The Day Before The Day - Dido

beautiful

celebrating 1 year of sobriety!

it's amazing! waking up this morning, i could hardly believe that today's my first birthday as a recovering alcoholic. what a trip!!

so much has happened,

• reconnected to God
• relocated to Taiwan to teach
• got a job
• got an apartment
• got a scooter
• met the most incredible person (in the romantic sense)
• settled most of my debts
• reconnected with those i lost along the way
• quit smoking
• forgave and was forgiven
• found peace
  

since i decided to break out of Baker Street:

Winding your way down on Baker Street
Light in your head and dead on your feet
Well another crazy day, you’ll drink the night away
And forget about everything.

This city desert makes you feel so cold
It’s got so many people but it’s got no soul
And it’s taken you so long to find out you were wrong
When you thought it held everything.

You used to think that it was so easy,
You used to say that it was so easy
But you’re tryin’, you’re tryin’ now.
Another year and then you’d be happy
Just one more year and then you’d be happy
But you’re cryin’, you’re cryin’ now.

Way down the street there’s a light in his place
He opens the door, he’s got that look on his face
And he asks you where you’ve been, you tell him who you’ve seen
And you talk about anything.

He’s got this dream about buyin’ some land
He’s gonna give up the booze and the one night stands
And then he’ll settle down, in some quiet little town
And forget about everything.

But you know he’ll always keep movin’
You know he’s never gonna stop movin’
Cause he’s rollin’, he’s the rollin’ stone.
And when you wake up it’s a new morning
The sun is shining, it’s a new morning
But you’re going, you’re going home.

remembering the day before Change

today was nothing at all like the one 365 days ago - still, i will most likely remember that day again in 365 days time. you see, 29 Dec '07 was the day before the Day.

i had just returned from my trip to the UK and many of my friends were in the region for the holidays - as were several of my cousins. i'd orchestrated an impromptu beach-braai (bbq) near my house for that afternoon - seeing as how everybody had other plans for New Year's Eve. the turn-out was quite astounding! (i had a pretty solid reputation for throwing the best parties...)

i started drinking in the early afternoon - which was not a strange thing for anybody to do, really. we were having so much fun, catching up and reminiscing, joking and making plans, making a huge fire and meeting new friends (everybody brought somebody, of course). the party was light-hearted and cheerful. summer evenings can be endless...



i vaguely recall actually eating something too!

i do not, however, recall leaving the beach. or going to the nightclub in Mossel Bay. or being the life of the party. or deciding that it was time to go home. or driving home...

i do recall a soft "thud" as i swerved at our village's only traffic light. no-one was hurt (thank God!!) but the other car had a serious dent.

i do recall the police arriving.
i do recall the Breathalyzer test, though not the score.
i do recall being taken for blood tests in the back of a police van.
i vividly recall crying myself to sleep in a holding cell.

tomorrow, one year ago, i turned my life over to God and admitted that i was an alcoholic.

*breathe*

on a lighter note:

here's a cool rendition (by The Real Tuesday Weld) of the song that's been looping in my head all day:

Apartheid in America

segregation is the name of the game - and no one plays it as well as Californians, by the look of it. apparently the "Prop 8ers" now want to forcibly divorce same sex families.




it seems all Americans are created equal, some just more equal than others. (does their constitution end in "sich heil"? especially when read by the Governator...)

Merry Christmas - wherever you are

"Isn't it funny that at Christmas something in you gets so lonely for - I don't know what exactly, but it's something that you don't mind so much not having at other times."
~~ Kate L. Bosher
from Immi's blog

the earth moved, but it wasn't me (this time)

Central Weather Bureau Web Site

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she was a 5.6!!

Explanation Fail

i should be running to class - but this is just to good!!

All Aboard the Fail Train

sun drenched afternoon

i spent the afternoon soaking up some glorious sunshine at the Pen Bay (former military base dating from the Japanese occupation of Taiwan). here are some photos for you:



---
love and kisses

flickering

oh were i a dying man
who had no need of your forevers
but was at peace with merely
being liked

then would i drink the
love of light and
ne'er be afraid of all
of beauty's eventual end

but lo! i am a living man
who needs but hear a whisper...

Sunny winter days rule!

looking out from the laundry balcony a few minutes ago, I decided not to go to Kaohsiung today:




who wants to go to the beach with me?

spot my pozzy

a little mania goes a long way ;0)
led-style!above, the view of my balcony from the parking lot
below, the view of my building from our local 7-11
mine is the blueish glow, top-right ;0)
i probably shouldn't have shelled out the heaps of dosh for the blinkyness - but it sure is pretty!

SA slang info from Wikipedia:
pozzy - house or home; place where one lives or hangs out.

Foxxi Misq - Last Christmas

it's that time of the year again!
thank you to the anonymous commenter who linked to japansugoi and got the ball rolling again ;0)

Don't quit - motivational poem

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all up hill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest! if you must; but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don't give up, though the pace seems slow;
You might succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor's cup.
And he learned too late, when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out;
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt;
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit;
It's when things seem worst that you mustn't quit.

- by anonymous

from Tudor-Virgil Constantin's blog

Bike Hero

now THIS made me laugh out loud!
the awesomeness!!!

(as seen on alistair's blog)

and a little something from NY

Little boy watching a man: What the fuck?
Mother, reading a newspaper: You better watch your mouth today, little boy!
Little boy: But mommy, he keeps banging his head on the pole!
Mother, watching the man: What the fuck?

--F Train

Overheard by: It looked painful.

from overheardinnewyork.com

Rexmas

this was just what i needed to start my day!
ROTFLMAO

thanks Geoff!!

SA NOT SIGNING UN DECLARATION?

It appears as if South Africa is among the countries that will not be supporting a UN declaration calling for member states to decriminalise homosexuality.

The proposed declaration was initiated by France, which currently holds the rotating EU presidency, and has been signed by all the countries of the European Union.

The draft declaration will be presented to the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, the sixtieth anniversary of the UN Declaration of Human Rights. It is the first time the Assembly will deal with gay and lesbian rights.

According to Human Rights activist Peter Tatchell, only three African countries - Gabon, Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau - have signed on to the document.

South Africa, which boasts the most gay-friendly legislation on the continent, has reportedly not yet agreed to support the initiative.

A recent Human Sciences Research Council survey claims that 80% of South Africans believe that homosexuality is wrong.

The US and Australia are among the democratic nations that have declined to support the declaration, says Tatchell. The Vatican and the Organisation of Islamic States are, unsurprisingly, vocally opposed to the initiative.

Homosexuality is illegal in 86 countries around the world. Lesbians and gays face the death penalty in at least seven nations.

mambaonline reporter

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the magic parcel adventure

after school on friday, i hopped on the bus (not pictured) to Kaohsiung...

where i took the subway to zouying station,

where i took the High Speed Rail (up to 300km/h) to taichung,

where i got on the slow train to Dajia,

where i picked up the deliciousness from SA! Mom sent me some droë wors, coffee cookies, rusks, scarves, Black Cat peanut snacks, Cadbury's, my SpringLeap T-shirts - and even a copy of DeKat!! color me crawling on the floor with laughter when i noticed the fruit-cake and the designer tissues *lol* awesome!!!

today is better

just a quick "mornin' y'all" to smile and wave from the other side of last night's post.

the risperdal and a good night's sleep - plus the resolution to hit the road out of town after school today - has me feeling a whole lot better about myself and life in general :0)

also, thanks to Rod for the comments - both of them. no comment is a bad comment.
and thanks to Immi for all the tips and tricks on her blog! i live better every day.

now sucks

here's the deal: i've lost my mojo.

it's thursday night and i've just returned home from school. my last class took forever and it feels like i'm not getting anywhere with my students. the teenagers are getting the better of me... i've run out of ideas on how to get them talking. it's a "conversation class" - which means we're supposed to converse for 90 minutes. (okay, two sessions of 40 minutes with a ten minute break in the middle.) It's a miracle if i get one of them to say more than three sentences. i've tried sports, rock, hip hop, online gaming, pets, family, fashion, parties, school, poetry, visual arts, movies - everything. harry potter worked for a while, but we've gone through all the books now...

i know they think swearing is funny - but i'm not comfortable with the idea of exchanging insults and cusses with 14 year olds.

fuck i feel useless. i just want to sleep. i honestly don't feel like doing anything.

yup, i know - these are all little red flags saying auntie debra is visiting. time to take the risperdal again.

*sigh*

Damien Rice - Rootless Tree (Live from Abbey Road)

probably not a safe song to play to your dear old gran... but the power of this performance threw me halfway across the planet!

i have to thank Rod from kickin' tina for loading this as today's "sound choice". i'm not sure why i'm crying - but it feels damn good!

but in humans...

Gay penguins steal eggs from straight couples - Telegraph

The two penguins have started placing stones at the feet of parents before waddling away with their eggs, in a bid to hide their theft.

But the deception has been noticed by other penguins at the zoo, who have ostracised the gay couple from their group. Now keepers have decided to segregate the pair of three-year-old male birds to avoid disrupting the rest of the community during the hatching season.

A keeper at Polar Land in Harbin, north east China explained that the gay couple had the natural urge to become fathers, despite their sexuality.

"One of the responsibilities of being a male adult is looking after the eggs. Despite this being a biological impossibility for this couple, the natural desire is still there," a keeper told the Austrian Times newspaper.

"It's not discrimination. We have to fence them separately, otherwise the whole group will be disturbed during hatching time," he added.

There are numerous examples of homosexuality in the animal kingdom, but gay penguins have captured the public's attention more than any other species.

A German zoo provoked outrage from gay lobby groups after attempting to mate a group of gay male penguins with Swedish female birds who were flown in especially to seduce them. But the project was abandoned after the males refused to be "turned", showing no interest in their would-be mates.

In 2002 a couple of penguins at a New York zoo who had been together for eight years were "outed" when keepers noticed that they were both males.

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