Magtrabaho Ka!

Natatawa ako. Napaisip din ako. Iba pala talaga ang magagawa sa tao ng musika. Pwedeng magbago ang nararamdaman mo sa isang iglap. May mga pagkakaktaong nagbabalik-tanaw tayu sa magaganda at mapapait na pangyayari sa buhay natin nang dahil sa isang awitin. Nakaka-frustrate din kung maaalala mo yung mga magagandang pangyayari sa buhay mo na nagpa-inspire sayo tapos hindi mo na pwedeng balikan. Yan ang nararamdaman ko ngayon.

Ang musika nga para saken ay isang imbensiyong "time-capsule". Na hindi tapos. Papano ba naman hanggang balik-tanaw lang ang nagagawa nito. Di yata natapos ng nakaimbento sa kapapanood ng Mara Clara at Aguila. Minsan kasi mas gusto ko pang wag na lang maramdaman yung mga nakaraan, maganda man o pangit, kung di ko naman pwedeng balikan. Mas gusto kong mabuhay sa ngayon.

Eh ganon talaga. Hindi mo maiiwasang makarinig nang musika. Ayoko namang maging bingi. Wag ganun. Pero ang lalong hindi ko maiwasan eh maging senti-mode madalas. Yung tipong makulimlim. Umuulan sa labas. Pumapatak sa salamin ng bintana ang tubig-ulan habang ako, nakaupo, nakapangalumbaba, malayo ang tingin, nakikinig sa 90's song.

Again, ideya lang yun ng senti-mode. Iisa lang naman kasi ang area sa bahay namin na may bintana at covered pa ng bubong. Good luck kung may pumtak na ulan. Wala ring upuan sa tabi ng bintana namin so effort namang magemote dun di ba?!

Wala kasi akong magawa sa office kaya nangalikot na lang ako ng shared files sa network. Tingin-tingin ng pictures. Naghahanap ng mapagkakaabalahan. Dun ko nakita ang mp3 collection ng boss ko. Nalula ako sa dami ng collection niya at halos lahat mga paborito ko. Ang masaklap, mas maraming kanta na sumikat nung 90's kaya mas lalo akong nakarelate. Emote-mode On.

Naalala ko nung high school ako ang pinaka-unang album na binili ko eh tape copy ng After Image na Tag-araw Tag-ulan. Kumpleto ang boss ko nun. Nakakatuwa. Ang dami ko rin kasing nabiling tape mula nung high school ako. Alanis Morisette, Savage Garden, Lighthouse Family, Bone Thugs 'N Harmony, Lea Salonga, Gary Valenciano, Martin Nievera, Regine Velasquez. Huli na akong nagkaron ng CD player, sa PC pa yun (hindi portable) kaya ang pinaka unang binili kong CD eh R2K ni Regine. Oh, walang magrereact. Walang pakialaman pera ko naman eh. Di ba nagbabadya!

Pero bago pako nangolekta ng mga tapes at CDs (at kalaunan mp3s) bata pa lang ako ini-enjoy ko na collection ng Mama ko. Naaalala ko pa yung iba't ibang tapes niya ng Boney M. Eh ni isang kanta nga ng or ni (di ko alam kung grupo sila o solo artist) Boney M. hindi ko alam eh. Pero bata pa lang ako binibirit ko na ang One Moment in Time ni Whitney Houston. Kwidaw ka, may kasamang mic yan! (K! The one million pesos videoke challenge, Panalo!).

Dalawang mic nga na hiniram ko pa sa kapitbahay namin ang nasira ko nun. Etong si Mama nung nasira nagpaka technician pa. Kinalikot ang mic. Sa halip na may piyesa lang na bibilhin para maayos, basurahan ang nakinabang sa kagagawan niya. Nilibot pa nga namin ang Recto noon para maghanap ng pampalit sa mic ng kapitbahay namin. Buti na lang nagpadala ng mic si Papa galing Saudi at yun ang pinampalit namin sa hiniram namin. Ang ending, wala na naman akong magamit na mic. Pero siyempre bago ko binigay ang mic sa kanila, bumirit muna ako ng One Moment in Time at We Are The World. Ang saya di ba! Ang taas pa ng boses ko noon. Giiiiiiiivvvvvvvveeeee meeeeeeee ooonnnnnneeee mmmoooommmeennnttt IIIINNNNN tiiimmmmeeee. May emphasis sa IN. Ewan ko ba kontrabida ang Mama ko. Talagang hindi daw ako nagmana sa boses niya. Sintonado daw talaga ako. Paki ko! (Pero love ko Mama ko ah).

So ayun na nga, ang dami kong song na may-I-play sa iTunes. Magugulat ka. Sa collection ng boss ko nakasali pa si Lilet (Kaibigan Lang Pala). Nakakatuwa di ba. Eh grade six pako nun eh. Tapos may Donna Cruz, Odette Quesada, Raymond Lauchengco, Smokey Moutain at iba pang late 80's and early 90's. Mabuti nga at walang Pilita Corales at Armida Siguion Reyna (Pop lola amputah!)... Aaaawwwiiitaaann kitaahhhhhh...

Meron din siyang Ace of Base (Beautiful Life, All That She Wants). Shania Twain (You're Still The One). Aaron Carter (I'm All About You, I'm Gonna Miss You Forever). The Moffatts (I'll Be There For You, Girl of My Dreams, If Life Is So Short). Hayyy... eto yung mga kantang sikat nung first time kong makapasok sa ABS-CBN at manood ng taping ng Okidoki Doc, Home Along Dariles at live show ng Sang Linggo nAPO Sila. Tumambay pa kami sa director's booth. Doon ako nagsimulang mangarap makapagtrabaho sa Entertainment Industry. Ang sarap-sarap balikan ng mga panahong iyon...

Marami akong mga desisyon sa buhay na ginawa ko dala lang ng pagkakataon. May mga bagay at pangarap na hindi ko natupad dahil sa mga pangyayaring iyon. Hanggang ngayon nangangarap pa rin akong mapabilang sa production side ng entertainment industry. Hanggang ngayon nangangarap pa rin akong bumirit ng One Moment in Time. At hanggang ngayon kapag nakakarinig ako ng mga 90's song... di ko pa ring maiwasang mag-emote.

Sa ngayon walang patak-ulan, mainit sa labas. May upuan pero wala sa bintana. Andito ako nag-eemote. Headset sa tenga. Pikit-mata. Sway ng konti... sa tapat ng monitor... dito... sa opisina... HOY MAGTRABAHO KA!

Save Me From Myself

[Christina Aguilera - Back to Basics]

It's not so easy loving me
It gets so complicated
All the things you've gotta be
Everything's changin
But you're the truth
I'm amazed by all your patience
Everything I put you through

When I'm about to fall
Somehow you're always waitin
with your open arms to catch me
You're gonna save me from myself
From myself, yes
You're gonna save me from myself

My love is tainted by your touch
Cuz some guys have shown me aces
But you've got that royal flush
I know it's crazy everyday
Well tomorrow may be shaky
But you never turn away

Don't ask me why I'm cryin
Cuz when I start to crumble
You know how to keep me smilin
You always save me from myself
From myself, myself
You're gonna save me from myself

I know it's hard, it's hard
But you've broken all my walls
You've been my strength, so strong

And don't ask me why I love you
It's obvious your tenderness
Is what I need to make me
A better woman to myself
To myself, myself
You're gonna save me from myself

From Mok's Blog - "When It Rains It Floods"

I cannot express this better than how Moks described the tragedy last night. After a fun wordless post here comes the shocking sad story...

Funny the title is, not really. Supposedly when it rains it pours, yes it does but sometimes it leaves more, flood waters that you are forced to wallow in.

I'm in the middle of a tremendous change. Work, then a little tampuhan sa bahay kahapon, things that I can usually handle. However, this one will leave a mark, this one will leave flood waters that will take forever to empty.

I will miss you my dear Kirbie, my faithful pal, my baby and my pet. Unfortunately, I lost the life of my beloved miniature schnauzer around midnight. Totally unprepared for it, totally surreal. We never made it to Makati Dog and Cat Hospital at Rockwell, he had a seizure just when we got off the cab and that was his last breath, his little heart stopped beating and we tried to revive him, the vet tried to, but no use. Life is so short, just early in the morning he was frolicking around the yard, got a lil sick but would still follow me everywhere around the house, then tragedy strikes he was just 3 months of age. I will miss my lil' furball, its my fault too you know, should have been there always. However, he will remain in my heart and my remaining dogs will forever be loved.

"Let Angels light your way... We will miss you Kerbie..."

Wordless Post (Tagaytay - September 23, 2007)

Welcome to the family... my babies!

Valer Kuberch

Isang araw, may dalawang bading hawak kamay na naglalaro...

"Valer kuberch kahit jutay ang julamantrax donchi ay anek-anek nyongkamas at nutring, nyogarilyas at kipay nyitaw nyotaw, jutani. Kundol jutola, jupot jola bastrax at mega join-join pa, jobanox nyustasa, nyubuyax nyomatis, niyowang at luyax and around the keme ay fullness ng linga!"

Petixxx Mode - ON

Ang tagal... sobrang tagal na since my last post. Ang dami nang nagbago. Mahirap isa-isahin lahat... but everything's well. Yun ang importante.

Sa tagal ko nang hindi bumibisita sa blogsite ko, hindi ko na alam kung pano pumunta. Sa bahay kasi naka bookmark naman siya so madaling i-click. Dito sa office I'm starting from scratch. I tried http://www.blogspot.com/lanskydgreat. Maraming beses. Maraming ulit. Pero ayaw pa rin. I even checked the spelling kung tama. Naisip ko na lang... baka inactive na yung account ko.

I logged in to my account and was relieved to find out na andun pa naman yung dashboard ko and my old posts. I thought kailangan kong mag republish kahit yung recent post lang para ma-activate... yun pala... ang URL dapat eh: http://lanskydgreat.blogspot.com.

Hay... hindi ko alam san magsisimula. I didn't even intend to update my blogsite kasi naman post lang ako ng post ng pics sa multiply account ko and I think ok na yun kesa mag-blog. Wala lang talaga akong magawa dito sa office for the past 4 days... lahat ng website ata na gusto ko i-visit na-visit ko na... nagtetext ako sa friends ko na mag-online para lang may makausap ako pero kulang pa rin. Kaya eto nagpost na lang uli ako.

Not updating my blogsite is not a decision... nangyayari lang siguro talaga na tatamarin ka. And besides, I've been so busy... emotionally. Maraming nangyari.

My Singapore job didn't push through. As what I'm expecting sasabit nga ako sa isang paper screening sa SG re: credit background. Kaya kayo, if you have credit card accounts wag kayo maging delinquent payer na kagaya ko if you want to work in a bank abroad... hehehe!

Pero tinuloy ko pa rin yung resignation ko. Because I need to push myself. I need to pressure my self. That's why I took the risk. I created that risk. Otherwise, hindi ako mag-i-improve sa work ko. If things are not working for me sa previous company ko then I need to look for better opportunities. And I've found it.

Masarap bumalik sa day job. Masarap magwork kapag nagagamit mo yung pinag-aralan mo. At ang pera hindi lang nasa call center... nasa IT industry din! More petiks na... techy ka pa! At hindi pa nakakabobo.

Hindi na rin ako taga Mandaluyong... taga Cubao nako. And I love the place. It's more than twice as big as my previous pad. May garahe pa! Nadagdagan na rin kami ni Moks sa bahay... I have a new baby... si Kloe... our 3 month old Shih Tzu.

Andaming pagbabago... ang daming challenges... at and DAMING blessings! I should really stop navigating my life. Masarap pala yung ganun. Thank God! And thanks to my friends who've always been there. Special mention to Fwend Mel and Blue... Ayayu both! To Ella and Julie na katelebabad ko (3-way) for 4 hours gabi-gabi sa phone... to Mimi, Jane, AJ and Papi - miss ko na kayo! At ang kachokaran kong si Marj siyempre. :) To my mentor Friend Claudia... THANKS!

Hay... 3 more hours to kill... matatapos na yung blog ko wala pa rin akong gagawin... oo nga pala... July 26 ngayon... 3 years na sana ako sa CVG! (Buti na lang wala nako dun... I'm not proud I was part of that company.)

Scratched!

Jedi Knight strikes again.

Paolo's Holy Week Singapore Blooper

This is one funny video capture from Paolo's recent Singapore Cruise trip this past Holy Week. I made a good laugh out of it and I hope you'll have a good one too! Let me share it with you guys...

Paolo: "masyadong maganda ang camera ni pastor... hindi naman namin alam gamitin... hindi po kami nagaaway dito ha... :-) we didn't know na naka video pala..."

Oh well, I now have a Multiply account... finally! So some new pics and photo albums will be posted on my Multiply and also additional videos... http://lanskydgreat.multiply.com

Holy Weekend Inventory

I finally able to finish publishing our pictures from Puerto Galera last March 3-6, 2007. It took me sometime since I have to collect these from 3 different cameras.

I started publishing it at my Friendster account but sa dami ng pics, I consumed the maximum alloted number of pictures that can be uploaded within a month. So ayun, I used my Picturetrail account (http://www.picturetrail.com/markius). 77 pictures in total... san ka pa! Edited na yan ha... I have to ommit the other pics otherwise mabobore na yung mga friends ko viewing it. Hahaha!

We're suppose to have a Holy Week vacation hiking at Mt. Fami again with friends but unfortunately, nagkaroon bigla ng work assignment si Moks so we have to cancel it. Sayang nga since we've long been preparing for the trip but we have no choice. Work comes first... we have to pay our bills 'no!

I ended up spending most of my time at home since I'm on vacation leave. I'll call this a Holy Weekend Inventory... there are some things kasi na hinahanap ko na hindi ko makita. I realized na nasa hiraman pala at di pa nasosoli. There are also things na nasa akin din na hindi ko pa nasosoli sa friends ko... hahay!

Things I am looking for (hopefully be returned):

1. Books - 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (gift 'to saken ni M'Claudia!), Harry Potter Book 1 and 5, ABNKKBSNPL Ako ng ABKD, Ang Paboritong Libro ni Hudas, The Historian, The Notebook.
2. DVD - PBB Celebrity Edition, Cruel Intension, Manay Po, Lost Season 1-2, Ghost Whisperer, Dream Girls, Pursuit of Happiness, Desparate Housewives Season 1-2.
3. PC Games

Things I have (hopefully I will return :þ):

1. DVD - Sobrang dami ng DVD ni Fwend Blue saken hehehe!, Captain Corelli's Mandolin, some other pirated DVDs.
2. Pictures - Dami kong hiniram na pics na kelangan ko lang i-scan to have a soft copy pero hindi kona nabalik sa may-ari. Hehe! Ayun naka album na nga eh.

These are the stuff I can remember pero it all started lang when I was looking for my PBB Celevrity edition copy kasi gusto ko sana panoorin. Boring kasi ng PBB2... hayyyy... pag wala ka nga namang magawa...

I ssooo hate stool sampling!

20 days ago my life suddenly changed... natanggal yung bubong and, indeed, when it rains it pours. There are so many things I need to be thankful for and so many things I learned from the past 20 days.

I learned that we should not question whatever we're going through right now, no matter how difficult and challenging the situation is. I realized that God has a reason for everything. Like what I always say, it is a process that we have to go through because He is preparing us for our future. We don't have the right to complain, but we can always ask for His guidance, to give us courage and strength to go through it or work around it.

Before, frustrated ako sa job ko. Sa position ko. I know I can do more. I know I can offer a lot of things but no matter what I do or how much effort I exert, I feel like it always go unrecognized. Sure your friends knows you're underrated. Sure they know exactly how you feel. Sure they know what you are capable of doing. Pero iba pa rin kasi if you feel like your efforts are not recognized by those people outside your circle of friends. Those people who have the power to give you a promotion. Then the people around you gets promoted and we feel life is unfair. Nakakapagod... Napag-iwanan...

I am guilty of that feeling. It's very very frustrating. And it's soooo quarter life crisis!

Last year, I set a goal for myself. I need to get out of the country by first or second quarter of 2007. I will leave the bad memories of 2006 behind and start anew. Tumatak sa isip ko yung sinabi ni Shelly before when we were in outbound - "Kung anu man ang dumating sakin ngayon... tanggap lang ng tanggap." It's a very optimistic and positive attitude.

At last March 24, 2007 - a realization. I got the job I wanted. It opens a lot of things. An opportunity to get out of the rat race. An opportunity to start all over again and to correct the mistakes of the past. An opportunity for a brighter future. And it is all because of my current program. If not for the experience with the program I am with right now, hindi ko makukuha yung post. God trained me to be in this field to prepare me for a better future, for this opportunity. I am very thankful for that!

Pero hindi lahat ng gusto natin makukuha natin. Because of this opportunity I'm leaving a lot of people I love behind. Some who are so dear to me. Again, God is teaching me to be strong. And I have to be positive about this. Because I realized that not only He opened windows of opportunities for me, He is also using me to open opportunities for other people through me. All I have to do is to take good care of this responsibility.

Ngayon hindi na ako nagtatanong. Like Shelly... tanggap na lang ng tanggap. Hindi pa naman sigurado ang lahat. There is an other process I need to go through. This time processing of papers... both here and abroad. Madami pa ring pwedeng mangyari. Pwedeng hindi matuloy. Pwedeng hindi ma-approve yung papers. Pero whatever happens... tanggap pa rin ng tanggap. I will continue to wait until I realize my dreams. Nakakapagod mag-intay pero sabi nga nang nag-interview sa akin nung March 24, "Sometimes it pays to wait..."

It's true. From 8AM that day ako yung pinakahuling ininterview... at 1:45PM. And I left the office at 9PM. I stayed there for 13 hours... most of the time waiting. Interview, orientation, contract signing. Now, nag-aantay pa rin ako... pero may kasama nang ngiti.

45 minutes ago... I received a text from the office... sabi: "CONGRATULATIONS... You're FIT to work". I passed the medical exam sa standards of Singapore... konting antay pa...

"We cannot have everything we want in life...

but it's no reason to stop hoping for what we want."

A Preview from the Island Trip

These are just some of the pics... I'm still yet to create the album once I collected all of our pics... Hay, I miss the trip!

Hininuan Falls - Puerto Galera

Hininuan Falls, Puerto Galera presents... Lansky 'D Great at his breath taking adventure... "Ang tinaguriang batang ilog... (sumigaw tayu ng... Zathurnnnnaaaaa!!!)".

(Pictures will be added on my next blog post.)

Pursuit of Happiness

Last week... 1 week akong hindi nag-calls. I was in Galera from March 2-6 at pagbalik ko umabsent pako. I was diagnosed with Pharingitis and was advised to rest my voice for 2 more days... (so bukod pa yun sa 2 days absent ko). Ayun na nga, I went to work to do some offline cases and then magbasa lang ng pocket books... ang sarap nga naman ng buhay minsan.

Come my rest day, our internet connection got disconnected naman. It was actually reprovisioned to a lower bandwidth since we upgraded to the Globe promo bundle with landline connection. Unfortunately for us, it took 5 days for everything to be installed. Since we don't have any internet connection, I spent most of my time watching DVDs and as I was watching Pursuit of Happiness, I fell in love with the story.

Pursuit of Happiness...

Then it hit me... I was wondering... that... if I am to narrate my life right now how would I actually describe it? Based on the movie... the line starts with: "This is the part of my life..."

So, yeah, how will I describe my life right now?

Well I guess... This is the part of my life ...

I still can't figure it out just yet... but one thing is for sure, I am learning to be thankful for all these blessing I'm continuously receiving everyday. And that, I will always try to create opportunities.

Someday...
I know someday I can look back and describe what is this part of my life... someday.

Unpublished Mementos

My weekend started with a dozen of beautiful white roses. Oh di ba?! What an extraordinary way to start my rest days... (weekends).

So ayun na nga, I get to take some rest! Kasi naman for the past week I've been so busy with a lot of things. My Mom visited Manila and at the same time we're busy processing our papers in preparation for our future plans. Hayy... ngayon lang talaga ako medyo nakapagpahinga so I spent most of my time here at home...

I just realize that I've been living here in our pad for more than 7 months and I haven't even published some snippets of a place I called home... well let me make "yabang" about our pad. Since kakalinis lang namin, I thought this is the best time to take some pic-pic kesa naman ipakita ko yung untidy version.

So there. Diyan din napupunta most of my salary. We frequent Home Store, Ace Hardware or Handyman everytime pupunta kami sa mall. Ako nga madalas din sa Makro to check out some cheap stuff I can add up to our interior. We have a small collection of Japanese-Oriental stuffs from stuff toys, display items, memorabilla, and even placematts. Yung center table dapat Japanese table yan kaso ang taas ng pinasadya ni Papa. Balak ko nga lagariin yung paa... haha!

We woke up Sunday morning to catch a 9 o'clock mass at Sanctuario De San Antonio kaso dumating kami 9:30 na. Malas pa is kakatapos lang ng mass and next is 10:30 pa. So we just decided to go to Market Market, take a heavy breakfast and go to the Tech Tiangge. I want to check out some MP4 players kasi.

Anyway, habang naglalakad-lakad we saw this cute cactus on sale... 3 for 100 ang labanan... quality na yung mga flowering cactus so panalong panalo di ba?! Mahilig kasi ako sa plants... sa pad I have flower pots lined up sa window... dun ko nga lang na discover na Euphorbia pala tawag dun sa flower plants ko na inuwi ko from Iloilo when I went there last August 2006.

So far I have a yellow and a pink-red Euphorbia. Nakakaaliw kasi hindi siya nawawalan ng flowers. Everyday may nahuhulog na flowers at may tumutubong bago kapalit. I also have a couple of cactus galing din sa Iloilo yung iba sa window din nakalagay but meron din sa comfort room namin. So when I saw this man selling these nice flowering cactus... bili na agad! Wala siyang kasamang pots so we went to Ace Hardware and bought some pots. Since our unit is at the 14th floor, pati fertilled soil kailangan naming bilhin dahil wala kaming pagkukunan sa bahay.

So there pagdating sa haws... I kept myself busy with my creation... ang ganda niyang tignan. We bought the ones na magbu-bloom pa lang yung flowers kaya exciting. I can't wait to see it bloom. Sa ganda ng quality na nabili namin... we decided pang center table siya. And yung isa naman katabi ng mga euphorbia. I just used my aquarium pebbles to cover the soil. Parang expert gumawa nu! I just realized also na mahilig pala ako sa matitinik na plants, hahaha! What the hell that means?

Well, I cannot end this blog entry without including my favorite marine aquarium. In fairness, my clown fish is 7 months old na rin. I also have a few damsels there and a couple of sea anemone.

So ayan nasama pa sa pic yung CVG ID. Ok na rin yan. That's one memento I also want to keep since I'll soon be leaving a lot of my friends and mentors there... I'm gonna miss you all! Hay Monday na naman work na naman... absent kaya uli ako?! Hihi...

// UNO

I remember then..

At first, I even hesitated...

Should I let go of one good thing that I can maybe keep for a lifetime... just for something or someone not really worth my time? I don't think so...

And I did made the right decision...

Indeed, sometimes we have to take risks.

Indeed, there are times that we needed to sacrifice.

Indeed, my 2006 are not just challenges...

Because there is also this gift that I will treasure for a lifetime!

A Clip from the Side Trip

(Click here to view the rest of our Boracay Trip Album!)

Fun-fun Dinagyang... and a Bora side trip!

I've been celebrating my birthday for the past 11 years at my parent's hometown, Iloilo City. That's actually since we moved there back in 1995. Even up to now that I'm back here in Manila, umuuwi pa rin ako. It is not really to celebrate my birthday there but mainly because of Dinagyang Festival. Mas gusto kong umuwi ng January kesa Christmas because it's much more fun. The city is in its festive mood and you can hear the drum beats everywhere. This year 2007 though is much more different. Like last year, I took 13 days off from work to join this year's Dinagyang and of course to celebrate my birthday. This time though I brought someone with me... Louie.

I arrived morning of January 18 at the airport. Supposedly 19th pa ang dating ko but since I wasn't able to go to work (due to my hoarse voice and severe cough), I took an earlier flight para sulit ang vacation.

What makes my trip more special is January 21st, when I celebrated my birthday, I was with my bestfriend's first baby's christening. It is actually a multiple celebration. Birthday din kasi ng fwendship kong si Nelma and wedding anniversary din ng besfriend Jane ko, all-in-one celebration at Max's Resto in SM City Iloilo.

I took more time resting after that day since di pa rin tuluyang magaling yung sakit ko (I'm taking antibiotics na nga!) and also to make sure pagdating ng bisita ko, I'm well enough to tour him around my parent's hometown.

It was January 24 when Louie arrived at Iloilo Airport (straight from work). I started touring him around Iloilo - from Fort San Pedro to Villa Beach Resort where I usually frequent with my barkada back in college. Parehas kaming excited with the trip - me because he's witnessing the city and the people who mean so much to me; and him because it's a new city... a new place... and I'm sharing my life.

We woke up at 2AM the next day to catch the first trip to Caticlan, Aklan - it's our side trip to Boracay! Sarap ng feeling when I got reunited with my favorite island. It's been a while since my last visit because the last time I went there was holy week of 2004. It was just a 1 and a half day trip because we have to rush back to Iloilo for the Kasadyahan and Dinagyang Festival and to also spend more time with my family and friends.

(Click here to view the rest of our Boracay Trip Album!)

We took a lot of pictures there to capture every memories of the trip and there was even a time when we reached Station 1 and I'm running out of camera batteries. We have to rush back to Station 3 where we are staying to quick charge our camera battery so we can capture the magnificent view of the sunset (sobrang nakakapagod yun... it's a few kms walk!). Awww... sunset in Boracay... what more can you ask for?!

(Click here to view the rest of our Boracay Trip Album!)

Saturday, January 27 - di na kami nag-join sa Kasayahan Festival - sa TV na lang kami nanood sa live telecast. Nakakapagod kasi yung bus ride from Caticlan to Iloilo (when we reached the city I even have to meet an old friend at Villa beach). We went to the busy city at about 11AM with my friend Jane and spent time roaming around - madaming tao... masikip, mainit but everyone's smiling and enjoying the festivity. We had lunch on one of the food fest area in the city and then Louie and I decided to leave the busy, crowded city behind and visit the zoo in Racsus, Guimbal.

There we went and took more pictures... hay puro na lang solo pics since dalawa lang kami nagpapalitan ng camera. After a couple of hours, we headed back to the city... went to the mall... watched Eragon and went home... KAPAGOD!!!

Then the highlight of the festival... January 28 - Dinagyang 2007 Ati-atihan contest. We actually woke up late. Sobrang pagod kasi and we also need to save our energy since I know for sure that it's going to be a whole day activity from the carousel-like competition to merry making, food fest and concerts at night. Normally, if you really want to witness the festival you have to wake up before 5AM and be at one of the five judging area at 6AM (late na nga 'yun) to get a better view of the tribe's performance. In our case, we woke up at 8AM watched the live telecast of the few tribes and then went to the city at 10AM. We didn't watch the tribe's performance. We just went there to take some pictures... it's actually more fun! We had lunch at SM City Iloilo... pinatikim ko kasi kay Louie our famous Ted's La Paz Batchoy and then we went home after that to rest for the night's food festival.

Sobrang nakakapagod di ba, but we're enjoying every moment of it. It was past 8PM nung bumalik kami sa city and this time together with my parents. Nandun na kasi si Christian, my younger brother, sa food fest waiting for us to have dinner. So there we went... food trip... some beer... while watching the band.

I always have a memorable experience everytime I visit Iloilo that's why everytime I reach the last day of my trip it breaks my heart. I am leaving a portion of my life... the happy and simple part of me... then I'll be back to reality... to the busy-complicated-confusing-life. Yes, indeed, we reached our last day. We spent the whole morning buying gifts and pasalubong and dropping by to some of my friends to bid farewell.

5:40PM is supposedly our departure time back to Manila...

6:00PM... we're at the waiting area...
6:17PM... still waiting... tired...

6:43PM... exhausted... we even had a petty fight at the airport...

Past 7PM... we finally boarded the plane...

Our flight was over an hour delayed...

My vacation was extended for more than an hour...

Then it was again over...

I LOVE Iloilo... I MISS Bora!

It's been a while I know!

I haven't been blogging for quite some time now for no major reason at all. Time flies sooo fast. January na. Lumampas na ang yuletide season... I didn't even get to greet my online network of friends. Not even in Friendster. Pero online naman ako palagi. I realized nga na I usually blog when I'm feeling down or frustrated.

So why now? No! Hold that thought. I am neither feeling down nor frustrated today. I'm doing a lot of re-readings lately of the books I purchased few years back and I feel the need of reposting a part of this entry from Bo Sanchez's - Thank God He's The Boss! It's actually worth sharing...

BUGS BUNNY FOR NOW, OR DONALD DUCK FOREVER

When I was a small kid, all my classmates called me Bugs Bunny. Because my two front teeth were extremely gigantic for my tiny face, I looked like a rabbit.

I hated my teeth then. I remember myself as a lonely seven-year-old boy, staring at the mirror one day, studying those two thingamajigs hanging from my lips. I mournfully wondered whether I was really supposed to be a rabbit, but at the very last minute God changed His mind - He opted to make me into a boy, but using the spare parts of a bunny.

Even then, I had this unusually wild imagination. I pictured in my mind what happened in God's factory in 1966, the day I was born.

"I think we have enough rabbits for today. Let's make little boys this time...," shouted the Almighty to the assembly line...

"Yes, Your Majesty!" chirped the angels in blue overalls. Immediately, the winged creatures worked joyfully. However, one angel missed putting away the last rabbit kit from the conveyor belt: Package #149, Extra-large. So there it went, chugging along... Unknowingly, angels connected me, piece by piece, and there I came out of the chute, a fully made little boy - with front teeth the size of dominoes.

So there. "bugs Bunny! Bugs Bunny!" my classmates jeered.

To my relief though, after 3 or 4 years, they stopped calling me that name. Looking at the mirror again one day, I saw why: my face had grown large in age, and my teeth didn't look as humongous anymore. Like magic, they fit nicely. God is wise! Imagine: if I didn't want those twin towers potruding from my mouth as a kid but had normal teeth that fir nicely with my face, how would I now appear with this extra-large head of mine and that set of pee-wee teeth?

I would have probably heard, "Donald Duck! Donald Duck!" for the rest of my life.

Yes, God is really wise.

Because many times we don't understand why things are big, small, or medium-sized in our life. Why life doesn't fit? With sickness. Or money problems. Or relationship gone askew. Why does God allow this monstrosity in my life? This pain? Why doesn't He let my life fit? Doesn't He care?

Oh, He does. Very much. In fact, that's why He doesn't make your life fit. So that you won't be Donald Duck forever. Only Bugs Bunny for a while.

Look now at the mirror of God's eyes.

And soon, you will see the big and the small fit into your life.

Like magic.

That really helped me a lot on re-evaluating my plans for 2007. I've forgotten the meaning of "why" or "when". I stopped questioning "why this" or "when will it be". I live life one day at a time trying to absorb all the details of life. Those that I usually take for granted. I'm trying to be thankful for whatever I have right now. I know that life is a constant change and God is always preparing me for the next level... for the next challenge.

And right now, guess what! He's on the middle of repackaging my life. Thank God He's The Boss.