Sunday, March 27, 2005

It is summertime! The skies gets clearer! The breeze hovers faster! The sun shines longer and time for mountain climbing or hill climbing for that matter! Wowieeee! And during these lovely months, what better place to be than in BOHOL! It is where you can find TARSIERS- considered to be the smallest monkeys in the world! How - about - that!

But did you know that Tarsiers aren't monkeys at all. Actually, they belong to a different specie which is: Tarsius syrichta. Its classification is quite obscure and are often considered by taxonomits(researchers on the study of the general laws and principles of classification) to be "...of distinct suborder among the primates." Others classify these Philippine tarsiers along the line with the lemurs, lorises and bushbabies as prosimians. Oh, Whatever!

Tarsius syrichta simply called: Philippine Tarsiers (notice their sizes compared to human hands)


Don't you find them cute?

The last time I was there, these little cuties were put in cages by their captors under small trees for public viewing. But recently my daughter said they aren't imprisoned anymore. Thanks to the caring hearts of the Boholeños. They are free to roam around the wild forests and are reproducing quite fairly. Good job fellows.
Another interesting item in Bohol is the ever famous: Chocolate Hills! Imagine having chocolates as many and as big as hills! They even look like choco kisses, you know that little teardrop-shaped sweet-to-the-mouth goodies? Hmmmnnn... yummy!
Bohol as most Filipinos know is a kind of circular island province rich in nature's goodness. It is located slightly obliquely below Cebu where I am now (actually i'm in Lapu-Lapu). Everywhere you gaze you see nothing but group of pointed hills! I took this picture myself with just a simple SLR still cam. I was truly awed by it! Aren’t you now? There are over three thousand of these hills stretching out the horizon. It is learned that these are corals of the sea bed some thousands of years ago.
Oh, i almost forgot! These hills are called "chocolate hills" due to the fact that during summer (mid march- late April) these green grass that you see here turn brown because of the heat. The blades of grass dry up so much turning them into brownish hues which pre-dominates the horizon scattered around like chocolate kisses. My! Splendid site! I've been back here thee times already yet it still feels super everytime! It feels good to be with these huge mounds and be in commune with nature! I look forward to climbing up the tip of his big one (ha ha) that will be the day huh. Some of the other sites i visited in this gorgeous place! Just click the picts to view larger images.

Image hosted by Photobucket.comWe visited various spots like: Baclayon Church- considered to be the oldest in the Philippines; The Man-made forest in Loboc- lined upwith huge Mahogany trees all planted withthe vision and hope Image hosted by Photobucket.comof a more greener Bohol; The Hanging Bridge also in Loboc displays man's ingeniuty over machines; The Floating Restaurant- winding through Loboc's deep forest. More of Bohol Image hosted by Photobucket.comsites are of much significance due to the fact that according to Bohol's hitory it was afterall one to the earliest settlements of the Spanish conquerors; but a little later after Mactan Island.
Image hosted by Photobucket.com Image hosted by Photobucket.com Image hosted by Photobucket.com Image hosted by Photobucket.com Image hosted by Photobucket.com

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More of the Philippines (personal edition)
1. My Cebu...


Image hosted by Photobucket.comTrue friends are hard to find... But you know what? They are much harder to forget!

They make me so rich deep inside my heart. They make a few jumpy beats everytime i think of them. They are so precious i cannot function well without.I consider my friends treasures. They are my wealth, my jewels, my gems.
Friends- specially the true ones are as important as anyone because they are real people! Of course you have all sorts of friend types.You know, the not-so-true yet important to us. They may not be your esteemed, cherished individuals but i'm sure they needed people like you and me to have and to share with, not at all times perhaps but at least a split moment in their life. But you should know, it is because of this closeness that they tend to break our heart, sometimes.
One time i remember, a friend who once was the closest of all my friends came on me too strong. What i mean is she did one thing i really disliked. I trully felt so low that i didn't communicated with her in a year or two. It was not until after my birthday that i forgave her, when she gave me a birthday card as greetings for the day. Inside that card was written about forgiving. She wrote "... all heals in time". I replied her with a card too and told her: "yes, time heals all wounds but a big scar is left here with me forever." I realize now i was too harsh on her sending that card.But i'm just being honest.
I admit, to forget and forgive is a hard task. I don't get comforted too easily, specially when my heart gets broken. But i am trying the best now to be as forgiving as anyone should be. I pray everytime i get a broken heart, i look back to that special birthday i had, when i forgave.
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Just recently, another special friend communicated to me after a long silence. This friend must have felt guilty after a promise was broken. I was hesitant at first, but my friend kept telling me it is Lenten season and that it is time to forget and forgive... So i did, after a few minutes of comforting words and lectures of how Jesus died on the cross and stuff like that ( This friend is very active in church)... I then talked to my friend with open mind. Then i forgave ... with smiling heart!

Wednesday, March 23, 2005

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a href="http://logbet.blogspot.com">< img style="WIDTH: 79px; HEIGHT: 24px" height="31" src="http://www.geocities.com/razy4uph/sweetlips1.jpg" width="88" /

Note: Please contact me if it doesn't work. Thanks!

Tuesday, March 22, 2005

It was alomost six in the evening when i got to listen the latest edition of "Europinoy perspective"- a excerpt of a weekly radio program in Rome, Italy called: Radio Pilipino ng Vaticano. I was quite erked (if that's the correct term) bytheir topic which is "Being in-Love with the wrong person".

My! how wrong could that person be? I mean, is it really true that love is blind?

I'm asking this question because i only have one love all my life! And i don't think he is a wrong guy. Perhaps it is just our own perception of what LOVE is...
For me to love a person means :
1- giving it all
2-doing it righteously
3- share it contuinually
4-be with sometimes (of course you can't take him while peeing)
5-talk openly
6-laugh with sometimes (if it isn't corny ok)
...and the list goes on. Who's counting anyhow?

LOVE, that nice and wonderful feeling!

But loving a person doesn't mean you have to be blind, does it? In fact, you must be so ready with your feelings because doing it might put you in a bad situation later.But the risk makes it more intriguing, don't you think so? Am i making any sense here? Oh, how can i elaborate it further?

Love, as the word implies, is putting trust on someone... someone you don't even know that much all your life. But hey, no one knows for sure the other person, not until years go by with the relationship, who does?. Even twins argue once in a while, how much more with partners or lovers when they aren't blood related! And that is part of the whole process. We learn as we change, right? As you know change is great and it is the only constant thing in this world.

I believe it is in the sharing with that person -correct or wrong-over the years, that you would know how to love eventually. And who can judge better who is right and not?

It is the care one gives, the respect offered, the friendship bestowed! YES, i believe our beloved patner in life should be our best friend. It is the life-long togetherness which make the relationship flourish if not bloom to its fullest. It is putting your trust to that person which might help ease up the process of loving. Because loving is a struggle, a feat, a force so strong it drives one crazy, at times though. That is why it has to be felt for, sacrificed and lived for to its truest definition. But who can define what love really is...?

It is both the love and hate feelings that enables both parties to grow and learn and live. And that's what matters- to live- yes, because it is only in living that you can love and it is in loving that you continue to live! Now, i am making sense?

Did you know that when you hate someone so much it is because you love that person too much! LOVE makes the world go around.. yes, definitely. It can also make your head turn around and get crazy!
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Allow me to share with you one of my poems. It is about living: Live

St. Peter Square with the Obelisk @ the background.
ROME, Italy- The eternal city. So many reasons why it is called as such. One of these might be : Rome is comparably alive @ night and on daytime as well. For a very short but pleasurable stay in this magnificent and Holy City, i can still reminisce quite clearly how lovely Rome is. Thanks to my dear friend who stood by me not only as a true friend, my personal tour guide but most specially as my true guide- spiritually speaking.
As we traversed the long narrow streets of Rome(map) by foot (yes, we sure did after a short ride from Piazza Bologna where i stayed over for roughly 6 days only) stretching as far as Basilica of St. Peter; to Piazza Venezia climbing up Emanuele Monument; then to the ever-famous Collouseum while passing by the Roman Forum; and again we went to the foot of the Spanish Steps and climed up a few steps there too; down to Piazza del Popolo, where two twin churches (S. Maria dei Miracoli and S. Maria in Montesanto) proudly stand as if guarding the Piazza(Italian for Plaza) - i can't help but be amazed with much awe to the sights and sounds of this beautiful place! Imagine being in a place as wonderful as Rome!
I can't recall now which Piazza we went first because there are lots of Piazzas all over Rome. I learned now as i studied the places in a comprehensive map here i keep remembering the names and i'm pretty i am sure we went to Piazza Navona where a some few vendors lined up their goods for the tourists- including me of course- and on to the amazing Trevi fountain. It is said that when you throw a coin over your left shoulder, there is a possibility that you can be back to that place. So i did throw a coin with hopes of going back there. After that coin-toss we went inside the Pantheon- the place dedicated to the twelve Olympian Gods. You'd be magnitized to this particular place. Read more here to find out why.
The next few days i went over to Sta. Pudenziana- the church ..."designated as National Church for Filipinos in Rome". My friend who was serving as one of the nun there told me about the martyrs (St. Pudentia or Pudens and St. Praxedes whose remains were kept down the very deep well located inside this particular church. Some three thousand catholics died defending their faith in those early times .
Ahhh! ROME! The very place where the Pope resides! And take note, it was not just my very first time to travel to a foreign land but also- it was my first to be out of my homeland -Philippines. It definitely felt like away from all the hustles and bustles of everyday fuzz. Not to mention i get to see the Pope just a few feet away from his Papal see-thru car while His Emminence was about to crown Mama Mary on Her Feast day (December 8th). Those days were trully great, indeed! ... @ least for me!
It was more than two years now but mind you my heart is deeply rooted there after that tiresome but fun-filled trip plus the true experience i can not simply forget in my entire life! And i am positive i will be back there in due time.
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I titled this "Winter in Rome" because i wanted to portray (in my own personal observation) how cold winter should be compared to our Philippine climate. I thought it would snow on that december-2002 air but didn't. Although there wasn't any snow but i felt the 5 'C degrees as if i was about to freeze! I heard it snowed the year after that but i wasn't around! Grrrr!

Sunday, March 20, 2005

This is the powdery fine sand of La Playa del Ingles in Mas Palomas, Gran Canaria, Spain. "Playa" means beach.




Gran Hotel Costa Meloneras @ dusk! Notice the two petite towers on each side of the hotel @ my back?


Gran Hotel Costa Meloneras in the beautiful island of Mas Palomas. This is how it look during daytime.
The little fountains leading to the main hotel lobby.

On the open air bar with my sis.

Amazing shape!

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These are but a few of the many pictures i have on my Spain trip on a very cold December of 2002. Amazingly enough winter time in Canaria isn't too cold compared to the rest of Europe. In fact, I stayed over until the 20th and it was just a cold breeze though near the beach area! One thing i love being there is the sun. It shines to its fullest- noontime- but the air isn't hot at all. My! we were not using air conditioner inside the car, we just let our windows wide open! I know it is almost three years now but happy moments stays in my heart always.

Canary Islands are made up of seven (7) small islets ( Gran Canaria;Fuente ventura; Tenerife; La Gomera; Heirro and last but not least- Lanzarote) the bigest of which is Gran Canaria, where Mas Palomas is located down south. The beach of Playa del Ingles faces halfway to the great Atlantice Ocean. These group of islands are a few nautical miles off the coast of Africa, near its northern tip, just below Morocco. Oh, you must be wondering why i mentioned Africa. Yes, it is where these beautiful islands are located. The Canarias are separated from mailand Spain but they are provinces of Spain since 1821. more...

Friday, March 18, 2005

Like the song huh. Sure ! The sun sets in, then it makes a come back by rising! Oh Yes! And how I love sunsets- and sunrise too!

But you know what, the sun doesn't really disappear, it is us- the earth- who turns away from it. Did you know that the sun- when it seemed to make its final bow each day - didn't actually go I'm pretty sure you know. I'm only making it more glass-clear here. It is the earth's rotation about its axis plus the sun moves around us but very very slowly, in fact, we can not even determine exactly , not until we take a few minute stare at the clouds- that is if there are clouds to see- which makes it look like it is moving away thus leaving us its bright gleaming rays as if coating the entire plane with gold-leaf plating.

So does each sunrise evry morning. Emerging out softly across the horizon, eventually illuminating each tip of a leaf, each blade of grass and on to each tiny grain of sand spreading as if showering its bright and glaring streaks of orange and yellow combined magically as it slowly rises up to start a new day! Hmmnn... It just simply feels good! Thank you Lord.
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This is a view from one of the beautiful beaches in Spain- in La Playa del Ingles in Mas Palomas, Gran Canaria. The beach stretches out more than two miles of very fine sand. Although it (sand) isn't sugary white but it sure felt powdery smooth especially when both your feet are emersed some few inches down with its cold but soothing sea water slowly splashing in and out of the shore. The time i spent in this place i noticed that sunsets never seem to fade out as quiclkly as i experienced here in my homeland. Perhaps it was only my imagination that it went out so slow. As i remember i was on the verge of taking off my clothes to make a quick dip when i started gazing its fantastic colors. I realized then it was too cold as i felt the swift Atalantic breeze hovers all over my bare skin. But i'll be back, i hope. And that would be the day! more ...
By the way, sunsets reminds me of a special friend. He too is a lover of this great phenomenon. Hope to see him again!

Saturday, March 12, 2005

Maybe it is true that we don't know what we have... until we lose it
But it is also true that... we don't know what we have been missing until it arrives.

Giving someone all your love is never an assurance that they will love you back
Don't expect love in return
Just wait for it to grow in their heart
But if it does not, be content it grew in yours.

Don't go for looks
They can deceive
Don't go for wealth
Even that fades away
Go for someone who makes you smile
Because it takes only a smile to make a dark day seem bright.

Find the one that makes your heart smile !

There are moments in life when you miss someone so much that you just want to pick them from your dreams and hug them for real.


Dream what you want to dream
go where you want to go
Be what you want to be
Because you have only one life and one chance to do all of them.


May you have enough happiness to make you sweet
enough trials to make you strong
enough sorrow to keep you human
enough hope to make you happy.
Always put yourself in other's shoes
If you feel that it hurts you
it probably hurts that person, too.

The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything
they just make the most of everything that comes along their way.



Happiness lies for those who cry
those who hurt
those who have searched
and those who have tried
for only they can appreciate the importance of people who have touched their lives. -anonymous-
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And may i say : You have touched my life in ways only God knows. You have changed me unexpectedly into a better person. You have taught me how to live and love... then love and live!


Friday, March 11, 2005

Its origins in the Sugar Industry
(An overview)

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Introduction

Society involves people; living harmoniously together for a common goal in life : " belongingness".

In a country, or in any country for that matter, everyone needs a place to live; a group to interact with; a community, in general and a family, in particular. And that comprises a society in my own definition of the term.

A big chunk of our country's history revealed some harsh truth of constant invasion, colonization,etc by foreign invaders, which most of the times lowered our self esteem and degraded our own very essence of existence. Never has any foreign conqueror filled our cup of dignity, but rather hacked if not shunned our modest but pure valor, which resided in each our very heart, as Filipinos.
While it is true that society not just granted us our freedom but also persuaded our minds to be in constant accord with man and nature, but freedom is quite a vague word; freedom from whom and of what? Perhaps the answer lies in the kind of society we had with our past which surely influenced much the society we are having now and in the near future.

In the following pages, certain moments of Philippine history would be unraveled but only briefly concerning the Sugar Industry and particularly the emergence of a Filipino Society.
PART I
Morale - The word implies significance to every person as it is an important cultural text which needs to be tended to with more attention. It implies our bravery in most everything we do and care and it must be placed on top of any situation being a part of us, of our culture, and of our lives.

Generally speaking- our Filipino life, since the beginning of time when the cave men roamedthe dark dungeons until the the first invasion by the Spaniards, has been experienced with a kind of silence as if having a very low self esteem and in a subdued manner. The people's sentiments during this period were tender enough to be easily influenced by newcomers of the land. They were greatly inclined to emotions rather than reasons, except of course Datu Lapu-Lapu (considered to be the first hero) who acted fiercely if not un-cunningly and resented bravely over the Conquistadores' aim of Christianization. Surely, he must have had too many reasons to be mentioned here.

So when these foreigners (Spaniards) established their own idealism not to mention Religion, our forefathers did well in their commendations and gave in, almost instantly but with hopes and dreams of a better life ahead.

Assets - With the advent of the Sugar Plantation in our country, men, women and children were excited if not provoked, with the current idea of business being a novel indea to venture into. Pampanga Sugar began entering the export trade which became the largest sugar-making area in the Philippines. And in the later part specifically on 1790, ships of foreign registry began legally trading Asian goods in Manila, as a result of a petition filed by La Real Compania de Filipinas. Thus in 1834, a fully operational port was opened.

For almost a decade (1836- 1920) the entire Negros province and Pampangga has changed significantly. By the middle of the nineteenth century annual sugar production increased enormously together with the increase of population thru migration. But the Spaniards dominated the industry, as they were the forerunners in the establishment of sugar planting. The government however had legitimate laws on the acquisition of large parcels of agricultural land mass in Negros, which was intended for distribution.

The Chinese took part of the financial growth too, in the form of loans and stock brokerages.

The people's sentiment at this time had evolved into a more complex web of confusion over who was elite and who was not. For the Hacienderos ?the people who owned the land on the other hand- a gap existed, and was so pronounced that the tenants were recognized as lower in social class as compared to their landowners. In fact the whole province became famous as the wealthiest and most progressive in the country.

But there were factors to be considered why it became so. Bank loans were quite rampant in those days, with the land itself as collateral. Among the high level or upper social class, the very rich became richer, more so when they purchased large parcel of lands at cheap prices. Two ways of increasing wealth on those times were namely, Absolute sale of land and the ever popular Pacto-de-retrovendendo sale. The latter worked in this manner: a land was sold for less than its true value but with provision that the seller had the right to repurchase that land within a specified time limit, with the addition of interest charges. This type of land acquisition was much abused due to the fact that it was an easier way to get hold of land from the farmers.


Education - In the education arena, the poor barely had the chance to get quality education after their primary years which were mandatory. This came to be at the time when the Americans came. They mades changes particularly in the ways the learning process was uplifted and on the benefits earned by the richer families, in relation to education.There was a kind of undertstanding which best explains why only the children of the rich were the only beneficiaries of their toils. These elite class even pursued higher learning benefits to larger schools like colleges and universities in Manila and furthermore abroad like Spain and United States of America.

The minds and spirits of the people had grown into a more entwined network of chaos and uncertainty, far more different than what it used to be in the olden days. Society has evolved a much vibrant impression of a new generation, of a modern echelon of time. An example might be explained like this: in order to fully gain elite standing within the community, one has to hold higher political office position in the group of professionals but with a pre-requisite of owning a land himself.


Well being - Over the years, the tenants remained on the lowest level of the social class stature, most contrasting with that of the wealthy landowners who remained rich, even became richer. There were two notable sentiments which have grown in this part of the country; Obedience of the workers to the landowners and usurpation of the Hacienderos over the leaseholders. A much greater gap has spread widely, un-conveniently for most of the working class.


Religion - In contrast to the rest of society?s facial metamorphosis, one consequential circumstance appeared benign. Of all the other aspects stated herein, there is one most likely became to be the only if not the ultimate ingredient of society which was harmoniously enjoyed by both the landowners and tenants- Religion.
A far great number of the community if not all, survived the constant infliction of ideals and purposes of Catholicism, for which the Spanish invaders were so eager to uphold and pursued unceasingly and patiently over the years. It almost completed each individual in those times, rich or poor, with that very endearing feeling of belongingness and a sense of protection from the heaven above which was so greatly idolized and worshiped, for a greater after-life beyond.

Well, for me society cannot be gauged with or without these aspects mentioned here. One can only witness and feel the effects it yields in each passing time.

Thursday, March 10, 2005

PART TWO

When sugar started its full force of production the Philippines, it gained momentum in of the late part of the eighteenth century and early nineteenth century (1836 - 1920) it did well in providing almost one-third of all Philippine foreign trade, not to mention garnered the honor of being the most advanced manufacturing technology at that time.

By this time, a new kind of Philippine Society was formed. It was even called “Sugar society” (p.102). This was characterized by different thoughts (as compared to the usual ways of the wise- men’s views); acquired reactions to the current situations; vague perceptions of the confusion over social classes; new attitudes among workers with respect to the landowners; modern if not contemporary ideas on every angle of culture in general.

These and more were few of the many facets of society, which were encountered by the old town folks of the so-called “sugar society” as they were engulfed with massive changes brought about by the sugar industry.

However, a typical manner of receiving guests prevailed during these years. As learned, like when a royal family or a datu showed respect to a visiting foreigner like a conquistador and his men and were treated to a magnificent festive mood using imported china wares in serving food. Then an elegant ball was at hand honoring the big dignitaries. Politicians played major roles in the business arena. Commerce was at its peak and was doing very good as far as the rich landowners and the capitalists were concerned. Sugar industry soared high. These were during 1921 to 1934. Within these decade or more, banks were the major players, coupled with the landowners mortgaged lands as collaterals for increased capitalization. The rich obviously became richer.

The society created thru sugar was more of a one-way street, in the sense that only the lesser minority group of rich families enjoyed great wealth while the planters continued their toils. This high-class alliance of few locals spent extravagantly on luxuries so much so that they were living like kings and queens.

The vicinity where the people lived and did business has now trans formed into a bustling center; with new plazas everywhere, amusement centers, and the like. Markets got new facelift, department stores sprouted like di-cotylidons all over the place. A theater, a golf country club, a university, a jockey club, these are but a few of the amenities found in that sugarlandias of Negros and Pampanga.

Truly, the sugar industry has expanded the culture in sugar plantation areas, but despite all these, people’s sentiment still portrayed rich characteristics of old Spanish ways of land inequalities. Buried deep within this novel society which havd evolved, laid a very sad and unforgiving predicament among the town folks. Land grabbing was one of the major cause of conflict during those times. Protests after protests among the workers came into view against the hacienderos mostly for the change about improving the shares of the processed sugar. Chaos really stirred up the world of sugar planters. The kind of society that emerged in the sugar-rich plantations during these hard times was undoubtedly a very unstable one.

With such complexities occurring at a given time, i can say: the Filipino society was molded out of uncontrolled circumstances, a kind of unprecedented dilemma of events happening all together too fast too soon, notwithstanding the perplexities of life which could have been too naïve to have occurred too bluntly and modestly within the Golden years of sugar planting.
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Note: You must have noticed by now a few of my topics here pertains much of History. Yes, i feel a part of me is tinted with the past. As a child i have always wondered how vast a man's journey can reach through time. But i also was confused of man's existence. Insignificant? Maybe so, but slowly i came to know the ways how to better understand the future but by experiencing the past.


Tuesday, March 08, 2005

Pain and Risk

For those who have loved and been hurt; for those who haven't loved at all; and for those who are just about to discover the beauty of this moving experience, this is for you.
In thinking of your past love, you may view it as a failure. But when you find a new one, you suddenly see this failure as a teacher.
In the game of love, it doesn't really matter who won or lost.

What is important is you know when to hold on and when to let go! You know you really love someone when you want him or her to be happy, even if his/her happiness means not you being part of it.
Everything happens for the best. If the person you love doesn't love you back don't be afraid to love someone else again; you'll never know if it will be returned unless you give it a try. You never really loved unless you risk for it.
Love strives and grows in hurting. If you don't get hurt, you don't learn how to love.
Love doesn't hurt all the time. The hurting is there to test you and help you grow.
Love is not destroyed by a single failure or won by a single caress. It is a lifetime learning, discovering and growing.

Love's greatest irony is letting go when you need to hold on and/or holding on when you need to let go. Loving people means giving them the freedom to choose whom and where they want to be, regardless whether those choices lead toward or away from you.
We lose someone we love only when we are destined to find someone else who can love us even more than we can love ourselves.
Don't find love, let love find you!
Some words to live by. And yes nobody wins or lose in being in-love. You simply have to cherish the feeling or learn from it and move on.

Now, can i say I love You?

LOVE… The most cherished word! But how could she knew what love was? How could she know what it was that she felt, when it was the very first time she felt that?

The night grew deeper, and the air blew colder. They were still together, entwined with each other’s arms, their lips searching, trying to catch their breaths. Soon, they were one. Their bodies stuck so close not a molecule could seep through.

It was real love. Pure, unblemished affection, intense emotion felt so strongly as if nothing could break them apart. It was so momentous, so unique, a bizarre fraction of time dealt with by two mortals, nourished with that zany but true encounter.

They cared less of what went on with the world around them. She tried to look around but still was blinded. He did not mind at anything except that he was holding her. Nothing mattered much but their desire to be alone.

But they were not alone. They had the stars above, the full moon, the whole universe! They had the misty cold air around, the faint sound in the distance, the damp grass underneath their flesh. These elements were there but they simply did not care. Not a bit bothered.

All they felt was love, endearment, the excitement, in captivity. Time allowed each act. Every second meant forever. This moment must not end… it should last. For it is ‘the moment’ they knew LOVE. It was the moment they started living. They were not mere existing… they were living.

It was then when they both realized they were meant for each other. Both were aware of being here in this world. Of caring for one another, of sharing each other’s joys and sorrows, of thinking and being thought of. Their love flourished and was nurtured with much joy and fulfillment.

It was her first, but surely not his. Afterall what merits a woman most if not her virginity.

Monday, March 07, 2005

A reflection
Historically speaking, Christians and the teachings need more of the justification of facts as to who came when, how and why. As learned, Adam made a human error of defying God’s will, but how he came into existence is still a debatable phenomenon, because in another angle of perception like science, one cannot and will not just appear or disappear at any given era or moment. There has to be an irrefutable explanation, specifically scientific in nature, and must undeniably possess an irrevocable panache of truth, for it to gain its satisfactory acceptance in the human mind.

In History, one has to look back and ponder more of the events and meanings that mold each and every one of us in this present time. No one can relate it all perfectly today as to how it occurred exactly in those fleeting moments, when almost every one else if not some has taken refuge with the un-living. We need to cultivate more proofs and crave for deeper meanings of things of his beginnings with concerns over the relationship between man and his environs as he pursued to exist.

With the Christian context of history, a lot of superimposed contingencies and eventualities, evolve around the understanding that man was created by a supreme being whose notion of existence continued to proliferate into the minds of the unexposed but creative bulk of inquiring easy-to-manipulate society of the past. For decades, man’s quest for the real unadulterated truth of existence is a far cry, from his conventional confusion of deliberating the reality of life, in its truest sense.

Nevertheless, Christianity, as it was given by man to man, have profusely corrupted if not debauched man himself, and somehow impaired his level of decisiveness and consciousness in his dealings with his own past in relation to his unfathomed purpose for living. As his history dictates him to be what he once was, Christianity roamed the dark and empty gaps in between grasp of the truth in his survival for the future.
Religion leading to Christ, pose a great deal of confusion when topics in History, any history for that matter is taken into account.

A. R. M. A. - M.A. History - History 200 - History Of Philosophy - U.S.C. Main - 2nd semester,2003.

This image you that see here was created by a very special person. He is a very talented artist. He is a wizard in computers and he always makes you smile! He told me he did it in less than five (5) minutes.
One time i showed him my newly updated web log. I was kind of "boastful" at first 'coz u know i thought i did a good job but after a few seconds he immediately called my attention 'coz he got dismayed looking at my blog which portrayed the title header with a dead blank! Hmmnn... t'was strange, i was pretty sure i had a picture of two people intimately close with each other -almost kissing- as a matter of fact!

He then told me there wasn't any image because i didn't upload the picture file correctly thus it was not displayed in his computer. My my! How thoughtless of me! Well, i must admit i am new to html codes and the like. But thanks to my friend here, he saved me!

Awesome isn't it? Complete with the beautiful colors of the sunset (oh, it can be a sunrise too, depending on the time of day you are viewing this) with its reflection hovering the horizon; a smiling face at one end which must have launched a million spacecrafts of today if not ships of yesterday (oh, i can't believe i said that!); coupled with two sunflowers in full bloom! Wow huh. Amazingly done by amazing hands (i say fingers) right? .
A million thanks to you, my dear pal. You are one very gifted creation! Hey, am i allowed to say your name here?

Anyway, im sure you must be wondering why i didn't use this as my header image. Well, i have personal reasons which i am not at ease writing them down here much less telling anyone for that matter... but i can whispher it to you if you want me to ;-). See you back home!

Sunday, March 06, 2005

T poem

Today

I made a promise to myself
Not to cry for any reason but Love
It seemed impossible a task to keep…

So I made another promise
To love and be loved for love’s sake
Then it seemed worthwhile to feel…

So I loved and still love
And will continue to love
To my heart’s content until I can
Then I did no promise.

For what good does promises bring
When all you can do is feel and care and love…Always.

2002
One of the thoughts circling on my mind a few years back. I think it was duirng my student-come-back years in Achitecture- 2002. Let me explain what i'm talking about... You see after twenty 20 long years of absence in the academe, i came back to my alma mater (Cebu Institute of Technology (CIT) to realize my age-old dream of getting a degree . Well, i did get one anyhow: a marriage degree, a far cry from what i must become... as if i was obliged...? Imagine quitting school when I was a semester away from graduation! But then, it did not seem to matter. I was in love... and i still am! Today, i am now a full pledged- friendly neighbor- Architect! Treasurer- U.A.P. (United Architects of the Philippines) Sugbo Chapter- Area C- Visayas. Thank you!

To be sung to the tune of:
Hoy! Pinoy Ako! ARKI THEME SONG (noypi)
>
> tingnan mo ang yong Palad
> pasmado mong KaMai
> sa JirAp ng Pla no
> Andami nang Project
> nakuha Mo pang gumimick
> ArKi Kanga PasaWai
> san kamn narororon h'wag matatakot
> sa MaTh O MaJor SA ProF
> na Bading!!!!!!
> HoY!!! R-ki ako
> buo Aking Loob
> mai Tinta ang dguo kohhh
> Hoy!!!Oh R-ki ako
> mai Tinta ANg dugo !!!!
> tinapos ko ang planO
> tiniis ko ang liGo
> nasa PusO ko pal a
> ang jinananap kong Ligo
> ILang bSes naKong
> MuntikangBumagask
> oh alm Ko ang SiKr2 kayat and2 pa't
> PUyaT
> oh sabi nila MAi anting-anting ako
> pero di nila
> alm na KAPe Ang Dhilan KOHHH!!
> HoY!!! R-ki ako
> buo Aking Loob
> mai Tinta ang dguo kohhh
> Hoy!!!Oh R-ki ako
> mai Tinta ANg dugo !!!!
> dinig Mo bahh? ang BulonG Ng KurSo
> mohh?
> itaas Mo kapatid ang T-Square
> naTIn!!!
>
> HoY!!! R-ki ako
> buo Aking Loob
> mai Tinta ang dguo kohhh
> Hoy!!!Oh R-ki ako
> mai Tinta ANg dugo !!!!
>
> HoY!!! R-ki ako
> buo Aking Loob
> mai Tinta ang dguo kohhh>
>
>...(end)
Archi-logo- This logo you are seeing here is one of the many logos i tried and retried to create, for the purpose of embedding it to my own letterhead. It was one of the many brainstormed designs which a few of my co-architect-partner friends attempted to visualize. Well, we did not find it amusing enough much so tacful in any angle to incoprporate it in our current memo pads. But nevertheless, let me say it loud here: Thanks guys! See you in Singapore!

Saturday, March 05, 2005


Hi!
Hello!
How are you?

Too many greetings
too much intimacy

Yet few are real…


Everything else remains a mystery

Unseen

Untouched


Still a fantasy.


April 15, 2002 - morning
The date here represents the time this poem of mine was created. I still can remember that sunny April morning when i was about to rise up from bed and felt a tiny indifference within me when this thought arouse. I hurriedly scribbled it in my mobile phone (which by the way lay beside me every night) after which i then transfered it to my petite but great (almost full ) yearly planner note pad... and gets posted here just now... yun lang po, salamat.

Poverty

Has it left already or is it still here?

The word itself sounds low as if regressing deeply down... what do you think?

Well, actually the meaning of words or their sounds are just masks. You can call a thing nice or ugly but it would not matter much to the particular object. So does with the word “poverty”. It is a condition, a situation, a state of being... not some kind of a thing which one needs or somebody whom one can rely upon. In short, it does not have any life! But when it does fall on a person, or inflicts one, it is devastating. One can loose his heart and not feel anything, even loose his mind, unknowingly perhaps.

Another way of describing this very human condition can be said like this: anyone who is poor, has low self-esteem, unhealthy, always feeling low and subdued, uneducated, unhappy, do not have food on the table every mealtime, no money in the bank or elsewhere, practically nothing to look forward to in the days to come... in other words, a vagabond; a destitute, homeless, an individual who does not have material possessions.

It is a situation where one is denied from life’s simple but significant pleasures; like eating the required nutritional foods at proper times, get correct education, do jobs regularly, even perpetually if not eternally.
True enough, poverty is here. It has been here quite sometime now and it looks like it is going to stay a while longer, even forever if nothing is changed in society. But who did this to anyone anyway? It is a very practical yet complex question to be answered.


In our society today, old people tend be unnoticed. In my opinion, in one way or another, they should somehow be cared for and loved more for they were once the leaders, the models of yesterday and still they should be treated as such. They possess the secrets of life’s struggles and battles of our forefathers’ strength, dignity, and morality so richly contained in their hearts and those promises of tomorrow which is now, today!

But one bad circumstance crippled society into confusion and vicious corruption. Yes it is but poverty. A condition so evil it manipulates man to succumb inside his own shell and propagate blasphemous notions of life. He can no longer see life in its purest sense, instead, man is directed towards false hopes, untrue emotions, derailed hearts and eventually falling down the deep dark abyss of reality.

Because of poverty, old but precious family members could not be nurtured more than merely live. They get often abandoned by the younger ones, who etched profusely, for a day’s struggle to obtain a meal or two.

As the question is still left unanswered, the situation of being so poor continues. A Filipino falling below poverty line, cannot answer this question, he cannot even read! Poverty mutilated the essence of life so bad he cannot eat three times a day regularly; he doesn’t have a descent place to sleep, more so than work anywhere at all.

So to whom do we direct the question ? The wealthier ones who strove hard for it or to the all-time rich group who never was poor at any time of their life and managed to stay up since?

No specific people are to be blamed. Many of us are victims, yes, but does it exempt us to do the right things least allow us to do badly? Either way, we must do our share.

For us to attain our goals and aspirations we must think fast and do good deeds to let others feel how great it is to live wholesomely, simply but truthfully!
I can only say: God bless us all!

Thursday, March 03, 2005

Soaring high, among the cold beams of limelight
Softly spreading her gems, amidst the clouds of dreams
Then briefly but gently, she slides down the isle…

Her gaze is deep, her mind focused
Her wholeness embraces humanity…

She is fun and kind and sweet
She is simple yet possesses brilliance
Unequalled...

She has emerged high, far from yesterday’s passion
She has changed…bloomed, almost like a dandelion
But smarter…nimbler… more provocative than ever!

More intimate… but secretive, she is full of life and intellect
She sways much more graceful than a swan does its tail
She is the novel girl… the woman she has become ...

Who is she...?


... and so goes my poem

;;