Thoughts of a minibus traveller

"You free for lunch today" the text said. I checked the sender and the mixed feelings of dread and joy and so on which comes from connecting with a loved one who had disconnected many times. Part of me was of course yes, yes.. even though I had another nice lunch and had work to do. The other part was no, let go, let go.. not only the second lunch because the work thing was important and even though the lunch date might also be important.. I avoid eating lunch with people these days since the teeth are out of alignment and food could go all over the place. I am not relaxed when eating with people as I have to ensure that the food stays in my mouth and things don't drop all over the place. Unfortunately, it does not mean that I cannot eat . The mental health issues mean that I have been binge eating.. unhealthily. Having big brunches (this is the last time.. just for today) and then second lunches or in between junk food. It is good to resist, and say no. To pas...

by Vidyaratha Kissoon The man looked good. He had put on a bit of weight, his shoulders seemed square. His entire face relaxed when he smiled and he was smiling a lot. He said that he had unfollowed me and others on Facebook who were overwhelmingly negative . For those who do not know, unfollow is not a word used by those who are not on social media. He asked  “You already have mental health problems… don’t people on Facebook make you feel more crazy?” The man had not unfriended me . I know I have unfriended a few people because their comments and so on saddened me. I unfollowed a few others too. It is so easy to be consumed in negativity. Philosophers could debate the whole thing about positive and negative. The Facebook news feed shows the elation and the despair at exactly the same links sometimes. Guyana’s change in Government is positive for some, negative for others. The reports of robberies where the robbers escape are good for the ro...

The construction project over the road has been going on for almost two years.  The dust and the noise.. the men cussing and harassing women and girls sometimes. The cherry tree slaughtered on the parapet to make way for parking lot with concrete. The pile of gravel under the flamboyant tree has the red petals. I imagine that the red petals might be impurities in the concrete or maybe they will be crushed up with the gravel to make the concrete. The petals make a nice contrast with the gravel for the time being. Gratitude for the temporary niceness.  Everything is temporary. While the feelings of heaviness  linger and work is done to function, looking around when singing Ramayana and even though I am not fully involved in the singing and singing in a kind of way which is like second nature.. like breathing.. .. there is  encouragement that the old women are clapping while we are singing. I have been in some audiences where people kind of listen with no exp...

Dear President Granger I hear you used to play chess so there must be some interesting moves you must be making against the PPP and their supporters as the rum industry embraces you. While I did not vote for you, I do want the government to work out . While picketing isn't working with Minister Lawrence and the child abuse issue , and future President Harmon tying bundle with China, I know you are keen on local industry and you are probably relieved that the local alcohol industry is not one that has ties to foreign powers and so on and that it does not involve environmental activists and problems with laws and so on In fact, many people think (Uncle) Yesu Persaud and Clifford Reis are patriots of integrity never mind they have been head of massive (legal) drug dealing operations. Did you know that back in the day when Clifford Reis was with Hotye, like around 1999/2000/2001 or so, coolie people in Berbice especially boycotted Banks DIH products ? It was like a silent...

by Vidyaratha Kissoon The President of the mandir said that the mandir was built before his time. The congregation is small. Most of the people depend on Wales Estate for their living. The mandir is gradually being restored – depending on donations. The people though, asked that the original wooden octagonal tower remain.  In the transition, the mandir is a mix of wood and concrete, of new windows and painted wooden doors. . The last concluded Navratra season, I had the opportunity to look up up at the ceilings of new mandirs. The flat ceilings of the new mandirs, and octagonal towers of the mandirs who maintained the original structures. Some congregations have sealed the windows which were probably intended to let out the hot air. The Amerindian benabs, like the one at Rupertee have the conical roof. It was easy to get lost in looking up at the roof. You can look up at the Benab and marvel at the way the leaves and wood are used to ...

Monday morning and it is raining and guilt that I am not getting up to hustle like so many others. Thunder and lightning.  Nice to lie down and enjoy. The limbo of self employment - sending reminders out to people to ask for work. It is not a holiday or sabbatical - because you have to be on the alert. One prospective client calls on Saturday at 8pm and Sunday 8pm and it is okay.. so I can lie in bed on Monday morning and say that the time answering the calls is make up time. The days had passed, trying to make them productive or not because being on edge waiting on calls, while fighting away dark clouds , while wondering whether to accept things and sit still while also functioning. Decision to take the diclofenac to see if it would help with the pain. The elderly woman in the mandir, sitting for 90 minutes, orhini on head, back straight, knees on floor.. easy.. thick spectacles. Me fidgeting.. moving legs around and twisting back to keep pain shifting . This weekend, Bh...

A woman who smokes said.. thank God, there is something worse than smoking now. There is a new cliche - Sitting is the new Smoking - about irreversible damage being caused by sitting for long periods regardless of how many 'minutes of exercise' per day. The irony - the new pain which prevented sitting  comfortably in lotus position - legs crossed on the floor - made me realise the body is decaying much faster than I thought it would. I thought I was blessed with good fortune - work which required sitting for long times on a comfortable chair which is probably bad for my body. I thought the periodic bouts of daily exercise would counteract the sitting. It seems though, that the body needs to stand up and move every now and then. I have put an alarm on the computer which is where I sit most times. The 20 minutes seem to finish much faster than I thought they would. I don't think I am slouching as much. I get up, try one of the stretches which are suppose...

by Vidyaratha Kissoon “Look what I got” the white American man said smiling. He showed me his forearms – covered in red bumps. “My whole body is covered with them” “But why didn’t you use repellent” – I asked him He laughed and said no, no that was part of the jungle survival training. No repellent. Against the CDC advisory it seemed , The Burnham/Cheddi in me was a bit paranoid .. suspicious of Americans who are in remote parts of the country after leaving their nice lives in America .. nah, this man mussee CIA. But no such satisfaction that it was the Cold War continuing. It was Reality TV. The man said he was getting prepared for a Reality TV contest . He was not sure which jungle in the world the filming would take place. Something about Guyana – preparing a man for a Reality TV show. Reality is not normally easy, and in Guyana, so many lessons recently as things are uncovered and covered up. The dry season has caused the lowering of the Esseq...

"Bom Dia" the boy said. He and his friends said they did Portuguese in school and he wanted to test me. The rule was that everyone had to answer a question when they collected a book, but this time I was being questioned. " Qual é a sua nacionalidade?" - I heard him say, and I said 'Guianense'.. he looked surpise and said something which I thought meant where do you live and I said Georgetown...  He laughed. I asked him what nationality he thought I was and he said 'not from here.. ' I said no man, I am like yall.. Another woman picked up a National Geographic. Her face was a bit stern, like she had a lot on her mind. I asked her what she thought of the jubilee and what she plans for it. Her face lit up and she said "Yes, it is something good, I am looking forward, to celebrate the 50". She said she was planning to join the Digicel Fitness thing at Bourda so she could be in the Float Parade. A younger man who also took a Nationa...

"Orientation" vs "Training" In February 2016 , I had the privilege of working with employees of STARR Computers on an orientation to Linux . STARR is one of the oldest technology resellers in Guyana and they wanted interested employees to understand FOSS and Linux. The course was designed as an orientation course, rather than a training course. I believe a training course would be designed to transfer skills , and there are different methodologies involved to ensure that the skills can be used by each participant. I was not sure how to approach the course since there are a thousand and one different things which could be taught. I updated an outline which was developed by Andrew Mancey in 2004 and  then modified the discussions to respond to the needs of the participants. One of the reasons for the lack of adaptation of FOSS and Linux is the lack of awareness.  Some persons might 'play around' with a distro, but might not do more unless there is s...

by Vidyaratha Kissoon Nice breezy afternoon. Three passengers in the car. I am about to say I will pay for the extra seat, when the woman next to me said “It look like somebody coming deh”. The driver said “Ok”. The woman said ‘Oh lawd, no, she doan gree wid me at all, she aint gun want come and sit down next to me, me an she aint talking’. I said ‘Okay, let me sit in the middle thing, you tink she gun min’? The woman said ‘I aint know, leh we see’. I moved down to make space. The other woman came in the car. She said Good Afternoon in a nice friendly way. We all murmured replies. Is a nice unity picture, coolie man sitting down between two black women in a car going to the same place. Guyana Chronicle would not need to photo shop this one. One people, one car, one destination. Two minutes before the destination, the woman who came in last paid and got out. The other woman said “See, look she going and walk, she aint gun st...

"Dem is a whole set of terrorist, she might not be one, I do my research" one man said.  Two students clapped at the end. Other students who nodded approval. A journalist sent a video of Palestinian poet Rafeef Ziadah performing 'We teach life, sir '.  I had told the journalist that I am not too big on poems, and she sent this to convince me otherwise. The poem is a response to a question from a journalist. I had a brainwave to use the video to in the Online Journalism class . I lecture the practical components, another lecturer deals with the theory.  I mark the assignment which requires understanding some journalism concepts. I was nervous about the poem thing , it is Friday afternoon and the students could be like.. yes sir, the poem nice bad. I asked the students - What does this say to you as journalists? What is the poet asking? How would you respond? The responses came in . I felt a bit lightheaded. We talked about  the need to change the per...

It is All Fool's Day after the 2015 elections and before jubilee thing and so I looked back on m y manifest o and in all foolishness I decided to go back to it and see how I am doing. The things in Green and Yellow are still to be done. Human Rights Guyanese human beings will be centre and priority of any development strategy for Guyana.   Guyanese Human beings will not destroy the environment.  Guyanese who want their rights to be recognised will not litter. There will be no beating of children in schools, regardless of what the beaters say. The beaters will be sent to the Marriott for one week for workshops on how to be decent people facilitated by former Presidents and Prime Ministers. If they continue to beat their children, they will be allowed to stay at the Marriott until they learn how to deal with children without abusing them. Parents of children who are sent to NOC, will also be sent to NOC. LGBTIQ citizens will have the same...