Only on Guam!

Guam has got to be one of the most dysfunctional places in the world. A few days ago I was talking with someone who had moved from Guam to Bangkok -- and he was raving about how wonderful it was to be living someplace where things actually work the way they're supposed to work.

What makes Guam so special, though, is that in spite of how totally dysfunctional the government and infrastructure is -- how trashed the island is -- it is at the same time very beautiful (if you look around the run-down and abandoned shells of buildings along the beachfront) and full of unique energy. It has great places to eat, more than enough to do, as well as a wonderful fusion of cultures and people. That's the paradox which makes it a fun challenge -- and a great place to live. There is so much divine possibility.

~ The new stamp featuring Guam will be released tomorrow. It's more expensive than most stamps, 90 cents, but Guam is more expensive than most places. Besides, they had to pay extra to photoshop the boonie cars out of the picture. This is what Guam could look like.

~ About 80% of the visitors to Guam are Japanese. But the number of Japanese tourists has been declining. However, the number of visitors from the Philippines and Hong Kong are up. So there is a net gain.

~ Guam Community College is going smoke and betel nut-free starting tomorrow. The University of Guam went healthy last year or so. PIBC has been such from the beginning of time.

The new GCC policy is just a little more ammunition we can use to shame the PIBC students who insist on sneaking in chew -- "Look, it's so unhealthy that even the non-Christian schools don't allow it." :-)

~ The Feds are getting ready to pull the plug on the Food Stamps program out here. The problem is that GovGuam has an aversion to record keeping and following procedures.

~ The military plans to build a new highway across Guam -- a highway which would funnel traffic onto the roads which are a stone's throw from our home and likewise with the PIBC campus. We are in many ways strategically located.

~ This evening Cheryl and I went to Le Tasi Bistro for our 26th wedding anniversary dinner. The food, French country-style, was phenomenal -- and really reasonably priced. View of the bay. But we were the only customers in there -- other than Mal and Linda Hamill who happened to be sitting at another table celebrating her birthday (they had recommended the restaurant to us). So there were only four patrons in this world-class restaurant. We had it all to ourselves! Only on Guam!