My name is Juliette Teixeira and I'm a bookkeeper.
I'm from Petit Valley. All my life. I grew up alone, as an only child. It was... interesting.
I'm single at the moment but I want a family. I've reached that age. I'd like to have two children. Push come to shove, three, but, in this day and age, I think two is the maximum.
I was a kind of a tomboy. I didn't blossom until after I left Bishops'.
I never liked maths. But I was always good with numbers. I guess I got it from my mother. She's been in the bank 31 years. And she was the same way: got pulled into it. She's not a trained accountant either, but we're just good with numbers.
I HAVE TO take part in Carnival. Have to, have to, have to. I play in two different bands, Monday and Tuesday, both bands on both days. My office is on Tragarete Road so, after I cross the stage with (one band), I'll run in my office, throw on (the other) costume and try to find them on the road. My other girlfriend does the same thing. She actually crossed the stage twice last year. I can't do that!
It's shameful to say I've been smoking since I was 14. But a pack lasts me a week. So that's not so bad. But I know I have to stop.I cook a lot, any and everything. I'll cook a whole Sunday lunch and I don't even eat it. I have to call friends over to spend the day and eat. I might eat, like, three hours later. I just like to cook. That's my relaxation. I can cook lemon chicken. My grandfather is half-Chinese, half-Portuguese. But I don't really like Chinese food.
I was never a sports person but I go to an all-female gym near my office three times a week. The only other thing you might catch me doing, sports-wise, is paddle-boarding.
I was raised Roman Catholic. I believe there's a God and an afterlife. I'm not a churchgoer but I know there's good and there's evil and you have to end up somewhere. I try not to believe there's a Hell.
Nobody's ever seen God, nobody don't know if he black, if he white...The only thing you could do is hope. And try and live the best life you can live.I lived in Antigua for about five years but I'm not sure I'd do small island again. It's good to get away from time-to-time but I really like being in Trinidad.
I was a Carib Girl for, like, two years, in the years of Tricia Lee and Yolande and Rebecca Ferreira and all of them. That's how I ended up in Antigua: I met somebody, and left. (Carib Girls founder-manager) Pixie (du Coudray) wasn't impressed at all.
My job entails basic accounting, all the books, of two companies. I worked at my company on and off for a few years, since I was 18, back-and-forth. I went to London to do my make-up course and, when I came back home, I just ended up staying with them. I never took on the make-up.
And I don't know if it's because they realised I'm good with money but I did (some important) accounts on my own, and when the accountant found another job, I just ended up taking her place. (My bosses) told me their accounts are way better now than years ago. I never trained as an accountant. I just did CXCs.
I work better when no one's in the office. That's why I go in early or stay late. If other people are in the office, I put my headphones on. With people talking, the jabbering... Conversation takes away my concentration.
The best thing about my job is the staff. The worst thing is the deadlines. I've caught myself crying a couple' times because I couldn't make a deadline. I used to beat up about it a lot, and fuss and cry and break down. But I think I've gotten a lot better as I've got older.
A Trini is a big callaloo of culture.
I will feel happy in other places but there's no place like my home, Trinidad & Tobago.
Read a longer version of this feature at www.BCRaw.com