A Different Kind of Island

Picture courtesy of Mojo, taken on our penultimate day in Maui

The Acupuncuturist told me yesterday that I was not being present.

The A: Girl! You, your head is still in Maui!

JoJo: I could've told you that. I miss that place. I just don't want to be here.

The A: This city is wonderful; there are lots of museums, restaurants, and plenty of culture. Take advantage of it. Do something every week. I bet you those people on Maui would give anything to have what you have and live in NYC. This is the center of the universe! (twinkle in his eye)

JoJo (laments): I know. I love NYC. This is my home, where I grew up. I need to fall in love with it again. But it's such a rat race!

The A: You know, Manhattan is an island. (smiles) Bring some of that aloha back here.

JoJo: Yeah. (pause) With millions of crazy people living on it!!!!!!! Grrr...


Went back to work today. It's definitely the most direct way to get over the lingering jet lag that I'm still trying to hang on to. I'm spoiled, I know. I've been off for three weeks and had 5 days since returning to the mainland to readjust.

Isn't it funny how even if we've got it good, we are still never happy? Jeez. Need to reflect more on that ever elusive state of happiness. I know it doesn't have to be elusive. We humans just choose to make it that way. I need to also keep working on being present. I don't know what it is. Everyone feels a bit depressed after returning from a great trip. I just feel like I got the wind knocked out of me in a way that I've never felt from other trips I've taken in the past.

To Those Who Fight For Social Justice

Dr. King and the life he chose to live reminds me of the choice we make to heed the call to serve and to fight on behalf of those who are disenfranchised, those who lack a voice. Thank you Dr. King for teaching us to be resolute in the face of uncertainty and to be fearless in the face of death.

Let us also remember other less popularly well-known leaders who fought in the Civil Rights Movement such as Ella Baker and Robert Moses (and many more) plus the countless unidentified men and women who fought and whose lives were lost in the quest for equality for all.

To inspiring leaders like Daw Aung Sun Suu Kyi, Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Theresa, Benigno Aquino, Jr., Nelson Mandela (to name just a few): THANK YOU. We will never forget your contribution to humanity and to making this world a more peaceful and just place.

Maui III: Piko

The Navel, The Center

I was drawn to this necklace when I first saw it on the road to Hana.
Carved out of cow bone, the artist explained that this symbol is the piko.
The navel connects us to the source of life; it is the center.

It reminds me of my spirituality.
I have learned to trust my gut, to trust myself.
I am beginning to feel the connection between my mind & body & spirit.
I am still patiently learning how to be unafraid of my emotions.

Maui II: Mojo

All the pictures on my camera are of Mojo. He was so happy in Maui, discovering new types of flora, walking over and around lava formations, and trying all sorts of tropical fruits like papaya, chico, calamansi that are familiar to Filipinos.

Here's a beast of an avocado that we got from a tree that grows in the backyard of my aunt's mother's house. It was big, creamy, and so sweet. It's nothing like I've ever seen and tasted here on the mainland. The guacamole we could make with this avocado would be out of this world! The papayas we ate grew in the backyard of my uncle's house. We would pick the ripe ones and eat them. They were the sweetest papayas I've ever tasted...not the ones that taste awful. I liken them to tasting like armpits.

Mojo already looks relaxed on our first day on the island. We couldn't believe this was the beach by the airport! We could hear and see the airplanes as they took off.

He did get a little stressed at the luau, when he thought he had to dance a hula on stage in front of the entire audience. He prepared himself by drinking two mai tai's at a time.


Mojo and his shakas in front of a cresting wave about to crash on the shore in Nahiku along the Hana Highway. And below, our curiosity led us into a lava tube. Doesn't he fit right in and look like a geologist? He just needs a headlamp and a pick and he's all set.
We'll have to wait till he downloads his photos since his has lots of pictures of me. What a team!

Maui I

Maui is beautiful! It's my second day back and the shot of cold weather coming out of JFK just reminded me how much happier I am when it is warm outside.

Mom, Mojo, and I had a fantastic time staying with our family and visiting the island. We decided not to travel to the other islands and in the end, it was good decision. At the start of our trip, we thought we had plenty of time to see and do all the things we wanted. After a few days, we realized that we could only accomplish 1/3 of what we set out to do especially since I tried to surf every day and we spent quality time with our family over breakfast and dinner every day.

More stories and pics to come...look for a pic of me on a surfboard...if you're lucky, I'll post the video! Come back and check again. In the meantime, here's a bit to whet your appetite.

JanJan & I on New Year's Eve. It is Filipino custom to pop firecrackers on Dec 31. I stuck with the itty bitty sparklers since the bigger, noisier firecrackers scare me. :)

Our first day on the island, we still had to get our bearings, adjust to the time difference, and shop for some necessities. We took a detour and stopped by Kanaha Beach, in Kahalui. This beach is right next to the airport (can you believe it?) and a perfect spot for beginner windsurfers.


We were treated by my family to a luau at the Marriott Hotel in Wailea. In the background is Molokini, the partly submergered crater, and further back is another island, Kaho'olawe.

Finally, a shot of my aunt and uncle (with a shaka) who were our fantastic hosts during our stay. They approve of Mojo and are thrilled that he was able to eat all the Filipino food they served him, especially since we had rice for breakfast. It is typical for Filipinos to eat rice three times a day. :)

Merry Early Christmas to Me

Finally got myself a Treo phone!!! I think I've been pining away for this thing for three years! I was up for a new phone and was especially anxious to get one because I dropped the old one and the screen's backlight busted. I could still see the screen but I had to shine a light on it. I lived with my ghetto phone for a month because I didn't have time to change it, I was so dang busy! Now that I submitted my last paper at 5pm yesterday, I treated myself to an early Christmas present. I'm soo gidddy, like a kid in a candy store. I still feel so posh everytime I use it.

Blame it on the Commute

I just discovered why I am always late in submitting my papers in graduate school. I had my eureka moment on the subway coming home. It's the travel time! When I was an undergrad at MHC, the walk time to my professor's office mailbox was easily calculated. No forseeable delay, no acts of God, no transportation to deal with, just my good old two legs. These days, I have to schlep on the train to drop off my paper and I'm blaming the NYC MTA, the slow walking peeps on the sidewalk especially since now's the season to tote incredibly large shopping bags, the traffic lights, you name it!

My train painstakingly took far longer to get into the city than usual as it crawled slowly through the tunnel underneath the East River. I arrived 2 minutes after 5pm at the NYU Anthro Department building and it was already locked. It's the Friday before Christmas -- who was I kidding that somebody would somehow still be there.

Nonetheless, I'm a free woman...for now. Went and had myself a Sapporo with my sushi at Enju after I dropped off my paper. MoJo has already gone home for the holidays. And my classmates, well, no one took me up on my offer to celebrate the handing in of our papers with drinks.

My focus now turns to Christmas and finally to Maui. But first, sleep.

Needed a Change

Blogger has moved away from their beta state and they are encouraging us to go from the old to the new. So I took it as a sign for improvement and change.

Hope you like the new blog color scheme. The black background was beginning to get me down; I felt like my energy was being sucked into the screen's black hole. Recently, I began to take a liking to blue and green hues that remind me of nature, like the ones you see in the background. Apparently, the color of "nature" green calms the nerves, relieves stress, replenishes energy, stimulates creativity, and enhances intellectualism. I'm all for that these days!

Drop a comment and let me know what you think!

There Always Has to Be that One

Moron.

Arrived at work more than an hour late due to my train experiencing door problems. Eventually, we all evacuated the train because the door issue remained. As a mob stood on the platform, waiting for the now defunct train to pull out of the station, the doors briefly opened and closed and some IDIOT decides to jump on. His bag and his foot get caught in the doors, leaving them slightly ajar. What the hell was this guy thinking??? Not only did the train remain out of service but because of his stupid antic, he made us all wait longer before the train could pull out of the station. I think this is an instance when Gothamists are allowed to mockingly scorn and pelt things at idiots like him for doing the dumbest things.

People were all disgruntled but I loudly reminded them that this time last year, the trains went on strike and we had to either walk, bike, or carpool to work. I'd rather choose this incovenience over last year's (although walking the 6 miles to and from work wasn't so bad since I powerwalk that distance in Central Park). People realized that I was right and some even thanked me for reminding them. Oh how soon we forget.

The President's ONE RGI

In his 6 months of employment at The Foundation, The President lamented that he has yet to come up with one RGI [really good idea] until now (Of course, we all know that's not true). He has decided that The Foundation will be CLOSED next week. And even if we chose to come into the office, we can't. At least for 3 of the 5 days...the building is under total lock down. No after-hour security guard to let us in. Ha! He said for those of us who have our computers and crackberries, er...blackberries, attached to our central artery, we can still certainly work from home but we have been given permission to take the week off so that we can spend time with our families for the holidays.

How's that for a nice Xmas present?! And he has said that next year and all subsequent years, he will work out some time for the office to be closed depending on which days the holidays fall.

I think The President's idea is not just a really good one, it's a BRILLIANT one. Wow -- the office closed all next week and I'm going on vacation for the first two weeks of January. Three weeks off. God, thanks for looking out for me!

And Office Santa came around this afternoon, handing everyone their white envelope. In it were our annual letters from The President, informing us of our yearly salary increases. I opened up my letter, paused at the new amount and thought, "Huh...OK, I wasn't expecting that." I got a little more than the standard 3.5% annual increase. I worked a bit harder this year, asked for more responsibilities and was given them, and carried them out well. Thanks to the PBT [Powers that Be] for the extra little boost -- I feel recognized for the extra work that I did. I was allowed to invite MoJo and we celebrated at our annual holiday party of Swedish glögg, smoked salmon, beef tenderloin encrusted with herbs, and all other sorts of goodies. Yum.

Today was a really nice day full of surprises and signs of appreciation by the PBT at work. I'm very thankful -- for a job with a great employer.