new direction
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
i've had this blog for a number of years and have changed names a number of times. as of late, i felt that the blog lacked clarity in the providing a central theme although each entry had it's own value. (of course, i wrote 'em! hahaha!)
for the past few days, i've been pondering on creating new blogs, putting new stuff out on the net and ending this one. soooo, it looks like i'm at the crossroads and have chosen which direction to take. this will be my last entry for 'the open road'. it's been quite a ride, to tell you honestly. this is a shout out to everyone there who has read this blog. thank you.
i'll be moving on to writing in other blogs. i invite you to visit these (i know it's a shameless plug):
ARKITEKTURA: anything and everything about the built environment (all stuff about architecture)
Coffee House Conversations: A Way Station Brimming with Ideas (a place to share ideas and here, I really invite you to comment and share your thoughts. we may stumble upon ideas that can change the world)
Bushido: The Path of the Warrior (my personal blog)
see you around!
posted by lex @ 11:31 PM,
on to a new path
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
yesterday, my right foot was operated on for removal of a couple of plantar warts. i thought that it would be just fine to walk with those warts on my foot but for the past couple of weeks, it's been hurting quite a bit that i had to stop exercising, much less running. just imagine walking with small stones stuck in between your sole and the insole of the shoe.
and i'm getting into a triathlon. i'd have to get those warts removed or else feel the excruciating pain of conical warts pressing on my feet for 10 kilometers of run and 40 kilometers of bike. (ow!)
with that thought in mind, i went to my dermatologist to have it removed. i'd imagine it to be a walk in the park considering that i have an extremely high tolerance for pain. but then again, a number of the nerve endings end in the foot. yipee! it's just like stepping on makahiya.
so when my dermatologist stuck the needle into my foot, it felt like more of stepping on makahiya x10. not too bad but then again, there were four items to be operated on my foot and one of the warts was already deep that it was dealt with for a number of times. even with that amount of anaesthesia, i still felt the needle every time a new dosage was needed for it to be numb. that aside, i left the clinic with flying colors, feeling like a big boy who was brave in his right of passage. (let the chest-thumping begin!)
*****
as of this moment, honey would probably be flipping through her book of ontological meanings of human malaise (yes, jon, i tend to use ontological loosely these days). i myself have my own theory. it may be due to an inability to direct oneself to ones goal or dare i say, destiny. i will flip it around for a bit: it may be due to one being forced by others to go into a direction where they don't want to go.
and these conversations, i'm willing to be responsible for. i'm glad that the warts got removed and with it, getting rid of those conversations. i remember the story of jacob where God changed his gait forever. i feel like mine has been changed as well. a new walk, so to speak. as a turn a year older in a few minutes, this is a perfect opportunity to set a demarcation in my life, a new walk, a new beginning. i'm definitely off to a new path.
turning 28 has never been this good. it's only once that you experience it anyway.
posted by lex @ 11:20 PM,
the movements of life
Thursday, September 27, 2007
"let your life lightly dance on the edges of time like dew on the tip of a leaf."
- rabindranath tagore
over the weekend, i received a message on my mobile informing me that the mom of one of my good friends passed away. from partying a day before and enjoying a wonderful weekend of dives in anilao, i've been informed of this. being one of my best buds, i felt for vince. a number of times i went to their house and saw how gracious his mom was. and even with their family's experience of life (the trappings of a struggling middle class family in the Philippines), it has always been a joy to be around them.
with those thoughts along with some memories i've accumulated over the years about them, i treaded back to manila. that same evening, i decided to go to the wake. i arrived just about the same time as they were preparing for service, a requiescat as some would refer to it. i didn't want to be inside yet and just stayed outside with some of our high school friends. after about 30 minutes, we all agreed to go inside and pay our due respects before we leave. upon entering, a friend of vince's mom was up in front giving her eulogy. a number of people spoke up and one of the last was vince's sister, trina.
it was very moving, to say the least. but at the end of what trina said was what amazed me the most. here was one person willing to let go and thank God for the opportunity to have a mom like her. that she wouldn't have the respect for all mothers if it weren't for her. that she was able to define beauty not through a dictionary but through a person. that indeed she was a gift.
the service ended as such. i stayed on for an hour more before i went home.
i was greeted by my godson upon my arrival. even while sleeping, i look upon him with so much gratitude. here was a life just starting to burst forth. with every breath, every undulation of his stomach, i experience the mystery of life all over again. such abundance.
from death to life. life seems overly paradoxical these days. or may i dare say all the time. the experience of birth and death, the movement of joy and grief, all are 2 sides of the same coin. sometimes, i just refuse to see it that way.
it seems as though life has been thrown at me full speed, no experience less than the other and i guess this is me continuously grasping how it is to live: with fullness in every aspect.
posted by lex @ 1:01 PM,
quote
Friday, September 14, 2007
saw on a shirt today:
nobody trains to come secondhell, yeah.
posted by lex @ 11:04 PM,
loving each day
Sunday, July 15, 2007
i don't have words to describe this adventure yet. but i know it's been quite a ride so far.
thank you, yelle.
posted by lex @ 9:51 PM,
bundle of joy
never expected how something over 7 pounds could change our lives forever. how at one moment we were these types of people and how at the next moment, we were different; it was as if wonder and amazement became palpably present.thank you joaquin, for that who you are. if ever you read this when you are older, know that you have been loved since the beginning of time.
can't wait to play football with you, bud.
posted by lex @ 9:40 PM,
dare to dream
Monday, June 11, 2007
to dare and dream, to be allowed as such is a privilege. to have it in actuality is a gift (and that blows my mind away).
*****
for the past 3 days, we had our first camp for underprivileged kids (yee-haw!). the kids enjoyed the time in camp -- swimming, painting, orienteering, baking, dancing, etc... seeing that life can be beyond their urban settlements.
i thought that this wasn't possible at this point in time. i thought that i would be creating this camp when i'm settled, around 40 years old, living the "good" life. what i didn't see that i'm actually living a good life, no, make that a great life and i can do this camp is now. (wow.)
from all the times that i was down and wanted out of this, i thank the people who stood by me (you know who you are). to all those who donated money for this camp -- you have made a difference. to the owners, the people who supported and volunteered, the people who allowed the kids to participate, and most especially the kids, i am in boundless gratitude.
who you are to me is courage, inspiration and power. thank you.
posted by lex @ 12:53 PM,
coron and el nido
Saturday, May 26, 2007
had an opportunity to work in coron and el nido for the past few days (did basic coral reef monitoring). it was a blast, to say the least.
posted by lex @ 6:12 PM,
