I had my first motorcycle accident the other day.

Image: A grey day in Pampanga, Philippines

So I've been in the Philippines about a week now. It's great being rich. To give a little perspective, a beer is about 50 cents and a pack of cigarettes is less. Not that I'm a drinker or a smoker. I'm just sayin'...

I'm going to try a little something different. As most of you already know, I'm somewhat of an aspiring writer. Recently, with all of this time on my hands, I've been able to write a few stories. The following is an excerpt of one of the little stories I've been currently working on. I'd love to hear what you guys think of it!

The Power is Back On:

"The power is back on," she said as she inhaled smoke, keeping it in for as long as possible. Somehow, it felt indecent to watch her purse her lips around her cigarette now that the lights were back on. I got up to put on my clothes, automatic, like cogs in an old clock remembering that time continued to flow.

"I have to get home to see if I need to pick anything up for dinner," I said as I tied my shoes, ready to walk out of this lucid dream.

"Yeah, I need to get dinner ready, too" she replied. As deeply as we explored each other in the dark, we barely knew each other in the daylight. When the power was on, we were superficial acquaintances, so we kept the facts of our personal lives out of this transitional conversation. I suspected she had a husband, but I wasn't sure, and I certainly would not tell her about my children. These were the unspoken rules of Blackouts. We break down boundaries in the dark, rebuild them in the light.

At the office, I was a coordinator. I put ideas together and matched them to the staff whose talents best suit the tasks of implementing each idea. It was my job to undestand people, to know their capabilities. It was my job to measure ideas against personalities. I was damn good at it.

The first Blackout we spent together, Sorina had only been with our firm for a few weeks. I had given her a few projects and she was diligently doing them to the best of her abilities, which I knew would more than suffice. She was timid at work, unsure of her work and afraid to upset anyone, even those who ranked below her. We were staying late that night for a big deadline, when suddenly, the entire city went black. Without hesitation, I walked over to Sorina's desk and searched for her eyes in the near complete blackness.

"Milos, is that you?" she probed.

"You are headstrong." I took in an inaudible sigh and carefully measured my words, "You hate that you tiptoe around the feelings of others, yet you continue to. But I think, secretly, you would stomp through life if you could. Secretly, you want to be a conqueror." She stayed silent as our eyes adjusted to the black cloak that had enveloped us so severely.

Leavin' on a jet plane, don't know when I'll be back again.

Image: My grandmother and her sister posing after lunch in Pampanga

Holding pattern finally ending. Thanks to Kayak, I have finally purchased my ticket to my first foreign destination - the Philippines! I have been on the road since the end of July so it seems a little fast to think that I have just one week to soak up the States before I move on to the next adventure. Let's see what shenanigans I can fit between now and boarding call.

When I get there, I bet everyone will ask me if I've seen that Julia Roberts movie.

I won't die without any scars.

Video: Old school crooning off of the East River (Credit: JL)

At the risk of coming off overly dramatic, this post is a little something for my loved ones, a little something that's been marinading in my mind pools for quite some time now.

Some of you, especially my closest friends and family, may know of the sad sequence of events, the slow unraveling of my life. The deaths, the loss, the betrayal, the redemption (movie transcript currently being drafted, possibly starring Edward Norton opposite Marion Cotillard). We are going through some tough shit right now, but we will continue to truck on because that's what we do. We barrel down the road of life, kicking ass and taking names.

I have always wholeheartedly believed in karma. You receive what you give. Crossing this country again and looking around at these vast expanses of land and all those billions of stars and all these fathoms of ocean, I am stricken with the question, What could I have possibly done to be worthy of bearing witness to all of this?

It baffles me that I can be so stricken with wonderment at the way in which a newly born calf suckles my entire hand. It astounds me how something as inconsequential as laying down on a dock along the Mississippi River, dipping my feet into its cold water, can bring me to such utterly complete silence. My point? Maybe there is no such thing as karma. Maybe all of our lives are simply sequences of events that we make the best of.

Oprah says not to ask why when facing hardships but to ask what can I learn from these experiences (saw her on TED earlier). I call bullshit on multi-billionaire Oprah and the whole learning from experiences thing. I'm sorry, but I have to. I am not that arrogant, Oprah. Sometimes shit just happens. Get up and walk it off. Who am I that the entire universe conspires to teach me lessons? I'm no one special. I'm just a guy who refuses to settle. For anything.

I don't claim to know or understand much but I will say that staring up at all these different skies, I have come to a realization. A distinction should be made between living in the moment and being present. Any oaf can do what he wants whenever he wants, we call this hedonism. Now, not dwelling in the past nor being preoccupied with the future while still understanding that every action causes ripples, this is being present. This is what separates the pleasure-seekers from the enlightened.

Thus, I will keep doing beautiful things. Sure, karma might just be an abstract philosophical concept that holds no actual value in a world of science and technology. But even if it is just a silly Eastern notion embraced by silly Western hippies, what would be the worst case scenario? My life will be a sequence of jaw-droppingly awesome events completely void of regrets. Somehow, I am okay with that.

No matter how much we try to justify and bring logic to our lives, the fact is, bad things happen to good people. Likewise, good things happen to bad people. As confusing and painful as this can sometimes be, I refuse to lower my own standards for life, for being alive. I'll be damned if I will allow the actions of others dictate my life. Come what may, I will continue to pour out my absolute everything to anyone willing to catch the deluge. Loved ones, I expect the same out of all of you.

Always keep the brilliance.

Namaste.