Summer Blues

Farewell summer, your warmth has finally reached me.

The summer of 2009 was nice and breezy, easy and relaxing, time ticked away slowly, yet when it ended the actual passings of each day seemed much shorter. This season certainly has its perks; The sunny days, the resplendent skies, and of clouds that billowed by, I took it all in while walking to and fro on my daily tread to the library. Greedily, I assimilated myself to all the surrounding scenery, although with the poor quality cellphone camera that belittles what your eyes could see for itself, but still, I tried to capture these few treasures on the brightest days here. Looking up at the clear-blue vastness and almost tripping on my missteps due to uncompleted sidewalks, I've never found a scene more glamorous and animated to observe than the neighborhoods filled with summer colors and softly breezed through by some gentle wind. Though it may get humid, and for sure it got sweltering, it provided more fuel to the cause to...go to the pool, the beach, or letting go of our self-discipline for ice cream. Personally, I went to the pool (thanks JF), the beach (thanks a ton JF), and had more than my share of ice cream too! Summer has never been my favorite period, but for once I began to cherish bits of this year's summery days, trying to catch its zeal before it fleets away. A tardy effort since it'll continue on its way as if it's impolite to overstay its welcome, but only ends up returning shamelessly the next time around. The end of this summer symbolizes the end of my solitude, marking a change in my perspective and gone now will be those doleful summertimes. Summer has grown on me and I have grown new fondness for it. The next year when I start to feel my skin sweat, I won't be haughty or in a foul mood, I'll accommodate myself to celebrate this one indispensable anniversary.











Being busy with school, I haven't had time to acknowledge a slight change in my mood towards summer. So before I forget, I'll say my goodbyes to summer early and wave excitedly to our parting, since I will see you again right on time next year.

A Toast to a Wedding of Success

I hope my love will grow to be like theirs

At the altar they stood, looking lovingly into each other eyes while holding onto one another, saying those coveted words of “I do”. Now their lives are entangle until death do they part, together they are one, standing for one marriage with completely bounded hearts. The bride and groom's mother proceeded to light the wedding candle, signifying their family are now irrevocably intertwined. The exception being that the candles of the couple's hearts have not just been lit, it has only been spurred to a glorious blaze. In the same reference of time, I was grinning with excitement and graciousness just at the thought of how I witnessed such a magnificent and joyous occasion.
It was only last saturday that I attended family friend's wedding, but very grateful I could accompany them on one of their happiest day of their lives. In short, it was absolutely beautiful; besides the impressively picked décor, I am mainly talking about the couple's interaction. That was what stood out, what stunned me almost to happy, yet melancholic tears. The ceremony was touching, but perhaps it was more exciting for us observers as evidenced by all the cameras flashing like twinkling stars do on the most serene of nights. Of course I was on board with the rest of the wedding crew, spazzing my index finger over , click after click, as the saying goes “if you can't beat them, join them!” Thankfully the wedding procedurals were kept to a minimum; the mother's candle lighting, the pastor's blessings, the vow exchange, the ring exchange, the husband and wife candle lighting, and the climactic Kiss. *mwah* This part of the wedding happened so fast that I believe my constant picture taking captured enough. Thankfully, my sister was right besides me, clicking away, the perfect photographer's companion. As the event inside the church ended, the events outside began. We hurried out as the time for the wedding reception was right around the corner. Hold up though, before that, we needed wanted to take a few family pictures. Since many of our family members got to attend, including my first uncle and aunt, my second uncle and his wife, my cousin, and our own household. It was one of those rare chances that everyone all dressed-up and prettified and willing to take some pictures. A few of us ended up staying until the bride and groom came out of the church getting showered with confetti by the bridesmaids, then also taking pictures with the admitted perpetrators. We decided to make a take our leave to the reception, after going through two tolls we arrived at the hotel where it was held. The wedding attendees were escorted to a hall to start mingling, and I happened to talk to the bride's aunt and family a few times before finding out their relations. I congratulated the bride's father and was happy. I also took my first sip of alcohol ever at the reception since I was already past overboard with the wedding mood I got into. I even think it was a shrewd idea to include a bar at the lounge, for those easy, but tipsy introductions. I called my sister's drink the chumaloo even though I know the only similarity it has with the drink's original name was the “c-h”, but no matter, alcoholic drinks all tend to have funky names. It was a mix of milk, cream, and very little alcohol? Only the bitter aftertaste gave any hint of its presence. And after a few too many hors d'oeuvre sating too little of my appetite, the dining room finally shed open its door, letting the long suspended guests in. I was the last one there to fill the “young-adult” table, which also means champagne glasses included, yet I was the only one at the table below the drinking age (21). The hostess began the reception event, and we toasted to the bride and groom. I've already done the taboo, broke the law, so what's twice in a row worth? Unfortunately after the second sip, I admittedly gave up on alcohol...at least for the next few years, it felt like I need to dip my tongue in water to get rid of that bitter burn. The whole event was neatly and successfully executed, consisting of lots of dancing, lots of food, and lots & lots of alcohol. Every “young adult” there was holding some sort of alcoholic beverage by the time they hit the dance floor. (Another guy with the same name as me sitting at the table even brought his own beer holder, hopefully that is just a coincindence and not foreshadowing fate) Besides that, the father toasts were noteworthy, it was obvious how much they cherished their children and their newly acknowledged son/daughter. Anyways, this post is getting quite long, so I'll write about the most moving part of the wedding later. Lastly, Congratulations to Christina and Jeff, my indefinite blessings to you guys.


The Altar of Love! =)


Confetti shower anyone?


Limo of Love! *Just Married!*


Alcohol looks nice, but tastes bad (imho)


Lovely People (everyone's inebriated with love today)


The walnuts in there taste like candy


Smile

Red Fire, White Stars, and Blue Pool

I finally got to it! Here are some pics of the July 4th, 2009 Celebration, it was so long ago that I don't remember what I can write on it, but it's just one of those days that you enjoyed so much that time just flew by, and what's better than doing that together with your friends? Of course, fireworks, swimming, and food added made us more hyper than usual.
It's a lot of pictures, but I couldn't explain the day without it :)

Driving to our friend's house we saw our friends of the forest with two babies too! you only get to see one =(

Our friend's dad is now a retired-architect, he designed their own house...that's awesome

We were sent to the pool to chill~

WooOoo!


Ouch!


What's a July 4th without BBQ?! (neither of them are me btw)lol


An American feast for an American celebration! I ate 2 burgers, 1 hotdog, 6 chicken wings, corn, and beans >_>


For dessert, the jack-o-melon made by our host-friend!! I just grin when I see it!


It's finally time!! OMG, we thought these were bottlerockets so we had to go "somewhere safe" before we lit it.



Turned out to be just regular, good-ol'-safe sparklers! haha, how anticlimactic!


After our show, we got back to the pool, it's all nice and lit-up now =]


We're waving goodbye (actually we just thought it looked cool)

Anger and Angst, but Against what?

Awesome jack-o-melon from this year's celebration~!!

Happy 4th of July! Or belated depending on when I get to post this. Coincidentally, the date will be relative to when I'll prevail getting to use the internet at my house, the one my sister buys and hogs. Somehow she is able to stay on the computer from 10 am to 10 pm with a few intermittent breaks from here to there, as my eyes have witnessed. So if I expect myself to be able to get online, I must a) Sneak in 15 minutes of internet use while she's eating b) Beg her to get off her buttocks and let me use it once in awhile or c) Go to the library nearby. Lately I've been opting for option (c.) since I need it for at least an hour and I also cower from confrontations with her. However, today, she put up a new condition, changing what was tolerable to unbearable. She ordained that the use of her internet required that I must read at least one chapter of the bible. What in the name of-is she doing?! Discriminating against people void of the same religious zealous that she claimed to have? What an outrage! I thought there were laws against this! All the repressed anger of letting her slide with using the internet for 8-12 hours a day, actually, all the anger from me always condoning her commandeering behavior simmered to a boil. Thankfully, these thoughts cooled as quickly as they heated.

Despite the lack of an verbal eruption, I did tell her what I thought. If she wanted to push something on me, even religion, there are better ways of doing it than bribery, even close to blackmail from my perspective. My religious views got pretty slighted after something happened in college, hugely contributed by her, but skip that for now. In other words, in her opinion, I fell from grace, which I felt I was never perched on in the first place. I'll admit that I was affronted and anger was wholly my motivation here to rebel. But what was I actually angry at? My sister being an unreasonable cow, at having to compromise yet another belief, or just the plain fact I couldn't even use the internet freely at my house? It was a mish mash of all these things, but at the center of it was my resentment towards myself, wanting to express, perhaps for a change, that I do not want to lie about who I am anymore. Truthfully, I wouldn't have minded lieing about not using the internet or could have easily pretended that I followed her directive since about a minute after boasting her decree, she had to go out for an errand. She wouldn't have known, but...I, Kris...would. That alone is enough to stop the criminal mind, and instead to rethink a better way out, imaginably an earnest attempt to break off the part of me that was a fraud. I chose the other way out not because of my moral education nor the 10 commandments, but from my own acceptance of who I am. I'm not the little boy that used to tread down the guided path set out for me by my family neither am I blindsighted by religion anymore. And I'm surely not the boy who used to believe gays were perverts and sinners. I am one now. I certainly won't flaunt it, but neither am I going to fake it any longer, not to myself and not to my family. If I read the bible, it wouldn't be me, it wouldn't be the naïve supplicant that has gone through 11 years of Christianty only to come out a mediocre product. So I end up at the crossroads of a) Cheating my new beliefs b) Lieing to my sister c) Just using the internet regardless of it all, but the answer simply became none of the above, with me lying on the ground typing out this anecdote with the internet modem right infront of me, pitch black. Stronger than my selfish desire to use it, is my selfish hope to never mislead anyone about who I am any further.