OCD....

By Kerwin De Matas

This is something I want to talk about, the time is right I think...

Before going to work on the high seas...there was this little problem I had, which I thought was just not normal...but I don't think it worried me all that much, since I thought no one would pay much attention, my belief was that I kept it under control..

Why was it...to walk on the border lines of squares, or any line for that matter...was just hard work...
How hard was it...to just close the water tap... not easy... I used to turn it on, and off...until eventually I got into the habit of counting, as a means of just leaving it alone...
Closing a door, and trying very hard to not resist the urge of turning around again, and again to make sure it was really closed, (I lost that fight lots of times before...)

The knot in my chest, with all of these episodes I endured in the past, was incredibly strong.
These were just a few, but they were all very uncomfortable moments.
Just the thought of going to a doctor to find out what was wrong with me was just out of the question...no money, and to besides, where I grew up, people don't go to the doctor for these things...how absurd!
This was the mentality.
Anyway, the long and short of it is, back then there was not a name for this thing in my mind.
My time in the Trinidad and Tobago Cadet Force was done and gone.... I got into the food and beverage industry....then onto the ships. This condition, I thought, was gone...

Many years went by, until I got married, and then divorced, only to realize afterwards that some of the symptoms of what used to happen to me began appearing again. Not severe as before, but it was happening again on a smaller scale...still did not see a doctor.

Then yesterday I saw a program called "Taboo" on cable. For me, this program only shows the type of people we live amongst...even scares me a bit sometimes.
Very well, on this episode, it showed this guy that suffered from an illness called OCD (Obsessive-compulsive disorder), and let me tell you, I thought I was going to be sick, because what I saw happening to him, is what happened to me...his problem was extremely severe though.

OCD...so that is what it is called. My symptoms are not frequent as before though, but after watching this program, I googled this condition, and have come to the conclusion that I should see a doctor now, because when I thought it was gone, it's because this thing is still with me! Also, I just want to confirm whether or not I really have OCD.
Do I do things that people can notice as weird? I don't think I am ashamed of this thing, but my way of doing things will just have to be carefully monitored from now on...by me.

Until now, my biggest issue from this condition are odd numbers, I detest them! They really don't sit well with me at all...

Well...I will say I feel much better now that I have gotten this off my chest. For people that suffer from OCD, I will say that I understand them, and that people should not condemn, or judge them, it is a very unnerving problem.

Just a little something to think about readers...my cent from two cents, chao!
 

A New Dawn Is Here...

By Kerwin De Matas

"Come away, hail to the day, this is our land's great morning"...

This is the first line of our national song, and truth be it told, a new dawn is upon us.

'The powers that you think I have, I do not; the powers that you think I do not have, I do.'...

These were the words that will be immortalized in Trinbago's history for many years coming from our new President, his Excellency Anthony Thomas Aquinas Carmona. This was his answer and reassurance that he would not be able to magically solve the existing problems that exist in Trinidad and Tobago, but that he will definitely be at the root of a problem that was least expected to be solved...

The tirade of blogging, twittering, and face booking that took place during his inauguration as the fifth President of our Republic, was very interesting.... I chose to just sit back and pick the sense from nonsense....and believe me, there was a lot of the latter!

In this moment I am thousands of miles from my homeland, yet I do feel the furor of hope that is building on this twin island Republic.... a hope that focus would finally be made, and contributed towards the head of government, and not just as a by-stander to what is taking place.

Don't get me wrong, lots of kudos towards the past four Presidents of our Republic, but it sometimes felt that our President was supposed to just make appearances at our Independence Day parades and other important diplomatic functions, rather than play a pivotal role towards assisting with the rampage of lawlessness and disregard for human life in Trinidad and Tobago.

Therefore, this is where I will end my opinion as much of everything was already said in most of the top blogging sites. What I will say though is may God be with you sir, all our prayers as a populace is with you in all your endeavors of leading our country forward towards some thing of normalcy, where abidance of the law would no longer be a thing of the past, but of which would be the re-birth of a Republic that once was!

This was my cent from two cents, God bless, chao...

Someone......

By Kerwin De Matas

"Some one came knocking
At my wee, small door;
Someone came knocking;
I'm sure-sure-sure;
I listened, I opened,
I looked to left and right,
But nought there was a stirring
In the still dark night;
Only the busy beetle
Tap-tapping in the wall,
Only from the forest
The screech-owl's call,
Only the cricket whistling
While the dewdrops fall,
So I know not who came knocking,
At all, at all, at all."                                                   .............. Walter De La Mare


You know, in some families, there is that " someone" that might be an alcoholic, drug addict, felon, drifter, worthless...and the list goes on...
That someone is usually shunned by society as another problem, sometimes by their own family.
Most times though that "some one" is always knocking, asking for help in the only way they know how. To us it will be as violent behaviour, mood swings, incomprehensible blabber, delinquency, alcoholism, drug abuse etc....Remember, these problems always have their origins.
Just as our "some one" will need professional help, the family of that person would also need counselling on how to cope, as well as how to support that "someone".

In Trinidad and Tobago, yes there are small organizations that are there to help, but so long as the general population continues to be indifferent, and not very sympathetic towards these "some ones"..... nothing will happen. According to Trinbagonians, these people just need a good "cut-ass"! (beating). Therefore these unfortunate people, rejected by society, would just continue to add to vagrancy, crime, drug addiction etc...
Well, I also have a "some one" in my family, of whom I love very much, and unfortunately for my family member, he is living in Trinidad....and it worries me everyday of what his out come would be. I say I love him, but yet I am so far away from the island...seems like I am more involved with what is going on in my life, that I cannot even try to be there to help in which ever way I can.
Instead, I try communicating with people I think he would listen to, in admitting that he has a problem, and that he needs help.
In these cases, it is commonly known that unless a person with a problem, admits to having a problem, no assistance could be given....and that worries me a lot, because my goodness, he is stubborn!
I believe though that us, his family, should not give up on him, and that we must do what we can to support him in this his down and out moment in life. He owes it to himself, but we owe it to him as well.
So kid, if ever you might read this, just know that I am here for you regardless of my distance, and you should know that we are worried for you, and that we genuinely want to help.  

For bloggers that do read my blog, just think of your "some one" as well, and don't ever forsake them....they are always knocking.... so respond.....
 

The Big Three...

By Kerwin De Matas

Today, I am going to talk about the big three in Trinidad and Tobago. This year though, I promised that I will stay away from the long and winded essays I seem to love. Therefore, I am going to make this short and sweet.
In Trinidad and Tobago, there are a lot of diversities going on there, a big mixing pot of cultures and religions that have been getting along throughout the years amongst animosity, and other strains.
Yet the big three much awaited events, apart from carnival during the Lenten season, are, Eid-ul-fitr, Divali, and Christmas.

Citizens in Trinidad are living the hardships just as any other "third world" country, yet the Catholics, Muslims, and Hindus, love celebrating and sharing their cultures during these periods, despite what ever financial or other problems they might be experiencing.

Yes, Trinbagonians love to show off, and so what?.... During these particular holidays we just love celebrating, costly as they might be, and sometimes ending in debt.... these festivals bring our people together, even if sometimes it might be short lived. But at the end of the day, it is beautiful to see Trinbagonians of every colour and ethnic background coming together, donned in each others ethnic dress according to the event, and just enjoying...

Let us talk about Eid-ul-fitr.
This is a Muslim festival celebrated in Trinidad by Muslims ending the holy month of Ramadan. The conclusion of Ramadan is followed by Eid-ul-fitr where Muslims will visit their local mosques, offerings of charity to people in need, and the most looked forward gathering of friends and family to just enjoy each others company, and eat like there was no tomorrow! I truly enjoy Eid in Trinidad....


Moving along to my next favorite holiday........

Diwali in my opinion is truly magical...looking at the deeyas in their beautiful formations, just memorizes anyone. This holiday is popularly known as the festival of lights.  
The Festival signifies the triumph of light over darkness, good over evil, justice over injustice and intelligence over ignorance. The goddess worshipped at Diwali is Mother Lakshmi or Lakshmi Mata. Lakshmi Mata is the goddess of light, wealth and beauty and is also associated with prosperity, luck, riches, abundance, financial well being, and generosity. In this event, you would see the wonderful tassa drumming, and the bamboo formations with the deeyas(little clay containers with oil and wick) expertly laid out, and of which creates an ambiance to calm the most distressed. The Hindus lay out their tables under their homes(most of the homes are built on cement or wooden pillars), or in the yard, and they just invite about anyone to just come by, eat like crazy, partake in the celebrations, having fun that would leave your adrenaline pumping way into the night...

Then just before starting the new year.....
We shouldn't forget Christmas. This holiday is celebrated by the Christian population in Trinidad and Tobago, but what is more, or means more to a Trinbagonian, is the introduction of parang by the Catholics....ohhhh, the parang, sweet music.
Parang is a form of folkloric music introduced to Trinidad and Tobago by the Venezuelans during the immigration exodus to Trinidad during the 18th century. A parang group would usually make up of a cuatro, box base, maracas(chac-chac), mandolin,  and in the old days, a violin, and harp. The group would be made up of front line chorus, and lead singer. This art form was really made famous by artists such as Daisy Voisin, Henry Perreira, Sharlene Flores, Lara Brothers...just to name a few. Unfortunately, I cannot come upon genuine pioneers of this art form in Trinidad from the years gone by. What I can tell you though, is that Catholics spend what they don't have to paint their homes, re-decorate( the all famous "new curtains"), and to stock up on food and drink, why? This is the time of year to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, and to simulate what he would have done when he was alive....sharing, forgiveness, compassion, loving our fellow man...
Then of course, during the Christmas season, it is also a time where all doors would be opened to bring in the Christmas breezes, and of course, to receive the house to house parang....the parranderos!!

I am writing this now, and missing my big/small island....Don't worry mama Trinity, I'll be back one day. Until then, since I am writing this a day before Diwali, let me just say....HAPPY DIWALI, and a beautiful Christmas season!
Blessings, chao.


                                                                       

Quick Post: Obama Web...

By Kerwin De Matas.

America wakes up to its 44th president, which is correct to say that he is the 43rd person to be president of this country. He is going on for his second term.
Mr. Obama aka "spider-man", kudos to you sir!!
I don't care what anyone says, the public voted you in another term for a reason.
You came into the position four years ago to a country that was, and still is detorieting, but because you are slinging your webs in the right directions, and pulling in all the right people and organizations to help slow this financial slack, America should damn well be grateful.
I have decided quite a while back to not get too involved in U.S. politicking....but from the outside looking in, I am seeing a country that is still keeping its head above water.
Therefore Mr. Obama, what ever you are doing, just continue to stabalize the dollar sir, and let us outsiders continue looking on at this great country as maintaining its stance in front of what ever has to come its way.
This was my cent from two cents...bless.

Quick Post:Tremble......

By Kerwin De Matas
Chile just had a sismic reaction at a level of 5.7.....
This was my first quake experience even after living in Chile for over 12 years.
What really impressed me though, was while putting gas in the vehicle, I saw one of the attendants comforting a street dog while all this sismic activity was going on....
Kudos to you man!
This was my two cents....chao!

Quick Post: Get a Wash

By Kerwin De Matas

When ever passing through Wondhoek, you think that your car or rental might be in need of a good wash, then think no more. Just take a spin down to the taxi ring. As soon as you drive in, your vehicle would be recognized as not being there before, and you would encounter guys left, right, and center hailing you down immediately to wash your chariot.
Have no fear, just pick the person you want, and settle down to have your vehicle shine for 35 to 40 NAD! No big dent to your pocket, and you drive away like a superstar. Just my cent from two cents...bless.

Quick Post: A Little Namibian History...

An Excerpt from Wikipedia the free encyclopedia, with photos by Kerwin:

"Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia (Afrikaans: Republiek van Namibië, is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. Although it does not border with Zimbabwe, less than 200 meters of riverbed (essentially the Zambia/Botswana border) separates them at their closest points. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March 1990, following the Namibian War of Independence. Its capital and largest city is Windhoek. Namibia is a member state of the United Nations (UN), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union (AU), and the Commonwealth of Nations.

The dry lands of Namibia were inhabited since early times by Bushmen, Damara, and Namaqua, and since about the 14th century AD by immigrating Bantu who came with the Bantu expansion. It became a German Imperial protectorate in 1884 and remained a German colony until the end of World War I. In 1920, the League of Nations mandated the country to South Africa, which imposed its laws and, from 1948, its apartheid policy.

Uprisings and demands by African leaders led the UN to assume direct responsibility over the territory. It recognized the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) as the official representative of the Namibian people in 1973. Namibia, however, remained under South African administration during this time. Following internal violence, South Africa installed an interim administration in Namibia in 1985. Namibia obtained full independence from South Africa in 1990, with the exception of Walvis Bay and the Penguin Islands, which remained under South African control until 1994.

Namibia has a population of 2.1 million people and a stable multi-party parliamentary democracy. Agriculture, herding, tourism and the mining industry – including mining for gem diamonds, uranium, gold, silver, and base metals – form the backbone of Namibia's economy. Given the presence of the arid Namib Desert, it is one of the least densely populated countries in the world. Approximately half the population live below the international poverty line, and the nation has suffered heavily from the effects of HIV/AIDS, with 15% of the adult population infected with HIV in 2007"

A to BEE.....

 By Kerwin De Matas

Apartheid and the BEE..... My intention is not to bring skeletons out from the closet. But being here in South Africa and Namibia, and not really understanding this concept that presented itself to me many years before, I just wanted to know exactly, what it meant.
Let's start whilst I was in elementary school. My teacher picked me to represent my age group in a local reading competition, I was eleven. The text prepared for me  was understood by the judges, and was portrayed very well. Now came the time to read the text presented by the judges. Everything was going great, until I came upon the word, "Apartheid"..... for the first time.
I don't know what happened, I just froze. Though my vocabulary was good even then, and my teachers prepared me very well for this event, not for the life of me could I pronounce this word, I never saw or heard of it in my life!
Following this reading competition, I recollected myself afterwards and I did ask my teacher what the word meant, I never got a satisfying answer, and I promptly forgot about it. This was until I got into high school, and had a little project to prepare on Nelson Mandela. Internet did not exist in those days, but I was lucky that our home had the Encyclopedia volume. That did not help though since, yes, I loved reading, and could understand text, but it was complex, and unfortunately back then, my discipline for intense study was quite low, and even though I knew something of the drama being unfolded in South Africa during the 90's, my interests were elsewhere, it was not my business.....
 That was then....This is now.
 Finally, here I am where it all took place, and discovering how little I knew about apartheid. Look, to fully understand what happened here, one would had to have lived the experience or, a visit to the Apartheid museum.... So, that is what I did, umm, not the experience, but the museum....

Lord, put a hand!

To go into depth about what I learned or saw in that museum, would mean a booklet, and trust me, no one wants to read a booklet from an unknown author on a blog!
Therefore I will keep it short and sweet...
My thirst for knowledge on this particular subject kept me in that museum for up to four hours, and I wasn't going to leave until I was done summarizing this topic... This is what I gathered.
This entire scenario comes down to colonization again, and by whom? Our good friends, the British Empire! According to my observation, what they did in India was something very similar, along the same structure and infrastructure, except that the English were prepared to tolerate the Indians, allowing them to sit on Parliament, and for them to have a certain amount of say on the running of their own country. Mind you though, they were still not considered as being on par with the Brits, and were repeatedly reminded to know their place. After a very long colonization period though India managed to obtain, against all odds, their independence with very little violence.

Quick Post: Cut, or Cut Out...

By Kerwin De Matas

For those of you that read my blog. This is going to be the first of my "Quick Posts".
I will be making these random entries during the month on things of interest. So,what better way to christen this segment, but with a haircut post.
Trinidadians are suckers for a good barber shop, and of course, a very good haircut. Who would have known that all the way on this part of the world, a good barber shop would only be right around the corner, which is where I found "Ali Barber". The guy's name is Ali, and he is a barber!
Just like in Trinidad, Namibians would spend their last quarter to look good. No need to say that I am way over that phase, but, a good haircut is a damn good haircut....
This was my cent from two cents, take care, bless....

Service?... What service?

 By Kerwin De Matas

Hi readers, this letter was brought to my attention by someone in Namibia about a lodge and restaurant by the name of Arebbusch. Now just look at the irony of this. I am from the Western Hemisphere, and this had to come to my atttention from someone I know from the Eastern Hemisphere. Just goes to show that sins never goes unnoticed, I could be anywhere!

Now the names from this letter would not be mentioned. So read on and of course your comments will be appreciated.

Dear Mr. ( Name not mentioned ),

I wish to inform you of our most unforgettable experience at your establishment.I do believe that you are aware of me because (Name not mentioned) has mentioned that she has discussed some of our requests with you.

Firstly when I called to make the booking I received nothing but false information from the hostess, and to salvage what I could from the previous information I received, I requested a few items, of which you were not able to meet me halfway with any, and like I explained to (Name not mentioned) it was a bit too late to find a venue to meet my requests, therefore I had to work with what I had. It was also very insulting as the response I received was, “Sorry for the misunderstanding and miscommunication between you and the host ( Name not mentioned)”, which only shows that you are willing to use a scapegoat to cover your short comings?

The initial information I received from your hostess (Name not mentioned) was understood very clearly, and based on that I made my booking. So if there has been any misunderstanding and miscommunication, I believe it was from your staff, because apparently whatever briefing about the father’s day buffet menu they had, if they had any at all, was definitely not communicated on a professional level, therefore leading to a lot of problems that should not have happened at all from a simple reservation. Also I find it quite surprising that most other establishments (I found out afterwards, unfortunately), offer a pensioners discount, and your establishment which is more renowned, does not?

Knowing it is winter, I booked seating on the inside, but when I got there to look at the venue, I was informed that it was not possible because of limited space for my party of 36 and the private buffet that I requested for my guests. The Banquets manager (Name not mentioned) and the manager on Duty at the restaurant therefore suggested that the group sit in the outside restaurant with cover and that there would be about four to five heaters installed and distributed along the Pax table, and the buffet table. When we got there on the 17^th, Father’s day, there were only two heaters, and when my fiancé inquired about the other heaters that were promised, we received one more and was informed by the manager on Duty at the restaurant that the others were broken. When he was informed by my fiancé that this was simply unacceptable, he replied that we knew it was going to be cold, and that there was nothing he could do about it, in other words, take it or leave it!

Sir, most likely, after experiencing your level of service at Arebbusch, this mail is just going to be discarded, but my fiancé and I come from an environment known popularly as the Food and Beverage industry, with a lot of years and experience under our belts. Therefore when we had to sit on the outside where it was extremely windy and cold, observing our guests visibly freezing, it was not anything to laugh at, at all!

After booking for almost 40 people, I guess we were naïve in expecting to be greeted by someone in authority, and seeing that everything was as it should be.... what a thought! Our group entered the restaurant, and proceeded to seat themselves, as there was no one to give the first impression, I don’t know if your establishment work by that, but where we come from we do. As this is very important for our guests whether they be, a la carte, buffet, or banquet, the first impression! 

Another problem, two very important details that were evidently overseen, and which were really embarrasing, was that on the long table the reservation sign was titled, Mrs. (Name not mentioned). If there was any doubt about my marital status, generally the sign should have simply read, Ms. (Name not mentioned). And secondly, as in any renowned eating establishment with high levels of service to be maintained, a simple detail as soup being served, should always have bread on the side. On the buffet, there was none! We had to request that as well. But funny, the only time we saw a manager was when we had a complaint to make, and funny again, every time a different manager turned up.

I sent a mail asking of the possibility for our mains to be exchanged from pork to a chicken dish as I had a few halal guests, the reply I received was “I have discussed the Fathers day menu with the Restaurant Manager and the General Manager, unfortunately we cannot change the menu and the price.” Well then I expected the menu to stay the same since such a huge restaurant as yours was not able to be flexible with our guests. But they just took the initiative to take it out completely without even asking me?

My fiancé and I have been in this industry for over 10 years and I have worked in many different 5 star restaurants and hotels as well as a very prestigious international cruise line. NEVER in my life have I experienced anything like this. I did not even feel like a guest but more like a nuisance.

Again, it is with deep regret that I had to send this mail, seeing that at one time I really enjoyed frequenting your establishment, henceforth it being my first option for this event. But definitely, I will not even contemplate going there, or even refer your establishment for further events. Unfortunately my guests also feel the same. In ending, just FYI, your establishment should genuinely work on your first impression approach towards new and existing guests.
Regards,
(Name not mentioned).

Now I am fairly familiar with Namibia. It is a beautiful country with lots of spectacular views, beautiful towns, and breath taking safaris. How unfortunate though that the potential for service in the hospitality industry in Namibia is lacking. Being what it is though, most locals are accustomed and therefore do not complain enough. It has been an observation as well that most establishments do try on giving a higher level of service to internationals, but to their own locals, as a true Trinidadian would say, " lacadaisical!!"

Isn't that sad though since the majority of the local industry's revenue is generated by local people, hmmmm......

Well, this was my two cents people, let me know what you think. Until then peace out, bless!

A New Life

By Kerwin De Matas

Here I am after almost three years. Ladies and gentlemen....Children of all ages!! I am back!

Today...or I should say this morning, 17th of June...I am going to talk about my daughter's baptism. For those of you that didn't know, this little princess of four months and a half, is the newest addition to my family.

She is going to be baptized today into the Catholic religion, embarking on a very new and important journey towards spiritualism in one of the many faiths, or religions in our world today. Baptism is an admission into Christianity, or the Catholic church. This is not an endeavour to be taken lightly, as this is one of the stepping stones that should lead her towards discovering herself in this life that is beautiful, yet very complicated.

This young lady is to learn and experience that being integrated into a religion means a lot of things; namely an education on morals, respect, honesty, to name a few, which all comes down to integrity.
Learning to be open minded as well, to adhere to the fact that it does not matter another person's creed, race, or ethnic background, but that at the end of the day, everyone deserves an equal place in society.

At least that is what I believe. " Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values."

This is what religion is you know....without it there would be chaos. Religion is supposed to keep organization, to keep people together, towards keeping equilibrium.
Religion influences everything in our society; from spiritualism, to politics; unification, to genocide...get it?

I will not go more into depth about the attributes of religion, but simply to say that, religion makes men and women, and at the same time, it was humankind that made religion. Therefore it is up to us on how we embrace it, and on how we practice it.
Thank you and have a good day, bless!

Slow Down!

By Kerwin De Matas

Sometimes it's good to be impulsive, sometimes not! I can be impulsive at times, most of the times for the worst. When I get an idea in my head, it's difficult to get it out again. A failed relationship when I was younger involving an innocent child, bad relationship with my family, and two failed businesses. How many times I vowed to slow down, but it's really impossible for me sometimes. How hard is it when an idea comes into my head, to sit down and analyze it, go through the pros and cons, sift through the idea very well, and then come up with a sensible decision.... In my case again, sometimes very hard!! I thank God every day for my ex-wife, she is the thinker, and this is just what my little son needs now. Is she intelligent? She is way beyond that, I mean, every decision she takes works out like a charm, it's incredible. So then why don't I learn something from her...Stupid I guess.




























This Book Should Be Checked Out...

Being impulsive is not bad, if what a person is being impulsive about works out fine, but being impulsive and flunking out time after time again, can be frustrating and sometimes stressful. Sometimes I wonder if I have a mental disorder for crying out loud. Here's the deal, when I want to do something I would sit down and think about it, then all these ideas would just flood my head, and I would just sit there trying to sort them out, trying to take it slow and not make a foolish move. But guess what, it would be the most far fetched idea that would strike me as brilliant! No man, either I am a genius with hidden talents, or just incredibly stupid. Okay, so this year I promised myself to go through everything I do with caution, weigh everything properly, sift like I have never sifted before, and to leave out the far fetched ideas for now. When you look at some households in trouble financially, marital problems or what ever problem, it's easy to figure out why they came about in the first place, impulsiveness on the part of the man or woman. Most times, impulsiveness causes all these downs, more than the ups!! So this year 2009, for all those people like myself that just cannot reign in their ideas, SLOW DOWN, IT'S FOR YOUR OWN GOOD!! Chao!

Horrors!

By Kerwin De Matas

Vacation time is right around the corner. You have been planning for a while now along with your family, of three kids and your wife, for this much awaited vacation. The destination you want to travel to is outside of your country requiring airborne travel. So you start calling the airlines for price quotes to have an idea of how much airfare would be for you and your family, and to finally book a hotel that would coordinate with your flight plans. Not the reverse please! Reason being, is that most hotel rates are more or less stable, on the other hand, airfare fluctuate according to the market atmosphere and availability. Therefore, it is important to get the airfare out of the way first.
But what is this? The airlines are telling you that apart from the already expensive fares, there would also be extra charges to have your plane tickets issued with them by telephone or at their booking offices. But you were advised that Internet bookings on an airline Internet site do not incur extra charges. Very well, after intense shopping around, you discovered that booking with certain renowned online travel agencies might also be a good choice. After all, they are known to offer spectacular deals including discounts that just seem too good to be true. After thoughtful consideration, you decided to go for the online travel agency option. You walk away afterwards with a smile on your face feeling satisfied that this time consuming chore has been completed!
Life is great…
The day to take off for this long awaited vacation has finally arrived. Everyone is excited, the luggage is grouped to the front of the house, and it seems as if the taxi is taking an eternity to get to your address. Soon after what seemed like hours, (but were actually minutes!) the taxi is out front pumping his horn. Now your flight is at 09:00am, and you are leaving your home at 07:00am. Conversation, on the way to the airport, is at an all time high with everyone talking 30miles to the minute!
Okay, the taxi driver made good time, and you are there at the airport in around thirty five minutes, you finally locate your check in desk only to find that there is a line awaiting you. The line is not too long so no problem, everyone is still in a good mood, and the line is moving along nicely.
In no time you and your family are second in line to be checked in, when at that moment 08:00am, an announcement is made that the check-in is closed and that the boarding of the aircraft is going to proceed in a few minutes.
For a moment, you are lost for words. You let the check-in agent know that you got in at the airport early, and that there is still an hour to go before the flight takes off, so what’s up?
The agent then patiently explains that since your flight was an international flight, in theory passengers were required to check-in three hours before the flight took off, because in practice there are only two hours to actually do check-in, in which afterwards the desk is closed one hour before take off. In that one hour before take off, the list with all the passengers that were checked-in will have to be registered with the international police before boarding the aircraft. After the international police give the authorization needed, the pilots will eventually receive the go ahead for take off.
In other words, that one hour before take off is where all the paper work takes place making it impossible to check anyone else in for the flight.
So there you have it, the reality eventually hitting home that you and your family missed the flight!
Now remember you already paid the reservation for your hotel, and if you don’t travel today, that would be one day lost off of your stay at the hotel, as well as the money you paid for that day.
Maybe the hotel will refund you that day, maybe not; it all depends on the contract you accepted when you paid the reservation.
Now you have never traveled before, what should you do, you ask the agent what does this mean, were you going to lose your tickets? Can they be refunded? What are your alternatives?
The agent told you to hold on a second whilst they revise your fare regulations.
Whoa, hold up! Fare regulations? What are fare regulations?!
Every airline ticket is governed by fare regulations that define the penalty for changes; minimum and maximum stay; routing options; refund status; last date of travel etc.
Now wait, there is still a possibility. In your country, the airline that you bought your ticket with also leaves from another airport close by, so the agent says he will check to see if it is possible to leave from there.
Bad news…according to the fare regulations governing your ticket, no re-routings are allowed, and even though there are other airlines leaving the airport where you are at, unfortunately endorsements can only be done in an emergency i.e. storms, aircraft mechanical problems, possible delays etc. What bad luck you think, the happy mood that you and your family were in an hour ago has long dissipated. The agent then gives you an alternative of changing your flight to the next day.
Oh you can do that? You ask.
Your hopes are beginning to rise again, because now you were thinking that maybe you lost your tickets or something.
Fine, your tickets can be changed, but for a fee.
Now you are getting a headache; for a fee, so how much is this fee.
Well, according to your fare regulations, each person will have to pay a penalty of 250 USD for changes. Also since the tickets were unused, a re-calculation will have to be done to determine exactly how much the difference in fare would be according to the availability for the new date of travel. Oh, and your tickets were also booked by an external travel agency from the airline, therefore that would mean a charge of 50 USD.
So, if you have to re-schedule your flight, you will have to pay 250USD plus a fare difference not guaranteed until re-issued of 135 USD plus local taxes of 25 USD, plus this external charge of 50 USD, which all comes down to a total per passenger of = 460USD.
You are now looking at this agent as if he was a specimen from another planet, and you go nuts!
But wait, it does not stop there, because there is a clause in your fare regulation that says that if the reservation is not cancelled or changed before the time or date of travel, the ticket would be invalid. Therefore the agent will have to call his customer service department to ask for authorization to re validate your tickets.
That did it for you, because now you just want to be taken out of the airport on a stretcher, falling into a deep sleep to afterwards wake up from this nightmare.

________________________________________________

Now this is just one of the scenes that could take place in any airport, in any part of the world, with any airline. When a ticket is bought directly with any renowned airline, the reservation agents would always go over the fare regulations with you before the ticket is bought, just so that horrible experiences like the one above could be avoided.
If you must buy your ticket from a travel agency, then you should insist that they give you a rundown of your fare regulations. Most of them will not do that if not asked, because in the moment they would only want to close the sale as soon as possible securing their commissions. If anything has to go wrong, then they will wash their hands off the matter and send you directly to the airline to look for a solution!
Of course there are the online agencies. If that option is chosen, then get your binoculars out to go through the fine print on the computer screen please!
Remember, traveling is fun, and should be enjoyed to the maximum, but in these challenging economic times, diligence should also be taken to protect your pocket by educating your self on these policies, because if not, you are liable to lose a lot of money. So until then, take care, bless.

Yes We Can!!

By Kerwin De Matas




Abraham Lincoln Declared The Emancipation Of The Slaves.





Ulysses Grant Fought To Protect That Decree





Now Barack Obama Is Living Legacy To A Wrong Made Right Centuries Ago!

Symbolic!!

This is the best I know how to describe what took place on the 4Th of November, 2008. Three U.S Presidents, two from Illinois, and one from Ohio, each of them a huge contributing factor to U.S history as is known today world wide.

Abraham Lincoln was an unknown figure, who grew up in rural Illinois, eventually making it his goal to be educated and finally going on to become the 16Th President of the United States of America and an icon to be reckoned with. With his out spoken views on slavery, he rallied on until finally on September 22, he proclaimed Emancipation to slaves on Union territory. His words:

I would save the Union. I would save it the shortest way under the Constitution. The sooner the national authority can be restored; the nearer the Union will be "the Union as it was." ... My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that. What I do about slavery, and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union; and what I forbear, I forbear because I do not believe it would help to save the Union. I shall do less whenever I shall believe what I am doing hurts the cause, and I shall do more whenever I shall believe doing more will help the cause. I shall try to correct errors when shown to be errors; and I shall adopt new views so fast as they shall appear to be true views. I have here stated my purpose according to my view of official duty; and I intend no modification of my oft-expressed personal wish that all men everywhere could be free

Most would say that it was politically motivated, guess what, it was!! For me though, the most important thing, was that he did it.

Ulysses Grant was a general of exceptional military mindedness who served in the Union army, under Abraham Lincoln, who went on to become the 18Th President of the United States of America. This General was a driving factor in the defeat of the Confederate Army. Along with other objectives in this civil war which would eventually unite all fifty states, one of them was the protection of the right for an ex-slave to be free, not only in the union states, but in the confederate states also. "Grant's commitment to black civil rights was demonstrated by his address to Congress in 1875 and by his attempt to use the annexation of Santo Domingo as leverage to force white supremacists to accept blacks as part of the Southern political polity." Yes, he was from Ohio, and therefore a President elect from Ohio, but in my opinion, he was still very much part of what took place in the fight to protect civil rights in the beginning.


Barack Obama, a legacy of what these two ex-Presidents fought for, equality, and the long fought for right of a person of colour to achieve the same as their white counter parts. Barack Obama; an eloquent speaker; benevolent character; intelligent person. Qualities that would have been refused and shunned by a majority of whites in centuries gone by, towards people of colour, but are now educated to the fact that efficiencies or deficiencies can be found in any human being. The fight was long and perilous, even after Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses Grant. What they achieved was enormous, laying the ground for the felling of fences towards racism, and afterwards segregation. Mr. Obama did what everyone thought was the impossible. His campaign as Democrat nominee, then onto candidate for U.S President, and finally winning the U.S Presidency; he showed the U.S public that he can push aside all barriers so that from now onwards, discrimination should cease to exist and that any person would have the right to uphold any office not as an equal, but as a person. As the world can see, the U.S public has come a long way to maturing against adversity, negativity, and now even under threat of an oncoming recession that would affect many, they chose Mr Barack Obama to take on the helm of this country. There will always be fence sitters and ignorants, but what should not be forgotten is that this President is not a black man's President, but a President for all and a symbol world wide to end all types of discrimination to everyone no matter their colour, religion, ethnic back ground or country.
So, congratulations America, bless!!

The Land Of The Free

By Kerwin De Matas

Welcome to the land of the free….what ever that means.
The U.S is preparing for their Presidential elections 2008, and until now Barack Obama is leading with John Mc Kain breathing down his neck for the U.S votes this year.

Question: What would the results be if Obama wins?
Answer: Very interesting question.

This mighty country has been for centuries the epicenter for what all immigrants’ leave their countries for: The American dream.
Unfortunately though, it has never been, nor will it ever be easy or just, when it comes down to this topic. The two major racial groups in the U.S, which are the whites and blacks, could never come to terms with their co-existence in this country. Therefore, how could anyone else not born in this country live a life free of harassment?
Now I am happy that the U.S is supposedly developed to the point where most people are ready to go out and vote in public for the first black President in U.S history, but to what cost. The elections are about to take place in a few days and already there are talks about confrontational attacks (even another civil war?) between these two major groups. Of course if this has to happen, every other minority group including immigrants will be affected.
What a shame.
What a shame that there are white and black groups carrying out attacks against each other, and planning worst events to come. The derogatory remarks made against each other should say a lot about the hate and racial tensions yet strong and alive on this continent.
The citizens of this country should all be proud of a democracy that would allow decisions like this to be made by the people, for the people.
But no, these two groups are just contented to be angry with each other for something that happened centuries ago (slavery and afterwards, segregation). Of course this is something that should not be forgotten, and to use these past events as a form of reconciliation.
Am I crazy? Would I dare to suggest Reconciliation?
I guess at this stage, everyone just feels better walking around playing the blame game, walking backward instead of forward, too sad.
Like everyone else, I can only hope for the best. Yes, the new President is going to come to the helm just when the U.S is preparing for a supposed recession, where hell will surely break loose as he (black or white) would be blamed for the decline of the economy. Come on Americans; celebrate your future and all the good that could become of it, instead of licking the wounds of terrible pains that are long gone. I agree that the pain and humiliation would not be easy to forget, but prolonging it won’t help either.
Let Tuesday 4th be a day to remember, as the day when America took a major decision for change; to try ending once and for all the unnecessary friction that is tearing the people apart. The worlds’ eyes are on you. Power to all the people, bless.

Crisis!

By Kerwin De Matas

Something is happening, I cannot clearly say what, but with the scary rise of inflation worldwide, and out of control deficits, prudence must be exercised as to how we manage our money these days. A large percentage of countries today do not have sufficient savings, because of the huge spend drift mentality, which most of them have adopted, financing projects that were not necessary in the moment, but upon which substantial funds have been concentrated.

The U.S as my example is a super power that is in need of a miracle right now, requiring more loans to assist a soon to be cash strapped and overburden economy to help save them from crashing down into a failed financial heap. It is an exaggeration right now, but if a solution is not decided upon immediately, then 2008 would be a year to remember. It would be a year to remember when: Motorola, Sears holdings, Citi group, Ford, Yahoo, Sprint, fell in step with Lehman brothers once a very influential investment bank which had a lot of swing on Wall street ending the 158 years of existence. Eventually they will join the other ex-huge and traditionally rich companies like; Firestone, American motors, Texaco, Pan-Am, which all went bankrupt or sold off.

The gigantic war effort that the U.S instigated, and is presently financing with no liable monetary returns, is causing huge deficits in this country with difficulty of reining in this economy gone out of control. This unfortunate and very expensive war is causing huge death tolls on both sides and of which there is no turning back. A domino effect on the weaker economies where major trading and dependence on the U.S dollar in the past, is creating inflation on an alarming level in these partner countries which have close trading ties with the United States .

So how can I help my situation in these times? Simple, spend less and save more!

Most of us are living in countries where government spending was/is out right irresponsible. Therefore, their negligence in managing our countries interests, and protecting our resources for which they were entrusted to do, have left us average citizens nothing more but to manage what little funds we have remaining and hope for the best. Be forewarned now, because for those who follow my blog will remember me later on…. The banks are restless right now, they are like vultures just circling and waiting for carnage to prey on. All the credit packages would start coming on full force in all forms and fashions, because after all, they have to save the skins on their backs also.

Therefore, for all the sorry souls copying the Government’s form of spending and having a jolly time during the so-called booms, would eventually find themselves just like the countries that they live in: No savings, and possibilities of precarious conditions to come.

What is the solution then: depending on the banks to help us out of our delicate situations, or in other words, falling for the credit packages!

Results: Opting to pay the high interests that the banks offer with their credit packages as no other alternatives comes by, soon finding ourselves more in debt than before.

I am not an economist, therefore I will be the last person to look up to for a solution, but I still think I can put in my two cents. Very well, when I was in my crisis, I had to take out a credit to pay off my credit cards, so that I could therefore go on paying off my credit with minor problems. Of course the rest depended on me, I would just tighten my belt more, stay away from things which before I would pay for just because I could, but of which were not necessary.

For example:
 A new pair of jeans to go to a special get together, why, if I already have a pair… they might be old, but they are still useful.
 Do I really need to hang out every weekend with my friends at the pubs…what about just hanging out at the homes of my friends or my home even?
 I live very close to my job and I use the metro, the fare is not low either… But then I have a bike, and I am physically fit, so what’s up if I use my bike to go to work, the only thing I’ll pay is my own energy, and of course I feel very good afterwards.
 On the job, I am on my lunch break and I need to eat, the mini-market is right around the corner… However, I know how to cook, and my creations are eatable, so there you go, my lunch in my bag, paying next to nothing on the ingredients needed to prepare it.
Are you seeing something familiar here? In other words, most countries have resources but prefer to import products that they already have, especially in the agriculture sector, instead of reviving it, the authorities are just leaving it to stagnate…

These are just a few of my personal efforts in trying to put my cost down, so that at the end of the month, I can actually walk away with something in my pocket after paying my bills i.e. Electricity, water, gas, telephone etc. There is a huge possibility that a large majority of citizens can improve their situations if they were to sit down and review their spending habits also, adding, and eliminating where necessary to manage extra cost. Remember that as workers, most of us find ourselves living month by month, pay-check by pay-check, in an economy affected by inflation and the salary staying the same… we need to watch out.

Now the two major opponents for the 2008 U.S Presidential elections, Mr. John Mc Cain and Mr. Barack Obama suspending their campaigns due to this crisis that is presently plaguing the U.S, should really say something. Just a small reminder though, this was not the first time that Mr. Obama suspended one of his campaign activities. In 2007, because of the Virginia Tech shooting, he cancelled a very important foreign policy address, which was supposed to help his campaign describing how the U.S. could re-establish its leadership role in the invasion of Iraq. Of course the main reason behind those crucial decisions is totally and politically motivated, and not because of guilty consciences. However, I will admit though that I am a little bit anxious to know exactly, how much the United States economy was damaged and exactly how grave is it.


Imagine after coming out of an Olympics that was totally faultless and going down in the history books as the most expensive games ever, demonstrating a grandeur that would be incomparable to any other, and to reminiscence for a very long time. Sometimes I felt as if this was China’s way of introducing its self again after centuries of being dormant, the new number one super power to be contended with as a modern society, and they were not afraid of showing it. It’s as if this country was just waiting patiently, just going about recuperating their losses after the Asian crisis years ago, and just holding on for the right moment to make its debut as the world’s number one developed economy. Who knows, maybe the time has come for one to bow out, and the other to come walking in…Remember that this won’t be China’s first time as a world dominating factor, after all, this was the continent that ruled over many and maintained a lot of respect with their many dynasties before and during the Medieval times. All we can do now is speculate and try coming up with answers, most of us worried as to what the new future will bring under a new super economy, and a communist one at that!

Well, we will not really know what is going to happen until we know the fate of the United States of America. I am not a citizen of that country, but it still feels sad when I wonder as to this great country’s fate. I just hope that this will not come to some sort of tragic finale.

For now, as countries living in the Western Hemisphere, we should just try to walk this thing out, try working out our personal financial problems, and hoping for the best in everything that is playing out right now. Good economics and luck...That is just what we all need now, bless.

Pain

By Kerwin De Matas

What is pain…?
If someone can honestly answer that question for me, then I guess I would be satisfied. But then again, maybe I do not want to be satisfied, but just help on understanding what is really taking place on my island. God, I believe in you, but not with the religious fervor that most people exercise towards you, I guess I do feel pain when I have to read day by day all the murders taking place, while along with it goes the loss of basic morals and respect for our fellow man, woman and child. We are a society like any other where development on a daily scale is frequently being recognized and measured on an international level, but lord, there is a serious disease on my island that needs to be cured. In Trinidad, my people are hurting and suffering from all the traumas past and present. Remember, it is only recently that we are beginning to take physical and emotional abuse towards kids seriously. It is not right when domestic violence is considered common, and of course, a lot of work still needs to be done when we see a kid murdered by overzealous parents, stepparents, or guardians on what they think is discipline. I am not going to speak for anyone else now but myself.
Pain for me is something that is always born from something else.
Pain is born when we remember going through life trying to enjoy it like it should be enjoyed, but instead, we would always have to defend ourselves from blows for not placing in the first four during the school term examinations, or for getting dirt on the school uniform, or for eating mom’s favorite sweet…. It hurts to remember that the people that we trusted to protect and love us were the ones doing the most damage towards us.
Pain is born from frustration when we try to show ourselves as loving to people whom we think would care, instead they would just humiliate us, degrade us, showing us that we do not count for nothing and on top of that, try to send us as far away as possible from them… thanks mom.
Pain is born from hurt when one tries to mingle with society, only to find out that it is not easy at all to relax like everyone else and have a good time. In the end, that person feels like an outcast, finding it impossible to put the pain behind and look forward to the future.
I feel though that the biggest pain of all is when a son or a daughter, never heard an “I love you” from their parents…. It comes to a point where love is not known, therefore giving way to hate, dishonesty, lies…just telling people what they want to hear, because by now, that person becomes an expert on knowing what pleases society, and how to get just what is needed from that society which wasn’t there to help them when they needed it.
Sad is the word to describe the lives that some people lived while growing up. The urge afterwards to inflict pain on other people, whether it be physical, verbal, or emotional, is present where ever or whatever that person might be doing; it’s an animal inside that feels forever present.
This might sound psychotic, but I do not think that it is, because then the mental stability of certain people would have to be discussed and that would have to be done in another opportunity. Like I was saying though, eventually some of those lost and distressed souls would find out just what love truly is, and would go on to learn how to give it back in return. I refuse to accept that my island is full of psychopaths let loose. Instead, I believe that there are many young people with so much anger and pain in their hearts, from this domino effect where generations of families would accept this dysfunctional state as a norm in their lives, finding anything to vent all the built up anger in ways never acceptable. When needed, counseling was never provided, what else could society expect?
Robbery: inflicting pain and hurt by depriving victims of their personal belongings;
Kidnapping: inflicting pain and hurt in return for something;

Domestic violence: inflicting pain and hurt on family members who in turn would just suffer in constant shock;

Murder: the extreme infliction of pain and hurt for personal or impersonal reasons.

Lord, for an island which is so small, with so much promise of a powerful economic future, what is that worth if we cannot cure our people of all this pain born from all, which we had to endure? It does not mean anything at all if most of us will not be around to enjoy all that is supposedly being prepared for the famous 20/20 plan that the Government is touting for us citizens. Statistics are showing us that we are killing each other on a ratio of two persons per day, per month.
This is what pain can do.
There are the lucky folks who never had it tough in their lives, or the ones who lived the rough life but were strong enough to march on but with the pain ever present, or the ones who managed to come up with the money to pay psychologists or psychiatrists to help them cope with their pain and hurt. These same people would therefore go on ranting and raving about the animals in Trinbagonian society causing mishap to the other law-abiding citizens. The crimes committed on my isle in such a defiant manner are inexcusable and to be dealt with. Urgency needs consideration though in enlightening everyone living in Trinidad that we have a very grave problem stemming from years of neglect!
This unfortunate sickness is present, and we need to take care of it before it grows into an epidemic. Sitting idly by, hoping that it would just go away would be naïve. We need a cure, most of our nation does not have an idea of what love is, which is simply tragic. Most of our people need to understand what love is, that is where we need to start….bless.

My Airline Woes...

By Kerwin De Matas

Air travel, a luxury, or a necessity...

Travelling from continent to continent for business or pleasure is absurdly common now.
Travelling that would have been be long and uncomfortable by car, train, bus or by any other method known to man, has now been cut down to very short trips by domestic flights.
This form of travel which was adopted by the rich man as a necessity to get from one place to the other quickly or connecting them from one country to the other, has for decades been the average mans’ option of travel also.
In other words; Better ties with family and friends, knowing other countries and expanding small businesses that would have normally stayed that way, has been a major plus for the average man had it not been for the change in the travel industry giving them an opportunity to grow in a dignified way as well.
So what has changed now? Well, Airborne travel was never cheap, but yet it was accessible with affordable credits from the banks, travel agency packages and of course the airlines keeping their fares as low as possible to attract new passengers.
Now I believe that the airlines did more than just lower their fares, but also offered frequent flyer programs, group fares, adoption fares, bereavement fares etc. Yes, the airlines did their part in making airborne travel accessible for all. However, as they say, all good things must end….
The worlds’ climate is changing, and when I say that I do not mean weather, but economic changes.
Events happen, creating a buildup to other events that can be positive or negative. Unfortunately, beginning from the gulf war, which led to the bombardment of the twin Towers in New York, which gave fuel to the Afghanistan war, which finally took the U.S and it's coalition forces to Iraq and of course to the much converted oil fields. These events, which were supposed to create change worldwide, has done just that, except not in the way most people expected. Powerful countries are falling to their knees, giving birth to new world powers (China?). The buildup just got worse when world leaders would just go on feeding words of what they thought were of comfort, telling the masses that everything was okay, when in truth and in fact everything was just getting uncontrollable by the day.
I would get back to that point on another post, what I am trying to concentrate on now is how all of these events would soon threaten airborne travel to the average man as we know it. Petroleum, as a result of all these events, is skyrocketing to record prices by the barrel on a daily basis. The airline industry and every other business that surrounds this industry, heavily depends on this fossil fuel for their survival.
The catering services depend on fuel to provide their meals to the airlines.
The external baggage companies depend on fuel to provide their services.
The airports depends on fuel to aliment the aircrafts, airport security, airport maintenance, administration which in general is expensive and becoming more so, which in the end results in the increases of airport taxes. Therefore, the list goes on.
The airlines in turn need to generate revenue to pay for these services, while at the same time with an obligation to produce profits so that employees could be paid, to maintain their aircrafts, to keep share holders happy and of course to simply exist in an industry that is becoming more and more aggressive and competitive in every way.
Now from what I am seeing and reading, it is becoming increasingly difficult on a daily basis for many airlines, especially the smaller companies, to meet most of those obligations. Most of the smaller airlines that were known for their economic fares, but lousy service ( I mean, what more can you ask for?), are going out of business because of the lack of funds and net loss that is continuously leading to their downfall. It is sad, but that is the reality of what is taking place worldwide.
In the early seventies through to the eighties, the average person could have enjoyed airborne travel which before was only accessible to the rich man. The nineties through to the new century brought changes that would affect the pocket of the average person, but of which accessibility was still present for airborne travel.
In 2008 now, all I can say is that, if the petroleum prices keep going as it is now, airport taxes will just continue to increase, forcing airlines to follow suit by revamping everything within their companies to save cost. This includes merging themselves into each other, decommissioning old aircrafts, using smaller aircrafts on shorter routes, bigger aircrafts on longer routes that will take the majority of passengers to their destination, cutting out routes not gainful to the companies, but tapping into routes that are growing on demand. The goal: To try keeping above water, but to still provide services to passengers looking for cost effective ways of travelling also.
So, the airlines are still trying to do their part, but if costs continue escalating like it is now, eventually the airline industry might return to how it was before, where only the privileged could have gone airborne, making it impossible again for the average man to fly.
Now I work in the airline industry, it still does not make me an expert on certain topics, and of course, I will not go into depth on the changes taking place within the company I work for. Nevertheless, if there are questions, and I can answer them, I will happily do so. I really feel like I can help avoid mistakes made before, but of which are costly now. In this ever changing airline industry, these mistakes have to be avoided, because the cost to reinstall a missed flight, for example, can surely be felt by an average mans' pocket now, or learning to take advantage of the red-eye flights when possible etc.
Therefore, for any comments or questions in English or Spanish, just publish them here, I will be present to do what I can. By the mean time, take care, bless.

New Roads

By Kerwin De Matas

Dear Matthew,
How are you, I hope you are fine and a little bit relaxed after doing your S.E.A examinations. How was the waiting game? The Ministry of Education really knows how to keep people in suspense, huh? First of all, congratulations on a job well done Matt. Studying really does produce fruit, doesn’t it? The time has come where you will soon start your new academic career. You know, if there was a prize for the most brass faced, I have to admit I would have won that prize. What I mean to say is that, after being absent for the most part of your life, I guess I should be the last person to give advice of this sort, but I feel I should fill you in anyway, and if you don’t believe me, try researching for your self everything I’m about to tell you. What I want to talk to you about is something I’m sure you are very aware of Matt, I want to talk to you a little bit about what you might come up against in your new school.
The harsh reality in many countries today Matt, is this invasion of drugs on the school compound. Man, it doesn’t matter what school a student attends, whether it be a school of low academic achievement to the top prestigious institutions, drugs are always present. What I’m writing now might sound like another news article about saying, “No to drugs!” etc, etc, blah,blah,blah…. But you know what? It doesn’t sound like blah blah anymore when drug addiction comes to your very door and with it, all the problems that can affect everyone close to you. Tears can come to anyone’s eyes remembering a kid in his/her first year of high school or collage, full of energy, excited to be starting on this new adventure, aspiring to do a lot of things…… but then a few years down the road this same student might be one of the unfortunates that got hooked on the consumption of drugs, another addict walking around with this lost look that is trademark to frequent drug users, reacting to sound only they can hear or seeing things only they can see. Most of these souls Matt were a mother’s son or daughter that could have done no wrong, but yet, it’s a young life that’s ended before it even started.
You see, that’s how it starts Matt, kids that are most of the times left with a lot of time on their hands with nothing to do, and most parents walking around boasting that their intelligent child would never get involved in that nonsense. If we as parents would just try remembering how it was in our school days and to stop pretending that drugs doesn’t exist in our schools, maybe then we could start putting forth our best efforts in trying to get our young ones back.
Matt, have you ever heard, or come up against so called ‘popular kids’ in your old school? If you haven’t, then I promise you that you would come up against these elements soon enough. Don’t worry, I’m not trying to scare you, I mean, after all these are just kids like yourself and sometimes older; But this would definitely be the time to put your best annalistic and decision making skills to the test Matt. These are kids that will decide that if you aren’t cool enough, then they will try making sure that the rest of the student body know also, maybe by throwing remarks that might not be nice at all, or taunting you etc. But you know what Matt? That’s exactly where who you are will truly come to light, and where tough decisions would have to be taken. These decisions are not going to be easy at all, but then again, decisions in general are not.
Very well Matt, question: What does it take to be cool? By succumbing to dares and peer pressure Matt….
Some dares can be harmless, while most others can be down right troublesome and then later on in an adolescent’s mind, a reputation that must be kept even if it means leaving your friends behind and confronting endless problems, all of this to be in with the cool kids. Again, you don’t have to worry about making a wrong or correct decision, what you should simply think about is what road you want to take; the left road, or the right road!
First of all Matt, the reason why you are in your new school in the first place is because you’ve earned the right to be there and to receive the education that you deserve, but in your new environment, you would also be living a life that your parents cannot live for you, in other words, you’ll be alone most of the times. This doesn’t mean though that you’ll be unheard. If ever there is something bothering you or maybe something that has you genuinely uncomfortable, then you should not think twice but to tell someone that you truly trust. Maybe if I had done that, I wouldn’t have had all those problems I had when I was at school.
Now this is something you should know Matt, if a student is eventually accepted in with what is known as the cool kids’ ‘clique’, from then on most students feel compelled to go along with their rules if they want to stay in.
Matt, not in all, but in some cases, to continue with the in crowd, one would be expected to bully physically and/or emotionally other students; vandalism on or off school property would be the norm; sometimes even the occasional sex and/or drinking would come into play. But the most dangerous of them all Matt without a doubt will surely be presented sooner or later: drugs.
Each one of the former actions are down right disrespectful of course Matt, it doesn’t take rocket science to see that, right? But Matt, the latter can be very dangerous and in almost all cases, the future can be easily predicted. A lot of times, most of these actions go unpunished right under the noses of teachers and parents who prefer to turn a blind eye; but even more frightening, is that most teachers and/or parents are so ignorant to the use of drugs on the school compound Matt, that they would go on to say that it’s all rumor.
Exactly what substances can be classified as drugs: Anything that is strong enough to intoxicate a person, and impeding that person’s ability to see, hear or talk properly, and in isolated cases, even causing that person’s death. You won’t believe this Matt, I mean, I couldn’t believe it either until I saw an undercover documentary done on one of the top collages in Chile, but apart from marijuana, pills or cocaine, kids are getting into the habit of inhalants now as a form of getting a cheap high, can you believe that? What are inhalants? These are glues, liquid paints, paint thinners, aerosol sprays, and of course the same gasoline that’s used for motor vehicles etc. These inhalants are normally poured into a can or a plastic bag and then inhaled. Apparently they are legal to have and a much cheaper way of getting high, but Matt, these things are extremely dangerous and it’s also proving a severe health hazard in a lot of adolescents today. Marijuana and cocaine in all it’s forms in young adults, or any adult for that matter, can bring an aspiring future to a very quick and disastrous end, causing pain to both the user and their family, but these other unconventional forms used to get high might actually work in the beginning coming on very fast, but since the required results only last a few minutes, the effects that comes after can cause severe nausea, unbearable headaches, blackouts, uncontrollable bowel movements; all in all, not a really pretty sight or position to be in Matt.
If you want to investigate this matter a little more closely, check these sites out: http://www.aic.gov.au/research/drugs/types/ or http://www.drugsinfo.adf.org.au/browse.asp?containerid=drug
So, you will see things that you might not have seen in elementary school, but you do not have to be scared Matt. Just always remember that you are there for a specific reason, and that you don’t always have to be uptight. There would always be lots of possibilities to have fun and to enjoy your collage years, but just try putting into practice also the ability to imagine your self first in a situation, and how it can turn out before coming to a decision. I try it sometimes, and believe it or not, but it actually works, if I could have done that before, maybe I might have been better off than I am now. One more thing Matt, my favorite music are, Hip-Hop, Dance Hall Reggae and Soca, everything else I can listen to also without any problem at all. I am telling you this because sometimes in the first two, some of the lyrics can be very suggestive, meaning they will tell you to ‘Hustle n’ Ball’ or to ‘Bun Out De Chi Chi’. Now why the hell would I want to hustle drugs or to assassinate gay men? You understand what I’m saying Matt? A lot of kids are actually taking to heart these lyrics and going out there and living them, I don’t know, but I’m guessing that if Movado tells these kids to look for the nearest cliff and jump off, I’m positive that they’ll actually do it…Very well Matt, I hope you read my letter to you that I have made public in my blog for the sole purpose of preparing you and other kids starting their new schools and to face everything with an open mind. With the right support, school can be an atmosphere full of fun and information building. Take care now Matt, and again, congratulations on your S.E.A results, you did a great job, bless!

Yours Truly
Kerwin.