that until you leave your parents' house! 'Till then whatever they give you you eat! A kid under ten years old can't give a justified reason for not liking mashed potatoes. Potatoes are a staple - there are loads of different varieties and almost everyone in the world eats them. Don't tell me you don't like mashed potatoes.

But parents are to blamed for spoiling their kids. Catering to their every whim can do nothing but harm. And when they're older and people have to worry about their spoilt, picky behaviour... all they become are nuisances.

And the major excuse for these parents not wanting to discipline their children is always,"Well I don't want my kids to hate me!" Are they idiots! I'd do a better job raising kids than these nut-jobs. My parents make me eat whatever they cook whether I want to or not and I've received my fair share or lashes and slaps (in public too but we don't call social services for trivialities like that here) and you know what? I love my parents with all my heart because I know that everything they do is to make me a better person. And as far as I can see, it works a lot better than what I see on Wifeswap :P

Trini Vagrants

2010-03-12T05:22:00.000-05:00

Now Trini Vagrant aren't the kinds you feel sorry for because they have no home. No. They're the kind you laugh at 'cuz they look funny and are usually lunatics! Wanna see?

I love our vagrants... may they never find homes and keep entertaining the general public and tourists!
Okay that might be a bit mean :P

Fw:

2010-03-06T15:24:00.004-05:00

I'm back from my little hiatus from blogging. It wasn't my fault, honestly. My Grandfather needed to borrow our modem again and it's taking a little longer than expected to get it back. So sowy!!

Forwards... Now it's true that some forwards are interesting or funny. But those are the minority. Sometimes I wonder if people forget where the delete button is and accidentally hit forward anytime they think something is boring.
And the naivety of people can be so annoying!
First of all, for all of you who haven't figured this out yet...

MSN IS NOT RUNNING OUT OF USERNAMES or CLOSING DOWN!!!! It just doesn't work that way. And even if it were true... you'd think that MSN would just place a notice in your inbox like they did when you signed up or when they changed to Windows Live. They won't send around a forward message!!

And I am in that 93% of people who won't pass on that prayer, or that psalm, or that picture of Jesus and I'd really appreciate if you people wouldn't flood my inbox with that stuff. Yes I'm a Christian, but...
-If that email doesn't make my day like it says it will, I'm not forwarding it to people because it probably wont make theirs either.
-I think you're being rather demanding and annoying by trying to guilt me into sending an email.
So yeah... I treat those emails like spam, 'cus that's basically all they are.

I also don't like emails that:
1. Warn me about a virus - I have a Mac remember!!
2. Make me think of that special person's name so they will be mine (under the condition that you send to 20 people within the next 2 days :P)
3. Are sent by people who are dumb enough to think that pressing F6 after will reveal the answer.

I'm not sorry for offending anyone because at least I'm saving a lot of people like myself some annoyance if you stop sending forwards.

The Jotter

2010-02-24T16:37:00.004-05:00

The time has come for me to join the ranks of those who own refillable pens! For my birthday last week my sister gave me a black Parker Jotter pen, a classy looking little instrument. And what might seem like a simple gift really means a lot to me. I've always admired the way some people just have one pen that they rely on, the metallic glint in a man's shirt pocket or the casual, 'It's okay, I've got one' of a woman fishing through her purse. Up until now, to me, pens were just things that fall apart and get lost. But now that I have my own little refillable(and one as classic and sturdy as the Parker Jotter), I have a newfound respect for these little pieces of metal and plastic. The ability to write will always be cherished by some, no matter how far into the age of technology we go, and to those, a good writing tool is priceless. So thanks sis!

I Am Yours Final - Trinidad!!

2010-02-20T11:44:00.001-05:00

Two days later and I'm now writing about the concert... Remember that big rant post about tickets being sold out last year... turns out that was for VVIP (Very Very Ignorant People) tickets. So on Thursday, my birthday by the way, we got three general admission tickets to see the final concert of Beyonce's I Am Yours Tour right here in the Queen's Park Savannah!! This was actually my first concert ever.

Beyonce was amazing of course... she really knows how to put on a show.

At least that's what I could tell from the screen I was looking at. You see there were a few issues with this concert:

1. Ticket Prices - for around $80 USD, you'd expect more, even for general admission. And if you wanted to see her properly then get ready to pay around $170 USD for VIP or $270 for VVIP. Now tell me guys... where else in the world is there such a thing as VIP or VVIP tickets for a concert?...those IDIOTS

2. Viewing - Do you know how I saw Beyonce? On a screen... Why? Because we were too far away to see anything... and there was a barrier preventing us from getting any closer. Not only was that an issue but the two micro screens with which we were provided to view the concert remained on the ground for half of the show, despite the unanimous protests from the patrons shouting, "Raise d' screen!!!" Also, the general admissions area was lower than those in front of us so we could see little more than the elevated drum kits. And the massive scaffolding structure setup for the spotlights in the middle of the VIP section before us didn't really help much either.

3. Service - This doesn't really apply to us folk who were in general admissions because apparently $80US means nothing these days. But even the people who were in VIP and VVIP were complaining (serves them right for paying that much). All that extra money was for food and comfort. Apparently food and comfort means corn soup, doubles, beef sandwiches and gyros all of which finished before everyone had eaten and standing up in heels on uneven dusty ground.

I think the only thing preventing patrons for demanding a refund was Beyonce's great performance. Well into the concert, people forgot the obvious problems and contented themselves with listening and dancing.

Oh and Beyonce did the palance and sang Check On It to a soca beat!!

That's one of the screens!!

Carnival

2010-02-10T16:44:00.002-05:00

It's Carnival season! You know what that means! Wild parties, lots of drinking, half naked women (or the occasional half naked man :P) dancing through the streets and sex.

Fun huh?

Carnival's not really my thing... at all. It's a bit too crazy and it's nothing like it originally was (before my time). Apparently there used to be this funny little thing involved in Carnival, a long time ago. It's called...hmm... ah yes... CULTURE. Buy hey, who am I to complain right? I mean Carnival it what puts Trinidad and Tobago n the map! Plane-loads of insane foreigners eager for the wildness. What happens in Trinidad, stays in Trinidad after all.

Components of Carnival:

- Parade costumes (no not the fun cute marching band parades) - As prices go up materials go down, to the point where you're paying thousands of dollars to dance in the streets wearing nothing but a sparkly version of a bra and panties or a pair of shorts for the guys. These are usually picked up by the vagrants around the capital who seem to have their own parade going on after Carnival. Don't ask me how those get on the streets - you'd think with that little clothing you'd at least try to keep it on :P

-Music - The traditional Calypso music has in recent times ben replaced by the fast paced, jumbled nonsense called Soca. I mean why would you listen to social commentary in the form of song when you can listen to the nonsensical ramblings of 'singers' who seem to have nothing in their vocabulary except - bumper, whine, flag, wave, jump and 'hand in de' air!'
But we can't forget the Chutney Music. Don't ask me what the indian community was thinking when they invented this - probably about rum, seeing as it's the main focus of most of the songs. And there is almost always a subtextual meaning to the songs. Here is one that is not about rum but definitely has a subtextual meaning.

So my plan for this Carnival is to hide away in Freeport with some relatives. We'll just hang out and tell jokes etc. We always have a good time...

AS Maths

2010-02-05T21:08:00.001-05:00

Okay guys so I've been wondering... how many kids learn Advanced Subsidiary Maths at 14? In Trinidad a lot of us do it as an Add Maths course - actually no... most of the people starting it are 15. But a few of us skipped... and landed in mathematic hell.
Okay so it's not that bad but ask a 14 year old from somewhere else to find the area under a curve and then the volume when rotated 360 degrees or to find the stationary points of a curve using differentiation. And we haven't even done Iteration or ln yet, but we've done logs... I don't know, but it doesn't seem to me that this is the normal sort of work a 14 year old is subjected to.
Take a look at this paper if you want to see (and this one is pretty easy)... GCE Core Mathematics C2 AS
Maybe it's just because I was at AS Maths lessons today but the thought just crossed my mind.
So tell me can most people my age do this??

The Best Live Voice

2010-02-01T20:18:00.001-05:00

Now it's okay if you don't like her style of music, but you must respect Beyonce and that amazing powerhouse of a voice. No one can deny that she is a brilliant singer with stunning vocal skills and best of all... it's not only when she's in the studio.

She is also one of the few artists who I've heard perform almost perfectly each time on stage. I'm not saying her concerts are the best as a lot more makes a concert than the singing itself (these days at least) but who needs all the frills when you can reproduce each note flawlessly. Note also that she does this all while on her knees, swinging her head around dirty dancing on the floor. A lot of live performances where a lot of dancing was involved, I notice that the singing is never that great. But I've seen Beyonce drag herself all over the stage and then still manage to impress with vocals.

It' true that she can be a bit scream-ish sometimes but still... her voice is made up of pure awesomeness!!

Tell me I'm lying...

URL Change?? Need Your Help

2010-01-30T21:23:00.003-05:00

If there are any real frequent visitors to this blog (I hope there are a few at least :P) I'd like your opinion again. By again, I'm referring to the time I consulted you guys about the change in template.

This time I'm contemplating changing the URL of my blog. I'd given it it's current URL when I'd been new to the whole blogging thing and had no idea what I was going to do with this blog. I guess I'm still in that spot :P as you've probably noticed by the lack of a consistent theme to any of my posts. But I at least now have a name that I think I'm keeping and the URL might be more appropriate as www.cafe-denim.blogspot.com or maybe without the hyphen... I don't know. Just give me some feedback. Tell me which of these you like...

www.cafedenimblogspot.com

www.cafe-denim.blogspot.com

or it could be something with my name (LeVi - for those of you who don't know) or jeans (lol) as it's always brought up about my name.

I'm just a bit concerned about changing it and I like having a Trinidadian reference in the URL.

Lemme' Know!!

You Don't Need Another 6 Inches

2010-01-29T19:07:00.004-05:00

So Mom's been saying this for eons but of course I hadn't listened until Dad backed her up. But now I know - that I don't need a Foot-Long Sub at Subway!! For maybe 2 years now I've been eating foot-longs at Subway. The bigger you get the more you need to eat right? (And I'm tall for a 14 year old.) Wrong!

Dad went into the whole explanation and comparing the way Americans serve food and the way that the French do. Honestly guys, look at a serving size at Burger King or Wendy's and then go to a French Cafe and order a meal. You'd probably think you're being cheated for your money but trust me, the seemingly tiny amount of food that you get is quite enough and they're doing you a favour.

I've heard a story from some relative's who were in the US for a while. They said that they saw some girls (from Europe I believe or somewhere in Eurasia) who were taking a picture with a large coke. They'd never seen any drink that big! And I've seen some of you guys down one of those by yourselves. Here, our family of four will buy a large drink, share about half of it and throw the rest away.

So Dad encouraged me to try a 6" Sub and see how I felt and honestly, I was content after that. I din't miss the other 6" of bread and meat and everything else that's going to be stored as fat anyway...

So to everyone out there... have a regular sized meal, no you won't "like fries with that" and just have a bottle of water and forget the large or even medium Pepsi!

My Kids :P

2010-01-26T10:34:00.004-05:00

Okay I'm officially going to need 6 kids... or maybe just 3 and then each of them can learn two...
Two whats? Instruments of course!!
Kid 1: Cello and Violin
Kid 2: Piano and Guitar (Classically trained but able to play contemporarily as well)
Kid 3: Bass Giutar and Drums (the ultimate contemporary child!!)

But if that's not possible they at least have to learn the cello and violin. Those two are just the most amazing sounding things on earth. Especially when paired to play something like Handel-Halvorsen Passacaglia!!!

I'm stuck with piano really and a bit of drums... I've always wanted to learn the violin though but now I think I'd chose the cello over that. It just has that haunting,mysterious, Victorian sound about it that makes you melt...
Anyways here's a little video showcasing the awesomeness of the two instruments.

Does God Hate Haiti?

2010-01-23T23:24:00.001-05:00

Recently in school my friend joked,"Why does God hate Haiti?" A fairly good question though, given the circumstances. Honestly, I was looking at the Hope For Haiti concert last night on TV (was quite good actually, made me feel all that world unity stuff) and one Reverend of some church in the US called and was speaking to Steven Spielberg. She said that it was an uneasy time in church and it was difficult to explain to the kids, why God would cause such a disaster. I wondered how exactly they explained that one...

But previously, after my friend had asked the question, I'd gone to Dad, as I usually do with any religious question. Note that we are Christians but have a very open view of who God is.
Dad's theory (and I quite like it) is that God created the earth... and earthquakes happen on earth... He basically said that the view that God is some guy sitting in the sky wondering,"What should I do tomorrow?" is quite the misconception of his nature. Sure, the earthquake happened, but that doesn't mean that God made it happen. I sorta got the gist of what he was trying to say and that's my interpretation.
But I can't deny that the atheists are gonna have a feast with this one :P
(No offence to any of my readers if they're atheists... but cummon' guys, it's a stupid decision - I'm not saying to be a Christian - but just find a religion people!)

Forbidden Fruit

2010-01-23T23:02:00.000-05:00

After listening to my grandfather and parents speak a few minutes ago, I began to wonder why all the 'best' fruits seem to disappear. They were talking about how long it's been since they've seen this type of fig (not the sweet, seed filled type but something resembling a purple banana) and granddad said that it is supposed to be one of the most delicious types of fig and is found virtually nowhere anymore... Now why the hell is that?! How does it make any sense that the best fruits are always the rarest. And this isn't the first time I've heard it - there's hog-plums and special cherries and weird named fruits with soft, hairy exocarps.

If a fruit is delicious, wouldn't you try to plant it everywhere or keep a tree in you yard or something?

That's when I began thinking... what if these fruits only became known as the best after they'd become rare, if everything was purely psychological. After not tasting them for tens of years, the brain, in memory, seems to just pick out the good qualities of said fruits and it exaggerates them. It's the concept of the forbidden fruit, literally.

This was all just something I was thinking about. I don't know what its like in other places but here in T&T people seem to always want what they can't have, even if it's not a good as they think...

Mr. Mahraj

2010-01-17T20:41:00.002-05:00

Imagine the man above without the turban, revealing a shiny bald head. And there is the picture of Mr. Mahraj. Who is he?

A friend of my father. He claims to be 90 years old (Dad is completely convinced, but Mom has her doubts) but who can tell without a birth certificate, right? The reason we're a bit dubious is because this man moves about like he's 45... and sometimes younger. The man goes trekking through the forest all the time (I've been with him) and we've seen him sprint up stairs that even my mother would take her time on. It's really quite a sight.
Now that's quite alright with me. But Dad calls this man his 'guru' and it's supposed to be a joke but sometimes we're not all that sure. Mr. Mahraj is always going on about meditation and the subconscious mind and the kind of suff you'd know about if you've seen The Secret, except it's more like The Secret Extreme.

But Dad's inviting Mr. Mahraj to teach us Hindi. Now don't get me wrong, it's good to learn about your heritage and all that but honestly, I couldn't care less about learning Hindi at this point in my life. It's a useful language in the business community, which I don't intend to become part of, and as a Trinidadian/ Citizen of The UK I don't see how Hindi becomes useful to me in the near future.

Another peeve of mine with this whole thing is that Dad seems so intrigued by Mr. Mahraj's youthfulness (obviously not from his looks as shown above but you know...) and it's a bit annoying, frankly, when Dad goes on about these different ways to stay fit and healthy. My point is, when you get old, you get old. Simple as that. Do enough in your young life so that you feel content when you're older. Of course that doesn't mean you have to completely neglect yourself but I'd rather get old than do extreme yoga and nasal drinking (yes... I said nasal drinking) every morning and kneeling down after meals because it's 'the right way to digest food'.

I guess that the whole point of this post was to say - "Get over it Dad!!"
;)

Je Te Louerai

2010-01-13T22:04:00.001-05:00

"Hakuna wakaita sa Jesu!"... World Fellowship Sunday is approaching in the Mennonite church, to which I belong. Now let's get one thing straight, we are not Old Order Mennonites. We are not unusually conservative or technophobic. We're basically another bunch of protestants :)
Anyways we're having a joint service on that Sunday. That's when all the Mennonite congregations in Trinidad and Tobago (which are only a few) gather at one of the churches and this year it's at our Diego Martin church, the first one to be built here actually. Guess who's on the worship team for that service!
You see, the whole World Fellowship Sunday is all about mixing all the cultures in the Mennonite Church around the world so we try to sing different songs from all over the place! This year we've got 'Hakuna Wakaita' and 'Je Louerai l'Eternel' (though we'll sing that one in English... boring...) and Dad even found us a Hindi Christian song! So that one's in there. I'll most probably be playing the piano, keyboard, drums or singing, despite my pathetic lack of vocal skills - but hey... I can carry a melody so I guess that's good enough. I'm looking forward to that. It's the first time the Trinidadian church has participated in this event so hopefully we'll do it justice.

In the search for 'Je Louerai l'Eternel' on Youtube I came across this other great French Christian song and I really like it. Just thought I'd share it with you guys!

Yours Aren't This Bad... Trust Me

2010-01-11T19:32:00.000-05:00

Hey guys. I'm fuming right now. Raging really. Why?
My sister.

Honestly, I think ours is the worst kind of sibling rivalry. It's just her obstinate, dominant nature and her unwillingness to listen to me. The situation tonight -

I'm in the living room trying to use the internet on my laptop because Granddad had to borrow our modem from upstairs. She's playing guitar because the living room doubles as a music room. Simple facts -
1. She can take the guitar from the room
2. I can't take the laptop from the internet
So if the guitar was bothering me, do you think that it's wrong of me to point out those differences and ask her to leave? And don't even suggest for a second that it was way I asked her because I consciously kept my tone casual in the futile attempt to avoid an argument. Of course she mutters some bloody reply about me "not having some work to do?" or something of the sort. I tripped off. I happen to be doing a lot of that lately. So it soon turned into a full blown argument and Mom was no help in the resolution as for some reason she lacks the ability to punish - Is it that hard to take away half of her allowance or guitar or something? Anyway, Mom does her usual part of rebuking her harshly and when my sister refuses to come upstairs as asked, Mom gives up.

Things cleared up afterward too many details really but I'm still pretty pissed.
She's always doing things like that:
Putting down a piece of garbage and running away so that I [with my spotless conscience ;) ] am forced to pick it up.
Purposely doing something to annoy me even when it requires some serious effort on her part.
She won't even give me a hug on special occasions or a kiss on the cheek no matter how much I try to be the sweet older brother.

I don't know what to do anymore, really...

Why'd They Give Her Bieber?

2010-01-10T16:22:00.001-05:00

Thursday was my sister's birthday so we had a bunch of her friends over yesterday just to hang out and whatever. I've got to say though, my sis has got a great bunch of friends and you know what? Good for her!
I mean, on Thursday, one of her friends took a cake that their mom had made for her and the class threw a little surprise party for her. And two girls whose birthdays were both on Wednesday, had no such luck... though they still got some cake from my sisters 'party'. When I met them here on Saturday, they seemed pretty cool, for 12-13 year old's, that is. So I guess I'm glad that she's got a solid group of friends and apparently she's sorta' popular... in the funny, cool girl way. The only problem I have with her friends is....
that one of them gave her the Justin Bieber CD.

Okay, I don't like him but I'm not a hater, I just think that a 15 year old guy shouldn't have a recording contract at that age. I mean, his voice is not gonna' stay that way forever and you can't guarantee that it'll change for the better... Look at Britney Spears. Plus, he's only popular because there are a bunch of shallow girls out there who think he's "sooo cute!". His music really isn't that great.

This was just a quick double post :)

School Again...

2010-01-06T21:49:00.002-05:00

Time once again, to return to that dreadful place of knowledge and learning, where only the company of other suffering souls can subdue the pain.
Nah... I'm just kidding :D
School's not that bad I guess. There are friends and the few odd fun teachers to look forward to having and the end of work-fasting can be nice at times... Okay only something that I would say. I know...
As usual we're probably not going to get our report books back until next week or the week after, but a few teachers gave us our grades anyway...

- Physics - 81% - Top in the form!!(According to Mr. Castillo - I hope he's not going to make me look like an idiot when someone tells me that they got 82% or something.) And yes I'm boasting okay... I think I deserve it. Plus I'm way to reserved in school to make a fuss there so here's the place to do it!!
- Biology - 86% - (I think. My memory's not so good... :P) Top in the class
- French - 79% - Top in the class too :)
- English Lit. - 86% - Top in the class :D
Don't know the rest yet...

Okay, this is not a self-centered type of post... Well it is really but aren't they all? Plus I'm sure I'm not making anyone feel bad - you guys don't even go to my school... for all you know its a low standard run down piece of rubbish. But it's not... so now you know better.
This is just to let you guys know that this blog is not written by a complete idiot who spends his nights wasting time writing on a blog. I get my work done :)

I'm probably going to look back later and realise what a horrible, pompous jerk I seem like and I'll wish I'd never posted this. But I'm sort of floating from those marks right now so I'll wait until I come down before feeling the shame...

Yay! Beyonc... Huh?!

2010-01-05T00:18:00.003-05:00

Beyonce's performing on my B'day (hehe - who got that joke?) in February and I am was so excited!!!

Why is that 'am' scratched out? Well on the first day of sales, all the bloody tickets were sold out! I know... What the HELL??!!

Another thing that's been bugging me is that with all this talk of the times being hard and cutting back, people still have no problem spending $1600 TTD (about $260 USD) on a 'VVIP' ticket... Now who's ever heard of VVIP?? It's not even a backstage pass, just some piece of paper that says I'm more important that you and you get to be separated from the rest of the crowd, who are dancing and mixing, because you're a freaking snob. A**holes... - pardon my French, even if it is censored.

I can wrap my mind around the $450 TTD (about $75 USD... I should let you guys do the math - I hope you can divide by 6) general admission tickets being sold out, but are people such squanderers that they're willing to pay $1600 to feel more special than everybody else? And trust me when I say that no one in Trinidad and Tobago is a Very Very Important Person... there aren't even any Very Important Persons!!

I don't know. Maybe I'm just upset because I didn't get a ticket. But I have a right to be don't I? It's my birthday... :(

Granddad! Journal?

2010-01-03T23:12:00.002-05:00

My Grandfather is snoozing away in my sisters room.
Today, he arrived from England and as usual, my sister gladly gave up her room for him. Granddad is always coming down to little old T&T. It's all these places he's got rented out with uncooperative tenants and such things which fail to capture my interest. But it is nice having him around the house. His presence is just comforting when Mom's out or Dad's working late, even when he's tucked away in my sister's tiny four-walled thing that we allow to be called a bedroom.
With Granddad come gifts from Grandma of course. A bottle of La Nuit De L'Homme by Yves Saint Laurent (smells good!) and this awesome little journal with which I have taken a photo. (Webcams make blogging so much easier :D)

Thanks Grandma!! (And I apologize for my goofy smile and curly hair which might completely freak her out because curliness was generally nonexistent the last time she saw me)
I love the Journal (yes... I will refer to it capitalized) and its awesome Black Moroccan design. I can't wait to start writing in it but I'm refraining because this one will be different to all the others that have come before.... All the others... were ruined on the first page :(. Usually it was because I didn't like how my handwriting had looked or the pen or what I'd written. And this one is the most beautiful one I've had yet. So yes, this one will be The One.
But first I must learn how to journal. Because really, I've not the slightest clue! Maybe I'll write in it like a diary or maybe write poems and stories. Maybe I'll do both. Who knows!? This could be the beginning of a book your kid's will read someday... okay maybe a little over the top there...
Anyways, I'd really like to thank Grandma for being such a door opener for me, just with this simple gift.
Awww... isn't that sweet... :D

Okay Guys I Need Your Help

2010-01-02T20:36:00.002-05:00

This is just a quickie post guys and I need your help! Tell me if you think this new template is better or the old one (you know...the dice floating around in greenness?) - also is there a follow button anymore? Comment!!

New Year Resolutions?

2010-01-01T16:45:00.000-05:00

Let's see... what do I resolve to do differently in the new year? Absolutely Nothing!!
I don't know why people seem to think that they have to set goals for the new year?? Does a arbitrary concept of measuring time really mean that much to us? I'll just decide to things on my own time...
But still I may as well list some things that I've resolved to do before and aren't quite completed yet:
1. Read a lot more. But that's on its way. These days I can't seem to put down the books and I have a pile on my desk that I need to work through - mainly form Christmas. I just have to work on maintaining that pile. If for one second, the pile ceases to exist, then I will probably have a relapse of my lazy, non-reading ways.
2. Learn mouth to mouth resuscitation. I need to learn this for my practical CSEC PE examination in swimming. Scary huh? I think so...
3. Dramatically improve my piano playing.
4. Learn to play the guitar.

Erm.... that's all for now folks... what about you guys?

The Host

2010-01-01T11:18:00.000-05:00

The Host is finished, at 2 o'clock on New Years morning. I loved it. For once finishing a book wasn't that bad because I know that Stephanie Meyer intends to release two sequels to The Host, although the wait may kill me.

For those who think Stephanie Meyer books like the Twilight Saga are for girls (and I have no idea where that rubbish originated from) I'll have you know that it was a group of guys that first attacked me with them, insisting that I read them. Besides, can any well written, best-selling book be truly classified for one sex? That's just ridiculous.
So The Host did have a bit of a mushy love story involved though it didn't overwhelm the book the way it did in Twilight. It tells the story of a soul, a wormlike alien parasite whose race has taken over the world, who finds herself in a resistant adult host. The host's name is Melanie Stryder and she will not be erased. Melanie fills Wanderer's head with images of her love Jared and little brother Jamie (Wanderer is the soul by the way). Due to her human emotions, Wanderer falls in love with Jared and Jamie from these memories. She sets out to find them in the desert where supposedly there is a human resistance in hiding and Melanie and Wanderer befriend each other. On the brink of death, thirsty and starving, they are found by the humans and taken to their underground fortress in a cave system. At first they are kept as prisoners but soon they are integrated into the society and make a few close friends. The story is centered around Wanda's experiences living in the human society and her 'betrayal' of the souls' way of life as well as colonization mission.
It was amazing - Read It!! Can't wait for the other two.
So I'm starting The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman today. And to add to the previous list of books that I have to read, my Dad's friend gave me Blink by Malcom Gladwell. I've read Gladwell's Outliers and was intrigued by the ideas there so I'm excited to read this one.

The Kitchener

2009-12-29T22:16:00.001-05:00

Yum... Chocolate chip cookies. Today I performed the manly task of baking cookies. They were pretty good actually. I can never get cookies to be perfect circles though. But I was happy enough that the house wasn't burnt to a crisp by the time I was finished (I was home alone). I think Mom might have been upset if that had happened.

Mainly the only thing I watch on television is Food Network - if I want to see anything else I just use Surfthechannel.com.

Cooking and baking just seem extremely fun to me. How macho, right? I think it's the chemistry involved - seeing all the little reactions and products. Like on Boxing Day, when we made a huge lunch, I offered to make the cheese sauce for the vegetables. It involved making a white sauce, which involved making a roux, something I'd seen done many times on television and was extremely eager to try at home. A roux is a thickening agent made of equal parts flour and butter. After cooking that for a bit, I added the milk. For the first couple of minutes, I was scared that I'd done something wrong, as I often do when I cook, because the milk remained the same consistency. Eventually though, it began to thicken up and when that happened, it happened fast! In no time, I was stirring a saucepan of extremely thick, creamy white sauce and frankly, I was ecstatic at having done it properly. Those are the small things that make time in the kitchen a joy.

But mainly the things I make are foreign dishes and I really want to get more into the local cuisine (Mom will teach me). You guys who aren't from Trinidad have to try:

-Curried Chana and Aloo(Chick Pea and Potato Curry)

-Doubles (Street food but so good - I could eat a million of these)

-Trinidadian Curried Chicken

-Callaloo

-Paratha Roti (which is a bit different to it's original Indian namesake) *with curried chicken

-Dhalpuri Roti *with curried chicken

-Stewed Chicken

I've mostly listed the Indian influenced dishes as that's what I'm exposed to being of Indian descent.

But the Indian and Creole culinary influences mix here, to produce a variety of interesting and absolutely delicious dishes. We can be a bit conceited at times though, always complaining how bland American and British cuisine is in comparison. But that's mainly the ignorant view of the less exposed - though our food really is THAT good =)

Two down... Four to go!!

2009-12-28T22:34:00.000-05:00

Remember those books I got? Well I finished I Am The Messenger by Markus Zusak and The Giver by Lois Lowry.

I Am The Messenger

Once again, I was blown away with Zusak's writing style. He narrates this story in the 1st person as Ed Kennedy, the epitome of mediocrity. Ed is an underage cabdriver whose life until now has been absolutely uninteresting in every possible way. He has only three real friends, a smelly, glutenous but lovable excuse for a dog and his mother hates him. But everything changes after Ed's uncharacteristic reaction to a bank robbery. He begins receiving playing cards in the mail, aces with address and names. Ed Kennedy becomes the Messenger.

Zusak's style is a favourite of mine. He narrates the story with a casual sort of language that seems real, if you know what I mean. Also his ability to not get lost in details is well respected. The characters still manage to appear real and Zusak is able to conjure up emotions in the reader, for the characters but he does so without a lot of unnecessary or dreary back-story and description.

The one problem I found with this book is that (and I agree with the critics on this one) the ending is absolutely dreadful. The entire book flowed nicely and the ideas seemed well planned until the end of the story where it seems like Zusak got bored with the story and rushed off the ending because he was too tired to think of anything better. I mean, the whole book was rendered pointless by that epic failure of an ending.

I still recommend this book. Apart from the ending, it was really a good read and Zusak remains one of my favourite authors.

The Giver is a more well known book. It is more a reflection on society, human nature and uniqueness than a casual read. It deals with the life of Jonas, a seemingly average youth growing up in the community. The story takes place sometime in the future when certain places adopt Sameness. Genetic scientists work to construct communities of people who do not see colour or hear music, who do not have religion nor birthdays. Everything is done orderly. Jobs are chosen for people, as are spouses and children. And there can only be 50 people of any age at one time. If more that 50 babies are born one year, they are 'released from the community' (killed - but the children do not know this), just as the Old are. The members of the community abide by the Rules which govern it and only one person is exempted from these rules, the Receiver. Jonas is chosen as the new Receiver and is trained by the old one, who is now known as the Giver. The Receiver holds the memories of times before Sameness and is held in high honor in the community. As Jonas learns though, he is horrified by what he discovers in the community and what has been lost due to the adoption of Sameness.

I strongly recommend this book. The ideas and story are quite riveting and I promise you that the story will hold your interest from cover to cover.

Okay it was good to get that out of my system... Now time to move on to The Host by Stephanie Meyer, then The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman ( I love a good controversial book - that's why I used to flaunt my Harry Potter's in church hehe), The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly and last but definitely not least, The Stand (Complete and Uncut edition) by Stephen King. That one I'm leaving for last, simply because of the sheer length of the damn thing!

Those books are not related in anyway except that they are all fiction navels. I hate books that you have to consciously learn things from - like textbooks...

I really have my work cut out for me don't I. And there's the added stress of CSEC Examinations being in 4-5 months!! I'm going to be so stressed out! *Takes a deep breath and mentally prepares himself for the next couple of months*

The Day After Boxing Day...

2009-12-27T23:00:00.000-05:00

Today was a long day.
Church.
Nan(Grandmother)'s House.
Häagen-Dazs.
And finally home to cosy up in front of the television set with my Dad and sister, watching a pirated copy of Julie & Julia.

Today was the perfect representation of the spontaneously planned days which seem to be favourites around the holiday periods. My aunt and cousins from southern Trinidad came up north this morning and met us in church where we stayed for the entire service before taking off to my Nan's place for lunch. We exchanged gifts and hung out there for a few hours - well until the evening time and then my aunt and cousins left.
"I need a little 'pick me up'", says Dad. End of conversation... Häagen-Dazs it is!
After waiting nearly a half hour to be served, eating, and then waiting maybe another half hour for the bill, we drove home: My sister with our mother and me with our father (they were using separate vehicles). Wait! Did I say we drove home! Well not before popping into one of those illegal pirated DVD stores and buying a copy of Julie & Julia. We felt a bit guilty. Honestly we did. Especially after we've spent eons complaining about how lawless this place is and feigning disbelief at the fact that the business has actually been up and running for what? Over a year now? But lets be honest guys, disbelief doesn't exist in this country. ANYTHING happens here. But contributing to that rubbish really hit us hard - no matter how convenient those stores are.
Nevertheless, as soon as we found ourselves inside the house, into the DVD player popped Julie & Julia. I really enjoyed it! From the previews I had no idea hat it had anything to do with food nor blogs but it had looked very good anyway. The acting was great (I've refrained from using phenomenal here even though it was my 1st instinct, as I'm a 14 year old kid with probably terrible judgement of movie quality) and the movie really had some good ideas -
1. Butter (note: not margarine) is probably the most amazing edible product ever created (Screw cholesterol).
2. Blogs should always have a point (unlike mine).
3. Cooking and French are awesome especially when paired together.

White Winter Hymnal

2009-12-22T21:06:00.000-05:00

Ok, so the title of this post is a Fleet Foxes song... I'm addicted okay?! They really are amazing and that song gives me the Christmas chills.
Today I finally got that Christmas feel. Yes, the decorations were up, the tree was up, sorrel was made... but the 'Christmas' was missing. I think it because there was a lot of clutter around the house and it was only properly cleaned up today. Plus today Mom made her Christmas Fruit Cakes. And it's 'Cakes' because she makes for the entire world!! There's one for her boss, one for her mother... hard to keep track really. I helped her bake them so they taste great (Naturally- I mean come on, it's me!).
I've also been blasting Fleet Foxes' tunes from my Macbook's Logitech speakers all day. Songs like Tiger Mountain Peasant Song, White Winter Hymnal, Ragged Wood and Mykonos.
I guess a combination of all of the above brought out the 'Christmass feel' and not a second too early. Christmas is on Friday people!
Hmm... now something to make this post actually worth your reading it :D:
Um... Oh... got one - Yesterday my Dad saw a policeman on his motorcycle, hit a guy as he was trying to cross the highway (what's new kids) and not stop. The guy apparently flew as high as our ceiling according to Dad. The highway was completely clear too and yet the policeman managed to find a way to hit the guy. It was one of those awkward situations where two people need to pass each other but keep stepping to the same side. Ridiculous really.
Well there you go - Now you've officially not wasted your time. Bye!

Avatar in Trincity

2009-12-19T22:50:00.002-05:00

I've been spoilt by being taken to Movie Towne over the last few years since they opened. But today, the dusty memories of the old Globe Cinema, before the was a Movie Towne, emerged from their spots along with my other childhood memories. What caused this? A visit to the cinema in Trincity Mall. You see, for some odd reason, Movie Towne (the most modern and well designed cinema in the country), was not showing Avatar in 3-D and in our desperation to see the movie as it was meant to be seen, my father bought tickets in the next most popular cinema, in Trincity Mall.
Now after being in Movie Towne, in the massive, steeply graded theaters with well padded seats, large screens, alert ushers and an unnaturally polite audience, Trincity was a joke. Not that I didn't enjoy the movie. After a while, your surroundings fade away anyway, like reading a book. But still at first it was a bit of a culture shock to see how the other half of the country watches movies; in obscenely flat, small theaters and with the screen above you (so you have to look up at it). There was barely any space between your seat and the one in front of you and the aisle runs straight down the center of the theater with seats on either sides so that no one gets the perfect middle seat - unlike Movie Towne where the aisles are on the sides.
Apparently we weren't the only people who decided to go there only for the 3-D as one guy said when he walked in, "This place realll shitty boy!" (Pardon my language)
But the odd comments during previews are always fun. There is this KFC advertisement, where a guy holding a box of chicken, walks up to a girl trying to change a tyre. Just watch...

As this commercial was finishing up - a woman's comment flies above the audience from somewhere behind me. "I woulda' hit him with that spanner!!" *entire crowd laughs*
Yup those are the things that you don't experience in Movie Towne with all the posh, quiet type people. :D
Nevertheless, we enjoyed the movie. Avatar was great! I love the way they used the 3-D effects, not to throw things at you, but to make you aware of the subtle details in the forest, like a passing branch or falling sparkly things from the magical brain tree-thing. You can tell I paid attention to names. Not only were the effects and animation very well done but the story was quite good too. The idea behind the show seemed quite original and the story progresses nicely without getting lost in The People's world too much. A lot of effort was obviously put into the making of this film and that wasn't lost on me.
I definitely recommend seeing this, whether for the 3-D, story or action (which was quite good by the way).

La Musique

2009-12-18T14:42:00.001-05:00

Music... Why are some people afraid to tell the truth about their musical tastes? I'm going to come out about mine right here -

-I listen to any genre: Rock, R&B, Pop, Hip-Hop, Rap(very few songs but still some), Reggae(who could deny Bob), Dance

-I have Britney Spears songs on my iPod

-In general I think British artistes are better than American ones (no offense to anyone)

-I think Beyonce and Christina Aguilera have amazing voices.

-I've just discovered Florence + The Machine and I love Bird Song and Kiss With a Fist.

-I criticize my sister for listening to Disney artistes.

- I am sometimes known among my peers for listening to music that no one has ever heard of and I like that.

- I think Taylor Swift is average at best.

I hate genre haters. People who hate Rap... or those who think Rock is for white boys...?? I hate people who listen to music to fit in with the crowd that listens to that music.

People who want to have a decent musical career should not be promoted, signed to or associated with Disney!

There are my thoughts about music :D

Everyone should come out about their quirky musical likes-

I'd like to hear some in comments. Who are you most embarrassed about liking and who do you like the most?

Awkward Situations

2009-12-17T21:31:00.002-05:00

Don't you just hate awkward moments? Today Add. Maths lessons was crowded as usual and I guess my reaching a few minutes late didn't help the situation much. Taking one of the few seats available (with another empty one next to me) I sat down and started taking out my books.

Then she walked in.

Oh God...

I could tell she felt the same way I did by the frantic movements of her eyes as she scanned the class room for another seat- any other seat. But alas, all had been occupied excepting the one beside me. We both stiffened up as she sat down and began removing her stationary from her bag.

Notebook....

Textbook...

Pen...

Just focus on your work Levi!!

Hard to with her next to me. Neither of us looked up. Neither of us spoke. Just scribbled in our books.

It would've continued for the full 2 hours if Ms. Redon hadn't asked her to go sit next to another girl and help her. I love you Ms. Redon...

Okay I guess you're wondering by now is who is this girl?

You see, this girl was the most sought after chick in Primary School. Yes, what is wrong with 9-12 year old boys these days?! But moving on... when we left primary school and entered Secondary School... I somehow got her mobile number. One text led to another and soon I was telling her that I liked her and she telling me that she liked me. Note that all this time we hadn't seen each other since we left Primary School. Well we left it at that I mean really... two 12 year olds like each other but never see each other, nothing is gonna happen there. That was 3 years ago and this is the first time I'm seeing her again. You'd think we'd be over that by now and we are somewhat... we obviously don't think of each other as liking us but for some reason - knowing that the last thing we really said to each other was that we secretly liked each other was a bit unnerving. *Sigh* And me being the shy, self-conscious guy that I am probably didn't help much...

Work, Work, Work...

2009-12-16T16:34:00.000-05:00

Ah...vacation lessons, the reason kids think their parents are pessimistic sadists. I did too you know... but I've learned that when parents say that you have to throw away 2 years of your life preparing for some stupid and extremely flawed examination system, all the while fighting a barrage of unnecessary extra lessons and hearing them whine and complain about studying.... it's because they love you. Oh yeh I definitely accept that... I know that they care about me and want me to be happy but could they care a bit less? I know I'm probably sounding like a kid whose just being silly about the whole situation and you know what? - I would be... If I didn't do absolutely fine in school. And if I use that argument they start on forming good work habits. Now that is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard!! Good habits?? Come on guys you're going to have to do better than that...
I can change whenever I want to - The reason I don't is that I don't need to. When someone can show me that there actually is a problem with the way I treat work then I will take heed but 'till then...
But I don't know why I even bother resisting - When parents say you should study and go to lessons, they mean you will study and go to lessons or you can lose the internet, your computer, television and iPod. Not like there's much of a choice.
On that note - I wish parents would hit their kids more... okay, time for an explanation right? Well I don't mean beat them abusively (some might argue that those two words are redundant together) but a slap or whack now and then never hurt. Plus this whole new age thing about don't hit your kids has given rise to creative punishments like confiscations and bans - in other words, punishments that actually work to hurt the kid.
Ah well you can see I have some issues to work through...
This is Levi and this has been yet another rant on work and parents (love them though!!)

Mom's Back

2009-12-14T23:08:00.000-05:00

Mom's back from Florida!!

She gave me two of the books that I'd wanted and I told her to keep the other two for Christmas. Oh and she gave me my Crash Kings CD and quite a few shirts--

Okay so my Mom bought me clothes but... she's pretty good at it! I absolutely love the shirts she bought!

The books she gave me were I Am The Messenger by Markus Zusak (author of my dearly beloved The Book Thief) and The Giver by this guy whose name I do not recall. I think I'll start with I Am The Messenger so expect some feedback on that one soon....ish :D depends on how much time I spend reading...

Surfthechannel.com

2009-12-13T13:28:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted since December 9th?!!
Sowy... though it's not exactly the longest break I've taken between posts is it? Um... the reason I feel a bit guilty is because I don't have a good reason at all for not posting... What have I been doing the last few days?
Watching Heroes on surfthechannel.com

Okay so Heroes isn't exactly the most serious or realistic show but hey! That's just the type of TV I like so get over it.

Surfthechanel.com is a lifesaver! It's got me through so many situations of boredom at home it's unbelievable. All it is is a site that allows you to watch almost any television show from the first episode to the last by linking you to other sites. That's the way I like to watch TV. Not - They get married today but the next time you see the show they have a 4 year old son!!!
So the way I use it is to pick one show and watch it from start to finish.
So far I've watched
Scrubs
Lost
Supernatural
House MD
and now... Heroes.
The best place to watch them is Megavideo.com but it only allows you 72mins of viewing then you have to wait another 54mins before you can watch again.
To get around this you can use Hotspot Shield which generates a false ip address so that when your reguar address has been blocked for 54mins then you can use the false one.
Try it guys I get so hooked once I start watching.

The Last Day Of School

2009-12-09T14:38:00.000-05:00

Today was the last day of school. Oddly, I don't feel quite liberated as yet but maybe as the vacation continues I will. But my opinion sure isn't shared by my friends. I was watching one of them after we'd finished our last exam today. He just plopped onto a bench at school with a sigh, as if all the hard work and stress of the term had been expelled in that one breath. It's nice to know that everyone else is feeling good about it.
So I'm ready for some irrationally late nights filled with television watching and the computer. Be expecting some more frequent posts I guess... hopefully if I'm not too preoccupied being lazy...

Day Three No Mom:

2009-12-07T21:46:00.000-05:00

Mom's gone to Florida for my cousin's wedding. So we're home with Dad. Uh...oh.... Let's recap the events of the day...
Woke up at 6:30 (We usually wake up at 5:30 and leave home at 6:30...)
Went to school with no money or food...
Borrowed $5 from a friend.
Ate a butterball turkey breast sandwich after school at home.
Went to lessons.
Got back home and made mac and cheese... while Dad made grilled cheese by wrapping the sandwich in a banana leaf before putting it in a pan so that the cheese would melt before the bread burns...?? Weirdest thing I've seen in a while.
As you can tell, we're enjoying some nice gourmet meals while Mom's gone...
Ugh and Dad's letting the house keeper cook soup tomorrow... and my whole family loves soup but I hate the stuff... not her soup but just any Trinidadian Provision/Chicken Soup. Apparently no one here has heard of stock either so the only way to make it taste... well yeh that's it- to make it taste is by 'melting' pumpkin in it. And then comes the worst part - ground provisions!! Yuk! Dasheen and sweet potato and regular potato and whatever else they can dig up- literally. Those things aren't that bad separately but in soup....
Oh well enough ranting for today.
I ordered four books which my Mom will be bringing back for me :)
The Giver
The Golden Compass - never saw the movie... heard the book was awesome
The Stand by Steven King
Breathless
Can't wait for Mom to return though - for various obvious reasons... on the bright side if I make it through the soup we may get some fast food. Yay!

The Best Book I Have Ever Read...

2009-12-05T09:16:00.000-05:00

Okay I've been wanting to scream this for the last couple of weeks, (I wasn't getting as much reading time as I'd hoped) but I resolved to do this only after having completely finished the book.
The Book Thief is the Best Book I Have Ever Read in my 14 years of being on this Earth.

The story is well... different. Set in Nazi Germany, the main character, Liesel, simply lives her life haunted by her dead brother, suffering birth mother and the lost Jew but finding refuge in the words; those in books, or those of her father and mother (Saumensch mainly :) ) and her best friend Rudy. The plot progresses nicely but seems to be more a collection of events in Liesel's life a opposed to a main conflict and it frankly works quite well.
The story is narrated by Death. Not the big bad scary Death but the haunted, vulnerable, tired Death. The Death who is haunted by humans. That was an ingenious idea on Zusak's part.
Oh well you simply MUST read this book so let me not spoil it too much.
So go out later, walk into a bookstore and buy it... TODAY :D

Inspired by The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

2009-12-04T21:55:00.001-05:00

He is not black.
No.
He is pale.
No.
Not dark.
For he is bright.
Yes, he is white.

They are cold,
His arms, hands, fingers.
They are ice.
And they burn.

He sheds tears,
Without a face,
Tears for the human race.
As he holds us,
And we burn,
His still heart aches for us.

Yes.

Death has a heart.

Scrub-a-Dub-Dub

2009-12-04T17:33:00.001-05:00

Ok I'm drowning in excitement right now 'cuz.......... Scrubs is back!!

So only one of the most amazingly funny shows has returned with a new season featuring a pregnant Elliot and Professors Cox, J.D and Turk, lecturing at a teaching hospital. And that's just sooo far (I've only watched about 15 minutes of the 1st episode). If you're into watching a comedy which still follows a decent plot PLEASE watch Scrubs. It is one of my favourite shows of all time, along with Lost, House MD and Supernatural.

Ok I'm now reading an article saying that soon a new main character will be taking J.D.'s place soon. Um... How can Scrubs exist without J.D.? I'm a bit nervous about the changes. Apparently, the cast had told that there would be no Season 9 and so moved on to new shows. Then when the new season was announced, they were occupied... :(

Hopefully this new version of Scrubs is as good as the old one...

Oh today my Mom got her new car :) a Skoda Octavia... I'm loving it so far. Cars are so expensive here. If we lived in the US or UK we'd probably be driving BMW's or something *sigh*...

Oh Britannia...

2009-12-03T20:37:00.000-05:00

Ugh... back to this dilemma of "to go or not to go". *Sigh*

As you probably already don't know I'm a citizen of the United Kingdom.

After AS Maths lessons today, my lessons teacher (who taught me Maths in Standard 5) and my mom got to talking about Universities - oh no.... Basically what happens is:
Ms. Redon - "You're lucky that Levi has citizenship of the UK. If Andrew (her son) could have had that it would be soooo much easier for us to pay (he's attending uni in Ireland)."

Mom - "Yeh..."

Ms. Redon - "But he has to be there 3 years before he can get home fees, plus the good Universities accept sometimes only 5-8 foreign students."

Mom - "We know but that means we'll have to send him up there next year to his grandparents and I don't think his Dad's ready to give him up yet (time to be a bit selfless Dad)."

Ms. Redon - "If it were my kids I'd wipe up my tears and send their tails to boarding school. I mean you have to think of their futures (thanks Ms. Redon!!)"

So I really want to go. Plus I'd be living in my grandparents' attic :D How cool would that be?! An attic as my room :) I'd have to leave all my friends behind here though :( And I'd have to go to a private school for the remaining two years of my secondary education which could be expensive... :(
But I want my awesome British accent XD- Okay I'm not that petty but come on that'd be freaking awesome!!

Destroyer of Physics

2009-12-03T16:29:00.001-05:00

I destroyed that Physics Exam!!
I was feeling great about it too until some friends and I were discussing it afterwards and I realised that I'd forgotten to finish the question... Don't know if you'll understand what I'm saying but they asked to find the potential difference across a car motor and instead I only did the first part which was find the resistance and then somehow I thought I was done... I'm such an idiot... who destroyed that exam LOL
How could I just forget to calculate the resistance? (note that I said forget to not forget how to 'cuz I knew how just honestly forgot to do it) I mean the equation is V=IR jeez...
Oh well guess I'm just a forgetful 14 year old who likes Vanilla ice cream over Chocolate any day......What?!
Ah well off to Ad Maths lessons soon...
Felt like writing a pretty random post today... like most days :)

The Baseballs Under My Umbrella

2009-12-02T15:50:00.000-05:00

Another band discovery! The Baseballs are a 50's style Rock 'n Roll cover band who cover modern pop songs like Rihanna's Umbrella and Leona Lewis' Bleeding Love. I just love the elvis-sounding voice of the vocalist and their authentic sound; harmonies, piano pounding and all. Got me singing along here in front of the computer. Take a listen.

Exam Review!

2009-12-01T18:46:00.000-05:00

So let's see, so far I've done English Language, Literature, Physics P1(multiple choice), Chemistry P1 and 3 (MC and long answer structure), Biology P1 and Mathematics.
Review:

Language: Overall... okay... wrote a horrible essay though- wanted to barf as I wrote it.
Literature: Luved it! Feel super confident about my performance there. Surprising considering that I studied for the first time last night for half and hour!
Physics: Average/Easy somewhere in between
Chemistry: Hard!! Ugh Chemistry sucks... okay usually I enjoy it but this test was mean.
Biology: EZ
Mathematics: Hmmmm.....Potential 100% I think. Though probably not, in the 90's maybe. Weird since everyone else thinks I'm crazy...

Tomorrow I have French and I haven't started studying yet... I haven't actually done much studying at all during these exams...

Crash Kings: No guitar? What?!

2009-11-28T21:58:00.001-05:00

Recently I discovered this great band. Not sure what genre to class them in though. You see, generally one might say Rock but there's one little problem: There's no guitarist!! The band consists of pianist/singer, bassist and drummer. Any guitar in their songs is purely synthesized. Who's ever heard of a rock band without a guitar?! Maybe it's this odd combination that has got me addicted to their music. They released their self-titled debut studio album in May of this year.

My favourite songs:
It's Only Wednesday
Saving Grace
14 Arms
Mountain Man

Reading and Studying

2009-11-25T20:25:00.000-05:00

A couple days ago, my English teacher read us a sample short story sent from CSEC. It had been written by a boy who was once our age (14-16) and it was one of the most amazing short stories I have ever read. The way story moved forward while incorporating an amazing vocabulary with some astounding imagery. I wish I could write like that. I write well, but I take some time to perfect it. So under exam time and pressure, my writing is average at best.
One of the things I need to start dong more often is READING. I used to be an amazing reader. Reading books like Little Women when I was 11/12. Something changed dramatically in Secondary School. I read 4 books a year now.
Terrible.
Really it is.
But that's going to change...

Oh and I've got(ten* for all my American friends) into a good study habit of doing almost 2hrs every night!
Woohoo!

Thank for reading! This is a random post!

Christmas, Chez Moi

2009-11-22T17:00:00.001-05:00

I love Christmas time in my house, just because my mom usually goes insane with the decorating. This year wasn't as crazy but the house is still nicely decorated. The monotony of putting up the Christmas tree almost got to me last night though and my dad is camping this weekend so I had to do the lights. We usually don't skimp on the lights on the tree but this year we were a little short. Actually, I think that this is the earliest that we've ever set up the tree before. Normally we put it up the 1st week of December - not indulging in the premature Christmas season that everyone else celebrates. Well here are some shots of what's up... not much- my camera battery was about to die-- sorry--

Super Stress

2009-11-20T20:35:00.000-05:00

This is probably the most stressed out I've ever felt in my life. Seriously...
My Biology lab book has gone missing, exams are in a week and I'm not nearly prepared and I have a Phys. Ed. School Based Assessment project due in a week.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the CSEC program, that lab-book has the potential to guarantee you 20% before even sitting the exams. And it's gone missing. I'd been absent for two Biology labs so I haven't seen it for a while. Well on Wednesday, we had a lab and when I went to the box to get my book, it wasn't there (we're not allowed to take the lab-books home so teachers keep them). After I'd searched my locker and home, and my teacher had searched through even other subjects' lab books, we we're no closer to the book. We've come to the conclusion that someone must have stolen, or borrowed as they'd like to put it, my lab-book. Note that these are labs I've been doing since last year. If I don't get it back, I'l have to re-write all my labs...

As usual I'm not prepared properly for exams in a week.

And there is a P.E. Project due next week which also accounts for 20% of your final grade even before you enter the examination room. I haven't started- I'm that bad of a procrastinator. Right now... I hate my life...

Insecurities Re:

2009-11-19T20:24:00.002-05:00

Today one of my good friends and fellow blogger (www.thedarktrail.blogspot.com) composed a post about insecurities and low self-esteem etc.
I felt like I had to write something about this 'cuz I can completely relate! It may not seem as obvious now, but a while ago, I had very low opinions of myself. I was the smart, quiet kid with a small group of friends who had a hard time socializing. I don't really know what sparked the change but as time passed, I began to realize that (and this may sound bad but I'm saying what I really found) what other guys, who obviously thought highly of themselves, seemed so proud of... I had too, and at times more!! I started not caring what everyone thought about me and began to see myself as a pretty cool guy :D
Don't get me wrong... I'm not Sir Flaunts-a-lot now but I have come a long way in getting over my shy and reserved ways. I still find it hard to socialize with certain groups of people who just seem completely different to me but I try at least a lot more than I did before.
Well just a random, boring post haha When something interesting happens, I'll let you guys know!

La Debac...Cafe Denim??

2009-11-18T21:26:00.000-05:00

Hi guys,
Just a quickie... If anyone is wondering about the change in Blog Title.
I just found that La Debacle Des Sentiments was a bit overwhelmingly french. The Denim bit comes from my name- Levi- which is always referenced to jeans...

Teacher Hate

2009-11-17T20:13:00.004-05:00

Finally... I've just finished my page and a half long essay for Literature tomorrow, for the teacher most people hate. That's been aggravating me these days.

Hatred for teachers.

It may be the increasing pressure of the upcoming CSEC exams or maybe people are just becoming more ignorant( I think the latter of the two. You?), but it seems that everywhere I turn at school, some kid is ranting on about a teacher. Either one doesn't give enough notes, one gives too many or someone's going off on my Physics teacher (who I, frankly, think is awesome). Yes, so there's always been some teacher criticism but it seems to have taken on a whole new level lately. And the self-righteous prigs blame teachers for their own issues. It's the teacher's fault that they failed that test or that they didn't do their homework. I think it annoys me more than others because I do pretty well in almost all classes so to see people blaming teachers for problems I face and overcome all the time is quite aggravating. When will these people start pulling their own weight instead of waiting, mouths-open wide, to be spoon-fed with the material. If I can do it, so can they... trust me...

Oh... almost forgot- Song of the Day- Paramore- Careful

2009-11-16T18:49:00.002-05:00

Song of the day: Barenaked Ladies - God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen & Jingle Bells

I just love those covers.

So last night was quite productive. We decided how we're going to take worship to the next level (read previous post if confused). Seems like it will work well, assuming my tone-deaf aunt and her petite-voiced friend step it up. We do have some decent singers though and with my father working out the vocal harmonies, this could really work. Instrument-wise, we have a piano, guitar(s) - electric or acoustic, a bass and drums! What are your favourite Christmas songs? Mine are God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen and Oh Holy Night oh and Hark The Herald Angels Sing...

2009-11-15T17:26:00.004-05:00

I'm sitting in my living room right now. My dad and 5 women are in here too. We're the worship team for the Soup for Charity being held at our church to raise funds for charity. My sister and I are part of the team too as my dad and we are the only ones who play instruments.

Me- Piano or Guitar

Sis- Drums or Guitar

Dad- Guitar or Bass

So wish us luck. Really I'm just writing 'cus the others are deciding what song's we're gonna do. Actually looks like we're gonna start soon though so BYE!!

(I'm okay on the piano... not great)

2009-11-12T21:06:00.003-05:00

Songs of the day (made it plural hehe*) - Lady Gaga- Bad Romance

Rihanna- Russian Roulette

And because the other songs are so mainstream...

The XX- Crystalised (note the 's' not 'z' - They're British- Yay!!)

School is becoming extremely challenging. Not that the work is difficult but simply the thought of revising two years of work for CSEC (Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate) Exams is overwhelming. As you may have gathered from previous posts, I do pretty well in school. But there are still some nerves. My problem is, I guess, my inability to study or do any work on my own. Pretty pathetic, I know, but it's true. After having been given the gift of academic prowess, it's being wasted because of my laziness.

I really need help studying. To tell you the truth, I'm not sure I know how to study. Before now, everything has come pretty easily but I know that I can't rely on that from now on. I know my father is right-- You can be as naturally smart or as bright as you want but the person who comes home and puts in the extra 2-3 hours of study will eventually surpass you. I see it everyday. In school or out, it's a known fact.

So that's scaring me right now, especially as Christmas Exams are in the next few weeks and then it's head on preparation for Mock Exams and eventually the real deal, CSEC.

And by the way, if anybody's curious, I'm doing - Biology, Physics, Chemistry, AS Maths, Maths, English Language and Literature, French and Physical Education.

*Sigh* I need to get serious... but it's so hard...

The Twittering Begins

2009-11-09T21:50:00.000-05:00

So with the new Twitter craze I decided to jump in on that too. Tweets are pretty cool... revolutionary blogging but this will always be my baby... tweets are fun but too limited. Anyway my username is jeans1995 if anyone wants to follow!!

Hair Dilemma!?

2009-11-09T18:03:00.000-05:00

Hi all! I've decided to introduce a new feature to my posts (when I do post). Song of the day!!

So here it is guys - Song of the Day: Billy Talent - Red Flag

What happened to my nice, simply wavy head of hair? Now I've got this barely manageable mop of charcoal curls sitting up there. I really do have strange hair though. It goes from straight to wavy to curly depending on the length. This really doesn't fit in with my race either-- I'm supposedly a direct indian descent with absolutely nothing else in me-- Try telling my friends that. Apparently I'm crossed with caucasian somewhere to them. Their judgement might not be purely based on looks though but more on the fact that I don't speak the typical Trinidadian dialect (blame my parents for Standard English upbringing -- darn them!).

But back to my hair-- so it's really strange and this is probably the longest I've ever had it before. Recently I've been controlling it with a medium hold serum but now it seems like I'll have to use the whole bottle to get it to work right! You see, if my hair gets too dry, it becomes an afro and that doesn't fare well for me at school (no freedom of self-expression here guys-- it's not America). But tomorrow I'm gonna let it go without the serum and see what 'pops up' :D

If anyone actually reads this collection of my most random thoughts and ideas, tell me about your hair! Be interesting if others have as much trouble as I do.

BTW I am getting a haircut on Saturday so one more week of my captivating curls! Let's see what we can do with them. My hair pretty much looks like a black version of the above guy's.

To My New Followers!

2009-11-09T05:11:00.000-05:00

It's 6:13 am so I'm posting before school. If Mom catches me I dead but I'll take the chance. I really just want to take the time to say thanks to my new followers. Shout out to you guys!! :)

The Bliss that is not want

2009-11-05T21:23:00.000-05:00

Books all teens should read!:

1. Inheritance Series

2. Harry Potter's

3. The Book Thief

4. The Kite Runner

5. That other book by the author of the kite runner

6. Twilight Series

Ok now that that's over... on to the next topic....

Christmas!

Okay it's still early November but I need to start deciding what I want for Christmas... So I'm a really decisive person when it comes to gifts that I have a choice in (B'day or Xmas). Usually, I spend weeks studying reviews and comparisons before making the right choice. This year though something's different. I feel... almost...well...content.

It's quite an odd feeling after so many years of knowing exactly what you want. But I guess it's a good thing, because now my parents won't feel pressured to get me what I want (which is usually expensive-- by our means that is). So this year I've narrowed it down to the following ranging from the pretty expensive to the quite cheap and frankly I feel fine which ever ones I get.

1. Nikon D5000 DSLR

2. Windows 7 Home Premium

3. Mac OS X Snow Leopard

4. External Hard Drive

5. I Am The Messenger (Book) by Markus Zusak (really love The Book Thief)

6. The Host (book) by Stephanie Meyer (Author of the Twilight Series)

Yeh so that's it and really I'd be happy with the 2 books!! It does feel good to not be stressed over getting one particular thing. I feel like I'm doing my parents a justice too.

It's a bit like the way I have little to no expectations of people, so it's hard to be disappointed with them (a bit about how I think). I know it's probably better to have expectations and to believe in the good in people's hearts but frankly it's much easier to not care!

Do I Have Swine Flu??

2009-11-04T18:26:00.000-05:00

It's that time of the school year when we get a couple sporadic days off because of

Parent-Teachers Day for the other forms/grades over a period of 2 weeks. Today was one of those days and lucky me! - I'm sick. Woke up this morning feeling extremely congested and with the most awful sore throat I have ever had. I popped two Panadol's (Dad doesn't believe in symptom relief meds), gargled with some salt water and vinegar water and slumped down before the television. Great, paid informercials! So basically that's been my day. Well, with me swapping between that and my computer.

What would you consider to be the worst symptom?

Head aches?

Congestion?

Cough?

For me it's the sore throat. Throw any of the others at me but PLEASE not a sore throat. It is the most painful and annoying symptom ever, especially when paired with a cough, like today.

And my Dad called from work to ask about my symptoms just in case I had swine flu. Thanks Dad...

At the moment it doesn't look like it though. But how cool would it be to have swine flu?

Actually scratch that last statement. That was just plain stupid to say.

Oh well... might miss school tomorrow; I don't know...

You know that thing....

2009-11-02T20:29:00.000-05:00

Here's a list of things that I really want/need to do:

1. Have my own Daily Journal

2. Get a scrapbook for writing

3. Get a pocket notepad to write down sudden thoughts that pop into my mind (questions, ideas, songs, etc.).

4. Get my skydiving license.

5. Get my diving license (maybe that should be prioritized before skydiving).

6. Go to Dubai.

7. Go to France.

8. Learn to speak French fluently.

9. Write a novel.

10. Write poetry.

11. Learn to play the guitar.

12. Perfect my pianoism (nice word- I know)

13. Go to medical school.

14. Learn a new word each day.

15. Get extremely fit.

16. Think I'm in love.

17. Realise I'm not.

18. Really fall in love.

19. Get rich.

20. Live anywhere but Trinidad or any other tiny landmass surrounded by water - I think that's called an island...

Well... that's 20. Let's see if I can't make 100 before the month is up.

U The Unicorn

2009-10-21T21:32:00.000-05:00

So my french teacher changed the date that we're going to see a movie (Euro. Film Festival). Instead of seeing Mauvaise Foi (Bad Faith) today, we're going to see U (U the Unicorn) on Tuesday! Woot! Oh well more later on bye!!!

Music makes me lose control...

2009-10-20T18:21:00.000-05:00

I am officially a music addict... I can't live without it...

When I walk the corridors of school I'm singing (embarrassing I know but...).

At home it's blasting from the computer speakers.

Anywhere else my earphones are in my ears.

I'm also becoming a bit of an audiophile... I refuse to listen to low quality sound... and for Christmas I was thinking of getting some good over ear headphones but then I found my Dad's Sennheiser HD-497's.

But now I can't stop... When I should be studying... music.... reading... music... anything productive....nah- music. Actually right now I have Message in A Bottle playing... ok now Little House by The Fray.

I don't know why... I guess music seems like an easy high for me... not that I know a real high hehe I'm only 14 jeez but you probably get me...

The whole brain stimulating pattern thing really works for me too. When I listen to music it's really ever casual listening. I'm always focussed on picking out the different instruments:

The Drum pattern

Guitar Lead

Piano if any

or Synth Patterns

Vocal Harmonies

I love isolating each one in my mind... especially separating vocal harmonies into individual melodies! I just go nuts! That's why I like full sounding music like Coldplay, The Fray and other stuff like that with lots of patterns to decipher. Well just more random thoughts for your enjoyment and contemplation :)

Never Enough

2009-10-14T20:01:00.000-05:00

Why are my parents never content with the amount of work I do... I topped the form in Physics and Biology last year!! The form!! And all they have to say is that I'm spending too much time on recreation like listening to music and watching House MD. Really? Some parents would kill to have their kids do as academically well as I do and yet all mine do is complain, complain, complain. I'm not being conceited so I'm sorry if that last statement seemed that way but it's necessary to get my point across. I mean I took their advice for a bit and I did about an hour of Chemistry studies tonight and what happens? My Dad knocks on my bedroom door. I open... immediately I protect myself," I did studies so don't jump on my case!!"

"How much studies."

So I say,"Some."

Then he starts going on about how I can't just study when I feel like it and I need to make a time table for studying on a schedule and I'm standing here listening and refraining myself from ripping my hair out, screaming and jumping off the balcony (We were pretty close to it actually XD).

Ok so I know that they think I have more potential and they say these things in my best interest but why can't they stop being so selfish!! Ok that last part probably needs some explanation... I say they're selfish because it would give them pleasure to see me do even better. They want to unlock my full potential. And they want to guarantee me a great future.

Now why can't they leave those things up to me!!! Let me decide how much I want success!

Now if you're older than me this post is going to seem full of childish thoughts and the stupid rants of the average 14 year old. But it's a lot deeper than you think. Imagine coming second in exams and you're parents say," That's good! But how much did the other guy beat you by?" *Crash*

It's never enough! Ah well I'm probably gonna look back on this when I have kids and say that I was stubborn and ignorant but that's only because I'll have lost the understanding and feeling of being a teenager. *Sigh* oh well enough venting for tonight. I actually feel a lot better now...

Random Thoughts

2009-10-13T18:24:00.000-05:00

I HATE waking up... It's such a horrible experience, especially when you have to wake up at 5:30am and you can't go to sleep before 12:00pm. And I don't mean wont I mean can't. Even if I go to bed at 9:00 I'll stay awake until 12:00. But so what right?... They say on average you should get 6-8 hours of sleep and I get a half-hour below the lower boundary. Well I would kill for that half-hour extra! I don't know... I guess I feel okay after I've got up and showered but the act of waking up is extremely demanding of one's willpower. I like to think of my self as being a strong willed person for forcing myself awake... then the feeling fades when I realize that after all the self promises the night before... I still hadn't done my homework...

The night is my time too I guess... I can stay up 'till 3:00 am for no other reason than the thought that if I go to sleep then I'd be wasting time. Yup I'm the dark mysterious type ladies... XD just kidding! Yeh anyone else feel the same...? Probably not huh?

Ok I need to develop a talent... So I play piano averagely but averagely doesn't cut it...

I think I should write... just anything... stories, poems, songs... whatever. I mean, I don't know if I'm any good at it but it's something right? And it doesn't take much to develop the technique... just read a lot and develop my own writing style. I've cut back quite alot on my reading though but I can probably get that started again...

My Flickr

2009-10-12T20:57:00.000-05:00

Oh and btw... I have a Flickr account so if people wanna see my random photography take a looks - http://www.flickr.com/photos/levioftrinidad/ u can skip the 1st page its random drawings of a lunatic - wonder who? hmmm...

WASA'p

2009-10-12T20:24:00.000-05:00

Ahhh so let's see... no homework, laptop full of music, nice comfy bed... Today was gonna' be nice. Wrong! As soon as Mom got me from school she broke the horrific news... WASA (Water and Sewage Authority) was doing some work in Glenco near my home and it was gridlock up to the Foreshore (pretty darn far for all who don't know the areas. I would estimate but I suck at that so...). So we ate at Elerslie Plaza in Maraval and went to Pricemart in Movie Towne to meet my Dad who had just got out of Carenage (suburbs where I live - and Dad was supposed to be at work at like 10 am - now it's like 6 pm). That's where traffic had backed up from... Well to cut a long story short... we tried to get home... in traffic for an hour or more... parked up and began to walk home (this time I'm with Dad; Mom had already made it through to home). So yeah we stop at Subway - Dad buys a footlong Melt on Parmesan Oregano Bread (who really cares) and we call Mom to pick us up :D We walked quite a bit... had to get pass the road works so... oh and now its like 8 pm... walking the streets of Carenage in the dark of night (well we have street lights but) yeh so I guess my Mom has to take Dad to pick up his car tomorrow XD

Yup fun... Well that's all haha boredom... Bye xXxx (My British cousin's friends who are boys use *kisses* so why can't I)

I should probably write something

2009-10-05T15:47:00.000-05:00

Hey fellow bloggers and my few followers... Um so I guess I haven't written in a while. Just been busy I guess and well lazy... So let's see. What's new...

1. I cut my finger today with a chef's knife while chopping garlic (onions were burning my eyes and then *slip*)

2. Hmm listening to some new music... although most of it is old like:

The Noisettes

Green Day

Gorillaz

Arctic Monkeys

and I'm loving Deed I Do by Diana Krall

3. Got addicted to House M.D. so I'm pretty sure I wanna' do medicine now... I'm basing the rest of my life on a television show.

4. And I wrote this essay for school... the only reason I'm putting it up here is 'cuz I typed it so I can just copy and paste XD:

Nathan collapsed onto his bed in their tiny Brooklyn apartment. Frankly, Nathan hated it there. He missed Washington and the woods behind their house. He missed his mother and despised the thought that she was buried so many miles away. And he couldn’t understand why his father had taken the job offer in New York. They had just returned from Washington that evening, from visiting friends and his mother’s grave, and the events of the day were still fresh in Nathan’s mind. But Lying on the bed, his eyelids grew heavy and he could feel himself slipping quickly into his deeper subconscious.

The icy wind swept the warmth from Nathan’s skin and instantly he knew where he was. He was in the woods of Washington at night, wandering as he often did after dark. As he quietly sauntered between gnarled trees and over knotted roots he let the familiar sounds penetrate his ears. The harmony of crickets was accompanied by the whistling wind as the trees conducted this most beautiful orchestra with their tan, leafy batons. The frogs joined this chorus as Nathan approached the gargling creek and as he slipped his bare, brown feet into the swirling waters, he sighed with pleasant surprise at the warmth which the water had stolen from the previous day. In the dim light of the moon he could faintly see the white of the water as it made its way over rocks and stones and he could hear the lapping of the water upon the banks. After what felt like a couple minutes of bliss, Nathan forded the creek and began to follow the well known path to a clearing where he used to spend hours at a time, thinking, listening and at times doing nothing but breathing with a clear mind.

Looking upwards, Nathan observed the thinning foliage as he walked, and when there was nothing but the pale moon and seemingly delicately placed stars above him, he looked down and out into the clearing, and he froze. Standing not three feet before him, facing away, was a figure he recognised instantly. As she turned towards Nathan, her thin lips parted in a warm, loving smile, he could do nothing but faintly mutter the word, “Mom.” She nodded in reply all the while with her pearly white teeth exposed in a broad grin. She was oddly easily visibly in the weak moonlight and Nathan noticed every detail about her from the sparkle in her hazel eyes to the flawlessness in her sun-kissed skin. Her auburn hair was the same length as the last time he had seen her and it flowed gracefully down her neck to the middle of her back which was covered by the glowing, white summer gown she was wearing.

She began to stretch her hand out towards his face and Nathan closed his eyes in anticipation. But nothing came; no touch, no warmth and when Nathan opened his eyes in confusion, he was staring up at the white gypsum ceiling of his bedroom. And as the confusion began to fade, the sadness began to grow and the tears began to flow, and they flowed like they would never end.

Again I need to work on endings but overall I think it's okay... at least compared to other's I've read.... Not being arrogant or anything but... Well that's it for today...

Adorable... and one awesome storyteller!

2009-08-30T21:07:00.000-05:00

Who needs a teacher...

2009-08-30T20:55:00.000-05:00

First let me apologize for not writing in a while: Sorry!

That's it... don't expect anything more...

So recently I was thinking of ways to improve my french... and I thought how much of a great idea it would be to get a French contact on Skype my same age!! The best way to improve a language is to use the language, right? So we could chat... I could help him/her with English and they could help me with French. With Skype we could talk or just instant message thus improving oral and written technique. I know it's a great idea... don't be too jealous you didn't think of it yourself.. okay kidding you didn't have to get so grouchy! No all I need is a 14/15 year old French person with Skype hmmm... how hard can that be to find?

Virginia

2009-07-05T19:55:00.000-05:00

I'm in Virginia for now... since Friday actually, until we (my dad and I) leave for the Discovery trip with the Eastern Mennonite High School on Tuesday.

Virginia is beautiful, or at least it is where we're staying. The landscape is that of absolute natural beauty, with farms and farmettes scattered around the countryside like God's little Monopoly board. I may post some pictures here soon but if not then most of o can see it from my Facebook profile.

Today we went to Weavers Mennonite Church. What a contrast to our church in Trinidad! Today everyone said that attendance was low as there was a conference that some people were at as well as that it was summer so some were on vacations abroad, so there were only 200 people there. That's low attendance... 200!?

Well I'll write more about my vacation as the days go by!

Up Review

2009-06-29T19:42:00.000-05:00

A short little review of the Disney movie 'Up'.

So I recently saw Up, don't ask me what drove my father to take us to that.

So what'd I think? Pretty good - from the 14 year old who chose to see The Soloist over Terminator Salvation.

Up is a good cross between a kids' movie and a movie that can still entertain adults. Does Disney usually show blood in their movies? Not that it was anything serious in Up but there was some blood... Also one may argue (like my mother) that it may have been a bit to serious for a kids' movie in that the old man's wife couldn't have kids and she dies before they achieve their dream of traveling to and living in Paradise Falls. All in all I enjoyed it!

Almost Over

2009-06-25T19:25:00.000-05:00

Thursday night... Physics exam in the morning and I'm writing after having done practically no revision/studies... Did I mention that I have Physics Exam in the morning?? That exam has the potential to be the most difficult and challenging exam of all this week (that means it'll have to surpass the difficulty of AS Maths which would be quite a feat in itself). Maybe I'm just getting a tad too complacent with my blessing of an ability to do fairly well under difficult standards with little to no work.

Hmmm... I know Moments, Heat, Gas Laws (I think...), Forces....

These End-of-Year Exams have proven to be the strangest for me. This is the first time tat I've felt no drive or reason to try to do well... I think I will still make decent grades but still... I feel a bit slow. I just want these exams to finish!! But that reality is dormant until Tuesday.

Biology

2009-06-20T01:33:00.000-05:00

Unexplained phenomenon of Biology:

There is one thing I need don't understand in Biology but would like to. I came across it when studying... *sure*.

Respiration:

Do the Alvioli (air sacks) just hang around in the lungs or are they lining the walls of the lungs or do they make up the walls of the lungs? If one of the latter two, then how could the expansion of the lungs change pressure in your bronchi, trachea etc.

If you can answer this question... you can follow my blog! So hurry up! Limited time on offer!

Sincerely, Jane

2009-06-10T19:16:00.000-05:00

Well again with the post name... I guess that I like to name my posts after songs I like. So check out Janelle Monae!!

Well tomorrow is a public holiday!! So I'm gonna be up late tonight. If I think of anything interesting to write about I may actually blog it! Yay! I'll keep the page open so I won't have any excuse not to write...

Lithium...

2009-06-09T20:59:00.000-05:00

Hmmm... so I guess the name of this post may seem a bit weird. Actually it's only there because I recently remembered that I had some Evanescence songs a while ago but I couldn't remember where so re-downloaded them: Lithium

Call Me When You're Sober

Bring Me To Life

My Immortal

So... I recently read a friend's blog about '...'s (triple dots). I am always wary of using them too often here but as he stated, he's gonna' continue using them loads so I guess I take inspiration from him so guys... say hello to triple dotting!! And lots too...

Studying is becoming exceptionally difficult... um.... especially since I got this Macbook. Anyone got study tips.... like, I'm contemplating giving my Macbook to my mother until after exams.

On the topic of the Macbook... Why did Apple discontinue my Macbook and make it into a Macbook Pro... with a faster processor and for $100.00 USD less!!! That kinda pissed me off... but I still adore my Macbook. I will probably Mac OS X Snow Leopard. Why get Windows 7 (a pretty version of the notorious Vista)??

I was recently looking at my music library on iTunes on my old desktop PC and I was pleasantly surprised to find that I have almost reached a benchmark of 800 songs! I know more is not necessarily better but it's still kinda nice...

Well maybe my posts will become less random during summer vacation when I'm noy so distracted. I may even take a shot at writing (try my hand at poetry composition?)... Well see ya!!

Häagen-Dazs

2009-06-07T16:07:00.000-05:00

Which of you, my friends, do not absolutely adore Haagen-Dazs ice cream? My family and I go to their 'restaurant' on some weekends (like today). My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Haagen-Dazs' taste sure hasn't lost its luster after all this time. Smooth, perfect consistency ice cream. I believe the restaurant also has Wi-Fi internet so I may consider taking my laptop there... you know 'cause I love blogging so much that I wanna' do even when I'm eating ice cream ;p.

Hmm... what is my favourite flavour you ask? Yes you do ask... I'd have a tough decision between Vanilla, Dulce de Leche (prev. pic), Banoffee (banana-toffee) and Bailey's (I'm an alcoholic!!).

If you haven't tasted Haagen-Dazs, your life is not complete and if you've tasted it and thought Nothing Special, you have no taste and cannot recognize quality... (Hope I didn't offend anyone lol)

The Book of Mac

2009-06-06T10:59:00.000-05:00

-half-day at school...

-turn on phone

- *text* "Guess what I've got..." -Dad

- heart skips a beat

Talk about dramatic. Of course the instant I read the text, I knew he'd meant the Macbooks(, his and mine). That was Wednesday. It's Saturday and I'm typing this from my Mac now. What do I think about it?

Amazing...

-Perfect User Interface

-Super fast

-Extremely Useful multi-touch gestures for the trackpad.

- Absolutely Stunning!!!

The aluminium body is beautiful and I can't stop rubbing it at the palm rests( a bit odd? I know).

Well, that was the first thing on my mind for this post, and about our Cricket Competition we had to plan for our P.E. CSEC SBA?

Surprisingly everything played out pretty well! Our team came 3rd/4th (we didn't play for the losing positions). Not too bad if you ask me... We had loads of fun and now I feel that I can actually watch a cricket match and understand what they're saying about the scores. My role was as a journalist s I took loads of pictures and just two or three interviews. I think we, the other journalists and I, are going to plan a blog/website. Let you guys know more soon!

Time to play with my mac some more...

C'est mardi...

2009-06-02T19:10:00.000-05:00

It's Tuesday!!! Umm... I mean... it's Tuesday :( :( :(.
So what could be worse than Monday?? Say hello to Tuesday. At least Monday is a change from the weekend but Tuesday just sits there, not in the middle but not 1st either. So rundown for the week:
1. Should probably get the dean to post my flyer for the cricket tournament that we're creating for our Phys Ed SBA, on the notice board. Especially seeing as it's on Thursday and it might be nice to have the flyer up at least a day before the event!

2. Then on Thursday, I'll be at CIC Grounds from 8:00 a.m. to .... executing said tournament.

3. Friday... hey there's is nothing to do on Friday!! Oh except finish all my Chemistry labs by then!

Yeah, and studying, well studying's not going to well for me. I've reached a point where I can't even pretend to study... I won't even pick up a book. It's just so hard sifting through so much of known work to find maybe one thing that I might wanna' commit to memory...

Things can't fall apart now!! CSEC is next year!

Ow...Ouch! Ah!!!!

2009-05-29T21:55:00.000-05:00

In reply to my friend's post about the Dragon's Twelve Exercise, my legs are killing me!
It was given to us during a P.E. SBA examination for practical karate.The exercise begins by doing 12 pushups, 12 jack-knife crunches and 12 squats with reverse punches. Easy huh?! It is... until you reach the next set of 11 pushups, crunches and squats, then 10 ... all the way down to 1. I'm okay with the push ups and the jack knives but my legs are my weak point. I can do squats but at the rate Sensei made us do them was ridiculously demanding of my muscles.
Now, a whole day after, I can barely walk down a flight of stairs, sit in a chair or even walk properly. After this aweful experience I've come to a conclusion: When my legs feel better (lol), I will attempt a Dragon's Twelve everyday.
...No I'm not barking mad... I have been challenged and now I wish to overcome the Dargon's Twelve. If I get really good at it, I'll have reached a new bench mark in sacrifice and self-discipline...

P.E. CSEC

2009-05-27T15:39:00.000-05:00

Why would our school make P.E. a compulsory CSEC subject?!
It's ridiculous! My guess is they want everyone, including those taking Business subjects to have a 'fake' science/Biology. But in reality, for those taking Biology, P.E. is redundant and takes up a subject spot that I could have used for Computer Studies or Technical Drawing!!
Anyways I leave you with this awesome video of a great song!

2009-05-25T20:40:00.000-05:00

So End-of-Year exams are approaching.
Gonna be fun :-)... nah :-(....

I should be studying as I'm writing this but then again I don't feel as guilty because I did do some Biology earlier so... yeh. Past papers like I'm crazy!! I'm just wondering if I'm gonna be able to cope with a whole year's work. Although, I always do so I can't get why I'm so worked up this time around. I guess it's because it's Form 4 after all, but still. Studying sucks...

Can't someone invent a Study-O-Matic... you know, a helmet like thingy that 'injects' the information directly into your brain!? Fun huh?

Well I leave you with this quote:

"Levi, just shut up."- My Loving Sister

Thai is The Stuff!

2009-05-23T08:30:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, on returning from sailing, we planned to go out to get something to eat. Well in my mind I was thinking along the lines of Subway, Burger King... but we had dressed up just in case... 'cause we were heading to Tamnak Thai! Only because my Dad had eaten there not to long before and said the food was delish( courtesy Rachel Ray). Well was he right! I'd never actually eaten Thai food before, being a Trini- haha.But My mother and sister are the epitome of Trini. Everytime we go to a restaurant, the order CHICKEN and will not touch the shrimp or beef or pork. Why? "Because we like chicken and I just don't know if I'll like the other stuff," - Steups (sucking teeth).

Anyway to the point... Thai food is awsome - all the spices, peanut sauces, curries! And jazmine rice with your order. The drinks are great too - smoothies, martinis and red wine (although the wine was a bit too room temp. - coulda been a bit cooler).
Our favourite was the Veggies in Green Curry.

Maybe you can try it out. It's round the Sanannah.

April 20th...

2009-05-20T20:17:00.000-05:00

It's extremely scary... Am I really expected to know this chemistry for CSEC?! That's absurd!
I can breeze through quite a bit of a physics past paper but when it comes to Chemistry... well to put it simply, "I SUCK!!"
Next....

I went to swimming today. Yes, Scouts' Swimming. Hmm... I've accepted the fact that I am a delinquent when it comes to scouting, but why must it be so? I don't get anything passed, I don't go to any events, heck all I do is swim and sail and frankly I hate that. So why not just try harder one might ask. Well I think I would have if the solution was so simple but the fact of the matter is... it's not that simple.
Monday- I've given up the main scout day for Physics lessons.
Tuesday- Swim
Wednesday- Swim
Thursday - No scouting
Friday - Sailing
Saturday - Laziness!!!
Sunday - No scouting
Next...

I've made up a nice sounding chord progression on the piano! Too bad I haven't made a melody...
Key of C minor.
Should probably work on a melody. I mean, what good is a bunch of chords without a melody, anyone can do that. Maybe that's it. Maybe I'm just anybody/nobody... Haha stupid sob story. Who gets emotional over not making up a melody for a song?... WOW.

Thank You for reading my most random post to date!

P.S. - I write like this when I'm bored... so expect loads. *dramatic horror music (the kind that goes ' dah dah dahhh...' on three Minor lower notes) hehe *

New Music...

2009-05-19T16:16:00.000-05:00

Music is my escape... I guess... Thing is that I've been listening to weird music these days. Stuff like Mother Mother...

Home-work... Bad

2009-05-18T20:12:00.000-05:00

What's the deal with homework guys. To continue stimulating the brains of the students outside of school? Doesn't really help me, I could be studying with the time it takes to do the damn homework. It also creates added stress for us when we fail to complete the given assignments. I know my peeps at school agree with what I'm saying. Abolish homework! Our brains need a break!
But no... now we have penalties for not doing homework. They call our parents, even send us home. I'm the one getting an education here. If I, on my own discretion, disregard the given homework as unnecessary, then it's my choice! Why do teachers care so much? They get paid anyway... Jeez.

Coldplay

2009-05-17T20:21:00.000-05:00

What an awesome band. I was just going through the Viva La Vida album, rekindling my love for songs like Yes and Strawberry Swing. Can't forget classics like Clocks and Speed of Sound though.
I've got a friend who won't listen to them because they're too 'Indian' (referring to the stereotype that Trinidadian Indians listen to Coldplay...wow). Well Sean just doesn't know what he's missing out on, a unique and completely individual style of music Coldplay has mastered.

Coldplay all the way!!!

Macbook..yay!

2009-05-17T19:43:00.000-05:00

So soon I'll be ordering my 1st laptop, a Macbook hopefully. Up until now I've been a Windows user... so I'm excited for the change.
I'm also considering buying an iPod Touch but not sure if it's worth it. You see, I've had a bit of bad luck with mp3 players in the past. My 1st major one, a Creative Zen: Vision M, fell to its demise down the staircase in my house. And only a few weeks ago, I return from Camp to find my Zune 80, after having been used by my sister, not working and without any simple remedy. So I'm considering buying the touch as so many of my friends have it and it's awsome!! But I don't want another device to crash on me after only a year...

Atheism? Why?...

2009-05-14T17:40:00.001-05:00

Okay so I'm having a bit of confusion with my religion etc. It's just a time when I know too much to simply have the kind of 'blind' faith. But I'm searching, not giving up like others I know... friends who've bidden the Lord farewell for now (while still pretending to know and follow him).
Friends who are proud atheists in school...
But why?
-What is the point of life then, my purpose? Religion is purpose...
-Who can I go to then? God is our comforter and strength...
-How can he be real? How can he not...
-Evolution...Probably led by God
-Big Bang... Has anyone ever read Genesis??Light came 1st then the sun... how could anyone just make that up in the time the bible was written?
- And I hate to make the whole thing seem so simple but last and probably least - I'd rather go through life believing in God to find out that there is no God than to not believe and find out that there is...

Make sense? It should... Atheism is as ridiculous as atheists see religion...

Scrubs....May You R.I.P.

2009-05-13T16:51:00.000-05:00

So today I watched My Finale... the last episode of Scrubs. A part of me died inside... okay not really but I'm really sad :(
J.D's hilarious neediness, Dr. Cox's relentless insults, the mad rantings of the janitor... I'm gonna miss them.

May you rest in peace Scrubs...

Short Story for English Tomorrow...

2009-05-11T18:05:00.000-05:00

The door of the old country house creaked on its hinges before slamming shut behind her. In her hands she held the letter, the one that could change everything, and with utmost care, she proceeded to open it. Nevertheless, Mrs. Benson’s trembling hands let the piece of paper fall to the ground, not yet unfolded. She slowly bent down to retrieve it, sat down in one of the old kitchen chairs and began to read the letter from the military. When she had finished, she ran.

“Freddy!” she bellowed, her hair flowing behind her like a long, auburn river. Spotting him under an apple tree in the orchard reading in the morning sunlight, she ran over to her son pulled him up by the arm, looked him square in the eye and said, “They’re back.”

“P-p-pa?” he stammered. His mother just nodded quickly and pulled the six year old back to the decrepit house to get dressed. She put on her best dress and perfume, he, his best shirt and pants. Then they left, but only after she had wiped a smudge of dirt from his freckled face. She held him tightly at her side while they walked along the narrow road. This was the moment.

Fifteen minutes later they had arrived in the town, where a throng of women and children had already gathered. There were smiling faces and hugs and kisses being shared all around by reunited families. They searched continuously, pushing through men in uniforms and well dressed women until Mrs. Benson, holding her son’s hand, stopped to ask a passing woman, “Where might the others be?”

“Over there,” she replied quietly and solemnly, pointing over the heads of the families.

“Thank you.”

They headed off in the direction the woman had shown them, looking around constantly.

“What does daddy look like?”

She froze for a second before sighing and pulling Fred along. He had only been three when his father went off to war after all.

But then the mood around them changed, weeping replaced laughter and tears replaced smiles. Where had the woman directed them to? Suddenly they broke free from the crowd and a horrifying sight shocked Mrs. Benson. The lady had sent them to rows of coffins where those who didn’t make it lay. In complete denial, she began to walk away when Freddy broke free from her grip and ran to one of the wooden boxes.

“Char-lie B-en-son,” he muttered, his eyes fixated on one of the plaques on a coffin. At that moment his mother dropped to her knees by his side and began to weep. Fred tried to comfort her with the stroking of her hair but he couldn’t share her distress. He didn’t feel much distress. He could only watch her cry and wonder why.

Let me know what you think. I kinda' cut the end short. I'm terrible at expressing feelings so I left it at that...something I need to work on in my writing...

Holy Confusion!?

2009-05-08T20:55:00.000-05:00

I stared up at the magnificent full moon, more a pale yellow than white, my CD of James Ehnes playing "Paganini's 24 Caprices for Violin" soothing everyone in the car... well except for my sister who hates the stuff; leaving my mom and I. So I sat in the front passenger seat, ridiculously swaying my hands like a conductor to the music, as we turned a corner and my church came into view. The girls (Sarah, Leah, Alicia, Rebecca and Tracy) were already waiting along with our pastor who was chatting away with another man, brother Paul. Some sat in the ring of chairs that had been set out in the lawn, others preferring to stand in clusters not too far away. We pulled into the front of the church and stepped out of the vehicle not generating more than couple upward glances with the exception of little Leah, the youngest of the group, who called out,"Good night!" before bouncing nonchalantly over to us to show off her new touch-screen MP4 Player she'd gotten for her birthday yesterday.
I guess the reason for this lack-luster response to our arrival was that my sister was too young to cause much excitement for anyone besides Leah and that I was more or less the outcast of the group. The term outcast not referring to them being exclusive but to the fact that I was different. For instance, I was the only one who didn't really use Trinidadian dialect, and the only teen who'd ever be caught playing a classical violin CD in the car (yes I do listen to normal stuff too).
"Okay gather around" announced Pastor Raul from the ring of chairs, signaling the beginning of Youth Meeting. The theme today was simply Good vs Evil and how to go to God in the battle with Satan. Amazing how such a simple topic could stir up so many thoughts and emotions inside of me. Nevertheless I sat through the meeting nodding where appropriate and bringing up a few contrasting views here and there. Only when I was back in the car heading back home did I realise that I didn't know my God and if my God was the one I'd learnt about from my Christian Religion, the God who would condemn a good person because he was a Muslim or a Hindu, then I'd disagree with him on certain things. But thankfully I believe that's not who God is, he is more righteous than that and I want to know him, to form a relationship with him and to love him.
But how...how to start...

First Post!!

2009-05-07T20:57:00.000-05:00

So it's my first post and I guess I can give you and idea on what the hell's gonna be posted here.
So.... Well, I'm a teen guy living in Trinidad and Tobago and I guess imma give you the rundown of my life here in TnT (-Trinidad and Tobago, obviously). i guess it'll be a way for me to kinda improve my writing skills plus give you guys some thing interesting to read. So enjoy!! I'll probably start tommorow...