here's quick one from CDO

First, I miraculously managed to pull myself together and travel to CDO without binging my laptop - which was basically the main plan. Second, I've just finished reading a book which was also part of the plan. And for that, I guess I deserve a hooray-for-me. However, the part where I planned to be completely detached from the Internet apparently did not push through. I tried to occupy myself with other things like stuffing my stomach with junk by eating bags of potato chips, running around with our dog and see who'd pass out first (it was a tie because we both ended up panting profusely but still managed to remain conscious), watch cheezy TV sitcoms, etc... but unfortunately, I just can't get the itch off. So, here I am writing this post using my sister's laptop. I just have to open the browser and say "Hi" to the Internet. What can I say? Junkies need their fix and I just have to say "Hi" to the Internet.

Hi.

probably not a good idea

I'm planning to go to CDO next week to iron out some paper work with my sister (it's about this loan that we're getting for The-mum and The-dad). So, I was thinking of not bringing my laptop with me. I've got a couple of books that I've been wanting to finish and I'm planning to finish one (at least) during the trip. Bringing the laptop with me will definitely get in the way and since I've been sitting in front of the computer everyday for that passed couple of months, I thought that it would be a good idea to have a break and be completely detached from my laptop and to the rest of the folks on the Internet for an entire weekend... *GASP*. Well, the title of this post says it all. But what-duh-heck, it's fun to break out of daily routine once in a while.

just a link to a comic

I'm just dropping by to post a link to this online comic. I've been reading it for quite some time now. Surprisingly, I never had the chance to post a link to the site. I really enjoy reading the strips because for one, they're straight to the point, it uses nice photographs instead of doodles and - most of the time - I get the feeling that I'm reading someone else's thoughts written in utmost honesty and in the most brutal way possible. We'll that's just me, just try skimming through some of the strips and maybe you'd get hooked just like me. Enjoy.

free nicotine is still nicotine

My cousin works for probably the biggest tobacco company in the world. You know, the one that owns other tobacco companies and has been pounded by numerous legal battles (so I've read), but still remains unscathed probably because they have all the world's smokers behind their back - puffing their lungs into oblivion. The thing is, my cousin has a lot of freebies(cigarettes, ashtrays, shirts, etc...) and gives hem out Oprah-Winfrey-style to everybody he knows. Since I had a short visit to CDO a couple of weeks back, I was fortunate unfortunate enough to be given two rims of "reds" - roughly 400 sticks.

Frankly, The idea of having to smoke every stick by myself is really overwhelming. You see, being a smoker (who had repeatedly failed at quitting) with 400 sticks of smokes at his disposal, lying around the room, each stick crying out in a child-like voice, saying "smoke smoke smoke smoke...", will drive anybody to total madness. The good thing is, a couple of people at work are smokers and some people staying at home(yes, we're currently living in a "full-house" right now, I'll probably make a separate post for thiat are smokers too. So, I shared the maddening little goodies. I brought one rim to the office and the other one, I left it in the living room. Right now and probably for the next few weeks, every smoker in the office and at home is puffing free smokes.

last week

I spent my previous weekend in CDO. The interesting part about that weekend was my ferry boat ride going there. I booked a ticket from a shipping company who's entire fleet is as old as my grandmother's dead mother (God bless her soul). I didn't really have much of a choice. Their boat was the only one leaving for CDO that night. Well, here are some of the highlights:

First, the cafeteria's menu served "battered chicken" - lilteraly. Second, for every passenger's viewing pleasure, they played recorded concert performances from The Corrs, The Eagles, Barry Manilow... need I continue? Third, they served a pack of biscuits and a cup of coffee for breakfast because that is what five star hotels serve and these guys just wanted to pamper us as if we were guests at a five star hotel. Fourth, since the boat was really slow, it took an extra three hours to get to the pier plus an extra hour for docking.

The only nice thing about that trip was that I had a chance to talk to this old guy, probably in his fifties, who worked as a crane operator in Qatar. He said that he quit his job because he realized that Qatar is not really a country located in the "Middle East". Instead, according to him, Qatar is a country located in the "Middle of Nowhere". He added that he'd been to other Middle Eastern countries before, but according to him, Qatar blows like no other. So, he decided to come home and do what Filipinos do best - eat, drink and make merry.