Ahh!

http://www.wunderground.com

Jellyfish

I'm now pretty certain that what got me the other day in the water was a jellyfish.

Jellyfish are often present in coastal waters, having been brought ashore by winds or ocean currents. They are most common in warm ocean waters, especially along the Atlantic coast of the United States. Stings result from contact with the tentacles, which trail from the jellyfish's see-through body. Jellyfish swimming in the water are often hard to see. Beached jellyfish, which may look like the cellophane wrapper from a cigarette pack, can sting if touched.

Jellyfish stings cause immediate, intense pain and burning that can last for several hours. Raised, red welts develop along the site of the sting, which may look as if you have been hit with a whip. The welts may last for 1 to 2 weeks, and itchy skin rashes may appear 1 to 4 weeks after the sting. Fortunately, most jellyfish stings are not severe. Extensive stings, allergic reactions, or severe toxic reactions are not common but do occur. To avoid the risk of drowning, swimmers should get out of the water as soon as they realize they have been stung.

src: http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/marine-stings-and-scrapes-topic-overview

Veggies?

I just went for a quick lunch in the hotel. First, I asked for an omelet.

"We don't have any."
"But I had one here just two days ago!"
"That's in the mornings and when [some other chef] is here."
"Ok, how about three fried eggs then? I'm in a bit of a rush."
"I'll go check with the kitchen."

Comes back at least 5 minutes later.

"No eggs. The only eggs are for sandwiches."

Discussion ensues in which I learn that there are ready-made fried eggs, but they are cold as they are for the sandwiches. I ask for the sandwich.

"Just to make sure, it's an egg sandwich right?"
"Yes. Egg, lettuce, tomato."
"Ok, thank you."

Ten to fifteen minutes later I get my sandwich. Egg, lettuce, tomato, bacon, chicken. Hmmm...

About 15 minutes later she comes back.

"Is everything ok?"
"Well, I was a bit surprised that this has meat in it. I thought it was just going to be an egg sandwich."
"Sorry about that."

Hmmm. I ate it anyway because I consider throwing food out to be totally against my reasons for eating mostly veggie. However, the question becomes 'do I leave a tip.' I thought that I didn't specifically ask if there was meat in it, or tell her I was a veggie, etc. I'm the one with the voluntary dietary restriction, not her. After all, she didn't tell me it DIDN'T have meat. Also, she apologized rather than whine or argue with me, which I think is the best thing she could have done. So I tipped her.

Silly Story of the Night

SOAKED IN SWEAT

I finished dinner, got my receipt, and thought I stuck it in my wallet like always. Instead, I stuck it in the book I was reading over dinner.

I walked the 1km back to the hotel. Did I mention it's very hot out?

When I got here, I went to the casino to try to spend the free $10 they give everyone. No dice (forgot my ID).

When I got to my room, I opened my wallet and couldn't find my receipt. I looked all over my room, then in the hall, and finally went back to the casino downstairs. No receipt.

I ran back to the restaurant thinking they must be closing and got a new one. All the time they were saying 'you put it in your book before you left'. I thought they meant my wallet (I must be tired). So I got a new one, ran back, and of course found the first one in my book.

Strange Dream

I had this really crazy dream last night. I was or I was watching some sort of Batman-like figure, but at the beginning of the dream he was in his normal persona (a la Bruce Wayne). He was touring a really tall building (think Empire State building). The building was a kind of monk sanctuary, even though it was modern.

At the top there was a very tall extra structure sort of like one of those old TV antennas on the back of your house, but maybe 100m tall, and these monks that lived in the building would get into the middle of this tower structure and then somehow float up it to the top. At the top, they were doing some kind of experiment or something whereby they were releasing these small packages with mini parachutes from up there.

Then the dream shifted to the building being under attack by a group of shadowy figures. At this point my character went into hero mode and was fighting them off, using something like a squeeze flashlight but they would shoot out a fan of energy that would stun people.

I remembered a lot more just as I was waking up, and wish I'd written it down. Having dreams like this is fun, and puts me in a good mood to start the day. Imagine a book - a year of crazy dreams!

St. Kitts (2)

About my day so far: This morning, I got up around 7:30 (slowly...) and was out of the room around 8:30. I walked for about 3 (THREE) hours to Cockleshell Bay (you can see that on a map of St. Kitts here):

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=saint+kitts+and+nevis+to+basseterre,+saint+kitts+and+nevis&sll=17.298035,-62.690563&sspn=0.037451,0.055275&ie=UTF8&ll=17.229185,-62.631512&spn=0.037465,0.055275&t=h&z=14

I took a ton of pictures along the way, as it was all windy roads through the mountains with incredible views.

When I got there, I didn't know quite what to expect. I found a beach bar that was deserted (I think I arrived around 11:30 or so). I took my time ordering and eating, and slowly it filled up. Then I scrambled a hill to get some pictures of the area and of Nevis (the other island).

I came back down and went swimming in my underwear. Then I got stung by something (a jellyfish I figure, but I didn't see it). It felt like getting scalded by a pot of boiling water. I took a picture about 5 - 10 minutes after it happened, and my hand was already white and puffy.

I spent some time on the beach, then hitchhiked back with a van of tourists. In the hotel, I got a sting relief pad, then read online that vinegar works best, so I just went looking for that. It didn't help much, but it doesn't hurt any more so I figure it's ok.

Now I'm going to go snorkeling (I must want to find another jellyfish).