A: Arizona, America
I had originally intended to continue my music studies in the UK but as life would have it, circumstances changed and I found myself in this new continent (see this post) I remember those years fondly, 1981-1984. A new country, a new environment, new friends…if I could relive it I’d do it all over again (perhaps with a few changes here and there, *wink!*) Notwithstanding the countless nights I spent studying away at the library till 2 a.m. in the morning just to maintain my GPA, days of toil in the practice rooms with crappy pianos…and working at one of the staff restaurants in the Student Union—these experiences remain as priceless treasures in my memories.
Arizona is probably one of the sunniest places on Earth. Couple that with blue and smog-free skies, good native folks, and good food (burp!) it’s probably one of the nicest places to be in. Well perhaps not in the summertime though, lol.
B: Books, Birthdays, Blessings
I’ve loved books since I was young. Thanks to my parents, I had a steady stream of books flowing my way. There were comics, fairy tales, educational books, story books, encyclopedias, etc. I devoured them all. Later on it was Reader’s Digest, TIME, Newsweek, novels, etc. And when I became a computer geek with the launch of Windows 95 the flow of books became a torrent—especially with the For Dummies range of books—I loved those, they were so engrossing to read. I must have at least two dozen of them sitting in my bookshelves and cupboards.
The books I’ve read lately include:
- The Rules of Love by Richard Templar. 100 rules, each only two pages long, but what a wealth of information on this elusive and fickle subject!
- Got What It Takes? by Bill Boggs. “Successful people reveal how they made it to the top.” A very, very inspiring book to read—now let me find Donald Trump or Sir Richard Branson’s email address and telephone numbers.
- Reader’s Digest Select Editions 4 best selling books combined into one, at an unbeatable price.
- You: The Owner’s Manual by Michael Roizen and Mehmet Oz. I must thank Joi Sigers for pointing me to this fascinating book in her wonderful blog. I was at a bookstore last night, and what do you know, this book was on sale—I couldn’t believe it, it was going for only $10! You: The Owner’s Manual and I quote: “challenges your preconceived notions about how the human body works and ages, then takes you on a tour through all of the highways, back roads, and landmarks inside of you.”
- Oops, confession time. I haven’t read this one in a while, so I really have to get back to it. Yes, I’m talking about the Bible, the greatest book ever written—period.
I love birthdays, especially my own 
This year’s was great—read all about it in my earlier posts:
I don’t bat an eyelid about the growing old routine. In fact I just completed a comprehensive quiz at realage and found that I am actually 5 years younger than my calendar age—woot! So let me have another slice of my birthday cake, preferably blueberry cheese.
I have a funny ritual that I do every every morning I wake up: I flex all my ten fingers and toes, and I thank God for another day ahead, and that I have all my five senses fired up and ready to go. When I hit the sack at night, I thank the Lord again for another blessed day, and drift off to sleep. Want happiness in your life? Always count your blessings.
C: Coffee, Chocolate, Computers
My three vices and they both happen to begin with the letter C. Yes I am a coffee addict, but a very well-controlled one (or a very predictable one, take your pick) I need a mug of caffeine in the morning (very important, or else I’d end up with a splitting headache) and then another in the afternoon. I used to drink coffee with sugar way back in the 80’s (I know it’s disgusting, Miss Miller, do bear with me) but these days I take just a pinch of sugar in my java. Honestly if I didn’t have at least a cup of coffee a day, I’d go weak in the knees and dissolve into a pile of filthy-stained denims. What’s more—unlike some people that I envy, I can’t consume any java after 7 pm or so. Unless I want to remain awake the whole night.
Chocolate makes me happy. I like it in any form, whether it’s the usual dark chocolate bar (my favorite), chocolate ice cream, chocolate cake (the E & O Hotel always has nice black forest cake, yummy), etc. And baloney about chocolate giving you acne and all that rubbish—I just make sure I drink plenty of water after I finish this heavenly snack. Moreover, dark chocolate contains flavonoids (an antioxidant), which…
…can help maintain a healthy heart and good circulation, and reduce blood clotting that could lead to heart attack and stroke. Flavonoids help the body by neutralizing potentially cell-damaging substances known as oxygen-free radicals, which are a normal by-product of metabolism (taken from this heart disease website)
The same website also states that every 100g of dark chocolate contains approximately 500 calories. There’s a possibility of gaining weight here if one goes overboard on the chocolate ship, but since I never seem to gain much weight, I can brush that one aside—muahaha!
The first computer I ever bought was an Apple IIe clone way back in 1986. Then there was this humongous desktop beast, a 486DX with 4MB of RAM running Windows 3.1. I went through a succession of computers after that, “graduating” with each introduction of a new OS. I used to have a friend who would bail me out whenever my computers went on the fritz…I’d be calling him practically every week (the operating systems at that time were unstable, you know) That is, until one fateful day when he blurted out to me very plainly, “You can’t expect me to come straightaway every time you’ve got computer troubles…” or something to that effect. I was taken aback at first, maybe a little hurt. Then something inside me figured that it might be high time to learn the ins and outs of the PC, which is what I did. I bought books and computer magazines, and learned the ropes…and the rest is history (such a modest guy am I)
I’ve been servicing, repairing, and building Intel-based computers for years now and needless to say I’m pretty good at it (Miss Modesty has gone off again). I’m waiting eagerly for the release of Windows 7 just round the corner…this may prove to be another excuse to upgrade that small 80GB hard disk of mine. We shall see!
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