like most sunday nights, me, Leah Joy, Khael and Keila were gathered in front of the television watching "Pilipinas Got Talent" last night. we were so enthralled as one 11-year girl performed the songs of Whitney Houston. her performance gave me goosebumps. she was so good that i had a hard time recovering my jaw from dropping. the four of us in the living room didn't even utter a word when the girl started to sing. the judges were so impressed too that after her audition piece, they asked the girl if she can perform one more song. she sang "i will always love you". she was so close to perfection. the judges gave her three yes-es :)
suddenly, out of the pregnant silence, a soft wailing voice came out and JingJing, Khael and i turned out heads in unison in Keila's direction. we all had confused faces. when Keila opened her mouth again, it was then that we realized that she was singing "and i.......will always love you". i couldn't help it so i asked her "are you singing?" she kept quiet and her three evil companions (us) laughed out loud! she stood up and tried to silence each one of us with her towel, but we just kept on laughing. her voice, to say it subtly, needs A LOT of improvement. but it was so funny of her to sing when she knows that she doesn't have a singing voice.
finally, i asked her a question that the judges in PGT ask the contestants: "how did you get a voice like that? who trains you?" she said, "my mom!"
ooohhhh, i thought i'd die laughing......
Monday, August 29, 2011
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Mooning for Gorgonio IV
Gorgonio IV or Georgina? whatever gender this fetus come out after nine months, we already cheered and celebrated for it last night. Nang Vangie's treat for the first grandchild to be in their family.
*we bloated our tummies with a mix of mexican delies and glasses of cooler. i feasted on the spicy jalapenos. whew!*
our circle of friends share the secret of Lilibeth's early pregnancy...though it won't be a secret after the lab results come out. we got the first-hand news through sms as she got the positive line in the pregnancy kit last monday. i danced the sun dance when i got her message. this is so exciting! oh, i am so ecstatic for Gigi and Libet. and i am so excited to meet the fourth or georgina nine months from now
:)
*we bloated our tummies with a mix of mexican delies and glasses of cooler. i feasted on the spicy jalapenos. whew!*
our circle of friends share the secret of Lilibeth's early pregnancy...though it won't be a secret after the lab results come out. we got the first-hand news through sms as she got the positive line in the pregnancy kit last monday. i danced the sun dance when i got her message. this is so exciting! oh, i am so ecstatic for Gigi and Libet. and i am so excited to meet the fourth or georgina nine months from now
:)
Friday, August 26, 2011
as if nothing happened
the sun shines as if yesterday didn't happen. the soil remains that scattered on the road, the fallen branches of the trees and the smell of the earth are the only trace that august 26 actually existed.
the rain poured yesterday just the way i have gotten used to it for the entire week. i didn't even worry about it, until, after a great bonding moment + dinner with Libet, Janice and Ng Vangie, the wind wildly blew our way as we got out of the Moon Cafe. it was half past 8 already and it was only then that we thought about how difficult it would be for us to commute back to Miami.
and voila! Lilibeth's Knight in a Shiny Car came to save her + us (hehehe) from distress. the side road at the Robinson's place was already starting to disappear from the uprising flood. perfect timing for Gorgonio III.
Iloilo City's road was drowning as we drove off to the south. as we reached the Oton area, the rain, thunder and lightning met us fiercely. Gigi drove slower because it was impossible to see the road ahead (oh, thanks to the local government for not putting on streetlights on the sidewalk). twenty minutes later, a very flooded Guimbal welcomed us. the car's engine started to sound weird and Lilibeth felt the water starting to get in the car.
it was time to call on Ng Vangie's supernman!
Gigi managed to park his car at the hospital. the rain was still at its performance level. while we waited for Nong Dino for about half an hour, Janice amused us with her experiences as a nurse at the hospital, the grumpy chief nurse, mothers giving birth, placenta and the gross facts about delivering a baby.
we battled with the rain again as we got out of Gigi's car and transferred to Nong Dino's car. the moment we were safely seated in superman's life-saving car, the rain stopped and everything was calm, as if nothing happened. but we passed through a landslide before the Guimbal bridge, people tying ropes around the trees, more floody areas, and more landslides on our way to Miagao.
huff! it has been several years since i haven't experienced these scenarios. i didn't miss them at all! but it was nice being saved by my friends' heroes : )
the rain poured yesterday just the way i have gotten used to it for the entire week. i didn't even worry about it, until, after a great bonding moment + dinner with Libet, Janice and Ng Vangie, the wind wildly blew our way as we got out of the Moon Cafe. it was half past 8 already and it was only then that we thought about how difficult it would be for us to commute back to Miami.
and voila! Lilibeth's Knight in a Shiny Car came to save her + us (hehehe) from distress. the side road at the Robinson's place was already starting to disappear from the uprising flood. perfect timing for Gorgonio III.
Iloilo City's road was drowning as we drove off to the south. as we reached the Oton area, the rain, thunder and lightning met us fiercely. Gigi drove slower because it was impossible to see the road ahead (oh, thanks to the local government for not putting on streetlights on the sidewalk). twenty minutes later, a very flooded Guimbal welcomed us. the car's engine started to sound weird and Lilibeth felt the water starting to get in the car.
it was time to call on Ng Vangie's supernman!
Gigi managed to park his car at the hospital. the rain was still at its performance level. while we waited for Nong Dino for about half an hour, Janice amused us with her experiences as a nurse at the hospital, the grumpy chief nurse, mothers giving birth, placenta and the gross facts about delivering a baby.
we battled with the rain again as we got out of Gigi's car and transferred to Nong Dino's car. the moment we were safely seated in superman's life-saving car, the rain stopped and everything was calm, as if nothing happened. but we passed through a landslide before the Guimbal bridge, people tying ropes around the trees, more floody areas, and more landslides on our way to Miagao.
huff! it has been several years since i haven't experienced these scenarios. i didn't miss them at all! but it was nice being saved by my friends' heroes : )
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
now i know
i understand perfectly now why Yvonne is so bemused and in-love with father pedro. he's got a very charming singing voice. at least, that's the one good thing that i found out about the priest.
this is the second wednesday that father toto celebrated the novena mass. and today, he didn't administer the communion. instead, he let the nuns give the body of Christ while he sang "i'm falling deeply in love with you Lord" at the center of the altar.
holy! holy! i don't really "pray" per se during the whole communion time, but that time my knees were nailed to the pew. i bowed my head, closed my eyes and i was lost to the sinewy charm of the priest's voice. i didn't look up until he said "please stand".
*sorry Lord, father toto's voice distracted me to say my prayers*
after the mass, janice and i talked about how wonderful that communion song and how beautiful father toto's voice were. on Janice's part, she really fought hard. she said her prayers louder in her head so that she can actually say her prayers and not just listen to the song. but she ended up saying "hail mary...." when she wasn't even finished with "our father...". in the end, she gave up, took a seat and succumbed to father toto's voice anyway.
whew! i wish i can go to the parish's concert on the 20th of september.
this is the second wednesday that father toto celebrated the novena mass. and today, he didn't administer the communion. instead, he let the nuns give the body of Christ while he sang "i'm falling deeply in love with you Lord" at the center of the altar.
holy! holy! i don't really "pray" per se during the whole communion time, but that time my knees were nailed to the pew. i bowed my head, closed my eyes and i was lost to the sinewy charm of the priest's voice. i didn't look up until he said "please stand".
*sorry Lord, father toto's voice distracted me to say my prayers*
after the mass, janice and i talked about how wonderful that communion song and how beautiful father toto's voice were. on Janice's part, she really fought hard. she said her prayers louder in her head so that she can actually say her prayers and not just listen to the song. but she ended up saying "hail mary...." when she wasn't even finished with "our father...". in the end, she gave up, took a seat and succumbed to father toto's voice anyway.
whew! i wish i can go to the parish's concert on the 20th of september.
my personal shrink
Janice should have been a shrink. she, surely, would have been a renowned one. she's the best listener ever and the source of a bottomless enlightening thoughts. if she were a shrink, i couldn't afford her...imagine how glad i am that she's my friend! :)
our wednesday novena resumed when i got back here last March and i needed prayer warriors to appeal to the greater power to help me pass my UiS application. well, i didn't get in. but my prayer warriors remain. oh, Mabeth left already. so that makes Janice my ultimate prayer warrior.
so, after every novena, we would trace our way to the plaza and choose a bench (most of the time, we'd face Rizal). we'd talk about anything, her tita, her family, her plans, my fears, her Matti, my Pulutong among any other things. we'd talk over a pack of chips, a plastic of peanuts, bowls of batchoy and bottles of softdrinks. other times, we'll take a walk around the gates of the church and when we complete the full circle, we would ask each other "where are we going?" and we'd burst into laughter. even the heavy rain couldn't stop us from hanging around each other a wee moment after every wednesday mass.
the best thing about being with Janice is that she clears my mind from worries, reassures me that things will be fine, and she confirms that i am perfectly normal and that my reactions and feelings are reasonable. she makes me feel better, all the time.
i am so lucky to have a friend and personal shrink rolled into one. it is a great thing to have a friend who has known me since i was 12 and still stuck with me after twenty years. that's Janice S. Mondragon.
p.s. and just as i've published this write-up, i got a message from her. i am the luckiest person ever!
our wednesday novena resumed when i got back here last March and i needed prayer warriors to appeal to the greater power to help me pass my UiS application. well, i didn't get in. but my prayer warriors remain. oh, Mabeth left already. so that makes Janice my ultimate prayer warrior.
so, after every novena, we would trace our way to the plaza and choose a bench (most of the time, we'd face Rizal). we'd talk about anything, her tita, her family, her plans, my fears, her Matti, my Pulutong among any other things. we'd talk over a pack of chips, a plastic of peanuts, bowls of batchoy and bottles of softdrinks. other times, we'll take a walk around the gates of the church and when we complete the full circle, we would ask each other "where are we going?" and we'd burst into laughter. even the heavy rain couldn't stop us from hanging around each other a wee moment after every wednesday mass.
the best thing about being with Janice is that she clears my mind from worries, reassures me that things will be fine, and she confirms that i am perfectly normal and that my reactions and feelings are reasonable. she makes me feel better, all the time.
i am so lucky to have a friend and personal shrink rolled into one. it is a great thing to have a friend who has known me since i was 12 and still stuck with me after twenty years. that's Janice S. Mondragon.
p.s. and just as i've published this write-up, i got a message from her. i am the luckiest person ever!
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Saturday, August 20, 2011
forward it to me...
it is not "destiny" that determines "love".
it is "choice".
our so-called "destiny" is a lie...
relationships last long not because
they're destined to last long.
relationships last long because
two brave people made a choice -
to keep it.
to fight for it
and
to work for it.
meanwhile, other relationships fail
not because they're destined to fail.
they failed because
one of the two,
or both,
made the choice -
to set each other free....
thank you, Arjun, for waking me up with this enlightening thought...
it is "choice".
our so-called "destiny" is a lie...
relationships last long not because
they're destined to last long.
relationships last long because
two brave people made a choice -
to keep it.
to fight for it
and
to work for it.
meanwhile, other relationships fail
not because they're destined to fail.
they failed because
one of the two,
or both,
made the choice -
to set each other free....
thank you, Arjun, for waking me up with this enlightening thought...
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Saturday, August 6, 2011
'tis the season!
mushroom-hunting master Kjersti, hunting buddies Felix and Kuya Oscar, i miss you all so much! i miss our adventures in the forest in search for the biggest steinsopp. 'till the next mushroom season then....(fingers-crossed)
Friday, August 5, 2011
revisiting Verona
I want to feel closer to my Pulutong. Since he's miles away and sleeping right now, i opted to see "Letters to Juliet"...that, at least makes me feel only an hour and a half away from him.
A year ago, i saw this movie and it made me cry. I cried because i felt happy for the wonderful destiny that brought Claire and Lorenzo back into each others arms after five decades. I cried because i thought it was so beautiful for people like Sophie to be passionate about something. I cried for so many reasons.... i pitied myself.
Today, as i revisited Verona, i cried. This time, i cried because i felt happy and grateful. I can relate to the elated feelings of Claire and Sophie. I cried because i'm in-love and i found myself a great man to love. I cried because after so many years of searching, looking and tossing all sides and possibilities of this crazy little thing called love, i have finally found my soulmate. The "one" who makes my world go round, the most sensitive person i have ever known, the man who never gives up on me no matter how stubborn and annoying i can get, the very person who makes me laugh, the Man whom i am going to love for the rest of my life. My Pulutong, My Life, My One, My Everything.
In the later part of the movie, Claire read "Juliet's" response to her 50-year old letter. It said:
Dear Claire,
"What" and "If" are two words as non-threatening as words can be. But put them together side-by-side and they have the power to haunt you for the rest of your life: What if? What if? What if? I don't know how your story ended but if what you felt then was true love, then it's never too late. If it was true then, why wouldn't it be true now? You need only the courage to follow your heart. I don't know what a love like Juliet's feels like - love to leave loved ones for, love to cross oceans for but I'd like to believe if I ever were to feel it, that I will have the courage to seize it. And, Claire, if you didn't, I hope one day that you will.
All my love,
Juliet
i am seizing that feeling now. i am ready to face the consequences. i am in-love and i have the courage to follow my heart.
p.s. sometimes, I still ask myself, what if? What if i missed the pleasure of meeting Pulutong in this lifetime. Oh, believe me, it's unimaginable. I cannot see myself without him. He has become a part of me now and i couldn't think of me without him anymore.
A year ago, i saw this movie and it made me cry. I cried because i felt happy for the wonderful destiny that brought Claire and Lorenzo back into each others arms after five decades. I cried because i thought it was so beautiful for people like Sophie to be passionate about something. I cried for so many reasons.... i pitied myself.
Today, as i revisited Verona, i cried. This time, i cried because i felt happy and grateful. I can relate to the elated feelings of Claire and Sophie. I cried because i'm in-love and i found myself a great man to love. I cried because after so many years of searching, looking and tossing all sides and possibilities of this crazy little thing called love, i have finally found my soulmate. The "one" who makes my world go round, the most sensitive person i have ever known, the man who never gives up on me no matter how stubborn and annoying i can get, the very person who makes me laugh, the Man whom i am going to love for the rest of my life. My Pulutong, My Life, My One, My Everything.
In the later part of the movie, Claire read "Juliet's" response to her 50-year old letter. It said:
Dear Claire,
"What" and "If" are two words as non-threatening as words can be. But put them together side-by-side and they have the power to haunt you for the rest of your life: What if? What if? What if? I don't know how your story ended but if what you felt then was true love, then it's never too late. If it was true then, why wouldn't it be true now? You need only the courage to follow your heart. I don't know what a love like Juliet's feels like - love to leave loved ones for, love to cross oceans for but I'd like to believe if I ever were to feel it, that I will have the courage to seize it. And, Claire, if you didn't, I hope one day that you will.
All my love,
Juliet
i am seizing that feeling now. i am ready to face the consequences. i am in-love and i have the courage to follow my heart.
p.s. sometimes, I still ask myself, what if? What if i missed the pleasure of meeting Pulutong in this lifetime. Oh, believe me, it's unimaginable. I cannot see myself without him. He has become a part of me now and i couldn't think of me without him anymore.
Monday, August 1, 2011
perturbed and disturbed
infidelity is the cruelest thing that a man can do to his wife. if it will ever happen to me, it will take me long long time to forgive and forget.
ironically enough, i have been a witness to a close friend's outburst when she found out that her husband cheated on her and after a couple of years of not communicating to her, she found out that he has three kids with a different woman. how do you console a friend who is suffering from an indescribable pain? i did the least thing that one can offer to a friend...i stayed beside her and listened to the things that she wanted to say, hugged her when she cried, held her hand and tried to say consoling words, which she might have never listened to anyway.
what would you do when you hear the same dilemma from your own mother? and you see her cry her heart out?
the first thing that i wanted to do was run away. i wish that i heard her wrong. i wish that it was just another nightmare. i had the urge to bump my head on the wall so that i'd wake up from that very bad dream. but it was all real. what would you do when things go wrong?
for the so many times that i didn't stand up for my mom, i want to make it up with her now. i'll help her move on and find her peace of mind.
ironically enough, i have been a witness to a close friend's outburst when she found out that her husband cheated on her and after a couple of years of not communicating to her, she found out that he has three kids with a different woman. how do you console a friend who is suffering from an indescribable pain? i did the least thing that one can offer to a friend...i stayed beside her and listened to the things that she wanted to say, hugged her when she cried, held her hand and tried to say consoling words, which she might have never listened to anyway.
what would you do when you hear the same dilemma from your own mother? and you see her cry her heart out?
the first thing that i wanted to do was run away. i wish that i heard her wrong. i wish that it was just another nightmare. i had the urge to bump my head on the wall so that i'd wake up from that very bad dream. but it was all real. what would you do when things go wrong?
for the so many times that i didn't stand up for my mom, i want to make it up with her now. i'll help her move on and find her peace of mind.
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