Friday’s Five Unrelated Things

It’s been a while since I’ve done a Friday’s Five Favourite things. But for this Friday, my Five favourite things are slightly different. I wanted to give an overview of what’s been happening with me lately. I haven’t written anything in a while and I was beginning to feel depressed about it, but then I realised that I was going through an ebb and like all ebbs in life, the flow will soon return.

For the past month and a half . . . lie. From July I’ve been enthralled in the following completely unrelated things:

Classmate working the Video Camera

1. Back to School

I started a course with the Media Technology Institute (MTI) at CPTC – Techniques in Video Production. I’m sure I’ve mentioned why I’m interested in Video Production some time ago, but to reiterate – since I was a little girl I’ve been fascinated with video production. I spent a summer at a television studio in Pittsfield once, where I learnt how to operate the big in-studio cameras, and the editing board, and just seeing my name scroll up the screen at the end of the programme was the closest thing to ‘fulfilled’ I can ever remember feeling . . . at such a young age. That memory has stuck with me throughout the years despite a lifetime of poor memory.

It wasn’t as challenging as I expected but it was exhausting and I am thrilled it’s done. We wont know our grades until the end of September but right off the bat I can tell you I probably did poorly . . . I probably passed, but only barely. I’m not deliberately being hard on myself but when you’ve put your all into your individual proposal and you think it is top-notch, but you quickly realise all the things you should have done but didn’t? . . . yeah! That’s me right now until I get my grades and certification.

2. Binge Watching

I’ve been binge watching Legend of the Seeker, an epic fantasy tv series that aired back in 2008. It was cancelled after the second season but I fell in love with it after the first episode. It has/had a charming feel to it that I haven’t quite felt with any other show I’ve watched. I really like it, and when I’m bored I catch myself rewatching some of the episodes. It also helps me because I am currently writing an epic fantasy story set in medieval times as well, so it is a sort of reference for me, for when I need to get into that frame of mind.

Aside from the Legend of the Seeker, I started watching the first season of Extant this weekend. It is a sci-fi thriller starring Halle Berry and it throws me for a loop sometimes, almost as much as Lost . . . can I tell you, I looove those kind of shows. Anyways, we binge watched Extant just in time for its season finale that aired Wednesday past.

I find that that is the best way to watch some series: either wait until the finale to watch everything or just wait until it’s over to watch it. There are some series however, Doctor Who, that cannot be watched secondhand.

I just can’t wait that long to see the Doctor. I mean, what if it’s serious?!

3. I’m putting on weight

And people have no qualms about telling me this. One morning I stepped into the office and the first thing one of the guys said to me was “Woaw, you a put on weight tho mi fren!”

Seriously?! . . . could you not have waited until I put down my bag and got comfortable at my desk? No?!

The other day, another lady in the office told me the same thing. I replied “Awww thanks! I was wondering if anyone noticed.” It was completely lost on her, a total waste of sarcasm.

So I decided to do a 30 Day Yoga Challenge because I know Yoga is great for weight-loss, it’s a great daily activity that helps with circulation, muscle pain and strain, and is very relaxing. I said I would start Monday September 1 and I started off nicely . . . for four days . . . and that was it. I asked my husband to help keep me accountable, but that doesn’t work. If anything it’s annoying nuh backside.

Now I’m stuck between restarting my Yoga Challenge or just going to an exercise bootcamp similar to the one I went to prepare for the Tuff Warrior Challenge. I think that’s the safest bet for me because another Tuff Warrior Challenge is coming up. It makes sense to just start training from now. I am kinda bummed I bummed out the Yoga Challenge though.

Yoga is hard though, can I tell you?! Those first four days bwoy.

4. 5 Essentials for Men’s Wear

I’ve been writing two articles for this community blog called Caribbean Accents. They are not the typical ‘write off the top of my head’ kind of posts, like I’m doing now. I had to research, research, research, then type, type, type, then read, and re-read, and re-write, and it was one lengthy process. I would say it took me about a month to write the first post: 5 Essentials For Men’s Wear – the Formal/Office Edition, and another two weeks to finish the second post: 5 Essentials For Men’s Wear – the Casual Edition.

So far I’ve gotten great reviews and I’m feeling kind of proud about them. Next on my ‘big article’ list is to tackle the Women’s version: What should we wear in the Office and for Casual events. This one scares me more than the Men’s one did, because already I know I’ve broken so many rules . . . not because I’m a fashionista or anything, but because I just don’t care sometimes lol, it’s going to be hard. But I’m interested in the challenge.

5. Chicken Gun Man Virus

People, there is a serious virus going around, would you believe it? With flu-like symptoms, high fever, severe joint pain, muscle pain, and possible swelling of the joints, the Chicken Gun Man (Chikungunya) Virus is being transmitted by mosquitoes. It is predicted to become an epidemic in the Caribbean and already there have been reported cases of it in Jamaica. There is no cure or vaccination for the virus, you just have to treat the pain until it goes.

But I tell you, us Jamaicans . . . we are a set of people who love ‘gi laugh fi peas soup’, we love ‘tek serious ting mek joke’, and we love ‘tek people fi pappyshow’. In other words, we love to laugh, we love laughing at situations, and especially at people. We can’t help it, it’s in our blood.

So while this Chikungunyah virus is no laughing matter, (as I write this I’m being attacked by mosquitoes . . . and my windows are closed) I couldn’t help but notice the various ways we pronounce it. Heck, even I had my own version of the name . . . the ‘Chimichanga’ because there is a ‘ch’ and a ‘n’ and a ‘g’ and a ‘ah’ in the word somewhere, and it looked pretty hard to pronounce, so let me just call it what I see . . .

Chikungunyah = Chimichanga!

makes sense, right?!

From the onset of this virus I’ve heard it being called:

Chicken-bola

(a combination of Chicken and Ebola, another epidemic going on in the world)

Chicken Gun Yah

Chicken Gun Man

Chicken Gonorrhea

Chickunugu

Chicken Gun Roun’ Yah

and when we want to be serious about the matter . . . Chick V.

 I know I really shouldn’t make light of the situation, but I couldn’t help but share with you a little of our culture . . . finding humour in everything.

Until next time . . .

“Nuh mek no Chicken Gun Man come een pon you,

and watch out fi him lenky dem,

di badmine Masquita dem”.