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Saturday, February 7, 2009

Pace

From the movie Simon Birch.
Time is a monster that cannot be reasoned with. It responds like a snail to our impatience, then it races like a gazelle when you can't catch a breath.

Ah, so true, the mysticism of time's movement. Its fixed, twenty fours a day but sometimes it feels like 12, sometimes like 30. Since I returned back to work, its only apartment to office to apartment. I think I've been missing lots of in-betweens. Days are stretched to eternity, draining out all of my energy. My only consolation is my bed who willingly embrace and comfort me every night.

I guess that's Japanese approach to life, a fast-paced one compared to Philippines, where everything seems in slow motion. I am used to the latter's but I think I was able to adjust to Japanese way of living. After all, life is full of adventures. No. Life is an adventure itself.

Last night, I went out of the office a bit early, and had the chance to go around my apartment, uncleaned for almost a month. I thought, I finally had time for myself. After dinner, I watched the film, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. Movies about friendship really interests me. The movie was appropriately paced and it didn't have lots of special effects - just raw emotions from the actors. For an hour and a half, I was left open-mouthed. Never did I predicted that the movie would end that way, its one of the most heartbreaking endings I have ever seen. I guess I won't be forgetting it any time soon. You just can't beat time.

okuribito

Time and its movement are spontaneous too. They seem to have minds of their own. Too difficult to wrestle against them. If you survive, your lucky enough, but if not... just like what happened to my friend.

Paper Planes
for Vincent 1977-2003

Carelessly, you climbed
the rusty roofs, held tightly
to the weary limbs of a guava tree.

Like a five-year-old, you wouldn't stay
put - folded the newspapers
into lop-sided gliders.

You challenged the airplanes,
let go of artificial ZZOOOMMMMs!
and tried to touch the sky.

One day, you took control
of a real plane, held tightly
to the yoke, observed the altimeter.

It wasn't like flying papers,
you were nearer to the skies
a dream realized at twenty-five.

Were you playing when you zoom
through the blues
and the emotionless clouds?

You found it a hard landing.

/totomai


Time can be a friend. But sometimes, it can be against you. Sometimes.

Time is a monster that cannot be reasoned with. It responds like a snail to our impatience, then it races like a gazelle when you can't catch a breath.


/totomai
02/07/08

39 comments:

  1. paper plane's a beautiful poem, quite lovely imaginary and a bit sad

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  2. hi lissa, thanks. its just sad that my friend won't be able read this anymore...

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  3. sorry to hear about your friend.. but beautiful tribute to him..

    i'm getting the sense here that you love movies.. ;) i wonder though.. have you ever been involved with film(making, etc)? is the camera medium easily translated with film?

    and you make me want to move to the philippines.. slow-paced lifestyle.

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  4. hi floreta, its one of my dreams to be involve in doing movies. lol

    i like watching films, but the obscure ones, or non-mainstream films hehe

    yeah, its a slow paced life out there. thats why i savor my vacation everytime hehe

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  5. Life can be hard on the heart of a gentle dreamer. This is sad and beautiful.

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  6. some people believe
    everything moves at light speed:
    you are a sunbeam

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  7. Thanks Sandy. sometimes dreams are not meant to be fulfilled

    @kitehorse, thats profound. :-)

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  8. Thank you for this meditation on time/life/movement. It's true that too often maybe all we can do is go willingly with the movement, no matter it's direction or what it may hold, or how tough the landing.

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  9. @roswila, yes, we can go with the flow but we can still navigate it, right?

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  10. My condolences to you for your friend, Vincent. Your poem really told me who he was.

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  11. thanks Edward, its been five years already...

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  12. Such a bittersweet poem for your friend. At least Vincent got to realize his dream. So many do not.

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  13. Lovely and sad. Sometimes our dreams can be cruel.

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  14. @Barb, yeah, even it t'was short, he tasted that dream

    @Nathalie, so true

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  15. Dream unfulfilled or deferred are sometimes passed forward, perhaps into poetry.

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  16. Hi friend.. Interesting post.. keep up the good work.. Do visit my blog and post your comments.. Take care mate.. Cheers!!!

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  17. @Deborah, maybe it is.thanks

    @star, thanks for the visit. i'll visit your site too

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  18. There are times in one's life when reality get mixed up with make believe .. and the problem there is based on where you are, you can have a crash landing. A fitting tribute, and well written.

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  19. The poem about your friend really touched me...you brought him to life with your words. I really enjoyed your thoughts about the movement of time.

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  20. Lovely tribute to your friend who wasn't afraid to go after his dream!

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  21. @guatami, thanks

    @Amias, oh yes, the crash landing...

    @FP, thanks, really appreciate it

    @Pam, i know... thanks

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  22. your friend who flies is a beautiful friend...

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  23. Hi,
    I'm so sad and sorry for you to hear about your friend. Your poem is a lovely remembrance of him and I liked how you tied that it with the film, as well as paper planes so many of us fashion as children. It's clear how very much you miss him.

    (here from Poetry Train.)

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  24. Hi Totomai,
    Beautifully and thoughtfully written obituary, time really does wait for no man.

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  25. Blending the dream with reality, good poem. But when dreams come true, they are hard to get out, like you said!

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  26. @guatami, :-)

    @gel, we all still this child in our hearts, thats why

    @STG, thanks man

    @jill, or sometimes, you cant get out...

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  27. actually mas gusto ko ang mabilis ang pacing. Nakakatamad kasi kapag mabagal. Kaya nga tinatamad ako sa school kasi semestral kami. Mas ok sa akin ang trimestral pero wag yung quarter sem.

    Anyways, mahilig talaga akong maghabol sa oras. Feeling ko kasi andun yung adventure. hehehe.. o siguro bata pa nga siguro talaga ako, masyadong mapusok sa mga bagay bagay kaya lahat minamadali..

    http://fjordz-hiraya.blogspot.com

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  28. Contrasting the speed of time in the Philippines and Japan is well-done and the movie synopsis is grand. The poem is timeless and real. Nice post.

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  29. @fjordz, dati kala ko ok ang mabilis na pacing. kakapagod din pala. pero mabilis naman ako kung may deadline haha

    @TW, thanks :-)

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  30. Indeed time and its movement are spontaneous!

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  31. Very profound post. Even repeating your quote at the beginning and end - very nice. Your poem is really accomplished - but I'm sad that it had a real inspiration.

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  32. Time takes but also gives - and we must remember to take the time, or give our time, as appropriate.

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  33. Oh.... what an interesting picture?

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any thoughts to distill?

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