I hate to end it so abruptly, however...
Truthfully, I haven't felt like Rick James for a while now... It seems that the chapter of Rick James has come full circle and it is time to end it.
I thank everyone for their interest and support all these years. Most importantly, I would like to thank everyone for their support and friendship all these years.
My tale would still continue however, on a different venue(s)...
Please stay tuned...
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
Birthday Wishes...
Someone asked me the other day, " So do you feel old, now that you're 34?"
I told him/her, "... you're a bit late there, I already felt old 5 years ago... "
The truth is, I always feel that I have had a very interesting life. Looking back at the way I've lived it, sometimes I don't feel that I truly deserve the life that I've had.
Despite all the things that have happened, I've always been grateful for the people who I have met along the way and helped create the person that I am today. Most importantly, I feel most lucky and grateful to have met you all at some points in my life.
I know that I haven't seen most of you in years, some of you in more than 10 years. I'm also pretty sure I didn't congratulate any of you on your recent birthdays (something I never do to this day), thus your birthday wishes just made me feel that much more undeserving...
Nevertheless, I appreciate your gesture... also, very much hope that I will see you again sometimes soon...
I told him/her, "... you're a bit late there, I already felt old 5 years ago... "
The truth is, I always feel that I have had a very interesting life. Looking back at the way I've lived it, sometimes I don't feel that I truly deserve the life that I've had.
Despite all the things that have happened, I've always been grateful for the people who I have met along the way and helped create the person that I am today. Most importantly, I feel most lucky and grateful to have met you all at some points in my life.
I know that I haven't seen most of you in years, some of you in more than 10 years. I'm also pretty sure I didn't congratulate any of you on your recent birthdays (something I never do to this day), thus your birthday wishes just made me feel that much more undeserving...
Nevertheless, I appreciate your gesture... also, very much hope that I will see you again sometimes soon...
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Where Are They Now... ?
Where are they now? Where am I now? I have been working the Sumatra shift for the past few weeks, there just isn't a lot of good things to write about lately... Just work, I hung out a few times a bit, but nothing too drastic to write about. At least, I haven't found a good angle to write it on...
Anyways, I guess I decided to write about what happened to some of the characters in my past stories. Some these updates I knew first hand, while others I heard from my friends or other sources. Now, let's start with...
Queen of Diamonds... I think mentioned a while back that she was getting married to some guy. From what I heard from my friends, she did got married with him. Some of my friends painstakingly tried to hid this info from me, fearing that it might upset me somehow. While I do appreciate my friends' efforts to guard my feelings, the truth is whatever feelings I had for Queen of Diamonds are long gone. All that is left are memories, some happy, some sad, but whatever they were, I think of them as precious life story that I had to go through. Well, I'll say this much, for whatever happened in the end, she did changed my life, for the better, sorta...
The Swallow... I mentioned her once on this blog. It was a flash back episode. For those of you who knew me from way back when, I have known her for a while, since... eh, way back when in fact. Well, funny thing a few months ago, was it? She BB-ed me out of no where to ask for my address and my schedule. The purpose? To send an invitation for her wedding in Bali this coming June. While I said I seriously considering her invitation, I find the possibility having to mingle with other guests, whom I knew NONE of rather bleak, thus I am actually seriously considering NOT going to her wedding. Unless I find a date (that I like... Actually though, I kinda appreciate her invitation. I haven't been in contact with her for years, yet she remembered to invite me. Don't worry, I ain't imagining things for more than they actually are... I just I appreciate her... frienship...
EvenStar... From what I heard from her, her brother and her mom... She's finding Jakarta increasingly hard to live in. Even though she has a boyfriend now, she's seriously considering going back to Canada to find a job and if she's successful, she'll move back to Canada and dump the boyfriend. I met the boyfriend at her brother's (2nd) wedding, nice enough guy... The weird thing was, she didn't bother to introduce us though. We had to resort to talking and hung out on our own. Weird... Anyways, my thought on her... I think it's kinda of a good thing I didn't get to be with her, since she's leaving anyhow. Otherwise it'll be me she's dumping, instead of that dude... Plus, she's kinda of a louse too...
Provocateur... Speaking of someone too young, she left to China to study Chinese or something. We used to hung out a bit whenever she visited Jakarta, but things got a little weird when I got together with the Baroness. Some FB threats were involved, etc. So I guess it's a good thing that she's out of my life.
Baroness... I haven't heard or spoke to her since we broke up at the beginning of this year. I haven't had to inclination to speak to her again, I don't hate her or upset with her. I just don't feel like seeing her again.
Is there anyone else that I missed out? Just let me know which characters y'all want to learn the update on and I shall put them in on the next edition of Where Are They Now...
Anyways, I guess I decided to write about what happened to some of the characters in my past stories. Some these updates I knew first hand, while others I heard from my friends or other sources. Now, let's start with...
Queen of Diamonds... I think mentioned a while back that she was getting married to some guy. From what I heard from my friends, she did got married with him. Some of my friends painstakingly tried to hid this info from me, fearing that it might upset me somehow. While I do appreciate my friends' efforts to guard my feelings, the truth is whatever feelings I had for Queen of Diamonds are long gone. All that is left are memories, some happy, some sad, but whatever they were, I think of them as precious life story that I had to go through. Well, I'll say this much, for whatever happened in the end, she did changed my life, for the better, sorta...
The Swallow... I mentioned her once on this blog. It was a flash back episode. For those of you who knew me from way back when, I have known her for a while, since... eh, way back when in fact. Well, funny thing a few months ago, was it? She BB-ed me out of no where to ask for my address and my schedule. The purpose? To send an invitation for her wedding in Bali this coming June. While I said I seriously considering her invitation, I find the possibility having to mingle with other guests, whom I knew NONE of rather bleak, thus I am actually seriously considering NOT going to her wedding. Unless I find a date (that I like... Actually though, I kinda appreciate her invitation. I haven't been in contact with her for years, yet she remembered to invite me. Don't worry, I ain't imagining things for more than they actually are... I just I appreciate her... frienship...
EvenStar... From what I heard from her, her brother and her mom... She's finding Jakarta increasingly hard to live in. Even though she has a boyfriend now, she's seriously considering going back to Canada to find a job and if she's successful, she'll move back to Canada and dump the boyfriend. I met the boyfriend at her brother's (2nd) wedding, nice enough guy... The weird thing was, she didn't bother to introduce us though. We had to resort to talking and hung out on our own. Weird... Anyways, my thought on her... I think it's kinda of a good thing I didn't get to be with her, since she's leaving anyhow. Otherwise it'll be me she's dumping, instead of that dude... Plus, she's kinda of a louse too...
Provocateur... Speaking of someone too young, she left to China to study Chinese or something. We used to hung out a bit whenever she visited Jakarta, but things got a little weird when I got together with the Baroness. Some FB threats were involved, etc. So I guess it's a good thing that she's out of my life.
Baroness... I haven't heard or spoke to her since we broke up at the beginning of this year. I haven't had to inclination to speak to her again, I don't hate her or upset with her. I just don't feel like seeing her again.
Is there anyone else that I missed out? Just let me know which characters y'all want to learn the update on and I shall put them in on the next edition of Where Are They Now...
Sunday, April 11, 2010
When I was in my 20s...
Recent events in my life has led me to witness the behavior and thoughts of younger men... I can't help but to think whether I was once like them too in my behavior. Not all behavior related to a man in their 20s are considered negative, at least I do not think so... Although, if I were to describe myself when I was in my 20s would be something like rash, angry, confused, scared, obnoxious... Things that makes me feel embarrassed now. I guess I have to thank everyone who knew me then for their understanding and forgiveness.
How do I describe myself in my 30s? I don't know... Maybe I'll write it in ten years' time?
How do I describe myself in my 30s? I don't know... Maybe I'll write it in ten years' time?
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
A Respectable Thirst...?
I have been collecting alcoholic beverages for a few years now. Even though I don't really drink (much) anymore these days... Most of the time, I couldn't even tolerate anything more than 2 drinks. However, the idea of collecting some novelty or exquisite items is kinda intriguing. Perhaps is the idea that someday I will build my own mini-bar in my kitchen or living room or something... So I decided to embark on a shopping quest for alcoholic beverages that suits my taste...
Initially I collect champagnes... Why? Mostly because I saw the homes on MTV's Welcome to My Crib, the rapper homes usually have a fridge full of Krystals. Because Krystals aren't available in South East Asia, so I had to improvise... I worked my way up from regular bottles of Moet Chandon, to special editions such as Reserve Imperialle, etc... Now I have a few (too many) bottles of those, including a few Dom Perignon, Le Grande Dame and Perrier Jouliet. I have opened a few of the regular ones for birthdays and parties, but still unable to bring myself to open one of the better ones. Of course due to a heavy termite infestation, I had to throw away most of the cardboard boxes and evacuate my champagnes to the fridge.
Next in line, I buy and enjoy drinking Single Malt Scotch Whisky. I started drinking it (for leisure) when I was introduced to it during my college time. I started with 12 Years old Maccallan, then I started to look at other brands as well. Right now, I am in the process of comparing the taste of all the 25-30 Years Old line of the mainstream brands. I recently completed the set of Maccallan, Glenfiddich, Glenlivet and Glenmorainge (I don't know how many other Glens are out there) and I am looking forward to having a tasting get together with my friends... to argue whether whisky, like women, gets better with age...
One other item I have is a bottle of Kirschwasser from Germany. Essentially, it's Cherry Schnapps, except the fact that this is the real deal. Made from 100% cherries, distilled to become 47% of clear smooth alcohol with a great cherry aroma. Only available in Germany, I pulled many strings to get my hands on these...
So now, after all that time (and money) spent... I don't think I'm gonna stop just yet... Before long, I probably would need a bigger cabinet space...
Initially I collect champagnes... Why? Mostly because I saw the homes on MTV's Welcome to My Crib, the rapper homes usually have a fridge full of Krystals. Because Krystals aren't available in South East Asia, so I had to improvise... I worked my way up from regular bottles of Moet Chandon, to special editions such as Reserve Imperialle, etc... Now I have a few (too many) bottles of those, including a few Dom Perignon, Le Grande Dame and Perrier Jouliet. I have opened a few of the regular ones for birthdays and parties, but still unable to bring myself to open one of the better ones. Of course due to a heavy termite infestation, I had to throw away most of the cardboard boxes and evacuate my champagnes to the fridge.
Next in line, I buy and enjoy drinking Single Malt Scotch Whisky. I started drinking it (for leisure) when I was introduced to it during my college time. I started with 12 Years old Maccallan, then I started to look at other brands as well. Right now, I am in the process of comparing the taste of all the 25-30 Years Old line of the mainstream brands. I recently completed the set of Maccallan, Glenfiddich, Glenlivet and Glenmorainge (I don't know how many other Glens are out there) and I am looking forward to having a tasting get together with my friends... to argue whether whisky, like women, gets better with age...
One other item I have is a bottle of Kirschwasser from Germany. Essentially, it's Cherry Schnapps, except the fact that this is the real deal. Made from 100% cherries, distilled to become 47% of clear smooth alcohol with a great cherry aroma. Only available in Germany, I pulled many strings to get my hands on these...
So now, after all that time (and money) spent... I don't think I'm gonna stop just yet... Before long, I probably would need a bigger cabinet space...
Jet-Setting...
On top of my work related travels...
I feel that I'm away a lot these days... Just within the span of 30 days, I've been to a Kendo Tournament in Hong Kong, a friend's wedding in Bali and just this past weekend I went to Singapore with my mom and sister...
Then there's the Sumatra visits, speaking of which I'm due over there tomorrow and next week...
The truth, I am feeling a little bit overwhelmed right now. With my increasing work related issues, I feel like I am unable to fully concentrate on the other stuff in my life... I feel my Kendo training has gone to the shitter, I feel I am not doing my work out as well as I could, not to mention my leisure time...
I feel that I need to prioritize and re-organize my life at this moment, so that I will be able to handle things as effectively as I could... Therefore I decided to take a little breather from Kendo for a while. I know that the timing sucks, it's less than 3 months before another national tournament and less than 6 months before ASEAN tournament, but my heart is just not in it right now. I'm constantly worried about other things and not to mention the fatigue level involved. On top of that, the pressure of being the leader of the Jakarta Kendo Association and being the senior student kinda got to me. I haven't been able to freely enjoy practice as much as I did recently... So maybe a little perspective will probably do me good... In the meantime, I can concentrate more on my work, my gym work out and maybe throw in a little fun in there somewhere.
I am planning to take about a month's break... maybe a little more or a little less, then again I may even decided to pop back at practice this Saturday, should I be jonesing for Kendo by then...
I feel that I'm away a lot these days... Just within the span of 30 days, I've been to a Kendo Tournament in Hong Kong, a friend's wedding in Bali and just this past weekend I went to Singapore with my mom and sister...
Then there's the Sumatra visits, speaking of which I'm due over there tomorrow and next week...
The truth, I am feeling a little bit overwhelmed right now. With my increasing work related issues, I feel like I am unable to fully concentrate on the other stuff in my life... I feel my Kendo training has gone to the shitter, I feel I am not doing my work out as well as I could, not to mention my leisure time...
I feel that I need to prioritize and re-organize my life at this moment, so that I will be able to handle things as effectively as I could... Therefore I decided to take a little breather from Kendo for a while. I know that the timing sucks, it's less than 3 months before another national tournament and less than 6 months before ASEAN tournament, but my heart is just not in it right now. I'm constantly worried about other things and not to mention the fatigue level involved. On top of that, the pressure of being the leader of the Jakarta Kendo Association and being the senior student kinda got to me. I haven't been able to freely enjoy practice as much as I did recently... So maybe a little perspective will probably do me good... In the meantime, I can concentrate more on my work, my gym work out and maybe throw in a little fun in there somewhere.
I am planning to take about a month's break... maybe a little more or a little less, then again I may even decided to pop back at practice this Saturday, should I be jonesing for Kendo by then...
Thursday, March 25, 2010
So... What Happened? (part 2)
Well, I can't believe I haven't mentioned this before...
Around the end of last year, I started dating someone... Let's call her, let's see... Baroness...
I've known her for a while know... but I guess things just started rolling when we took a trip together to Japan last year. Anyways... it was pretty exciting at the beginning, just as with most relationships... However, after a couple of months, we kinda hit a snag...
Here's the story from my point of view :
We kinda grew apart... After a few months, I felt that we're communicating on different frequencies. Whatever connection I felt during our initial stages were overshadowed with these doubts and confusion. The lack of quality communication took its toll on me. To the point where I was stressed whenever I go out with her and I feel guilty if I don't go out with her. I tried talking it over with her and try to open up a dialogue, but her answer ("I'm happy with you.") were just not satisfactory. As if not only she's not acknowledging that we're having communication problems, she didn't want to discuss about it either... Finally on New Year's Day, I think she did the pre-emptive break-up thing on me... Seeing an exit, I took my chance and get the hell out of Dodge immediately and never looked back.
I didn't feel sad or bummed out over the end of this relationship. From time to time though, I had this thought in my head,
"You had a hot girl that was crazy about you, and you didn't want that... WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!?!?"
Other than that... oh, yeah... some of my friends thinks that I break up with her because she didn't put out...
Around the end of last year, I started dating someone... Let's call her, let's see... Baroness...
I've known her for a while know... but I guess things just started rolling when we took a trip together to Japan last year. Anyways... it was pretty exciting at the beginning, just as with most relationships... However, after a couple of months, we kinda hit a snag...
Here's the story from my point of view :
We kinda grew apart... After a few months, I felt that we're communicating on different frequencies. Whatever connection I felt during our initial stages were overshadowed with these doubts and confusion. The lack of quality communication took its toll on me. To the point where I was stressed whenever I go out with her and I feel guilty if I don't go out with her. I tried talking it over with her and try to open up a dialogue, but her answer ("I'm happy with you.") were just not satisfactory. As if not only she's not acknowledging that we're having communication problems, she didn't want to discuss about it either... Finally on New Year's Day, I think she did the pre-emptive break-up thing on me... Seeing an exit, I took my chance and get the hell out of Dodge immediately and never looked back.
I didn't feel sad or bummed out over the end of this relationship. From time to time though, I had this thought in my head,
"You had a hot girl that was crazy about you, and you didn't want that... WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!?!?"
Other than that... oh, yeah... some of my friends thinks that I break up with her because she didn't put out...
So... What Happened? (part 1)
Yeah, so what happened? Just because I stopped writing, didn't mean nothing happened, right? Well, let's see...
The last thing I wrote was an 'upcoming' Kendo Tournament in Jakarta, let's just start with that one...
It was an exciting tournament for sure, as I predicted. In fact, I think I caught some of my matches on film. As I mentioned, many the participants were pretty evenly matched and experienced, so there weren't any guarantees on who would win...
To cut it short, Dark Knight was the champion (finally!! after 7 times runner up), God of Thunder took Silver and I took the bronze...
I lost to Dark Knight at the semis... I had a good time and it was a pretty good tournament...
The last thing I wrote was an 'upcoming' Kendo Tournament in Jakarta, let's just start with that one...
It was an exciting tournament for sure, as I predicted. In fact, I think I caught some of my matches on film. As I mentioned, many the participants were pretty evenly matched and experienced, so there weren't any guarantees on who would win...
To cut it short, Dark Knight was the champion (finally!! after 7 times runner up), God of Thunder took Silver and I took the bronze...
I lost to Dark Knight at the semis... I had a good time and it was a pretty good tournament...
Why, RickJames? Why?!
I realized I have been away for a WHILE... A long while...
The reason why I started to write again was eh... letter writing campaign started by some of my friends. Especially my friends in the U.S...
I don't know what to say... I mean... Well, perhaps I should explain why I stopped writing for a while there.
I remembered before I took a break, I was reading my own writings these past couple of years... As I was reading them and remembering the point in my life which each of those stories transpired, I can't help but noticed that some of writings sounded... well, a lot of them sounded neurotic, whiny and some others were just down right self-indulgent. While I know I told the whole truth in my stories, it was pretty evident that I took a lot of liberty in my experimental writing style, as well as my story telling. Re-reading them made me think about the whole purpose of this blog, was it to inform my friends of my activities? As a therapy? Or was it merely just to entertain myself?
So that's why I decided to eh... re-think things over, regarding this blog... and before you know it, it's almost six months without an update!!
Anyways, I would like to say that I appreciate every one of your request for me to keep writing (yes, all 3 of you. While I don't know if I've had any break through in regards to my purpose in writing, I guess it's better off to just keep writing rather than not...
The reason why I started to write again was eh... letter writing campaign started by some of my friends. Especially my friends in the U.S...
I don't know what to say... I mean... Well, perhaps I should explain why I stopped writing for a while there.
I remembered before I took a break, I was reading my own writings these past couple of years... As I was reading them and remembering the point in my life which each of those stories transpired, I can't help but noticed that some of writings sounded... well, a lot of them sounded neurotic, whiny and some others were just down right self-indulgent. While I know I told the whole truth in my stories, it was pretty evident that I took a lot of liberty in my experimental writing style, as well as my story telling. Re-reading them made me think about the whole purpose of this blog, was it to inform my friends of my activities? As a therapy? Or was it merely just to entertain myself?
So that's why I decided to eh... re-think things over, regarding this blog... and before you know it, it's almost six months without an update!!
Anyways, I would like to say that I appreciate every one of your request for me to keep writing (yes, all 3 of you. While I don't know if I've had any break through in regards to my purpose in writing, I guess it's better off to just keep writing rather than not...
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