Was reading Paulo Coelho's latest, "Brida", when I came to a page where Brida was expressing her thoughts on how people grow up distancing themselves from fairy tales, even when knowing what immense joy it brought them in their childhood. And she decided that perhaps people, as they grew up, where not contented with feeling joy. This, she catalogued in her diary as a 'creative' thought.
And so I took a pause and thought of some "original" ideas (or so I think...) I had before and I believe that I may not have recorded them in any of my diaries or blogs (now I wonder where all my diaries are..hehe..). What if I get to forget about them?
I thought of a conversation I had with Bevs during our project dinner last May and how she laughed at my apparently original ideas..or at least that's what she thinks they are...
So from hence on, I will try to record some of those one liners and thoughts which I think I may have thought off by myself. Should you read this and think that it's not as original as I thought, please feel free to comment ^_^. But then again, I could rebut that you just got the idea from me. =P
Hmmm..let's see...
When being teased with a guy and I don't like the guy for myself but wouldn't want to appear too haughty by rejecting him (though the guy is not around) even if it seems he's a good catch, I always say "MU kami...MU kami na hindi namin gusto isa't isa. haha".
Then there was this question Bevs asked me ~ Isn't it embarrassing if a guy knows you feel for him? My instant reply: Well, wouldn't it be such a waste if you did feel something but then the guy thinks that you don't even have an iota of feelings for him??
Hmmm...well, I hope they're original ones...that and some others which I'll try to remember or come up with and try to blog next time. =)
Saturday 23 August 2008
Wednesday 20 August 2008
quiet place
Last spring, when the country was heavenly what with the sakura in full bloom, I found this quiet little park just a block away from our apartment. Surrounded by ginko and sakura trees, there was a small slide, some teeny weeny seesaw-equivalent contraption with a panda's face and best of all, a swing. Albeit there's just one (no chance for "couple swings"), it somehow made my quiet place perfect. Swinging to and fro, I watched as the sakura flew around me as the wind blew.
Aaahhh, heavenly. And as the wind blew and the sakura swirled about and around, I raised my face skyward, smiled, and thought of happy things...and things that I longed for, things I wished for...
I enjoyed hanging out there so much that I caught a cold (it was still quite chilly) hahaha.
This evening, to sweat out bad feelings that are yet again starting to creep on me and to shake away the sleepiness that I'd surely feel tomorrow at the office if I won't exercise or take alcohol (haha!), I convinced myself to jog after having dinner at my place. Was almost tempted to stay at home to watch the Synchronized swimming at the Beijing Olympics on TV but just thinking of the heavy dinner I had made me haul myself up from my comfortable covers (yes, I was lying on the bed as I watched tv since I need to peek under the keyboard to actually see my monitor..hahaha).
From Bandobashi, I crossed the market, and chose streets and alleys, those lighted ones at least, where I was least likely to cross paths with people from the office (I had on, real skimpy shorts you see..haha). On to Yoshinocho and then finally round the oval tracks of Maita Park. I was looking forward to a culmination of my exercises at the swings in the Maita Park but the swings were crowded hence I decided to wind down my exercise at my quiet place which I haven't visited for quite a while now.
And it was a good decision. I smiled as I sat on (my) swing and looked up at the colorful japanese lanterns that people hung around the park for the summer festivities; colorful lanters with japanese characters on them, and probably with wishes on them. As I started my swing session, a japanese family started their mini-hanabi as well. Ototo, Okasan, Otosan, Obasan and Ojisan (and even doggie) lighted one sparkler after another. Yellow, red, green, blue...it caught fire, died down. And as they lighted one firework after another, I stared, mesmerized with the light, the corners of my lips a bit upturned as in my heart, I felt happy things..things I longed for, things I wished for...
Earlier, thoughts of how eventually, you'd be alone or thoughts of how friendships might wane kept on creeping unto me as I had my jog. But I tried to shake it off, tried to smile as I put one foot forward on a steady rythmn, as I listened to some happy music on my IPod. Tried to sweat those negative vibes out.
And somehow, right there at the park, the small flame the sparklers made gave me a sense of hope. And as the kid complained how hot the end of his sticks were, somehow, I sensed the warmth in my heart, stoking the coldness and loneliness away...
Aaahhh, heavenly. And as the wind blew and the sakura swirled about and around, I raised my face skyward, smiled, and thought of happy things...and things that I longed for, things I wished for...
I enjoyed hanging out there so much that I caught a cold (it was still quite chilly) hahaha.
This evening, to sweat out bad feelings that are yet again starting to creep on me and to shake away the sleepiness that I'd surely feel tomorrow at the office if I won't exercise or take alcohol (haha!), I convinced myself to jog after having dinner at my place. Was almost tempted to stay at home to watch the Synchronized swimming at the Beijing Olympics on TV but just thinking of the heavy dinner I had made me haul myself up from my comfortable covers (yes, I was lying on the bed as I watched tv since I need to peek under the keyboard to actually see my monitor..hahaha).
From Bandobashi, I crossed the market, and chose streets and alleys, those lighted ones at least, where I was least likely to cross paths with people from the office (I had on, real skimpy shorts you see..haha). On to Yoshinocho and then finally round the oval tracks of Maita Park. I was looking forward to a culmination of my exercises at the swings in the Maita Park but the swings were crowded hence I decided to wind down my exercise at my quiet place which I haven't visited for quite a while now.
And it was a good decision. I smiled as I sat on (my) swing and looked up at the colorful japanese lanterns that people hung around the park for the summer festivities; colorful lanters with japanese characters on them, and probably with wishes on them. As I started my swing session, a japanese family started their mini-hanabi as well. Ototo, Okasan, Otosan, Obasan and Ojisan (and even doggie) lighted one sparkler after another. Yellow, red, green, blue...it caught fire, died down. And as they lighted one firework after another, I stared, mesmerized with the light, the corners of my lips a bit upturned as in my heart, I felt happy things..things I longed for, things I wished for...
Earlier, thoughts of how eventually, you'd be alone or thoughts of how friendships might wane kept on creeping unto me as I had my jog. But I tried to shake it off, tried to smile as I put one foot forward on a steady rythmn, as I listened to some happy music on my IPod. Tried to sweat those negative vibes out.
And somehow, right there at the park, the small flame the sparklers made gave me a sense of hope. And as the kid complained how hot the end of his sticks were, somehow, I sensed the warmth in my heart, stoking the coldness and loneliness away...
Tuesday 5 August 2008
Travel Bug Goes Extreme Sports
~just reposting here the article I wrote for our department's quarterly newsletter about the Canyoning and Rafting experience I had last July 5 and 6 at Fox Canyons, Minakami~
My friends and I initially planned to have a weekend rafting experience. But as the slot we got for rafting was only on a Sunday morning, we were forced to look up another activity as filler for our Saturday afternoon and hence booked for a canyoning activity - a hybrid sport that combines swimming and rock climbing with the thrills of rappelling and rafting (without the
raft!). Canyoning websites were not a help on my nerves though and I almost got cold feet as I donned on my double wetsuits, life vest and helmet. I can only gulp and heave a deep breathe as I (tried to) prepared myself from what lay ahead of me. And what happened was far beyond what I imagined.
The first few tasks of dodging boulders and stone chutes as we swam with hands stretched in front of us (to keep our elbows from hitting the rocks) were real easy and not enough to prepare me from the slider waterfall. At the top of the 20m waterfall, our guides oriented us that once we get into the whirlpool below, we should not try to stand but keep our feet up, stay on our backs in the water, and use the force of the water to walk across the wall below. Okay, now try keeping
that in mind with jarring nerves and giant butterflies on your stomach. But there’s no way but down and so down I must go. I was lowered by a rope attached to my carabiner in my harness for a couple of meters until I felt like I was one with the waterfall. And then wham! The next thing I knew, I was without a rope, hurtling down the waterfall into the whirlpool below. The “Wall Walk” later was real cool!!
The big slide was not the finale though as we still have to summon the risktakers deep within us as we coursed through yet more canyons and waterfalls in different positions. There’s the Abyss (“hands up, push off the ledge on the far side”), Superman-style (sliding on your belly with the
water, headfirst) or Goodbye-world-style (not the official name but just tagged by friends since you’re sliding on your back with the water, headfirst, with nary an idea where you’re heading
– which, by the way, is my favorite).
Really scary, yes indeed! Dangerous? During canyoning, it sure feels that way. But looking back, I think at some point, our guides may well have been exaggerating what for them is like an
everyday simple task. We were equipped with proper gears and guides are everywhere in every obstacle – one gives instructions, another secures you in your harness or helps you get positioned in your slide and yet another waits for you down below should you have difficulty swimming your way to “safety”.
Rafting the following day was an easier feat after the canyoning we had. But mind you, with the churning water tossing your raft around, and trying to keep yourself inside the raft whilst trying to paddle still needs some daredevil spirit. And yet again, the key here are the right gears and skilled guides.
Should I do it again, given the chance? You bet! Come join me! =P
My friends and I initially planned to have a weekend rafting experience. But as the slot we got for rafting was only on a Sunday morning, we were forced to look up another activity as filler for our Saturday afternoon and hence booked for a canyoning activity - a hybrid sport that combines swimming and rock climbing with the thrills of rappelling and rafting (without the
raft!). Canyoning websites were not a help on my nerves though and I almost got cold feet as I donned on my double wetsuits, life vest and helmet. I can only gulp and heave a deep breathe as I (tried to) prepared myself from what lay ahead of me. And what happened was far beyond what I imagined.
The first few tasks of dodging boulders and stone chutes as we swam with hands stretched in front of us (to keep our elbows from hitting the rocks) were real easy and not enough to prepare me from the slider waterfall. At the top of the 20m waterfall, our guides oriented us that once we get into the whirlpool below, we should not try to stand but keep our feet up, stay on our backs in the water, and use the force of the water to walk across the wall below. Okay, now try keeping
that in mind with jarring nerves and giant butterflies on your stomach. But there’s no way but down and so down I must go. I was lowered by a rope attached to my carabiner in my harness for a couple of meters until I felt like I was one with the waterfall. And then wham! The next thing I knew, I was without a rope, hurtling down the waterfall into the whirlpool below. The “Wall Walk” later was real cool!!
The big slide was not the finale though as we still have to summon the risktakers deep within us as we coursed through yet more canyons and waterfalls in different positions. There’s the Abyss (“hands up, push off the ledge on the far side”), Superman-style (sliding on your belly with the
water, headfirst) or Goodbye-world-style (not the official name but just tagged by friends since you’re sliding on your back with the water, headfirst, with nary an idea where you’re heading
– which, by the way, is my favorite).
Really scary, yes indeed! Dangerous? During canyoning, it sure feels that way. But looking back, I think at some point, our guides may well have been exaggerating what for them is like an
everyday simple task. We were equipped with proper gears and guides are everywhere in every obstacle – one gives instructions, another secures you in your harness or helps you get positioned in your slide and yet another waits for you down below should you have difficulty swimming your way to “safety”.
Rafting the following day was an easier feat after the canyoning we had. But mind you, with the churning water tossing your raft around, and trying to keep yourself inside the raft whilst trying to paddle still needs some daredevil spirit. And yet again, the key here are the right gears and skilled guides.
Should I do it again, given the chance? You bet! Come join me! =P
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)