Mi existencia.

Down the Easter Road: An Online Lenten Prayer Series with Hangad

2009-03-17T14:18:00.000+08:00

While we often eagerly anticipate the joy and celebration of Christmas, we seldom appreciate the significance of Lent, Holy Week, and Easter. Yet Easter is the Christian occasion of greatest importance—even more so than Christmas. After all, everyone is born—but only Christ was reborn! What would be the significance of Christ's birth, if there had not been a Resurrection? What would be the meaning of Christmas, if Jesus did not go on to suffer, die, and rise again?

This Lenten season, we in Hangad invite you to join us in our preparations for Holy Week and Easter, with Down the Easter Road: an Online Lenten Prayer Series with Hangad.

Down the Easter Road is a four-part online prayer guide comprising readings, reflections, and songs. A new chapter in the recollection will be uploaded each Sunday from March 15 to April 6. Simply set aside 20 minutes each week to visit the site and go through the different materials there, and you’ll discover a deepened Lenten season.

And on April 25, we will culminate Down the Easter Road with an Easter concert which we will also place online.

Click HERE today to start your journey with us Down the Easter Road.

WHAT'S YOUR FINAL STAND?

2009-02-24T12:00:00.000+08:00

WE'LL TAKE WHATEVER YOU CAN GIVE!

But we highly suggest that you...

1. Blog and spread the word

The Internet has made entirely new forms of social interaction, activities and organizing possible because of its widespread usability and access. And according to World Internet Stats, as of June 30, 2008, 1.463 billionpeople use the Internet!

So link THE FINAL STAND (click me!) to your Facebook profiles and Y!M statuses, share this site on Plurk, blog about the issue and the movement on your LiveJournal--the possibilities are endless!

Become a fan! The Final Stand is on Facebook!

Other sites you can look at to educate yourselves about the issue:

http://carpernow.multiply.com

YOU CAN POST YOUR OWN THOUGHTS AND REFLECTIONS TOO!

Just send in your blog entries together with:

- your name, year&course

- your photo

- a paragraph profile about you (hobbies? philosophy in life? dream? beliefs? favorite song or food? basta short background :P)

to: thefinalstand09@yahoo.com

2. Donate cash, clothes, medicines, food, etc for the farmers.

Lahat ng volunteers sari-sariling resources ang binibigay! That’s why we need all the help we can get! We will be needing your time and effort for the success of this great cause!

For inquiries, contact:

Cheenee Otarra at cheeneex@gmail.com

Rob Roque at robroque07@yahoo.com

Kurt Cendana at kurtcendana@gmail.com

You can also forward your inquiries to thefinalstand.multiply.com :)

We need YOU! :)

3. Sign the petition for the passage of CARPER

Petition booths will be set up in Zen and Gate 2.5 on March 4-5

PASS CARPER NOW!!

4. Join the solidarity night on March 4

Strength in numbers! Our situation calls for us to be in communion where we can share all that we are and, indeed, become all that we are meant to be. Human Solidarity is something that we labor to build by fighting injustice!

Join us and get educated on the urgency of CARPER!

Because YOU WILL get AFFECTED.

5. Light a candle on March 4, at 6:00PM; outside Gate 2.5

If you pass by the gate everyday on the way home, or if you can’t join us on Solidarity Night, let your voices be heard by lighting a candle and offering a prayer.

Never underestimate the power of prayer! It is through prayers that we speak our hope; that we open windows for God’s transforming grace in the world!

Light a candle. Say a prayer.

6. Be one of the fasting/hunger act participants

Think you can handle 24 hours without a single meal? Join us and be a hunger-actor! KAYANG-KAYA MO YAN!

7. Run for a Cause on March 4

Can’t commit to the 24-hour hunger act? RUN for the CARPER cause instead! Get that much-needed exercise while doing it for a good cause!

Help us get the word around…LITERALLY!

* * *

No effort is too small!

It is exactly the smallness of these gestures that make them speak more powerfully.

For our farmers, theirs is the story which tells of the moment when there’s no more story to tell—when the future disappeared for them.

Let us remember the clash of power of brute force and the power of the weak and vulnerable—the clash of the power of Pilate and the power of Christ. Let this FINAL STAND be an initiative of trust that, in Christ, justice and solidarity will prevail in ways we cannot guess or anticipate.

Let this movement be a sign of hope; a hope that this anguish can also be faced with clarity…that this may bear fruit.

FOR THE SENIORS:

Let this be YOUR FINAL STAND as Ateneans! Itodo mo na!

FOR THE UNDERGRADS:

Make this YOUR FINAL STAND for the school year.

FOR THE FACULTY and the ADMINISTRATION:

Let this be YOUR venue to act as true LEADERS and MENTORS to your students. A true embodiment of learning that is not just confined within lecture halls and classrooms.

FOR THE STAFF:

Let this be YOUR venue to show that SERVICE goes beyond your actual job descriptions. Make YOUR FINAL STAND through this EYE-AWAKENING SERVICE.

FOR THE ALUMNI:

Rekindle the real Atenean inside by championing not just the sport but the values of cura personalis and being persons-for-and-with-others. Make this YOUR STAND.

It's time we show our unity as ONE COMMUNITY.

Let us be men-and-women-for-others.

gusto niyo ba mag food trip? as in field trip na puro pagkain?

2009-01-29T11:20:00.000+08:00

Mangan tamu!
(kain tayo!)

VIAJENG CUSINANG MATUA (Old Kitchen Tours)

The Kapampangan cuisine is highly regarded as one of the most delicious variety in the Philippines. Discover the secrets of the locals and explore the rich culture of Pampanga through this one of a kind cultural culinary experience. We will bring you to an extra special tour...we bring YOU to some of the old kitchens ofPampanga...because the best Kapampangan dishes are made at home.

Date: Feb 28, 2009

Fee: Php 1,500 per person
Inclusions: lectures, chartered vans, set and buffet dishes (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and Meriendas)

Great expectations for 09

2009-01-02T09:51:00.000+08:00

No one believes their life will turn out just 'kind of okay'
We all think we're going to be great
And from the day we decide to be _______
We are filled, with expectation...
Expectations of the trails we will blaze
The people we will help
The difference we will make
Great expectations
of who we will be
Where we will go
And then...
we get there.

We all think we're going to be great
And we feel a little bit robbed when our expectations aren't met
But sometimes, our expectations sell us short
Sometimes, the expected simply pales in comparison, to the unexpected
You gotta wonder why we cling to our expectations
Because the expected is just what keeps us steady, standing, still
The expected is just the beginning
The unexpected is what changes our lives.
- From "Grey's Anatomy"
--------------------------------------------------------
Here's to a bountiful, blissful and blessed 2009 for everyone

International point of view

2008-12-10T14:09:00.000+08:00

AN OPEN LETTER IN RESPONSE TO
THE 14 SIGNATORIES OF THE ATENEO STATEMENT

”House Bill 5043 on “Reproductive Health and Population Development” has occasioned enormous debate in the Philippines and was recently the subject of a position paper drafted by 14 members of the faculty of the Ateneo de Manila University. In their statement, these faculty stated their belief that the bill adheres “to core principles of Catholic social teaching: the sanctity of human life, the dignity of the human person, the preferential option for the poor and vulnerable, integral human development, human rights, and the primacy of conscience.” They believe these conditions of Catholic social teaching are met in Bill 5043. We, the undersigned Catholic academics, assert, however, that these Ateneo faculty are gravely mistaken in their presentation of the Church’s teaching.

”The primary reason for these Ateneo Faculty members´ support of the bill seems to stem from their deep commitment to the Church’s long-held “preferential option for the poor.” Their position paper describes, heart-wrenchingly, the situation of the poor in the Philippines. High maternal mortality rates, inadequate and uneven provision of basic health care, lack of birth attendants, and lack of reproductive health information: such situations place an undue burden on the poor, and in particular on women. These women, like all women, desire to determine the number and spacing of their children, and ensure that proper nutrition, health care, and education can be provided for each member of their families. As Catholics, we have a clear obligation to ensure that all persons, particularly the poor, have the ability to exercise these basic freedoms.

”As Catholic academics, we agree that we must support civic and governmental initiatives that can aid the poor. Nevertheless, a Catholic cannot support the Reproductive Health and Population Development bill in good conscience, because the primary provisions of the bill not only fail to recognize and support the dignity of the poor, but also stand in direct opposition to Catholic social teaching. The bill focuses primarily on providing services to curb the number of children of the poor, while doing little to remedy their situation, provide necessary health care or establish the grounds for sound economic development.

”A few citations will serve to show how clear and unambiguous is the Church’s care for the dignity of the person, and in particular the poor, and how critical it is for us to heed her teachings in addressing the circumstances facing the Philippines today.

”Rerum Novarum opens with the powerful reminder that “Man precedes the state” and for that reason should not be subject to the state’s regulation of his private matters. Populorum Progressio reiterates this sentiment, stating: "No solution . . . is acceptable which does violence to man's essential dignity; those who propose such solutions base them on an utterly materialistic conception of man himself and his life. The only possible solution to this question is one which envisages the social and economic progress both of individuals and of the whole of human society, and which respects and promotes true human values."[1]

”Perhaps no document speaks more powerfully in opposition to the main ideas in this bill than Humanae Vitae: “Therefore we base our words on the first principles of a human and Christian doctrine of marriage when we are obliged once more to declare that the direct interruption of the generative process already begun and, above all, all direct abortion, even for therapeutic reasons, are to be absolutely excluded as lawful means of regulating the number of children. Equally to be condemned, as the Magisterium of the Church has affirmed on many occasions, is direct sterilization, whether of the man or of the woman, whether permanent or temporary.”[2]

“In reply to the claim that reproductive rights, contraception and sterilization are required in order to help the poor limit their family size and thus aid the poor by reducing the numbers of mouths to feed, Humanae Vitae states: “Others ask on the same point whether it is not reasonable in so many cases to use artificial birth control if by so doing the harmony and peace of a family are better served and more suitable conditions are provided for the education of children already born. To this question we must give a clear reply. The Church is the first to praise and commend the application of human intelligence to an activity in which a rational creature such as man is so closely associated with his Creator. But she affirms that this must be done within the limits of the order of reality established by God.”[3]

”Artificial contraception can never be accepted by the Church as an action in conformity with the dignity of the human person because “each and every marital act must of necessity retain its intrinsic relationship to the procreation of human life.”[4] Further, it is never valid to argue, “as a justification for sexual intercourse which is deliberately contraceptive, that a lesser evil is to be preferred to a greater one,[5]” as the authors of the position paper seem to suggest. While applauding efforts in the bill to provide information on both artificial and natural forms of family planning, the position paper then asserts that provision of contraceptives as essential medicines and fully covered sterilizations for indigent patients are measures that promote quality of life.[6] This statement directly contradicts Catholic teaching, which recognizes the use and promotion of artificial contraception and sterilization as intrinsically evil. Such actions can never be promoted or justified. “It is never lawful, even for the gravest reasons, to do evil that good may come of it – in other words, to intend directly something which of its very nature contradicts the moral order, and which must therefore be judged unworthy of man, even though the intention is to protect or promote the welfare of an individual, or a family or of society in general. Consequently it is a serious error to think that a whole married life of otherwise normal relations can justify sexual intercourse which is deliberately contraceptive and so intrinsically wrong.[7]”

“The Church does not hold these positions to punish the poor, but rather because she recognizes that the poor have the same inviolable dignity and rights that all human persons share. What the poor need is not contraception and sterilization, but to experience authentic solidarity with those who, in responding to their innate dignity, work with the poor to enable them to develop their skills, improve their circumstances and cultivate lives that are marked by both interior and exterior freedom. This places a much more radical demand on those of us to whom much has been given (Luke 12:48); we must live and work with the poor in order to identify and enable the resources they require to live lives of authentic freedom.

”Finally, Humanae Vitae warns us that "[c]areful consideration should be given to the danger of this power[8] passing into the hands of those public authorities who care little for the precepts of the moral law. Who will blame a government which in its attempt to resolve the problems affecting an entire country resorts to the same measures as are regarded as lawful by married people in the solution of a particular family difficulty? Who will prevent public authorities from favoring those contraceptive methods which they consider more effective? Should they regard this as necessary, they may even impose their use on everyone. It could well happen, therefore, that when people, either individually or in family or social life, experience the inherent difficulties of the divine law and are determined to avoid them, they may give into the hands of public authorities the power to intervene in the most personal and intimate responsibility of husband and wife.”[9]

“These statements of the Church and Magisterium have been retained in all subsequent documents and reiterated in documents too numerous to cite here.[10] These few, but clear, passages make it abundantly clear that no Catholic can in good conscience support Bill 5043. This Bill violates the Church’s teachings in the gravest manner.

”Maternal and ObGyn health
“Finally, it must be emphasized that there are two sections in the bill that should be applauded and expanded. Both Section 6 and Section 7 call for the expansion of midwives and birth attendants, as well as greater access to obstetric care. Such measures are critical to reducing maternal mortality and making progress toward the Millennium Development Goals, particularly MDG 5 (maternal health) and MDG 4 (infant health). Healthy mothers are the critical factor in assuring infant and child health.[11]

”Unfortunately, these two sections are the weakest in the bill. Most of the reproductive health proposals of the bill are mandatory and supported through financial means, as well as through the creation of new government agencies to assure implementation. Sections 6 and 7 of the Bill, which provide the only concrete health care and services to prevent or eliminate maternal mortality, are not mandatory, and the bill earmarks neither institutional support systems nor finances for their implementation. The POPCOM, which is established in Section 5 to implement and oversee the commitments outlined in the bill, has nine specific areas related to reproductive health and reproductive health services, yet no explicit mention of any responsibility in the area of maternal and ObGyn care. This most important section of the bill - and the only section actually consistent with Catholic social teaching - has been entirely neglected in the allocation of responsibilities to the agency established to oversee its implementation.

“A bill that responds to the situation of the poor requires us to respond to their full range of needs in order to facilitate integral improvement in their quality of life. This necessitates the creation of laws that guarantee the adoption of measures, at the national and local levels, that will lead to improved access to authentic development including the provision of basic health care and access to quality education. It is measures such as these that will enable the poor to develop and thrive, and that will affirm and respect the dignity of each and every human person. This bill stops short of assuring implementation of needed medical care, while emphasizing the adoption of measures that deny the dignity and freedom of the poor. As Catholics we have a moral duty to defend and support the poor; we must demand more from our legislators and from ourselves, placing ourselves at the service of poor, ready to commit to the necessary work, sacrifice and solidarity needed to establish and build societies that will respond to authentic needs while respecting the dignity and freedom of every human person.”

November 4, 2008

[1] Encyclical letter Populorum Progressio, nos. 48-55: AAS 59 (1967), 281-284
[2] Encyclical letter Humanae Vitae, nos 14-15, (1968)
[3] Ibid, no. 16
[4] Ibid, no. 12
[5] Ibid, no. 14
[6] “Catholics can Support the RH Bill in Good Conscience”, Position paper on the Reproductive Health Bill by individual faculty of the Ateneo de Manila University, pp. 2-7, 15 October, 2008
[7] Humane Vitae, no 14
[8] Paul VI is referring to the control of reproduction and artificial contraception when he talks of “this power” being put in the hands of the state. This passage follows directly on a passage in which he discusses the problems artificial contraception poses within the marital union, and then expands to the consideration of problems that will result if the state is given the authority to regulate conception and birth.
[9] Humanae Vitae, no 17
[10] The Church's teaching on marriage and human procreation affirms the "inseparable connection, willed by God and unable to be broken by man on his own initiative, between the two meanings of the conjugal act: the unitive meaning and the procreative meaning. Indeed, by its intimate structure, the conjugal act, while most closely uniting husband and wife, capacitates them for the generation of new lives, according to laws inscribed in the very being of man and of woman."(38) This principle, which is based upon the nature of marriage and the intimate connection of the goods of marriage, has well-known consequences on the level of responsible fatherhood and motherhood. "By safeguarding both these essential aspects, the unitive and the procreative, the conjugal act preserves in its fullness the sense of true mutual love and its ordination towards man's exalted vocation to parenthood."(39) The same doctrine concerning the link between the meanings of the conjugal act and between the goods of marriage throws light on the moral problem of homologous artificial fertilization, since "it is never permitted to separate these different aspects to such a degree as positively to exclude either the procreative intention or the conjugal relation." (40) Contraception deliberately deprives the conjugal act of its openness to procreation and in this way brings about a voluntary dissociation of the ends of marriage." The Congregation on the Doctrine of the Faith quoting Humanae Vitae and Pope Pius XII in its "Instruction on the respect for Human Life and on the Dignity of Procreation" Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, February 22, 1987
[11] As cited in the Ateneo position paper, page 2.

List of Signatories

1. Prof Janet E. Smith
Father Michael J. McGivney Chair of Life Ethics
Sacred Heart Major Seminary, Detroit, MI.

2. Robert G Kennedy, PhD
Professor and Chair
Department of Catholic Studies
Co-Director
Terrence J Murphy Institute for Catholic Thought, Law, and Public Policy
University of St Thomas
Mail #55-S
St Paul, MN 55105

3. Richard S. Myers
Professor of Law
Ave Maria School of Law
3475 Plymouth Road
Ann Arbor, MI 48105-2550

4. Romanus Cessario, O.P.
Professor of Theology
Saint John's Seminary
Boston, Massachusetts

5. Rev. Joseph W. Koterski, S.J.
Department of Philosophy
Fordham University
Bronx, NY 10458 USA

6. Theresa Notare, PhD
Assistant Director
Natural Family Planning Program
Secretariat for Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
3211 4th St., N.E.
Washington, DC 20017

7. Fr. Basil Cole, O.P.
Dominican House of Studies
487 Michigan Ave NE
Washington DC 20017
bbcole@dhs.edu

8. E. Christian Brugger, D.Phil.
Associate Professor of Moral Theology
Saint John Vianney Theological Seminary
Denver, Colorado 80210, USA

9. SC Selner-Wright, PhD
Acting Chair, Philosophy Department
Acting Director, Pre-Theology Cycle
St. John Vianney Theological Seminary
Denver, Colorado USA

10. Dr. Mary Healy
Associate Professor of Sacred Scripture
Sacred Heart Major Seminary
2701 Chicago Boulevard
Detroit, MI 48206

11. Ångela Aparisi Miralles
Philosophy of Law Professor
Directora - Instituto de Derechos Humanos
Universidad de Navarra

12. Michael Rota
Assistant Professor of Philosophy
University of St. Thomas
St. Paul, MN

13. Michael Scaperlanda
Associate Dean for Research
Edwards Family Chair in Law
University of Oklahoma College of Law

14. Richard Stith J.D.(Yale), Ph.D.(Yale)
Professor of Law
Valparaiso University School of Law
656 South Greenwich St.
Valparaiso, IN 46383-4945
USA

15. Patrick Quirk
Associate Professor
Ave Maria School of Law
3475 Plymouth Road
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48105-2550

16. Fr. Earl Muller, S.J.
Kevin M. Britt Chair in Theology/Christology
Sacred Heart Major Seminary
Detroit, MI, USA

17. Professor David Paton
Chair of Industrial Economics
Nottingham University Business School
Jubilee Campus
Wollaton Road
Nottingham NG8 1BB
United Kingdom

18. Dr. Eduardo J. Echeverria
Professor of Philosophy
Sacred Heart Major Seminary
2701 Chicago Blvd
Detroit, MI 48206

19. Jane Adolphe
Associate Professor of Law
Ave Maria School of Law
Ann Arbor, Michigan
USA, 48105

20. Teresa S. Collett
Professor of Law
University of St. Thomas School of Law
MSL 400, 1000 LaSalle Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55403-2015

21. David Braine,
Honorary Research Fellow,
Department of Philosophy,
University of Aberdeen, UK.

22. Dr. Helen Watt
Director
Linacre Centre for Healthcare Ethics
London

23. Ligia M. De Jesus
Assistant Professor of Law
Ave Maria School of Law
3475 Plymouth Road
Ann Arbor, MI 48105-2550
USA

24. Jacqueline M. Nolan-Haley
Professor of Law
Director, ADR & Conflict Resolution Program
Fordham Law School
140 W. 62nd Street
New York, New York 10023

25. William E. May
Michael J.McGivney Professor of Moral Theology
John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family
Washington DC

26. Evelyn (Timmie) Birge Vitz
Professor of French, New York University
Affiliated Professor of Comparative Literature, Medieval
and Renaissance Studies, and Religious Studies
19 University Place, #623, New York, NY 10003

27. Mary M. Keys
Associate Professor
Department of Political Science
University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, IN 46556
USA

28. Mark E. Ginter, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Moral Theology
Saint Meinrad School of Theology
200 Hill Drive
St. Meinrad, IN 47577

29. Father Daniel J. Trapp
Professor of Sacramental Theology
Sacred Heart Major Seminary
2701 Chicago Boulevard
Detroit, MI 48206

30. Maria Fedoryka
Philosophy Department of Ave Maria University
Ave Maria, FL.

31. Dr Dermot Grenham
Graduate Teaching Assistant
London School of Economics
London

32. Dr. Michael Pakaluk
Professor of Philosophy
Institute for the Psychological Sciences
Arlington, VA 22101

33. Timothy Flanigan MD
Professor of Medicine
Brown University Medical School

34. Gerard Bradley
School of Law
Notre Dame University

35. Adrian J. Reimers
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Philosophy
208 Malloy Hall
Notre Dame, Indiana 46556
574-631-7384

36. Daniel Philpott
Associate Professor, Political Science and Joan B. Kroc Institute
for International Peace Studies
University of Notre Dame

37. Aneta Gawkowska
Assistant Professor, Sociology
University of Warsaw

38. Tom D’Andrea
Philosophy
Cambridge University

39. Peter Kreeft
Philosophy
Boston College

40. J. Budziszewski
Departments of Government and Philosophy
University of Texas at Austin

41. Habib Malik
Department of History, Lebanese American University
Beirut

42. Nicholas Eberstadt
Political Economy
American Enterprise Institute
Washington, D.C.

How to help the Calatagan Farmers

2008-12-04T11:53:00.000+08:00

Mga butihing kasama sa Ateneo:

Dumating ang mga Sumilao farmers sa Ateneo nuong ika-5 ng Disyembre, 2007 at napakahalaga sa kanila ang ibinigay nating suporta.

Makalipas ang isang taon, ngayong Biyernes, ika-5 ng Disyembre, 2008 muli nating ipakita ang ating pakikiisa sa mga magsasaka ng Calatagan.

Nagsimula na silang maglakad nuong ika-1 ng Disyembre upang ipaglaban ang kanilang pagmamay-ari sa lupang sinasaka sa Brgy. Baha at Brgy. Talibayog.

Sa Biyernes, ika-5 ng Disyembre maaring ipadama ang pagsuporta sa kanila sa maraming paraan....

4:00 ng umaga: sumabay sa kanilang paglalakad mula De La Salle University (dadaan ng UN Avenue-Nagtahan- - Aurora Blvd) patungong Ateneo de Manila University

11:00 ng umaga: salubungin natin ang isang daan at limampung
magsasaka sa Gate 2

12:00 ng tanghali: maging bahagi ng misang gaganapin sa Church of the Gesu
(punong tagapagdiwang: Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales)

3:00 - 6:00 : tumulong sa medical check-up, Loyola House covered courts

Magpapalipas sila ng gabi dito sa Ateneo at itutuloy ang kanilang paglalakad patungong DAR kinabukasan, ika-6 ng Disyembre,2008.

Ito ang kanilang iba pang pangangailangan:

a.. mga doktor at gamot (loperamide, paracetamol, pain relievers, neo-block
at vitamins)
b.. banig, tsinelas o sapatos
c.. pagkain

Kung nais makatulong, makipag-ugnayan lamang po sa aming tanggapan.
4261017, 4266001 lokal 5090 (Raffy Papelleras)

Lubos na gumagalang,
An Manapat

Office for Social Concern and Involvement (OSCI)
Loyola Schools

Unite with Mumbai

2008-11-29T06:12:00.000+08:00

Sign the petition for Mumbai

Mumbai: We Will Not be Divided

The whole world is reeling from the shock of the attacks in Mumbai.These attacks were aimed at our people, our prosperity and our peace. But their top target was something else: our unity.

If these attacks cause us to turn on each other in hatred and conflict, the terrorists will have won. They know that hatred and chaos feeds on division. They also know that as radical extremists, their only hope of disrupting society as a whole is turning the rest of us against each other.

Let's deny them that victory. We're launching a message to extremists on all sides, and our fellow citizens, one that will soon be published in newspapers across India and Pakistan. The message is that these tactics aren't working and we are more united than ever. And we are determined to work together to stop violent extremism, and call our political and religous leader to so the same. If millions of people sign it, our message will be unmistakable.

-------
We citizens of India, and countries around the world, from all faiths, backgrounds and walks of life, declare with one voice that the terrorist attacks in Mumbai have not divided us, will not divide us, and that we stand together, as one people, against all violent extremists who shamefully target the innocent. We call upon all our political and religious leaders to come together at this moment, and take effective action to prevent the spread of violence.

Be the LIGHT, Atenean

2008-11-29T05:18:00.000+08:00

In this time of crisis, we are called to

Be the Light

A Candle-lighting and Prayer Vigil for the Country.

Pass by the Zen Garden on Tuesday, December 2, 2008

to do the following:

Know more about the pressing issues that you need to know.

2010 elections and need for electoral reforms.

State of Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.

Reproductive Health Bill.

Charter Change and Impeachment.

Light a candle.

Make it known that you stand for the Philippines in its time of need.

Pray for the Country.

Join us in offering prayers, and sharing reflections during these times:

10:30 am - 12:00 pm.

4:30 pm - 6:00 pm.

It will only take a few minutes to show that you care.

Be the Light.

Because only WE can make a difference against the darkness.

Sanggunian ng mga Mag-aaral ng mga Paaralang Loyola ng Ateneo de Manila

Committee on Social Concern and External Affiliations.

Council of Organizations of the Ateneo

Issue and Policy Analysis Cluster (AEA, HPAIR, ADS, ENTABLADO, The Assembly, AStat).

Faith Formation Cluster (ACIL, AtSCA, ACLC, ACMG, YFC-A).

The Development Society.

Make more people care. Share this to all Ateneans (students, faculty, staff) who can Be the Light.

ICT for Development - tap the changemaker in you!

2008-10-15T19:57:00.000+08:00

MIS/CS majors might be interested. The professor is from UP and is a recognized expert in the country on ICT for Development. Now who says Development Studies is limited to those in the social sciences? :p be one with us in imagining better

---

DS 165.56 A - INFORMATION & COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGIES FOR DEV’T

Dr. Erwin Gaspar A. Alampay / Sat / 9:00-12:00nn / F 115

» It is the object of this course to help the participants understand how information, and systems for sending and receiving information could be used for development and improve governance. It looks at the role of information and information and communication technologies (ICTs) in development. In discussing the role of ICTs in development, the course will not be limited to computers and the Internet alone. Rather, it will include other ICTs such as the radio, TV, telephone and other indigenous information systems that may be available.

The course also looks at how ICTs are changing organizations and how people work. It will discuss the administrator’s role in implementing these changes to make the change more manageable.

Last, the course will look into important policy issues in the field, foremost of which are access, privacy, security and content (i.e. National ID), and the role of government, private organizations, and ordinary citizens to regulate this dynamic and rapidly changing field (i.e. VOIP).

This course is credited as a Development Management elective

Gross National Happiness

2008-08-28T14:06:00.000+08:00

yesterday, while doing my research for my major paper for polity & governance of china, i came across a book entitled "Gross National Happiness and Material Welfare in Bhutan and Japan". i remember Sir Leland's lecture during sophomore year about a country that measured their development via a happiness indicator. imagine that.

here's an excerpt of the introduction of the book. i actually found it quite interesting :) very Amartya Sen ang pinaghuhugutan haha.

"Empirical evidence strongly suggests that modern economic development has not increased subjective well-being in high-income countries, despite manifold increases of income over just a couple of decades. In many domains, people even experience of deterioration of their quality of life as competitive forces grow along with incomes.

Bhutan has taken ownership of its development strategy and has come up with a unique development philosophy under the title "Gross National Happiness" (GNH) formulated by His Majesty the Fourth King of Bhutan in the late 1970s. This expresses the idea that development should serve the well-being of the people and that economic growth is only a means for, not the end of, development. The Bhutanese government is now working on the Bhutan Development Index which will be composed of GNH indicators to monitor and evaluate its development process."

note: GNH indicators are measures over holistic human development and ecological
sustainability [cultural preservation, equitable socio-economic development, good
governance, environment conservation]

with GNH, do you think the Philippines will be able to get a good measure? :O

remains to be seen.

Katipunan Traffic Update

2008-08-14T14:34:00.000+08:00

From the Ateneo Physical Plant Office

TRAFFIC BULLETIN
(Thursday, 14 August 2008)

KATIPUNAN TRICYCLES & TRAFFIC

TRICYCLES

1. MMDA personnel informed tricycle drivers and operators this
morning that tricycles will not be allowed along Katipunan starting tomorrow, Friday 15 August 2008. This was confirmed by MR. ALEX A. BAAY,President of the Loyola Pansol Tricycle Operators and Drivers Association (TODA) and Mr. ROMEO C. MORALES, President of Loyola Heights TODA.

2. Katipunan is part of C5, a major thoroughfare, and tricycles
are not allowed on major thoroughfares.

3. Some LPTODA (Green) and LHTODA (White) tricycles will try to
enter the campus very early tomorrow morning and provide tricycle services on campus.

4. Tricycle terminals will be allowed near Gate 2.5 footbridge and at Gate 3.5 footbridge.

5. Tricycle-riding members of the community may encounter problems going to school and offices tomorrow.

TRAFFIC

1. Campus security has learned from an unofficial source that MMDA will extend the concrete barriers separating northbound vehicles coming from the flyover and the service road till past Gate 2.

2. This means that only northbound vehicles using the service road will be able to enter Gate1 and Gate 2.

3. Northbound vehicles coming from the flyover will have to enter
Ateneo via Gate 3.

Feel free to copy and paste to inform others

Hangad: Noon at Ngayon (a 10th Anniversary Concert!)

2008-08-11T15:29:00.000+08:00

"Kung aawit ako nang mag-isa, awit ko'y awitin nga ba?"

Block off your calendars for Hangad: Noon at Ngayon, a 10th anniversary concert for Hangad's first album titled "Hangad". The show will feature inspirational and liturgical standards from Hangad's repertoire -- some in their original form, others with fresh new arrangements -- such as
Panunumpa, Pananatili, and Pag-Ibig Ko.

Moreover, the show features the launch of a commemorative 5-track CD,
also titled Hangad: Noon at Ngayon, featuring new arrangements of
well-loved songs mostly from Hangad's first album, plus the first-time
release of the upbeat "Walang Ibang Hangad."

Hangad : Noon at Ngayon
will be held at

7:00 PM on
August 30, 31 and September 7, 2008,
at the St Stanislaus Chapel of the
Ateneo High School,
Ateneo de Manila University,
Katipunan Ave., Loyola Heights, Quezon City.

Tickets are at Php150, which covers entrance to the show and a copy of
the commemorative CD "Hangad: Noon at Ngayon." Additional "Hangad: Noon at Ngayon" CD's can be purchased at Php100 each.

"Habambuhay iisa ang Hangad: umawit sa "Yo!"

Visit us at www.hangad.com or email us at mail@hangad.com

Imagining the Better

2008-08-08T06:01:00.000+08:00

as per request, here's the speech I gave in the cRICEsis forum just this wednesday.

-----------------------

259,135 - that is the estimated number of poor families in Metro Manila alone in 2008. It is a far cry from the 167,316 poor families measured in 2006. Roughly a 155% increase in the span of just two years.

10,000 - that is the minimum monthly income/expenditure needed by a family in Metro Manila to meet basic food and non-food requirements. According to Romulo Virola of the NSCB, that 10,000 pesos is limited to expenses for food, education, health and transportation.

I can go on to spew more numbers and empirical evidence to portray the Philippines’ poverty threshold, income deciles distribution, human development index, and so on. However, I know that all of you here are aware of the utterly cruel reality which our people face -- the unequal opportunity to live a secure and fully actualized life.

For a poor child, to dream of a brighter future becomes a privilege. For a landless farmer, to be listened to and heard by the powers-that-be becomes an ending only found in fairy tales and telenovelas.

What then can an Atenean do? Will we simply be paralyzed by the reason that we are “just students”? Or will we be open to allow the pain felt by our fellow Filipinos to move us to respond in our own innovative ways?

Our role as students does not hinder us from becoming socially involved. There is so much we can do. You can send numerous emails to advocate the need to preserve the environment or protect human rights. Thanks to NSTP, JEEP or immersion, you can post blogs about your experience with the marginalized. Or you can start your own women’s organization here in the Ateneo. You can even utilize your amazing grasp of the English language in order to donate rice grains to the World Food Program via www.freerice.com! Each Atenean has the intellectual, technological and even financial resources to catalyze change for the betterment of the lives of the voiceless and marginalized. It’s only a matter of choosing to respond.

Father Pedro Caluag S.J. once said “The place where God calls you is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” It is important to acknowledge that each individual has been gloriously gifted with the skills and abilities that highlight one’s passion. Whether your course is Management Engineering, Computer Science or Philosophy, each of you can help in alleviating, or better yet, eradicating poverty by virtue of your expertise. If we are to endeavor for a sustained battle against poverty, it is important to recognize the necessity for us -- Management, Sciences, Engineering, Social Sciences and Humanities majors -- to band together in order to effectively address social development issues while staying grounded on our course’s proficiency. In short, we are called to be professionals-for-others

Don’t worry, I’m nearly finished.

To imagine is such a powerful human ability. This act of imagining enables a person to envision an alternate reality. The societal change we seek to realize starts with acknowledging that our present reality of inequity and insecurity must not be accepted as the “status quo”. I believe that the power to imagine a better reality for humanity will ultimately bind us in our quest towards a better world.

So my fellow Ateneans, start the habit. Imagine better.

Thank you and good day.

donate rice... ONLINE!

2008-08-05T14:29:00.000+08:00

aba'y akalain mong makakapagbigay ka ng bigas.. with just a click of a mouse button?!

visit www.freerice.com

for every correct definition of a word, you donate 20 grains! dapat magpaka-nerd at kunin na ang dictionary para mag multiply ang grains of rice na maibigay :)

now who said you can't be part of the solution even if you're a student/yuppie? :-)

put those thinking caps on!

cRICEsis?

2008-07-30T09:53:00.000+08:00

The Development Society
in Partnership with
the Development Studies Program,
United Nations World Food Program (UNWFP),
and the Sanggunian ng mga Mag-Aaral ng Ateneo

Invite you to

"cRICEsis"
An In-Depth Look at the Current Situation of the Rice Crisis

With
Mr. Stephen Anderson
(Current Country Director of the UNWFP)

on
August 6, 1008
4:30 - 6:00 pm
at
the Escaler Hall
Ateneo de Manila University

** The activity will be on a first come first serve basis. Please be on time.

Paralyzed by incapacity or too entertained to react?

2008-06-28T14:16:00.000+08:00

Yesterday, a female Atenean was sitting almost helplessly on a trolley being pushed by a janitor. A female friend of hers was aiding her by allowing her to inhale through a paper bag while a male friend was making sure she doesn't fall off the trolley. All the people in Colayco Pav, at least the ones near the concrete path going to Faura, were staring at this sight. The janitor had to stop once in a while because the weak girl on the trolley kept signaling her female friend. Then these 3 tall and muscled guys stopped to gape -- yes, to GAPE -- at this poor girl who was sitting down on the trolley. They didn't even stop to ask if they could help bring the girl to the infirmary. To make matters worse, when I looked at two girls beside our booth, one of them was looking at the helpless girl on the trolley WHILE furiously messaging away through her PDA. geeez. I was reminded of the Ateneo Gossip Girl like website i just visited. Don't tell me you were too busy documenting what was happening?!

Benjo and I then decided to ask how we could help seeing that they were moving at a snail's pace. I asked the female friend "Anong nangyari?" She responded "Hindi siya makahinga." We asked how we could help. The janitor said that we should go to the infirmary to get a wheelchair.

Benjo and I ran to SocSci building.

And a toink moment happened.

"Benjo, alam mo kung san yung infirmary?"

Silence.

*laughter while running"

Luckily, we were able to find it agad.

To make the long story short, we weren't able to give the wheelchair because another janitor, a lanky and slightly tall one, carried the girl inside the infirmary. Asking what had happened, I distinctly remember the janitor saying "may nakita lang ako.. pinagtatawanan..." I couldn't hear the rest of the dialogue with one of the people from ADSA.

I certainly hope that that girl who was, apparently, hyperventilating and catching her breath, wasn't the butt of any joke.

But what kills me was what I witnessed at Colayco Pav. My Lord. Were those big guys and that PDA-texting girl too entertained and amused to react? Did they think that since there were 3 people helping this girl, pwede na? Wala nang magagawa? Importante bang may i-chismis? Were their moral compasses at a standstill?

Watching CSI Las Vegas last night, I remember Grissom said "Our moral compasses can only take us so far. It can never ensure that we get to the right action."

So, Ateneans, are your moral compasses still guiding you to do the right thing?

allowing oneself to be FOUND

2008-06-13T11:54:00.000+08:00

Looking for signs

This gift is in the little everyday things

Paulo Coelho | May 2004

We tend to assume that life will give us another chance tomorrow at whatever came up yesterday and today. But if we really pay attention, we see that no single day is like another. Every morning brings a hidden blessing that serves only for that day and cannot be saved or used again. If we don’t use today’s gift today, it will be lost.

This gift is in the little everyday things. If we experience every minute intensely, in such minutes we can find the solution to a problem, the person we are looking for or the path to a decision that will change our whole future. But how can we find the courage to live this way? I think God talks to us through signs, which are a special language we can learn only through belief and discipline.

Augustine was converted that way. For years he examined various philosophical movements, looking for an answer to the meaning of life. Then one afternoon in his backyard in Milan, deep in thought about the failure of his quest, he heard a child singing, "Pick it up and read! Pick it up and read!" Although he had always allowed logic to be his guide, on impulse he decided to open up the first book within reach. It was the Bible, and he read a passage from Paul that contained the answers he was seeking. From that day on, Augustine expanded his search, making room for belief, and became one of the church’s greatest theologians.

The monks in the desert, who always said that you have to allow the angels to do their work, occasionally did preposterous things, like talking to flowers or laughing for no reason. The alchemists followed the "signs of God," paths that often appear to be dead ends but [that] ultimately lead somewhere. "Modern people want to banish all doubts and uncertainties from life," said the dean of the Cathedral of San Francisco. "In the end, their souls die of hunger because mysteries are food for the soul."

There is a meditation exercise that entails explaining every action for ten minutes each day. For example, you might say, "I am reading the newspaper because I want to be informed. I am thinking of certain people because a particular subject I just read about made me think of them. I am walking to the door because I am leaving the house." And so on.

Buddha calls this "conscious attention" If we catch ourselves repeating the most mundane, routine actions, we become aware of the wealth of detail that fills our life. We then understand every step and every posture. We discover important things and useless thoughts.

If we have the discipline to do this for a week, we become more conscious of our flaws and absent-mindedness. But we also see that at certain moments we do what we do for no reason at all and instead are following our intuition. We then begin to understand the silent language that God uses to point us in the right direction. We can call it intuition, a sign, instinct or coincidence – the name is irrelevant. The important thing is that through conscious attention we realize that we are often led to the right decision, which gives us more faith and makes us stronger.

---------------------------------------------

i haven't been able to voice this out but, hey, here goes..

I've been spiritually dry since the time that my dad passed away.

I don't know just why that happened given the fact that I have always been quite close to the Big Guy.

I guess you can say I got a wake-up call just last night when I lost my cellphone.

Pathetic, I know. But you won't understand it unless you knew the value (not monetary) of that phone...

That was the last gift that my dad ever gave me.

I guess my professor's statement summarized the pain of the loss ...

"it's time to move on.."

Going back to my spiritual condition, I have still been going to mass but I guess

I couldn't deny the emptiness I seem to feel..

I was trying so hard to hold on however fragile the threads of my faith seem to be..

I wanted myself to go back to that "spiritual high" I used to have..

Like Fr. Arnel told my brother before "At times we may get lost and wander from His path.. But the point is to allow yourself to be FOUND by Him"

Am i looking for signs?

Yes I think I am.

And I'd like to believe I just witnessed one

When I just finished highlighting this text -- "We then begin to understand the silent language that God uses to point us in the right direction" , Fr. Dan McNamara stopped right in front of me (Im in the library near the exit) and then smiled and waved his hand. I've always been in awe of him because he always seemed to keep His presence and practice it in his life. Add the fact that his homilies have, many a time, compelled me to think twice, thrice and even more about how I live my life and what I choose to value among other things. Let's not forget that my friends in ACMG and I have dubbed him Fr. Dan "Voice of God" McNamara.

I haven't been able to go to confession for more than 6 months.. a FIRST, actually.

and right then and there, after Fr. Dan said hi and headed to the exit, I decided to run after him.

"Fr. Dan!"

He turns around.

"Would it be okay if I hear confession?"

"I'm leaving tomorrow for Davao but I'll be back next week, on the 21st. You can email me so that we can meet."

A smile suddenly lights up his face. Even his eyes seem to twinkle as he patiently waits for my reply.

"oh, i see... Next week then..?"

He nods, with the eye-cheek-smile never vanishing from his face, turns to his colleague and exits the library.

On my way back to this computer, I realize -- THAT was it. THAT was the silent language. I had just been found.

I'm ready to go back home.

Natural ng pilosopo

2008-05-06T13:12:00.000+08:00

"Ang pag-iisip ay hindi laro kundi taimtim na paghahanap sa totoo ...

Kung mamimilosopiya ka sa Ingles habang ang nagwawalis sa kalye, namamasada sa jeepney, ay nag-iisip sa Filipino, anong uri ng paghahanap ng katotohanan ito?

Kailangang kilalanin na ang ordinaryong tao

ay namimilosopiya din at naghahanap ng katotohanan."

- Padre Roque Ferriols, SJ

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

can't wait for Philo 103 next sem. I even started reading Pilosopiya ng Relihiyon by Padre Roque.. Turns out my brother still kept his copy. Hehe.

God willing, I'll be able to get Tagalog Philo again (and if I get lucky, Sir Roy ulit teacher ko :p)

Sir, pa-reserve naman ng slot. hahaha.

random.

2008-05-01T12:00:00.000+08:00

I've been reading the novel "Rule of Four" the past few days. It's been awhile since I've been this excited to turn from one page to the next! haha. i looove exciting novels. Maybe that's why I couldn't forget Tennyson's Sherlock Holmes and the Hound of the Baskervilles. There's something about mystery that enthralls me and besides, imagine just paying 95pesos for a bestseller! haha. Me LOOVE BookSale! (p.s. may 60pesos na Tipping Point pa! hahaha)

This is one of the "wounding" lines of the novel. There's a lot, believe me. I just haven't had the time to take note since I'm too excited about finishing the book. haha.

Adulthood is a glacier encroaching quietly on youth. When it arrives, the stamp of childhood suddenly freezes, capturing us for good in the image of our last act, the pose we struck when the ice of age set in.

Amen to that.
--------------------------------------
"My father viewed the Hypnerotomachia as a
tribute to the love of man for a woman.
It was the only work of art he knew that
mimicked the beautiful chaos of that emotion."

Invisible Hugs

2008-04-23T15:02:00.000+08:00

be kind to those you meet, whether you know them or not, for they might be facing a battle far greater than your own.

For the Sake of Strangers by Dorianne Laux
No matter what the grief, its weight,
we are obliged to carry it.
We rise and gather momentum, the dull strength
that pushes us through crowds.
And then the young boy gives me directions
so avidly. A woman holds the glass door open,
waiting patiently for my empty body to pass through.
All day it continues, each kindness
reaching toward another—a stranger
singing to no one as I pass on the path, trees
offering their blossoms, a retarded child
who lifts his almond eyes and smiles.
Somehow they always find me, seem even
to be waiting, determined to keep me
from myself, from the thing that calls to me
as it must have once called to them—
this temptation to step off the edge
and fall weightless, away from the world.

"The poem is about the experience of continuing through daily life despite feeling immense grief. Although "For the Sake of Strangers" is about an individual who is struggling with emotional pain, Laux creates a picture of hope as she describes strangers, unaware of the speaker's pain, showing kindness. The poem depicts a remedy to loneliness and hopelessness. The pain felt by the poem's speaker is a common problem, but the solution is somewhat unexpected.

She draws understated connections between the people in the poem, pointing to the universality of human experience. The people are strangers to the speaker in the poem, but they are not strangers to the speaker's pain. They have compassion for her because they, too, have felt grief."

-------------------------------------------------
have you seen Me in the sun that shines each morning?
have you heard the ramblings of a child?
have you felt Me in the gentle touch of rainfall?
and known the kindness in a stranger's eyes?

I am the joy that rings in your laughter.
Mine is the Hand that soothes your pain.
I am the strength when dreams are broken and done.
I am the hope that will not fade.
- Love Untold, The Easter Journey
Lyrics by Paulo Tirol

Buhay Atenista. Mismo!

2008-04-16T06:31:00.000+08:00

saw this sa multiply ni sheila. how true haha!

Every New Semester (comment:eager beaver pa!) After First Week(comment:whew): After Second Week: Before the Mid-Term Test(pffft): During the Mid-Term Test: After the Mid-Term Test(sabaw): Before the Final Exams: Once You Get to Know the Final Exam Schedule (nagtatanong tanong na lang): 7 Days Before the Final Exam: 6 Days Before the Final Exam: 5 Days Before the Final Exam: 4 Days Before the Final Exam: 3 Days Before the Final Exam: 2 Days Before the Final Exam: 1 Day Before the Final Exam (master crammer ako): The Night Before the Final Exam: 1 Hour Before the Final Exam: During the Final Exam: Once Walk Out From the Examination Hall (specifically post-philo orals): After the Final Exam, During the Holiday:

Syntesis sa Pilosopiya: Pinananagutan

2008-03-15T07:34:00.000+08:00

natapos ko na yung syntesis! woohoo! share ko nga rin. natuwa ako sa ginawa ko kahit na sobrang pinahaba ko at parang run-on sentence na yung ginawa ko :))

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ang pamimilosopiya ay ang pagsabi na likas sa bawat tao na

mag-isip at makagawa ng pag-unawa sa Meron – sa madaling salita,

isang paggawang umuunawa at pag-uunawang gumagawa. Sa

patuloy na pag-unawa ng indibidwal patungkol sa kinagagalawang

Meron at sa syempre sa pagdanas niya sa Meron, natutuklasan niya

na ang bawat tao ay likas na magkahawig at magkaiba sa kanilang

buong pagkatao, na ang bawat indibidwal ay nagmemeron bilang

sarili. Ang realidad ng pagkakaiba at pagkakabukod-tangi ng bawat

nilalang ay nagpapahiwatig sa indibidwal ng kanyang pagkatao -- na

may hindi Ako, hiwalay sa Ako na hindi ko masasakop at

maikakahon. Ang pagkakahiwalay-pagkakaiba na ito ay mararanasan

sa pagharap sa Mukha, na nagdadala sa indibidwal sa kanyang

pagpapakatao -- ang panagutan ang kapwa sa pamamagitan ng

pag-akò ng  kanyang pag-akó. Ang pagiging bukas sa pagdanas at

pag-unawa sa Meron ang dahilan upang, kahit papaano’y, lubusang

matuklasan ang Sarili para itaguyod ng mahusay ang ikabubuti ng

kapwa.

Desiderata (Tagalog version)

2008-03-06T19:53:00.000+08:00

I don't know who translated it.. pero mas maganda pala pag Tagalog :p (biased!)

---------------------------------------------------

Humayo nang panatag
Sa gitna ng ingay at pagmamadali, at tandaang
May kapayapaang matatagpuan sa katahimikan.
Hangga't maaari nang walang pagsuko,
Makipagkapwa- tao.
Bigkasin ang iyong katotohanan nang mahinahon at
Malinaw, at makinig sa iba, kahit sa mapurol o mangmang:
Sila ma'y may kanilang salaysayin.

Iwasan ang mga taong maingay at magaspang; sila'y
Nakakarindi sa diwa.
Kung ihahambing mo ang sarili sa iba, maaaring
Maging hambog at masamain ang loob pagka't
Laging may hihigit sa iyo at may hihigtan ka.
Masiyahan ka sa iyong mga natamo, gayundin sa iyong mga balak.
Manatiling buhos ang iyong kalooban sa mga gawain, gaano man
Kababa; tunay itong kayamanan sa nagbabagong panahon.
Maging maingat sa pakikipagkalakalan pagka't ang mundo'y
Batbat ng panlilinlang. Subalit huwag hayaang
Makabulag iyon sa anumang kabutihang mayroon; maraming
Nagpupunyagi para sa mga adhikaing dakila; at sa lahat ng dako,

Ang buhay ay lipos ng kabayahinan.
Huwag magkunwari lalo na ng pagmamahal.
Huwag ding tatalikuran ang pag-ibig, pagka't sa gitna ng
Katigangan at kalungkutan, kailanma'y uusbong
At nabubuhay itong tulad ng damo.
Maluwag na tanggapin ang payo ng katandaan; banayad
Na isuko ang mga bagay ng kamusmusan.
Arugain ang tibay ng loob na sasalag sa mga biglaang
Sakuna. Ngunit huwag panlulumo sa mga guni-guni.
Maraming takot ang dulot ng pagod at kalungkutan.
Sa kabila ng malusog na disiplina, maging mabait sa iyong sarili.

Anak ka ng sanlibutan, tulad ng mga punungkahoy at bituin;
May lugar ka rito. At malinaw man sa iyo o hindi,
Walang alinlangang bumubukadkad ang daigdig ayon sa nararapat
Kaya maging panatag ka sa Diyos, anuman ang pagkakakilala mo sa kanya,
At anuman ang iyong mga gawain at mithiin, sa maingay na
Kalituhan ng buhay, panatilihin mong panatag ang iyong kalooban.
Sa kabila ng panlilinlang, kawalang-buhay at mga gumuguhong pangarap,
Maganda pa rin ang mundo.

Mag-ingat. Magsikap lumigaya.

Sumilao Support Groups' General Assembly Tomorrow (March 7)

2008-03-06T13:55:00.000+08:00

re-posting again from SLB's multiply site. Punta na!

--------------------------------------------

We thank you all for your continued support and prayers for the Sumilao farmers.

We are humbly inviting you and your group to attend the Sumilao support groups’ General Assembly 5:00PM tomorrow (March 7, Friday) at Caritas Manila (Jesus St., across U.N. avenue, near Nagtahan bridge)

The meeting is for EVERYONE (Religious, Teachers, Students, Leaders, Members, Advocates etc) who believes in the cause that the Sumilao farmers are fighting for - MARTSA – March for Agrarian Reform, Truth, Social Justice and Accountability.

Please come and participate in the following:

· Updates on the Sumilao case (with a brief film showing)

· Planning for the next steps

· Eucharistic celebration (6:00 p.m., please bring food offering in the form of canned goods, noodles, coffee, sugar etc. to support farmers’ daily sustenance)

· Candle lighting (on Nagtahan bridge facing Malacanang)

· Unity meal with the farmers (please bring your own baon)

· Solidarity program (groups who want to perform are most welcome with very spartan provisions)

The Sumilao case is not just about the “stolen” 144 hectares but about agrarian reform in general especially because CARP is expiring this June and there seems to be efforts by the powerful to thwart this. Most especially, this is a test case for the universal fight for Social Justice.

Be one with us as we give voice to the marginalized oppressed by the country’s unjust system.

Manalangin. Manindigan. Makialam.

SIMBAHANG LINGKOD NG BAYAN

Make that Change.

2008-03-01T19:28:00.000+08:00

mula sa blog ni Ginoong Roy Allan Tolentino, ang aking propesor sa Pilosopiya:

"I was a senior in 2001, and we sped towards graduation propelled by what seemed (then) a great moral victory. Having taken to the streets and toppled a gangster-president, we were filled with hope and urgency.

The years have jaded me somewhat. After all, the gains of EDSA Dos have been squandered and the moral victory tarnished by betrayal upon betrayal. As I told my Ph 102 class the other day, we Filipinos have become experts of the brusque and of the short-term; coup d'etats and revolutions to-go are our specialty. What we need to work on is our ability to last for the long haul: the slow and steady pace needed for the slow and steady work of development. Patience, consistency, and integrity appeal more to me now than flash-in-the-pan action; energy in a steady pulse, not in sudden bursts."

naalala ko yung sinabi ni GMA na "nakakahiya" kapag magkaron pa ng EDSA 3.5 (di ko gets bakit may .5 but.. what the hey) kasi sasabihin ng mga taga-ibang bansa na napakahilig ng mga Pinoy sa mga mabilisan at biglaang pagbabago. kumbaga, sa instant noodles, tatlong minuto lang at presto! kainan na.

ngunit bakit nga ba tayo napupunta sa ganitong solusyon?

marahil nagsasawa na ang mga tao sa pagsunod sa "tamang proseso" na inilatag ng mga struktura ng ating gobyerno. ang usad-pagong na sistema ng pagpataw ng desisyon sa ating hudikatura at ang samu't saring kapalpakan sa pagpapatupad ng ating mga batas ay nakakawalang gana (fyi: ang Pilipinas ay isa sa mga bansa sa Asya na may pinakamaganda na mga batas. kinokopya ng ibang bansa ang mga batas natin i.e. public policy advocacy by NGOs/CSOs, indigenous people's rights).

nariyan pa ang walang katapusang sinasambit ng iba't ibang Pinoy tungkol sa mga tao sa gobyerno: "pare-pareho lang naman sila.. mga kurakot at garapal. nagpapayaman habang nakaupo." laganap na ang kawalan ng pag-asa. halatang halata naman sa dami ng lumilisan mula sa ating bansa. minsan ko nang narinig mula sa isang mag-asawa patungkol sa kanilang paglipat ng States na "wala nang mangyayaring maganda sa Pilipinas. mas mabuti pang lumipat na lang para magkaron ng magandang buhay."

noong klase ko sa kasaysayan sa ilalim ni Padre Jose Arcilla noong Huwebes, nagkwento siya tungkol sa huling sulat ni Rizal na kanyang ginawa pagkatapos nilimbag ang Noli Me Tangere. ang sulat na ito ay para kay Blumentritt. sinabi niya na kapag siya ay sumakabilang buhay, nais niyang masagot ang tanong ni San Pedro: kung ano ang ginawa niya tungkol sa mga kawalan ng hustisya sa kanyang paligid, sa kanyang lipunan.

mapa-people power man o patuloy at walang katapusang pagkayod sa pagbago sa ating gobyerno, importanteng alalahanin ang ating telos -- ang silbi ng ating ginagawa sa mundo. importanteng pagtuunan ng pansin ang nabanggit ng kahanga-hangang Rizal sa kanyang sulat. may ginagawa nga ba tayo sa mga pang-aabuso o kawalan ng hustisya sa ating bansa? ang kawalan ng hustisya ng diskriminasyon, ng pagkagutom, ng kawalan ng trabaho, ng kawalan ng dignidad.

hindi kailangan maging televised at popular ang pakikibaka natin laban sa mga problemang ito. maaari natin gawin ito mismo sa sarili nating mga buhay. ang patuloy at walang humpay na pakikipaglaban sa mga kondisyon na kinalulugmukan ng higit sa kalahati ng populasyon ng Pilipinas ay nararapat na isabuhay.

hinahangad kong masilayan ang panahon (nawa'y sa aking buhay) ang isang karanasan na nabanggit ni Coelho dati: "..that the meaning of 'injustice will be found only in dictionary definitions and never in the lives of human beings."

------------------------------------------------------------

"I See The Kids In The Street,
With Not Enough To Eat
Who Am I, To Be Blind?
Pretending Not To See
Their Needs
....

I'm Starting With The Man In The Mirror
I'm Asking Him To Change His Ways
And No Message Could Have
Been Any Clearer
If You Wanna Make The World
A Better Place
Take A Look At Yourself, And
Then Make A Change"

- Man in the Mirror, Michael Jackson

beautiful noise.

2008-02-28T11:16:00.000+08:00

check out http://paulocoelhoblog.com for his quotes of the day

-----------------------------------

The divine melody

Zaki heard Xa asking his friends what was the most beautiful sound on Earth.

‘The sound of the flute,’ said one.

‘Birdsong,’ said another.

‘A woman’s voice,’ said a third.

They continued the discussion late into the night, without reaching any conclusion.

Days later, Zaki invited Xa and his friends to supper. In the room next door, the best orchestra in the world was playing lovely music, but there was no food on the table. Around midnight, by which time his guests were all starving hungry, Zaki finally served up an exquisite banquet.

‘After hours without eating, isn’t the clatter of cutlery on plates a divine sound?’ remarked Xa.

‘I am simply answering your question about what is the most beautiful sound on Earth,’ replied Zaki. ‘It could be the voice of the woman we love, the singing of birds, the clatter of plates, the breathing beside us in bed of someone dear to us, but it will always be the sound that our heart needs to hear at that precise moment.’

Pananagutan sa pinananagutan.

2008-02-28T09:04:00.000+08:00

Levinas na ito! haha.

re-posting Jaymee's email. support her social enterprise!

-------------------

IMPUKAN - Impok at Ugnayan Para sa mga Kababayang Nasalanta

"Walang makapipigil sa dilubyo.
Tumulong bago sumalanta ito."

Donate to IMPUKAN via GCash! To send, just type: DONATE< space >AMOUNT< space >4 digit M-PIN< space >SLB and send to 2882 Ex. DONATE 100 1234 SLB and send to 2882

For more details, contact: +63916-3683717 / +63929-5849026 or visit http://impukan. multiply. com/

Tumulong na sa mga nasalanta sa Eastern Samar. Maaaring ibigay ang inyong mga donasyon sa IMPUKAN o sa Ayala Foundation. Nasa ibaba ang mga detalye.

The province of Eastern Samar has been declared to be under a State of Calamity after the heavy flooding and landslides in the area caused by the 15 days of continuous rain. Thousands of families, livelihood and infrastructure have been affected.

As of 25 February 2008, the following had been reported
Affected: 33,385 families or 165,930 persons
Casualties: dead: 11; injured: 28; missing: 3
Damaged houses: destroyed: 498; partially damaged: 2,913
Damages to agriculture: No rice production harvest expected since 100% rice fields are submerged.
Health problems have already arisen. Cases of diarrhea were detected in all localities in Eastern Samar due to the contamination of water sources.

To ensure reliability of the report, the Social Action Center of the Diocese of Borongan confirms these numbers through the parishes for reliability.

abnormalities. haha.

2008-02-27T13:51:00.000+08:00

i tag: kaybee, teen, reg, maycee

Instructions:
Each player of this game starts with 6 weird things about you. People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state the rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave a comment that says you are tagged in their comments and tell them to read your blog.

1. i have a weakness for sandals and accessories. i hardly get to use my necklaces and earrings though. haha.

2. i need two pillows in order to sleep. but in case there's only one pillow available,
it wont be used to cushion my head. i need something to hug ;p

3. when stressed or lonely, mcdo's hot fudge sundae can make it all better. yey.
haha.

4. milo and rice is yummy ;)

5. i have a pink birthmark located at the space between my left thumb and
pointer finger. my lola had it too. classified as a "strawberry patch" ;p

6. i can sing and you'd think it was a guy singing... seriously. haha.

ACMG's 25th Anniversary!

2008-02-27T09:08:00.000+08:00

*for all ACMG Alumni please confirm your attendance!*

------------------------------------

Act 25: The ACMG Silver Broadway Musical

9th of March 2008
2pm onwards
College chapel and Rizal Mini Theatre

When you confirm your attendance, please include your name, contact details, and the plate number of the car you are using on March 9. These details will be submitted to the Security Personnel of the Ateneo and a guest list will be given to the guards. Only those whose names and plate numbers will appear on the guest list will be allowed to enter the campus on the said date. Feel free to contact me if you have any concerns. More details about the Broadway Musical to follow.

Thank you and God bless!

ACMG Broadway Core

Jericho March by the Sumilao Farmers.

2008-02-27T09:04:00.000+08:00

re-posting from http://sumilaomarch.multiply.com

---------------------------------------------

Yesterday Feb. 26 (Tues). - Core support groups gathered to have a meeting.

There will be 137 Farmers from Sumilao arriving in Manila on

March 3, 2008 (Mon.)

they will be joining the 7 farmers here in Manila to march around Malacanang

137 + 7 = 144 Farmers

for

144 Hectares!!!

Cease-and-Desist Order/ Notice of Coverage

Extension of CARP

The farmers are aiming to pressure President Arroyo to issue the Cease-and-Desist Order, the Notice of Coverage, and extension of the CARP.

The farmers will be arriving on March 3 (Monday) 7:00am by boat (Pier) , have a Pres-con, and start their march to Malacanang on the same day. The current plan is for them to walk from 7am-7pm around Malacanang and then march back to Caritas (church of the poor) to camp out for the night.

However schedules may change and there are more detailed schedules to be set so please check the Multiply for updates.

Achingly beautiful.

2008-02-26T19:51:00.000+08:00

I'm a recent fan of Rainer Maria Rilke's works. My gosh can this man write!! See for yourself.

Love Song

 How can I keep my soul in me, so that it doesn't touch your soul? How can I raise it high enough, past you, to other things? I would like to shelter it, among remote lost objects, in some dark and silent place that doesn't resonate when your depths resound. Yet everything that touches us, me and you, takes us together like a violin's bow, which draws one voice out of two seperate strings. Upon what instrument are we two spanned? And what musician holds us in his hand? Oh sweetest song.

 Translated by Stephen Mitchell

 ---------------------------------

"Death" as a topic for casual conversation didn't bother me at all. I didn't mind

talking about a certainty in life. It's bound to happen anyway.

At least that was before. It's been exactly 7 months since Dada passed on.

July 26, 2007 at 645pm to be more precise.

I guess finding this poem was a blessing.. a message maybe? How serendipitous

that I was able to read it right now exactly 7 months after. Regardless of the

fact that I love writing about my feelings and epiphanies, I have never been able

to properly put into writing what I felt or am feeling ever since that day. I guess

actually writing it down and making it known to all makes the reality all

the more inescapable.. or the more daunting reason which is that I have already

accepted the fact that he has left. I am bound to Rilke as of this moment.. his words were able to properly articulate

what I had and still am feeling.

On Hearing of a Death
 We lack all knowledge of this parting. Death does not deal with us. We have no reason to show death admiration, love or hate; his mask of feigned tragic lament gives us  a false impression. The world's stage is still filled with roles which we play. While we worry that our performances may not please,  death also performs, although to no applause.  But as you left us, there broke upon this stage a glimpse of reality, shown through the slight opening through which you dissapeared: green, evergreen, bathed in sunlight, actual woods.  We keep on playiing, still anxious, our difficult roles declaiming, accompanied by matching gestures as required. But your presence so suddenly  removed from our midst and from our play, at times  overcomes us like a sense of that other reality: yours, that we are so overwhelmed and play our actual lives instead of the performance, forgetting altogehter the applause.   Translated by Albert Ernest Flemming
 -------------------------------------------------
"I could shed another million tears, a million breaths,
A million names but only one truth to face." 
- A Thousand Years by Sting

breathtaking.

2008-02-26T19:23:00.000+08:00

I'm a recent fan of Rainer Maria Rilke's works.. this one simply blew me away. This guy CAN write realllllly well.

Love Song

 How can I keep my soul in me, so that it doesn't touch your soul? How can I raise it high enough, past you, to other things? I would like to shelter it, among remote lost objects, in some dark and silent place that doesn't resonate when your depths resound. Yet everything that touches us, me and you, takes us together like a violin's bow, which draws one voice out of two separate strings. Upon what instrument are we two spanned? And what musician holds us in his hand? Oh sweetest song.  Translated by Stephen Mitchell

----------------------------------

"Death" as a topic for a casual conversation wasn't a problem for me.

At least that was before what happened to me almost 7 months ago today

to be exact (Dad died 26th of July 6:45pm).Finding this poem by

Rilke is actually a blessing.. To be able to find another person who is

capable of articulating what I had felt/have been feeling somewhat gives

me a sense of peace that what I'm going through is a shared phenomenon.

That I'm not alone. More importantly, that someone understands.

On Hearing of a Death

 We lack all knowledge of this parting. Death does not deal with us. We have no reason to show death admiration, love or hate; his mask of feigned tragic lament gives us  a false impression. The world's stage is still filled with roles which we play. While we worry that our performances may not please,  death also performs, although to no applause.  But as you left us, there broke upon this stage a glimpse of reality, shown through the slight opening through which you dissapeared: green, evergreen, bathed in sunlight, actual woods.  We keep on playing, still anxious, our difficult roles declaiming, accompanied by matching gestures as required. But your presence so suddenly  removed from our midst and from our play, at times  overcomes us like a sense of that other reality: yours, that we are so overwhelmed and play our actual lives instead of the performance, forgetting altogether the applause.  Translated by Albert Ernest Flemming

   ----------------------------

"I could shed another million tears, a million breaths,
A million names but only one truth to face" - A Thousand Years by Sting

AdMU-DLSU Basketball Game for Jun Lozada!

2008-02-26T18:32:00.000+08:00

Nood na!

LA SALLE and ATENEO:
MAGKASANGGA SA KATOTOHANAN

Charity Game for Jun Lozada's cause

March 2, 2008
1:00 PM
Araneta Coliseum

Jun Lozada will be there to watch the game.

Ticket Prices:
Gen. Ad. - 20 Php
Upper B - 50 Php
Upper A - 100 Php
Lower Box - 200 Php
Patron - 300 Php

For reservations, contact:
Alex Lozada (09292520681)
Voltaire Lozada (09228100450)

Ticketnet orders will be available by Friday (February 29).

Proceeds will go to the AMRSP Sanctuary Fund.

remember.

2008-02-24T13:04:00.000+08:00

*sige na nga, follow the bandwagon ;p*

If you read this journal, even if I don't speak to you often, post a memory of me.

It can be anything you want.

It can be good or bad, just so long as it happened.

Then post this on your journal too!

Be surprised (or not) about what people remember about you :)

could you spare me some time?

2008-02-15T20:12:00.003+08:00

excerpts from "Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" by John Donne

Dull sublunary lovers' love
—Whose soul is sense—cannot admit
Of absence, 'cause it doth remove
The thing which elemented it.

But we by a love so much refined,
That ourselves know not what it is,
Inter-assurèd of the mind,
Care less, eyes, lips and hands to miss.

Our two souls therefore, which are one,
Though I must go, endure not yet
A breach, but an expansion,
Like gold to aery thinness beat.

If they be two, they are two so
As stiff twin compasses are two ;
Thy soul, the fix'd foot, makes no show
To move, but doth, if th' other do.

And though it in the centre sit,
Yet, when the other far doth roam,
It leans, and hearkens after it,
And grows erect, as that comes home.

Such wilt thou be to me, who must,
Like th' other foot, obliquely run ;
Thy firmness makes my circle just,
And makes me end where I begun.

===========
in my Lit14 class during my freshman year, I was assigned to report about this particular poem. I remember being dumbfounded upon first reading this poem since I actually didnt comprehend it that easily. Our professor, Maam Socorro Perez told me and my partner that we got "the hardest poem" (my other classmates were going to give a reading about i.e. Shakespeare's "Shall I Compare Thee?" and the poem with the first line "Drink to me only with thine eyes".. I always forget the title but I never ever forgot the melody. haha. remember the old cartoon with the jazz-dancing owl? ;p). I really had to research about the type of poems that were common in that time period, the styles of writing, common themes prevalent etc.

but i really appreciated the poem afterwards. Knowing more about its context (i.e. prevalence of the use of alchemy and other scientific processes to juxtapose with interactions of people) specifically when he showed how objects are used to describe a current relationship (look at stanzas 4-6.. use of the compass to talk about the simulataneous distance and closeness of the couple) made the poem all the more rich and interesting. it took a lot of studying in order to find out what it wanted to let the reader know.

i guess the same goes with people.

it takes a lot of digging up in order to truly know someone.

a good deal of empty coffee cups, unfinished dinners,
zero-load balances, late night chats over ym, filled up message archives,
spontaneous "kain tayo sa labas!" texts, strolls under the moonlight,
unprecedented alone-times in the midst of a group
and so much more.

in other words

it takes time.

just wondering though ... could you spare me some of yours?

===================
Let me commune, then, commune with your silence,
clear as a light, and pure as a ring.
You are like night, calmed, constellated.
Your silence is star-like, as distant, as true.
- Pablo Neruda

to tip or not to tip.

2008-02-15T20:12:00.002+08:00

in lieu of what's happening in our country as of the moment, i just wanted to share this with you.

can we consider the Philippines at the "tipping point"?

find out.

============ =======
taken from wikipedia..

Tipping points are "the levels at which the momentum for change becomes unstoppable. "

Gladwell defines a tipping point as a sociological term, "the moment of critical mass, the threshold, the boiling point.".... "Ideas and products and messages and behaviors spread like viruses do"

The Law of the Few: "The success of any kind of social epidemic is heavily dependent on the involvement of people with a particular and rare set of social skills."[4] Gladwell describes these people in the following ways:

Connectors are the people who "link us up with the world ... people with a special gift for bringing the world together."[5]

Mavens are "information specialists", or "people we rely upon to connect us with new information. "[6] They accumulate knowledge, especially about the marketplace, and know how to share it with others.

Salesmen are "persuaders", charismatic people with powerful negotiation skills. They tend to have an indefinable trait that goes beyond what they say, that makes others want to agree with them.
============ ========= ====
ang interesting ano?

but the bigger question is... are WE at the tipping point?
will there be another "EDSA"?
or are the people too tired.. or in the more apt term "SAWA na" with such types of 'revolutions' ? (since nothing good is going to happen anyhow)

if the "momentum for change", to borrow Gladwell's words, does persist... what future lies in store for our beloved country?

but i guess the bigger implication with Gladwell's definition is that such a momentum for change, such boiling points and threshold of sorts is heavily reliant and very much dependent on us --- the Filipino people.

in the end, WE will be the ones to decide if we will continue accepting the status quo or persevere in bringing out the truth.

i believe this all boils down to the classic question ---

Fight or Flight?

the answer is up to you.

or, to be more precise

the answer is up to us.
=============================
"Our worst fear is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure."
- Maryann Williamson

10:02a.m.

2008-02-14T09:55:00.002+08:00

You are breakfasty, like a pile of pancakes on a Sunday morning that have just the right amount of syrup, so every bite is sweet perfection and not a soppy mess. You are a glass of orange juice that's cool, refreshing, and not overly pulpy. You are the time of day that's just right for turning the pages of a newspaper, flipping through channels, or clicking around online to get a sense of how the world changed during the night. You don't want to stumble sleepily through life, so you make a real effort to wake your brain up and get it thinking. You feel inspired to accomplish things (whether it's checking something off your to-do list or changing the world), but there's plenty of time for making things happen later in the day. First, pancakes.

================
You are Happy-go-Dateable

You're out there, you're available, and you're optimistic, but you're not advertising in neon lights. You're too chill to run around chasing it, but you don't see the point in making it too difficult for someone you're interested in, 'cause at the end of the day you'd really like to meet someone nice. If they approach you, they'll meet a warm, friendly, sparkly personality who will make them glad they took the chance. And if they can't seem to work up the nerve... for the right person, we bet you'd lay it on the line and do the approaching.

=====================

hahahaha. laughtrip. taking quizzes while making my philo take home long test (question: Saan matatagpuan ang Mabuti?.. hardest question evarrr!)

Kay Tagal

2008-02-14T08:53:00.002+08:00

im going to post something i read from the multiply site of my blockmate JenTan. Can i just say.. this is SOOO true. hahaha. eww i cant believe how conyo that sounded. yech ;p

to all the Meantime girls out there --- how y'all doin?! hihi.

===============================

What's a 'Meantime girl'?

She's the one you call when you're bored. She's the one you talk to when you're feeling down because she's willing to lend an ear and be a friend.

She's not the one you call when you need a date to your Christmas party, or to go out with on a Saturday night.

She's the one you spend time with in-between girlfriends, before you find "the One". You know, the one you keep around in the meantime.

She's not one of the guys, not a tomboy, but you don't look at her as a "real" woman either. She's not bitchy enough, not moody enough, or sexy enough to be seen in that light.

She's too laid back, too easily amused by the same things your friends are amused by. She's too understanding. Too comfortable. She doesn't make you feel nervous or excited the way a "real" woman does. But she's cool, and nice, and funny, and attractive enough that when you're lonely and in need of intimate companionship, she'll do just fine.

You don't have to wine and dine her because she knows the real you already, you don't have any facades to keep up, no pretenses to preserve.

She's not easy, but you know she cares about you and is attracted to you and that she'll give you the intimacy you need. And you know you don't have to explain yourself or the situation, because she'll be able to cope with the fact that this isn't the beginning of a relationship orthat there's any possibility of you having any romantic feelings for her.

It won't bother her that you'll stand her up for the woman you've been mooning over.

But deep down, if you really think about it (which you probably don't because to you, the situation between the two of you isn't important enough to merit any real thought), you know that it's really not fair.

You know that although she would never say it, it hurts her to know that despite all her good points and all the fun you two have, you don't think she's good enough to spend any real time with. Sure, its mostly her fault, because she doesn't have to give in to your needs. She could play the hard-to-get bitch like the rest of them, if she really wanted to.

But you and she both know that she probably couldn't pull it off. Whatever the reason, somehow life has given her a lot of great qualities but has left out the ones that people like you want (or think they want) in a woman.

So she remains forever the funny friend, the steadfast companion, the secret lover, and you go on searching for your goddess who will somehow be everything you ever wanted in a woman.

She doesn't captivate you with her beauty, or open doors with her smile. Mainly, she blends in with the crowd.She's safe.

She doesn't want to be the center of attention and turn heads of everyone in the room. But.. she wants to turn someone's head. She wants to be special to someone too. We all do.

She has feelings, and a heart which is probably bigger and better than any woman you've ever known because she's had a front-row seat to The Mess That Is Your Life, and still likes you anyway.

She obviously sees something worthwile and redeeming in you because although you've given her nothing, and though she has absolutely no reason to still be around, she is.

And someday, she won't be there anymore.

===============================================
"Just think.. you could be a big part of someone's life right now

and not even know it." ;) - Peyton, One Tree Hill

dealing with "The End".

2008-02-08T06:52:00.000+08:00

listening to the speakers during the honors assembly awhile ago, i just couldnt believe that i was actually there. dressed up and all. i told myself during my freshman year that i didnt need to attend since, after all, you just get this card stating if you're second honor or first honor and for which sem. what's the point right?

mutual admiration. mutual inspiration. mutual challenge. those were the terms that struck me the most. it was the welcoming remarks of Sir Eddie Boy Calasanz that really inspired me. weird ano. hindi pa yung key note speaker eh. haha.

a funny thing happened during the HA though. during our walk towards the designated seats, the background music was ---- the one for graduation. hahaha. a lot of us actually laughed at the inappropriate music played. i for one dont want to think about graduation yet. junior year pa lang muna please!

this led to me reflecting about the lyrics of a song a fellow Hangad member told me to check out. the title is "Stop this Train" by John Mayer. poetic to the point that i had to read it thrice to fully grasp what it really meant. what struck me are the lines:

One generation's length away
From fighting life out on my own

it took my by surprise that im actually graduating a year from now. that the college life that i know and love-hate (hihi) is coming to an end. i guess i have to admit that im a bit scared about that reality.

growing up is hard. having to let go of your comfortable carefree days of youth is a phase everyone will have to go through. the train of life doesnt stop.

i sorely miss having recess and comparing baons with my friends. i even miss eating the baon of my other friend (me and the whole class at that! hahaha. iloveyou maeong! ate babylyn is the best cook evarrr! hahahaha ;p) i miss playing cops and robbers under the heat of the sun during lunch time (we eat lunch during recess so we'd have time to play! ;p). i even remember having mastered the art of touchball during my grade school years! haha. piko was my forte too! ;) I always looked forward to friday afternoons. upon getting off of the school bus, my kababatas will be waiting for me to tell me what games we will be playing for that day since friday afternoons mean extended playing time!! haha. i'll be out playing until around dinner time. no homework during fridays eh :p

now, things have changed. people grow up, people shape up. what makes the growing up phase of a person's life painful is perhaps due to the fact that one needs to get out of one's comfort zone. to dare to do more than you usually could. to risk one's known truths in order to test it out in the dog-eat-dog world that one has been apparently hidden from.

life forces itself on us. wait.. let me rephrase that... life happens. period.
the more salient question really is: How will you live it? How would you want to go out -- on your feet or on your knees?

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Stop this train
I wanna get off
And go home again
I can't take the speed it's moving in
I know I can
Cause now I see I'll never stop this train

chance versus choice.

2008-02-05T02:02:00.001+08:00

been blogging regularly. haha. this is not a good sign. it means im either too lazy to do what i have to do or i actually have time to do other things im not supposed to be doing.

my previous blogs have largely dealt with one of my oh-so-favorite topics --- love. i am NO expert though but i guess i can say that i have a good grasp of how it works (or how it doesnt work.. haha). from experience (weh! haha) as well as from countless love problems i have encountered thanks to my friends who had them (sheesh ;p), i believe that i know the basics if you can call it that way.

-----------
waiting.

to wait.

i believe there is such a value to this act especially when it comes to l-o-v-e.

my qualms with this, however, stem from the fact that

one can never be too sure

too certain

of that

point in time

where one must

cease to wait.

--------------------------
".. ang buod ng paghihintay ay nasa taos na paggalang sa
kalayaan ng tumatawag: na maari itong tumawag o
manahimik sa kanyang sariling panahon at ritmo.

Hindi alam ng tutugon kung kailan at kung ano ang magiging
anyo ng tawa. Ngunit, hindi niya kaya at hindi niya kalooban
na pilitin ang tatawag. ."
- Padre Roque Ferriols, S.J.
----------------------------------------------
"the waiting feeling's fine.."

is it really?

manning the booth for ACMG's Love Week next week at Kostka extension earlier today, the girls couldnt stop teasing each other to order a flowers for them so that they wont feel bad during the Day of the Hearts. [note: Love Week is the annual project of ACMG wherein one can "hire" the choir to render a serenade to your special someone with flowers and message included. single rose, 3 roses, 6 roses and 12roses pwede. shameless plug!]

much as i'd want to deny it, i know that i wouldnt mind receiving a bouquet of flowers accompanied by a serenade. haha. there's the hopeless romantic screaming out of meself. sheesh ;p

i know for a fact that a lot of ladies are waiting out there.
waiting for prince charming to arrive.
waiting for the perfect moment to strike up a conversation.
waiting for the time you serendipitously bump into "the One".
waiting for him to notice that you're physically present.
waiting...
waiting...
waiting...

some are still optimistic while others seem to have given up hope.

do we always have to "let fate take over"?

must we continue to believe that since "God has chosen my one true love.." I will surely find him given that "he is the only one meant for me."....?

when do we actually take life by the reins and create our own happy ending?
---------------------------------------------
"Destiny is not a matter of chance but a matter of choice, it is not a thing to be waited for
it is a thing to be achieved."

how to love.

2008-02-05T02:02:00.000+08:00

found this in one of my notepad-quotes collection (yes, i do have such a collection. haha). i cant seem to remember when i wrote this but i do know that it was a comment to another person's blog. check it out.

paminsan-minsan ay nakikipaglaro ang realidad sa atin...nabibihag tayo sa mga pangyayaring ninanais natin (ngunit hindi ito malay na pagnanais) na mayroong pumansin sa atin, makinig, umusisa, magmahal.

napakagandang isipin na, oo nga, baka nga ganito na ang nangyari [dont know, maybe the author mentioned a particular moment?..].sa ganitong paraan, mas madali malaman kung sino nga ba ang tatagal, kung sino ang lalaking ipaglalaban ang pagnanais na magkaroon kayo ng kasalukuya't hinaharap --- kung sino ang TAPAT.

ngunit, hindi ba't nakawiwindang rin kung iisiping posible at maaari ngang mangyari at pwedeng pwedeng maging katotohanan (halata bang desperado?! ;p), na ang mga inakala mong akala, ang mga sinabi mong panaginip na gising, ang mga pagbabakasakaling pag-ibig ---- ay TUNAY na pag-ibig pala na hindi lang niya kayang ipagtapat? ay TOTOONG pag-aaruga't pagliliyag pala na hindi lang mahanapan ng tamang oras sa pagbunyag?

at sa huli't huli ay nauwi rin pala sa pag-amin sa iyong sarili na ... hindi natin maaaring husgahan ang ating iniibig sa kanyang pamamaraan ng pag-ibig....

hindi dahil sa "iba" ang pagpapakita ng taong ito ng kanyang pag-ibig ay hindi ka niya minamahal ng kanyang BUONG PAGKATAO --- ng walang kasing tulad.

ano pa nga ba ang mas nakababaliw, nakawiwindang at nakababagabag sa dalawang posibilidad na ito??

sigh.

----------------
Inside out, upside-down twisting beside myself,
Stop that now; you’re as close as it gets without touching me,
Oh now don’t make it harder than it already is,
I feel a weakness coming on.
- "The Walk", Imogen Heap

giving faith.

2008-01-29T23:49:00.001+08:00

bawhy is my YM time now a source of topics to blog about?! haha. anyhow, this conversation was between me and titopao, one of the very supportive fans of Hangad, the choir I'm in :)

"sometimes i wonder if it's a good thing (or a bad thing) that someone close to you knows your weaknesses.. but i guess that's part of the realities in any kind of relationship (romantic or otherwise). there's this implied risk of a trust that can be very, very fragile especially if the significant other can read your mind completely.. yun bang kahit na hindi ka kumikibo alam nya yung nasa isip mo."

I believe that all people -- the whole human race for that matter -- have this desire, this burning need to be known for who he/she is. Using the line of Susan Sarandon in "Shall We Dance?", I guess it all boils down to having this witness to one's own life. A witness to your victories, to your sufferings, to your wounds, to your moments of realization, to the birth of your dreams. More importantly, a witness to your limits.

This witness can be a really good friend, a significant other, a randomly met stranger, who knows, it might even be your pet Bantay.

But, seriously, the point of this particular entry is, we thrive on the gorgeous idea that, one day, we won't have to bother if another person knows one's weaknesses, quirks, annoying mannerisms, idiosyncrasies et al.. it is this unfailing faith in the other that serves as one's comfort, a security blanket to assure one's safety.

however, this leads us to another fact: faith in another person is NOT enough. trust can be broken.

so where does this lead us to?

to fear having a close relationship with another?

to distance oneself from the people around you?

imagine, for a second, that a loved one or a good friend told you this:

"Do you miss yourself?..... I do."

I believe that it is in undergoing that leap of faith
of baring one's self
of engaging with another
wherein we are most likely to
find meaning,
understanding,
or even contentment
in our existence.

note:
the irony of the statement
"it is in giving
that we
receive.."

true isnt it?

---------------------------------------
"Gifted with conscience, intelligence and power each of us is indeed a center. But a center called to go out of ourselves, to give ourself to others in love -- love, which is our definitive and all-embracing dimension, that which gives meaning to all our other dimensions."

- Fr. Pedro Arrupe, SJ.
28th Superior General of the Society of Jesus

endearing vulnerabilities.

2008-01-29T23:49:00.000+08:00

my friend from ACMG, Timmy, suddenly asked me this question in ym

"Women love a man who know their weaknesses" kasi women love being the advisors of the men in trying to regulate their weaknesses... What can you say about what I said?

and for some reason, I told him:

I guess the statement "women love a man who knows their weaknesses
is due to the fact that these men, seemingly perceived/forced to be perceived as "aggressive, know-it-all, bossy type" characters, are showing their vulnerabilities.
rather.. confessing what is deemed to be "taboo" in a patriarchal society.
By such an act of embracing [of] their weakness, these men become endearing to women
since they are "man enough" to show who they really are
and not just who they are supposed to be.

*I TENK YU

--------
this is what i get from reading the "Cries of Violence" reading for research methods. (about abuses against women and children by, who else.. men! haha. 84 pages bebeh ;p)

any comments about Timmy's question? pwede rin kasing tama yung statement niya right? :)

sapagkat ang pilosopiya ay ginagawa.

2008-01-25T00:30:00.000+08:00

i LOVE philo.

specifically TAGALOG Philo..

(im taking philo under the ever-so-great-and-witty Ginoong Roy Allan Tolentino by the way. )

Padre Ferriols' readings rock! (bumabato si padre!. haha. . ohboy.. use of equivocum right there!)

before my junior year started, i had been quite anxious knowing that philo will be one of my core subjects.. you can call it paranoia or cowardice. whatever makes you happy. haha.

as with all love stories, there are certain moments that simply blow you away. this happened during my first sem. the reading was about Soren Kierkgaard (the philosopher who served as an inspiration for the names of Kier and Zoren Legaspi.. their father was a "fan" of Padre Ferriols and was actually his student. haha. galing ano?!) .. the topic was about repetition or "pag-uulit". here's an excerpt from the reading:

"Sasabihin mong tao kang palaging may saan at kailan. Kapag naiwan mo na
ang isang saan, at nakalipas na ang isang kailan, karapatan mo nang limutin
at itapon na parang gula-gulanit na baro, sa basurahan ng iyong alaala: at
tumakas sa bagong saan at kailan. Sinasabi ko sa iyo na may pangyayaring
sumisigaw sa kaloob-looban mo at, dinggin mo man o hindi, ang saan
at kailan nito’y magiging dito at ngayon mo, magpakailan man."

minsan, masarap isipin na maaaring makabalik sa nakaraan at baguhin ang pagkakamaling nagawa.. ngunit may mga pagkakataon na ang nakaraan mismo ay tila ayaw kang tantanan at, malay ka man o hindi, nagsisilbi pang gabay sa di mawaring bulabog ng mundo.

----------
"..como padece, lejos de tí, mi alma..."
gaya ng pagdurusa ng puso kong malayo sa iyo
- excerpt from the poem of Jose Palma (1876-1903)

acuerdate de mi (alalahanin mo)

2008-01-02T17:42:00.000+08:00

it's been awhile since i posted personality test results so.... here goes nothin ;)

feliz ano nuevo everybody! :)
--------------------------

Your view on yourself:

You are intelligent, honest and sweet. You are friendly to everybody and don't like conflict. Because you're so cheerful and fun people are naturally attracted to you and like to talk to you.

thanks for the compliment. char ;p

The type of girlfriend/boyfriend you are looking for:

You like serious, smart and determined people. You don't judge a book by its cover, so good-looking people aren't necessarily your style. This makes you an attractive person in many people's eyes.

somewhat true.. about the liking a "determined" person.. hehe. now about the good-looking part.. hmm.. that depends hahahahaa. kidding. that's true as well.

Your readiness to commit to a relationship:

You are ready to commit as soon as you meet the right person. And you believe you will pretty much know as soon as you might that person.

ooohhh boy... am i REALLy ready?!? eep. hahaha. ;p

The seriousness of your love:

Your have very sensible tactics when approaching the opposite sex. In many ways people find your straightforwardness attractive, so you will find yourself with plenty of dates.

now where exactly are these "plenty of dates" that you're saying hm?! san na kayo?!?!?! hahahaha. ;p

Your views on education

Education is very important in life. You want to study hard and learn as much as you can.

AMen.

The right job for you:

You're a practical person and will choose a secure job with a steady income. Knowing what you like to do is important. Find a regular job doing just that and you'll be set for life.

MhM.

How do you view success:

You are afraid of failure and scared to have a go at the career you would like to have in case you don't succeed. Don't give up when you haven't yet even started! Be courageous.

im afraid the career i choose wont be up to par with what my mom would like me to have.. or what i really "should" have as my career

What are you most afraid of:

You are afraid of having no one to rely on in times of trouble. You don't ever want to be unable to take care of yourself. Independence is important to you.

es cierto. (it is true in spanish)

Who is your true self:

You are mature, reasonable, honest and give good advice. People ask for your comments on all sorts of different issues. Sometimes you might find yourself in a dilemma when trapped with a problem, which your heart rather than your head needs to solve.

naks.. lumalabas ang aking pagka-intuitive :)

-----------------
ito nakakatawa basahin.

What's your personality love style?

Here is the analysis:

You desire a love that will last forever. You are quite serious about finding this type of love, and that's why you think carefully about the men that you meet before deciding whether you could really love them. You don't just develop a crush on someone overnight: you look at a person's personality and other aspects of their life before deciding to form an attachment. If a guy doesn't meet your expectations, you would rather be alone. Your love has to be perfect. Be careful though, you could be missing out on some worthy relationships because your standards are so high.

now the big question is.. did i just miss out on someone who could've....?

oh boy.

-----------------------------------

que no puedo cansarse de esperar
(dahil hindi mapapagod sa paghihintay)
aquel que no se cansa de mirata
(itong walang sawang tumitingin sayo)

active or passive?

2007-12-11T13:36:00.000+08:00

they say that when you get Father Arcilla for History.. you might as well commit suicide.

i've heard stories of how hard it is to actually get really high marks if he's your History 165 professor..

fortunately (or is it unfortunately.?).. my random number was realllllllly good. downright impeccable. tooo good to be truuuue.

547.

yech. haha.

so, i hade to embrace the inevitable. Arcilla, here i come, sabi ko nga :)

i had been enjoying my histo classes.. surprisingly. i guess i have to applaud the Padre for making history appear as if it were happening in the present. seriously.
sometimes i feel that what he narrates actually happened in front of his eyes! hahaha. . kinda helps that he calls us and the other faculty of history (unfortunately) "poor ignorant souls"... apparently for not having any knowledge whatsoever of reading/speaking/understanding SPANISH. hahahahaa.

anyhow, what made me write in my blog after..hm... around 50 years?!? it was what father stated in class awhile ago.

Our topic is the coming of the europeans in the Philippines. He said ".what the Spaniards did.. was to re-organize our lives.. in space and time.."
i had no qualms with this statement...what he said after made me a tad bit anxious.

He said that the re-organization was something very positive. our ancestors (indigenous peoples) were nomadic.. that they spend all their waking hours looking for food.. then they slept... then looked for food again. this very much "amazing" re-organization actually provided our ancestors with what Padre called "leisure time"... in his own words, "re-organization.. in order to enjoy life."

maybe it's just me. maybe im just too into "proper" development.

my reaction to that statement?

who's to say how to enjoy life? is there a standard? seems like Eurocentrism is kicking in again.

i guess it's the same with my stand on indigenous peoples and development/modernization... IPs must be the ones to decide on how, what, when, where modernity will trickle in their respective tribes. NOTE: their culture is at stake.

haaay sorry. got toooo emotional i guess. probably it's the DS thingy kicking in nga. becoming a way of life i suppose? :)

==================================

akala ko nung una
may bukas ang ganito.

mabuti pang umiwas
pero salamat na rin at nagtagpo :)

Meron at pagmemeron

2007-08-15T23:13:00.000+08:00

"Ang bawat umiiral, hindi tinatangay lamang ng hangin sa dilim,

at ang bawat tao ay hindi

isang gagala-gala lamang na hampas lupa.

Kahit hindi niya alam ang mga detalye, alam niya

sa isang hinala-katiyakan

na mayroon siyang pook sa meron na

angkop sa kanya,

na mayroon siyang tahanan na sariling kanya

sa abot tanaw ng meron,

kaya't meron siyang bigat at kapal at halaga

sa sansinukob.

Ito ang talinhagang nakatago sa katagang "kahulugan":

na ang bawat umiiral ay mayroon bukod tanging kinagagalawan, kinalulundagan, kinahuhulugan sa sanlibutan...

Sa pagsusuri ko sa meron, natatauhan ako sa meron bilang kahulugan, hindi lamang bilang umiiral na, ngunit

bilang kailangang pairalin at buoin pa. "

- Padre Roque J. Ferriols, S.J., "Meron"

==============================

CONscience

2007-07-27T07:40:00.000+08:00

"fifteen thousand Africans dying each and every day of preventable, treatable diseases -- AIDS, malaria, TB -- for lack of drugs that we take for granted."

"This statistic alone makes a fool of the idea many of us hold on to very tightly:

the idea of EQUALITY.

What is happening in Africa mocks our pieties,

doubts our concern,

and questions our commitment to that whole concept.

Because if we're honest, there's no way we could conclude that such mass death

day

after

day

would ever be allowed to happen anywhere else.

Certainly not in North America, or Europe, or Japan.

An entire CONTINENT bursting into flames?

Deep down, if we really accept that their lives ----

African lives -------

are equal to ours,

we would all be doing

MORE

to put the fire out.

It's an uncomfortable truth."

--- Bono, 2004
excerpt from his foreword in the book "The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time" by Jeffrey Sachs

====================================================================================

hope that my blog MOVED you to anger, frustration, sadness even.

it would certainly be shocking to simply NOT FEEL anything..

i guess due to my course (Development Studies) i've been feeling more and more distracted by such a reality. im not saying that people from other college courses dont feel any sympathy towards this situation.. it's more of.. the fact that this would be MY LIFE after college, that i had chosen this path to take, makes me all the more attached and easily affected by such cruel facts of life.

anyhow! i've started to read the book "The End of Poverty" by Jeffrey Sachs. one of the main reasons why i placed the excerpt here in my blog :) currently, im reading harry potter as well! hahahah. i swear i feel like such a bad student because i read more chapters of harry potter than the readings i should have finished. heehee. :p

sige, gotta go back to harry. miss ko na .. hahaha.

--------------------------
you are my sweetest downfall.

reality is subjective.

2007-06-24T23:07:00.000+08:00

wala pang official lecture sa philo pero.. yes, im making that statement already. based on experience naman ano.

sometimes, the people who matter to us hide or even lie to us just so that we won't get hurt or be burdened by the truth that we would eventually know....

sometimes, the people who matter to us push us away because they know full well that they might hurt us the moment we get too close, the moment we know them too intimately...

but are those valid reasons?

does the intention matter more than the action?

or should the cruel reality be shouted out, pushed forth, blurted to the other?

or should there be no pushing away and, instead, holding on to, happen?

darn this head of mine.

no more questions please.

a pinch of memories and a pound of good riddance

2007-06-20T00:56:00.000+08:00

there is something to be said about staying and leaving.

i guess i can start with my ym status right now (ako lang gumawa nito ;p)

there are people who find ways to stay....

and others who choose not to.

there are those types of people that you dont formally meet (you arent even acquainted!) but they affect you anyhow, even at the most infinitesimal level.

there are those persons who have been with you for the longest time yet never really made their presence felt in any way possible.

still, there are others who absolutely, positively, supercalifragilisticexpialidociously arrive instantaneously accompanied with all the much needed fireworks and noise of anything that can make noise. you can never not know when these types of people are not in the same room.

yet, there is a rare breed. these people are those who, apart from being physically away from you or have hardly talked to you for months on end, are still very much present. . still "actively" changing you and making you a bit more at peace with yourself, with your surrounding. still challenging you to be more than you could.

it's a bit weird that im talking about this when, in fact, i actually lost someone this way.

i guess you can say that circumstance or (shall i be more cliche?) life itself, gave this person a test wherein the results of which would enlighten me as to all the doubts that have been lingering in my head.

and i never thought that he would be the one to flunk it.

nor did i realize that, in more ways than one, i lost something that i thought i always had.

i guess the question really, is that.... was everything that transpired real?

==============================

sorry i had to let that out.

turned out to be more of a reflection paper than a .. well, i dont know. didnt plan to make something out of it. haha

anyhow. dont get me wrong. im actually feeling quite liberated at the moment. it's just a little bit funny that it took me almost 6 months to.. okay. enough of that. hahhaa. too much info right there ;p

but, yeah... im actually feeling... pretty good :) regardless of what i jst wrote down. hahaha.

it's 115am of wednesday. got an adrenaline rush since i came from, in my opinion, one of the most technically challenging practices in my Hangad life. haha... we did a singthrough of ALL ... can i just reiterate.. ALL songs for the acapella concert. grabe. what made it challenging was the fact that i wasnt religiously attending prac since it was vacation so i had to learn the songs on my own. and i dont feel as comfortable with singing since even if i learned it already, a part of me is still not as confident in singing the part out loud. yun pala may mga binago rin sa mga piyesa so the funny thing that happened was, i had to change what i formerly knew to be the correct way of singing the piece DURING the time that the whole choir was singing the song. talk about downright cramming ;p hahaha

i still have a reading to read (doi) in preparation for a quiz on thursday. so far, it has been a good few days in school. there is a certain pressure building up, though, since majority of my subjects are majors (one is for my minor) and a lot of my subjects will be having group papers, group reports, group research paper, et al. my stand on this? i will accept group stuff as long as i dont have ANY freeloader/slacker groupmate. im sorry. magis na ito. hahaha.

sige, time to hit the reading. im still very much awake right now. dont know if what i wrote a while ago is the cause of this sudden joltness. haha.. im glad to be back in the blogging world!! :D .. and im glad to be .. enlightened :p

en agua en el cielo.

2007-03-19T11:50:00.000+08:00

cant remember if i remember my spanish correctly. haha.
basta alam ko yung translation ;p
-------

All beauty all fade away, borrowed
All moonlight, return today, borrowed
All sunrise all shooting stars, borrowed
All earth bound bare feet in clay,
you know we're standing on

Borrowed borrowed heaven
Borrowed borrowed heaven

All heartache all rivers cried, borrowed
Don't stay out too late tonight, borrowed
I love you don't wanna die, borrowed
You taste like paradise, I know I'm breathing in

Borrowed borrowed heaven
Borrowed borrowed heaven
Borrowed borrowed heaven
Borrowed borrowed heaven

You have my life and I will give it back
But before I do, I'm gonna hold it tight
This is my prayer

All body, All skin all bone, borrowed
All silky, all smooth and warm, borrowed
Almighty I stand alone I know I'm living in

Borrowed borrowed heaven ...

just realized what a beautiful prayer this song actually is ;p
my brother suprised me with the album of the corrs (borrowed heaven) kahit na nsa tarlac siya for his module, he found a way to give the surprise. awww ;p corrs fan ako na wala nung latest album. chaka. hahahaha. at least ngyon meron na! yey! .. naku.. nag enjoy ka siguro sa il divo na binigay ko?!? ;p exchange gift ba naman ng feb-march? haha. thanks much! *hugsies*

----------------------

"...But I love your feet only because they walked upon the earth and upon the wind and upon the waters
until they found me. "

closing cycles.

2007-03-12T23:05:00.000+08:00

i never loved goodbyes..

especially if it involves people very dear to my heart.

i guess knowing about one's decision

prior to the act of bidding farewell....

can never really prepare you for

the real thing.

and you just

surrender

to all the emotions that had been

helplessly trapped there

inside of you..

emotions you never expected

to come rising out, making themselves known

as if you had been

lying to yourself

the whole time.

===============================

"what the heart has once owned and had, it shall never lose."

Unwritten Letter # 1

2007-03-07T23:29:00.000+08:00

i've always placed greater emphasis on the lyrics of a song before its music. weird but true. like the time when i read a song by alicia keys that wasn't released yet.. "some people want it al but i dont want nothing at all.. if it ain't you baby.. if i aint got you baby.." little did i know that it's music would be awesome and that majority of the people i know would always have this for their LSS. ;p

anyhow.. had been browsing through the lyrics of the songs by Vienna Teng. i think she has 2albums now. imagine, computer engineer who "quit" her job and pursued her career as singer/songwriter. talk about courage, eh? ;p looks like she made a good decision anyway. haha. lyrics style almost similar to Imogen Heap in the sense that both have the tendency to be poetic... which, by the way, makes me love them more. hahaha. sorry, fan of poems here. that's why im so amazed by the fact that not only are they writing poems but they're making their works "more available" to a wider range of people since they formed it to song. amazing. simply amazing.

anyhow. nuff about my blabbering. was just going to share one of Vienna Teng's songs in her first album "Waking Hour". after reading the first few lines.. i got hooked already. i cant wait to hear the melody of this song. argh. if not only for hell week i would have downloaded it already.

P.S. check out Imogen Heap also... her cds arent available here in the phils i think.. but.. she wins it :p

==============================

nightfall we're brushing past your town
destination not you my one
the driver doesn't know way down
how deep these bright-eyed feelings run
I've no intention of confessing today
I need to make distance awhile
but miles don't make your image fade
they don't erase this secret smile

everything reminds me
wet gray gold-lit street
shop displays near-lovers meet
I feel the grasp of your hand still
this your face now in the glass
breathing whisper what is this
bent so close we nearly kiss
although we never will

strange that there's no hurtful need
used to be my only sign
on my mind would make me bleed
why is it that I'm feeling fine
why is it this warmth within
no candlelight that causes burn
memories of you begin
well welcome friends
glad you've returned

everything reminds me
music surging bedroom dance
crazy spinning sultry glance
I inhale your presence still
these your arms of daring grace
encircle me what pact is made
desire is your masquerade
want me you never will

you gave me truth I chose illusion
now we are used to this confusion
but I know
yes I know this story has to end
never groped for a connection
never hoped for more affection
for I know
I know I am your friend
only your friend

====================

ang pagbabalik.

2007-03-06T02:23:00.001+08:00

just wanted to share the text message of my dad:

You've probably heard the story of a little girl and her father who were crossing
a bridge. The father asked her to hold on to him, but she asked him to hold her hand instead. When he asked what the difference was, the little girl answered: "If I hold your hand, I might let go, but if you hold my hand, whatever happens, I know you will never let go of me..."

God holds us tightly in His hands, despite the loose grip of our feeble faith..

beautiful isn't it? hope it's something you can mull over especially during this time of Lent.

=============
hindi ko man maintindihan
ang biglaang pagdating ng bagyo,

maranasan ko man
ang lamig ng pag-iisa,

malunod man ako
sa humaling ng munod,

alam ko na
may dahilan,
may karamay,
may sasalba...

Hindi mo ba alam
hawak Ko ang kamay mo?
Hindi mo ba ramdam
ang init ng Aking hagkan?
'di mo ba batid
na, ni minsan,
hindi ka nag-isa?
at naaalala mo bang
akin Ka kailanman?

(ivory 238am 030607)

2007-03-06T02:23:00.000+08:00

dancing through life.

2007-03-04T00:28:00.000+08:00

i was making my psych project awhile ago (timeline of my life) and had completed the collage of pictures.. so i started to write down stuff from songs i loved or quotes i loved... but there were some pictures wherein i really had to stick to the binding theme of my timeline which was *drum roll please* music. kumusta naman. hahaha. i had pictures of me holding a mic and "performing" i think my first was when i was about 3 yrs old and the rest is history. hahahaha. funny but true. i never realized that i had been singing for so long already.

anyhow, what led me to blog at 12:35 in the morning of march 4? it was because of what i wrote at one of my collages..

"yet there are some people who don't just get involved in the mere superficialities of the simple melody that is my life... they make sure that they literally bind their symphonies to mine, changing me altogether."

hahaha. wala lang. i just had to share that one ;p

ooooh.. and by the way! for all the Hangad fans out there, we will be having

THE EASTER JOURNEY CONCERT
on March 10, 2007
at the Ateneo High School Chapel

There will be an anticipated mass at 5:30pm
and the concert will be at 7:00pm

===================

Don't dream too far
Don't lose sight of who you are
Don't remember that rush of joy
He could be that boy
I'm not that girl

Ev'ry so often we long to steal
To the land of what-might-have-been
But that doesn't soften the ache we feel
When reality sets back in

your diary.

2007-03-02T00:36:00.000+08:00

remember i wrote something about living frugally on surprise? well, i actually got what i asked for. haha. last week was a merry mixture of great, touching, astounding, perplexing, alarming, amazing and heart-warming surprises. i was literally blown away most of the time.

last saturday was also my last NSTP so it meant saying goodbye to the kids i had been close to for almost a year. my NSTP is with ACLC (ateneo christian life community) and my area is at payatas dos. one of the touching moments was when all of a sudden, some of my kids and a few more who had joined my last story-telling session of Dr.Seuss' "A Cat in the Hat" (in tagalog ha, kala nyo.heehee. kebs lng ang rhyming!) all started to give me flowers that they picked near the chapel. it was the first time and the last time. . sigh. i have always believed that kids have this certain unspoken understanding of the situations and things around them so... it was simply amazing that they "sort of" knew that it was going to be the last.

pinakanakakagulat was, all of a sudden, my guy area mate (we met through my being a part of their area but we were never close. kakulitan lng.) who was sitting beside me said "mamimiss kita." sa pagkagulat ko nasabi ko tuloy "hahahahahahaahaha... *change of mood* teka, seryoso ka ba?" haha. to which he replied "syempre serioso."

awwww... :)

i never knew na may effect akong ganun sa tao. chos. hahaha. i guess i had never been a fan of goodbyes. i havent cried for someone who left me either physically or .. ewan.. haha.. but nevertheless, i had always seen goodbyes as a "test" of the relationship. real friends will always find ways to stay, in my experience ;p

===================================

Oh the comfort ----
the inexpressible comfort of feeling
safe with a person,
Having neither to weigh thoughts,
Nor measure words ---
but pouring them
All right out --- just as they are---
chaff and grain together ---
Certain that a faithful hand
will take and sift them,
keep what is worth keeping ---
And with a breath of
kindness,
blow the rest away.

============================

just for now.

2007-02-23T01:37:00.000+08:00

The end is merely a series of acts
viewed at a remote state;

and a means is merely the series
viewed at an earlier one...

The 'end' is the last act thought of;

the means are the acts to be performed
prior to it in time...

Means and ends are two names
for the same reality.

The terms denote not a division in reality
but a distinction in judgment.

===============================

it's 1:45 in the morning, feb 22.. friday?.. yeah tama. got home around quarter to 1 i think.. domi, ken, clare, ferdie, rv, swapee, and i ate out after practice. i was supposed to be a good student and go home para maka-aral pa ng mas mahaba. but no. look at me now.. im actually blogging. tsktsk. i guess i realized i had to destress at some point... medyo may natarayan ako kanina during class dahil sa stress ko .. and i actually felt bad about that. sigh. anyhow.... will try to keep a level head pa.

what's on my mind right now? hm.. sige. let me digress

*psych long test - tuesday (finished reading two chapters, study again)
*sci10 long test - monday (almost halfway done reading)
*DS dissertation - monday group meeting (page 320 na ata.. ohyeah. 124 pages
more) plus make summary of chapters 7-10
*psych project - mygulay.. wa pang creative ideas!! (due march6).. must think
and buy agad
*sci10 paper/presentation - 2nd week of march or 1st?!
(must.start.making.paper.)
*polsci reaction paper - next week (wala pa yng article?...)
*acmg concert preparations
*hangad preparations
*acmg preparations for divine mercy album
*practicum for summer (... sana may kumuha sakin.. wahaha)

yikes. don't want to continue. if i do so.... sasakit na lalo ulo ko. hahaha. sigh. kaya pa ito. natuwa naman ako the other day dahil maganda ang nakuha sa 1st DS101 long test. : ) sana maka-step up na rin sa rest of the subjects! kaya ito :D

=================================

"Expect nothing, live frugally on surprise."

==============================

great.just.great.

2007-02-11T23:35:00.000+08:00

sometimes, you just have to acknowledge that you can't

do EVERYTHING

you want to... and

sometimes

getting hurt so that you learn the lesson

is a requirement.

--------

Laugh at the night,
at the day, at the moon,
laugh at the twisted
streets of the island,
laugh at this clumsy
boy who loves you,
but when I open
my eyes and close them,
when my steps go,
when my steps return,
deny me bread, air,
light, spring,
but never your laughter
for I would die.

-----------

"we are diamonds in the rough, crystals that are dusty... vessels but broken."

------------------------

hell week again? ... kinda.
projects and presentations need to be started
and hopefully
finished.

psych project (must reflect on own life... parang gnagawa ko naman parati.. hahaha)
ds book (currently 168.. must reach 250 within the week)
sci10 paper/presentation (research : 75% done, start on paper na by weekend)
psych readings (must finish personality.. start psych disorders)
get suggested readings on neo-classical (go to ds dept)

love week pa naman.
kinda crazy sked ulit ako.
this reminds me
of the quote that the acmg guys
made last year.

"oras na naman para kantahan ang mahal ng iba..."

talk about guys being cheesier than girls ano? ;p
oh well.
have to get my head in the game (high school musical ?! haha)
hangad practices for upcoming concert (still have a bigproblem re: that day)
add in some decisions that have to be
made
or even
finalized
within the next few weeks.

here's to another full week.

rather

another interesting sleepless stressful

but

lovable (lovable!?)

month ahead.

*clink*

sige na nga

2007-02-05T14:24:00.000+08:00

“I think that perhaps we always fall
in love the very
first time
we see the
man of our dreams,
even though, at the time,
reason
may be telling otherwise,
and we may fight against that instinct,
hoping against hope
that we won't win,
until
there comes a point
when we allow ourselves
to be
vanquished
by our feelings...”

- Coelho

gaya ako kay stick.. haha. advanced happy valentine's sa mga may valentine! ;p

Shoutout to Chrina, Anne & other gals ng acmg: Picnic on Feb 14 re: Single Awareness Day!
bawal ang mga may love life o ka-issue (kahit na ibang tao ang gumawa ng issue para sa inyo.. lol).. wehehe. chocolate overload na ito! ;p

la dolce vita

2007-02-02T21:05:00.000+08:00

wow.. after 10 years ;p

just going to share some funny stuff i've picked up from ACMGers (eto napapala kapag parati tumatambay sa room..)

jem: niko, ano height mo?
niko: 5'7
jem: eh pano ka nagkasya sa puso ko?
*laughter*

jem: kumain ka ba ng lusis? (tama ba spelling?! haha)
niko: hindi..
jem: eh bakit may spark yung smile mo?
*laughter*

jem: nino asan ka kagabi?
nino: nasa bahay..
jem: kaya pala wala ka sa panaginip ko..
*laughlaughlaugh*

madami pa yun eh pero.. that's all i remember. hahaha. i swear kakabagin ka parati pag nasa room. anyhow... ;p

----------------------------------------------

recently saw this book in my uncle's library "All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten".. very familiar that's why i decided to browse through it although i should have been studying polsci since i had mid-terms (just finished kanina.. woohoo! yey me ;p). just wanted to share the first part of the book. great author.. i laughed to myself while reading the first few pages pa lang.. (yech.. conyo effects ;p)

Share everything.
Play fair.
Don't hit people.
Put things back where you found them.
Clean up your own mess.
Don't take things that aren't yours.
Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.
Wash your hands before you eat.
Flush.
Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
Live a balanced life -- learn some and think some and draw and paint
and sing and dance and play and work every day some more.
Take a nap every afternoon.
When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and
stick together.
Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: The
roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or
why, but we are all like that.
Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the
Styrofoam cup -- they all die. So do we.
And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you
learned -- the biggest word of all -- LOOK.

Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The Golden Rule and love
and basic sanitation. Ecology and politics and equality and sane living.

Take any one of those items and extrapolate it into sophisticated adult terms and
apply it into life or your work or your government or your world and it holds true and
clear and firm. Think what a better world it would be if we all -- the whole world -- had
cookies and milk about three o'clock every afternoon and then lay down with our
blankies for a nap. Or if all governments had as a basic policy to always put things
back where they found them and to clean up their own mess.

And it is still true, no matter how old you are -- when you go out into the world, it is
best to hold hands and stick together.

galing ano? parang DS major gumawa. hahaha ;p although milk and cookies can't really be classified as a basic need...hahaha.

-----------------------------------------------------------

just finished with polsci mid-terms (kinda felt good about the test.. although namatay ang right hand ko pagkatapos.. ;p) and sci10 long test kanina.. i dunno bakit parang stressed out yung week na ito.. baka kasi kahit hindi pa deadline yung iba kong binabasa eh kailangan na basahin dahil magpapatong patong na ang mga bagay. it's a good thing walang pasok sa monday.. have lotsa time to read read read.. let's see what's up in my to-do list .. acads lang

*read DS book until page 160..? (van aredonk's dissertation)
*start summary of dissertation (erm.. 3weeks from now?)
*read DS reading for tuesday
*DS101 long test - thursday
*study for DS101 LT
*research for Sci10 project proposal (tentative)
*finish reading Gunder Frank
*read psych personality chapter
*do psych hw
*start psych individual project (oh boy)

......hrm.... bakit parang dumami.... uh oh..

have to think about where i'm going to take my practicum.. Children's Hour? Office of Sen. Pangilinan?.. o yung Foreign Service thingy..? ... hrmm..... hafta talk to sir ulet.

sometimes, i guess, what's makes it hard for a person to live in the present is due to his/her worries/anxieties regarding the future... if the steps that he/she is taking are in line with the dreams and ambitions he/she has been weaving in his/her head... doubt can never be out of the picture. .

my high school friend asked me once "what if you failed even if you worked your ass off and you had all the good intentions? does that mean it wasn't really for you? do you give up the dream?"... surprisingly i at first didn't know how to respond.. then a thought came to my head "maybe you didn't pray about it. . was it YOUR dream only? did you ask Him about it? maybe He has a different path for you."

as with all good things in this life, one can only do so much to make sure that the tapestry of goals, wishes and ambitions become a reality. we may sometimes forget our humanity and how, in truth, we are never REALLY in control of the situation, of the problem at hand, of the love we feel. we are mere workers in the field, limited and weak, with the great Master carefully watching and assiting in our daily trivialities and triumphs in this wonderful and masterfully planned web of life.

woohoo. ;p

ang tanda ko na nga.. hihi.

-------------------------------

"Sometimes it’s easy to feel you’re the only one in the world who’s struggling, who’s frustrated or unsatisfied or barely getting by. But that feelings a lie and if you just hold on, just find the courage to face it all for another day, someone or something will find you and make it all okay. Because we all need a little help sometimes, someone to help us hear the music in the world, to remind us that it wont always be this way, that someone is out there. And that someone will find you."

awakening

2007-01-03T22:35:00.000+08:00

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishment the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

-------------------------------------------------------

everything happens for a reason. sometimes we don' t understand certain circumstances in our lives but nevertheless, we have to face them. you just have to suck it all in and hope... hope against all hope..

but..

i guess you learn also, that, as much as you'd want to believe in the ideal.. in the perceived as "unreal" by others....

as much as you'd want to hold fast to such lofty and optimistic views of certain aspects of life..

sometimes reality hits you right smack in the face..

and makes you think twice.

so one simply wonders

is it true then?

or was everything one ever believed in all a lie? a petty joke?

however one thinks it over and

concludes that ideals, may or may not always be achieved

but

one CAN and MAY chart one's course,

one's life by them

what's the harm in that?

disappointment..?.. failure..?

who cares, right?....

as long as you fight the good fight..

and never surrender to the darkness of the night.

sometimes

one needs to let go of the former self

of the self that had been protected for so long

and awaken in the more cruel and enchanting world

of reality

and finally face it

head on

as the person you are...

as the person you were meant to be.

=================================================

"Do not look back and grieve over the past, for it is gone. And do not be troubled about the future, for it has yet to come.
Live in the present, and make it so beautiful that it will be worth remembering."

"Because its only when your tested that you truly discover who you are. And its only when your tested that you discover who you can be. The person you wanna be exists, Somewhere on the other side of hard work, faith and belief, and beyond
the heartache and fear of what lies ahead."

free : )

2006-12-20T22:57:00.000+08:00

i can officially say that i'm free from the feeling :D

im grateful na nangyari sya sooner than later.. haha. its nice actually. everybody's a friend and ... it's amazing! hahaha.

===========================================
*in a singsong voice*

somebody's making me happy......

somebody's making me happyyyyyy....

but im not saying who it iiiiiiiisss........

mwahahahaha. ewan. friends nga lahat di ba? :) funfun.

o dedication muna: (mga in bold faced lng)

I wasn't looking but somehow you found me
It tried to hide from your love light
But like Heaven above me
The spy who loved me
Is keeping all my secrets safe tonight

And nobody does it better
Though sometimes I wish someone could
Nobody does it quite the way you do
Why'd you have to be so good?

The way that you hold me
Whenever you hold me
There's some kind of magic inside you
That keeps me from running
But just keep it coming
How'd you learn to do the things you do?

==============================
thanks for being you :)

==============================
happy christmas everybody!

wa na pasok but still in qc. just got home from our caroling in Manila Pen. loved the outfit kanina, black and red. very romantic :) chika. bukas ay ka-date ko si reg for lunch (salamat sa libre! hahah) at pagkatapos ay christmas shopping kami! woohooo!

Hangad stuff:
Dec 21 - Selecta caroling
Dec 22 - ABC 5 Simbang gabi 1030pm live

last two stuff for the year!!! aww.. i've been singing with these guys ever since friday last week.. grabe. di pa naman ako sawa sa mga mukha nila. :) in fairness, wagi ang simbang gabi sa gesu last night khit.. may ilang songs na windang ang tempo. hahaha.

funny how things are

2006-12-13T23:06:00.001+08:00

I like you calm, as if you were absent,

and you hear me far-off, and my voice does not touch you.

It seems that your eyelids have taken to flying:

it seems that a kiss has sealed up your mouth.

Since all these things are filled with my spirit,

you come from things, filled with my spirit.

You appear as my soul, as the butterfly’s dreaming,

and you appear as Sadness’s word.

I like you calm, as if you were distant,

you are a moaning, a butterfly’s cooing.

You hear me far-off, my voice does not reach you.

Let me be calmed, then, calmed by your silence.

Let me commune, then, commune with your silence,

clear as a light, and pure as a ring.

You are like night, calmed, constellated.

Your silence is star-like, as distant, as true.

I like you calm, as if you were absent:

distant and saddened, as if you were dead.

One word at that moment, a smile, is sufficient.

And I thrill, then, I thrill: that it cannot be so.

===========================================

mock long test in DS 101 tomorrow! :) my gulay. weird bang sabihin na im actually enjoying my studying of growth theory, marginal propensity to save, reproducible capital, neoclassical, structuralist.. weh. hahaha :) tama nga yung sabi ni sir leland, you seem to be "intelligent" since you talk about such serious stuff with very technical sounding words. hahaha. wala lang. talk to me one of these days about poverty, third world countries, dev't economics and what have you's. :)

===============================================

it's christmas but people haven't been feeling the "spirit". at least majority of those i know. . i guess there has been so much hullabaloo of our politicians and also of this growing despair over our situation in the country. much has to be done.. we can't simply give up and let frustration win. sabi nga ni sir, "we are out to save the world.. which presumes that the world can be saved, that a new world can be made."

============================================

just keeping the ball rolling. acads plus ACMG plus Hangad. getting by naman. but i promised na i'll be better in acads this sem. . still letting time do all the letting go amidst all the pangangantiyaw and panggugulo ng mga tao :) you won't break me, guys! haha. .. haaay. i'll let meredith grey summarize what i felt for a couple of days....

"despite all your choices and despite all your best intentions, fate wins anyway."

oh boy.

funny how things are

2006-12-13T23:06:00.000+08:00

finding comfort

2006-12-05T16:09:00.000+08:00

Ginie: haaaaaaay.... why are things so complicated?
Ivory: i dont know ginie... its hard enough that we cant choose who we fall for
Ivory: whats harder is the fact that when you want to "control" your emotions and just stop pining and pining for that someone who doesnt even know you're there..
Ivory: you
Ivory: just
Ivory: cant
Ivory: and all you have to do.. and all you CAN do.... is wait
Ivory: and let time pass.. and let time do all the letting go

========================================================

darn this ym conversation just .. whew. grabe ginie... are we kindred spirits or what?! haha. and to think we never knew we were in the same situation eh?!? :) kaya sa mga taong nasa parehong state of the heart dyan.. don't hesitate to tag/approach me and ginie. hahahaha.

siya. tama na ang drama.

c'est la vie.

2006-12-04T08:13:00.000+08:00

Derek: Meredith.
Meredith: Leave me alone.
Derek: Meredith.
(Meredith and Derek in a hospital room)
Meredith: Just leave me alone.
Derek: I just want to make sure you're alright.
Meredith: No! I'm not alright? Okay? Are you satisfied? I'm not alright. Because you have a wife, and you call me a whore, and our dog died, and now you're looking at me again. Stop looking at me.
Derek: I am not looking at you. I am not looking at you.
Meredith: You are looking at me. And you watch me. And Finn has plans. And I like Finn. He's perfect for me, and I'm really trying here to be happy, and I feel like I can't breathe. I can't breathe with you looking at me like that so just stop!
Derek: You think I want to look at you? That I wouldn't rather be looking at my wife? I'm married. I have responsibilities. She, she doesn't drive me crazy. She doesn't make it impossible for me to feel normal. She doesn't make me sick to my stomach thinking about my veterinarian touching her with his hands. Man, I would give anything to not be looking at you.

=========================================================

basically that's what im feeling as of the moment. i. am. so. darn. confused. eek. sigh. there is this conscious, actually VERY MUCH conscious part of me that has been struggling to bottle up all the emotions of attraction i have felt. . . but fate really has a way of spoiling everything, eh? ..sheesh.
meanwhile, i will simply try to.. i dunno, be busy?.. problem is there's nothing much to be busy about yet. the professors have been too kind. haha. haaay. anyhow. on with the show. time to put on the happy, contented and "not bothered" mask. until then.

huling hirit!

2006-11-12T21:51:00.000+08:00

hiya everybody :D

well, nothing much to say. share ko na lang ilang excerpts from a book i have by
Paulo Coelho "By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept". .. recently rummaged through my stuff and came across this sheet of paper that had some parts of the dialogue..

==========================================================================

"I am going to sit here with you by the river. If you go home to sleep, I will sleep in front of your house. And if you go away, I will follow you ------ until you tell me to go away. Then I'll leave. But I have to love you for the rest of my life."

=========================================================================

"Love never comes just a little at a time, I thought as I watched him
absorbed in contemplation of the Virgin. The previous day, the world had
made sense, even without love's presence. But now we needed each other in
order to see the true brilliance of things."

=========================================================================

"Mountains are beautiful. Anyone who beholds them has to think about the grandness
of creation. They are living proof of the love that God feels for us, but their
fate is merely to give testimony. They are not like the rivers, which move and
transform what is around them."

"But why not be like the mountains?"

"Maybe because the fate of mountains are terrible. They are destined to look out
at the same scene forever."

=======================================================================

and for the grand finale... my favorite :D

Life takes us by surprise and orders us to move toward the unknown ----- even when we don't want to and when we think we don't need to.

=====================================================================

by the way, watch "the prestige"... aside from great eye candy (hellooooooooooo christian bale *beautiful eyes..winkwink*)... love the twist! :) great story. or talagang kulang ako sa social life nung 1st sem.. haahahaha.

here's to a better sem!! cheers. ;p and before i forget,

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

just a while ago i walked all the way from mass at Pentecost.. brr. evening air was cold already. . loveit. ;p

errata!

2006-11-02T03:03:00.000+08:00

mali pala.. hehe.. regarding the post previous to this..

Paulo Coelho's book is entitled "Like the Flowing River" and not "The River Flows"
.. wehehe.

toink ;p

patawa lang

2006-11-01T16:18:00.000+08:00

something happened nung saturday. my mom and i were on our way to greenhills west for the birthday of my tiyo. mom got hungry so we went to the mcdo drive thru (paranaque)

mom: (signaling to mcdo guy near the speaker) excuse me excuse me! gumagana ba ito?
(points at speaker for drive-thru customers)

*speakers crackle* yes ma'am?

mom: ay! ... okay.. can i have one regular yum please?

======silence=======

mom: .. one regular yum please?

ivory: *frowns in passenger seat trying to think why something was not right*
Mom! Nasa MCDO tayo!!!

*speakers crackle* um, sorry ma'am pero burger mcdo meal po dito.

*mom and ivory laugh out loud*

tongewngewngewngew......

wahahahahaha :D

hope you, yes you the one reading this blog of mine, are having a great day today!

p.s. saw the new book of paulo coelho.. dunno kung new nga or ngyon ko lng nakita.. haha.. Like the River Flows ata yun... collection of short stories and some writings.. i read this one particular article.. i'll post it the particular part i loved here:

A rose dreamed day and night about bees, but no bee ever
landed on her petals.

The flower, however, continued to dream. During the long nights, she
imagined a heaven full of bees, which flew down to bestow fond kisses on
her. By doing this, she was able to last until the next day, when she
opened again to the light of the sun.

One night, the moon, who knew of the rose's loneliness, asked:
'Aren't you tired of waiting?'

'Possibly, but I have to keep trying.'

'Why?'

'Because if I don't remain open, I will simply fade away.'

[b]At times, when loneliness seems to crush all beauty, the only way to
resist is to remain open.[/b]

see this site http://www.cygnus-books.co.uk/features/like-flowing-river-paulo-coelho.htm for the complete article :D

random

2006-10-28T23:08:00.000+08:00

seriously...

does fate have a way of messing people's heads?

i dunno. blame it on the "everything happens for a reason" belief i have..
it's just that... sometimes, there are too many interconnected events in one's life that all point to this one sole being who, at the moment, seems to be occupying your thoughts for quite a while...and this being seems to have found a home in this head of mine. sheesh.

right now i am just tooooo confused.

is the universe telling me something?

even the Big Guy seems to favor him. (don't ask)

but regardless of all the supposed "signs"... regardless of all the events that the "normal me" would tend to analyze and criticize until my head hurt... well, contrary to the "usual"... i am just not too certain about this one. i am not as positive.

i guess this is somewhat similar to that of getting your first ever try at riding a bicycle.

you're ecstatic and giddy and kinda nervous the first time. this is something new. an experience to be treasured.

you fall down.. but that doesnt stop you. you dust off the dirt from your knees and gamely go back on the bike. .. more determined to ride farther from the house.

some get the hang of it. . biking becomes an essential part of one's life. one's play time isn't complete without biking for a good 50 meters or more.

others, however, don't have enough courage to go on. when you have too many bruises, scratches and scars from the first few rides, what more in the next few?

this is where the uncertainty creeps in.

you don't know if today will be the day wherein you're gonna get lucky or just plain cursed.

you don't know if today will actually be the day that you get to beat that kala-mo-kung-sino-ka neighbor and finally say "beh buti nga"

you don't know if today will be the last day that you'll ever ride a bike since your mom is freakishly petrified that your legs will be covered with scars of your glory days of biking and rationalizing that you may not be qualified to be a beauty queen anymore.

you just don't know.

and, come to think of it....

though i may be plagued by such daunting thoughts and scary forecasts of tomorrow..

i can never really be at peace

if i don't risk it and just try.

to let anything happen... to let any kind of emotion penetrate my being.. to be immersed in every experience of joy, suffering, love, hurt, happiness, sorrow...

and simply LIVE.

something to mull over

2006-10-26T05:50:00.000+08:00

There's something to be said about a glass half-full

about knowing when to say "when".

I think it's a floating line:

a barometer of need and desire.

It's entirely up to the individual

and it depends on what's being poured.

Sometimes all we want is a taste.

Other times there's no such thing as enough.

The glass is bottomless..

and all we want is more.

-grey's anatomy

*i can't understand this.. i can't understand what's happening. someone please tell me what to do...*

embrace

2006-10-08T01:48:00.001+08:00

tapos na yung recording for paskong pinoy! woohoo ;p medyo naging raspy nga lang ang boses ko pagkatapos.. grabe mga 12sumthing na rin yun. nakaka-drain din pala kahit papaano.. ehehe. at dahil hindi ako nakapag-dinner bumili ako sa mcdo. nagpa-drop off kami nila teen and reg dun at from there hiwahiwalay na kami ng landas. bought my dinner and then walked all the way home. . which by the way, ikinagulat ng pinsan at mga helper dito dahil msyado na daw late yun... sowee dint want to bother everyone. okay naman eh. im a brave girl. marunong akong mang-aikido o mang-taekwondo if need be. ;p eh dpat matakot sila sakin! sa tangkad kong to?!?! wahahaha. kiddin. hehe.

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the rustling of the sleepy leaves
the soft humming of melancholy melodies
brought by the loving Mother Wind.

the tick! tock! and the blah blah!
the vroom! vroom! and the beep beep!
the ding! dong! and the aaaahh!

everything fades away
everything simply melts into
one unimaginable glop of nothingness

i love the fact that i can
never fully explain the reason
of this escape from earth.

i love the fact that i can
safely conclude that, as long as
you're near, i am home.

2006-10-08T01:48:00.000+08:00

baliw

2006-10-06T18:12:00.000+08:00

hindi ko namalayang

nahuli mo ako.

bihag ng isang
saglit

ng kabaitan o ng

pagkaawa...?

hindi ko batid

kung kailan mo ako

naikulong.

sa kalokohan at kabaliwang

ito. hindi na ako

napirmi. hindi na ako

iniwanan,

tinantanan,

ng iyong hindi mawaring

mga mata

ng iyong

nakabubulabog,
nakawiwindang,
nakalulupasay na

ngiti.

hindi ka na naawa.

hindi ka man lang napa-isip

na MALI ang iyong ginagawa

na MALI ang iyong inaasta

na MALI ang lahat,

LAHAT ng sinasabi at

pinagpipilitan mo.

ginulo
mo ang mundo ko.

winasak mo lahat ng inakala kong tama

ipinadama mo ang hagupit ng iyong nakaraan.

kaya nararapat
lang
na

magpa-salamat.

salamat.

matagal na kitang

hinihintay.