Rascals In Our Town - RIOTS

So I hope all the new trainers squeeze toes, the plasma falls off the wall and the food stolen from Tesco’s caused major gastro-intestinal problems because the savages who have ravaged this country will indeed deserve it. I mean, what’s the point and why do innocent people have to be subject to the flea brains of society for this long. I loathe the happenings of the past few days and hope every looter gets caught and spends time away from civilised humans.

Some will say this is what they have to do to get the higher powers to listen, but I beg to differ. The opportunistic gangster behaviour displayed indicates levels of frustration yes; but for most, the joy of ‘taking’ stuff, enjoying ‘free’ drinks, furniture and what have you, depict the sad mindset of our youth. What puzzles me the most is the simple maths involved, smashing and destroying property and streets will only cost the stakeholders and government more to fix. In a hostile economic climate, money is indeed a scarce commodity and funds funnelled into fixing, cleaning up and police presence could have gone into something else more worthwhile. If only these idiots employed simple common sense to their acts and realise this is not the way forward.

I was in my safe little haven in Avery Hill; thank God I moved from Woolwich recently and enjoyed peaceful nights when some other people fled their homes in terror. I am Jamaican and I am no stranger to violence, I wasn’t worried about having to defend myself or having people try to rob me because I am fierce! On the other hand I was quite worried about the price our disaffected youth will have to pay when the police gets a hold of them. There are some pretty good CCTV shots out there with faces so clear you could see six o clock beards and pimples, so many will be in jail pretty soon.

Hope everyone had a fantastic time smashing and dashing .....

Moving on, had good feedback on the photos of the last blog and gramps was said to be ‘cute’. Someone has a crush lol, ok so I’m joking, but my heart still tears apart when I think about my old folks. My best buddy in the Enquiry Unit, Dan, has proved to be somewhat of a baking buff and while I cook fabulous food normally, ask me to bake and I turn to mush. So I struck up the courage after watching a million Come Dine With Me's on Channel 4 and decided on doing a Pavlova. Of course it went horribly wrong and I only found out today, I needed some sort of tartar cream or cornflour to add body to the egg whites. I managed to taste the disastrous outcome of my baking and was disgusted at the egginess of it. That's whats put me off baking so much, everything has to be o so precise and I'm not the best at things that sound this technical. I don’t normally eat eggs because they come out of the wrong part of the chicken so that feeling of dread helped me throw out my dish. I have a proper version of the recipe now and armed with it I would be happy to give it another shot to prove to myself I'm not that worthless.

And finally, Greenwichman has found its way into the heart of Team 3 in light of all the happenings, it stimulated Remco to be a super hero who would protect Greenwich and the uni from looters. Dan has created the avatar and we had a laughing fit imagining Remco in biker pants and wellies for a costume.... Have a look at the avatar!

With love

Momo

My Baby has given birth!!

Recently back from my New York- Jamaica rendezvous I’m filled with a new zest to face the job of helping my young and not so young friends into university via the big ‘Clearing’. I got well needed rest while away on my vacation and spent exclusive time with Miss. Eulah and Gramps (grandparents) and my brother Greg and I loved every minute of it.

While in London on a break from studies, I felt the urge to see my grandparents and long lost brother as I never know when they will proverbially ‘go’, tomorrow is never promised today afterall. I’ve lost so many friends along the way and would hate to not be able to remind them I love them in what may be their last days. It may sound funny but I think I love my paternal grandparents more than my actual ones. They would give their lives to make sure I am ok.

My grandmother stood on the veranda and cried so bad when I left for the airport. She has hypertension and diabetes, is frail and I didn’t want to admit it, but I don’t know if I may see her alive again. What’s worse is she said this during her crying as well  She manages her illnesses with medication, and she needs to be careful about the food she eats but she’s neglected the non salt, low fat, low carb diet recommended because of her love for food. She agrees that if she is going to die, she will anyway, I guess at 83 you can afford to give up. I think I got that stubborn streak by the way...

My grandfather isn’t that frail but he has Alzheimer’s and asks me what the time or day of the week is almost every 10 minutes, but I love him to bits. He also has problems recognising faces and struggles to remember who I am despite knowing my name. It makes you think once a man, twice a child....

You know you are at you granny’s when you see all the floral around lol, Gramps trying to see me

I went to New York to see my brother for a few days, but coming from London to another big city didn’t really do it for me, apart from reuniting with my him there isn’t much to write home about. While there for my 3 days I yearned to go back to the Boston beach and jerk pork, chicken, fish and breadfruit in Port Antonio.

I planned the whole thing in really good time because one rainy day, my Shih Tzu poodle cross, Youkie, gave birth to 4 beautiful babies. The days before her delivery she looked really sad and miserable and we figured she must have been having cramps of some sort. They were born safe and looked healthy, with eyes shut as usual but there was something that bothered us. The pups had white feet but didn’t look very poodle-ish at all. Their coats looked so bland and despite their short noses, I wasn’t sure if their tails should have been so long either. So the question abounded, did Youkie have an affair with one of our non pedigree’s? This isn’t exactly a sin, but we had a few friends who were expecting full breds so we were of course worried.

Youkie looking half dead with her babies

I left Jamaica with many questions of birth and death as you can imagine and had done a lot of thinking on my nine and a half hour flight back to London on Virgin, kudos to my bitter sweet trip and my half bred babies.

Enjoy the rest of my pics!

                                                     Fishing boat                                                Colourful roadside store

                                           Red Stripe cup made from bamboo                             Party Poster

View from the front of house, love the green!

                                                         Wild baby goat                                                         Crab

With love,

Momo

Hectic Long Weekend!

I spent a sensational weekend away and this blog is an epitaph to my second year of university which officially ends on June 25^th. The stresses and deadlines of my grueling course are now over for a while and a well deserved break from it all is what the doctor ordered. In some ways I am immensely relieved but secretly I wish I had more to do, I mean how many hours can I spend on gaming or blowing up my credit card on makeup? I went to Thorpe Park last week and had my guts relocated but after that I decided I would go up to the country side to see my family in Bradford. That coach trip was a ride and a half and my bum hurt so bad after the 5 hours (I know whos not doing that again!).

Family picture

I’ve met cousins I have never seen or heard of before, and even though Bradford was new to me, it’s easily the most comfortable and peaceful place I have been in the UK. After getting over the sing song accent, I really started loving the quaint village that most of family lived in. Most houses had car ports and gardens and do not resemble the match boxes of London we pay a fortune to live in. It’s evident that the peaceful scenery, with its rolling hills provides a quality of life that many of us could appreciate as you get the vibe that things are simple, like they should be.

Asia is my cute little cousin who has tainted me with memories of her winning me over and over at dominoes. I mean how useless am I at numbers? It is generally known among friends and family that I hate Math but a 7 year old basically slapping me silly at matching numbers is a bit more than my ego can take. But she is a smart one, and once we finished that we moved to drawing and was asked to draw a horse which turned out to look more like a dog (Asia again laughed her head off).

Me and Asia.

But the highlight of my Bradford trip was seeing the smiles on my families face and the wonderful Sunday dinner spread that was prepared for me! I threw the diet plan out the window and ate as much rice and peas and chicken etc as my tummy could hold and I could barely move after.

Rice and peas.

My cousin in law loved that my boyfriend and I devoured the food and definitely put me over the top with ice cream and fruit after…. Whewwww!!!

Ayo and ME!!!

After Bradford, there was a short plane ride from Manchester airport to Edinburgh where I am now holed up in the George hotel. I do love to travel and I hope to see more of the UK and Europe, but for the moment I’ve moved to the sights of Scotland that serve as another sweet escape from the rat racing I'm used to. After doing the initial checks to ensure my toilet is spotless and my bed linen is perfect, I’ve accepted my hotel as one of the finest I’ve been in. That toilet inspection routine though, is something I can’t help, I have this immense fear of ‘invisible germs’ and may need therapy to deal with it, this is a 4 star hotel after all.

Edinburgh castle

So far it’s been really nice and with a full stomach of Scottish breakfast I will set out to see a bit more of this city. It’s not as warm as I would like so the summer dress won’t come out, but I’m hoping I won’t have to do the whole scarf and glove thing. There are several things to see like the Edinburgh castle, Museum of Childhood and John Knox’s House and with a loaded camera and few pointers from a guide I picked up in Manchester it should be a pretty fantastic day.

All in all I should be refreshed when I get back to the Enquiry Unit where I will fulfill my duties of ‘guiding’ the young ones to uni. I’ve loved every minute away and hope to be back soon. I catch my flight into City airport later today and will be making plans to seesome more places as soon as time permits. I hope all Greenwich university 2011 students reading this have a great time getting prepared for their big university adventure as they embark on this beautiful period of life. To those who have not received a place just yet, early clearing is right around the corner, continue to check our main website. I look forward to hearing from you!

Till then, I wish you all the best!!!!!!!

With love,

Momo

The Wind of Change

You may not have been feeling it, but I can; and I'm not talking about any bloating or similar digestive problems either. Lots have been changing for me and I suppose the same for my fellow uni mates and those of you reading this blog who will join us in September. Aaah, now you know what I mean! It’s May and it’s the month of exams for us here at Greenwich Uni and it’s all about long nights and early mornings REVISING! I like to think of it as’re visioning' because the focus is so important on retaining and refocusing all the information in the last terms into sensible mental files. I have been pathetic at trying to keep everything all in, and I literally have a self saving note system called my 'Duty List'. As tacky as it sounds it helps, and I may be using it to organize housework because it’s been so effective. The physical winds have also changed dramatically and summer is forcing its way into the British atmosphere. Last month has been the hottest on record and in my eyes the summer will be a scorcher! Break out the daisy dukes and flowery nail polish.

I would be amiss not to acknowledge the hip-hip-hoorays of all those who are celebrating the death of Osama. Being highly critical of anything I hear in the news, isn’t he dead for like the 4th time now? And if he was indeed captured why was he buried at sea? Yeah yeah yeah, it is said no one wanted his body buried on their soil, but what harm could a dead body do? Personally, throwing someone in the sea for sharks is one of the highest indignities. I am not Muslim or affiliated with any terrorist group of course, I'm only a student with opinions. All the views are my own, please accept them as such, but killing anyone at point blank range is murder. And I am against murder in all its forms. Why not capture and arrest him for the rest of his life, then again many would argue he is not worthy of being alive or being able to eat and breathe as the rest of us.... but who empowered mere humans to make the decisions about who lives and who dies?

Based on what has been documented, this man is a cruel soul, unapologetically so but I do not believe in murder. I wait for the back lash in disagreement to my arguments, but I still stand by them.

On a happier note, the royal wedding we all have been waiting for has come and gone but replicas of Kate’s dress are already on sale for those of us who want to feel like princesses when the big day comes. It was a classy affair but I think the dress was a little old fashioned for my liking, I would have liked more frilled and a more modern look. Maybe its because I used to see my granny wear so much lace, dunno. My idea of a great wedding though, would be to arrive on a white horse on a pristine beach in the Bahamas with a seaside ceremony full of pink roses!!! It would be much cheaper than the royal wedding and less extravagant of course, but jumping into the sea in a gorgeous wedding dress while my mother watches in horror would make me smile :) I'm such a bad-ass!

The diet is coming on fine, but I keep gorging myself with low fat yogurt. I get so hungry reading and these cute pots just make me think of eating all the time. At least I'm managing to take in enough 'good' germs to last for the next year, but I’m sure these little calories still add up. I also am a nature loving geek and on my breaks there is nothing like Sir David Attenborough on Eden, I am particularly obsessed with corals and reefs. Another of my dreams would be to see Australia’s great barrier but the thought of that flight breaks my resolve and I find solace in the telly for now. Most of my dreams as you can tell involve water, but so does my nightmare, I just wish this tsunami dream I’ve been having for months would go away :(

I also aim to mix my revision with a bit of practical stuff as I hope to take part in some wellness tourism - I booked myself a spa day!!! I am going to the Marriott to get among other things a mud bath and a facial and I am so excited. It’s always great to be looked after and the champagne will be flowing that day and I can’t wait to hit the sauna. I have put money aside for many moons to afford this, but it’s my reward for a hard years work with an average of 68 on all my coursework. I think I deserve it, don’t you?

All is all, things are going very well for me and I wish you all the best with any wind of change coming your way, it can be a beautiful experience so go with it!


With love

Momo

Love and War

'All is fair in love and war' quote from John Lyly's 1578 'Euphues'. I guess this could be perceived in many different ways but frankly, does this phrase stand to reason? Especially as it regards war? Do countries have the right to assault others in the name of public interest? I come from a volatile country myself but I do not believe war in any shape or form, is a reasonable course of action. It costs millions in lives and dollars/pounds and I am sure there are many avenues of conflict resolution that do not amount to bombs, submarines or grenades. Unless you have been under a rock for the last few months you should be aware of the several rounds of upsets in the Middle East recently, particularly in Egypt and Libya. These clashes along with the recent quake and tsunami in Japan have left the world in a sombre mood as we seek to find peace and stability within our own countries. But on this planet there never seems to be a dull moment.

I wont bore you with my usual rants about saving the planet, blah blah blah, but I would like to emphasize how precious and beautiful life is. Try to live for the moment sometimes, people out there are having a rough time!

On the more positive personal side;

I have finished that dreaded event planning portfolio and just when I thought I had time to unwind, the reminder of another 6000 word portfolio slapped me back to reality. I am back on the grind with my poor laptop that seems to be tired of my incessant key tapping. Its responding by highlighting paragraphs at will or random cursor movements that my fingers have nothing to do with. As if overheating on my lap wasn’t enough *kmt*

But all is fair in uni and coursework I guess.

The birds outside and ships that pass by the river make for a great momentary mental release though and I try to refocus every time I find myself looking away too frequently. Writing becomes just a jumble of words if your heart isn’t in it, so lets say the mind drift thing is my own self preservation strategy hehehe. Saw my examination timetable yesterday too and a bittersweet feeling swept over me. My time with Greenwich will have to end one day. Bitter sweet because I will of course have completed my academic qualifications, made life long friends and found a brilliant job working for the University, but sadly one day will I wont be as involved as I would want.

There’s no use sitting on the couch, feeding the pouch of a belly thats growing in front of me by eating ice cream and chocolate for breakfast (another self preservation action I'm sure) but in life we all should learn to move on. Its what makes us resilient in the end.

The great film icon Liz Taylor who passed away last week remains not only the most beautiful woman in history (in my opinion) but she had a persistent will and focus inside her that kept her going on strong after many health issues. It shows you are older when you remember films like Cleopatra and Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf, but she had so much elegance and glamour on screen that will make her unforgettable. She fought for ethics she believed in and lived by her rules, and was a classy woman doing it. She now joins Michael Jackson in the same resting place and I hope to meet her in heaven when I get there.

Rest in peace Lizzy,

With love Momo.

HAIR AND NOW

Everything seems more important than that looming coursework deadline and this weekend it was all about watching youtube tutorials on hair. How random????!!! Please do not take my example and try to get things done, because now my eyes sting and I am nowhere closer to finishing my portfolio :(

Apart from watching that exciting Liverpool v Man U match, the highlight of my Sunday evening was getting my extensions done, by MYSELF! To all the boys reading this, I know you really could not care less about that kind of girly business. But to us girls if you can create a professional looking head of extensions, with no visible tracks, its a beautiful thing. And I saved aboput 40 quid, so the tutorials weren't all that useless after all I guess. Will have a go on my girlfriends head and see what they think. But here's a picture of my work lol

Fellow blogger Remco (look him up) is having an event and he will be dressed as a spice girl. Now think male, spandex, lipstick and you will see that this is another coursework distraction that's waiting to happen. Its not just for laughs though, he will be doing it as part of his final year project for his degree. I happen to do Event Planning as an option as well and find it very exciting, my lecturer Charles is awesome and is truly a performer at every lesson I attend. Hes just so passionate about his subject and entertains and teaches at the same time. I do wish I enjoyed every lesson as much and some lecturers should ask him for tips pronto. Big up Charles! And shout out to Remo, I'm looking forward to your night.

I'm at the Enquiry Unit today and I am still fuming from being at work 15 minutes late due to a bus situation. Why do buses just announce an alternate destination in the middle of a journey? How logical or fair is that for people like myself going to work? Then when I arrived at the other bus stop another gentleman promptly closed it and announced there would be work done on the rails.... So I had a great start to my morning, good job my boss is such a sweetie! Love you Jess!

I guess Ive gotten over it a little and started answering all my calls and got into the swing of things 2 minutes as I was through the door. Customer service is my life and I don't quite want to do anything else, even after my degree. I may be an executive but I want to be a very visible manager in any industry I end up in. People make me smile, no matter how messed up my day is. Theres an exciting placement fair coming up which I have registered for, not that I want to take an additional year out but as i stated 'networking' is everything in today's world. I would not miss an opportunity to meet with industry players who can help me progress in my field. So forge those friendships, no matter how small !!!

Let me know what you think of the hair but for now its on to my wonderful callers.

Much love

Momo

Fright or Flight???

The new movie 'The Rite' is out soon and I cant wait !!!!!! The trailer is off the hook. Its not quite Halloween, but don't we just love a good scare?


Right now I need a safe, pain free way to have an adrenaline rush like this and I would enjoy the splish splash of blood through my brain as my heart beats faster. Since I was young Ive always liked to feel the raised goosebumps on my neck and arms when im afraid. Even if I had to sleep with my mum after, I could never stop watching Nightmare on Elms street. I saw one particularly awful one with clowns in it and since then I have a fear of them and shop mannequins. Maybe I am weird, but I dont like things that imitate human life. Dolls and fake limbs can be thrown into that category as well, and many horror flicks will feature these objects as the main 'scare factors'. So if you see me walking fast past the shops, just blame it on a messed up childhood lol. Fear normally breeds curiosity, in me it breeds brisk walking or careful hiding as the case may be!

Won't give you a movie review but the Rite is about a exorcist (Sir. Anthony Hopkins) who becomes possessed....

After all this coursework, I am in desperate need of a breather and will see this film the day it comes out. I need to fill the empty boxes of my mind with some real me time.

In other news, my presentation today about Wellness Tourism in India went smoothly apart from our initial problems with a you tube clip. We all worked hard to create the A2 poster we would be using to provide visual stimulus to our class. After the initial hiccup, everything went without a hitch and I am thankful to the other members of the group who made it a success.
that the sun came out for a couple hours too. So that's one more thing to smile about today!

Uni is about to be on spring break in a few weeks and theres so much to be done. I have another presentation and a 6000 word event planning portfolio due before I go off. Its driving me up the walls because even in draft stages nothing seems perfect enough. Sometimes when you have so much course work to do, everything else like mopping up, washing my hair etc seems so much more important, but I need to stay focus and not allow my brain to wander off too far.

I have decided not to run in the student union elections this year after careful consideration that being on a sabbatical will delay my degree by a year. It made me realise how much I want to get to the gown and ceremony bit of my education, especially as a post graduate degree may be in the works... So I have opted to enter an entrepreneurial competition, and I have to draft and submit a successful business plan to be in the running for a £5000 prize. Over the years Ive had several ideas swimming round my head, modelling agency, makeup society etc. They all seem to change over time with my maturity I guess, but I have a special idea in my head with regard to international students that I think could lift off.... I am not in it for the money, I'm more focused on the connections and networking capabilities that entry into the competition would provide. Not that I wouldn't love the prize money, but some things in life are priceless, meeting successful business heads is one of them. I go to a preparation session next week sometime so I will see how that pans out and if my idea is indeed viable.

That said, its one day to the weekend we all live for. A day I get closer to do all my girly stuff, nails, hair, face mask lol. I like being pretty for my weekend and plan to light the candles and play some 80's soul music to get back in touch with my 'inner self' (thank God for wellness tourism lessons). But until I reach out to you again, its One Love from Momo!!!!