So for the most part I think I have dealt pretty well with the differences I’ve encountered since I’ve moved onto this Rock called St. Thomas. But today however I was reminded again that I live on an ISLAND.

You may be wondering what the catalyst for such a reminder was. Well, it was not earth shattering or ground breaking. It didn’t even rock my world or enlighten my thinking. I could have gone about my day and probably never even realize it had happened if I had not actually glanced at my receipt from the market this morning.

My 2nd Job (coolsignsvi.com) was having a Christmas Lunch and I was asked to bring in chips and soda. NO PROBLEM I said as I thought ::SCORE, I pulled the lucky straw, no cooking, no weird cheese logs, just EASY chips and soda and cheap to boot!:: Pulling the chips and soda straw for an office party is like winning the corporate holiday lunch lottery.

So it was with this perspective I entered the Marina Market in Redhook and proceeded to purchase a few bottles of soda and a couple bags of chips. After winding through the store and admiring how much it seemed like a Trader Joes distant relative (I.E homegrown but not upscale) I found the chip aisle. I located the two bags I had previously decided on 1) Dorritos and 2) Sun Chips French Onion and then grabbed the soda at the other end of that same aisle. I proceeded to the check out and things went smoothly. I received my total, thought it was a bit high but just went and paid. I waited for the cashier to hand me my receipt and then exited the store.

It wasn’t until I sat down in my passport that I got a chance to look at my receipt and notice that the reason the bill seemed too high was that instead of the 99 cents or the 1.75 I was use to for a bag of chips in the states I had been charged 4.99 for my Sun Chips, 2.29 for the Dorritos and 1.99 for each of the 2 Liters of soda.

Now, remember I did mention that this isn’t earth shattering or ground breaking but it is indicative of the types of small reminders us new comers to the Island receive that where we live really is a bit different and requires an approach other than the one we are use to back in the states. Anyway its not bad, its just different and I thought I’d post about it.

Just a quick post here.

I can not STAND to loose stuff. As soon as I realize that I am not sure where something is I MUST look for it. An uncontrolable need to search for the item consumes my being and I must drop everything it is that I am currently doing to fullfil the primal desire to find my lost item.

Right now I can’t find my contacts. Why are you online posting about it you ask? Well, I’ve searched for the last 30 minutes and I am a bit worn out. I will continue to look tomorrow. I need new contacts anyway, but without that case I am left with none until I make a new appointment and shell out another 150 bucks. YUK

Lost items SUCK

so you won’t flounder
balance
so you won’t sink
balance
so you won’t fall away into the emptyness that consumes the right
and the wrong
in the end its all the same
only you can change the path
the field
the time and direction of your journey
it won’t hurt
but it may scar
stay towards, stay wondering in the path that keeps you moving towards where you came and where you’ll go
stop
its the end

Your driving slowing looking for you exit at the end of a 12 hour drive… DAMN you miss it. But instead of driving to the next one and looping back you floor it out of frustration. You blow past the next exit, and the next, the next and then another - you seem to have lost your mind your on the edge - then along side you speeding too is a minivan…. you slow down… you take a breath and get off on the next exit. You head back from the direction you came, slowly, calmly until you reached your missed exit, but now… the exit is different … you can only hit that exit going north, going south its different.. it wont let you off.. your Irate … you loose it, your eyes bulge, fingers turn red with the pressure you squeeze the wheel with. You feel flooded with lose and anger. You give up, you slam on the break and see the cars sliding towards you.. you hesitate.. you choke and slam on the gas… but… its to late… the BMW SUV slides into you, you slide into your steering wheel and you both hit the cement wall — it all goes blank but not before a flash of red… distant sounds fade away and you sink into the emptiness that you always knew was waiting for you

Originally Posted Dec 23rd 2005

To the tides of darkness I submit
slipping away for all eternity
not in peace nor rage
but uncontested pain
with unknowing expectation
I am only to be summed again
rising as the rays burn
and into another pain I fall
knowing that here it does not end
but starts anew with an unrelenting call

Originally Posted on March 28th 2006

So apparently this guy (Bernard Weber) believes that we need to do away with the orginal 7 wonders of the anciet world and pick 7 new ones!

Only this time around instead of just one man picking the 7 (Philon of Byzantium picked the first group back in 200 B.C), he wants the world to vote on it. He plans to reveal the New Seven Wonders on July 7, 2007, or otherwise know as 07/07/07.

I guess part of his reasoning is that only one 1 of the orginial 7 is still standing (the great pyramids). According to his website Bernard wants to raise awareness of the destruction of nature and our man-made hertigage through the new 7 world wonders foundation. 

If you want to vote on the “new 7″ you can do so at the foundations website.

Chain of dominos

If I had 3 hours, countless video tapes, a plethora of lighters and one too many pieces of toast, I too might make such an extravagant line of dominos. But alas, I do not.

Instead I will just watch this video and be like “oh man, that was totally cool!”

I decided to switch things up over here; at least visually that is.

I loaded a new theme called Smooth Dirt by Robert Day and started my editing process. So far I’ve changed the function of the Page. Categories & Archive links and messed around a little bit with the post and comment formating. Overall there is alot less editing needed on this theme as compared to my last one (cordobo green park) to make it something I’ll be content with.

It wasn’t so much that I didn’t like the other theme, I just wanted something a bit more simple and straight forward, something that will last a bit longer that I won’t tire of in a few weeks.

So anyway, if your on my RSS feed come on down and check out my new layout and let me know what you think.

Twenty minutes ago I found out that I have a job interview at 3 oclock today. Nineteen minutes ago I found out I nor my roommate has an iron. My dress shirt and slacks are currently hanging from the shower rod in my bathroom with the hot water draining from our tank… if that doesn’t work I guess I’ll try the dryer… I am not sure how I didn’t think to pack and iron. I guess I just assumed everyone has one. When I lived in a 15 foot by 15 foot box in NYC with a roommate I still had an iron - but somehow I failed to bring one with me to the island.

A trip to K-mart is scheduled for tomorrow.

If you ever get caught without an iron these resources might be helpful.

WikiHow: How to Remove Wrinkles from Clothing Without an Iron
eHow: How to Take Wrinkles Out of Clothing

Follow Up: The shower did not work well - however the dryer proved a bit more useful and I attended my interview with only a slightly wrinkled shirt. (oh and I start on friday)

Its been a little over a day since I launched my blog and visually alot has changed. The original theme for the blog came from this fine blogger / designer. It originially came in a lime green color scheme that did not quite work for me, so I fired up photoshop and my CSS editor and have change some things around. As is probably obvious my favorite color is cobalt blue. Overall the site is not quite where I want it to be so I’ll still be making changes to some of the details - text size, side bar contect, etc…

Once I get the site to match the idea I have in my head I really hope to start shapping the content side. Some of the future topics I foresee are

• My move to St. Thomas USVI (Us Virgin Islands) and my adjustment to island living
• The upcoming 2008 presidential election
• Random stories in the news
• My second love, Texas Holdem Poker
• The ongoing saga of figuring out what my first love actually is…

Hopefully it wont be long before I can dive into those topics and see where they lead me. So be kind, spread the word, check back often and leave me some insightful comments below.