Di House a Bun Dung… Or Not

Suh imagine,  mi wake up 6 o’ clock dis mawnin and between clinic, school and work I didn’t get back to my apartment until 8pm. I reach in now and jump straight in the shower. Washed off all of today’s crawsis.  Stood under the warm water as it caress mi dun out body. Threw off my shower cap so my curls could get some lovin’ too. This was the shower of all showers. I stepped out feeling renewed, restored, rejuvenated. Big up mi Ivory soap!

Mi fling on mi nightie. (Yes, I’m a granny. Some nights I even wear socks and transform into Super Granny!). I climbed into bed and scrolled through my phone. I was at peace. All was right with the world once more. Then outta nowhere BAAAAAAWWW BAAAWWWW BAAAAAWWW BAAAAAWWW BAAAAAAAW BAAAAAWWW!!!! Please evacuate the building.

Hear me out, I understand that fire alarms need to be loud af so it can wake people out of the deepest of sleeps, but brejin yuh need fi chill! Da sumn de coulda easily gimme heart attack, kill mi, den revive mi to rahtid! In addition to the cardiovascular event. I’m now in full panic mode now because there is no way that I can go outside in my nightie.

Mi fling off mi nightie. Could I find a pair of pants? Pants line off culluh-culluh in the closet enuh but is like I couldn’t see them and who mi si tun inside out. BAAAAAWWW BAAAAAWWW BAAAAAAAW!!! Finally find a pants, cya find nuh shirt. I eventually just grabbed a sweater threw it on over my head. Socks? BAAAAAWWW BAAAAAWWW BAAAAAAAW!!! Forget the socks Alexia!!! BAAAAAWWW BAAAAAWWW BAAAAAAAW! Okay, Okay Okay! Mi put on the shoes without socks. (Question? How people wear shoes without socks????) BAAAAAWWW BAAAAAWWW BAAAAAAAW!!! Grabbed my phone, grabbed my keys, ran out the door and down the stairs… four flights of stairs. BAAAAAWWW BAAAAAWWW BAAAAAAAW!

It. Was. A. Fire. Drill.

Guh back inside, climb up 4 flights of stairs, fling off the shoes, pants, sweater, everybody!

Now I’m flustered, I have a headache and once again feeling dun out. Mah gah mi bed

How Can We Make Reggae Better?

Listen, you all know my love for reggae runs deep. I hopped out of the womb jamming to reggae music. Bob Marley was my first boyfriend and I cried livin’ yiy wata the day my mother told me he was dead. So great is my love that, when I die, I want my ashes sprinkled on Reggae Mountain, so I can listen to music from Dub Club and live performances at Skyline Levels from the afterlife.

Mi love it, but mi haffi ask, what can we do to make the genre even better?

Reggae originated in Rastafari and as such the songs are influenced by the movement’s ideologies. This is why it is the birthright of every reggae artiste to create at least one song fi chant down Babylon, and/or a song about marijuana. It is expected. Do it. Now that you’ve gotten it out of your system, what’s next?  I look at reggae as a form of edutainment- it’s both fun to listen to, and thought-provoking. This makes it the perfect conduit for tackling the plethora of issues facing the black community. Depression, for example, is a big one. It is still widely believed that black people can’t be depressed. We don’t talk about it and we don’t sing about it. Why not?

In all fairness, wi have man like Tarrus Riley singing songs about domestic violence and Shaggy tackling child abuse, so it is being done to some extent; however, I would still like to see the further diversification of the content of reggae music. Not convinced? I challenge you to google “Reggae songs about…” and you’ll see the same old topics that everyone expects- love, peace, God, weed, poverty, violence, Babylon…

Another thing that has me baffled is how whenever a musician tries something new everybody have heart failure? It’s like there is some formula for creating reggae music and any musician that is daring enough to deviate from the formula will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Reggae artistes either get attacked for “selling out” or dem nuh get nuh fahwud. Whichever happens, they revert to the original setting and everything stays the same. Folks, the sooner we learn that it is possible to be a little different whilst maintaining our connection to our roots, the better. Sometimes change is necessary for sustainability. Stop putting our musicians in a box. Stop stifling creativity.

Alright, I think I can get off the soapbox now. Seriously though, I’m interested in hearing what you think. Am I way off target or do you think there’s something here? What do you think could be done to improve reggae music? Do you think it’s fine just the way it is?

Here’s the video that inspired this post! Nuff respect to Kapital Stone

Double Six Pose

West Indians are everywhere.There’s something about us Caribbean folk that makes us all stand out. Wi special!

For spring break, I took a trip to visit my godmother in Florida. Whenever I set foot on an airplane I make it a point of duty to befriend the people in the seats next to me because

1. I’m just too friendly for my own good.
2. If that plane is going down, I’m going to need as many allies as possible to help me put that mask over my face and pull the strings to tighten.

So there I was sandwiched between a gentleman and a friendly elderly lady. Outta di cawna a mi yiy, I saw the guy playing dominoes on his phone. I couldn’t help myself:

“Which part of the Caribbean are you from?”

After chuckling he responded that his parents were from Haiti. We made small talk and he eventually asked me what I was studying in school.

I proudly told him that I was in the master’s program for speech-language pathology and he whipped out his cellphone and gave me the contact information for one of his friends who owns a speech practice and is always looking for interns. Who cudda happy like me???

A networking opportunity from a game of dominoes. Look at that!

 

Of Signs and Motivation

Hey folks! Welcome back!

Grad school is a circus and mah di bigges’ clown. And for my next act ladies and gentlemen, I will juggle family, friends, work, and assignments whilst crossing a 2-year long tightrope…on a unicycle… while riding backward… blindfolded… with my arms tied behind my back.

It’s weird you know, at the end of the last semester, I thought I had it all figured out. I felt like a real SLP. I felt competent in my ability to assess, and remediate fluency disorders. I thought I was the best thing since sliced bread. Fast forward to this semester, where I’m in a school setting for my clinic placement and I’m right back down at ground zero. I know nothing. I am an idiot. I don’t belong here!

And just when it seemed super bleak, my hope was restored. There I was walking in the hallway with my mind occupied with due dates and mistakes of the past and questioning my sanity for the tenth time this week.  I walked into a professor I had met once or twice but never really had an opportunity to have much interaction with.

She looked super excited to see me and said: “I was just talking about you the other day!”

The first thing that came to my mind was: “*insert expletive here* what did I do?”.

I responded with ” Oh! What about?”

Without skipping a beat she responded, “I was saying how smart and sweet you are and how happy we are that you’re going to school here.”

DAY MADE!!!

I can do this guys!!!!!!

Planes, Tarmac & Automobiles Pt. 3

Welcome back! In case you’re lost, check out part 2 here!

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We got back to the gate and as we deplaned the gate agent told us the flight was not canceled and that they were trying to find us a new crew. She respectfully asked us all to be seated and said she would give us an update as soon as she heard back from the control tower.

She pulled over a cart of water and food boxes. I took one of each. The box contained some salami slice thing, craisins, some questionable looking hummus, cookies and wheat thins. I ate the salami slice with the Wheat Thins to keep my hanger in check. I sat there for an hour before the gate agent came up and said:

The flight has not been canceled, but I heard there were some of you interested in driving to Florida instead. I would like for those persons to come and collect their luggage.

By now mah get weh inna some Craisins and she chimes in over the intercom with:

We have some alternate flights to West Palm Beach if anyone is interested, please come and see me.

Now I’m wondering how she over deh a announce alternate flight and this one nuh cancel. Sumn neva add up. I washed down the Craisins wid likkl water and marched up to the counter ongle fi hear seh the flight canceled. She claim seh she announce it but none of the people sitting down heard. She directed me towards customer service so I could see my options.

Fam, I walked to customer service and joined a line that was longer than my whole existence on earth. Mi seriously didda consider buying 3 inna cashpot becaus’n seh I spent 3 hours on the plane, deplaned, spent another 3 hours on the plane, deplaned again, my phone was on 3% and then I spent another 3 hours in line at customer service. THREE. HOURS. IN. LINE.

While in line I found out that 400 flights had been canceled and I was shook. Friends, it snowed all of 10 minutes and big-big Hartsfield- Jackson came to a screeching halt.

I finally walked up to the counter and ask when was the soonest they could get me on a flight to Ft. Lauderdale.

Attendant: I can put you on a stand-by list for a flight scheduled to leave tomorrow at 9am

Me: How many of the people before me did you put on stand-by

Attendant: *Silence*

Me: What are my chances of actually leaving on that flight

Attendant: *Shakes head*

Me: What’s my other option?

Attendant: The soonest non-stand-by flight leaves on Sunday

Me: SUNDAY!

By now I’m all types of stressed, tired, hungry, and annoyed. So I start crying, at least I think I was crying, to this day I’m not sure. What I think happened is that I’m so unused to crying it’s like my body forgot how to do it so, a single tear escaped from my left eye and the little bugger decided to fall in my eye. My eye was like, what is this foreign substance? So it started burning like hell and my body went into shock or something and didn’t know how to respond. I basically stopped crying after that first tear but my eye just kept burning so my left eye just kept tearing up.

Me: Listen, I just want to get to Jamaica, what are my options?

Attendant: You’d have to buy a new ticket

Me: Okay, how much is the soonest flight to Kingston?

Attendant: $700.

Me: Let’s not do that. What else you have? I need something that’s $500 or less.

Attendant: I don’t have that, well actually let me check flights to Montego Bay! Alright, I have one to Montego Bay for $499.

Me: Yes!

So I whipped out the emergency credit card. I’d explain to mommy and daddy once I found a spot to charge my phone. I paid for my ticket, asked for a blanket.

Now that I was going home for real by body finally started to relax. Can I be real with you guys for a minute? I think we’re at that level now. See, I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables so I’m really regular. Like two times a day regular. Well, I left Greensboro at 5am on Friday morning and it was now 10pm on Friday night. Stress was no longer an issue so… I needed to go!

Let’s stop there. Tune in next time for more adventures at the airport!

Planes, Tarmac & Automobiles Pt. 2

Welcome back! In case you’re lost, check out part 1 here!

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The captain was true to his word and he continued to check in with us and each time he came his message was worse than the first.

First: Hey folks, just checking in with you as promised. I have no new info for you so we’re still looking at leaving the gate in 2 hours

Thirty minutes later: We have just been notified that they are not allowing southbound flights to be de-iced.

An hour into the wait: If everyone gets seated right now we have been given the go-ahead to leave the gate.

We all sat and nothing happened.

Panic set in. I called my dad to let him know I would be missing my connecting flight to Jamaica. He immediately started calling every relative and family friend he knew in Ft. Lauderdale to see if I could stay with them overnight. He then put my ticket to Jamaica on hold so it could be reused at a later date. Finally, he found me a flight home for Saturday morning.

Two hours into our wait: We have left the plane door open. We are not holding you hostage. You may leave at any time but if you choose to leave you will have to take your boarding pass and all of your bags with you. If we get the go-ahead to be de-iced we will leave you. *rolls eyes*

By now, I’ve come to terms with the fact that I would not be getting home until in the morning and Bounty couldn’t chat to mi! Mi did crawss, hangry, miserable and heverything in-between. 

At the three hour mark: Alright ladies and gentlemen, we cannot hold you on this flight any longer. We’re going to let you deplane, grab something to eat, use the bathroom and we will call you back to board the plane in about 15 minutes.

*Fast-forward*

We reboard in an orderly fashion and the captain says: We are second in line to leave the gate to join the line to be de-iced.

This time he held true to his words. The doors were closed, we had the pushback and we were on our way.

“I’ll believe it when we’re in the sky” was muttered throughout the craft.

I kid you not friends, I was sitting in plane traffic as planes lined up nose to tail on the tarmac. We were in plane traffic and at the 2.5-hour mark since we reboarded the plane the captain chimed in:

“Well folks we are currently 9th in line to be de-iced. The plan was for us to leave the gate and head straight to be de-iced and then be on our merry way to Ft. Lauderdale. That did not happen and we are fast approaching the time for my co-pilot and me to time out. We will stay in line for another 20 minutes but if we are not de-iced by then we will have to take you back to the gate.”

Now I need to contact daddy to let him know I will not be making it to Florida tonight either so he can tell his friend not to wait up for me. Data nah rerk! I text my friends my parent’s number and ask them to notify mommy and daddy of my current situation. (Shout out to Alli, Casey and Cece for all the help xoxox).

20 minutes later we left the line and guh back a di gate like poor ting.

Weh mahguh duh in Atlanta?

I think I’ll stop here… part 3 will be coming at you shortly (for real this time).

Planes, Tarmac & Automobiles Pt. 1

I may have mentioned it once or twice but Jamaica is my absolute favourite place in the world.  My first semester of grad school was stressful but I came, I saw and I conquered. My reward would be a trip home where I would be surrounded by my favourite people so I could recharge my batteries. As the day of my departure drew near I would have this recurring dream where I would miss my flight because I overslept.

Last Thursday, in preparation for my upcoming trip I set 5 alarms to ensure I wouldn’t oversleep when one mind seh, “check-in for your flights” and a good ting too ’cause my first flight was cancelled. Thanks for the heads-up Delta*rolls eyes*! Panic set in so like any 22 year old I called my mom for emotional support. While she was on the line, I searched for alternate flights that would not interfere with my third flight, a connection on Caribbean Airlines. Once that was all sorted, my heart rate decreased and I reset my five alarms.

I woke at 1am after getting 2.5 hours of sleep. Looking back I should have made a greater effort to get more sleep but yuh live and yuh learn. I made it to Atlanta still sleep deprived and decided to hunt for some soup to help the 3 hour layover go by more quickly. Well, in case you were wondering, you have a 0% chance of finding a restaurant in the airport that sells soup at 8am. How inconsiderate! I eventually settled on a sandwich and made my way to my gate.

At my 10.40am boarding time, the gate agent announced that the flight was delayed because we were awaiting the arrival of one of the flight attendants. All this time I’m wondering why we couldn’t start the boarding process while we waited but I let it go. I was going home, so I didn’t care.

While we were waiting it started snowing and that was the moment everything started going south. The flight attendant eventually arrived and we finished boarding at 11.49, which was our scheduled departure time. My third flight wasn’t boarding til 3.30, so I still had plenty of time.

“Hello ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain. I would like to thank you for choosing Delta. Right now we have a 2 hour wait for them to de-ice the plane but once we’re there it will only take about 15 minutes and then we’ll be on our merry way. I’ll continue to check in with you with updates as I get them”

Ever the optimist, I figured I’d be cutting it close but it was doable. Right?

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Hate to break it to ya folks, but there’s a part 2. Fret not! I’ll have it posted shortly ❤

Of Trees, Greens and Royalty

Unnuh see da tweet yah?

This is why I have trust issues.  Nuhbadi cya tell mi seh on October 23,2017, Royal Blu neva done set fi drop him EP exactly one month later. At any rate, the poll done show seh di fans did wah di EP. I wanted more live shows because Blu eva a set him show dem fi when I’m not in the country (I’m not bitter) but the EP will suffice.

The project was produced by Foresta and I’m liking what I’ve been seeing so far. This isn’t the first time the two have worked together either! Back in 2016, one of Foresta’s friends introduced him to some of Blu’s music and the two have been producing gems ever since. Check out their song “Believe” it’s one of my favourites.

So, about a week ago, Royal Blu released the first single, “SinG with God”; a collaboration with Runkus. It could have been the dance references, the steady pulse, the classic Blu and Runkus combination or all of the above, whatever it was, I had this song on repeat for an embarrassingly long time. I promised myself  I wouldn’t write a review until the entire project was out.  Well, a promise is a comfort to a fool and me a di bigges’ eediat. When “Blu Mahoe” was released, I lost all restraint and here we are…

“Blu Mahoe” isn’t the kind of song you listen to passively. The Royal Blu packed metaphors, imagery, themes, cultural appreciation, a motivational speech, a social commentary and a history class all in a 4-minute long song. This is what we call edutainment.

It’s easy to see the level of thought that went into penning this song. The very title “Blu Mahoe” is a testament to Blu’s love for his country, and is his way of identifying himself as a person who is rooted in his Jamaicaness. In this song, the Blue Mahoe, Jamaica’s national tree, serves as the artiste’s muse. He interweaves the tree motif throughout the entire song to show the importance of knowing and appreciating our Jamaican roots.

Every time I listen to this song, I hear something new, but here are a few of my favourite lines so far:

I can tell you I am safer with the trees, I am never acapella, it’s the making of a beat. Clever with the weather and the shaking of the leaves.

This is Blu’s way of popping the collar of Jamaicans near and far for being awesome, rhythmic and musical beings. Bless up!

Perfection is perception.

This line is repeated throughout the song to acknowledge that not everyone will see the beauty in Jamaica as Blu does.

Funny how unnatural the natural seem, when the winds of change never blow nuh change on the blackest leaves.

Here, we are reminded that while globally, things have changed, racism, colourism, and the signs of slavery are still very much present.

Yup, that’s all for now folks! Like what you see so far? The EP will be out on November 24th, but feel free to pre-order your copy now with this link!

 

Midnight Mutterings

Loose strings.

Broken wings.

Frayed beings,

afraid of being.

And I’ve been thinking

of all these things.

Must be thin skin.

Insecurities built in.

Always have been,

and all they bring

is constant sinking

into a big bin.

Played out violin.

Wait something’s missing.

Weight of fears and sin.

The tears begin.

So it appears,

crystal clear

that we’re all here

and life’s unfair,

but we don’t care.

Do we?

Sue me,

For thoughts unholy.

Just trying to show the

picture wholly.

 

Don’t try to hold me

back.

All this baggage to unpack.

Scrap that.

Just tough chat.

Backtrack,

rewind,

til we find

peace of mind.

Music Lover

I have the greatest friends enuh. Just need you all to know that I love each and every one of you. Please continue sending me new songs to listen to. I truly appreciate it.

This week my friend introduced me to “Music Lover” By Kim Gebriel. A song ever hit you in the right places yet? I need you all to give it a listen. I deven have the words fi fully describe how di song move me. I need this woman fi bus on a major level. Mah beg unnu duh, jus listen it, like it and share it. Leggo career!

 

Weh yuh seh? You want more? Check her out on Soundcloud.