Homogenity on St. John

St. Patty's is such a whitey's holiday, nary a West Indian in sight during the revelry of our little island parade. Not a disappointment, drunken hilarity reigned supreme.



Roland had an amazing costume with Incredible Hulk slippers. He followed the Mocko Jumbie all over the place.


Guess who I was thinking of when I took this picture. Miss Joy Fischer. Pretty cat with a pretty necklace.

I would've put up some video, but alas, I have no clue how. Pathetic.

Happiness is...

Our box of oranges from Dominica. Delish! I love that island, and I love the fruit that comes from there. It's like candy.

Pain

Part I.

8 Tuff Miles, I am your bitch. Granted, I was not supposed to drink such a large quantity of alcoholic beverages the night before getting up early to walk my way over steep and hot terrain to Coral Bay on the other side of the island, but still. Jason and Sadie went with me, and although we were all exhausted and sore, I was definitely in the worst shape. Is it supposed to be hard to go from zero ft to 1,000 ft (and up and down a lot on either side)? Well, it was. Very exhausting. I am trying to ignore that little 4 and 5 year olds had no problem with it.

Part II.

Work is a nightmare. My boss is gone, my co-worker is on vacation. I don't get paid enough for this!

Part III.

After two wonderful weeks, Miss Sadie once again left me for life in the States. Almost as terrible as the first time she did it a few years back.

Feeling the love

This one here is a tribute to Pat and Gary Cail who renewed their vows after 30+ years of marriage, along with many other couples, at Trunk Bay on 14 February 2009. It was really touching. Like a lot of couples, marriage can go through a lot of ups and downs, so reaffirming those 'I do's' had a special meaning. Note the man in the small swimsuit in the background. I wish we had a better shot of his ridiculousness. I am cruel. So much for Valentine lovin'.

Who are the people in your neighborhood?

One of my closest island friends and also, fortunately, my downstairs neighbor......Tyler (he made an appearance in my first post)! I like the very appropriate subtle appearance of Kenny sitting at the bar in the background. I find myself at Gecko Gazebo with Tyler several times a week.

http://www.on-stjohn.com/2009/02/09/our-favorite-bartenders-tyler/

4 Years

As of a few days ago, I have officially been living on St. John for 4 years. In commemoration, I am throwing down some pics of my mainland friends who've spent time here with me. There are definitely a few missing (like Tim and Laurie...can't find the pics!), but you guys are all totally rad for coming to visit your isolated island friend. It's not easy being so far away. xoxo


My girls...Joy and Jacynth at the Quiet Mon. Wild times on that trip!


Zimbo and me. Sorry about the sideways, but it was straight in my picture file so I don't know what happend.


Jean and Sadie at Hawksnest. My partners in crime that left me for the stateside life.


First visitor prize! Lynette and Julie. Good ol' Wyoming gals.


A typically odd picture of Jason that I just had to stick in.

Alas...

Yeah, not much from me lately. Just don't want to bore my 2 readers with stories about idiotic tourists and daily work life. But here are a few notes of interest...

-Sadie is coming to visit! And so is my mom! 2 weeks each, and it will rock. Even if our 'hallway' gets a bit cramped.

-Bought tickets to Lani's wedding in Alaska this summer, which will be amazing to enjoy during the solstice. BTW Lando...not sure if you were serious about me giving the speech, but I'm coming up with sort of a 'Cheers/speech' instead, which would be a little more my style and less nerve-racking. Also get to hang with cousin Ryan and little Will and do all sorts of outdoorsy things which Alaska is known for. Cannot wait!

-I am once again on the gala committee for the Friends of the Virgin Islands National Park. This year, the party is at the MOST exclusive villa on St. John that was just listed for sale for $32 million. It will be fabulous and fun, and rest assured, I will be drinking my share and more of Veuve Clicquot. Here's a link to the villa, Presidio del Mar, which also rents for $4,600 a night!

-Barack Obama is president, and I really did not realize I would be so thrilled!

-I just bought a king size Heavenly bed set, which for anyone who is stayed at a Sheraton/Weston/W/St. Regis understands it is the most amazing bed EVER. Thank god for work discounts saving me a good thousand off the price.

-Seems as though I will be summering in Seattle. I am glowing with anticipation of the gorgeous NW and all my friends. And the music scene. And the affordable groceries. And and and.....

-Just in case you think everything is coming up roses, there are those pesky tourists again. I really can't stand them. Seriously. They walk down the middle of the road, they don't seem to realize that they are OUTSIDE the U.S. and not everything is 'perfect' like their beloved country, they think they're the only people who exist in the whole universe, they wear stupid clothes, they drive on the wrong side of the road, they act as if they're getting drunk for the first time, they are disrespectful of local culture. I could keep going, but won't.

Instead, I leave you with these. Pics from my December trip w/ co-workers to Coral World on St. Thomas, where we played w/ sealions and got stung by some nasty old jellyfish. Love the pic w/ Jamie getting the sealion face slap.