Just three hours after I'd laid my head on the pillow, I was awake again. There was just too much everyday things going on to actually remain sleeping, even though it was New Years Day and I desperately wanted to sleep in! So I swung my legs over the bed and - OUCH - that's right, my back. What I did to it I'll never truly know but it felt like all the tension was laying in a big potato sack at the bottom of my spine. When I sat down for a small time, getting up again was a struggle.
My friend asked me to help her out with some goodies, so I messaged L to see if it was possible and if so, if he'd drop it at my house. Since I was now officially an invalid. He came over and of course offered to massage the pain away, which I obliged to for a short while before my hunger pains took over and I hobbled over to the corner shop to see if it was open on this public holiday, the first day of 2012.
It wasn't.
I was now with E, who I bumped into on the driveway, returning all flustered from her party time with the American guys, who'd asshole-ishly not offered to drive her back to mine in the morning. Well, by this stage it was the afternoon, but she'd had to walk down the long, winding path to get into their "enclosure" and wave down a taxi, which she tipped double just because it got her home. Poor thing, it was a hot day.
Our only choice for food was Coral Island, the dodgy Chinese restaurant/bar I always pass with my eyes firmly on the ground as the clientele tend to yell things out to me. Turns out M, from the night before, is a regular and has actually been one of those people to ask me for a drink before I got to know him! Ha! He walked in while we were waiting for my fried rice, and bought me that drink. We were already back on the beers by this stage.
Had planned to go to Karakter beach for the 2pm "Dive into 2012" the Dutch people organised to bring in the new year, but I just couldn't get it together. My head was all over the place, my body was sore and tired, and everything took 10x longer than it needed to. We eventually got ourselves there about 4pm.
At Karakter, there was a big crowd dancing about the beach bar, kids swimming in the now quite big waves, dogs running around.... and us sitting by the lapping water with a bucket of Heinekens at our disposal. N came by with her daughter, but didn't stay long as her daughter didn't want to stay. Which was a shame since I'd just organised that stuf for her, and she'd even gone to the trouble to bake some special crossiants. She left a couple with us to try out. If we must.
I was pretty tired and just wanted to sort myself out before leaving for St Thomas, including doing a last-minute internet check as I wasn't going to take my laptop with me. I knew A would probably wonder why I wasn't online and even more likely not realise that St Thomas is a totally different country, therefore calling code, therefore international call. That's what most people don't realise, I think, that the Caribbean has so many different territories within itself - even going to the French side of St Maarten attracts international call charges!! That is crazy.
E had a minor, sleep-deprivation-induced tanty before we left but straightened herself up and apologised once she realised she just needed bed. Wasn't much of an issue, I was just confused as to why she suddenly got all assy with me! Post-big nights can do that to a person...
Got a bit of the way home from some random people about our age, the driver of which told me before I stepped out (it was a woman), "Can I just say, you are really beautitful." Wow! Uhh, thanks! Then we got offered a lift from an older English man almost to home (most likely no buses on January 1, well we didn't see any!). We stopped by Pineapple Pete's for some internet, and it was then that the crossiant we'd had at the beach started to kick in.
Probably not a good idea to check one's internet with important details like the phone number of the lady we'd be staying with, or the address we'd be staying at... yep. Pretty much can't remember much of what I saw on the net that time. But I did get whatever it was done, so we headed back home to have some SLEEP before St Thomas. Another epic adventure to come...
Monday, 9 January 2012
Saturday, 7 January 2012
Old Years Pt II: Blingin' up the boardwalk
Our dinner of steak n 2 veg was a resounding success, especially compared to the flat pink champagne we bought to toast out the old year. It filled us up good n proper, and soon we were on our way, lookin mighty fine may I add, me blinged up to the max and for the first time wearing my very short sparkly dress without tights underneath. Well, I never!
We found a cab no problems, a surprise on a night like this, and got to the boardwalk to find it pretty empty. Ahh, that's why... we're too early! But at least we got the cab's number so we knew we could get home at the end of it all.
Everyone had said, "go to the boardwalk, go to the boardwalk" for Old Years, so we did. But when we got there, we didn't really know what to do exactly... so we wandered around, settling at this bar n that, getting bought each drink by some random guy who would then wish us well and be on his way. Sweet!
Eventually, we got to a bar where we ran into the two people who'd asked us to come clubbing with them on the street the night before, when Emma was too drunk to accept (she finally found out the true power of the guavaberry). First time I'd ever seen her turn down an invitation to party!
So we sat down with M and A, who weren't a couple just friends as we'd mistakenly thought the first time we met. They turned out to be really cool, so we settled in for a night of mischief n mayhem - starting with 3, 2, 1, of course! 20 minutes before the big bang, my boy called me and talked me right into the new year. Bless him, he made sure he got through to me so that would happen. Start the year how you wanna end it, right? With my baby right with me.
After we toasted the turning of the clock with fireworks and a bottle of Moet (courtesy of M), we jumped in his car and drove all the way to the collection of bars by Maho, the airport beach. Erm was keen to get clubbing - I think she wanted to see some hotties too - but we stopped in first to say hi to their friend at a smaller bar nearby. Turned out that friend was a guy I knew too, and it was drinks on the house for us all!! A had called me in the car on the way there but I was too far gone to really concentrate on him, poor thing, so he gave up.
Eventually we did make it to Bliss, where it was so late (or early) they didn't charge us entry. I think it was about 3:30am. We had a dance, I talked bad Spanish to some Venezualan guys, E soon had some guy's arms wrapped around her and then an invitation to go to their house materialised. Well, it was really for E, but I had struck up a conversation with a nice guy who was still in love with his ex so we were talking love... and I thought it best I go with E to this mystery house.
After driving down a series of gated driveways for seemingly forever, we found ourselves at a pimpin' place with its own jetty, high roofs, spacious living areas, luxurious bedrooms and a stunning view of the rising sun. First thing on the agenda - swimming! I'd been promised there was water and there was. Simpson Bay lagoon... now in the light I'm not sure it would have been the cleanest water but I didn't care. Wasn't even that worried about sharks. A little bit, though.
The guys were American, didn't really tell us much about themselves or how they could afford such a place, but seemed nice enuf. A little bit dorky n weird that there was 3 single guys all in this huge house, but I wasn't really looking for anything so I didn't mind. Found out the guy keen on E was actually 34, not that old but you could tell from his body in his boardshorts that it was getting on. And he was getting greys. He was a little bit of a loser in the end.
We got hungry and drove to the 24 hour place, which was the busiest I'd ever seen it (at 8 in the morning!). My back had started to hurt for some reason so I asked if I could get dropped home (after my food was ready of course, and a guavaberry on ice), and they obliged. I left E in their hands as she was still keen to party and I knew where they lived anyway - in hindsight, it would have saved her much more hassle if she'd just come back with me.
We found a cab no problems, a surprise on a night like this, and got to the boardwalk to find it pretty empty. Ahh, that's why... we're too early! But at least we got the cab's number so we knew we could get home at the end of it all.
Everyone had said, "go to the boardwalk, go to the boardwalk" for Old Years, so we did. But when we got there, we didn't really know what to do exactly... so we wandered around, settling at this bar n that, getting bought each drink by some random guy who would then wish us well and be on his way. Sweet!
Eventually, we got to a bar where we ran into the two people who'd asked us to come clubbing with them on the street the night before, when Emma was too drunk to accept (she finally found out the true power of the guavaberry). First time I'd ever seen her turn down an invitation to party!
So we sat down with M and A, who weren't a couple just friends as we'd mistakenly thought the first time we met. They turned out to be really cool, so we settled in for a night of mischief n mayhem - starting with 3, 2, 1, of course! 20 minutes before the big bang, my boy called me and talked me right into the new year. Bless him, he made sure he got through to me so that would happen. Start the year how you wanna end it, right? With my baby right with me.
After we toasted the turning of the clock with fireworks and a bottle of Moet (courtesy of M), we jumped in his car and drove all the way to the collection of bars by Maho, the airport beach. Erm was keen to get clubbing - I think she wanted to see some hotties too - but we stopped in first to say hi to their friend at a smaller bar nearby. Turned out that friend was a guy I knew too, and it was drinks on the house for us all!! A had called me in the car on the way there but I was too far gone to really concentrate on him, poor thing, so he gave up.
Eventually we did make it to Bliss, where it was so late (or early) they didn't charge us entry. I think it was about 3:30am. We had a dance, I talked bad Spanish to some Venezualan guys, E soon had some guy's arms wrapped around her and then an invitation to go to their house materialised. Well, it was really for E, but I had struck up a conversation with a nice guy who was still in love with his ex so we were talking love... and I thought it best I go with E to this mystery house.
After driving down a series of gated driveways for seemingly forever, we found ourselves at a pimpin' place with its own jetty, high roofs, spacious living areas, luxurious bedrooms and a stunning view of the rising sun. First thing on the agenda - swimming! I'd been promised there was water and there was. Simpson Bay lagoon... now in the light I'm not sure it would have been the cleanest water but I didn't care. Wasn't even that worried about sharks. A little bit, though.
The guys were American, didn't really tell us much about themselves or how they could afford such a place, but seemed nice enuf. A little bit dorky n weird that there was 3 single guys all in this huge house, but I wasn't really looking for anything so I didn't mind. Found out the guy keen on E was actually 34, not that old but you could tell from his body in his boardshorts that it was getting on. And he was getting greys. He was a little bit of a loser in the end.
We got hungry and drove to the 24 hour place, which was the busiest I'd ever seen it (at 8 in the morning!). My back had started to hurt for some reason so I asked if I could get dropped home (after my food was ready of course, and a guavaberry on ice), and they obliged. I left E in their hands as she was still keen to party and I knew where they lived anyway - in hindsight, it would have saved her much more hassle if she'd just come back with me.
Old Years Pt I: Orientation at Orient
The plan was, on Old Years Day, to get up early-ish, go to the beauty salon, get prepped for the night ahead and then go to the Zipline Extreme. Not really as it happened.
I woke up fine n dandy, being used to the timezone, the heat and well, not really used to having days off, was up n at 'em before E could even lift her head. I tried to wake her, softly, for the pedicure but it was a lost cause. I was going solo.
Before I could go, though, I had to wait for N's car to be dropped off - a great thing, really, since she offered the car instead of us renting one, but kinda annoying when her friend was meant to be dropping it around by 9:30 then after 10 I'm about to walk to the beauty salon, leaving E locked inside my house with no clue to my whereabouts, when the car comes in the driveway. Just breathe, be thankful you have the car.
I got the pedicure done no worries (you should have heard the Spanish woman complaining about my toes to her workmate haha - only at the end did she realise I could understand her), and even calmed down a fair bit during the process (the massage chair helped) as I was quite stressed thinking I'd miss the Zipline, or worse make all the effort to wake E and get there, then miss the timeslot. I realised that I could just throw it in the too-hard basket, let E get up in her own time and then head to Orient Bay to show her the French side of the island. Easy.
So that's what we did. We headed out, Ponche Kuba n ice in hand, direction Orient Bay, with nothing but good Old Years vibes hanging off our shoulders. Stopped by a random mountain top restaurant for some takeaway (which we ended up eating there) and enjoyed watching our heavily pregnant barmaid smoking away as she took our order (god love the French), and enjoyed the views even more. I swear that beach is better from above.
Down at the beach, finally, it was afternoon and the clouds were gathering. Soon enuf, us nestled comfortably in our banana chairs, the rain started. But we were ready. We grinned n bared it. Put our bags under the chairs and just laid there. Whatever. It's Old Years! Party! Rain, hail or shine!! We waited for the shine. It came back... eventually.
When we were packing up, I saw another Doberman exactly like the one we'd befriended at Maho, and turns out it was her! Random. The owner was a chatty fellow, I got talking while some black guys from the bar next door invited us through E to some random French side house party for Old Years. Hmmm, thanks but no thanks.
Packed up and left for E's hair appointment, where she paid what I thought was a ridiculous sum for a wash n blow dry (hooray for tourism), but looked HOT! And then it was time to prepare... Old Years here we come.
I woke up fine n dandy, being used to the timezone, the heat and well, not really used to having days off, was up n at 'em before E could even lift her head. I tried to wake her, softly, for the pedicure but it was a lost cause. I was going solo.
Before I could go, though, I had to wait for N's car to be dropped off - a great thing, really, since she offered the car instead of us renting one, but kinda annoying when her friend was meant to be dropping it around by 9:30 then after 10 I'm about to walk to the beauty salon, leaving E locked inside my house with no clue to my whereabouts, when the car comes in the driveway. Just breathe, be thankful you have the car.
I got the pedicure done no worries (you should have heard the Spanish woman complaining about my toes to her workmate haha - only at the end did she realise I could understand her), and even calmed down a fair bit during the process (the massage chair helped) as I was quite stressed thinking I'd miss the Zipline, or worse make all the effort to wake E and get there, then miss the timeslot. I realised that I could just throw it in the too-hard basket, let E get up in her own time and then head to Orient Bay to show her the French side of the island. Easy.
So that's what we did. We headed out, Ponche Kuba n ice in hand, direction Orient Bay, with nothing but good Old Years vibes hanging off our shoulders. Stopped by a random mountain top restaurant for some takeaway (which we ended up eating there) and enjoyed watching our heavily pregnant barmaid smoking away as she took our order (god love the French), and enjoyed the views even more. I swear that beach is better from above.
Down at the beach, finally, it was afternoon and the clouds were gathering. Soon enuf, us nestled comfortably in our banana chairs, the rain started. But we were ready. We grinned n bared it. Put our bags under the chairs and just laid there. Whatever. It's Old Years! Party! Rain, hail or shine!! We waited for the shine. It came back... eventually.
When we were packing up, I saw another Doberman exactly like the one we'd befriended at Maho, and turns out it was her! Random. The owner was a chatty fellow, I got talking while some black guys from the bar next door invited us through E to some random French side house party for Old Years. Hmmm, thanks but no thanks.
Packed up and left for E's hair appointment, where she paid what I thought was a ridiculous sum for a wash n blow dry (hooray for tourism), but looked HOT! And then it was time to prepare... Old Years here we come.
Friday, 6 January 2012
Worst. Day. Ever.
Today was the worst day at work so far, hands down. Not only did I not get a single dollar in tips, I had to endure the most hideous of French women on a private ride that thankfully was so unbearable (for her, apparently, for me, definitely) that she cut it short.
This woman and her daughter, well for starters were French and that never lends to favourably to politeness or generosity in tips. She was complaining - in French and English - before we even got her on a horse... eww, everything is muddy, the saddle is dirty, I want an English, no I want a Western, my back hurts so we can only walk and canter not trot, I want to gallop on the beach, is this ALL the beach you have, where is the sand, there are too many rocks, my saddle is hurting me... SHUTUP!!!!!!!
The daughter was quite a good rider, much better than the mum, and seemed to enjoy herself although neither wanted to do much cantering after the first time. And when they realised our beach was not a 50 mile stretch, she made some remark about being able to have the same ride in Europe, and that she wanted it to be cut short. FINE WITH ME. I tried my hardest to make it a pleasant experience but she just tried even harder to be difficult.
We came back under an hour after leaving, although the ride was meant to be 1.5 hours. The office manager asked what happened and when I told her, she understood. Ahh, the French, she said... and she's from the French side!! Needless to say I didn't get a dime at the end of it all, even though I still gave them a new, fun experience in the water at the end, in fact she didn't even say goodbye. We called ahead to her hotel to warn that she would complain and the concierge politely said, don't worry she is a bitch that has complained about everything here so far. Good riddance.
I had another ride, two cute little girls from Caracao I could practise my Spanish with, and 2 French/Canadians who could speak a bit of English. So it was a bilingual affair! Yay. They didn't tip me either. And that was a bitch of a ride, trying to keep them all in order. None could ride and the girls really both should have been on a lead but I could only put the older one, on the horse that kept eating. Glad to see the end of that one too.
I was SO thankful when the day was over. Couldn't get out of there quick enuf. I knew I had 6 days off ahead of me, and I was eternally grateful that included New Years Day. Party ahead!! So I was ready to get a pedicure and have nice nails for 6 days of the day.
Stopped at the supermarket for some food stuffs - needed to save money before the big party for Old Years - and quickly whipped up some spag bowl before heading to the beauty salon. Turned out to be too tight with time so shoved the food into one of my empty yoghurt containers and shovelled it down as we walked up the road. Everyone must have thought we LOVED our yoghurt. And with a Corona in the other hand, what a treat we must have seemed.
After all that rushing, turned out the salon was out of power and our "white skin" would be too difficult to work on in the dark. Forgive me for thinking black skin would be somewhat harder to see in the dark, but apparently that's the truth! So we were relegated to the following morning, which really pissed me off since I knew how hectic it was going to be anyway.
So we went for some drinks to Buccaneers and La Bamba, as per usual, ensuring that any activity we had planned for the next morning was going to be that much more difficult to carry out. But then again, that's what we do best!
This woman and her daughter, well for starters were French and that never lends to favourably to politeness or generosity in tips. She was complaining - in French and English - before we even got her on a horse... eww, everything is muddy, the saddle is dirty, I want an English, no I want a Western, my back hurts so we can only walk and canter not trot, I want to gallop on the beach, is this ALL the beach you have, where is the sand, there are too many rocks, my saddle is hurting me... SHUTUP!!!!!!!
The daughter was quite a good rider, much better than the mum, and seemed to enjoy herself although neither wanted to do much cantering after the first time. And when they realised our beach was not a 50 mile stretch, she made some remark about being able to have the same ride in Europe, and that she wanted it to be cut short. FINE WITH ME. I tried my hardest to make it a pleasant experience but she just tried even harder to be difficult.
We came back under an hour after leaving, although the ride was meant to be 1.5 hours. The office manager asked what happened and when I told her, she understood. Ahh, the French, she said... and she's from the French side!! Needless to say I didn't get a dime at the end of it all, even though I still gave them a new, fun experience in the water at the end, in fact she didn't even say goodbye. We called ahead to her hotel to warn that she would complain and the concierge politely said, don't worry she is a bitch that has complained about everything here so far. Good riddance.
I had another ride, two cute little girls from Caracao I could practise my Spanish with, and 2 French/Canadians who could speak a bit of English. So it was a bilingual affair! Yay. They didn't tip me either. And that was a bitch of a ride, trying to keep them all in order. None could ride and the girls really both should have been on a lead but I could only put the older one, on the horse that kept eating. Glad to see the end of that one too.
I was SO thankful when the day was over. Couldn't get out of there quick enuf. I knew I had 6 days off ahead of me, and I was eternally grateful that included New Years Day. Party ahead!! So I was ready to get a pedicure and have nice nails for 6 days of the day.
Stopped at the supermarket for some food stuffs - needed to save money before the big party for Old Years - and quickly whipped up some spag bowl before heading to the beauty salon. Turned out to be too tight with time so shoved the food into one of my empty yoghurt containers and shovelled it down as we walked up the road. Everyone must have thought we LOVED our yoghurt. And with a Corona in the other hand, what a treat we must have seemed.
After all that rushing, turned out the salon was out of power and our "white skin" would be too difficult to work on in the dark. Forgive me for thinking black skin would be somewhat harder to see in the dark, but apparently that's the truth! So we were relegated to the following morning, which really pissed me off since I knew how hectic it was going to be anyway.
So we went for some drinks to Buccaneers and La Bamba, as per usual, ensuring that any activity we had planned for the next morning was going to be that much more difficult to carry out. But then again, that's what we do best!
Sunday, 1 January 2012
The bag.
Rides were not plentiful today, and as a result neither were the tips. We were all but done with them by 2pm (my private ride was a no-show, so I just did one ride in the end) so it turned out to be the perfect day to take E out for a horseride (on the house, of course). Had planned it to be a picture perfect sunset adventure, but of course things never turn out the way you want, right?
I kept getting called about paying the bill at the Sports Bar - I'm coming, alright?! Some of us have to work to make a living. Speaking of, work was not too bad as my body had recuperated a little. Maybe it was getting used to drinking and going to bed later again. I had become quite the nana, it's true.
During lunch, I called A but had to cut it short as I realised it would be a good time to check on E. She hadn't come down as promised and I wanted to see she was OK and not sleeping through the day. I knew she had to get a new camera (hers broke so we were totally without photo-making apparatus!) and do a couple of things, and the hours were ticking away. I also knew she was still jetlagged so it's understandable she would be kipping a bit more. A wasn't happy I had to go pretty much when I called but I suppose I didn't think before I dialled.
We organised to meet at my work by 5pm to go for the ride, so I was all done n dusted then and ready to show E my office! I chose a horse called Tia Maria as she liked the name, warning her that she liked to go go go, but she seemed fine with that. Didn't plan on racing around anyway, maybe just a trot or two. I was wearing my shorts too, so it wasn't that comfortable to go fast.
The rain at the beginning should have been the first omen. We had to mount under the stable so it was dry, and Tia was already on the go as she was keen to get back before we started to munch on her waiting dinner. I bought a few beers from the bar and put them in a bag.
The bag.
Sometimes I forget my horse is still so young. I had to do training with the sunset ride bag (a fluro green thing that must look like a monster to her) and now she's fine with it, but this NEW bag. Not so fine. I was cradling it so she couldn't see, but the beers were jingling about against the ice, and as we went for a little run he started FREAKING OUT. The more he bounced around, the more the bag clanged, and before I knew it he was in the air. I would have stayed on, had he landed properly, but he didn't and as he came down so did I. Luckily I have experience with falling (just a little!) so I rolled to the side, clipped my foot on the stirrup and didn't break one beer. Success.
E, meanwhile, had raced ahead on Tia, who also freaked out when my horse did. She yelled out for me, not realising I was on the ground at that point (well, standing up already!) and I told her to pull back. She did and Tia stopped, no dramas, and E jumped off to hold Tia so I could put the bag down and catch Chico again. Sigh.
We were right by the sunset point so we tied them up and cracked the beer. E pulled out her brand spanker of a camera, and we started snapping. Then we saw the photos weren't coming up, and tried to figure out the problem. Frustrated and worried we'd missed the beautiful sunset for this stupid camera, we put took a couple of pics on the internal memory and set about enjoying the view.
It was a nice sunset, with some boats passing by and of course the floating suburbs (cruise ships) rolling by in all different directions, lighting up spectacularly as the sun faded. We had our beers, some nice conversation, Tia got tangled in her bridle and broke it (typical) and then we set off again in the dark, guided by the stars and the buzzing fireflies.
Tia was a little funny about riding at night, so I got in front and we took a nice stroll down the garden path (so easy to do with ERM), but then saw a flash and heard a bang. The horses' ears pricked forward and I thought, oh shit, someone's shooting out there. Then I realised it was fireworks (worst display ever, though, probably just some kid letting them off) and we turned back. No way we were getting freaked out again!
We made it back safe n sound, although I was pretty pissed off with myself for letting the ride go so badly. I know better than to give Tia to a less experienced person, didn't really think about how she reacts to things especially at night, and to carry an unknown "bag" on Chico... well, it was just irresponsible for me. I know I'm the one who came off, not E, but I still wanted it to be perfect and it wasn't. And I blame myself. But I will get over it.
We got home and freshened up, then went to the Sports Bar to pay last night's bill and eat some dinner. I got the salmon lasagna, something A told me not to get previously because it would be dry - and what do you know, it was dry! Had to try it though. When we left, we made sure to PAY, and then headed back.
On the way home, I got extremely lethargic and could hardly keep my eyes open or think straight. I just wanted to get to bed, but things kept preventing it... and so eventually I just collapsed and was about to nod off when the phone rang. It was A again, but I was too tired to talk and had to make it brief. Then Le rang about the Jamaican party - not a chance! I was out.
I kept getting called about paying the bill at the Sports Bar - I'm coming, alright?! Some of us have to work to make a living. Speaking of, work was not too bad as my body had recuperated a little. Maybe it was getting used to drinking and going to bed later again. I had become quite the nana, it's true.
During lunch, I called A but had to cut it short as I realised it would be a good time to check on E. She hadn't come down as promised and I wanted to see she was OK and not sleeping through the day. I knew she had to get a new camera (hers broke so we were totally without photo-making apparatus!) and do a couple of things, and the hours were ticking away. I also knew she was still jetlagged so it's understandable she would be kipping a bit more. A wasn't happy I had to go pretty much when I called but I suppose I didn't think before I dialled.
We organised to meet at my work by 5pm to go for the ride, so I was all done n dusted then and ready to show E my office! I chose a horse called Tia Maria as she liked the name, warning her that she liked to go go go, but she seemed fine with that. Didn't plan on racing around anyway, maybe just a trot or two. I was wearing my shorts too, so it wasn't that comfortable to go fast.
The rain at the beginning should have been the first omen. We had to mount under the stable so it was dry, and Tia was already on the go as she was keen to get back before we started to munch on her waiting dinner. I bought a few beers from the bar and put them in a bag.
The bag.
Sometimes I forget my horse is still so young. I had to do training with the sunset ride bag (a fluro green thing that must look like a monster to her) and now she's fine with it, but this NEW bag. Not so fine. I was cradling it so she couldn't see, but the beers were jingling about against the ice, and as we went for a little run he started FREAKING OUT. The more he bounced around, the more the bag clanged, and before I knew it he was in the air. I would have stayed on, had he landed properly, but he didn't and as he came down so did I. Luckily I have experience with falling (just a little!) so I rolled to the side, clipped my foot on the stirrup and didn't break one beer. Success.
E, meanwhile, had raced ahead on Tia, who also freaked out when my horse did. She yelled out for me, not realising I was on the ground at that point (well, standing up already!) and I told her to pull back. She did and Tia stopped, no dramas, and E jumped off to hold Tia so I could put the bag down and catch Chico again. Sigh.
We were right by the sunset point so we tied them up and cracked the beer. E pulled out her brand spanker of a camera, and we started snapping. Then we saw the photos weren't coming up, and tried to figure out the problem. Frustrated and worried we'd missed the beautiful sunset for this stupid camera, we put took a couple of pics on the internal memory and set about enjoying the view.
It was a nice sunset, with some boats passing by and of course the floating suburbs (cruise ships) rolling by in all different directions, lighting up spectacularly as the sun faded. We had our beers, some nice conversation, Tia got tangled in her bridle and broke it (typical) and then we set off again in the dark, guided by the stars and the buzzing fireflies.
Tia was a little funny about riding at night, so I got in front and we took a nice stroll down the garden path (so easy to do with ERM), but then saw a flash and heard a bang. The horses' ears pricked forward and I thought, oh shit, someone's shooting out there. Then I realised it was fireworks (worst display ever, though, probably just some kid letting them off) and we turned back. No way we were getting freaked out again!
We made it back safe n sound, although I was pretty pissed off with myself for letting the ride go so badly. I know better than to give Tia to a less experienced person, didn't really think about how she reacts to things especially at night, and to carry an unknown "bag" on Chico... well, it was just irresponsible for me. I know I'm the one who came off, not E, but I still wanted it to be perfect and it wasn't. And I blame myself. But I will get over it.
We got home and freshened up, then went to the Sports Bar to pay last night's bill and eat some dinner. I got the salmon lasagna, something A told me not to get previously because it would be dry - and what do you know, it was dry! Had to try it though. When we left, we made sure to PAY, and then headed back.
On the way home, I got extremely lethargic and could hardly keep my eyes open or think straight. I just wanted to get to bed, but things kept preventing it... and so eventually I just collapsed and was about to nod off when the phone rang. It was A again, but I was too tired to talk and had to make it brief. Then Le rang about the Jamaican party - not a chance! I was out.
Pay now or pay later
I was unsurprisingly tired when I woke up on December 28, one day after Hurricane Erm arrived... I was tired anyway and then everything we packed into her first day, well, it was taking its toll. Polly didn't come along to work as she was locked up with the other dogs, but when I got to Seaside she suddenly materialised, bounding in all smiles n barks... must've run the whole way when they finally opened the gate for her, bless her.
Had a couple of rides, again can't talk too much about them because two days late writing this blog has made me forget most of what happened. That is how much I'm packing into my days lately, the other days just shuuuush - out of there. Not much space in my brain, you see...
E had a "date" with L as he'd said the night before he'd take her to a beach, so I left them to do their thing while I was at work. At least she had someone who knew their way around the island to be her tour guide. I knew he'd try it on her, so I couldn't wait to hear what happened... was doubtful she was going to respond the way he wanted so it would have been funny to be a fly on the wall. Or the sand, so to speak.
I had told her to come by my work after the beach but by the end of the day - and I worked til 6:30 - she still hadn't materialised. I thought one of two things could have happened - either she had a ball with L and was getting boozed in a bar somewhere or she was back at mine asleep. I was hoping she was at home because I was dirty and smelly, and needed to shower. Was also annoyed I'd managed to lose $10 of my tips somehow (at least it wasn't the $20) but I suppose someone else found it and gained, so c'est la vie.
Got home and she was curled up in bed... I thought at first she had slept all day, because I had left my phone with her and hadn't heard from her all day, but she told me she had come back and crashed. 38 hours in transit had really hit her hard. But she got up and we got ready to have a bite to eat. She said she wasn't in the mood to go clubbing, even though it was Ladies Night and I thought she'd want to experience what it's like to be treated everything for free at a club, but that was fine with me. I was still tired after the day at work.
We walked along Simpson Bay to see our restaurant options, at least wanting a nice meal for the evening, and after Pineapple Pete's was full we went nearby to 3 Palms to treat ourselves to a classier experience, sitting by the water with a saxophonist playing cool jazz tunes... I had to have a Pinot Grigio!
E at first wasn't drinking, then saw my wine and it was a glass for her, then a bottle for us... the meal was great, me the gluttony had chicken STUFFED with lobster and salmon sauce. Stuffed with lobster! How many meats you wanna have in one meal?? Was an interesting taste, but I liked experiencing it. The service was good also, and I just loved having someone to talk to who knew me so well. An old friend. I have missed that.
Afterwards, we went to the Sports Bar attached to Pineapple Pete's and had a few cocktails. Erm had "A Piece of Ass" which was jovial, I had some hideous bright blue thing which I promptly swapped with E once she said she liked it. As we walked out, I got a call from A in Oz and started chattering away, while also being invited to some Jamaican party the next night by Le... anyway, I was very distracted and so it was that we walked out without paying.
By the time we realised we'd walked halfway home but also realised we didn't have enuf cash anyway, so I just texted Le and told him we'd drop by tomorrow. So then he passed my number onto the bar girl that had to fork out the missing cash, and I get a harrassing phonecall when I'm in bed, saying I have to come back n pay. I told her it was not possible and I'd pay tomorrow. I know she was out of pocket and doesn't know me to trust me, but I'm a good person, it'll be done. Then I fell asleep. Boom.
Had a couple of rides, again can't talk too much about them because two days late writing this blog has made me forget most of what happened. That is how much I'm packing into my days lately, the other days just shuuuush - out of there. Not much space in my brain, you see...
E had a "date" with L as he'd said the night before he'd take her to a beach, so I left them to do their thing while I was at work. At least she had someone who knew their way around the island to be her tour guide. I knew he'd try it on her, so I couldn't wait to hear what happened... was doubtful she was going to respond the way he wanted so it would have been funny to be a fly on the wall. Or the sand, so to speak.
I had told her to come by my work after the beach but by the end of the day - and I worked til 6:30 - she still hadn't materialised. I thought one of two things could have happened - either she had a ball with L and was getting boozed in a bar somewhere or she was back at mine asleep. I was hoping she was at home because I was dirty and smelly, and needed to shower. Was also annoyed I'd managed to lose $10 of my tips somehow (at least it wasn't the $20) but I suppose someone else found it and gained, so c'est la vie.
Got home and she was curled up in bed... I thought at first she had slept all day, because I had left my phone with her and hadn't heard from her all day, but she told me she had come back and crashed. 38 hours in transit had really hit her hard. But she got up and we got ready to have a bite to eat. She said she wasn't in the mood to go clubbing, even though it was Ladies Night and I thought she'd want to experience what it's like to be treated everything for free at a club, but that was fine with me. I was still tired after the day at work.
We walked along Simpson Bay to see our restaurant options, at least wanting a nice meal for the evening, and after Pineapple Pete's was full we went nearby to 3 Palms to treat ourselves to a classier experience, sitting by the water with a saxophonist playing cool jazz tunes... I had to have a Pinot Grigio!
E at first wasn't drinking, then saw my wine and it was a glass for her, then a bottle for us... the meal was great, me the gluttony had chicken STUFFED with lobster and salmon sauce. Stuffed with lobster! How many meats you wanna have in one meal?? Was an interesting taste, but I liked experiencing it. The service was good also, and I just loved having someone to talk to who knew me so well. An old friend. I have missed that.
Afterwards, we went to the Sports Bar attached to Pineapple Pete's and had a few cocktails. Erm had "A Piece of Ass" which was jovial, I had some hideous bright blue thing which I promptly swapped with E once she said she liked it. As we walked out, I got a call from A in Oz and started chattering away, while also being invited to some Jamaican party the next night by Le... anyway, I was very distracted and so it was that we walked out without paying.
By the time we realised we'd walked halfway home but also realised we didn't have enuf cash anyway, so I just texted Le and told him we'd drop by tomorrow. So then he passed my number onto the bar girl that had to fork out the missing cash, and I get a harrassing phonecall when I'm in bed, saying I have to come back n pay. I told her it was not possible and I'd pay tomorrow. I know she was out of pocket and doesn't know me to trust me, but I'm a good person, it'll be done. Then I fell asleep. Boom.
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