Sunday Quote and Photograph: Father and Sunset

A father will always be there to make sure that you wake up to a beautiful sunrise,
And stays with you throughout the day to lead you to the most beautiful sunset.

Happy Father’s Day to all you GREAT FATHERS in the world!

~*** ~

Photo was taken at Station 1 in Boracay Island where my family witnessed one of the most spectacular sunset.

Sunday Poem and Photographs: Say Hello To An Old Friend

As you walk along the winding path of the Esplanade
That embraces the gentle curve of the Iloilo River
Say a silent prayer for the long-lost loyal friend
That we had covered with filth and almost forgotten

When it went out to meet the sea each day
Bearing the heavy burdens of our wasteful rituals
We feared that it would never return, in anger and
In protest against our reckless ways

Sing Paeans at the top of your voices
To those who brought back the River to life
To those who remembered a friend from days gone by
To those who cared and saw the beauty beneath the grime.

A once dying river now glimmers with hope sublime
It still goes out to sea by the moon in its appointed time
It silently gathers the wealth of the waters
And comes back faithfully in fair of stormy chime.

Say hello to a long lost blogger… and that’s me.
It’s been a while since my last post. Well believe it or not I was about to make a series of posts starting to my earlier summer escapades and also my annual Vicita Iglesia traditional post when suddenly my home phone and DSL went gone for the _nth time just right after the Holy Week break.  It just came back in the first week of June at the very night that we are leaving for an out of town trip and believe me I was no longer surprised when it’s gone again when we came back after a week !  Wow! Isn’t that amazing?
Anyways, I will just release my frustrations about my ISP provider on another cover so as not to cloud the reason that inspires me to create a blog post at the first chance that I had. 
Let me share with you a beautiful poem I found while strolling one Sunday morning in  the Esplanade of Iloilo City during our recent vacation.  I’m sure you will find the wordings as mesmerizing as the place where I found it. 
I just want to give credit to the person who wrote this poem and a BIG kudos to the people who really did a good job in bringing back the Iloilo River.  It is such a huge gift to the people of Iloilo. 
The place is so awesome so I will be sharing more photos and hope additional information about this place in the coming days.
Meanwhile, have a blessed Sunday everyone!

Hello March!

No I’m not asking March to “please be good to me.”  Instead, I will be good to March and for the rest of my life.

Most people usually set goals and (unfulfilled) promises at the beginning of the year, while the weird me have this habit of setting them when my favorite month comes in..  It’s simply because March is my birth month and I thought it is just logical aiming to be even a bit better starting in the month a year is added to one’s age. 

So this “Merry Month of March”. the vampire me is celebrating a great milestone that a living human should be proud of!  I will be celebrating the half century of my existence in this world with you mortals!  LOL!

Of course there’s a lot of “going-ons” in my hyper-active old mind which revolves around the word “mature-fun”. I hope that I can share the worthwhile things with you and keep the unworthy parts to my rising archives.

But first, I need to find back my blogging and running mojo.  Hmn… for blogging, I hope this post is a sign that I found it back.  For running, oh yes I definitely did!



Actually, I know I’m not making sense on this post ha ha.  I just want to post this awesome picture that my friend captured while I was enjoying the beautiful sunset in Agas Beach in Puerto Galera.

Hope you will join me as I go back blogging either talking sensibly or senseless.  After all that is what life is made of… senseless and sensible.

Sunday Song and Photographs: What A Wonderful World

I see fields of green... red berries too... and i see them bloom... for me and you... and i think to myself… what a wonderful world.

Sigh… I made up those lyrics referring to the song “What A Wonderful World”.  The words I used were inspired by the fields of lettuce and strawberries at La Trinidad, Benguet in Baguio City where my family spent the Christmas holiday.

I was in a sad and uneasy mood actually while I was writing this.  It was after being awaken by a strong earthquake at past 3AM on a Sunday.  I’m sure people from huge part of the Philippines specifically from Luzon felt the same uneasiness that I was into. It was one hell of a shake!  The kind of the most unwanted feeling that anyone would want to wake up with specially on a Sunday.  That kind of shake takes me back to the horrific memory of the July 16, 1990 earthquake, one of the most horrifying experience in my life.

It also immediately took me back to the horror it brought to Baguio City, one among the hardest hit by that horrific 1990 earthquake.  That thought gave me a shudder because it was just some two weeks ago that my family was in Baguio, City.  It is just sad that while I’m still savoring the still-fresh happy thoughts from that family vacation then it was suddenly replaced by a shivering  thought.  It was a will power to positively hope and pray that no one’s got hurt.

The electricity didn’t go off and the phone lines and cellular signals were still up = all’s good so far.  Thanks to technology the bits of news came automatically on the social media feeds.  Unlike before that you still have to wait for hours to hear the details from radio or television.  It was immediately reported as a 5.7 magnitude but later confirmed as 6.0 with epicenter in San Antonio, Zambales, Luzon, Philippines.  And thank God as I’m writing this there was no casualty reported. (By the way I remember posting an article on "What to do during an earthquake" which I think is advisable to read from time to time.)

***

The photos were taken at Strawberry Field in La Trinidad Benguet, Baguio City Philippines which I initially posted on my Instagram account.

The song “What A Wonderful World” has a lot of versions and covers but nothing beats the original version by Louis Armstrong which was released in 1967.  I realized I haven’t heard an unlikeable cover so far but in spite of the hundreds of version, it conveys no other message other than "what a wonderful world God has created for us”.  All what we need to do is to take care and appreciate it while enjoying every moment of our existence to this wonderful world.

I also wanted to share the original lyrics of this beautiful song.

I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and for you
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

I see skies of blue and clouds of white

The bright blessed the day, the dark sacred night
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people going by

I see friends shaking hands saying how do you do
But what they're really saying is I love you.

I hear baby's crying and I watched them grow
They'll learn much more than I'll ever know
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.
Yes, I think to myself what a wonderful world.

THANK YOU GOD FOR THIS WONDERFUL WORLD!  A blessed Sunday everyone.

Who’s Calling Me?… At The Underground Cemetery

30th of October

I think I have mentioned several times that I am not a spooky or a skittish person. Prankster will just waste their time playing pranks on me because there would be no satisfying reaction that will come out of my annoying face.  To perfectly described it “Basag and trip mo pag ako ang tinakot mo”. ha ha.  Probably this is the reason why I came out with My 10 Halloween-Related Wish List post. I don’t easily get scared.

But this does not mean that I don’t have scary experiences.  I have a lot actually and most of them are strange and un-explainable. Most friends told me that those things usually happens to people that does not get scared easily.  Hmn.. if this is true it’s not quite fair!

Let me share to you one particular story that happened during one of my road trips in the area of Quezon and Laguna with my “adventurista” friends.  

This happened when we explored the Underground Cemetery in Nagcarlan, Laguna.  It was right after we visited three very old churches in the Laguna area also and we were trying to catch the opening of the “Anakalang Festival”.  It was already late in the afternoon and the sun is already setting when we arrived at the Underground Cemetery.



An ambiance of serenity welcomed us when we reached the place.  The front façade is impressive by how it looks and how it is being maintained.












I am amused that there is a registry at the entrance for visitors – reminds me of a visitor’s registry when you are visiting a wake (grinning).



As the front park has a very welcoming ambiance, it is very much different when it comes to the underground part.  I must admit that it’s a bit creepy when you are taking the stairs down going to the under ground.  It gets more creepier around the altar.  I was (seeing) imagining lots of things while looking at it.

It was quite challenging taking the photos because we were prohibited using the camera flash.



I find the stairs leading to the main exit as an interesting spot to have my solo photo taken so I asked my BFF to take my photo. The stone stairways is strangely cold which made me very uncomfortable sitting there.

As I my BFF is counting the 123 queue I can feel my phone vibrating in my pocket – someone’s calling. 

As soon as I heard the camera snapped, I quickly pulled up my phone from my pocket to check who’s calling.  At the same time, my phone also stopped ringing/vibrating.  When I saw the name on the missed call on my phone screen, I climbed out of the stairs leading to the exit running.  Everybody automatically followed me.  I’m not sure if they also ran because I was trying to catch my breath when I reached the open air again.

My BFF who knows every inch of my being “me” was eyeing me suspiciously. I can see on her face that she knew something’s strange is going on.  She automatically asked? Who was that? Who called you? I hesitated to answer for a while then I answered…

You!  You were calling me at the very same time that you were taking my picture. And I asked her where is her phone though I knew fully well that her phone is inside her bag. She gave me a confused look so I showed her my phone screen wherein her name is registered in the “missed call” 

My BFF  then quickly locate her phone from her bag and found that it was screen locked but there was indeed on the dialed number is my name. Yep. She was calling me at the very moment that she’s taking my picture… while I’m seeing with my two eyes that she is holding the camera right on my face and not a cell phone.

~***~

The Nagcarlan Underground Cemetery (Filipino: Libingan sa Ilalim ng Lupa ng Nagcarlan) is a national historical landmark and museum in Barangay Bambang, Nagcarlan, Laguna supervised by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines.  It was built in 1845 under the supervision of Franciscan priest, Fr. Vicente Velloc as a public burial site and its underground crypt exclusively for Spanish friars, prominent town citizens and members of elite Catholic families.  It is dubbed as the only undergorund cemetery in the country. Source: Wikipedia

295/365: Sunday Lyrics and Photograph: I Won’t Give Up – A Song Dedicated To My Blog

26th of October

It’s 3AM on a Sunday and I am awake.  I am supposed to be sleeping tight by this time.  You know it’s Sunday and there’s no work, no pre-scheduled plans, no socialization commitments nor out of town or whatever.  A rare Sunday moment that I don’t need to be up so early but here I am up!

Can’t force myself to go back to sleep so up I go and made myself a mug of coffee.  My foot then automatically leads me to my home desk.  Hello my lappy!

Aaah I miss my blog so much!  By this time I already accepted that I failed my own “365 Blogging Challenge”. So far this is the longest time I did not post anything here since I started the challenge. But this doesn’t mean that I’m giving up on my blog or to blogging.

There are two major reasons why I started this challenge anyway.  One is that the idiot in me always love to take challenges which are mostly “Mission Impossible” to succeed. The second reason is that this is one way of me not to give up on my passion.  When I signed for a regular job after four years of being a freelancer, I knew that I will be eaten by the system of having a regular job.  I'd seen that happened to lots of my fellow bloggers which saddens me BIG TIME.  So this is just like the reason why I am not giving up on my running blog for the reason that it motivates me not to give up on my running – something like that.

Jeez I have so much of mixed thoughts that I’m not sure that you are understanding.  Anyway, what I just want to simply say is that I’m not giving up on my blog.  In fact I feel so romantically attached to it right now that I am listening and dedicating a song to it – “I Won’t Give Up”.

The original song is by Jason Mraz and I love all his renditions especially the live ones however, there is one video that I found in YouTube where I can totally relate every time I watch it.  It’s a video of a Scottish boy named Nicholas McDonald auditioning in X-Factor UK.  You may want to watch this video and I also want to share the song lyrics.

When I look into your eyes
It's like watching the night sky
Or a beautiful sunrise
Well there's so much they hold
And just like them old stars
I see that you've come so far
To be right where you are
How old is your soul?

I won't give up on us
Even if the skies get rough
I'm giving you all my love
I'm still looking up

And when you're needing your space
To do some navigating
I'll be here patiently waiting
To see what you find

'Cause even the stars they burn
Some even fall to the earth
We've got a lot to learn
God knows we're worth it
No, I won't give up

I don't wanna be someone who walks away so easily
I'm here to stay and make the difference that I can make
Our differences they do a lot to teach us how to use the tools and gifts
We got yeah we got a lot at stake
And in the end,
You're still my friend at least we didn't tend
For us to work we didn't break, we didn't burn
We had to learn, how to bend without the world caving in
I had to learn what I got, and what I'm not
And who I am

The photograph is taken while I was shopping with my kids one time.  No the shirt brand is not mine nor I am commercially advertising for it  ha ha.  I was just totally in awe when I saw this hanging in one of the department stores.

You might be thinking that I bought myself one of these shirts but no. Because I am giving the chance to the sweet people around me to spot this and be reminded about me then buy me one ha ha.

Have a blessed Sunday everyone!

230/365: Mailman Still Exists! And He Delivered Lots Of Love From Verona

28th of August

So I was sitting yesterday in the sofa gobbling a variety of food of odd combination plus drowning myself with pure pineapple juice in the late afternoon after doing the (forbidden) laundry, when suddenly I was startled by a fierce knocking on our front door accompanied by the shouting of my full name that can be heard up to the next barangay.

I almost knocked down the foldable table that carries the food I’m gobbling while hurrying to check who the h*ll this intruder interrupting my glutton solitude. (I was eating a lot thinking that I could regain my lost strength for not resting while I’m unwell).

I peeked at the window and found a wrinkled old man with a bag dangling on his shoulders.  The bag looks like as old as the man who is wiping his forehead with his left hand while his right hand is holding a bunch of envelopes. 

Aaaah!  It’s the mailman!  I curiously asked, “Why didn’t you just leave the mail at the gate like you usually do? And the mailman’s reply was…

“Mam mukang uulan baka mabasa hindi mo mabasa ang message postcard kasi”.
(Ma’am it seems like it’s going to rain, this is a postcard and you might not be able to read the message if it got wet”).

My heart melt. So mailman still exist and this one’s got a good heart.  I handed him a glass of water which he gladly accepted.  He then took off whistling and his old shoulder bag seems like dancing with his whistling.  I watched him in awe as he walked away and vanished from my sight.

The POSTCARD!

It’s from my good blogger friend Tripster Guy (TG).  I remember he posted on his blog that he and his friends had this road trip to the northern towns and cities of Italy.

I was grinning from ear to ear while I’m reading the message. So my crazy friend visited the romantic setting of the most stupid love story ever written. Yep I’m talking about Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet that happened in VERONA. Remember they died from suicide because of plain stupidity? But don’t get me wrong, I love Shakespeare. I am amazed how he came up with all his stories where almost all the characters died in the end then they became famously known as “Shakespeare’s Tragedies”.

Anyway, back to TG’s postcard.  The subject is “Saluti da Verona”.  Well the curious cat in me checked on a bit of history of the place and let me share with you what I found.

”“Saluti da Verona” – as famous as “Romeo and Juliet” is a lovely pink marble Roman Amphitheatre built in 1AD and still dominates the piazza in the middle of Verona.  It is now a venue for opera rather than gladiator battles and the third largest amphitheater in Italy.  Once it could seat 30,000 but these days it’s capacity is 15,000. (Source: Various web sites)

I love postcards not only because they are sustaining life to the dying postal industry which for me is a far bigger and sadder tragedy than Shakespeare’s. Plus it warms my heart knowing that a friend who is enjoying his vacation took time to buy you a postcard, handwritten (an almost unreadable/lol) message on it and mail it. It is some kind of wonderful thoughtfulness isn't it?

May I also share TG’s message to you which part is talking about his (no) love life which for me is another sadder tragedy than Shakespeare’s ha ha ha.



Okay I’m feeling a lot better now!  I’m not thanking TG for now because I know some more postcards are coming and I’m excited. Yipee!