a night till morning with Paulo...

i didn't have any internet connection last night. i didn't want to rant so i turned to my books instead...among my plentiful backlogs (books i've yet to read or at least finish reading) i decided to go ahead with Paulo Coellho's By the River Piedra I sat Down and Wept since it's shorter and I had more chances of finishing it that night. And I did, yey!

And yeah, it's actually a good read, but still not as captivating as Eleven Minutes though. The story greatly reminds me of Before Sunset...two people meeting up when they were somewhat younger and meeting again after several years (9 years for BS, 11 years for this one). They get to catch up with each others lives and somewhat rekindled whatever it was they had back then. The conversations, Spain muted in the background (Paris for BS) made me more nostalgic.

And the medallion along with the simple sentence her childhood friend told Pilar jolted me off my seat, err, bed. Man, that was a bit intense. It also tells much about taking risks, "magic moments", and awakening the child within us. Really deep and soothing!

The ending was kinda a cliche though, I've almost predicted how it's gonna be. I still prefer BS open-ended conclusion. Better leave it to the romantic or the cynic how it's going to be. oh well...

At least, there's one book less on top of my pile, here's a few more:

1. Pride and Prejudice ( I wish to revert back to the classics somehow)

2. Malinche (i think I'm supposed to be into the last chapter already)

3. In Between Sheets (I've read a few pages..hafta go on then..)

4.The Unbearable Lightness of Being (had it years ago, just forgot if i've finished it or not)

5. Atlas Shrugged (after Fountainhead am sure I'm going to enjoy this one. Just that I need to find time)

6. Sandman's Book of Dreams (I've read a few stories there though)

As I've said that's just on top of my list, I didn't want to look for the rest as I didn't want to rattle myself even more. Too many good books, too little time. Let me get there slowly but surely. Ciao!

why i didn't enjoy bluewaters-davao...

...well, mostly because i was soooo looking forward to some fun in the sun amidst the cool october air...sigh.



but when we got there the pool was not even filled up even if i've made reservations weeks before that. so we waded on the beach for a while and though they had nice white sand we had to don footwears kse masakit sa paa ang mga bato bato, ouch!



when we were finally able to get into the pool umulan na ng malakas...haay. buti warm naman ang tubig at maganda ang view ng davao from a distance. Parang HK, wow!




we decided not to go island hopping na kse it's worth 5K plus we had to pay an additional P1500 for entrance fees at Pearl Farm plus 200 each for snorkeling gear nyek! i mean it must be fun, the beaches and resorts on the other side of Samal Is. might be well worth it but c'mon I've gone snorkeling and island hopping to other great beaches and resorts in the country but 5k plus-plus is still too much noh! (roundtrip airfare na yan to macau or xiamen via CebuPac's Go! fares hmpf!) well at least we got to relax for a while..sa sobrang quiet ba naman kse halos kami lang ang tao haha.



so we had to retire early as there's nothing left to do naman (buti they had lavender sheets naman har-har!)...at around 8pm we tried to ask the store for some milo (or beer man lang sana) kaso sarado na wahahaha!!! thus we we're really tucked in early that night. tried to watch Numb3rs on cable that time but the cable connection got disconnected at 9pm, hanubayun!!!


oh well, bye bye na nga lang and hope to find a better, more fun resort next time! :p

back...

whoa, still quite dizzy from all the flurries lately...Davao had been good, our event turned out well..though everything else wasn't really that grand as we were really too tired to enjoy. sigh.

and the Bluewater experience was quite a let-down..more sigh...

but at least i had a great time with Xan. trust my lil boy to perk things up even as we travelled more than 8 hours that winding road from Davao to Iligan via Bukidnon. I've forgotten how nauseating the ride was as Xan was giving us his toothy smiles in between sleep and munching on chips and blurting out "bee-bee" everytime we pass by some Jollibee signs.

oh well...and now am here...alone again, naturally (where did i hear that ba? haha).


was too tired i slept quite well after hurrying some paperworks...but woke up too raring to go out and breathe in Katipunan air hehe...felt too weary too jog so i just managed to cross the field and raided 7-11 with goodies. remind myself not to go food shopping when utterly hungry next time huh! i bought their breakfast meal, a hotdog sandwich, spag and chicken combo and a big bottle of coke. yeah, am such a 7-11 junkie...too bad there's still no blue Quake cakes :(

tried to feel better just the same as i sauntered back to my pit listening to Tori Amos' Bouncing Off Clouds...

Make It Easy
Make This Easy
It's Not As Heavy As It Seems

well, let me just settle down for now...normalize my sched once more and relax. i still have a lot of deadlines the next few weeks but at least am just here now.

and am so looking forward to that Sunday mamam, yi-ha!

davao bound

am off to davao tomorrow for our vismin regional awarding on the 11th. but we intend to get there a day early for some fun time at the beach, yey! hopefull mother nature will give us a grand time.

just yesterday my bro has been telling me that it might be quite hard and dangerous for my Xan to travel that almost 8 hour stretch all the way from Iligan. i told him Xan has travelled that much before when he was barely a year old and he actually whizzed through it. he should be fine now. then he said there are bomb threats everywhere once again. i told him there has never been a dearth for bomb threats everywhere in Mindanao. doesn't make any difference now. he figured it really is so hard to reason with me, after all i really just want to be with Xan in Davao once again. so he just gave up and said he'll call my mom.

now am just all too excited. my conflicts with Waterfront Insular finally got ironed out. the guests that we're expecting have confirmed. our production crew are prepping things up. i hope there will be no more glitches.

being away for a while means me being offline for that same too. and that means me missing everything and everyone online. oh well, i'll be back real soon. i will survive this haha!

see you on the 12th! by then i will be in Iligan naman for a few days before coming back here in Manila. :)

traipsing around tagaytay

we originally meant to go to laguna for some relaxing hot soak at the warm springs...unfortunately we found it hard to hold on to people's commitments and we had to shift plans when only but a handful of us were able to really say they were interested and willing to go with us. raring to go out of town to relax and have fun we ultimatley decided to just head on to tagaytay to have dinner and some beers and then coffee. and oh wow, we actually managed to attract more people and thus 8 of us finally set off to the wonderful cold world up tagaytay. yey!


the group at Leslie's


found this nice nook, perfect for camwhores like us...


inside Sanctuario..see? para kaming royal family!


the newly improved Olivares rotunda


bye, bye Tagaytay! Till next time!

my niece's growling debut

this is where Xan got his headbang technics. hala!

Go, Mai!

can i just say...hmmm?

(me and nards)

tonight was quite a mixture of elation and, er, boredom.

elated because i met people who i actually miss! old colleagues, friends, new people who's got more passion for life, hearing the speeches of our awardees, seeing one event going on well once again.

but darn, i felt bored maybe because i've heard all these inspiring messages a lot more often than the others that it has almost become more like cliches for me. i looked around the people in the audience and saw them nodding and even teary-eyed. i just looked at them and shrugged, i've heard it all before. sigh.

ei, i saw Nards again! I first met Nards at some salon in katip years ago when i was still in college, from then on he's been giving me my haircuts...then he became my neighbor when we stayed in abada and fast became closer friends...when i started working for BPA i've been contracting him as stylist for our awardees...this has been going on for more than 5 years already...i missed him last year because i was on leave when i had Xan...more so now that he's no longer based here in katip...he doesn't just cut my hair or does the most minimal make up for me eh...he's also been a great friend, confidante, sounding board, etc...at least i'll see him again for the national awarding this november...and yeah, he's promised me a cellophane treatment for free. weeh!

hmm..i wasn't a bit starstruck...i don't like sheryn...nor yeng especialy in her dress ( i preferred her more rakista look)...TJ looks good though..so bait pa...we lined up to have pics taken with him *lol!*

and oh my boss pari was more than happy with the results. he went around congratulating us. kaso ala naman bonus eh wahehe...

wala na..yun lang.

i have to say this though...everything that i wore tonight came from the ukay haha! my Old Navy dress cost me P60! my peep toe black shoes was for P100...and my velvetty purple kitty of a bag was only P50...now tell me again why i have to shop in malls???

i hate putting make up on my face...it itches all the time...now i gotta wash my face na.

my anti-depressant

stress and PMS is indeed such an irritating mix. good enough, i get to listen to this song well enough and get to drink each word and feel soothed...nevermind if i have to listen to it looped 5-6 times on my phone and get lost in sweet reverie :)

WORLDS APART (Jars of Clay)

I am the only one to blame for this
Somehow it all ends up the same
Soaring on the wings of selfish pride
I flew too high and like Icarus I collide
With a world I tried so hard to leave behind
To rid myself of all but love
To give and die

To turn away and not become
Another nail to pierce the skin of one who loves
More deeply than the oceans,
More abundant than the tear
Of a world embracing every heartache

Can I be the one to sacrifice
Or grip that spear and watch the blood and water flow

To love you – take my world apart
To need you – I am on my knees
To love you – take my world apart
To need you – broken on my knees

All said and done I stand alone
Amongst remains of a life I should not own
It takes all I am to believe
In the mercy that covers me

Did you really have to die for me?
All I am for all you are
Because what I need and what I believe are worlds apart

Additional Lyrics:

I look beyond the empty cross
forgetting what my life has cost
and wipe away the crimson stains
and dull the nails that still remain
More and more I need you now,
I owe you more each passing hour
the battle between grace and pride
I gave up not so long ago
So steal my heart and take the pain
and wash the feet and cleanse my pride
take the selfish, take the weak,
and all the things I cannot hide
take the beauty, take my tears
the sin-soaked heart and make it yours
take my world all apart
take it now, take it now
and serve the ones that I despise
speak the words I can’t deny
watch the world I used to love
fall to dust and thrown away
I look beyond the empty cross
forgetting what my life has cost
so wipe away the crimson stains
and dull the nails that still remain
so steal my heart and take the pain
take the selfish, take the weak
and all the things I cannot hide
take the beauty, take my tears
take my world apart, take my world apart
I pray, I pray
take my world apart

Worlds apart.

mp3 here.

ancient pic

me with my cousin, Jong...am the one with the cap. walang ilong ahihihi!

facial issues

my sister just sent me a tub of this famous anti-aging cream. back in the day my titas would scramble for this product when my titos would come home from abroad. we the younger ones would just shrug it off. now am actually one of the "older ones". ugh!

i just hope i would get vain and meticulous enough to follow such daily ritual and not get too lazy to wash my face and dab this on my face each single day.

well maybe next time i could also say that:

"my skin is smoother, firmer, at yung lines nawala!"

(nyak! inde bagay LOL!)

oh while at it...i'll be terribly busy the next few days even weeks for our regional awarding ceremonies...and this lazy me is now kinda panicking already and this early i want to pamper myself with a trip to the spa for a body scrub preferrably with salt or sugar or even coffee...get waxed (again)...have some foot spa and pedicure...and yeah, i miss jogging once again...i hope the rain stops now. sigh.

sorry, i'm just really tired from my trip. just this weekend i was playing and keeping it cool with Xan...now am suddenly back here in rainy Manila...life in transit is not so much a bliss really...but yeah, i have no right to complain. :bonkself:

playing mommy

yes, i'm a mom. i have to remind myself of that once in a while not just because i get to be with my Xan a few times every couple of months but more so because he has grown so much everytime i get to see him. it is actually hard for me to believe that the not so little boy anymore actually came from my body!

well, i got home today and my son was actually beaming when he saw me! he felt shy and held on to my mom for a while but later eased up and gladly posed for the camera too.

oh well, yeah, i'm having such a camwhore of a son now! he was giggling and laughing and was later hugging me. aawww...the greatest feeling indeed is to be truly missed by one's own flesh and blood.

but then again maybe he was just having fun with the camera that he was so ready to smile and grab my phone each shot to check how he looked and would shriek out upon seeing his face haha! but no, i don't want my son's eagerness in seeing me be clouded with doubts all at once. just that right now i am currently basking at the warmth of his kisses and hugs too. and i have the luxury to enjoy all that for the next few days. never mind if that would mean me having to carry him sometimes (all 13 kilos of him!) or having to run around to catch him as he scuttles off to wherever. or watch Dora and Diego with him (which i so love anyway!) sing and sway with him and yell out answers with him till he tires and, rolls on the bed and dozes off to sleep hehehe...i don't really wanna complain. right now i just want to enjoy every bit, every minute of being with my Xan. :)

saving that face

i've been having my daily fix of calvin and hobbes lately from myucomics.com and this one's just my classic favorite:

will Xan be as smart as that kid too? wehehehehe...abangan!

livin' lovin'

(one good morning brought to you by mcdonald's)

woke up early this morning to attend a 6am mass with a friend.

yeah, as i've been saying again and again, am actually loving my life now more than ever. i'm sort of going back to what i used to enjoy doing...not just the mass thing but the fun, deep conversations i've been longing for some time.

a lot of memories have been stirred within me as we talked about the books we loved, the movies we can never forget, the songs we always wanted to hear, the experiences and quips with good old friends and teachers. i so love the fact that i can now openly display my passion for such movies as before sunrise/ sunset, great expectations, what's eating gilbert grape, sent down girl, or the books by jostein gaarder, or discuss more of thirdy's philo without getting some duh! looks on my friend's face. yes, i'm just so glad to be currently surrounded with people i could actually talk to and connect with. wow!

yeah, the past years i've been everywhere drinking each sight and savoring each wonder of the places i go to but just the same there has always been that deep longing in me, that empty pit i never knew how to fill. i feel i've been gone too long. goin everywhere to find those things who could satiate my ever wandering and wondering soul. geez!

i guess this is just one of the wonders of the all-too-familiar-and-always-available-at-mornings-only-mcdonald's-breakfast-meals-but-i-could-rarely-enjoy-because-of-my-highly-nocturnal-behavior could bring, noh?

as we we're walking home we saw this sign which read "masarap maging atenista!" and we both kinda agreed to it. i even related to him how i'd use to "get emo" outside our tambayan then and say "i don't have any penny not even a piso in my pocket but at least i'm still in ateneo" sort of line. and how i reminded him of us having tried out all the value meals at mcdo just to make do with our meager scholar's allowances. imagine him buying cheeseburger meal with extra rice??! he'd take out the burger patty to go as viand to his rice and voila! he's got an extra cheese sandwich too! how creative can one get? LOL!

oh wel, that's how simple our life then but far too enriched nonetheless.

eek, i'm blabbering now. gotta get more zzzzz's.

which doughnut are you?

i heard these are actually available at Krispy Kremes. talk about one great marketing strategy huh! varieties include:

UE Red Warriors donut - red cherry
DLSU Green Archers donut - green apple
ADMU Blue Eagles donut- Blueberry
UST Growling Tigers donut - Lemon

so which one are you? hahahaha!

revising my playlist

1 gig of memory is never enough to contain all my desired mp3s on my playlist as i have to save space for my vids, images, etc...i'm thinking of updating my hits and get to listen more to my newly acquired (re: downloaded from multiply) ones hehe...Note that i get to listen to this more when i go out to jog...thus all mellow/mushy songs i leave in my pc which i'd usually just listen to at work...so here's my random 25 songs so far...and yeah, if you have any suggestions pls do so...send the mp3 na din, yey!

1. Bouncing off Clouds, Tori Amos...kinda upbeat, very positive song.

2. All I Want, Toad the Wet Sprocket...for my 80's blood

3. A Lack of Color, Death Cab by Cuties...not so upbeat but it's like taking me to some woody, comfy countryside.

4. Down with the Sickness, Disturb...makes me want to pound on the streets and stride faster and quicker..

5. The Walk, Imogen Heap...fun, catchy...energetic.

6. Soul Meets Body, Death Cab for Cuties...see previous blog entry with vid hehe..

7. Flood, Jars of Clay..."rain, rain on my face hasn't stop raining for days..."

8. Crash Into Me, Dave Matthews Band...oh so sexy song that makes me want to lose all that excess fats fast!

9. So Far Away...reminds me of who i'm missing and what i have to fight and work for...if only to get to that part when i don't want to wake up anymore from the dream.

10. No Ordinary Love, Deftones...i have yet to hear the original Sade version...but i adore this one already.

11. We Give in Sometimes, Up Dharma Down..."fire and ice meet in between"

12. System, Chester Bennington...He's just soo freakin hot in this song...and the lyrics are just so vampire-y..:D

13. Hot Gates, 300 OST...because am gonna be all ready for battle wahahaha!

14. Mayonaise, Smashing Pumpkins (acoustic cover)...love that part nung pumiyok siya sabay tawa LOL!

15. Closer (Remix), Nine Inch Nails...my most fave distorted love song...the musical experience is almost religious, whoa!

16. Stolen, Dasboard Confessional...my more mushy love song. Reminds me of that summer when i had the most fun.

17. Siren...from my fave movie of all time, Great Expectations, sang by my most fave artist of this lifetime, Tori Amos. I love how she plays with her vocals.

18. Sunburn, Fuel...one summer song I can listen to for all seasons.

19. With or Without You, Keane cover...i love his rendition too.

20. Chasing Cars, Snow Patrol...if I just lay here would you lie with me, and just forget the world.

21. 747, Kent...must be the video that makes me want to run real fast...

22. Tears, The Chameleons UK...one catchy, truly lovable 80s hit. ;)

23. City of Blinding Lights, U2...other than it being about NY or any other great city, it greatly tells how much better it must be to remain naive and innocent and continue to have that sense of wonder for everything we are passionate about.

24. Purple People (Live), Tori Amos...pls refer to my previous uploaded video by the PS22 choir haha!

25. Today, Smashing Pumpkins...Love it! i want this to be played on my birthday, on my wedding day, on my funeral, all day, everyday! Hahaha!

...because this soul needs nurturing too.

Music Video: SOUL MEETS BODY -Death Cab For Cuties

I want to live where soul meets body
And let the sun wrap its arms around me
And bathe my skin in water cool and cleansing
And feel, feel what it's like to be new

Because in my head there's a Greyhound station
Where I send my thoughts to far-off destinations
So they may have a chance of finding a place
Where they're far more suited than here

I cannot guess what we'll discover
When we turn the dirt with our palms cupped like shovels
But I know our filthy hands can wash one another's
And not one speck will remain

I do believe it's true
That there are roads left in both of our shoes
But if the silence takes you
Then I hope it takes me too
So, brown eyes, I'll hold you near
Because you're the only song I want to hear
A melody softly soaring through my atmosphere

Where soul meets body
Where soul meets body
Where soul meets body

And I do believe it's true
That there are roads left in both of our shoes
But if the silence takes you
Then I hope it takes me too
So, brown eyes, I'll hold you near
Because you're the only song I want to hear
A melody softly soaring through my atmosphere

A melody softly soaring through my atmosphere
A melody softly soaring through my atmosphere
A melody softly soaring through my atmosphere

retaking the ACET

this weekend was ACET (ateneo college entrance test) weekend and though the rains poured in heavily, students from different schools poured in too some with their parents, guardians, companions, even yayas and drivers. Filling the high school ground to the rafters.

am one of the few who actually gets to take the ACET almost every year...i actually now have an MA in ACET wahahah! no, not that i actually get to take the exam...i have been a proctor twice back in college, and has later been elevated to examiner after graduating.

not that i enjoy seeing students getting tortured by exams but i have to admit though that i find amusement in seeing young ladies (yeah, at 16 these kids now look lady like enough!) come in all freshened up and leave the room after four hours all haggard and harassed hehe...or seeing young men appear all confident and later check out the questions and stare in seeming disbelief at their test booklets as if asking themselves why they got there anyway.

what keeps me from coming back each year though is that i get inspired in seeing kids remain hopeful and aiming their best shot at being able to attend a prestigious school. it might not be a big deal for some but i just love the ateneo...i have fond memories of this school and i just feel a deep sense of pride and excitement too for them who also want to experience what i did.

and hey, even if some of them don't get to pass now...they can always try again next time. no harm in trying once more if it's what you really want you know. *wink*

one bad news on a sunday morning...

...sigh.

woke up with one text message from my friend, sugar...tito allan passed away this morning :(

tito alan is jap's dad. but he's more than just just his dad, he was also one of our friends too. he would join us in most of our gimmicks, brought us a bottle of wine one time when we celebrated lala's birthday. even sat with us and talked with us. he would see to it we get home safe when we were still out on the streets back in high school. or even when we got older.

having lost my own dad at an early age, having a father figure has always been a welcome thought.

i learned he got really sick, had a stroke and fell on a coma last May. i actually prayed i'd still get to see him alive by the time i go home to iligan last june. and yeah, i did. but he was not the same tito allan i remembered. it was heartbreaking seeing him lying on the hospital bed with tubes attached to his body and him looking so frail and helpless.

and i couldn''t bear the sight of him for long...that's exactly what my dad went through.

it's kinda hard to endure the sight of seeing someone strong and healthy slowly slipping away. i remember telling him to "rage, rage against the dying of the light" the same way i told my dad a long time ago. of couse, i was still somehow hoping i'd see him again on the streets, on the bars we go to.

but yeah, sigh. he's truly gone. i'll just have to live with it.

20th

happy 20th month my dear Xan!!

too bad you're sick like mommy too...have lotsa juice and lugaw then.

mwah!!

contracting sickness...

called home yesterday only to find out that my not-so-lil-anymore Xan is sick...fever and colds and cough...i felt saddened and later felt feverish and cold too...oo na, mahirap talaga may inggit sa katawan but that's how i felt...

i remember when my first nephew was circumcized years back...i saw him so pale and in pain though he was not complaining or saying anything at all...the next day i had fever...for him...for days.

my mom just called a while ago that they are now at the doctor's office for Xan's check up. apparently all the boys at home are sick. now i really am feverish...with colds...with a terrible headache...i had to take double doses of Vit. C and paracetamol and cold tablet and whatever meds i could get my hands on...this is indeed mega inggit.

and a while ago i just learned that my pretty one is sick too. ugh!

missing my sister

hmm..it's not her birthday or mine or anything at all...it's just one ordinary, forgettable day...but i'm just missing her...i don't know why...i know i could text her or message her anytime...but i don't want to...i know she's just around...living her own life...touching other people's lives with her work...enjoying the sceneries of Fifth Ave, Central Park, etc...sipping her Starbucks coffee...spending sexy times with her hubby...laughing it out with her fellow Pinoy friends...whatever...i just wish she's truly happy.

selfish as it may sound, am lucky being her spoiled brat of a sis. she gives me stuff even when i don't ask for them. she supplies me with all the cosmetics and shoes and bags and clothes though most of them i just assume they are all for me even if apparently they are not wehehehe...sorry na lang sa maunahan. too bad she can't give me the best havaianas as styles of havs in the US are kinda crappy hmpf! hehehe...oh well...and i can ask her for more dough when i need it. oops, am not taking advantage...am just being myself..the pretty lil sis in need. *toink*

it's not really easy living with her. she could be really noisy sometimes and i'm the awfully quiet one...but she has always been my best counselor. she can mouth out the best of advices even when it's unsolicited...but that's just what she is...and i really believe i'm needing her now. her ratatat of opinions and scenarios may be the best thing that i need at the moment. i can't just think by and for myself all the time. i've always been making decisions for myself but there are just times when i wish people could think and work things out for me...to guide me or nudge or push whichever is needed the most...

sigh. i feel like needing a warm chocolate drink and curling up to sleep.

comfort woman

ever wonder why most girls take too long going to the comfort room?

look now...wehehehe...

breaking free

funny how the idea of writing this struck while i was talking to him...he was asking for help...consulting what could be done...planning what's best to look forward to next...and my mind was fleeing far away from it...i wanted none of it anymore...i wanna be somewhere else...i long to be out there.

how can one actually say goodbye?

i remembered faltering one great deal a year ago...i knew i was gonna be kicked out...let go...be freed...

but no...after a while of deliberation...he thought it best for me to stay...he eventually forgave me...supported me...needed me.

needs me till now...

yeah, i seem to have this neurotic need to be needed...to be asked to stay.

but i dunno...this time i just want to be let go.

how i wish i know how.

will you please tell me how???

purp in boots

it's been a while

since i've really worn shoes

i could barely walk straight

and my feet kinda hurt.

sigh...

my flips are still

and will always be a bliss.

weh!

my own version of Heroes

thanks to my local dibidi man, i am able to watch the tv show Heroes in full, minus the unnecessary commercial breaks and the agony of waiting for the next episode installment.

after about an entire day of watching these special people exhibiting powers of different kinds with the goal of actually saving the world i would drift off and hope that someday somehow we could have these abilities too and make fighting off evil easier. but i look back and around me and realize that i am actually amidst people who in their own ways are striving to make a difference. people who seem ordinary like the rest of us but actually posses better visions of themselves and the world.

take for example Sir Daryl, he can't fly like Peter Petrelli does. But he would scour the mountains of Bukidnon searching for indigenous communities that need education. he doesn't have the gift of healing but he would brave the perils of the jungle trekking, climbing for hours even days on end to reach these places.

Dr. Ato of Bacolod can't read minds like Matt Parkman can but he can examine and empathize with his patients suffering from eye problems. they don't have to tell him they badly need their assistance, he readily gives his support and operates on them mostly for free.

Miss Monica of Dumaguete opted to stay and teach in what used to be called as the "no man's land" of Sta. Catalina, Negros Oriental. she doesn't have the power of rapid cell regeneration but she is strong and compassionate enough to the once armed rebels of the area that she does not have to fear for her life or worry about being caught in crossfires.

it doesn't really take modern gadgets and electronics to civilize men and make life easier like what Micah Sanders powers rest on. but for JR, leaving her family to teach basic education, hygiene and livelihood to the natives of Palawan proved to be way helpful for their advancement. she only needs to care and reach out to them and she is able to alleviate poverty and improve their over all sense of well being.

there are still a lot of others out there whom we have met along the way. they all never failed to give us enough inspiration to look for more.

the big difference i guess is that whereas our Heroes characters has this magnanimous goal of saving the world...our very own heroes are only thinking of doing their share through their own little ways. but considering how wicked our world has become, a little thing could indeed go a long, long way. yeah, little things do pile up.

i go out and think of how scary it might be meeting the Sylars of this world but is somehow relieved that it is all but fiction. I feel more secure and moved that these unassuming people in their own world out there are actually doing their share in fighting evil. i'm not being all true romantic about it, i'm just one of those who are lucky enough to have actually met people who still have the hearts for their fellows.

nah, this is not some shameless plug for our project, nor some good excuse for me blogging at work...i just can't help but compare and feel hope for all mankind. :)


i haven't thought of any other character for Hiro Nakamura as i find him too cute to be real.:D

hi...

yes, you are right,

i am happy now.

but i'll be happier

if you just leave me alone...

salamat po.

transfixed...

oops, no drama here..not even a sniff. bleh!

the past long weekend has found me transfixed in front of my pc...as if i'm never ever..

a friend of mine sent me a link where i could watch movies for free wow! i checked it it out and boy, i'm glued...at least i got something to do for the long weekend.

the first movie i searched of course was Neil Gaiman's Stardust...i'm still quite disappointed as to why it's still not shown here in the Philippine cinemas...not even the trailer...haaay so third world! but then am sort of not that satisfied with the movie. sure, Michelle Pfeifer looks gorgeous in here. Claire Daines and the noobie Charlie Cox look good together. sad to say i barely noticed Sienna Miller, nor Robert de Niro and even Peter o Toole...and yeah, fine, memorable details from the book were changed ayayay! let's see if i'd still want to watch this on the big screen though.

then i saw Ratatouille...totally entertaining!

Because I Said So (Mandy Moore is hot! and Diane Keaton is still gorgeous.)


Goal 2 (so many eyecandies, so-so story)


Ocean's 13 (hmmm...i miss the girls!)


Bourne Ultimatum (not so good copy pa so i didnt finish it as i'd still see people standing up and walking around haha!)


Apocalypto (wow, felt queasy during the entire film i'd almost wanna stop watching it but my niece told me she's seen it so many times over i just had to at least see it once. but yeah, it's a good one even if i had to skip so many gory scenes)

License to Wed (after Apocalypto i knew i just had to watch another feel good movie and what could it be but anything Mandy Moore, so there!)

Black Snake Moon (whoa, Cristina Ricci is half naked in more than a half part of the movie. and there's her steamy sex scene with Justine Timberlake on the first two minutes of the film. I'm sorry but it's kinda hard seeing JT as an actor as i could almost imagine him spontaneously belting out our doing his dance moves hehe...what i recall most though is that Samuel Jackson could actually come out as great sexy blues artist. ;) )

Donnie Darko on youtube (Jake Gyllenhall must be the best thing in this movie and the soundtrack of course)


there, about 10 films in three days..and yeah, i got to jog, had my peds, had a wax session, went to the ukay, read almost halfway through of Laura Esquivel's Malinche, and even watched more of One Tree Hill season 4 and the Wonder Years biography and pilot episode all on youtube.

Hail to the internet and long weekends!

am sorry, i barely even remembered it's supposed to be Ninoy's day..well, bless him na rin

football mania

i grew up being exposed to football back in grade school. we used to have a wide enough football field in our school. my earliest crushes were varsity players hehe...i would come home with my shoes pudpod because we'd kick balls before going home...

thus imagine my excitement upon seeing the trailer of Goal 1 in star world...too bad i was not able to watch it in full though.

good enough i got to watch Goal 2 in the internet. it stars Kuno Becker (lemme just say he's hot! hot! hot!) who now gets to play with legendary players as David Beckham and Zinidine Zidane...though the plot is quite shallow and lackluster, you'll get entertained just watching the eyecandies haha!

i'm not quite excited with the third part though, except for the mere fact that i'd like to find out how it ends. but that's just it.

i don't really mind if Xan gets to be a football star one of these days to. whoa!

unfortunately, football stories also remind me of Russell. sigh...

simpsonized!

finally got to watch the movie, yey!!! and i hafta say that i love every minute of it! thanks, ron for accompanying me and for having our pics taken shameful as it may have been...but then it was the last full show and no one was really watching hehe....and yeah, we waited till the end of the credits!


P.S. got to watch the trailer for Nancy Drew too, is it just me or what, but i think she looks so girly in there. my, i thought she was sort of tomboyish or nerdy looking back then?? hmmm....

and there was the trailer for Fred Clause with Vince Vaughn...you mean it's gonna be Christmas soon??? waaahhh!

how sinful am i???

The Dante's Inferno Test has banished you to the Second Level of Hell!

You have come to a place mute of all light, where the wind bellows as the sea does in a tempest. This is the realm where the lustful spend eternity. Here, sinners are blown around endlessly by the unforgiving winds of unquenchable desire as punishment for their transgressions. The infernal hurricane that never rests hurtles the spirits onward in its rapine, whirling them round, and smiting, it molests them. You have betrayed reason at the behest of your appetite for pleasure, and so here you are doomed to remain. Cleopatra and Helen of Troy are two that share in your fate.

Here is how you matched up against all the levels:

Level	Score
Purgatory (Repenting Believers)	Moderate
Level 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers)	Low
Level 2 (Lustful)	High
Level 3 (Gluttonous)	High
Level 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious)	High
Level 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy)	High
Level 6 - The City of Dis (Heretics)	Very Low
Level 7 (Violent)	Moderate
Level 8- the Malebolge (Fraudulent, Malicious, Panderers)	High
Level 9 - Cocytus (Treacherous)	Low

Take the Dante's Inferno Hell Test

LOL...i actually read and made a report on this for a high school senior english class and got myself lost in limbo explaining the levels of damnation...but i believe i got hooked on Dante and Beatrice since then. :)

Kite Runner (the movie!)

sweetbejeezus! a movie has been made and it's gonna be out soon!!!

if you haven't read the book, i highly suggest you go grab it. it's one of the most moving books i've read. lemme just copy paste a short synopsis here..kinda busy to recall and compose my own haha:

The Kite Runner tells the story of Amir, a well-to-do Pashtun boy from the Wazir Akbar Khan district of Kabul, who is haunted by the guilt of betraying his childhood friend Hassan, the son of his father's Hazara servant. The story is set against a backdrop of tumultuous events, from the fall of the monarchy in Afghanistan through the Soviet invasion, the mass exodus of refugees to Pakistan and the United States, and the Taliban regime.

i bought the book for like 400 bucks and my friend, Sugar (starring na pod ka, mam) got a hardbound copy at a sale in National Bookstore-Bacolod (yeah, during our trip there, May!) for like 60 bucks. boo, woe is me!

just the same, go get the book or wait for the movie...prepare your Kleenex! ;)

can anyone stop the rain from falling??

i dread the rains...

it makes me feel all the more gloomy and melancholic.

i remember as a child when i'd be forced to take afternoon naps on rainy afternoons, i'd wake up crying for no reason at all. i'd feel all so sad and there seemed to be something so heavy deep inside of me. i'd be inconsolable. no matter how my mom would rock me back to sleep i'd still sob all the more.

and here in manila rain seems to be at its worst. i've never really seen rain pouring this hard. casting dark shadows everywhere. enveloping us all in gloom. i've never seen rain this angry. as if it wants to tear our roofs down. trying to shake us all out of our beings.

it is on rainy moments as this when i'd feel like pouring my heart out. i'd feel like wanting to wash off every crevice of my being with sweet salve. i could rock in sobs for no reason at all. it makes me want to retreat all the more from the world that gives us pain and misery.

and i feel for all the homeless kids out there. i hope they will be kept warm just the same. times like this make me think of them and wish them well. and i could do nothing but utter a silent prayer. because it is adding up to my gloom too.

i really hope the sun comes out soon.

goodbyes and reunions

i've been meaning to write this for quite sometime...but i've been having such a deluge of things to do and think about that i consider it untimely to just post it yet...and yeah, somehow we need some time, a longer time even to process whatever it is we are feeling...

sigh...the past days have been a series of goodbyes and reunions...and more goodbyes. i wanted to keep quiet and hopefully let the sadness just go away...but i also find it in me to revel..and be hopeful of what's gonna come next.

i went home last week and met up with my family and friends once again. i guess it has become some sort of addiction. i need to see them at least once in a while. and each reunion is nowhere near the same. Xan is so much bigger now, with a lot more cute antics. it makes me wonder how long this has to go on. i know someday i'll have to stay by his side and not leave him anymore.


when i left him (for the nth time) he was at the door wanting to cry out...and yes he did...that heartbreaking cry no mom would dare want to see on their little kids...and yeah, he knows how to call me mommy now. he knows who mama, my mom is, and who mamay, his ate Mai is also...my little kid is not so little anymore.

i met up with my best buds too. and though we keep on talking about almost the same things each time, every moment is always precious. Sugar came home from Cebu too and we were lucky enough to have met up right before we have to go back to our own destinations again. each meeting though fleeting is always sweet.


Sugar is currently taking her review for a specialization/licensure exam. she's US bound i guess and yeah, just the tought, selfish as it may seem, is actually breaking my heart...but then again, it's the same feeling i've had when my other friend, Lala left for New York a few years back...but of course, she's back here now and is even staying near my place in Katipunan. so much for my dramaness hahaha! yeah, people leave and though the distance leaves some void in our hearts it helps to realize that they do, in due time, come back. that's what reunions are for anyway.


and thank heavens for ym and conferences, the world indeed is just getting smaller each day.

because yeah, i think about you too...all the time.

You say the word
You know I will find you
Or if you need some time
I don't mind
I don't hold on
To the tail of your kite

pfft...

oh, i'm kinda sad..i miss blogging and it seems i can't think of anything to blog about. not that there's nothing to blog...more like there's a lot to tell...just dunno which one's need to be told first hmmm...

back at yah, later! ;)

stupefied...

stunned...

i lay dazed and fazed for days...

just wanting to savor it all...

am enveloped with warmth...

you're never really gone...

all is well. :D

hangin' on

had a quick ym with my high school bestfriends and i realize how much i miss talking to them like we used to. we would talk for ours on end thinking about anything from trivial to mundane and the ideal. we used to hang out at their place or at dunkin donuts in our city...or at starbucks 6750 or in glorietta...or in seattle's best katip...even in starbucks ayala-cebu...often we'd wonder how soon can we meet up and talk some more maybe in starbucks new york or wherever part of the world our wanderlust nature can take us to.

me and my best buds go way back. lala and i have been classmates since grade school...sugar and i knew each other since freshmen high school. we've been inseparable since. and we've shared most if not all our life stories together. thus sharing something to them even after a long time of not havin kept in touch is but so easy. we don't really need to explain much. we just understand each other. and it just never fails to comfort me.

in times of dire need we often find ourselves seeking comfort in the complexity of things. we prefer losing ourselves in everything complicated if only to drown ourselves and hopefully not hear the ramblings inside us. the past days i've found myself seeking comfort in my gadgets, my loud music, or the internet. i seek refuge in reading about other people's lives. drowning myself in their own complex stories. well and good. but it only stirred me away from myself. i failed to listen to the voices inside me.

talking to my friends makes me look back at where i came from. how i came to be. and they let me keep in touch with myself better. i learn that we are currently going into the same crises. that of knowing where to go, what to do with our lives. it's always a relief to have close people with you as you journey on.

yeah, am just getting senti once again. but am just really grateful for my friends and to everyone i have here with me. whether they are near or far. :)

first day potter

got to watch harry potter 5 on i-max on the first day...but then again i always watch hp on it's first day...i'd declare it my own little holiday, my harry potter day hehehe...

watchin it on i-max though was way different even if it's but the last 20 minutes that is on 3D...whoa, pede ko mahipuan si harry hahaha!

oh, never mind if we were on the 3rd row as the cinema was really full packed.

twas quite fast paced, it would be easy for you to get lost in the story if you haven't read the book...but i enjoyed it...i love luna, i love ginny, and the twins. but cho chang is quite blah in spite of the quite longish kissing scene opps...no more spoilers now. but harry's bod is to die for...for a young man huh!

the final scene is so astig, i wanna be a part of that fab 6 yey!

i wanna watch it again but am sure we'll watch it at home over and over and over again as soon as the dvd is out.

single thoughts

if it's meant forever, why hurry...

Aoi Haru (Blue Spring)

managed to catch a couple of films at the Japanese Film Fest held at the UP Film Institute and was drawn by this movie...

quite violent but rather poignant and sweet.

i could watch this scene over and over again and still get goosebumps.

and how i love the music!!!! :bop:

my little man...

killer questions

the past few months i've been tasked to travel all over the country and meet our prospective "bayanis". having done this for years i no longer have the desire to take down notes, study their profiles, etc...i prefer to just head on, meet them and ask questions along the way. true enough, it's easier to just know them and let them tell me their stories compared to reading their profiles (tamad lang talaga ehe!)..and i get different reactions...most of them get the jitters as soon as they see me setting up my video cam...well, i'm always dressed casually, in shorts/cargoes/jeans, tshirt and my tsinelas...most often they'd feel relax seeing an amateur looking me :p...but as soon as they see my camera they'd hush up and believe that everything's for real hahaha!

then different stories come up, most of them are sincere, some prefer to brag..but i consider it a scoop whenever i'd get to make someone cry. how i relish this moment, i'd slowly pan then focus on their crying faces...full close-up! mean me...thank God they don't ask me to review their clips otherwise they'd get to se themselves with puffy noses and tear stricken eyes hehehe...

and what makes them cry? my killer questions:

1. What is your motivation in helping others?
2. what do you get out of it?

i dunno, i really don't know what's with the questions that makes them first stare at a distance then maybe feel some lump on their throats..then tears start to well up..i don't know...it still baffles me...thus i'd get muffled replies of "it's my dedication" "my calling", "my happiness"...haaay, then why cry???

beats me!!!

PS..oh yeah, some would then ask me, "mam, sang channel at anong oras po namin mapapanood yang video?"

well, the mean me will right away reply "ay sorry po, sa tv lang namin mapapanood yan eh" hehehe...

oral invasion

i had my trip to the dentist yesterday, and since it was my first after sometime i had to stay longer haha! aside from the prophylaxis i had to have fillings on 9 of my teeth waah! and one is subject for extraction haay...i hate dental visits the mosts. though while sitting there on the chair i recalled i've been on an operating table twice anyway and i should have been kinda immune to the fear already...it helped too that my dentist was a high school classmate, a kabarkada, a kainuman...at least i didn't get a lot of sermon about what and what not to do with regards to oral care...and yeah, i get to have a huge discount too yey!

but i'm due for a couple more visits the next week...oh well...

raging against the waters

yeah, one of my dream trip is fulfilled!!! finally went white water rafting in Cagayan de Oro...i once dreamed of making it to Kalinga's Chico River a couple of years ago. i already signed up till i found out i was carrying Xan pala, yun i had to back out tsk tsk...but yeah, i made it!!!!

it was quite an adventure especially since my over 60 mom came with us, while my bro chickened out hahaha! what was planned as a trip with friends turned out to be a family affair as they each backed out due to whatever reasons they had hmpf! but all's well that ends well..we each had a great time nevermind if we almost fell off the waters, or we we're too sunburned from the more than 3 hours paddling out there in the open, or had body aches all over from rowing and fighting off the raging waters. but no, no, i'm never complaining.

compared to climbing a mountain, this river actually had 14 challenging rapids we had to pass through. i'm telling you, it can be multiple orgasmic nyahahaha!

now i'm really looking forward to that one in Chico River! ;)

detaching...

i lost my shades up there in the mountains of Bukidnon..i don't exactly remember when or how, i just woke up the following morning and realized i couldn't find it among my stuffs.

and about that time too, our host was asking me if i could speak to the kids for their weekly convocation and inspire them about the value of education and everything else they were having. duh! how could i inspire them? how would i know what to say when i was too preoccupied with my loss? and i only had several minutes to gather my thoughts. hmpf!

so i guess i ended up ranting to the kids hehe...

"i just lost my shades. it's a kenneth cole which my sister gave me all the way from New York. do you know where New York is? i could rant here all i want but seeing your blank faces i realize you could never understand me enough. it's not that i'm belittling you. in fact, i envy you...i admire you for not having too much attachment with material things. what you have here is a paradise. you wake up each morning and marvel at the beauty around you, which i had to climb so high up just to experience too. phew! i almost fainted coming up here and asked myself so many times why i have to do this, i am never a mountain person. i cannot understand the idea why we have to pant and almost lose our breath just to get here. why can't we ride up any vehicle and make it easier for everyone to see? and along the way i have to lose my precious shades!"

i must not have made sense in there hehe..so i guess i just had to shift to feeling noble, throwing off words which could hopefully inspire hahaha!

but as i've told the kids, we are the ones who needed inspiration the most. we the city girls and guys who've become all too weary of the world out there. we cling on too much on material things if only to fill ourselves up of things we would forever crave as contentment and happiness. they, the kids have simpler lives, simpler peasures..we don't. we whine and rant about the littlest of disappointments. while they only have to work and study a little and everything else as free education, ample food, the wonders of nature, is given for free. sigh. if only we've had these things a long time ago then maybe we won't have to crave for more.

we won't have to cling on to insignificant things as a pair of shades.

at least i still have my limbs, my hopes, my life.

and i can always just ask my sis to give me another pair again hahaha.

otherwise i can always buy another disposable one sa tabi-tabi for like 50-75 bucks :P

i've nothing against mountains...

Valencia, Bukidnon

but darn it..it's just way too high! imagine riding on a high up blue jeep for like 2 hours over rough roads, traversing dry riverbeds and streams, and hiking up 2 hours more...waah!

i almost fainted way up, i had to stop once in a while to catch my breath, text my friends, and look back and just have to enjoy the view phew!

and as i told my friends, "i'd rather have sex and come many times over than climb this mountain and reach the peak only once. wahahaha!

oops, no offense meant to my mountaineering friends hehehe...

but yeah, it's a paradise way up there. was able to visit a high school only for the lumads, or the native tribes in bukidnon. somehow i'm glad i made it up there. at least, i'm not that old and weak not to make it up there. bleh!

hmmm...

i have interviewed the most noble persons, heard the most inspiring words, seen the most scenic places, and yet i still feel tired. how did i become this jaded and numb???

one freaky long weekend

i'm doin this amidst all the stuff i have to pack. am leavin again in a couple of days and though i know i have to be excited i still feel somehow listless. oh well, trust me for not being able to see the best in even the greatest of things. there's always a but, a mar on what could be an almost perfect event. sigh.

well let me get back to the past days i've gone through anyway...maybe you'll get to understand things better. or maybe i'll get to appreciate life more hahahay...

it's been quite a long weekend. and though i could have the choice of spending it outside partying with friends and acquaintances i'd still find myself going back to the hollowed halls which is our office.

oh well, am only describing what could have been a great event of a series of holidays and am already ranting hahahah!

sorry, this could be PMS talking out loud. i've been cramping so bad the past days. sometimes i wish i could just stick out some sore thumb up my "throat" and let it just gush out. some graphics huh! :lol:

last friday, i went out with some 30 something people whom i've met for the first time. and oh, sorry but i suddenly felt so old. oops, i hope they don't get to read this hehehehe...a friend of mine who i invited and was not even on his 30s asked me where i felt i should belong. i told him kse i felt so old being with the other group which is composed mostly of "kids" and here i am still whining that these people "my age" makes me feel out of place just the same wahahaha! errr, maybe am still in denial that i am indeed old? or maybe because i just feel i look so young being sitted alongside them (kapal! hehe) or maybe because i feel i still haven't accomplished much compared to most people my age? (hmmm, this is the bitter me talkin out i guess). well, anyway the group's tagline happens to be In your 30s? Still single? How Come? well whoever wrote that thread must be thinking hard why she's still single too and is hoping to get consolation from others who are in the same situation as she is. but most of us in the group bothered not to tackle the "how come?" part. kebs na lang...why do we have to wrack our brains trying to answer that anyway. but then again i have Xan already, why bother with it anyway. i realized i could be attached now for all i care had i opted to...nah, awat na..i would not want to go through that again. sigh...

the discussions in the group tackled careers, "close up moments" (whatever that is), and the dreaded lovelives. but then it was because of more career talks when discussions became sort of heated for the guys. i didn't exactly get it, my head was swimming in beer already heheh..we went home around 4am that day and oh, that left more thoughts for me to face the morning after. hmmm...

was still left with a couple more days then to laze and hopefully not wallow anymore. great though that i discovered this online radio which made me listen to old rock alternative tracks i haven't listened to in years. imagine me being able to listen to nirvana's heartshaped box, everclear's sta. monica, and more metallica and guns and roses and pearl jam which are not yet on my playlist?!! great god indeed! now i can't help but listen to it all day long yey!

i've also discovered some bootlegs of tori amos' latest album as stated on my previous blog entry heheh...i asked a friend to download it for me. i emailed my sis to get me the special edition package, i hope they could deliver waaah!. am such a toriphile :P

hmm, so these stuff are what made me glued on the pc the past days, other than my seemingly debilitating PMS. i'd rather stay here than go out for coffee. i'd rather order food than go get them myself. i'd rather sit here than take my shower hahahaha!

and now back to packing. sigh. this is the last leg of my trip. i''l be off to bukidnon then iligan. yey! i've just learned that there's another bundok trip in bukidnon that if it rains we'd have to walk for two hours waaah! and we'll be passing through CdO and i hope to get into white water rafting yey! and oh, i've my upcoming period to face pala, haay...bahala na.

and of course i'll be home in iligan and spend QT with my Xan. more yey!!! and though i have to interview like 4 people there i hope to be lugging Xan around so i won't have to part ways with him ever. weeeeh!

then i'll have to come back here again. for a while. this is when things become tricky. i'll be staying here for a while. no more trips. no where else to go to. that means i'll be here in the freakin office for the next 24/7 waaaah! how can i face that?? even if it's still quite far away i still dread thinkin that :(

and yeah, there's the career option to think of, finally. haven't i told you? i wanna leave this job soon! yeah, i intend to do a rico blanco of sorts. leave my job which i've had the past 9 years. it's gonna be hard. i don't even know how to start. or should i really go through it? or what. ssshhh, don't tell anyone.

well, newei, let me finish packing and just get on with the present. leaping off, thinking ahead too much most often spoils the fun d ba?!
hope you had a great weekend too.

oopps, this is quite a freaky long post too! :D

this one's a real surprise!

i was looking for tori amos rendition of Niravana's Smells Like Teen Spirit but found this one instead. My mom should be proud!! :D

my goddess is back!

...or i've gotten this news quite late???

just learned that tori amos just released her new album called american doll posse. waaah, i have to have it!!!!

help me organize my thoughts

LIKE A STONE
Audioslave
Singingfool.com

haay, so many things goin on in my head..i just wanna reminisce for now and see someone utterly guwapo and sexy on muy blog. ;)

Rico is not with Rivermaya anymore

Dear friends, i am no longer with the band and management of rivermaya. I have been with the group from the start, and after 14 great years, I am now quite excited about the chance to finally do other things with my life, pursue endeavors outside of the entertainment spotlight. This is a desire I have made known to my group as early as 2005 and have already postponed several times. I will surely miss the music and the fans and will always cherish the experience. I hope you will continue supporting the group and the whole of opm. My work is done. Thank you for all your incredible love and support.

Rico Blanco (http://amillionflames.multiply.com/)

i've always loved rico, i've always loved rivermaya. i remember bringing them to iligan before for a show. well, i lost a great deal of money over that event due to lousy transaction deals but i will always love them. they are just so adorable. not to mention that their band has been one of the best in the local industry.

i'm happy for him though...but i can't help but be senti...

and yeah, i can relate...i feel i could relate...haaay...

abangan na lang....:)

finally looking at someone in the eye

Bacolod City-- "People don't really meet together anymore, and if they don't meet, they won't grow."

this is one verse that i just read on Paulo Coellho's (again!) latest book "Like the Flowing River" but no, am not gonna be telling you about the book. i'll instead tell you about the meeting :D

One of the reasons why i really wanted to go to Bacolod, aside from my work, and visiting my relatives was to meet a fellow mom whom i met in Pex.I first met May, otherwise known as sweetwahm at the Parenting 101 forum. I was expecting Xan then and she was already holding here baby Z for a few months that time. We've been sharing a lot of stories, pics even videos on the net for over a year that we were already treating each other's babies as pamangkins. And since May is out of town, she has missed our lotsa meetings and encounters of fellow moms here in Manila. All she got of course was our stories and seeing photos of our beaming faces as we all meet eye to eye and share more endless kwentos as most moms are bound to have lots of.

True enough, it's way different when you are finally able to put a face beyond a pex handle or a YM id. and pictures shared are never enough to let us know who the person really is. It's always way better to get to see each other's eyes, each other's soul.

Thanks, May, for finally having met you and Baby Z, and even Daddy T...I'd always treasure that, not to mention our kwentos and food trips, and long walks, and coffee drinking and dessert eating, and beer guzzling hahaha! Twas indeed one great meet! ;)

beachy!

Tagbilaran, Bohol--this is my usual kind of trip...bein beachy, yeah!



Bohol has always been a great place for me to go to especially for summer. they've got a lot of attractions from the chocolate hills, the loboc river, the tarsiers and yes of course, the beaches!!!

not to mention that Bohol happens to have one of my fave organized group of past recipients of our project. they are always the most active, the most accommodating. their last project i heard was a gift giving program for their inmates last Christmas, and yeah, they did it in their own initiative. how i wish most of our other organized groups are that self-sufficient.

we were able to meet them again this time and as usual they treated us to lunch at the dak's and gam's farm, who's owner happens to be one of our winners. they then took us to the bohol beach club for that longed for sun and sea soaking...great people indeed! :D

and of course, i'd always come back for more.