08 / 16 / 07

As chapter twenty seven of my life begins, I can’t help but look back on this past year and just appreciate life and everyone in it. Although I lost two great people this year, I also gained a new reason to smile. Her name is Jaenna. And with all the weddings coming up the next couple of months, I’m sure there will be more reasons to smile. At this moment in my life, I truly believe that I have nothing but good people surrounding me. Growing older is great. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for me in this chapter. Maybe fame and fortune? Who knows?!? Till then, as Christine says, let’s make life exciting!

REASON TO LIVE. Tito Joe’s memorial band given out at the CFC Youth conference.REASON TO LOVE. One of the many weddings I’ll be attending this next couple of months. Beautiful couple…inside and out. Can’t wait to celebrate your new life with you! (pictures take by MICHAEL + ANNA COSTA)“Here I am, and here we go, life’s waiting to begin….”

SIDE NOTE 1: Must buy cd’s…INSTANT KARMA and COMMON.

08 / 07 / 07

“I’m in love with the world through the eyes of a girl….”


Not alot of words today. Just a visual of how a boy should love a girl and friends & family who support them. Good food, good company….GREAT TIME!

06 / 20 / 07

Two thousand and seven has been filled with life changing events and lessons. It’s still hard to articulate these past couple of months because A) english is my second language, 2) I’m not quite sure myself how I got here, and D) I was just kidding about A…maybe. In any case, I’ll give it a shot.

“I’m not alone, I wish I was
Cause then I’d know, I was down because
I couldn’t find, a friend around
To love me like, they do right now


Something’s missing
And I don’t know how to fix it” – John Mayer

This was my theme song going into the new year. I had the support of my family, the love of my friends, the fun apartment by the beach, and a good job. And yet, I couldn’t say I was truly happy (I know, what an ungrateful bastard right?). It wasn’t hard to figure out what was missing in my life. Going into our sixth year doing long distance, I knew one of us had to compromise. And due to uncontrollable circumstances, I knew it was gonna have to be me…it was just a matter of being completely sure.

Then life happened. A great friend of mine lost his battle with cancer and a month later, so did Alex’s dad. I knew death is a part of life, but I guess I just wasn’t expecting stuff like this to happen till I was in my forties. During one of the novenas Alex’s mom said… “I’ll miss holding his hands the most.” I don’t think I’ll ever forget that. When tragedy happens you realize the little things you take for granted. You tend to appreciate life more and just wanna live it.

I’ve been living in suburbia New Jersey for four months now. I’m not a block away from the beach anymore. I can’t walk around my place naked. There are no cafés and restaurants outside my door, and I’m three thousand miles from family and friends. BUT at the end of the day, I’m not coming home to an empty place thinking about the “shoulda, woulda, coulda’s”. And as Amos Lee puts it, every morning when he wakes me, he takes me back home.

SIDE NOTE 1: Hi Manny. Happy now?

SIDE NOTE 2: I miss my nephews!!!