Regardless, it was a great night. Unfortunately, lately, a great night for me at Ultimate is leaving it all thinking I might have taught our mentally indigent player a little bit about sportsmanship. I don't know where he grew up, but he just doesn't seem to get it.
After the games, 5 of us sat around doing a new Friday thing which involves drinking beer and just chilling and talking. It's kind of nice and relaxing right there on the field in the spiky little Kwaj grass. Ted, an MIT employee, James (from my San Juan Lab), Ray (also from my San Juan Lab), Phelia, a school teacher, and I just kind of chill and talk about the game and have a few beers. Its very nice and relaxing.
Its funny because tonight before the game, I was just laying there because no one was there yet. James comes up and says "get up, trust me just get up and let's throw the Frisbee" ...so I get up, and he tells me Brandi is coming.
We went to the Vets Hall after the game and after the cordial after the game. James, Ted and I. Brandi, Midori, and .....well there was only about 6 people in there. Brandi was drunk, she tried to fix me up with Amy (long story, short story).....
The cool thing, besides having drunk Brandi hanging all over me, was the ride home. I wish I had pictures. It's good every time.
Tonight, the moon was lighting up the puffy random cumulus clouds that looked very surreal. It sounds incredibly weak to describe them that way, but it was hard to stop looking while pedaling back to my shoebox. It's always hard to pay attention to the road on the way home later at night here, but tonight it wasn't just beautiful stars and moon, the clouds added to it all in a great way I'll never be able to describe. It could be that its always like that and its just the euphoria of a few beers after a great day that makes me take it all in....in a more positive way.
5-29-15
Saturday night. I went to the Ocean View Club, or better known as the Snake Pit. I was talking to Sandra. I think she's the head of the kitchen, but she also lives in the shoebox next to mine. She's a large black woman who came from Alaska. Super nice, very easy to talk to, and of course fun to be around. We were talking about the weird social dynamics around this island. It's weird in the sense that you have to get along with people, you're kind of forced to. You work with them, or they serve your food, or they are your client, or any other example you can think of. Even if you don't really like them, you just can't completely blow them off and be done with them, as might happen on a more populated island (ie the States). Superficial politeness abounds, even with those that actually like you, but haven't exactly accepted you for one reason or another. Subtle blowoffs are common. As an example, I tried to buy (the young leader of the "non active clan"...that's what I'll call them) a drink while I was buying one of the helicopter maintenance guys I know a drink. He says "No, I got it". The same guy earlier at dinner said he had been making homemade salsa all day, and at dinner, while sitting directly across from me, told my roommate, not me, that he should come try some. Subtle. I watched him interact with another co worker tonight who asked if he could borrow his golf cart that he rented, and he told the guy that the place he wanted to go was closed, rather than just saying "no"(everyone knew the place was open). Sandra and I both agreed that everyone does it, including both of us. Maybe its just easier to keep things civil rather than just be downright honest. Some might say its lack of spine not to just call it like it is. Maybe it is, but the guy who cooks our breakfast, runny eggs and he never gives you enough of anything. Do you say "Hey man, do you mind cooking the eggs a bit more?" Do you risk insulting him and end up with some fecal matter in your eggs or do you just eat the runny eggs? Do you tell the idiot you play a sport with what you really think or do you ostracize him from anything else you can? I've told a lot of people back in Ohio, about the meetup group that I joined 8 years ago, and finally started participating in 6 years ago. There were 3000 members, most of them not active, but in the six years of being in that group I can safely say there was none of the weirdness that is here. There might have been one ....kind of asshole, but he wasn't even that bad. Everyone was accepting, everyone tried really hard to be polite and get along. There were some odd people, but completely nice and polite and easy to be around. The only difference is ...that the meetup group was completely a social group, while this island is mainly about work for most people. I guess too, that its that we are so forced upon each other here...
That all sounds terribly negative, but it really isn't. I mean Sandra told me at the end that "you probably don't notice any of it cause you are always running around doing your thing...you don't let any of the negativity catch you because you move to much". My roommate, and coworker, James, wants to go to our island thrift shop and buy $1000 worth of kids stuff and take it to Ebeye and give it away. Sean the guy I surf with, actually everyone I surf with is completely cool and accepting, but Sean and his girlfriend have made me like a brother inviting me to dinners,and movie nights. Tim helped me get my b boat license. There's a ton of great people here, just not enough like I had in Ohio....
Here's some pics...
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| This is James. I am Groot |
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| Emily, The drunk guys replacement |
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| The rest of them |
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