I haven't actually sat down to do a serious piece in a while. Nothing has caught my attention, or provoked me to a point where I feel I need to sit and vent on it. That changed when the new year started. I can't believe I missed this one, it's happening everyday, sometimes more than once in the day. Topic: Crime. Specifically crime in my neck of the woods.

It amazes and baffles me that an island so small as Trinidad and Tobago can have such incredibly high crime/murder statistics. It's shameful. No part of that is something we should be proud of. Yet people walk around here UNAFFECTED by the fact that on a daily basis anywhere between one to ten people could be murdered. Normel.

The first thing that upsets me about living here is simple, so far for the new year 23 days have passed and we already have at least 25 murders. How are there more murders happening than days?!?!? Total insanity. Crime in this country is committed as easily as breathing. In the space of a few seconds people lose their lives in the most brutal and senseless ways.

There is a blantant disreguard for the value of a life. That's what's going on in this place. It's very confusing and frightening. People are walking around here with NO sense of compassion and respect for other people's lives. Suddenly every man Jack and woman Jane can wake up and possess the power to end someone's life, and more importantly they think that they have the right to do it. I have NO idea when this epidemic started but it needs to be stopped immidiately. . It's a sickness. Forget Dengue Fever and any common virus that's floating around; the new sickness we need to worry about curing is the fact that people think they have the right to kill other people.

Crime has probably been an issue for as long as I can remember; I mean every country in the world has it. However, something needs to be adjusted with regard to justice and punishment in here. It's a tricky and probably not the best job to have in the world, but the leaders, the police and the judicial system need to step up. I don't know if you all noticed, but people are running around this place running it because they are instilling fear into the population. You all need to start taking back control and LEADING; and the first step to that is getting this crime situation under control.
Losing 500+ lives a year is madness. How do you explain that? Right. You can't.

'Oh well it's just crime. That's how things are. You have to expect that sort of number, that's the norm now'
I REFUSE to tolerate that logic. That's another thing that needs to change in T&T. People are accustomed to crime. Dare I say they're getting comfortable with the level of crime happening on an annual basis. To tell someone that you live somewhere that hundreds of people are shot, stabbed, kidnapped and tortured and a slew of other heinous acts that take their lives and that it's normal for you does NOT sound good. Don't expect that lives will be lost. Don't tolerate that people should die for NO reason.

There are parts of the world where the crime rate is less than 20; at the end of any given week in Trinidad that amount of people are killed. People are disappearing at the hands of other selfish, greedy, disrespectful people who walk around here like gods.
That brings me to another point that I think people need to hold onto. Stop treating the criminals with such sympathy and compassion! When you take away the right of someone to their own life, you single handed-ly give up the right to your own life. While on that topic, the prisons need to be cleared, specifically death row. It's not a vacation, and it's not a hotel- these people have committed bad crimes and were tried to die; why are they still there??! Years after they've killed someone they're relaxing in jail, seeing their family, eating food and acting like life is peachy. NO. NOT AT ALL. Plain talk, bad manners; start hanging people from a side.

If you kill somebody you're a criminal, a murderer and you should be treated accordinly. This should go for ALL people; women, men, children.
It saddens me to say that last part; that we should try children (more so teenagers) as adult criminals but let's face it people, they are not committing petty crimes. Children today are walking tall and playing 'big man' and 'big woman'; so the way I see it, if you think you're a 'baddist' then accept the consequences of such behaviour.

Something else I'm noticing is that people complain every single day about what the government is not doing, and what the Police Comissioner is not doing. To all of those people I say: please be quiet. How would you handle it? Exactly, you don't know. Find a line between not accepting it and not badgering the people every chance you get and be there.

I have some faith that sooner (hopefully than later) they will get the solution to this problem, or at least realize that they're in positions of power to handle it in a manner that it deserves, and stop wanting to be people pleasers. Criminals are to be punished. Plain and simple.

I hope that the severity of crime in this island subsides soon. It is my firm belief that nobody but your Maker (whoever that may be depending on your religion) has the right to take life. That being said, the blatant disreguard for life that I am seeing on a daily basis needs to stop.


Stay safe all.

having a down day today.

Been moody all week (i swear if you make a PMS joke i'll kill you.lol) and it seemed to all come to a head today.

bitch out. LOL

very few people made me smile/laugh this week and for that i love those ppl even more. everyone other than them just managed to annoy, irritate, confuse and piss me off. BLEH.

i tried to get myself out of a potentially awkward situation this week- and i did so, but just barely. glad for that though- that i'm out of it. :)

excited ONLY for my birthday which could not take any longer to just get here already! i just wanna hang out with friends, eat birthday cake, and get presents. :) here's hoping.

i noticed two things this week-
* its really REALLY hard to stay positive in a place that breeds negativity. its difficult to remain positive and pleasant in a place that just brings out the worst in people, and in yourself. You are continously broken down and your spirit (so to speak) is heavy with the constant struggle of fighting the negativity and shittehness that is in this place. BLEH. here's to staying strong and positive.

* staying positive and being the pleasant one, if you can do it, amidst the crappy situations in your life- is pretty damn good. :) just knowing that you can be the mature one when you're surrounded by immaturity; and being the one who takes the high road when everyone else stoops the the lowest levels makes you feel good when you look at the bigger picture.

making soup now.
throws me back to the teenage years when i used to have 'soup nights' with Kayla and just sit and talk the life out of the problems and worries we had at that age, which compared to the ones i have now- seem sooooo trivial. LOL i miss those days.

having oreo fugees after. chocolate makes it ALL better i tell you. :)


11 days till birthday- countdown is on.

peace out people.

1-1-11

that's what's up people!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 2011 you look good already! :)

I love the new year, maybe because it marks the start of something totally new. Maybe it's because this month- January- is my birth month and I am always super excited to celebrate a birthday! Either way it's a new year and we should all be elated.

I always think of the new year as a clean slate- a new leaf. Whatever issues you were dealing with, drama that pinned you down, whatever 'beef' you had with anybody in the year before- LEAVE IT THERE.

Start over. Use this new year to be better, to do good things and to make your life the best.

Make yourself happy and also aim to make the ones you love happy as well (but never at the cost of your own happiness though).

I know people always ask what our new years' resolutions are- I don't think you should put pressure on yourself to do something at the start of the year- just aim to have a better you at all times.

For myself, I want this year to be successful in all aspects.

I wanna graduate from school (finally!) and get a great job, continue to pursue my goals.

I want to be better in all my roles in life; daughter, sister, cousin, neice, friend, lover (when that time rolls around.lol) and everything else.

I really wanna take this year to just 'do me' (no you perverts its not like that!). Just to discover who I am, what i want and don't want and to enjoy and appreciate who i am separately from other people. <>

I just want to have a healthy and positive year all round.

For those of you who actually read this blog- I wish you all a beautiful year; filled with good health, love, success and all round good vibes.

First quote for the year I leave you all with:

"Behold the turtle. He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out."~

James Bryant Conant