Un Deux Sept Heures

Sitting in the car, waiting to drive to a funeral.  Its cold outside. Its cold inside the car, too. Waiting for the rest of the family to go, but they are still getting ready. My phone is busy, but I am not quite ready to answer it. Maybe on the drive  down there. It’s an hour plus drive. From Victorville to Cypress. Its been some time since I’ve been to Cypress. It neighbors Garden Grove which is close to Buena Park and Disneyland.

Don’t know who this relative is. Not sure my aunt or Mom knows either. They say he is a cousin of cousin. Which is like Filipino time. Party is at 11 am so that means get there by 1pm. Just take their word for it and just accept it and smile. No need to be too inquisitive. Just accept it for what it is.

Been working on a family tree. Checking out genealogy books from the library. Searching on Ancestry.com. Visiting relatives and digging through old photo albums. Even got a family tree book someone made a couple years back. It goes from the 17^th Century, but from all I could see it doesn’t really show how we are really related.  Figure it on the way there. Its been like that a lot. 

Went to a couple of Genealogical Societies. Southern California and Antelope Valley one, too. Most of the people are older, seniors.I get as they get closer to the end they want to know others have been there and others will follow. I get the feeling that they like talking about who they are? Who they are related to and just gossip about the scandals. It was like jr high girls gossiping this that and the other. Once one got past the gray hair, wrinkles, and gums it was just like Sage Jr. High. Must have spent an 20 minutes listening to talk about some effrontery her distant cousin had with a former beau. They are both gone. Drama, got to love it. 

Sorry, had to leave for a moment. Cocoa got out and was playing the street. I am not sure which is worse, having the dog get out running in traffic or have my Aunt Sally chasing after her in the Civic. She doesn't pay attention to the oncoming traffic.  I will let you just imagine. We don't to want to come to an end before its time. Its like a cherry blossom tree never flowering

Anyways, back to the story.  We are on Bear Valley Road. Passing O’Reilly Auto Parts going into Chevron.  Got to get some petrol. Gas is $4.09 now. Ouch. Its been leaping lately. It was $3.39/galloon a couple weeks ago. The two went inside to get a lotto card and gas. We got a road trip. Its funny. Used to live out here in “daVille” Much has changed. Shopping Centers with Best Buy and 24 Hour Sport have blown up. There is a Popeye's Chicken behind me. To my left is the WalMart and Jiffy Lube. Shakey’s and Wherehouse have met extinction.

Stephanie just posted on Facebook, “I need a woman.”  She’s probably right. You see my cousin’s dog, Cocoa and I was hanging out with me last night while I was watching the Lakers game. She was cold so I put her next to me. She got tired and I was sleepy. So we snuggled. Enough of my love life.

GPS is set and we're on the road. Aunty Sally is not the best driver so this is an adventure. Wish I had one of those sleep masks. She almost hit a 16 wheeler. He should know better that she was switching lanes. Oy vey. 

Just passed Oak Hills and the mountains are snow packed.  It’s a bit windy and she has a lead foot and likes to go heavy on the brakes.  Need whiplash drive with her. SSSTTTOOOPPPPPP Braking so hard and put both hands the freaking steering wheel. You are not that great a driver. Okay I need a valium.

Two hands please

I am going to put the laptop down. My stomach can’t take her driving. Life is that way. We visit people we never met. We watch prices of gas blow up. We see cities grow and thrive. We leave our senses at times and take trips with not so great drivers. We get tossed and turned on bumpy roads. We snuggle with bitches and hear gossip with from grey haired toothless senior citizens about dead relatives 30 years ago.  This is the fun stuff.

Traffic.  Oh, I forgot about the traffic on a Saturday morning. There shouldn’t be on the weekend . But it happens. Can’t see the road ahead. Just deal with stuff right in front of you.  Sometimes these breaks in life happen for reasons we can’t know just yet.  On another note, Scott Pilgrim vs the World is the greatest movie ever.

Traffic on Saturday?

We are living the lives of Odysseus. We search for the Golden Fleece because that is what are Gods and Kings tells us. We get shipwrecked on islands with Cyclops. We dress up like sheep in order get pass troubling times. We at times find our homes filled with men wanting to marry your wife for money and kingdom. We sometimes need to string a bow in order to set the world straight. We battle ex's for Love. I am sure there is a screw up in story line, but you get the picture.

Life is full of adventure. We have ups, downs, and we need to make choices and take up some stances. We need to live with them. We can change our life environment or we can change our attitude. We really don’t have control of anything.  Life has a way of effecting the best laid plans. We can cry about things that didn’t work out. . .and we should shed a tear. However, if we get stuck in these dark places, we could miss all the other fun stuff out there. Let me tell you, there is fun stuff.  Moments will pass.  So enjoy and build on Karma points.

The reason this post is called 127 Hours (French). It is because you should watch this movie. Enough said. Got to go to a funeral and celebrate life.

Life Is Better With. . .

(This is the second article I published in the local magazine. So if you read this before, thank you again)

“Short on time. Short on money. Short on sleep. Long on memory”—This was how to best describe the short, unplanned trip to the City by the Bay. Jason and I were due for an adventure. He was finishing a semester of Respiratory School and I just finished Pharmacy Tech school. We were both mentally fried and in much need to getaway.

Plus, I suspect Cousin Jason was feeling the same way I was. You see most of our cousins were married with families of their own. As the last two unwed cousins, we instinctively knew that we won’t have too many chances like this again. So in the middle of the night, we headed out for this trip up “North.” North was still a distant mystery in the night.

With a fistful of cash, a tank full of gas, and no reservations anywhere, we stormed off to what may be the last of the “Cousins” road trip together. Armed with a San Francisco guidebook, we had a tentative plan. Go to the places with the coolest pictures. Didn’t say it was great plan, but it was what we had.

On the way, we agreed on a few immutable rules. First, wherever we were, we would sit down and watch the NBA Championship games. Boston Celtics were beating our hometown LA Lakers 3 to 2. We weren’t going to miss the latest chapter of the basketball rivalry. As die-hard fans, the next game could be the last one. Second rule was not to think too much and just let Flow. Third rule, visit as many landmarks and tourists sites we can fit in this long weekend.

Pumped up on adrenalin, we made it to San Francisco hours earlier than planned. Having never visited the city before, we drove around and explored much of the early morning.  We drove the Golden Gate Bridge, hurried through Fisherman’s Wharf, and found where Ghirardelli’s was located. All before 6 a.m., way ahead of the early morning commuters.

Feeling car weary, we stopped by City Hall to stretch our legs and capture some photos of the city’s interesting statues. Than out of the blue, a 40 something peppered-haired man started walking toward us. Thinking we were going to be warmly greeted by a local. Coffee in hand, this once smiling middle-aged man started shouting obscenities for now obvious reason. After he gave us the angry person salute—I  think he thought we were taking his pictures without his permission—Jason and I looked at each other and got in the car. No use arguing with an obviously, unstable person with too much caffeine.

After this warm greeting, I couldn’t really remember what we did these next four days. We said sped through the days in a blur, avoiding every 40 year old man with a coffee in their hand. In three days, we were in Palmdale, San Francisco, Chinatown, Big Sur, Carmel, San Simeon, San Luis Obispo, Solvang, and Santa Clarita.

We walked the Golden Gate Bridge. Almost got run over by a cyclist, too. Got lost in the alleys of Chinatown after dark looking for authentic hand-made fortune cookies. We drove up and down Lombard Street, around  five or six times. Rode our first taxi. Ate chocolates at Ghirardelli. Had fish and chips at the Wharf. Got lost on the way to Carmel and had to get directions at cemetery by a real life grave digger. We were stuck in traffic jam in the quiet town of Carmel because of the US Open at Pebble Beach. Drove PCH and got mesmerized by the scenic coastlines. Chased a blue jay, which led us to unused lawn chairs in the middle of river at Big Sur (We used them).

Saw sea lions sunning. Watched a brown cow chase after a herd of  zebras. Touched an ostrich. Toured Hearst Castle. Videotaped people parachute surfing.  Ate my first Danish Meatloaf in Solvang. Went wine tasting. Met and took pictures with the famous UFC referee “Big John” McCarthy.  And top it off, we watched our hometown LA Lakers comeback from a 3-2 game deficit to beat the Boston Celtics to win the NBA Championship in the last few minutes of the fourth quarter.

Can’t tell you what the best part of the unplanned because it flew by so fast.  I can tell you two hings from I learned from this adventure:  First, sleep is way over-rated. Second, rechargeable batteries are a must. 

When I write about the road trip and looking back at the many, many pictures, I can’t help think of this end of the 2009 year movie “Up In the Air“ with George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, and Anna Kendrick . It was one line in the movie that hit home for me.

Actually, when I come to think about it, the best part of this road trip was not the may sights we seen. Nor was it delicious food we ate. It wasn’t the interesting people we met. Nor was it the songs we were screeching (Can’t honestly call it singing we were doing). The best part of trip was can be summed up this way.

In the movie, Up In the Air, Ryan (Clooney character) says to his soon- to-be-brother-in-law: “If you think about it, your favorite memories, the most important moments in your life... were you alone? No, Life is better with company” This statement could not be more true. Even with the angry, disturbed coffee man.

Where the day takes us. . .

Tonight could have turned out a lot differently. Could be on the road like many travelers tonight stuck on Highway 14. Could have crashed when I went to Carl's Jr. Could have been stuck in Acton snowbound freezing my behind. Could have been out of gas on Vista Point. Roads were hairy. Many people were stuck on the side of the road. Many cars had to get escorts. Saw a few CHP pass up stranded cars. Many cars were spinning and sliding. Many cars did not know how to drive on the icy snow.

Still, don’t think I would want to have it any other way. Went to early morning mass and came home to confirm no one was up for Rose Parade float gawking. Can’t blame them. I was not much into myself since I worked on the float a few weeks back. Plus, since I went to the viewing last year, the excitement factor was only two stars. Sure it would have been nice, but there were many things else to do.

Tried calling some cousins these last few days, but no return calls. Kind of upsets me with some of the flakiness, but it is what it is. If not ready, it is time to move on. Would have liked the company, but it will have to be some other time.

Found myself rained on. Found myself in a place I never imagined. Found myself at place I dismissed simply because of the name. Met someone who visited Ankor Watts. Took some close ups of jellyfish and seahorses. Lost control of the car on purpose accidentally.  Got Yoda to say turn around and you have a rebelliousness streak inside of me (My TomTom) Got my monthly dose of beach water.

Took so many pictures that my camera ran out of juice. Drove so much I worried about running out of fuel.  Passed on Late night at Pacific. I got home a little over eleven. Been on the road for 6 hours. Usually a drive like this would take an hour and half. The weather gods had different plans and the Lakers lost the Grizzlie (what a bunch of crap) Heater is on and the day has to start early tomorrow. Heard a few schools were closed because of snow and the TV has been shut off.

Where do I begin? Obviously this day has been an adventure. One that I thoroughly enjoyed. It has been a day of disappointments and challenges. It has been day of awakening and time for recovery. Its these mini dramas that animates life. Many long for peace and harmony. I understand. I enjoy the little things the controversy, the struggle, the game. Its through these moments that makes a difference. Its these moments in the rain that makes a world of difference.  Well, time to go. Nox is calling.

Cycle Begins Anew. . .

Time for Change

Spending time to write this month. Making a more concerted effort. Its time to re-invent this blog. Hero’s journey seems a bit cliché-ish. It seems to run its course. Like a comic series that has finished its run. The good ones lose readership. Others re-invent itself and finds a new vein to explore. It feels this way for me. The journey that I have ventured feels a  bit tired. A long trek with various highs and lows feel like a Tour de Something.

Thing is, where should the adventure begin? What demons need to be conquered? What road should be traveled? Don’t want to head off in the deep, blue sea without a metaphorical mountain to climb or monster to vanquish. Where do want this adventure to take us?

This blog has transformed. This exploration has become one of Spiritual discovery. Used study as my vehicle of exploration however, this does not seem enough. Took courses in Bible as Literature and Philosophy of Religion. I’ve visited some Missions and seen some temples. Read more on the Judaism, Islam, and Buddhism. I’ve met with priests and watched DVDs on various religions like Mormonism, Christian Science.

Archetypes

Every new religion I’ve liked. Every new one has parts that is soul touching. I'm ready to be a proselyte. Ready to be a priest. Ready to convert. This may be blasphemous. However, is this any different reading a good book in the library? A good spy novel. A new graphic novel. Themes of falling, themes of redemption, themes of death and re-birth. These are just many stories in the holy books. In the Koran. In the Bible. In the Book of Mormons. In  Talmud. All these Heroes and Heroines battle some oppressor. 

How is any different than a good movie? Movies cite each other building on the modern mythology of cinema. Digging deeper in the old cinematic arts it seems to be revision of something already done.

New Hampshire. . .Its What's New

Today’s movies and video games are just a re-interpretation of something already done. A-Team. Get Smart. Mission Impossible. Inception (Matrix). And so on and so forth. New movies are just remakes of old comic book storylines. Avengers, Thor, Spiderman, Iron Man, Hulk, Green Lantern Fantastic Four, SuperMan, BatMan. Not saying that this is wonderful, being a former comic-philiac, it is just that there is certain ho-humness.

Guess, this alright. Certain continuity expected with all the heroic figures gracing our creative, heroic worship-sphere.  Like prophets sharing the word of the One. Like denying three times the task of evangelizing, then eventually acquiescing to the Call. Battle upon battles, conquering and losing, surviving and thriving. 

Guess it the challenge of looking at events with new eyes. Looking at the moment right here and now is the really battle. Battle of ennui. Battle of fighting corporatism. Battle of cocooning and exploring the world out there. Some people explore the past to learn  the future ahead. Some people explore the future in order to create a past. Whatever ones calling, there is a certain transitory nature that cannot be ignored.

Fires Are Good At Times

Guess, this is the reason for my adventure for exploring the past. Perhaps there is an answer that will reveal itself for a question that I have not asked yet. Maybe Shiva will come and make some much needed room for renewal. Well, this post has met its end.

Made with Love. . .

Three Little Words
“Made with Love” that was what she said. A simple thing that made my Chicken Habanera Panini taste better. After staring at the menu of Camille for several minutes, I’ve tried everything before and found it a little bland and uninspiring. 

These simple three words—with a smile, of course--made my lunch memorable. Locked in on the task,  lost in the mechanism of the day, I found myself jolted. When the server brought me my food and when she said that, it got me tongue tied. How a dash of love can make the world better place. How we forget that this simple mantra can make the difference. “Made with love” A tag. This stamp. Words to live by. “Made with Love.”

What do you everyday that isn’t made with love? Lots, huh? Yesterday, I found myself at the foot at Angel’s Flight. Out the entrance of Grand Central Market, I saw what looked like a trolley. Nothing special, but it was calling me. 

Heaven On Earth
Angel’s Flight was closed down for a few years because of an accidental death, I saw somewhere that it was recently reopened. Not an incredibly long ride. Thirty seconds or so. Just a short jaunt up Bunker Hill in Downtown LA. It seemed appropriate. It was uplifting. A ride that would cost a mere quarter, it made me realize that we have a Heaven on Earth if we only put that stamp, “Made with Love” I am sure it would be even better.

Like Most Cities
You see Downtown LA, is like many metropolitan areas. It has their share of Homeless people. Saw a man, a broken man sitting on a bench across the street staring at the front of Grand Central Market. Thinking of food and shelter, I assume. He was unwashed, unshaven, un-a lot of stuff. An older man who at one time was a healthy young man. 

Fallen Heroes
Read somewhere a third of homeless people were veterans. Sad, how we let our young sons and daughters fall in disrepair? Not knowing the situation and not usually being a bleeding heart, we better all be bleeding-hearts because a too many of us could be paycheck or two away and we could find ourselves in the same predicament.

Buddha Basics
Went to Saturday morning mass at Saint Marys today.  Thought to myself, this message can’t be new. You see, I find myself exploring many religions, thinking of Faith and the Big Smile. It is our lives we make and live.

It says in the basic tenets of Buddhism, that the life we live goes through 8 stages. First two are of our past life. The last two are of our next one. The middle four is of our own doing. Makes sense to me. 

It is said we chose our parents based on the life we built before depending on the Karma we accumulated. Last two stages prepares us for the next one. Depending on how we did in the middle, we shall see what Karmic points we banked on. What choices have we made to make our stay on Gaea better?

Inside
What have we done to make this world a better place? For what is a Man that Does not make the world a better place. “You are not what you were born, but what you have it in yourself to be.”—Another quote from Kingdom of Heaven. YOU ARE NOT WHAT YOU WERE BORN, BUT WHAT YOU HAVE IT IN YOURSELF TO BE. Again, YOU ARE NOT WHAT YOU WERE BORN, BUT WHAT YOU HAVE IT YOURSELF TO BE. Guess, I write this thrice because something deep inside tells me so. I say write this down, commit it to memory, burn the paper that you wrote it down, and then burn the words to memory. Let it not to be forgotten.

What Frightens Us. . .
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. It's not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own lights shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. “(Another quotes from a movie, I let you guess)

Downtown Dancer
As I rode up and down Angel’s Flight I saw a lady dancing. (She is on the corner of the picture) Didn’t notice her at first. She was hidden by the overhang of blooming red flowers. She was at the base of the Bunker Hill. Off in her world. Homeless, I assume by the unwashed, stained clothes she wore. Form fitting, she went through a dance warm up. She danced a refrained flirtatious dance. Not pole-dancing, but it would not surprise me if she had been a exotic dancer. There’s no doubt that she had some ballet and jazz training. A friend of mine was a dancer and the way she moved reminded me of her.

Felt a little sad, for the homeless, “down-on-her-luck” dancer. Yet, not so much. She was doing her thing in this little spot of the world. Perhaps, she suffered the evils of a drug lifestyle? Perhaps, a troubled upbringing? Perhaps, I don’t know.

On this sun bright day, here at the steps of Heaven’s Flight, under the green Camino Real Bell, there she danced. Don’t know if she knew I was watching. Don’t think she much cared. She was smiling, I think. Never saw her face, but the way her hands raised to the sky, the way her torso popped in a circle, the way she graced this watcher made me think of the blooming flowers in the wild, away from civilization. Hidden away from man.

Miracles Everywhere, Pay Attention
The green Camino Real Bells were markers for the California Mission travelers. It gave followers a guide to various Spanish Missions up and down the California coastline. It showed people the way.

Thought "How Ironic? A down-and-out dancer at the base of Angel's Flight under the Bell that gave weary travelers hope. Reminded me of the story the Prostitute that washed Jesus Christ's feet with her hair. Having little means, this weary traveler dancers here. All these things at that moment seemed to be telling me something. Felt lucky to catch this moment in time. Been having these moments with the Big Smile. Guess, I'm lucky to catch them.

Doesn't Need Validation
Is it beautiful if no one is watching? It is beautiful because it is beautiful. Things existed before you and I were here. It does not need us to validate its existence. However, if there is an audience, the experience is shared. When we share, allowing others to know each other, it gives us the wherewithal to be better. It allows us to escape these sins of jealousy, lust, and ignorance. It allows us to be great because we are great.

Let Others Follow
By letting ourselves shine, we give permission to others to also shine. Letting our children, the one’s before us to be great. Letting the ones to be great we are reminded that we can be more than what the chains that binds us. Perhaps, it is these chains we put on ourselves—emotionally, physically, mentally. Perhaps it is the chain others try to put on us. If we allow them to be loosed, if we remember that feeling of freedom, if we are reminded of liberty and independence, then perhaps we will be reminded of our interdependence and duty to each other.

Back to the ABC's
Like one of the tenets espoused of so many religions, we are responsible for what we do. So British Petroleum (BP), so politicians, so the man in the man (or woman) in the mirror, we are responsible. We may not have caused it, but it is our job to fix it. What we make of this world is our responsibility? It’s our stuff. If we can’t conquer the ABC’s of Homelessness, Racism, Religious Intolerance, Starvation, Drug Abuse and the ilk, then how are we going to deal with the hard stuff?

Our Ability Is So Much More
Its Heavy stuff, but that is okay. We are powerful beyond measure. We have the capacity of many great things and our learning curve is fast. Kindergarten to PhD in seconds. Not a problem. If we can make it through two World Wars, if we can send a man to the Moon, if we can split the atom, if we can copy the Human genome, if we can make a Magical Kingdom in the OC (Disneyland, if you didn't know) then we can do just about anything. Our knowledge of everything is said to double every five years.

Still, if we can only we remember the basic. Stuff we do is better if its “Made with Love.” Guess, we got to work on that.