this picture is brought to you by... kitty our tour guide. she was half-sitting, half-lying on the floor by the wall and under the scaffolding just to take this pic. stunt woman ata ang lola pag gabi.
Saturday, January 28, 2006
Friday, January 27, 2006
Bangkok Day One of Four
nice to know hindi lang sa EDSA mahirap kumuha ng bus... we are not alone in this predicament.
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Read My Mind
Got this from Nats. Sige na nga, on the whole I agree. Pero I take issue on three things:- Shiny Things and Diamonds Olfactory. I aint too big on diamonds. I'd rather get a laptop than a diamond ring. But that's me, I guess. However, I have lots of stuff that are "shining, shimmering, splendid". Lalo na, uso ang silvery stuff ngayon.
- Melrose Place Memory Centre. This kind of dates this picture to, hello!, a decade ago! At saka isa pa: recovering Jang Geum addict ako. Paki-replace ng Jewel in the Palace ang Melrose Place figure, please lang. Although I remember having a thing for "Billy" in Melrose and hating Amanda with such ferocity...
- Anniversaries and Birthdays. I'm the absolute worst in remembering birthdays! Really!
Sapol na sapol ang Shoes, though. At saka ang Headache Generator. It's a bit obvious though, that a GUY made this. There's bitterness all over it.
Saturday, January 21, 2006
Break My Back Mountain
heard something lately that i can't get out of my head:
"You know, it can be like this. Just like this... Always."
- said a GAY heath ledger to a GAY jake gyllenhaal in Brokeback Mountain.
breaks ME everytime i hear this in the movie trailers.
breaks ME even more when i realize that it was a gay cowboy who was saying it to another equally gay cowboy.
breaks ME the most when i see that this is HEATH LEDGER saying this to JAKE GYLLENHAAL.
truly, life is NOT fair.
"You know, it can be like this. Just like this... Always."
- said a GAY heath ledger to a GAY jake gyllenhaal in Brokeback Mountain.
breaks ME everytime i hear this in the movie trailers.
breaks ME even more when i realize that it was a gay cowboy who was saying it to another equally gay cowboy.
breaks ME the most when i see that this is HEATH LEDGER saying this to JAKE GYLLENHAAL.
truly, life is NOT fair.
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Revving Up
are you familiar with the need to "rev up" your car before it can actually run? nabuksan mo na yung engine pero, for some reason (whether made up or perfectly valid, i have no idea), hindi mo pa mapapa-andar kasi, er, pinapa-init mo pa? i am no driver so i have no idea what technicalities this entails but i've heard of the term used many times before...
anyway to cut this pasakalye short, all i want to say is that this is the state i am currently in: i am still in the "revving up" zone. we're already two weeks into the year but, honestly, i am just getting out of my "shut-up-my-mind-is-on-vacation-mode" shell. which is not to say that i didn't have anything to do these first two weeks. in fact, i am swamped...
...january 1: led worship for three services at church. january 2, reviewed project drafts from students. january 3: started classes in UP and attended planning meeting at 7pm for the Praise Theme at cruzada. january 4: made quiz for friday, wrapped very very late Christmas gifts for Nats' friends at the hospital and our friends at church, spent almost entire day on this. january 5: discussed with groups of students to discuss my comments on their project drafts. january 6: had class all day, gave exams....
...and the packed days went on and on until today, january 12, found me juggling between making a research outline for the industry study i have to finish to get my tenure, preparing for my classes, for which i am late by two sessions (due to the Taiwan trip and homecoming preparations) and for which i expect to be even more late come february (due to my Thailand trip at the end of the month), and checking quiz#2 from last week.
with all these things happening, i should be up and running. but waitaminit, i am up and running. er... at least my body is. my mind, however, quite perplexingly, is still half-asleep in my bed. my brain is in denial. it refuses to acknowledge that all this activity has already been happening around me. every time i finish something, i feel as if i'm watching another person do it. parang out-of-body experience. weird, ano? i mentally come alive only kapag kaharap ko na si jang-geum ("unti-unting mararating..."--thats from jewel in the palace for you poor deprived kapamilya folk).
anyway... so what's in store for me this year? aside from the planned "gigs" ng Praise Theme at Cruzada Choir (January PnW seminar, February concert, April easter concert, Tagaytay convention, December Worship Camp), the trips to Thailand (end of Jan) and Beijing (end of May), my industry study due in June, and my classes, all of which are pretty much "sure things", i really have NO IDEA what's to come this year. last year, though, the road ahead was a lot foggier: come january 1 the only thing i was anticipating was leaving for france january 22... and boy oh boy was i completely whipped with the things of last year. munti ko nang hindi kayanin lahat ng nangyari. pero pero... kinaya pa din. Thank GOD.
any thing i want to change this year? er... pwede bang overhaul? hehehe. hindi naman. truth be told, i don't like making New Year's Resolutions like "this year, hindi na ako magiging <insert annoying habit here>." i prefer goals in the medium-term. my friend of too many years, dona, has resolved to simplify and has reduced all her resolutions for 2006 into two words: weight loss. unfortunately for me though, i can only trim down these promises into four goals for this year:
anyway to cut this pasakalye short, all i want to say is that this is the state i am currently in: i am still in the "revving up" zone. we're already two weeks into the year but, honestly, i am just getting out of my "shut-up-my-mind-is-on-vacation-mode" shell. which is not to say that i didn't have anything to do these first two weeks. in fact, i am swamped...
...january 1: led worship for three services at church. january 2, reviewed project drafts from students. january 3: started classes in UP and attended planning meeting at 7pm for the Praise Theme at cruzada. january 4: made quiz for friday, wrapped very very late Christmas gifts for Nats' friends at the hospital and our friends at church, spent almost entire day on this. january 5: discussed with groups of students to discuss my comments on their project drafts. january 6: had class all day, gave exams....
...and the packed days went on and on until today, january 12, found me juggling between making a research outline for the industry study i have to finish to get my tenure, preparing for my classes, for which i am late by two sessions (due to the Taiwan trip and homecoming preparations) and for which i expect to be even more late come february (due to my Thailand trip at the end of the month), and checking quiz#2 from last week.
with all these things happening, i should be up and running. but waitaminit, i am up and running. er... at least my body is. my mind, however, quite perplexingly, is still half-asleep in my bed. my brain is in denial. it refuses to acknowledge that all this activity has already been happening around me. every time i finish something, i feel as if i'm watching another person do it. parang out-of-body experience. weird, ano? i mentally come alive only kapag kaharap ko na si jang-geum ("unti-unting mararating..."--thats from jewel in the palace for you poor deprived kapamilya folk).
anyway... so what's in store for me this year? aside from the planned "gigs" ng Praise Theme at Cruzada Choir (January PnW seminar, February concert, April easter concert, Tagaytay convention, December Worship Camp), the trips to Thailand (end of Jan) and Beijing (end of May), my industry study due in June, and my classes, all of which are pretty much "sure things", i really have NO IDEA what's to come this year. last year, though, the road ahead was a lot foggier: come january 1 the only thing i was anticipating was leaving for france january 22... and boy oh boy was i completely whipped with the things of last year. munti ko nang hindi kayanin lahat ng nangyari. pero pero... kinaya pa din. Thank GOD.
any thing i want to change this year? er... pwede bang overhaul? hehehe. hindi naman. truth be told, i don't like making New Year's Resolutions like "this year, hindi na ako magiging <insert annoying habit here>." i prefer goals in the medium-term. my friend of too many years, dona, has resolved to simplify and has reduced all her resolutions for 2006 into two words: weight loss. unfortunately for me though, i can only trim down these promises into four goals for this year:
- Get tenured at UP... hence the need to finish this call center industry study and get published.
- Learn to drive... but I myself am not willing to bet on this. I've been "goaling" this for the past ten or more years and I still can't get of our driveway without denting our car.
- Memorize playing the Hallelujah Chorus for Resurrection Sunday... I've been playing this every year for almost ten years. It's about time I memorize it.
- Get tenured at UP... I know I've said that already. I mean to be redundant.
Thursday, January 05, 2006
Happy New Year Everyone!
It's a new day! Oh, it's a new time.
And there's a new way I'm gonna live my life,
All the old has passed away, and the new has come.
Thank God, it's a brand new day.
- Avalon
Thursday, December 22, 2005
"Narnia" is Our Life Story Told
Finally, after how many months of waiting, I have seen The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. Saw it with Nats yesterday afternoon in the hospital while he was waiting between operations. It is probably no surprise to most people by now that this movie is unashamedly Christian, with the central character of Aslan, Narnia's true king, being the allegorical counterpart of Jesus Christ.
How effective was Narnia in this indirect portrayal? Let's just say goosebumps riddled my arms the entire length of the movie. The movie was well worth the wait also because it poignantly told the tale of every Christian individual's life, as if beautifully executing the product of C. S. Lewis' imagination and faith on the big screen was not enough to capture the audience's attention--and affection.
Take for instance Peter and Lucy, the eldest and the youngest Pevensie siblings, respectively. These two represent the Christian I've always wanted to be: Lucy is the sweet little innocent, always trusting, always hoping, always letting the goodness of her heart lead the way of her actions--very much like the newly-baptized soul still unclouded and untarnished by the harshness and temptations of the world...
the sweet little innocent: Lucy
Peter, on the other hand is the magnificent warrior, always ready to stand and fight for what is right no matter the consequence, always responsible for his actions, always fair and always good to and watching out for the good of others. I see Peter in our brave missionaries, pastors and ministers who are always courageous in talking about Christ and living Christ-like lives. We all want to be Peter all our lives, but our weak resolve unfortunately gets in the way.
the warrior in the child: Peter
I see myself most in Susan, the second eldest, and Edmund, the second youngest. Susan starts out as a smart but cold and dispassionate girl whose intelligence has gotten the better of the gentleness of her heart. Edmund appeared to be hopelessly selfish throughout the entire movie--even in the novel it seemed his self-centeredness and pride was without redemption up to the very end. Edmund's redemption is the perfect example of how sufficient God's amazing grace is to cover all our weaknesses and all our sins. The image of Susan finally warming up to Lucy in the latter half of the movie demonstrate perfectly how this same grace changes people if only by faith they come to trust and live for Him.
I am part Susan and part Edmund. Susan reforms early on, choosing the way of faith and hope through allegiance to Aslan. Edmund, however, takes quite a longer time to turn around. The moment he does however, Aslan, to whom Edmund came back in the picture below, didn't waste a minute and took him back faster than one can say "prodigal son".
once cold now gentle: Susan
the prodigal forgiven: Edmund
In the end, however, as I mentioned in a previous post, all roads lead back to Aslan. He is the be-all and end-all of this movie. If any light shone on the Pevensie siblings in the course of the story, it's for the purpose of illuminating how Aslan has changed them, how he has given them hope and courage, and, finally how he has laid down his life for them so that they may inherit his kingdom. Now, if this isn't enough of an allegory of our lives as Christians, I don't know what is.
How effective was Narnia in this indirect portrayal? Let's just say goosebumps riddled my arms the entire length of the movie. The movie was well worth the wait also because it poignantly told the tale of every Christian individual's life, as if beautifully executing the product of C. S. Lewis' imagination and faith on the big screen was not enough to capture the audience's attention--and affection.
Take for instance Peter and Lucy, the eldest and the youngest Pevensie siblings, respectively. These two represent the Christian I've always wanted to be: Lucy is the sweet little innocent, always trusting, always hoping, always letting the goodness of her heart lead the way of her actions--very much like the newly-baptized soul still unclouded and untarnished by the harshness and temptations of the world...
the sweet little innocent: LucyPeter, on the other hand is the magnificent warrior, always ready to stand and fight for what is right no matter the consequence, always responsible for his actions, always fair and always good to and watching out for the good of others. I see Peter in our brave missionaries, pastors and ministers who are always courageous in talking about Christ and living Christ-like lives. We all want to be Peter all our lives, but our weak resolve unfortunately gets in the way.
the warrior in the child: PeterI see myself most in Susan, the second eldest, and Edmund, the second youngest. Susan starts out as a smart but cold and dispassionate girl whose intelligence has gotten the better of the gentleness of her heart. Edmund appeared to be hopelessly selfish throughout the entire movie--even in the novel it seemed his self-centeredness and pride was without redemption up to the very end. Edmund's redemption is the perfect example of how sufficient God's amazing grace is to cover all our weaknesses and all our sins. The image of Susan finally warming up to Lucy in the latter half of the movie demonstrate perfectly how this same grace changes people if only by faith they come to trust and live for Him.
I am part Susan and part Edmund. Susan reforms early on, choosing the way of faith and hope through allegiance to Aslan. Edmund, however, takes quite a longer time to turn around. The moment he does however, Aslan, to whom Edmund came back in the picture below, didn't waste a minute and took him back faster than one can say "prodigal son".
once cold now gentle: Susan
the prodigal forgiven: EdmundIn the end, however, as I mentioned in a previous post, all roads lead back to Aslan. He is the be-all and end-all of this movie. If any light shone on the Pevensie siblings in the course of the story, it's for the purpose of illuminating how Aslan has changed them, how he has given them hope and courage, and, finally how he has laid down his life for them so that they may inherit his kingdom. Now, if this isn't enough of an allegory of our lives as Christians, I don't know what is.
Saturday, December 17, 2005
Praise Theme Christmas 2005
Scrapbook that Chrizelle made for the Praise Theme... ano naman kayang mga bagay-bagay ang ilalagay namin dito this year? Dapat pala before pa, gumawa na kami nito. Sobrang dami nang nangyari for the group in the many years we've been together. This year promises more in store, with the National Convention in Tagaytay and the Worship Camp in December. Can't Stop Praising talaga... which reminds me, kailan na kaya mareresked ang concert namin? Hmmm...(for all the photos, go to my yahoophotos here, then go to the folder "Praise Theme Christmas")
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