Day 31 - I am on an island

It's a tropical island, offering me the exotic fruits of prolonged jump roping and leg lifts.  The wind blows through the palm trees gently, but not so gently that you can't hear it whisper, "aaaabbsssss", before it teases the dark locks of the local women, and fades into sweet-smelling island memory.

This island is a beautiful place to be.  It's impossible not to feel good, and feel good about myself while here.  But be warned -- this island has a dark side.  I can walk right up to the edge of its sandy shores; indeed, they call to me like a siren.  This temptress though is not after my soul -- she is after my waistline, and at a closer look reveals that the ocean is made of chicken tikka masala so aromatic and surely so tasty that to swim through it for eternity would be the definition of heaven.

*****

Or something.   The point is the last 2 days I have been getting some bad cravings again, and at the same time I have been surrounded by some really remarkable food.  Last night, as Jasper mentioned, we were out for a work dinner.  About 12 of us, which mean that about 10 of us had delicious steaks, fries, butter-soaked veggies, "crispy creamed spinach balls" that I didn't even know existed, and bottle after bottle of wine.  Jasper and I sat there surveying the forbidden fruit in front of us, and I think we both made it through in part because the other was there.  Well I went home after "dinner", but that desk party carried on of course, so that everyone got good and dee-RUNK, which of course this morning meant that everyone ordered in full English breakfast fry-ups, fried eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, butter, jam, etc, etc, et f*cking cetera to soothe their hangovers.  The bacon smelled great, and actually while the rest of it didn't particularly realllly smell terrific, it was just a reminder of what I sadly, sadly cannot  have have chosen not to indulge in because I am finally becoming mindful of just how bad it is for me.  Then the hungover work crew ordered in a ton of just really amazing smelling curries for lunch.  Down the row that we sit in, it was like this at lunch: two guys to my right eating delicious Indian curry, me, guy to my right eating delicious Indian curry, Jasper, woman to his left eating delicious Indian curry.  It was ridiculous.  I had to take a walk down to the far end of the desk to try to escape it a little bit, and there were TWO EFFING PIZZAS ON THE COUCH!!!  No shit.  Just unbelievable.  In summary: I'm hungry.

*****

Very busy weekend coming up.  My mom arrives here in Hong Kong in about 3 hours, staying for a little over 2 weeks.  She will tell me I'm too thin and that I need to eat.  So anyway this weekend we have:
- trip to airport to collect mom tonight
- try to catch tail end of friends' birthday party tonight
- All day softball tournament tomorrow
- client's birthday tomorrow night
- daughter's 1st birthday on Sunday
- somewhere in there try to catch up with an old friend from Tokyo, who now lives in Singapore, that happens to be in town for the weekend.

Busy busy.  But mostly "good busy", so I am excited and it should be a lot of fun.  I can't believe my daughter is going to be one.

A great weekend to all.