The Long Blah: Why I Got Into This Gadget-dependent, Money-munching Hobby
Getting into photography was not just a means of opening up creative channels. Like my other hobbies, photography has a deeper meaning for me, because what truly drove me to pursue it was a passion greater than artistic frustration. It was my...sumo craze. *GRIN* Isn't life full of surprises? Ha ha ha! Here I am, again looking for an excuse to put sumo in the picture. But it's true, and proof of this is my first real shooting excursion, which was the 1999 Nagoya Grand Sumo tournament. *More GRINS* Really, no jiving.

Ode to a Sofabed
After months of hunting for the last piece of furniture to make my new life in Nagoya as comfy as possible, I was ready to give up. Already I had visited every conceivable bazaar, second-hand shop, and moderately-priced department store in the city: Osu Kannon, Yagoto, Gokiso, even the flea market at Port Messe. I went around and everywhere to no avail. Gaijin (foreigner) sayonara ads produced unwanted 6-footers...

Pain & Poetry: You Shall Not Be Spared
Taciturn is an adjective you would never use to describe yours truly. Unfortunately for you the reader, and, if you happen to be my friend, for you, my friend, I have not only chosen to blah myself to oblivion, I have also chosen to write poetry. As if there weren't enough lousy poets in this world! My poetry? Inspid drivel! Pathetic blahs! I personally wouldn't recommend that you actually read it, but do take a peek at the inlaid leather look and nested table design...

A Mentally & Emotionally Exhausting Endeavor
by Bernager Teh Aik Hong - Let's welcome Aik Hong, this month's guest writer. He's a friend of mine from Malaysia, and is one of those rare people who stands shoulder-to-shoulder with me when it comes to writing long e-letters. It's always great to receive e-mails that are well-thought out, nicely composed, with good spelling and punctuation. Stripped of shortcut e-lingo and emoticons , I always appreciate these nice, letter-like rare ones. Here's what Aik Hong had to say when I confessed I had the hots for a married guy.

Astronomy
Meteor Storm!
by Sharon Fangonon - Let's welcome Sharon, this month's guest writer. I didn't get to see the meteor shower and I wish to strangle myself, for I had just missed a most spectacular display of the wonders of the night sky. Fortunately, my sister got to see it all. She's an astronomy enthusiast and former education and research coordinator of the University of the Philippines Astronomical Society. For those of us who missed the celestial showcase, let us move to another planet.

Poetry
16: Literary Jottings
- The early works. A little notebook of poems I wrote between the ages of 9 and 16. I'm uploading them here at ClaireWorks, for two reasons: posterity's sake, and the fact that once I start my life as a corporate animal next year, I doubt that I'll have the time to indulge in such sentimental endeavors. Blame my friend Marc for asking me what I was like as a kid. My answer: you'll just have to read 'em early poems. So here they are.