hope

Hope means to keep living amid desperation and to keep humming in the darkness.
Hoping is knowing that there is love, it is trust in tomorrow it is falling asleep
and waking again when the sun rises.
In the midst of a gale at sea, it is to discover land.
In the eyes of another, it is to see that he understands you.
- Henri Nouwen, With Open Hands

tv patrol acting

la loma

la loma skies.

skyline

pasig/mandaluyong area, makati skyline background.

dragonboat

PH Azkals: 0 Golds, 0 trophies, 5 TV ads, 20% Pinoy
PH Dragonboat team (2011) : 5 Golds, 0 commercials, 90% Pinoy

PH Azkals: with sponsors
Ph Dragonboat team: inutang at KKB pamasahe

Ph Azkals: complete outfit
Ph Dragonboat team,; nanghiram pa ng sagwan sa kalaban

Sasagwan ka ba sa KARANGALAN o sisipa sa PAPOGIAN?

[galing 'yan sa post ng blakmayet kong si zoe.]

pero kailangan ba talagang lagyan pa ng kumpetisyon sa pagitan ng azkals at dragonboat team? kung ang nais lang naman ay mangilak ng pondo para sa dragonboat, di na kailangan pang pagsabungin ang dalawang pambansang koponan. parehong nagbibigay at magbibigay pa ng glorya at karangalan sa bansa, parehong dapat na pagtuunan ng pansin at bigyan ng suporta sa anumapamang porma nito. sangkatutak nga naman kasi ang mga patalastas ng azkals ngunit wala pa naman silang napapanalunan. pero ito'y dahil kasisimula pa lang naman nila. pasasaan ba't makakaagapay na rin tayo sa malalakas na koponan sa asya. ang dragonboat team naman ay makailang beses nang nanalo sa mga pandaigdigang kumpetisyon, kaya dapat din silang makatanggap ng pinansyal na suporta mula sa ating gobyerno at kaukulang pagkilala.

di kailangan ang paglalagay ng bahid ng pataasan ng ihi o hilahin pababa ang isa upang umalagwa ang kabila. pareho nilang dala ang watawat ng pilipinas, itaguyod at suportahan natin ang azkals at dragonboat team.

belligerent

If someone’s indignant, rude or loud, reasonable people get turned off. It’s almost like they click a switch off in my brain when they get belligerent, and I almost don’t hear some positives they may have. - Bill Long

kap

62 na si kap.
nagkaroon ng misa.
nagsimulang umambon kalagitnaan nito.
pero bumuhos lang pagkatapos ng komunyon.
'ikaw' ang kanta sa pag-aalay.

special request daw ni tita.
dumating sina tsong tino at kanyang pamilya.

nandun din ang mga ka-couples nila papa at tita.

daming pagkain.
apaw ang pancit.
may lechon pa mula kay mayor bistek.
palabok, puto't kutsinta nila tsang charing.
dinuguan ni kuya ato.
pancit ulit galing kay waldy.
wala pa dun ang menudo ni kuya omeng!

buo ang pamilya.
masaya kami't kapiling namin si papa.
kahit di siya nagsasalita.
at si tita lang ang kinakausap.
malakas pa rin kumain si kap.
at mukha naman siyang masaya.

mas mahusay na kalusugan para sa iyo.

alagaan mo ang sarili mo.
sa marami pang taon, pa.
sa akin ka na lang walang apo.
mahal ka naming lahat.

savory

bibili raw ng laptop si ate ne para kay jel. kaya kahit maulan, larga kami papunta sa sm north edsa cyberzone nitong ika-7 ng agosto. sabi ni ate ne, mas maigi raw siguro kung aagahan naming dalawa ang punta sa sm para nakakuha na kami ng laptop bago pa dumating sina ate she, kuya bob at liezl. pero naglinis muna ako at nakaalis sa makati ng alas-2 ng hapon. awa ng diyos, pasado alas-4 na dumating si ate ne! nakabili na kami ng kung anu-ano at nakalakad na sa buong kahabaan ng sm annex bago pa siya dumating.

pagkatapos ng mahaba-haba ring proseso ng pagpili ng model, nakakuha na rin kami. dell ang napili ni ate ne para kay jel. mas mataas ng kaunti ang presyo pero kumpleto na ito ng lahat ng kailangan.

tapos nito... siyempre kainan na! dahil gustong-gusto ko ang manok sa savory, sa savory kami kumain! prayd tsiken at yang chow sinangag lang, solb na solb na ako. bukod sa max's, itong sa savory ang isa sa mga paborito kong fried chicken, may kakaiba itong linamnam at swak na swak sa aking panlasa. walang anumang piktyur ng mga pagkain dahil inubos namin ang lahat! sa susunod ulit!

HBD

rainy day august as usual, but that didn't prevent me from celebrating my birthday. last year's celebration was a big one, so this year, it came back to the usual office kainan. i wasn't keen on throwing a blowout this year coz a lot of previous celebrators did not "make pakain". but the wise ms. karen asked me, "do you want to be identified with them (the ones who did not make pakain)?!" hahahaha! so it was a merienda of pancit habhab (lucban) and prosperity dimsum. aydisi usually buys a cake for the month's celebrator(s), but i was told that i have to pay for the cake first... oh well, just like almost everything! madam elke gave me an early birthday treat of hand sanitizer and that green tea kitkat!

it was almost just-an-ordinary-day, except that i spent the day replying to happy birthdays, maligayang kaarawan, HBDs... mainly on facebook and thru text. salamat ulit! late at night, we had a sur-fries party at mcdonald's madrigal. it was a happy birthday!

captain

i was expecting to be "superheroed out" when we saw captain america: the first avenger last month. since the release of dark knight and the x-men series, all superhero movies went the seriously dark path, while recent months saw a whole gamut of superhero films that one might get tired of these films. but to my pleasant suprise, captain america did not give me the superhero fatigue syndrome. the movie was entertaining and fun. it was an all-out good old-fashioned superhero movie that celebrated heroism of the little guy.

many critics pointed out that this film's strength was its unskunked up premise behind captain america and remained true to its comics original concept. the movie did not offer any so-called intelligent messages but presented another take on one of the world's darkest hour, world war 2. of course, everyone knows that captain america was intentionally created to be an american patriotic figure who would defeat one of the greatest villains of all time, the nazis. but there was no "complicated" superhero lead, just a simple and noble character, which turned out to be a refreshing surprise. the movie had a fun feel, as one critic said, "happily stupid". the 40s setting was fantastically presented, down to the air of america's pre- and antiwar sentiments.

the effects were superb, especially for chris evans' pre-captain america little guy and had enough action scenes. it had a worthy cast, especially tommy lee jones, stanley tucci and hugo weaving. most of all, it leads nicely to next year's the avengers.

wrong turn

wrong turn is a slasher film series, which started in 2003's wrong turn starring eliza dushku. it then had a second and third installment and will have its fourth outing in october. according to wikipedia, "the films are about a group of people fighting for their survival against a family of hideously deformed inbred cannibals who plan to ruthlessly butcher them all." i haven't seen the second part but rotten tomatoes said that it's the best so far in this franchise. like most slasher flicks, wrong turn was a laughable extravaganza of gore.

but with a little dose of mark estrella's comedy bar meanness, "wrong turn" now means a specific group (e.g. family members) who are so TIM YAP (tang inang mukha yan ang pangit) and has this fugliness to the highest level and they all look the same. mark of course is being his ordinary "cruel but funny" self and is clearly pointing to someone he knows. while it's totally mean, i really can't help but to laugh whenever he uses the term wrong turn. even when malling and seeing a group of family who wouldn't belong to those groups you could consider ok-looking, there will always be a bit of chuckle. enough. (",)

mt. pinatubo

i learned of this trip from mark, who subscribed to ensogo. we booked, but he didn't. my pretty nieces, jel and nice were both doing some late summer jobs, so i figured that this trip could be their rewards for a very good survey turnout and their pre-senior year vacay.

access8 was the trip organizer. we left for ortigas before 11 pm and stayed in mcdonald's st. francis till 2:30 am. we then transferred to mcdonald's f. ortigas branch were the access8 team was waiting. after about an hour, we left for capas, tarlac. the 4x4 ride took about an hour and we started the 2.5 to 3 hour trek to the crater. they said that there was a skyway, a shorter way atop the mountains, to go to the crater, but this wasn't passable due to the previous typhoons. if it was ok, the trek would have been only 30 minutes.

the view was amazing! as i've said in the previous post, it's hard to imagine that a violent earth activity some two decades ago would give birth to this immense beauty called mt. pinatubo crater lake. we ate our lunches (chicken adobo, rice and banana) and lake-dipped ourselves. that was the highlight i think. after some quick shower, we trekked back to where our 4x4 was waiting. around 9 pm, we were back in quezon city.

access8's itinerary:

03:00am - Assembly Ortigas
03:30am - Departure to Capas, Tarlac
05:00am - ETA Tourism Office; registration;
05:30am - 4x4 ride
06:30am - Jump off point; Start of Trek
09:30am - ETA crater; free-time, swim
12:00nn - Lunch
01:00pm - Descent
04:00pm - ETA jump off point; 4 x 4 ride back to Tourism Office
05:00pm - ETA Tourism Office; wash-up
05:30pm - ETD to Manila
08:30pm -

*** arrival time in manila may vary, but the latest would be 08:00pm

Recommended Things to bring:

1. Enough supply of drinking water or trail water.
2. Comfortable shoes for hiking or hiking shoes (Please no clogs or high heeled footwear).
3. Slippers or Sandals and extra socks
4. Extra clothes
5. Snacks (something sweet)
6. Head gear (bush hat), shades or sunglasses or an umbrella
7. Camera
8. Identification
9. Personal Medication and sunblock
10. Towel
11. Backpack