Tristan Da Cunha

Here is something my father wrote about the island that I was named after before I was born.  After almost 29 years, I finally read it and decided to put it on my blog because the only other copy is the old looking yellow faded paper my father wrote on his typewriter. In this online copy I kept the original words of my father's paper, but I added some images (mainly Google Maps) to highlight the island a bit more.

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Tristan Da Cunha

The Past and The Present

February 8^th, 1979

By Raymond William Everitt





The island of Tristan da Cunha situated 1500 miles west of Cape Town and some 1800 miles east of Argentina was relatively unknown until the volcanic eruption of 1961 when the entire population of 264 was evacuated first to South Africa and then to England.  Most of the islanders returned to their home in 1963.

There are three main islands in the Tristan group with the smaller islands of Inaccessible (4 ½ square miles) and Nightingale (3/4 square mile) some 20 miles away uninhabited.  Many islanders own shacks on the latter island which they visit at certain times of the year for guano, used as fertilizer, penguin eggs and cooking oil obtained from the rendered carcasses of petrels.  Tristan da Cunha with its volcanic cone of 6,760 feet is bounded mainly by cliffs of 1,000 to 2,000 feet rising almost sheer from the sea although there are plateau in certain parts with the cliffs behind.  The largest of these is in the north-west of the island where the settlement of Edinburgh is situated.  The island is almost circular with an area of 28 square miles.  The climate is temperate with will distributed rainfall and a tendency to high winds.  Gough Island, where the climate is much more rigorous, is some 230 miles to the south-south-west and has an area of 25 square miles.



The Tristan group was discovered in 1506 by a Portuguese fleet under Admiral Tristan de Cunha but the first recorded landing was not until 1643.  Two surveys of the islands’ potential were made in 1655 by the Dutch Governor of the Cape and in 1695 by the Dutch East Indian Company.  Both reported unfavorably.  Three American seamen settled on Tristan in 1810 but their number was reduced to one just two years later.



Britain laid formal claim to the island in 1816 when a small garrison landed during the time Napoleon was exiled on St. Helena.  The garrison was withdrawn the following year but three soldiers under Corporal William Glass of Kelso in Scotland elected to remain, together with their corporal’s wife and two children.  The status of the island remained uncertain until 1876 when an Order-in-Council declared Tristan da Cunha and its subsidiary islands to be under the British Crown.  The population by that time had increased to 85 with new settlers arriving from England, Holland, the United States of America and St. Helena.  Later years brought two Italians and some Irish: the former were shipwrecked and elected to stay.

The island was relatively prosperous between 1816 and 1880 with frequent visits by whales, East Indiamen and other vessels calling for fresh produce and water which was usually bartered for flour, sugar, tea, tobacco, clothing and other necessities.  No money was in circulation.  Highlights during this period were the visit of the Duke of Edinburgh in 1867, after whom the Settlement was named, and the arrival of the first missionary and teacher, the Rev. Taylor, sent by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel.  He remained for six years but a gap followed and the next incumbent, the Rev. E.H. Dodgson, brother of Lewis Carrol, was not appointed until 1881.



Disaster struck in 1885 when 15 island men lost their lives on their way to or from a passing ship.  This marked the beginning of a decline, exacerbated by the replacement of sail by steam, and many families left for South Africa and the United States.  By 1904 the population was reduced to 71 and a missionary teacher who served from 1906 to 1909 was not replaced until 1922.

The islands of Tristan da Cunha, Inaccessible, Nightingale and Gough were made dependencies of St. Helena, about 1000 miles to the north-north-east, by Lettere Patent of 12 January 1930.



In 1942 a unit of the South African Defense Force built a meteorological and wireless station on Tristan which was manned for the duration of the war by ships of the Royal Navy.  The modern Tristan da Cunha can be dated from this time.   An agreement for the development of the crayfish industry was concluded in 1948 and an Ordinance for this appointment of an Administrator 2was enacted the same year.  The South Atlantic Islands Development Corporation established under agreement of modern plant first for the canning and later the freezing of crayfish tails which command a ready market mainly in the United States of America.  The Corporation pays annual royalty, based on profits, to the Tristan da Cunha administration.  The original factory was inundated by lava during the volcanic eruption of 1961 but later rebuilt on another site and enlarged.

The Island Council Ordinance of 1969 provides for the election of a Council comprising eight members of which one must be a woman, the making of by-laws and the levying of taxes.  Three additional members are appointed by the Administrator with the prior approval of the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in London.  Council is advisory with the Administrator as President.

Various sub-committees of the Island Council are appointed to advise on Education and Social Welfare, Agriculture and Natural Resources, Public Works and Public Health.

Elections are held every three years and the candidate with the most votes becomes Chief Islander and Island Council Leader.  There are no party politics nor trades unions.  All persons of 16 years of age are eligible to vote while candidates must be 21 or over.

The island is free of all forms of taxation with the exception of a local “rate” of 65p per annum paid by all males over 18 years of age: pensioners are excluded.  Education in a modern and well equipped school is free as in medical attention in the recently built hospital.  Both school and hospital were built with development funds provided by Her Majesty’s Government.  Children attend school between the ages of 5 and 15 but the older pupils are encouraged to remain at school and take external examinations to qualify for overseas training leading eventually to the filling by islanders of certain senior posts currently held by expatriate officers.

Island revenue is derived from the royalty paid by the crayfishing company, postage stamps which are popular with philatelists and from other less important sources.  The territory is (in 1978) in a very favorable financial position with about two year’s normal expenditure in reserves.  Development aid totaling £53,000 in 1978/79 was granted to meet the cost of various projects including work on the small harbor, new roads, an improved sewage system and for agricultural development.



The standard of living has risen immeasurably during the past few years with most of the island houses well and comfortably furnished.  All houses have electricity and many electrical appliances are in general use.  Electricity is generated by the crayfish company.  Each family owns its house together with sheep, cattle and poultry.  There is ample land for families to grow potatoes and other vegetables.



Full employment is enjoyed, the men being engaged by Government or in the fishing industry while the latter provides some part-time employment for many women in processing and packing the crayfish for export.  The cost of living is assessed annually and wages are increased accordingly.

The island’s first social security measure was introduced in January 1977 when pensions were paid to men and women over 65 years of age, to windows and orphans.  Pension contributions are paid by employees with a similar contribution by employers.  Pensions are increased in proportion to the increase in the cost of living.

The island maintains a daily telecommunications service with Cape Town.  “Radio Tristan” broadcasts three evenings a week from 7 pm to 10 pm.  In the absence of a local newspaper the broadcasting service plays an important part in the lives of the islanders.  The BBC World Service news is re-broadcast.

Social life is centered on the Prince Philip Hall where a weekly feature film is shown, dances are held and various indoor games such as badminton, whist and bingo are played.  A small men’s and mixed bar forms a separate part of the hall.  Snooker is popular in the men’s bar.

Outdoor activities include swimming during the summer months, cricket, football, rounders and a nine-hole golf course.  There is fishing from the shore.

Government operates a well-stocked library with a small reading room where English newspapers and periodical may be seen.  The Youth Club which meets twice weekly in the school hall is popular and a number of young people are actively engaged in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme.

The Church of St. Mary the Virgin (Protestant) plays an important part in the lives of many islanders.  It was built in 1923 but, before that, services were conducted in a house.  A Bishop visits the island periodically for confirmation services.  There is a small Roman Catholic community.



A wide selection of foodstuffs, fresh, frozen and canned, is obtainable from the Island Store which is operated by Government.  Also available are clothing, cosmetics, building materials, drinks both alcoholic and soft together with other items in daily use.  There is one other small shop run by private enterprise.

In the absence of frost and snow on the settlement plateau a wide variety of vegetables may be grown particularly in areas sheltered from the wind.  Potatoes are the principal crop but cabbage, lettuce, pumpkin, tomatoes and all root crops grown well.  Frozen local produce is available in the Island Store.  The island is self-sufficient in milk, beef and mutton: some butter and cheese is made.  Wool from the sheep is knitted into socks, sweaters and other articles.  Much work is entailed before the finished article is produced, i.e. washing the wool, drying and picking, greasing, carding, spinning, twisting, reeling and a final washing.

Currency in use is Sterling.  In the absence of banking facilities arrangements may be made to cash travelers cheques at the Treasury.  There is a Savings Bank operated by Government.  Interest on deposits is currently 4 ½ %.

The Tristan group of islands has a natural heritage in its wildlife, especially from the ornithological aspect.  The Conservation Ordinance of 1976 provides for the protection of the environment and ecology.  A number of birds and mammals are fully protected including the Tristan Thrush, island cock, the wandering albatross, fur seals, the elephant seal and the southern right whale.  The Export and Import Control Ordinance 1976 reflects the provisions of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, 1973.

In the absence of a scheduled shipping service or airport communications are sometimes difficult and reliance is placed on the spasmodic movements of fishing vessels engaged in the crayfishing industry.  There are times when four or five months may elapse between mails.  But despite its isolation the island has a happy and contented community number at 30 June 1978 precisely 316 inhabitants including 26 expatriates.

Got dildoes in your bathtub? Read this.

One of the motives as to why I started my blog (www.drystan.com), apart from recording my dives, was to document some of the events that happened in my life.  I started to realize that after a couple of years I slowly start to forget many of the details of my experiences so I started writing them down.  One example of documenting an even that occurred in my life was my article “Three years since my major Weight Loss”.  However, the main raison d'être as to why I created my blog was to document this experience I had three years ago.  My experience is not as crazy as Thompson’s novel “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream”, nor am I trying to say this is the craziest story that I know of, but nevertheless it’s a personal experience that I would like to share because even though it’s bizarre and creepy it is also entertaining and it highlights a small period in my life that had a effect on me personally even though most might not relate to my story.  So here it goes.

Part I: Finding a flatmate to move in with.

It was November 2006 and I was 25 years old and a few months back my long term relationship that started back in 2000 at Washington College ended.  I was not in a happy place at the time.  My ex-girlfriend moved out of our flat/apartment and back with her mother and I was left with a $4,000 King size temperpudic bed along with the loan that she and I were supposed to pay together, two cats, a futon and other stuff.  I’m not trying to make a mountain out of a molehill, I’m a just stating the expensiveness of the bed, the cats, the futon since they are part of my story.   My ex-girlfriend and I broke up September 2006, but she was nice enough to keep paying her half of the rent until November while the lease ended and I found a flatmate to move in with.   From October to the end of November I was looking everywhere for a flatmate I could move in with in December, but I found it very difficult to find a flatmate when you are a male with two cats.  I met with potential flatmates near and far from where I worked and they were interested, but without more ado lost interest the moment I mentioned that I had cats.  I looked at roommates.com and craigslist.com, but I had no success.  I was starting to get very frantic and desperate because November was about to end and my lease about to expire, and I had no idea where I was going to live and I did not know what to do with the cats.  I considered living in a hostel and giving the cats to the animal shelter, but I wanted to leave plan B as a last resort especially knowing what happens to unwanted animals in animal shelters.

It was the last days of November and I was about to executing plan B when somebody on Roommates.com sent me an email stating that they were looking for a flatmate and that he had a cat so it was ok if I brought my two cats.  The house was in Alexandria, VA so it was a long commute to work with the traffic (approximate. 1 hour there and 1 hour back).  Anyhow, at this point I didn’t have too many choices so I went to talk to the chap and he seemed decent enough, the cat that he had was a friendly kitten, the place looked cleaned and well taken care of, the rent price was stupendous since it was $500 a month with all utilities included, it is near impossible to beat that price in the Washington DC area.   We agreed on the spot that we’ll be flatmates and I started to move my stuff in shortly after he gave me a copy of the key, just in a nick of time since I had to move out of my old flat.  I have been saved!!!  I looked at this chap as a savior.  Fair enough, I did find it weird when he showed me his swords and military grade rifles with a downgraded barrel to make them legal in the civilian world, but he was in the military and I have seen worse.  Nevertheless, if I only knew how the next months were going to play out probably Plan B would have been a better idea.

Part II:  Getting to know the new flatmate.

The day I moved in I gave him $1,000 dollars on the spot, $500 for the deposit and $500 for the month of December.   It is a lot of money to give to a stranger you just met, but I saw it fair since I was also a stranger to him and he didn’t know who he just allowed to live in his abode so I thought to myself that I would have also done the same if I was in his situation plus considering that this was not a legal deal since sub-leasing was not allowed where he lived so I did not complain.  At the time I did not think much of what he did with the money I gave him, nevertheless it was a suspicious and yet curious when the day after I gave him $1,000 a big 52 or 54 inch flat panel television arrived.   I didn’t think much of it since it’s his money now and he can do whatever he wants with the money I give him plus he told me that the U.S. Army was paying for the flat and also the utilities.   After having a chat flatmate to flatmate, it turns out that the reason why he was illegally sub-leasing me an empty room in a two bedroom flat was because he just recently got divorced (he was 21 or 22 years old at the time), his wife took their one year old child away, and he was left with a big bill from the divorce process.  I don’t know much of the divorce, but it looked like his ex-wife screwed him over pretty bad financially so he needed the extra cash to help pay some of those bills.  Fair enough.  Anyhow, I had to feel a bit sorry for the lad considering his financial state, his botched marriage, him being as sharp as a beach ball, and as mature as two rednecks fighting over a chair.

Part III:  Comparing to previous flatmates.

Christmas 2006 was approaching and it has been about 3 weeks since I moved in with this new bloke and I started to notice that he is not very clean, has bad eating habits (too much fast food), his little kitten has fleas and now my two cats have fleas (took me weeks to get rid of them all), he does not wash his dishes (even after I mentioned it to him), he does not help feed the cats nor change the litter box, has weird working hours with the army so he’ll make noise at 6 in the morning when he got back from work.   Also, if one did not understand his work schedule one would find it disturbing seeing a person starting to drink at 6am in the morning in the front lawn.  I didn’t care since technically he is just getting back from work plus he never got very drunk, but he did tell me that it disturbed the older lady across our place.

Even though now I know he is not the perfect flatmate, I can’t complain much considering I have lived with worse.  Back in college I lived in a house with several high school red-neck drop outs where one guy (that seemed like a gentle giant) walked around the house with a hand gun, just got out of prison, and had to take medication to control his anger.  Even though I don’t play video games that much, I do get really good at games I have never played before rather fast so I really had to try to control myself and let this potentially dangerous bloke wins a couple times when both of us where playing Xbox.  Also, there was a Labrador dog that lived inside the house that will piss and crap in the living room, a 19 year old girl that would get high and drunk and sleep around with everybody that was in the house while her 16 year old babysitter did the same and my ex-girlfriend and I were left with pity and took care of the unattended 3 year old baby girl that was eating bacon bits by herself that she found in the kitchen because she was hungry.   From this house, the most respectable person was a 50 something year old man that got kicked out by his wife and had to find a place to live.  Lucky for him his wife forgave him or they worked out their differences after two months and he moved back with her.  Lucky bastard.

Part IV: The cats almost died of starvation … twice.

So it’s time to fly to Texas and spend Christmas with my family.  I told my flatmate to make sure the cats had their litter cleaned and their food/water bowl filled up before he went back to his town of origin for Christmas and New Years, not a daunting task.  Anyhow, after a nice time with my family and everybody being surprised that I have lost 22 pounds (10 Kg) so far in my weight loss plan since they last saw me I returned to my new home in Alexandria, VA to find my cats starving, thirsty and the house smelling like cat shit and piss.  The litter boxes were filled to the top and the cats were starting to use the carpet around the litter boxes.  I was very incensed with my flatmate at the time because he could not perform a simple favor I asked him and almost caused three cats to die of hunger and thirst or possibility them become cannibals.  He came back from his vacations and I had a talk with him and he gave me excuses, excuses, excuses.  I thought to myself … what a load of BOLLOCKS!!!  The cats almost died over his incompetence!!! No excuses!!

Two weeks after arriving from Texas I then had to fly to San Francisco, California and then drive south to Mountain View to work on a security project at Google Headquarter within the Googleplex for a week and a half and also go to a company conference at the Wynn hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada for three days, which by the way also had memorable stories that have already circled the globe within my companies off-shore offices, but that’s another story to tell another time (however, not as good as this one ).     Since I already know that my flatmate is incompetent, lazy, as dense as bottled shite, and not very thoughtful of the poor cats I went ahead and put more food/water and litter boxes for the cats since I was expecting him not to do anything.  Anyhow, I told him to please make sure the cats have food and that their litter was clean, but I was not expecting much from him at this point.  After returning from my west-coast business trip, I came back to a house smelling like cat shit and piss, very aggressive cats fighting for any scraps of food, and overall a very dirty house.  I remember the cats trying to get whatever was left from a McDonald’s French fries red carton, drinking whatever water they can lick off the moldy pile of dirty dishes in the kitchen that my flatmate has not washed.  I was very angry at his laziness and also frustrated because even when I told him multiple times to wash his dishes he would not.  I considered moving out, but also I remembered that finding a flatmate that accepted cats was difficult to find so I decided to bear it out for a bit longer because there was a possibility that my friend would be transferring from the London office to headquarters around April/May so we could probably move in together.   Anyways, I could not get my hopes up at the time.

Part V: Secrets and sexual paraphernalia.

It is February and I have been living in my flat for 2 months now and things are getting worse.  My flatmate was starting to behave rather weird.  At first I didn’t make much of it, but I noticed that he would sleep on “MY” futon almost every night and pick lock his own room whenever he had to go in.   At first I asked him if he needed help opening the door because I thought he locked himself out, but then I realized that this was happening almost every day so I didn’t want to ask questions.

One day I went to pick up the mail and I noticed a letter sent to him by the local government that looked rather important.  I don’t know, but I sensed that it was an eviction warning so I put the letter up against the light to see if I could read some of it, but I could not read much.  However, I did manage to read some words where it was a warning that if rent was not paid then he’ll have to leave.   When he arrived from work I told him that he received a letter that looked rather important.  Later on I asked him if everything was ok and he said that everything was fine, which is a lie because I had a strong feeling things were not fine.   I was starting to get scared that one day I’ll come home from work and all my stuff would be outside and I did not have a house anymore so what I did was I went to the leasing office and pretend I was him and find out more about the status of the rent.  As it turned out, he was 2 months behind in rent so I was not very pleased.   I already wanted out, but I had to bear with my current situation until mid-April when I can move in with my friend arriving from London, I just hope I don’t get thrown out in the street by then.

Things took a turn to the creepy side when one morning I was watching TV when my flatmate came out of his room with a little of hysteria asking me if anything was missing from the house.  I found the question to be very eccentric considering both of us stayed in the flat that night.  I looked around and didn’t notice anything missing and I reassured him that everything looks fine and then he calmed down and said that it’s because he had a girl over that night.  I don’t know what kind of girl one brings where you have to be nervous that she will take something.  My best guess is that he brought over a prostitute that night since I have never seen him with a girl, but who knows.    Later that day when I went to take a shower I found a big pink dildoe in the tub.  I honestly didn’t know what to do because I was never confronted with this problem before.  He was not in the house at the time and I was not going to pick it up so I drove to the gym to shower.  I didn’t see him for a couple days afterwards because of his odd working schedule so I showered in the gym for the next couple of days.  A few days later when I went to check the bathtub, the dildoe was gone.  How embarrassing!!.  I don’t know if that’s what he used with the prostitute or what, but I didn’t want to think too much about it.  Anyhow, whatever happens in his room is his privacy; just don’t leave sex toys in the common living space.

Part VI: Feces

I had my mind end up; I would be leaving will at the end of March.  I just had to survive the months of February and March in this shit-hole.  His bedroom was next to mine and we shared the same toilet so every time I went to the toilet I had to pass the door of his strange and mysterious dwelling so and to make things weirder I started to notice that as the days of February passed a smell of baby diapers got stronger and stronger outside his room.  At first it was very faint so I suspected that one of the cats had defecated in a closet next to the toilet, but soon I realized while trying to clean up the suspected cat mess that the smell was coming from his door.  I knew that he had a child, but I didn’t know his child was staying with us plus I haven’t heard any crying so I really don’t know what that smell was.  All I know is that it smelled like some type of fragrance trying to cover up the smell of feces.

Part VII:  Vaginas, Dildoes, Human Feces, swords, and rifles

The last 10 or so days of the month of February were very exciting for me.  Let me give a little reminder.  It has been 5 months since my breakup so I was starting to recover from it physiologically, in other words I was starting to see the light. I have also lost 32 pounds (14.5 kg) in a very healthy steady diet, my self-esteem pretty much had recovered and probably was higher than it has been in years, just met a girl which brought me lots of happiness at the time, spring was arriving (which is always a boost), just received my annual bonus from my company so I also felt financially secure, and shortly I was going to move in with friend arriving from London (he did manage to transfer) which I was looking forward to considering it was the first friend other that my past girlfriend I that I moved in with and with my current situation I was really desperate to move in with someone I could trust.  The months following April were very happy times for me, probably some of the best considering how I felt, and are days I will never forget.  By coincidence, the same month five years prior when I lived in Ireland also had a profound effect on me, but that’s another story.   Anyhow, I still need to put up with the remaining days of February and March before I can be free.

Going back to the story (February 2007), my fear of getting evicted was getting bigger and bigger and since I’m not legally on the lease I don’t have any rights and I felt helpless.  I had to read that letter that was sent earlier that looked like an eviction warning so I could be aware of what is going on at my place of residence.  To realize that objective I needed to go into his room and hope that it was somewhere visible in his room because I really didn’t want to be going through my flatmate’s private stuff.   Since his room was locked I picklock his door and got in and for the life in me I cannot describe to you exactly what I felt that moment.  When I opened the door and before I could see anything, a big unimaginable stench of human shit … no … let me correct it so express what I felt… fucking grisly stench of human shit hit me hard on the face.  I remember feeling a bit faint at the unimaginable strong stench that was trapped in there for who knows how long.  Once I got my senses back everything I saw and smelt started to explain his strange behavior with pick locking his door, sleeping on the sofa, etc.  The first thing I saw after recovering from the smell was a big rubber vagina mounted on what seemed to be towels or something so he could hump it and get his wicked way with that silicone or rubber self-pleasing paraphernalia.   About a foot and half to the right were his military trousers were I managed to see inside of them, even though I truly wish I hadn’t, and what I saw were dirty diapers. That would explain the diaper smell on the hallway.  I was completely startled, but I still had my head focus on finding that letter so I scanned the room to see if I could see it so I could grab it and step out of that disgusting and ghastly room.  My eyes were moving to the dresser two feet to the right of the trousers with the diapers when I saw three Safeway grocery bags filled up with more diapers.  This mingin bloke could not even take out his own trash out of his room.   Moving on … while scanning his room I saw the downgraded military rifles at the back of the room along with those SkyMall Harry Potter type swords they sell you on air flights.  I also saw his punctured air bed which would explained why he slept on my futon, and as I scanned the room I saw multiple miniature pocket-size sex toys and plastic vaginas throughout the room and the same big pink dildoe that I surprisingly encountered in the bathtub earlier on.  So I did see a letter on top of one of the furniture, but at this moment I could give a rat’s arse to what the letter contained.  I had to get out of there before February ended because even if he behaved like a sloth I could not predict how he’ll be next month considering things have been going downhill for him for a while already.  The only thing he was predictable of was collecting my $500 dollars on the first two days of the month.  Regardless of the taunting task of finding a place in short notice I was convinced that I could not stay the month of March there.  I had no clue where I was going to stay for the month of March, but I had to jump over board and hope for the best.   By casual talk I told this story to my manager at work and she felt very bad for me so she offered me her spare room at her house and I could bring one cat with me.  I was surprised because I was not trying to get help, but I took the help without thought because I really didn’t have many choices.    Honestly, I didn’t have any choices.  I then gather three friends to help me move everything out of my flat on Tuesday February 27, 2007 because I had a date the following night with girl whom would later become my second longest lasting relationship.   A few days before the move out date, I started to sneak packed boxes out of my room while my soon to be former flatmate watched a movie.  I didn’t want him getting suspicious because I knew he was in a desperate need of money and I could not risk the notion of him finding out he was not going to get his expected $500 dollars in a couple of day.   I moved everything except my huge and monstrously heavy king size tempurpedic bed which my friends and future flatmate hate with all their might.  I was moving everything I could so when my friends arrive to help me move out we could move the rest quickly considering I had a 3 hour window when he was not going to be there.  I could not risk him showing up earlier than expected so I tried to make the move as quick as possible so that all four of us could get everything out in one hour.   When my friends arrive to the flat they were appalled at the stench my flat had and could not believe how I could live in that situation for so long.  After moving everything out, one of my friends wanted to see the legendary and iniquitous rubber vagina so he convinced me and I picked lock the door so he could peak inside my flatmate’s room.  He could not step in and was just in horror at the sights and tried to film it with his mobile phone so he could upload it to youtube, but with the nervousness he accidently deleted it and didn’t realize it until we were already on the moving trunk scramming from that grim and filthy place.  Also, before we left, we saw the same pink dildoe as before in the bathroom again, but this time in the shower holder where I keep my toothbrush.  Disgusting, is as if he wanted to scare me out of his place or really didn't give a rat's arse anymore about what people think.  Also, to make matters worse, there were some drops of blood on it.  A theory that my friends and I have up to this day is that he used the dildoe on himself and damaged some anus muscle hence he had to use diapers due to anal leakage, but it's just a theory.

Part VIII: The after math and moral of the story.

After moving out of that ghastly place, I never heard from him again.  I lived with my manager for a month and half before moving in with my friend whom transferred from our London office.  The date with the girl went well and after a few weeks dating we built a strong relationship and later moved in together.   However, we ended the relationship before I ever planned writing this story.  Continuing ...  I also finished my first 10 mile race, which was a big feat for me at the time.  My new flatmate was ideal and we had really good times.  As of now he bought a house and moved in with his girlfriend and I moved in with another friend which is also going fantastic.  Subsequently, life went up-hill after moving out of that horrid place and I was starting a new chapter in my life hence life was good I was very happy.  However, I was sad that I could not help his little cat and I had to take one of the cats to the shelter.  However, on the positive side, the one cat that moved in with me when I lived with my manager is still alive and happy living with a married couple from my company in Dupont Circle, Washington DC.  As for the futon, I left it behind because I could not imagine bringing that to my new place considering he slept on it every night and who knows what he has done on it.  As for my bed, I still have it and it’s comfortable as hell; I just don’t want to move it again.  And the moral of the story ... don't judge a book by it's cover and be perceptible to other people’s actions.  At the beginning of this story I saw the guy as my savior and then I was proved wrong.

Snowmageddon 2010

Some call it Snowpocalypse and President Obama calls it Snowmageddon.  This weekend the Washington Area received about 30 inches (76cm) of snow in most areas and Dulles International Airport recorded 32.4 (82.3 cm) of snow, breaking the January 1996 {en:Knickerbocker Storm} record of 23.2 inches (58.9 cm) of snow.   This is impressing considering that Washington, according to the National Weather Service, has gotten more than a foot of snow only 13 times since 1870.



As for me, I was stuck in my house in Arlington, VA with some friends and we ventured out on to Lee Highway and I-66 (picture below on I-66 on-ramp) until a police officer screamed at us to go back.  When the snow storm died down, I dug up my car and took it for a spin or should I say a couple of spins  (literary).   Other friends where stuck in Falls Church, VA watching 2 girls one cup and others in Washington DC.

Even though I did not see it, I heard that hundreds of people crowded in Dupont Circle in D.C. for a large snowball fight (picture below) and that Connecticut Ave. became a skiing avenue.  Also, along the National Mall skiers lapped the Relecting Pool, a tree limb fell on one of the Presidential SUV motorcade carring members of the press, and that some people where using the steps of the Lincoln monument as a slope to slide down on.  Here are some pictures that I took, except for the snowball fight in Dupont, which a friend who lives there took.   One picture shows a car completely buried in snow and two other pictures show how my balcony (a.k.a the Bastardales lounge)  looked like after the storm.

Starting 2010 in Puerto Vallarta

We arrived in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico January 1st, 2010. The first night was hard to find a place because almost all the hotels were booked so all five of us had to stay in one room in "La Rosita" hotel, which is where the movie {en:The Night of the Iguana} was filmed. The rest of the nights we stayed at the "Los Arcos" hotel in "Viejo" Vallarta. Old Vallarta seems to be a mix of margaritaville and gayborhood, it's really cool. The crowd that hangs around this area tends to be much older (40+).

During the morning (waking up at 7am) I would go scuba diving with PV Scuba. I did a total of a little under 6 hours of bottom time with the max depth at 105ft. The temperature was warm (70s F) and I only used a 5mm wet suit. The spots that I dive where:

• Los Arcos (twice in two days) -- Named after its two arches Los Arcos is a protected National Marine Park with crystal clear water and lots of tropical fish. The wall sections are 5m (15 ft) in height and are covered with hard corals, sponges and fan corals. On the sandy areas the diver can find turtles, groupers and stingrays. The arches shelter schools of fish, moray eels and many Crustaceans.Close to these rocks, by the rock that looks like a turtle, is a submarine drop popularly known as The Devil's Canyon (Cañon del Diablo) for the deep impression of its silent abyss. I'm not sure, but one of the dive master said the abyss is a 1,5000 meter drop. That seemed like an exaggeration so I did a little bit of research and found that it is about 500 meters (1,640 feet). However, I also found that it can go as deep as 600 meters (1,968 feet) and then extend another 800 KILOMETERS (497 MILES) to the continental plate


• Majahuitas -- Majahuitas is a coved area that can only be access by boat, with a gradual slope and is populated by schools of tropical fish. The dive shop online dive site list says it's populated by schools of friendly tropical fish, but one little fish bit me after jumping in reverse from the boat so I'll take that with a grain of salt :P. The site also says the max depth is 120 ft (36.7 meters), but I went down to 105 ft (32 m) to check to see if I could see the bottom and didn't see the bottom and visibility was more than 20 ft (6m) so I think it's a little deeper than stated.On this dive site, the two lads from Montreal stated they saw a Manta Ray for a few seconds, but I didn't get to see it since my face was 3 inches from the floor looking at the small fish. The dive master didn't see it either.


• Las Marietas Islands -- A group of islands that entry to the Bay of Banderas. With a steep rocky surface, nobody would guess these islands hide precious underwater treasures – coral reefs, tropical fish, manta rays, dolphins, turtles and octopuses. I got to see very large schools of Yellow Goatfish (Mulloidichthys martinicus) and also how they use their whiskers to look for food. I have never seen them before and their whiskers caught me off guard because they don't look like a fish that would have whiskers.I also noticed that the island smelled like ammonia so I'm guessing is it due to all the bird feces on the island.On the way to the Marieta Islands we saw two {en:Humpback Whales}. On the way back from the islands, we saw a few more Humpback whales, baby humpback whales, and dolphins playing with the boat and also with the whales. I even got to see two dolphins jump about 10 to 15 feet in the air next to a whale, one on either side of the whale. It looked like some water shown out in the ocean. I managed to take a picture of it.

During the night, we would go out to the clubs and bars. Night life in Puerto Vallarta ends at 7am, but we only stayed as late as 3am because I had to wake up early the following day to go diving. The places we went to where:

• La Vaquita


• Mandala


• De Santos


• Andale

During our visit in Vallarta, we mainly met people from Guadalajara, Mexico or from Canada. There were a few Mexicans from D.F. and Americans from Wisconsin and Seattle, but the majority were either from somewhere in Canada (Toronto, Montreal, Quebec, Alberta) or from Guadalajara metro area.

Here are the pictures:

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New Years 2010

After 10 years, we celebrated New Years's Eve in Guadalajara, Mexico with Jorge Luis's relatives. It was fun, some wore yellow underwear to symbolize more money in 2010. Others wore red underwear to symbolize love in 2010. Some threw out luggage outside to represent more traveling in 2010. Other swept the dirt with a broom outside the door to symbolize good luck in 2010. For myself, I wore red underwear not because of love since I'm not superstitious, but because it was the last pair of clean underwear that I had for that night. We were not washing clothes until the next day when we got to Puerto Vallarta.

Here are the pics:

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La Chata, The Zoo, and El Mirador

Since I been here in Guadalajara, I have been trying to eat at two restaurants: La Gorda and La Chata. I have been trying to because every time I pass by there the line is ridiculously long. One afternoon around 2pm, I decided to go to La Chata so that way I was there for lunch assuming there was not a lot of people. I was wrong, it was packed as much as dinner so today I went at 11:45am to get there before lunch time and I still had to wait 15 minutes but I finally sat down. I have to say, the food is good and the prices are reasonable: Avg 60 ($4.50 USD) pesos and the most expensive item is 110 pesos ($8.40 USD). As for the Guacamole, sorry grandmother, but theirs is better. The Carne Tampiqueña was really good. However, I have had better Cafe de Olla in the state of Guerrero. The service was good, really fast, and en joyful.

Later that day I visiteted the Guadalajara Zoo and Aquarium. It was nice, but I got to see lots of animals urinate and do dirty things to each other such as stick one's trunk all the way inside the rectum of another elephant. I guess that made my trip more interesting. After the zoo, I went to the end of the {en:Guadalajara Macrobus} line 1 to sit down, have dinner, and relax overlooking the Mirador.

At the end of the day, I met up with my cousins Paola and Jorge Luis and a friend of Jorge Luis named Ricardo. We went out for a few drinks and called it a night.

Tequila Express

Today I took the Tequila Express train tour. The Tequila Express is a tourist train service that operates from Guadalajara, Jalisco, México to the Tequila Herradura distillery at the San José del Refugio Hacienda in the municipality of Amatitán. During my trip I befriend the passenger next to me, his sister, and his sister's fiance. It was with them whom I toured with, tasted with, and dined with. It was good company.

A little about San José del Refugio hacienda, it is the only tequila distillery where the entire production process, right down the bottling, is completed in one location. The Herradura tequila produced in this hacienda is one of the highest quality tequilas produced in México.

Here are the pics:

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Solo trip to Guadalajara, Mexico

My solo trip to Guadalajara, Mexico. Guadalajara is Mexico's second largest city (1,579,174). The name originated from the Arabic word: wād al-ḥaŷara (واد الحجارة o وادي الحجارة), meaning "rio que corre entre piedras" or "stony river" in literal Iberian or in English "Valley of Stones". Also where the Mexican Mariachi was born.

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Christmas in Texas

Last year I did not come home for Christmas because I spent it with the family of a friend (Pere) in Granolles, Spain (outside of Barcelona). Last Christmas trip was exciting because we visited Drogheda, Ireland; London; Barcelona; Granolles (of course); went skiing in Pyrenean Mountains (La Molina); and the blurry unforgettable New Years drink-till-you-drop- experience in Madrid.

A little note about London and Madrid, I also got to enjoy the time there with my cousin Jorge Luis, which I will be spending New Years eve with this year in Guadalajara, Mexico. The last time both of us spent New Year's in Guadalajara was back in Dec. 31, 1999 so we are celebrating a decade since that, which also falls with Mexico's 100th anniversary of its Revolution and also the 200th anniversary of its Independence.

This year I did come home to the family 9th (+- 1) annual Brownsville, Texas Shopping-Christmas-Drinking-Movie event. Here are the pictures:

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Old friends meet after 11 years

Today I met up with an old friend (Andi), actually whom would qualify as my first girlfriend. We met in South Padre Island, Texas back in the summer of 1996 when I was 15. We exchanged home address (I had email back then, but she didn't :| ) because we lived far hence we wrote letters to each other for a few years then communication ended. Thanks to Facebook we found each other again after 11 years and during my Christmas trip to Texas we decided to meet up and catch up on what has happen to each other's life after 11 years. We both where in shock, disbelief, and amazed on seeing each other. It did feel weird at times, but in a good way. Funny how much can happen in 11 years. Funny how one can remember details from 11 years ago. Even though we already talked about memories previously, we talked about them again.

Friday night we went out to a local bar and got wasted and had a good time. We where drinking the bartender's "special" drink which who knows what was in it. However, it tasted good, and after 4 within a few hours we where wasted. Saturday night was a little more chilled since we didn't want to get too wasted. I would mention the names of the places, but I already forgot the names. I was hoping that we could hang out longer, but I was on a time constraint and had to get back home to be with my family. This short visit was one of the most positive things to occur to me in 2009. Here are the pics:

Mijo's birthday weekend.

This was a fun weekend. Saturday was a peaceful solo day, I went running by the Washington Monuments and I sat on the steps of the Lincoln monument looking at the reflecting pool and also at the tourists. Whenever I visit the Lincoln monument, I try to count the number of times tourists say "Forest Gump". After my run, I went to the US Holocaust museum. I have to say, after being in the DC area for about a decade, I have never been to the Holocaust museum. It's a nice museum and I need to go back again and finish the rest of it. I had to cut the tour short since I was still in my running clothes, it was getting cold outside, and I was starving and could not pay attention any more. After I got home and had dinner, I went to Mijo's birthday party and partied until the wee hours of the morning.

New VMLab Lab Manager CakePHP Component

Just submitted an article on a component that allows a developer to interact with VMWare LabManager 4.0 within CakePHP using the VMWare LabManager 4.0 SOAP API.

This article assumes that the user is familiar with SOAP, CakePHP, and VMWare LabManager. The article is located at the CakePHP Bakery (pending approval)

The Controller

class LabManagerController extends AppController {
	var $name = 'LabManager';
	var $pageTitle = "VM Lab Manager Assistant";
	var $components = array('LabManager');
	
	function index() {
		$libs = $this->LabManager->getLibraryConfigurationsList();
		pr($libs); // print the library configuration list
	}
}

The Component

http://bakery.cakephp.org/articles/view/vmware-labmanager-cakephp-soap-api-component (pending approval)

Weekend of Fundraisers

Saturday night I attended a birthday party / fundraiser. The fundraiser was for an NGO organization that helps women get into public office positions. After that we went to a house party.

Today I went to a pediatric cancer fundraiser and following that I shaved my head to show my support:

Halloween 2009

Halloween is always a fun day!!!

Halloween 2009

New 'My Books' Page

Even though there is not much to say, I have created a new page called My Books where I mention the books I'm reading, want to read, and have recently read. Currently, I'm reading:
[ISBN:0451526341]