The next decade....what's in store?

Doing Business in Kingston

Up at the crack of dawn this morning. On the agenda were

The Bank
Downtown (3 stops)
New Kingston

Because I don't have a car, I have to plan my day around the availability of vehicles. The car that was behind was the one I was driving, for it just too difficult to get cars moved around in the yard.

Bank stop. Corked! No way am I standing in this line for this long.

Downtown 1. I park illegally and run out and do the drop off. No cops.

Downtown 2. That government building. No difference. The people who staff the office are late. More late than last time. The man, Mr Miller, comes in to see us congregating in the corridor and exclaims "Wait. Oonu no know sey ah Christmas, what oonu a do here?" He spots me (you couldn't miss me in my lime green sleevefull T-shirt) and asks if I come back to collect the document. Just by his jovial nature, any anger and threats to write to the boss man dissipated.

Downtown 3. Back to the airline building, seeing the guard who shares my last name, I drive up the car park. Very badly designed. The evidence? Lots of bumper marks on the walls. Collected cheque for Sis.

It's now 9:40 am, and I have 20 minutes to get back to Big 12 to meet the deadline for car drop off number 1 to Sis. Were it not for a few bumbling twats, a cold engine and Christmas, I would have made it. But didn't do too badly, got home at 10:05am.

Switched cars. Went to the bank which was by now a lot less crowded than my first stop at 8:20am. After the bank, walked over to Lane Plaza (is it still called that?) to the pharmacy to exchange wrapping paper for card. I had no receipt but the recency effect helped since it was just last night, less than 24 hours that I bought the wrapping paper.

On to New Kingston to the courier company. Found a parking space easy easy, taking care to avoid the yellow lines. They should have had two more persons working the counter. I spotted the guy I knew and he came out to say hello. Not the appropriate time to say that to him. Got through quickly enough, after enduring a regular user of the service telling me how many times she uses the service.

Hog wash in first water, so I left the car where it was and walked to the shopping centre. Bought a few things and I vowed those were my last purchases. Later saw Ms K who, in response to my statement that LMT and I were ladies of leisure and so could be browsing the plazas in the middle of the day, quite firmly stated "you mean you're unemployed". Ok, so a tiny matter of semantics. Unemployed....lady of leisure...same thing, but "unemployed" is why those were to be my last purchases.

It was now time to head home, after getting a Juicy Beef Chicken Soup (much better than the one at Island Grill yesterday) and a Mega Patty (beef patty with cheese, lettuce and tomato). Reached to the intersection by Monroe Road and Old Hope Road. Toyed with the idea of going through Mona to get across to the Pastures but then saw a clear street ahead of me. Very misleading. The Hope Road/Old Hope Road intersection was corked. Turned left by the soon-to-be new Post Office, intending to turn right on to Liguanea Avenue. Wrong move. So darted back into the left lane (illegally), turned by Campion and went back from whence I came. When I got to the intersection, no hesistations and right I turned.

Went through Mona, and remembered I had to drop off the deposit slip for the person who gave me her space in the bank line (I therefore got a 'skip' about 6 places). Did that, headed home, stopping along the way to pick up oranges and tangerines from rural Jamaica.

Back in the sanctuary of my home, I have decided that I am not setting foot in a car until Christmas morning. Hmmmm, now I have to figure out how to get the presents to the one house that I have bought for. Let me go think that one out nuh.

Posted by yamfoot at December 23, 2003 05:02 PM