"I am your brother, your best friend forever.."

Meet Renaldo Lapuz, reputedly known as "William Hung" of American Idol Season 7. And he's a Filipino. I dunno whether to laugh or to cry.

For now, let's sing along:

"I am your brother, your best friend forever.."

Whoasome!

Currently listening to: Boys Like Girls (album) by Boys Like Girls

Guess what?! I received an e-mail from Schmap Wellington Guide, asking my permission so that they can post one of my photos in the upcoming edition of their travel guide. Actually, this was just included in their short-list, so anything is still possible. Nonetheless, this is sweet!

I'm like, whoa! Like it was my first time to have a digital camera, let alone dabble with photography. Before, I'm not really keen to take photos because I feel like I might mess up with the photo. Basically it was fear that motivated me not to pursue things. Fear of rejection, fear of failure, fear of criticism.. Fear! 4 letter word, but nonetheless a powerful word that brings about dread and intimidation. And the truth is I lived in its shadows for so many years, perhaps most of my childhood and adolescence (fine, early manhood.. hehehe!)

But I must say that those 3-month stay in Wellington has instilled something in me. OK, something in me got unleashed as I spent those brief moments with my other family. Brief, yes. They may forget me sooner or later. I may forget them as I shuffle through life (I really hope not.) But I'm still thankful that even for a short time in my early 20's, something meaningful and life-enhancing has occurred to me. Somehow, I learned to love myself for the first time. For all my God-given strengths and limitations. I have somehow a sense of security, that despite the oppositions I may face, fear not! That somehow I am lovable for who I am. That I'm being transformed from glory to glory. That hey, I can take some decent photos that my mates appreciate and somehow miss. And one of those photos is being considered to grace a travel guide for future visitors of Windy Wellington, that spot in the world wherein a small and loving community hangs out together inside a cafe in Glover Park.

And here is the photo. I took this last November 1, just 5 days before I said "Au revoir, Wellington!" The mixture of joy and melancholy brought about by my 3-month experience have somehow inspired me in this photo. And yes, you guys (you know who you are).. you all inspired me! Sounds cheesy, but yeah whatever!

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The weekend dilemma

Currently listening to: Park Bench Theories (album) by Jamie Scott & The Town

When I have to wake up, my body still craves for sleep.
(Weekdays, ugh!)

When I still wanna sleep, a burst of energy suddenly surges into my body.
(Weekends, whoa!)

:D

Now what?!

Currently listening to: Wincing the Night Away (album) by The Shins

2K8 has already begun! Let's see:
- Today (January 6) marks the 3rd month of our Feilding trip ("our" being Helen, Kiri, Nga and yours truly!). And it just so happen that right now most of the Blueprint crew are there for the Soul Survivor festival. At the mo, I wish I were there!
- I just had a MAJOR hairstyle change yesterday. All I can say is that I'm not yet ready to post a photo of me at this time. NOT YET! :)
- I'll be back at work tomorrow! (After 2 weeks' worth of holiday!) And I'm not yet that ready to face reality.. Perhaps my new hairstyle (or the lack of it, oops it just slipped out of my keyboard LOL) will break the ice for me..
- This is the year of the Beijing Olympics and the US presidential elections. Speakin' of MAJOR world events, I'm wonderin' if I will have another opportunity to travel this year. (Just in case I can't drop by NZ for this year..)
- I wanna be absolutely excited for this year. But it's the pessimistic mindset that tends to spoil the fun for me. I dunno.. I wanna break through stuff this year.. Break barriers, break walls, break hearts (nah!)
- And I'm turning 23 this year! (Man, I just turned 22 a few months back and now I'm talking about 23!)

I just feel lonely as usual! It's just 35 gigs worth of music in my laptop, the new Philip Yancey book I bought a week ago ("Soul Survivor") and me.. I know I'm by my own right now (physically with people but Im like a walled city).. The truth is I wanna talk to someone I can trust and sense that he/she is willing to be my shrink even for a few hours(!).. I just wanna spill out my mind and heart.. Even if it takes tears and bits of laughter just to make the point in expressing the funk I'm into at present..

Yeah I know I need HIM right now.. But perhaps I need someone who can go with me in going to HIM.. That's it!

Totally random, it is..

Currently listening to: Wag Ka Nang Umiyak by Sugarfree
(To my KIWI mates who intend to spend a little more time in my blog, this means "Do Not Cry Anymore")

I was flipping through my friends' Crackbook sites a while back and I noticed that Adam has a blog. We can altogether have a peek on what's behind this guy's long hair.

And yeah, it's this time of the year again. What's in store for me:

- I've got a 17-day holiday! Be back at work on January 7th! Big cheers!
- I get to catch up with heaps of zzz's (So what am I doing in front of the PC at 3AM? :D )
- I get to spend more time with my beloved family.

AND

- I look forward to listing down the top songs of the year!

Oooh! I forgot:
- I plan on Skyping my Kiwi mates on CHRISTmas day!

AND

I shouldn't forget who this season is supposedly for. Sounds cliche I know, but I realised that shouldn't confine HIM in a box! That HE occupies only this certain amount of space in my life. I want to press on in following HIM, be it CHRISTmas season or not. Press on, carry on and hold on! Until I become more like CHRIST!

P.S.: I think it's bout time for me to wake up those blog entries sleeping in my Drafts folder. LOL.

System restore..

Currently listening to: Mute Math tracks (from both Reset EP and Mute Math)

Yeah! I was able to make my webcam and my music players (iTunes7.5 and WMP11) work without having to bring my laptop to a technician. How did I manage that? SYSTEM RESTORE!

(To get there: Start Menu > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Restore)

Thankfully, Windows saved my settings as of November 5, 2K7 (the day before I left WGTN). And all I had to do was to restore those settings and presto, I got my webcam and my music players working. What's more awesome is that my files aren't affected at all by this process.

Now, I need a "system restore" as well. I've been on a dry spell for days, in more ways than one. I'm experiencing my Sammy the Salmon moment. I terribly miss NZ and feel like "GOD, I'm not the same person I was in WGTN!" I need to be restored on my state while I was in WGTN, even right now that I'm in Manila. Would that be possible, as in right this very moment?

Parting words: Is there a place named "Old Zealand"? LOL.

And I'm running out of words..

Currently listening to: I Believe (album) by Rapture Ruckus

I realised that there are 3 entries currently sitting in my Drafts folder and heaps of ideas that I'm considering to post in this blog. But no, words are eluding me right now. I'm "speechless" (or should I say "word"-less?). I'm on a dry spell at the moment, and I'm on a hunt for an oasis where I can get refreshed, by all means!