Love

Love is a very powerful emotion. If indeed it's an emotion.
Because you can be happy or sad and yet, you can still feel love...
The only emotion where love cannot exist is fear.
Because fear is actually the opposite of love.
Hate is usually attributed as the opposite of love, but this is not so.
Hate is just another form of fear.
So, fear is the exact opposite of love.
And when we love someone or something unconditionally, there is no fear. You don't feel disconnected from the object of your love.

But let's go back to love and it's power.
Without love, no amount of money or power can persuade someone to love you.
I have a friend, who is rich, and his girlfriend is not so rich and even needs a little bit of help. But I can see she does not love him.
He feels something's amiss, and tries to shower her with more material things.
But no one cannot force love.
So he ends up more confused.
Material wealth or power cannot create or substitute for love.
This is an absolute truth.

At the same time genuine love cannot be broken.
Neither space, nor time, nor circumstances can break it.
It does not mean that you and your loved one will always be together. You two can be far apart.
I'm talking about your love for the other person.
It cannot be broken and lasts until your last breathe.
This also is an absolute truth.

Quote

There is nothing that engenders surrender more than an act of love...

Compassion naturally brings surrender...

But as long as we are surrendering to gain something, that is not surrender...

That is the spiritual person's passion--to surrender everything but to expect blissful and total enlightenment in return...

That is like saying, "I'll give you a dollar if you give me a million in return..."

True surrender is more like saying "Please relieve me of my dollar. I really don't want or need it. I want to experience the joy of not having it..."

-Adyashanti

Nachooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!

6/22/2006

The next day, I came home from work not particularly excited with the night's agenda. The last two nights have left me low on sleep and basically I was sleepy all day at work.

When I arrived, I saw Claudio on the couch watching a rerun of Seinfeld. I was expecting him to be at South Beach, watching the models sunbathe topless. He said he did it and has already come back.

Now, I don't typically like watching TV, and my instinct is to go to my room. But this is Claudio. It's been more than a year that I've last seen him. And even though we have been going out for the past two days, you don't get tired of him. And in this place that is so far away from home, he is practically family.

I sat beside him trying to enjoy Seinfeld. I am not a Seinfeld watcher, but watching it with Claudio and enjoying his laughs and occasional remarks was a pretty refreshing experience. A few minutes later, Manu arrived, and we planned our night.

Bummer, I was really hoping it would be an uneventful night...

We decided to go to this upscale Cuban Restaurant then to watch Nacho Libre afterwards. I have read a lot of bad reviews about the movie, but I guess I could just enjoy it with them.

After the nice dinner, but we hurried up to make the screening time, but diddn't make it. So we decided to head to a farther one, in a place called Las Olas. We watched the movie and we had a lot of laughs at the movie

After that, the three of us kept on shouting "NACHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO libre!" or "It's so goooooooooooooood." in a crude Jack Black impersonation. These phrases would play a part in our day tomorrow.

When we got out of the theater at around 12:30am, I can't believe what I saw--Lots of clubbers going to the clubs that came alive during the late in the night. I could comment on some other thing, but the only thing I was focusing on were the boobies that pass us by, in all shapes and sizes, fake and natural. The skimpy skirts was gravy. Nothing but heaving for a pervert like me ;)

We finished up the day, with a plan to go to Orlando, Florida for Universal Studios. It's a 4-hour drive one way, so we talked about getting a lot of rest.

Claudio, day 2

6/21/2006

Yesterday the three of us talked about going to South Beach, and so we're excited for today. Manu printed the map to get there and we set off. If Miami is famous for something, it's South Beach.

After getting lost, we finally found our way to the outdoor restaurants that dot Miami. The three of us stooges chatted and joked around. Manu said this is how he envisioned his life. Claudio said something about his exploits in San Francisco, and the stories of the crazy people he met there.

We finished up our meal and decided to walk the fullness away. We came upon an gentleman's club. And what better else to do than go inside it. We stayed there for roughly two hours, before calling it a night. We planned to calling in sick the next day (Thursday) but eventually decided to do it on Friday so we'll have a long weekend.

A friend comes to visit.

Claudio came tonight all the way from San Francisco California. His flight would arrive at 8pm and Manu was supposed to pick me up from our apartment. I made sure I took off from work early today, just in case we need to be early. I waited at 6:30, but time came, and Manu still wasn't to be seen. I called him at 7:50pm, and it turns out, he's already at the airport... and with Claudio at that. I was upset and relieved at the same time. He said he'll pick me up, but also at least I don't have to move my ass to see Claudio.

The first thing that Claudio told me when he saw me was that I gained some weight. Hahaha, that seems to be the common theme of people when they see me. That's what my Mom said when she came here several months ago.

Claudio, one of my original buddies when I first came here. He's Mexican and a fun guy at that. Together with Manu, we decided to go to a sports bar. We wanted to have some fun and at the same time watch game 6 of the Heat-Mavericks series. And boy did we have a blast. We caught up with each other's lives and enjoyed the game at the same time. And guess what? The Heat's won!!! Everyone in the bar cheers with you. It was a lot of fun.

We got back to the apartment almost 1am. We talked about each other's past experiences. They talked more and I usually just listened, occasionally adding stuff from my own experiences or adding some punchlines/one liners. They talked about their experience with weed and drunkeness--not necessarily at the same time. I kinda felt out of place since I haven't experienced what they were saying.

Overall, I'm glad that he's here. It's a good change from the monotony of things. We're already planning on going to a lot other places before he comes back to San Francisco.

World Cup - June 17, 2006

Ghana vs. Czech Republic

What can I say on this game? Ghana totally kicked ass against the Czech Republic. They were attacking and driving and attacking some more. The game ended 2-0 Ghana. It was a very good display of teamwork and gutsy moves. They kept up the pressure and were always on attack mode. Man, I love these kinds of teams. I'm routing for Ghana to take the 2nd place in this group, 2nd to Italy.

USA vs Italy

USA made adjustments after the embarrasing 3-0 lost from Czech Republic. This time, they were more aggressive and it paid off. For the first half of the game they set the pace of the game. Unfortunately, a quick attack by the Italians got them a goal. Down, 1-0 team USA tried to even the score. They are 0-14 in games where they didn't score first. And so things weren't looking sunny on their chances. They got a lucky break though. A corner kick was hit by an Italian which went in. It was pretty hilarious. I was telling my friend that the only way Americans can score is if the opponent did it for them. LOL.

Anyway, gg. The game ended tied 1-1. Team USA's hopes is still alive. Next up is Ghana on Thursday.

Upcoming games

Tomorrow, Australia vs Brazil!

Guilty Pleasures

Call me a hopeless romantic, but I dig some really cheesy movies or reads. I'm a sucker for a good story. And though I've seen or read quite a number of love stories, every now and then, one stops you right in your tracks. And you just stand there... speechless. Depending on the outcome of the movie, sometimes you cry in sorrow or shiver in excitement. These great stories have tickled my imagination and instilled inspiration in my life, leaving me grateful, and humbled.

If you're up for such a guilty pleasure, one good read is this award-winning short play titled "20 Questions" by "Juan Ekis". I've read it about 3 days ago, and I still couldn't keep it off my mind.

A little update

Well, a lot of things have been happening lately. There are so many things I could write about. Some anecdotes of the people around me and other musings.

But let's get first things first.

I have just finished my masters!!!! I learned about it two days ago when I called my adviser. I just needed to call a few more people to see what I need to do next, and take it from there. It seemed like a long and arduous rode, and I'm so proud of my accomplishment. I have been trying to call my mom to tell her the good news but she's not at home for two days straight now.

Now, for other stuff...

This blog is absolutely entertaining: Maid In Makati. I've mentioned this one before and it deserves a 2nd one. The author has a real knack for engaging the reader in his daily life and struggles as he tries to win the heart of his "housemaid."

It's like watching a soap opera, if you ask me. And daily, I try to see if he has a new entry.

Even though he claims it to be true, I believe him about 80%. Sometimes, I wonder if it really is true. Maybe it's not. Maybe it's all made up by a gifted writer. But at this point, I don't personally care. I like the story and the characters inside it. I've drawn parallels from it to my life and hey, it's a cheap way to be entertained through the day. ;)