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Post no (Hurricane) Bill

Huwhatt? More than a month since my last blog?!! What have I been doing.. let's just say that work and life are far from balancing at this time of the year for me, with the former obviously weighing more than necessary.

But anyways, just to take off from my previous blog.. Hurricane Bill was just a quasi-threat. I was sooo ready, that the hubby just patiently told me off a couple of times that I was overdoing my hurricane preparedness. Well, one can never be too careful and always better safe than sorry for me - - especially with our 2006 experience.

Our office was "kind" enough to close down at 12nn that Friday afternoon to give us time to prepare for Bill's touchdown on Saturday. Yet, we ended up visiting John Smith's Bay (the beach nearest our place) and tried to take photos of the raging surf. Ignoring all island warnings, of course.

It was indeed a bit scary seeing the rough surf and the wind gusts. But come Saturday, there was no landfall. There was minor flooding from the surf and houses near the coast sporadically lost power but from our location, we surprisingly had the luxury of internet connection and cable tv... all day and night. Lucky b*st*rds, eh! :)

A sigh of relief for Bermuda as all Bill left were the debris on the road and beaches... and a hubby sneering "and i told you so"....

John Smith Bay during Hurricane Bill 2009

Hurricane Bill - on track to Bermuda

Been a while, whew. My schedule has gone awry for blogging: training in NY, middle of my busy season, Bermuda summer (yey!), and UK + mini-Europe trip (double yey!).

Hoping to get my schedule and my blogging back on track in the next few weeks. Just dropping by to flag something interesting.. it's the Bermuda summer = meaning, it's also the hurricane season!

First hurricane in the Atlantic for the year, and it seems to be heading our direction. Hurricane Bill's closest point of approach is expected in 72 hours (as I write this) at category 3 (100-120 mph). Preps, preps!

The last time we had this direct hurricane hit was in 2006 - Hurricane Florence. It was quick, not as bad as the island had expected (I heard island suffered so badly during Fabian in 2003, wasn't here yet). But my hubby and I personally suffered with the prolonged power loss - house opposite our apartment was directly hit by a lighting (and we were there just outside our apartment to witness it!). Another hardship was dipping our water supply from the well under the harsh wind and rain (all fun experiences haha).

Bermuda is expected to survive Bill if it hits. Only regret is that it's bound to happen in the weekend to impede beach time, hmph. More updates soon but in the meantime, island is business as usual... and hubby is also beaming with excitement (men!).

Search for an authentic English fish and chips shop in NYC

It's been more than a week now coming from a short break in NYC. I was sent for a 2-day training but decided to spend the weekend there with the hubby.. it has been 6 months since we last stepped out of the rock.. and it's been more than 2 years since we last visited NYC.. still remember that good time we rocked 2007 new year in new york with the hubby (we were just engaged then) and my little sis.

Anyways, what to do in NYC when we've been to most tourist-y areas the last time (though I still haven't been to the top of Empire State and up-close with Liberty!)???!! Shop, broadway, imax and of course, pig out! :)

First in line? What to do when you are with an insistent Brit who's craving for the "authentic" and "english" fish and chips in the land of the Yankees?? Go find one of course! Since we watched the fish and chips showdown on "Throwdown with Bobby Flay", the hubby has vowed to fly to NYC to have that authentic fish and chips the Brit duo made to crush the great Bobby. From the plane touching down to JFK and surviving one of the scariest cab rides we had to reach our hotel in Times Square, we just literally dropped of our luggages and went straight to the tubes to find that hole in a wall fish and chips shop in Greenwich Village aptly called "A Salt and Battery" (that's what I felt the hubby would do to a poor soul in the NYC streets if we did not find it!).

After a few wrong turns, we finally found it... hubby just left me in the middle of the Greenwich busy street to reach it, while I was still scrambling for my camera to take some photos.. hee... Suffice to say, the hubby satisfied his 3-month long craving.. while I left the shop with these thoughts:


- Does one need to order fish and chips in his most proper British accent to the shop owner hoping he'll get an extra slice of cod??!



- I've never seen someone so giddy seeing a "Sarsons" malt vinegar??!! Apparently it's the real deal - - what's wrong with our Heinz in the house?

- Fish and chips doused with malt vinegar and salt, I do get. But then dipping it in curry??!! I do get.. NOT!


Oh well, as long as my shopping buddy..erhm.. sponsor is happy then I'll go with it! :)

NEXT STOP>> the search for the best Filipino food in NYC!

"Guantanamo Baywatch - Uighur, Please"

From "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart"

Gitmo and four Uighurs are released from Guantanamo and sent to live in a house in Bermuda.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Guantanamo Baywatch - Uighur, Please
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Jason Jones in Iran

Bermuda day and the Gombey dancers

May 24 is Bermuda day -- and one of the most celebrated public holidays. From one of the Bermy websites:

"Bermuda Day, an annual public holiday, began life as a celebration of Queen Victoria’s birthday. Nowadays, it marks the beginning of all summer activities and is the day that most Bermudians take their first dip in the sea."

Luckily, it fell on a Sunday this year which gave us a long weekend. Woohoo!
There are a number of events marking the national day but the highlight is always the Bermuda day parade. While we would normally skip the festivities in town this time of year and just take the day off watching marathon dvd's - - the 3-day weekend finally forced our bums off the couch and witness the day's parade. Parade started at 1pm - yet we opted to watch the parade a bit farther from Front Street, the center of the festivities, to have more room for taking photos.

Bermuda day is known to have a very colorful parade of floats from different groups and other representations in the community. As to myself, I am excited to see and take photos of the gombey dancers. An excerpt of their origins:

"The origins of Bermuda's Gombey dancers can be traced to a mix of Afro-Carribean and Native American influences. All of the body and faces of the dancers are covered to avoid identification, as slave-owners frowned upon the practice of their slaves participating as Gombeys."

Nowadays, the Bermuda Gombey Dancers spring up in the most important events in the island. And they are definitely the stars of the Bermuda day celebrations. The colorful costumes, dancing to the drum beats and whistles, they sure fire up the crowd upon their arrival. So off we went to find a good spot for photo's. It wasn't easy! Not with the Bermy's already marked their spots in the long stretch of Cedar Ave. Apparently, they would reserve their spots as early as 3 or 4am on this important occasion where they would convert the area as their own picnic grounds. Not that we complain, it is their day anyways.

But lucky us, we spotted them within an hour standing under the heat of the sun and trying not to overtake the Bermy's places. Lovely! :)

Unfortunately, the sun prevented us from waiting for the Filipino float, which was my second reason for watching the parade. We were just at float 13 after an hour. And we were told that the Filipino float was still in the garage waiting for its turn - at #36! It was a rather hot day, with more or less 30 degrees that afternoon. And what a day to forget boosting up on sun block! I am fine - but not my pasty white hubby who'll just burn under the sun than develop a nice tan. Sheesh. Oh dear. Maybe next year.


More photos here:

http://www.facebook.com/album

Bermuda in the news! (... and it's not a good thing)

As a "guest worker" or an expat, I have learned to be apolitical in Bermuda.

But there are things that still stir..

Guantanamo and the mouse that roared
Great Britain is not amused.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8098341.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8096925.stm
http://www.royalgazette.com