Got a light?

Well my bro's got a match stick....

a REALLY BIG matchstick!

;P

= = =

Congratulations to my bro and the rest of the band Wet-Fox for winning last night's Battle of the Bands in their school.

They got to do front-act for Chicosci and 6CycleMind.

By the way, kiddo bro is the band's drummer.

Mana sa ate. Hehehe!

Can you guess where this pic was taken?

Tsingtao beer is produced in Qingdao, Shandong province in China. It is sold in more than 50 countries worldwide and accounts for more than 50% of China's beer exports.

So, did you guess right?

heehee!

Revelation on future posts.

Your Life is Rated PG-13

Your life isn't totally scandalous, but you definitely don't shy away from adult themes!

What is Your Life Rated?

Hehehe!

I am not a lazy blogger. ;p

I just didn't have much time to update.

I was busy with work.

And everytime I try to post updates, I get distracted by a lot of things.

My thoughts get mixed up. Can't compose a pretty decent post lately.

But I am not a lazy blogger.

;P

Mwah!

Happy 4th Anniversary!

St. Lazarus Choir

Here's to more years of singing and service to the Big Boss up there!

Sana madagdagan pa tayo ;)

Circle

Yesterday had been a long day.

It rained nonstop early in the morning and brought floodwater inside the house, so I had to call up at work to tell them I couldn't make it. But they said the competition must push through and they can't perform without me.

So an hour before the event, I was at the office in a flash (faster than the flash flood that washed our living room floor). Now I usually am a lucky girl but by 1 pm, the President declared work suspension. That automatically meant postponement of the competition.

Talk about being lucky.

Oh well! It meant more time for us to practice.

By 4pm my energy was pretty much spent but the girls were raring to see a movie and tagged me along. The mall was packed with students and working-class people who opted to drop by and pass the time before going home.

ticket line

the movie poster

A Love Story was about, well, a love story! It had its twists and some flashback scenes that tricked the audience on who plays what role. I don't wanna spoil it for those who haven't seen the movie yet. So I will say no more. ;p


= = =


Then I went home and found out my grandfather has just been called back by the BIG BOSS.

Lolo was a war veteran. He rubbed elbows with the late Ferdinand Marcos (former Philippine president) during their guerrilla days. He had been blind since I was a little girl. He's seen so much. Done so much.

He died in his sleep. He was 89 years old.

Pahinga na 'Lo.

= = =

I still went to work today though for the staff meeting. Plus the office people prepared a little something for the August celebrants.

August babies: me + miss E + Manny (now you know why we're pretty close)

Aside from a few close colleagues, they didn't know what lies behind that smile.


= = =

Kinda mixed up right now. In the middle of a whirlwind of emotions - at one point happiness (still from my birthday), then grief (for lolo's death), frustration, relief.

But one thing is for sure: that whatever phase we are in, whatever we are facing right now, the show must go on.

Life goes on.

Party's over

here's a bit of info...

I share birthdays with these beautiful people:

Iza Calzado

Aga Muhlach

AND!...

my uncle

the person 'responsible' for the 'grand celebration' yesterday ;)

pardon for the blurry image. my eight-year old cousin shot the pic.

; )

And so the party's over.

Blame me for not having snaps of the preparation coz i woke up rather late. After all, it was my birthday and i can pretty much do as i please. Still i wasn't able to take pics while the party's on because i was busy preparing the drinks.

The grand celebration i was talking about wasn't solely mine. As i've mentioned earlier, my uncle and i share the same birthday. The party was mainly his (coz he's got more moolah, hehe!) because it was also his despedida party (he works overseas).

The usual setup when my uncle's in the country on our birthday: he takes care of most of the stuff (like food for lunch and alcoholic drinks by the afternoon) while i share some in my own little way. Usually, it's dad who cooks up my contribution for the food (spaghetti for snacks or a beef dish). For this year, Papa whipped up his new specialty while I came up with my own version of Mindoro Sling (the drink you should try when you're in Puerto Galera) to which my cousin was a willing taster.

Unfortunately my concoction wasn't as smooth as the original version. It gave me a big headache unlike my previous Mindoro Sling experience back in Puerto two months ago.

*sigh*

I miss the beach again. 'twas such a blast. But more of that on my next post.

Ta-tah!

Whirlwind Weekend

This week had been pretty busy.

And I'm like this dude:

minus the menacing face. Heheh!

Here's the rundown:


I was supposed to take a leave of absence today but due to "insistent public demand" I had to report to the office.


The insistent public composed of people from the four bureaus in our cluster, almost begging me to re-schedule my leave so I could teach them some more and practice them for the cluster presentation next week.


Okay, so they did not beg me. They asked nicely ;)


To that, I obliged. The cluster presentation was actually an entry for the Healthy Lifestyle Aerobics Competition.


To offset my frustration, I bought cake, pancit (noodles, for long life), and softdrinks for my officemates as my birthday blowout. It's a prelude to the grand celebration on Sunday. Grand Celebration.

don't you think the candles are kinda big for the cakes?

After all is said and done--the practice over and the food eaten--there were still paperworks to attend to. I had to stay a little bit more at the office and finally went home by 7pm.

= = =

After all that hoolabaloo, I'm finally home.

Dad tried a new dish he got from one of the recipe books my sister bought.

Spanish Chicken with Chorizo

= = =

I was a happy girl devouring the chicken. Oh, did I mention I love chicken dishes? If there's nothing more to eat except chicken, I'm more than happy to finish it.


And yes, it really was a prelude for my birthday on Sunday!

Damsel in Distress

People were already going home a few minutes after the Chief declared work suspension by 4pm due to the heavy rains and flooding. But I had to stay for a few more hours to practice the steps for next week's presentation. The group planned to practice today but I was looking forward to go home already as I don't wanna get stranded on my way. They caught me by a phonecall. I should have ignored it when the office phone rang, coz it was closing time anyway. My bad. So I had no choice but to join the practice since it was still raining hard.

By around past six, we finally packed it up. It was already dark outside and it was still raining a bit. Plus, I was on my own because all my officemates have gone earlier. Jeepneys were cutting the trip just to avoid the flooded areas. I had to walk some more to get to my next jeepney terminal.

So there I was. The moment I never wished for, but it was already happening. The flood water was knee-high. Murky, dirty water with a lot of what-nots floating in it. My pants and platform shoes were soaked in the flood as I half-waded towards the next terminal. The umbrella was then used as a cane to guide me as I take baby-steps to avoid open manholes and excavations on the road.

Finally, I was walking in the street of my own neighborhood. Wet, tired, and cold. I hugged my jacket tighter for warmth, and tried to suppress a sob that threatened to escape from inside me.


I was thinking to myself, "So this is what it feels like."

Hours ago, J texted me that he wouldn't be able to come to the office to accompany me home. I know he wouldn't let me walk in flooded streets. Or he would not let me walk alone if we really can't help walking in it.

But my superman's got fever. So I walked by myself.

Spaghetti for dinner?

WHY NOT?!

after all, my birthday's just a week away.

on death and dying

Tita came home today without the usual funfare

She was particularly silent, not her usual gay self

No high pitched laugh, no American twang

We should be all smiles upon meeting her

but we were all crying.

We missed tita so much and now she's home

But what should be a happy reunion

is now a sad family gathering

Tita came home today

for the Lord has finally called her.

She is home indeed.

(Tita died July last year. We had her babang-luksa yesterday)

= = =

Now why would I be writing about death and dying?

Well, for one, we had just commemorated my aunt's death anniversary yesterday. Here in the Philippines, we have this custom we call babang-luksa. Literally, it means we stop mourning a year after the death of a loved one or family member. Elderly women lead the prayers, then lunch or snacks are served depending on the time of the day the family preferred the ritual done.

After I had my snack, I went to St. Lazarus Shrine for the anticipated mass. Afterwhich the choirmaster told us that we'll be singing for a funeral mass nearby which will be officiated by our parish priest.

On my first year of being a church choir member, I was usually making up excuses not to come with the choir to sing on funeral mass. The thing is, even if I am not related to the departed, seeing the family members left behind mourning makes me cry so easily. It took some time before I could go with the choir and be able to concentrate on singing rather that absorbing the mourners' loss and having a sob fit. Well that's how weird I am.

The homily went on like: we should not view death as an enemy and we should not be afraid of death.

I once read from a book by Leo Buscaglia that those who scream loudest from their deathbeds are those who have not lived fully. Perhaps they need to reconcile with other people--to forgive or ask forgiveness themselves. Perhaps they are worried about those people they'd be leaving behind. Or perhaps they can't let go yet. The priest said we have to accept that we all die. Una-una nga lang.

It is often said that life is short so we should enjoy every moment of it. Savor every minute, every breath we take. After seeing quite a number of deaths (family members and those I know of) I am now consciously taking steps in enjoying this life God has given me. I may slack off once in a while, getting contented with living in the sidelines. But I constantly push myself to go out there, dive in the middle and play an active part in this big stage we are in. I may not land the lead role, but at least I tried. Better than nothing, isn't it?

No matter what role we play in life, may we always give it our best shot. I constantly remind myself those things whenever I see myself backsliding. I can say I am a work in progress.

Here's a nice thing to ponder on:
"When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life in such a way that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice." -- Author unknown

Have a good day everyone and may we all live a full life.

Reunited

Once again, after a couple of months' hiatus, I find myself going to the gym and joining the aerobics session conducted twice weekly. Yup, that good ol' hataw routine where we kick and punch and dance and have fun for an hour. Best of all, it's FREE! All you have to do is put on some work-out clothes (whatever comfortable to move with) and bust those moves. It also helps that the instructor puts in a little humor, making fun of himself or making fun of us, so we get to laugh while working out.

I must say that not much has changed (that's why it's called routine) except for a few number of people present that day (the gym used to be packed with peepz). What really makes the session enjoyable for me is the dance portion. There's a new dance craze going on and I was kinda new to it. But being dance-crazy, it only took little time for me to learn the moves then finally dancing like I've known the steps my whole life. I was sweating. I was moving. I was happy.

By lunchtime, my energy was dipping and I was beginning to feel sore. That's what happens when you've been sedentary for a couple of months and then going at it again (the aerobics session). But that's okay. The pain and soreness will go away. Then I'm off to do it again next week!

PINK?

reach for the purse and fish out that little tube of color

pink with glitters to cover up that pallor

hold up the mirror

pout a little

then let it glide on my lips

that little tube of color

now come here baby

and lemme give you a kiss!

MWAH!