http://karlo225.multiply.com/ Nothing is more practical than finding God, that is, than falling in love in a quite absolute, final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning, what you will do with your evenings, how you will spend your weekends, what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in love, stay in love and it will decide everything. Attributed to Pedro Arrupe, S.J. (1907-1991) Superior General of the Society of Jesus 1961-1984 Copyright © 2004-2011 by Jose Karlo Ocampo Avenido All Rights Reserved. All poems, stories, and pictures are written, composed, and taken with the author's creativity unless otherwise stated. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without a valid permission from the author. Violation of copyright may be penalized according to State Jurisdiction. <br><br><br> Karlo \kar-'lo\ n. [taken from Jose Karlo Ocampo Avenido] 1. H. sapiens 2. taking up BS Psychology 3. musician [flautist] 4. corny joker 5. introvert 6. sacristan 7. true friend, though imperfect 8. serious yet playful 9. proud Atenean 10. born 16 November 1991 in Manila 11. a Canadian 12. an OFW: Overseas Filipino Writer; Synonyms: Karlo A., Karl, Lokar, Ave, Avi, Der Schatz, Flutargic (thanks Dan), Flutistic (thanks Harley) <br><br><br><center>Ad Majorem + Dei Gloriam</center><br><br> <center><embed allowscriptaccess="never" src="http://www.clocklink.com/clocks/5001p-blue.swf?TimeZone=PST&amp;Place=Vancouver&amp;DateFormat=DD-mm-YY&amp;" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="25" width="300"><br><br><embed allowscriptaccess="never" src="http://www.clocklink.com/clocks/5001p-orange.swf?TimeZone=GMT0800&amp;Place=Manila&amp;DateFormat=DD-mm-YY&amp;" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="25" width="300"></center> View my blog: <a href="http://jkavenido.blogspot.com">The OFW: Overseas Filipino Writer @ http://jkavenido.blogspot.com</a> for all my other works, poetry, articles, and stories. View my <a href="http://jkavimobile.blogspot.com">mobile blog </a> for more photos, and random stuff from my mobile phone's perspective. For comments, suggestions, violent reactions, and death threats, please forward them to my email address: karlo1116@yahoo.com <center><embed allowscriptaccess="never" src="http://www.99counters.com/counters.swf?id=62213" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="160" width="120"><br><br><br><br>Do u liek LOLcats? <br><br><div style="margin-top: 10px;margin-bottom: 10px;" align="center"><div style="text-align: center;display: inline-block;vertical-align: middle;width: 205px;padding-top: 0px;padding-bottom: 0px;"><a href="http://www.slangaholic.com/lolcat/convertself.php" title="LOLcat"><img src="http://www.slangaholic.com/lolcat/pics/logo-buttons/lolcatize-25per-button.png" alt="LOLcatize" border="0" height="66" width="203"></a><br><a style="position: relative;top: -23px;color: rgb(0, 0, 147);background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);text-align: center;font-family: &#39;Comic Sans MS&#39;,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size: 11px;" href="http://www.slangaholic.com/" title="LOLcat">Go to LOLcat Translator</a></div></div></center><br><br><center><a style="text-decoration: none;" href="ymsgr:sendim?karlo1116" title="Send IM"><img src="http://www.imvisible.info/status-image.php?id=karlo1116&amp;icon=7" alt="" style="border: 0px none;"><br>Send IM</a></center><br><br><center><div style="text-align:center;margin:0px;padding:0px;width:256px;"><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="256" height="128" codebase="http://fpdownload.adobe.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,0,0" id=" ie_rmc_ki101"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="never"><param name="movie" value="http://rb.revolvermaps.com/f/f.swf"><param name="allowNetworking" value="all"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><param name="flashvars" value="m=6&amp;i=1A8uJd9YFpJ&amp;r=10&amp;c=ff8a00"><!-- !IE]// // // // --><!-- // // // // --><!-- // // // // --></object><br><img src="http://jb.revolvermaps.com/c/1A8uJd9YFpJ.gif" width="1" height="1"></div></center> Fri, 7 Oct 2011 06:06:13 -0000 Sat, 24 Sep 2011 18:53:10 -0000 http://multiply.com/mu/karlo225/logo http://karlo225.multiply.com/ 100 100 http://karlo225.multiply.com/journal/item/780/A_fountain_pen_and_why_my_meticulous_inky_hands_write_with_it. They say that a pen is mightier than the sword: that words on paper could pierce through the soul, whereas a blade can only cut through flesh. The same is true, I guess, when you're severely addicted to writing implements. I have amassed a collection of 28 fountain pens since I started getting in the habit a year ago, and the collection just keeps on growing -- I have 4 more pens waiting for me in the mail, along with 2 more bottles of ink. What got me into these pens, you might wonder, is their ease of use, versatility, and discipline of usage. I have used ballpoint pens since grade school, and used only one ballpoint throughout high school (a Waterman that my grandfather gave me upon graduation from grade school). However, I discovered the<i> magic</i>&nbsp;of using a fountain pen during one of my random bookstore scouring in Manila. And as the psychopathologist's diathesis-stress model, I succumbed to an incorrigible, expensive, yet auspicious addiction to fountain pens. And as of late, ... http://karlo225.multiply.com/journal/item/780/A_fountain_pen_and_why_my_meticulous_inky_hands_write_with_it. Sat, 24 Sep 2011 18:53:10 -0000 http://karlo225.multiply.com/journal/item/779/779 Alors je peux t'aimer tellement, très très fort sans savoir, et chaque mot qui bat, qui se met à toi serait le dernier mot que je disais. Quand vas-tu me dire que tu m'aimes? Ou pas, j'ai besoin d'une réponse. J'ai besoin d'une raison de vivre, une chose qui peut me mettre chaque jour. Toutefois, tu m'as dit qu'on est amis -- une folie à deux dont j'ai pas besoin. Je sais qu'il y a une fois, un jour quand on va réaliser cet amour -- désormais c'est un rêve, un rêve d'un coeur brisé.&nbsp;<br>Dis-le-moi, que tu m'aimes encore, que tu m'attendras, que tu seras là, qu'on ne sait que l'amour. Dis-moi qu'on finira jamais. http://karlo225.multiply.com/journal/item/779/779 Sat, 3 Sep 2011 07:51:15 -0000 http://karlo225.multiply.com/photos/album/134/Esterbrook_J. After much time with contemporary fountain pens, I decided to purchase a vintage Esterbrook J from the 1950's. And I regret the fact that Esterbrook Inc. had to close in 1972. Their pens are just a marvel to http://karlo225.multiply.com/photos/album/134/Esterbrook_J. Fri, 26 Aug 2011 06:20:12 -0000 http://karlo225.multiply.com/journal/item/778/The_gift_of_life. It's been a year--a full 365 days since I was on the brink of death in a personal tragedy. It was a ruptured appendix, with a malevolent infection sprawling in my cavities that almost took my life, if it wasn't for the skillful hands of the surgeon who opened me up and cleared up the mess in me.&nbsp;<br>Life is a gift: and ever since that harrowing tragedy I learned how to take life day after day, to look at <i>no</i>w<i>&nbsp;</i>more than yesterday or tomorrow.&nbsp; http://karlo225.multiply.com/journal/item/778/The_gift_of_life. Sat, 20 Aug 2011 20:41:32 -0000 http://karlo225.multiply.com/journal/item/777/And_its_mid-August_before_we_know_it. And summer will be over in less than a month; "Autumn Leaves",&nbsp;with its melancholy, grief-stricken tune&nbsp;will infest the airwaves again ubiquitously. And here will I be once again, just as sombre as the melody, bidding goodbye to summer and all the glory and warmth it has given. Here will I be again, emptied of all words, thoughts, and actions, feeding on the recalcitrant remnants of summertime daylight, longing for what had been. The stars, aglow with feigned urgence to consume their final flames, will glimmer faintly across the autumn sky, heralding darkness that will cover us in winter. And so it begins again: just as it commenced in the beginning of time, the complete revolution, the inevitable end and the inevitable start.&nbsp; http://karlo225.multiply.com/journal/item/777/And_its_mid-August_before_we_know_it. Sun, 14 Aug 2011 18:42:09 -0000 http://karlo225.multiply.com/journal/item/776/Of_Bicycle_Accidents_and_Assholes_in_Cadillacs. I went biking with my brother today, and as with him,&nbsp;I would laugh so hard at anyone who says that Canadians--especially Vancouverites--are the friendliest people in the world. It might be true if you live in West Vancouver, or in the well-kept suburbs of uptown Kerrisdale where everyone is homogenous and uniform: white, atheist, 6-digit income, 7 SUV's and 4 European cars, and the list goes on. Heck, they wouldn't think much different from other people in Vancouver--they are the hollow men that T.S. Eliot referred to. But, in their homogeneity, they neglect the existence of the non-'native' Canadians: immigrants, exchange students, foreigners, refugees--I would gladly raise a firm, resolved and angry middle finger at them. And that is what exactly happened this afternoon after I fell from my bike near a white male-driven Cadillac Escalade near an Esso gas station.&nbsp;<br> It was my fault that I fell: the bike I was on was rather&nbsp;stubbly as it went on a downhill approach and ... http://karlo225.multiply.com/journal/item/776/Of_Bicycle_Accidents_and_Assholes_in_Cadillacs. Fri, 29 Jul 2011 01:39:46 -0000 http://karlo225.multiply.com/journal/item/775/Writing. In an e-mail reply to this blog a few years back, a reader told me how on earth do I manage to write so much in so little time. Of course, it was way back in October of 2008, when I had a gazillion of thoughts to jot on paper, and ultimately type on a keyboard. It was some sort of literary nirvana: I felt as if I could go on for an eternity just writing everything, descriptions, narratives, poems, articles, scribbles, sand drawings, doodles. I had this sort of unhealthy obsession with morphemes, words, sentences, syntactic structures -- they would go on haunting me in my dreams (I dreamt of making my way through a tropical forest of words -- literally). I was armed with a laptop, a fountain pen, and a notebook. And three years later, I find myself still clinging on those three objects, though they have changed, in order to put my sentiments, thoughts, and several literature-inducing paraphernalia. One thing changed, however: I haven't been as strong as I was a writer before. I used to... http://karlo225.multiply.com/journal/item/775/Writing. Fri, 15 Jul 2011 05:14:38 -0000 http://karlo225.multiply.com/journal/item/774/Coolness. And thus with each caress&nbsp;Stroking my soul --&nbsp;Distant warmth of amber soaked&nbsp;In the blessings of mid-August rain.&nbsp;Showers, droplets&nbsp;Plummeting at a speed&nbsp;My heart beats as fast --&nbsp;For a moment I felt alive.&nbsp;<br>The proximal coolness&nbsp;Each raindrop -- each kiss&nbsp;Dampens -- the already wilt heart&nbsp;And hence I knew&nbsp;And hence we knew --&nbsp;Summer bids its farewell. &nbsp;<br><br><br> http://karlo225.multiply.com/journal/item/774/Coolness. Fri, 15 Jul 2011 04:46:26 -0000 http://karlo225.multiply.com/journal/item/773/Ripples._ Ripples -- sigh of relief&nbsp;In an ocean mist of solitude&nbsp;Dejection and regret&nbsp;Where are you and your promises:&nbsp;Concealed beneath a wired fence&nbsp;Jumping, Longing, Fleeing&nbsp;From a devastation reaching the shore&nbsp;And at once each tidal wave --&nbsp;A gift -- a curse -- a benevolent&nbsp;Entity -- a work of art crumbles&nbsp;On the sand&nbsp;Bitten by creatures&nbsp;Rescued by man.&nbsp;<br><br> http://karlo225.multiply.com/journal/item/773/Ripples._ Fri, 15 Jul 2011 04:43:49 -0000 http://karlo225.multiply.com/journal/item/772/Rush. Midnight sighs--&nbsp;The whispers, hushed, silent:&nbsp;Roaring in the thunderstorms in me&nbsp;Swirling, unfurling&nbsp;A sweet rush spreading&nbsp;Building&nbsp;Exhaling&nbsp;In the dead of this living night.&nbsp;<br>I am alive. http://karlo225.multiply.com/journal/item/772/Rush. Fri, 15 Jul 2011 04:41:36 -0000 http://karlo225.multiply.com/journal/item/771/Souvenir. <font class="Apple-style-span" color="#333333" face="Verdana, sans-serif"><br><br>What sweet caress would it beto hear your voice touch my ears;to give them life again,and take your voice with me,remember it all these years?<br>I yearn to speak words of adoration,to whisper psalms of admiration,to sing songs of love,to shout your name of pulchritude.<br>I need to soar with youhigher and higher and higheruntil we could only seewhat has been you and mewith nothing but lovefar lovelier than the greatest lovewe have ever known.<br>I need to see you in my dreamsas if the day has never endedas if it lives throughafter our refreshing slumberfor reality is betterthan the best dreamI have ever had.<br>And if tomorrow,we find each other lost,our destinies, paralleled across time and space,it wouldn't matter,for if you love me as I do,then these foolish lines shall remind me of you.</font> http://karlo225.multiply.com/journal/item/771/Souvenir. Thu, 30 Jun 2011 06:13:49 -0000 http://karlo225.multiply.com/journal/item/770/Reflections_on_a_summer_night. Low lit -- the fields chase the last glimmer of daylight away, scampering beneath the contour of the mountains in the distance -- purple hues frolicking among the pink and blue, the azure and the magenta; or what was left of daylight, all hopes of being with you. As slow as the fading beacon behind the mountaintops, forsaken. Night breaks, carefully the last glimmer of sunlight departs, welcoming the regime of darkness, blank, fully empty with a chasm filled with void. The day has parted without farewell, and furthermore it bid its own way. Distance called its sovereignty over us: two lovers parted by this daylight slowly making its way to you. And we are just as lucky: scores of lovers have died resolving their discrepancies -- we only face an adversary, albeit the power of time itself, and of this gaping distance between us.&nbsp;<br>And now how your smile haunts me, each day I'm away; but why must I miss you -- you broke my heart and turned me into something I could never be. I was desp... http://karlo225.multiply.com/journal/item/770/Reflections_on_a_summer_night. Wed, 29 Jun 2011 04:01:01 -0000 http://karlo225.multiply.com/journal/item/769/Ive_started_to_write_again. "The greater the darkness, the greater the light."&nbsp;<br>And I'm starting to find the silver lining in this shadowy abomination. I'm so glad I came to my senses and figured out what I really wanted. http://karlo225.multiply.com/journal/item/769/Ive_started_to_write_again. Tue, 21 Jun 2011 07:12:34 -0000 http://karlo225.multiply.com/journal/item/768/The_Call. Will winds that slowly freeze&nbsp;Call to thee in this wint'ry haze,&nbsp;In the crack of dawn just as these&nbsp;Today, tomorrow 'til the springtime daze?&nbsp;<br>Should I be afraid of ghosts&nbsp;I haven't seen, or of lies&nbsp;Ubiquitous, what one who boasts&nbsp;Of true love -- a lover's demise?&nbsp;<br>But promises -- though empty as I&nbsp;Who once loved you dearly than life --&nbsp;Broken, remembered until I die,&nbsp;Still carry me through this senseless strife.&nbsp;<br><br> http://karlo225.multiply.com/journal/item/768/The_Call. Tue, 21 Jun 2011 05:44:32 -0000 http://karlo225.multiply.com/journal/item/767/Summer_night. Lying down, amazed, I stared at the ceiling for a long time: splattered bulges of dark blue, hues of a warm summer night breezing through my room. It was completely dead silent; the time of night when the birds have retired, the stars have shone their last, but a faint blue creeping through the mountains. In summertime, midnight is a dark blue mystery, blanketing over the warm starless sky. Hadn't I lived in the city, the stars would have pierced the dark blue blanket high above. But at the wake of dawn, this is not light: this is just a fragment of what was the day, the ghost of sunlight creeping behind the mountains, into my room, into the contour of my tired body in repose.<br>I lay still, waiting for the faint summer glow to fade completely, an hour after midnight, when everything was supposed to be still, lying in peace, in a nocturnal repose.&nbsp;<br>I couldn't lay still: patches of light still creep through my mind, and I suddenly had the need to jot down these musings. When will it be... http://karlo225.multiply.com/journal/item/767/Summer_night. Sun, 19 Jun 2011 20:56:35 -0000 http://karlo225.multiply.com/journal/item/766/A_short_letter_for_you_because_Kleenex_napkins_can_hold_quite_a_few_words_too. I probably just didn't want to be tied down just yet -- I have so many things to do -- tons of dreams to chase, ambitions to pursue. And I didn't want to settle down just yet and commit myself to someone knowing that the world still has a lot to offer to me and I can't afford to risk all those opportunities by giving all of myself (or at least part of it) to you. I can't bid my dreams goodbye because of someone. I just suddenly figured out that my dreams and ambitions are more valuable to me. I know that we had the best time together, but I don't think I can still go on. In some strange and twisted way, you tend to weigh me down and I can't let that happen. I have dreams to live for, and though you're one of them, you make me want to let go of the more important things--everything I've ever worked for.&nbsp; You're making me put all of my effort I've given to waste. I didn't want to lead you on, and give you false hopes -- the same ones you gave me. I'm tired, broken, and sick. You h... http://karlo225.multiply.com/journal/item/766/A_short_letter_for_you_because_Kleenex_napkins_can_hold_quite_a_few_words_too. Fri, 10 Jun 2011 03:43:41 -0000 http://karlo225.multiply.com/journal/item/765/When_I_jeopardize_literature_for_the_fun_of_it. <font class="Apple-style-span" face="arial, sans-serif" size="3">O pagsintang labis ng 'yong kagaguhan,Sampon nang nagsabing ika'y 'sang bakulaw.&nbsp;T'wing ikaw'y nasok sa ulo ninomanT'yak na iyong hatid: kanilang kamatayan.</font> http://karlo225.multiply.com/journal/item/765/When_I_jeopardize_literature_for_the_fun_of_it. Fri, 10 Jun 2011 02:38:20 -0000 http://karlo225.multiply.com/journal/item/764/764 Tout ce que je suis&nbsp;Chante au Seigneur qui m'apporte&nbsp;La nouvelle vie, naissance à moi.&nbsp;Mon esprit s'élance&nbsp;Sur les ailes de mon Seigneur. http://karlo225.multiply.com/journal/item/764/764 Wed, 8 Jun 2011 06:56:20 -0000 http://karlo225.multiply.com/journal/item/763/May_ends_today. And so another month begins. I haven't noticed how time flies until I did today--tonight. In thirty minutes, May 2011 exits to usher a new month, along with it new hope, heartbreak, and triumph. Things do seem better, Manitoba just regained their long lost love: an NHL franchise; I have felt fully recovered from yet another harrowing surgery; and the world didn't end as predicted. Yet tradition states that people be wary all the time, for only the Father knows when and how.&nbsp;<br>Tradition, which served me well these pst few years, also dictates that I should be back to the penning table, doing what I should do best: write. And write have I never done this month. I feel so ashamed to have missed so many crucial turning points with my beloved <i>hermosa</i>, my dear <i>kasipi</i>, or my honoured mistress. I never planned on writing for a living (I might write about this sometime soon), but it has grown on me so fondly for years now. Hence I will never be willing to give up what little is left for me t... http://karlo225.multiply.com/journal/item/763/May_ends_today. Wed, 1 Jun 2011 06:46:04 -0000 http://karlo225.multiply.com/journal/item/762/Back_from_the_dead. So the Karlo Avenido is back from a gruesome week-long hiatus from everything. I had to undergo yet another surgery for my gallbladder which took me an overnight's stay at Burnaby General. I would have stayed for the afternoon had not the incision on my navel opened up, letting blood gush like the Red Sea on the crossing Egyptians. I jest. I'm doing much better now that a clot has finally formed to block the severed blood vessel (yes, it took me 5 days to stop bleeding profusely), and from much discomfort comes yet even more discomfort. The doctors have adjusted my diet to maintain a low-fat regimen, preferably none at all. Hence I'll spend the foreseeable future munching on granola bars and salad wraps (get this--with no dressing).&nbsp;<br>I've been praying for a cessation on my medical exploits ever since. I've always had this curse on me: this vile, lecherous beast of an annual malady has never reared its ugly head on me. Remembering far back in my childhood in the Philippines with the... http://karlo225.multiply.com/journal/item/762/Back_from_the_dead. Sat, 7 May 2011 03:15:13 -0000 http://karlo225.multiply.com/journal/item/761/Tonight. Floating up&nbsp;Drowning in the reflection at ease&nbsp;My dreams commence:&nbsp;A parallel reality&nbsp;<br>I stand&nbsp;Watching in awe (again)&nbsp;As always--kissing&nbsp;This solitary remnant&nbsp;Fragments&nbsp;Sent scattered&nbsp;Across this slumberscape&nbsp;<br>And I move slowly&nbsp;Towards you&nbsp;Hoping neverTo wake up http://karlo225.multiply.com/journal/item/761/Tonight. Thu, 7 Apr 2011 19:20:59 -0000 http://karlo225.multiply.com/notes/item/160 http://karlo225.multiply.com/notes/item/160 Thu, 17 Mar 2011 16:35:50 -0000 http://karlo225.multiply.com/video/item/8/All_By_Myself Don't wanna be. All by myself. Anymore. Boredom + Chocolates + http://karlo225.multiply.com/video/item/8/All_By_Myself Sat, 5 Feb 2011 07:18:58 -0000 http://karlo225.multiply.com/notes/item/129 http://karlo225.multiply.com/notes/item/129 Sun, 30 Jan 2011 19:23:09 -0000 http://karlo225.multiply.com/notes/item/128 http://karlo225.multiply.com/notes/item/128 Wed, 19 Jan 2011 16:53:45 -0000 http://karlo225.multiply.com/photos/album/133/Hallowe039en_at_SFU http://karlo225.multiply.com/photos/album/133/Hallowe039en_at_SFU Mon, 17 Jan 2011 17:40:44 -0000