When the rains came this year the entire country breathed a collective sigh of relief. The strain on our water supplies would lessen and rationing was stopped. Water, this life giving force was back in abundance and when the water is back many other things come with it. Now I am Trinidadian and I can talk about the torrential rain which causes traffic and limits movement, or the flooding that is made worse by improperly dredged water courses but when the rains begin that’s not the first thing that really happens.
When the rains come this country gets green, lush and humid. It begins will hints of limey green on hillsides and along road ways. Within a week the hints explode and a very grown up green takes over. When you begin to notice (if you have ever noticed) this grown up green that rolls and over flows in valleys, it’s not long till the Mama Earth IS finally ready to show off her diverse colour palette and she begins to show off for our pleasure every other colour the eye can behold.
Red,
Yellow,
Pinks, purples, teals
Mauves, lilacs
White and oranges
All the colours appear at first hesitant, but as the rains continue they seem to be given the assurance that Father sky will keep them nourished and they bloom in bright and unadulterated majesty.
In the grand scheme of things the next card Mama plays is not the most significant but it is the one that I enjoy the most. This year in particular I took an opportunity to enjoy the presence of butterflies.
And wow ! There were a lot.
In my living memory I cannot remember seeing so many butterflies. All of them busy and hungry and jostling for nectar. What I loved the most was their bravado. On more than one occasion I saw them crossing the road (Lady Young Road, Charlotte Street , the Highway), flying through cars and offices, resting on fans and banisters. All of this reminds me of the movie You’ve got Mail; Meg Ryan talking about New York in the Spring and the butterfly that goes on the subway to go to Bloomingdales to buy a hat. Like in the movie they seem to bring out the joyful and optimistic nature is their audience.
So many butterflies! And for weeks these ethereal creatures live off of the pretty of the earth.
And slowly the die. No they don’t just disappear. You see them as road kill or in a lizard’s mouth. The few that remain look haggard on closer observation and even children once excited to catch them now know that the last few should be left alone.
Until one morning, after it has been raining for a week – much like this morning – You or I awake and they are all gone and all that is left behind is the mud of floods, the smell of dirty water and the dust of river sediment that hangs in the air.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
My point exactly
For a while now I have held my tongue with respect to the People’s Partnership Policies. I think it is only fair to wait and see how persons given new authority and position manage once they have had time to settle in. Ideally I think any new leader should spend one year just listening and or reacting, before they make sweeping changes. It gives them some time to understand the process and procedures of their organization as well as engendering trust in subordinates.
As it goes for the new government’s new short terms policies, two in particular have annoyed me from a policy perspective – the Pension restructuring and the Laptops for 1st Formers. I will leave the pensions issue until I have the empirical evidence to show it is flawed. Oh! I already have the theory I just trying to be polite.
Tonight however I will BASH the laptop thing.
During the 10pm news there was a report on the American Embassy’s charitable donation to the Success Laventille High School. The school has had to deal with a severe burglary problem and after having 56 computers in the school’s lab the number was reduced by illegal means to 10. So the wonderful Americans decided to donate 2 laptops and 7 desktops.
Hmmm. Where do I begin with this? Doesn’t this point to very real problems with the laptop scheme.
Perspective One. I think it is easier to steal a laptop from 1st former than it is to steal 46 desktops from a school. I have heard that there will be built in security features but considering the state of the police service what assurances do students have that they will be secure if someone tries to take their laptop. If they are stealing computers, are 12 year old students in any school safe walking around with a laptop?
Perspective Two. Success Laventille is an example of a school that does not have basic information technology (at present) for all its students but now only one cohort will have access to this technology. All students need to become tech savvy. Another more promising way of doing this could be to work with the school to upgrade the technologies used, not just in computer lab but also in the classroom. There is the potential to actually create jobs within the education and security sectors by upgrading how we teach and share education in a school setting. Schools with networked monitors and proper CC tv systems that can monitor students and illegal visitors could and should be the future. Now I know this is not fool proof but I can not believe that the policymakers agreed to and funded such a short sighted venture. I listened to part of Aunty Kamla’s presentation at the UN and she boasted that in five years all secondary students will have laptops. And all of this is going on while the young men and women can’t every get there teaching qualifications verified. Here’s another question, in 5 years will all students still have laptops? I can understand that this government, in its first moves are ‘reacting’. I mean they have a lot to prove but reactive patronage makes them look like PNM more than they would like.
As I said before there are lots of little things that are gripping me about this government but it’s early. While PNM had their serious problems they followed a vision. I didn’t like the vision but there was a vision. I hope to see a vision from the People Partnership and if I see them repurpose the PNM’s own, I will be on them like white on rice. It’s been four months and I will be waiting to see them step up and act like the government they were given the opportunity to be.
As it goes for the new government’s new short terms policies, two in particular have annoyed me from a policy perspective – the Pension restructuring and the Laptops for 1st Formers. I will leave the pensions issue until I have the empirical evidence to show it is flawed. Oh! I already have the theory I just trying to be polite.
Tonight however I will BASH the laptop thing.
During the 10pm news there was a report on the American Embassy’s charitable donation to the Success Laventille High School. The school has had to deal with a severe burglary problem and after having 56 computers in the school’s lab the number was reduced by illegal means to 10. So the wonderful Americans decided to donate 2 laptops and 7 desktops.
Hmmm. Where do I begin with this? Doesn’t this point to very real problems with the laptop scheme.
Perspective One. I think it is easier to steal a laptop from 1st former than it is to steal 46 desktops from a school. I have heard that there will be built in security features but considering the state of the police service what assurances do students have that they will be secure if someone tries to take their laptop. If they are stealing computers, are 12 year old students in any school safe walking around with a laptop?
Perspective Two. Success Laventille is an example of a school that does not have basic information technology (at present) for all its students but now only one cohort will have access to this technology. All students need to become tech savvy. Another more promising way of doing this could be to work with the school to upgrade the technologies used, not just in computer lab but also in the classroom. There is the potential to actually create jobs within the education and security sectors by upgrading how we teach and share education in a school setting. Schools with networked monitors and proper CC tv systems that can monitor students and illegal visitors could and should be the future. Now I know this is not fool proof but I can not believe that the policymakers agreed to and funded such a short sighted venture. I listened to part of Aunty Kamla’s presentation at the UN and she boasted that in five years all secondary students will have laptops. And all of this is going on while the young men and women can’t every get there teaching qualifications verified. Here’s another question, in 5 years will all students still have laptops? I can understand that this government, in its first moves are ‘reacting’. I mean they have a lot to prove but reactive patronage makes them look like PNM more than they would like.
As I said before there are lots of little things that are gripping me about this government but it’s early. While PNM had their serious problems they followed a vision. I didn’t like the vision but there was a vision. I hope to see a vision from the People Partnership and if I see them repurpose the PNM’s own, I will be on them like white on rice. It’s been four months and I will be waiting to see them step up and act like the government they were given the opportunity to be.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Babies
For the nth time this year I was recently asked by a new acquaintance whether or not I have any children. For the nth time I said 'no' and for the nth time I was responded as if something is seriously wrong with me. What specifically annoys me is when the ask you “so you don’t have children?” (not even a child but children).
My reactive thought is always "why would a 25 year old have children". Wow that’s classist! If you can’t perceive it you should check yourself you may just be very entrenched in the middle class.
My second reactive thought tends to be “why ask me that if you know I am not married?” This thought is even stranger because I am the daughter of single, never married woman and man. Not only does this one show off my classist nature but the extent of my values on family.
My third reactive thought tends to be “stop asking me my blasted business yuh dam maco!” That one has nothing to do with the topic at hand but I thought I was important to remind people I don’t like persons to ask me business.
After having a conversation with a single male friend lamenting on the fact that at 29 it seems like any woman he dates has a child/ren or is too driven to have time to have a meaningful relationship, it leads me to wonder, are children the new craze for my age group. The modal average for births in Trinidad and Tobago is now 25.6yrs. This is despite the fact that people keep talking about teenage pregnancy – get a grip people teen pregnancy is not high and this is despite having a Muslim population which marries younger that the national age of majority.
Women are having babies – True
Having babies is a good thing – True
Not all women are having babies – True
Women who are not actively trying to have child are weird and should be reminded about their responsibility to their God/state/economy – False
I am not anti-children. I just don’t like to having people ask me (or anyone else) why have I not allowed a man to impregnate me and decided to carry full term. Isn’t that a little … what’s the word I am looking for…. rude? I know often in my verbal response to persons asking the questions, I come off like a hard core feminist but to me this is not about ideology or religiosity. It’s a matter of personal values and appropriateness. If you must engage in this type of conversation it is always better to first ask if a person wants children. Then, if you must, mine their business
I respect any young woman who gets pregnant and chooses to have a child before the age of 27. I salute you saying you have a personal strength that I can not say that I have. Particularly to the women doing it without men and or a family support system, I say Mother’s Day is simply not enough.
But to the people who live under the delusion that when you reach 24 you should have at least one picney and believe that it is their responsibility to encourage women to have children regardless of their stage in life, I say...
Go adopt a dog to play with.
My reactive thought is always "why would a 25 year old have children". Wow that’s classist! If you can’t perceive it you should check yourself you may just be very entrenched in the middle class.
My second reactive thought tends to be “why ask me that if you know I am not married?” This thought is even stranger because I am the daughter of single, never married woman and man. Not only does this one show off my classist nature but the extent of my values on family.
My third reactive thought tends to be “stop asking me my blasted business yuh dam maco!” That one has nothing to do with the topic at hand but I thought I was important to remind people I don’t like persons to ask me business.
After having a conversation with a single male friend lamenting on the fact that at 29 it seems like any woman he dates has a child/ren or is too driven to have time to have a meaningful relationship, it leads me to wonder, are children the new craze for my age group. The modal average for births in Trinidad and Tobago is now 25.6yrs. This is despite the fact that people keep talking about teenage pregnancy – get a grip people teen pregnancy is not high and this is despite having a Muslim population which marries younger that the national age of majority.
Women are having babies – True
Having babies is a good thing – True
Not all women are having babies – True
Women who are not actively trying to have child are weird and should be reminded about their responsibility to their God/state/economy – False
I am not anti-children. I just don’t like to having people ask me (or anyone else) why have I not allowed a man to impregnate me and decided to carry full term. Isn’t that a little … what’s the word I am looking for…. rude? I know often in my verbal response to persons asking the questions, I come off like a hard core feminist but to me this is not about ideology or religiosity. It’s a matter of personal values and appropriateness. If you must engage in this type of conversation it is always better to first ask if a person wants children. Then, if you must, mine their business
I respect any young woman who gets pregnant and chooses to have a child before the age of 27. I salute you saying you have a personal strength that I can not say that I have. Particularly to the women doing it without men and or a family support system, I say Mother’s Day is simply not enough.
But to the people who live under the delusion that when you reach 24 you should have at least one picney and believe that it is their responsibility to encourage women to have children regardless of their stage in life, I say...
Go adopt a dog to play with.
Oh Shucks!
Is it horrible to say that I only just realised I have a blog?
I mean life is what it is and so I have to admit I had better things to do.
Admittedly I have stopped reflective writing all together. I can blame many things in my life for that but I will stick with just saying I damn lazy and indisciplined.
Funny enough I have noticed a correlation between not writing and talking to myself more.
So I am making a solemn pledge.
I Tactful guavas, do solemnly pledge to update my blog regularly starting today.
:)
Live well
I mean life is what it is and so I have to admit I had better things to do.
Admittedly I have stopped reflective writing all together. I can blame many things in my life for that but I will stick with just saying I damn lazy and indisciplined.
Funny enough I have noticed a correlation between not writing and talking to myself more.
So I am making a solemn pledge.
I Tactful guavas, do solemnly pledge to update my blog regularly starting today.
:)
Live well
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