"A Walk In The Clouds" rachelleiris's Profile

My dad used to make airplanes with his bare hands.. No, it’s not exactly paper airplanes… As far as I know (or as far as I can remember from stories by aunts and uncles), he used to make 2 kinds of airplanes..

ONE: Model planes that are very similar to what we know today as ultra-lite aircrafts, only rougher. The kind that he would play with... and fly-over the lake in our province – with the use of a remote control.. And yup.. he did that all by himself! Some huge (5 feet in length), some medium-sized (2 to 3 feet in length), these model planes would actually hang and fill-up the corners of our house – barely leaving space for my and my little brother’s toys. But hey, we’re not complaining.. I must admit they looked quite dandy. :-)

TWO: Real huge international airplanes.. which he would not exactly construct… but tinker with, as part of his job as a Mechanical Engineer in Philippine Airlines back in the 70’s. He could’ve been a pilot but his poor eyesight prevented him from being so. (Too bad, lasik surgeries were not invented during that time yet).

Anyway, yes… my dad was a long-haired, cool, hippie dad who played the drums, took a lot of photos – what with his leica and nikon lenses, rode a big 750 cc bike, traveled a lot as part of his job… and built all these planes when ultra-lite planes were still unheard of.

Heaven! I'm in Heaven!

When he met an accident some 28 years back, he died on the spot -- leaving my mom and me and my five-month old baby brother -- devastatingly hubby-less and daddy-less respectively. And as a cute, chubby and adorable (or so they say, blush blush) three-year old “daddy’s girl”, I couldn’t grasp the idea that my dad was in a far away place like the heaven…

And since airplanes are the closest thing to heaven, I would always associate my dad with those little flying things (I say, little -- from the porch where I would stand)… waving my hands like crazy -- and yelling daddy! daddy! – naively hoping that he could see and hear me..

As a thirty-ish young girl (haha, young!... “young-ness” is a state of mind, y’know!), I am pretty sure that my dad is watching over us from where he’s happily standing… or flying… or whatever the case may be…

And I have long stopped searching for dad in all the planes that I’ve ridden.. because I know fully well that he could travel even without those things now.. haha, is that creepy or what?!

Old Manila

But don’t worry, my travelogues will not be “angst-filled, in-search-of-dad” kinds of things..

- it’ll be about the joys of riding planes, and watching 8 dvds in one-sitting till my eyes pop-out...

- about the contentment of being able to sleep like a baby (in-between dvds)...what with the hypnotizing propeller sounds and cozy warm plane blankets…

- about indulging in yummy “chicken or pork?” plane food...

My travelogues will be about letting go as soon as the plane takes off… and looking forward to something new and fabulous as soon as the plane touches down..

My travelogues will not be about looking for something or someone that’s not there in the first place.. but about discovering and re-discovering myself in different worlds and contexts...

Kiss him.. and squeeze him.. and call him "camel"

My travel pages will be about kissing some friendly camels (almost!)... about braving the scorching Dubai desert heat for some adrenaline-pumping dune bashing experience...

Preparing for Five Seconds of Pure Bliss

...about 5-seconds of pure surfing bliss in La Union, Philippines... and hair-raising Japanese shipwreck diving in Coron Palawan, Philippines...

I Love NY

...about wandering through the streets of New York in search of a good broadway show or some queer art events, museums and architecture...

Colours of Autumn, NJ

Oh, I could go and on! I should leave some for my other pages...

Anyway, hope to bump into you on the plane, at the airport.. or wherever our feet or those little flying things could take me (or us)!

Cheers to airplanes! Cheers to a great and fabulous and surprising world! Happy flying! :-)

Intro Updated Sep 26, 2007
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Comments (24)

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kingip Jan 19, 2011 at 11:10 PM

Happy B/D
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traveloturc Feb 4, 2009 at 10:52 AM

Hi Chelle , Happy Belated Birthday!! from istanbul /Turkiye from your friend Macit
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kopwint Jan 21, 2009 at 12:27 AM

happy birthday and get all happiness and peace in your winter days and get all what you wish in your great birthday wish from Burma I am not Obama, from Burma
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SandiMandi Jan 20, 2009 at 11:57 PM

Happy Birthday!! :o)
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uglyscot Jan 20, 2009 at 11:13 PM

Great page ,Chelle.
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jivanne96 Apr 22, 2008 at 6:36 PM

girl...thanks..gimik tayo
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king_tedy Jan 22, 2008 at 12:30 AM

happy birthday
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Lyndra Jan 21, 2008 at 1:44 PM

Happy Birthday :0)
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Etoile2B Jan 21, 2008 at 12:37 PM

Happy Birthday from sunny California!
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Daja123 Jan 21, 2008 at 1:43 AM

Happy Birthday to you ! May all your wishes come true! Greetings from Slovenia!