Liv in a Life Well-Lived

Book in Hand: Living Out Loud by Anna Quindlen Song in Mind: Crazy for You as sung by our Tone-Deaf neighbor (hey' i'm just dying here) Speed Traveling There is such a thing. It can be accomplished by people who absolutely does not have a life except the one where they are stuck speed-traveling. Case in point, me. Bicol and back in just 46 hours. I had to dig in my heels to at least see something more than just blurred houses and fuzzy people. Last Thursday, I took the bus to Naga City at 8:30 p.m. and made it there by 5:00 the next morning. Summoning all my superpowers, I tried to be cheery, nice and interested in the work I was supposed to do. After shaking the hands of so many people, talking my butt off about education projects and funding sources, I made it to the very same bus station by 7 p.m. I took a bus going back to Manila and made it by 4:30 in the morning where I pumped whatever source of depleted energey reserves I have to teach two classes, workshops and all up t

What's with this tagging craze? Oh well, what fun they are! I like answering them because that means I have a topic to discuss on this blog. Lazy git that i am. :) 5 years ago: I was 18 and I felt put-together. I was in love and I was young but I felt wise. (Eeeenggg! How wrong was that?) I was a bit thinner than I am now. I felt pretty, but nobody else seem to think so, and aside from that, everything else was great. Hehe. 5 songs I know all the words to: Oh geez, this will prove what a fruitcase I am: 1) Save the Best for Last Vanessa WIlliams, 2) Ironic by Alanis, 3) When You say Nothing at All by Ronan Keating, 4) A Whole New World from the movie Aladdin, and 5) the ATBP song. 5 Snacks I enjoy: Pringles Original, Twix, Knick Knacks, Hansel Mocha Sandwich and One One rice crackers. 5 Things I'd do w/ $100 million dollars: 1) Buy my parents a farm in Bukidnon, 2) Buy the next door lots and install a swimming pool, tennis court, and a small out house which would serve as my pr

Book in Hand: Shampoo Planet Song in Mind: The Day You Said Goodnight Words in Mouth: Too much coffee can kill ya Maybe its the coffee. Or maybe it's just me. I'm buzzing inside my head. And I don't feel like writing at all. But it turns out that I have too much extra time and I don't want to stay in the office because I know it will kill me if I do. Out. I just wanted to be out. Anyway, lately, my stupid mistakes have been catching up on me. The things I did which I now wish I didn't. If I had another chance, I would probably rethink my decisions. But now its too late. And I just have to wish so hard there is forgiveness to be found. Another thing is that, something's been bugging me lately. I try my hardest to ignore it, because if I do, I can still pretend it's not true. Not true that I feel weird around certain people and that I am so affected by them. Argh. See, my heart is even rebelling as I write about it now. To you, the reader, I do not make sense

(or The Weirdest Movie I’ver Ever Seen written as pronounced by a Frangerman Irelinglish) “That’s not Magic! It’s just shiny!” - Will Grimm from the Brothers Grimm movie Beware shiny things… they have the illusion of grandeur in it. What you took for a knight in magnificent chain mail could just be a court jester decked up in aluminum foil. Nevertheless, as much as you can see through the farce, it still remains to be highly amusing. This is exactly how I felt watching the movie The Brothers Grimm. There were parts that annoyed me to the point of blurting out “Just Kille Me!” But then, there were a few scenes in there which tickled my imagination and I may well believe it’ll serve as fodder for a story that’s been brewing in my head for a couple of years now. At least I got what little value I could eke out of the Php 151 I paid to watch at the Powerplant Mall. Anyway, the movie is, as Peloy aptly described it, a bastardization of the Grimm fairytales. Yes, Peloy, the Brothers Grimm di

Bakit ba ganyan? Ang tagal-tagal-tagal kung nagwiwish na makapagbiyahe na ako ulit... tapos sobrang walang opportunity. Tapos ngayon, sunod-sunod naman. Kaya yan, tuloy, hindi ko rin sila mapupuntahan lahat. I have to give up on visiting General Nakar, Quezon. But still, I will get to visit Camarines Sur next week. Then finally, Cebu and Bohol for the next weekend. Yey! I have a secret and I hope you won't laugh.... first time ko sumakay ng AIRPLANE ito, pag natuloy! So sana, wag na maudlot. PLease, Lord? :)

I saw this message being passed around where people describe the books they’ve read. Maybe it’s being done so as to convince people to read more. Or it could have been started by geeks who just wanted to share their bookworm-ish life. Either way, it suits me well. So I decided to answer it and I hope some of my friends will make a list of their own. Number of Books on the Shelves Oh boy, a rapid appraisal confirms that we have eight main book shelf areas. A wall-to-floor shelf area in the living room, two inside the spare room downstairs, this main book pit at the computer area, one at Daddy’s study, two more inside my room, and a small one inside Ella’s room. Because I don’t mind counting books, I went around the house and counted them one by one. As of today, we have 1,216 books on our shelves. And that’s not counting the books we have at the work place, the books we lent out to friends, the books we have borrowed from friends, and the magazines, journals and digests we have lying

Book in Hand: Complete Idiot's Guide on How To Learn Spanish On Your Own Song in Mind: Balik freshness, balik bounce, bounce! (if you know that song then you have been brainwashed just like me.... Aaaargh! stop it already!!!!) FRIDAY!!!! MAH DAY!!!! Okay, I don't mean to be so jologs, but I'm in Philcoa, so close to my Alma Mater and I can't help but reminisce about my college days --- back when anything goes. I really, absolutely thought I was so cowboy back then. Kasi nga Com Dev ang course ko, alternative learners kami, lakwatsa kami ng lakwatsa as a requirement in class. I'm kind of thankful for that training because now at least, kahit san mo ko itapon, I'll find a way to survive. But if I only knew how sosi I was back then, and what horrors I am yet to face in the communities I will be working with... I wouldn't have been so smug in my knowing I was "different". I just came from a monitoring visit in Catmon, Malabon. In short, from the steami

“There is a stage with people we love when we are no longer separate from them, but so close in sympathy that we live through them as directly as through ourselves… We push back our hair because theirs is in their eyes.” - Nan Fairbrother Our lives are beset with such strong passions. Some of them are strange, all of them are real. I’ve only been around for the last twenty three years, which is short if we speak in god-sense, but I could people an earth with the number of individuals I’ve loved and cared about. Well, I think. :) I grew up being open about feelings, although there was that emphasis on cheerfulness as a virtue. There are times when I am forced to hide my anger, angst, or pain in a cloud of merry smiles and rainbows, but I never learned to hide sadness. If the core of me is black, my face shows it. In much the same way, the whole of my being just positively beams when I love. Not just when I’m in love, mind you. I speak of love as a human function, an expression o

Book in Hand: Whistle While You Work Song in Mind: Wake Me Up When September Ends by Green Day Word in Mouth: MMpphh! My Blogger Dashboard just told me this was my 100th entry… not bad, eh? It means I’ve been blabbing a LOT. J Anyway, Congratulations to me! I never really thought I’d stick it out with this “blogging thing” because I used to be a very avid fan of journal writing the old way. Nowadays, I still am, I have a journal. But that’s mostly for secret-secret stuff that not even I have the guts to blog about. Everyday musings might as well be recorded here. Keeps the mind occupied. It’s so much like puttering. Have any of you ever realized the sacredness of just puttering around? In the mornings when I get to work, I love puttering about my desk. Arranging the stones in a new arrangement, wiping away dust, rearranging papers I plan to take care of for the day. It’s like warming up the car engine before a long haul. Puttering also works at home. Whenever I feel out of balance, I

Book in Hand: Dog's Life Song in Mind: "I Want to Know What Love Is" by Tina Arena Word in Mouth: Deadline!!!! While the boss is away… Olivia gets a bit of time to calm her frazzled nerves. Work isn’t so bad, y’know, if I can just manage to have a bit of space for my own strategizing. And a bit less projects to handle would also help. Anyway, I am completely soaked in anything “Coastal” nowadays. I am studying everything that I could so that I can capably submit a coastal resource management proposal to Dow Chem next week. And a bit of inspiration on the side doesn’t hurt. Also, I am a little bit sad because as we speak the International Book Fair is being held at the World Trade Center and I have nil a cent to spare. Damn.