What's the Craic? Tuseday, 12 March 2002. A chara! Dia dhuit! Conas tá tu? Tá mé go deas, gabh raibh maith agat. Since this coming Sunday is Saint Patrick's Day, I would like to wish you and your loved ones a happy holiday. I have had a change of plans for the coming weeks. Originally, I had planned to fly from Boston to Chicago and then on to Brussels; from there, I was going to take a train to Amsterdam and spend the weekend there. Then, I was going to hop on another train to Paris and stay there for another five or six days before returning to Boston. I now realise that such an itinerary is much more costly than I had originally anticipate and last night I discovered that all the affordable hotels in Amsterdam were sold out this weekend (and I don't want to lodge in a twelve to twenty-bed dormitory room at a youth hostel). I have decided to fly directly to Paris tomorrow night and stay there until next Tuesday or Wednesday before returning to Boston. The next day, I hope to fly down to Buenos Aires. Since the Argentinian peso has been devalued, Argentina is much more affordable (for foreigners) and the violent riots that occurred back in December have subsided since the resignation of the former leader, Fernando de la Rua. One of the places where I am considering staying in Buenos Aires even has free 'tango' lessons. While I am there, I could also take a three-hour ferry ride across the Rio de la Plata to the historic town of Colonia del Sacramento, designated a UNESCO 'World Heritage Site', in the neighbouring nation of Uruguay. If that plan doesn't come to fruition, I'll try to get over to Madrid. After all, I might as well take advantage of the last few weeks fo my travel benefits on Americn Airlines and all my free time. If nothing else, planning for such a trip has taken my mind off of my unemployment situation and the endless difficulties that I am still encountering with the Massachusetts D.E.T. over my unemployment benefits. By the time I get back home, it will be the beginning of April and of the spring here in New England. I can then start gardening and jogging (I need to lose a lot of weight; I am so out-of-shape!) I also might look into taking a few courses. On Sunday, in honour of St. Paddy and of the 'Oulde Sod', I will go to an Irish pub (there are quite a few of them in Paris these days) and have a shot of Jameson's Irish whishey and a pint of dark Guinness and think of you from the 'City of Light'. Wishing you lots of 'craic' (Irish for 'fun' and pronounced 'crack'). Sláinte agus adh mór! Slan go Foil