the cross-eyed bear

moving out

2008-04-18T22:53:00.002+08:00

yes, i am moving blogs again. for the nth time.

owenongayon!?

but in case you are interested,
visit impulse blogging.

nice postsecret, this one

2008-03-31T16:46:00.002+08:00

one of the postcards from postsecret this week.

i really like it. feels very positive and hopeful. so i say the same thing to everyone out there. :)

american gods: online

2008-03-27T18:10:00.002+08:00

Neil Gaiman's American Gods happens to be one of my favorite books from him. I was engrossed with new kind of mythology was able to create and how he was able to research all those obscure gods that appeared in his story.

Well, you have until March 31 to read it online if you are interested. Here's the link.

While most people expected sales of the book to slump, Neil actually figured it would rise. And he was right!

post-Easter

2008-03-24T11:04:00.002+08:00

the trouble with long holidays is it's always difficult to get back in the work groove. i've been staring at the computer monitor for some time already and there are these tons of work running around my mind waiting to be done or to get started.

but *sigh*, i just can't drag myself to start.

help. (or don't help. hehe!)

Easter

2008-03-23T15:42:00.003+08:00

It is time for HOPE.
Jesus is among us once more!

what if God was one of us?

2008-03-19T14:17:00.003+08:00

This was more or less the context of the second segment of Holy Week show of NoyPi, ABS-CBN's post-Bandila show. NoyPi would stage situations to determine how the Filipino would respond. Reactions would then be analyzed by sociologists and psychologists and other experts.

Last Monday, the second segment was about a guy posing as Jesus. He'd approach people in or coming from the church and start a conversation. At some point he would ask them, "Maniniwala ba kayo kung sabihin ko na ako si Kristo?" Would you believe it if I told you I was Jesus Christ?

The reactions were quite expected. Some got angry, some thought him to be a lunatic, and one even responded, "Oo. Lahat tayo si Kristo." But there were some quite interesting reactions from a couple of people.

The guy approached this old lady who just finished lighting a candle and her prayers. He went and told her that she should just lift up her concerns to God. To which she responded, "interesado talaga ako diyan sa sinasabi mo. Interesado talaga ako. Maari ba kitang makausap?" And so they had a conversation about her problems. In the middle of it all, the guy spilled his spiel of being Christ. The lady looked at him, with slight doubt and was somewhat apologetic, "Pasensiya na, kung ako ay may agam-agam pa." But in the end, it was all good. She appreciated the conversation and a chance to unload her yoke.

In another story, the guy was talking to another person when a woman listening in to the conversation approached him and said, "Maari niyo bang mahilot ang aking asawa?" It turns out, she and her husband were homeless. The husband was paralyzed for a few years already and had trouble moving. She asked the stage Jesus to massage her husband. The stage Jesus was actually doing a great job, being accommodating and solemn the whole time. He massaged the man and probably had a conversation about lifting burdens to God. When asked what the paralyzed man felt, "malamig lang." But his wife answered with a slight sense of hope despite the discovery that it wasn't Jesus who held his husband. She was saying, "first time ko kilabutan ng ganun nung sabihin niya na siya si Kristo." What could've those goose bumps meant?

Several others, who may not have believed him to be Jesus, were just glad to have someone come up to them and have a conversation with.

Was there a black and white response to such a situation? The priests and sociologists don't seem to think so. Those who deny or accept the man as Jesus can not be branded as lacking in faith or strong with it. It just goes to show, we all love God in our own ways and believe in Him in the way that we are most comfortable with. And at the end of everything, people just need to believe in something greater and something better. Thus the goose bump reaction from that lady, maybe? Hope is enough to keep going.

What would my reaction be if I were approached? I'd definitely be a doubting Thomas. With Judiel Nava surgically transformed into a woman, it's a little difficult to just accept any man who comes and claims to be Jesus.

Sidekuwento: Timing how this story was featured at a time I was reading C.S. Lewis "The Last Battle" where the Ape pushes the Donkey to pretend that he is Aslan so they may control Narnia. Wala lang. ko-inki-dink.

Too bad it seemed to be NoyPi's last episode. It was only my second time to watch it in full, then bye-bye already? I do hope it's a temporary hiatus. With all the not so good things happening in our country, a certain sense of positive nationhood and personhood is necessary. I think NoyPi does a good job in reminding Pinoy's of good ole' Filipino traditions.

absolutely restless

2008-03-17T16:53:00.002+08:00

that has been the case for the last few days.

have you ever had that feeling that change is about to come but its shadow has not even fallen upon you yet? there's that restless feeling... probably of anticipation if it's a good thing or anxiety if you are uncertain. you want to do something drastic just so you can be ready when it comes or to start the change yourself.

maybe that's why girls (and some boys) have their hair done or shop. my present compulsion is to move to another blog. yes, for the nth time. thank God, it's free. and it's possible, but not any time soon. times are busy and crazy right now. another part of me wants to shout what's happening. to hear what other people have to say. maybe to make it real for myself too. but one must be prudent. timing is important and thorough thinking is necessary.

the past few days i have had the compulsion to write and write online. exhibitionist tendencies, i know. so what has been happening is the past entries have actually been my diversion from writing down what is really happening.

but yeah... change has come. not just for me, but for many people. 2008 has been quite a year already for most and it's only been the first quarter. the great thing about it it's mostly good things. and that is always wonderful. so even with the rotten political situation (idjots GMA and Abalos... why don't you try having yourselves nailed to the cross? just for a Holy Week penitence. the nation may forgive you, who knows), at least people's personal lives, those I know anyway, are doing well.

uh. so there. have a meaningful Holy Week. though i'm bound to say something again in the next few days. (mayabang na ako kasi may DSL na sa bahay).

goin' bulilit

2008-03-16T19:54:00.002+08:00

in fairness, it IS funny. the past few weeks that i unintentionally catch it, i find myself laughing at a lot of their jokes.

tonight i was laughing so hard with their zte soundtrack featuring the nuns and chairman hambalos. not bad, not bad. hehe!

so what do you do when you still have 18 minutes in an internet cafe?

2008-03-14T11:57:00.003+08:00

write a spontaneous blog entry, i guess. just like what i'm doing right now. am also chatting with a couple of friends.

now i only have 12 minutes of internet time left.

now it's only 11 minutes. but wait? that was only a minute ago when i wrote the previous line? ayiii.

aba... six minutes left. meant a long chat. hehe! but i've said goodbye na. ang bilis ng isang oras na ito ah. yesterday i only spent fifty minutes on the net. thought it was already an hour.

anyhoo... will be going back to davao after lunch. yey! i miss my bed, i do.

God loves me too much (just another day at work)

2008-03-13T13:45:00.004+08:00

so... it's a rainy day in cabanglasan. we had to be off for miaray to meet with the parents and discuss with them what we ask of the community in return for our support. the jesuit's decrepit pick-up let us off at the hanging bridge over pulangi river where a couple of motorcycles were waiting for us to take us to the community.

we've actually been warned by everyone. the roads were difficult especially on a rainy day. and well... in my line of work, when someone says that, you better take it seriously. the roads scores an 8 in terms of difficulty level. it was rocky and slippery and all that. my arms were sore from holding on for dear life. muscles that i was not aware of made themselves known by acting sore from clenching butt and thighs to make sure i stay on the bike.

we got to the community, chatted a bit, looked at the land where the school will be, had coffee, went back to the bridge. all in two hours.

while i was on the ride, i thought to myself... God loves me too much, it's actually funny. when I was assigned in Calapan as a Jesuit Volunteer, I was often jealous of my batchmates assigned in Bukidnon for living in the mountains, riding the habal-habal and living in constant adventure. i guess God acknowledged that jealousy and said to me, "ganun ha... eto sa iyo!" and there ya go... i'm always in Bukidnon on habal-habal rides that are beyond adventurous. God grants wishes so be really careful when you make one that you mean. Hehe!

anyhoo... so we were finally on our way down. the pick up dropped us at the cabanglasan multicab terminal. i plugged the earphone to my ears and listened to music on my phone. after an hour or so, i was surprised to see everyone in near panic. and i was like, huh, what happened? apparently, the multicab wouldn't respond to the steering wheel so the driver had to fix it. thank God we didn't get into any accident.

so okay... we went down. paid the fare from cabanglasan to wherever in malaybalay we were. a few long minutes after there was this giant jeep full of sacks of corn. it was our only way out, so i didn't mind riding top load. i've always enjoyed top load riding (taplod dito sa mindanao). the rain has stopped and it was cloudy so the weather was perfect for such a trip.

the mountainside was beautiful. herons following carabaos around. goats and horses and cows grazing in the fields. fields of gold as the corn is bursting and ready to be harvested. mountains in the shape of whatever you want them to be... a beautiful lady, a wooly mammoth... anything.

we passed by a fiesta in managok. whadayaknow... a bikini open? for sure janina san miguel would take the crown. or maybe she'd have tough competition there of other contestants not being able to answer the question. forget the fact that it was terrible grammar and deplorable pronunciation. she did not answer the question. and she won. she does give hope to all those "hipon" beauties out there.

anyhoo... guess what. the jeep broke down again. i wasn't able to catch the reason because we were able to get a motor to the highway (we were quite near our destination). but isn't it funny! two vehicles breaking down within an hour. what should've been a single ride of P50, turned out to be four rides totalling P85.

(rosing, di ka naman nakisakay sa amin, di ba?)

so it's just another day at work today. the rest of the afternoon i will spend lying down at the comfortable bed of the jesuit retreat house. if i wake up while there is still sun, maybe i can take a few photographs.

saya.

test your speed

2008-03-08T12:29:00.002+08:00

i remember those days with mrs. ramos in typing class. since i only started studying in st. scho second year, i missed the paper bag over the head exercises. i only had to endure blindfolds. hehe!

84 words

Speedtest

singapore photos

2008-03-03T18:07:00.002+08:00

i've uploaded some of the photos already.

flight and arrival at singapore.
day one: duck tours, suntec city and night safari.
singapore zoo.
jurong bird bark

kamusta langit, rosing?

2008-02-29T22:32:00.004+08:00

is it seven years already? or is it eight?

i wonder kung katulad 15-15-15 ka pa rin ayon kay rez? salamat na lang sa wonderbra at naging 18-15-15 ka. hehe!

when i told quint about the news, he mentioned how kilig and happy you would have been. at napaisip ako, oo nga. you might even take me out to dinner or something. and i'd ask you in secret if i'm making the right choice. just as i have mimo.

we miss you still. mimo made me cry during his concert when he sang the song fr. carlo magno wrote for you. naririnig mo siguro si sharon na kumakanta, "nasaan ang langit, rosing?" yun yung title. pati si gaultz humihikbi nung kinanta yun. imagine mo na lang kung pictures mo nilagay sa power point. ngee. hagulgol na ako. kahiya. hehe!

watch over us mortals here. most of us are wondering how our lives would be like with you as our confidante...

bye, jay tan

2008-02-28T22:00:00.003+08:00

i just came home tonight from a four-day area visit to agusan del sur, only to be met with the news that jay tan, a college batchmate, passed away. i really did not know him too well, but i had the opportunity to spend time with him occasionally. he was always friendly and accommodating, ready with a smile, a joke and song. i could just imagine how good a friend he is to those he is close too.

ganns, a college barkada, knew jay very well. he will do better justice in talking about him. it is a sad time for ganns since also lost his half-brother who was murdered in cebu.

if you could please spare a prayer for the eternal repose of jay tan and sandy deen, and those who loved them dearly.

ten tag

2008-02-23T12:08:00.002+08:00

I've been tagged by Jovan. Yey! It's lunch break, so I am allowed. And besides, I promised myself since yesterday that I will be consciously grateful for at least one thing until Easter (and hopefully beyond that). So this tag is perfect!

The rules are easy, just post 10 things that recently made you happy! Then tag 10 people and force them to post this meme on their blogs.

1. Jan never tiring of picking me up from the airport and bringing me there. It's not a very fun thing to do to drive/commute through traffic, but he does it anyway. That's my love. (I will allow a moment of mush here.) It's always nice that he is the first person I see when I'm in Manila. (Mush moment over!)

2. Strawberries from Baguio. I said before that strawberries are not my favorite fruit. But it seems that I keep on buying strawberry flavored and scented stuff. And eating the fresh fruit is always a treat.

3. Chocolate flakes from Baguio. Chocolate and corn flakes. Yum!

4. Youthful idealism. Spending those three days with college kids has been a breath of fresh air from the frenzy of the past few weeks. They give me hope. While the rest of the nation is in turbulence, these kids will choose to give up their fun summer to teach indigenous communities. I just hope they bring their experience with them until forever.

5. Dondi. Dondi was such a wonderful host. Even if he is his usual Dondi self, he's secretly one of the sweetest people I know. I mean, he's keeping it a secret that he is sweet. Hehe!

6. Singapore. I love the place. I love their transit system. I love the fact that people follow traffic rules (most of the time). I love that you can just walk and walk and walk and you'll always end up somewhere. I love it that there are so many things to do and places to see. I love how their money looks. I love that their cables are all underground and there aren't a lot of billboards. I love their food. I love kopi-o. I love being a stranger in a new place. I love Singapore.

7. Walking and people watching sa Session Road. I love Session Road. While the modern world has penetrated its streets (Yellow Cab, fastfood chains)... them old classic Baguio restos refuse to die. And why should it? I'd take Sizzling Plate any time! Or Pizza Volante even. And how can you not fall in love with people in sweaters? I love sweaters. People in sweaters are lovely.

8. Food-tasting. It's free! And it's delicious. :)

9. Minette Santiago. She's a wonderful woman and very talented artist. Let's just hope she can execute our collective vision. Hehe!

10. Great friends. Especially Rowie who has been such great help with some stuff I need to work on. Plus countless others, who are doing legwork for me while I am dying here in Davao.

Tag! You're it. Tatit, Mayette, Toni, Maean, Leanne, Ate Billie, Maita, Eric and Bing, Gogolody, Manding

busy, sleepy, tired

2008-02-22T12:32:00.002+08:00

i woke up with a runny rose and itchy eyes. what caused the allergies again, i can not identify. it must be the running around for work (and some pleasure) since the beginning of 2008. and the last two weeks have been awfully hectic. and it won't be ending anytime soon. so anyway, i popped some celestamine to get rid of the sniffles and itching. and now i'm awfully sleepy. i have a meeting in the afternoon, i do hope i'm alert enough for the discussion. been thinking of playing hooky to watch juno... still not sure if i would.

thank God for all this. means i'm still alive and doing something with my life. :)
(i'm genuinely grateful!)

baguio uli

2008-02-18T14:15:00.002+08:00

for once in my life i wasn't excited to go up to baguio because i knew i was going to be just cooped up in our little lodge doing work.

but, i was able to get out for a while by offering to buy some stuff for the other facilitators. at least i got the chance to walk around session road. hopefully i have enough time to eat some corn at burnham park. and that will already make up for the tiring trip and the quickie no-quality stay in baguio. hehe!

but yeah... at least i got to walk session road. something i always liked doing in baguio. walking and people watching.

another day at the office

2008-02-15T14:32:00.002+08:00

walking through shin deep mud while the weather constantly changed from cloudy to drizzling to rain. at the end of the trip, i was all covered in mud mixed with horse dung. my back hurts from the horse ride and my legs hurt from the uphill climb.

that's just going to the area.

of course, i have to do all that in reverse (well minus the horse ride because the incline made it dangerous for the untrained rider) just to get back to our take-off point.

and yet... i feel great.

ibang klase.

jurong bird park

2008-02-11T10:39:00.000+08:00

be forewarned. the pamphlet says you may take bus 251 or bus 194 from the boon lay mrt station to get to the jurong bird park. do not. i repeat. do not take bus 251 unless you want a tour of the factories of singapore! though i did get to see the khong guan biscuit factory. but it ain't worth the extra 30-minute tour. so just take bus 194 if you are truly excited to see the birds.

here are some of our pictures. there are 158 of them. but the raw photos... around 800. bwahaha! the trouble three people with a digital camera each. hehe!

g-max at clarke quay

2008-02-11T10:23:00.000+08:00

i'm not yet able to upload the video of our experience. but basically it's just screaming our lungs out. it's only now when i googled videos of g-max that i was able to see how we looked like from the outside. mehn... katakuuuut. basically, it's being placed inside an open pod that is slingshot in the air. of course there are giant garters that keep us from flying back to the philippines.

see what g-max is like.

singapura

2008-02-09T12:07:00.000+08:00

honestly, singapore was not what i had in my mind for my first out of the country trip. i've always thought it to be too metropolitan for my countryside taste. bangkok or cambodia or vietnam would have been where i would start off.

however, since i promised a jvp batchmate that i will try and visit him this year, i had to keep that promise. and besides, i figured it would be best to have someone you know in a foreign country. so singapore it was.

and it was a wonderful, pleasant surprise! while it is indeed metropolitan, it was also able to satisfy my taste for adventure and culture. i actually loved the metro-ness of it! its wonderful transportation system, the walking from one point to the other, the discipline of the people on the streets. it was a welcome breather from the congested cities of the philippines.

and there were simply so many places to go to! with five days there... we were still unable to do everything that we wanted. we were able to do the singapore zoo, the night safari, the jurong bird park, sentosa, the clark quay in g-max and ikea (tourist attraction na pala to ngayon!). the last day we had to split up to do our own desires - eiza and kris for shopping , while i went around the landmarks for picture-taking. and still it was not enough time!

plus there were free maps all over the place. maps to certain locations, maps to the entire singapore, the train line, the bus line... it was both easy and hard to get lost there. and the people were just so nice and accommodating (numero uno si dondi! love you batchmate!). our questions were answered politely and properly, and with a smile too.

and i love it when we go to restaurants and they'd go, "philippines?" and we'd say,"yes!" and they'd go, "mabuhay! try this..." and when we pay, they'd go, "salamat." aliw!

i also loved loved loved the diversity of the people there. when we got off the airport, we were first greeted with a magandang hapon by a fellow pinoy which made me think twice if we went to singapore or another philippine city. doubts where gone when i saw indians, chinese, whites, malays all over the airport. i love it! i think diversity helps people to be more tolerant and consequently more understanding of others. the philippines is too homogenous compared to singapore.

i love love love it there. while i usually have a been there, done that policy for my travels... it is not so with singapore. i don't mind going back. in fact, i want to go back. see more of the place, and even do the same things we did when we were there. i enjoyed it that much!

traveling abroad is addicting, mehn. i need to save up for another trip! hehe.

view from the back

2008-02-08T12:47:00.000+08:00

because i knew that sting would probably just be a dot from where we are, i put dixie to maximum memory of 10MB so i can zoom in so he won't be too pixelized.

so for those waiting for what he looks like from where we were, ta-daaaaah!

so what can you say about those jeans and shirt! tight ain't it? and how old is he? older than 50, right? does. not. look. it. trudy is a lucky woman. damn her.

oh yeah, this is a the police concert and not sting's. so just look for adam and stewart in this slightly zoomed in photo cropping.

and the concert is over. this is the only picture i might ever have with the police. hehe!

last day in singapore

2008-02-05T23:49:00.000+08:00

potsa nakakapagod maglakad ng maglakad ng maglakad ng buong araw. promise. last day na kasi. pero masaya naman. super pagod lang talaga. aaaah.

clawed and stung during day 4

2008-02-05T00:20:00.000+08:00

tiring day! as in.
jurong bird park was fun. loooooved feeding the birds. thought i wouldn't enjoy it as much as the other two parks since we have the philippine egale and malagos gardens in davao. pero hep! so fun! they have so much more birds and more interesting tricks.
and
and
and
after several attempts of volunteering to be part of the shows like the one in the dolphin lagoon in sentosa and the splash adventure in singapore zoo, i was finally called today! once for the bird and buddies show, which was corny because they only made me hold the hoops for the bird to pass through. the other was definitely more fun! the host finally called me to feed the vulture. yeaaaaah! and i got to do it 3 times. yeaaaah! and got me a free post card too. yeaaaaah!

and then...
i got caught by the police. stung by sting!
how mhay geeesh!
confession: i probably know just four songs of the group. the popular ones that has been remade over and over. but who cares! legend ang pinapanuod namin.
at at at
even if we were just looking at sting's back, at least he wasn't just a dot. more like half-a-thumb kinda big.
and and and...
tight jeans and tight shirt... shows off his nice tight ass. mwehehe!
kung si judy ann ay nagsabi kay piolo na, "ngiti pa lang, ulam na!"
masasabi namin ay "ngiti pa lang, ulam na! may dessert ka pa."
ngrrr!
oh... and the singing was great too. two hours bai! sulit. panalo!

singapore day 2

2008-02-03T00:18:00.000+08:00

better than yesterday.
lots of things that were fun and/or spectacular.
just one of the exciting things we got to do today. there are PLENTY more. saya! kapoy kaayo pero saya!