While the rest of Haiti is out partying and/or enjoying the Karnaval public holidays, Jack and I have been stuck in the office trying to finalise our year end reporting. It's been bloody frustrating - being the paranoid type, I've felt like there was some sort of IT conspiracy to stop Jack and I from ever having the time to do a proper handover. I was actually looking forward to three days in the office - just the two of us - sorting through issues and getting to grips with the job without the distraction of day to day work. However, it's already halfway through and we still haven't got this sack of shit off our desks...
Excuse my language. I'm just feeling pretty pissed off and so damn tired of the whole thing. I actually long for the days of doing accounts on excel spreadsheets because then you have the control and you can find out what exactly went wrong and fix it. Software and databases are all very well but are the absolute shit when they get buggy and go wrong for inexplicable reasons.
OK, got that self-pitying whinge out of my system. I think I'll grab some lunch and then concentrate on my handover for the rest of the day.
Less work-related, I did manage to get to Karnaval on Sunday evening. I went with work colleagues and we got tickets to one of the stands that lined each side of the carnival route. And when I say stands, I'm not talking small-scale here - I'm talking fucking huge: each were the height of a three storey building and had their own colour scheme (t-shirts provided) sponsored by a particular Haitian corporate. It felt a bit like being in a football arena with hugely jacked up supporters on each stand dancing around and trying to one-up each other.
Talking about the dancing. It's all about shaking that thang, baby!! And have to say, whatever you say about Haitians, they are certainly not shy displaying their assets. I'm not sure if beauty standards vary here but hotpants/very tight trousers plus tight/crop tops seem to be the order of the day. And this seems to go especially for the larger women out there...
The actual real disapointment were the floats themselves. Most of then were just huge two-story trucks going past with brimfuls of revellers and ginormous sound systems. Only a handful were actual floats with costumes and sets. The ones I did see were fantastic but too few.
Towards the end, though, I was getting so tired that I was curling up and dozing despite the noise. It was a good experience but not sure if I really want to repeat - or if I do, only if I go with a bunch of mates rather than work people...
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