Will I ever stay?

The answer is a very simple no. I’ve asked myself countless times. Traveling and moving always come first. I can see myself settling down but I just can’t get around to actually doing it. I hate leaving things behind I do, but once I’m in a new place all those things don’t seem to matter as much. I have my health, my memories, and my experiences with me…what more do I need? I really don’t care about a lot of stuff, not that they aren’t important, I just, well, don’t care.

Someone once asked me: Will you ever stay…for love? The simple answer would be again, no. Nevertheless, people tend to follow these yes or no questions with…why? Well, simply because my desire to travel is stronger than any other feelings I might have. ‘Pero el amor es el sentimiento mas fuerte que los demás’. Sure, I agree with that, and I’ve come very close to compromising but somehow, the thought of traveling and seeing the rest of the world comes out on top. I would give it a shot, I have been giving it a shot, but it’s just not happening. ‘All you need is love’, not me. ‘Love can withstand anything’, perhaps. If that’s true then love can wait (I am kind of in love).

I’m generalizing though…there are so many circumstances and I’m about to contradict myself by quoting Spider-Man: ‘Sometimes, to do what’s right, we have to be steady and give up the thing we want the most. Even our dreams.’ Truth be told this quote is definitely one of my favs. If my family needs me to stay, then yeah, I’m willing to give up my dreams, but if they “want” me to stay, then maybe. Now I’m gonna quote House: ‘You can’t always get what you want’, and now I’m gonna quote Into the Wild: ‘When you want something in life, you just gotta reach out and grab it’. On the surface, these seem like contradictions, but really, they go hand in hand. Think about it…no really, think about it! I’m not about to explain. Hmm, my wifey was just on tv with her music video”Suerte”.

All in all, take what has meaning, and leave the rest behind.

17 days

Only 17 days left in the year. Weird how time always flies by.

Sleigh bells ring, are you listening? In the lane, snow is glistening. A beautiful sight, we’re happy tonight, walking in a winter wonderland. Christmas carols are so awesome. Back in the Fall of 2005, I took Chorus at UH Hilo and basically, the whole semester we were practicing for a Christmas concert performance. All day and night Christmas songs were stuck in my head, and it wasn’t the melody part because I sang bass, so it was mostly harmonies. The concert was a lot of fun though I have to admit. No snow for Christmas this year, it’s not even that cold.

It’s gonna be my first Christmas away from home. Sad and excited. Sad for not spending it with my family, excited for we’re probably going to Nicaragua! Christmas is definitely the most wonderful time of the year, and my favorite as well. The best Christmas that I’ve had was when I was 7 or 8. This was back in Hong Kong. I remember it was just my family and me. We went out for dinner, and my parents bought my sister and me lights of some sort. We saw all the Christmas decorations on the Skylines.

It was just one of those memories.

I was with my friend in downtown San Jose the other day and this guy came up to us selling some earrings that he made. He said it was okay if we didn’t buy any but just let him explain himself and such. Anyway, turns out that he’s been traveling and selling these for four years. He made them himself with a small plier and copper wires, just bending and twisting and viola. It was really cool. He was a really cool guy, very friendly. He made me a peace/love sign and Diana a star ring. So awesome.

One more week of work then vacation time! Can’t wait.

Hurray for a sunny Saturday!

It was a beautiful morning. It’s still very sunny right now, which is very fortunate because it’s been raining non-stop for the past 2 weeks. The breeze under the Costa Rican sun reminds me of summer in Hawai’i and California. Summer is coming! What is it about a sunny day that takes all the worries and stresses away?

Christmas is right around the corner. This Christmas is going to be my first Christmas away from home. It’s going to be FUN! All the plans are still up in the air but I’m definitely not staying in San Jose. The atmosphere is different here. For the past month or so Christmas decorations were already put up by Ticos, which made sense since most of the population here are Catholic. Cristo de Sabanilla is right up the street from the house. It’s going to be interesting going to mass here (even though I’m not really Catholic nor Christian nor do I associate myself with a certain religion), it’s always good to experience a different kind of, let’s just say, religion. It expands our worldview. It’s important to have knowledge about everything, even things that are not interesting to us. Damn, that sounds cheesy. Ah well. Just felt like putting something on.

Jeff Corwin is awesome.

Check out this article which gives a slight glimpse of memory recall.

Beware of thoughts that come in the night

They aren’t turned properly; they come in askew, free of sense and restriction, deriving from the most remote of sources. ~ William Trogdon

La mayoría de estos pensamientos en la noche son deprimidos. Es extraño, es oscuro, es triste. Es difícil entender porque no sabe de donde vienen estos pensamientos. Por eso muchas de las conversaciones que ocurren son profundos. Hay algo trata con la oscuridad. Bueno, cuando está despejado y enfocado el mente, especialmente durante la noche (aún dentro de un sueño), el subconsciente tiene más espacio para funciona. Estos pensamientos son suprimidos por el consciente durante el día (por lo general). No sé que quiero decir exactamente porque estoy cansado. Pues, tengo que trabajar mañana, voy a dormirme. 

The weather outside is frightful

It’s been really cold this past few days. It’s been raining constantly. Supposedly this is the coldest San Jose has experienced in 12 years. A cold front lingering due to low pressure on the Gulf Coast. Yes, it’s global warming people. We might not know the extent of human contributions (as many studies pointed out), but admit it, we’ve been taking from our medio ambiente and never giving anything back. We ARE destroying our environment. Love National Geographic.

Let’s get nerdy now. Remember how cool having the power to become invisible was? How Harry got away with so much under his cloak? How Casper can turn invisible? Well, a while back the first findings were documented. Now we’re closer than we think to making this amazing feat come true. Let’s start we the basics. What makes things visible? Well, why can’t we see anything in the dark (technically we can if our eyes are adjusted)? There’s no light! So, we see things because light reflects off of whatever things we’re seeing. To make things invisible, all we have to do is avoid being “hit” by light. Basically, they found a material that can bend light so that light won’t hit an object, but instead, goes around the object, rendering it invisible. Cool huh? Technology, it’s great.

Why do all good things come to an end…?

Flames to dust, lovers to friends, why do all good things come to an end? –> Great song by Nelly Furtado.

My good friend Andrew is leaving to go back to Atlanta in the next 8 hours or so. We had a great farewell party for him and also mixed with a birthday party for Julia and I. Bidding goodbye is the hardest thing to do. Time doesn’t really have much to do with how good a friendship is. It’s all in the moment. I’ve made great friends from knowing them for only a weekend, a month, a semester, to friends I’ve known since I was little. It’s all about connections, common grounds, and always a little bit of fate. When we think about how small this world really is, it’s destined, in a way, that certain people cross paths. Two people from different corners of the world with completely different backgrounds end up doing the same thing in the same place at the same time.

This world of ours is definitely a wonder. I mean, I never thought I would be here in Costa Rica teaching English. How did I end up here? What if things were different? What if I never moved to the US? I always try to imagine what it would be like. Maybe in another parallel universe, there’s another me that never left Hong Kong. Speaking of the universe, check this article out.

Anyway, what I’m trying to say is I’ve bid a lot of goodbyes. I’ve been to 2 different elementary schools, 2 different middle schools, and three different universities. Some of the friends I completely lost contact with, others are scattered all over the world. It’s probable but unlikely that I’ll see many of them again. With the new age of the internet and social networks, keeping in touch is very easy, but different. Sure, we know how our friends are doing, what they’re up to, etc. but it’s different when we actually hang out with them, go out, have fun, and whatnot.

It’s sad to say goodbye, but we have to keep moving on. Just remember all the good times and bad, all the tears and joy, ups and downs. Treasure the memories and experiences that define you. Use it as strength to continue on with life. That’s how I always feel. Feels like I’ve been here forever, but it’s only been a month. Next thing you know, it’s time to leave. At first, it’s sad, then you feel glad to have made all these friends, and after you’re optimistic about encountering them again, and in the blink of an eye, you’re taking deep breaths and looking ahead, looking out the plane window or bus or whatever kind of transportation remembering all the incidents and such. Then smiling, then eyes get watery, then the guy/girl sitting next to you starts to eye you like you’re loco. That’s how it always is, for me anyway.

With that, this entry has come to an end. I’m heading to bed…it’s 6 in the damn morning…damn.

History in the making

I thought it was going to be a closer race but Obama ran a perfect campaign. The promise of change is definitely coming. He reminded me of Martin Luther King when he was giving the speech in Chicago. “As a people”, the same as King’s ideal.

This is history right here. Go, Obama!

Democrats took the majority in the House and the Senate…what a change this is.

P.S. The hologram thing on CNN was awesome, just like Star Wars: “Obama Kenobi, you’re my only hope”.