Hedonism II: New Year's Eve 2021

 

Every year since 1997, I’ve spent New Year's Eve at Hedonism II in Negril, Jamaica.

Well, almost every year.

My streak ended in 2020 due to the pandemic.

After a negative Covid test on Christmas Eve 2021, I was cleared to enter Jamaica, albeit with great trepidation. 

Thankfully (luckily), I was back again this time around, following a year of what you might call … 

Covid Interruptus

 

Day 1:  Dec. 27, 2021 – Travel Day

This was not originally supposed to be my travel day; back when I had re-booked my flight (for the trip that was cancelled the previous year), it was scheduled for December 26^th.  In September, Caribbean Airlines rescheduled the flight for the 27^th and in so doing, also moved it to a later time (from 7AM to 9AM).  So, this year, I was to get into Jamaica a day later than planned at a time later than planned.  In re-booking the flight, I also had re-booked the resort accommodations thanks to the Cancel For Any Reason option which I’d purchased in 2020 (and which I shall miss if it is indeed gone for good).  

My flight was Business Class, which is supposed to include access to the first class lounge – unfortunately, the lounge at JFK was closed, likely due to the Omicron variant, so I headed directly to the gate after passing through security.  Additionally, I re-booked the VIP service from Club Mobay to speed me through Customs and Immigration so I could quickly get to my ride from Sangster Airport, courtesy Mr. Reasonable.  Check-in was a bit chaotic, but once getting to my room and unpacking, I was too tired for dinner and just went to bed.

 

Day 2:  Dec. 28, 2021 – First Full Day

Slowly but surely, I began running into a variety of familiar faces throughout the day.  These were folks I hadn’t seen in about two years and they expressed happiness – if not gratitude -- at seeing me back:  “It wouldn’t be New Year’s here without you!” is something I heard frequently.  Whether their joy came from the fact that they were glad to see that I survived the pandemic or (more likely) their pleasure at knowing they did, it wasn’t completely clear; perhaps it was some combination of the two.  Either way, it felt good to be back.  But this would be a vacation unlike any other; my own personal stress level was high.  Sure, I tested negative for COVID in order to get here, but would I be so lucky when time came to leave?

Day 3:  Dec. 29, 2021 – Imperfect Weather

Weather-wise, the day started perfectly, but clouds moved in mid-afternoon and by 4:30PM, it started raining hard; I left the pool area and returned to my room.  Most of the day was fine and since it didn’t rain until late afternoon, it wasn’t too much of a loss – but it did seem to complicate some matters.  For one thing, today was Wednesday – the day of The Repeater Party.  The invitation was unclear as to exactly where it would be held:  either the main pool deck or the piano bar.  Turns out, it was neither – they wound up moving it into the main dining room, which I stumbled upon quite accidentally.  Despite a small controversy over who won the big prize, it was nice to see some more recidivists return in time for the party.  

Day 4:  Dec. 30, 2021 – A Night Of Varied Entertainment

The weather was considerably better today.  Since Day 2 was Karaoke night in the piano bar, I skipped it altogether and instead went last night – my first night seeing Eldon behind the bar.  Last night, the place was packed; tonight, it was a sparse crowd.  The reason for this was due to the fact that there was a variety of entertainment options at night:  aside from the piano bar, there was a casino night on the deck of the main pool.  Additionally, being Thursday, it was also the night for the foam party outside the disco (or nightclub, as some refer to it these days).  Folks were divided between the multiple options, so none of them had a particularly large group. 

Day 5:  Dec. 31, 2021 – The Big Party

With the end of my vacation looming, I used this morning to schedule a COVID test on Sunday so I’d (hopefully) be approved to leave the island.  They have a computer workstation set up in the lobby; I found it cumbersome using the computer to schedule the test; a passing couple saw me struggling and noted they encountered similar grief, so they suggested I use the QR Code instead.  They pointed me to a sign next to the computer station that displayed the code, so I wound up scanning it into my cell phone; using this method, it only took about five minutes for me to schedule my appointment.  After conferring with some friends later on, it turns out they had no issues scheduling their appointment via the computer workstation, so clearly, everyone's experience varied.  

  

The theme for tonight’s party is Masquerade Ball and they had Phantom Of The Opera masks and pictures laid out around the resort.  This year was one of the extremely rare times I was able to snag a table to eat dinner on New Year's Eve; my guess as to why is that there has been a smaller than usual crowd this year and also due to the fact that the resort is limiting the number of night passes sold to people who are not currently guests staying at the hotel.  I grabbed some coffee to try to keep me up until midnight but almost missed the countdown anyway.  Fortunately, I made it back just in time to wish acquaintances a Happy New Year.

  

Day 6:  Jan. 1, 2022 – New Day, New Year

The group was very subdued today – especially in the morning.  It would appear that many partied late into the night and are slow to arise.  My COVID test is scheduled for tomorrow morning at 10:30 and I’m growing increasingly anxious; despite the fact that I’ve been triple-vaxxed with Pfizer and currently have no symptoms, I’m worried that somehow I’ll manage to test positive and delay my return home.  As best I could, I've attempted to take great care to avoid close contact in large crowds -- I never went into the pool when it was crowded and while in the piano bar, I made sure to wear a mask (only slipping it down to take a  quick sip of my cocktail).  

Activity seemed to pick up somewhat in the afternoon.  That night, the courtyard was used as a dancefloor; not sure if the nightclub was open -- I've been avoiding it lately, partly because it's been under-utilized in recent years and partly as a COVID precaution.  The piano bar was open for business but attendance was relatively low.  I couldn't help but notice that most folks there weren't wearing masks and that people were sitting close together around the piano.  Why wasn't the seating more spread out?  And what about the guests singing into the microphone?  It felt like Hedonism was going from SuperClubs to Super-Spreader.

    

Day 7:  Jan. 2, 2022 – Testing

My COVID testing appointment was set for 10:30 AM; I booked an Antigen test for $20.  At the appointed time, I went to the testing area and after checking-in and paying the required fee, had the nurse perform the nasal swab; thankfully, she reported it was negative a few minutes later and informed me that later that day, I would get an official email with a PDF attachment that had the official results -- a duplicate email would be sent to the hotel and she recommended I ask the front desk to print the results to take to the airport with me when I checked-in for my flight.  

That’s when things got weird.  A friend of mine had her test taken at 10AM the same morning and got the email at 2PM; my test was only a few minutes later and I didn’t get the confirmation email until 8PM.  This kind of inconsistency is unsustainable.  As stressful as the trip had already been up to that point, things had now only gotten that much worse; when I had gotten my Antigen test in New York City, my results were emailed in a half hour.  For guests to wait hours for their test results -- especially knowing that they would be leaving the next day -- is unacceptable.  

Day 8:  Jan. 3, 2022 – Returning Home

Before even beginning to pack for my 10:45AM ride to the airport by Mr. Reasonable, the first thing I did this morning was to go to the front desk and request they print my test result so I could show it at the airport upon check-in for my flight.  The only problem was that the hotel did not receive a copy of the email, although I was told they would.  The front desk clerk recommended I forward my email to a Gmail address maintained by the resort; once he confirmed receipt, my printed my test result was delivered to me immediately.  After grabbing a quick double espresso, I returned to my room to pack; heading back to the lobby shortly after 10AM, I completed check-out without incident. 

Again, there was confusion following my check-in at the airport; my voucher clearly showed that I had access to the first class lounge at Sangster, but I was questioned multiple times about its legitimacy and had to explain each time that access to the lounge was included in the price of my Business Class ticket; once at the lounge, I was refused access until they could confirm that I was telling the truth.  The flight was a little late departing, but one good thing:  just like my flight to Jamaica, the seat next to me was empty.  Arriving at JFK, we had to wait close to an hour before the luggage was finally delivered to the carousel.  Getting home a little later than expected, I was not only grateful to have been able to return to Hedonism, but also, grateful to be home and exceptionally grateful not to have had my return delayed due to a positive COVID test result. 

 

"The Portable Atheist" -- Book Review

 

Over the recent holidays, I read “The Portable Atheist:  Essential Readings For The Nonbeliever” by the late Christopher Hitchens. 

“The Portable Atheist” is an anthology of writings on atheism that Hitchens collected for inclusion in this book.  Hitchens wrote the introduction; if you buy the book and read nothing but the introduction, then that alone is completely worth the price of the tome.  Each chapter is by a different author, some of whom are very familiar names.  My favorites included a controversial piece by Salman Rushdie, which was commissioned by the United Nations; a short-but-to-the-point essay by comedian/magician Penn Jillette (from Penn & Teller); and a truly heartfelt tale by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a previously unpublished story, stemming from her own book, “Infidel”. 

The book is 47 chapters long and also includes such luminaries as Charles Darwin (with an excerpt from his autobiography), Albert Einstein (selected writings on religion) and Carl Sagan (“The Demon-Haunted World” and “The God Hypothesis”, from his lecture at The University Of Glasgow).  Needless to say – but important to point out – no book on atheism would be complete without a section by Richard Dawkins (“Why There Is Almost Certainly No God”, “Gerin Oil” and “Atheists for Jesus”).  The stories these people tell are as varied as their backgrounds; they either evolved into atheism over time or have always been non-believers. 

It is noteworthy that many of the contributors to this work are scientists, who base their beliefs on facts which can be observed and proven by evidence; since the existence of god can be neither proven nor disproven (i.e., you can’t prove a negative), then the discussion of such a being is something of a moot point.  Where “The Portable Atheist” comes up a little short, however, is on the subject of faith; many people who believe in god will tell you that while they cannot prove the existence of The Supreme Being, they do, nevertheless have faith that their chosen god does in fact exist – which is the basis of just about any organized religion.

Despite that niggling shortcoming, “The Portable Atheist” will help answer many questions for those troubled by their religious beliefs and reaffirm the convictions of non-believers.  Whether you are an agnostic or an atheist, this book is most definitely a must-read.  For those who cannot be swayed, this work will either be an annoyance or an amusement – but it is quite unlikely that many who fall into that group would even consider giving it a read.  If you are one who belongs to the undecided camp, this book can serve as a new perspective on matters – not just from a single individual’s viewpoint, but from the perspective of many. 

Among the explanations some give regarding their non-belief is the fact that many of the original religious ideologies originates from myths, superstitions and the unfounded existence of demons.  An ancient term for a demon was a “mare” and it was thought that people who had bad dreams while sleeping were visited by evil demons (“mares”) – this is how we got the term “nightmare”.  Of course, there are those who used religion to control and manipulate people through fear; live your life this way or you’ll burn in hell forever (and they make a decent living this way). 

Religion-for-profit was also used during the Salem Witch Hunts; a panel of “experts” would be formed when someone was accused of being a witch; here, the burden of proof was on the accused, who had to pay the committee for their time.  When it was seen that the easily manipulated could be coerced, this spawned a racket which continues to this day, especially for people who fear what fate may await them in the hereafter.  The bible itself is also taken to task by none other than Mark Twain, who notes that while The Good Book embraced slavery, it was society that had to correct scripture by outlawing the practice.