six months

It never fails. The weekend comes along providing the perfect opportunity for a little extra shut eye - and I awake before the chickens – and Max.

The sunrise this morning, however, made the unfathomably early rise worthwhile. After another very heavy rain last night, everything looks so lush and green. And as the sun rose, the water turned that wonderful emerald green colour as a few boats made their way out of the harbour to St. John. I really love this view – and while there are many spectacular vistas on the island – many from a higher vantage – I don’t think I could ever tire of watching the activity out this harbour and the views of St. John and BVI.

I actually can't believe the amount of rain we have had in the last few weeks. One downpour after another. Last Sunday the rain was an all-day affair giving us the excuse to read books, play snakes and ladders and make cookies. We gauge how much water is collected in the cistern by the pool level. It currently sits level with the pool deck - so I think it's safe to do a few loads of laundry this weekend without running out of water.

This morning we all had a quick dip in the pool before I headed off to a yoga class with my friend Tara. The yoga class is pretty good and is quite popular despite the fact the studio is heated. And no, I don't mean that it lacks air conditioning - the room is actually heated with a space heater. I am sure there is a good explanation as to why the class has to be conducted at this temperature – otherwise the yoga instructor has a warped sense of humour - or the poorest circulation in medical history.

Julian is taking sailing lessons on Saturday afternoons during which time Mark can also be found out in the bay sailing a laser. Often Mark takes Julian out on the laser after he has finished his class and the two of them buzz around the bay for a while. They come home in their surfer shorts, rash guards and sun glasses looking salty and relaying stories of their latest sailing adventure.

Business at Import Supply has been steady. The past few weeks have been so busy it has been hard to keep up. My accounting skills are slowly shaping up and I am beginning to get a much better handle on what needs to be done and when. As a US territory - we have payments that are not only made to the IRS but also to the local Virgin Islands Government. Getting all these things straight have been a bit of a challenge as a foreigner (FICA. FUTA. 501 forms, 401 forms...eeek)- and an even bigger challenge for someone lacking book keeping and basic accounting skills. It's amazing what you can force yourself to learn when it comes to your money.

On October 1st - Mark and I will have survived our first six months in business- together. Not only have we navigated through the labrynth of generator sales, service and basics of running a business - we have actually shared an office. Of course, no one really knows whether they really and truly can work with their spouse until they try. The determination of roles and responsibilities became apparent over time. Mark plays a more operational role - working closely with our General Manager and the technicians. And while I have honestly being trying to learn more about the basic mechanics of a generator, Mark plays a far more convincing role showing up on a work site to meet with customers. Besides, I don’t really have the right wardrobe for this work.


We have 10 employees working on services and two office staff including a new office assistant who is (thankfully) an experienced book keeper. Two technicians are also new hires and Mark is arranging for another person to do services on St. Croix on a contractual basis. Each employee is provided with an Import Supply truck equipped with GPS trackers allowing us to know where anyone is at any given time. (Note to self: trackers may be useful for Julian and Max..)Getting the company vehicles in shape is ongoing and time consuming. We have built up our fleet from the acquired sad and broken-down scrap yard heap of metal to a much more respectable looking fleet of jallopies. If there is a vehicle deal out there - Mark has found it! The most recent acquisition was a Mitsubishi truck purchased from a Welsh woman who recently had her work visa rejected. It was an unfortunate story that involved her moving here with all her belongings including her nice, little truck only to find out that she couldn't teach and would have to return to the UK. Mark met her two days before she was due to leave - in a desperate position to sell the truck. The next day, he was burning around the island in his newest little toy. Of course, like any new toy that comes into our house, there is "discussion" on who gets to play with the new toy. Newer truck and it's standard! So far I'm fighting a losing battle.

With 14 Import Supply vehicles in what I like to describe as island condition" - there is always one in the shop or ready to be serviced. Car purchases, registration and service are almost a full time job in itself. On another note, we still don’t have local drivers licences because of the time and bureaucracy involved.
We have also had to work with an IT person to make a lot of changes to our computer systems. The phones were also a small nightmare for a short period. Phone lines had somehow crossed over cable lines – resulting in strong radio signals blaring music or radio chat over the phone lines. It was funny the first couple of days.

There are many quirks and quarks living and working on this island. Most things make us laugh (or roll our eyes) and others are just the way they are. You either accept it or move on. Fortunately, we spend a lot of time laughing.