I was watching Samantha Brown’s Passport to China and in this episode she went to Sichuan Province. They featured:

- the Leshan Giant Buddha
- Sichuan opera with mask changing and hand shadow shows
- Sichuan cooking and market
- giant pandas (love the baby pandas)
- a Taoist temple with people doing their morning Tai Chi
- the living water park within the city - they call it living water because it’s dirty water (dead water) going through an ecological/water art park…by the end of the tour the water in that area of the park is already purified (living water). It’s a nice concept.

I have to say that of all the Passport episodes I’ve seen, this one I liked the least. I blame it on the production. How do I describe it…it looked low-budget and rushed. And the crowdedness (duh, China) and air pollution didn’t help the appeal of the place. It was interesting but I would have loved seeing the more mysterious, more isolated part of China.

I had to say something about this because I really love Passport to Europe, especially the UK episodes. Scotland for instance is a place blessed with natural beauty…hayyy. Made a promise to myself to go there someday. And Alaska to see the aurora hehehe. Anyway, if I have the extra money I wouldn’t mind spending them on DVDs of:

- Passport to Europe
- Survivorman
- Planet Earth

Naisipan ko lang mag-login sa website namin sa school kung merong bagong announcements tapos nakita ko na available na yung semester calendar at course syllabus. Ni-review ko lang ng konti.

Bigla akong nagka-palpitations.

Happiness is not achieved by the conscious pursuit of happiness; it is generally the by-product of other activities.

- Aldous Huxley

Below is something I posted 2 years ago, on August 29, 2006, to be exact. It’s not really a poem, not a story, just something that went through my mind when I was going through…something. I called it “Picture” because it started out as a feeling that became a thought that became a vivid image in my head. Unfortunately, drawing is not within my abilities so I tried to describe the image in words as best as I can…

_____

I stand here at the edge of the cliff.

There is nothing; only the calm, the quiet, and myself in the stillness, keeping my balance, as I let time decide my fate.

The soft glow of twilight seems to reflect my own soul.

The source of the light, the sun, is a friend that vows to follow my direction.

Its presence gives me comfort in this eerie world where we are both suspended between the rise and the fall.

I give the sun a little smile and ask it not to leave for I have always been afraid of darkness.

The warmth of reassurance spreads within me though it was not quite enough to settle the tides of my heart.

I dare not move.

The littlest step backward can send me running back to the weakness that has lead me here in the first place, and the slightest bend forward can send me crashing down into the unknown.

I keep a level gaze and stare out the sandy plains; they seem endless.

I long to be saved, though there is no real danger.

I long for the hand that belongs to whom I am afraid had become a stranger to reach for me, to ask for my return.

But that is not a choice for me to make.

I ask my friend, “What awaits down there? Death?”

The sun is patient and says, “Only learning.”

I feel time as it wraps around everything and as it pushes forward, not cruel but unstoppable.

I stand still.

I close my eyes and I wait.

Via Mang GB’s blog, found this personality test thing and got interesting, semi-true results:

Harmony-seeking Idealists are characterized by a complex personality and an abundance of thoughts and feelings. They are warm-hearted persons by nature. They are sympathetic and understanding. Harmony-seeking Idealists expect a lot of themselves and of others. They have a strong understanding of human nature and are often very good judges of character. But they are mostly reserved and confide their thoughts and feelings to very few people they trust. They are deeply hurt by rejection or criticism. Harmony-seeking Idealists find conflict situations unpleasant and prefer harmonious relationships. However, if reaching a certain target is very important to them they can assert themselves with a doggedness bordering on obstinacy.

Harmony-seeking Idealists have a lively fantasy, often an almost clairvoyant intuition and are often very creative. Once they have tackled a project, they do everything in their power to achieve their goals. In everyday life, they often prove to be excellent problem solvers. They like to get to the root of things and have a natural curiosity and a thirst for knowledge (I like to think so). At the same time, they are practically oriented, well organized and in a position to tackle complex situations in a structured and carefully considered manner. When they concentrate on something, they do so one hundred percent - they often become so immersed in a task that they forget everything else around them. That is the secret of their often very large professional success.

As partners, harmony-seeking idealists are loyal and reliable (I like to think so); a permanent relationship is very important to them. They seldom fall in love head over heels nor do they like quick affairs. They sometimes find it very difficult to clearly show their affection although their feelings are deep and sincere. In as far as their circle of friends is concerned, their motto is: less is more! As far as new contacts are concerned, they are approachable to only a limited extent; they prefer to put their energy into just a few, close friendships. Their demands on friends and partners are very high. As they do not like conflicts, they hesitate for some time before raising unsatisfactory issues and, when they do, they make every effort not to hurt anyone as a result.