Could the secret to a happy marriage be FISH???

Allison and I are looking forward to our 2 month wedding anniversary! Marriage is terrific -- here's my secret formula for marital success:

Step 1. Wait until you are about 90 years old (this is just a rough guideline -- your mileage may vary).
Step 2. Marry the most exciting, dynamic, and beautiful woman in the world. (Unless you are a woman, then marry a man. Or a woman, hey, I'm not trying to tell you how to live your life. Oh, yes I am, never mind. Just marry whoever you want.)
Step 3. Move to an exotic city on the other side of the planet.
Step 4. Look at lots and lots of fish.

That's all there is to it! Anyone can do it, and it's foolproof -- in my experience, this formula has never failed to lead to marital success. If more people took my advice and moved to China, there would be far fewer divorces in America, too. Think about it.

So we went to the Philippines to look at fish and other aquatic life, thus putting into effect Step 4 of our plan, and it worked like a charm. If you've got lots of free time, you can check out 80,000 or so pics of this trip, many of which are underwater, plus some cool video links of sea snakes, venomous catfish, and me snapping my fingers and dancing with the fishes... And we even have a few shots on land, if you're into that kind of thing. Check 'em out! Don't worry, you can just click on a few of 'em . . . We went diving in Boracay, in the Visayas region of the Philippines, and also in Puerto Galera on Mindoro, which is a couple hundred kilometers south of Manila. In between, we spent some time in Manila for work reasons (Allison has this thing about "working"), and visited some funky night markets where we ate our friends from underwater.

We've been back in Hong Kong for nearly a month, but I was too much of a slacker to blog until today. Here's the lightning-round update of what I've been up to in HK:

1. Writing -- yes, progress continues on my magnum opus. I estimate I'm 60ish% of the way to my first novel, with completion still targeted for end of summer 2007 -- and the more I say that in public forums like this, the more obligated I am to actually finish.
2. My new outlaws, Turk and Barbara Despard, were our guests for a week of whirlwind action in Hong Kong and Macau. We had a blast, and got to know each other better, as will happen when your you get foot reflexology right next to people.
3. We've been on a big spate of cutural activities -- in the past month we've been to the Hong Kong Symphony to hear Mahler's 7th, seen Tango Buenos Aires dancers, listened to the Chucho Valdes Quartet from Cuba play live (they were terrific), heard Amy Tan speak live and do a short reading at the HK Central Library, and even visited the HK Flower Show.
4. In preparation for the Great Wall Marathon in Beijing in May, both Allison and I are sickeningly healthy. We're doing yoga, pilates, and running a lot. I'm up to 16 miles this Sunday. Yikes.

Lots of travel just ahead. Next up, we will go to Borneo (the Maylaysian part), then trips to Shanghai and Xian, followed by the marathon in Beijing. In June I'm going to this really exotic place called Florida, to actually do a JOB for a change (grading AP exams). About time, I'd say.

Let me know how you are doing when you can. Way too many fish pics and videos below.

Love,

David

Boracay by Land: http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Uc=hggnkpd.7swdpiql&Uy=-ffui5t&Ux=1

Boracay by Sea: http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Uc=hggnkpd.a8s4sffh&Uy=-gh594z&Ux=1

Puerto Gallera by land: http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Uc=hggnkpd.69uxxf31&Uy=-fg812f&Ux=1

Pueto Gallera by sea: http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Uc=hggnkpd.5vr7xvh9&Uy=-dhwxb7&Ux=1

Wet market adventure: http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Uc=hggnkpd.9rv741lp&Uy=-pxtvcj&Ux=1

Video -Dancing in Boracay: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6E49t47HBU

Video -Sea snake: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UsriDucPr8

Video -Fish galore (frog, puffer, bat etc..): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lfUy8HGviA

Video -Venomous catfish: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6E4HQLaVYM

Video- Lion Fish: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqhrlFS30eU

Video - Clown fish and anemones: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_X5gH1KmVHg