school's out.

There are a couple of events that signal the beginning of summer; changes in weather and the end of a school year.

Living in Vancouver - it's common place to discuss the weather. We follow the (mainly inaccurate) weather forecasts and then plan the weekend accordingly. Wasn't it a nice sunny weekend? Isn't all this rain and flooding horrible? Lovely day, isn't it? Storms, rain, sunny, hot, snow - there is always something weather-related to discuss in the elevator or in the coffee room. No lack of weather excitement.

And while there may not be distinct seasonal changes in St. Thomas - there's a similar preoccupation with discussing the weather. Winter months tend to be cooler with a lot more breeze and less humidity. Summer temperatures are similar but with greater humidity and a lot less breeze. And despite these very subtle changes in seasons - we talk about the weather. There is no escaping it. In fact, I caught myself yesterday launching into my introductory comments to our dinner guests, "isn't it humid today - I think this is the hottest day I 've felt yet." Riveting conversation. I need to read more.

But truthfully, some of the weather information is important, especially during the hurricane season. And weather reporting happens quite frequently here and during the summer months, internet and other reporting is monitored closely. And I never thought I would say this but I now welcome rain with great enthusiasm and a certain relief knowing that we are getting a little more water for the cistern. And while rain doesn't usually last too long - especially this time of year, it can come down with a vengeance.

Hurricane season officially runs from June until the end of November while most named tropical storms or hurricanes occur August through mid-October. Long time residents often refer to Hurricanes Hugo and Marilyn which hit St. Thomas severely and resulted in rebuilding much of the infrastructure that exists today. Before these hurricanes hit St. Thomas, there was a period of over 50 years before such a natural disaster had hit the area. Residents went from being a little apathetic to much more wary of tracking storms. So it will be interesting to watch. Hopefully from a good distance. Already from a marketing perspective - we have run some "hurricane preparedness" ads in the local paper and in the special "Hurricane Preparedness" supplement. A sophisticated advertising campaign, I'll tell you!

The school year ends early in the Caribbean - with Julian finishing kindergarten on May 30. Three months summer vacation! It was a very successful first term at Antilles School. In the absence of a school routine, we have Julian enrolled in sailing camp all day Monday to Friday at the St. Thomas Yacht Club. Already he is the quintessential mini-beach bum in surf shorts, rash guard, sunglasses and long-ish blond curls. At the age of six, he is already acquiring some basic sailing skills and doing really well. And we had to laugh when he reported to us after a day last week, "Guess what? My tiller extension came off when I was sailing - but they helped me put it back on". It was a proud moment for his sailing parents.

With Julian in sailing camp for eight weeks and Max in a camp at his Montessori school - the two boys will have a busy summer. And with the steady pace we are running at work, Mark and I won't exactly be spending the entire summer drinking rum cocktails by the pool (just part of it). This is very much our busy season with "hurricane tune-ups" , new sales and a lot of services - there's a steady pace of work. So it's a busy start to the summer.