jochi daigaku

this signaled the end of a journey. after more than two years, i finally received my master's diploma in comparative culture, major in international economics and development studies from tokyo's sophia university. with me in this picture is my adviser -- professor john clammer, the person who patiently guided me through the academic jungle i found myself transported to.

my life's passion

i haven't been writing lately. really writing. i have been experiencing another long "writer's block" but i did not notice it until i watched ricky lee's (a multi-awarded scriptwriter in the philippines) interview on "PIPOL." he talked about his traumatic months in prison during the martial law years. at the end of the interview he said that he did not regret the path he chose in life because it made him what he is today. he further advised all budding writers to go out on the streets because only then will they be able to really write. it's his colorful experiences that make a writer, or so lee said.

if i base my recent existence to lee's comments, it is no wonder then that i have sort of stopped writing. i have not really faced anything worth writing about. my life has been relatively smooth-sailing that i have been lulled into some kind of apathy.

while i had been a prolific writer, now i usually turn up with short and oftentimes passion-lacking pieces. too much of the good life, don't you think so?

nah, i am going back to manila soon. i am looking forward to experiencing real life again. my two-year vacation in the land of the rising sun is coming to an end, and hopefully i'll find the heart and zeal to write again.

ueno zoo

after more than two years, i was finally able to visit ueno zoo. it's actually one of the tourist spots in central tokyo and even my friends from other prefectures have already been there. the ever-apathetic ?tokyoite? in moi kept on dilly-dallying for the usual reason that ?it's just there.? well...until i realized i was already going home and i haven't even checked on it. so, finally, a month before i would board the JAL that would fly me to manila, i took time to say hello to several of my distant relatives. :)))

a room with a view

this was taken from my hotel room one early morning. this is part of the tokyo metropolitan government office located in the heart of shinjuku. i could not take a picture of the whole building as my room is just on the 5th floor.

shinjuku washington hotel

argghhh...hotel life is a bore: no kitchen, hard-to-connect-internet, box-like room, chissai fridge...I WANT TO GO HOME NOW!!! if i am not been able to update my blog regularly, it's because it's hard to access the internet here. and to think that i am now living in a hotel in the heart of shinjuku!