Alone in the Semi-Dark

I had a lot of trouble getting sleep on my last trip to the U.S. I hatched several theories as to why this was the case:

1) Jet Lag - perhaps my body clock was really still on Philippine time, and when my conscious mind was thinking "time to hit the sack and get some shuteye", my body was thinking "hm? an afternoon nap? Okay!";
2) Altitude - perhaps my body was used to being closer to sea level, and I was getting antsy because being up in the hills of Belmont forced me to extract more oxygen from the thin atmosphere;
3) Aridity - since the Bay Area is a lot less humid (read: dry) than the Philippines, it seems to have sucked the moisture from my throat causing some discomfort during breathing and a more rapid need to replenish moisture;
4) Temperature - the warm feet / cold head technique was often used to keep this sleepy driver from dozing off at the wheel, but it may have kept me awake in bed given my lack of hair this time around.

Of course, it's also likely that I'm just not used to sleeping alone anymore and I was subconsciously seeking out the presence of my lovely wife.

I was in the SF Bay Area briefly (less than a week) to celebrate the marriage of two wonderful people: Tom and Jenny Earlywine. It was a lovely wedding, a fun ceremony, and a great opportunity to mingle with a bunch of folks I haven't seen in a while (Matt, Keite, Antonia, John L., Erin, etc.) and some folks I'd never met before (the significant others and spouses and children of the aformentioned folks).

It was also great to meet up with most of my old Gaming Group: NTT's Brain, The GM, The Professor, The Warden, Perb the SuperGoober, The Marvelous Mook and one of the newer members of the Gaming Crew and his lovely girlfriend for a memorable birthday dinner.

It was good to see most of them again just before I left (the Warden had to return to the homestead, but The Discourser and his wonderful wife took his place at the send-off), and we got to chat again, look at old pictures that really should be scanned in, check out NTT's collection of airsoft guns, and discuss the possibility of my return one day - perhaps this time with the wife!

Back in the Bay Area

It was good to be back, despite the very short time I was there. Good to see you all!

And congratulations to Tom and Jenny!

Yay for YouTube!

I've enjoyed the few Stephen Chow films I've seen. Sadly, I've not seen the highly recommended but hard-to-find movie "God of Cookery".

Thanks to the magic of YouTube, I've discovered that the entire movie is actually online on a very small screen. I still hope to buy the DVD someday (if I can ever find it).

Part 1


Part 2


Part 3


Part 4


Part 5


Part 6


Part 7


Part 8


Part 9


Part 10


Part 11

I'm a C Traveler!

My Lakbayan grade is C!

How much of the Philippines have you visited? Find out atLakbayan!

Created by Eugene Villar.

The Seven Things?

Man, I don't know if there are that many...

1. My curiosity sometime overcomes my sense of self-preservation. When I was MUCH younger and living in BF Homes, I had a notion to test a toy helmet I had. So I rode on my tricycle and purposely flipped it so I'd land on my head. I still have a scar on my head to this day, but I can honestly say that I don't remember if it was this incident that caused it.

2. My mom saved my life at least twice that I know of. One was when I was drowning in a swimming pool (ironically during my 5th year of swimming lessons). She charged past the lifeguard and fished me out of the pool. Another time was when she held me upside down to shake the CHARMS (candy sour balls) I'd eaten out from my throat. This was before the Heimlich manuever became well-known.

3. I love candy. My faves from childhood were: CHARMS, Bon-Bons, and Sugus.

4. I was a National Merit Scholar Finalist in High School.

5. I was once in the audience for the Arsenio Hall Show, and almost got kicked out when we cheered a bit too loudly for Bruce Willis who was pimping his latest installment of Die Hard at the time.

6. I shot myself in the head once. It was a BB gun that I shot straight down at the floor it ricocheted off the floor and hit me right between the eyes. Came away with a bruise.

7. Got really good reviews on my performance in Waiting for Godot in a college play, way back in my senior year in High School.

Thanks for the tag, Paolo!

Once More Times Against

The elections are here, and I can't seem to raise the interest or energy level. Perhaps the apathy is engineered or perhaps there's just a weariness setting in. Elections don't seem to matter - they always cheat, and when they're caught they still get away with it.

So my attention turns to TV shows, movies, and books.

I'm busy reading the series of novels collectively known as "The Dresden Files". It's been made into an ongoing TV series on the SciFi Channel. I'm picking my way through my old books and novels to see if there are any inspirations for my next short story (which should be Science Fiction, either military or space opera).

New music - looking for that as well!

Busy Work

I really need to live healthier. This lack of exercise and inattention to proper eating habits and relative lack of sleep (at least I've got some semblance of control over that) is wearing away at me. I try to keep pumped up on vitamins and so on, but in the current heat wave it's more taxing than it used to be.

On top of that, work's been really stressful. I'm thankful that there's a lot of work to go around, but I'm really struggling to keep abreast of all the things I'm responsible for and still get work done. Someday I'll be able to live the dilettante's life, only doing things I feel like, but for now I gotta work.

Still, it's not so bad. I went through worse grinds before in my career, so I am thankful for the work.