Off to the Islands, or There and Back Again

I'm off to my little island this morning for three weeks of R&R&R&R (rest, relaxation, reading and rejuvenation). Today'll be a day of excruciating tedium, but in 30 hours I'll be having a fresh papaya for breakfast, picked straight from the tree. Expected early-morning temperature there will be in the low-70's (~23C), highs around 90 and no rain (or snow!) in the forecast. As I write this it's 19 degrees (-7C) outside and 37 degrees (3C) here in the studio.
 
We really didn't think we'd be able to go this year given our financial circumstances, but incredibly my wife hit a jackpot on a penny slot machine that paid almost exactly the amount we needed for airfare.
 
Normally, I'd complain that I never have that kind of luck, but this year I found out that I can be lucky, too. People I've never met offered to buy me some plugins! And it didn't stop there. I was also offered a free audio interface, and a tc Powercore! Many others simply PM'd me to say thanks for contributing to the forum and helping them out in the past. My wife's jackpot pales in comparison to mine.
 
If all that wasn't enough to raise my spirits, all I have to do is think back to where I was a year ago. I wasn't in this financial jam (yet) but I was in unrelenting pain, barely able to walk and popping narcotics like they were M&Ms. Today I can walk again, I'm free of pain, 30 pounds lighter and physically stronger than I've been in 20 years. My hair has not come back, but other parts of me I'd long written off are functioning once again.
 
So here I sit with the essentials packed into my carry-on: passport, laptop, MP3 player, books, sunglasses, sunscreen and headphones. I'll send you all a virtual postcard!
 
Cheers and thanks to all,
Dave

Have a great trip Dave! 

Bon voyage, Bit!  I'm glad your health and your luck has gotten better--may they both continue to do so.  

Enjoy your trip!

Enjoy it Bitflipper - you're one of the good guys here, for sure.
 
Missing your words of wisdom already. Try not to miss us too much ;)

When you leave for home make sure to announce that "I will return". They love that in the P.I.'s
 
Have a GREAT time!

Hello from Tokyo, where I am spending the night - on the airport floor. I'm one of the lucky ones, some have been stuck here since Friday. It's 2:30 AM and in this, the second-largest city In The world, the airport rolls up its sidewalks like some backwater outpost in Montana. The airline passed out top ramen and chopsticks -no microwave, though so I'm not sure what they expect us to do with them. Looks like we'll get out of here at 1:00 tomorrow. This debacle was the result of a chain of events starting with a snowstorm that shut the airport down. Snow! We spent hours on the plane before they announced the flight was cancelled, then made us wait another hour before we could get off. Most of my fellow prisoners -and make no mistake, we are literally prisoners - are Filipinos and taking it in stride as is their way. The Americans however are incensed and circulating a petition for a class-action lawsuit. Sorry for the typos and lack of formattin, I'm typing this on la liittle tablet. At least they have free wifi.

Hope you have your power adapters.

Hello from Tokyo, where I am spending the night - on the airport floor. I'm one of the lucky ones, some have been stuck here since Friday. It's 2:30 AM and in this, the second-largest city In The world, the airport rolls up its sidewalks like some backwater outpost in Montana. The airline passed out top ramen and chopsticks -no microwave, though so I'm not sure what they expect us to do with them. Looks like we'll get out of here at 1:00 tomorrow. This debacle was the result of a chain of events starting with a snowstorm that shut the airport down. Snow! We spent hours on the plane before they announced the flight was cancelled, then made us wait another hour before we could get off. Most of my fellow prisoners -and make no mistake, we are literally prisoners - are Filipinos and taking it in stride as is their way. The Americans however are incensed and circulating a petition for a class-action lawsuit. Sorry for the typos and lack of formattin, I'm typing this on la liittle tablet. At least they have free wifi.

Did you manage to sneak the piano in your luggage this time?
 
:-)

Hope you have a safe flight, Bit.  Middle seats are rough, but hopefully they won't mess with your back.  I'm sure it will be good to get to your place, stretch out and relax.  
 
Have a great vacation and enjoy the nice weather.  (It was -10 here this morning.)  

I hope you and your luggage get there soon. The warm sun and sound of the water can wash away a lot of that travel pain!

Hope you have a great time. From the sounds of it so far you may end up being 50 pounds lighter by the end of the trip.Hope the natives fix you up with some decent chow.

Never could figure out why they call it "rush hour" when you're not moving...
 
Glad you FINALLY made it! 

It's funny how you need a vacation to unwind from the stress of travelling.  I'm glad you finally made it.  Enjoy the hell out of your vacation.