Indulgence

dreaming of the beach during the cold season

Jelaluddin Rumi from Solomon to Sheba (translated by Coleman Barks)
Tell her this refusal of her gift
of gold is better than acceptance,

because with it she can learn what we value.

Just got back from zips training today. It's been almost 2 weeks since I last went to zips training. My last time zipping was in the beach at Laiya. After that, I've just been at work and then getting home to sleep. Other times, I'd be meeting up with old friends; catching up. After all, it's nearing Christmas and we've got to put some order and visibility to my social life. I'm not a machine, I'm not a robot. I cannot live with work and reading alone.

Finished Rice by Su Tong last night. Not a very nice story, exquisite prose, though. Very precise, very detailed, very quick. I'm not used to prose that sharp and that made the book enjoyable but the story needs more to be desired. With 2 more books to go, all I have to do now is focus on the writing that I have to get done. I wrote a draft of a poem the other day but I'm very unhappy with it. So I'm not even considering that as part of my quota. I still have to work on a new piece.

All this reading and zipping has brought my thoughts back to the beach. I am really toying with the idea of leaving the city altogether and living by the beach, maybe in Batangas. Just let everything go and submit myself to the beauty and the serenity of the ocean. Waking up every morning to a hot sun, sand and the surf. The gentle music of the waves always within earshot. Fresh sea food and, in my fantasy, fresh fruits and vegetables from a forest nearby.
(me, cathy, jay, chrissie in bora, 2003; picture taken by Jezer)

I went to Tower Records to find that African CD that I heard the other day and after going through 5 Putumayo CDs on African music and 1 Narada CD on African Voices, I finally asked customer service for the list. The lady went to the office and took out a list of 4 CDs that they had lent to the administration of Shangri-La and to my surprise, the CD was not at all African chanting as I had thought, but the chants and music of the South Pacific Islands. The CD I was talking about was Putumayo Presents South Pacific Islands and it's so gorgeous! I still love African music but I also love the music of the South Pacific Islands -- the music of the Maori, New Caledonia, Samoa and, considered culturally Hawaii. I love the Hawaian music in Lilo & Stitch and dance to it often. So I bought the CD and it's bringing me back to the beach again. (cathy, chrissie, peach and me in bora, 2003)

The only thing in my mind now is the beach. Going to Bacolod for my cousin's wedding and then, on that weekend, my cousin's and I will be going to the beach for the weekend. The weekend after that, I'll be going to Batangas again with my cousin's here in Manila to enjoy the allure of La Luz. Afterwards, I'll just be thinking about New Year's; I'm planning to go to Boracay then. I'll be in heaven. I've been complaining that I didn't get out of town this whole year except for work when I went to Palawan and Quezon. It seems I'm making up for lost time now.

posted by wanggo @ 5:15 PM