Here is what really happened to Rowy-Wooden-Leg and Anestassia-Many-Origin, the two most infamous pirates of the many oceans. A touching story, full of emotion and human feeling.

Shanon

I've been debating about whether I should publish this on my music website or on my blog. I decided to do it on the latter, for reasons that now appear obvious to me.

I can't remember much of the night, except for Kaleal's sarcastic remarks and Shanon's smiling face. I couldn't believe that it was Shanon - the girl I knew from Kaleal's yoga course. Well, I didn't exactly know her, it was just that she had then been quiet - very quiet. Like night and day. And funnily, I had known her only during the day.

Shanon Beaugendre, from a family of music artists, doesn't want any of the bullshit associated with celebrity. She's only interested to live her art, and be happy with it. Under the starlit sky, she successfully convinced me to listen to Eric Triton's fabulous music punctuated by a superhuman guitar scratching ability and funny lyrics.

If the future of the local music industry is relying on the shoulders of young people like her, I guess that we'll be pretty safe for the next 40-50 years to come.

Au fil de toutes ces années

Au fil de toutes ces années,
J'ai passé mes journées,
A désespérément te chercher.
De toi, je n'ai fait que rêver,
De toi, je n'ai fait que penser.
Ensemble, l'amour parfait.

Au fil de toutes ces années,
Je n'ai pu te trouver.
Au fil de toutes ces années,
Je me dis que je dois renoncer.
Je pleure, je ne sais pourquoi.
Peut-être que tu n'existes pas?
Peu-être qu'un autre t'a pris dans ses bras.
Je suis désolé de n'avoir pu être là.

Vertigo

I stared at the ground, and then at the man, and back at the ground again.

- "Whoa! You're really going to jump?"
- "Yes!" he replied, with a wide smile.
- "Money problems?" I inquired.
- "No"
- "Wife? Children? Work?"
- "No, No, No!"

I paused for a moment and started to think about the various reasons why somebody would ever decide to terminate his life. I was half-scared he would jump before admitting the reason - leaving me with an unsolved mystery.

- "I know. You've got a fatal disease, and you're planning to kill yourself before the disease takes you!" I said triumphantly.
- "No, I'm in excellent health."

It was weird. The man looked happy. Maybe he was on drugs.

- "You're not on ecstasy, are you?"
- "Nope."
- "Then why do you want to kill yourself?"
- "Because I'm at the peak of happiness!"
- "What?"
- "Because I am so happy that I don't want to go back and face sadness ever again."

It was not so stupid after all. I bid him a very merry goodbye, and took the road opposite to where he should have fallen. Somehow, a happy corpse sounded creepy to me.

Where's My Future?

Iraq is being rocked by the sound of devastating bombs. Iranians are fighting for their right for nuclear power. North Koreans are starving to death while fake US$100 bills are being manufactured there. And I'm doing just fine.

The beach has never been so inviting. It has witnessed the last three years of my life, and it has accepted all my bitter tears and happy moments without ever complaining. You might not believe me, but I have befriended fabulous people from a wide spectrum of social backgrounds and ethnic cultures. And I don't regret a thing.

I also changed. I know that I have useful talents to offer this world. I know that I can produce good, professional code. I do understand technology (not as much as some people do though) pretty well, and I can get my way around most problems related to the virtual world. However, is that what I really want to do in life? That's what I really like, and not what I really want.

I want to earn enough money to buy myself a huge house someday. I want to be financially independent - and I will do it. One day, I'll be rich. I know it.

For the moment, I'll light a cheap cigarette before posting this.