May 2013
7 posts
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On Elections
Yesterday, we had our mid-term elections for our local and national candidates. In hindsight, the whole electoral process felt like going on a pilgrimage- you wake up early, travel, line- up, and finally you pray.
Yes, prayer. Voting felt like prayer.
As I shaded the ballots, it felt like my dreams were being entrusted to these names. I was of full of hope and trust that as these new...
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On Loneliness
“All the lonely people, where do they all come from? Where do they all belong?” -Eleanor Rigby by The Beatles.
“I know… you don’t get yourself. People say you have such a wonderful life.
Wonderful? Hrmm, that might even be an understatement. Your life is booming. You’re at the peak of everything- career, social life, and relationships. Everything in your...
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Singapore Day
A couple of months back, I was lucky enough to go to Singapore. It was a brief visit that allowed me to go around and explore the city. Because I had most of the day for myself, here were some of the things that I got to take pictures of:
I like how they have a very spacious mass transportation system that could accomodate the volume of people during rush hour.
I was walking around Bugis...
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Reflections
It was once believed by the ancients that the physical and material world that we live in is a reflection of the cosmos. With all the violence and bad things the happen, it’s quite hard to believe but at this particular moment in time, as I reflected on this sight, I would like to believe what the ancients did.
This photo was taken at a small stream at Maporac, Zambales. It is part of my...
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Dawn/Dusk
We tend to see more than the usual when we love someone.
Love allows us to go beyond the beloved’s flaws in order to see beauty in the mundane and ordinary. It brings out in us a new way of seeing and appreciating someone as whole.
Now, imagine for a second that you’ll direct that love to your world and surroundings…
everything seems better right?
Photo was taken at...
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On Destiny and Choice
Is Love Destiny or is it Choice?
1. Destiny- to find you there smiling across the room.
2. Choice- when I decided to approach you and we ended up conversing all night long.
3. Destiny- to recognize an inexplicable desire and longing for each other;
4. Choice- to stay with you every single day because of 3.
lol.
this photo was taken a few years ago at an Aeta Community in Maporac,...
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Stories
Boy: Sana tayo na lang ulit? (I wish we were together again?)
Girl: Pero di mo na maibabalik ang kahapon. (But you can’t bring back yesterday)
Boy: Eh di Hihintayin ko na lang ang bukas. (Then I’ll just wait for tomorrow)
(They part ways)
I am trying to make a short story or a material about a breakup. It’s a perplexing topic and probably difficult to write but I want to...
April 2013
2 posts
4 tags
Beginnings
It’s hard to move forward while looking behind isn’t it? and yet that’s how most of us live our days.
There’s so much to miss in life when we’re like this.
This photo was taken at Subic more than 5 years ago with my siblings.
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On Gratitude
My choices in the past few months and Providence has led me to where I am now. It may not be the best of places, but somewhere deep down I feel and believe that I am where I ought to be at this time in my life.
I can’t help but be grateful for everything. The list of everything to be grateful for is just too many to wrote or mention. Life is good and I can’t wait for what’s to...
February 2013
1 post
5 tags
Mount Mayon
Sometimes, all we need is a change of perspective to help us appreciate what we already have. :)
January 2013
2 posts
7 tags
Everyday
I just felt the urge to write tonight and I find it apt to post this picture.
Cheers!
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The Optimist Creed
- words to live by this coming year:
“To be strong so that nothing can disturb my peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person I meet.
To make all my friends feel that there is something in them.
To look at the sunny state of everything and make my optimism come true.
To think of only the best, to work only for the best, and to expect only the best.
To be...
December 2012
3 posts
8 tags
On Hope
“The road that is built on hope is more pleasant to the traveller than the road build on despair even though they both lead to the same destination.” -Marion Zimmer Bradley
(Photo taken at Singapore facing their central business district)
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Welcoming the new year
Promise me you will always remember
that you’re braver than you believe;
stronger than you seem;
smarter than you think.
Cheers to the coming new year. I cannot wait to experience you.
(Photos were taken at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore.)
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eight days a week
They say that sleep is overrated.
November 2012
8 posts
9 tags
Other World
One always has to know when a stage has come to an end. If we insist on staying longer than the necessary time, we lose the happiness and the meaning of the other stages we have to go through- Paolo Coelho
These photos were taken at Gardens by the Bay, Singapore. I snapped these structures that are called super trees (yes, they are called like that and it sounds geeky) that house different...
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Hong King Kong Jungle
A couple of weeks back, I visited Hong Kong for work to attend a digital and social media conference. It was an interesting trip since instead of staying in the usual shopping areas like Causeway Bay or Tsim Sha Tsui, I lived in the busy district of Hong Kong Central. Being the adventurous boy that I am, I took some time to explore and snapped some pictures while going to and fro the different...
October 2012
1 post
8 tags
█████████ (RA 10175)
With the passing of RA No. 10175 here in the ███████████, It’s not that fun in the ███████████ anymore :(
Please let me express myself with a few paragraphs below:
Now, although the intention of the law and some of its points (like provisions against Child Pornography and Cybersex) are good; I think our government should take time to review provisions that cover Internet Libel and its...
September 2012
3 posts
17 tags
The Two of Us
Whenever I think of you I feel closest to eternity, I exist and you exist That’s all that matters, My life and your life Merge and melt into one Return to where they began, All our differences disappear, For us everything is perfectly defined, There’s no battle of the sexes, There’s faith and devotion, passion and freedom, All the facets of human beings in union, I have...
12 tags
love like a sunset x anawangin.
(These are pictures of the beautiful Anawangin Island at Zambales, Philippines. I visited the place just before a photograph of this hidden gem was published in the front page of the Philippine Daily Inquirer. My camera was just a couple of weeks old then. I came here with a few friends who were as eager as I was to go on an adventure for a couple of days. After visiting this beauty, I...
14 tags
Green and Yellow
Green and Yellow.
That is the name of this picture (one of my favorites) that I took back when my camera was new. I was on my way to Quezon province to swim and I was just enamored by the sight of these yellow flowers in full bloom at one of our stopovers.
To be honest, nothing really special about the stopover or the actual flowers but the sight of it, with the Sierra Madre plastered behind...
July 2012
3 posts
8 tags
Chubby, my Labrador Retriever
More than 10 years ago, I was a midwife to my pregnant dog while she gave birth to her very first litter of puppies. I nursed the puppies, they grew up, and were eventually sold except for one fat energetic dog that we named Chubby.
This is Chubby and here are some things that I fondly remember her for:
1. Chubby is my only dog that cannot see if there’s glass blocking her path....
18 tags
That pink childhood dessert
I don’t know why but I have been craving for that sweet, milky, pink dessert called iskrambol.
It’s been a while since I last ate a decent cup of this airy substance since vendors who can make the authentic flavor and profile of iskrambol are quite rare nowadays. Making the perfect Iskrambol is still a mystery to me. I remember how vendors back then would use shaved ice and dump a...
14 tags
The Colosseum
When I was planning our trip to Rome, one of the places that I prioritized to visit was the Colosseum. I’m really not sure why it was way above in my list of places to see but back then, I was really very excited to visit it over the equally stunning and popular Fountain of Trevi and Spanish Steps.
As I was walking around the Colosseum, images from the scenes of the movie The...
June 2012
3 posts
9 tags
Koi No Yokan
The sense one can have upon first meeting a person that the two of you are going to fall in love. Differs from “love at first sight” as it does not imply that the feeling of love exists, only the knowledge that a future love is inevitable.
This perfectly describes what I felt when I met you.
photo taken at Tokyo, Japan.
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some pictures of assisi
Here are some photos I took back when I was in Italy. Here is a place called Assisi found in the province of Perugia. It is the hometown and final resting place of Saint Francis of Assisi; a UNESCO World Heritage Site; a location in one of those Twilight movies; and is also the hometown of two other saints.
This is the Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi. In it lies the remains of the famous...
16 tags
determination
They say that there is no such thing as extraordinary people.
There are only ordinary people with extraordinary determination.
Photo taken while eating a nice burger on one cloudy day.
May 2012
4 posts
18 tags
shoot for the sky
While I was at Luneta Park, there were a lot of kids playing this kind of toy. It was an LED dart that you shoot up the sky with a rubberband. What makes this toy fun to play is the competition that arises on whose dart flew the highest and farthest. Being a kid at heart, I also got one for myself for just P10 and started shooting away.
photo was taken at Luneta Park.
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dreams may be dreams
I’ve always wondered where dreams came from.
What I am talking about is not the kind that we see but hardly remember when we sleep; but rather the kind of dream that moves, shakes, and consumes us to do great (even horrible) things just to achieve it.
I’m curious about this because from the way I see it, dreams just pop out of nowhere. It was as if someone programmed these dreams...
17 tags
mayday
In the Philippines, during summer, I always look out for fire trees for its orange flowers that instantly beautify its surroundings. Although its quite rare nowadays, I think Narra trees have a similar flower but yellow.
Let’s paint the town orange shall we? :)
the photo was taken at Sacred Heart Novitiate in Novaliches, Quezon City. It is the place where Jesuits in the Philippines are...
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rekindling the fire
does our past completely define us and our future? are we mere prisoners of time?
this photo was taken in an old house at Quezon where the owner is quite fond of living the old way in a place where there is no electricity or cellphone signals to distract you.
April 2012
11 posts
18 tags
capones island. i miss thee.
Its amazing how technology allows me to write this post about Capones Island while I am waiting for my flight back to Manila from Cebu. I felt the urge to write so I gave in and started typing this impromptu post for today.
What I find very memorable with this Island was that I visited it after I stayed overnight at Anawangin Cove in Zambales. We got a small pump boat to bring us to this small...
11 tags
the 100 year old image
This is an image of Virgin Mary and the Child Jesus. I chanced upon this more than a 100-year old image in a small chaplet in Cavite. This statue is said to have originated from Tondo after an old lady prayed to it to win the lottery. In return, she promised to construct a chapel. The following week, the old lady won the lottery. She had a chapel constructed in Cavite and made image as the...
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ganda, my labradoodle.
This is ganda, my labradoodle. (Labrador Retriever + Poodle)
Ganda means beautiful in Filipino.
I am very proud of this dog as she is the great-grand daughter of my original dog named Blackie who is a black Labrador Retriever from Australia.
I got Blackie back in 2000 as a gift from my father. She was the first dog with papers I had. Prior to her, I’ve had a couple of mongrels, but...
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flowers for the 13th
today is friday the 13th. here are some flowers to save the day. :)
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threadbare
My tailor Jun finally closed shop without any notice or word. I never knew when it exactly happened but I just noticed that his old shop became a small convenience store for the school nearby.
I tried texting Jun with the hopes that he just moved to a different location but there was no reply. I tried asking around. From the landlady to his co-tenants, everyone just gave a confused shrug....
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visita iglesia (2012)
Every Maundy Thursday, my family practices the tradition of Visita Iglesia (Church Visits). It involves visiting different churches. Some people would visit one, seven, or even fourteen churches to pray the stations of the cross. For us however, we usually visit seven. We would spend the whole day travelling and praying while taking turns at each station to lead the prayer and reflection of...
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s=k logw
entropy is such an intriguing concept where order eventually becomes disorder. It kind of reminds me of the quote that we are beings towards our deaths. such is the beauty and richness of life.
photo taken at my friend Jethro’s wall. I find it really chaotic. :) PROST!
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darkness in the rolling hills of bukidnon (2010)
The rolling hills of Bukidnon in Mindanao is one of the most picturesque places i have been to in the country. It is home to a lot of pineapples, cattle, and sunflowers that line the main highway I pass by while riding a bus.
I took this photo while going around the Del Monte plantation on one late afternoon. I was hoping to get a photo of the sunset but the sun went down that fast that I was...
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love and time 2 - a lesson from my mentor part 2....
waiting for the bus.
There is a virtue in waiting.
That is what my mentor would always tell me. He is very fond of time and its different dimensions in relation to love. Here is one of my favorite articles he wrote a year after the original article was written.
For those who were brave, are brave, and continues to be brave. Prost!
[[MORE]]
Love and Time II: Of Love’s...
March 2012
8 posts
21 tags
morong church
I like churches.
I always make it a point to visit one when its my first time in an area. Its a habit that I was able to inherit from the men in my family. Whatever land I may be, the church is one of the places that I look forward to visit.
One particularly memorable church is that from the humble town of Morong. It is unique compared to other churches because of its beautiful belfry which...
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cemeteries and candles
I love going to the Manila North Cemetery. As strange as it may seem, I value the rich history, art, and life that one finds in this humongous place.
history
In this cemetery alone, I can trace up to four generations of my family buried here, from my grandparent’s parents, down to my nieces who have gone ahead of me. Then, there are the other historical figures like famous politicians,...
