Tokyo Drift ... 4th time

It’s officially my 6th day here in Tokyo on my fourth visit. 365 days ago I would not have imagined being here much less have the opportunity to visit here 4 times in a span of one year. The difficulty to hire a suitable environment, health and safety person in our Japan office gave me the chance to support the site.

There are so many things I am thankful about being in Tokyo. It has given me yet another perspective of the world. For some reason there is something admirable about this place.. the discipline, the order, the persistence of the people. There is something hauntingly structured in the minute details of their actions..

And yet I can’t help but feel that they are trapped in an imaginary prison. Like their individual freedom and sense of identity is bottled by rigid norms and expectations.

Or then again this could just be my perception.

Ramblings in Beijing

November 10, 2009

It snowed in Beijing on my last day. Perhaps a fitting tribute to my five-day stay here. I’ve been to China many times but it was my first time in Beijing. I had the chance to finally see the Great wall and I’m immensely grateful that Jazz, a good friend since High school days, who’s based in China’s capital, was gracious to tour me around. The man-made structure looming atop the jagged mountains was indeed a testament of man’s incredible power and ingenuity. I am guilty to admit though that while I had a intimate moment with the wall, the most unforgettable part of that visit was actually the toboggan ride on the way down.

I didn’t explore much of the city. Partly because am tired. And partly because there’s that part of me that wanted to explore the city once again on another time.

I love my job (though I am inclined to believe am a bit underpaid for it) because it affords me to travel and visit remote sites and get a glimpse of the world from another perspective. At times like this I get to be humbled because it makes me realize how my world seemed non-existent from another part of the planet.

My mind rambles as I get to see the world from a different lens. I get bothered by the fact that people here go on with their daily lives without an acknowledgement of the existence of a Supreme Being. Am I considered lucky to have been given the privilege to be aware of His existence. Or maybe I am the one deluded. For convincing myself into thinking that there’s a supreme being so that I won’t feel alone, so that there would be purpose on the daily things that we would.

There are so many questions and journeys like this in a foreign place makes me ponder more about life, about existence, about destiny.
Sometimes I get to thinking that ignorance might be bliss.

Shanghai Solar Eclipse Video Tribute

Made this video as a tribute to Team Shanghai of UP Astronomical Society that set foot in a foreign land to document the longest Total Solar Eclipse of our lifetime. The overcast spoiled what otherwise would have been a spectacular view of the corona. On the other hand it felt surreal experiencing 5 min and 58 seconds of darkness in the middle of the morning. Go Team Shanghai ! I miss all of you!

Cartoon Strip of the Day

I love this guy.. He is sooo hilarious.. Check out Abstruse Goose

http://abstrusegoose.com/41

Kinilaw at Kabisera

Last night my DPS colleagues Meann and Aims and I had a get-together at Kabisera ni Dencio’s in Boni High Street.

As always our topics touched on our DPS misadventures, Fafa, kalmutan, Davao escapades etc.. We would laugh at our anecdotes if we haven’t heard of the punch lines before.I guess these would be the recurring themes of our conversations for the rest of our lives.

As always kinilaw was part of the order – it was more of an inuman rather than dinner (since Marlon, and Raoul, the better halves of Aims and Me-ann tagged along).

Kabisera ni Dencio’s serves Kinilaw na Salmon..

On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the highest I would give it a 5.

It’s a little pricey at PhP 300/ order, the slices were quite humungous ( I prefer slices to be much smaller) and the sauce lacks the tang and sourness I sought for.

Anyway the search for the best kinilaw is still on. So far the top on my list, which has been there for 10 years now, ( like the unsinkable Titanic in the box office) is the Tuna Kinilaw of Club Kalsangi.

Sigh writing this now makes me yearn to visit Kalsangi again, my hope for 2 years.

Musings at Mt Fuji

Everyone relishes the triumph of a conquest. But not everyone is willing is to endure the pain that goes with it.

I have yet to see a soul who is not moved by a majestic sight from the summit.
Yet rarely do I find someone who would go the extra mile to earn the right of that glimpse.

Every climber knows the cycle of pain and retribution, of trials and redemption, of suffering and salvation.

Anyone can be a climber but not everyone can become one.

In the past I have considered myself a force to be reckoned with in climbing.

After all I have been to the summit of tough mountains : Pulag, Sembrano, Batulao, Pico De Loro, Matutum.

By luck, by sheer will or by skill I somehow manage to pull it off and gloat at the thought of beating the odds as if a contest.

But my motivations were based on faulty grounds

There are times when I am driven to reach the summit if only to get a snapshot and show off to my friends, the ones who chose to stay in their comfort zone. The ones who I deem not enlightened of embracing the joy of climbing. I used to mock my so-called non-climber friends never expressly of course but beneath the judgement I render upon them.

But last weekend I experienced something new, a spirit-shattering trek from an unexpected source… Mt Fuji.

To say that it challenged my motivations as a climber is a tame description. It shattered the very foundation of soul. I had reached a point when I doubted myself, when I almost gave up, when I questioned if all the trouble of getting through was worth it.

In the past I encapsulate my conquest with a gleaming photo on the summit for my friends.

Now do I truly realize that the climb was for no else but me.

I now take the photo primarily for myself. And I now understand that beneath the smile is a story of struggle and redemption.


And that makes the shot now more meaningful than ever.

Tokyo Drift

It's actually my third time to be in Tokyo. I actually like going back here primarily because of fresh sea food among other things. Plus the weather is cool especially the post-winter phase. There is much order here as seen in the near-perfect timings of the train stops. Waste segregation is very much prevalent.

And yet somehow I sense something somber (not necessarily ominous) about the people here. I guess it's probably embedded in their culture. I can't actually pinpoint what it is but my insatiable curiousity hopes to plumb the depths of the Japanese psyche.

Meanwhile life amidst sushi goes on..