Ice Carvings

After a month of waiting for it to happen, it's finally over. my second trip to bora - this time with nel, was way better than expected. being our 5th anniversary, it was high time we tried for a real honeymoon and what better place that we can afford than the one great beach she hasn't been to yet? I was expecting a small crowd to join us on our trip since it was off-peak season, but then i realized while waiting at the airport that in matters like Boracay, there is no such thing as off-peak. More people than ever, foreigners especially, are avoiding the holiday season and coming to the white beach in droves during the months and weeks we locals are supposed to work or study. I was watching a gaggle of Americans waiting for the same plane. I assume they were American, as they are the only culture i know that despite their skin tone, still firmly believe that buying native wear would make them blend in with the local citizenry. So here there are, happily congregating at the wai

in the course of research i came upon this site: http://thehappinessshow.com/HappiestCountries.htm Puerto Rico is #1 and Zimbabwe is the cellar dweller. The Philippines is ranked 30th among the happiest places on earth. just before indonesia and ahead of taiwan. just what the hell does it all mean? somehow, my idea of a happy place is a bit far away from Puerto Rico...

Despite the holiday onslaught I managed to stay 6 pounds off by simply refusing extra rice and just taking in the occasional soda. However, combining this new discipline with the conscious effort of not smoking is killing me a bit. Then, Solar channels decide to stay away from Skycable, which eliminates virtually all my saved channels: JackTV, Basketball TV, ETC. NatGeo and Discovery aren’t designed for continuous viewing so unless I develop a healthy liking for Arirang or NHK I might as well bring out the Wii permanently. Aaaargh! Somebody put me in a coma until the 25 th . Please. It’s been one and a half days. I have 23 days to go before we hit the beaches. The sun, sea, sand, and sky of Boracay for three days – where my only obligation is to relax. Until then, I need to distract myself with work, more work, more sleep, wii, basketball, gym, less food, and better coffee. This is gonna be a nightmarish 23 days. I can't believe i'm saying this, but thank

uh, happy new year. and we're off to a great start, forswearing as usual the cigarettes, continuing on the weight loss program, cutting back on the food intake, and maintaining a booze quota. all for the illusory objective of getting better... honestly, does not reeking of stale tobacco smoke, having smaller love handles, and getting home sober more often make you a better person? i guess at the least it makes a person less noxious and/or obnoxious. the funny thing is, i started the first night of 2008 suffering from acute insomnia, leaving me restless for a good four and half hours and allowing me the unexpected pleasure of rereading and finishing One Hundred Years of Solitude at 4 am Jan 2. But why couldn't i sleep? Am i suffering from withdrawal symptoms from 2007? it's not like i want to hang on to last year. even if i did, what good will that do? it makes as much sense as keeping toenail clippings because you loved the manicure. Hopefully, 2008 makes more sense than i