day 692 - i left my heart right beside manila bay

woke up this morning to the beep of my cellphone. a text arrived, greeting me happy new year. and suddenly the yearning became out of control. i cried because i know i left my heart, this time, permanently. my body and soul might be here, but my heart is so many miles away, 13 hours ahead of this time zone.

he once told me that if we're meant to be, we would still be together even in our old age. it is that hope that keeps the love alive. it may be a hopeless aspiration, and we both have a healthy realization that we shall never be, unless a thermonuclear explosion happens, but we can dream, can't we?

i took this photo one morning we met up to jog. in fact, he was the one who pointed the boater to me and chuckled at the 'purple' colour of the boat. i call this 'our purple boat', captured forever. i miss him. and i miss the heat in manila.

day 691 - lucky shot

one of my goals in photography for 2012 is to make shots (preferably of nicer things) with focus like this. savvy?

day 690 - serious action

there's some serious weather action going on over the lake, i can see it from 15 offices away from my desk. gotta see what's going on. and those boxes, they've been there forever.

day 689 - it snows in toronto

well, what's left of what came down last night. and more are still coming down later on in the day and this would be completely covered by tomorrow.

day 688 - start your day right

with a good breakfast - french toast made with raisin bread and served with dried blueberries and just an ample amount of maple syrup. divine! and good for your cholesterol (or mine).

day 687 - Christmas blessings

taken after an evening mass; the church had this enormous tree in its foyer lit with tiny lights, must be hundreds of them, and make for a nice lookout.

day 686 - away in a manger

a nativity in light at a church on stanley avenue in niagara falls, ontario.

day 685 - he's come to town

and he made a list and checked it twice... have you been good? naughty? nice? ass?

day 684 - in flight

caught one. not as great, but would do for now.

day 683 - go bananas!

that's the edible kind. it's good for you!

day 682 - teeming

those hydro lines were just teeming with birds. it was incredible.

day 681 - panoramic islands

you can see the sun rising over the islands. i may not come here for a while, or at least while the biting cold holds on. it's not like i have anywhere else to go.

day 680 - under a quirky blue sky

it is a beautiful morning and even made more beautiful by the blue sky with ample dottings of fluffy clouds. glorious!

day 679 - filipino breakfast

this is not in manila; this is from a very nice filipino resto north of toronto. this brekkie consists of garlic fried rice with chopped green onions; scrambled eggs and fried baby milkfish marinated in a mixture of garlic, soysauce, ground black pepper and vinegar. there's a condiment of pickled green papaya. yes, breakfast of champions!

day 678 - more jala-jala pics

that's the lovely cora leonor inside the bedroom of her bungalow in her jala-jala getaway resort. the structure in yesterday's pic is on the left and the large building is the resort's clubhouse. from this bedroom, she has a spectacular view of the pool, too.

day 677 - pining for jala-jala

remembering cora leonor's jala-jala getaway.

day 676 - dart vader

close up of one of the ducks. had his head been all black he'd really be dart vader. he's the meanest looking of all and when i took this photo, he was coming directly towards me but thankfully veered towards left and i was able to take this shot. what is with the tail?

day 675 - return of the jedi

i am truly scared of these ducks. they look weird and scary. they look like dart vader's minions, those white clad soldiers in star wars. must check if these are the same ducks that chased me during the summer. maybe they change their appearance during the colder months. hmmm...interesting.

day 674 - the boardwalk

from the entrance to the ferry station, this is the view of the lake and the islands. quite cold but there are still a few people taking in the bright sunshine.

day 673 - bird attack

at the boardwalk at lunch, a woman threw scraps of food at the water and suddenly out of nowhere these seagulls appeared and swarmed the water. eerie but i managed to take a few shots. turned out it was a set up for her husband who was taking photos of the birds. hah! i'd have called the cops on them had i not gotten a few good shots.

day 672 - Christmas angel

tonight, i put up my Christmas tree, put the decorative balls and this little Christmas angel that my friend donna beth made for me last year out of the craft materials i gave her.

day 671 - baby, it's cold outside

cold as ice, i say. and i sit here wondering "when did i not like the cold!" well, until i had that jogging spree in 39 degrees weather and survived. i miss the tropics, but i miss benjamin, my jogging buddy, most of all.

day 670 - and for the discriminating palate...

Henry of Pelham 2009 sauvignon blanc to down the halibut entree i had at the party - smooth on the palate and easy going down. perfect pairing, i should say!

day 669 - fine herb-crusted atlantic halibut

my entree of choice during tonight's firm Christmas party at the Ritz-Carlton hotel. if you notice, i had a bite already before i took this photo. tsk! tsk! i see food and i forget everything else. i like it!

day 668 - late view

i like staying late at the office, and that is not just because i come in late. i just don't want to be jostling with so many people during the rush hours, morning or afternoon. it gives me time to start to unwind from the long work day. it gives me time to think. it gives me time to appreciate what's around me more. i know i miss a lot of things by being late, but i've been early all of my life and now that i have 'adjusted' my time, i enjoy it more. late is still late, one minute or one hour or one day; time that can never be gained back. but it's my time and i will spend it the way i want to, n'est-ce pas?

like appreciating this little Christmas tree at the lobby of our office building. there are more of this around the lobby so there are more to appreciate. this one in particular seems cheerier than the other ones. i'll photograph the other ones when there are less people in the lobby. and that would be on a weekend!

day 667 - i still got it!

there is someone in my life that i associate with the moon and he was such an unexpected part of my holiday last month. he was quite surprised that i still remember that night in school when he sang 'my foolish heart' to me. i was telling him this while winding up our jog one morning at the seaside. he was even more surprised when i told him that he kissed me first one night while we were walking on this very seaside. how could i remember all this, he asked. "i guess, you just don't forget the good things!" forty-some years and nothing's changed, the feelings i mean.

one time, he let out a 'what if it had been you and me?', staring out to the sea, a poignant expression in his face; his wife about ten metres away from us, angst in her face, and myself smiling like a cheshire cat.

"i still got it!" was all i could tell my friend when i got back from the run that morning.

day 666 - hangers on

surprised that (i was told) there had been some snow in november while i was away, and yet i find that some of the trees have not totally shed off their leaves, like this maple on victoria street. leaves are all intact and you have to yank them off the branches. just hanging on for dear life, i suppose.

day 665 - i'm back; this is how i know...

when you see these canada geese, you know you're home, or almost home. the cackle and the gaggle are just unmistakable, as well as the poopies you have to avoid stepping on - and they're not just little poops, they're freakishly big. don't be fooled by the green grass, for the poops are that colour, too!

day 664 - good morning, Canada!

the glorious canadian sunrise woke me up this morning. i've had only 2 hours of sleep as i couldn't get to sleep last night, still on manila or san francisco time, maybe. but i will fight off sleep the whole day so i will be too tired tonight and sleep my usual time and shake off this damn jet lag shit. am still woozy from yesterday's flight but i'm almost home. a very ambivalent feeling: wanting to go home and yet wanting to leave at the same time. growing old, i'm sure.

day 663 - on the way to home

friday morning, my goddaughter drove me and bff to the san francisco airport so i can take the plane back to buffalo. so, gotta cross the country to take my final trip to home. this is one of the spectacular views on the highway going to the airport. it was a bright and sunny day albeit a tad cold.

day 662 - an almost titlshift

almost, not quite. or probably not. i don't understand the concept anyway. but i like those bright red leaves on the bushes and there's so many of them along the highway driving from the san francisco airport to castro valley where bff lives.

day 661 - mother and child

jogged at the seaside this morning, taking in the warm breeze of manila bay. ben and i went past this lady and i told him that would make a beautiful portrait. about three metres after we passed the lady, i told him, "i want to take a photo" and i jogged backwards.

"excuse me, ma'am," i said. "may i take a photo of you and your baby?"

she gave me a polite smile, then said, "may i ask, ma'am, what it is for?"

i was at a loss for words. should i have told her i was going to post it on the internet? no, bad idea. haven't done the 'thinking on my feet fast' in a long time so i came up with: "it just reminded me of how my mother used to sun my younger siblings." brilliant idea, i told myself.

the lady hesitated, looked at her child, then smiled back at me.

"okay, but please, no usog."

usog meaning no 'spell'.

for a while there i thought she was going to make me wipe saliva on her baby's tummy or foot.

ben, all this while, was just watching me "in action", amused at my 'boldness' as he called it.

but i got my photo!

day 660 - going to jala-jala

a good friend invited us to spend the day at her private resort in the mountains, about an hour and a half south of manila. this is one of the views overlooking laguna de bai, the water a murky gray as the bay has now become a fishing ground where the native fishes are farmed and raised.

day 659 - japanese umbrellas

at the robinson's mall (otis).

day 658 - bubbles

lots of it, at the mall of asia. the kiosk was selling 'bubble guns'.

day 657 - at the market

fresh shells, locally called 'conches', are sold on the side of the road at the market, along with vegetables, eggplants shown here.

day 656 -it's raining in manila

and it's a bitch when that happens.

day 655 - how beautiful is this?

the sun, the sea, the sand, the waves, the boats, the coconut trees.

day 654 - les coconuts en la playa

i am missing the beaches. ever since i went to jacksonville in 2010 and heard the ocean waves after such a long time, i've been wanting to be in the water. funny thing is i cannot even swim, except of course if my life depended on it, i can and will. but i've been pining for exactly this thing: coconut trees, little dampa, the virgin sands, the waves's songs, the call of the sea wind.

day 653 - la playa

shot of the water as the tide ebbed. i miss palawan. i definitely would consider living there when i retire.

day 652 - good food, excellent company

my good friend ludi invited us over to her home for a sumptuous dinner consisting of super large shrimp cooked in a delicate spice, kare-kare, fried spring rolls, fried shrimp cake, empanadas, and for dessert, fresh ripe mango, banana, melange of tubers in coconut milk, puto bungbong and bibingka. holy camoley, i was thankful i wore a really loose dress. i was so full i thought i was going to die. that's ludi in striped top and my other good friend, liz.

day 651 - "it's cloud illusions i recall..."

" i really don't know clouds at all." - joni mitchell

taken while we were touring the honday bay islands. there is something about the relationship between the clouds and the water in this part of the world, and i want to be part of that relationship.

day 650 - come, sit with me here!

and let's just watch the tide as it recedes; listen to the sound of the waves as they kiss the shore; feel the salty air as it caresses your hair, and watch that guy in the green boat as he...what the...he's peeing in the water!!!! give me the fucking camera and i will take a photo. quick! shit! he's done, dangit!!! (note: true story)

day 649 - nice!

it is nice to just sit there and relax while you're waiting for something much nicer to happen like a sumptuous lunch of grilled seafood and steamed vegetables. while we're at it, let's add a glass of white wine to the menu. then you sit back and relax and just listen to the waves. that is nice.

day 648 - there's my future home!

well, i wish. that's a private beach, owned by some big shot who paid a lot of money to have his own beach. i'd buy my own someday, too!

day 647 - paradise found

oh, yeah, baby, this is paradise. as you can discern, i was in the water while taking this pic, but quite careful not to get the camera wet. the tide's just coming in. the water is cool and clear and clean. the air is balmy and sweet. and the freaking sun is so hot it burned my shoulders, but not enough to get me all blistery. i am definitely coming back here soon!

day 646 - at the 'mall of asia'

the 'mall of asia' or MOA as the locals refer to it, is billed as one of the world's biggest commercial mall. it might have to be between position 4 and 7. it is quite huge, built entirely on the reclaimed lands along manila bay. the two ladies who were helping us at home (in local parlance, they are called 'maids'), told us they haven't been there at all and they were quite excited when my friend lulu announced we will take them with us to that mall. so i recorded their visit in photos and i made them pose everywhere. i even took random photos and also asked them to go up the tall escalators them come back down as i took their photos. they were quite excited. here, they posed on a random kiosk selling Christmas decorations. alma was wearing an orange top and layda was wearing yellowish striped blouse.

day 645 - not a secret garden

my youngest sister has two gardens, back and front. this is the front part of the garden. she has trees and plants and shrubs and bushes, she even has a mini-holly. there she is in the middle of the front garden. there is also an unused swimming pool, a small one where they have some kind of fishes - catfish, i believe. she has quite a green thumb as she had made most of the plants come back to life again and put the garden in order. that is no mean feat, i think. and i am proud of her.

day 644 - a forest?

looks like it, right? but i'm not in the islands yet, we're still in manila, having just arrived last night. this is right in the middle of the financial district in makati city, my old haunt, where lulu and i along with our other friends used to hang out. as you can see, there's a big building in the background.

day 643 - rihanna in manila?

no, she's not really rihanna. she's not even a she, if you know what i mean. she's a "touter" for one of the restaurants by the sea side and that's a menu she's holding. the deal is for the customer to come in to their restaurants, pick the food fresh and the restaurant will cook it any way the customer wants. i took a liking to this person because she looks so sweet. i feel sorry for men who want to be women, especially when you see that they should be women and not men.

in any case, when she saw me holding a camera, she right away struck this pose. i told her i was going to have the photo printed (she asked to see it after i took her photo) and she can sign it for me. of course, i forgot all about it and never went back there when the restaurants were open. maybe next time, i'm sure she would still be there.