The Refugee

I took a cab to work this morning because I wasn't feeling too well and I was running hella late..while talking to the guy, I find out that he was working for the UN's refugee program during a war and that he was unable to return to his ciuntry. When he first left, they killed members of his family and burned his house and took his vehicles. I asked himwhenthis war occurred and to my surprise he let me know that the war had not completely ended. I was shocked because I had never heard of this and I like pride myself as a person who pays attention to what's going on in the world. Well,this guy who once worked to help refugees is now a refugee himself. I couldn't imagine not being able to go home, but I suppose if my life is in danger I could get used to anything.

Jamaican Evening News - Tropical Storm Nicole Aftermath

The latest news from the storm in Jamaica.








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After the Storm

This morning I get woken up by the storm from the last day on Earth. The sound of rain and hail blasting my window caused me to rise prematurely from my slumber. I tried to go back to sleep but it was to no avail. I realized that the electricity wasn't on so I immediately jumped out of bed to take a shower. The last place I want to be when the power is out is home. I don't have any windows in my bathroom so I had to use the flashlights to light up the bathroom. The water pressure was low, but it was somewhat warm, so I wasn't complaining. I got dressed and headed for the elevator. I didn't take too many steps before I realized that the elevator was not going to work because the power was out. Luckily the lights in the stairwell were on. I'm assuming they were running on a generator.

When I get to the bus stop I see that traffic is at a standstill. After waiting for what seems like forever, I decide to start walking. Where I was going? I wasn't sure, I figured anything was better than waiting for a bus that probably never was going to show up.

As I'm walking down the street from my complex, I see the full devastation of the storm. Branches were down everywhere. A bunch of trees didn't survive and as they fell to their doom, they took out power lines with them. I came across on such incident. The light pole was cracked and power lines lined the ground. I didn't think they were live but I didn't want to take the chance, so I just crossed the street. When I got to the bottom of the street, a mile from my complex, I saw that the street was blocked off by flares and a dump truck. As I turned the corner I realized why...The river near the dam had overflowed it's banks and water flooded the road.

I kept on walking, I had no choice because there where no buses coming on the closed road. As I turned the bend I was shocked to see a huge tree lying in the middle of the road. There was a service vehicle standing near the tree and the driver looked just as dumbfounded as I was. The tree brought down some power lines with it, I was glad to be on the other side of the road...I walked passed that and walked and walked and walked. I end up walking past the beltway and then I saw a bus going up the street. I figured I was in a part of town where the buses were running so I stopped at the next bus stop until a bus finally showed up. Man, my feet were killing me and this bus was a godsend. The trains were delayed because of some trees on the tracks and one of the stations were flooded, but I got into the city without incident.

Another batch of strong showers is supposed be coming through shortly, I hope the commute home isn't as bad as the commute in.

Haiku the News

Oil spills on water
Hurricane churns the sea
Still we blame BP

Carnival is in the air....A look back at DC Carnival 2009

Here are the videos I took from last year's carnival...The energy was off the scale! This year's carnival is tomorrow, I'm hoping that it's even bigger than last year's celebrations!

The New Exhibit

On the first floor of my building we have an exhibit space for different pieces of art. Today was the opening of the latest exhibit and I joined my coworker Bob and his wife, Sharon, in checking out the new art. As usual, there was food and wine and the artists stopped by to give a deeper insight into their work. For this exhibit they brought up five artists from the Richmond area. What made these artists special is that they are also scientists and they have used their art as an extension of their science. My favorite piece was a the Möbius strip made from cherry wood. Unfortunately that wasn't for sale but the other Möbius strip with the stripes was selling for $500. I didn't think it was worth it, but what do I know. Bob and Sharon really seemed to enjoy themselves. I can't wait till the next exhibit, but in the meanwhile I'll have to stop by this one a few more times.

Ebert & Rohan

I really enjoy watching movies. I'll watch a good blockbuster but I prefer independent and foreign films. I like watching movies that very few people know about. Movies that transport you to another world. Here are a sampling of some of the decent films that I've come across. (Even if the trailer is in another language, the movies all have english subtitles)