My name is Yanic Thongs and I’m a customer service rep; I tell people which line to join. Thongs is a weird name. I can’t say where I got it from, other than my father. And he got it from his. I got plenty ladies’ underwear heckle and plenty nicknames, like G-String. My name actually sounds like a sentence. My dad’s name is Kent and my mom’s name is Mary. And, yes indeed, they named me Yanic.
I come from Nelson Street in Port-of-Spain. The heart, they does say. And I work Independence Square, so it takes about five minutes to walk to work. I come from a small immediate family but, otherwise that, on both my mother and father’s sides, they had seven on each side. I have plenty uncles, aunts and cousins. Most of the family is in St James or away. I’m pretty lucky because all the schools I went to were actually in Port-of-Spain: Roytec; South East; and Sacred Heart Boys’ RC right there on Richmond St.
I’m a real Town-man. Except when Carnival comes around. I like to watch it but I wouldn’t take part in it. Jouve, also. I think it’s the way my family grew me up: they always kept me inside, away from all the “elements” in the neighbourhood. You could say I grew up in a concrete jungle but we actually have trees in Town. Right where I live we have a lime tree. They have mango trees. Coconut trees in the plannings right there. Everywhere you go, in East Port-of-Spain, you see signs of a tropical island.
South East Port-of-Spain was a great school. You never felt threatened at all. I don’t see the point in stigmatizing people from Nelson Street, Laventille, anywhere. I mean, you will find bad elements in any school anywhere you go, anywhere in the country, anywhere in the world. I never got jostled or anything, nobody stealing your money, nothing. I saw the video of the daylight robbery on Nelson Street. I’m really sad that person got off. He should have been thrown in jail!
Living in East Port-of-Spain, you really get accustomed to noise. Any time I go to a quiet area, it actually hurts! I have no idea what to do with that silence. I have to have noise and busyness. Even on a Sunday, I’s find it too quiet in Town. I’s have to leave the house. I’ve visited the main sites of Trinidad: the Pitch Lake; you’ll go down Toco; actually, to be honest, I’d have to say I haven’t explored Trinidad fully. I’d like to see the rest of it but I’m happy in Port-of-Spain.
I always find myself in Globe [cinema]. It’s cheaper. And they double their movies. The quality is good, for the amount they’re asking you to pay. I heard it was up for sale but I think that was a marketing scheme. People don’t just talk to the movie in Globe: they’s quarrel! When somebody going into a room, they shouting, “Why you going in there?” You know the man inside there to kill you. You scared already—but you still going in the room! Come on! Most people in Trinidad would not go in that room.
I love my soca. I would love to go to David Rudder Six-Point-Oh but I’d more see him in a club or so. A large event like that, a concert like that, I can’t afford it. I love his music. Just about anything he sings I’ll listen to that I find on YouTube. I was far more fit than I am now. I had to give up hockey. Going to school, and with work, you have to give up something. But I have one more project to finish to complete my associate degree in Roytec.
My job is rather simple and a little bit redundant. You’re doing the same thing over and over. Once you get accustomed to it, it becomes really, really easy. The best part of my job is getting paid. Yes, indeed! A Trini is a person who is more relaxed. I think it has something to do with the amount of holidays we have in the country. Trinidad and Tobago is my home and I can’t think about leaving it. I love Tobago, but it’s definitely not loud enough for me.
Read a longer version of this feature at www.BCRaw.com