Off to Lord Of The Rings Country...

Nasurprise ako today. Just learned nats' cousin, kuya jordan, and his wife, ate louie, are both leaving for new zealand on tuesday to take their PhD's. What a blessing to them both... they'll be starting a new life, in a new country, pursuing "academic excellence" (K Jordan teaches at UP Dept of EEE, A Louie sa Dept of Psych), so to speak--together! Ang saya-saya di ba? God works wonders talaga and blesses those who serve Him. We'll miss them both... but for three years lang naman! After nun, balik na sila sa UP.


Ang ganda-ganda nilang tingnan kanina... er, nakiki-kuya at ate nga lang pala ako pero malamang magkasing-edad lang tayo, hehe, i really dont know...

Anyway, to K Jordan and A Louie, God bless the both you in New Zealand! We thank God for the wonderful blessing of your example. We know you'll be a gift to the people you'll meet in the land of the kiwis. (promise kuya jordan, nats and i will go see kuya jo na. update ka namin ASAP.)

Syempre pa, the orillaza cousins can not be absent. Nats and I went to the "going-away" service for them with the Christ on Campus crowd. We saw his other cousins there too, along with their significant "others". Nagmukhang couples fellowship tuloy (Nats, Aileen, Ambet, Holly, Sharon, Dennis, Louie, Jordan, Benz, Rachel, Jimjim). Hmmm, buti na lang pala wala si Aaron... Hehe, joke lang po, joke lang!!! PEACE, Aaron!

Hmmm, mukhang may nakalimutan ako sa last picture eh... si ging!! So I will be redundant with this pic ha. Pero kailangan mapakita ko sa post ko si ging e, baka sabihin nya hindi ko sya nilagay sa blog ko. At saka ang cute pa naman nya dito... o, walang kokontra sa mga kapatid!! lalo na ikaw, nats! at kahit na ikaw, ambet bawal kumontra (pero thanks for taking this pic nga pala)!

Advanced 30th Set of "525600 Minutes" To Me

I think I watched "RENT: The Movie" a little too early. It's not new to me or anything as I've seen the musical before. Thing is, hearing "525600 Minutes" at a time of the year so close to my 30th, I am hearing this song with new ears. Essentially it asks the question: how will you remember the past years in your life? How should I remember my 30th then? The answer in the song is not so simple as it is so direct:

525,600 minutes, 525,000 moments so dear

525,600 minutes - how do you measure, measure a year?

In daylights? In sunsets? In midnights? In cups of coffee?

In inches? In miles? In laughter? In strife?

In 525,600 minutes? How do you measure a year in the life?

How about love? How about love? How about love?

Measure in love... Seasons of love.

525,600 minutes, 525,000 journeys to plan.

525,600 minutes - how can you measure the life of a woman or man?

In truths that she learned? Or in times that he cried?

In bridges he burned? Or the way that she died?

It's time now to sing out, though the story never ends,

Let's celebrate! Remember a year in the life of friends.

Remember the love! Remember the love! Remember the love!

Measure in love... Seasons of love.

It's a bit sentimental I know, and "remembering the love" is sometimes easier said and done. But I think this is the very thing that makes up the fabric of our lives. Sadly, we heed and reflect on this essential element a lot less often than we should. photo from reviewaday.blogspot.com.

Ode to Chateau Verde

This is Chateau Verde resto, a "well-kept secret" inside UP Diliman. Actually hindi talaga sya secret because everyone knows about it. Ako, this year ko lang sya napuntahan. Amazing how we can find fine dining inside the campus. Our favorites: paella a la chateau, french onion soup, sopa de zarzuela, angel hair pasta with clams, pasta with chorizos, manicotti, and ALL their deserts! (parang lahat na lang nang nasa menu yun a... Hey, give us a break, seven kaming super duper mega junior faculty sa BA!). I have to say that this is one place we don't mind coming back to again and again. One place where we don't mind staying even if we're already late for our classes... nyehehehe (buking si mam). *Photo from Leda Esguerra, HerWord.com

Last week I had lunch at this place with my fellow BA profs (jude, peds, me, dave, vina, and dani) and our guest from paris (paree!), elton who is dani's friend and churchmate... mikoy and i were supposed to meet him and stay with him when we were in france but when had the time to vacation in paris, it turned out he visited manila. anyway, it's good enough that i finally met him here. pagbalik ko in the future (hopefully), i hope we do get to hang out so he can show me the paris he now calls home.

The food is great... one thing UP folk love as much as the food is the greenery in the restaurant.. Chateau is quite literally in the backyard of a smallish house in the campus, more like a "maison" than a "chateau", really. The dining area is surrounded by thick foliage and shrubbery and plants and flowers and all things green... it looks very much like your own backyard. It's a smart option for a wedding reception for a small, intimate party of around 100 guests. Lalo na if the wedding is going to be at the nearby Church of the Risen Lord in UPD. ;-) Photo from Leda Esguerra, Herword.com.

Some Girls

Tinaman ako sa song na to sa Once On This Island (see next post below). It's called Some Girls and it talks about how some girls can be more lovable than those who are lovely because they are more loving. It got me thing: aling girl ako? The girl to picture or the girl to hold? The girl to marry or the girl to love? Anyway, here are the lyrics...

Some girls take hours to paint every perfect nail

Fragrant as flowers, all powdered and prim and pale

But you are as wild as that wind-blown tree,

As dark and as deep as the midnight sea

While they're busy dressing, you lie here, warm and bold

Some girls you picture, some you hold

Some girls take courses at all the best schools in France

Riding their horses and learning their modern dance.

They're clever and cultured and worldly wise.

But you see the world through a child's wide eyes.

Their dreams are grand ones, you want what's just in reach.

Some girls you learn from, some you teach.

You are not small talk or shiny cars

Or mirrors or cologne.

You are the river, the moon, the stars.

You're no one else I've known.
Some girls take pleasure in buying a fine trousseau,

Counting each treasure and tying each tiny bow.

They fold up their futures with perfumed hands

While you face the future with no demands.

Some girls expect things others think nothing of.

Some girls you marry, some you love.

Once On This Island

Saw Once On This Island last Sunday night at the Carlos P Romulo Theatre sa RCBC Building in Makati. I really did not know much about this play although I knew a lot of people who's had this musical memorized like I know Miss Saigon and Rent by heart. Nats and TJ are two of those. I saw it with them and we were joking that they are absolutely forbidden to sing along with the cast during the play. Thankfully, they were able to contain themselves. Hehehe. Joke lang pow.

As expected, the all-star cast was great: Bituin Escalante, Michael de Mesa, Bodjie Pascua, Michael Williams, Jett Pangan, Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo. Winner talaga si Bituin Escalante: bagay na bagay sa kanya yung role nya as Asaka, goddess of the earth. Nats was correct when he said that only she could've sung that role. Parang yung bit role nya sa Rent... sya lang ang makakadala nun talaga.

Medyo nagka-slight issue lang ako sa lugar. The theater was small, like Music Museum. On the bright side, it enhanced the audience's "experience" of the play. Because the stage was closer to us than the normal large auditorium, we felt more emotionally involved with what was happening onstage. Love story pa naman to, so dapat feel na feel. Ang issue ko lang talaga is with our seats. We were at the back sa loge area. Ideal na sana yung lugar if not for the fact that the last row (where we were) was not raised one level higher than the row before it. Magkapantay lang nung row sa harap... ergo, kung hindi kami tatayo, puro batok ang makikita namin. Around half the time I was standing, or I sat on the edge of the seats while nakaupright pa sila. Buti na lang wall na yung nasa likod namin. Ok lang naman yung standing, yun nga lang, kung tatayo din kami half the time to get a good view, or kung kalahati lang ng laki ng seat yung mauupuan namin, sana HALF din yung price nung seat, ano?

Anyway, all in all, it was a night well spent. Wouldn't mind seeing it again if they stage it once more. On this island. Hehehe.

When It Rains

...look for the rainbow. It's been raining these past few days and I don't like it. This afternoon though, the sun came out behind the clouds for a short while before setting down at sunset. I hope the skies clear up in the coming days. I really hate it when it rains.

when it rains, watch etheria, like my cat here