I thought it only happened in episodes of Sex And The City. But then again, I also live in an island like those girls so I suppose it could.

Walking to the bus stop yesterday, bright and early in the morning, around 8AM, and I bump into last year’s super hot spring fling! I haven’t seen him since we’ve flung each other and I know that he had become a rare sighting at our local, too! So, there I was, walking casually while listening to Jensen, when I see him appear round the corner at the top of the road. I wasn’t sure it was him at first but as I moved closer, it became more definite.

I think he panicked when he saw me approaching. He grabbed his mobile phone from his pocket, put it up to his ear and started talking. It might be that his phone actually did ring, I just didn’t hear it as I had earphones plugged in my ears.

As we came shoulder-to-shoulder, all we could afford to give each other was a wave. Actually, it was more like just a halfway raise of hands, sort of like a suppressed “hail Hitler!” gesture. Threw in a little smile and off we continued on our ways. No stopping to ask how we’ve been. I didn’t even make an effort to remove one earphone as he, likewise, didn’t attempt to cut his phone call.

After the exchange of the almost nonchalant pleasantries, I didn’t look back.

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When a was a little girl, I dreamt of becoming an astronaut. All those sights of interstellar space and nebulae have fascinated and mesmerised me tremendously. I always wanted to go to space camp in Florida, but unfortunately, my mother could not afford to send me there. Such was my admiration on the subject that I even tried to study aerospace engineering at the Illinois Institute of Technology but again, funds were not sufficient. I consulted my high school homeroom advisor and she told me to study the basics instead. So, when I went to the University of the Philippines, I studied Physics and Mathematics.

Of course, I ended up in the Information Technology industry, which is off-track but really not that far from space exploration. Well, they use software and hardware technologies in their mission, right? When I was out of work last 2003, I did try to get a post in NASA or ESA. Whilst my dream of becoming an astronaut is too far-fetched now, I still think I could be one of those people sitting at one desk in Mission Control over at Houston. Needless to say, I wasn’t qualified in any of the posts opened at that time. ESA requires full working knowledge of the English and French languages, while another language of one of the member states would be an asset. With NASA, you still need to get federal and state clearances before you can even qualify to apply for a post.

So, I just fulfill that void by keeping myself informed with what both agencies are doing. I regularly check their websites and I even tune into NASA TV. They are currently broadcasting Discovery – NASA’s Return To Flight Mission with live feeds from the Mission Control and Discovery itself. It is the closest I could get with sitting at a desk in Houston.

I still dream of seeing the world from outer space. Maybe when I earn millions and millions of pounds (and after I’ve paid all my bank and credit card debts!) I’d buy myself a ‘ticket’ to the International Space Station just like Dennis Titto did.

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In the light of the events that had been happening in London, my mother gave me comfort by asking me to read Psalm 30 of the Bible. There are 2 lines there which I think could inspire people in these distressed times in this part of the world…

… weeping may remain for a night,
but rejoicing comes in the morning …

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I just came back from London after another disruption to the public transport. This was apparently due to another attempt to blow up some parts of the underground infrastructure and possibly to take lives as well. Luckily, no one was hurt.

The authorities are still looking for some clues so they don’t have much information for now. So far, they have shut the Warren St, Shepherds Bush and Oval tube stations. Likewise, they have sealed off part of Hackney due an explosion in a No. 26 bus.

It was around lunchtime when I got into London, at London Victoria station when they announced that the entire Victoria line had been shut due to an incident in Warren St. When I got to my seminar near St James Park, they informed us that there were 3 other incidents, the Shepherds Bush, Oval and the No. 26 bus. When my seminar was finished at around 5pm, there were some lines that were already up and running, including the District Line to take me back to Victoria. Thank God, as well, that the main line services were running.

Ah, why are people doing this? What has the world gone into?

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