Not Just Another Friendster Skin

Have been so busy with my writing assignments that I have not been able to post anything lately. I'll make it up as soon as I grab some breathing space. Anyway, I am posting my newest friendster skin which I am currently using on my profile.

Please feel free to use it, or check out my other skins as well. I would appreciate if you can let me know so I can check your profile and invite you as well.

sparrow skin
preview
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image by vasilisa

The Legend of the Starry Night

Vincent was a man who lived in shadows.
But through the pain and darkness that enshrouded him,
his heart only saw the sky.

I have always been drawn to Van Gogh. At first I only knew him from the song, but something about him called to me. At an age when I was too young to fully appreciate his story, I found in Vincent a kindred spirit. His sadness spoke to the restless in mine, and I found solace in his song and works of art.

Only later did I found out the truth about his tragic life. The judgment and rejection he suffered, the sense of failure he struggled with, his journey to the edge of sanity, the endless fall from grace, the death by his own hands.

Starry Night, Van Gogh's masterpiece, was painted from the depths of his suffering. While imprisoned in an asylum, Van Gogh painted the night sky as he saw it through the bars of his prison window: a darkness awash with magnificent colors.

Van Gogh's Starry Night is hope captured. In his darkness, he kept his colors alive. His was the hope that overcomes the shadows. His was a spirit that shatters the dark. By his life we are reminded that through the many chains that hold us in bondage, we can choose to look for brighter skies.

May our lives be like the Starry Night.
That through the darkness, we can see life with a thousand light.

Of Awards & Rewards

KCee gave these blog awards to me. Thanks girl, they have certainly made my day.

I am passing these on to Jeng, Rogue, and Mel in the hopes that it brightens up their day as well.

Van Gogh's Portrait

This is not Pi.

This is a portrait of Van Gogh.

Van Gogh is the shy matriarch and the true workhorse. I actually have two computers at home, and Van Gogh is the desktop pc. Truth be told, I have never used Pi that often, especially for work. The claustrophobic in me feels suffocated when using a laptop.

Van Gogh is almost ten years old. For computers, that is old; ancient even. At her heyday, she was top of the line. Alas, as is the fate of all technological devices, Van Gogh has fallen by the wayside and is now almost obsolete.

But for me, she will always be relevant.

Van Gogh taught me a lot of things. Through her, I was directed by fate to the work@home life. And even now, she continues to open new online opportunities for me.

It was Van Gogh who uncovered my fascination for customization. I have never placed anything on her desktop. I enjoy, no, I'm obsessed with tweaking icons and visual styles. I do not just use any icon sets or themes, instead I use IconPackager to change every single visible icon in the system. It is painstaking work to manually change it this way, but I am just OC like that.

Van Gogh's canvas is a 19" widescreen samsung LCD bought last year. She still has xp, but we use a visual style from deviantart to emulate vista's black taskbars and pearl start buttons. Van Gogh's taskbar icons are the programs I use most often for my home-based gigs. Her current wallpaper is Tequila Sunrise by Richard Mohler. Of course I also use Starry Night. haha!

My work requires me to be online all the time, browsing and doing research. Opera is my browser of choice. I discovered it with Van Gogh almost a decade ago, and have been loyal to it ever since. Opera's magic wand is unparalleled, saving all my login information so I don't have to type it every time. Opera first introduced tabbed browsing which has brought multi-tasking to a whole new level. You can open multiple websites and keep your taskbar clean for other programs. While we take that for granted nowadays, some years ago it was a miracle.

Van Gogh has helped me found things that I have lost or forgotten. I have found new ways of channeling my old, creative energies. I have found dear friends from tender youth. I have found some sense of control over a life that can sometimes careen off tracks.

Oh the many places I have been...Van Gogh has taken me to journeys beyond imagining.

Van Gogh is showing her age, and I know that soon that we would have to replace her... But the ghost in the machine will always be with me.

Indeed magic is to be found in the most unexpected of places; in the most mundane of things that we oft take for granted. That's why it's magic in the first place.

And Van Gogh is one such magical thing.

Hey Jeng, this is a tag right back at you. Show off that pc, girl!

Tag: Get to Know Me

During the height of my work@home frenzy, there were a couple of tags that I missed out on because I was just too lazy busy. Needless to say, I lost many blog friends because of my lack of blog social skills. Well I have been recently inspired again to at least make semi-regular posts because a dear old friend has just recently made her entry to the blogging world. I am posting this because of her.

Thanks Jeng for the tag. I don't feel so alone anymore... I hope I can hook up with some of your blogger friends as well.

1. Today I feel very — Lazy, but duty calls. As always.
2. I enjoy - Spending carefree time with my loved ones. I also relish my time alone which is very rare. Travel, both actual and mental.
   
3. I am unhappy when — I feel helpless against the cruel realties of life.
   
4. I feel good when — I do good. Doing good feels good. And such is true with any undertaking.
5. I wish my boss — What boss?! I am my own boss. Proud work@homie in the house.
6. My officemates think — I'm aloof and quiet, which is true. Anyways I never really worked in an office long enough for co-workers to know me.
7. My work area is — Cluttered, just like my mind. I have given up on organizing with two toddlers all over me. Although I am bent on creating a work space that is more relaxing and one that will allow me to be more productive under less time.
   
8. I enjoy reading about — I am a book perve. Anything for a good read! Although lately, it's the discovery of a good book that thrills me more.
   
9. I like myself best when — I make a breakthrough, for myself and for others.
   
10. If I had a choice I would — Just like Jeng, I would like to be a plain housewife. I wish i can afford to stop working, but I cannot. My sense of responsibility is just too strong. Besides, it feels better to spend money you have worked for. I am not one to just wait to be given spending money; no way. But if i had a chance, I would like to be a professional cook and web developer, and earn just by blogging about food, culture, and travel.
11. I wish — I can give joy back to my aging parents and that they will live long enough to see better days for all of us. I wish I would stop worrying about the future because as I can vouch from experience, it does have a way of working itself out. I wish I will never get sick again. I wish to make endless memories with robert and our daughters. I wish that dreams would find a way out of dreamland.
12. Tomorrow I would like to — Wake up to find a better day, better than all the ones that went before. And rise to the sun with faith and resolve to see through the day.

I am not tagging anyone. Just feel free to tag yourself and let me know so I can read yours.

just to fill in the blanks

I breathe
In the infinite spaces of darkness
Unechoed songs of a silent heart
I am of unrevealed shadows and secrets
Of quiet snow
And silent stars
I seek
The quiet moments of remembrance
The secret sorrow of regret
I hear
The secret lives of rain
Here
In my silent
Tearless pain