Not being able to sleep when you’re really, really tired can be frustrating. You have to use your imagination at night to keep yourself entertained. Given the fact I’m not a TV fan, that isn’t an option for me. I could read, but I’m too tired to think. And the internet is fun, but I have to admit even I get tired of it sometimes.

So, what is there left to do after midnight, when everything is quiet? Clean up your computer! Yes, to speed it up. I gave my PC a “facial” last night. Cleaned up all the temp files (there were too many!), defragged the disk, cleaned up the registry (yeah, I’m a dare devil…), removed spyware (just 1 file, go me!) and got rid of a bunch of programs I never use.

It feels good, the machine is definitely going faster. It was a productive night until 3 a.m. Then I passed out… And of course I woke up late today. But since I’m my own boss, I won’t get in trouble for it.

If you can develop a Tennis shoulder from playing Nintendo Wii, then I’m going to have a heck of a sore shoulder tomorrow when I wake up. We had friends over for Memorial Day and decided to compete after the BBQ. That added to my sore legs after doing way too much DDR last night. Who said gamers didn’t exercise? Pffft!

If the weather gods are nice this week, I’ll hit the Tennis court again. It’s good to know I haven’t lost my skills after all these years.

At a party last night, we were munching on snack size chocolate bars (Snickers, Milkyway, 3 Musketeers…) and I was thinking about when I was a kid. Foreign candy was difficult to find in Colombia. OK, not difficult, but you certainly didn’t find it at the grocery store. There was no such flow of imported products back then, so we had to visit a place called “San Andresito.” The name comes from the island of San Andrés, where people went on vacation and bought imported things at lower prices because the island used to be a free port. That’s business talk, but you know what I mean.

Anyway, while eating the chocolate I was thinking of how ironic it is that now that you can find american candy all over the place in Colombia, people actually appreciate local products more. When I was a kid, it was considered cool if your dad went on a business trip and came back carrying goods from other countries. Now it’s all about “Oh, chocolatinas Jet are the best!” or “There’s nothing like Bon Bon Bum.” Then there are the ex-pats, like me, who see a bag of Coffee Delight at a store in North America and go coo-coo about them.

Now excuse me, I’ll go in a desperate search for imported Arequipe Alpina. Which, BTW, is not properly described, as it isn’t a caramel spread, but a milk custard. It tastes NOTHING like caramel… It’s much better!

“El Bon Bon Bum da cáncer. Atentamente, Pirulito.”

(by Dr. Scott D. Zachary)

Why are you so filled with hate?
Did she slight a self-perceived importance?
Forgive her,
And you’ll again smile and dance.

Did he treat you with disdain?
Is that why you’re so bitter today?
Forgive him,
And you’ll again enjoy and play.

Do her trifles monopolize your mental process?
Does it minimize your happiness?
Forgive her,
And you will be blest.

Did he steal a material prize?
Is that why you dispise?
Perhaps he stole more than you realize—
If you allow him to take your joy with his lies.

If he hadn’t done that—
Or she hadn’t spat . . .
Forget about that.
Your own inner peace is where it’s at.

Forgiveness is not for your malefactors;
It’s power gladdens you.
It will give you serenity and peace;
That’s the message of this treatise.

Daniel Samper Pizano has a funny piece in El Tiempo this morning. It’s about how frustrated he is with Sudoku. After years of trying to master crossword puzzles to work on his self-esteem, he’s now faced with the dreaded numbers his teacher made him fear when he was in school. Of course Mr. Samper is a humor columnist, but I love the way he always gives some kind of historical background to whatever issue he’s discussing.

Anyway, reading the article made me think about my own wrong assumption that I was too stupid to play Sudoku. Last Summer, when I was working at ALCAN, the guys who worked at the plant kept doing Sudoku’s in every break and I just looked at them as if they came from another planet.

And then a friend told me to try it online. It wasn’t that I was too stupid to play, it was that I actually didn’t have enough patience. But he had a lot of patience, and he explained to me how it was done. Then we played on MSN a few times, and next thing you know I became kind of obsessed. It didn’t last long, though. It’s been a while since I played Sudoku the last time.

I feel like firing up my DS and playing Brain Age. A couple of rounds of Sudoku will entertain me.

I like Denzel Washington, I think he’s a talented actor. I like action movies, I like to be at the edge of my seat no matter how much of a sissy I appear to be sometimes. But this movie? I’m not sure. The whole back in the past thing is way too over my head for this kind of flick. There are a lot of things I didn’t understand and too many scenes that kept me thinking “WTF!” even for a movie.

At the end I was left with the feeling that I wasted two hours of my life. Now, I’m not saying the movie’s a stinker; I’m just saying I didn’t like it that much. I suppose the part I enjoyed the most was James Caviezel playing the bad guy. Not even Val Kilmer stands out… He’s just plain as plain does.

What’s my rating? ★★★