Keystroke Journal

“Do you still draw ballerinas?” was the first question asked by a former grade schoolmate who recently reconnected with me. I recall dancing ballet but drawing ballerinas? I completely forgot about my hidden talent until he mentioned about it. How can he still remember it when it’s been ages since we last saw each other in the Philippines and now that we’re even more than a thousand miles apart – he’s in Australia and I’m in the US? I don’t even remember how we started as friends. But he remembered. It was through that hidden talent that we became friends. According to him, after class, he would always ask me to draw ballerinas for him. But after graduation, our communication stopped and we never had a chance to reunite until recently when he found me in a networking site. As expected, he asked me to draw ballerinas again for old times’ sake. I don’t know if I can still draw one now but such request led me to rediscover something about my childhood favorite hobby -- drawing ballerinas...

I tried to organize my things today only to find out what I value most in the past year. My stuff comprised of papers … papers … and more papers … arrgh! I opened a drawer - paper. I opened a box – paper. I opened a bag – paper. Everywhere there’s paper in varied forms. Magazines, flight bookings, tour guides, museum info, concert tickets, lessons, quizzes, bills, letters, notes, cards, envelopes, photos and books. All paper products. You name it I have it except for paper roses. I can’t believe I’ve accumulated a lot of them in such a short time! Err, okay months and months and months. Now is the time to get rid of them. Well, some. There are some papers I still want to keep for future reference while some are for review in the next few days. Others are for recycling. The rest are now in the trash. I’ve already used two overflowing regular-sized trash bins. I wonder if I do the same thing with my email accounts and My Documents in the computers – for both desktop and laptop. I am sure...

I hear the birds busily chirp outside the window, Spring time is just around the corner. I feel the gentle breeze of the wind as I stepped out, Spring time is just around the corner. Patches of green grass start to sprout as I gazed around, Spring time is just around the corner. Beautiful Daffodils and Violets spring up as I stooped down, Spring time is just around the corner. The glowing sun is up the whole day as I marvel God’s greatness, Spring time is just around the corner. Today is a hopeful beginning of a new season as I thank God For spring time is just around the corner.

Two weeks ago, I had episodes of bizarre dreams. In one night, I saw a mouse running under my comforter. It was scary! I can still remember how my heart palpated when I awoke. In another night, I was entering rooms and saw different sizes, shapes, colors of closed and open, antique doors. I got confused. The next night, I was climbing steps, up and down then I was in a dungeon. I saw a particular shrinking gray elephant and a motionless dark bison along the way. I was frightened. What are they doing there? And yes, there were people, too. People of diverse nationalities, personalities and languages. In the middle of the night, I would be awake, perplexed. What were all those dreams all about? Never did I realize that those symbols will have something to do with my short notice trip to Ontario, Canada. The truth is, I wasn’t even thinking of having a trip this month nor was I thinking of a certain place in Canada. But out of the blue, I got a call from Canada and two days ...

Here's the last day of my Uncle's stay in Mexico: Well, today is my last day in Mexico City. I'm writing this in Benito Juarez International Airport Terminal while awaiting my flight back to Los Angeles. Everything was going on fine and dandy for me since I arrived a week ago today. So what could go wrong? Where is that infamous Mexican bureaucracy and perceived corruption that one hears of overseas? Well, I had them all this morning. Minor perhaps but nonetheless interesting. 1. Hotel arranged for my taxi transport, and was told it will cost 130 Mexican dollars. Fine. That's what I paid for in arrival. So when we arrived at the terminal this morning, the taxi driver asked for 200 Mexican dollars. What? I insisted for 130, so I gave him 150, tip included. No objection from him, but he did try. I got his name,Alejandro,pretending I´ll report him to the hotel. 2. I bought coffee at 7-eleven, costing 15 Mexican dollars. Cashier received the money without punching it in...

While struggling to look for my boarding gate, I took a quick glance at my email and lo, and behold, my Uncle has one of his write-ups again. I then took time to imagine where he is as I try to detox myself from a stressful airport transfer from Washington, DC to Detroit, MI. I will deal more into that later but for now, I’d rather linger on somebody else’s trip. My Uncle is known to be straight-forward but he does have a sense of humor. Here’s another of his Mexico City days … 8:45 Mexico City - Another day. I saw the brightest full moon before dawn this morning from my hotel window as it was about to set. The backdrop was the city´s skyscrapers. Truly spectacular. Every full moon where ever one is in the world is truly spectacular. It makes my thoughts fly up. Let me narrate what I did yesterday. Walked all the way to Plaza dela Constitution, a major city square like Tianamen Square in Beijing or Plaza Mendiola in Manila. However in this expansive square is located the historic,...

I get a chance to see Mexico City through the eyes of my Uncle and another particular blogger has joined me in following his travelogue, too. His experiences add diversity, if not for spice, on my blog as well. My Uncle’s note about my blog: Thanks for the feedback. To all your blog readers thanks for reading GG's blog. It's nice of her to let me piggy back. Truth is I haven’t learned how to create my own blog, so there. Also, this is sort of a travel diary for myself as years later, I'll look back on GG's blog and remember what I really did. Here’s my Uncle’s point of view on traveling alone: Seeing and doing so many things crammed in one week can be a big blur as images and situations pop up in the mind without any idea sometimes where and what happened. Senior moment maybe but mainly one can only absorb so much. One advantage of traveling alone is the challenge to be always alert and be always on one's toes. Any negative situation should not be taken personall...

If there’s someone in the family who has influenced me a lot with culture and arts, it’s this Uncle of mine. As a result, he and I share something in common, our strong interest for arts and travel. From time to time, we exchange notes of our travel experiences. I noticed that he is also like me. When we travel we can't help but think of the different places where we've been. With permission, he allowed me to post in my blog his Mexico trips. Metro subway stations in a strange city intimidate me. As I had no previous reading on the city’s Metro system, I approached one station this morning with a bit of apprehension as I had no advance knowledge of its operation. Metro stations operate the same all over the world right? New York, Vancouver, LA, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, DC, San Francisco's Bart, etc. Well, not really. Manila is an exception. It's like dealing with 3 different metros. Different fares are needed for each system. Who knows if Mexico’s is like Manila...

My Uncle has been updating me lately with his Mexico trip. Here's his latest journey ... Early this morning I showed up in Melia Hotel, located in Juarez St., Alameda Central, in Centro Historica district of the city, to join 11 other tourists for the day trip to the ruins of Teotihuacan pyramids with a side trip to the Virgin of Guadalupe Shrine which is on the way. Mexicans venerate her honor and consider her their patron and protector ever since she appeared in a cave before a peasant to appeal for peace and harmony. A big church was built in her honor on the site where she appeared and many pilgrams visit it every day. However, since the church is built on a reclaimed lake, the church has tilted and one side goes one way and the other half goes the other way. So as construction to prop and prevent the eventual collapse, a new bigger, shrine has been built beside it. We then proceeded to Teotihuacan ruins, a civilization that started building 100 years BC, with incredibly ad...

I received an email from my globe-trotter Uncle today. And I’m happy to know that he’s having fun in Mexico City despite traveling alone. Most people couldn’t understand why he can travel alone and still enjoys it. But I understand. One premise is we are a family of artists. And most artists I know are introvert thus would find solace when they’re alone as long as they love what they do. I guess it has something to do with being able to work better when not much social activity is going on. Two, he wants to learn new things. And traveling makes him open-minded to different ideas, culture, places and people. Nevertheless, it’s always a joy to hear stories from him and learn from his travel adventures. I think we are also a family of people who loves to travel … How are you? I arrived in Mexico City yesterday and will be here until March 11. I noticed I had shortness of breath, and later attributed it to the city’s high elevation. It explained my momentary oxygen deprivation. I’m accl...

Oh happy day, (Oh happy day) Oh happy day, (Oh happy day) When Jesus washed (when Jesus washed) 3x He washed my sins away (Oh happy day) Oh happy day, (Oh happy day) Yes I can sing that song with a happy tune in my heart. Never mind if it’s out-of-tune. That song just came to my mind while I was busy with my research paper. Little did I know that today will indeed be a happy moment for me. I’m done with my Project 1 tasks , all 37 of them. Hooray! I’m so glad I was able to focus everything today. I told myself that I have to work fast. No more procrastinating. April is just around the corner and I don't want to be on a trip with half of my mind thinking about my paperworks. I just have to do everything -- now. And so, I worked and worked and worked. I read, edited, then submitted the remaining tasks today. I did it in just one sitting! Thank God for His guidance. Now four more projects not two more as what I previously thought to go before I can take the exam. And that’s it! Meanw...

I received an early morning text message today. It’s from the weather alert station -- winter storm advisory until 2pm. I looked out. It was still dark. I checked the time, its 4:05am. The street was silent. No cars passing by. In fact, from the lamppost reflection, I couldn’t distinguish which part was the main road and which was our sidewalk. Everything was leveled with snow. I went back to sleep. I was awakened by a ring tone. My dad was checking on me since I’m home alone. In turn, I called my sister and her kids. They’re all okay. I went back to sleep again. A shrill screeching sound woke me up. I looked out at the window and saw a vehicle stranded by the road. The front wheel was moving but the rear wheels aren’t. The snow was still falling. A woman got off from the car and checked her tires then she went back inside her car. The engine started again but the car wasn’t moving. By the window I was praying for the woman to give her strength and wisdom. Some cars started to pass by...

The last time we saw each other was three decades ago. Our last photo together was taken during our grade 6 graduation picture. After grade school, we went to different schools. Some went to an exclusive girls' or boys' high school institution while others went to a public high school system. Only a few maintained friendships until college while most of us lost track of each other. Recently, however, someone’s endless searching effort brought some of us back together again through an e-group. The wonder of online technology made it easier for us to communicate and see how we now look these days from the last time we saw each other. But still, meeting them in person, after all these years, is incomparable; it's more personal and spontaneous. A friend in New Jersey opened their house to host the weekend gathering with friends coming from another town in New Jersey; from different states like New York, Maryland, Virginia and all the way from Nevada. Meeting my East Coast US-ba...