many books and new years

i love books. i feel as if each book i pick up from the shelf has something new and important to tell me. and i am eager to listen -- or read, for that matter -- what new insight, bright idea, inspiring thought or controversial argument awaits to titillate my mind. i burst with energy to flip the pages all at once and absorb... book after book. story after story. seeing life articulated onto white surface: snapshots. narratives. lessons.

sprinting from one cover to another however does deplete the essence of reading. like vintage wine gulped recklessly. unsavored and unappreciated. doing injustice to something someone worked hard on for weeks. months. or even years.

so goes with life. where most choose to rush past to find themselves ultimately old and shriveled, others prefer to stroll and pace.

the coming year brings fresh hope, new opportunities and a clear, unobstructed view of life. and i've made a decision to start it right--with comfortable flipflops, a sturdy walking stick, and a renewed spirit.

may the pages of 2007 be written with the vibrance of rich words. may each flip resonate with the goodness of life. and may it be felt and lived with love, eagerness and passion.

a blessed new year to all!

penthouse dweller no more

adieu à la haute vie.

ça y est!

il faut vivre sur la terre maintenant...

one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind

FREEEEEEEE!

today i made headway. and the battle was fought quickly. i am now on the clear road to freedom!

work life caught on paper

after eleven months of slaving apprenticing under the controversial genius / philanthropist, i have thus learned how to filter useless ramblings from the boss' real instructions. and since about 80% of a meeting's duration is comprised of the mumbo jumbo which clutters up the discussion, often extending it to the agonizing early hours of a new day, i have also learned how to effectively zone out and take refuge in a dimension only i can tap and visit.

lately, i have taken a new hobby of exercising any artistic bone that may still remain alive within me. i have to say i was rather surprised with what a quarter of an hour of those insanely unpleasant meetings "inspired" me to produce in my notebook:



eerie. it's like being back in high school...

(image is a sketch of the boss as he rambles on and on)

preparing for flight

and just like that, another month is flipped to the back of the calendar.

i'm not exactly sure if anesthetizing my sense of time is something to toast glasses to; the blur of days has spared me from fully bearing the brunt of prolonged high-altitude sickness. and i have to congratulate myself for even staying this far up this long when many have already let go and fallen. i have finally reached the apex... and the time has come to make another life-changing decision.

the past year has been memorable--for the lack of a better word. and 2006 will be written in history as the year that belonged to the man of many personalities faces. the man of generosity and greed. the man of truth and false gossip. the man of revelations. i will fondly recall several of the lessons i've managed to keep through this eventful climb, using them appropriately as i prepare for my next feat.

the last two weeks have been an epiphany: rediscovering life--painfully beautiful--spread through the panoramic view of the horizon. i am now ready to jump. and fly. and soar. with the anticipated sweetness of freedom lingering at the tip of my lips. and the psalms of bigotry left behind to echo within the hollow walls of wealth and power.

penniless. unarmed. free. life is better lived this way, in my opinion. but one will have difficulty surviving in extremes. so we adjust. and we move. constantly. until balance is achieved.

world, here i come (once again)!