Chika nga lang…

Reading a friend’s blog (yes Ruth.. i’m referring to yours ), I was reminded of this poem that made an impression when I was in my college days. Bakit nga ba? Di naman ako profound and I specially don’t know how to interpret meanings behind poems.. pero just the same, I liked the way it sounded.  This doesn’t mean na nakikinig ako kay Dean D when she was discussing her lectures on Philippine literature, ha..

I was trying to remember what the poem was since Ruth can’t put a name behind my ramblings on "burning at stake" (he left him aureoled in flame pala) chuva.. so here it goes.. by the way, di pala si Dean may gawa nito..

It was a sacrilege, the neighbors cried,
The way she shattered every mullioned pane
To let a firebrand in. They tried in vain
To understand how one so carved from pride
And glassed in dream could have so flung aside
Her graven days, or why she dared profane
The bread and wine of life for some insane
Moment with him. The scandal never died.

But no one guessed that loveliness would claim
Her soul's cathedral burned by his desires
Or that he left her aureoled in flame…
And seeing nothing but her blackened spires,
The town condemned this girl who loved too well
and found her heaven in the depths of hell.

                       -Soledad-

		Angela Manalang Gloria

isa pa ha.. i also like this one.. 

I shall haunt you, O my lost one, as the twilight

            Haunts a grieving bamboo trail,

And your dreams will linger strangely with the music

            Of a phantom lover’s tale

You shall not forget, for I am past forgetting

            I shall come to you again

With the starlight, and the scent of wild champakas,

            And the melody of rain.

You shall not forget. Dusk will peer into your

            Window, tragic-eyed and still,

And unbidden startle you into remembrance

            With its hand upon the sill.

                                    -To a Lost One-

                              Angela Manalang Gloria

To all my Journ classmates: Don’t you miss the days when we had our class in the AV Room tapos call parati ni Dean si Toteng for recitation? nyahha.. wala lang.. ;p

This happens to be my blog so I could write anything I like, right? For my friendster friends who haven’t yet discovered the real me, aaminin ko na.. yes, jologs po ako.. ayoko ng magkunwari.. gusto ko ng magpakatotoo.. nyahhahhaha..

And I really can’t contain my excitement, so I’m posting my recent adventure in meeting Lee Dong Gun in person (sa mga di nakakaalm.. sya si Martin sa Lovers in Paris.. ;p)

We were in Dusit Hotel yesterday on the off chance na we could meet "ajushi" in person. We were tipped off about a scheduled press conference at GMA, 7 pm, so we decided to go to his hotel. Voila! Around 6 pm, we saw him getting food sa buffet. pasok sana kami sa loob ng restaurant para umorder pero we were thinking na baka lumabas din sya agad at sayang yong food namin (actually, nagkukuiripot lang kami.. hehhehhe)..

While we were waiting for him outside (we were practically outside the resto’s glass door), nagulat na lang kami when we saw him exit.. grabe!! face to face ito.. kulang na lang lips to lips…hahhahah.. caught unexpected ang mga lola nyo.. (tumulo laway ni Aileen. si Pao naman napipi..) I did nothing but stare at him and say HI! nagbow sya to acknowledge the greeting.. naks.. may moment din ako.. wahahaha..

Ang guwapo.. all smiles talaga.. a girl attempted to shake his hands and he accomodated.. sayang hindi kami nagkalakas loob gawin yon nung kaharap pa namin sya.. anyways, seeing him in person and being able to take his pic personally (ay.. di pala ako kumuha non.. dahil sa taranta humina reflexes ko di ko napindot ng mabilis yong phone ko.. pinasa lang sakin sa bluetooth…) was heaven enough for us..

We waited at the lobby for another 15 minutes hoping to see him get out of the hotel for the presscon.. (If not, mamatay si Iel sa inggit.. takbuhin ba naman ang Buendia hanggang Ayala para lang makita si LDG.. hinihingal pa yan pagdating ng Dusit) Wagi pa rin!!! We saw him.. change outfit naman (ajushi-look in sweet 18 ang porma nya.. nakasuit.. ang gwapo).. ang swerte ni Dee kasi nakahabol sya and he also saw him in person..

So pinanindigan na namin ang pagkafan and we followed him to his limo. When he saw fans requesting to see more of him (tinted kasi yong car e), he rolled down his window and flashed his trademark brilliant smile.. waaahahaha.. a girl even dared reach for him inside the car..ay, tasteless yon.. sport na nga sya when he accomodated us to see him.. eto naman isa hablot ang ginawa.. sabagay, maybe she was just so overwhelmed, naexcite kaya ganun ang ginawa (kung si Sangwoo aka "Cholo" yon, baka tinalon ko na at umangkla nako sa kanya.. bwahahha)

Overall, exciting pala talaga mangstalk..hahhaha.. Next time uli!!! Ayan may practice na kami.. Dapat pag si Kwon Sang Woo at Rain na all out ang effort.. as in todo!!

Sara, Kaye, Jen… wag na kayo masyado magluksa.. may bukas pa… karirin natin ang pang-iistalk.. This time, di na kasama si Selle… sya naman mamatay sa inggit.. yay… jologs natin.. hehhehee..

Proof na nakita namin si LDG.. taken from a camera phone..  ang labo no? hahhahha…

Two weeks of planning and it all came to waste. It seems like Selle has smelt something fishy and decided to plead overtime so she can’t come to her own despedida… grrrr…

Being a certified "manang", we’ve thought of several ways to torture her and Sara, Jen and Iel (not me.. hehhhe) came up with the best plan ever — hire a stripper.. We can just imagine how she would react as one hot male seductivey gyrates in front of her.. bwahhaaha.. We even plan to tie her up in a chair, para walang ligtas..

The venue was set, even the stripper’s contact number saved in our phonebook — a call away for an appointment. Several friends have agreed to show up (mga sadista.. they wouldn’t pass up the chance seing Selle’s reaction..nyahhaha.. or is it because they want to see the stripper perform live?!) but the celebrator has become so elusive.. Di daw sya pwede ng ganun date as she would be busy rolling out a system sa office nila..

So we end up having dinner at North Park, Glorietta. Of course, topic was mainly of our missed opportunity seeing Sebastian, the Hot Hunk, gyrate (with the whipped cream, and all) to the tune of South Border’s "Ikaw Lang".. hahahhaha.. Jen even wanted to get married soon so she could have her excuse to hold her own shower party..

Sayang talaga.. It would have been a first sana.. hahhahahha.. panghinayangan ba daw..

Nga pala, I’m supposed to dedicate this blog entry to my dearest friend Selle (na-divert lang attention ko kay Sebastian) who would soon be leaving for Singapore. I’ve been pestering for some time already, kasi sayang ang talent nya (naks, parang meron.. hehheheh..) Now that she’s finally leaving. she can earn big bucks and be generous enough to friends she left behind.. hhahahha.. may ulterior motive pala ang pag-udyok ko sayong mangibang bansa no?!

Ajumma! Mamimiss kita.. huhuhuhuu..

(Moi, Selle and Kaye sans Sebastian.. tsk.. tsk.. tsk..)

(Iel and Emily)

(Nancy, Sara and jen.. all smiles sa kodakan..)

(The sisterettes Stef and Angie with Jen.. dami mong exposure a..)

I was waiting for my dad to drive me to the office.. I’m all prepared to brave the traffic jam when he told me that he’d be going to Fairview area and he could drop me off UP Diliman.. Anyways, as I was waiting for him, I tried channel surfing on the local station and came upon this MTV recording of DOT’s jingle, "Halika, Biyahe Tayo".

I first came upon this song during a PAL plane take off (ironically, it was an international flight, unlike a local travel that the song was endorsing.. hehhehe..) and I was really impressed with the artists’ delivery, I had goosebumps all over.

The song noted all the beautiful tourists spots and local festivities in the country: Intramuros, Luneta, Vigan, Batanes, Subic, Baguio, Palawan, Boracay, La Union, Pahiyas, Masskara, Ati-Atihan, Kadayawan, atbp.. ang dami.. It was a showcase of everything that’s good in the Philippines and more.. Sobrang nakakaenganyo, you’d really want to tour the country..

                                       As it enumerates the Philippines’ beauty, I can’t help but be proud that I am a Filipino. Sense of nationalism is imbibed as one watches the video — a wake-up call for everyone who’s getting tired of all the political booboos in the country.

Truly, the Philippines is gifted: beautiful secenery, friendly people. It still remains a puzzle to me why we lag behind neighboring countries, in terms of economic growth. I guess too much politics and "kanya-kanya" is catching up on all of us..

I just wish that for a minute these politicians would stop thinking about their own interests and get serious with their jobs. Sayang naman ang ganda ng Pilipinas kung di tayo magmo-move forward..

BIYAHE TAYO
Various OPM Artists

Ikaw ba’y nalulungkot
Naiinip, nababagot?
Ikaw ba’y napapagod
Araw gabi’y puro kayod?

Buhay mo ba’y walang saysay
Walang sigla, walang kulay?
Bawa’t araw ba’y pareho
Parang walang pagbabago?

Tara na, biyahe tayo
Kasama ang pamilya
Barkada at buong grupo
Para mag-enjoy nang todo.

Halika, biyahe tayo,
Nang ating makita
Ang ganda ng Pilipinas
Ang galing ng Pilipino.

Napasyal ka na ba
Sa Intramuros at Luneta
Palawan, Vigan at Batanes
Subic, Baguio at Rice Terraces?

Namasdan mo na ba
Ang mga vinta ng Zamboanga
Bulkang Taal, Bulkang Mayon
Beach ng Boracay at La Union?

Tara na, biyahe tayo
Mula Basco hanggang Jolo
Nang makilala ng husto
Ang ating kapwa-Pilipino.

Halika, biyahe tayo,
Nang ating makita
Ang ganda ng Pilipinas
Ang galing ng Pilipino.

From city to city,
Seven thousand and a hundred plus islas
Sa mahal kong Pilipinas
Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao ating puntahan.
Huwag maging dayuhan sa sariling bayan!

Nasubukan mo na bang
Mag-rapids sa Pagsanjan
Mag-diving sa Anilao
Mag-surfing sa Siargao?

Natikman mo na ba
Ang sisig ng Pampanga
Duriang Davao, Bangus Dagupan
Bicol Express at Lechong Balayan?

Tara na, biyahe tayo,
Nang makatulong kahit pano
Sa pag-unlad ng kabuhayan
Ng ating mga kababayan.

Halika, biyahe tayo,
Nang ating makita
Ang ganda ng Pilipinas
Ang galing ng Pilipino.

Nakisaya ka na ba
Sa Pahiyas at Masskara
Moriones at Ati-Atihan
Sinulog at Kadayawan?

Namiesta ka na ba
Sa Peñafrancia sa Naga
Umakyat sa Antipolo
Nagsayaw sa Obando?

Tara na, biyahe tayo
Upang ating matamo
Ligaya at pagkakaibigan
Kaunlaran, kapayapaan.

Halika, biyahe tayo,
Nang ating makita
Ang ganda ng Pilipinas
Ang galing ng Pilipino.

Tara na, biyahe tayo
Upang ating matamo
Ligaya at pagkakaibigan
Kaunlaran, kapayapaan.

Halika, biyahe tayo
Nang ating makita
Ang ganda ng Pilipinas
Ang galing ng Pilipino.

Halika, biyahe tayo…
WOW Philippines…

Watching "Jessica" at Kapuso the other night brought back memories of my days in Seoul, Korea. The TV show clearly depicted several Sundays of what Armi and I experienced when we had our stint, selling telephone prepaid cards to Pinoys in Hyewa Dong church. (grabe.. ngayon alam na namin ang feeling ng mga sampaguita vendors sa simbahan pag linggo.. nyahahha.. kakaiba talaga ang experience ng mangibang bansa..i’ll talk about it on my future post )

The mecca of Pinoy goods in Seoul, the place sports Filipino delicacies (suman, palabok, lugaw etc..) and products (Likas papaya, chocnut, Tortillos, atbp..) It’s a virtual Quiapo as pirated CDs and DVDs could be seen at each nook and cranny of the whole avenue..

Filipino TNTs (tago ng tago), tourists, OFWs.. Hyewa Dong is a magnet for all our kababayans.. E ma-miss mo lang ang Pinas, punta ka dito and you’ll be transported back to our country.. Pano yan, Seoul naman miss ko? Punta na lang sa Korean Town sa Makati Ave., dodong..

Mga turista ng Seoul:

Project sa Chosun Dynasty Palace..

Changing of Guards.. siempre project pa rin ang mga halmoeni..

It was Friday afternoon and I was not looking forward to it.. I was on the dumps yesterday for no apparent reason. Wala lang.. I would have wanted to meet my friends but it looked like everybody was busy (heheheh.. aileen, muriel, selle.. kinukonsensya ko kayo.. ) Riding the MRT, I was pleasantly surprised when Ruth texted me and asked if it was ok to meet up at Megamall.. Siempre go ako.. I’m expecting to be coop up at home the whole weekend and I wanted to just hang-out with friends muna on a Friday night..

Sitting near the glass window of McDonald’s, I began my habit of people watching.. A girl mumbling something while texting as she waits for her boyfriend who was late in coming.. A couple walking hand in hand as the guy steals a quick kiss on her girl.. A yaya feeding her "alaga" hamburger which she just bought from the fastfood.. A group of students walking, probably on their way home from school.. Different people.. different lives.. some were happy.. some were sad.. (hahahha.. ang corny.. sorry ha.. walang masulat e..)

One may be faced with a difficult situation at a time..but the fact is.. each individual have their own lives to live and issues to delve with.. you are not alone in the world.. i am not alone in this drama called life..

People watching.. it’s really an eye opener.. When you thought you’re the only one who’s experiencing life.. you see people getting on with their lives..

Teka.. nasan na nga ba si Ruth? Late ata.. ayon na pala.. tara let’s eat that hamburger and fries, I was suddenly craving for..