Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Lost

My deepest apologies to those fans of the television program Lost, whose search engine queries probably led them here. This post in no way deals with your addiction. It deals with mine.

If the head is lost, all that perishes is the individual; if the balls are lost, all of human nature perishes.
-15th century French author and evangelist François Rabelais

Why, oh why are the things that are bad for us the ones that bring us so much pleasure? Why are we so helpless against them in spite of ourselves? We know that they can bring us nothing but heartache (or at the very least, a heart attack). Yet we not only welcome them with open arms; sometimes we go out of our way to find them, embrace them, rush headlong into them. Physical or emotional, they're so damn irresistible.

Junk food addicts know what this is all about: those empty calories that seduce the tongue and palate and bring so much oomph.

Then there's smoking. I know it's a filthy habit, so don't gang up on me, okay? I know it's a bad thing; cigarettes are full of carcinogens and lots of other things that are bad for my health...plus the fact that they discolor the teeth and lips and give rise to a most unattractive and unpleasant phenomenon known as smoker's cough.

But... (please don't hang, draw and quarter me for this)

I can't bring myself to quit just yet. I like it, I enjoy it. I ENJOY SMOKING. There, I've said it. I've tried quitting a few million number of times. And I did! During my pregnancies, during those instances when I couldn't seem to draw a full breath and was sufficiently alarmed to get an opinion from a doctor, who all but threatened me with excommunication from temporal existence in the world as we know it. Alas, I puff away like that Magic Dragon of nursery rhymes.

Then there's alcohol. Or more specifically, beer.

Oh, wait. I can't say anything bad about beer. It's healthy (in moderation, but when did I ever give a shit about moderation? Hah!). If I ever win the lottery, I'd buy me all the San Miguel beer I could ever want. (Maybe San Miguel head honcho Andres Soriano III would feel benevolent enough to grant me this wish; being such a staunch supporter of his beer for many years now. Haha! Kidding about the wish, not about being an SMB drinker. Or maybe he could grant me all the getaways I could ever want on Amanpulo Island, a Philippine island that he bought. We have more than 7,000 islands here in the Philippines, most of which I haven't visited yet--and the island that Don Andres owns is just breathtaking.)

Here are some pictures of Amanpulo. And there are thousands more of these islands here that are just as beautiful, but in their own ways. And they're open to the public! One doesn't have to be a mogul of something to enjoy their splendor.









I am lost. In more ways than one. Life is such a fucking beach. (Sorry, I just couldn't resist.)

Oh, well. Here's to wishful thinking. I may have lost my head, but I'd like to think that I still have my balls. What say you, M'sieu Rabelais?

If any of you guys stumble upon my lost sanity, please let me know ASAP. Perhaps it doesn't miss me, but I miss it.

Cheers! And...
Puff.
Puff.
Puff.
(does that sound familiar, HB? Haha!)

34 comments:

Vinny "Bond" Marini said...

LIZZA: I know oyur pain about smoking... I have gotten it to about 1/2 a pack a day.. but the next step is sooo hard....

Nice island.. when you get your invite..can I be your chaperone?

Lizza said...

Hey, Vin. Yeah, tell me about it.

Chaperone? Sure! If not Amanpulo, there are 7000+ other islands from which to choose. :-)

Liz Hill said...

Lizza: I too must confess my affection for the beach and beer--synonymous to me really. And my god those photos are gorgeous. Enjoyed the post as always and the phots soothed my soul. Smooch

Schmoop said...

Lizza, dont fight it....Alcohol and Smokes are my two favorite food groups..."Cheers and Puff", ahhhhh a kindred spirit you are. Cheers!!

mist1 said...

Beer and cigarettes...I am happy here.

Bud Weiser, WTIT said...

Lizza-

I quit smoking 2 1/2 years ago. I still miss it. But no one takes away my Smirnoff Vodka. I love the Oasis song "Cigarettes & Alcohol". And I love this post and the photos are terrific...

CS said...

I will look for San Miguel beer next time I'm in the grocery store - that's a new one on me but it sounds like you are giving it a ringing endoresement.

If I promise not to say anyhting to you about smoking, can I comment on the balls thing? I always hate to hear women use this expression. You don't need them to be powerful. You have the ovaries, that's as good as it gets.

houseband00 said...

Here's to the packs and bottles as we sunbathe in the Amanpulos of our minds/dreams!

=)

INAMINI said...

I'm on the island.

LH said...

You must try Staropromen Lager. A wonderful Czech brew. A necessary evil in my book.

Social smoker myself. (Yeah, isn't that what they all say?!)

Beautiful photos!!

Anonymous said...

Well, that is what life is about ain't it
Do the things that we want to do and hei, there should be no regrets of coz
I'd so much like to have a beer and a puff on that little dream island
Soon
Soon
I hope
Take care and stay safe
:)

lastlifeinmyuniverse said...

ah.. we live once dont we ?

amanpula looks amazing. im so there next ;)

Sidney said...

Wow! You were in Amanpulo with Andres Soriano III buying his shares of San Miguel !?

Went to the doctor for my annual check-up. His advice to me... gulay lang!

Terra Shield said...

Can't say much about severe addictions of any sort, but...
the island is superb, amazing, gorgeous, breathtaking etc.

Lizza said...

Oopsie. I didn't make it clear that the pictures aren't mine. Got them off the 'Net. I haven't been to Amanpulo at all! But I want to go. :-)

Turnbaby: Beach and beer, yum! Yep, those photos are gorgeous.

Matt-Man: Food groups. Haha! They're so hard to resist, those two.

Mist1: Sometimes it doesn't take too much to make us happy. :-)

Bud: Vodka is one of the few non-beer alcohol beverages I drink (the others are tequila and wine).

It's a crazy situation, but all I need are cigarettes and alcohol

Ahh yes, very apt song. :-)

CSL: It's proudly Philippine-made. I've tasted a number of foreign brews, many of them very good, but SMB is still my favorite.

Ovaries, yes, you're right. Great and appropriate metaphor for womanly strength!

HB: Oh, yeah. Apir! :-D

Inamini: I'll swim to your part of the island. After I rest from all this drinking and smoking. :-)

Laurz: Thanks for the recommendation! Gotta see if we have that beer here.

ZI: If not on that island, there are thousands of others on which to indulge our vices. Take care, too!

Deb: Yes, we do. I hope your travels lead you here someday. There are many other beaches that are just as beautiful. :-)

Sidney: Haha! In my dreams, maybe. I've never been to Amanpulo and Andy III doesn't even know I exist.

Tama ang doctor mo. Kain ka ng maraming gulay: pinakbet, chop suey, ginisang kangkong, talbos ng kamote. :-D

Terra: Oh yes. And I'm sure the pictures aren't exaggerating the island's beauty.

R said...

I'm lucky I don't have any addictions of any sort. The only thing I'm addicted to is blogging!

Prometheus said...

Eat well, stay fit, die anyway.
Smokers dont grow old, they die young.
Dont take life seriously, no one got out alive anyway.

Those are some of the tenets Prometheus lives by. He also remembers his commanding officer telling him smokes and drinks are good for the health. Ya know how we fumigate clean rooms to smoke out the bugs and we disinfect stuff with alcohol, right?

So 'light'en up and cheers to that.

Umm.. Liz, cin we do that island thingie together? Ve go pay respects to Senor Soriano.

ShadowFalcon said...

Except for the stuff trying to kill you, I still think the people on LOST moan far too much...

I misplaced my sanity years ago, not sure I want it back though...

Dean aka Sgt Dub said...

This is obviously the wrong island, cause I'm not on it. Oh, well, who can resist the beauties here in Afghanistan, what? Ok, I've been here too long.

Lizza said...

Julia: Blogging can be dangerous to your health.

Okay, I just made that up. :-D

Prometheus: Yes! If alcohol does such a good job outside the body, what more inside it? :-D

Aye, let's go pay homage to Señor Mogul de Cerveza.

Shadowfalcon: I know it's a really popular show, but I never finished even one episode.

Sgt: Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, eh? :-D

Debo Blue said...

Lizza you can't stop smoking and I can't stop eating fried chicken. You'll have clogged lungs and I'll have clogged arteries.

Ah sweet wonders of life!

Amanpulo looks fantastic and inviting and so unlike my front yard. Oh well, off to find more chicken.

Unknown said...

I love this post... I´ve read it twice - in other words: I read it, went smoking and came back to read again... and I love love LOVE San Miguel! Have you ever had a "Duckstein"? =)

*puff* and *cheers*

smoking and drinking mommy from G.

Unknown said...

... who loves the awesome pictures round here and can´t imagine any better place to *puff* and *drink* =)

Scott from Oregon said...

I just love putting my towel down on a nice sandy beach, spreading myself out in the warm sun, and then discovering that I am laying in an ashtray...

MMMM...

Gotta love drunk smokers on beaches...

Michael C said...

Wow, that's a beautiful beach!! Because of my heart and my meds, i can't drink or smoke...so, what's that stuff like?
;-)

Anonymous said...

LIZZZAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!
Naman eehhhh!
Why d'ya have to post such pics????
Rub it in girl, just rub it in will yah???


Sorry if I always seem to be bringing BB up but he's the same with his nicotine addiction. He's stopped 7 million times onkly to pick the dirty habit up again. I really am at a lost now as to how to help him.

But booze addiction? I don't intend to give up mine at anytime in the foreseeable future, so sorry can't help you there!

Lintek na Andres Soriano yan! May San Miguel na, may Amanpulo pa! Don't they know when to say enough is enough!!! Can you imagine?***seething with green venom***

Anyway, kampai!

Sony said...

Will try not to rehash the great comments above, but as Katherine Hepburn once said: "Life is hard. After all, it kills you."

So why not try to frackin' enjoy it. Here's to the pleasures that will be the deaths of us!

Whatever your guilty pleasure is, go out and do it and don't feel bad about it. Revel in it. Enjoy it. Savor it. 'Cos it might be the last thing you do.

And Lizza, I'll keep an eye out for your sanity while I search for mine.

Migs Bassig said...

Those are beautiful photos. How I wish I'm in that place!

But listen: when it comes to these matters, it is important to hear your heart out. Your heaving, restless, wanting heart. In my case, I did.

Does yours say "I don't wanna quit yet!" too?

Cheers! :)

Lizza said...

Debo blue: Fried chicken...with crispy, fat-laden skin, juices that flow with every bite...yummmmmm.

Sanni: You've tasted San Miguel beer, awesome! I've never had Duckstein...another thing to look out for. Cheers & puffs!

Scott: Haha! At least drunk smokers will never set a beach on fire? :-D

Michael: They can be heaven...they can be hell. :-D

NM: No worries about mentioning BB, eto e! He'll quit when he wants to, and not a second before. (Galing kong magbigay ng advice no? Haha!)

I hear ya about Don Andres. Magaling talaga siguro yung taong yun. Haaay. Kampai! *clink clink*

Sony: Oh, bittersweet indulgence! They help bring life and death. :-)

Terrific, I'll keep an eye out for your sanity, too.

Migs: Alas, it seems my heart and yours speak in an all too similar fashion. :-) Cheers!

Scott said...

You said BEACH. I'm shocked! :P

I quit smoking. At least that's what I keep telling myself after I have a cigarette. Well, I did quit, for real, about a month or two ago. My wife and I were both supposed to quit. I did. She didn't. I was doing fine, chewing Nicorette gum to ease the addiction. Then came New Years Eve. If was was combustible, I smoked it. *sigh* I still chew Nicorettes during the day. But in the evening, I still indulge in a few smokes.

Sebastiane said...

Finally, I am back from my hometown!

Kamusta ka?

Well, reading this post reminds me of my vacation to the Philippines and now, I am missing those times when I was there. I wanna go back there!!!

San Miguel is the best beer I've ever tasted, seriously. And smoking, once in a while, it does not hurt ... Aye!

(:

Lizza said...

Scott: I do say fu...errr, BEACH, here every now and then. :-)

I don't know if we have anything like Nicorette gum here, or those nicotine patches. Maybe we do. Haven't tried looking for them, though. :-)

Kyels: OK naman ako. Ikaw, kamusta ka na?

Just tell us when you're coming back. We'd absolutely love to hang out with you more (and Matt, too, of course!). SMB rocks.

y.Wendy.y said...

I've been so scarce this week - so busy....just wanted to say hello and erm..yeah..smoking....not good...(she says with a ciggie in her left hand.) I enjoy it too. Also stopped for my pregnancies and took it up again. Gah!

Lizza said...

No, not good at all.

*draws in a deep one and tortures her lungs even more*