the Surreal Life has just cemented its position as the only reality show worth watching. This season will have my all time favorite actor Bronson Pinchot a.ka. Balki Bartokomous.

VH1 Rocks.

my snake is every bit the insomniac that I am. Today he was up until after 2am. I am going to bed now, and he is still out and about, doing his thing. I guess there is truth to the old saying that pets and their owners become alike.

Sometimes I feel terribly alone eventhough I am surrounded by myriad amounts of people all the time. There is always a buzz everywhere around me, it just doesn't involve me. Could the opposite be possible as well? Could I feel surrounded by friends and activity even if I were utterly alone and in unfamiliar surroundings? For my sake I hope so. I am tired of being surrounded and yet bored. Hopefully if I ship off to somewhere remote, I could be rather alone and yet in the midst of a whirlwind of activity.

Never underestimate the wonder of suspension. Riding around for a week in a rickety, used up old suzuki along hurricane kissed roads puts things in perspective.

I used to think my old Volvo had a bit of a rough ride, but I now it seems as smooth as silk. And powerful too. Even on the poorly maintained roads of Oakland and Berkeley, I feel as though riding on air compared to the Jitterbug.

Ah, but suspension or not, that little Jitterbug had style. Style that said "look at me, I can take you anywhere and you don't have to worry about damaging me, because I am a piece of shit."

Destruction isn't supposed to be beautiful, but you would never know that hiking around the wild sections of Grenada. Nature's ability to spring back after disaster is astonishing and mankind should seek to duplicate such tenacity. Regrowth is truly amazing. I haven't seen such vibrant greens and lush undergrowth in a very long time. The sense that you are hiking in a National Geographic cover washes over you as you trudge along over fallen trees, through freshly overgrown paths, around recently relocated boulders and just generally blaze a new trail along a well known route.

Then after all the commingle of lush green and wanton destruction there is a waterfall. Just like everything else, it is the same as it ever was only freshly changed; flowing strongly into its little spring, kicking up the silt below, yet recently overlaid with a protective maze of tree trunks and cut off from its former ladders and trails. Again, you found a fresh way to get where so many had already gone.

Swimming in that little pond was better than can be described on paper or in HTML

Ok, so after a few rigoruous days of reading, watching videos, taking little quizzes, practicing skills in a pool and practicing skills in the ocean... I am officially a certified diver. I know what you are thinking: wow how did you do that so fast? Well the answer is simple, I had nothing better to do and I was the only student.

Anyway, I don't want to down play to the whole experience too much because I have wanted to dive for a long time and I can finally do it. Over the last few days I have learned to breathe underwater, seen reefs 60 feet below the surface, explored a sunken ship and generally seen some gorgeous scenery underwater. The highlight would have to be the pair of sunken men's underwear that was growing coral and provided refuge for a few wary fish. I also saw sea turtles, sting rays and a whole list of other fish too long to even mention, but none of them compare to the rare and beautiful boxer-briefs.

If you are ever in Grenada look up Arran and Scubatech and get a lesson. Its totally worth it and she may be the coolest dive instructor ever.

Today is what vacation is all about. I actually made it to Grenada last night and went out to a big bash at a gorgeous bar on the beach.

Today I woke up early, caught a ride down to a local hotel and began SCUBA lessons. I have always wanted to learn to dive, and it couldn't be going better. The SCUBA istructor is pretty smokin' and her South African accent makes it that much better. To top it off, I am the only student, so its just me and her all day. So not only do I get to stare at a cute South African chick in a bikini all day long, but I went on my first open water dive today. Of Course Arron was there for every moment of it, but who is complaining? I am certainly not.

Today I was supposed to land in Grenada around 9pm, but American Airlines had different plans for me. After a 12:30am flight to Dallas from San Francisco, and a 5 hour layover in the Dallas airport, my flight to San Juan decided that it didn't want to use an engine. So we had to wait 2 hours for a new plane. Long story short, I made it to San Juan but thats a far as I got. Better luck tomorrow I suppose. Time to get a shower and my first sleep in about 36 hours.

Been a while and as usual I have been getting eaten alive by life in general. Who knew that the simple act of doing what is expected of you could be so utterly complicated and bureaucratic? With every problem solved, a new one will always uncover itself. I hope life simplifies itself, but somehow I doubt that will happen. I'm outwardly lazy, so I pray for simplicity, but inside I need a challenge and I always seem to get one.

Plans seem to be falling more and more into place for Spring Break with every passing day. I am excited to say the least. I will be going to Grenada, seeing my brother and will be SCUBA certified while I am there. I have been snorkeling for years, and every year I tell myself I should learn to dive, but I never get around to it. I suppose I can just borrow some of my brothers gear while I am there. Strangely enough none of my family will be going with me. I haven't really traveled alone in quite some time, so this should be a welcome change of pace. I am preparing to get a little extracurricular reading done, as well as some sightseeing with my new camera.

I have also realized that my wardrobe has become somewhat outdated and worn out. I have embarked upon a campaign to freshen the ranks of my t-shirts, jeans and shorts. Some of my trusted uniforms will be forced to resign upon enlisting new recruits. It is sad I know, but many of them have served me, and served me well, for three years or more. I look forward to such new prospects as t-shirt with funny quip about New Mexico and regular Mexico, or t-shirt that remarks about my propensity to grow beards. Ah, hooray for the trend of amusing, thrift store inspired shirts. I will also be looking for a few items of clothing to recall my youth, but in a style that is timely and acceptable. I feel it may be the right time to make the move back to Converse all stars or comically over-sized shirts. I do vow not to attempt to resurrect hammer pants or their less evil cousin, surfer pants. I yearn for those cool shorts that were velcro though; remember them, they opened from the side, and the velcro fly kinda chafed you a little. Those were cool. All in all I think my revamped wardrobe should both make me fit in, and make me stand out as an exemplar of modern sensibility with a retro flare.

Old Balls

I must be getting older because I am willingly and easily waking up earlier every week. Today I woke up at 7:50 when I didn't need to be up until 9. I am already an old man.