My brightest star

I spent a quiet birthday dinner with my family at the mountaintop restaurant, Chateau de Busay. Nearing dusk, as the stars began to appear sluggishly, my daughter remarked "Ma, didn't you say that Lolo Papang is the brightest star in the sky?". I silently nodded turning my gaze upward when she said "There he is Ma, greeting you a happy birthday!". There indeed was my brightest star gazing lovingly at me. Thanks Pang, I so miss you...

highway & other bliss

After our lengthy trip to Iloilo in December last year, we took the long route again back to Cebu via Negros on the 2nd day of January this year. It was exhausting yet memorable; the experience was akin to little snapshots stored forever in our memory. It was heartwarming to stumble upon some local scenic treasures - the Don Salvador Benedicto eco tourism highway, the patch of rice terraces, and the thrilling drive uphill (and downhill) the newly completed San Carlos coastal highway. It was one helluva adventure we would so gladly go through again. We managed to take some real snapshots by the way :)

At the Don Salvador Benedicto Eco Tourism Highway. We stopped to smell the scent of pines and admire the greens under the looming gray skies.

Bacolod stop at the Coke memorabilia - CCBPI Bacolod Plant

the majestic Angelicum School at night - Iloilo, Dec. 2007

Disenchantment

"Enchanted" the movie was truly a delightful watch. Amid popcorn and oversize drinks, the movie house was packed with people young and old oblivious of the fact that just the day before, our country was shaken a bit by some agitators, ineffectively brandishing their usual drama and that one personality claiming to be "standing for the rights of the oppressed" is so dreadfully +)*^%$# he ought be banished to his own utopia where all his so called ideals come true. Forgive my melodramatic indifference, but my point is echoed when one of the city's business leaders remarked that whoever has grievances against the government need not go to a five-star hotel, bang it's doors and shout. If one is against the government, he should not resort to means that destroy the credibility (or what's left of it) of the entire nation. I do not know what "he who shall not be named" was thinking; was he perhaps hallucinating that he could stage another people power? I wonder where his delusions of grandeur will bring him.

Enough said. Like the millions of working citizens in this country, I spend my days toiling to earn a living, once in a while sitting back to enjoy enchanting movies in this place where there is no happily-ever-after.

Turning Japanese: A Postscript

After a rigorous re-test to improve my japanese scores, I was finally able to make it scoring 101 over 107 katakana characters. But moving ahead, we are braced with yet another challenge - familiarizing the Hiragana whose strokes are more fluid thus more difficult to commit to memory. Nevertheless, I find it lovely to bump into japanese characters surprising myself that I am able to read them. "Ju - ti - fu - ri" I sluggishly read the japanese translation at a local Duty Free shop. Lovely indeed.

Japanese 101

Several sessions into our Japanese Language Class, I was forced to memorize the katakana due to an impending test. It wasn't a breeze. Finding myself suddenly studying after more than 8 years of hiatus was more challenging than expected. Then the exams came - I was writing 107 characters all completely foreign to me til this day. It was delightful; I got a score of 88 but before i can even render "omedetou" to myself, I was told by the sensei I have to get 7 more items right to pass. Whew!

Rediscovering the Cheese

I got the "cheese book" years ago at the height of its hype. It discusses an inevitable fact - change, in the most lighthearted way through the little characters of Hem and Haw, Sniff and Scurry. My cheese had been moved several times over after I read that book and though I had been able to adapt pretty nicely ( in my judgment ), the cheese book and the principle it advocates simply got off me. In hindsight, I hopped and immersed in all four characters at different points in my journey and may still assume different characters in certain situations now but my never ending quest for new and interesting cheese remains. Interestingly, not only one but a variety of cheese would I want to explore - now!

crash, boom, rain...

Gray skies looming... soon rain will fall again. Writing here amid the rampage is no easy feat - it's akin to going in and out of consciousness. Good thing today is rest day, i can curl up, enjoy the chaos, perhaps read and seize my day.