A few tidbits

A popular lunch spot in Hamilton is the Lemontree - hot and cold sandwiches, a Friday evening wine and tapas spread onto the patio that adjoins a really lovely park. My quick lunch was closely watched... At one point I had 4 birds on the table, 2 on each of the adjacent chairs at my table, and the rest hopping around on the patio...


Ssaturday - went to the Farmer's Market! Had a nice community feel to it, tho it is tiny, about a dozen venders. I bumped into 3 of the folks I'd spoken with there way out in Crawl later on that morning when I was looking at one of the possible rentals. They recognized me as I was walking, and pulled over to chide that they would have given me a ride if they'd known...

Similarly, this morning a bus whizzed by before I could get across the street to catch it (tho as it turns out it was not a schedduled bus but a chartered one). A woman who saw it, turned around and came back to offer a ride into town. She works as a nursing aide at a rehab home nearby.

I need to remember to get a picture of one of the buses - they are bubble-gum pink, for one thing. A really good service network, and the buses are in good shape. Few of the bus stops have schedules, tho several have shelters - basically you look for the pink pole going one direction (into Hamilton, I think) and blue poles going away from Hamilton (tho that may be the reverse of what it really is.) Simple enough. I bought my month pass - unlimited bus and ferry rides, $55 - at the post office, which is the main place where you get these.

People have been remarkably friendly and generous and out-reaching. So far, so good!

A neighbor...
Up the road...











Down the road...

Landlady's porch, beside my unit...



























The wind came up over that first night, and kept up at reportedly gale force gusts thru out the next day as well. In fact, when the winds died off in the evening, they seemed to quit all at once, and it got so quiet it was almost spooky. The breezes blew in much cooler temperatures, and I was glad for the jacket and scarf that I wore into town Thursday (and Friday).

Thursday I found a free internet cafe, but one could only use their equipment (nice new Macs, big screens, fast connection), not my own laptop, ergo the relative silence. I spent time there Thursday and Friday; they are only open M-F, 10 til 4, as they sit in the lobby of Cable and Wireless, one of the communication utility companies. Hamilton runs to its own Apple store, staffed with friendly kids (Jason, a 22 year old graphic designer by training, is an Apple freak and geek, and would love to meet Trevor - his eyes lit up with the idea of someone sort of his age working as an art director.) The prices - well, we got an external harddrive at the Durham Apple store for I think $140 - here it was $350, (or so - the memory is already fogged. But the point is, for film, camera stuff, computer stuff - buy it in the US, it is very pricey here. Again, not a surprise!)

Called the bosslady, she asked me to come on into the office to pick up some papers and such, so I did. Met the gang, saw my cubicle, picked up the papers, got the address for Transport Control Department, where I go to get the manual to study for the drivers license exam, that sort of thing.

I realized I brought the wrong 'standard' cable for the camera to download the pictures to the computer, so Friday was in part spent hunting a card reader. I have one that reads pretty much anything out there now - visitors, please note! - for $30, a product I found between that price and nearly double that.

The gov'ment has 4 options for 1 bedroom apartments right now; I am to go see them next Thursday. These run $1700 - $2500, with a/c and w/d, furnished. I meet some local owners tomorrow to look at their units in the same price range tho semi or unfurnished. We will see...

Checked a couple of gyms, pilates studios and such, and a couple of language schools. And one of the highlights - met with the woman who set up the farmer's market here in Hamilton, tho she stepped out of it a couple years ago. In that weird serendiptious way things have , she had gone to MPC in Monterey, had lived in Pacific Grove, has a degree in ceramics/pottery (fine arts) with work in a couple small museums doing ceramics restoration work, her thing being majolica (which is what I worked in, ceramics-wise)...a number of parallels. She reminds me rather of Vonda, only a rounder Vonda - passionate about her interests, a gardener and teacher, with chin-length silver hair and dark eyes and strong opinions.

Enough for this one. I will add a photo of the other neighbor on the next posting...

Bermuda!

Made it!

I'll start with a few photos - the temporary lodgings:




























BTW - The Great Pumpking weighed in at 47 pounds, the duffel at 34, who knows what the carry-on or computer bag weighed. It all got here, intact and complete. I was very happy to find Mr. Outerbridge still waiting for me when I emerged, well behind the rest of the passengers, from Immigration and Customs.

They admitted me provisionally, since the paperwork wasn't at the airport, on the basis of phone confirmation from some official whose name I had been given about 3 minutes before boarding in NYC - nothing like cutting it skinny. Customs required listing the serial numbers of all the electronic and camera gear I'd brought in; I was given a little slip of yellow paper with the serial numbers and an unreadable signature, signifying these had been brought in and no duty was due on them.

Mr. Outerbridge is well known - and, any visitors, if you aren't willing to take the bus in or have luggage beyond a carry-on sized bag, book the gentleman's services. He cost me $30 with tip to carry me and gear the distance, giving me something of a tour and a definite welcome while so doing. (He used to be a fire marshall, and knows the ins and outs of local building and plan review bureaucracy; he was the second one to warn me that it will be a challenge working in the Department.) He made sure I got to my off-the-beaten-track address, that the place was ready for me, and carried the bags in. A dear.

My seatmate out of New York, turns out, was Bermuda's Tourism Director, a fellow from Barbados who has a past career in resort/hotel management and has taken on a somewhat moribund department. We chatted the first half hour or so - he has been focusing on the larger markets, but it seems there are negotiations on to expand the service from Charlotte to daily, and perhaps add a Raleigh departure. He'd like to explore the NC/Bermuda connection, drawing on the historical links between the two places.

I saw his picture in the paper yesterday, with the announcement of a second Jet Blue departure from JFK to start shortly.

It was positively balmy when I landed - tho with blue skies on one side of the plane, and whipped-cream piles of clouds on the other - 68 degrees, way too warm for the multiple layers Raleigh/Durham and New York necessitated. I was stripping stuff off from the moment I got the bags settled.

Went 'down the hill' to Modern Mart, the nearest grocery store, a small place but one of the central pivot points of the local community. Picked up a few things, semi-shocked by prices and what was available - definitely the sort of place where you go see what is in the shop, rather than plan out your shopping list. I spent $55 on a fish fillet, a bit of meat, a bottle of water, a bottle of wine, an onion, a garlic bulb, a bit of ginger, some cherry tomatoes, and some brussel sprouts.

Thursday I went in to Hamilton to start my search for phone, internet and banking services. These are limited, and expensive - neither of those are a surprise. Here, one contracts with an Internet Service Provider (ISP) and an Access Provider (AP), usually different companies. Best case, this means the bill for internet (whether via cable or DSL or wireless) runs about $135/month, or $180 if I got cellphone thru the same agency.

Setting anything beyond a SIM card/time purchase on my existing phone requires a local bank account, a copy of the work permit, and proof of local residence. Without the work permit I can't get a bank account, etc. Frustrated on that score. (This also extends to being unable to cancel my unneeded return ticket Jet Blue required me to buy while at RDU - they didnt want to accept the contract or email as equivalent to work permit approval. I will have to reschedule my 'return flight' til even later to avoid losing that refundable fare because of the bureaucracy not being ready to go when they said they would.)

I'll break this and post it, and start with some other photos.

Departure's Eve

Took some doing, but got the big bag down below 50 pounds - 49 pounds, 4 ounces or so. Everything seems to fit within the weight and size guidelines. Now,if I could just find my Wachovia debit card, which has gone missing today. I remember things in a crush - oh, I need to turn in the license plate from the car I sold, and before I cancel my insurance! Oh, I need to shift the house insurance bill to electronic transfer! Oh, I need to make sure the emergency light doesn't still have the batteries in it from its last use in Carmel! Oh, I need to make sure I have all those Bermuda phone numbers in my phone contacts before I leave!

Trevor stopped by Mom's on his way home and got her Skype system working again - for the last couple weeks we were able to see each other, she could hear me, but I couldn't hear her. He fixed that. And Sister has added Skype to her computer capabilities - so I did a quick conference call and got all of us on the line. Simple, and very nice...Skype, people, so we can talk!!

Let's see - 50 pounds in the Great Pumpkin. Maybe 40 pounds in the duffel, 25 pounds in the carryon, plus my computer tote...I'm glad Mr. Outerbridge and his taxi are meeting me on the other end!

Haven't heard current status on work permit, but apparently HR will communicate directly with Immigration - this may be one of those things where the name is called out as the plane arrives. I am very very good at coming up with possible scenarios (negative ones), so I am hoping it goes reasonably smoothly. (My bosslady is down with the flu, last we talked, and coping with some crisis, so it may be Immigration, Mr. Outerbridge, and me.)

Snow forecast overnight here, with a low of 20 (last I checked); up to 6" of snow in NYC. We will creep out about 5 in the morning and make our way to the airport. I can't check in ahead of time, this being international travel, so I need the extra time to be sure things go ok - such a worrywart.

Hard to leave...But - Back to the last minute stuff...I don't know how quickly I will get phone and internet service established in Bermuda (not least because this is a temporary location), but I will be back to blogging as soon as I can manage. Hugs and love, all!

Snow and rain

I have, of course, been watching the weather in Bermuda over time, and recently started watching the forecast for the days before and of my departure, here in Raleigh and in NYC, where my flight connects.

I'm not, by a long stretch, a snow bunny - love the look of it, get all excited to see it falling and its accumulation, enjoying walking in it when it is snow and not ice; refuse to drive in it and worry incessantly when it seems to be factoring in to my plans somehow. So - Raleigh has a chance (50% per Weather Underground and WRAL) of getting snow flurries Tuesday morning, and about 25% of getting them Wednesday morning. (I leave 6.55 Wednesday morning.) JFK has a similar forecast, with better chances - 70% Tuesday, 30% Wednesday, light accumulation.

I feel a bit as if I'm riding a bike and concentrating so hard on not running into the tree that I can't avoid running into the tree.

But, for snow, it isn't a bad forecast - no or light accumulation, the forecasts are for flurries, after all...I promise not to look at it but once tomorrow morning and again tomorrow night...

Bermuda seems to have had a permanent forecast of rain. This is not unexpected - January thru March is the rainier part of the year (tho rain falls anytime), and this is a wonderful thing since what water is available is what one captures from the rains. It also often rains (typically in short bursts) in one part of the island and not on another. Seems a little strange given how small a place it is, but I experienced this while I visited in late September - St. George's would be wet and Hamilton dry, or vice versa. During one cloudburst, while I waited for a bus, rain wet the pavement on one side of the shelter, and nothing fell on the other side. The forecast gives a 30% chance of rain on Wed, 40% on Thursday, 20% on Friday, with highs of 60 to 68, lows of 53 to 59.

Packed! (I think)

Way too much stuff - and I know better! One large bag to check, my 'great pumpkin', right at the 62" limit (we will check tomorrow to see if it weighs 50 pounds or less); one medium-sized duffel, and one carry-on (plus my tote bag with computer etal.) They are not crammed tight; the problem is the weight more than the volume. (The down side of using space-saver bags is the same thing as their strength - you get more things into the same amount of space, ergo that bag gets heavier...)

I'm teased about it, but I always 'test-pack', then carry it around and deciding if I really must have everything I've stuffed into the bag. I've already winnowed down three times from my first test-packing. I still have time...

And this is just clothes, not 'household effects'!

Goodbyes - Part 1

Trying to squeeze in some sense of how much I love and will miss family and friends is what I'm doing during the final get-togethers, and it is by far the most difficult part of the whole gig. There really is no way to do this successfully. Yes, this is exciting and another adventure; certainly people can come visit (you are all invited!), and it is not all that far away, with 90 min/2 hour flights from various East Coast cities. Sure, with email and Skype and this blog, we can keep up with each other, even see each other with video-enabled Skype calls. And we all have our own very full lives and interests, and I will be ridiculously busy for a while, getting settled in and learning.

But I've always enjoyed being home, however much I wander off, and this time it has been particularly good in most respects. (Granted, part of that may be that this was a hiatus, with few stresses or work-related tumult and angst.) I've been much 'smiley-er' and relaxed, making it a lot easier on those who put up with me on a regular basis. I've been able to catch up with a lot of my former coworkers and old friends, and have a fair amount of time with my son Trevor (and sometimes his lady friend Kelley), my sister Terry (and sometimes her hubby Dan and his kids), and my Mom, Fran. You are all such dears to me.

It is particularly hard to leave Mom, and especially in February. Mom's health is good, and she is the youngest 83 year old I think anyone could find anywhere, staying busy with her garden and yard and house, getting up to speed with the computer, learning Skype so we can chat easily and cheaply, being ready and willing to come visit. She went canoeing with Trevor this summer at our annual family reunion and coped with the near-inevitable dunking with equanimity and chuckles, has agreed to a three-generation parachute jump (at least for conversational purposes!) - and I earlier mentioned she had come out to California to be my co-pilot for the drive cross-country, exploring parts of the nation she had not seen before.

So she seems more like 65 than 83, which makes it easy to forget the years. The women in the family tend toward long lives, and she is mindful of her health. Nonetheless, I came home in part because I wanted to stay close over the next several years, knowing that there are fewer ahead than there are behind and wanting to make the most of however much time there might be. As grateful for and excited by the new posting as I am, I would love to be staying home for a while.

February, at least late February, is a part of the year my family would prefer to skip. We have lost a family member each of the last 4 Februarys - Dad and my brother James while I was in Italy, Mom's eldest sister's husband the next year, and her youngest sister this last year. We tend to try to stay close to home, stand under doorways and generally not tempt fate that last week of the month.