Vacation Week 2 - Done

Today is my last day of my two-week long vacation. Although there were some hitches but I finished the week fully rejuvenated in going back to work.

Main highlight for last week was the First Friday Arts Festival last November 6Th. It was only the second time that I attended the festival with no pressure to time at all. Every time I attend this festival, I only spent about two (2) hours because I have to leave early for work. This time around I stayed in the festival until it ended around 11:00 in the evening.

Several friends came to visit my mom. It was an instant party for all of us since they brought with them some food and spent lunch time with us. I was happy that they decided to visit my mom as it would help her alleviate the boredom that she is feeling right now because she is always tied up on her wheelchair. Although she can move around the house a little bit but she needs to use a cane or a wheelchair so as not to put some pressure on her affected knee. So far, she is doing good with her 3X a week physical therapy.

It was also the birthday of my godson, Anton Josef. I attended his birthday bash and had enough amount of drinks to put me through and driving home safely. Most of the time I stayed home to accompany my mom when my dad is working.

I was able to watch a live show for The Rocky Horror Picture Show. They were actually showing the whole movie on a wide screen and live actors also performed in synchronization with the actors on screen. This added a unique dimension of the movie being shown. Aside from the presence of live actors, there were also audience participation during the show. Audiences were yelling to the screen or the live actors. Sometimes they yell some questions that the actors answered out from the movie's dialogue. Sometimes they drowned the actor's words to insert something more fitting. For a perfect timing when to yell takes a lot of practice. There are some scripts online intended for this "audience participation" for The Rocky Horror.

So far these were what transpired on my last week of vacation. Tomorrow, I'll be back to work but I felt no remorse at all that I only stayed home most of the time. This was my main goal when I decided to cancel my planned trip to the Philippines.

Travel More & See The World

Our world is an amazing place that you got to see and experience. Staying in your own place gives you a limited idea on how the world works. Visiting other places and going out of your comfort zone is a great educational experience. I remember readng a Chinese saying way before that travelling around would give you more knowledge than reading a whole library of books. I can't remember exactly its full text but the idea sticks on my mind even now. You don't need to have lots of money to embark on an adventure of your own. Start in your own place, your own town or city for example. I bet there are still parts of your town or city that you have not visited yet. Then try to expand further like exploring your province or state and eventually to the other neighboring towns and provinces. I bet most of you are still a "foreigner" of your own country.

I have read an article online about three reasons why you should travel more. This article was authored by Andy Hayes, the managing editor of Sharing Travel Experiences, a popular travel website.

Here are Three Reasons why you should travel more:

They say the world is a book, and if you haven't travelled then you've only read one page. Today, it's so easy to see more and travel more. Here's a few reasons why you should pack your bags and get out to see the world.

Hang outside of your comfort zone. When you travel, you'll be in strange and unusual confines. From weird and wonderful toilet experiences to just wondering if you've gotten on the right train, you'll have uncomfortable times on the road. Don't worry - you will probably laugh about them when you get back. But at the end of the day, hanging outside of your comfort zone builds character.

Appreciate your own culture. By experiencing how other societies and cultures work (or in some cases, don't) you'll more appreciate the ways of the world in your own country. Even in other cities and states/provinces of your own country you'll find nuances in the way people speak, act and operate that will help you reflect on your own home.

Learn. The best way to learn a foreign language is immersion, but even just touring you'll pickup tidbits and random trivia about history, architecture, and local customs. Even if you find it all to be useless information, just by exercising your brain you're learning more about how the world works.

So, next time you're letting inertia or fear or anything getting in your way from booking your next trip, stop and consider the benefits. If the world's a book, don't you want to see what's in the next chapter?

Vacation Week 1 - Done

My first week on vacation from work came and went smoothly. There were no major hitches so far and I've been enjoying the activities that happened during the week.
As I have mentioned in my previous blog entry, I will just be staying in town because of my mom's physical condition. Nevertheless I have vowed to make the most out of my off days.

First and foremost, I was one among the many in the West side of the United States to have the opportunity to watch first hand the premiere showing of Michael Jackson's This Is It movie. It was an experience that I will never forget. I love the movie as it showed the side of the king of pop that many have never seen before. He was very on top of his game, having the hands-on in the preparation of his supposedly final concert tour. Impressive dance moves, hot dancers, talented musicians, magnificent staging and very creative pool of production and technical staff. This is truly a fan movie. I cant wait to get hold of the DVD copy. Actually I already pre-ordered for its Blue-Ray Disc version.

I spent some time in the movies and hitting the local bars with my friend. We went out for the Halloween night at Town Center and Fremont Street Experience. This was my first time going out on Halloween night and I was pretty impressed. Most of the people were in costumes. At the Fremont Street, it looked like a huge masquerade ball. People were in the party mood and I had the time of my life snapping pictures and taking video footages. Follow the links below for the pictures and the video that I put together and posted on my accounts for YouTube and Multiply.

I've been regularly going to the gym and next week, I intend to continue this. My plan for next week is surely to attend the First Friday Arts Festival on November 6th. I intend to do more next week and enjoy the remaining week of my vacation before going back to working mode.

Here is the link for the pictures:
http://lemueljon.multiply.com/photos/album/69/Las_Vegas_Halloween_2009

Here is the link for the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aA0543ku9M