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My sister’s in love!

Posted: - Modified: | love

Synchronized movie dates, daily webcam chats, endless retellings of
favorite moments—my sister’s in love, and distance is not a problem!
They’re really so sweet, which should come as a bit of a surprise to
anyone who knows my sister. I don’t know if I could let myself have
something that intense right now (or if our parents could put up with
*two* lovesick girls without going into diabetic shock). Still, it’s
wonderful… =)

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Getting to know you

Posted: - Modified: | love

“Simon on the phone is okay,” said my dad. “If you can talk for three
hours, you must be in love.”

I grinned.

I want my family to get to know him, and for him to get to know my
family. Not because this is a Very Serious Thing, but because it’s…
well… nice. =) Living-room conversations are fun.

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On hold

| love

You think that of all people, Simon and I would be able to find some
way to talk for free (or as nearly free as possible). He’s a telecoms
geek who regularly talks to an outsourcing company based in the
Philippines. I’m a social computing geek who occasionally talked to my
mom while I was in Canada. But we can’t seem to get things to work,
and the unreliability of my Net access is starting to get to me.

I miss him. I find myself with stories to share, but unable to
tell them because of the time difference and communication
difficulties. He doesn’t blog, so I don’t know what’s going on over
there. E-mail gets buried under the mess of our inboxes.

Would it be better to stop fighting the limitations of technology, and
even savor the distance? I bought a complete set of beautiful,
evocative cards: a series of traditional Filipino silhouettes. Maybe
we can even celebrate the distance. It will be something to remember,
for sure.

My worlds are split, and I can’t live well if I keep feeling
mis-placed. I need to learn how to make the most of my time wherever I
am, and not think of what is outside my reach…

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Things are working out

Posted: - Modified: | love

School is winding up nicely. I'm making progress on my research. My
personal life has been much too interesting over the past few days,
and that's why I've been feeling up and down. Thanks to everyone who
called, texted, and e-mailed support… <hugz> You rock.

The past few weeks have been difficult, but we seem to have cleared
the worst and have come to a new understanding. It amazes me that even
though I kept trying to walk away and even though he was also under so
much stress from business, he refused to give up, and he refused to
let me give up.

Maybe this is a big part of what love is. It's not so much about
having lots of high points—those will come with time—but being able
to deal with the low points. And day by day, week by week, month by
month, we're learning.

From “The Prophet” by Kahlil Gibran:

When love beckons to you, follow him,
Though his ways are hard and steep.
And when his wings enfold you yield to him,
Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.
And when he speaks to you believe in him,
Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden.

Besides, there are high points too. <grin> I just have to blog
more of them so I'll remember.

This isn't an LJ post, so please e-mail me your insights or use the
form on my page… =)

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Love 2.0

| goodkarma, happy, love

Photo by Rob Dudley. License: Creative Commons Attribution.
cloudburst

Wow.

Just wow.

Whenever I falter and lose sight of my way, other people lift me up,
set me on my feet, and point me back in the right direction.

Where would I be without my family and my friends and those random
strangers and acquaintances who take a moment out of their busy days
to reach out to me in all their generous humanity?

I am thankful for these moments of sadness and confusion, however
brief they are, because they give me an opportunity to appreciate and
deepen my respect for the wonderful, wonderful people in my life.

From friends who called and messaged and e-mailed as soon as they read
my doubts, to my mom whose encouragement addressed my fears and
strengthened my resolve, to coworkers who not only told me of
interesting opportunities but also expressed their concern

I am loved beyond my ability to comprehend, and if I can spend the
rest of my life sharing that experience of love with other people…
wow!

It's been said that it takes a village to raise a child. I am being
raised by the world.

Simon

| love

How can I give you a better sense of the person whom I like? Perhaps
by thinking out loud, I'll be able to understand the situation better
myself. Besides, my mom wants more details. <laugh>

Over the past few weeks, I've spent some time thinking about
relationships. Not a lot of time, mind you: my excitement about
Enterprise 2.0 and my work at IBM is still my priority, although I
haven't written much about it on this blog.

I've come to believe that a relationship may extend me and help me
grow. Life may be more interesting with someone who knows my past,
experiences the present with me, and helps me imagine the future I
want to create for myself and for others.

I can see how I'd be a good fit for him. He admires my social skills:
the way I draw people into conversations or look for diplomatic
resolutions for tricky situations. I'm good at listening to him,
drawing him out, helping him reflect and understand. Most of all, I
remind him of what's important and whom he wants to be.

Does he fit me well? I'm not sure yet. I admire his dissatisfaction
with the status quo and his drive to improve it through the design of
low-cost technology. As a human being, he is at least aware of several
problems he's been having, which is better than not knowing at all.
And he does have moments of great clarity, like when we were looking
up at the stars at his parents' place.

I need to get to know him more, though. It's unfortunate that he
doesn't blog, so I can't point you to an archive of his thoughts. I
don't even know the stories that have shaped him. What I've seen so
far is mixed, but promising. =)

We'll just have to see.

The Alchemist

Posted: - Modified: | love

Coelho, Paul. 1988. _The Alchemist._ p149.

“From where I am,” the sun said, “I can see the Soul of the World. It communicates with my soul, and together we cause the plants to grow and the sheep to seek out shade. From where I am—and I'm a long way from the earth—I learned how to love. I know that if I came even a little bit closer to the earth, everything there would die, and the Soul of the World would no longer exist. So we contemplate each other, and we want each other, and I give it life and warmth, and it gives me my reason for living.”