i am back in baclayon with my parents but leaving for camiguin island tomorrow to assist with a spanish anthropologist’s study. a fellow friend, mama ross, will facilitate the weekend workshops using theater/drama techniques. i am excited to work and learn. i bought my return ticket back to the stateside. i get sad about leaving the islands and yet i miss all my bay area family. building bridges across oceans through rainbows is difficult, painstaking, blue moon roadblocks, the complexities of life, yet so simple is the essence of loving the homeland and loving where one currently lives on the other side of the globe. but i am reminded of friends, family that love unconditionally, with mere words (in this digital world via text or fb message) ‘i love u.’ i am reminded by what is invisible to the eyes from afar loving support, i am reminded to dream. one of my best friends, sister Shirley, one of the UFO clan, reminded me today and with teary eyes i read with love: “our ancestors are watching over us and i know that they are so proud of u and the work that u are doing i know that the work that needs to be done is for us and our ancestors and the future generations i cant express how much i love u i cant wait to see u but i want u to also embrace every moment u r there and every connection how ever brief it may be u are a treasure. i will thank u for your inspiration through ur perspiration lol hehehe.” i responded back: ha ha add on the many bug bites! arrghh itch itch

it is a blessed honor to have such good friends. shirley reminded me of a dream i had earlier this year. a vision of us on a boat in the calm sea, capsized as a slow moving large swell turned into a tsunami that took a dear friend’s life (in the dream). this friend is special, pretty in pink, a hula dancer, a dreamer, a mother, a wife, a fierce fighter (but i wouldn’t dare let her drive in the streets of san francisco – that’s another story). Lolo Babe noticed how it disturbed me a great deal. how could it not, a loved one who is a mother to a daughter, a mother to a son, a lover to a childhood friend, my friend. i remember now, after the tsunami crashed upon us, it turned black. when i came to, i was held in someone’s arms, soaked and weary. i realized that my friend was nowhere in sight, a dreadful feeling. i woke up with a painful scream and with tears in my eyes, fortunately i was consoled and comforted by un amigo. i asked Lolo Babe about nightmares. a bad dream is a nightmare. Christians created death and an ending to life in the ground. Elder Manu shared that tidal waves are cleansing. Start anew. He adds on, claim your work, take it with you, start a grant, take it to schools. No need to be anxious. Focus on good things to come. Ask for good things to come. Be prepared. Open up your heart and let the sunshine in.