the clowns are on air!

Without Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny, TV3 first leaders' debate was a success... as entertainment. What was the difference between Xfactor, Big Brother and The Debate? None, as it is all television! The Debate probably will be bored faster, as nobody can sing nor dance! And who was that saying it was a great debate?!? Terry Prone or the other guy? I can't tell, as I was only listening, not watching...

Eamon Gilmore and Micheál Martin were worried about their images only. Empty words merely to cause impact, mutual attacks to old problems... and in the mean time, Enda Kenny was going solo, in Carrick, Shannon.

No winner in the Eamon Gilmore vs. Micheál Martin debate, but surprinsingly, Enda Kenny didn't win either!

I'm not rich!

Chardonnay is most closely associated with France's Burgundy region and California's Norther. Chardonnay is a popular grape and with good reason: made in styles that range from steely, mineral laced wines with crisp green apple fruit to wines that are buttery, rich, and laden with tropical fruits, there is a Chardonnay that will appeal to every palate. And this is the problem!

There's an article in the Sunday Times' Style Magazine today - Alone Home. It's about spouses of successful men, which got it all: rich husbands, perfect houses, lovely kids... and an alcohol problem. They are in a such state that anything is an excuse to drink: a bad day, a good day, pre-lunch, lunch, after lunch... everything is toasted with a glass of something.

Well... at least I'm not rich...

The non-optional misery

Driving all my way back home last night, listening to "Radio na Life", the DJ just said something on air which really touched me. He said "Happiness is something you grow inside you. Misery is optional". It made me think about life a bit... and then I thought he was probably talking about psychological misery, not physical misery.

He probably doesn't know what physical misery is. How it is to agonize in pain, because of starvation... in such state, is not the hungry which matters anymore, at least not your hungry... all your guts are fighting against each other in search of something to consume, anything possibly left, any drop of water, mineral, or even protein -  the walls of  your stomach... the mucosas,  submucosas, and anything else!

Agreed: Misery is optional. And happiness is something you grow inside, because you have the choice to grow it. Physical misery doesn't give you any option...

A Lazy Day

Just a lazy day, drinking coffee and eating chocolate in the park after lunch, and then back to the office and type in these random words in this blog... I feel like all my problems are left alone, while the weekenders - as myself - are all on our own. Oh... such fun!

Yeah, these lazy days, when you make me forget myself and think I'm someone else, someone good... Oh it's such a lazy day, and I'd be glad if I could spend it with you. In such a lazy day, you'd keep me hanging on... oh yeah!

But we're going to reap just what we sow...

We Did It!

Sunday morning, exactly 26 hours and 57 minutes after the start, we arrived in Calingford under a warm cheering from our support crew and all the Oxfam staff who were around the finish lane.

Yeah, congratulations to all of us, to our enormous determination under extreme weather conditions! The 5 months of training covering roughly 500Km surely paid off.

A special thanks to our support crew who made this possible: Anna, Teresa, Julie, Bianca and Owne, thanks for everything - the smiles and words of encouragement at every checkpoint, the logistics, the help with our walking gear, the lovely sandwiches and food, the weather reports, the foot-reviving massages, the rock'n'roll soundtrack and the sheer commitment to make it happen.

We were 23rd overall, out of 108 teams, and 15th among the teams who completed with all 4 members - not bad at all, I'd say!

We didn't manage to have the champagne, but we sure need to celebrate this achievement with a glass or two...

Check the results here.