01 jan 2004
First day of the year.
Detour has been officially launched. Friends and visitors of tadhana.com may take a detour on their visit and blog away. Remember this, 'When you come to a roadblock, take a detour.'

Waking up on the first day of the year feels differently. Memories of 2003 may have went down the drain and no traces to remember. Of course I would just retain the good ones. Some familiar voices may no longer be heard this year and beyond because of choices they made. The norms that we have grown into may not fit with the person we get acquainted with. Giving this as a basis deprive that person a chance to be a friend. I have learned a lot in my life's journey in 2003. Understanding from experience, true friendship is not made because of one's class, race, color, religion or belief but by the forces that governs our fate. The ultimate force we call love. Without love, a friendship is not binding. It is a mere mirage.

To my friends, let's be friends for life.

02 jan 2004
Rain
And the rain has poured early in the morning. And like lips upon mine, so sweet. Finally, it has rained. The moment I have longed for made it into realisation. It is a sign that you will be found at last. The rain caresses my soul as if they are your hands. Touching me passionately and I can't no longer resist and give in to your sweet tenderness. Thank you for the rain.

03 jan 2004
Inspiration
I read this story about an IT career man from the Philippine Daily Inquirer. It's an inspiring one for me since we share the same passion in our fields being a computer expert by day and an artist by night.

Time and Space
[entry pending]

04 jan 2004
Flooded Parking Lot
The long rain during the weekend flooded our parking lot in the lower level and it was the first time it happened. I guess the drainage systems were unable to keep up with the rushing rainwater as well as the water pump only able to pump out maybe 10 gallons a minute. The water is about four inches high and I was wearing an Italian made pair of shoes. I thought of taking off my shoes and go to my office barefooted. Alas! It didn't happen, I found a place in the parking lot where there's only two inches of water. I was happy to get to my office without taking my shoes out.

Sunshine
The sun is finally up after the rain. What a great day to rejoice when there are days of lamenting and days of rejoicing. God is so good to bring us back to life. Life is a gift...

Textthots
Don't grow old filled with regrets for things not done, for words not said, and for love not shown. Life is too short--do what makes you happy.

Tailor of Panama
I just watched this movie on DVD. It's so scary to know how the politics of men destroy the pillars of society.

05 jan 2004
Thank You
Thank you to a dear friend who gives me the strength to persist when I was at the edge of giving up.

A Whisper by J.Q. Gonzales
eyes saying something
a heart beating
are you listening?
perhaps a whisper
to keep you longing
a brush of the wind
with a knowing
i love you
since the beginning

06 jan 2004
Birthday Mom
My brother and I treated our mother at Buzz's Wharf fronting the Maalaea Yacht Club. It was just us but we enjoyed the company of each other without walls. How I wish that you were there brreaking bread with us. Mom, thank you for bringing us into this world to fulfill our life's purpose and being paired to our soulmates in this lifetime.

07 jan 2004
Bon Voyage Ka Aldong
Pards, thanks for your friendship and again you're going back to the Philippines to join your wife. I give you the blessings of prayers to be fruitful and multiply. Now that you have entered the phase of married life, be the husband you ought to be for your wife. Pards, I know in your prayers that you wanted me to be where you are right now. You know, destiny has set the timetable for all things to happen within a person's time on this earth. I'm so happy that the universe have caused the things that happened to my life. She could have been found but I need the affirmation from the heavens that she is the one for me--the one who I would spend time for the rest of my life. See you again when you come back home to Maui. Send my regards to the brethren there. Life is a gift. Live well in God's hand.

08 jan 2004
IR Photography
I was expecting my Hoya R72 IR lens filter for my Canon Digital Rebel to be arriving soon and alas I've found it hidden at the front door. I was so excited to try it out. On my first tries, I got opaque images and I got frustrated. I googled my way to find out about IR photography and discovered a great deal of information on the subject.

Water
Will you pour down your water into my glass? Now the wine is gone.

09 jan 2004
Morning
Morning is God's way of saying: "One more time. Live life. Make a difference, touch one heart. encourage one mind, and inspire one soul. - Textthots

10 jan 2004
A Sledgehammer Headache
I had a terrible headache when I was dealing with this e-mail problem on one of our computers. I thought at first that it's a Trojan virus infection so I had to run all those anti-spyware utilities in my arsenal and it has no sign of trojan emailers. I came to realise that the problem is not coming from the workstation but from the outside. Someone is using the e-mail address to send spam e-mails. I want to know who or what is the culprit. I got the resolution and present it to my colleagues.

Woman and Art
"Behind a great art masterpiece is a woman," says my friend who is a retired art professor in University of Washington. He's teaching me everything I need to know about art and the inspiration behind every masterpiece.

Intoxicated
I learned to mix my own drink this evening at my friend's place. Now I am intoxicated and going to sleep now. Good night.

11 jan 2004
11 Minutes
I am waiting for this book by Paulo Coelho. I wish to have this book in my hands now.

12 jan 2004
Creativity
Creative work is play. It is free speculation using materials of one's chosen form. -- Stephen Nachmanovitc

13 jan 2004
Change
"Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. To the fearful it is threatening because it means that things may get worse. To the hopeful it is encouraging because things may get better. To the confident it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better." -- King Whitney Jr.

14 jan 2004
Brownout
The weather was bad today. Trees were falling down due to heavy winds but I was glad that the wind didn't reach the hurricane level. The waves were pounding the shore heavily. The power went out briefly at work and including my workstation. That alarmed me. I was glad eveything was restored to order before chaos broke out.

A Candlelight Dinner
Mom and I had a candlelight dinner. How romantic isn't it? [Brownout kasi!]

15 jan 2004
Lunch
I had lunch with my boss today and we talked story. That was great. My PA is around the corner so I have to keep track of the goals that I have cited in my last PA.

Entrepreneurship
I was on my way home late today and there was this two Latinos who is soliciting business. They noticed that my truck has these dings on the right side and offered to straighten it out at a cheaper cost . I know it is very expensive when I take it to the shop before. I just gave them the opportunity to do the work. It's a win-win situation. Those guys know their sales talk. That's the spirit of an entrepreneur.

Haiku
I'm learning how to write haikus. I will post my haikus when I made some. Inspire me please. Thanks.

16 jan 2004
Busy Day
I've been driving all day today. I've spent time with my brother at the mall where we had lunch and talked about things on business, on politics, life in general. I was supposed to get my safety check and auto registration done but I've been busy on thinking how I can work on my weekend interior design project at home. Mom wanted a headboard so I headed for Kaanapali to buy one. I packed my Digital SLR and hoping to get some photographs of the beautiful beaches and mountains along the way but it was so hot out there. I'll plan this one on my next day off.

17 jan 2004
Interior Design
I spent the day hanging all the pictures I bought the other day at the hotel. When it was done, it almost looked like one of our hotel suites. Hehehehe. Who wants to make a reservation?

Moonlight Over Paris
by Paolo Santos

INTRO:
Do do do do do do do doo

Say you've been overseas, I say over where
You say just a holiday, my Alsatian heir
I say I've been workin' late, workin' overtime
Haven't seen that sun since '69

CHORUS:
Does the moonlight shine on Paris after the sun goes down
If the London Bridge is fallin', will anybody hear a sound
If you follow that sunset, will it ever end
Oh, does the moonlight shine on Paris
Oh woh dadum

Do do do do do do do doo

Oh, how can you just walk away, was is it somethin' that I said
I see only black and white, you see green and red
You believe in miracles, water into wine
I'll believe when it makes the New York Times

CHORUS:
Does the moonlight shine on Paris after the sun goes down
If the London Bridge is fallin', will anybody hear a sound
If you follow that sunset, will it ever end
Does the moonlight shine on Paris; will it ever end

AD LIB:
Do do do do do do do doo
Oh
Oh

CHORUS
Does the moonlight shine on Paris after the sun went down
If the London Bridge is fallin', will anybody hear a sound
If you follow that sunset, will it ever end
Does the moonlight shine on Paris; will it ever end

CODA:
Do do do do do do do doo
Will it ever end

18 jan 2004
John Mayer says, "The lyrics in this song are amazing. They help me understand how a woman thinks and feels better than anything I've heard in years. That kind of wounded but still standing there thing. It kills me."

White Flag
by Dido

I know you think that I shouldn't still love you
Or tell you that
But if I didn't say it
Well, I'd still have felt it
Where's the sense in that?

I promise I'm not trying to make your life harder
Or return to where we were

Well I will go down with this ship
And I won't put my hands up and surrender
There will be no white flag above my door
I'm in love and always will be

I know I left too much mess
And destruction to come back again
And I caused nothing but trouble
I understand if you can't talk to me again
And if you live by the rules of "It's over"
Then I'm sure that that makes sense

Well I will go down with this ship
And I won't put my hands up and surrender
There will be no white flag above my door
I'm in love and always will be

And when we meet
Which I'm sure we will
Oh what was there
Will be there still
I'll let it pass
And hold my tongue
And you will think
That I've moved on

Well I will go down with this ship
And I won't put my hands up and surrender
There will be no white flag above my door
I'm in love and always will be

Well I will go down with this ship
And I won't put my hands up and surrender
There will be no white flag above my door
I'm in love and always will be

I will go down with this ship
And I won't put my hands up and surrender
There will be no white flag above my door
I'm in love and always will be

Congratulations!
Great things are happening with you. That makes me happy, too.

19 jan 2004
I Have A Dream
Martin Luther King dreamt of equality in men.

20 jan 2004
Committment
W.N. Murray, The Scottish Himalayan Expedition, 1951

Until one is committed
There is hesitancy,
The chance to draw back,
Always ineffectiveness.

Concerning all acts of initiative and creation
There is one elementary truth,
The ignorance of which kills countless ideas
And splendid plans:
That the moment one definitely commits oneself,
Then providence moves, too.
All sorts of things occur to help one
That would otherwise never have occured.
A whole stream of events issues from the decision,
Raising in one's favor all manner
Of unforeseen incidents and meetings
And material assistance,
Which no man could have dreamt
Would have come his way.
I have learned a deep respect
For one of Goethe's couplets:

"Whatever you can do, or dream you can...begin it.
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it."

22 jan 2004
It's the year of the monkey!

23 jan 2004
Bachelor's Party
I was invited by my friend to attend a bachelor's party in the evening. It's a tradition in Western-based cultures that was adopted by Westernized Pinoys as a rite of passage as they leave bachelorhood.

24 jan 2004
Ireland Revisited
I once mentioned Ireland years ago in this journal about the matchmaking festival there. My trip was postponed before to Manila due to my friend left for Honolulu earlier and the thought of going to Ireland came to my mind. It's coincidental that this place is mentioned again. What is it in there for me? It's a distant place. I would have to cross two great oceans to get there. Will I ever set foot on Ireland? I dream of reaching distant places maybe the wind could tell me and why?

30 jan 2004
The Invitation by Oriah Mountain Dreamer

It doesn't interest me
what you do for a living.

I want to know
what you ache for,
and if you dare to dream
of meeting your hearts longing.

It doesn't interest me
how old you are.

I want to know
if you will risk looking like a fool
for love,
for your dreams,
for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn't interest me
what planets are squaring your moon. . .

I want to know
if you have touched the center
of your own sorrow,
if you have been opened
by life's betrayals,
or have become
shriveled and closed
from fear of further pain.

I want to know
if you can sit with pain,
mine or your own,
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy,
mine or your own;
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you
to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us
to be careful,
be realistic,
or to remember
the limitations
of being human.

It doesn't interest me
if the story you are telling me is true,

I want to know
if you can disappoint another
to be true to yourself,
if you can bear
the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.

I want to know
if you can be faithful
and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know
if you can see beauty,
even when it is not pretty
every day,
and if
you can source your life
from its presence.

I want to know
if you can live with failure,
yours or mine,
and still
stand on the edge of a lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
"Yes!"

It doesn't interest me
to know where you live
or how much money you have.

I want to know
if you can get up
after the night
of grief and despair,
weary and bruised to the bone,
and do
what needs to be done
for the children.

It doesn't interest me
who you are,
or how
you came to be here ~

I want to know
if you will stand
in the center of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.

It doesn't interest me
where or what
or with whom
you have studied.

I want to know
what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.

I want to know
if you can be
alone with yourself,
and if you truly like
the company you keep
in the empty moments.

May 1994

31 jan 2004
Kauai
I was thinking about Kauai this morning and to my surprise, I'm going there next week. Sweet!