Yes, i've been offline a while...no excuses. A lot has been happening in my life, but right now I'm pretty cool. This post is to put up a very small sample of pictures of my recent trip to Japan, which was 7 kinds of awesome :)

I'm still alive...

and I still have thoughts to give. I'll give 'em soon...

it's been a busy year thus far, I'll tell you that.

gas prices a kill

I got these in a forwarded email, and...well, I laugh so that I won't cry :D


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Competent Communicator Geoff Marshall, whoo hoo!!

Finally!

After long last, I've accomplished my CC Award from Toastmasters International. 10 speeches from the Basic Manual, and I can finally call myself CC Geoff Marshall. No more ordinary "TM" for me, hehehe. I will kinda miss it though...Thanks be to God for His inspiration when I did that speech. Too bad the devil had to do his thing later that night by making my car break down...cho!

Anyways, onwards to the new manuals! I'm going to do "The Entertaining Speaker" and "The Professional Speaker" for the first manuals, and tackle my CL manual as well for the next year.

My number 10 speech is presented below.
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Before God and All mankind.
I pledge the love and loyalty of my heart
The wisdom and courage of my mind,
The strength and vigour of my body
in the service of my fellow citizens.

I promise to stand up for justice,
Brotherhood and Peace, to work diligently and creatively,
To think generously and honestly, so that,
Jamaica may, under God, increase in beauty, fellowship
and prosperity, and play her part in advancing the welfare
of the whole human race.

Before comrade or showa, there was Jamaica. Before Trafigura or Tivoli, there were the Blue Mountains and Dunns River. Before the scourge of drugs and guns, there was still Lover's Leap and Fern Gully.. Before the English, before the Spanish, even before the Tainos, this green and fertile island existed, lying in wait for those who would be blessed to inhabit it.

Blessed? Yes, blessed. When last did you feel blessed to live in Jamaica?

Living in Jamaica is not for the faint of heart, and we must be realistic about the challenges that face us. Crime, corruption and social disorder are the main themes of the day. We as Jamaicans have begun to EXPECT corruption from our officials, and we have become quite numb to the situation; we may talk much about it when exposed, but not do much about it. A corrupt society cannot progress. Social order is more like social DISORDER. Standards are down, slackness is up. Children are fighting teachers, leaving school illiterate, it seems common decency has become uncommon. We are fed a steady diet of negative commentary and it seems that if we have not yet hit rock bottom, we are almost there. What can we do?

I know what we can do. We need to take our attentions from ourselves, and focus on a greater good.

I pledge my heart forever
To serve with humble pride
This shining homeland, ever
So long as earth abide.

I pledge my heart, this island
As God and faith shall live
My work, my strength, my love and
My loyalty to give.

O green isle of the Indies,
Jamaica, strong and free,
Our vows and loyal promises
O heartland, 'tis to Thee.

I spent 8 years in the USA, from August 1998 to February 2006. I used to think that I'd work about 4 or 5 years there and then I'd consider coming back home with some money and work experience. Maybe I was saying that to salve my conscience, maybe I knew deep down that I wouldn't really return to stay if I had any say in the matter. Did I really want to be a part of the 2.5 million-strong Jamaican diaspora? Why would I want to go back home where all these problems abounded, where money was in short supply?

I left grad school in May 2005 and moved from New Mexico to California to begin a new job and start the process of getting my "green card". The job was a job, I wasn't PASSIONATE about it but it was something I could do and it paid decently. I decided to just watch the ride and see how life would turn out after I got some work experience and funds from this American job. Six weeks after I started working, I was fired from the job, and that's when the ride really started. Losing that job led me to an 8-month sojourn across the USA and an in-depth experience of living on the edge in the land of plenty. The sojourn culminated in my return to Jamaica in February 2006, and as I prepared to come back to Jamaica I felt humiliated, afraid and ashamed. I felt that I had been unable to "cut it" in the USA and that I would be returning to a life less than what I had expected for myself in the USA.

Coming back home to Jamaica was the best thing that ever happened to me. I came back home and just slotted into everything as if I had never left. I came back home to a job where I felt I could make a difference and where my skills were utilized. I came back home to my family and a society where I could be myself, as opposed to projecting fake sincerity and fake productivity. If I had not returned home, I would probably be stressed out in a job I was enduring for the money, I would probably be in more debt, and I would definitely have suffered in my spiritual life. Coming back home showed me that to be in Jamaica CAN be a blessing, and that there is hope for our country.

Crime, social disorder, politics, all these things taken into account, it is still a blessing to live in Jamaica. The audacity of hope still exists in this nation, as seen in our national pledge and national songs. The hope and vision that was so abundant at our nation's birth has not died, it has just been covered with despair and self-focus! We have taken our eyes from our country's upliftment and focused it on our own upliftment at the expense of Jamaica and our fellow man. "The difference between a helping hand and an outstretched palm is a twist of the wrist."

We are blessed to be a part of the nation that produced Sam Sharpe, Marcus Garvey, Norman Manley, Alexander Bustamante, Bob Marley, Louise Bennett and many other great human beings. Who here has not felt pride at the accomplishments of Merlene Ottey, Asafa Powell and Dion Hemmings? Who here still vividly remembers the Reggae Boyz as they played in France, and how they captured the hearts of the entire world?

We are blessed to live in a nation where our drinking water is not (yet) contaminated with chemicals, pharmaceuticals and other contaminants. People come from all over the world to enjoy our beaches and rivers, and we have ready access to them all the time!

We are blessed to have a rich heritage that inspires us. Even though our ancestors suffered many hardships, they perservered and instilled in our nation the fierce pride of being Jamaican. We are blessed to not be as wracked with racial conflict as other nations are.

We are blessed to be able to go to Dunns River Falls whenever we choose, to hike the Blue Mountains, to visit Lovers Leap, to see the sun set at Negril Point. My job takes me around the island, and every time I go out, I am filled with hope and reminded that I live in a beautiful country.

It is easy to criticize, and we must criticize when we see injustice and inequality. Yet, talk is cheap, and if we just complain without doing our part, what benefit is that? If we do not make the change, who will? If we do not care, who will? If we do not extend a helping hand and work for the betterment of our nation, who will do so? When we are able to put aside politics and getting ahead at others expenses, then our nation will rise to the greatness we are capable of. When we realize that WE are the government and those in power serve at OUR command, then we will elect our leaders based on their performance and not based on their handouts. When we realize that our children are our future and that all of us need to be involved in their education and upbringing, then we will see more productivity from them and less pornography. When we become less like crabs in a barrel and more like bees in a hive, then Jamaica will be vibrant and strong once again! We must realize that even though our nation will sink as far as we let it sink, the flip side is that it will rise as far as we are willing to take it. As Phillip Sherlock so aptly wrote:

Jamaica land of beauty, We promise faithfully
To serve thee with our talents and bring our gifts to thee
Jamaica we will always in honour of thy name
Work steadfastly and wisely and never bring thee shame

From riverside to mountain from cane-field to the sea
Our hearts salute Jamaica Triumphant, proud and free.

Life is good, even if you sometimes feel it ain't...

It's been a while since I posted, and I've been doing and experiencing a lot of things. I have a lot to do this month at work and church, as well as for next month...

Anyone been watching "The Wire"? Hurry up and catch it before it finishes forever, it's only the best TV show ever made. RIP Omar...

more lata, i suppose.