Appreciation

I have a pretty good idea, especially after my recent trip to British Columbia what I'm looking forward to when we return in a couple of months, but now that I am back at home in Asia thoughts turn to the things I love about my life here. When people ask me how I feel about leaving, I usually say that I'm not dwelling on it. You could say I'm resigned to the inevitable, as it were, and the new adventure ahead, so what's the point of having regrets or feeling bad about it?

However, that being said, a little appreciation helps me stay grounded in these days of an uncertain state of betwixt and between. Half the time I'm thinking about things to do in Manila, the other half I'm thinking of what needs to be done across the Pacific. Whether I will miss all this when I'm gone and living a different life remains to be seen but for sure there will be so many things to remember.

So here's today's list of 6 things I appreciate about my life in the East West and Upside Down:

Mangos. I start every morning with mangos, without fail. 1/2 cup of good yogurt, a cut-up mango - put it all in the blender with a few ice cubes and away you go. I'm sorry, but the Mexican mangos in the supermarkets at "home" just aren't good enough. Philippine mangos may just be the best in the world. I would certainly argue that case.

The View. I love living in our home in the sky. After almost four years of looking at that sunset over Manila Bay, I am still in awe, each and every evening. What a treat this has been.

The Gym. At the bottom of the elevator shaft is the gym - the cardio machines an absolute must in this life where you can't walk or otherwise get any exercise in this hot, horribly polluted city. The convenience of having this makes trying to come up with excuses not to do it nothing but silliness.

Brenda. Brenda is my pilates instructor. I go there twice a week and look forward to it. I'm getting stronger all the time, my posture has changed, I'm taller where once I was shrinking, and all those aches and pains have vanished (well, most have vanished, after all there is all that inevitable mileage to face). Brenda is Canadian from Vancouver and the first Fletcher Pilates instructor in Manila. I am SO impressed with her and have loved this practice for several years now. Very high on my list of things to do is to find someone to continue with, but Brenda will be a hard act to follow.

Brenda

Laos and others. I will miss the ease of visiting southeast Asia. I will miss the ability to go to Laos whenever I want relatively easily. I will miss being immersed in Asia, in all the colors, sights, sounds, tastes and smells (the latter often the scent of sewers and fish sauce). I will miss exploring all the art and design and collecting the textiles and other art pieces that make me happy, sometimes meeting the artists. I will miss the elephants.

Friends. I will miss my friends who come from all over the world and have such interesting tales to tell. In the past year or so, so many have left. They came from all over and they've left to go all over. It's been difficult to say goodbye and soon I will be the one to leave.

Garbage Can

Enough reflection, time to get back to work. This past week I have been tackling the accumulation of papers in my cabinet. Going through the files, sorting, tossing and shredding, I've come to the realization that my hanging file folder system is nothing more that a hanging garbage can. My first clue was when I went through a folder called "bills" and found a huge pile of little bits of paper, including if you can believe it, Starbucks receipts from 2008. This might take awhile.