New Year's updates?

So, about a couple of weeks ago I had this feeling I was gaining a couple of pounds (I know, I know, “go on yer big girl’s blouse” you’re saying, but hey, I have to keep trim now as part of my professional business approach). So I figure I’ll get a couple more runs in a week and go diving a bit more. Well, the diving is sort of on hold for a few days to kick this chest thing. And when the Missus got here last week, she kept mentioning how she didn’t recognize me (probably because she has been seeing a little too much of Pablo, the new pool boy she hired while I was away…..despite the fact we don’t have a pool and the fact that it is minus-god-knows-what in Toronto right now). I lost quite a bit of weight in the early part of ’08 (around 30lbs), so she had seen a slimmer version of me…she believed it was close to the skinny-ass me that she met 10 years ago. But she got here and she thinks that this is the skinniest she has ever seen me. I don’t know about that, but a consistent diet of sweet-fuck-all and a lot of diving probably does have the malnourishing effect one might expect. I imagine that I have probably shed a few more pounds. I have certainly noticed that my board shorts have now started to display a wee bit of the old builder’s bum, but luckily I wear sports shorts underneath (they may look disgusting to innocent bystanders, but gods, when your nut-sack slides into a wet wetsuit nice and smoothly, there’s a lot to be said for a nice pair of cycling/sports undies that cup the lads well). My belt has also gotten a bit more useless too (not holding shit up for instance) and this is even after I had another couple of holes punched in it before I left. Added to that, but there are spaces in my wetsuit where there weren’t spaces before.

Anyway, so I figured, ok, if I have lost that much weight, perhaps I don’t need to fret about more runs and extra dives, etc. But then the gluttony began. Since the missus arrived, we have eaten out nearly all the time. I feel as though I just ate a baby (“get in ma belly!! Ooooh, baby back baby back baby back ribs”) and we just had a small plate of pasta and some mozzarella salad. Despite not worrying excessively about jumping back on the fitness band wagon…..I think we should be cutting back on the fat-bastard burgers we now seem to be eating daily. Of course, the missus looks as radiant as ever, so it doesn’t seem to be affecting her.

Hey, before I go anywhere else…..can someone tell me what this is all about:

I have no clue. It is the sign for the loos in the Café Del Sol. But isn’t it a little pervy?

Decided to upgrade this morning too. Went from somewhat ineffectual cold medication to antibiotics. I looked up my symptoms on the internet (ah source of dubious knowledge) and it appears that I have a chest infection. There are two ways that a chest infection can affect you: one is viral, which can only basically be healed by the body’s own immunity system; and the other is simply an infection. If it is viral, antibiotics won’t do squat; if it is simply an infection, the antibiotics should kick some lurgy-arse. Well, we’ve tried healing it with soft-core medications and rest. Didn’t seem to do squat. Still felt like poopy this morning. So now we’re stepping it up with the antibiotics. Let’s see how that treats me for the next few days.

I didn’t see a doctor for the antibiotics….yet another neat little thing about Thai pharmacies, just walk in and ask for whatever you want…..prescriptions pah…but here’s the way my logic worked……if I went and saw the doctor, he would say I have a chest infection….I have already seen this doctor once (I needed his sign-off for a physical for my DM course) and know he’s not the world’s best GP), so what is he likely to do?…why he’ll prescribe me antibiotics. So I went to the pharmacy and missed the middleman. What’s the worst that could happen? Well, I suppose I could die, but the chances of that have to be slim, no? I’ll take the antibiotics for a few days and if I’m still not clearing up, then I need to figure out plan B…which in all likelihood will involve seeing the shit doctor (and paying 100’s of baht for the privilege). But at least I’ll know he’s full of it when he then tells me to take antibiotics.

But, you know, I am starting to think this whole turning 35 thing is a bit of a curse. There I am, sick as a dog and not able to complete the one dive I need for the IDC, or really get rat-arsed on my birthday, feeling like I am dying every morning, hounded by shitty trance music resonating from the far side of the island and awful Thai karaoke-style country music from somewhere closer all night and all day for three days and then to top things off last night, the moped gets a flat rear tire. What gives? Must be the turning 35!! It never rains, but it pours. Oh, which reminds me to add another thing to the list….getting soaked to the bone while riding into Mae Haad yesterday morning. It didn’t rain again all day…..just in the one spiteful moment when we were on a moped halfway between home and Café Del Sol. It’s some sort of kharmic retribution, I just know it.

This is what Chris looks like when he is feeling under the weather in a tropical clime and still needs to go out to get food:

We also discovered something about our friends and new pets, Red and Spot. Oh, didn’t I mention? The two dogs that have gradually been waiting for me to get home, then to walking me to my door, then to sleeping on my patio and now to waiting by the door for me to come out in the morning have been named red and spot. Don’t think I have a picture of Spot, but here is Red:

So, anyway, as the bike was broked and we had walked it down to Lederhosen (the place where we rent the bike from, not a place to buy attractive, stylish and completely functional shorts with shoulder straps) last night, we had to walk to Mae Haad this morning. We set off around 11 a.m. This is the first time I have walked to town. Well, Red and Spot start following us (oh, I also forgot to mention one other things the dogs now like my place for and which is quite possibly the reason the dogs are attached to me….which is because the missus has taken to feeding the buggers at every opportunity…no one tell James, he was very adamant we don’t feed the dogs!!). But they didn’t just pace behind us for a few minutes out of curiosity, they followed us halfway to town. And because they get so excited around us now, they seemed to lose all sense of traffic awareness. Feeling quite concerned the pups might get struck by a bike or car, we eventually had to split up. The missus went back to Chez Chris with the dogs, while I continued the hike in to get the bike fixed. Cost a fortune too…..200 baht to have the tire repaired. That’s like $9 Cdn!! Goddammit!!

Hmmmm, anything else? Half the island seems to be off doing their visa runs. Jon is back, which is good, because I like Jon and Kate (his girlfriend), they’re funny and Jon is smart too which makes for good conversation. Here’s the missus with Noé, Célia and Jon on my birthday.

Hmmmmm, oh yeah, Padi (Tim and Natalie's dog) has now taken to sleeping in our room. Two nights in a row. He actually scratches at the door to be let in, then curls up at the foot of the bed and then leaves again about 5 a.m. Apparently he is scared still from the fireworks and so on over the last few days. He completely trashed Tim and Natalie's room. Here's Padi sleeping it off in Chez Chris:

And we also saw a monkey at the fruit stand over by Noé and Célia's:

Oh, and to please the photo-junkies, here is Noé and me on my birthday dives:

Which reminds me…..Stone, remember that picture you took of the group of us diving in the Caymans and which you then had framed? Can you send me the picture by email so that I can get it reprinted and framed (Heather lost the last one)……

Off for a beer soon (probably not advisable, but hey, it’s Thailand) with Tim and some Canuck he wants us to meet. Then tomorrow off for a half-day spa package……ahhhh, I need this to keep studying!!

p.s. no New Year's Resolutions.....wonder if I should think of some?