Two things missing here in Trinidad: Common Sense and Efficiency

So I'm gonna use this post to bitch about two things that happened to me recently.

Friday I parked in a car park on Tragarete Road to go play guitar for a yoga class, and there was nails and broken wood all in the car park. I went over some wood, luckily my tires were okay. All of this was left over from a few porter potty stalls that were built so patrons of Carnival could have a bathroom facility. Now, all of that is cool and all, but couldn't the same people who put up the stalls, couldn't they remove all the debris after they demolished the same said stalls? You think? Where's the common sense here? Did they use any at all? Common sense that is.

And now today, I go to Office Express on same Tragarete Road - 12 cents a copy, to make a few copies, probably about 50 pages in all, of four (4) not 40 guitar books, just four books. The level of bad service and attitude I got when I showed the sales clerk the books was uncalled for. I was told to leave it and pass back later, we agreed on 2PM. When I went back at the agreed time, nothing was done, no apology, nothing. When I took my books back and complained how nothing was done, I was told that the sales girl hadn't eaten yet. Now I can empathize with a heavy workload, but even a heart-felt apology would've been okay. I'm still waiting to receive it. So clearly Office Express doesn't know how to spell much less deliver efficiency in their productivity and service to customers. Don't think I'll ever go back there.

I asked someone on friday at Yoga class, 'why can't we trinis be efficient in what we do? why can't we have common sense? His answers to both my questions were 'Yuh forget where yuh living or wha? Is Trinidad!'

Yeah, for sure we heading for first world status, by 2300 probably.

Now if I don't laugh, I will cry. Lord, please help?!

Jam-It: 3 Canal's show

So I normally don't write about music, so here goes.

I went to see 3 Canal on Saturday past at Queen's Hall.

Every Carnival season they put on a show that runs for about two weeks leading up to our annual celebration. It's not a fete with soca artistes, it's a show. It's musical theatre if one can even call it that.

So I went on Saturday. Now I have been to a few plays now and again, and I've lost count the number of concerts I've been to, especially over the last seven years but this was something totally different.

First off: the story line - the history and the subtle double meaning behind everything that was happening was just intense, comical and as real as life could get for us here in Trinidad & Tobago.

Add to that the music of 3 Canal - infectious, groovy rapso sung by three charismatic singers in their own right, backed up by solid guitar riffs, heavy bass lines, intense samples/mixes/re-mixes, as well as a few guests including one of the few great kings of modern day Calypso music - Maximus Dan; and you have one heck of a show.

In all honesty it was one of the best shows I've ever been to in my entire life. It was blow mind. It was all Trinbagonian. It was all about us and it was just beautiful.

Thank you 3 Canal for creating such great music and for putting on an amazing show like this. I just can't believe I never went to see guys do this sort of thing before.

Keep on making great music and see you next year.