Cancun, Mexico. 13-17 Apr 2009

I came in to work today bright and early on my Friday off (for the 3rd consecutive Friday!!) becoz some very incompetent Managers could not deliver on what was requested of them two weeks ago cob (close of business) yesterday! I shot them a gentle reminder email yesterday reminding them of their deliverables only to receive a bunch of "I'm so sorry Chermaine, I promise to get it to you first thing tomorrow" replies and of course it is now 12.45 and I'm still yet to receive the documents. Ah wait an email just came in.....bloody hell the Director wrote asking me if I'd work on it over the weekend. No freakin way am i going to spend my weekend working. This by the way is data required for a 2-day meeting mon/tue to review performances for THEIR staff. Eejit kumbeses....

OK vent over, now before I forget the highlights of my Cancun trip (which honestly feels like a lifetime ago) let's blog on...

Highlight 1 : Dinner on Captain Hook - superb it was! It was an evening on the open waters filled with lotsa games, entertainment, lobster dinner, an open bar and dancing. Oh and there was a 'pirate fight' between two ships. There were parts where I kept thinking, "shite! this should be for adults only" coz the jokes and language were pretty crude ;) Let's say that by the time we dock many people learnt not only a few new words in both english and spanish but that alcohol and sea air is a toxic combination...hahaha

Highlight 2: Isla de las Mujeres or otherwise known in English as the Island of Women. How did it get its name, well to cut a long story short...In Mayan times the island served as the sanctuary for the goddess Ixchel, the Mayan Goddess of fertility, reason, medicine, and the moon. When the Spanish expedition landed, they found many female shaped idols representing the goddess Ixchel, thus Isla Mujeres got its name. The isla is about an hour's boat ride from the Cancun port. Other than sipping pina colada's and sunning myself (yes i know i'm asian and already have the colouring which American's die for but seriously if you're holed up for 4 months due to lack of sun and the cold, u'd be worshipping the sun too!) I did take another short boat ride out into the Caribbean sea to do some snorkeling. The turquoise blue clear waters was unbelievable and the range of fish, gorgeous. To round off my island experience, we hired a golf cart, yes a golf cart, and toured the island. Of course when u venture out of the touristy spots poverty hits you as it would in most of the Latin & Caribbean countries. :(

Highlight 3: Tulum Ruins, Yucatan. It is the site of a Pre-Columbian Maya walled city. The Maya site may have been formerly also known by the name Zama, meaning city of Dawn. From the numerous depictions in murals and other works around the site, Tulum appears to have been an important site for the worship of the Diving or Descending god. The Mayan ruins of Tulum are the third most visited historical site in all of Mexico. They are often said to be the most well preserved Mayan ruins in the world (can be tourist guide kah u think??) Was overall a very picturesque experience.

Highlight 4: Xel Ha (pronounced sh-el ha) is a water theme park but located within the Riviera Maya. The park is centered around the natural inlet and lagoon, therefore making it a natural aquarium. So I got another opportunity to snorkel. There is a shark fence across the lagoon's inlet entrance though. There were opportunities to see stingray's, dolphins and turtles amongst the ever present colorful tropical fish. Few activities which i really enjoyed other than the snorkeling were the lazy tube ride thru the mangroves, mayan cave exploration (seriously not for the faint hearted....god knows how i did it yet again...am sure many of you remember my Krabi caving experience. Only difference is that time i was in a sampan like boat, this time it was on my own two legs swimming thru water canals!), and jumping off a 30ft cliff. Now for this my heart was in my mouth but i wanted to be part of the fun. Not only was i afraid of the height but also that i would lose my bikini top on the way down or on impact with the water...hahahaha...double knotted it and double knotted it. All in all a good day at Xel Ha.

Loved the week away from DC but I have to admit that it would not be a place i'd hurry back to anytime soon, unlike Egypt. Cancun is a quick and easy destination getaway for the Americans making it very commercialised and therefore expensive as everything is quoted in US dollars. Not worth the price in most instances. I'd rather visit the other mexican caribbean countries for similar but different experiences BUT u've to do it at least once...this would be in keeping with my life motto :0)

I've posted a few pics along with this blog and when i have the water pics developed and scanned, i'll share those with you too.

Now to go back and check my office email inbox for, hopefully, good news.

Have a good weekend...muaaahhhh xoxo

Me going off-tangent....again??? :0)

Gosh it's been a while since my last blog, but its not for lack of wanting, time's just a flying...is that a good thing or bad, i leave up to u to decide. I know the excuse of "I've been busy" is age old but I swear, i really have been. And from the looks of it, i don't think its gonna let up anytime soon considering that we just got into the evaluation part of the performance management cycle. And with a whole new client group its a learning exercise all over again...u will not believe the characters i have for client managers and directors...lol

Hhmmm here's a thought, maybe I should start reciting the serenity prayer every morning. Which by the way did you know is the prayer adopted by Alcoholic Anonymous (AA) and other 12 step programs. Hahaha how rich! OK, ok now that I've piqued your curiosity, I'll save u the effort of looking it up and give you the prayer....God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference. Nah! still don't think it'll work for me.

See, see, see i told you I'm busy ;) I began this in the morning and I'm still at it at noon! So listen to this, I went to get my mid-morning coffee (not a word on this people, I know I have to cut back on the caffeine...do u think there's a 12-step program for this??) and this guy comes up to me and says "lovely tattoo". I go into this catatonic state of shock as my first thought was "fishing fudge, this fella has seen my profile on facebook...what the hell am i going to say or do, dammit!"...my profile pic is of the dragonfly on my shoulder. I'm staring blankly at him trying to figure out what I'm going to say in response to that other than thanks when he asks me if it hurt. Another blank stare...."on your ankle" he adds. Cripes I physically feel the relief. I realise than that I am wearing a skirt suit and the tattoo is very visible :) I've been in pant suits (can't wait for the dress down policy to go into effect in summer) all this while coz of the weather that it just did not dawn on me. Of course the first thing I did after my 5 min conversation with him on tattoos and getting my much needed coffee by then was to return to the office and check my privacy settings making sure that I had it blocked every which way possible from being viewed by anyone other than those on my friend list...tension i tell u!

I actually started of this blog with the intention of updating you on my Cancun trip but as u will note, i went off tangent even in my own head. Oh well guess it'll have to be my next blog, no time now as i have to go for a much dreaded bbl....

stay sane! xoxo