Liv in a Life Well-Lived

It's Wednesday! This means around this time tomorrow we are in Baguio already, probably scouring the ukay-ukay shops of Session Road. I'll also get to fulfill a 2-year-old dream of seeing SM Baguio. Hehe, for all the silliest reasons nga naman. We will also be going back to Sagada National High School; I offered to monitor the project there. Might as well do that, since I'll just be lounging around the town with my kiddies tagging along. Wish us a safe journey... See you Monday!

Just when I'm in an "almost vacation" mode because of the Sagada trip, work comes. Ganda ng timing. Bad trip.

be eating too much cos I'm supposed to be on a diet. ---------------------------------- like the teeny bopper novel But I did, and it gave me butterflies in the stomach. And I think I'm too old to feel that way. But I've been giving myself stomach cramps about love lately, and maybe it's a good reminder that love is supposed to feel nice. Like that tingling belly feeling. I have forgotten. ------------------------------ be happy about the break-up of But I am. I infinintely am. I'm evil.

it really scares me what this world has become Copyright- all pictures by AP

This morning, I woke up and I felt just so tired. My body was alright, probably had a circus when I slept for 11 hours straight after having minimum sleep for the last few days. Or maybe I woke up in the middle of my sixth REM leaving me flubbered. It was no consolation to go to work. Or was it? At least it would provide me the facility to pretend to exist. I know the weariness isn't something physical. It's about being at a loss. I absolutely have no idea what I'm doing, supposed to be doing, going or being. Have been holding down the fort by my lonesome for barely two months and I'm cracking already. Surrounded by my responsibilities, the people I'm supposed to be watching over, the minstrations I have to see to, I am drowning alone. Except maybe for the ants that seem to follow me everywhere I go nowadays. I'm praying this will be over soon.

I just wish I'd been there already...

I am strangely addicted to other people's open windows. Commuting from house to work takes 2 hours. In that span of time, I often find amusement in watching the other passengers of the bus or FX. But then again --- this could get old pretty fast. My second line of defense against boredom is to look out the window. I love it everytime we pass residential areas, especially at night. Sometimes, I'll chance upon an open window illuminated by indoor lighting and it allows me to see beyond the concrete walls. Often times I get sucked into the lives being lived within. It jumpstarts my soul to imagine how they exist inside their houses. Every window I see lends me sight into a different life. Happy, sad, miserable, quiet, contented... Once, I saw 2 little boys inside their bedroom playing and hitting each other with their pillows. Another time, I saw a little girl hugging an old man, probably her grandfather. I saw a man and a woman kissing. I saw a man with nothing on but a towel ar...

"The only miracle is that people keep believing." - Katherine Winter (portrayed by Hillary Swank This movie had "B-class horror film" stamped all over it and its singular actress with mass name-recall seemed to prove it. But I wanted to watch The Reaping because I wanted to know how they would murder the Bible's teachings on the 10 plagues this time around. I guess it's just like not being able to help but want to witness a tragedy in the making. Thus, one boring Sunday afternoon, I managed to convince my sister and cousin to watch it with me. Despite my natural aversion to horror flicks, I still paid the fee to get the bejeezus scared outta me. I haven't done any cinemaholic criticisms for a long time. Too long perhaps that I sat rooted to my seat during the opening scene. On-screen, this oldish, unkempt guy woke up at the middle of the night because he felt something was wrong. It turns out, all his pictures of this woman Katherine (Swank) were burn...

"Is it true that women should marry men older than they are?" I asked. Juvy, married with children, nodded askance. "Yeah, I guess so. It has got to do with maturity, I think." I can't help but raise an eyebrow. Older, older, older... but.... "But all the guys I've liked in the past are either my age or younger. What does that say about me?" "You like powdering baby butts?" came the quick reply. Do I? Shoot. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Juvy's last remark: "Don't worry dear, he'll come. He'll find you." Then the phone rang. It was for me. *wink, wink!* ;D -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= How long does one have to wait? And how do you know if you're the one who's supposed to make the move now? -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= "It's all about pheromones." Mariel told me once, when we were in college. "You just like people your nose likes." "So my future depends on this...

April 21 -- My sister's College Graduation. She's graduating as Cum Laude! ;p April 22 - The University Graduation. This will be hellish, I know, but Ella deserves to be there and I promised to stand by her. Daddy went through the hellish thing for me, so the least I can do is to do it for my sister. April 26 - We're leaving for Sagada! We'll take an early a.m. trip to Baguio and stay there for the night. Ukay-ukay shopping? April 27 - We'll leave early a.m. for Sags. April 28 - Day tour around the town April 29 - Leave for home Today is April 11.... Shucks, can't the days go faster than this?!

The Shrimp Vendor The woman squatted at the side of the street and looked up to the crowd passing by. Her hands worked to put up her raven hair into a messy bun. She wiped the sweat from her brow with the back of her left hand. The right hand took up a makeshift flyswat and started moving over her dejected-looking shrimps. "Hipon! Hipon!" She hawked. "Hipon! Hipon!" She shouted. An old man stopped in front of her. She turned up her face to the gnarly grandfather who was asking the price of a kilo. She responded with such energy that the man took a step back and shook her head. Too pricey, the man muttered and walked away. The shrimp vendor's shoulders sagged. She stared at her puny shrimps. She did not shout anymore. The Beadmaker "Which one you want?" he asked me. "This one, this glass!" He held a red stone up to the light. His hands were blue with veins and wrinkly. "Eh, beauty, this!" He placed the bead on my palm. The glass had ...

I want to understand religion. I wonder if it is at all possible. Christianity wants so badly to be differentiated from pagan religions. But why is it that Easter falls on the same pagan celebration of the Sun? To us Catholics -- the Son rises from the dead and brings eternal life. For the pagans -- The Sun rises from darkness and brings spring. Did our forefathers think we'd never notice the similarities? Is there after all, just one religion? Should pursuit of understanding it lead to my insanity? ;p Oh well, be one or the other. All I'm sure of is I have Faith, and I suppose that's all that matters.

I don't often gush about TV series. I don't watch that much TV nowadays with our cable connection cut and everything. And now that I have outgrown the melodramas of the Gilmore Girls, all that is left is CSI Las Vegas and House. That's what? Two shows to wait for every week. Hardly comment-worthy. But I heard of this new show which could possibly revive my interest in the boob tube. I was able to watch it once and I was sold. It's called Heroes. Interestingly, a friend lent me a DVD player and that led me to the opportune (if illegal) purchase of a dee-bee-dee copy of the show's Season One. My God, Heroes overload and loved every minute of it! The plot is fairly simple: individuals across the globe woke up one day and realized that they can do extraordinary skills, such as fly, teleport, regenerate, paint the future, etc... You name it. They go about discovering their powers and then ultimately learning their mission to save the world from a nuclear explosion. And...

Just ordered a few books from www.booksale.com.ph and wished the next 2 days were done and over with so I can just chill at home. I have loads and loads of books to get back to. I've missed reading with the speed of light and getting immersed in worlds where the reality of the Unwashed Laundry exists.. :p Who knows, maybe I'll even finish one of those short stories, eh?

Enrolled in a fitness gym today. I'm dead intent on pursuing that healthy self I have always known is lurking behind all these flab. I certainly have all the motivations cleared up today: 1. It was my parents' last wish before they passed away. 2. I would gladly say goodbye to the excess weight that's making my feet ache after prolonged periods of standing. 3. I want to fit into pretty clothes and not the sofa upholstery they sell us biggie people nowadays. 4. I want to shine and make them (?) see me in a different light. ;P 5. The driver of the taxi we rode to SM North today told me I look more like KC Concepcion than Nadia Montenegro whose electoral motorcade passed us on the way. Ella started teasing me kasi that I could roll down the window and wave and pretend to be Nadia. Erk. I'd much rather be KC, idol ko siya sa kagandahan at kasimplehan. I also like the way she behaves. Hay, Mo twister has got his man-crushes. Well then, KC's my girl-crush. Nope, to look l...