We are not going to Hedo this weekend. The place was full when we tried to book this week. Two weeks ago, the place was at 75% occupancy and somewhat dead, two weeks before that it was at 60% occupancy and dead. High season is beginning. I guess this demonstrates that timing is everything at these places.
So we are going to Breezes Runaway Bay instead. It is, as usual, dead there. Going to Breezes this weekend may be a blessing in disguise. Our intel reports that a convention of hermaphrodites has been at Hedo. I am not kidding. Men/women who have parts of both sexes. Not sure if they are still there, but might not be worth the risk. I consider myself open minded, live and let live and all that, but I don’t want my face rubbed in it. Public nudity I can tolerate and, in fact, appreciate provided she is attractive. Don’t really want to see some other guy’s “thing”, but I am getting used to it. Public sex still makes me uncomfortable, so naked men with breasts or women with “things” is a bit over the line for me.
We are proceeding down to Kingston Thursday night. The students are having their TGIT (Thank Good It’s Thursday) tonight. Not sure if I am going to attend. There are several reasons for this. First, I never have much fun. The theme is always extremely loud music and young girls dancing. I like to watch the young girls (detecting a theme here?) dance. (Jamaicans have defined “booty shaking” to a fine art.) However, I am too old for music that loud. Secondly, being a Captain, I am the same rank as many of the students. In Canada, although junior to me, these students would be my peers. They would not be calling me “sir”. Yet, I am a member of the staff, so, to them I am the “enemy”. I can never have a proper friendship with any of them while on the course. So having fun at a party is out of the question. It’s like the boss at the Christmas party. He can never completely relax and let his hair down. The rest of the staff are Majors, so they are also not my peers either. Besides, I see them everyday and, to be honest, we are all a bit tired to talking to each other. The third thing is the way the thing is run. In the Carribean, parties do not start until late. Most people would have a nap in the evening and not go up until around midnight and party until 5 am. Since I (and the students) have to get up at 6 am and am old, by the time the party is starting I am going to bed. But that is not the worst of it. The party is supposed to start at 7 pm. For the first TGIT, I thought I was being fashionably late and showed up at 7:30. I was the first one there. Damn embarrassing. Not even the organizers were there yet. The second one was a bit better, I showed up at about 8:30. Still pretty empty, but at least the organizers were there. Figuring I had cracked the code, two weeks ago I arrived just after nine. I spent an hour staring at another instructor. Ten o’clock and the bar still wasn’t open. Just to add insult to injury, they take our rations for Thursday evening and use it towards the party. This means you have to go to get the meal they are supposed to feed you and wait until 10 pm for dinner. Then they ask $10 to help defray the cost. So, I am paying 10 bucks to go to a party where I have no fun, to see people that I cannot be friendly with, and that doesn’t get going until I have to leave. All to (maybe) see some attractive, booty shaking girls who I cannot touch.
Sure, perhaps I am being a bit of a grouch, but it has been a month since I saw the wife. Our conversations have been infrequent and short of late. She has been busy at work, so the regular emails she normally sends have dried up a bit. To be honest, I find it frustrating to talk to her. I want to be home. Husband and wife should be sharing their daily lives, not living thousands of miles apart. If I was learning something or felt I was contributing significantly it wouldn’t be so tough. Less than a month left and I am counting down the days. I dislike feeling like I am just marking time, waiting to get on with my life.
Tonight I think I am going to give the whole party thing a pass, get a bit of take out and watch some TV in the hotel room.
I wanted to post this yesterday, but our phone lines were down. This was not the usual destruction by nature, but was administrative. Rumour has it (not confirmed) that it had something to do with the JDF not paying their phone bill.
Will wonders ever cease?
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