I am, slowly but surely, moving towards having my own site. I have spent the past weeks populating it with content (mostly to prepare my portfolio and resume - Blogger handles its pages differently, adding a /p/ before my pages' aliases).


Some of the pages might not be working well yet (improve the responsiveness of the site to mobile devices), but it's viewable and functional. I also registered a free domain so I can design the site first before I buy a domain and update everything. Check it out!

travischiong.esy.es

The rain outside -
raindrops dance in a sixteenth-beat syncopated frenzy
Reminds me of girls in skirts belly-dancing in drinking sprees
Spree of beer, bellies, and beer-bellies bloated, fleeing for more
angry clashes of water and earth when it rains outside
psychedelic lights spark dreams of suicide with glycerin and cyanide
I can't decide from more beer or sleep.
I turn on the radio instead but then-
bats rushed out as if hiding inside the speakers' crevices.
They fly out the blaring irises, then the windows,
and into the falling debris of gin bottles and cigarette butts
 -and then they die, when it rains outside.

When it rains outside, the estero is flooded with blood and beer.
And I'm inside this house filled with smoke,
alone with broken beer bottles
and a glass filled with vomit and gin.

**

A poem I wrote in 2009. I took the photo.

Metrics. I think everything substantial and relevant to this world is measurable. I think that all rational things have points of comparison and rules to measure them by. But what do I know about this world? I know that numbers don't lie, and when you learn how to look at numbers and compare what they mean to the bigger picture, numbers - even in their bare and raw form - can tell you more about this world.

Most in this life, I think, is fleeting and will not stay relevant for too long. This blog will probably outlast the things we think are relevant now. Probably in ten years. Probably tomorrow. Who knows.

But what I do know, is that in order to keep yourself relevant to this fast-paced environment is to never stop learning, updating, upgrading and never, ever lose focus. It's a challenge, but another thing I know in this life is that the more you work hard for something, the more the reward will be worth all your efforts to attain it.

Probably I'm rambling. Probably I'm not. I've learned enough to be open-minded about everything. Alongside the lessons of being open-minded is that you care about less things than before. You hold less emotional stake at things when you are open-minded.

Of course, I am an opinionated person and that won't change until the day I can no longer write, but I now tend to keep the things I want to care deeply about at a minimum.

It's the same about the company you keep. You can't hold them all in equal regard. Some will fade away, some will grow and flourish and be of continuous relevance. Of equal, beneficial coexistence.

My daily routine involves walking to and from work for about 20 minutes each instance. I encounter so many people that I just stopped minding who I meet or remember their faces for when I see them again.

What I don't forget about the people I encounter is the rudeness I encounter every single time. From mostly everyone.

Why can't just everyone be nice to each other?

..actually putting in a title for the blog post. Haha!

***

Anyway, while I was reading through Seth Godin's blog I read that you should blog consistently to develop your sense of opinion. To have a sense of knowing what to say and knowing something about a lot of stuff - and being able to express it in creative writing.

So I will try to write more about things - mundane and intellectual - and not hide them in text files with obscure file names.

I should write more often. Even short but sweet blog posts will make me a better opinionated person - one small blog post at a time.

So, what do you think? If you have thoughts about my blog (or about anything, really), let's talk. I love talking about ideas.

***


I made this artwork for my girlfriend but I haven't had the chance to show her yet. It's an edit of a photo I took of her when we were in Palawan, I think.

Nope, it was yesterday, February 25. But still.

Happy 5th Year, babe.

Hello friends!

I've been gone for a long time (again), and this time, I'm back with something very special and beautiful to show you.

Last January me, my girlfriend, and a couple of friends went to Cebu, Philippines, just in time for the annual Sinulog Festival. It's a festival to the Sto. Niño, or the Child Jesus. This is an event that is flocked by people from all around the country as well as foreign travellers who want to join in on the fun.

What I'd like to show you is a video me and the guys took from all the places we went to during that trip. Unfortunately, me and the girlfriend went home immediately after the Sinulog parties on Sunday, as we had booked a flight home to Manila very early on Monday.

Anyway, here it is. Enjoy!