WHEN I GROW UP August 27, 2008

The first movie my Dad ever took me to was Star Wars.
It was 1978.  At a theater across Victoria Park.  We were living in Hong Kong then.
I still remember the breathless thrill of reading the opening text as it scrolled down the big screen.  I had to rack my then limited vocabulary to understand the words.
And sometime in the [...]

LUCKY CHARM August 20, 2008

The island gods gave me a lucky charm.
I would like to believe they were happy with my offering.  Besides, I kept visiting the shrine, telling them how much I loved their home.  
So in return, I received their blessing.
                  
I first saw this wooden bead weeks ago.  Thought it was a little rock placed in a corner of our [...]

PURPLE SUNSET August 14, 2008

I shot this purple sunset the other day …
               
Totally apt imagery since the island is starting to take on a darker cast.
Homesickness is rearing its head.  The drinking is starting to escalate.  Illicit love affairs are mushrooming all over camp. 
The prayer group didn’t meet for the first time last Sunday.  It’s a sign.
I’ve been walking down the beaches at [...]

CARE PACKAGES August 10, 2008

I’m carrying a lot of love in my suitcase.
Or maybe I should just say, a lot of PALAMAN!
                        
My island team is craving familiar spreads for breakfast.  They’re starting to tire of spicy food.  They’re getting homesick. 
I’m the lucky one who gets to fly in and out — not that I have anyone to come home to or leave, anyway [...]

A NOTE ON DATING August 8, 2008

So I had a t-bone steak and mashed potatoes with gravy and banoffee pie and a tall mocha after the earlier post.  And then I couldn’t eat anymore.  
A couple of days after that, I started to laugh at myself. 
It occurred to me what’s probably obvious to you all.  I don’t have any problems!
I just have to accept the idea that someone with [...]

586 CALORIES August 4, 2008

One slice of Starbucks’ classic chocolate cake has 586 calories in it.
Calories I don’t need in my body.  But right now my soul needs them.  So I’m eating away as I type inside this sucky, dark and roachy internet cafe near my building.
Am stuffing myself with chocolate cake because I feel as equally sucky, dark and roachy.  While we’re [...]

JUMP! August 3, 2008

I’ve been doing a lot of jumping lately.
Jumping up and down at work when I’m bored.  Jumping into relationships just because.  Jumping off the edge of so many things. 
Today … I jumped into this pool.  
                              
Louie was starting to teach me how to swim on the island.  Now I’m trying to apply what I learned. 
But first, let me explain a little [...]

IN FOR TROUBLE August 1, 2008

I have a heart so open now I fear it’s about to break into pieces.
I’m giving away so much of myself, I worry I won’t have anything left for me.
Everywhere I go I make new friends.  That’s not supposed to be a bad thing.  But right now, it scares me.
I’m getting emotionally attached to places, to people I [...]