Hello, Lovine.com

Until it doesn't.

Someone showed up at the door this afternoon. I'll let you guess who was a bit upset about it.

I wanted to keep him/her, but the consensus was an overwhelming "no!". :'c

PS. Jetlag is a bitch.

Today's sunset will be my last in Manila for this month, as I'm scheduled to fly out in a few hours back to soggy San Francisco. It was a good run. Despite all the chaos in the grit of the third world, there will always be something beautiful out there to pick out, and take home with you.

And then you quietly realise that there really is no such thing as home - because you take it with you wherever you may come, and you find it wherever you may go.

Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Aquino!! :D

Took the car out for a long drive to Pampanga to finally visit Alexis. Armed with vague instructions (and Firefox in offline mode), I actually had no problem finding the place. It was a small cemetery, and I found their family vault (the largest in the area) emblazoned with "Tioseco - Pamintuan".

It took me a while to confirm that it was the right one, since I couldn't find his name plate. I always replayed in my head what it would be like to see it - but this time it was going to be for real. My heart always thought about the vagueness of its loss, about the disconnect of my reality, of my distance. And here I was, two hours away from the city, no further away from my friend than I had ever wished to be. Then I saw a little prayer card, tucked into the corner of a picture frame.

I stood under the sun for awhile, my head against the dusty black gate, trying to transform my grief into some form of acceptance. That I wished the universe to always give us the strength to overcome our losses, and the gift to love the world to whom we truly belong.

Eggy, I miss you terribly.

The bigger versions on Flickr are nicer. But never as nice as the real thing.

I must tell the tale, when a few weeks ago my brother took me to this shop to look for a new suit. The one I have is actually from 10 years ago, the same one I wore to my HS Senior Ball.

I ask for the smallest size available, and try it on to much fan-fare and amusement. It comes as no surprise that I found myself swimming in it.

Then the saleslady goes "Sir.. pang-prom?"

The hamster wheel is starting to spin faster, with less steps to hang on to. I mean, shit, it's only a spreadsheet. Can you imagine taking over the world? I'm trying very hard to convince myself that anything other than aiming for total world dominance, is boring.

... is a goddamn giant brown flying cockroach.

From 2007, starring my friend Joy.

Security Nerd C-Net Superstar! Hahaha awesome!!

So I spent a good two hours surfing the internet for the usual garbage, since I'm stuck at the company apartment in Guam without a couch and working TV.

I chance upon this website: http://planetoddity.com/the-mysterious-sailing-stones-of-death-valley/ - because I was curious how other people's photos of the Racetrack came out. I let out a chuckle at the first few photos because objectively, they're pretty crappy. But the pictures kept going, and then one picture looked really familiar.

Also posted here: http://izismile.com/2009/10/23/the_mysterious_sailing_stones_of_death_valley_46_pics.html

I know its harmless image farming at the end of the day, but if you're not going to give credit where it's due, I wish you all the karma that you deserve, jerks.

PS - The first time I passed Death Valley, was on a 150cc Vespa scooter en-route to Las Vegas in 2007. We've been back every year since.

Life is too short to act like you can put it off till tomorrow.

Hafa Adai, early morning greetings from Guam. Time for a power nap before heading back into the grind.

Click for the larger version. I really need to re-do this layout, and do 1024px or 900px pictures.