Make a wish...

If these were my birthday cake, that's how many candles there would be for me to wish on. That ought to be a good thing to have thirty some odd wishes to give voice to but truth be told, I am leery of wishes for as soon as you think it, it already by token is perceived impossible and therefore requires intervention of the divine, supernatural, mystic kind in order to be fulfilled. Invariably an inordinate proportion of the wish list ends up with Matt Damon in an embrace. Then too, there's that guilt, that gnawing feeling at the pit of your stomach that you have disappointed yourself for not being the better person, for not wishing world peace instead of wasting a wish on Matt Damon.

So maybe instead of wishes, I shall blow candles in thanksgiving for I am very lucky to be here and that --- despite the odd packaging, the ocassional mishaps, the expected mistakes --- I am doing okay and I feel fine.

I've been thinking much about this feeling, particulary this needing to always measure our sense of happiness at any given moment. Juraj a few months ago introduced me to the work of Jonathan Harris, a technology maverick, an artist and designer. If you have the time and the inclination, you must watch this talk he presented at the TED conference. He is a genius in my book, a category I reserve for those who have the uncanny ability to give me new eyes. A technologist with a soul of an artist, Harris gives us a whole new way of looking at the world by applying technology that scours thousand of blogs and public forums for a very simple content: how do we feel?

If you are ever interested about how the world as represented by bloggers are feeling at any given moment, try cutting and pasting the link below in an internet browser and see what happens. If you are feeling adventurous, replace the word "fine" at the end of the link to whatever you wish. Try used, sad, creative, adventurous, crap, vindictive, shy. Whatever you feel like. It's up to you. That's what makes it beautiful. In fact, search for that word. Beautiful.

The LINK BELOW shows the last 50 lines that show feeling fine:

http://api.wefeelfine.org:8080/ShowFeelings?display=xml&returnfields=feeling,sentence&limit=50&feeling=fine

Camiguin

I long for better weather. Right now it is snowing and it is 8 degrees outside. My roommate is sick and so am I. I caulked the front bay windows shut, sick of having to always pull the drapes leaving the room in darkness. Beneath my desk is a small space heater to bring in the necessary heat for my toes are freezing. I wish I could take off my frozen socks and dip my feet into the waters that bound Camiguin's White Island, a stretch of crescent-shaped white sand bar in the middle of the Bohol Sea.

Simula

Happy New Year!

I am looking forward to this year with great enthusiasm but there's a lot of work ahead. I have to get going, get started, get ready. Here's a new beginning to a new year. I start with a metal letter sign A, a thrift store find. I clear my bedside table and ready it for beautiful and inspiring objects that will hold me in silence.