You start talking about love and believe me, all ears, or in this case, all eyes will focus on you. Love, after all, makes the world go round. And the thing with love is that it refuses to settle with just one type of devotion. Love can go to extremes, it can be calm summers wave one moment, and a raging wind the next. It can also come in certain degrees – my editor's "I love Michael Bublé!" is very different from Ninoy’s ‘the Filipinos are worth dying for’- love. But no matter how diverse, love will always be special to the giver and recipient of that affection, because love is wonderful regardless of time, race, gender or situation.

But then, no matter how beautiful, there really are times when we can’t fathom love anymore, as it comes to us in the most trying time of our lives – at moments wherein we either have to let go, or absolutely submit ourselves to the feeling (withstanding taboos and traditions). Failed marriages, one-sided love, same-gender affairs, hopeless social differences – these are only some of the situations when loving is truly put to the test. Then we limit ourselves to love, refusing to delve deeper, lest we risk more than we can afford to lose, and endanger ourselves with more pain.

Can we truly put a limitation to love then? Are we really capable of drawing the line saying, "I can only love up to this point"? Is loving always synonymous to getting hurt?

I am definitely no expert when it comes to love, and it will be a long, LONG time before I can be billed to be any expert when it comes to emotions and matters of the heart. But I do know one thing, with love, everything is a risk. And sometimes, taking risks might also mean that you do things that normally, you wouldn’t even think of doing. I guess that’s why a lot of people say you’re a fool to fall in love. But it really does pay to be crazy sometimes, it allows you to take a leap of faith which could either end up with your heart broken or finding your soul mate.

You see, love will never work unless you give in to its clutches and let it take its course. You need a lot of guts, and a lot of blind hope to allow yourself to be happy when it comes to loving. But you also have to understand that you shouldn’t always let your heart do the talking. You have to accept the fact that you also need to think clearly (although you’re head is now in cloud 9 from all that heart-tugging bliss). You need to be sure that it’s not just you doing all the sacrifice. If you find yourself with more bruises than hugs, or more tears than smiles, then believe if I say that it’s time to bail. Because no matter how much your heart feels, like it’s gonna burst with ‘many splendid things’, it’s still not worth the body pains. Then, it’s time to let go.

So what’s my point? I’m not really sure. Maybe to stress the point that love is a big leap of faith, and that sometimes, despite how strong you feel for someone, you really have to let go. Love has many faces, and no matter who you are, it conquers you, it conquers all…

Some day, after we have mastered the winds and the waves, the tides and gravity, we will harness the energies of love. And, for the second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire.

People don't know it, but I'm afraid of technology. Everyday, I hide behind my computer, tip-tapping away on my keyboard, hoping no one will notice that the only program I'm capable of using is microsoft word. Ask me to do anything other than typing, and you're assured of getting nothing in return. I'm useless with computer functions, you might as well ask a water bottle to do the job.

In my work, I usually meet some PR people who ask if i could use their latest gadgets for about a week or two, hoping I'd be able to give them a good write-up about their product. Sure I'd oblige, it's not everyday that someone would ask me if I think it's cool to use a Siemen's SL55 phone. But once they give the tools, I whisk-off to my boyfriend and ask him to use the phone for me. Then he'd patiently tell me how to use it, and sometimes, I feel like a kid being taught by her dad how to use the potty -- "This is the power button. This is how you make a call, this is how you text. No, that's not for games, that's for global roaming... flush the toilet after use."

Anyway, after awhile, I get the hang of it. Although after two weeks, I've only used about 10 percent of its functions -- calling and texting. I guess all i really is a nokia 5110 huh. I still keep that old phone. I bought it when I was in 2^nd year college, I think I got it for about P8000, half of it was paid by my uncle as a birthday gift, the 2K came from my dad, and the rest from my mom who works abroad. Now it’s sold for only P2000, P1500 if you know how to haggle right in Greenhills. Makes me think I’ve been ripped-off.

I’m using that phone again, because I lost my new one in a cab. I have no idea how, plain stupidity I guess. Good thing though that my sim was in the Siemen’s phone that the PR lent me, but now they took it back so I’m using my old nokia. And it’s old! The screen is not functioning right anymore.

I have to tie it with all these rubber bands just so I could read whatever was texted to me. I can’t buy a new one since I blew off my savings on a one time shopping binge when I went to Palawan. Funny how you can’t use all the sarongs you buy once you get back to Manila, and all the dried fish! Man, the smell was awful. I bought enough to give it as pasalubong for my whole staff, my family and my relatives in Laguna. So there, I have a kitchen smelling of daing, and a wallet with no money.

I usually pray that I don’t have to use my cellphone in public. It’s embarrassing to try and make a call in a rubberized mobile, I have to hide it in the very depths of my bag. But it’s still functioning though, so why am I complaining? I’m an ingrate and ignorant to technology.

Sometimes, we just make things harder for ourselves.