Living like a Crucian

Am I missing something? Is this an extended vacation blog or are you thinking of moving to St Croix? I noticed you looked at properties, but nothing about searching for work. Maybe you are a TF baby? If so, enjoy your sojourn.

sadly you will never get to meet trw.

I agree with you and I am not even there yet to see for myself! Its just like everyone who moves to the south and complains about it! WE didn't invite you here so you are free to go back where you came from.

Is this an extended vacation blog or are you thinking of moving to St Croix?

This is a pre-move visit. Yes, I am thinking of moving to STX.

I noticed you looked at properties, but nothing about searching for work

I already have a job on STX, or rather, I brought my job here. I work remotely, right from the cottage. Software development.

Day 9.

I hear music coming from my neighbor's cottage. It's Israel "IZ" Kamakawiwo'ole "Over The Rainbow". An absolutely beautiful performance:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1bFr2SWP1I

Then I realize: it's not really IZ. It sounds semi-professional. I step outside to listen closely. The singer is my neighbor! Apparently, it's an one-man Karaoke show. Or maybe he is taking voice lessons. He is singing with conviction and good musicality. He is feeling it. My host tells me that this guy is a software engineer, just like me. Every software engineer must have a song.

I just tried to search the stx today, comments and it did not come up. Maybe it has been removed. Try searching for trw all dates.

Found it: https://www.vimovingcenter.com/talk/read.php?4,76206,page=1

Day 9 (continued)

A note to myself: avoid the beach on Sundays. It's a "paradise lost". The beach feels crowded. There is a cruise ship is in Frederiksted:

I don't like cruise ships. On day one, they conduct a mandatory fire drill. You are lined up on the deck like cattle, shoulder to shoulder with 2 thousand of other passengers, and they call the passengers' names. When you hear yours, you are expected to acknowledge it by yelling "Present", or some other such nonsense. This inhumane treatment is traumatic to me. The last time I had to go through it was when I was drafted to the Russian military 30 years ago. I don't want to repeat it when I am on vacation.

Near the beach, there appears to be a beach party by locals. They put up two huge speakers to play some garbage music, and the speakers are deafening. This looks like a pattern: the locals appear to think that the louder, the better. I smell cheap pot. I am considering a drug dealer career here. I can sell a good quality product. Like Heisenberg in "Breaking Bad". When talking to my Jamaican suppliers, I'd use certain phrases, such as "I am not in danger. I am the danger'.

On the beach, there are exclusively white people who look like they belong to the nearby small hotel. They are all in their 50's. One of them is a guy in white speedos which become transparent when wet. He is circling around me, whistling, oblivious to my judgement. I take him as a European, but he talks to his buddies in the standard American English.

Finally, I see three young Asian girls, in the 20's. Must be from the cruise ship. The first one continuously jumps, spreading her arms and legs. The second one is photographing the first one, trying to capture the "Kodak Moment". The third one doesn't know what to do. I watch them, measuring them. What matters is not the absolute size, but the proportions. Certain universal ratios, such as 1.618 and 3.14, must hold.

At its zenith, Kodak was a powerful conglomerate, holding a lion market share of the photographic equipment sales, and employed as many as 120,000 employees. In 2012, Kodak filed for bankruptcy. Kodak failed to adapt to the digital transformation of the photographic equipment in the jungle of the Darwinian economy.

The STX economy is not Darwinian. Two companies on the island, Hovensa (before it decided to stop the operations) and WAPA control virtually every economical aspect of the local life. They don't need to adapt. There is no competition.

" I brought my job here. I work remotely, right from the cottage. Software development."

Ah, I see now. 🙂 All the best for your stay on St Croix.

Day 9 (continued).

I am at home, on the porch. I don't feel like cooking today, so I microwave the frozen "tender swedish meatballs and pasta with parsley in a sour cream sauce", and pair it with the Woodbridge Merlot.

On the continent, I eat fast. On the continent, eating is a necessary nuisance, to refill the energy, and to get to the pressing matters of the day, such as reading the Google news, checking the status of my software system, and walking my dog.

Here on the island, I eat very slowly, savoring every single bite. It's a process. There is no rush. It can take as long as it takes. The Merlot kicks in. I feel the buzz. There is noise up in the tree. I look up, expecting a squirrel. There are no squirrels on the island. The creature looks like a small crocodile. A crocodile up on the tree? I approach carefully, to take a better look. It's a big iguana. She appears to be eating the leaves.

On the island, I don't care about the world news anymore. The locality principle is in action. I don't watch TV, either. Even though I am on the "island time", the time passes quickly. I feel like there is not enough time for me to do nothing.

I feel like there is not enough time for me to do nothing.

same here.... haha

I enjoyed the rainy day today, gave me more than enough excuse to relax and put off some of the endless projects I need to complete.

I feel like there is not enough time for me to do nothing.

same here.... haha

I enjoyed the rainy day today, gave me more than enough excuse to relax and put off some of the endless projects I need to complete.

What's the project at the top of your stack, Liquid?

I recorded one minute worth of tropical sounds after the sunset:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T81RWbIfoSU&feature=youtu.be

I feel like there is not enough time for me to do nothing.

same here.... haha

I enjoyed the rainy day today, gave me more than enough excuse to relax and put off some of the endless projects I need to complete.

What's the project at the top of your stack, Liquid?

I own/run the only horse rescue on STX (www.cruzancowgirls.com), I need to get the paper work in for a well, currently my cisterns are watering 16 rescue horses & I'm frankly very very lucky it's been a wet year; I need to get the well for when it's "normal" years.

and I always need to walk the fence line and repair fence, I could have worked a few horses in the round pen today but the rain was a great excuse... haha

I've got some plumbing that needs fixing, one of my pools filters probably hasn't been cleaned since the 60's.. need to get into that.... haha

there's Tac that needs repairing, the saddles need saddle soap.... haha and that's just off the top of my head, i have an actual list somewhere.

I feel like there is not enough time for me to do nothing.

same here.... haha

I enjoyed the rainy day today, gave me more than enough excuse to relax and put off some of the endless projects I need to complete.

What's the project at the top of your stack, Liquid?

I own/run the only horse rescue on STX (www.cruzancowgirls.com), I need to get the paper work in for a well, currently my cisterns are watering 16 rescue horses & I'm frankly very very lucky it's been a wet year; I need to get the well for when it's "normal" years.

and I always need to walk the fence line and repair fence, I could have worked a few horses in the round pen today but the rain was a great excuse... haha

I've got some plumbing that needs fixing, one of my pools filters probably hasn't been cleaned since the 60's.. need to get into that.... haha

there's Tac that needs repairing, the saddles need saddle soap.... haha and that's just off the top of my head, i have an actual list somewhere.

I am glad I asked. I was looking for some horseback riding on STX. I thought the only two options were "Paul & Jill" and "Equus". I was looking for a private ride, rather than a group one. Do you offer private rides? I would love to donate to your cause. Thanks.

we run guided horse tours (cruzan cowgirls) to help fund the rescue (Cruzan Cowgirls Horse rescue) out west. (same website) my wife is the guide we can do anything you want, generally it's just couples or families that take on rides; depending on your experience and desires we can do a lot.. our rides typically last about 2 hours.

Give Jen a call, she'd love to meet you.

we run guided horse tours (cruzan cowgirls) to help fund the rescue (Cruzan Cowgirls Horse rescue) out west. (same website) my wife is the guide we can do anything you want, generally it's just couples or families that take on rides; depending on your experience and desires we can do a lot.. our rides typically last about 2 hours.

Give Jen a call, she'd love to meet you.

Thanks much, Liquid. Just talked to your wife and scheduled a ride 4 to 6 on Wednesday.

I over heard, I tried to get her to tell you I enjoy your writing style, she just looked at me funny.... haha

I over heard, I tried to get her to tell you I enjoy your writing style, she just looked at me funny.... haha

Haha. I've been married for 20 years. My wife knows me so well that when I make a single movement, she reads the body language, and knows exactly what I am going to do next.

Day 9 (continued)

On the beach, there are exclusively white people who look like they belong to the nearby small hotel. They are all in their 50's. One of them is a guy in white speedos which become transparent when wet. He is circling around me, whistling, oblivious to my judgement. I take him as a European, but he talks to his buddies in the standard American English.

Not European, transplanted Californian.

Did you judge the Tattoo on my ass, as I was circling you while whistling?

Introduce yourself next time and you'll better accepted.

CD

 

Not European, transplanted Californian.
Did you judge the Tattoo on my ass, as I was circling you while whistling?
Introduce yourself next time and you'll better accepted.
CD

Damn, it is a small island! Good morning, CD!

Not European, transplanted Californian.
Did you judge the Tattoo on my ass, as I was circling you while whistling?
Introduce yourself next time and you'll better accepted.
CD

Damn, it is a small island! Good morning, CD!

LOL!

Like I said, introduce yourself we don't bite.

CD

Day 10.

On the island, one must be as smooth as a photon. If you are like me, introverted, abrasive, nihilistic, condescending, and lacking social skills, it would be much more difficult for you to live on the island, compared to living on the continent. Unless the island is uninhabited, that is.

Photons do not interact with the Higgs Field that permeates the fabric of the Universe, and that allows them to travel with the maximum speed. Other particles interact with the Higgs Filed, and the higher the degree of interaction, the higher the mass of the particle. Particles acquire mass by rubbing themselves the wrong way against the Higgs Field.

Day 10 (continued).

This is how local cockroaches look like. The key is for size comparison.

This got me curious about how PETA feels about these particular animals, so I am researching it at the moment.

And that's a small one.
We were dining at a particular restaurant several years back when one sprinted across the table as the waiter was giving us options for dessert. He explained it wasn't a roach, just a crucian cricket. Too funny.

The larger ones are also known as mahogany birds.

Suggest you don't post too many pics of tortured wildlife otherwise the anti-crab racing lobby will be after you. 🙂

One of the primary predators of those large roaches is centipedes. They eat them like candy. One reason why I would never kill a centipede outside the house, everyone has a job to do!