Loving Harry

There I was wearing my cape, with a packet of tissues, anticipating the start of the last movie installment of Harry Potter. I ooohed, aaaahed, clapped, teared-up, anticipated and yahoo-ed throughout the movie. I dreaded the end of the movie anticipating a hollow in my heart after the credits rolled, but it did not come. Instead, I felt satisfied. I felt closure.

* * * * *

Harry Potter and I knew each other for 11 years, when I was introduced to him in 2000 by a friend who has the same penchant for books on fantasy, magic and children. It was when Hagrid brought Harry to Diagon Alley to buy things for school that I knew I would be with this boy until the end of the series. It was when Ollivander and Harry had their conversation at the wand shop that I felt the magic. It was when Harry and Ron shared their first chocolate frogs that the wizarding world became real for me.

What is it with Harry Potter that it took the world by storm? Many fantasy geeks would argue that "The Lord of the Rings" is better-written and has a more complex mythology. I wouldn't argue against that. One could say that Tolkien was a pioneer in creating fantastic worlds and characters and peoples beyond Aesop's fables and Grimm's fairy tales. The same could be said of his friend CS Lewis and his "Narnia Chronicles." Yet for both writers, the world took a while to realize the genius of their work. But when people finally did, they paved the way for the likes of Douglas Adams, Neil Gaiman, Lemony Snicket and JK Rowling.

Rowling was lucky in the sense that the world has gotten used to magic and fantasy (though she had her share of "HP is the work of the devil" haters). It took a few years for the her wizarding world to fly, but when it did, it was like riding a Firebolt to fame. Every other attempt to follow suit was a ride on a sad Cleansweep 7.

What kind of magic did Rowling cast? It has been pretty much established that it had to do a lot about love. But I also think beyond the typical battle between good-evil, it was her care in details that made the world not just like Harry and his gang, they wanted to be like them! It did not matter if you were 12 or 21 (my age when I began) when you started reading the book. I remember discussing with Pia how butterbeer would taste like, and closely approximated it to Zagu's brazo de mercedes brew. Pia was also our generous donor of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans from the US, of which I knowingly chose weird flavors like grass and pepper (vomit and booger were still in production) which tasted the way it was advertised. I had to finish off with buttered popcorn so as not to have the same aversion to the treats as Dumbledore. Crissy brought home Chocolate Frogs from Australia, which included a limited edition card. I was half-expecting the frog to move about once I opened, but to no avail. Rowling presented broomsticks like they were the latest car models, that one is better on the other, taking into consideration the maker, the model, the drag and what have you. The spells were delightful (Riddikulus, Expecto Patronum, Petrificus Totalus, Avada Kedavra, Crucio, etc. etc) and the magical items awesome (floo powder, portkey, sneakoscopes, remembralls, howlers, etc. etc.) and the mytichal creatures mystical (grindylows, cornish pixies, centuars, giants, house elves, ghosts, etc. etc.). I could go on and on and on. For me, it was all about the intricate details that Rowling put together to make the wizarding world more magical, more fantastical and more real to its readers.

The details also went into the people. The characters in the book were quite complex. With the teen-agers, you can imagine the insecurities they had to deal with and realize you were once or are like that. Hogwarts students had to deal with bullying and pranks and falling in love. They had to face the dreaded exams or deal with terror teachers. And in the end, they had to deal between the choice of good and evil, right and wrong. They had to grow up in a world at war.

As for the adults, many had complex histories (it is now I realize that we know little of McGonagall. Hmmm.). You had an truly evil Voldemort who never experienced love and therefore could not understand it. You had an unfathomable Snape, whose enduring love for Lily Potter kept him from going to the dark side before or during Harry Potter (thank you, Star Wars!). You have Horace Slughorn, who along with Snape, showed that being Slytherin does not necessarily make you evil but emphasizes on slyness and cunning. You have Remus Lupin, whose kindness of heart is shadowed by the stigma against werewolves. The list goes on and on and on. Bottomline is you get to know the characters in the book as persons and not just names.

Rita Skeeter wrote sensationally. Rowling wrote lovingly.

And so in the last 11 years, I, along with millions of Potter fans, saw many characters grow up, some grow old and a few pass away. The younger fans grew up with Harry while I felt like the three's bigger sister, proud with their achievements, sad with their pains.

We alternately waited for the next book or the next movie to come out. The anticipation is sometimes more exciting than reading the actual book or seeing the actual movie. What made the anticipation delightful was it was shared with many people. The funny thing is, Harry Potter is one of those things you don't mind the world likes/loves along with you. I mean, I know friends who lose interest in music or books because other people caught on. But Harry... you want to share him. You want others to experience the magic as you have.

* * * * *

The anticipation for Harry Potter truly has ended when the last movie installment has shown. Waiting for this last unkown Harry Potter franchise rooted itself in nostalgia, led me and a lot others into tears thinking it was THE end. It was like knowing family will be going away.

And yet, when I saw the final movie, I did not feel the sadness that I expected. What I felt was closure... even peace and contentment. It is AN end, but not THE end. Rowling and Dan Radcliffe were right when they said, "The stories we love best lives in us forever."

Harry Potter will live on in the pages of the seven books, in the cel of eight films and especially in the hearts of its fans.

So along with the thousands of fans camped out waiting to watch the UK premiere of HP as Jo Rowling was making her speech, I shout "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" to her. It was a wonderful ride of which I would be sure to take over and over and over.

Thank you for the wonderful wizarding world of Harry Potter. He is truly "The Boy who Lived."

APO Hiking Society

As Barney Stinson would say, "Legen... wait for it... ARY!!!"

The APO as a group has been longer than I have been alive. That means all my life I have been entertained by their songs and performances. Heck! I made sure I get to watch "Sa Linggo nAPO sila" when it was still showing in Channel 2. I always enjoyed their "Knock Three Times" segment. I still believe it is far superior in entertainment quality than "ASAP." But that could just me being biased. "'Sang Linggo nAPO sila" was harder to follow since it was daily but I did look forward to Saturdays. It is a much better family fanfare show than "MTB" or "Wowowee" I tell you. No gyrating girls needed.

photo taken from Amazon.com

I have always loved the group. I find myself feeling in love when listening to "When I Met You" and "Yakap sa Dilim." I wanted to have "Panalangin" as soundtrack to my wedding but Roj and Alwin beat us to it (it was their first dance). I enjoy singing with off-key voice to "Ewan" with wanton abandon.

Their songs of friendship strike true and strike deep. "Awit ng Barkada" chronicles perfectly the kind of friendship that stands through thick and thin. "Saan na nga ba ang Barkada?" echoes the nostalgia of friendship changed by time. "Pumapatak ang Ulan" is a perfect story of bored friends stuck in the house because of rain. I don't remember if Jim or Danny wrote this, but whoever did, wrote it only in two minutes while being stuck in a Baguio house during a rainy day.

photo taken from pinoygigs.com

And of course, their songs of patriotism and love of Filipino culture. "Lumang Tugtugin" heralds our classic folk songs and kundiman. I love how Pidro (Danny) makes fun of "American Junk." Even "Syotang Pa-Class" pokes fun at an ordinary bloke falling head over heels over a high society girlfriend.

It really is amazing how they are able to conjure up these beautiful or wacky songs. And they become more amazing when they perform. I've seen three APO concerts, including the last day of their concert last night. The first was their 25th year anniversary at the Ateneo, the second was their 35th in Ateneo de Davao and the last was their 4oth anniversary and farewell last night.

These guys are just natural comedians! Their singing voices blend wonderfully and so do their comic timing. Concerts become long and drawn out just because their spiels can be very long. But I actually find it entertaining because it was just like watching a bunch of friends make fun of each other in their living room.

They always have something up their sleeve. Last night, I couldn't stop laughing from their rendition of "sirang plaka" music of the top two most sung song in the world. Hilarious!!!

Last night was a very enjoyable concert. As their 25th anniv concert (I still can't get out of my head their W-O-W spiel. Retro!). From start to finish, I didn't stop laughing or singing. And there was that level of comfort even amidst strangers that somehow, everyone has something connecting them. And that was APO. When the show ended, I felt a little void forming in me. They showed a video clip of APO throughout the years. I just found out from Jim Paredes' tweet that they could not bear to sing the song because it was just too emotional for them.

Today, as I was listening to their music and reading a blog entry of a close friend of the APO, I found myself crying major tears. I was telling Jan, "It's like Pope John Paul II, they've been around since I was alive!" God knows how much I cried when the Pope passed away.

I can imagine how bittersweet it is for Jim, Danny and Buboy. To have seen so many people come and watch them and sing with them and laugh with them. 2,770 concerts since they began, that is what Buboy said. 27 albums according to Jim. What an achievement! I bet they have made millions of Filipino happy. They have become the soundtrack of many love stories and barkadas.

It must be so hard to say goodbye to that. But at the same time, you quit while you are on top. All good things must come to an end.

I remind myself to find joy that the first 31 years of my life have been sprinkled with the pixie dust of APO's music.

To Buboy, Danny and Jim... thank you for the precious moments you have uplifted our spirits with your crazy musical antics. You will forever be the score of my personal movie.

wheeeee!

Congrats, Bunny! Lawyer ka naaaa! Kagalang-galang na Atty. Galang. Woooot!

travel diaries: a moroccan meal

I had no idea that filipinos do not require a visa to enter morocco, so thanks to G and L, I was able to find out.

As usual, it was the Pinoys who started it all. Conversations during parties grew our group of four into an international group of eight. Thus we formed an ISS contingent represented by Philippines, Indonesia, Sudan/Saudi Arabia, Colombia and Canada. Seven ladies and one gentleman. Or as C says it, "me and my seven wives." Two of us were Muslims who can interpret the calls for prayers and inform us about etiquette in a Muslim country. Two can speak basic Arabic and basic French to help us with transactions. With that kind of mix how can the trip not be exciting?!

There were two batches since we booked different flights but agreed to meet up at the El-Fna Square. We took a cutting trip from Amsterdam to Madrid then Madrid to Marrakesh. Our seven hour lay-over in Madrid merits a story by itself, but suffice to say, I never thought I would do an all-nighter club hopping with crazy and lovable Colombians. Definitely an interesting night!

When we arrived, I was astounded by the beautiful Marrakesh airport! The design seemed to be inspired by a honey comb. The glass had designs that reflected beautiful shadows on the floor. I was already impressed by this city!

A basic information we got was to try and haggle everything in Morocco, including the taxi. Drivers approached us offering to take us to our hostels for a fee. It was not something we could easily decide on. We eventually chose to take the taxi for an extra 50 dirhams assuming that we will be dropped off right in front of our hostel. Apparently not. The streets of Marrakesh were too tiny to accommodate big vehicles. From where we were dropped, we had to get lost, er, walk around for 30 minutes before we found our hostel. We could have asked around but we were a little wary because we heard that people tend to ask for money for every little help they get. This was not entirely true. Some were more than happy to help out though there are some who you can sense is out for a few coins.

It was 2PM and we have yet to have our breakfast or snack or lunch so we decided to eat. We stopped at the first restaurant we saw and checked the menu. I was happy to know that the complete set of marrocain salad, tagine, moroccan mint tea and yogurt cost 45 dirhams (less than 4.5o euros), while the couscous set was just 50 dirhams. Being more familiar with couscous, I ordered the tagine set for my first Moroccan meal.

Most meals are served with bread. Ours was warm and fresh out of the oven. Perfect for our rumbling stomachs.

The marrocain salad was served with the bread. I was expecting greens but we found out it was just diced tomatoes with chopped parsley, onions and salt. It was a perfect combination with our warm bread.

Our tagine arrived shortly. I ordered tagine viand or beef (it is called so because the meal is cooked in a tagine, made of clay and composed of two parts -- the base and the conical cover), which at first look made me wonder where the meat was. After digging through the potatoes and carrots, I found the meat at the bottom. The food floating in oil was a little scary but it just looked so good. And it tasted great too!

We were most excited with the moroccan mint tea having heard good reviews from friends who have been there. It did not disappoint. The tea was more on the sweet side but the mintiness was undeniable. It helped take away the aftertaste of the tagine too.

Their yogurt was a pleasant surprise as well. It had the taste of natural yogurt mixed with honey and a bit of lemon. Even after being filled up with the appetizer and meal, I could have gone for a second yogurt.

It was quite a satisfying meal which sated the hunger we have been feeling since morning.

Q

i don't remember when the last time i saw my jvp partner, Q. my memories dictate my birthday in 2003 but i'm not entirely certain. though i am sure we ate corned beef sinigang in sentro-greenbelt 3.

when i found out that he would be going home for the holidays, i hoped that we would have the chance to meet. but knowing how busy and popular he is, i was open to the possibilities of just a phone conversation. luckily, he sent me a message if i had some time to meet up with him in greenbelt. but of course i did!

it was great seeing him again. he looked as cute and scruffy as ever. but then i'm as cute and scruffy as ever too. we both gained weight. we both hit our thirties. thinga change. things stay the same. i was just so glad to find out that we still adore each other. and that we both as cheap as we were 11 years ago. ;p we just had a tour of greenbelt 5, amused at how posh the place is in a third world country. i can finally discuss with him the people of the world because i've finally had my chance to observe.

our time together was too little to really get in depth with how we are, but we were able to do that. but more than that, i was just glad to finally see him after a long time and to know that we still share that special friendship we've always had. and yes, we still both miss our dear mindoro terribly.

one month to one year

there three important questions you asked me

Q1.
it was late evening when we were hanging out by the benches under the tree of our alma mater. i don't remember anymore how the conversation led to you asking me what was happening between us.

you had your knee in a brace then. i remember the tail-end of our five hour conversation on the phone, i wished you 'break a leg' for your basketball game. ooops, wrong idiom. that was for theater. i did not, for the life of me, imagine that it would be taken literally. the next time i saw you again, you had a leg brace because of MCL. oooops, sorry.

you asked me, while our hands held each other, "ano to?" (what is this?) i wanted to be ambiguous, you didn't. i guess we know who won the case that night.

Q2.
it was funny how pinoy big brother got in the way of your moment.

after what i thought was our despedida dinner for you since it was your last day in davao and was already home, you gave me a scrapbook. i was teasing you for being romantic, a rare event and one that i always welcome.

i leafed through each page which i could see was made painstaken care and love. knowing you to be unexpressive, i teased you for putting images of our story in a book. so not you. so me, actually. and such an idiot i am, i really did not know what was coming. and because of that... the tempo broke when an interesting scene was happening on big brother. thank God for commercial breaks. haha.

yes, i am such an idiot. even upon reaching the page when THE question was there, i didn't get it. i read it the first time and snickered and teased you again. 'yiheeee, you love me! you are sooo cute.'

then i went back to the note again. waitaminute. your note said, "angie, mahal na mahal kita. maari ba kitang makasama ng habang buhay?" (angie, i love you very much. may i spend forever with you?).

people who knew about it actually bet i would cry, being such a cry baby. guess what, i laughed. laughed long and loud. not at you, but at myself. for being caught by surprise. for you actually pulling off a surprise! for me not getting it the moment i got the scrapbook. i laughed and forgot to say yes. we did resolve that at some point. :)


Q3.
well, it wasn't really you who asked me, but the priest. and he asked you the same thing. it seemed we kinda agreed on an answer.

the answer which decided our forevers was a leap of faith.

i believe.

<---------0-------->

i am fervently hoping we spend it together. yes, we can. :)

happy easter!

may the hope of the season be with you. :)

this holy week turned out to be a pleasant surprise. :)

Good Friday was spent in Brugges, Belgium. A somewhat imposed presence to Marwell and Maricar's road trip, thanks to Jo and Alma backing out last minute. Brugges is what I had always imagined Europe to be, back in those days when I did not know any better. Old Europe. Chocolates, beer, lace, fries and belgian waffles. Shocked the other passers-by with our fish-rice-tomato-shrimp paste lunch complete with utensils. But definitely a good Pinoy meal in Europe. Really goooood. Thanks, Marwell, for the free ride.

Black Saturday was spent to meet with my 'adopted' Dutch family. I joined the 'Meet the Dutch' program in school which allowed the ISS students to spend time with the Dutch (given we barely see Dutch people in school as we are quite multicultural in set-up). Peter and Anky were such wonderful hosts! My first time to ride a high Dutch bike. And didn't expect to do 34 kms of it in one go! We went around the towns of Bodegraven, Reeuweg and Gouda. A nice mix of small town, big countryside tour. Reeuweg was particularly exciting, with its lakes and sailing areas. The sun was absolutely perfect except with a few minutes of rain. The guided bike tour taught me about dikes and ditches and peat and sea level and such. Peter did a good job of letting me know a bit more about the Dutch way of life. Brought home pictures and instructions to send them to my mom and Jan. Plus a recipe to try out too! Yummmm...

Easter Sunday started with a surprise breakfast for Risa, which I hope made her happy, despite the fact we woke her up from sleep. Tee-hee! Breakfast with most of the gang then off to mass. Mass was also good wherein we witnessed how a European baptism goes, with babies exposed in their full glory to the audience. Haha! Plus beautiful Nigerian songs to welcome Christ's Resurrection. Afterwards, I spent the afternoon with the bday girl and Iain in Amsterdam looking at Van Gogh paintings.

Not bad at all. Especially for someone who had no specific plans for the week whatsoever.

Happy Easter again!

Christmas around the corner

Ah yes... capitalism's most favorite holiday!

The Pinoys have picked out the names of who their babies will be for the Kris Kringle for our Christmas celebration before we part ways for our respective Christmas celebrations. Maricar had a great idea of each of us preparing for a wish list to make sure we get exactly what we want.

So what do I want?
1. A black fedora hat. I really like how it looks on me. :)
2. A pair of girl and boy earrings. Am starting a collection.
3. A winter coat up to the knees that is really warm.
4. Leather gloves
5. Black leather boots
6. iPod with 8GB or up memory
7. 50-300mm Nikon camera lens
8. a waterproof camera bag
9. a waterproof 10kg backpack
10. a one way ticket to Netherlands and a one year residence permit for my husband ;p
11. two round trip tickets to Greece for me and jan
12. Christmas with my entire family (jan, my mom, siblings and pamangkins) with roasted pig and ice cold Coke
13. a RP topic that I will love doing and will mean something somehow
14. a photographic memory to remember everything that I read and I hear in class
15. World Peace. seriously.

16. the fuzzy, warm feeling of Christmas. the sincere, genuine feeling of gratitude that Christ was born to live a life worth looking up to.

I am also willing to accept sincere bear hugs and a genuine wish of Merry Christmas. ;p

a hundred days in europe

I just realized that December 8 is my 100th day here in Netherlands.

Well... I know a hundred days isn't really a year, but it's almost as much of a milestone.

A hundred days! It feels so ironic that it is also the day when I finally felt the pangs of loneliness. Enough to make the tears come. i let it flow then shake it away, no use in denying emotions. yes, it has been a hundred days away from home, a hundred days away from jan, a hundred days of listless sleep, a hundred days of uncertainty... that is looking at it from the half-empty glass perspective.

But it is also a hundred days of many beautiful, wonderful things:

* of my first autumn -- the experience of the nature's dying, like the phoenix that explodes in mesmerizing fire before it turns to dust. yet knowing that there is a rebirth.















* of my first snow and hail -- snowball fights with bare hands. as the ice hits you or another, it is punctuated with child(-ish, -like) laughter. while autumn is the vibrance of color, the somberness of white is transfixing.

* experiencing europe -- a dream come true! i thought that europe will just forever be a vision from books and movies and now i am here! and there is still so much more of it to see.

* of beautiful friendships forged -- my pinoy mafia keeps me sane. will definitely miss the old batch who have always been so accommodating of our barging in the headquarters. to my new friends from all continents who have taught me so much about the world much bigger than what i have known. my first american thanksgiving to happy halloweens, from standing up against poverty to transformations. i never in my life dreamed education can be this interesting!


and so much more in those hundred days! from cooking and finally finding out for myself that there is a vortex in the laundry machine that sucks out half of a pair of socks and gloves leaving my closet with three unpaired socks and gloves... nights of singing and dancing and watching other people get wasted... to pining and wishing for those comfortable warm hands... to just realizing every day of my life that i am alive and tingling with all sorts of emotions, be it sadness or happiness.




the first hundred days and triple more ahead here in europe. looking forward to the joys and pains of what is to come! well, not so much the pain, but i have to be realistic here. 2008 is almost gone and 2009 is coming. i may not be raring to go at the moment, but i'm ready. ;p

hail and snow!

the last two days have been pretty exciting for me even if i just stayed indoors most of the time.

i heard a mild tap-tapping at my door as i was cleaning my room. when i opened the curtains... ta-daaaah! ice falling from the sky.

so being the ignorant asian that i am thought it to be snow. i opened my window and staring out of their windows were regina, tom (canada) and patchar (thailand). to tom, it was nothing new but for the asians, it was magic!

it was a bit quick, but then sometime in the afternoon, it was a longer one. i finally buzzed for regina because such a moment called for a photo op. and photos we took! despite looking like we just got out of bed (oh... we did just get out of bed)., we didn't care! it was fun!


i thought that hail was just a fluke because most of my friends who've lived in europe told me that it never really snows in the netherlands. most of the time winter is just wet and rainy.

but the fates would have it that i tick off another box in my things to experience before i die... it snowed! for real this time. with snowflakes that just melt the moment they hit your hand. and it fell quieter and prettier than hail. the flakes don't fall straight down, but kind of hover here and there in the air before they hit the ground.

i wanted another photo op and buzzed regina's floor but no one was answering. despite being ungloved, i decided to take a look at the outside world.

there ya go... i wasn't the only excited one. the indonesians were going around town taking pictures of the snow too. it's great to know that somebody feels as excited as you are at that same moment. like an invisible bond holds you together at that moment.

so with all courage, i decided to go out and take photos outside. eyob peeped out from his room and i forced him to come out of his den and join me. then ruth (american) and nick (german) peeped out of their rooms, and i asked them to come out.
and when you have big kids like us all together in a snowy day, what do you get? snowball fight!!! the fight ensued. just a few snowballs and my ungloved fingers were already numb. nick was kind enough to lend me his gloves to thaw them out, but it had a high price. he hit me in the face, the back, the head. and of course, he just had to stuff ice on my shirt. tsk-tsk!

mel saw nick from her room and jumped out of the window and joined in our fun. wheee!

it was a really, really wonderful experience. wet but very enjoyable and exciting and something that will make me smile a lot when i remember it.

i just hope it doesn't snow everyday so i don't get used to it. it would be great to be excited by it everytime it happens. LOL.

for now, this is how i feel...

sleepless in den haag

the sandman may have forgetten to pass by the ISS for the last few days. many of the students have been suffereing from the lack of sleep lately for various reasons. the cause of my sleeplessness has been a reuniting with dorm room internet. i'm starting to think this may not be a good idea after all. i've been indulging in my guilty pleasure of brainless reality tv for the past week.

however, tonight is a different reason for me. my mind is so alive right now. it often happens when the moon is full, because i am the moon's fool. she's toying with my thoughts, whispering sweet nothings.

tonight luna tells me, "i let you taste some of your dreams. relish it. be free."

and i do feel as free as the bird from that photo i took on a nine o'clock setting sun during my first weeks in the netherlands. and i do feel that i am having a taste of my silly little girl dreams now that i am here.

silly little girl dreams like wearing coats and boots and sweaters which would have been crazy to do back at home (but i do miss wearing flip-flops to anywhere). silly little girl dreams like seeing europe and discovering if it is as pretty as i see in the pictures and read in the books (it is but it has made me appreciate home more). silly little girl dreams like seeing what autumn is all about, and walkin on a pile of fallen yellow and orange leaves and seeing trees die a little each day knowing they are just asleep and are waking up in a few months (but i miss the regularity of sun up and sun down).

dreams can come true not necessarily in ways you imagine it to be.

there are the realities that pinch once in a while. cleaning the room, doing laundry, cooking meals. things that aren't going to happen by themselves. there are days i hate it terribly, and there are the days when i just grin to myself and realize... "dang... independence, you taste a bit funny sometimes!"

there are the realities that actually bite you hard. readings, papers, exams. and i would go, "oh yeah... that's what i came here for. better do those things too."

then there are life's little surprises. if you are just open enough, it can be quite beautiful.

maybe it is premature to say it only two and a half months into the program, but i have been constantly amazed by the people in the school. the multicultural set-up makes ISS doubly exciting. there is so much to learn and discover just by talking to people! that's not even talking about classes yet. i am always genuinely excited to engage with people everyday.

i love the mix of the pinoys i am with. we are as surprised as everybody else at how well our sisterhood (sorry boys, we outnumber you!) is.

i love the other friends i already have made and wish to get to know them better. this is the kind of globalization the rest of the world needs! to remain steadfastly faithful and in-love with who we are, yet embracing the Otherness of the others.

i can not ask for a better way to discover the world.

i feel so blessed right now. :)

(but then it would be absolutely perfect to have my husband here too. my quiet, stoic jan to offset all the restless energy i have right now. LOL.)

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.

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.)

games, dates, roses and sweet husbands

I was in Manila the entire week for our midyear reporting. By the third day, I was missing Jan terribly. Good thing I kept myself busy the days I was there in Manila.

July 13. Saw Ateneo vs. UE live at the ULTRA. Thanks to Bok and Erik for getting tickets for me. UE scared me, but woot! We won. Yeah. Bad calls by the referees for both sides though. Afterwards we ate at Jatujak in SM Megamall. It’s so gooooood!

July 14. Met up with Ninin and Mike and Ina. Lissa followed after. Krocodile Grill dinner. Yummy baked tahong!

July 15. Dinner with Bok and Rowie. Cheap dinner! Yummy dessert. Great conversation. I missed college. But it was great that each of us had good news to share.

July 16. Officemates time. I’m going to miss them. My resignation is effective August 15. Ack. Jobless. Hehe!

July 17. Met with Entadirs to watch The Dark Knight in support of Ces, whose med school was sponsoring the event. Artie treated me. Yey! Mon-Mon, one of my leading men in Mga Indios Bravos, was there! I have not seen him in ten years!

After the heavy movie, I was glad that I meeting Maita and several JVPs to watch Brownman Revival at 70’s Bistro. So fun! Norie, Zaza, Jerry, Maita and I danced to the reggae beat. Jay H. left early though and just missed Noel. Noel Cabangon came and sat with us while he had his beer. I promise to pass by Conspiracy before I go. We might see each other in October though. Woot!

July 19. Dinner and coffee with my bro. I didn’t sleep at his new home because it was still a mess. Besides I get a free ride to the office when I stayed with my in-laws. Hehe! It was unfortunate, though, that he spilled his large chai tea latte. Tsk, tsk. And it was still full. Bummer.

July 20. I wanted to go home early so Jan and I can watch the Ateneo vs. UP game. But he convinced me to just grab the opportunity to watch live. Sweet of my husband no? So I booked the 7PM flight to Davao and watched the 2PM game with Bok and Erik with Rhia, Dada, Mimi and May. I was also able to convince my UP officemates to cheer their team on. They watched from the other side, of course.

I was glad Jan convinced me to watch live because I had so much fun. We were seated where the Blue Babble were and that guy who was egging us to cheer was just hilarious. He reminded me of Robin Padilla. Funny dude talaga. Hehe!

I was excited to go home to Jan. I actually thought I wouldn’t make the flight. The in-laws were bringing me to the airport, but we were waiting for Papa’s new phone from smart. We left Galleria at 5:50PM and got there at 6:15. Whew! The check-in counter was still open but almost ready to close. By the time I entered the pre-departure area, it was ready for boarding already.

When I finally arrived in Davao and got my stuff. There was Jan waiting for me. Whee! We were supposed to have dinner but I was kinda full and he wasn’t that hungry either. So we decided to visit the Queen’s Land Baywalk to check it out. It was still under construction. We only stayed for a short while and went home already.

Back at home, I didn’t enter our room first. I went to have a drink and washed my hands and all that. As I was unceremoniously entering our room, I was surprised to see roses on our bed. I didn’t even linger to look and just hugged him tight smiling like crazy! After I let him go, I asked how many roses there were, he asked if I saw our symbol. Oops! I was too surprised and happy with the flowers that I didn’t see it formed ←O→.

Oh wow! This was well thought of! And we counted the flowers… it was 41 all in all. Buti na lang mura dito sa Davao. Hehe!

That’s my husband. He makes leaving terribly difficult and coming home such joy. :)

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the (figurative) path to puerto princesa

This was my list of top 5 places in the Philippines that I wanted to visit around five years back:
1. Batanes
2. Palawan
3. Siquijor
4. Siargao
5. Tawi-Tawi

In the last five years, I have only been able to scratch off Tawi-Tawi and Siquijor. Nonetheless, my travel buds and I have visited other interesting provinces and cities of our beautiful country. To name a few, we hit Camiguin, Bantayan and Malapascua Island in Cebu, Carabao Island of Romblon, Surigao City, Bulalacao of Mindoro and a few more others.

Back to the time when Jan and I were not engaged yet but were informally discussing things should we get wed, I told him I'd rather splurge on the honeymoon than on the wedding. The good girl that I am, I think we deserve it. Besides, I enjoy travel more than parties any day.

I thought the honeymoon was a good opportunity for me (because Jan has given me freehand with decisions related to this) to finally go back to my list. Siargao was scratched off given that we will be setting up a community school in Surigao City, so it will be more accessible for regular trips. So it was a toss-up between Palawan and Batanes.

Batanes was actually winning my heart but Jan, being a guy, had a very practical point. June is the start of the rainy season. Good point. And a wisdom that benefitted us with an actual storm actually coinciding with our honeyhoon. Hehe.

So it was decided. Palawan it was going to be. But Palawan itself has so much to offer. We could go to Coron-Busuanga, El Nido or Puerto Princesa City. My inclination was going to Coron, but then I figured, I want to find out if the Underground River was worth being nominated for the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. So Puerto Princesa it was.

With all the stress for the wedding preparations, I was not able to pay full attention to it as much as I wanted to. Even getting tickets became stressful given the gas increase. In a span of three weeks while I was doing research, tickets rose from P8000++ round trip to P11000++ round trip (both of us)! I had to ask help from Ninin and Jerry (who in turn asked help from Tatit and Crissy) with the itinerary.

My initial idea was to spend the night at Puerto Princesa, then proceed to Sabang for two days, then spend another two days in Port Barton, then go back to Puerto Princesa to do the tours. I also did research on places to stay in each place. Based on that, Jerry and Ninin were able to come up with a superb itinerary, inclusive of contact numbers, transportation schedules and fare costs. Asteeeeeg! Galing, guys! :)

What was more beautiful about the honeymoon was, our ticket to Puerto Princesa was a gift from our travel buddies. It was so apt and so symbolic to have them do this for us, being our constant companions in trans-regional kalokohan. I was so deeply touched by the gesture.

So to our dearest Mike and Ina, Jerry, Ninin, Sherwin and Myra, Mon and Dinah, Shiva, Rhia, Kang, Meh-Anne, Camille and Tatit, thank you for bringing Jan and I to Palawan and for blessing us with a very interesting beginning to our life together. ;P