Monday, May 19, 2008

DIARY ENTRY 10

from D. J.
to Notes From A Small Rock ,
"I. Persaud" ,
date Wed, May 7, 2008 at 4:52 AM
subject Make today history
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hide details 4:52 AM (2 hours ago) [maketodayhistory.doc]


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Here you are, contribution number 157,344...

Good luck and look forward to seeing the product.

DJ




The day of May 6, 2008 began for me at around 1.30am, when I woke for normal, natural reasons, but checked how things were going in Asian financial markets. You see, I am an online foreign exchange trader and markets operate 24 hours during the week. I made a nice little profit and with that in my pyjama pockets, went back to bed. I woke again around 5am—my normal time—and began my work trading in the London market. I wanted to have all of my dealing done by 8.30 because I had plans for the morning. The markets cooperated and I did some nice deals before 6.30, hitting my day's target. I then went to play tennis at the Garfield Sobers Gymnasium with my coach.

It was a cooler, cloudier morning than usual. The regular groups of walkers were there, as were the early morning young swimmers. My wife had played before me and left as I arrived. She went home to do the school run and then go to her office, which ironically is right by the Gymnasium. The tennis was a good session of sweat without tears, mixed with banter about whether Chelsea or Manchester United would with the English Barclays Premier League this coming weekend: both teams are tied on points with their last games to play. Exciting! Tennis got washed out, though, by a sharp morning shower around 7,30. So, off I headed home toward Pine Gardens, having to deal with the new source of traffic frustration—the redesigned Wildey Triangle and it's one way traffic flows. I am not going to solve this new problem, but just observe that the level of congestion is much higher than it should be because the road works are not yet complete. Some roads have been widened to make for better flow, but are not yet open so create unexpected bottlenecks. That said, I think the basic idea is flawed but we will see how people adapt.

My morning continued at 9am with a scheduled massage from a physiotherapist, whom a friend had recommended. She left my body relaxed but sore and it was useless for most things for the rest of the day. I can just about move my shoulders as I write.

The usual flow of workmen came to the house: today, the painter and the gardener; the maintenance man for the washing machine and drier called to say that he was still inside a cooker in St. Philip repairing that—maybe we'll see him tomorrow. Well, we solved the problems of drying clothes by putting up a good old clothes line—inside a covered area in the basement.

I take most of my meals at home, and my wife came for lunch around 1.30pm, when we enjoyed rotis and chicken, serenaded by the dulcet hum of the gardner's motor blower.

My young daughter was at school the whole day and then had swimming lessons at Pebbles Beach—the ideal way to learn [picture?]. She then went to play with some Jamaican children in Fort George Heights.

The evening had a non-Bajan flavour as I focused on following the US presidential primaries in Indiana and North Carolina.

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NOTICE OF THE PROJECT

MAKE TODAY HISTORY

This project by the artist Ingrid Persaud aims to record an ordinary day, Tuesday May 6 2008, in the life of people in Barbados.
If you are in Barbados on May 6 all you do is keep a diary of your day, between 600 -1000 words, and email it to her.

It will function as a time capsule capturing for history what people did on that very normal day – what they wore, what they ate, where they went, what transport they used – just the stuff of a normal day. It is not about recording extraordinary events.

The records will ultimately be available online for all to share. Keep a record of the day and send to:

maketodayhistory@gmail.com

You can email it anytime between 6 and 9 May 2008.

Please tell your family, colleagues and friends.