Christmas Time & Wild Chickens

It's Christmas time in Cayman. At least I think so. There's a lot of decorative lights everywhere. But no snow. There's the usual Christmas sale ads in the paper. But no freezing temps. There's Christmas carols being played on the radio. But no shoveling. Yes, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas - sort of.

I've included a picture of my one and only tree. Isn't it a beauty? Lisa gave it to me before I got on the plane to come back after Thanksgiving. I think it's really cool. I have a train and tree skirt to go with it - but I sort of like it as is. Turns my place into a holiday home.

It's been another busy few weeks. It seems there is always something going on here. In a little over a month, they've had Taste of Cayman, Jazzfest, Pirates Week Festival, a marathon event, the biggest Chamber After Hours of the year, and about a dozen different Christmas tree lightings, and concerts, and openings .... It's a little strange going to things when you don't know very many people, but it's definitely a social place - especially if you're a chicken.

Even on my earlier trips to Grand Cayman, I was surprised that there seemed to be chickens wandering around without any adult (or other) supervision. Downtown, beachside, almost everywhere ... chickens. Well, I finally asked someone at my office "What's the deal with all the chickens?" She told me that they're all wild and just part of the Grand Cayman landscape. She, herself, was not too pleased by this fact - but nonetheless seemed to accept as somewhat normal the fact that chickens are free to roam as they please. And we thought the tourists came to see the Stingrays.

I saw some other wildlife just outside my patio door tonight. The neighbors are pretty regularly feeding some ducks so they're around quite a bit. Tonight, they were joined by an impressive turtle that was swimming in the pond behind my house. He wasn't looking for a handout, however, and dove out of sight fairly soon after he spotted me. I also noticed a very large mammal-ly looking animal down the path a bit but I'm not exactly sure what it was. Rats .... I wish I knew what it was. (hmmmm).

Speaking of wildlife ... I asked our nursery (the tree nursery that is) if they had a plant that I could add to my office to brighten up the place and they said sure. So yesterday, I see three people - yeah that's right, three people - delivering my little 8+ ft. tall and 6 ft wide plant. After they got it potted and tucked (as much as one can tuck an 8 ft. plant) into the corner, it actually didn't seem so overwhelming. At any rate, they agreed to take care of it for me too so Viva la Beanstalk.

Can't wait to come home for Christmas and see everybody. It's been an interesting start to our Grand Cayman venture, but I have a feeling that it will always feel good to really be going "home" for the holidays.

• Merry Christmas Everybody

Arrrggghhh ... its Pirates Week

The much anticipated Pirates Week festivities were finally held after being delayed by Hurricane Paloma. They had originally held the events during October but specifically moved them to November a few years back to avoid any potential conflicts due to weather -ahh, the best laid plans.

At any rate - they celebrated each of the districts on the island during different weekdays and then on Saturday in Georgetown, they had cardboard boat races, a parade, lots of live entertainment, costume contests, a reinactment of a pirates trial, and lots of different food vendors set up. Oh ... and they had quite of a bit of beer.

I went down in the afternoon and watched some of the activities. It was hard to get there as the police had closed down most of the streets around town and with my limited knowledge of where different roads lead, I ended up driving around more than necessary to find a good parking spot. I had a Jerk Chicken sandwich from one of the vendors and tried my first CayBrew - the only locally brewed beer from the Island. Both were very good - although about any cold beverage would've tasted good after eating a spicy sandwich in very hot weather.

The scene sort of reminded me of the Renaissance Festival in terms of the ambiance around the event and the number of people dressed in costume - only in this case Pirates for the men - and wenches for the girls (just like the Renaissance Festival - I guess wenches are a multi-dimensional women's group) Very relaxed and fun and entertaining. Also a bit lonely when you're wandering around by yourself I found. The kids were fun to watch - lots of swordplay and pirate spirit in them.

I went home for a break in the late afternoon but went back later that night. They put on a very corny and actually irritating pirates on trial production with a lot of references to American political characters. Not my favorite. I did enjoy the music and fireworks show was very impressive. The whole festival is visually very stunning as the Georgetown harbour is curved so you can get a more panoramic view of the three or four blocks of activities. The music was very good too - they had several local bands playing - some rock, some pop, and some more caribbean. My favorite was a percussion group whose shirts read Steel Pan Music. They basically have dented steel pans that when hit in various spots make very different tones. Probably about 15 or so players and the sound was very cool.

I was very happy to meet up with a few fellow Dart employees that I knew - really my first experience outside of the office in seeing someone I knew. I didn't hang out with them much, but I was grateful to have someone to talk to during the night. I did make one big mistake - having some Sweet & Sour Chicken from a vendor. Not a good choice. I needed several cold beverages to get over that !!

So that's it - next year I'll try and put together an outfit and an alter ego with an eyepatch and join the invasion.

Remembrance Day

Today was a holiday here for Remembrance Day (the equivalent of Veteran's Day). Even though the office was officially closed, I came in to work about 8:30 and got quite a bit done. Had a nice visit with Ed who is the new COO for the company. He and I are in the same boat essentially, both having started very recently. His family is moving here in December so I will be able to learn a lot from him going through the process first.

I set up a new account at a website called Flickr.com where I've posted a lot of photo's I've taken of Camana Bay, the beach, Georgetown, etc. I think you need to set up a free account there to view them but I'm not sure. My user name there is also tsullivan32 if you do want to see the photo's. I'm including a couple with this post.

Around 4:00 this afternoon I went to a food fair at a local church building. It turns out one of the raffle tickets that some kids sold to me at home last night was actually a ticket to get into the "fair" so I thought I'd check it out. Turns out they had booths with foods from various countries around the region and world - England and the US, but also Nicaragua, Jamaica, India, and many more. I am the biggest chicken in the world though and didn't try as much as I should have. Lisa is my food advisor on trips usually and without her to guide me, I wasn't brave enough to take much beyond rice, beans, and clearly identifiable meat. There were a lot of good pastries, but I can't begin to tell you what all I tried. One nut thing-a-ma-jig from the Dominican Republic was good.

On the way back to the office I thought it high time to step a foot into the ocean. Someone I met this weekend had told me his favorite beach was the Governor's beach which is only about a 1/2 mile from my office (my office is actually closer than that to the beach - but this particular beach is down the road a bit). It was very nice - part of the world famous 7 Mile Beach that Grand Cayman is known for. Someone told me the other day that there was a tremendous amount of erosion from Hurricane Ivan in 2004 that made the beach area much smaller. This particular beach seemed quite wide. Not many people there today but the water felt good and it' s very refreshing to be out there if even for just a few minutes. The waves were higher than usual maybe from the aftermath of the storm. Anyway, very nice.

I've also just noticed today (since it's the first day the sun's been out) that I'll have a gorgeous view of the sun setting each day over the palm trees. Okay, maybe a little too bright, but it was still pretty. Time to head for home - one week done. It's been a very interesting, busy week. But I miss everyone at home. I'm making plans to come back during Thanksgiving week and Christmas so maybe I'll see some of you then. Until next time ....

Hurricane Paloma

I heard reports of a tropical storm developing almost as soon as I arrived and the locals do not take those things for granted. They provided constant updates on the storm and convened a hurricane committee on Thursday afternoon to discuss. At that time it was thought to be a catergory 1 hurricane that would hit near Grand Cayman early Saturday morning. No special actions were needed but they would be ready if necessary.

By Friday morning, the situation had changed considerably. Schools, businesses, and our office was closing and everyone was advised to be off the streets by mid morning. I stopped by the grocery store on my way to work and it turned out to be a good decision. I bought a very cheap flashlight, some candles and of course the absolute necessity in a hurricane - beef jerky and beer.

They were advising last minute flights out of Cayman to Miami and anyone needing to change itineraries could do so for nothing. Everyone was very accomodating in those types of things. It was interesting to see the long lines at the grocery stores, gas stations, and ATM's just prior to everything shutting down.

I spent only a short time and work - everyone was sent home and they actually lock down the premises to ensure that in the event of power failure everything is secure. I headed for home around 10 a.m. and was surprised to that I couldn't make an outgoing call on my cell phone. It kept popping up that calls were not available. Figuring it was an "island" thing, I continued home. Once there I turned on the local radio and ran a tub of water - something I had heard about online during the last hurricane. When I heard the radio station advising people to call in on their cell phones, I thought my cell problem was just that - "my cell" problem and not an island thing. I tried to reset the sim card several times and in the end, wound up actually breaking the sim card holder. Around noon the water quit running. Around 1:00 p.m. the power quit working. I did have with me a Sony sports radio that runs on batteries so I was able to listen to reports on the storm, but basically I was in for a night of winds, darkness, and sideways rain.

I did try and take what ice my refrigerator had produced and bag up some of the things to try and keep them cold. And of course, I had to drink some of the beer while it was still cold and eat the ice cream in my freezer before it melted. In fact, I ate quite a lot that day - when there's not much else to do, eating seemed to come to mind quite a bit.

The winds were initially around 40 mph that morning but as the day progressed got steadily more intense. My flashlight was helpful but was the cheapest possible one to buy and so didn't provide a very good means of doing anything productive. I mostly just listened to the radio and watched the storm blow by my open front door. My door is very protected by the garage and an overhang and so luckily I had the door open almost all night without getting too wet. As the hurricane drew closer, the winds topped out I think at around 90 to 100 mph I think but I haven't read news reports yet about it. Just a lot of wind and rain. Grand Cayman was spared the brunt of the storm as it veered at the last minute to the east. Our sister island Cayman Brac got hit much worse. There's a real sense of sorrow for them, but again I haven't heard the full extent of the damage yet.

I woke up to a little sunshine on Saturday and drove right to our offices and luckily found just the guy to replace my cell phone. It was a relief to call Lisa and let her know I was okay. I don't remember ever being in that position where I was basically without communication with anyone for so long. I didn't get power back until around noon Saturday and the water came back on just before that. It was nice to open up the windows and see some sun. There didn't appear to be a lot of damage - just some trees blown down and a lot of water in spots. Nothing too serious that I'm aware of.

We did lose power for a few hours again on Saturday evening, but it's been fine since then. I have since spoken with a few people here at the office who never lost power or water throughout the storm. I was very sarcastic when I thanked them for thinking of me - alone in the dark - but they knew that I was just kidding them.

So that's my first hurricane experience. Now I just need to buy the T-Shirt "I survived Hurricane Paloma".

Arrival

The trip down to Grand Cayman was not as difficult as I expected as my two large suitcases were checked all the way through. That made it easier to manage going through customs. They were very friendly and helpful. It seemed strange to check the box marked "Resident" instead of visitor on the form.

I got off the plane around 5:00 p.m. and after going thru customs went next door to pick up the rental car that I needed to use for two days until my car was ready for me. I was apprehensive as I went to get the vehicle and my fears were realized when I discovered that the steering wheel was on the right side of the car - and by right side, I mean wrong side. They drive on the left here and that is somewhat difficult to get used to - but having the steering wheel actually on the right side is a whole 'nother situation. On the way to my condo, I washed the windshield several times while trying to indicate a turn. Shifting with your left hand is also somewhat difficult when you're not used to it. And you'd be surprised at how different it is to see traffic behind you when you're used to looking over the other shoulder. This first experience was compounded by the rain and "rush hour" traffic and the fact that I wasn't sure where I was going - but I made it safely anyway.

My condo is basically an elevated two story unit with a garage, a kitchen, dining and living room on the first floor and three bedrooms on the second floor (the first floor sits a little higher than a split level house would). At any rate, it's somewhat simple but will do for the time being. We're still working on some of the details - like a faster internet connection, some additional linens, and some non-working outlets - but it's been comfy so far.

My first day travelling to work turned out to be quite an adventure. I wasn't sure of the route, but I figured "how hard can it be on a small island" to find your way. After my second trip around the high school and 40 minutes of driving time, I began to find out how hard it can be. I think I would have done better - again, without the rain, traffic, and those intimidating "round abouts" that they use for intersections. Actually I like the roundabouts - but I'm just nervous about getting in someone's way as I'm trying to exit and I've made a few circles around trying to find the right turn sometimes.

My office is on the second floor of one of the newer buildings in Camana Bay - the development we're building. We've basically completed about 6 blocks of buildings so far and have tenants occupying about 95% of the space. There is a theater, coffee shop, bookstore, clothing store, cell phone store, home linens store, ice cream shop, bank offices, legal offices, and a lot of Dart Realty offices open. They started the whole project by building a school and other public facilities and are now in the process of designing the layout and architecture to be used to connect the business area with the school area. There is about 500 acres of development to be done over the next 25 years, including a wide range of residental units and homes, a hotel property, a beach club, and several more retail and office buildings. Camana Bay is essentially a new "town" on Grand Cayman. All of the development is privately financed and although the goal is to eventually be profitable, the overriding drivers right now are quality, functionality, and the incorporation of the "Cayman" atmosphere of the area. We ever have our own arboretum to populate the landscaping with native plants and all the design components going in are amazing. They're working on a mosaic walkway with tiles being placed on the floor and walls that connect the town centre with a bay area. It's really cool to see.

At any rate, my first week on the job was mainly spent learning names, office locations, and getting a lot of logistical things done. I got a bank account established - one for US $$ and one for Cayman or CI $$. You can get paid in either but it's better to get US $$ cause the exchange rate going from US to CI is better than the other way around. I got my vehicle - it's a used Ford Escape that will work perfectly. They originally gave me an Explorer but I asked for something smaller as some of the parking and driving is harder to navigate here with a bigger vehicle. I went shopping at the grocery store, set up a gym membership, and toured the island (again sometimes inadvertently). As for work, I met and went to lunch with my new staff - there's a few from Jamaica, a few from Canada, and several from Cayman. They all seemed very friendly and welcoming. One of them is 8 and 1/2 months pregnant so I won't see much of her for the next three months. Next week will be very demanding as we are having board of director meetings a couple of days to review budgets and financials from my dept along with reports from operations and construction. Talk about jumping right in ....

It rained and rained and rained my first days here ... which didn't seem to surprise anyone too much although a certain tropical storm was being watched quite closely. And as it turned out - that tropical storm, later to become Hurricane Paloma - would become the highlight of my first week.

First Sunday

Just a note - I'm starting this blog with an entry from my 7th day actually on the island. I will attempt to go back and add a few entries about the intial days and the hurricane days sometime later.

Today was a gorgeous day - temps in the mid 80's and scattered clouds following a few brief rainstorms this morning. I haven't really used my air conditioning and today was no exeption until just recently when I ran the dryer for a bit.

This morning I made some coffee from the hazelnut beans that I brought from home. It seemed sort of silly to bring coffee from the states, but I found it very comforting to have a little piece of home to start my day. I didn't have the Argus Leader - but didn't really miss that. They actually deliver a weekend paper here on Saturday called the Observer which I find much more interesting than any Argus issue that I've read on Sundays.

I felt pretty confident about my route to church this morning as I'd inadvertently passed it twice trying to find my way to work the first day - more about that in a future entry. They have mass on Friday night, twice on Sat., and three times on Sunday so I don't think opportunity will be an excuse. The church of St. Ignasius is a beautiful little building with lots of windows and landscaping. It's very simple but very cool on the inside. Of course I only saw the inside after having purchased a raffle ticket from the youth pastor that I met standing guard at the entrance. I wasn't quite ready to take on the selling of tickets like he suggested, but I did contribute. I thought it was very ironic that the sermon was about the "moneychangers" being vanquished by Jesus from the temple and I took some delight in informing Jeremy afterwards that he corrupted me by selling me the ticket in the first place. He laughed and said he cringes when that sermon comes up each year.

After church, I hurried home to find out what NFL games would be on the local - BASIC - cable package that I have. The answer ..... NONE. There were no "early" games on, so I immediately changed and headed to the bar down the road with much anxiety about whether I'd be able to see the Vikes. Upon entering, I was VERY glad to see the familiar purple and gold crossing the goal line for an early lead. I spent the next three hours eating and watching the game. Met a guy that's been here for 30 years that lives somewhat close to me. He shared some information on some of the local places, cycling on the island, and some of the beaches he likes - and he shared a little too much on some aspects of his personal life - including a first marriage and a long term girlfriend that had to leave the island recently because they only allow you work for so long before they make you leave. (My expected "term" is 10 years although the work permit is only good for one year at a time). At any rate, it was nice to have someone to talk to during the extended time there. By the way, the buffalo chicken wrap is not worth the trip from the states!! Bar food is bar food - no matter how much you drink.

It was fun to see everyone show up their favorite jerseys and the cheering done by the various people in the bar was very enthusiastic - although limited in number for each team. I think I'm the only Vikings fan that was there although they have a pick em pool that got people excited when the Vikes won at the buzzer.

After the game, I went back home and continued to try and organize things. With the hurricane and flurry of work this first week - it's nice to have some time to just get clothes put away, get papers piled, and do some laundry. Nothing too exciting - Sunday's are supposed to be relaxing and that was achieved today. It's taken seriously around here too as no stores are open on Sundays - including grocery stores. I do think a few gas stations are open but I'm not really sure about that either.

I had my first official visitor this evening (other than the maintenance man that is). Three kids showed up ..... selling raffle tickets. Apparently I'm now a marked man or something. Of course, I felt obligated to buy another one. They were very convincing.

That's about it for the first Sunday. Tomorrow is a holiday here so a little more of the same, but I do have quite a bit of prep work to do for my first board meeting next week. That should be interesting - not quite sure if I'm ready to actually present at that meeting or leave it to my predecessor for one last time. We'll see ....

For now, I'm just going to set the coffee pot for tomorrow.