Adventures Ala Lewis And Clark

"I've found a formula for avoiding these exaggerated fears of age; you take care of every day -- let the calendar take care of the years" -- Ed Wynn

It's been months since I worked on my photo albums and scrapbooks and I'd almost forgotten how relaxing right-brain activies were. Two nights ago, I finished six pages for two sets of pictures from our visit to the Jimi Hendrix Memorial and our team's RTM celebration on board the Royal Argosy cruise and last night I finished 2 pages (6 pictures out of 12) of the 2003 picnic at Northbend pics.

The last set of scrapbook pages I completed before last night, was for last year's trip to the Skagit Valey Tulip Festival and Whidbey Island (both on summer 2004). But I've still got hundreds and hundreds of photos and memorabillas from our exploration of the Pacific Northwest that are still lying around and waiting to be placed in a scrapbook or photo album. Here's a list of those trips:

• Summer 2003 - Cheasapeak Bay (40 something pictures)


• Summer 2003 - Columbia River Gorge (120 something pictures)


• Fall 2003 (50 something pictures)


• Christmas 2003 (100 something pictures)


• Spring 2004 - Olympic National Park Huricane Ridge (80 something
  pictures)


• Spring and Summer 2004 - crabbing and fishing trips to Jeomma Beach (200
  something pictures)


• Summer 2004 - 6-mile hike of Mt. Si, Northbend, WA (166 pictures)


• Summer 2004 - two whale-watching trips San Juan Islands (200 something
  pictures)


• Summer 2004 - Hotair Balloon Ride (193 pictures)


• Summer 2004 - Columbia River Gorge (200 something pictures)


• Summer 2004 - Ellensberg Rodeo (100 something pictures)


• Summer 2004 - Oregon (70 something pictures)


• Thanksgiving 2004 - Olympic Peninsula: Cape Flattery, First and Second
  beaches, Rialto Beach, and Hoh Rainforest (300 something pictures)


• Winter 2004 - Leavenworth (200 something pictures)


• Fall 2003 and 2004 pictures (100 something pictures)


• Christmas 2004 - (1000 something pictures)

Of course there were dinners, birthday parties, restaurant-hopping, baby showers, bridal showers, visits from relatives, but I'll save myself the trouble and just put them in photo books.

Looking back, the last two years had been quite an adventure with nature. We've explored most of the Pacific Northwest ala-Lewis and Clark and it feels great! Medyo masakit sa bulsa pero ok lang. At least when I'm old and grey I know I won't regret not having lived a full life when I could. Plus, I'd have a mountain of stories to share with my future grand children and the hopefully the pictures will tell the stories long before I'm gone.

Endless Loop

The Alarm sounds off. It's eight o'clock in the morning. He turns to his side, ignoring the buzzing sound and goes back to sleep for another half hour before the alarm buzzes off again. This happens until it's nine-thirty and he finally gets out of bed, heads to the shower, changes his clothes, pours some cereal and milk into a bowl and eats breakfast, packs his computer and drives twenty minutes to work.

At work, earphones on, mp3 player in the background playing Bethoven's Moonlight Sonata, volume up, eyes glued to the computer monitor, fingers busy typing words and numbers, solutions to problems, letters, meeting invitations, email responses. He checks the internet for stock prices and interest rates once and then goes back to work. At twelve-thirty, he gets up to the cafeteria or drives down to his favorite restaurant to get lunch.

Back at work, a meeting appointment snoozes. He picks up his laptop and heads down to the meeting room where he'd sit for at least an hour listening to a seemingly endless exchange of non-sense cliché's like going forward, basically, more than anything, in the first place, contributing his own just for fun, and counting the number of times any speaker inserts you know or though in between words within the same sentence as if it was a comma.

At six o'clock, he packs his laptop, books, and notes and gets ready to leave the office. He goes home, takes a shower, eats (and/or cooks) dinner, watches TV for a couple of hours, writes some email, surf the internet for a few minutes, turns off the light at twelve-thirty and goes to sleep.

Seven and a half hours later, the alarm sounds off...again!

What if time is an unending loop (Einstein calls it a "circle bending back on itself") and none of us is aware that every single event in our lives gets repeated over and over and over again? Even if it isn't, notice how people seem to fall into a routine, consciously or unconsciously, whether or not they planned it, and whether or not they wanted their lives to be that way?

We fall into a certain comfort zone that becomes more and more difficult to get out of the longer we stay in it, even if it makes us horribly miserable, depressed, and stressed. What really causes the depression, sadness, and stress is not the condition we are in but the fear of getting out of that condition, the fear of leaving our comfort zone for the unknown, and the fear of the unknown. If we can learn to admit to ourselves what it is that we're afraid of, then maybe we can do something about that fear so that we can step out of this paralyzing comfort zone that keeps our world and our lives stuck in endless circles.

And
then
maybe
we
can
also
start
to
really
LIVE!


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Interesting reads on the theories on time and conquering your fear: Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman, and What Are You Afraid Of? by Lavinia Plonka.

No Limits!

Picasso once said, "While I work I leave my body outside the door, the way the Moslems take off their shoes before entering the mosque."

This morning, I was woken at 4 o'clock by a noise outside and I just couldn't go back to sleep again no matter how hard I tried. So I sat up in bed, settled my laptop on my lap and started tinkering with the keyboards. Next thing I know it was 9 o'clock and I've finished more than half of the work that I had lined up for the day. I never noticed the time as it passed by. I didn't even notice that I was working at all or at least it didn't feel like I was working.

Did I just experience Picasso's "leaving my body behind" approach? I hope I did. It feels great knowing I have accomplished so much in so little time. What's even better is the fact that what was supposed to be an unfortunate event(getting woken up at 4 AM and not being able to get back to sleep) has been turned into something productive. I like that!

Feeling Strangely Fine

How like you to make the whole world disappear and
How like you to make everything seem so clear and
How like you to make me want to stay forever
Here behind your door

I opened the jar of assorted chocolates that has been sitting on my desk for a week now. Chocnut, Flat tops, Curly tops, and other positively sinfull delicacies from home. I tore open the chocnut and popped it into my mouth and savored the goodness of rich creamy peanut-butter flavored milk chocolate. I then reached for a flat tops, and then another and then another.... "I'm eating chocolates again!" I said out loud and reached for another, "I don't care!!!" Myra (the person I share an office with) suddenly burst out laughing and I soon joined in the laughter realizing what I just did.

How like you to make your love my hideaway and
How like you to make my troubles slide away and
How like you to make me want to play forever
Here behind your door

I am feeling strangely fine today albeit the circumstances of my life hasn't changed much. Work load is still piled up as high as a mountain. There are people to call, people to visit, kids to play with, presents to buy, wrap, and mail, forms to fill out, taxes to file, codes to complete, bios to start, bios to finish, boards to monitor and clean up, websites to update, websites to build, bills to pay, specs to be researched and written, books to read, and the list goes on.

Ah, the list! Well, it helps to make a list of the things I have to do. If I can see them in black and white, it makes it easier to decide which ones need attacking first and which ones to put in the back burner.

I used to be a list freak but lately (actually since I moved to Seattle), making a list has become as tedious as all the work I had to get accomplished. But if I have to get productive again soon, I need my list back!

Minute I got some space and time I
Wanted to get me back in the crowd
Minute I got some peace you found me
Trying to make my way to the loud
What a clown...

It worked!



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Song lyrics are from Semisonic's DND from the album Feeling Strangely Fine. I do feel fine today. And I do want to cross out as many items from the list as soon as possible so it's closing time!

Too Much Sometimes Means Nothing!

I feel this overwhelming need to write but I also feel like I have nothing to write about. Actually, there are lots of things I want to write about. In fact, there are so many of them that I don't know which one to write about first or even where or how to begin.

*Sigh*

Sometimes the overwhelming need or want to get too much done does becoming paralizing. And I am feeling very overwhelmed by things that are happening in my life lately. It's a little confusing sometimes and I can't help but feel skeptical about some of them for various reasons. Some seem too easy that I don't feel challenged by such activities that I just don't do them at all. Some things, on the other hand, seem too complex that it scares the hell out of me to try and fail. So I get nothing done.

It's a stage. I know because It happens sporadically.

And I'm in that stage right now but I just hate it! It seems to drag on and on and I just can't wait until I can snap the heck out of it and be productive again!

*Sigh*


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I was getting tired of the dull blue color (it's not even my favorite color) so I changed it. Now this is more refreshing!

Rock on!

After 10 years of consistently producing the best original Filipino music, Rivermaya is not only the greatest rock band in the land, they're also among the most respected musicians in the Philippines. Time and time again, they've proven their worth and their talents as musicians and song writers. They've earned their place in the music industry by consistently producing and releasing the highest quality music. Even in the midst of personality changes, royalty battle with their label, the increasing piracy, and the temporary decline of OPM bands in the late 90's, Rivermaya kept the flame burning. They made more great music that people loved and related to. They hung in there when everybody else was giving up on OPM music (even when some of the members of the band gave up on them). They fought to keep the band and the music alive. They fought to keep the industry alive.

CONGRATULATIONS to RIVERMAYA for a well deserved win on the MTV ASIA MUSIC AWARDS!

You rock!
You rule!