54 days to go till Christmas!

I felt it last night. That familiar and comforting chilly air of Advent...

I'm really looking forward to Christmas but I just miss Summer too.

Keep your word even if it costs you

I am not genetically designed to be understanding of flakers. Let alone flakers who wait the last minute to ditch you.

I don't get it. We all complain there are too few hours in a day that we end up juggling tasks, wing some and totally put off the others just so our sanity remains intact. And yet, some people are amazingly negligent of how you lovingly set aside a good fraction of your day for them. I don't get it. I don't think I ever will.

This ranting does not even stem from the fact that people give you very little room to turn your schedule around. Much more than that, my issue comes from this thing we call RESPECT. I am busy too. I run too. I feel like doing something else too... Please show a little respect for the trade-offs I have to deal with, too.

Love and Truth

I have recently developed this thing for calling nouns by their ‘proper’ names. That is, using the upper case for the first letter and treating them as if they were alive—that they breathe, move, interact, cause delight and inflict misery towards others just like every human being is capable of.

The ones on my list so far are Love and Truth.

Love, I think, is pretty self-explanatory. Of all human dynamics, the ones driven by Love are the most complex. Genetics has quite accurately determined the DNA sequence but no one has unraveled the mystery that is Love. For centuries it has remained constant that to me it rightfully deserves the capital letter ‘L’. And we are not even talking about romantic love here. I’m referring to the greater one, the more encompassing, powerful, and larger-than-life one. You know, Love.

It could also mean a call to action. I read somewhere this call for all to Be Love. A truncated version of the text goes-

“Be Love” is a bold declaration. It’s about choosing kindness over being right. It’s about cutting out the conditions in which you might think are required for love and going straight to the source, or rather, being the source yourself, that which is Love, unconditional. Source: freshnessfactorfivethousand.blogspot.com

Now wouldn’t it be nice if everyone chose the most Loving way all the time? To, rather than spending their lives fighting or untangling it, be “It” instead? To channel or create ripples of Love? And simply be Love?

***

Are you ready for the next few lines? Because I will be telling the truth…

Ahhhh, Truth. You are in equal parts feared and sought after, dreaded and coveted. While some run from your shadows, others set out in desperate search of you.

But really there is no escaping the truth. We never lie to ourselves; in our heart of hearts, we always know the truth. Our mothers tell the truth. Our best friends tell the truth. Our gut tells the truth. The difference lies now on our acceptance or rejection of it. Some resort to escapism, others embrace it. Funny how our character shows by how we make room for truth in our lives…

Oh yeah, sorry for digressing. If you notice, I haven’t been referring to Truth with a capital ‘T’. The Truth I’m referring to is not the one that can be used interchangeably with reality. It's neither the law nor what Mulder and Scully look for every Wednesday night on prime time TV (or was it Thursday?). Truth for me is more like a moment, a point in time where the course of all succeeding events will be changed. Imagine the scene in Meet Joe Black where Brad Pitt calls Anthony Hopkins to 'take a walk at the edge of the garden'. Now that is Truth.

Truth to me is either the beginning or the beginning of the end. It is that one moment that outshines the rest when the certainty and finality of things hit you. An encounter, if I may say. It is that time when you feel as if you were smacked in the head, slapped in the face or punched in the stomach (you choose the body part!) when, whether you are ready or not, it is made known to you that some things are just the way they are. And that the universe owes you nothing because they did not turn out otherwise.

And so I believe the wise ones when they say the Truth stings. Hell It does. But didn't they also say that It shall set you free?

With all the Love in the world, I hope that Truth always looks kindly upon you,

Wins

Goodbyes and Answers

In a place where happiness rarely came around

And kindred souls were few and far between

You were my quiet place, my refuge

We put the pieces together perfectly

The way only the lucky ones can

You made me see there was heaven above me

As there was the earth below

And you breathed life into everything in between

Sometimes I even wonder

If you knew you had that magic in you

Yet now, your eyes tell the story of deep sorrow

Your smile is the confession of a bitter longing

My mortal hands cannot do anything

Between our goodbye and the road ahead of us

Are answers waiting to be found

Your eyes tell the story of deep sorrow

Your smile is the confession of bitter longing

When did we let go of the grip?

Between our goodbye and the road ahead of us

Are answers we may never find

A (calculated) costly mistake

We will inevitably make that one mistake so we can learn that great lesson for ourselves.

One day we will find ourselves making that wrong turn.
And we will do it against the advise of all who have been there,
in opposition to what our gut tells us,
and in conflict with sound judgment

It will turn things upside down. But it will all be worth it…

***

Now I have 2 gigabytes' worth of raw files that cannot be recovered.

Bangkok Bonanza!

I have always loved Bangkok for its food, intricate temples and the most relaxing massage. Now I have one more reason to make it one of my favorite cities...

Okay, so Rafa wasn't there but my first ATP world tour experience is definitely one for the books :)

Will post more photos (the ones where people are actually looking at the camera) once I escape from the busy workweek ahead. This shall do for now... *blush*

P.S.

I'm on schizo mode again! The tone of this post is such a stark contrast from that of the last one ;-)

But Why?! WHY???!!!

I'm so sorry for me and my sisters you won't be able to come to Bangkok this year :'( And personally, I'd hate to think the weekend in Cebu has been rained on by this sad news [although that's how I'm feeling right now. Daym. ]

I guess it does not necessarily mean that the next turn is mine just because everyone has had their chance...

Fond Childhood Memory #1 - KEEPING THE KIDS GROUNDED

I thought of Papa today.

A friend and I were talking about her dad's betting pattern in cock derbies and then memories came flashing back- Popsy used to play sabong too.

My Lolo owned this beach property in the province where derbies were held. Such circumstance made Popsy an occasional visitor to the place, and even less frequently, a better. I was too young to understand how he'd bet but what I was cognizant about was the loot after a game. We always knew if his rooster (what do you call them anyway? I mean aside from cock *silly grin*) gave his opponent a good beating and biting if Popsy came home with hot off the wok pancit, Maling luncheon meat, soap, toothpaste and a whole lotta stuff from the grocery.

There were no specific sabong days but he would always let us know if he's heading out to see a fight. We would gladly await his return and run outside once we hear his bike. Of course, the first thing the kids would look at is if there are plastic bags hanging from his steering bar. And we'd say in unison "may pasalubong si Papa!" on days he got lucky. And merely seconds after he gets inside the house, we'd be feasting on his small treat already.

Oh boy, I'm smiling right now as I write this ^_^ It's pretty cool thinking about it now, the simple life in the province, that is. It's also one of those moments you stop and think you have enough. And here we are in the big city decades after as orphans. Still, shiny things don't impress us much. :)

LOL. LU. LOL

It was a super relaxing, boffo weekend at the beach. Look, I think it's the general sentiment of the group--



The waves did not join us the 2 days we were in La Union so surfing was not part of the things to rave about. But we sure had a lot of other things to keep LOL in LU!


It was a weekend of playing Taboo sitting down...




standing up...



in the evening...


and practically every opportunity possible!


We enjoyed greeeeeeeat food...





(happy campers oblivious to how hard the rain was falling on Night 1)



... and in the morning, the weather was perfect to play disc,




go drinking ^_^



unwinding and just being...
















Next stop, Bantayan Island, Cebu in 2 weeks! Yahooo!!!!!


P.S.

If you're planning a trip to La Union, you might wanna consider staying at Lola Nanny's. Although a room air conditioner is the only amenity they have (yup, no hot shower. sigh. no cable TV, and no other fancy stuff) but I swear, the warmth of their staff and their great food overcompensate for it. Call them at 0915-4184034. Theirs is officially my favorite accommodations up there!

P.S. 2
Mau, thanks for the photos! Had a hard time rummaging through them looking for a photo with you in it. Hehe. Sowee!