Fun in the Sun! (Vol. I, Series 1)

Last weekend, Conne, Mitch, and I hit the beach! It was a spur-of-the-moment thing. So out of the blue, so un-Kimmie, and so right! We let go of problems, inhibitions, and a significant amount of money. :-)

I read about our itinerary in Conne's blog, and relived the fantastic time we had. I gotta say - good friends, great beach (I'm ignoring that little plastic bag on the sand in the picture's background), and inexpensive fun make a great combination for one's weekend getaway.

... to be continued.

All Smiles :-))

I love laughing. Have you ever felt that feeling of lightness in the heart whenever you let lose a guffaw, a snort, a smile, or a giggle? Mmmmm... that's the highest of highs.

Case in point - look at the six people on the left. They were captured looking down at a camera-phone, kneeling on a cushion, while huddled together and laughing seconds before the camera virtually screamed, "SMILE!!!" No make up, no fancy threads, no Photoshop gimickry. Isn't that great?!

To Kaye, Mitch, Maui, JM, and JP: where are we going next? Singapore? ;) Hint... hint...

Dreams of Many Miles

A former college professor had the privilege of meeting Robert Frost many years ago. She asked him about one of the greatest mysteries in the literary world -- why write the line "And miles to go before I sleep" twice? To poem-lovers, that line already held much power and mystique; reading it twice, consecutively, implied pain and slow progress. His answer -- "Yes, I read that line slowly, too, but with surety. And slowly, but surely, I'll get to wherever I want to go, even if it takes me twice the number of miles."

I want to travel to Puerto Galera, Cagayan de Oro, Sagada Valley, Ilocos Norte, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Beijing, Seoul, Athens, Ibiza, the Canary Islands, Paris, Venice, Rome, London, Dublin, Edinburgh, Zurich, Mexico, Acapulco, Buenos Aires, Sao Paolo, Johannesburg, Rabat, Nova Scotia, New York, Washington, D.C., and Augusta. That's approximately tens of thousands of miles, and I can't wait to take that journey someday. Ultimately, though, I'm coming back to Manila (as the song goes). It's where I'm from, and where I'd like to end my journey. Will you come with me?

What's In A Name?

Just finished reading PJ's blog on the unfortunate names of some of our friends and acquaintances. Then, I started remembering: my former High School teacher, Miss Filipinas D. Lavandera (in English - Miss Philippines The Clothes-washer); the meaning of "maricon" in Spanish ("gay;" sorry, Conne); my sister's college classmate, Juan Paulo Pedro (John Paul Peter - "Pedro" is his real last name); a good friend named James Dean; a beloved friend's kid who's called "Santino," (Little Santi) after his grandfather who's named Santiago (nickname, Santi... Santino is often mistaken to be named after a mob crewmember from Francis Ford Coppola's 'The Godfather' movies); etc.

And where did I get my name? "Kimberly" is supposed to be of English-origin, meaning, "From the wood of the royal forest; or, from the royal fortress meadow." My given name in Chinese, Ya Ying, means "strong warrior." Warriors are often mentioned in English mythological and historical stories. The "Ying" in my Chinese name is the same character used to call "England" in the Chinese language, "Ying Kuo." My Chinese surname, "Huang," means "yellow" - a colour associated with royalty in Chinese historical times.

Eerie? Yes, abso-bloody-lutely. So, what's your name again?

If I Have Everything...

Rudyard Kipling wrote, "If you can make one heap of all your winnings / And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss, / And lose, and start again at your beginnings... Yours is the earth and everything that's in it..." I cannot fathom a deeper explanation of how life works than the way it has been expressed by these poetic words that Kipling wrote a hundred years ago.

Today, so many desires exist to burn me and my spirit. To have a great and productive workday. To have a fantastic circle of friends. To have a constantly supportive family. To be more financially independent. To be ensconced in personal relationships that help me grow. To be more. To be...

It's never ending, always changing. "I want" and "I need" are my two best friends, my steadfast companions. And if I indeed have everything, then it's not worth it. No struggling, no breathing, no working. What a dead bore. I want the earth, Kipling. I want more than "sixty seconds' worth of distance run." How satisfying then that I have close to nothing.