A couple of nights ago I was out with yet another group of new friends. All from Korea, there is Sally, who is also an artist, her bodybuilder/personal trainer boyfriend Victor, who is called Tom, and Jerry, the youngest in the group and Sally's sister. The first time I met them, a few days ago, I was sitting at the pool chatting with an Iranian writer of detective stories, and they were walking around just looking. Victor came up and sat down next to us and introduced himself, and asked some questions about bodybuilding, which he thought I was into. I used to be, a long time ago, when me and brother, also a licensed personal trainer, trained like the pros in the old days. I guess since I lost so much weight now, what remains of my muscle is starting to show.

So we chatted about the world of bodybuilding, Joe Weider magazines, proper foods and other things for a while and then he left. The two girls just smiled and waved. The next day, I was sitting at the pool again, having finished my daily swim, chatting with a couple of MMA fighters from Canada. At that time, the two girls were spotted milling around, but not entering the pool area. Finally Jerry came up and introduced herself. Her English is very limited, but she wanted to talk to me. Eventually the two fighters left, and Jerry's sister came to chat. Finally, Victor came with a bunch of beer and we all drank together and talked about various things, including Korean movies like The Host, D-War and Oldboy. We also talked a lot about food and ended up on the subject of ramen. They said Korean ramen is much better than the Japanese brands, and that since they had a case of it, they would give me some. Jerry then asked me if I Wanted to go to dinner with them the next day.

The next day I was at the pool again and we all met up. Jerry brought me some ramen and we chatted about where we could go to eat. After we decided, we all went to change our clothes and come back to meet again by the pool. They took a long time to change, probably because there are girls in the group, and I sat by the pool chatting about business ideas and pirating movies with Jhun Cordz, one of the guards that works here. Victor and the girls eventually showed up and off we went.

I took them to Abuhan, a fancy Filipino cuisine place that I was introduced to by Michelle back in July. It was not the same one though. I have, in fact, never found that particular one again, but I guess there are a few around town. The one I took them to was found by Grace back in August when we were hanging out regularly. The food there is amazing. Jerry had fried shrimp, Sally had chicken barbeque and Victor got crispy pata, which is like a huge deep fried pig leg. I rounded things out with pancit canton (chow mein) shanghai fried rice and, of course, chicken wings. We all then shared everything Chinese style. The plan was that they wanted treat me, but it turned out they forgot their money in their room. They had some small change, but I had to make up the rest. Lucky me, I actually happened to have a bit of cash.

We returned to their room to get money and then the plan was to hit The Pump disco, where I met the movie producer. They loved it there. At first it was pretty empty, and we just sat drinking our beer and chatting and enjoying the music. Eventually people started to pour in and we graduated to a bottle of Jose Cuervo tequila, which we didn't take long to finish. The girls were shy to dance at first, but after that they loosened up a lot. We danced and had a ton of fun. Eventually another bottle of Cuervo came and went and we were all pretty much wasted. Jerry was beyond done, though, and I had to carry her out of there.

We took a cab back to our place, but Victor only had huge bills and I only had 40 peso remaining. Reno, one of the guards I hang with on occasion helped out with the cab fare. We carried Jerry into the lobby while we sorted things out, but she fell off the couch we sat her on, and vomited all over the couch and floor. We carried her up to the room, where she also vomited on me while carrying her, and tried to get her into bed. Sally was at her end too. Victor is a big guy so I guess he was at least as okay as I was. Jerry went in the restroom to continue emptying her stomach and Sally went to sleep. As everybody seemed okay I said goodbye and took off.

Instead of going to bed, I ended up downstairs chatting with Reno and Louis, another guard, until the sun came up. The next day I got text messages from Jerry apologizing profusely. I told her all was okay and that I was going to the pool. It was already evening and swimming time since I was sleeping most of the day. I met them all at the pool where Jerry brought me a hand written letter both thanking me and apologizing. It even had little pictures, from stickers, in it. She didn't remember much of anything so we all had fun filling her in on her exploits. I guess she ended up sleeping in the restroom where I last saw her, rolling around in her vomit. Victor simply sprayed her down with the shower nozzle to clean her up. She apparently asked him to slap her in order to wake her up, so he tried three times. It didn't wake her up, so later, when she did awaken, she wondered why her face hurt.

We had a night of fun in the pool until late. Victor didn't know how to swim so we tried teaching him some moves, and otherwise he and Jerry did their "Tom and Jerry" routine where he would chase her around, throw her in the water or dunk her under. After that we all went our separate ways. Funny thing is, they always say they can see me from their room when I am swimming, which means there room should be right across from mine, in the next tower. I have never seen them though. I wonder which room is theirs. They share it with another Korean girl who I saw briefly during our drunken times, and quickly forgot, and maybe she has terrace access from her room, which is why I never see them on the terrace. I don't know.

So I awaken today with a plan to try this Korean ramen, and go pay Reno back for the taxi fare. I am hoping I hear from the movie producer very soon, as rent is a bit overdue and I have no money at the moment. Of course I have some things cooking on another site, which is starting to pick up a bit of steam. Anything can happen when life is an adventure. It makes me remember a quote I came across which stated that, "Stability paralyses the journey."

A quick storm came in last night with high winds, knocking the electricity out for a bit and slamming windows shut. My clothes rack, out on the terrace, started blowing away. It almost went over the edge just as a grabbed it. Unfortunately, my Grindhouse t-shirt and white swim shorts were lost to the wind. I never even saw them touch down. They just floated away.

Having the electricity blown out isn't always a bad thing. The other night, Alona, Maya and Cristy came over for swimming and drinking Red Horse, extra strong beer. Our swim was interrupted by the quick appearance of rain, high winds and the electricity going out. Having no lights in that situation can be fun though.

Yesterday I went to visit the film studio and it was amazing. Walking into the lobby was like walking into a different world. They claimed to be the premiere film destination in SE Asia, and after seeing this amazingly designed and decorated lobby, I believe it. The studio also houses the International Film Academy, and I saw students from all over the world milling around there. Chinese, Koreans, Australians, Americans, and people with accents I couldn't place even.

There was a really nice looking cafe in the lobby and huge flat screen monitors everywhere showing clips of the studio's work and bits I am guessing relate to the film school also inside.

The producer I was there to meet eventually came down, got me a guest ID and took me into the guarded interiors of the place. First we went to the post production suite where they had an amazing Final Cut Studio setup with multiple large flat screen monitors. The editor was working on the movie they are considering having me join in on, and I have to say it is much higher quality, and higher budget, stuff than at the last place I worked in Hollywood. They even had an action sequence choreographed by a noted Hong Kong action director. Much of the CGI was very rough, "work in progress" kind of stuff, so I can see why they might be seeking help to bring up the level.

Next we went to meet the COO of the company. Surprisingly, he knows my publisher and has been trying to get him to do his movie out there. The COO said that although the plan was to have some FX done in house and some outsourced to the larger houses in LA, they were considering investing in everything needed to be able to do it all in house. It was not a small investment though. They seemed really excited at the possibility of having a guy in town, with Hollywood experience, who could be available to help with projects like that.

Next we went to meet the CGI department, which was relatively small at 5 guys, but they do some incredible, high quality work. They showed me a number of clips from different projects and some of the "work in progress" material from the current film. FInally we went to see the head of post production. He also seemed to really like the idea of having a Hollywood experienced guy living in town that they could call on when needed. At that time, he apparently just got an email from the director who had decided that he wanted all the special FX and CGI done in house, and none of it in LA, which just increased the need for my help.

Basically, should I sign on, it would be short contracts centered on a single project, so I wouldn't be giving up doing my own thing as I was concerned about. My salary would be all tax free, and I would have access to all that amazing gear. I will be going back to meet with them again, later in the week, and I can't wait to see what happens next!

So I talked to the senior producer at this largest film studio here in Cebu City, Philippines, and was quite surprised to find that it's basically another UFO FIlms... just a LOT bigger. The owner, a guy named Michael I'm told, is just a guy who loves movies and wants to do his thing. Unlike UFO, though, they 300 employees, offices in Hong Kong and Singapore and 4 sound stages around this city. They have 3 Red 1 cameras, and 3 Arri 35 mm film cameras and full post production facilities. Also, unlike Phil at UFO, this guy continues to direct the movies he wants to direct without Universal putting the smack down on him.

Although I was originally thinking I might not be interested in this gig, in lieu of doing my thing, I have to admit the guy is starting to make it sound very enticing. Basically I would be meeting directly with the owner of the company, and director of the film they are currently making. Of course, salary and hours will be important to me, but who knows? I could be getting into this place at a level where I might be able to make some of my own ideas come to light. I wonder if I could convince them to do an anime movie?

On another note, last night I was invited out by a different group of Koreans and they took me to a restaurant called Rain, which is right around the corner from where I live, but I had never seen it. We ate many varieties of Korean food, and drank Soju into the wee hours. The thing is, while we were there a large group of Korean girls came in. They were tall, slim and beautiful. A couple of them I have seen around before. Most of the night they were looking over to me, smiling and waving. As we left, the girls, with big smiles, all waved and said "bye-bye". The guys I was with even asked if I wanted to stay behind with the group of girls while they left. I'm not concerned. I know I'll see them again soon.

Last night, I was standing in a place I would normally never be at an hour I would normally never be awake. I couldn't sleep because of very loud music coming from somewhere near, so I went to try to find out where it was coming from. Yesterday was some kind of holiday or festival and I guess they decided to put a disco in a shack right next to my building. I figured if I can't sleep, then I may as well go and enjoy the disco, so I went to try to find out exactly where it was.

As I was asking for the location to this place, four Koreans who I had met four days earlier, and had been swimming with almost everyday since, came downstairs and saw me. They said they were going to The Pump, a very popular club frequented by Koreans. They invited me to go with them. They even said the magic words, "We treat you." So off I went!

I had a ton of fun dancing and drinking and meeting new people without having to spend one centavo. I even met and danced with 3 awesome girls. As happens on such party nights, eventually one has to go to the restroom. There was quite a queue to get into the small restroom in the club and so I was waiting in line. Behind me there was another American. We got to chatting and it turns out he is a senior producer for the largest film studio in Cebu City. I started telling him about the work I had done in Hollywood doing visual FX on films like Lake Placid 2, House on Haunted Hill 2 and others. He then explained that they have a big action movie in the works that has a lot of CGI in it and they need a VFX supervisor! I mean, really, what are the odds?

Now, Im not saying I'm going to take this gig. While this may seem like a good way to get quick cash to help with "what appears to be" my current financial situation, I see it as a going backwards in every other way. This is the type of work I was doing a year and a half ago. I started my travel adventures in order to build my own vision and escape the 9-5 grind. Things really started to shift for me, a few days ago, when I purposed with faith to follow, as Joseph Campbell writes, my bliss, and build a vision, and it is a huge vision. Taking a gig like this would seem to be derailing that progress completely, seeing as supervising FX on a feature film is often more than double a full time job.

When I started creating this new vision, things started falling into place. A payment I was told was delayed for 7 days, appeared the next day. I got another totally unexpected payment, from an unexpected source the day after that. All things seem to be conspiring to help me grow my vision and see it become reality. The reality is that the money is the only reason I would even consider the film gig. Going back to the "safety" of a 9-5 would seem to be an expression of belief in myself and my vision, and I would be giving up this "uncertainty" and adventure that I am starting to love about life.

Still, it can't hurt to call the guy. Maybe he has the connections that will help me further my vision. Or who knows? Maybe he will leave his 9-5 and join me!

The mist has returned in a big way this morning. I can hardly see anything outside. Does it bring with it another ordeal? Well, I am currently out of money. For some unknown reason, the payment, which usually comes at the first of the month, from work I sell on the Japanese content sites, has been delayed, possible for another 7 days. I will be out of food in a couple of days. Electricity and water bills were due yesterday. And the big one, rent, is coming up. So, could I end up out in the street with nothing to eat? Well, of course , anything is possible. Am I worried? Not at all.

No matter what I have encountered on this adventure, there has always been a solution. Sometimes I had to wait for it and sometimes it seemed like the end was nigh, but the solution always came. Looking back, I see that life has always been like that. Every difficulty carries with it the wherewithal for its overcoming. True I don't know what's going to happen. I don't know, aside from the delayed payment, where the next check or other money is coming from, but I know it is coming. It always has. There were times when things looked bad and then, with no explanation, there was a flurry of sales on my website. Things like that happen all the time. They will likely keep happening, and whatever the future is to bring, it will be an adventure.

I realize how great an opportunity it is to "step into uncertainty". I mean, realistically, sitting in a "stable" job in that cubicle, with the house and car is, in reality, no more certain than what Im doing. It only feels that way because of how we are conditioned and educated. I've seen that all ripped away from people in an instant too. When you step into uncertainty, though, life not only becomes a true adventure, but the possibilities become immense. How far you can travel, how much money you can earn, how big your ideas can get, these things are unshackled when you leave that so called "security" most people cling to. In the world of "security", you probably know exactly how much you will earn, how much vacation time they give you and how things will play out in the next few years, with little raises and a few extra days of time off here and there. For the adventurer, though, the sky is the limit.

I have been given some amazing ideas for this site that I hope to start putting into action in the near future. There will be more travels and I will start incorporating video, interviews, music, nightlife and many other aspects that will really bring this space to life. It's amazing the possibilities that come with a little freedom and time to just think. Very cool things are already beginning to happen!

As luck would have it, Alona brought two more friends, each more beautiful than the last , for another day of fun in the pool, and my iPhone camera is not working! This time she brought friends Christie and Maya, one of them being a former classmate, to enjoy frolicking in the water and consuming $1 rum. That's right, unlike last time, where we went all out with the tequila, this time we went for good old Tanduay. Alona and Christie went to get the rum and coke while Maya stayed to admire the view from my window and try to teach me some Visayan language. There was no major cooking involved this time, so Alona simply bought some snacks and off to the pool we went.

For some reason, the table where we sat last time was gone and there were quite a few Koreans in the pool already. No matter though, as we found a spot to set up our drinks and chips and went to town. We had a lot of fun swimming and drinking and this time we didn't go overboard with two bottles. I only wish I could have pictures.

After the girls left, though, things didn't end there. I was walking in the parking lot and ran into Jon and Mac, who work security in my building. They were going to the little restaurant across the street for some beers. I told them I didn't have any money and they said no problem, so off we went. I spent the rest of the time talking to these guys and getting some amazing stories. I also met Jon's cute cousin who I have seen around before. She asked if I was looking for a girlfriend.

The conversation with these guys was very interesting, though most seemed to revolve around fighting. UFC, boxing, Mark Dacascos, Jet Li, Sammo Hung and even whether or not Bruce Lee could really beat Chuck Norris. They were interesting characters. Jon and one of the other guys, whose name escapes me now, both claimed to have fought against MILF (which I am sure stands for some kind of liberation front, not what you were thinking) in muslim Mindanao. We also talked a lot about music, especially hip hop and the plethora of fake, wannabe crips and other gangsters in the Philippines. Since we were drinking Red Horse, extra strong beer, it didn't take many to put me on the path the hangover land.

As always, the girls made a big mess in my place. A whole roll of toilet paper looks like it was sunk to the bottom of the ocean. I don't know how they do it. Anyway, Alona claims she is going to clean all that up today and wash my clothes. I guess I won't have pictures of that either. I really need a new camera.

It's hard to believe I am already entering my fifth month here in Cebu City, Philippines. I wanted to do a story about the trials of getting curtains up in my room, but with myiPhone seemingly dying, I wouldn't have the pictures needed to do the story justice. I have some pictures from day one, where me and Alona took turns using a hand powered drill trying to make the holes in the wall. That didn't last long. A couple of days later, maintenance came in a broke two drill bits on the wall, only to discover there was steel running through the area where I needed the hole. Anyway, the maintenance guy brought out this huge Matrix: Revolutions style drill, made a huge hole and somehow stuffed it with wood, then screwed the curtain rods into that. Whatever works, right?

Unfortunately, aside from that, nothing is really happening. I am in the slow lane again for the time being. I have a gig to work on that will cover bills when finished, and I have a couple of good ones lined up, but strangely it seems like some really good ones, even perfect matches for me and my skills have fallen through the cracks lately. Who knows? Maybe it's just my imagination. Either way it is a bit frustrating since there's so much to see and do. There's so much I want to see and do, it seems a shame to be stuck in front of a computer all day, no different than my life in California was.

I thought it was extremely interesting that when I got here, I hardly ever saw the internet. I mean, I went from being on almost 24/7 back in California, constantly checking mail, reading forums, downloading movies and consuming media to maybe getting on the net once a week, and even then for only 30 minutes or so. Real life was calling and it had far more interesting things to show me than the computer. Now, realistically, I could still do that. Most locals are out having fun daily and they don't have any money. So it really is my mindset alone that has me sitting in front of a computer screen. In fact, I've notice that when I get away from that screen and go do something fun, stuff just seems to happen or fall into place. Kind of like how a watched pot never boils. When I stop looking for the jobs, the emails or whatever it is I am craving, and go out and just enjoy life, the jobs and emails just flow in.

You know what? I think I'll make it a point to get out and do something fun everyday, regardless of money or not! Who knows? Maybe I'll trip over a digital camera!