"Tomato, Patato"

Mom, dad and little bro arrived n Sweden this evening. The first thing mom does is tell me who has sent their hello's.

"Well, there's aunt Elsa, aunt Patricia, aunt Edna."

"Thanks mom!"

"And well, Aunt Jane would have said hello but she died of cancer this Christmas".



"..."

Actually, I did remember this. Not only because I'd seen her three months previous to her death and promised that I would pray for her (I didn't) - but because I had heard the terrible story of The´-People-Who-Lower-Casquets having had slippery hands and how the coffin popped open after it had fallen. That, my empty promises and come to think of it - MY AUNT DYING has had that certain quality, that flowery fluttery je n'ai sais quoi that has kind of stuck with me.

I recounted the exchange between my mother and I to Donna and Daren later that evening, complaining that mom seems to think that the Trinidadian in me has been rooted out by a forgettful wigger.

"You know, the other day she had the gall to ask me if I remembered what bazoh-kah was. BAZOH-KAH OF ALL THINGS!"

"Bazoh-kah? Ha!" they respond.


"Yeah. Bahoh-kah, of all things.!!"

"...Bazoh-kah." they repeat.

The realization hits like the world's tiniest ut still noticeable train.

"Okay. Zah-boka. Whatever."

I don't want to keep losing things like that. Words, pear-shaped-fruit, relatives. I need to start harassing Andreas more about going back to Trinidad more often. Or, if I recall correctly, "mamaguy" him a little.

Danes & Dunst

Neil Gaiman's "Stardust" is not what I would count as one of his finer pieces of work seeing as how it essentially is your generic fantasy novel - boy meets girl, the rest is forgotten a week after reading, yadda yadda ya.

But that Claire Danes has a substantial role in the filmitization of said novel changes things. It's time she get back in the spotlight, and I hope this fantasy moie by the epic Gaiman does for Danes as Shakespeares's epic "Romeo and Juliet" did.



Also looking foward to Sofia Coppola's portrayal of Marie Antoinette, because along with Danes, Dunst needs more love more love more love. Especially after her role in the brilliant "Virgin Suicides".

...Now a Car Gadget Seller

Twenty minutes before Saturday's match began I got a job. Or rather, a call-back. It's a little gig in retail with "a lot of room for development". I guess what that pretty much sums up to is that: today - cash register in the corner, tommorow - the cash register with a view. There's no end to the possibilities really.

Don't mind me, it's actually quite nice. But after three days I now remember exactly why I got out of that sort of stuff all those two years ago. There's the fear of handling money wrong, the awkwardness of getting tongue-tied when a customer jokes/talks/grumbles with/to/at you - in no specific orders. It's the storing of conversations, and the repetition of these throughout the day, the random stabs of unprovoked fear. The excitement of having a day off to look forward to, and the feeling of dread knowing that your first minute off means your free time is almost over. And the worst of these: the pre-dreams just before you nod off to sleep - and you repeatedly find yourself right back at work in a scenario where you have just done something absolutely horrible.

I'm not going to sit here and say that EVERYTHING is awful, however : there are some perks. Working at a store that seels pretty much everything equipment wise, whether you need a cooling system for your living room computer or car, a golf club, a club sandwhich maker or a tube automatically means that you, the cashier, obviously knows everything about everything. You can either use this to your benefit, or disadvantage. I prefer option number 1.

Yesterday, for example, a man at check out bought a cargadget.

Him: "This cardgadget will fit a chevv 98, right?"
Me: "Hmm. You know....I'm gonna have to go with Yes."

I felt smart - and also a little pretty.

Trinidad 0 -Sweden -0

We played a great match.

That's all I'm going to say about the topic, because everthing else seems surplus.
I'm just going to leave it at that the general opinion, as regards Sweden's predicted performance was:

"...losing against Trinidad & Tobago or coming last in the group would be a fiasco."

Well how about that now.

Of Course I'm bitter, but not THAT kind of bitter.

Sweden-England
If there is any match that Trinidad really wants to win, it's the one against England. The superexcited eleven is looking to beat the old colonial power. [But sorry] Trinidad, and Tobago, your World Cup fate will be sealed after 3-1. That's one consolation goal for you, at least.

-Metro 09/06/06

It's not that the article repeatedly assumes that Trinidad wil be creamed. It's not that the article assumes that Trinidad will creamed by like five billion to one. [Swe-T&T 4-0, Eng-T&T 3-1, Paraguary-T&T 5-0] It's not even that the article that any goal that Trinidad makes will be pure luck.

It's that it assumes that an ex-colony has an inherent need to repeatedly rise up and beat de massa in order to prove themselves. Can't it be that simple that Trinidad might just want to do their best because they have never been in the World Cup before and have all the reason in the world to prove themselves right there - because they want to do their best simply because they want to do their best?

When I heard that Trinidad and Tobago's team was facing England I thought "This is going to be an interesting match! England's one of the better teams!" Little did I know that I instead should have been thanking the lucky stars over the potential of having the stigma of a Trinidadian- and thus colonial-history lifted, in the magical area that stretches between the black Trinidadian knee and the shiny British goal.

Praise the Lord Halleluja. Thank God I'm Trinidadian or I don't know what sort of tortured heritage would motivate me to get up in the morning.

That said, Go Trinidad. Give it all you got tommorrow in the match against Sweden.

Comb over? No.... I mean what?

'I'm really sad' is a wonderful initiative by some kind individuals who just want to see you smile. BadCombOver puppy is one of the many little friends waiting to help you.

With the good comes the bitter-sweet, which is why I am also recommending Antony and the Johnson's album "I am a Bird Now", or at least "Hope there's someone" which can be found at their site if you take the time to click around a bit. It's insanely sad, and beautiful. Feel free to copy and save combover-dog, for those moments when things become a bit too intense for your liking.