Complexities of a prince\’s life…

I love my dad so much. We may not have the best father-son relationship but I will never trade him for any other man. I miss him dearly and just listening to his voice makes all the distance seem not so distant.

I’ll visit the Philippines next year not because I miss home, because it no longer is. But because of my friends, my family, and more importantly, because of my dad.

In a cold night here in Los Angeles, a phone call from my main man (my father) is all it takes to give, as cliche as it may sound but nevertheless sincere, warmth in my heart. Now, time for that good ‘ol hot chocolate.

Have a great evening everyone!

Have you ever tried swimming or even paddling a kayak upstream? I have. And I must say, it’s pretty darn hard. The current, slowly but surely, will wear you down eventually. Even the best swimmer in the world, or a relatively competent (operative word: relatively) swimmer such as myself would get tired sooner than later. Haha!

Just this summer at Lake Isabella, I was swimming, trying to cool down after setting up my tent on a hot day, when all of a sudden, this gust of wind just kept on bringing me to the deeper part of the lake. I struggled a bit but was able to swim towards the shore. Whew! That was a close one considering that it was a lake.

On a related note, I’m pretty sure that once in your lives, you’ve experienced such phenomenon either literally or figuratively speaking. There’s just this force, this person, personal struggle, addiction, or what not, that keeps on breaking you down bit by bit. They try, and who knows if and when they succeed.

But through it all, what defines a person is his or her courage to face the current. Perseverance and fortitude are two qualities that all warriors possess. Besides, one way or another, we are all warriors in each of our own battles in life.

I usually do not get fazed with anything that’s in front of me. I am a warrior. And I’ve always thought that it’s only a matter of time and strategy to solve any issue at hand. However, I’m not perfect. And as much as I try to convince myself that everything’s fine and dandy, it’s not. It’s my one big fight if I may put it that way.

I have too many questions and too little faith. And I must remind myself that I am not alone. John 7:38 says, “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” He’s with me throughout this whole ordeal and I know that I can lean on Him whenever I need to. It’s just a matter of faith. Faith that I can surpass all of this, but most importantly, faith in Him, that he will calm the waters for his son.

Have you ever tried swimming or even paddling a kayak upstream? I have. And I must say, it’s pretty darn hard. The current, slowly but surely, will wear you down eventually. Even the best swimmer in the world, or a relatively competent (operative word: relatively) swimmer such as myself would get tired sooner than later. Haha!

Just this summer at Lake Isabella, I was swimming, trying to cool down after setting up my tent on a hot day, when all of a sudden, this gust of wind just kept on bringing me to the deeper part of the lake. I struggled a bit but was able to swim towards the shore. Whew! That was a close one considering that it was a lake.

On a related note, I’m pretty sure that once in your lives, you’ve experienced such phenomenon either literally or figuratively speaking. There’s just this force, this person, personal struggle, addiction, or what not, that keeps on breaking you down bit by bit. They try, and who knows if and when they succeed.

But through it all, what defines a person is his or her courage to face the current. Perseverance and fortitude are two qualities that all warriors possess. Besides, one way or another, we are all warriors in each of our own battles in life.

I usually do not get fazed with anything that’s in front of me. I am a warrior. And I’ve always thought that it’s only a matter of time and strategy to solve any issue at hand. However, I’m not perfect. And as much as I try to convince myself that everything’s fine and dandy, it’s not. It’s my one big fight if I may put it that way.

I have too many questions and too little faith. And I must remind myself that I am not alone. John 7:38 says, “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” He’s with me throughout this whole ordeal and I know that I can lean on Him whenever I need to. It’s just a matter of faith. Faith that I can surpass all of this, but most importantly, faith in Him, that he will calm the waters for his son.

Perspective – the appearance of things relative to one another as determined by their distance from the viewer; a way of regarding situations or topics etc.; “consider what follows from the positivist view.”

I learned about more about perspective when I took my Art Appreciation last Spring. From the works of Piet Mondrian to El Greco to even avant-garde Andy Warhol (Yana’s fave), there will always be something more than meets the eye with their pieces.

Just the other day while driving home from the gym, my good friend and Tennis buddy Joey and I were talking about how crazy all our (plus a couple of close friends here in LA) schedules will be, in say, two weeks.

Classes have already started for all of them except for me (I start on the 21st) and it’s been hard to get everyone altogether at the same time. Well, except for that one hot Labor Day Monday morning where majority of us decided to head out to the mall to cool down and do some last minute shopping. Still, that was before their first day of class.

Joey was telling me how eventually, we’d all end up doing our thing and not having that much time as we used to. I told him I knew that, and soon, priorities will kick in and what’s important will clearly manifest in the decisions we end up doing.

I couldn’t help but wonder (let me borrow this line again. hee ^_^), are my perspectives about life changing faster than I would want them to? I’m afraid of driving too fast on a one-way street and missing my destination.

At 22, I’ve resigned to the fact that I will not drink or go to a club/bar for a year. Yup, a silly idea turned statement turned something my friends are half-supportive of. Yeah, go figure.

I just got tired of all the drinking and nonchalant chat with friends and random strangers. Besides, it’s really too crowded, too noisy, and too smoky to really engage in a conversation. Sure it’s fun, but I can have fun elsewhere. For instance, hip-hop class. Fun!!

The scary thing is, even if I’ve convinced myself that this is the route to go, I am not sure if I’ll crave for this when I’m 30 or something. Despite the fact that some of my club/bar buddies are in their 30s, I just don’t see myself in their shoes. I know I’d be focusing on my career and family.

Which brings me to my next question. Have I partied too hard too much? Or do I still have some partying left in my blood? Ok.. Not really my question. I just thought of writing something mundane and trivial. Haha!

Seriously now, I just don’t want to miss on anything and regret it sometime in the future. But who would know any of the “what ifs” that plague each of us? Nobody. Period. Bottom line is, what’s really important is what we deem essential in our lives and what makes us happy. And both, ladies and gentlemen, lie in our own perspective.

Perspective – the appearance of things relative to one another as determined by their distance from the viewer; a way of regarding situations or topics etc.; “consider what follows from the positivist view.”

I learned about more about perspective when I took my Art Appreciation last Spring. From the works of Piet Mondrian to El Greco to even avant-garde Andy Warhol (Yana’s fave), there will always be something more than meets the eye with their pieces.

Just the other day while driving home from the gym, my good friend and Tennis buddy Joey and I were talking about how crazy all our (plus a couple of close friends here in LA) schedules will be, in say, two weeks.

Classes have already started for all of them except for me (I start on the 21st) and it’s been hard to get everyone altogether at the same time. Well, except for that one hot Labor Day Monday morning where majority of us decided to head out to the mall to cool down and do some last minute shopping. Still, that was before their first day of class.

Joey was telling me how eventually, we’d all end up doing our thing and not having that much time as we used to. I told him I knew that, and soon, priorities will kick in and what’s important will clearly manifest in the decisions we end up doing.

I couldn’t help but wonder (let me borrow this line again. hee ^_^), are my perspectives about life changing faster than I would want them to? I’m afraid of driving too fast on a one-way street and missing my destination.

At 22, I’ve resigned to the fact that I will not drink or go to a club/bar for a year. Yup, a silly idea turned statement turned something my friends are half-supportive of. Yeah, go figure.

I just got tired of all the drinking and nonchalant chat with friends and random strangers. Besides, it’s really too crowded, too noisy, and too smoky to really engage in a conversation. Sure it’s fun, but I can have fun elsewhere. For instance, hip-hop class. Fun!!

The scary thing is, even if I’ve convinced myself that this is the route to go, I am not sure if I’ll crave for this when I’m 30 or something. Despite the fact that some of my club/bar buddies are in their 30s, I just don’t see myself in their shoes. I know I’d be focusing on my career and family.

Which brings me to my next question. Have I partied too hard too much? Or do I still have some partying left in my blood? Ok.. Not really my question. I just thought of writing something mundane and trivial. Haha!

Seriously now, I just don’t want to miss on anything and regret it sometime in the future. But who would know any of the “what ifs” that plague each of us? Nobody. Period. Bottom line is, what’s really important is what we deem essential in our lives and what makes us happy. And both, ladies and gentlemen, lie in our own perspective.