AS TOLD TO BC PIRES

My name is Jahleel Castagne and I don’t make any New Year’s resolutions.

Most people just call me "G." You know a nickname has stuck when that's what your mother calls you.

I come from Trincity and live now in Chaguanas.

I have five brothers and one sister.

My father passed away from MS when I was 16 (but) my wonderful mother Andrea deserves special mention.

I am married but we do not have any kids.

In early childhood, most of my free time was spent playing football in our front yard with my siblings. If we had a windball (aka tennis ball, for people rich enough to own tennis racquets), we would play cricket until the ball got lost in someone’s yard or we broke someone's window.

In adolescence, we would play in the street instead, with neighbourhood kids. Until the ball got lost in someone's yard or we broke someone's window.

As a young adult I would ride bicycles with friends. Partly to get away from parents and partly because the neighbours were tired of having their windows broken and/or balls lost in their yards.

I went to St Xavier's Private Primary School, St. George's College and UWI.

(As a civil engineer) I have worked mostly in private-sector construction. Every day brings new and unique problems which can be highly stressful.

But it's not as boring as most jobs. And I go home every day knowing I was part of the creation of something new.

(We) just installed 15km of sewers underneath San Fernando and a new sewer treatment plant, one of the most important positive environmental projects most people don’t know about.

I was raised RC but drifted towards more inclusive ideologies as I grew older.

Like listening to old Allan Watts recordings and pretending I know what Enlightenment means.

I no longer find belief relevant to my life but still enjoy seeing the strength others can gain from it.

Funny enough, I find myself more sincere in my participation with other faiths since I left my own.

What awaits us after death is a nothingness we cannot fathom. We think of nothingness as the absence of everything, but I think this nothingness will be the absence of nothingness as well. Time, temperature, even a state of consciousness will not exist for us to describe it as “long,” “cold” or even a “sleep.”

[caption id="attachment_932652" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Jaheel Castagne: I have worked mostly in private-sector construction. Every day brings new and unique problems which can be highly stressful.But it's not as boring as most jobs. - Mark Lynderday[/caption]

I think the thought of dying is a lot scarier than the thought of being dead.

Plus, it brings me comfort to think that my f---ups will likely be lost to the ether after my passing.

My favourite colour is black.

And slightly darker shades of black.

A good beer and barbecue could take the edge off of any situation.

Except maybe a hostage situation...

Actually now that I think about it...

If I want something quick and attention-grabbing, I will read non-fiction. I highly recommend Fas