Doggie love.

Inspiration: Buster

Our dog's life isn't really as the idiom dictates. I think Buster is livin' it.
Sleeps where he wants, plays when he wants.
The simple tragedies of his life are trips that he doesn't get to go to.
Or a visit to the vet.
Or when the humans forget to pet him at night.
Other than that, Buster is a happy pooch.

Sometimes, he has that uncanny ability to stare into your eyes and radiate love and loyalty.
Only a pet can do this to you.
And his gaze has saved me many, many times.
Curling around me when I'm tiered.
Resting his head on my lap when I want to raze the world in anger.
That's when all things melt, I remember my humanity and realize
what a great dog I have.

Misty

Inspiration: This shot of the mountain as we left Baguio.

Waking up in the Philippines isn't always a pleasant experience.

Summer is particularly gnarly and the days are just sweat-meltingly hot.

But this was taken in Baguio;

and regardless of the crumbling shanties and the sad,

silent people walking the empty streets, I was happy.

I want to live here.

In the place where mist covers the land in the early hours,

keeping mysteries under her damp veil.

I want to bring my coffee mug to the porch outside and

breathe in the joy of being at the right place at the right time.

But then, you can't have everything.

Not all the time.

So I twiddle my thumbs,

hum a tune,

and wait for my next trip to the North.

The Chair

Inspiration: Furniture found in Baguio

I realize how difficult it is to find good, comfortable chairs.

These days, they look funky, colorful and hip.

But I just want weathered, having-a-history-or-a-story-to-tell chairs cradelling my bum.

This particular beauty caught me when my feet would carry me no longer, and a fresh brew of mountain coffee was set on the table, all for me.

Bliss. Joy. Content.

My body unlocked its muscles to stretch and accommodate my mood.

This is what cheap thrills and living life is for me.

A good view, family around you, coffee made with love and

a chair that has seen and heard many tales during its life.

It was an honor.

Windy with a hint of rain.

Inspiration: Today's weather

I was waiting for the leaf to fall. Any minute now. The breeze was slowly caressing it, pulling it gently away from its branch. But it held on firmly.

I'm like that stubborn leaf sometimes.

I just don't want to let go of certain habits.
Like the time when I really believed that I was right, and the times when I refused to back down.
There. That's how I'm like the leaf.

I know that I'll regret not letting go of my anger, my need to be right all the time.

But there are moments, when blood surges around and over my mind...these emotions consume me.

"C'mon. Let go."

Am talking to myself or to the leaf?

Outside, the morning sky turns dark. The leaf I'd been admiring was whipped by a strong gust and suddenly flew from its branch. Ouch. That looked painful. Then a cool tendril weaves its way into my window and the sad pitter-patter of rain closed my thoughts on that particular reflection.