Somebody! Anybody, quick..pay that fine!!

"Is this Mr. Chris Cockrell? "

...." Uh, yeah, who's this??"

"This is Cindy from Movie Gallery in Cabot and we show that you have a late charge of 5.90$ on your account."

"....AND????"

" Well sir we were just informing you that if you came in and rented a movie today, we would drop that charge for you!"

'' You would do that?"

"..of course Mr.Crockwell''

"Sorry mam, I'm in the Virgin Islands for a year, so I don't think I'll make it in today, but what I can do for you is send someone over there to take care of that little fee"

...."Oh, ok"

"Yeah, well have a nice day mam!" *Click*



ahemmm...are you freaking kidding me! haha, well i guess things haven't changed much back there in Cabot, people still care way too much about the smallest things..umm if I could get a good samaratin to swing by and take care of that late fee, from who knows when, ha they didn't even have it on record what movie it was...so it had to be really "recent"...whatere' it may have been, it was important enough to call me up..haha i laugh, and mean no disrespect to the girl who was just going down a call sheet, but its quite humorous on the whole..

..its been a while since last i posted, there has just been a little bit of not much going on..

the race last weekend went..errr..ummm...not quite how i had it all planned out, in fact it didn't work out anything close to it...my team fell through completely, and i was the only one who showed, and eventually got paired up with a biker, but no swimmer, so he was the last biker out but came in the middle of the pack, which enabled me to catch a few people on the run..i ran like a bat outta hell, and got lots of compliments, but it wasn't what i wanted..i've figured out the best way to do these tri's is just on your own..i could get into something deep and not so simplistic, but id really rather not at this point...suffice to say things when done by yourself, have a tendency(sp?) to go much smoother/better/more awesome(r) than if you try and get a group along..even if the group idea wasn't yours...anywhoo it should be noted that kenny chesney's latest musical creation is veraniiiice, and even though it was pirated, somehow it still sounds like it would sans the 17$ tag..
..."tut, tut..looks like rain" yeah, we've got ourselves a little tropical storm passing through paradise, oh well, give the sun a break will you, he gets a little winded im sure..(maybe someone caught the irony in that, being on an island with a constant sea breeze or "wind"......and yeah *cricket,cricket*)
anywhoo i went out for a ride this morning since i didn't have class in the AM, i figured why not be up before 7?? lots of people do it.... yeah..and they have jobs....errrhmmm...anywhooo i had a plan today, and thus far,everything is falling right where it needs to be (picture the little wizard giddily playing with his fingers and smiling'perrrfect' )
..sunday, aside from the minor mishap at the race was a great day..3 beaches and as many bars in one day, just isn't any other way id like to spend a day...its very strange,here on the island each establishment is unique,granted they all have basically the same thing..but some keep the elements on ice, others just in a "coola' " and well no one will hand you a warm something or other, so in a sense its rather uniform...but the interesting part is that each bar has their own special shot..sprat net,over on the northside/cane bay area, has "papa woana", while dominoes in the rainforest has the "mama woana"....you would be surprised how different they are, but still in the same family....ok so this is rambling..here's the point: you can go all over the island and not get the same drink, each person makes it differently, but that doesn't make it a bad thing....uh oh, (he's not about to relate drinks to people is he??...stay tuned) if you think of the assorted beach bars on the island as a microcosm of society, you can see some very basic similarities...everywhere you go, you'll find people wanting something, granted some want nothing but to do absolutely nothing, and they can be found in abundance both here and in the states...then you have those that work for things, they have a goal, something to do, somewhere to go..these are the unique ones, they stick out in life...but thats not a bad thing...you can find people doing the regular things they do all the time, but if they do it in a different way, show some pride, and really enjoy what they get the opportunity to do, they are that special drink...the papa woana's of the world, make life a little brighter..sometimes they give you a warming sensation inside that trickles all the way down *ahhh yeah i mean people can do that too, but i was referring to something else, ha....love you mom :) * basically i just think that you don't have to be living life in paradise to be happy with where you are...i hate to touch back on the everything is what you make it, but i found that to be the case again today while i went out riding...granted i nearly wiped out riding down the beast, but from that i learned that, well thats not the smartest thing to do...but it got me where i wanted to go and its not the point ha..point is that i had to get out in the cool morning air and do something so i could plan out my day, and i did...but how does this relate to life and making choices about how to keep a positive outlook??? im gonna have to go with... the importance of being able to sit down and clear your head, organize the ole thought machine for a minute or two and think about what is important that day...figure out what you have control over/can change and do something about that...can i change the fact that its raining, cloudy and a tid bit huuuumid, not in the least..but i can remind myself that im on a beautiful island,even though this school (as all do) sucks in the rain, ill find some hope in knowing it'll stop raining and eventually ill get back to the beach...(ok bad example)..umm to apply it more to you home/stateside folk...you can look at rush hour this way: all that junk on the side of the road isn't another possible IED, the car behind you isn't waiting for traffic to (invariably it will) slow down so they can blow you up...things can always be worse, but think of how good we(myself included) actually have it...i never really understood how great it is to be an american until i came to a place where not everyone knows what it feels like to be a citizen of the greatest country in the world *granted its a US territory, anyone who comes down will attest to my assertions (sp?) that this is a different country, with almost a different language* i've had several lengthy discussions with a guy who is convinced that america is full of racists (thanks to the jena 6 stuff goin on in Louisiana) and its hard to hear someone say things like that about home, when i know thats not how it is...he isn't a citizen, but has a chance to become one, and doesn't want to...he's also in rotc, but doesn't want to have anything to do with the military..to say he's an odd case would be an understatement..but yeah he's a strange one...complains a lot, but everyone does i guess....i dont know there is something about the whole "absence makes the heart grow fonder" bit that holds some type of truth in it....don't let this be taken as me saying how homesick i am, beacuse thats not it at all...im loving it down here, just observing..the different attitudes down here make me wonder sometimes how much people actually realize how good things are, despite all the problems around...
..im not trying to get deep, just putting some thoughts out there, im also not looking for any kind of recognition,because its just me throwin down whats running around betwixt my ears...but i do think its important to note that some things are the same everywhere, as in the types of people...and if we all were warm draf beers walking around *people who didn't try and find something to be happy about* this place would suck...its the papa woana's of the world that make me smile, and it doesn't take much to be papa woana (only about 2oz's actually...ahemmm, but i digress)

so take that as the musings of a barhopping quasi-philosophe trying to clear his head
.....18 is the magic number in the VI.....and is only employed friday-sunday, and usually just saturday due to PT and ranger challenge...so yeah

we like both kinds

"we like both kinds of music here!" -Bob,owner of Bob's Country Bunker (Blues Brothers)
"well thats just great Bob!"- Jake Blues
"yeah we like country and western!" -Bob ....which is followed by an internalized "ohhhhshit" from elwood..for starters, Blues Brothers is a great movie, and that scene touched me as i was sitting in our laughable attempt at an RHA (resident housing association..granted it sounds like some kind of governtment handout program whereby folks don't have to earn anything, but still have the opportunity to trash the communal space, disrespect "quiet hours" and so on,which they do...but its actually supposed to be the "voice of the students") in discussing what kind of music they were going to play at the supposed haloween gig they want to have, it came out "lets have both kinds of music,for everyone...lets have calypso and hip-hop!" boy oh boy, don't i feel included haha...calypso,for those unfamiliar with the term is really really fast paced music where the words are hard to understand, but the only way to dance to it is to jump around and go crazy,for the most part..and then the typical hip-hop from the states is the same down here..it wasn't a big surprise, but then again it didn't really make much difference to me anyway, i just found it humorous to think that by playing "both kinds" then everyone would like the music...
i need to do laundry, but at 3 bucks a pop, and it doesn't actually get my clothes smelling fresh and clean, its hard to convince myself its a good idea haha..i did mop the bathroom yesterday,which is a job the custodians usually do, but one of the older ladies i guess retired or is on vacation or go sick, or something, and we've got a new one who isn't all about doing her job. though i don't mind mopping at all, it was actually rather rewarding, its just nice to have a little consistancy...really dont have much in the way of news or events to report, this week has been rather boring, with the same professors teaching the same way they always do and an ever decreasing amount of classroom participation on the student's part serves to make class drag on...i apoligize for the let down in literary quality,when compared to my previous entry...i had no real revelations during the week other than to fully understand that i am at a historically black college,and that country music is not quite accepted...if only we could all like the same "both kinds"

Grab your boots, this is deep!

"come on and take a free ride" ...its strange what standing on the side of the road with a kmart bag in your hands will get you..really everyone should try it at some point... in my case, at least, it worked out pretty well. the taxi drove past us, asked where we were going (not 2 miles down the road,straight shot) and he shrugged and drove those two miles with two less passengers than he could have had..but the best part is that the car behind him stopped and asked us where we were headed and told us to hop in..thats me again, hoppin in with strangers haha..it was some nice old lady who told us we looked like nice people and she always helps out nice people..that was the highlight of sunday..saturday was the long awaited trip out to buck island..which is one of the most stereotypically gorgeous beaches in the caribbean! post card after postcard have come from the shot of the beach/water combo there, and it didn't really sink in where we were that day until we got back on campus,where no water is to be seen haha..being out in the sun all day pretty much takes the energy right out of you, and it happened to remind me just how important sunscreen really is, though i've yet to get horribly burnt down here, it may happen,but as of yet im adhering to the "potroast method" ..slowly cooking to a deep brownish color..didn't end up doin the relay race this weekend, there just wasn't enough organization to get it all squared away,but i am down for the wall to wall tri this coming weekend..anywhooo

today i road out to carambola, ditched my bike at the top of the beast and ran up the side of another hill next to it that they've affectionately coined "the bitch" ill attest to the fact that it lives up to every inch of its name, but the view from the top is absolutely spectacular...i could look down the coastline and see the end of the island, see the little dots of dear old UVI, and the big stacks from the oil refinery..from up there you realize how small the place is when you can see water on three sides..though i had just run up the side of this mountain i felt rather small and insignifigant..i got to thinkin' while i was up there (oh no, here it comes...look out world) so i was thinking to myself "i wonder.....i wonder how much it would hurt if i jumped off and tried to land between the rocks in the water down there?" ........so yeah thats one of the things that went through my head..there were other deeper, more substantive thoughts, but i can touch on those later,ha..don't worry i didn't actually try it out,the wind was waaaay to strong and i couldn't crunch the numbers fast enough to calculate how far to the left i would need to jump before the current pushed me toward the rock, mind you i didn't have a parachute, only my sweatsoaked shorts,which i really didn't want to lose in the attempt...1000ft. looks a lot higher when you're up there...sorry to dissapoint, i haven't gotten to the profound part yet, so if you're still with me..cool..here we go, so after i pushed the notion of unassisted human flight out of my overtaxed brain, this is what i mulled over..and am still pondering, so feel free to ponder with me if you will..once i got to the top of the mt. the view was amazing as i mentioned before, but i couldn't help but be a tad dissapointed. (geez son you're on an island, on a mountain overlooking everything,and you'll probably go back tomorrow,what more do you want right?) good question,self..i wanted more, i wanted the mountain to be taller, the road a little steeper so i could push myself a little farther. and why is that? before the why is dealt with, i can at least understand what got me there, i wanted to see what was at the top,and i did, (thats a guy thing i think..to go and do "stupid or crazy" stuff just to see what it is) and i was definately glad i did,but why? for me its a personal drive to say i did it, but for the rest of the world i think it may be something else. i think that for those driven to do something,see something, create something, there is an element that leads you to do it, and with that element comes the risk of being less than wholly satisfied with the end result. in my case, if i would have just stayed to the same route i always run/bike, id have missed out, but would i have really missed out,since i didn't know just what i was missing? the problem with those folks who want to go places is that...they want to go places, and because of this fact they are afraid they might miss something if they don't. usually we end up deep in thought,but not always..i guess what im trying to say with this rambling on is that taking 'that' chance can almost be a dissapointment at the end. not in the sense that what you get is bad, but the strong possibility that it won't be enough to satisfy what you thought you'd get to see,do,create whathaveyou. does this mean you shouldn't do it? no,never, not in a million years do i regret the choices ive made in coming down here, and getting around its just that the only dissapointment may come when i realize that i'll always want to see and experience something greater,because i know there is always something out there that is bigger,tougher, and ulitmately more rewarding. its more of a curse i guess you could say "the curse of a driven soul" . but to sit around and say the island is boring,and there is nothing to do would be the same as me saying id rather be at home doing the same old same old, and i couldn't do that. im totally convinced that everything is what you make it...for the islanders who don't appreciate what they have, thats their problem. just today i was reminded how quickly things can change. one of the women going to school down here from atlanta looked upset and i asked what was wrong and she told me that her nephew had been shot and declared dead,but came back and is on life support after taking shots to his heart and lungs from some guy..her nephew isn't the type to get involved with the wrong crowd, the guy also went home and shot his own girlfriend..its a really sad story but id just ask you guys to pray for her and the situation..with that i think im gonna head off to bed

Rest easy

Evenin' guys, for the band of you who have been checking back daily, if not more often than that, its finally here..the one you've all been waiting for..or maybe not, but regardless, here's what i got world:
its wednesday,im pretty sure....well its almost hard to say just because everything is pretty much the same old same old, except for now i don't have a laptop anymore (just some little story about letting the roomate use it for a specific purpose, and i've very strong suspicion to believe he used it for some other purpose..the kind that crashed my hard drive...o0o0o fun!) but its ok, well its not, but it is..lets see, umm monday was nothing special because i can't think of anything special, it just kinda was, and then tuesday brought a little more of the same in regards to sitting in class with a group of people, who for the most part, don't give a flyin' flip about the words coming out of the professor's mouth, but thats ok i guess...o00o today was/has been a long day...got up early, 5.30 early... for PT, but its always worth it,almost, but today it was..we had our little diagnostic test to see where we are as far as fitness levels, im not gonna lie, i was pretty proud of myself,but ill stay away from any numbers other than 13:14 in the 2mile, its not much but it was a good marker for the race ill be in this coming weekend...triathalons are pretty much the thing to do around here as far as outdoor sports is concerned, if you were a runner in the states, or a biker, or just a swimmer, you'll fall right into the scene..i have, and so far its been goodtimes, of course that will all change when i get hit by a car (kidding, just kidding..had to see if you're still reading) ..next weekend im going to be a runner in another relay team,but this time the swimmer is the best on island, and the biker i met at the bike shop(bought a road bike sunday,btw) and he's a pretty hardcore biker, like second on island so it should be a heck of a goodtime, and their runner isn't that strong, so should be a shot at more than just a t-shirt
..for anyone who isn't mom or someone like that, who is in school and wondering whether or not to do the whole student exchange thing, i'd say do it! as i was reminded by my ever insightful eye doctor before i left; humans are living longer than before due to advances in medicine, yadda yadda...his point was basically that instead of doing the basic go to college, get a job, have kids, work, work and work some more..then you retire and maybe aren't able to get around like when you were younger, so why not take a year out of your youth to go and see places you want to? it made sense when he said it, of course i managed to draw it out and probably lose the message..but he was right..so far its been amazing..
met, or i should say actually got a few words out of, these two girls from india..im sure i've met an indian before and just didn't realize it..they are both from the same hometown, but had never met, which seemed strange to me since they were the same and all, until i found out how big their town was..just 6million..she said that india has more people than all of north america..i can believe it..very strange to think that her home town has as many people as the state of arkansas, that'll really put a perspective on things..i think thats just one of the benefits of getting out and meeting new people and dealing with other cultures. they are both practicing hindu(s)? ..other than i know they aren't meat eaters, i don't know a whole lot, of course i had a few ideas bouncing around like some facts about the religion, but i didn't think they were the ones to go boldly proclaiming my knowledge to, only to be wrong..

Boring Week

Coming off a short week/long weekend, it didn't really feel like all that much actually got done, with half of my classes only meeting once (friday classes don't exist,sorry kids) the slightly apathetic mood of the student body slid down the drain into near worthlessness..and the professors seemed to adopt the same mentality..except for freakin dr.capriola who talked for 1hr and 15 minutes strait..what amazing subject, you may be longing to know..(?) wait no more, for i shall tell you(all the hoopla in my writing today means i don't have much of substance to say,mere words to take up space..alot like dr.capriola) ...he spent the entire class,which is in a room they keep at record low temperatures,cold enough to hang meat, possibly because its a nursing classroom and i think they keep dead bodies up in the rafters,but that could be just my thinking...but when the guy basically reads back to you what you have read in the book and analyzes each elemetary concept like :racism, bias, critical thinking..all by using very simplistic generalizations in an effort not to offend..it gets real boring, real quick...he's a big fan of the rhetorical question, as in he loves to ask a simple question and then elaborate for at least five minutes with his own personal story to answer..the class isn't really there to him..and my god,its soo painful!...on a similar note, both my carribean history and latin america class(taught by the same lomarsh roonparine,from guyana) are less than a hoot and a holler...a majority of the kids in there are from the carribean, if not st.croix and st.thomas specifically...it is a video confrence course,he is here, st.thomas kids see us on a screen and vis versa...anywhoo...basic colonization history of the colombus guy,and those pesky spanish folks who came over and did this and that, yeah, that doesn't seem to matter to them/they don't seem to know much about it..and the sad part is that i wonder why it is i should try and care about "their" history when they don't even know it,or show much of a desire to...dr. roonparine is a cool guy, but he is a little dry, classroom participation is a must!! since i have him 4 days a week,ill pretty much have the A in a bag...but it seems an awful sad commentary on the attitudes of some of the students down here...enough about school,thats not really why im down here anyway
..why does 4.30am on a Saturday not seem like a good time to be waking up?? what could that mean? probably that you have some huge plan to complete, or just that the rest of your day is going to crash down around you at no later than 3pm....rotc ruck march(run) 3mi out to the armory this morning for some gung-ho training..it was good for the most part..other than the 3 girls who are physically unfit to be army rotc cadets..the program is new down here, so it is very loose,as far as standards go, captain bell is trying to get numbers up, but in that effort,it comes at the price of having very few fit members...some girl who was 45 min. late, and showed up in pt uniform, not bdu's with a pack and the ever versitile jump boots(best running shoe NEVER!) ha, anywhoo..she couldn't even do 1 quarter mile lap...whatever..so thats a little dissapointing,but the extra training is for the ranger challenge team(army rangers that is)..we've got tryouts over on Puerto Rico here in a month or so, and the competition is a combination of a PT test, 10k ruck march in the sand, land navigation, rope bridge construction, and m16 assembly and disassembly...team of 12 per school,but we aren't a full fledged batallion,still under PR, hence the tryouts...but im looking forward to it..never been to ft.benning before,could be fun...its pretty "high speed" (jargon for advanced, harder..etc)
...on a much lighter note, i found kssn96's online radio thing the other day...now i can get my fix of arkansas country...thats almost as unknown down here as snow...or promptness or a myriad of other cultural differences haha..but alas its time to head out to the beach, and then to sharkys sports bar to catch some football!

Best weekend ever...

There is something magical about the open water...the blue,silvery stuff right off the sandy beaches, it looks calm enough,however, when a tropical storm is brewing some 800miles south of you, it can get kinda choppy. its for this reason that i wanted to stay outside on the front of the ferry, so keep some fresh air going and all that jazz..inside waiting on my arrival was a large church kids musical group with those very "involved" moms...loud, yadda yadda...of course i didnt think that the water would be that rough, and that was a mistake, so no dramamine was taken(before) the boat left,haha...after we got moved inside because it was too rough outside, i was done..no air circulation, and unhappy sicky little kids all around..once little suzy lost it next to me, i was done...luckily i stood out to the guy working for the ferry and he came with a bag just in time, and then the woman,one of those "involved" mothers, started to fan both me, and her sick kid, it was decent...aside from not being able to see the horizon from the dipping and crashing, it was a beautiful day/ride etc....im convinced that EVERYTHING happens for a reason, and this was never proved more true than this weekend..im also convinced that my knack,ability,curse,or skill (depending on the situation) to communicate with adults is a precious gift...
most atheletes are easy to spot, especially tri-atheletes who are loading their bike on the ferry, so it was easy to strike up a conversation about how good the yankees were doin to this older fella wearing a redsox hat,haha..please notice the humor someone...anywhoo in talking to fred i found out that he was new to the sport as well, and his wife was with him,sue,and we chit chatted out front until we were herded inside,something we all dreaded,especially me..anywhoo we had a good chat and after they let me out front again, fred and sue came by to offer me a ride in their rental jeep,and subsequent ferry ride over to st.john...these people were/are, sooo nice, and pretty much became my foster parents for the weekend, i hitched rides into "town" and had a few meals and drinks with them, very interesting folks, he works for the oil refinery as an engineer, and she has at least one degree(MRS.) they didn't just drop me off at the cabins, they also took me to their favorite snokeling spot,which was amazing might i add..never seen so many fish...and a shark,but yeah...
..... about that race thing, it was a great experience..i got thrown together on a relay team as a runner..our swimmer was haulin' and did the half mile in 12 minutes, which gave our "vacation" biker quite the lead,of which he wasn't able to do much with..i ended up being the last runner to leave the start,but i still ran like hell..it was a combination of waiting around and i wanted to impress a few folks..the most important part was meeting the other atheletes and coordinators on the island to network for other races...all is gearing up to be a busy semester
...and i had to get back to st.croix on the same ferry that made me sick....right?...what happened might actually make you sick, as i attribute it down to a series of "what ifs" and other minute detail calculations, i still have trouble believing i could be so lucky, what happened isn't supposed to happen, people aren't supposed to do those things for others....but somethings aren't universal
..walking briskly down the pier in st.thomas(if i would have stuck around at the ferry for a second, or gone off to pee,it would have changed it) anyway i was walking down and saw this woman trying to lift a huge atm machine into big sail boat and having a rough time of it..so i asked if she needed help,didn't wait for an answer and helped her steady it,and lift it over the edge of the boat, they had another machine and i helped them lift that as well...once all was on board i asked where they were from "st.croix" ..."me too" i told them that my ferry left in 6hours or so, and she said "we're leaving in 15 minutes,you're coming with us" and she took my bag and told me to go down and try to get a refund for my ticket,but that i could come home with them..after she bought everyone lunch(myself included) we hopped in the dingy, and made out to the 60ft! sail boat..i've never been sailing, and have never met these folks,but they were the nicest people in the world! rode the whole way back on the front of the boat,hanging out over the water,watching flying fish,and catching some rays,chillin to come chesney..it was magnificant..coming out of st.thomas you could see st.croix across the channel, st.john next to us, and beyond that all 4 of the BVI's..gorgeous..absolutely..rich and katherine owned the boat, (it was their biggest..as in more than one of theirs) and it was amazing..we talked for a while and then once we hit open water i got a tour up front by some other woman they had picked up on wednesday, and marci showed me the front,i was hooked...the view, the wind..everything was so amazing..beat the heck out of a ferryboat ride..6 hours on a sailboat going between the islands was the best time ive had in a long long time..i wish everyone could experience it, and i know (if anyone is still reading) they are probably sick of hearing about it,but i can't help but think that everything does happen for a reason...so yeah, im doing ok..and ill get some pics to those that want to see..the sunset on the boat was ridiculous..
hopefully everyone's weekend went as well as mine did