Ah finally get COUNT!
Today I readin papers ..... an' bounce up dat CENSUS ad .... on Page 18 Section A of de Newsday ..... which I thought was kinda weird ..... cuz it's been a while since I've seen one of those ads in de papers .... but ..... what was even weird-err ..... was de KNOCK KNOCK on my door about half hour later .....
Yep ..... just when I was beginning tuh tink dat dem Census people forget ME ..... ups come dis lady hollerin Good Afternoons by my door ..... asking if now is a good time fuh her tuh do de 'interview' ..... so ..... having just completed my daily ritual of perusing de papers ..... ah tell her dat now is as good ah time as any ..... and dat .... on top ah dat ..... is about time!
So she flash her ID and she ask meh if she could come in ..... now mind you .... some day I was drivin down de road .... and see one ah dem doin dey interview on de pavement eh ..... yes ..... my gyul (de interviewee) was behind she front gate ..... and de Census lady (de interviewer) was on de next side of de gate (a.k.a. de pavement!) ..... anyway .... so as ah was sayin ..... after being flashed some ID .... ah open de door an' ah direct her tuh de porch ..... where we woulda been able tuh relax and have ah nice lil chat ..... cuz yuh know me ..... I was jus waitin fuh my turn .... tuh get de jokey questions mehself!
So we sit down on de porch now ..... and Miss Lady pull out ah big-ass book ..... yes ..... de questionnaire is pages long ..... and put together like ah book ..... and not just any book eh ..... it big like ah lil chirren book .... like ah colouring book .... so anyway ..... she rest down de 'book' on de table ..... and immediately began to offer more info .... as in ..... about herself ..... she tell meh she from La Puerta ..... and dat she have de vest dat dey suppose tuh wear .... but it too hot ..... and she too old tuh be wearin ting dat go make her too hot ..... after which she pull out de vest out of her bag and show it tuh meh ..... I guess tuh prove dat she legit ..... after dat now ..... she show meh de ID again ..... then she tell meh dat she never even knew dat where I livin ..... exists! ..... den she tell meh all where she went ahready in my area ..... cuz I livin ah small hill ..... and from my porch she coulda see all de houses she visit ahready ...... then .... as if tuh psych herself up fuh what was ahead ..... she ask meh how many people livin in de house .....
Yes ..... that was question number one ..... and ..... as soon as ah answer ME ..... she let out one sigh of relief ..... cuz apparently de more people livin in de house ..... is de longer de exercise does take ..... yeah ..... cuz she tell meh dat yesterday .... or whenever .... she had tuh deal wit ah household of 13!!! ..... 13??? ..... you could imagine livin in ah house with 12 odda people!!?? ..... she tell meh after dat interview ..... she pack up and went home!
So ..... realising that I was an easy case ..... she enthusiastically open up de 'book' of questions ..... an' start tuh ask ting ..... some of which I didn't get at all .....
Yep ..... just when I was beginning tuh tink dat dem Census people forget ME ..... ups come dis lady hollerin Good Afternoons by my door ..... asking if now is a good time fuh her tuh do de 'interview' ..... so ..... having just completed my daily ritual of perusing de papers ..... ah tell her dat now is as good ah time as any ..... and dat .... on top ah dat ..... is about time!
So she flash her ID and she ask meh if she could come in ..... now mind you .... some day I was drivin down de road .... and see one ah dem doin dey interview on de pavement eh ..... yes ..... my gyul (de interviewee) was behind she front gate ..... and de Census lady (de interviewer) was on de next side of de gate (a.k.a. de pavement!) ..... anyway .... so as ah was sayin ..... after being flashed some ID .... ah open de door an' ah direct her tuh de porch ..... where we woulda been able tuh relax and have ah nice lil chat ..... cuz yuh know me ..... I was jus waitin fuh my turn .... tuh get de jokey questions mehself!
So we sit down on de porch now ..... and Miss Lady pull out ah big-ass book ..... yes ..... de questionnaire is pages long ..... and put together like ah book ..... and not just any book eh ..... it big like ah lil chirren book .... like ah colouring book .... so anyway ..... she rest down de 'book' on de table ..... and immediately began to offer more info .... as in ..... about herself ..... she tell meh she from La Puerta ..... and dat she have de vest dat dey suppose tuh wear .... but it too hot ..... and she too old tuh be wearin ting dat go make her too hot ..... after which she pull out de vest out of her bag and show it tuh meh ..... I guess tuh prove dat she legit ..... after dat now ..... she show meh de ID again ..... then she tell meh dat she never even knew dat where I livin ..... exists! ..... den she tell meh all where she went ahready in my area ..... cuz I livin ah small hill ..... and from my porch she coulda see all de houses she visit ahready ...... then .... as if tuh psych herself up fuh what was ahead ..... she ask meh how many people livin in de house .....
Yes ..... that was question number one ..... and ..... as soon as ah answer ME ..... she let out one sigh of relief ..... cuz apparently de more people livin in de house ..... is de longer de exercise does take ..... yeah ..... cuz she tell meh dat yesterday .... or whenever .... she had tuh deal wit ah household of 13!!! ..... 13??? ..... you could imagine livin in ah house with 12 odda people!!?? ..... she tell meh after dat interview ..... she pack up and went home!
So ..... realising that I was an easy case ..... she enthusiastically open up de 'book' of questions ..... an' start tuh ask ting ..... some of which I didn't get at all .....
- Name
- Address
- Date of Birth
- Phone Number
- Do you live with anybody
- Are you married
- Do you have children
- What ethnic group are you from
- Have you lived abroad at any time since 2000
- Where did your mother live when you were born
- Are you suffering from any life-threatening illnesses
- Where do you get your water from
- Do you own a car
- How do you dispose of old tyres
- Do you own a cell phone
- Do you own a microwave
- Do you own a washing machine
- Do you own a DVD player
- Do you own a stereo system
- Do you own a boat
- Do you own a computer
- Do you have internet
- Who is your internet provider
- Do you use LPG or Electricity (tuh cook) What kind of toilet facilities do you have
- What is the roof made with
- Do you have Air Condition
- How many rooms are there in the house Are you employed/What do you do
- Is this an Apartment or a Townhouse
- When were the apartments constructed
- Do you own the apartment or do you rent it
- If you had to rent the apartment, how much would you rent it for
- Education
- Are you doing any courses now
- Do you have any environmental concerns/complaints
- Where were you at 12 midnight on CENSUS NIGHT
Now is not like ah coulda write down de questions in front of de lady eh ..... dem questions ..... is what ah remember!
The interview lasted about 20 minutes ...... and the interviewer assured me that my little 'book' of answers was gonna be kept CONFIDENTIAL ..... i.e. provided she doh get hold up by bandits who decide tuh tief de questionnaires tuh see who have what!!
Anyway ..... as I also found out today ..... they work on weekends .... so look out ..... dey really comin!!
PS: Happy Valentine's Day (in advance) 
Quite an interesting interview wasn't it.
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interesting fuh real ..... cuz some of those questions were so GRRRRRR!?
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Like the one about if you sharing your toilet and bath with any other families...whaaaaat? Wait how come they ask you if you have a boat? They didn't ask me if I have a boat! So wait you mean you look like if you rich enough to have a boat but I look like I too poor to have my own toilet
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LOL ..... oh gosh Wizzy ..... yuh crackin meh up ....
My toilet question wasn't about whether I share tho ..... it was about what kind of system I have ..... as in sewer or septic or whatever ..... of course I had no idea what I was being asked .....
and ..... yeah .... dat boat question real ketch meh offguard .....
another one dat ketch meh is de ..... where did my mother live when I was born ..... eh??? .... I had tuh call my mother overseas .....
oh and what about .... how do you dispose of old tyres ..... eh???
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That toilet system thing threw me...cause is not a housing development I living in. The most ??? question was 'where was your mother/father's mother living when she had your mom/dad'....uhm like really now!
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from the questions my census taker also didnt ask me some... i actually scheduled my interview tho...
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I didn't know yuh could schedule yuh interview .....
..... and I guess the questions are kinda tailored tuh your specific situation ..... cuz there was some question that she asked me ..... and when I answered ..... I saw her ticking off like about 3 different areas ..... so I guess not everybody would get the same questions ......
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Well for sure de questions eh confidential now... is a good ting the answers still secret, oui. (^_^)
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I doh know if she meant the questions ..... I think she meant the completed questionnaire itself ..... I cyah see why de questions would be confidential ....
But then again ..... maybe the questions ARE confidential ..... cuz I doh understand why they didn't publish dem so dat people could prepare deyself (especially fuh questions like what yuh roof make wit) .....
But then again ..... that's probably exactly why dey didn't publish dem ..... cuz dey doh want Trinis too 'prepared' wit dey answers .....
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You sure she ask bout roof and not roofie?
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The accuracy of this census gets a big steups from me. 7 in my household and the census lady left a lot of blank spaces and she kept muttering she would fill it in later - yeah right like she going to remember all that info after interviewing the 75 apartments in my community! She put our two forms away and immediately went to my neighbour's apartment. Sigh I eh get counted on some things PLUS she didn't ask me certain questions and only when I asked if there was nowhere on the form for certain things she revealed that yes there was but wait for it...she go fill that in later too! STEUPS!
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Some people might lie about what they own, like a boat. I think they should ask how people dispose of old computers and 50-inch flat screen TVs. I am ready and anxious to answer these questions and hope we would be able to see the results when they become available. I hope we not paying this govenrment to keep secrets from us.
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In casual disccusions about dis census .... I heard people say dat dey gonna give crap answers .... jus fuh kicks .... so altho I would love tuh see the results too .... I eh tink it gonna be accurate ....
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they did ask me about tyre disposal...
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btw - the slogan "every body counts" sounds like one for a funeral home
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hmmmmm ..... yes it does!!!
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