A quick (belated) update...

First of all... we are all fine after the most recent quake in Indo and honestly, I can't say we noticed it despite the magnitude. I've been neglecting the blog (and email) in favor of frolicking with the family (yep...the gangs all here) and I was quite surprised to see a few concerned emails in my inbox when i finaly checked it today. Oops...sorry to keep you guessing. We were well out of harms way but our thoughts go out to the poor people of Indonesia that continue to suffer more loss than one nation should have to shoulder.

Secondly... my birthday past yesterday (the big 2-9) in a lovely fashion on the isle of Ko Samui, Thailand with my Dad, Mom, Teli and, of course, my girl. We spent the day snorkelling with the fishies and the evening dinning on them. Yumm.

It's been great to see the family again and i think it's safe to say they felt the same. After a few days of sweating through their jet lag in the 'kok (bangkok, that is), we all boarded a luxury bus (as all trains where booked for days) bound for Suratthani, our ferry connection. Mom commented on how the curtains added a lot to the decor of the bus. My Dad concured adding, "as long as you're into that mexican brothel asthetic." As for Radka and I, we were just pleased to be on a bus without goats and a bit of leg room. Anyways, after breaking out the stash of booze procured by my folks from the duty free, no one had much trouble sleeping.

We've been on the island now for 5 days and yet each morning we still marvel at the surreal hue of the sea as well as the breathtaking flora and fauna that surrounds us. Despite the fact that Samui is among the more developed isles of Thai, it is still nothing short of magic when refering to it's natural splendor. In fact, save for Teli's blistering sunburn (it's hard to get a good base in Brooklyn in the winter) and an incident involving my dad proclaiming to know more than he does about motor bikes, it's been about perfect here. I've been keeping up with temperatures stateside (and in euro) so I'll shut up now and wish you all a quick end to winter weather and a wonderful spring time.

Lastly... thank you to those that have sent in donations to my personal tsunami relief fund. I just recieved an email today from Nic Davies, a friend we made while surviving the disaster together. He has stayed on down there in Weligama to assist in the reconstruction effort and I've been able to send him $1,000 so far for the cause. He has told me he has, with the help of locals and no other agencies, rebuilt three homes already of people we met during our stay. He has also set up our friend Jason with a new vegetable stand as he has been hesitant to return to fishing. Can't say I blame him. Nic has also reiterated what I've been hearing elsewhere that aid sent to the government of Sri Lanka has yet to make it further than a bank account in Colombo. With curruption plaguing the relief effort on the "official" level, I am so thankful to have Nic as a contact down there to act as a conduit for funds we can generate back home. Of course more funds are always needed and if you would like to contribute to the people of Weligama directly or to "Operation Fish and Ships", please do so!!! The info on how you may do this is in a past blog entry .

and one last post script... RIP H.S.T. & Pope JP