23.08.07
CARIBBEAN SINTING!!

Well it’s been a while since I’ve blogged, which seems to be the entry to all my blogs now. Maybe we can just establish that they may be written 3-monthly or so. This blog is well warranted though. It is the ‘Memoirs of my Caribbean Vacation’, and trust me there were no Geishas here.

Barbados
So we arrive in Barbados quite excited about the days to come and how interesting and fun they could be. We arrive at our resort in Rockley, which reminded me of ‘The Point Village’ for all those who have been there…u know dat kinda kitchenette vibe, pull out bed. It actually was quite nice. Got to link up wid ma good friend Janella who carried me out to “Threesome Wednesdays”. Quite glad I went now in retrospect cause it was the only partying I did on the trip. Bajans turn like we now, and party on a Wednesday night (reh to the Wednesday Quadites)…Granted most people looked like the age where they didn’t have work the next morning and it was summer.

So interesting things were that the women were nice but not as nice as Jamaican girls. The next interesting thing is what my fren refers to as WUK UP. The Bajans have dat down pat. For the girls fine, but for the men, I could only describe it as a type of gyration that if Jamaican men were to do it, you know dat a boom-bye-bye woulda come to dem. And strangely it didn’t make a lot of dem look ‘off’. It was quite an interesting phenomenon to me. I actually sampled a Bajan wine myself from a quite talented lady, and I must say it was good, and quite different from mi Jamaican wine…but definitely comparable (maybe at points better…point where I dodge bottles)

My dad’s friends took good care of us and made dinner for us and carried for lunch and stuff. They really added that nice personal element to our trip…thanks a mil!

Apart from that, Tropical Storm Dean dat punk, became a Cat 2 hurricane and passed north of us in Barbados, so dat meant wind and rain and no more partying for my other nights, which sucked. In the end Dean did treat BIM good, and suddenly it’s time to go to Grenada.


Grenada
So we went the Grenada Grande Resort. Quite a Grande you know what. In all honesty the staff was nice, but Grenada is just a real quiet country. Shops closing at 1pm on a Saturday…like what the hell?! Yu ever see anything like dat yet. Worse pon a Sunday the place jus lock down! We drove around the entire island on Sunday and not even a pan chicken man yu could fine on the roadside. Like c’mon, does anyone buy food on the road here? All we could find was roast corn…and we meant roasted without the husk, so u can just imagine how dat look when some of the kernels bun up. Anyways, we went to Concorde falls, which was real cold and nice.

The drive was a welcome distraction as our country was being pummeled by Cat 4 Hurricane Dean. Luckily for us, or I should say God-blessed, the eye passed jus south of us, but our country still sustained significant damage and at least 4 deaths.

Linked wid some a ma dad’s friends and they picked us up and treated us nice as usual…looks like pops gots friends in different area codes, jus like I got…(pause for comic relief to all Ludacris fans). So Grenada’s most eventful thing was the all island drive and the falls and of course the friends. Oh how could I not mention that beautiful white sand Grand Anse beach…dat really mek it, an nobody doan harass yu or nuttin. Do u believe I had to pay for internet too. Like it’s 2007, c’mon, include Wi-Fi. And this blog would not be complete without talking about the restaurant at the hotel. So we like waited 10 mins for the food, and then they put us at this table beside another table that had like 3 generations of fly families on it, with cousins, aunts, uncles and all. The service sucked and guess what they only had eggs and bacon…hmmm, why be in the Caribbean then…and this hotel is about to become a Crowne Plaza. So it’s off to St. Vincent.

St. Vincent
Vincy, Vincy oh Vincy! We come to Vincy and stay at the Mariners Hotel, which was like a really nice, quaint place. I would recommend it to anyone looking for an inexpensive place to stay in St. Vincent. The part of Vincy you guys will love is the mini-bus ride. Vincy mini bus come in like fi wi own, but just as bad, or even worse. My friends from Vincy may disagree, but mi a tell yu seh it bad. And for all a you who tink mi neva tek no bus, mi did tek enough bus inna mi high school days fi know a good one from a bad one. What mek it worse is dat on our return trip to our hotel, one lickle dutty yardie Vincy gal waan tek mi on bout how mi…lickle me…a cause trouble pon di bus. Now my Jamaican friends, you all know me and my demeanor, now you believe seh I was causing trouble on any bus. The long and short was dat at the bus stop my dear friend needed to get out of the bus. We were on the back seat and I was obscuring her. This meant I needed to move, BUT the girl infront of me was on what I thought was the flip up seat. Little did I realize the said flip up seat was fixed to the side of the bus. In my ignorance I say “So the girl coulda get up”. And she (yaadie Vincy) then decides to cuss about me giving trouble in the bus. I then say, “So why yu complaining?”. She then starts to raise her voice at me. I then go “Shhhhhhh”. And her response, “Who yu a Shhhhhhh…yu doan know me!”. Is a sad ting I look so young and my parents were there, cah she doan know me,. I did waan tell her bout the colours of the rainbow, cah me did well RED, but I held my tongue and fortunately we were at our stop. No disrepec to a Vincy, but I’m a Jamaican and no gal inna Vincy bus going dis mi. Well she did and get weh, but is only due to the circumstances. I really had to cool down after that tho, and is a long time I never feel so violent and aggressive. And if yu ever see ar too. But God knows what’s good and he protects me everyday. Dat was a ‘Walk Away Moment’. Thank you Jesus!

So the next day was the Grenadines tour. This was awesome. We flew to Union Island and took a Catamaran to like 3 islands. All inclusive food and drinks, snorkeling…it did mek it! This was definitely one of the most eventful moments of the trip from a tourist activity point of view. The French restaurant on our compound was awesome as well. The food was great and we complimentary drinks for flattering the owner on their excellent service etc. And strangely it’s the next day and we’re off to St. Lucia.

St. Lucia
Land of the Pitons, St. Lucia Jazz Festival, a semi-active volcano, and the Dornelly’s Inn. Most of you probably haven’t heard about the last one. Well if ya didn’t know well you about to find out. LOL. The Dornelly’s Inn is where we would stay for 2 nights. Kinda far from the airport, but like 15-20 mins far, and up a little road that look like roun’ where my parents come from (aka BUSH). So we stumble upon a 3 story building with 2 tractors on property. The lovely reception area has areas with no ceiling, and the hotel pc uses dialup internet. I nah fight gainst or nuttin. Just that when you know what you going to get for yu money daz one ting, but when the money yu paying deserve more, den yu haffi criticize. I sound like such a snob in this part of the blog, but you had to see this place. We stayed in far superior hotels that cost like US$5 more, so u have to understand. Well more minibus to the city which like all Caribbean cities have a market and nuff activity.

Rented a car and drove around the beautiful island of St. Lucia. Now if anywhere comes close to or beats JA in parts where beauty is concerned, then it’s here.

Antigua
This blog had been on hold until today, October 23, cuz I jus hadn’t finished it. I had to stop cuz Antigua was just absolutely nice, and we only stayed there overnight so that we could get a flight the next day to our wonderful hurricane beaten JA. We stayed with one of my dad’s friends’ house. And what a house it was. It’s been a while since I’ve been in a house that is so pristine and so well laid out in terms of design and decoration. This house was absolutely amazing and was far better than any hotel. We had an excellent host who took us out to dinner and what can I say…Goes to show that some bonds and relationships are really life-long, and that in years to come you may go to the country of that person you were in university with, and they’ll actually put you up, kinda like how you joked about it greater than 20 years before. Life really is amazing!! The restaurant we went to was an old fort and the view was absolutely beautiful. Then the next day it was off to yaad.

BACK TO YAAD
And what can I say about yaad. Yow yaad yu look kinda pop-dungish, but it’s DAMN GOOD TO BE HOME.

AWAKE IN A NIGHTMARE

Hey all, it's been such a long while hasn't it. Seem like the novelty of the good ole blog vent wore off on me. But that's not really the truth. Just working hard on developing my self-expression musically as well.

For the first time in my life i've felt like i woke up in a nightmare, but was really really awake. The call that my brother was in an accident was like no other. I felt like when twins say they feel the pain of their sibling when they are hurt. I wasn't even at home when i heard, and i had no details. Palpitations, mind-wondering, instincts tell you to go home...but where is home. It's a dorm right now...But that's not really home? Autopilot takes me to my pseudo-destination. What to do? What can i do? Worry. Pray. Doesn't make sense to cry cuz i don't know what's happening.

I tell yu people, this moment is likely to happen to all of us at some point in our life. Some have been unfortunate to have it happen many times. Others like myself have only had a few, and we thank God that they all have good endings, like this one will.

We mourn the lives lost in this tragic accident and pray that their families are ok. I would love to know who they are personally so i could send them my well wishes or even attend the memorial services. I thank God that my brother is alive and improving. This will be a new start for him, and i am so ready to help him on his way to recovery.

The frailty of life is only a millisecond away from us all, but we are not always aware of that millisecond, until it's on a clock that we can see. Live your lives to the fullest, and in a holy and righteous way. We have no other purpose but to help others and serve our Father. Thank you for all the support. I know the love that is had for my family, and likewise the love i have for you all. Thanks. Peace. See you soon.

LONG TIME

Bwoy i've been not nice to my bloggers, and now i decide to write after having a bit of Appleton. Is that what it takes for an update. LOL. Bwoy yu wonder why people drink sometimes, but after a hard week, i really cyaan seh dat this wasn't well deserved. You all already know i'm not an alcholic, so no need to worry. I know if other persons had this bottle of V/X since January, it could have been finished in 1 go. I won't call any names Dad, ROCKY, KIBBO, ahm that was not called for. But unnu know weh m i a seh.

All i can seh us lawd a miss yaaad! Mi neva know seh mi coulda love on place so! Jamdown fi life mi tell yu. When i had my drink i was listening to Sean Paul and i actually was dancing in my room at home for a while. It was real nice. Well since i'm not in my real room, i do have classes tomorrow, cuz it's Friday. I also have a gig wid the reggae band from school, and would you believe your one and only Mario is singing "Or Wah" by Capleton. How funny is dat? You know i wouldn't even dare try something as crazy as dat in JA, BUT TRUE SEH MI DEH INNA FOREIGN mi can get weh wid dem madness...cover Capleton...yu mad!!! Who woulda dare tek dat on.

Classes goin real well. Got real good midterm grades, and plan to do no less in the finals. So it's on. Your boy has decided to major in Songwriting and Music Business/Management come next semester. And i will get to learn some piano again doing the songwriting major. So i'm excited about that. Threw the performance major out the door. Real performers learn from experience and observing other good performers. Likewise some have natural songwriting ability, but there are tools that school can give me in that regard which you can use to imporve concepts. So i have picked what i think are 2 very practical majors, and i can handle the work load of both.

Just wanted to let ya'll know again that i miss you like crazy, and i'm jealous that you're there in the sun and i'm here in the cold. It actually is cold again. And it's Spring. Dis ya place mad like. All i nall your boy is good. Real good. Singing till mi voice almost gone, and definitely believing in myself more as a musician.

Everyone can feel free to link me at maregut@hotmail.com. I can give you other contact details from there on. Love unnu. Peace.

JUDGEMENT

It's been a while bloggers. In summary i'm real good, and i miss home like maaaad, but lovin' this school. So that works right. So lemme launch into what's on my mind today.

I've never thought of my self as real judgmental, but it really dawned on me that as humans we all are by nature. It's how we form our opinions and make decisions. Some are just more judgmental than others, as well as some are just more vocal about it than others. So you'll have those terribly quiet people who you think are not judgmental who really are, and vice versa and all the other things inbetween. An trus mi, some of us may be more judgmental than we think. Did you know that it can be spelled with or without the 'e'.

Well anyway, all of this is stemming from a few silent judgments i've made recently which silently bit me on my ass. Good thing they were silent, so that i could learn from them well SILENTLY...but very productively. Well 1st instance is this very nice girl who happens to be white, who made some statements that seemed kinda weird as well as weird behaviour to support it. Funny how when you get into the USA race becomes so much more of a dinner conversation. Long and short is i made a judgment about her in my mind and was later proven wrong. I even feel uncomfortable writing the whole story. When ya'll see me in person i'll tell you what happened.

And here you just meet so many people who's insides are so different from their exterior, which really is something i've always knows, and i guess is just life. Now more than ever it is glaring brightly at me. Makes me really appreciate how Jamaican people jus tell it like it damn is. Makes me love my bad customer service a lil more. No candy coating, jus the real deal as it come. And there are just those few days when i can do without the candy coating. Granted in Jamaica we may jus have too little bit a canfy, but you see where i'm going.

MORAL OF THE BLOG: Don't judge anyone. We are mere mortals. God or whichever higher power you believe in will be the judge on judgment day. Keep being good people and focus on dat! Love unnu.

Mi belly a lil smaller than before i think, but it a gimme hell fi lose. Working on it.

MARIO

TIRED

Just wanted ya'll to know that i'm getting good grades so far, and today i'm really tired, and i have more to tell you, but i'm waiting till the weekend. You'll like it. No i haven't gotten a record deal. LOL. And hope ya'll saw American Idol Wednesday night...there's a girl named Lakisha...she cam eto do damage. Jennifer Hudson, watch out now!

GOD'S ANGELS

I believe in God and the religion Christianity, but sometimes we only have occasional encounters of Angels helping us in the flesh.

Something just happened to me, which in all my 27 years has never ever happened with the ease that it did. It showed me that it could only have been God directly acting at that moment. I had to run to the PC and document it by blogging, and of course sharing the experience with my friends and the world

What happened was that i went to pick up my component set at Radio Shack. Of course I'm a student in Boston...i don't drive. No one on my floor was really around for me to ask for help, and heah, i carried back the initial one i bought by myself on my hip (in it's box of course)...so this couldn't be that hard, right?

Well when the box was being carried out by the rep, already it was about twice the size of the initial box. I estimated about 30 mash pounds. He somehow got it into a large plastic bag, but the handles were already stretching from the weight of the thing. Well i got the box out the door of the store for starters....Bwoy the journey looked tretcherous, plus ice on the ground. Di mount a time mi almost bruk up mi bam bam with nothing in mi hand, much less mi 30 mash pond appendage.

My journey was only a few steps when i already had to take a break, so i knew this was going to be rough. Walk, muscle pain, rest...and di muscle pain did even worse cah mi go gym dis morning. Whoa wha mi ago do! I make it across the road and rest the box on the steps of an apartment. Then comes a bright-eyed female, who was actually about to enter that apartment, and saw me struggling. She first asks if i'm going inside, and i say no. She then immediately asks if i need help to carry the box to where i'm going.

Now she doesn't know me number 1. Number 2, i'm not the racial chip on the shoulder type, but she's a white female and me a black male. Number 3, She nuh know how far she a go. Well i accept the offer, but in the initially refusing kinda way. She tells me her name is Brittany. She speaks of her love for God and Jesus, and that she's a Christian. She has even been to Jamaica to do missionary work, and had been there for vacation as well. This must have been an angel! There is no possible way that me a stranger in Boston could have met another person who helped me to carry a 30 mash pound box when i was really in need of the help.

She carried it with me right to the front door of the dorm and i thanks her endlessly. God if you were showing me a sign, i saw it. I was almost blinded by it. I think this moment will stay with me for a while.

In a world perceived as being so selfish. One person was absolutely selfless, and seem so fearless and genuine about it. I am blown away. The box remains at the door unopened because it was definitely more important for me to acknowledge her than to see how the system works. And on that not i hope it works, cuz i won't have Brittany to carry it back if it's faulty. LOL.

But on the real though, I say a prayer of thanks to my Lord. I am grateful for all you have provided and continue to provide. I hope others have these same moments that allow them to see your grace. I am awed! Thank you. Amen.

JUST INCASE

Just incase you forgot what I look like...

My hair is growing higher as is my knowledge,

My smile wider, with gratitude for what the creator has given me,

My memory longer, not to forget the many who have inspired me,

My soul deeper, to contain the overflow of my spirit,

My patience thicker, to withstand the wear and tear of life,

My complexion lighter, with the absence of the sun, but my heart filled with the pride of my country...JAMAICA, my land, my love.

My voice clearer to be more easily heard, but not loud enough to be overbearing,

My faith renewed to continue to believe in all, that so long I haven't seen,

AND

My legs stronger, to carry the weight of these many growing dimensions which develop me...

Just incase you forgot what I look like.



Inspired by life. Written 10:27pm by Mario Guthrie on 15/02/07

UPDATE

Hey bloggers, jus giving ya'll an update. Just went to the Reggae Ensemble...they play everything there from reggae dub to dancehall. The ensemble is worth 1 credit, but my credits are full to the brim, but i'm still gonna do it, cause there is no better reminder of home than to hear some reggae, and not jus Bob Marley (No disrespect to Uncle Bob...Oh and Happy Birthday Bob, Jamaica loves you!). I have to make a CD tonight with music i'd like to contribute. I played "Weddy Weddy Time" by Voicemail in the class, as well as Ritchie Spice "Youths are So Cold", and he liked them both. So i plan to put some Junior Gong and Tanya Stephens on the CD as well...i could put anything, there is so much. Have to give it in by tomorrow tho, so that limits me...feel free to email anything to me or suggest anything (maregut@gmail.com). The music library kinda scant inna di winta!

So that was a good experience. The lecturer is from St. Kitts, hence the Caribbean influence. He also has a Caribbean ensemble that does soca, so Caribbean music is well represented here...and the musicians actually do a good job at playing it. Nothing beats Jamaican musicians playing Jamaican music, but these guys are damn good!

Now time for my funny moment. I enter the library, and this guy from South Korea is reading. He doesn't even say good afternoon or anything. He just calls me over and asks me what a word in his novel means...almost simultaneously he asks, "Where are you from?", in a dry type of tone. I say "Jamaica", then he says, "It's ok, its's alright", almost sending me back to my seat. LOL. Mi glad mi a get ole, cah if mi did inna mi ignorant days mi woulda get hignorant! Oh the word was "TURD". So for all you English majors you go look dat up. The sad part is i was so familiar with the word, but no definition was coming to my head, so i couldn't at that time even be witty and disprove whatever was going on in his head. This is where misinterpretations is a bad thing. Homeboy probably was just frustrated and decided not to bother asking me again and figured he'd find out on his own, cuz it all happened pretty quickly OR we will hope that it is not because I'm Jamaican and we don't speak "perfect English", as i'm told i speak, which seems to be quite a novelty. At least we know what the world thinks about our English (Well some parts of the world). Of course mi jump pon mi Mac dictionary and look up turd...it would have been the perfect word to be witty with. Oh what a shame. Foe those of you like myself who did not have an immediate memory, it can be defined as A LUMP OF EXCREMENT; Often used in Golf, and also refers to someone who is obnoxiuos.

Well i'm learning to ignore TURDISH behaviour, cause only ignorant TURDS conduct themselves that way. Now i shall elevate myslef and not offend anyone. But how offensive. Now that i have blog vented again, i must say i am in such a good mental state that not even a TURD could sidetrack me, so God bless that.

Oh this blog is getting long, but if i don't talk about this i won't forgive myself. Went to this meeting yesterday..."Songwriting Club"...it was off da chain. All i have to say is dat this school have some crazy talent. CRAZY!! I had only got 2 myspace pages at the time, so i'm gonna gi dem a buss. This guys is like already signed in my books...from Scotland, and a voice like no other. He had the ladies weak, and had me speechless. he is Jonathan Carr (www.myspace.com/johnathancarr88). He's only 18, but he is AWESOME. This other guy goes by the name Deffy and you can check him out at www.myspace.com/deffymusic , and there were so many more awesome musicians. I'll continue to send you myspace links.

A good lesson i'm learning is that as a vocalist you should focus on learning songs and song words. You never know what someone might want you to sing. A good start is to make sure the songs that you like you know them inside out. One day it will pay off i assure you.

JAMAICA JAMAICA...MI LUV UNNU. PEACE!!

NOT ENOUGH

Not black enough
Not white enough
Not tall enough
Not short enough

Not patois enough
Not English enough
Not Westmoreland enough
Not Jamaican enough

Not sharp enough
Not flat enough
Not R&B enough
Not reggae enough

Not fat enough
Not slim enough
Not him enough
Not her enough

Not woman enough
Not man enough
Not gay enough
Not straight enough

Not nice enough
Not mean enough
Not here enough
Not there enough

Not smart enough
But definitely dumb enough
To think that you're not enough
Be enough
Be more than enough

Talk enough
Smile enough
Exercise enough
Do enough
Do more than enough

Eat enough
Dance enough
Don't be nuff
Love nuff nuff

Never let anyone make you feel like you're not enough. This is Mario's public service announcement for the day. Inspired by the statement "But you don't seem Jamaican", and "You don't sound Jamaican", and all the others throughout the years of my life. Always therapeutic to blog vent. Peace. And i'm ALL good. I know i'm enough!

ONE WEEK

Hey people, it's been a week. This mature student is hangin' in there quite ok so far. Each day brings more and more new work, challenges and exciting experiences. Now i wonder what would have happened if i didn't come. Berklee is an amazing institution, especially for persons at my musical level. Meaning lots of raw talents and minimal/rusty music theory knowledge. They provide a good framework for you to be a good and functional musician. Ear training, sight reading, ensembles (small bands), private lessons, liberal arts courses. Not that this is a BERKLEE ad, but in the one week i have seen already just a fraction of what i can gain from Berklee, andit's impressive. I see where a lot of the money goes. Lots of equipment and stuff. At least when i come back i should be able to use all those programs on the Mac. Stangely enough we don't learn Pro tools here, but there are so many other software stuff we do learn. Since i'm already accepted, i have the option of seeing what the other majors are and maybe doing something different from what i thought i had wanted to do.

But anyway, lets do the quick recap of the week. Classes...Snow...Classes...Fatty Food...Band Audition...Bob Marley Ensemble Audition...Classes...GYM (yes i've started, and i've gone every other say since Sunday thank you)...Ensemble. yeah it's Friday. Of significance was the band audition. Which band is this? I myself not even know. I just read some poster about a band looking for a vocalist, and they liked a lot of R&B, so i went. And guess what they really liked it. I'm gonna really have to stop singing "Ribbon in the Sky", but it seems to bring me good luck...or i've probably done it so much that it's becoming mine. Well we rehearse on Sunday for the 1st time, so we'll see how dat goes.

The Bob Marley Ensemble audition was equally interesting. As the people there probably knew the songs better than I did (Hoe embarassing, but when u live in Jamaica you don't need to study Bob lyrics...like c'mon). it was kinda embarrasing, but i trooped it out. You know i'm a trooper. There's so much more i'd like to say, but i must keep this PC, and you know i'm the President of PC. LOL. I accidentally typed OC. Which brings me to ask if anyone has ever watched the OC on MTV (Like real rich kids living a Malibu kinda life who all talk like they're blonde)? Just wanted to ask. Let's just say some moments of my days are OC moments.

My ensemble today was awesome. My teacher is from Trinidad, and we did some real cool music, so i was real happy about dat.

This is a real lame blog. You have to write these things when you in a mood. I not feeling the flow. Logn and short is i'm happy, working out, and regret free. So keep tuned in cuz the madhouse is bubbling with rambling ideas to sputter out, like things I've learned. Lemme give you a snippet:

I've learned:
1. Many men spit in the urinal while or after urinating
2. Idiots span the globe, no matter how educated a population is
3. The YMCA has a communal shower (So gross!!)

I'll just leave you with those for today. I think they are quite thought provoking, so enjoy. Peace.
MARIO

I'M HERE

Hey my friends, bloggers and blog-readers. I thought I would never ever get to writing this blog, and I know you all have your opinions about that. I clearly think I'm busy, maybe others think I have poor time management...Well all dat is really important is that I get the job done. It would not be appropriate to write this blog without first thanking Shauna, her family, and my wonderful friends for what they did for me on the Saturday before I left. It was great! I was happy, and it was good to see so many of you before leaving, especially in that setting.

Well I'm here peeps. I'm in Boston, and yes mi start twang already. Mi nuh have nuh shame. Yu cyaan go nowhere an ask fi W-A-T-A, it's clearly W-A-D-D-E-R, and said quickly in my token Jamerican accent, which clearly has them fooled since they all don't know where I'm from. But anyways, after American Airlines flight delays, being placed on standby, and fortunately not loosing any luggage, dad and I arrived to Boston, and it was cold...Very cold, well we thought, then the temperature on Wednesday was in the negatives (dat nuh pretty at all). Poor dad looked like a fish out of water. I know i not made for cold, but my tough papa wasn't liking it at all. Well i think i was more prepared than he knew. I had tam and scarf and gloves and sweater. He didn't have any gloves and initially no tam. So talk about ear freeze, nose freeze, mouth freeze... Jus crazy freezing.

Our first adventure on arrival was to get some food. Here is where I forget 1. How young I look, and 2. How serious they are about ID in the US. We went into some bar to get some food and this guy asks for my ID. I showed him my Driver's License, and dudey wouldn't accept it. He wanted my passport, which I left at the hotel. Since when is a National Driver's License not valid ID? (I guess once it's not their nation). Mi did well waan argue, but my good willed father was the calm one and said "Let's go"...Mi really forget where I was coming to. The bar next door quickly took our orders, but had to go thru the same ID routine. This time the Jamaican ID represented well. We nyam up an den we were back in the hotel, and to sleep we went.

Tuesday, Jan 16 - Orientation day. After you've been to UWI, any orientation is a breeze, an mi a talk UWI before 1999. Dem deh breed a registration and walk up an down weh wi did have to go thru. This wasn't hard really. A lot of activities, but jus required a little forward planning and it was cool. For those who are unfamiliar wid the vernacular, i can't help myself. My mind works in patois, even though many have never really heard much of it from my mouth :) I'm a proud Jamaican (Break out in song for the Singers people..."We are proud Jamaicans, la la la la la la...").

This is where we fast-forward though the Berklee stuff. Orientation yady yady, English proficiency test, lectures on campus facilities, placement audition...Oh did I say placement audition. This moment of the orientation was the best part for me. It made me feel like this really is where I should be. In this audition you sing a piece of your choice, improv (sing anything over what the pianist plays...Usually jazz), scat, and sight read. Of course unnu know seh mi sing "Ribbon in the Sky" by Stevie Wonder, cah a mi bread an butter. But guess who's burnt mp3 CD wasn't gonna play in the audition room. As we tried an tried, the CD seh..."Mi nah play, mi nah play, unu lef mi nuh". They almost made me sing another track which had started to play. Well dat CD choked as well. Good thing Ribbon is a popular song, cuz he then asked me what key I sing it in. I said "C" (it's really in "C#"). He then hopped on the piano and started playing it. It was nice too. He made a few mistakes, which I then tried to correct (it's your audition, you want it to go perfect). He was like JUS SING! So yu know the rambling stop right there, and I was singing my heart out. The other auditioner was grooving to it. They liked it. I then had to impov, and I just started to sing the blues...The first thing dat came out of my mouth was "I got blues, Berklee Blues....I got blues, Berklee blues". Snap thought...Is this the right song to be singing ay my Berklee audition? LOL. Ahmmmm think fast...."When it's cold outside I get me some Berklee blues"...Now we're on track. Then he says "skat". Lawd what if mi did come from country or was a musical retard an him seh sKat, maybe mi woulda start dance, probably tap. Granted I have never really skatted before. I was surely skatting now (Shure nuff a unnu woulda waan hear dat). Wow, dat went well too. I now have to sightread. "What key is it in?", they ask. "G Major" I say correctly, then we start. Didn't go bad either...Much better than the scholarship audition. Now we're finished and this is the good part. He says "You, you have the gift. You're a natural talent. You really moved me!. Have you ever had formal voice training". I say "a little". The he says "so most of this is natural", and I say "Yes", and he says "I thought so". He then offered his services even if he wasn't my vocal coach. That was the best audition I've ever had in my life. I finally realized that I had made most of the steps towards following my dream, and it was actually happening, and in a supportive musical environment.

Dat was the highlight of my week, maybe one of the highlights of my life. To be told that by someone who teaches at a Music college is a big deal. Kinda reaffirms the fact that you might actually have talent, and half of this musician battle is believing that you do. Well I kinda believed. He convinced me a little more, and I'm sure the tug-of-war will continue as we journey on. Pray for me and I will pray too to not compare, and just to make the most of me, MG, Mario and what I can do.

Today is Saturday, and I pick up my schedule. So I can let ya'll know what my days are like and when you can links me. I'll send you my info via email. AndI have a room phone and a mailing address now. Let all my friends know about my blogs, because I could never write all this in individual emails. And myself am averse to mass emails. To me blogs are much better. Personal emails are gonna become shorter now, but I'm here to work, so I can't be engulfed by this monster the laptop attached to the internet. I miss you guys, and love you all very much. The support you have given me has been unbelievable, and I am so far really happy. That's what life is all about, doing what you really love, and being happy. When you're happy you serve God better. There I go on the religious tip, but I am eternally grateful for the life I've been given. You hear me say it all the time, but "I really can't complain". God has been good! I'll continue to give you the blow by blow every couple a days or so, so bookmark me and check on me periodically. Peace.

MG