Trini Tuesday-Trini Talk

Today for Trini Tuesday, I will share some of my favorite idioms.

Basket doh hold water. That argument is set up on questionable logic.
How yuh can tell me yuh ain’t eat the last roti when I see grease on yuh hands? Dat basket doh hold water!

Crapaud smoke yuh pipe. A crapaud is the local cane toad which is poisonous. You are in serious trouble now.
Oh gosh gyal! Yuh forget to pay de light bill. Crapaud smoke yuh pipe!

Do-so eh like-so. You can dish it out but you can’t take it.
Yuh being harsh to yuh friend, chile, and yuh want him to be nice to yuh? Do-so eh like-so!

Every bread have a cheese. No matter how unattractive or awkward there is a good mate for everyone.
Winston ain’t much to look at an’ he so shy but every bread have a cheese.

What doh kill does fatten. The equivalent of our 5 second rule, can also be said of food that is on the verge of going bad.
How old dat curry is? Me ain’t know, but what doh kill does fatten.

Monkey doh see he own tail. People are blind to their own faults.
He go blamin’ all de rest fuh he problems, but dat monkey doh see he own tail.

One hand cyar clap It takes two to tango.
You cannot blame him alone fuh de quarrel. One hand cyar clap!

Hurry-hurry make bad curry. Haste makes waste.
Slow down an’ do it right. Hurry-hurry make bad curry.

Zombie Tag: Round 2

I had so much fun doing this the first time I am doing it again.

This is my Grampop, his Gibson guitar, and me. He was a musician and an artist disguised as a machinist. In his younger days he had fronted a couple of different bands. I spent a lot of time with my grandparents and he spent a lot of time singing to me. 'You Are My Sunshine' was one I remember being sung almost every time. Other times he'd make up some silly little ditty right on the spot and maybe I'd do some crazy dance to go with it. It always put the biggest smile on my face and we always wound up laughing.

He had quite a collection of guitars, all Gibson. He would not consider any other maker. He had this hollow body electric, a double neck slide guitar, a dobro. I don't even know what others he had. My grandmother sold most of them when he died, but this one got stashed away because my uncle had learned to play on it and demanded it be kept. Around the time Grampop died, Dan Fogelberg came out with 'Leader of the Band.' I cried like a baby the first time I heard that song.

The leader of the band is tired
and his eyes are growing old.
but his blood runs through my instrument
and his song is in my soul.
My life has been a poor attempt
to imitate the man.
I'm just a living legacy
of the leader fo the band.

When Nana died my uncle didn't really have any interest in the guitar anymore and it passed to me. I had always wanted to learn to play. I took lessons for a year until my teacher moved away. I feel close to my grandfather when I make my feeble attempts at music but here I am practicing shortly after I started lessons. I don't cry anymore when I hear "Leader of the Band' but I smile instead thinking back over so many happy memories.

Zombie Tag

The results of the HNT poll are in and the winner is.........Au Naturel! Five folks said I should paint the barn door. Thirty-nine said leave it alone. Twelve said either way worked for them. Even if the numbers were reversed I wouldn't start shellaqing my face but I was really curious to know what people think in general about it all. ZombieSlayer must be in marketing because he made specific comment saying I skewed the polling by not smiling as much in painted face picture. Sorry, pal. No re-dos. I think I have only now recovered from having that gunk on my face a week and a half ago. Hehehehe. Thanks to all

ZombieSlayer tagged me with a fun little meme. I am supposed to pick songs that when I hear them I am instantly reminded of a certain place, event, or person and then tell about the person, place, or event I am reminded of. No rules on how many songs.

The first song that sprang to mind was Heaven by Bryan Adams.

It makes me think of Sean back in high school. He was the most adorable thing going. Not especially tall, but had the sturdy build of a wrestler which I have always just adored. Nothing like a strong set of shoulders and a broad chest when enjoying a nice warm hug or whatever.....ahem. He had dark brown eyes that just sparkled with life and the sweetest shy imp grin.

He was a year older than me and I met him in trigonometry class. He was the only thing that made that class endurable. I'd sit and watch him from the back of the class. He'd be all hunched over his work, concentrating and actually understanding it. He was adorable, smart, and didn't seem caught up in the macho one-upmanship so common to teenage boys. What was not to adore? I thought there was no way on God's green earth he'd ever take notice of me so I just admired him from afar.

I was shocked beyond shock to find out from a friend that he not only noticed me but was sweet on me and afraid I would not be interested in him. Word got back to him via the high school grapevine that I'd be receptive and he worked up the courage to ask me out. He was so sweet and shy about it. I thought it was endearing how nervous he was. I very nervously though eagerly accepted and numbers were exchanged. The first date was to see the Rambo sequel. Not exactly what I had hoped for, and he didn't seem to appreciate my astute observation that Rambo had used one more special explosive arrow tip than he had actually been given, but we still had a nice time and decided we definitely wanted to go out again.

Next date was to the drive-in movies. I have no idea what movie we went to see. We were too busy steaming up the car windows while Bryan Adams sang Heaven. We dated for several months and I guess that song was a real hit at the time because we both got to the point where if we heard that song we were all over each other. We even caught up a few years later and had a good giggle over how that song and the game 'Padiddle' (see a car with one headlight, aka a padiddle, and you get a kiss) used to provide endless amounts of fun. Aaaahhh young love.....

No official tags but I had such fun going down memory lane, I'd love to hear from some of you about the songs that take you to a special moment, place, or person.

HNT-Nekkid Face

A week ago a friend called me to come to her Mary Kay party. Gag! I tried to politely decline on the basis that i don't like, wear, or own any make-up. I hate the stuff. She said she just wanted an excuse to have people over. Ok fine, I'll come as long as you understand I ain't buying any make-up. She's fine with that. I went. Little did I realize I had to sit there gazing into a mirror for 2 hours (which is about an hour and 59 minutes too long) and apply more chemicals to my face than may be contained in the average Superfund site.

I cleansed, toned, exfoliated my lips (good lord, people actually DO this!), moisturized, concealed, painted, blushed, glossed, the list goes on......After I had applied no less than FIFTEEN products to my face the crowd gasped and said......get ready.......are ya ready?......big ironic moment coming......."Oh Lime! You look so beautiful and natural!" I think my single arched eyebrow, tamed into perfect submission above the painted eyelid was sufficient to convey how much stock I put in their assessment.

So, not that it will change my behavior in the least, but I am curious to know which do you prefer?

The painted Lime?


Or Lime au naturel?


Gimme a vote in the comments and I won't be offended if ya tell me the barn door needs paintin'. I want male and female comments from as many people as I can. I'm curious to know what people really think about make-up in general. I want the unvarnished (unlike my face) truth.

If you want to see my real reaction to wearing all this gunk click here

If ya need to learn the plain truth about how to play along click here


Happy HNT!

Weird Wednesday-So This is Beauty

My son brought home the latest set of materials for a new school fundraiser. He is my youngest. My oldest child is 15 so I thought I'd seen just about every school fundraiser known to man. I was wrong. This is an Avon sale. Oh joy. I don't wear make-up. I don't own make-up. For heaven's sake I didn't even use it on my wedding day. Ok, let me thumb through this silly catalog and see what's in there.

First few pages are tote bags, flip flops, some nice tunics. Ok, this is tolerable. It's no worse than some of the other junk we've had to hawk.

Next few pages are watches and jewelry. Ok, it's cheap junk, but it looks sorta, kinda ok.

Turn the page. Aha! Here we are. Cosmetics. Let's see all the must haves.

AVON's Exclusive Aerosphere Technology. Holy crap! Am I making up my face or launching into outerspace? Oh, hhmm, says here it is mascara. Do I take off if i wear it and bat my eyelashes too rapidly as I flirt?

Ultra Slim Heated Eyelash Curler Safe.compact. easy to use. Quick, long-lasting results. Requires 1 AAA battery. You are kidding me right? People buy this and use it? No friggin way. This has got to be code for torture device or else a sex toy. I dunno, maybe both!

Top Coat Lip Glossavailable in 3 finishes! Um, am I waxing a car or what?

Beyond Color Lip Exfoliator, Plumping Lip Color, and Plumping Lip Conditioner with Retinol SPF15 Who exfoliates their lips? And plumping them? Well, I know knuckle sandwiches will give ya a fat lip. I have to go through THREE steps BEFORE I can even wax them with a top coat??? I'd have to set my alarm 20 minutes early just to prep my lips!

Lip Metalics Lets lips go hi-beam with super-gloss metallic gleam! Ok, I am now convinced that Avon's copywriter has some sort of kinky connection with his car. Gentlemen, may I ask you....when you are about to kiss a woman are you really wanting to press your lips to super-gloss metalic gleam? Sounds awfully cold and unresponsive compared to a nice soft, warm set of fleshy lips, but maybe that's just me.

Well, there ya have it. I am apparently missing out on aerodynamic, electrically heated and curled eyelashes and lips more refined and detailed than a sportscar.

Be sure to tune in tomorrow to see what happens when one unadorned Lime gets roped into a Mary Kay party....the saga continues in a special HNT post.

Trini Tuesday- A Walk Through Arima

Thanks to Susie for giving me the idea of taking a walk.

We lived in Arima, Trinidad for the bulk of our stay on the island. Come with me as I remember my first walk through Trinidad's third largest city.



It's a hot September day in Trinidad. We've just moved into a lovely house on the outskirts of Arima. It's the biggest house I've ever lived in, a yellow one story, concrete block house. We've got palm trees, Hibiscus, fruit trees and all sorts of flowering tropical bushes in the yard. Our shipment of household goods from the US hasn't arrived yet and we haven't had a chance to buy any furniture yet. We have some borrowed folding chairs, a mattress on the floor, Diana's portacrib and what we could carry in suitcases. We have no phone service, that won't come for weeks yet. Things move a bit slowly down here. We haven't got a car either. But we are here! Let's go grab a taxi and see what we can find in Arima.

The three of us walk the half mile out to O'Meara Rd. to catch a taxi. There are maxi-taxis which look like airport buses. They have colored stripes on the sides to designate whether they travel east/west or north/south. There are also all sorts of private cars that function as taxis. We recognize them by the license late number which starts with 'H' for 'hire.' On a busy road like O'Meara there is no trouble finding a taxi. The slghtest eye contact with a driver or nod of your head brings one to a screeching halt. Even if a full one passes by it is only a matter of a minute or two before another one comes along. An H-car stops for us and the driver asks, 'Long drop or short?' The befuddled Americans look at each other and he clarifies, 'Where all yuh going?' Oh just into Arima, please. 'Ok, dat is a long drop as I will be crossing de Bus Route den. Just so yuh know. Tree TT dollahs fuh a long drop, two fuh a short.' We peer out the windows all along the ride, watching coconut trees, strange buildings, and an endless parade of other taxis whiz by. The driver rather skillfully dodges the massive potholes and ditches along the side of the road inspite of some of the tight squeezes that look utterly impossible. We disembark in downtown Arima and the driver indicates where the O'Meara Rd. taxi stand is situated so we know for our return trip. Aside from being white Americans, which makes it impossible to camoflage, we must have that 'just off the boat/deer in the headlights' look to us. I'm grateful for the kindness.

We head right into the thick of the action. It's market day so the town is full of shoppers, though it is late morning and the latecomers will be scrambling for the remnants of the fresh produce. Hills of bright red tomatoes, sheafs of local dasheen bush and cooking herbs, mountains of more kinds of bananas than I knew existed stretch out on rows of tables shielded by tarps or wooden roofs. Gigantic Pawpaws dangle from roofs and pyramids of watermelons tempt me. Watermelon in September! Awesome! I'm a bit shocked by the booth with all manner of pig parts. And I mean all manner! The table draws my attention like a car wreck. There are rows for ears, tails, snouts, feet, and well, I'll be darned.... there's a whole row of pig penises! I silently swear to myself not to ask what parts of a pig are in a dish I may be served in the future. Ignorance will be bliss. The call of, 'Potatoes $2 a pong (pound)!' and the counter of, 'Oh gosh, gyal! So much? De next one ovah have it $1.75 a pong!' snaps me back to attention.

We slowly work our way out of the market and back to the street. We pass Royal Bank and march toward 'The Dial.' At the central crossroads of Arima stands a clock. When the town was first founded it was an acutal sundial. No one remains who would have seen the sundial but the spot is still referred to by that name. On our way, we stroll through the main business district. There are stores and a few restaurants. We see lots of Trinidadian franchises among the appliance stores, the grocery, clothiers and fabric shops, lots of mom and pop type stores too. We take notice of the offices for the local utility companies. Little do we realize how much time we will spend standing in those lines over the next few months. My eye is so drawn to the fabirc stores (so much variety, so cheap, and such good quality! I can't resist!) and I ask Mr. Lime if he minds me wandering through one. He says no and he will keep walking with Diana since she has lots of energy and they will meet me back here in 20 minutes.

The time passes and I exit the store and wait for a few minutes. I see no sign of them. I check my watch and see a half hour has passed. I'm not worried but I wonder if I should stay here or go look for them. I stand on the corner at the Dial, in the center of Trinidad's 3rd largest city, looking up one street and down the other. I am a complete stranger but a lady going on her way and without missing a step informs me, 'Yuh husban' an' chile up by de post office.' Um, ok. Thank you!' I take my chances and find my way to the post office and sure enough, there they are! I guess when you are so obviously foreign people know you belong together. I tell my story and Mr. Lime and I share quite a giggle over it.

It's getting hot and we are getting hungry so we decide on a street vendor for some 'doubles.' Two small saffron-colored, soft pancakes filled with curried chickpeas and potatoes. The vendor asks if we want pepper. We ask how hot because we've had some encounters already. The vendor obliges us with a short course on the types of pepper available not only for doubles but for any dish you can imagine. Mr. Lime decides he is content with 'slight pepper.' The vendor counters with a bit of picong (good natured ribbing) about the relative weakness of American tongues and stomachs in being able to handle a proper Trini pepper. The stuff is seriously cheap and seriously filling and delicious! We wash it all down with 'sweetdrink.' Mr. Lime goes for a Coke, I want to try the local favorite 'Big Red.' I'm not a big soda drinker normally, but under the blazing tropical sun it sure hits the spot. We double check with him about the location of the O'Meara taxi stand and head over.

We decide on the maxi-taxi this time since one has been parked a few minutes and is waiting for a final set of passengers to fill up before leaving. We squeeze in and settle among the other passengers and all their goods from market day. The aromas of herbs, peppers, ripe fruits and various toiletries swirl around inside the maxi. It may be tropical but it's unlikely you'll encounter BO on a maxi in Trinidad. People here are fastidious in hygeine. Even if you don't have running water in your house you either haul water to bathe twice a day or you take your turn bathing at a public standpipe by the side of the road. As we bump down the road toward home we see a couple of children being lathered, scrubbed, and rinsed by one such standpipe. Our road is coming up, we indicate to the driver where to stop, pay our fare and step out. Diana is asleep on my shoulder and we slowly walk the half mile back to our house. It's the heat of the day and time for all of us to be resting.

I Was a Three Year Old Biker Chick

Digging around the old photo albums is always good for a giggle or a memory jog. This picture brings back one of my earliest memories. I was about 3, and Daddy had just gotten his motorcycle. He plopped me on it so I could straddle the gas tank and hold the handlebars and Mommy could take the picture. I was not quite satisfied with that arrangement. 'I wanna ride, Daddy!'

Before Mommy could object too strenuously we were off across those fields in the background. Wind in my face made that handkerchief on my head flap and flutter. Daddy held his hands over mine on the handlebars and I was screaming........




'GO FASTER, DADDY!!!!!!'

Tagged by Bridget

Bridget, sorry it took me a while to get to this. I am going to put the spin on it that I've seen others do. First there are 4 simple questions then lists of 4 things to which I will add a lie. Feel free to guess what the lie is, though there will be no prizes this time. I am still trying to recover from the last two coffee related rewards I did. Have I mentioned lately how much I loathe coffee?? You know I must really like you if I am willing to even pretend to enjoy that sludge.

Ok, without further ado......

1. A jingle I know all the words to. Scrubba scrubba scrubba, with the new Ipana. Scrubba scrubba scrubba it's dandy for your teeth. (no, I'm not really THAT old, my mother used to sing it in a silly voice to get me to brush my teeth)

2. A childhood boardgame at which I cheated. I was pretty honest. Does adding extra kids to my car when I played 'Life' count?

3. Song I sing the wrong words to. 'Blinded by the light. Wrapped up like a.........' Well, you know what we all sing to that dontcha?

4. Most embarassing story my parents regualrly trot out. My mother's boyfriend told me I was such a klutz I couldn't ride my bike and chew gum at the same time. I felt compelled to prove him wrong, took the gum and my bike. Came back 5 minutes later with knees and elbows bleeding after flipping my bike.


Now on to 4 truths and a lie.....

4 jobs I have had
camp counselor
house painter
laundress in a nursing home
teacher in a maximum secure lock-up for juvenile delinquent boys
children's librarian

4 tv shows I hate to miss
Antiques Roadshow
My Name is Earl
Star Trek reruns
CSI
the news

4 places I have vacationed
Toco, Trinidad
Ocean City, NJ
San Francisco
New Orleans
Wall, SD

4 favorite foods
Dark chocolate
Milk chocolate
Chocolate covered strawberries
Hot fudge sundaes with peanut butter ripple ice cream
Coffee flavored anything

4 movies I could watch over and over
Any of the Star Trek movies
Simon Birch
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Princess Bride
Braveheart

4 places I have lived
In a brick house
In a yellow house
In a brown house
In a purple house
In a green house

4 websites I visit every day
Google
Yahoo! Games
SWHAB
The Trinidad Guardian

Snowy Night

A thousand kisses
gently bathe my cheeks
as I gaze
into a full moon.
Snowflakes
sweetly
cool
the salty
sting
of tears.

-MKRB 1/06

Trini Weirdness

Before I get into the regularly scheduled post I wanted to remind everyone that Bantridiot won the hotly contested quiz last week and he has given his final request for his reward. Look for it as this week's HNT post. And get yer minds outta the gutter! Hehehe.


I have always enjoyed folklore. Living in Trinidad exposed me to a whole new set of folkloric characters. Allow me to introduce you to some of the eerier ones.


Soucouyant
She is the Trini vampiress. During the day she is an old woman who lives in a lonely part of the village and who is rarely seen. At night she sheds her skin and travels in a ball of fire seeking a victim whose blood she will suck. It is said she can also change into the form of various animals and do the same to her victims. she must return home and don her skin before dawn or the first cock crowing.

There are a couple ways to defeat her. A sure way to detain her past dawn is to pour out a massive quantity of rice by the village crossroads. She will be compelled to clean it up one grain at a time. If she returns to her home past dawn her skin will have shrunk in daylight and she will have extreme difficulty putting it back on. If you know where the soucouyant keeps her skin you can also go rub a large quantity of salt into it so it shrinks and burns her to death when she tries to dress in it again. There are also rituals that can be done by the silk cotton tree to prevent her attacks.


La Diablesse (la jah-bless)
She is the young woman to be feared. She can be found at social gatherings where the women in attendance take an immediate dislike to her and the men are all beguiled by her. She wears a long gown which hides the one cloven foot she has. She also wears a large, floppy brimmed hat to hide her corpse-like face. She will ask a man to take her home and lead him deep into the forest where she disappears. He will be hopelessly lost and perhaps fall into a river and drown or into a ravine where the fall kills him.

The way to defend against the possibility of meeting La Diablesse if you are out alone is to wear your clothes inside out.


Douens
These are the spirits of children who died before being baptised. They wear straw hats and their feet are backwards. They roam the island looking to lure other children away from the safety of home and family. It is said that parents should not call their children in a loud voice because the douens will hear the child's name and call it in order to lure the child to certain doom in the depths of the forest by a silk cotton tree.

All yuh been warned! Keep well and doh wander alone at night unless yuh want Soucouyant, La Diablesse or the Douens to make evil fuh yuh!

It's Not Fair

How old were you when you realized certain things about life were inherently unfair? I'm not talking about the childish sense of unfairness when we don't get our own way and we pout or rage about it. I'm talking about knowing that no matter what you do, no matter how hard you work, you are going to get shafted.

Diana is there. She loves playing her trumpet. She has worked hard to develop as a musician. She derives great joy from being able to play well. In the band, she wants her fellow band members to give it their all like she does. She dispalys leadership qualities and skill. She has been the second chair trumpet player for the last 3 years. She has been very close to overtaking first chair, which is held by a good friend of hers. They have a good natured rivalry in which they spur one another on to growth. They support and encourage each other. Diana has not yet succeeded in winning first chair during the formal challenges. She had, however been rewarded for her hard work with two solos to prepare for the spring concert. She was elated with that consolation and determined to show she had the chops to be first chair.

Chair tests were held last week. The students have to demonstrate muscial proficiency in several areas. They must understand music theory, demonstrate a mastery of basic skills for each level, and perform certain pieces of music for judging. Diana is once again, second chair. This was a disappointment for her after her hard work but the bitter part was having her solos taken away from her. Apparently the band director keeps a policy that first chair gets all the solos. However, it has been observed that he breaks with policy when it suits him.

I picked up Diana and the girl who plays first chair trumpet and listened to them in the back seat. The other girl already has 4 solos. She said Diana plays the other two solos she just lost much better. She is the object of the band director's favoritism and is aware of it. Both girls agree the entire band is aware of it.

After we had dropped off the other girl Diana climbed in the front seat and told me how frustrated she is. This guy will be her band director for the next 3 years. She feels stymied. This guy gives private lessons but only be invite. You don't ask him, he asks you. To be honest the first time I ever met this guy I thought he was one of the most arrogant men I'd ever seen. I think he handles his students in a negative, demeaning manner and I don't like it. It does nothing to instill a love of music. A very notable drop in band participation is apparent every year when he gets the freshman class. They sound great, but the only ones who stick it out are the ones with egos strong enough to cope with his belittling. I kept those opinions to myself for the last year but now I was hearing Diana outline the same thoughts. She's going to have a long 3 years under his yoke. I just hope she can cling to her love of music and not let his attitude grind her down.

Oh yeah, and I told her to remember that HER private teacher for trumpet is the band director of this arrogant guy she is under. So there! TTHHHHP!

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

[A is for age:] Older than my teeth

[B is for booze of choice:] wine, whiskey, NOT vodka, NEVER vodka, NO MORE VODKA!

[C is for career] nurse, psychologist, teacher, cook, maid, taxi driver.....they all fall under the 'mom' category

[D is for your dog's name:] No current dogs but I had a big, fat, slobbering St. Bernard named Twiggy when I was very young.

[E is for essential items you use everyday:] Oxygen, I'm pretty fond of the stuff

[F is for favorite song at the moment:] Not current but Norah Jones "What Am i to You?' has been running through my head for days

[G is for favorite games:] Basic subversive activity

[H is for hometown:] Someplace I am sure you have never heard of, though we fielded the American Legion World series winning baseball team many years in a row back in the 80s and we used to be well known for our casket company. I am not making this up.

[I is for instruments you play:] Kazoo, tambourine, razdio, a very bad guitar

[J is for jam or jelly you like:] Raspberry or Peach

[K is for kids:] Yes, I'm a real kidder!

[L is for last kiss?:] Given: top of my son's head before he got on the bus this morning. Received: can't remember

[M is for most admired trait:] The ability to pick things up with my toes.

[N is for name of your crush:] Anaconda, I hear crushing is their MO.

[O is for overnight hospital stays:] 3 births

[P is for phobias:] Luposlipophobia: fear of being chased on linoleum around a kitchen table by wolves while I am wearing socks.

[Q is for quotes you like:] Sign in my kitchen: Everyone brings happiness to this place. Some when they enter, others when they leave.

[R is for biggest regret:] Regrets? I've had a few.

[S is for sweets of your choice:] Chocolate, of course! But don't you dare contaminate my chocolate with coconut. That's an abomination!

[T is for time you wake up:] When the evil alarm clock of death drills a hole through my skull

[U is for underwear:] Always clean, in case I am ever in an accident.

[V is for vegetable you love:] Broccoli, Spinach, carrots, squash........actually the list of ones I don't love would be shorter, brussels sprouts...BLECH!

[W is for worst habit:] Procrastinating

[X is for x-rays you've had:] Dental, full spine, ankle, hand

[Y is for yummy food you make:] Hard to narrow this down, but most recently have received rave reveiws for baked pineapple, Christmas cookies, funny cake, and Mr. Lime who is not given to lavishing praise was overheard bragging on my ham and bean soup and my turkey noodle soup.

[Z is for zodiac sign:] Libra

Happy HNT!

Are my seams straight?



To get the straight story on how to play along click here

Happy HNT!

May I Have the Envelope Please...

I'd like to announce that we have a winner!! After two rounds of quizzes Fred Bantu Mugabe aka Banana Joe aka Mantra aka The Village Idiot (West coast version) has emerged victorious!!! For his prize he may either draft a set of questions for me, give me a blogging topic, or request PG rated pictures of me engaged in a mutually agreed upon activity. So 'Bantridiot,' email me at mountainlime@gmail.com so we can begin negotiating your reward.

I'll be combining a Trini Tuesday/Weird Wednesday post and putting it up a little later today so be sure to check back!

UPDATE: Sorry folks. Life keeps getting in the way of blogging so Trini Weirdness is postponed.

Tie Breaker!

Ok, we have a four-way tie between Goody, Logo, Village Idiot (West Coast), and Pieces of Me. Therefore I have written a new quiz specifically for the 4 of them. Of course, anyone is free to take it, but only the results for those 4 will be considered in determining a winner. If you four supergeniuses tie again I don't know what I will do. Maybe I will just take a post assignment from each of you and pick the one I like best or else do all of them, or maybe let you guys all just duke it out. Yeah, mud wrestling! That's the solution! But I digress.....

I typed this tie breaking quiz into the site 3 times before it would be accepted. My browser kept shutting down on me. This ate up a lot of time and I have a boatload of work to do today so the Trini Tuesday post will be delayed until tomorrow at least. The four folks have until tomorrow at 9:00am Eastern time to complete the quiz. Good luck all!


Take my Quiz on QuizYourFriends.com!

Quiz time!

Goody won our first round. Logo won our second round. Who will win the third round and gain all the fabulous prizes? Ok, there are no fabulous prizes. There is just the chance to help structure a post here by creating a list of questions for me to answer. Giving me a topic to write on and asking for PG rated pictures of me in a specified activity*.

*Questions, topics and picture ideas to be mutually agreed upon by winner and myself. Decision of the judges is final. No refunds, exchanges, or returns. One entry per person. Do not fold, spindle, or mutilate. May cause dry mouth, bed-wetting, anxiety, and palpitations. If your erection lasts longer than 4 hours.....oh wait...wrong blog!

Ok all, good luck!

Take My Quiz on QuizYourFriends.com!

UPDATE: There is currently a 4 way tie for first place. Someone new needs to either take the quiz and ace it or I will post a sudden death set of questions as a tie-breaker tomorrow (only counted for the ones who are tied), in addition to the regular Trini Tuesday post.

 

A Meme for Friday

I stole this from Tan Lucy Pez.

7 Things I Want to Do Before I Die
1. See my kids grow up to be happy, educated, compassionate people who make a good impact on those around them.
2. Get my master's degree.
3. Spend an extended time in Greece.
4. Travel the rest of the world (too many places to list).
5. Bathe in a vat of chocolate.
6. Play the guitar well.
7. Have the doctor really make sure I am dead before he sends me to the morgue.

7 Things I Can Do
1. Play guitar badly.
2. Play the radio well.
3. Sing badly.
4. Dance well enough not to get laughed at.
5. Read and write backwards or upside down.
6. Pick small things up with my toes.
7. Kill any houseplant with cruel efficiency.
(You were expecting practical skills here?)


7 Things I Can't Do
1. Put both feet behind my head.
2. Stand on my head.
3. Go a day without chocolate.
4. Watch a football game and enjoy it.
5. Eat sauerkraut.
6. Understand trigonometry.
7. Speak Swahili.
(Interesting to note, my life seems pretty good nonetheless)

7 Things That Attract Me to Another Person.
1. Intelligence.
2. Sense of humor
3. Compassion
4. Zest for life
5. Common courtesy (which seems less and less common these days)
6. Electromagnets
7. Timely payments (direct deposit makes this much easier for both of us, if you are interested we can work out a plan that suits us both, I'm very reasonable).

7 Things I Say Most Often
1. Please try to feign interest. (teenagers, ya know?)
2. Domino's? Yes, I'd like a pizza. (again, the teenager thing)
3. Please sir, can I have more chocolate? (always said with a pathetic, hungry look)
4. Do I look like I know where your (fill in the blank) is?
5. Son, where are your glasses and why are they not on your face?
6. Yes, dear.
7. I love you.

Weird Wednesday

You Are 40% Weird

Normal enough to know that you're weird... But too damn weird to do anything about it!

How Weird Are You?

You Are 50% Normal (Somewhat Normal)

While some of your behavior is quite normal... Other things you do are downright strange You've got a little of your freak going on But you mostly keep your weirdness to yourself

How Normal Are You?

Ok, so I have a question. If I am 40% weird and 50% percent normal, what the heck makes up the remaining 10%? And what about you all? What are your percentages? Inquiring minds want to know!

Trini Tuesday-Superstitions

Every culture has its old wive's tales and superstitions. Since it is a new year I want us all to get started with good luck so here are some of my favorite Trini superstitions.

Don't put goat mout' on something - meaning don't speak of anything negative that has not happened as yet, because it might come true.

Whatever food a pregnant woman is craving at a given moment, she should be given it immediately, otherwise the baby will have a mark on his/her body will will resemble the food. (I was pregnant while I lived in Trinidad so I really liked this one.)
 
Don't bathe in the sea on Good Friday - you will turn into a fish.
 
If you put your handbag on the floor/ground you will never have money.
 
When you comb your hair and what is left on the comb is thrown outside, if a bird gets it and makes a nest, then you will get a headache.
 
Never give someone a lamp that you have used, it brings bad luck.
 
Don't sew on yourself (like a button), it makes people talk bad of you.

Do not sweep over someone's feet, they will never marry. (I thought a single friend of mine would claw my eyes out when I did this accidentally.)

Always turn your back to the inside of the house when opening the door at night, that way the sprits that have followed you home, will see your face and will not enter.

It is believed that if anyone eats the Cascadoux fish, regardless of where they may move in the world they will return to Trinidad to end their days. (When we had to move back to the States and many people kept asking me to their house for a meal of cascadoux I had no idea of the meaning until my friend Petal explained it. She told me it was a sign of total acceptance and love and grief at our depature that people would offer us cascadoux, that we were seen as Trini not American. I cried of course. Then she told me she'd want me to eat cascadoux too except that it tastes vile and is covered in scales thick like toenails. That Petal, she always knew how to get a laugh ot of me!)
 
It is also believed that to bury the navel string (umbilical cord) of a child at the foot of a prolific fruit tree, this will ensure the fertility of the child as an adult.

There are also those that say you should save the navel string. In case of a life threatening illness it should be made into a medicinal tea. (My friends thought it was bizarre that Americans might save baby teeth. I decided for Calypso, I would save her navel string too, since she was born in Trini......yes, I still have it. Yes, I hear your collective 'eeewwwwww' out there in the blogosphere.)
 
Silk Cotton trees are regarded with a kind of awed reverance and fear. These are huge trees. It is reported to be very difficult to be able to find someone who will cut down a silk cotton tree as they are said to be the home of spirits and duppies. To cut it down is to free them to roam the earth.
 
Good luck everyone!