Sun Tan and Cold Water

Post title provided by my other half ;-) Some observations from spring break in Tampa FL

What a lovely day that was during Spring Break. Indian Rocks Beach. There we were on the Gulf Coast of Florida, sun beating down, on a more quiet strip of beach so not at all crowded, perfect! eh heh?!? Ever swim in a river/stream when it rain the night before? Sea water in a temperate country, now I know. It was one of those where you had to make up your mind and just run straight in otherwise no way you going in that cold water. It turn out to be refreshing after you got into it but not to stay too long, thank god it stayed sunny. I feel like a alligator coming out to heat up in the sun just to go back in the water.

There is a Beach Trolley that goes constantly up and down the length of the coast from St Petersburg to Clearwater so we managed to see a few beaches. The second was Clearwater. If the person naming Clearwater was naming it after the sea, they were sorely misguided, poor thing. While the water was nice it certainly wasnt clear, it was like Trinidad water with the sort of greenish cloudiness than like Tobago where you can keep walking out and still see your feet. Anyways, I have NEVER seen that many people on a beach in my life. I have also never been to Maracas Bay on Ash Wednesday but still, I can't imagine Trinis lying on their towels one step away from the water's edge. That was people! We didnt even think about bathing with that crowd though the sun kept beating down and the tanning continued as well as the accusations of now being a "white girl" because I have gotten into the habit of wearing sunscreen hahaha.

Clearwater Beach

Another day at the beach wasnt so great, it was NOT sunny, fairly windy, and yuh gyul was COLD. No chance of even trying that water without the reheating properties of the sun. But you know how this deceptive tanning still happens right? So I lay there and napped - minus my sunglasses lest I develop a "tourist tan" - while my boyfriend walked a couple miles, I would think, to some jetty thing at the far end of the beach. It had to be far cuz I had a good sleep. Eventually we picked up and went to another beach on the trolley. The sun had started peeping through and I thought ok this is my last hurrah before heading back up north so Jump In The Water!!! (location of pic in my previous post) It turned out really nice and I was sorry we had to leave so early to catch the bus back. (buses will be the topic of my next post)

Now that I think about it, this was the first time I had swam in U.S. water hehe. I can only imagine how perfect it must be in summer down there when the water really warms up. The beach itself was decent and there were facilities and an array of rental things. Maybe in future I can do another post called Sun Tan and Warm Water? That would be fine!

Till nex time...

Talk 'bout CUSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Spring Break...

My return from Spring Break...

...cleaning the beloved Strippalingur >:(

better ah didnt hope for good weather when ah come back

STEUPSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!

my lovely car

His name is Strippalingur

Now that I am in the safe warmth of Florida, I can afford myself a moment to talk about my now far-away HEATLESS car. Yes heatless. I drive a car that has no heat, in the winter, in the northeast United States. Can you imagine?!?!? Its a bitch to be broke. Above is a picture of him in better times (yes its a "he") And the name? its icelandic meaning "one who strips" (correct me if I'm wrong) The previous owner(s) were Icelanders, my very good friends, and they named him due to the fact that people often stripped in there i.e. changing clothes mostly, myself included, but by the time it was my turn he had already been named. I always wondered if cars are usually male in Iceland, given that they are usually referred to as female in the U.S., and generally neutral in Trinidad: "it" is just fine.

Anyhooo, Strippalingur was on loan to me one summer when he had his little mishap, I will never forget the smell of coolant, nor the sight of the bright green running into the gutter. When the owner returned, she drove it around until the following spring (still heatless), whereupon I was again loaned and eventually sold him. The deal was cut for one hundred american dollars. Yep one hundred. What great friends huh!? or maybe what a crap car? LOL LOL LOL!!!! Well it worked out well for everyone, they got rid of the car easily, helped me out, I got a cheap car, and now a couple years later he has WAY outlasted his expected lifespan...

...notwithstanding the heating problem hahaha. It sometimes amazing to think that there is this big ass hot thing right in front of me yet inside the car like the artic circle. I fully dressed in the car, mittens and all, driving down the road, "smoke" coming out my mouth, American Airlines blanket on my lap, turning on cold air to clear the windscreen. LOL! Its classic!! If the bitter cold spell keeps up I am going to have to get more of those instant heat things for my hands and feet so I don't have to stop at every rest stop to warm up. My sense of humour must be seriously twisted!! Or maybe its the cold getting to me hehehe

Strippalingur has been quite loyal to us all over these few years, lots of good times, a few not so good but still memorable ones ;-) I still keep his old plates in the trunk, along with the Iceland sticker on the back, which is now kept company by a Trinidad one. It'll be a sad day when I eventually have to say goodbye to him but for now he's going strong! and I look forward to the warmer days again when I can drive him in relative comfort.

Note to self: first coaching paycheque, go to Valvoline for the Radiator Service.

Till nex time.........

life in school

I am now only one class away from completing my MBA! Isn't that great?! I am thoroughly fed up of being in school. I realise that most other blogs I read, where I find other people studying, they also have full time jobs. Sometimes I feel like some part of my life is slipping by having been away from the corporate world for so long now. Makes it sound like I would love to be “working for the man” doesnt it. Well thats not totally it. There is something about only studying at my age that is....maybe its simply not what I had envisioned. Getting to class and seeing so many people in the MBA program that have clearly just come straight from work, I think “ya know, I really should be working by now.” Sometimes I'm disappointed in not replacing a class or 2 with an internship, but then I am already a graduate assistant, which by the way pays my entire tuition, so no time for an internship. While I'm rambling: a lot of this comes from the fact that I am micromanaged at my graduate job and ultimately relieved (by said micromanager) of some jobs, responsibilities, and maybe even projects, which makes the hours utterly boring and NOT the job-like experience it is supposed to be.

Can't wait for spring coaching to begin. I'm SO excited!! Already planning stuff in my head...what I want to teach the fun team and how to take on the sucky team haha. AND playing again! With a TEAM! YAY! I even have options of teams (which reminds me I have to write some emails when I'm done). This means that I have to intensify the workouts which were getting left behind in the push to complete 2 classes last week. Now its all ME and football, what could be better? I think I am meant to be a coach... hmmm... maybe after playing in the spring, I can see how much I am meant to still be a top level player. But lets take one step at a time, up next, spring coaching.

I can just see it now: my one remaining class getting left in the dust LOL, me as usual doing a 15-page paper the day before it's due hahaha, anything to make things exciting. As a positive step, I am going to try to do my 3-pager during spring break YEAH RIGHT. Operative word there was “try”. Hey I'm already being productive and writing this in the airport. Yes i'm en route between negative and positive temperature readings. Hopefully by the time I make the return trip it'll be positive again in the northeast. Anyways..about to board in a few so

till nex time........