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Bahamas Report (no pics yet) June 25, 2006 - 17:26:18
Okay, so I know we've been home for a week already, and we really haven't said much about our week-long trip to the Bahamas. I'm sorry! There's been alot of things going on, what with unpacking, cleaning, and redoing the basement known as Taeliac Studio. I guess this is a "report" of sorts.
Note: due to my laziness, you may see this same post on multiple forums. Please excuse me. We're going to put up about 300 pictures, and the good ones will have captions, but that'll take a while still. I wanted to share some bits here though!
-HOW: We left on a Sunday night from Milwaukee, WI, and arrived in Detroit, MI shortly thereafter. We stayed overnight in Romulus, a suburb of Detroit, and flew out in the morning for Fort Lauderdale, with an immediate connecting flight arriving at our final destination of Marsh Harbour.
-WHERE: We were in Casuarina Point, Abaco, Bahamas. Population of the "settlement" of the Point is about 100 or so people. Abaco is the island in the NE of the chain, pretty much due E of Fort Lauderdale, FL. It has an international airport in Marsh Harbour, and one main road that scoots up the middle of the island (which is kind of shaped like a boomerang facing the left). Casuarina Point is named for the trees, which are Casuarina Pines. It's about 20 miles south of the main city (Marsh Harbour). My grandparents have 3 'cottages' that the rent out to friends and family year-round, and Taeliac & I were able to get one of them for a week. We were literally on the beach, surrounded by palm trees and sand. Maybe a little patch of grass.
Inside of the cottage named "Sunrise", there's a small kitchenette/living room kind of thing. It has a sofa and a chair, which are across from the gas range, sink, and refridgerator. That leads to the bedroom, which has a Full Size Bed, and a bathroom with shower stall. In case you were curious, the matching cottage "Sunset", which is attached to the other, is the same thing minus the bedroom. The sofas in both pull out into Full Size Beds.
-WHO: Well, Taeliac and I stayed alone in Sunrise, but there's another cottage across the way which was built about a year ago. It's called "Fish Tales". My Grandparents' House kind of completes a triangle to Sunrise/Sunset and Fish Tales, so that it's also facing the ocean, but lies back a bit. Staying at Fish Tales were some long-time friends and customers: Cindy and Ron, along with their friend Sheri. They were excellent people. It was like we were all a great big family. Cindy and Ron have been coming down there at least once a year, every year, for the past decade or so. They're like bonafide bahamians.
-WHY: Taeliac and I have been together for about 7 years. Yeah. Long time, huh? We've never taken a vacation together, for some dumbass reason (my fault). So, as she had been really stressing out about work (her business, www.BeAnime.com), I worked it out so that we could go down there for a week. I'm really glad we did, too.
-WHAT: So what'd we do? Well, almost every day, we woke up around 9-ish (which is 8-ish where we're used to in the Central time zone), and we ate a small breakfast or brunch. This was something like toast, or eggs, or waffles. You know, the usual. We did go to an Island Bakery, and I can honestly say that Bahamian Bread is THE BEST I've ever had. Almost every day we either went out floating about at high tide (waist deep) or went out walking along the sand flats at low tide (0"-1"). The tides change every 13 hours, so it's a different time every day. Dinner was usually made by my Grandparents, but on a couple of occassions, we went to a friend's house nearby. Then, at night, we'd usually retire to our cottage at about 9pm-ish. We'd then read for a bit, and start anew the next day.
There were alot of really fun things we did, though. "Highlights", if you will. Here's some of them here:
-we went into town one day, for lunch and shopping. It should be pointed out that, in the Commonwealth of the Bahamian Islands, the 'Conch' is the dietary staple. "What's a Conch", you say? Here's a good primer for 'yah: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conch . They're incredibly cute critters. If you find one out in the water, you'll see that it has cute little green eyestalks, with little mouth tentacle things. Instead of moving on a squishy bubblegum-like thing like a snail, it has a little finger-like appendage with, basically, a fingernail. It pulls itself along the sand underwater with that. It's actually quite tasty, despite it basically being a giant fried snail. When we went shopping, we stopped at a place and the two of us had "Cracked Conch". That's where you take the conch meat, pound it flat, and fry it up in a batter very much like Tempura. It was quite good. As far as the shopping itself went, we found alot of fun T-Shirts and Jewelry that we couldn't afford. It was fun looking around at stuff.
-let's talk a bit about Bacardi Anejo. Anejo means "aged". The specific Rum in question is actually noted as a "sipping rum", as it tastes and smells like a yummy cross between dark rum and cognac. It's aged for four years, I believe, give or take a year or so. You can practically drink it straight, and some people do. With Coke, however, it's absolutely fantastic. And, because it's made in the Caribbean, (and my Grandma gets a discount due to her clients/customers), it's CHEAP. We brought back 4 bottles with us, and it was only TEN BUCKS a bottle. No tax, duty free. We're currently playing a game called "let's see how long we can make this last".
-on the topic of food, we did also eat at a real snazzy restaurant called "Hummingbirds". The drinks were fabulous (a margarita for me, and a pina colada for Taeliac), and the food was even more so. Maybe it was the 2 drinks that made me daring, but I did try the Escargo. It was out of the shell, and covered in garlic butter and mozzarella. I tasted like a really good mushroom, but I'm glad it was dark...I didn't really want a good look at it before I ate it anyways. I bought a $22.00 Hoyo Cigar, made in Havana Cuba, before we left.
-the next night we went over to Chad & Sharon's House, which was just down the block, also right on the beach. Their house...oh my wow. It's the most luxurious house I've ever seen. I can't even really describe it, but I took tons of pictures. They had family up from Louisiana, and they were kind enough to cook a big Cajun Meal for all of us. Like I said, everyone's family. We had this very interesting stew-like concoction over rice, which was mostly comprised of crawdad/mudbug tails. It was actually pretty darn good, and they had really good sausage and garlic bread to go with it. Of course, Anejo & Coke showed up for dinner, too. Chad is a bit of a Cigar Efficianado, so he showed me how to smoke my huge Cuban I had bought the night prior. I had found out after the fact that it's a "Grade E", which means it's the strongest Cigar you can get. I had a small shot of reserve cognac with it...it was a good time. I surprisingly didn't get sick, either.
-I found out that yes, indeed, my Grandpa "Reginald 'Rex' Albury", along with the aforementioned Chad, are extras aboard Jack Sparrow's ship in Pirates of the Caribbean 2 and 3. They're both members of "The Scurvy Few", a Bahamian Motorcycle Club/Organization. I can't wait to see them both a'hoistin' the main!
-Radio Abaco: the only radio station I could find. They played some of the craziest Island Music I've ever heard. Song's like "Only Meat", which I surmise was about a man wishing he was rich enough that all he ate was meat. It went something like this: "Only meat (only meat), only meat (only meat), don' wan' no potato, jus' wan' da steak, only meat (only meat)." I really hope I can find the song on iTunes or something, because it was GREAT.
-poor Taeliac...her back got burned so badly. We went out for a walk around noon-ish, with heaving sunscreen on (Sport SPF 50). She had a piece of white large fishnet-like fabric around her shoulders to help protect her back...what we didn't realize was that the movement of said fabric over her shoulders rubbed off the suncreen altogether. She got roasted like a hot dog. Her back was bright red, and felt hot to the touch for days. It's mostly peeled off now, about a week later, but that sure was not cool.
-IN SUMMATION: The trip was truly fantastic. It was really great spending time with my love, no TVs, no computers, no phones. We'll have pictures up soon so we can share our terrific time with you all!
- Cap'n Kellin
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New Work Schedule June 22, 2006 - 13:49:25
Well, I realized I need to make some monies over the summer here if I'm going to be able to afford next semester at UWMilwaukee, so I went back to full time at my Callcenter.
New schedule is Saturday through Tuesday, with Wed/Thu/Fri off.
...I gotta have some time off, damn it! Otherwise it wouldn't be "summer vacation", it'd just be "summer where I only have to work my ass off at work and not school and work at the same time".
PS: Yes, I have to add an entry about my week in the Bahamas, with pictures. I'm aware of that, but I don't have the time to right now. So there!
- Cap'n Kellin
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Dir en Guh-WHA?! May 23, 2006 - 10:31:55
So I saw the oddest commercial late at night the other day when I was watching Late Night w/Conan O'Brien. It went something kind of like this:
<cue overdramatic rock music voice over>
Family Values Tour 2006, featuring KORN, Deftones, Stone Sour, and special guests Flyleaf and DIR EN GREY...
....Huh? :o
I had to go check it out to be sure, and yeppers, Dir en Grey, one of the awesomest J-Rock Bands ever, is touring here in the US on 'Family Values'. They're actually coming to Alpine Valley, which is just north of Chicago, IL, in a few months. Here's a link with further information like dates, etc: http://www.familyvalueslive.com/
Crazy!
- Cap'n Kellin
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Leaving, On A Jet Plane May 13, 2006 - 14:06:23
I love having family in the Bahamas. :icontaeliac: and I are all set, tickets bought and whatnot, for our first vacation in a very long time. We're going to visit my Grandparents, who rent out seaside cottages to vacationing rich folks from all around the world.
We'll be staying in one of their really nice ones, which has a little living room/kitchenette, bathroom, and bedroom. We are all set to leave on Sunday, June 10th, and leave Monday, June 19th. We'll be there for a total of 8 days.
We have to stay overnight in Detroit on Sunday, but it's better than an overnight in Ft. Lauderdale or a 6 hour layover in god-knows-where. Fortunately, there is a Baymont Inn or something like that directly across the highway from the Detroit Airport, so we're all set with that, too.
I can smell the sea salt and rum already...
- Cap'n Kellin
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Getting There... May 7, 2006 - 15:24:58
Well, I'm getting there. I have my book read, and my paper written, along with a good start on all of my "projects".
I can't believe that this is the last week of the semester already. It seems like school just drones on until the last couple weeks, and then it's like OMG I HAVE 2 DAYS TO DO THIS!!
In other news, I am officially out of video games. I've beaten Megaman Maverick Hunter X, Ys: Ark of Napishtim, LoZ: Minish Cap (again), and Castlevania DS. I'm thinking I need to make an EB Games run to trade in my craps for Untold Legends 2. I enjoyed the first one much like I liked the original Diablo for PC: level building hack and slash action.
Also, they officially banned the internet usage here at work. I sure am glad I'm only here on the weekends when no supervisors ever work.
- Cap'n Kellin
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Finals May 3, 2006 - 18:29:01
Okay, let's see what else I have yet to finish up for this semester...
-Film Japanese 2 Final with Taeliac and rest of group, and turn in group attendance sheet and peer eval form. (due wednesday)
-Get research book for Acting 1, read it, crap out 5 page paper. (due whenever I can finish it)
-Write 10 minute autodrama emphasizing lack of social skills via masks. (presenting tuesday)
-Create set design for my modern Red Riding Hood play. (due week from tuesday)
-Ed Psych Observation #2: motivation (worth 5% of grade, low on the totem pole of priorities)
Oh, well. At least I don't have any final exams, except for the Ed Psych one, which isn't really a final but a large non-cumulative exam that just so happens to be at the end of the semester.
- Cap'n Kellin
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Good w/the Bad April 16, 2006 - 15:25:30
GOOD: My girlfriend, Taeliac/Sam and I finally got our new bed! It's a Sealy Reflexion Split Queen Laguna Beach set which retails for about 3 grand. I, however, got it 75% via factory direct through work. It's sooooo nice. It's actually a latex foam bed as opposed to having springs. It's a big marshmallow.
BAD: In the process of moving the old bed, I had to move a very large piece of plywood out of the way. It was between our old matt and box, and was about 5 feet wide by 8 feet long (apr). I accidentally dropped it on the top of my foot from about 2 feet up on top of the old box spring. I had thin shoes on, so I thought I broke my foot! It hit right about in the middle of where the laces on shoes start and end. I can walk, but it's really sore and achy. Boo.
I guess you just have to take the good with the bad.
- Cap'n Kellin
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That being said... April 10, 2006 - 20:15:12
WARNING! Theological ranting herein.
Intro being said, let's get some actual content going.
Okay, so I saw something on campus today that irritated me so much that I just had to write about it. I'm used to seeing people with signs like "don't change the name of the school!" or "abortion is murder!" in our courtyard/quad/whatever you wanna call it. I'm definitely an advocate of free speech, regardless of if I agree with them. Today there was a guy with a HUGE sign...no, I think it was more like a vertical banner on a stick, who was literally preaching, nay YELLING, at passers-by.
What did this sign say? It said "Attention all..." followed by a long list of "evil doers". To the best of my recollection, this list was comprised of "homos & lesbos", "fornicators", "baby killers", "roman catholics", "porno freaks", "muslims", and a few others that I can't remember, and under this list it had in huge font "GOD WILL JUDGE YOU". Next to him was the 'solution' to the 'problem' that he was proposing. There was a sign at his feet, complete with black and red flames, that said "Jesus saves us from HELL".
Just as a note here, I was raised Christian, Catholic, and Lutheran, depending on which of 4 parents' church I was going to (both parents divorced and remarried). I'm not anti-christian, or anti-any religion for that matter. I have my own personal belief system which I believe to be true.
That being said, you know what I think should've been the FIRST thing on that list? "People who preach a doctrine of hate while hiding behind the name of God". "God will judge you" ? It sure as HELL seemed like HE was judging us. Apparantly the higher up you get on a soapbox, the closer you are to God, and can go ahead and speak upon His/Her behalf.
It's this kind of "I know I'm right and everyone else is wrong" BULLSHIT that makes me dread most, if not all, organized religions. These people take themselves, and every other "preacher" out of the equation. How do they know they're right? How many times has their "infallable" bible been translated from how many different languages?
Who's to say that one religion is right, and the other is wrong? By saying that they're 100% right, and there can be no other truth, they are putting themselves on a higher level than everyone else in this world. Is that, or is that not, a pure definition of 'evil'?
Why is it SO DAMNED HARD for people to believe what they want to believe, without putting others down? I'm not saying we should stop people like the guy with the sign. I would never want that. I'm a patient person, and I do my damndest to understand all sides of an arguement (consider me "Nuetral Good", if you will), but closedminded egotistical hatemongers like this prick just piss me off to such an extent. SHIT!
I feel much better writing this. I was sorely tempted to argue this with the actual signholder on campus, but I would've been late for work, and there's a good chance he'd play the 'oh, so you're anti-jesus' card on me. Thank you for reading this. It's perfectly fine for you to disagree with me, and I hope I didn't offend anyone.
- Cap'n Kellin
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Required Intro April 10, 2006 - 19:50:38
Okay, so I've been doing the best I can to keep a journal updated at least once a week on DeviantART (kellin.deviantart.com), and I figured I might as well replicate it here.
So, who the hell am I? I'm just some dude. An incredibly busy dude. My life flies by me like a comet. I'm a 6th year Junior at UWMilwaukee (WI), and I attend classes every Mon-Fri from 9a-3p, and I work about 22 hours every weekend. On top of that, I try the best I can to be supportive of my lovely boss/better half, who owns her own business (cosplay/custom clothing). So, yeah, I'm pretty busy. I wouldn't say my life is hard, but it definitely keeps my attention.
So that's what I do, but what else about me? Well, I'm a typical gamer geek. I was raised on a steady diet of Magic: the Gathering, Video Games, and DnD. Mm-mm-mm-mm-mm, Toasty.
I'll be doing the best I can to post here at least once a week, probably on weekends while I'm at work. Fortunately, my customer service callcenter is pretty lax over the weekends.
Oh! And about the name, as most of you can attest, I never seem to know what the hell is going on. I thought it seemed fitting for a title.
- Cap'n Kellin
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