Yes, the slurping! That is actually a joke in our house now - Michael slurps his tea, soup, coffee, anything hot. (Thankfully not his chicken bones ) - but every time he does I whisper "you're slurping" So we laugh about it now. It's just him though - I tell people it's just his JA way





You're too much

My BIG FOOT placed strategically between his legs seems to do the trick. You should try it!!
[/quote]

You crack me up. When he first came, I was amazed too. In fact I think he chews up, or DID when he first came, the whole darned chicken bones. Perhaps that comes from starving as a youngun, that, and he never grew up with please, thank you, no ma'am, yes ma'am kinda thing. They did have to mind and behave and no roughhousin or they would get slapped silly. I think he had a pretty sad upbringing, no PLAY at all, all work.
I never wanted to hurt his feelings, and like I said, he is ALMOST acceptable now...WITHOUT the kick, lol, but not quite cruise ship standards yet if I wanna go sometime, which I KNOW I will one day. I discussed it gently with him, he SAYS he just doesnt get it,he will eat the way he wants, blah, blah... but one thing I really DO love bout him, is when I tell him something, even if it SEEMS he is rejecting it...he will start observing other people and follow suit.

Congrats Tenika and Rohan!!

Hey Lee, the one I went to last night is a traveling one...but there is one called La Nubia that is in downtown disney al the time...I have seen it also and it is much better then the one last night... I think I am going to take Adrian to see it when he gets here...Tickets are kinda pricey but it is well worth it...I have also seen one in Las Vegas that was good.

Joanna

CONGRATS TENIKA AND ROHAN!!! (I am next!!!)

Joanna!

I thank you again for talking with me a while ago and I have been following your journey. I wish you the best of luck with everything. Soon I will be asking my question and will start my own journey.
This is an awesome board and I am enjoying it very much.

Darlene

Wow! It sounds like a lot of your men are from the Mobay area Tony is from Ochi. Well, originally Port Maria in St. Mary, but he's been in Ochi since he was like 17. Who else is from Ochi?



Welcome Darlene Ask away if you have any questions.

Thank you! I certainly will ask all the experts on here. I have been enjoying reading everything. And thanks. It means a lot.

Hey Darlene,

How have you been? Glad to hear everything is going well and you will be starting your visa journey soon...I am here as well as everyone else to help you in anyway we can...you can PM or call me anytime you need or want and I will do my best to lead you in the right direction.
Hope to hear more from you soon!! Please let us know how things are going and when you think you will be sending off your petition?

Joanna

Hey Joanna, are you at work right now too? I'm here til 11:30pm now. They changed my hours slightly. I still hate this shift though

Great idea. This is a ongoing agrument over here .

Good morning VJ family.

Welcome Darlene




Good Morning Everyone

I have good news to start out the day... Michael got a job He will be starting at a brand new water park that also has a hotel and restaurant in it. It was just built, they open the 15th of May but he'll be starting on the 1st with some training. It will be so nice for him to have steady work

CONGRATS, Michael!!!

Lee



Joanna, I'll be in Orlando the end of July and may stay over an extra day to check out La Nubia. What a coincidence, as I'm writing this, I heard an advertisement for Cirque du Soleil 'Delirium'. It's going to be in Fort Lauderdale soon. Thanks for the info.

Lee

Congrats

Wohoo!!! Happy Friday!!! Yee Haw!!!

Welcome to VJ and to the Yardie Thread, Darlene!!!
Belated congrats to Tenika and Rohan!!!

Congratulations to Michael on his 1st job in the US!!!! Good luck, Michael!!

(It is such a good feeling to finally get work in this country and know that all is on the up and up. Henry came home from orientation yesterday with a bad headache....from listening to all the speeches by the health insurance lady, the union rep, the life insurance man, the tuition reimbursement lady ....what a blessing I told him. Those are nice headaches to have - far nicer than the one you get when you have no insurance (been there).


Debt: Thanks for the responses on debt - our men all seem to be on the same wavelength.

LOL @ Big Foot Mindy!!! That was too funny.

Table Manners: Henry's issues are few and some of my coworkers have worse issues so I am trying to "see wid 'im." My boss, for example, has a bad way of reaching into your plate and taking food with her hands. Sometimes she breaks off a piece and puts the rest back on your plate. Other boss chews with her mouth open (I CAN'T STAND THIS!!!! ) and yaps non stop.

Henry's beverages are always too hot and I can't take that slurping, so I always pour cold water or soy milk into his tea or that LASCO beverage thing that he makes....or his Horlicks or Milo. Or I do what Guyanese people do - pour it from one cup to another repeatedly until some of the heat has "evaporated."

Jill - I love and cook bitter melon all the time. Sometimes you have to soak it in a bit of salt water first to get rid of some of the bitterness (although I like it bitter) - let it sit for a while and then squeeze out the liquid. If you add a bit of coconut milk (a tiny bit) after the curry, it will be much better. But I remember your mentioning Lake's health issues, so the coco milk may not be what you want.

Good Morning Everyone

I have good news to start out the day... Michael got a job He will be starting at a brand new water park that also has a hotel and restaurant in it. It was just built, they open the 15th of May but he'll be starting on the 1st with some training. It will be so nice for him to have steady work
[/quote]

Way to go Michael

Yipee!!!! Congratulations!!!!

Good morning everyone!

And congrats all around (Tenika and Rohan, and bigup to the newly employed hubbies !!!)

TGIF

Ditto...congrats Micheal!!

Good afternoond every one!!

Well I just talked to Adrian and he is doing a mighty fine job going around and getting everything, he has applied for his police cert, no impediment to marriage and gotten his passport size photos...all that is left is to pay the visa fee and medical on May 2nd....hope everything continues to fall into place..I think we have been waiting long enough

Hope everyone has a great day!!

Joanna

Good luck Jojo! Everything should be fine.

WINDOW 10
WINDOW 10
WINDOW 10

Good Afternoon everyone!

Welcome to the board Darlene! Let us know if you have any questions.

Also if you don't mind sharing I (and I am sure others) would love to hear your story/experiences with Jamaica.




Doing the happy dance for Michael

That's gotta relieve some stress from both of you




Hi Joanna Sounds like Adrian is on a roll Good luck with all the rest of the paperwork! Are you all prepared to go down there?

Well Andre is working for my mom tonight and this weekend doing some carpet cleaning work so it will just be me and the puppies all weekend Actually as much as I will miss spending the time with him it will be good to have some me time. Its been a long time since I watched whatever I wanted to watch and took a bath for more than 10 minutes without interuption Plus I really need to get all this AOS crap organized I am such a procrastinator

Anyone got any weekend plans?

Yes Jamie,
I am more then ready to go...I have all my paper work done and I have all the application forms filled out for Adrian were all he has to do is sign them, I have eveything all organized...
The last thing I need to do is just stuff around my apartment. Making room for him...Mom and dad are coming over May 3rd to help me finish painting my living room area and mom is bringing over her carpet cleaner and will clean my carpets for me...I need to get busy moving stuff around in the closest...

But other then that all is well!!!

Joanna

Wow... he got a lot done Glad things are going smoothly for him. Did he get his pictures for the interview too??

I hope you have a good weekend even though you'll be alone. That first "alone-time" for me was definitely a change, but nice. Good luck getting all your AOS papers together. Are you bringing a new I-864 with you?

This weekend we have some "getting ready for baby" classes and then an early birthday dinner on Sunday for Michael and one of my college friends - they have the same birthday. She came to Jamaica a few years ago on her birthday and we all went out and celebrated together, so we're looking forward to it.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Congrats to all on all the even more good news you all have had! Too much to keep up!

And thanks for all your responses, you guys made me feel a bit better as at least my hubster doesnt slurp his DRINKS! Its just mainly when he eats fish any more, and it has improved tremendously. He did slurp soup (cookups?) but he has improved on that as well.

Elizabeth, I like bitter melon bitter too. But its not nearly so good as when Lake cooks it, he is SUCH a good cook, and it was my first try. I wanted to cry and call him at work, like he needed THAT! lol He told me I did a good job, nothing was wrong with it, but it sure didnt taste anything like his. The first time he cooked it, I told him it was the nastiest tasting stuff I had ever had, but its addictive and grows on you. I guess like beer, huh? I dont think he has ever cooked it with the coconut milk. His health issues have been so much better without the constant starch intake. We just dont eat much of it in this household, and he has cut down too. The thought of becoming diabetic scared the crap out of him, so he eats really healthy now. Not that rice and potatoes arent healthy, but for every meal...NO.

Poor babe, came home last nite, plopped in the chair and said..."badly wounded". That meant how he FELT, not that he got hurt. I think he is the oldest guy there, everyone I saw coming out was in their 20's. I am not sure whats hardest on him, standing all day, or lifting all day. Sometimes he is such an idiot tho, he commented as we left, EVERYONE had their own car that worked there, see this person and that person and this...all going to their OWN cars? He has worked FOUR days!!!

Hello everyone
I'm here at work lonely and bored I'm just catching up. Kinda quiet in here today.



What on earth is bitter melon???




DITTO! CONGRATS Michael What a relief for you Julie



Jamie, Trust me, cherish the time you get to spend together. Once both of you are working full-time you won't see each other nearly as much. With me being on afternoon shift and Tony on day shift, we never see each other anymore I miss him!

As for the weekend, tomorrow (Sat.) I have to work I'm not happy about it at all. The only day this week I will get to see my baby is Sunday.

Hey rhonda, I am here at work also!!!

Hi Rhonda,

Bitter Melon is a type of squash, only its VERY bitter. I was doing some reading on the internet, and I guess its very good for you. I guess its a very ethnic food and the Americans have yet to discover its health benefits. I tell ya its addictive, but the first time you try it, its the most awful stuff you have ever had. Kinda of like eating raw lemons and quadrupling that reaction or more.
I have grown to like it, but had never heard of it before Lake came. He kept asking me where to find it last year, I had NO IDEA! We finally ending up finding most of the stuff he likes at a Vietnamese store here in town. I guess he used to drink the tea from the leaves and he tells me "it bitters your blood" but dont ask me exactly what that means. I have tried to figure it out, but its beyond me. Perhaps Elizabeth would know?

I'm here until 11:30 tonight 2 more hours to go.

My parents are in Florida right now on vacation. They flew into Tampa then went south to Sarasota, Naples, etc. then across to Boca Raton, then Palm Beach. I think tonight and tomorrow night they're staying with friends in Davenport. Is that close to you? It's supposed to be near Orlando I think. Then they're going to Brooksville to stay with my aunt and uncle for a few more days. I'm dog-sitting for them in the mean time

I'm bored and want to go home.



If it's so bitter and awful, why do you eat it I've never heard of it. I'll have to ask Tony if he has. Is it popular in Jamaica too?

Hi Rhonda...it seems as if your parents came through my area. I live in Boca Raton. Do they visit this area often?

Lee

Hey there,

No they don't really go to Florida that often. My aunt and uncle moved down there last summer to retire there and they mainly went to visit them. They decided to do a little scenic tour of Florida for the first few days though. My dad has some friends and clients with homes in the area and they visited with some of them. I think they stayed the 1st night in Sarasota, the 2nd night in Naples, and the 3rd night somewhere North of Palm Beach. They just passed thru Boca Raton - I think they had lunch there yesterday I didn't realize you were from Florida also. I knew Joanna was.

Hey Lee,
When are you going to be in Orlando? Are you coming for business or pleasure?? maybe we can hook up and have lunch or dinner.

Joanna

Joanna, I will be there from at least July 28-30 for a family reunion. I'd love to meet up with you. A friend of mine often drives up to Orlando for the day to do shopping. I think it's only about a 2 1/2 - 3 hour drive. She and I will probably ride up sometime before the end of July. If so, I'll let you know so that we can hook up then.

Lee

Happy Saturday everyone!!

We are just doing chores outside this weekend -- it is so beautiful out. Yesterday I climed on the roof and cleaned the gutters -- I WOULD NOT even let Roy on the ladder because he doesn't have any insurance. At least if I fell and broke my neck I would be covered His ego sure was bruised.....standing on the ground moving The garbage can around so I could throw the "muck" in it. He is trying to make up for it today by doing "man" stuff Hope everyone is having a nice weekend!!

Where is everybody? I'm at work and not happy about it I have over 4 more hours to go and the time is just dragging by I haven't seen Tony for more than 5 minutes since Monday I'm really hoping that some of you check in here tonight so we can chat

Sorry Rhonda
Do you live close enough to your each others respective work sites so that perhaps you can get together for your lunch or dinner breaks at work? Sort of like a once a week picnic?

Everyone enjoy your Sunday!

Michele

Hello,

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!!
I am at work tonight like always...but I have had a decent weekend...last night while I was working my supervisor came up to me and was talking about me going to Jamaica and she was telling me that I should leave earlier then May 7th, that I had the vacation time and she would approve it for me to be off...that got me thinking!! so today I called Air jamaica and changed my flight, I will now be leaving on May 3rd and still returning on May 18th...Adrian is so excieted that I am coming early.

Joanna

Congrats!! How exciting. Have a great trip and successful interview!!!

That's great news

Have a great trip and successful interview! Don't keep us in suspense all that time.





That's is very good news. I did housework today and still didn't finish.

Hey Michele...

All ready for your trip to Jamaica on Tuesday (I think, right?)? Have lots and lots of fun! Talk with you soon.

Lee

Yes, I am sooo ready!! I just have a few things to do tonight but my mind is already in vacation mode .

Have a great week everyone!

Michele

Michele,
How long are you going to be in Jamaica???
Hope you have a great trip

Joanna

Have a safe trip

Good morning everyone. Dark, rainy, cold Monday in New York! How is everybody else doing.

Today is Henry's 1st day at work! I was a very good wife and washed and ironed his uniform. I even woke up at 5 am with him and helped him get ready. He talked in his sleep all night. LOL He must be really excited.

I am so excited for you too!! You should leave early and take advantage of your time. I'm jealous!


Hey Michele -- jealous of you too!!! Have a great trip!!!


You're such a good wife. Hope Henry has a great first day Let us all know how it went!!

Jamie...how are you feeling with just a few days to go....do you have everything in order??

If I'm adding correctly...thats 3 from the Hanover area.




Hello All...

Just wanted to say I just got back from Miami South Beach for the weekend (birthday trip)! I had a great time. It was so hot I just loved it there. All we did was sit at the beach ALL day...ALL night! Didn't even hit any of the night spots. It was very relaxing. I saw so many Jamaicans there it was like I was in JA.

I got in last night at 12:30. I'm so tired. I can't wait to go back again. Hope everyone is doing good.

B-day tomorrow!!!!

Hello everyone,

I hope everyone has a good week.
I was just looking at my calender and when I get off work Next Tuesday morning (May2nd) I dont have to be back to work till June 5th ..I got a whole month off!!! I have been working sooooo much this past year that it is going to be great to have the time off... Although I started our recruiting program for my job and once Adrian and I get back to Orlando there are a couple big job fairs that I do have to work for a little but Adrian can go with me, so at least it wont be regualr work...I just have to go and make sure the people I am sending are set up and know what to do...

Ok guys 2 weeks from tomorrow is our interview....I need everyone to think WINDOW 10 WINDOW 10 WINDOW 10 !!!!!

Hope Henry has a good first day on the job