Flitting Little Reminders of Death

One of Chloe's cats caught a baby sugarbird today. It didn't kill it, but it was really hurt. From what I could see, it's wing was broken, and one of it's feet was nearly taken off. It was such a sad looking little thing. Peter came by and had a look and said it would probably be ok, so I felt a little more cheerful. I took it home and gave it water, and it started getting really interested in a piece of bread I'd soaked and put with it. It hopped in the little thing of water I'd set next to it, and seemed much perkier, flapping his poor little wings, and hopping on it's one foot. I figured he was tired from all the hopping and from surviving the cat attack, because he sat down and closed his eyes. But when I came back in to check on him a few minutes later he was dead. I love the little sugarbirds that are everywhere on St Marten, but now when I see them outside flying around I think of the sad little thing that died in my shoebox.

I tried to paint it, but I couldn't get it right, so I gave up and painted a purple panda instead.

Bleu Azur means Blue Blue

If that's what you have in mind then I'm mamamamovin' out! And by "that" I mean being gouged with rent, and having everything in my apartment breaking with nothing ever getting fixed. There is NO WAY I would ever consider renewing my lease for this dump. Bleu Azur is the worst apartment I've ever lived in... That's why I'm loading up the car and moving to Beverly, I mean Beacon, Hill. It's amazing how much higher rent is for all the buildings around the campus than the ones 2 miles away. Double the space for the same price folks... Also, the name doesn't make sense- Blue Blue?
I highly don't recommend this apartment building.
One of the best things about my new apartment is that I have a nice big desk all to myself. It's such a nice place to work, and to commemorate my release from the dark dungeoniness of Blue Azur, I present for your consideration an Azur Koala.

Low season at The Kissing Fish has suddenly gotten especially low, due mostly to the fact that the only real work I've been getting is on Tuesdays, whereas last year at this time of year I could be sure to work every Friday (which is definitely money night). Despite all my hard work over the past year, especially during high season where I'd work weeks at a time with no day off in between, I shouldn't have expected anything better .

Bummed out about the lack of work, and spending too much time around the house, I decided to head over to Dr Atchley's office to see if she had any volunteer projects that needed manning. She had several projects going on, but the state of my transportation made proximity a major factor, so I chose to help out at a place that teaches and takes in kids that are undocumented or illegal; kids that any government sanctioned entity wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole. It starts next month. To be honest, I'm a little surprised at how much I'm looking forward to it.

See Turtles

The further into the semester it gets, the harder it gets to respect the hubby's constant need to study. At first it's like "no problem, we'll hang out next weekend." But eventually you realize next weekend isn't coming. In fact there is no weekend. Ever. Just 52 weeks of Thursdays, each more urgent than the next. Medschool is definitly not for newlyweds, or the faint of heart- double entendre. He's just lucky I am the supremely understanding superwife I am.

I've been keeping busy though. Work is pretty busy right now, so its nice to have a little disposable income. I used a little of said income to buy myself a really nice book of watercolor paper. I didn't realize how much of a difference using good paper would make, but it really is like night and day. My friend Justin asked if I could paint a simple sea turtle design on a blue background to hang in his apartment, and I got a little carried away. I painted about a dozen of them, and gave most of them away. I kept a couple for myself though. I wish I could get a better picture of them- they look much better in real life.I've been experimenting with a lot of different styles of painting lately, trying to find one that fits me. While researching different techniques, I came across some aboriginal paintings that really caught my eye. I tried my hand at creating a few paintings using only dots, but I really didn't like them, and only one was spared from the depths of the dust bin:

Not to sound like a gloomy gus, but I'm becoming pretty unhappy with my job. I really don't like working in a bar... mostly, I supppose, because I don't drink. I've also lost a good bit of respect for some people. When I took the job we were desperate for money, and we really didn't know where our next meal was coming from, because our loan check was late, and our savings had been used up in the moving process. I don't like hanging around drunks, and I definitely don't like working late (since I have to walk home by myself). Mostly, though, I'd like to work in a Christian enviroment. It's difficult to find a decent job though, since my visa requires that I don't seek employment. I guess I should just be thankful to have a job at all. I really need to find a church here. I think that would help a lot.

Meet Radar

• Hi again! I can't believe it's been so long since I wrote a blog. (Actually it hasn't been that long, I just prefer myspace as my blogging outlet.) You haven't missed much... We got a dog...who is perfect. He's a lab retriever, and he is super sweet. We call him Radar. He's a palindrome! He fulfills everything I was looking for in a dog:

• He's great company.

• He's a great running partner.

• He's a good swimmer.

• He loves Beauregard the cat.

• He's insanely loving.

• and last but not least- he's absolutely adorable!

• I can't believe we got so lucky- getting a new pet is always kind of a gamble- you never know if they're going to be Lassie or Kujo- but Radar is actually perfect. Now that I think about it, the things he doesn't do are almost as important as the things he does do. He doesn't pee inside, he doesn't chew anything that's not a dog toy, he doesn't bark or show ANY aggression. Really his only flaw is that he recently "discovered" himself, and hasn't stopped enjoying it. It's become a pretty constant thing. It's kind of embarrassing sometimes, especially when we have guests: "Hi Guys, thanks for coming, this is my husband Peter. This is my cat Beau. And... um... that's my dog... and his wang. If he stops sometime tonight, I'll show you the tricks we've taught him." I'm told this is a pretty common phase young dogs go through.

• This is another tutorial painting. I think I've just about learned all I can from them, and now I have a nice little collection of watercolors to work with, so soon I'll start posting some non-tutorial paintings. Yay! This one does look pretty nice in the frame I found by the dumpster.

A Letter From My First Week in St Marten

Hey there bloggie. That there's another one of the tutorial paintings I've been goofing around with lately.I'm a lazy writer so here's a letter I wrote to my parents the day I moved down here- by far one of the most trying days of my life:

Dear Mom and Brad,

St maarten sucks butt. I can't believe how much butt st maarten sucks. We finally got moved into our apartment only to find that it had no running water or plumbing. Not that it didn't have the capabilities, its just that our apartment manager didn't think to have it turned on (even though we filled out the paper work and paid in advance) but his office as well as the utilities dept- and every thing else on the island will be closed for the rest of the week for Carnivale.) Due to the kindness of strangers we were able to break into a nearby empty unit to go pee. These are very stinky days for us. Since you've last heard from me, after reaching full maximum frustation levels we showered with beach foot rinsers, and took turns carrying the computer the ten miles to the nearest wifi spot that we didn't think needed an access code, only to get there and find the network down. We tried to buy a bike, but the island's only bike shop will be closed until the end of the month. They're taking a Carnivale break. (Carnivale is a time when everything closes, and all the natives paint themselves, get drunk and steal from each other, instead of maintaining society and supplying their area with the neccessities of life, ie, lightbulbs, soap, pillows, etc.)

I miss America so much. I miss being able to go out and buy the things you needed from a store that was open 24/7. I know it sounds like I'm being whiny, but there are so many things that we took for granted. For example, pillows. We've not been able to find pillows since we've been here. The day after we returned the car we were told of a fabled bedding store on the opposite side of the island, but even if we did make the trek, who knows if it would be open? So we've been stuffing our pillow cases with laundry or sleeping on the couch- not the best alternative because you wake up with your face sandy and it smells like feet.

We thought we could buy a car but it doesn't look like that is going to happen. We've officially maxed out the cards, plus gas costs about 6 us dollars per gallon. ( and you can't pump it for yourself, they pump it, and you have to tip them.) We took your advice and bought several gallons of water, that has been the most useful thing yet- allowing us to brush our teeth. I should feel lucky. A previous tenant left their t.v. behind. It is such a nicety to have. It also proves a point that I've always suspected. No matter whats on, people WILL watch t.v.. We don't have cable, so we can only pick up four stations. Catholic, local access (mostly in french), Discovery, and most ironic of all, tv guide channel. We've messed with the tv as much as anyone could, but we can't find an answer to why it is that we have two channels that you typically only find on cable. weird. But back to my point that people WILL watch tv- last night they had a four hour marathon of a show about crabbing in alaska... and we watched it.

I got a skype account- beauvra, but I don't think I will be able to use it this week, or at least until we get the laptop connected. Right now Peter is getting registered for classes while I pretend to be a student using their computer lab. I'm not sure if they're cool with non students in their lab, but I'm not even gonna risk it by asking. I am pale and frustrated looking enough to blend in with the first year students, so I'm just going with it. (BTW the spf 90 works great!;) )

The beaches are beautiful, and there are supposedly great restaurants here. I can see why this would make a wonderful vacation spot to spend a week, maybe even 2, but to attempt to live here with any semblance of normalcy is next to impossible. I don't understand why anyone would voluntarily choose to stay here.

We're going to buy a bicycle the next chance we get, and until then, it's only a few miles to Maho (think oakwood to gainesville) where we can find basic (convenience store-like). But to get to Phillipsburg where everything is- le grand marche, cost u less, etc- we're going to have to take taxis. I've been told that there is a bus system, but I've yet to see signs of it.

Peter is covered in bug bites, but I've somehow managed to avoid them, except for one welt that is about 3 inches in diameter. Dammit I probably have malaria.

Except for the lack of water our apartment isn't so bad. After we got everything moved around, it seems a lot nicer. It's no where near the size of our last apartment, it's more like Jerry's basement than anything I guess, but we do have a balcony which is more than some people have. There is definity good room for a blow up mattress if you guys want to come down for a week. Ya'll could probably enjoy it a lot. There are a TON of touristy things to do (none of which we've got around to yet, in our struggle to set up basic camp.) Beau loves it. He runs around our balcony which is pretty big following the lizards and birds that hang around the palms out there. There are lizards here as big as squirrels, and they run around just like squirrels do. They're pretty cool, since they eat the bugs.

Any how, I've got to go, Peter only has a short break in his schedule, so we are going to walk back to the apartment for some lunch. I don't know when I'll be able to get back into here, but know that I am thinking of and missing you guys.

Love you lots- La Sha

Hi Blogland!

Hi Blogland. My name is La Sha Ackerman. Why "La Sha"? Ask my parents. I don't know. My mom blames my dad and my dad blames my mom. Given the era and my parents' ages at the time I showed up, I'm just glad I got a name and not just a symbol or initials. Actually that might have been cool. I could've been INXS Ackerman, The Baby Formally Known as Fetus Ackerman, or maybe just $! Ackerman. I was recently trying to think up a name to use for as my stage name for when I'm super famous for something, but I couldn't think up anything better than La Sha. So I guess I'll stay La Sha, until I can think of something better to be. What do you think?

So... why is there a picture of the beach over there? Because a picture of the dumpster on the opposite side of my building just isn't as pretty. This particular beach is about a block away from where I've been living for the past couple of months. Ever heard the farmer-in-the-dell song? In my version the Chemist took a wife, the Wife took a cat, the Cat took his mousey toy, and they all moved to the Netherlands Antilles to follow a dream.

What do I do around here? Well, I'm not the bar fly type, but being so strapped for cash, and being an illegal immigrant (IRONY) I took a job at the Kissing Fish Bar. Its actually not that bad. It's a sleepy little pool bar at The Summit Resort. My boss is an American woman and a Swiss Man who calls me leche, which I can never tell if its in compliment of my figure or if he just has an aversion to the "shay" sound. "Halo Leche! Zee bar eez beezy aujord'hui- zee professeurs from zee medical school are coming!"

When I'm not working I usually hang around the beach or clean my apartment. I bought a couple painting tutorial sets (NOT paint by number, they just supply paint and canvas and give tips) from the local art store I like the paintings they give you instructions to paint, but I really like the paint it came with. I never knew it was so much fun to use water colors. Here's my first one: