the tagboard

i have changed my tagboard twice this month. i dont know about your tagboards but the one i initially had wasnt showing up anymore (or at least here in dubai). and the ones that we have (had) always asks for a password thingy... uncool. i dont know elsewhere. anyway, i decided to switch it with a cooler one. it worked for a couple of days but then it seems to be blocked again... cripes! i think because the source of the code comes with the word "h-o-t" in it.

what other sites etisalat hasn't blocked yet?

and so there is a new one on the left of the screen. got it from a german source. hopefully this works now. and hopefully, people would tag me now... hehehe

so tag-away.

ramadan kareem

Eid Mubarak! (Blessed Festival!)

This marks the end of Ramadan and in muslim countries, this signals a very big celebration. (this can be juxtaposed with our Christmas celebration). For us who belong to the private sector, we had 2 days off from work as opposed to a week-long holiday for government employees.

I was only thinking of spending the holidays at home studying, which also means spending less. :-) But alas, I got this very tempting invite to go to the middle of the desert, somewhere between there and nowhere, off-roading with the pinoy 4-wheelers, camping at night, etc... so I went.

I went with Ferds and his 4wd, with a couple more of other friends. Much of the pre-desert experience is a build up of my anticipation.

Then we have arrived at the entrance. We de-pressurised the Sorento's tires, and we set off. It surprised me alot to find Ferds very fearless in jumping the dunes. (I'll let Ferds tell this part of the story). Apart from the stomach churning ride which i immensely enjoyed (definitely with much fear factor than rides in magic mountain), the whole desert experience was... magical.

It must have been the extremity of the environment, its distinct characteristic very much alien to the environment that im habituated to, the sunset's elements just the sky, the sand dunes and the vermilion sun, its plainness extraordinary, maybe too much for me to handle. i was left stupefied, and enchanted. it is like falling in love again for the first time.

ok, that was too cheesy but what the heck, it was really a fantastic experience.

and while i thought that was it, it was just beginning, drinks were pouring (well, not literally, but there was enough for everybody), lechon (roast pig) was served hot off the coals. i myself did some barbeque for my tribe with some sand toppings. you cant ignore the sand there that easily. we also had nostalgic music thanks to the advent of mp3 players.

when we have had the last drop from our bottles, we did some star-gazing and counted falling stars. I might be the least affected by the alcohol since i was able to keep my eyes wide open and counted the most stars. I kept a keen eye on all those stars because they're so nice they remind me of someone very special.

Again, magical as the whole experience is, waking up with the sun in your eyes with just sand everywhere is something new. Surprisingly, I woke up very early, at about 5:30am as opposed to my usual 8-9 hour sleeping time. Must have been my survival instincts telling me to get ready and take profit of the dawn of life.

As we headed home, we found a pack of camels (not the one which gives you lung cancer) wandering about the highway. We didnt let that moment pass without having a photo op. And it seems they're so used to see tourists that they stopped as we had them frozen (how ironic) in time.

that desert is one of my latest additions to my places to go with my loved one.

some fantastic photos coming soon.

Nuff said. :-)

autograph of a respected artist

my sister recently touched base with cynthia alexander and she said it was a blast. it is her story so i wont put that here but she was able to bring my insomnia CD and i want to share with all of you what she wrote to me.



in case the script is illegible, it says, "Noel, we shall find we shall discover what is ours we shall recover, MALAYA! Cynthia Alexander" Astig, diba? Punx!!!

You think you have problems and cannot solve them?

I was sulking about certain events in my life, the state of dubai and it's rents, work, homesickness, lovesickness, what not...

yes, yes, for those who know the depths of my being, we know that we know what this is... but it still helps to see something concrete, to be inspired, as a sign of our times, that there is hope despite the feeling of the world crumbling down.

watch these two videos:

in one of the mail groups i belong to, there is a detailed introduction of the video, but i'll just let the videos speak for themselves..., so without further ado, please click on the links below.

1) the good intro

2) a more detailed story of the events

and darn while watching them i thought my eyes were just swelling, but the next thing i knew, tears were rolling down. definitely inspiring, especially to a biker like me.

Der Geburstag von Malaya

note: this is a birthday greeting, a bit public but, nonetheless a greeting!

Salam malays!!! Maligayang kaarawan po. :-) We have solved one of your Oplan Malaya, at least it is on the way. :-) Again, my best wishes for today and the year ahead of you, may you always recognize God's graces!

gniggolb no peek

?oynin kohub agm gna ab olugan ,ona o

.thginot su htiw erew ehs hsiw yllaer i ho .uoy ot pu lla sti .gniyonna ylnialp osla dna ,gnitseretni ,ynnuf eb dluoc ti .yas i tahw fo esnes ekam ot evah tsuj uoy .hsirebbig gnirettu i ma rehtien .egaugnal rehtona ni gniklat ton mi .yad noitarbelec a eb dluow yadot .ti demrifnoc noitasrevnoc s'thgin tsal .luos ym setavitpac ecarg dna htgnerts yht .meop suoiverp a morf tprecxe na si etirw ot tuoba mi tahw,yawyna .esnes ekam dluow i fi wonk tnod i

.golb maps a ton si siht .noitnetta yap

a unique creek mystique (edited)

My Princess, how art thee?
Thy illness does suppress me.
Please make yourself better,
Otherwise you'll get a dolphin sweater.

Since I was out last night,
And I saw the skyline's twilight,
Memories from the past it did incite,
Oh gosh, when will we unite.

It seems that always
You are in my thoughts and my craze,
From Sundays to Saturdays,
From cafes to sundaes.

I could only curse the wait
When will it set straight?
For it really does equate,
You are my mate.

Going home I rushed on two wheels,
With a serenity the city conceals.
Inevitably time reveals,
It will realise our ideals.

who needs the rain?

i did. but now, seemingly, I don't need the rain's ambience for me to make a blog post or to write a poem. I found out that I really just need a sufficient amount of inspiration to jump start my internal happiness or excitement, sorrow or guilt.

In the recent past, I have again been meeting with friends, making real communication and spending quality time with them. it is a good thing that Dubai is full of places to make a nice walk or talk perfect.

I went to Creek Park, this time in the night and stayed very much near the creek itself.

I've never felt that much peace here in Dubai. The landscape, the night lights, the skyline, the reflection on the water, the water itself, the boats that traverse the creek, the sound of the water, the song of the birds and the sound of me munching my Iftar meal, everything is just perfect. My soul was overflowing with so much joy and certain memories start to flood back to my consciousness... that one alongside river Danube in Vienna... shit!shit!shit!*... why do I always have to experience these alone?!.

So far, for almost 3 years now, I have been making a mental list of really lovely places to go, and creek park is the most recent stop. The list is not yet in print and I really must put them down on paper before I start forgetting them. I hope to share these serendipities to you too, whoever you are taking time to read this blog.

anyway, im moving to far from the rain. the weather now is really nice as the wind has a gentle cool breeze in it. the sky is as clear as in a photoshop gradient and the fog can be seen in the morning. i still have to experience a rainy day here in dubai and I hope it is not as disastrous as how my friends' accounts of it.

p.s. as my friend hasn't emailed me yet of the photo's from the creek last night, it'll have to go to another blog post.

*this is being said in a nice way.

more of freitag etc...

the Mall of the Emirates mimicry of Milan's shopping centre.

"I just called... to say... dot AT.


some more from the beach... oh so relaxing... if only there was...

the day that was Frei (Freeday)

It was a full Friday. I thought I could catch up with my bed since I spent little time with it for the past few days, sometimes because of anxiety and other things. But I had filled up my diary for the day since I woke up til the time I closed my eyes.

I went to meet with Kaiser and family, it was good to see familiar faces again.



Myself and Karl at the entrance to Children's City at Creek Park

The talk was good. The park relaxing and spectacular, I wonder why the grass is really greener in the desert, and we ate there! (please dont sue us, we were hungry.*)



Did a couple more of errands with some friends, and had again a wonderful chat with my Flower. Oh yes!!! And then in the evening, we went to Al Mamzar Beach Park. Again, one of my target destinations... serene, private and oh I don't know. It must have been the full moon. :-)


shown here is ate Paz (a newfound friend, isang iska), & Mohammad, my housemate. We were having dinner at the beach.


Even with a modest digicam, moments like these should never be let to pass without it being captured. Kaiser and Fe seemlingly having another honeymoon (yes, the moon was sweet and full).

* it is prohibited to eat in public during ramadan.

thanks stan

you're the man. if it wasn't for your influence since the arch 60 series (introduction to urban planning and design), i wouldn't be doing what i am doing right now. and partly i wouldnt be where I am now. i knew right then that I wanted to become an urban designer apart from being an architect. remember our "emotionally professional" talk at the conference room of manosa? yes, slowly im getting there. patience is the key.

part of my gratitude also goes to d.a.s. a.k.a. danny. if it weren't for your stately adjectives and the figure ground images, i wouldnt be amazed of looking at the general picture of a locality.

anyway, if you can read this blog, i would like to say that I really owe you one.

cheers to you, stan the man! hope you and your family are ok wherever you are.

ps. now is the time to admit, i wasn't giving my full attention during classes. i couldnt draw stan's face, but somehow i managed to draw danny's. :-)

whew!

at long last... i can live normally again. i thought i couldn't get it. everything, earthly speaking, would be ok now...