Does anyone know an easier way to publish photos without using HTML coding? Like some sort of flash player that I can just link to and it will show a slideshow of pictures?

I'm going to stop apologizing for lack of posts, because I seem to be doing it a lot. So. Fuck it. LOL.

A lot has happened in the past few weeks and I'm not really sure where to begin because everything just seems to happen all at once. One thing I can say is that once in awhile, I think everyone needs to take a minute out of their seemingly mundane and routine lives and to look at the big picture. It takes a moment to just realize that we are each just like specks of dusts on this planet and we really don't matter. In a self-absorbed, self-entitled, classless society we live in, it takes one to get a slap in the face of reality to realize it.

I just came back from an amazing week-long trip to Cuba for Vicki's 25th birthday. Okay, I just want to state one thing, even after I just stated that we need to step out of our self-absorbed lives (hey, I didn't say I wasn't): I love my fucking tan. I don't mean to sound conceited, but I look abso-fucking-lutely amazing naked, minus the tan lines that show how baby-ass pale I was before. I think I have some sort of weird fixation with being naked, or as close to naked as socially acceptable. I don't really know why. In Canada, there's not really many opportunities to do it, unless you live on your own or you're up in the Boonies with nothing but you and the bears. In Cuba, I refused to put on more clothing than I needed to. I think it's safe to say that Vicki, Paul and I are now closer friends because of this. :)

We did not have fantastic weather in Cuba (thank you, Hurricane Ida), but that was OK with me. I didn't even mind that for a couple of days we didn't even have running water or electricity or that the food was barely tolerable. My motto: It's all gooooooood. I'm pretty low maintenance when it comes to vacations. Not having any real contact with the outside world and distance from the craziness of work and home is a luxury to me. The thing I like about vacations, too, is that when I come home, I appreciate home just a little bit more. Especially after coming home from a country like Cuba.

We stayed in Veradero, which is mostly a tourist-based resort area, so it was pretty safe, water included. I had more concerns about the safety of the food and drinks than I did about H1N1, thanks to those stupid ads on TV that warn us about Hep and 'the hiv' in South American countries. I guess after a day or so of ingesting drinks and food with no diarrhea or contracting some weird disease, I deemed it OK, especially after I was assured that the water supply to the hotel was privately pumped. Most, if not all, the tourists I met or saw were Canadians, so really, it's like I didn't leave home. I strongly suggest going, before Americans will be allowed into Cuba because commercialism sucks.

After several days of trying to absorb as much UV rays from the overcast skies, we took a tour of Havana, the capital of Cuba, which is vastly different from Veradero, because it's in the city and the poverty of Cuba is just more prominent there. Communism at its best. The tour guide took us around the city and he talked a lot about Cuba, history and the people. Personally, I don't care for history and all that, so I saw Havana with my trusty mp3 player supplying the background music. LOL.

The best day was probably on Vicki's birthday, where we had a day out on a catamaran which was pure luxe. All you can drink, all you can bake, and the weather was absolutely perfect. A strip of sunblock on my shoulders was all I needed and I baked on the deck and on the private beach they took us to. Also, we played with dolphins. That Lonely Island song, "I'm On a Boat" was definitely the theme song for the day, flippy floppies and dolphins, included.

There's a lot more I can say on Cuba, but believe me when I say, WHAT HAPPENED IN CUBA, STAYS IN CUBA. All I can really say on this topic is this: Skinny-dipping in the ocean is better than skinny-dipping in a lake. ;) Oh, and if I don't hear another Pitbull song for awhile, that would be just fine.

On a sadder note, when I came home, I found out that a friend of mine had taken his life while I was away. I am actually still trying to comprehend it, since I will probably never understand why he did it and just the realization of his death will probably take awhile to get over. It's especially harder that I saw him a week before I left and I talked to him a couple of days before he did it, so I've been going over the past two weeks over in my head. I didn't know him for a long time or even that well, but I did have enough contact with him often to know that he was a good guy. The biggest part of this is understanding it all because I don't think I will ever understand suicide.

These past two weeks have just reminded me that I need to really, really appreciate what I have and even question if I even deserve them. The next time I complain about my car, my family and friends, or even the weather, slap me. Hard.