Happy New Year !!!

And what a year it was ! Thanks go to all those people that shared some part of their lives with me in 2005, good times and bad. It was a year of very amazing things with both moments of glory and moments of tears, but it will all be remembered for the good times I spent with the people I love. Learn from the bad and always, always remember the good. A big hug goes out to all of you from Playa, one which I hope to give in person soon.
May the next one be even better, happy new year !!!!!
PS: For the nights in Paris... cheers !

"En el mar la vida es más sabrosa"

Playa del Carmen is... surreal. I haven't met a single person from playa, everybody is from somewhere else in the world, coming to look for a different lifestyle. There is nothing to do but lay on the beach (haven't done that), party till mornig (a bit of that), and work in bars and hostles (a bunch of that). I will report later, but in the meantime, I'll tell you this: life is definitely sweeter at the beach !

Time and time again...

As I've written in other posts, one by one my friends are coming home, some on vacation, some for a while. And it's already starting to feel like family again. It's funny how life works... a couple of years ago, I saw my friends basically every day, and most of the weekend. I saw more of them than I saw my parents or sister. We went through school together and after we graduated thing really didn't change much. At some point we all aquiered other groups of friends, but we always, always, managed to keep in touch, see each other ever wednesday. We lived through failed relationships and other such troubles. But time is tricky... sooner or later, "adult life" starts to kick in. And different lives lay in different paths, in this case in different cities, even different continents (3 of them!) When most of them left us who stayed kept going, and whenever everyone came to visit, it felt as if they had never left. That's how strong we are. And in the mean time, you get to know more people, you get to renew friendships and you get to live new things.
This year in particular was, is... pretty much undescribable. I've felt happier than I've felt in a very long time, and sadder as well. And I try to picture myself in a few years, and I try to think of my friends, and where will we all be, what will we be doing, who might we be with. It's hard ! Really hard ! I see other adults, older folks, and how life has treated them, and I wonder if that will happen to me, to us. It almost always seems like our lives before and after this very moment, are lived by two totally different people. I'm well aware that every choice I make brings me one step closer to the future, but I also know that I'm not alone, and the future isn't only decided by me, but also by the people who are close to me and the choices they make. It's like a mystical game of chess, you make a move, life makes another, and then you move to counter. I've played this game time and time again, and I keep wondering if I've made the right choices, and then what am I supposed to do next. I guess being an idealistic dreamer doesn't help much. But you do your best with what you're given, and you prepare for the worst, always hoping for the best. And in the end, althought you really can't help it, you wonder if it's even worth worrying about.
In the end, all you can do is go on and wait for life's next move. And then, only time will tell.

The little one has returned !

Another dear friend is back in town, I haven't seen her yet, but it won't be long. Welcome back Piny, there's a huge hug and a big kiss waiting for you right here.

Welcome back my friend !

I know, a lot of posts today. Deal with it.
Good old Joch arrives from down under tonight. Welcome home buddy, you were really missed. There's a lot of catching up to do, and a lot of universal truths to discuss, so let's start brewing that coffee. Each day La Banda grows stronger !

Things that must be said in Spanish...

¡¡ Hace un frío del carajo !!

Ohhh ohhhh I'm still alive !!!

3 hrs of Peal Jam, what can I say ? One of, if not the, greatest concerts I've ever been to. When you're not feeling 100%, when you've had a bad week, when you're cold and nostalgic, when you start to feel old... there's nothing like great music to have you jumping in a crowd of thousands like there's no tomorrow. Nothing like a little rock to wake your soul up, nothing like the look in your friend's eyes when you finally find her and she's towering over the crowd. Oh yeah, I'm definitely still alive !

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

This morning I officially started thinking about Xmas time. It's December, it's cloudy and just a bit chilly, and there's a tree full of lights in my living room. I like Xmas actually, I'm no grinch. I like buying gifts and I won't deny that getting some is pretty cool too. But most of all, I like spending time with my friends. For the past couple of years my group of friends has been hindered by distance, so it's not very often that we're all under the same roof. The last time was actually last year's holidays.
So today, preparations start. I will be making a list, and checking it twice. I'll begin to make things ready for that day, I'll try to organize my shopping and start working on the menu. I've got dessert ready, btw, and it's a winner ! I'll be thinking of who will be there, who probably won't show up and who I wish would. In the end, of course, it's not about fancy gifts or elegant meals. It's about La Banda, my dearest friends whom I've chosen to call family, and the day we celebrate together.
Let the countdown begin !

Fear the wrath of a patient man...

I know probably none of them are reading this, or will ever, but I have to get this out of my system.
To all you evil idiots out there: if you hurt the people I love pray to any and all gods you might know that I'm not the first to find you.

A warrior's tale...

The last time I wrote for the 'net, was somewhere around 1999. It was a different world then, both the virtual and the real one, and I was a different person.
About ten years ago an entity was born out of an idea, an identity if you will. His name won't be mentioned here, but some of you might know who I'm talking about. The initial idea was that in the web one could be immortal. There was no pain, no trouble, no situation from which you couldn't escape, or simply turn in your favor. In the web, you were free. Free to be and say anything. To a writer, or at least for someone with aspirations to be, that was power. Real power. And so this idea, this identity came to life. First just as one of many on the boards. But with time came power, came daring, and the idea grew stronger. The identity grew to be more than just a witness. Suddenly there was a will to be a little more, to not just see change but be a part of it, to fight battles on it's own, to make a little, if only an infinitesimal part, of history. A true warrior born. A being not afraid to speak up, to speak back, and to be true to the one
thing that was important over all the rest, to the idea from which it spawned. And that it did.
A little more time passed, and the battles stopped being public, but never stopped being fought. Every time the "real" world grew too heavy, too sad, every time things were not how the warrior dreamed, or "were not supposed to be," words came out. Battles were fought. Blood was drawn. Some ideas were hurt, some were shattered, but others only grew stronger. And thus time passed and the world changed. So did the warrior, and so did it's host. But the story never did. Always there to save the day, brave enough to dare, strong enough to suffer, whenever the host might fall, the warrior was there, more than willing to fight, win or lose, ready to move on, to fight once again.
And then, a few weeks ago, there was another battle. But when the smoke cleared, when the fires started to die, something was different. For the first time in more than a decade, when the fight was over, the warrior was nowhere in sight. He simply disappeared. I'm really not sure if he finally died, or he couldn't find the strength to fight again. At the end of the day the problem really isn't what happened, but what does it mean. In the end, was he proved wrong ? Was it really all not worth it ? Is it true that the world isn't meant to live up to dreams ? Is it crazy to think that if you wish, if you fight, hard enough you can make them come true? Is pain and disappointment at the end of the road for all us crazy dreamers?
...

Hell no.

It might be that the line between the warrior and the host became so blurred it was becoming hard to tell them apart. It could be that an idea can only become as strong as he, or they, who believe in it. It just might be that struggling on two grounds as two entities, can never be as effective as fighting as one. I think the truth is that two halves aren't the same as a whole.

So what happens now ? I have no idea. All I know is that for the first time in years, the night brings no transformation, and both worlds are seen through the same eyes. The original idea is alive and strong, and the fire that spawned it is as bright, brighter in fact, than ever. I'm sure that more fights will come, more dreams will be born, more paths will be walked, and more adventures will be lived. And I will be there, sword, heart and words in hand for all of them. And you're all welcome to join me.

Read you later !

Work in progress...

bear with me...