Dodging the pink

How do you avoid being laid off from the work force? "Work hard, come in early and stay late." This is what Bermuda's Royal Gazette has been preaching. The harder you work, the less likely you are going to laid off.

Layoffs are now a thing of the present and neither Cayman nor Bermuda has been a stranger to this situation. I've heard of many being laid off here in Cayman and companies are not mincing words about it. Regardless of where you are, if you've always been a slacker then consider yourself lucky to have been employed for this long, but not anymore. Companies are changing the way they operate and it doesn't matter if you are a local or an expat. If your performance hasn't been improving, then expect a pink slip sometime soon. This is the one thing that has become glaringly obvious when it comes to layoffs - those that aren't cutting it are getting the axe.

The article goes on to say: "Some Bermudians have a sense of entitlement and I would like to not only discourage that but completely wipe it out." This sense of entitlement is not just prevalent in Bermuda, but also in Cayman and I am sure, in many other countries with a strong expat population. That's not to say that expats don't slack off either, but the main emphasis on the article was how locals should now be willing to compromise when it comes to job offers and such. Why? Because much like the renter's market, it is an employer's market and there are dozens other waiting in line to snap up that job and keep it.

Sandy floors

Living on an island means the perputal presence of sand in your car, at all and any time of the year. It also means never having to clean it out...completely. Because you never will.

Time's up

Pirate's Week is almost here, and before you know Christmas will be soon to follow in what will herald another New Year. Bet you're asking yourself this: WHERE HAS 2009 gone to? To the dogs, I say! What say you?

I think I know you

This place! Oh this place! You'd think by now I'd be used to the way a small island operates, especially since Bermuda + Cayman now makes it coming up to five years. But no, putting your foot in your mouth is easier to do here than in any other country. You can't even say, Oh don't I know you from somewhere? because that would mean you may have met that person at a different time in their life, like say when they were with another guy/girl, not the same one they're with now (even as close as to a month ago). But how are you supposed to know that? You only get an inkling when the big eyes come into play, when heads are shook vigorously, conveniently away from their girl/boyfriend's peripheral vision. And somehow you have to recover with the only line you know: Oh, I think I have you confused with someone else. I've had a few close calls, and these were through no fault of my own. So, from now on I'm keeping my mouth shut, even when I do know you, I'm not going to say I know you, unless you say so first. That's the way it's going to be.

Bag it

I am sure I killed a lot of trees today. It was NOT a good day. Lots to print/photocopy at work, and considering not many places recycle here in Cayman, I cringe every time I hit print. Considering how much more sophisticated Cayman is compared to oh say Bermuda, I wish it housed a proper recycling facility. Paper, glass, aluminium - you can bet there will be a lot less ending up at the dump. I cringe when I think of the dump, all that plastic holding out only to degrade completely a good 100-500 years later, depending on its strength. In fact, I cringe every time I snap up a plastic bag at the grocery store, because what will temporarily hold the groceries for a little while, will inevitably end up at the dump filled with what not. Cayman has got to do better than this. India, a third world country, recycles, for Pete's sake.

Some grocery stores in Toronto will charge you for every plastic bag you need to cart your groceries, about 5 cents a bag, or you're welcome to help yourself to one of the cardbox boxes at the front of the store. On this trip I was told that this was now mandatory at all grocery stores in Toronto but the folks failed to tell me that this applied to ALL stores, clothing included. It was much like them asking me to pick up liquor from the liquor store, but failing to mention that the liquor store had moved!!! Anyway, not wanting to make the mistake of going into a store minus my own bag, I snapped up a bunch of what I think are adorably chic and extremely strong, widely spaced reusable bags from Walmart. I now feel so much better using these instead of having to add one more plastic bag to Cayman's dump. In an effort to encourage Torontonians to participate in a green program such as this, bags are now 5 cents each at all locations. It definitely works. 5 cents can add up to a lot pretty fast, so, get ready because this will soon be coming to a Canadian city or province near you. Such a novel idea and high time for the rest of the world to join in, don't you think???

Fallin'

Toronto. September 2009. A family reunion. Not to mention gorgeous foliage to look at. Here's a piece. Wish I had more to show you.