how apt

my dailyOM horoscope couldn't be or feel more apt than this.

Present Sense, Future Success
Leo Daily Horoscope

It might be easier for you to handle your business affairs with greater ingenuity and acumen today, which might be because you recognize that by being organized and forward-thinking, you are much more likely to achieve your goals. Having a concrete plan for what you wish to accomplish could be one way for you to combine your real-world savvy with your hopes for the future. Making a list of the things that you not only know you have to get done but also that you wish for today might help you attain this end. You might find, for example, that thinking more carefully about your life situation, noting the things that you immediately need to attend to, and then doing a little more research into how you can broaden your resources can give you more ideas about how to do the things that you have always wanted to do.

Merging our know-how with our greater aspirations helps us to think not only about what we can do today but also about what we are able to achieve in the future. When we frame our goals in this way, we are much more likely to see that what we do in the present allows us to manifest greater abundance later on. It is not only being organized that counts but also setting the intention for our growth, development, and evolution that factor into the equation. Letting your dreams guide your actions will lay the foundation in which you can better enhance your life beginning today.

What do you think?

united colors of iss

the afternoon was an interesting trip to the open market. basically, it's just the netherlands version of our palengke, but closer to mindanao's taboan. open market days are MWFSa, but fridays (vrijdag) and saturdays (zaterdag) are busy with people.

love, my classmate from Ghana who has gone in and out of NL for the last six years, was kind enough to give us a tour. us meant andrea and john from canada (one from vancouver, the other toronto), lola from nicaragua and myself. the five of us alone already represented four continents, the opposite ends of the color spectrum and the height range of 5'3" to more than six feet.

the tram station from the centrum to the groete market was absolutely gorgeous. i can't describe it as i'm terrible with architecture and i don't have a photo to prove it. but it was beautiful. even john says so.

we rode the busy tram, with the middle school kids on the way home from school. i forgot which street we went down in, but we just had to cross the table to get to the open market. and lo! tiangge! coats, shirts, shoes, electronic gadgets! so many stuff.

having too many companions really made it hard for me to look around, so i just went straight to what i came for. fruits. i also wanted to buy vegies but love told us it would be better to buy from albert heijn because it stays longer than those from the groete market. so.

i ended up with a euro worth of carrots. which is a lot! good for a couple of weeks, i would think. but i intend to make it my junk food for studying. i also bought grapes and kiwi which i split with lola. i really had no idea how to eat a kiwi or what it tastes like fresh. but hey! 50 cents for 5 pieces is good for me. it costs P100++ in the philippines, noh! i also had to buy chicken and pork for the welcome dinner for our late pinay classmate (we pinoys are too nice. i might not have thought about it if the others didn't tell me. haha!), as well as garlic. finally i was able to get salt and also some apple juice. but dang... sugar still eludes me. the one that i found was too big and i didn't have a container for it. so.

all-in-all it was a pretty good experience. more than the trip to the open market, it was actually the interaction with the others that i enjoyed. it was my first trip with non-pinoys, and that is always exciting. i really find these people interesting!

overwhelmed

by the mini-united nations.

i just came from my orientation with the entire 2008-2009 batch of students at the institute of social studies. there are 200 students from 50 countries in that one auditorium. wow. there are people from uganda, ethiopia, sudan, egypt, canada, united states, indonesia, pakistan... and so on and so forth. simply amazing!

and truthfully, i'm quite intimidated by the intellectual level of the people i will be with. gah. i'm not just intimidated, i'm really scared. quivering in my boots scared. i'm not sure if good intentions and a good heart will get me to the finish line like it always had in the last thirty years of my life. however, i am here and i will work as hard as i could (why, i will even bring reading materials to study on the train WHEN i visit camille in france!).

i mean, it's exactly that diversity of cultures that drew me to the ISS in the first place. the professors in the institute are impressive and they seem very supportive of the students. but i know that i will be learning as much from my classmates' experience as well. there is a student activist in ethiopia and we know how difficult the situation is there. another one comes from the most volatile region of uganda. another one is a canadian who has worked in kenya. it's so rich in diversity! imagine the tons of information that could eventually guide me into the direction i want to take as well. i really feel i know so little about my work and i may not have enough to share. which makes me feel a whole lot better about our country compared to theirs. but comparing wouldn't really get us anywhere, right? there will always be somebody better or worse that our situation. so.

gah.

i definitely have to work doubly hard than i intended to. but if i just take this really seriously, i know there is much to reap.

i'm in europe! and studying in europe's premiere social development institute. how cool is that? way cool! how scary is that? way scary!

kaya natin to, pinas!

meet spot

he's my new familiar which i coerced jan to give me so i can take him with me so i can practice my witchcraft to use while conjuring ideas for papers and such for school.

he's already had quite an adventure. he met jack (who i like as well) who was a fellow pinoy's familiar as well. they like the same color palette.

he also enjoyed the wonderful in-flight entertainment of klm. we were able to watch four movies and played several games, plus learned a few dutch words as well.

when we finally got to netherlands and was on board the train, i was finally able to take a picture of the two of us since we were wearing the same skin that day.

yes, i do have terrible eyebags. the in-flight enterntainment was too addicting that i did not get any sleep. and i only got 3 hours sleep for each night previous to my flight. so yeah... i've got panda eyes up to now. spot still has his nice brown beady eyes.

we didn't get to see a lot of windmills. just a couple on the way to leiden, but i didn't notice any more after that.

getting to kortenerkaede, the street of our school, was a chore. with 37 kgs of luggage to tow along, it was absolutely hellish. but we made it and the filipinos from the previous batch met us and fed us with adobo and sinigang sa miso. mmmmm.... anything would have tasted good as i was sooo hungry! even if the airplane food was delish. the last meal was too light.

finally, we were able to settle in our rooms. the school actually had welcome food packs for us. yey! because i was so thirsty. and it fed me for breakfast. or else i wouldn't have known where to get anyting to eat.

spot got to inspect the closet and the bed before he snoozed on me. hmph.

how i found out that i got the scholarship

july 4. around 3 in the afternoon. i was at the office, jan was at home.

through SMS
anj: gusto mo manuod ng wanted mamaya?
jan: sige. may letter ka from netherlands embassy.

me to giovanni, myofficemate.
anj: ack! giov! may letter na daw ako sa embassy!
giov: uwi ka na!
anj: wala pang six. teka, teka. tawag na lang ako sa bahay. dun muna ako sa kabilang room tatawag ha.

i call jan using the landline. i'm nervous and excited at the same time.
anj: bakit mo ako tinext na may letter ako sa embassy! hindi na ako mapakali ngayon!
jan: iniisip ko nga kung ite-text ko nga sa iyo o hindi e.
anj: dapat di na lang! di na ako makaisip ngayon. buksan mo na lang yung letter for me.
jan: ha, buksan ko?
anj: oo buksan mo na. bilis! makapal ba?
jan: relatively.
anj: dali, buksan mo naaaaaa!
jan: (intentionally being slow) punitin ko or yung maayos na bukas?
anj: punitin mo na! yung pinakamabilis na paraan para mabasa ang sulat.
jan: binubuksan ko na. di ko na punitin kasi sayang envelope. am lifting the flap...
anj: bilisan moooo!
jan: maraming mga papel...
anj: ano baaaaa!!! basahin mo na!
jan: the letter is from the embassy of the kingdom of netherlands, 26th floor equitable tower...
anj: i don't care where it's from! read it to meeeeee!!!!!!
jan: ang sumulat ng letter ay (name of the dutch woman)
anj: jan caminaaaaaaa, ano ba!!!
jan: dear ms. (my full name) resurreccion, i have the honour of imforming you...

i do not hear anything anymore. start jumping up and down to the next room screaming, "aaaaaaahhhhh!!!"

giov sees anj jumping up and down. "congrats, anj!"

after jan reads entire letter, i ask if the movie will push through later and instructs jan to bring the letter to SM.

i call my mom, my sister, my brother and YMs a couple of friends, sents an SMS to a few others before i realized..."teka! baka pinu-punk lang ako ni jan? baka di totoong nakapasa ako sa scholarship. i should see the letter first before i start telling people. kakahiya naman kung punkd lang to!"

when the office clock struck 5PM, i go home, scold jan for texting her about the envelop and find that there is a letter from the embassy and the they do have the honour of informing me fellowship grant.

i was not punkd by jan. malakas lang talaga mang-asar asawa ko. :D

ninoy

it's a day late, i know.

i'm too busy to write a long entry. but i just want to say, idol ko si ninoy. even if i was just five years old when august 21, 1983 happened, it has left an imprint in my mind.

truly, the filipino is worth dying for. and more truly, the filipino is worth living for.

salamat, ninoy. salamat sa pagpapakita na dapat mahalin ang pilipinas.

LP#21: mithi

sa pagpasok ng taong ito, sa halip na paputok ang salubong namin (at dahil na rin bawal ang paputok sa davao), nagtungo kami ng aking ina at kuya sa labas ng bahay at nagsindo ng walong kandila. bawat kandila ay may kahulugan. nakalimutan ko na kung ano ang ibig sabihin ng bawat kulay, pero meron duon para sa kalusugan, karera, pangarap, spiritwalidad at kung anu-ano pa.

bawat dila ng apoy ay binibiyak ang kadiliman ng gabi. isang tahimik na pagbati sa pagdating ng taon. sa aming mga puso, pag-asa ng mas magandang bukas.

isa sa mga hiling ko, matiwasay na pagsasama ng aming pamilya at ng magiging bagong pamilya. isa pa ay makakuha ng scholarship para mag-aral sa ibang bansa. mabait ang Panginoon, pareho ko silang nakuha.

kung tunay, wagas at makakabuti ang mithi... mapagbigay ang Diyos. yan ang isa sa mahahalagang aral na natutunan ko. :)

i can spread the news now

Back when I was new in Assisi, I thought it was the end of my dream of traveling to Europe given my social development worker salary. Yet it was something I was willing to let go at that time, because I felt and somehow knew that I have been led to Assisi by something greater than me. Choosing Assisi meant letting go of many things I thought I wanted to do. One of those dreams was traveling to Europe. I really thought that would take a backseat until I was old and gray. I even wrote an entry about it back then. Check out the second entry.
...

What do you know? It was actually working for Assisi that made this dream into a reality. :)

Like Tatit, I have been accepted to a scholarship to the Netherlands. Same scholarship, different school and program and city.

Dreams do come true.

God has continuously shown and given me his generosity.

Wow.

You can just imagine the jumping about that happened in our office as the letter was being read to me by Jan (this story deserves an entry in itself)!

If a thesis is what it takes to get to Europe, then by Jove, I will do it!
...

And so the question I have been asked constantly... “paano si Jan?”

First of all, Jan has been supportive from the very start. It wasn’t like the scholarship just happened after the wedding. The interest arose when a former officemate sent me the website to a school. This was early 2007. I sent my application early November which was before the proposal. I got my acceptance letter December. I applied for my scholarship March. The whole time, Jan was fully aware of my plans. And the whole time he has been very encouraging.

So paano nga si Jan? We’re working on how he can follow as soon as possible. His target is November. Here’s the thing – naunahan pa niya ako makabili ng winter jacket! I still don’t have one, while the one he got for P200 is now in the laundry. Funny lang. ;p
...

There are mixed feelings as the day of my departure draws near. Of course, I am excited. Whenever I pause and think... I’m going to Europe, I get goosebumps. One of the other things I’ve always wanted to do was live in another country for two years. 15.5 months is good enough for me. Wow talaga. But most days, I feel a little sad. I am cutting short what should be my honeymoon period with my husband. I am just thankful that he’s been so supportive. He wants this for me as much as I want this for myself. Besides, we’ll see each other very seeon. He promises! I’ve also been praying so hard for my mom, my siblings and my pamangkins. I’ve been away from them so many times, but it’s different this time. Buti na lang at may internet na ngayon!
...

I can actually feel my life changing. Literally.
...

I’ve got Tatit and Maita to thank for this. Tatit for letting me know such a thing is possible and to Maita sa pangungulit na ituloy ko ito.

my new baby

Name: Manolito Compaquiao
Nickname: Manny, Compaquiao, Paqman
Birthdate: August 14, 2008
Birthplace: PC Live, SM Megamall
Sibling: 1GB ipod shuffle still to be claimed from its delivery room in HP Makati.

My favorite things about Compaquiao:
2GB RAM
160 GB disk space
good quality webcam and speakers

LP#20: liwaliw

isa sa mga pinaka-kakaiba kong karanasan sa aking mga bakasyon ang pagsubok na mag-surfing sa lanuza, surigao del sur. wala talaga sa plano naming magbabarkada na gawin ito. road trip lang talaga sa SDS yung balak namin.

pero matapos naming maikot, napadpad kami sa lanuza. naisip namin... bakit hindi? sayang naman ang pagkakataon na gawin yun. at yun na... sinubukan namin. ako yata ang pinakahayok at halos di ko na bitiwan ang long board sa kakasubok na tumayo. sa awa ng Diyos nagawa ko naman ng limang segundo. matagal na yun!

ang dalawang lalaki na nasa larawan ang aming surfing instructors para sa araw na iyon.

ito ang aking lahok ngayong linggo para sa litratong pinoy. :D

sabang falls

the palawan chronicles continue...

the day we checked in at the daluyon beach resort, we spent the entire morning in search of sabang falls. the direction the tourist officer gave us was fairly easy. he pointed to his left and told us to just follow that path until we reach the falls.

such a deceiving instruction. i would have thought it was just near because he didn't use the infamous "nguso" which is the pinoy euphimism for too far.

so we walked the way he pointed to. we passed by the residential area with kids playing (it's a weekday! they're supposed to be in school!) and parents preparing their nets and boats. after the residential area, it started to have resorts again.

in one resort, we had to sign up that we were going to the falls. it's good actually, so they can keep track of their guests. they do not ask for a fee, but there is a donation box. we decided to give a small amount. to make the most of a third party presence, we asked richard (the caretaker) to take a rare photo of jan and i together.

we asked him how long until we reach the falls. no fingers, no nguso. just a plain answer of "mga thirty minutes." fair enough. we'd get there in 45.

so we walked on. we passed by a buddhist temple. but it was the thin buddha, not the fat one. we took a quick peek but did not go in out of respect. it was pretty interesting because there seems to be volunteers taking care of the place. in one of the signs it says that if the people do not help maintain the temple, support from the chinese people (or is it korean) will stop. the temple is quite clean, so the people must believe it and the chinese (or korean) people must really provide support.

the path to the falls was not an easy one. the beach side was not of sand but large stones and rocks. not pebbles. but bigger than fist rocks. it made walking quite difficult. the foliage were nettle so it hurts to hold them. i stung myself a couple of times with it.

for what seemed like thirty minutes, we were nowhere near the falls. i could not hear any body of water that sounded like a falls. at a certain point, i asked jan that we take a quick dip so we can freshen up. the heat was getting intense.

ep. the beach, though it looked calm and harmless, actually had stroung undercurrents. we had to hold on for dear life with one of the bigger protruding rocks. it wasn't even ten minutes yet when i decided to get out of the water. it was tiring struggling when i can't even swim.

after a quick drink of berocca, we moved on. it was probably ten to fifteen minutes when i finally heard the music to my ears... the gurgling of falling water. i saw a sign that brought my hopes up, only to be dashed to pieces when i finally saw it: this way to comfort room. agh! wala bang this way to falls?

i can hear it but not see it. kainis! but if the CR is there, then the falls must not be far behind! true enough, five minutes after, we saw it. the falls.

wow. i've seen bigger, more spectacular ones before. but it was the first time i saw a falls that went straight to the beach! there was an area that formed a mini-infinity-pool. at the upper portion, if you climb it, was the strongest part of the falls which can give a great natural massage. that spot, we had to fight over.

the best thing about it... we had it all to ourselves. yeah!

you know the funny thing was? it took us less than twenty minutes to get out. super bilis! it was as if we skipped a couple of corners and just got to the end. but we're not complaining! we had a great time and that was what mattered most. :)

LP#19: ako

ang daan na yan ay papunta sa isang area namin sa malitbog, bukidnon. ang tatlong lalaki sa daan na yun ay mga kasama ko para bumisita sa komunidad na tinutulungan. ako ang kumuha ng larawan. that road leads to one of our areas in malitbog bukidnon. those three guys are my companions so we can visit the area. i'm the one who took the photo.

yan na ang pinakamadalang bahagi ng daan. higit isang oras pa ang nilakad namin para marating ang tuktok. mga bente minutos dun, halos 50 degrees ang angulo ng bundok kaya hingal na hingal kami pagdating sa taas. that is the easiest part of our travel. it took us more than an hour to reach the top. around 20 minutes of that, we had to climb a 50-degree incline so we were panting when we reached the top.

bahagi lang yan ng trabaho ko sa naraang limang taon. para makarating sa komunidad, kakailanganing sumakay sa motor. minsan umaabot ng tatlong oras sa motor para makarating. nakakaantok. minsan 15 hours sa bus. madalas lakad. may mga panahon na makailang-beses tatawid sa ilog. malas na lang kung malakas ang ulan. malas ko dahil di ako marunong lumangoy. that's part of the work i have been doing the last five years. just to get to a community, i'd need to ride a motorchyle. sometimes it's a three-hour motory ride. it makes me sleepy. sometimes it's a 15-hour bus ride. often we walk. there are times we have to cross the river several times. it's unfortunate if there are heavy rains. more unfortunate for me because i can't swim.

yan ang daan na nakasanayan ko sa nakaraang limang taon. pansamantalang magpapaalam para sa ibang pagkakataon. pero yang daan na yan patungo sa mga kapatid na nangangailangan... yan din ang daan na nagdala sa akin sa maraming kaalaman. that has been a road i have been used to the last five years. i bid a temporary goodbye for a new opportunity. but that road that leads to our brethren in need... that has been the road that led me to new learnings.

rick meets dick

our original wedding reception plan was this: the moment jan and i enter greenmeadows clubhouse, cue "together forever" of rick astley. we walk to the table and do a little attempt of dancing mala-"tonight with dick and carmi" minus carmi's tanga and dick's performance level.

i really, really wanted to do that. but since we were pressed for time and had no chance to coordinate with the mobile or even prepare a cd to play, we just had to do with whatever stock music they have. bummer. no one really noticed, except us and some friends in the plan.

but hah... this was not originally idea. it actually started with jan. see, di lang ako ang jologs sa relasyon na to!

roderick paulete performing rick astley is simply a philippine entertainment classic. after all these years, i can remember the steps he did to "together forever" and "never gonna give you up."

when i heard that rick astely was going to perform in manila, and on my birthday too... bummer! i would have watched him if i were there. but finding out that kuya dick performed with rick... i felt like i missed half my life!

thank God, gabe mercado captured the moment for the whole Philippine nation. nothing can be as cool as that in Philippine entertainment. ever.

i heart you rick. i heart you dick.

and here are the lyrics of what could've been our entrance to the reception. :)

TOGETHER FOREVER
Rick Astley

If there's anything you need
All you have to do is say
You know you satisfy everything in me
We shouldn't waste a single day

So don't stop me falling
It's destiny calling
A power I just can't deny
It's never changing
Can't you hear me, I'm saying
I want you for the rest of my life

chorus:
Together forever and never to part
Together forever we two
And don't you know
I would move heaven and earth
To be together forever with you

If they ever get you down
There's always something I can do
Because I wouldn't ever wanna see you frown
I'll always do what's best for you

There ain't no mistaking
It's true love we're making
Something to last for all time
It's never changing
Can't you hear me, I'm saying
I want you for the rest of my life

Chorus

So don't stop me falling
It's destiny calling
A power I just can't deny
It's never changing
Can't you hear me, I'm saying
I want you for the rest of my life

Chorus 3x

a very special kind of love

i'm a john lloyd fan back in the days when he was still rovic in tabing-ilog. up to this day, i still root for rovic-eds and their real life alter egos john lloyd-kaye abad (who is happy with chito, who is also a rovic-eds fan).

i'm a sarah geronimo fan back when i watched her live here in davao, finding her a funny and genuine performer. oh, did i mention that it was mark bautista that i wanted to see?

so now they star in "a very special love," which i was quite excited to see. two of my favorite celebrities together! though, sarah's acting has always been too perky for my taste but i am always amused so it's not a bother.

let's not talk about the story. there is no point coming in a star cinema love story looking for plot or characterization. it's all about entertainment and wasting your two hours in kababawan.

was there chemistry? i was surprised to see that there was. i was actually... kilig! i don't often get kilig. most of the time, i get aliw or amused or happy-exasperated with pinoy romantic comedies, but not kilig.

why was i kilig?

maybe because laida, sarah's character, was also kilig with miggy, JL's character. even if laida is too perky and optimistic for anyone's taste, you can't help but like her.

or maybe it's just john lloyd. staring at his object of affection with piercing, sincere eyes... reading her soul and wanting it. smiling that oh-so beautiful smile. like a little angel with a secret.

maybe it's the entire cinema crowd who shrieked at every meeting of the eye or an almost-kiss. or that makalaglag-panty moment with john lloyd singing his serenade (don't roll your eyes. THIS IS a star cinema love story, okay!). ang pogi niya dun! aaaaah. at hep! ang sun dance! ;p

does it matter what the story was? i wanted to watch for fun. and i had a lot of fun. i was laughing and giggling. i had a good time. i was kilig. i had a two-hour exposure to john lloyd cruz. but if you have to know, it's fine and engaging enough. plus my ang tv crush gio alvarez gets to play a man this time.

and the outtakes... watch out for the second to the last one. hilarious! "kaya niyo yun?"

nalolongkot ka ba? walang magawa sa buhay? nuod ka ng "a very special love"

tandaan lang ha...KABABAWAN ANG HANAP kung manunuod.

o! community singing na!

three-oh!

today i turn 30.

strangely, i feel excited to hit the third decade of my life. the last thirty years have been so good to me that i can not help but feel excited about what is to come next.

i feel as young as i felt ten years ago. i feel as excited by the world as i was ten years ago.

i have been wonderfully blessed by God with a loving family, which despite of our imperfections, love and care for each other deeply

... with a loving bunch of friends of all sorts. friends to share my soul with, friends to dream with, friends to play with, friends to travel with. there is always a friend for every need i have. how can i not be lucky?

... with abundant opportunities. i've never been really THAT smart, but somehow i've survived working for the last ten years without really failing terribly. most of the mistakes i've made i've learned from. i was telling my friend some years back, "i never thought i could go this far with just a good heart." and now it still holds true. how cool is that.

... with material blessings. i may not be rich (yet). i may have to save up for months to get something i want or think many times over if i could really afford that pair of shoes or that laptop bag which i really need, but i can still afford them. i eat three meals a day. i can opt for an expensive one occasionally. i get to pay my debts as soon as the bills come in. i get to enjoy things that we often take for granted... food, drinks, internet, taxi rides, movies... i know how not everyone is able to.

... and of course, my wonderful, wonderful JAN. my anagram, my best friend, my kaasaran, my companion, my partner... you make my life happier and more fun. everyday, you make me realize how God loves me. if you can love me like that, i imagine how much more our Father can? thank you for being that. thank you for letting me be myself. thank you for wanting the best for me all the time. thank you for being kaladkarin. thank you for letting me live my dreams and living them with me. :)

so see? what is not to be excited about?

(and there are more news ahead that i have not publicly announced yet... but soon.)