Author: Kelly McIntosh
less than stellar Customer Experience at Lee’s Food Fair, Red Hills Road.
about high school graduations in Jamaica
So I was griping about Miss World’s graduation, scheduled for about 2 1/2 hours from now…after all, she doesn’t even know if she has passed her CSEC exams yet! And here in Jamaica, you don’t get to progress without CSEC subjects in hand. I was going on and on about how schools ought to wait until exam results are out before this big hoopla with cap, gown, pictures, rings, balls and the like. But my good friend Raymond forced me to think. Yesterday he offered his congrats to Miss World and commended me for being a great mom. I fended him off, remarking that results are pending. He replied with his usual forthrightness: “It doesn’t matter what the results are, Kelly. Rachael is a good girl. And you did your best with her. It could have been way different”. His comments marinated in my sub-conscious, and today I realised and accepted and celebrated. Rachael marks the end of five years of high school today. She made the honour roll every year since grade 7. She completed piano up to grade 4 level. She found her niche in the glee club at her school and the Music House became her haunt…a place where she automatically went to even when she didn’t have a rehersal or class there. She writes so well. She took to high school like a duck to water after feeling like an outsider at prep school, being such a quiet, introverted child. She is a funny, smart, witty and gorgeous girl who has stayed off drugs and did not get pregnant. She started grade 7 with her parents going through a dramatic and painful separation. She endured this, including moving house, her mom starting a new job and never missed a beat. Grade 11 was rough…for both of us. I felt that she lost focus and was not doing all she could to win. Both of us know what I mean, and we await CSEC results in August.
Our children are NOT us. We have been blessed with these little people, to nurture them, to provide for them and to help them be all they can be. I know I have not consistently been the best parent in the world for sure.
So today I celebrate with our daughter for completing five years of high school…for making us proud along the way. And we’ll be there no matter what to support and love her into her future. Congrats, Rachael. we love you.
Rachael in Grade 8 |
Rachael the Graduate |
garbage collection and citizens associations
This was published in the Gleaner on Saturday May 24. I shared it on Facebook, and a friend asked a question which I have not answered yet: “Do you have a citizens association in Coopers Hill?”
She set me thinking… The simple answer is “no”. The logical response then ought to be: ” So start one, Kelly”. I’m sure I could. And yes, I have a raft of (valid) excuses: I have a full-time career, I am at school and I have school aged children who still need close supervision. But truth be told, I really don’t want to start a movement. (I might be more inclined to join a movement.) But here’s the ugly truth: I don’t want to get too close to my neighbours. I don’t want them to get too close to me. I want to pay my taxes and my bills and I want the system to work: electricity and water on demand, regular garbage collection, a responsive police and fire service and I want my neighbours to keep their grass low. And sure, I know the reality: the system doesn’t work as it should, and perhaps my constant cries would be amplified if shouted through the collective voice of a citizens association. Selfish? Perhaps. OK.Yes: it is selfish. My FB friend has thrown out a challenge which is bothering me… We’ll see…
Coopers Hill Tired Of Trash Service
http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20130525/letters/letters6.html
Published: Saturday | May 25, 20130 Comments
Coopers Hill, St Andrew
about the J.P.S. Co. cries of doom and gloom!
about the scrap metal “trade” in Jamaica
I felt the need to rant after reading an article in the Jamaica Observer last week.
Here’s my letter that was published April 16 2013:
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/results/Get-a-grip-on-scrap–Minister-Hylton_14077880#ixzz2QdflqU6b
about how we treat Jamaica
View from my room at Negril Treehouse |
The sea lapping at the bar at Negril Treehouse |
See the damaged wall from increasing battering from the sea |
Close up of the damaged wall |
(Futile?) efforts to halt the march of time… |
The same “doan cyah” mentality is evident in how we treat our heritage sites…Port Royal, Three Finger Jack monument in St Thomas, that Columbus site in St. Ann, Lovers Leap and Fort Charlotte to name a few are run down and unimpressive.
Fort Charlotte in Lucea…a potential moneymaker in ruin!
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They represent potential money earners for the communities within which they exist and for Jamaica as a whole. I’ve been on a quite a few glossily presented (pricey) tours overseas that lack half the authenticity and wow factor that our own history offers us. To be fair though, I saw adverts last week for private persons to take over the management of specific heritage sites. That’s a win-win approach.
about surviving in the Information Age
I wrote to the Gleaner and they published it as an article:
http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20130319/cleisure/cleisure3.html
Spark Youth Interest
Published: Tuesday | March 19, 20130 Comments
my children: A Mother’s Reflections
LOGIC ONE CABLE TV PROVIDERS
So I decided to document my issues with respect to service reliability of my cable TV providers. I emailed the owner/manager and then hand delivered a hard copy to her office. Within one hour of my dropping off the hard copy, I received an email from her. I’ve decided to post my letter to Logic One Ltd. and their response. Here you go:
MY LETTER TO LOGIC ONE LTD.
Dear Mrs. Francis:
Let me first apologise for the numerous interruptions in service due to damage sustained to our external plant as a result of Hurricane Sandy. Although the damage was not devastating, down trees caused breaks and stress fractures to our wires some of which were easily repairable whilst others were not.
As it relates to Nov 9-12th, we assumed it was a power outage after we discovered there was not power at our device, only to discover that our main wires ( both fiber and coax) had been cut, this took us the better part of all day of the 12th to locate and repair the damage. The Nov. 17th complaint was due to someone cutting trees and chopping our main wire again and repairs were once again effected on the 19th. Mrs Levy advised me that a call was placed to you last night, at which time you confirmed service had been restored.
Emergency calls are received by our in house voice-mail. Once a complaint is made in the week it will be addressed the following day and a call must be returned to the subscriber acknowledging complaint. On the weekends, the voicemail is checked remotely and calls returned to subscribers to either try and assist or if it is an area problem a team will be dispatched; however it is very important that you leave you name address and phone number in order for us to contact you, as this is normally omitted.
Complaints are normally repaired within 3-5 days depending on the nature of the complaint and subscribers availability.
Based on the number of days lost in October and now November we have decided to waive November fees, based on the fact you already paid for October and $2 towards November, this would easier than to re-calculating.
Whilst preparing my response a copy of your email was hand delivered.
If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact me or Mrs Levy.
Regards
Paula Francis
Manager