Wednesday, June 30, 2004
canadian withdrawal
niagara falls is breahttaking. the spectacular view of the american falls and the canadian falls is incomparable. it is true and clear that the better view is on the canadian side of the border. you get a glimpse of the magnificent beauty of the gigantic falls up front. the mist is so fresh. and what about the colorful display of fireworks at night? the falls is even a better view at night as it changes colors for red to lue to white to purple. and number of crowds that surrounded the giant falls are overwhelming. if there's one thing i miss is that i wished my family and friends whom i left should have been there.
i came back from toronto yesterday with the all smiles and with lots of memories seeing old childhood friends. i enjoyed the spectacular destinations of toronto and missisauga offered. downtown toronto is such a blast with the jazz festival, sipping tim horton's ice cappucino in the middle of the city. who can forgot den-az cool and pricey condo at the midst of the downtown genre? imagine painting mir's bachelor and drinking red wine at the same time? well i did that with cess and friends.
at rockdale mall with the overwhelming discounts, i met odessa and "j-lo" (charity). the casa loma castle and the inviting garden at the front provided a place to chat and look back at out past lives, catch up for thriteen years and remincise. kagawa restaurant with the authentic japanese dining experience gave us full stomach and a load of laughters and memories.
but i think the magic of canada lies not only on its magestic places to see, but on the warmth of the people. cess, tita alice, lola, and ate not embrace and my family and i with open arms in their lovely mansion. they offered us an array of barbeques and "galbi" lots of chismis and catching up. i was filled up in a minute.tito's love and concern for cess reminded that there are nice guys there. ate not's desire for independence made me think of mine.
and odette, odessa offered me renewed friendship making me realized that the foundation of an old friendship that was built on trust could can never be destroyed. j-lo opened my eyes to just have fun and relaxed and enjoy the show as she remained calm and cool all through out worrying about las vegas and her admirers there constantly saying, " guys will be there! who cares? " odessa's son darian remind me of how odessa grew up to be an adult early in life and yet, she survived it and she has been an extraordinary mom. darian is a bright child and his upbrining clearly has become odess'a achievement. tita rosy odessa mom welcomed our party without hesitation and made us eat sweet treats of the fresh watermelon.
ontario, canada is such a beautiful province from the niagara falls up to the shyrcrapers in the windy toronto. but what i will miss more about toronto and missisauga is the warm embraces of my friends, the long chitchats and the galbis. i will come back there. i promise.
Wednesday, June 23, 2004
FOR HAN
thank you for loving me
How Did You Know
by Gary Valenciano
INTRO
I remember so well
The day that you came into my life
You asked for my name
You had the most beautiful smile
My life started to change
I'd wake up each day feeling alright
With you right by my side
Makes me feel things will work out just fine
CHORUS
How did you know
I needed someone like you in my life
That there's an empty space in my heart
You came at the right time in my life
I'll never forget
How you brought the sun to shine in my life
And took all the worries and fears that I had
I guess what I'm really trying to say
It's not everyday that someone like you comes my way
No words can express how much I love you
miss my HAN -ey
han does not know anything about this blog and so does my other exes. ....but han has been courting me since ...april or march.
he told me about what he felt for me and all that and i really really liked him a lot but damn, i am scared. even though i had all the intense feelings for him, i decided to keep my mouth shut. because i am scared to love again.
well, before i left to new york, i told han that i have to tell him something and that he could not comment on it whatsoever and no questions either. he asked me what it was i needed to tell him.
so i said, " I LOVE YOU, TOO."
state of shock
my neck turned left and right, up and down as i looked around me. wow. for a minute, i thought i was in manila. the buzzling traffic, the sounds of honking cars and buses, the suffocating smell of the filthy poluuted air, the gigantic buildings, the flickering lights, the pedestrians crossing to and from different directions, and yeah that distinct new yorkan ghetto-ish accent. for a moment, i was flabbergasted and had to reorient myself on my whereabouts. "
yes norilen...you are here and welcome to new york city!, " I told myself.
i arrived to new york city safe and sound via
jetblue airlines and with quite a culture and environment shock. new york is so different where i came from in los angeles where everything seemed to be a little laid back. here, it seems that the people are always on the go. and when i say people, i mean A LOT of people from every race from every different ethnicity and everything else. new york surely is the salad bowl of people here in east coast.
i am staying on the lower east side of manhattan overlooking the empire state building to my rignt and the view of hudson river to my left. kuya sal, my cousin, stays at peter cooper village stuyvescant square, in the downtown manhattan area. it 's a pretty decent condo compared to the other area we have been. in fact, i like it here because it's so close to everything like soho and broadway and the vilage hwere th vilage people are at. and to think that it is couple blocks from the union square and accesible to any location in new yrok city.
where have i gone so far> i just arrived from a little gambling session in atlantic sity a little two hours ago. yes, i am writing this half awake since i was the driver. on the previous days, i ws at times square, fifth ave, central park, rockefeller center. i went to the ground zero and state of liberty and empire state building. i will explore on that in details later.
have more places to see and people to meet and promise i will have a lot fof stories to tell. for now, i must go get some sleep so i can be awake when we go chow down later.
i'll keep intouch , i promose
