It rained all weekend. I was recovering from a (very mild! don’t worry!) case of what I think was dengue fever. I slept and watched Dexter and took a few photos of the rain from my front porch. Especially on an overcast day, I like to watch the fish. This shot wound up being my favorite because of how it shows the raindrop patterns on the water.
Filed under just for fun
I love public art, especially large sculptures. Here are a few I came across while wandering the Condado this weekend.
*Condado translates into county in English, but it’s also the neighborhood in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where I spent the weekend.
Filed under just for fun, travel
The tale of a small victory, because if I can’t brag here, where can I brag?
Today a gentlemen stopped his car in the road beside where I was walking to lean out and say “It was a good story.”
I already knew it was a good story, at least in the way he meant it, but it felt really good to hear him say that.
You see, talking to this gentleman recently after a public meeting was a little bit of a chore. No, he wasn’t mean or hard to understand. He was just really reluctant to open up to a reporter because, he said, he’d been misquoted before.
Being the pushy sort, I pushed. I could repeat back his quotes. I would record our interview so there’d be a record we could both listen to later. He brushed me off with a “we’ll sit down when I’m not so busy”-type comment and I went on my way with what I had from the meeting. I actually thought to myself that he would see that I’m not the type of reporter who gets it wrong.
And then he did!
“Whatever you read online, that’s the story and I’m not saying anything more.”
That’s what I was told recently when I called a public official about a certain story.
I was shocked. This relatively high-ranking officer was encouraging, insisting really, that I should not talk to a source who actually knew my story first-hand and should instead just read another reporter’s work and go with that.
Sorry, sir. I can’t do that. What I read online could be wrong. How would I know unless I check it out? I wouldn’t know, and neither would any of my readers.
I tried to explain that I didn’t need him to give me any NEW information if he couldn’t do that, but if he could just either confirm the reports or tell me they weren’t true—
At this point, he interrupted. He called me “young lady.” He told me he was upset that what was told to “the media” already didn’t seem to satisfy me. He sounded quite a bit more than upset.
I tried one more time. I said I really couldn’t put something in the paper based on what I read online.
Another interruption. Another shutdown. Another “I’m not saying anything else,” as though he’d told me anything at all in the first place. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a source so angry, and certainly not since coming here, where the rule is to be more polite than this California girl is used to.
I decided to cut my losses, just get his name and get off the phone before he had a chance to start insulting me. Of course he didn’t want to give me that either.
Praise be, I managed to get the story from someone else in time for this week’s issue.
Now I dread having to call that other public officer ever again. I’m certainly in no hurry to be on the receiving end of that level of hostility again. But I already know I will. Just like I call my other sources several times a day if I need to, just like I tried multiple times to explain what I needed to know to this person, and just the way we all have to keep pushing, keep pressing, keep digging, to get our stories.
In a few weeks, I’m going home for the first time in nearly a year.
I’m very excited. It’s not going to be a long trip, but I want to do a whole lot of things. In no particular order, here’s a pictorial partial list:
Color
My niece and I colored for my birthday a couple of years ago.
Because you’re never too old to enjoy coloring. It’s possible that my nephew is now old enough for it, too. Coloring party, anyone?
Meditate
They have gorgeous koi
Well, as long as I get to visit the meditation gardens at the Self Realization Fellowship center in Encinitas.
Swami’s beach
Swami's Beach (TripAdvisor photo)
Tidepools + sandpipers = happy Chrystall
Shop at thrift stores
Where else but a secondhand store can you find treasures like this?
Mama needs some vintage clothes and shoes. I’m only bringing that second suitcase they allow so that I can fill it with inexpensive goodies.
Drink good beer
Das boot, which I didn't dare fill with the strong ale we were drinking that day.
Hopefully, the fact that I’m on vacation will inspire one of my wonderful friends to do a North County beer tour day so I can hit up several of my favorites: Stone, Green Flash*, Oceanside Aleworks, Lost Abbey and Pizza Port.
See live music
I <3 Stranger
Preferably, music played by my friends.
Wax
Where the magic happens
I just happen to have an in at the best little waxing salon in town, so it’s all good.
Ride
This one is going to be tough, as I don’t have a bike of my own anymore, but I’m holding out hope one of my two-wheeled homies will come through. Or maybe I’ll just play tourist and rent one.
*It turns out Green Flash has moved to Mira Mesa. I like Green Flash, but Mira Mesa?
Filed under just for fun, personal
So my friends have these two nieces.
The nieces posed at dinner
They were the first thing I took a picture of when I pulled out my camera, and right away they wanted to play with it.
I went over the ground rules and handed over my sturdy point-and-shoot. It was fun to see what they shot when I finally got around to pulling the photos off the camera.
Of course they had to capture their Auntie Nikki
and one of their brother with Uncle Cavis
I love how this shows mom & baby's matching big brown eyes.
Interestingly, it seems the girls have already learned some of the most important lessons of photography.
1. Take advantage of hams
2. Don't be afraid to get close to your subject
3. Shooting at an angle can make things more interesting
4. Play with light
Filed under just for fun
I'm all decked out for the parade.
Last week I shared the story of my first Emancipation Festival Parade, but there were a few things I left out of that story — some just didn’t fit, others weren’t fit to print in a family newspaper.
Here’s a shortlist of my favorite funny and odd things that make up the rest of the story of my first festival parade.
1. So sober. Part of the refreshments provided when you’re in a troop includes basically as much booze as you can handle, but my fear of embarrassing myself more than necessary in front of the whole territory helped me decide not to enjoy any of my beloved rum and cokes until the parade was practically over — right about when the speakers quit on the band’s truck, if you read the Beacon article.
2. Asian Persuasion. At least 6 sets of people had me pose in pictures with them and they were all — at least to my eye — Asians. Not sure if they were spotting me as one of their own or if I just happened to look friendlier than the other folks in my troop, but there it is.
3. Petticoat parade. I actually wore a petticoat under my dress. It was more like a tutu since it was so short, and it’s pink. The folks who made it called it a can-can. This is the part of the costume I really hope I have an excuse to wear again sometime.
4. Vintage Babe. That’s actually what it said on all of our dresses. It seemed particularly appropriate when I realized that a lot of the people in our troop were real grownups and not the swarm of 19- and 20-year-olds you see on Carnival-style parades on television.
5. Winning at wining. My favorite compliment of the whole festival: “You dance like a Caribbean girl.” Uhm, thanks!
Taking a sample in JVD
A newsy environmental feature + soundslide from a few months back. I just submitted it for a contest, so wish me luck.
The mast
I had an awesome day on the water yesterday. It started with my first time since arriving in the Virgin Islands (aka the sailing capital of the world) on a sailboat. Luckily, I didn’t have to do any actual work. The sheer number of ropes was baffling.
The plan was to snorkel at a rock formation called The Indians, but all the mooring bouys were occupied, so instead we went to Norman Island. I wish I had an underwater camera: the sea fans were this really vibrant purple, and there were quite a few bright yellow corals and some happy small and medium-sized fish hanging out around there too.
The cove where we snorkeled at Norman Island
From there we took the dinghy to the Willy T, a floating pirate-themed bar that I had heard a lot about but not had the chance to visit yet.
At first, I was a little put off by all the drunken American teenagers, but after a pain killer (they were invented at the Willy T) I felt a lot better. The Willy T has two levels, and the thing to do is jump off the second level into the water… maybe next time.
Then I hopped a speed boat to Norman Island itself, which from what I gather is not really inhabited. It does have a nice little beach restaurant and bar called Pirates.
There were a bunch of boats moored near there and plenty of folks enjoying the beach. Once it started to get dark, there was also live music. Unfortunately, it’s what I’d consider Caribbean easy listening: Nice enough, but nothing I’d dance to.
Finally, it was time to get back to Tortola. This was when I got really glad to have switched boats. We made it from Pirate’s Bight back to Wickham’s Cay in 13 minutes.
I don’t know why, but I was expecting speedboating to be sorta lame. I was wrong.
At one point, the moon came out from behind the clouds — it was almost full – and we were zooming across the water and I seriously felt like I was in an episode of Miami Vice.
I loved it.
Filed under personal
The ruins of a 19th century copper mine in Virgin Gorda are a national park.
The Copper Mine in Virgin Gorda rules. It’s right off a nicely paved road, you can see the ocean, and you can walk all the way down to the beach from the ruins — as long as you’re not afraid of a bit of rock scrambling.
It’s also a geology nerd’s dream. You can see the veins of copper in some of the rock. Some are quartzy and others look like lava rocks and a whole bunch are giant boulders like the ones you see just the other side of this southern end of VG at The Baths.
I love the tidepool-y places
Of course I sat and watched the little fish and crabs and weird bubbly looking kelp for a while. I was surprised not to see any birds around. After we explored the Copper Mine, we hiked up the road and had a swell lunch — complete with tasty island drinks — at the Mine Shaft Cafe.
All in all it was a great day, but the last day of the 30 days of new project did not work out how I’d planned. We were supposed to get scooters, which I’d called about and then submitted a web reservation for, but when we got off the ferry, the scooters didn’t show.
So, we went off in search of an all-night bakery on foot. Some nice Virgin Gordians helped us find it, but when we got there, the baker was running down her inventory and there were hardly any treats left. Instead, we tried some vita-malt. It reminded of me of brewing beer because it’s so malty. Steve thought it tasted like Grape Nuts.
I wrapped up the project with a new hiking spot, a new bakery, a new beverage and a new restaurant in one day. Not too shabby.
