At the end of December my wife, Sandra and I will be heading to Guyana for the holidays.  Sandra is Guyanese, and we will be staying with her family there.  I am looking forward to the trip, partially because I will be meeting my father-in-law for the first time, and partially because I will be visiting the birth-place of my mother and the family that I grew up with.  As many of my closest friends know, I am half Guyanese on my mothers side.

I expect this trip to be very exciting in many ways.  Aside from trying to keep from getting sick because I’m not accustomed to the environment (food/water/weather), I hope to visit some very interesting places while I’m there, especially (if all goes well) Kaiteur Falls.

Although I’m half Indo-Guyanese, I definitely don’t look it, so I expect that I will raise some eyebrows while I’m there. Hopefully I won’t say or do anything to offend anyone, and instead form a few lasting friendships. There has been a lot of crime there recently, especially in Georgetown, according to Stabroek News, so I will try to minimize my time in the City as much as possible.

It’s unlikely that I will have internet access there as readily as I have it at home, so I probably woun’t be able to provide instant updates and pictures on my adventures there (but I will try).

Sandra and I have made some very detailed check-lists about what we should take with us, and what to expect at each point throughout the trip, but if anyone has suggestions, I’d be more than happy to hear them.

I’ve been told to take a lot of “Immodium”, because my fragile Canadian stomach may not be able to handle the difference in food.

I’m sure we’ll both be fine, and look forward to all the fun and new friends that await us.

I watched the second debate last night, and I was very disappointed.

Obama kept repeating his same old attacks against McCain, and McCain likewise.

The problem I have with these debates is that they are not moderated correctly, in my opinion.

Why wasn’t Tom Brokaw controlling the debate, insisting that they answer his questions directly?  Tom should have said something to the effect of “I want you both to answer these questions without resorting to criticism of one another.  I want a debate that focuses on solutions, and on your ability to answer the questions posed by the American people, not a debate based on what you think about each other.”

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I’ve had many different kinds of wallets and credit card holders over the years.  A long time ago I used to have what is sometimes known as the “butt brick” or the “Costanza wallet”¹, but that time has thankfully passed.  I quickly became familiar with money clips, business card holders, day books, organizers, and so on, as ways to organize the items that I liked to keep on my person at all times.

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1. Urban Dictionary - Coztanza Wallet [↩]