tree with crow
tree with tennis shoes

It was dark and dreary this morning when I left for my walk, a black and white kind of day.

leaf shadows

our future views...
Being over here on the other side of the world, any images of our future home have come from photos uploaded online. I've felt like a photo detective, trying to figure out angles and distances, possible perspectives and views. What will our view be? What about the Metrobank next door? Standing right at the floor to ceiling windows of our corner unit, we won't be able to see the Fuente Osmena circle, but we will have a view starting a few blocks northwest towards the Capitol building. Maybe a 180 degree view, sweeping from the Chong Hua hospital and the distant water view on the left, along the mountains and going northeast towards Talamban? We should have some beautiful sunsets. Just studying the photos, and guessing, from here on the other side of the world...

Nathan and Andrea

yesterday

eight years ago?

raindrop branches

parked, on a rainy night

sunrise

Although I forgot my camera, I knew today was going to be a good day when I drove Nate to school. There was a fairly nice sunrise, and even though it was another cloudy, gray day, a rainbow of colors were washing over everything. By the time I got home, the angles of sunlight were almost perfect, and I grabbed my camera and left for my walk.

Neo

checking it out
break time

openings

>

our kids...

eight years ago?

and last year?

where am I?

a question I often ask myself

I find myself wandering around the past


I find myself worrying about something in the future

out comes my rope and hook
to throw out and latch onto something here now

my eyes open
I listen
I feel my breath, going in and coming out

and I'm back...

morning quiet
fireplace warmth
cats sleeping
cup of coffee
time for walk

My mother was going through her old cedar chest the other day, and she found this photo of me at age 22 months:

I felt like a sailor during my walk yesterday, me and my umbrella, fighting the wind. With more of the same today, I decided to go to the mall.

Pink

if I had half a mind...

We went to the Muckleshoot Casino and watched the Pacquiao-Cotto fight yesterday. Super exciting! Everything the promos promised!

depression

It's almost physical, like when a fever has peaked and your flu or whatever has run it's course. A depression, a downer mood, is gone, just like that. That's good, but why can't we embrace negative or sad feelings the same way we enjoy the good times? How can one exist without the other anyway?
I think the denial and the pushing away of a downward slope on our path of life just gives it more strength. Maybe accepting it, owning it like we do for more pleasant happenings, is more honest, more real. The trick is having your eyes open, and recognizing where you are earlier in the process. Instead of indulging the 'poor me', and slipping further along, take ownership. Ok, I'm bummed out.
Maybe the blips of your personal roller coaster ride will even out over time, and something like peace can become a stonger force.
The here and now, good or bad, is the only thing we really have. Put your arms around it, and embrace it all...

a few more Fall photos...
from this morning's walk

The Crown Regency and Ultima Residences Nov 09:

The anchors or touchpoints for my day are my early morning and afternoon meditations, and my morning walk. Even with my cold nose and fingertips, my walk this morning was joyous.

Holding on...
I want some sun...
a blanket of pink

We went up to Vancouver for an overnighter Sunday, and a super David Foster and Friends concert. Charice was the closer, and it was amazing! We stopped by Granville Island before going up onto the bridge and driving into the city, and I wish I could have stopped the car mid-bridge and shot a photo. The silver blue colors of so many condo buildings surprised me. I found the following photos on Skyscrapercity.com:


Our hotel room was a corner "suite" with floor to ceiling windows that made us think of our future condo. We were on the 9th floor though, so with the 15' loft designs of the Ultima Residences, we'll be twice as high in Cebu, with more spectacular views?