"Nasaan Ka Nung Unang Edsa Revolution?"

I was in Grade I. A turbulent year for me as I have remembered it so well. I did not want to go to school that year and I was eight years old, one year older than the normal first grader. I wanted to go to the city where we had a new house back then. I remembered how my mother got angry with me since I did not want to go to school and I was late in the normal years of schooling. Eventually I got in. I remembered Ma'am Nini and Ma'am Sabellano in my Grade I year. 

And the revolution came out. I had the slightest idea of what was happening back then. Honasan, Ramos and Enrile were broadcasted over DZRH and how they made history on that fateful days of February. I remembered songs like " Magkaisa" and  "Handog Ng Pilipino Sa Mundo" kept on playing on the radio while the spirit of freedom lingers all over the country. 

And after 27 years what have come after the revolution is nothing but a country so desperate to get out of the third world arena while younger generation does not know or does not have the slightest hint why they do not have schooling today. 

Revolution forgotten. Remembered yet forgotten.

"Pasalubong"

Oftentimes when we go out and someone from the family does not make it for some reasons, we take out some food to bring them some happiness..and yesterday my Kuya with her cute daughter Dada visited us so we strolled around SM with some of my pamangkins..and Limuel aka Bambi was missing..He was at the Church doing some "altar boy" duties..and so with the pasalubong ng bayan Jollibee we came home with the right package..

Happy Birthday KC

To all the millions of fans out there let us greet our "demi-god" Kurt Cobain, the songwriter and lead vocals of the band Nirvana, a HAPPY BIRTHDAY! and thank you for all the inspirations and the changes you have impacted on millions of youth on the "turbulent" 90's. You will be forever be remembered as one of the most famous icon of all time. Though you have departed a long time ago ( 1994 I guess via suicide) we will forever be grateful that once in our life Kurt Cobain has lived and will live forever!

Beer And Lots of Conversations

 And thank you Ryan Cruz for a wonderful night at Sawali....lots of food, beer and fun and of course some nasty conversations hahahahaha!! boy's talk at its best..Happy birthday again and thank you..with Japs, Jayson, Sonny, Leonard, me and of course Ryan..next time will be your marriage hehehe!!

Ina, Kapatid, Anak and Me

My name is Carlo. Nevermind my surname. I am one of those person just like you and me has work and continue to work to make both ends meet. Living in the third world country like the Philippines our beloved country makes us sick if not insane. You can see in everyday news the dirty politics, the political dynasties that even China will be ashamed of. What a life in this country! However how bad the situation is, we still here and still waiting and hoping for some changes.

And my friend in high school once asked me "pare bakit andiyan ka pa rin sa kompanya ninyo eh ang laki ng mundo? the greener pasture is right at the exit of your company..believe me..". And yes he is right. He was once a bored employee just like me and then creatively got out of the company and flew abroad in Singapore. And look at him now. Two cars, nice house, a family. Sustainable career. And look at me. I often wonder at myself why  I am still here. I often tried to answer such question. Or maybe I am not ready to leave my comfort zone. A zone of battle of the insane in which I belong now.

And for several seconds her cellphone is ringing. She should answer it. Janice should answer my call. She is calling me two weeks ago but it was only yesterday that I have known since I am not using my other cellphone that much. For emergency purposes only. And on the nth ring she answered it with her not so alive voice. She is in pain once again. A pain with not to do with more of physical pain but pain of her spirit. She was shuttered once again. "Pards musta na" as we often called ourselves as "pards". " Ok naman ako dito, napatawag ka pala nung sang linggo di ko naman nasasagot", as I tried to reach for her weary soul. I know for sure that from voice alone that someone is having a not so good condition at the very moment. I know that she is suffering. And she is in a distant so far that only our cellphone is the link to each other. She is in Mindanao. Fate had brought her to the promise land of Davao City and on the first few years of stay there she was A-OK. Even with her husband. I even manage to visit there a couple of years ago. And she was so fine. Living a dream-like scenario though that time she was still recovering from her husband's  brutal and shaky relationship. And she ended the years of agony and sorrow from supposedly the foundation of her family. Her husband is the epitome of the worst nightmare of every wife can be. And thank God she was over it.

And now another storm is passing Davao City and together with that another trials in Janice's life is unfolding. Her business which was partially given to her by her brother was in a very bad condition that she was kicked-out literally and with no husband to rely on ( well she said "mas mabuti pa ngang wala siya at pabigat lang lalo siya sa buhay namin) and no business to sustain their everyday needs she asked for our help. And we tried. We tried to send her financial assistance though we believe it is never enough. And her mother had said to her that they should come back to Batangas as soon as possible.

With assuring voice and advice I calm her down. She was totally depressed and she said some details of her miseries that she linger on for the past few months. Her trusted brother was some the reason of some sort of her situation now. " mas mabuti pa nga kayo at tinutulungan ninyo ako pero yung kuya ko siya pa yung nagdidiin sa akin sa mga nangyari sa business nila, hindi ko naman lahat yun kasalanan.." as she told me with shaky voice over the cellphone.

And now I have take a deep breath that life indeed is a mystery that those near to us personally are the ones who hurt us the most. Those family of her that supposedly protect and guard her are the one who makes her life more difficult. Thanks God she still have her mother and sister here in Batangas that she can go home with. And of course we are here as her friends waiting for her and willing to lend whatever assistance we could give.

Her story as the daughter, with her sibling and mother reminds me of other families that somehow misguided and battle each other just because of pride and money and others etcetera etcetera that on deeper thinking they should be the one that should first help one another.

Life indeed is not thicker by the blood but by interest.

A Father And A Lost Woman

I am talking about two stories. Two fathers one in each story and a lost woman in one story. A movie. More or less. A weekend of doing nothing but eat and drink and watch movies. And lots of sleep.

With the fifth installment of Die Hard I can assure you that it is worth your hundred bucks. An action-packed movie with some dramatic content along the story of a father and son and the usual Bruce Willis' dialogue makes the movie not only worthwhile to watch but be amazed at how those ammunition and fire power got on the entire run of the film. You can never be wrong that Die Hard really does not disappoint its moviegoers that mostly comprised of not so young individuals like me. Maybe we really cannot moved on with our hang-over with the four previous Die Hard franchise.

And another one which eat up my afternoon yesterday was the Nicholas Spark's adaptation into film of his work Safe Haven. The usual Sparks's love story; so simple yet so true-to-life. And we do not need such hard thinking and interpretation to appreciate the movie but just relax and enjoy the simple yet moving dramatization with such very good cinematography against the country-side background. A Sparks' trademark. Though it is not really that hard to absorb the story, somehow it will remind us that indeed LOVE is all we need and only LOVE is the safe haven on this turbulent times and place.

I know that our roles that we play until the very end will vary upon the situations that we are into. We maybe a son, a mother, a father or anything that this society needs. We maybe just nothing but eventually a SOMETHING/SOMEONE to a particular individual. And with the right timing we could be as ONE. A marriage.

By the way my diet plan was put on hold this weekend or should I say every weekend because of those food I really cannot avoid. Temptations so high I cannot resist but eat a lot!

 Halo halo to welcome the warm summer!

 coffee with my cousins Jephren and Joven..

and my lunch and dinner..lomi and lauriat..heavyweight!

The Road Less Traveled

Almost every week I am on road. I travel. Be on a bus, or from a friend's car I am always on the go. I always feature some restaurants or coffee shops that make the travel and visit a worthwhile endeavor.

And on this summer,if it will push through, we have two major summer route escapade for 2013. The Pinatubo Trekking Adventure and the Boracay Getaway!

I can't wait to see those two wonderful destinations! Yesterday we have booked ourselves for the Pinatubo trekking while on the Boracay exit we are still gathering some cousins and friends to join with us.

And thanks to Google Photos I can have a sneak peak to these two awesome places!

and of course the famous Boracay Island and we will go there via 2Go, a shipping vessel from Batangas City Port to Caticlan.

Inay Conquers Las Vegas

Together with Tita Sol and others my mother went to Las Vegas last January and had some fun looking at those buildings, those casinos, and other variety of sight-seeing extravagant that the City Of Lights has to offer. Though it was much colder there it did not stopped them from going out and see what the city has to offer.

I Quit

And today is Ash Wednesday. Traditionally as a Catholic this is the beginning of the Lenten Season. The start of the day that I quit. We quit. We resign ourselves from the flesh and other worldly things. This is the start of our renewal.

I quit being online always. I quit on attending to some negative vibes. I quit on judging others. I quit on my former self. A renewed one. A born again. In Catholic's faith.

And speaking of Catholicism, the highest designated leader of our Church surprisingly announced yesterday that he will quit. He will retire come the end of this month. A shocking news? Not so. When health is the issue everyone has the obligation and right to quit. How can you serve of  what is expecting of you when your own muscles and bones and brains do not function well? And the Pope chooses his health over the power of continuing the highest position in Catholic Church. In the end he is still human like us capable of vulnerabilities and susceptible to disease. And we respect his decision.

And the race for the next new Pope is on. I have heard from the news that the 116 cardinals all over the world is vying for the position including our very own Cardinal Tagle of the City of Manila. Though he has the rarest chance of becoming a Pope, who knows the votes on conclave will favor him come the second  week of March as the college of Cardinals finally vote for the replacement of our Pope today.

And maybe quitting is not the end. It is the beginning of something new somewhere else.

Likes / Dislikes

Thanks to Facebook that this like/dislike button was invented when you feel something is favoring your taste and dislike if you do not want such kind of thing posted on the net. A shortcut to the unsaid thoughts that by merely clicking the famous icons we can express fully what we wanted to say.

There are also some people and events and places that simply annoy us. They are for some reason give the uncomfortable feeling inside us that eventually turns into something that is unpleasant. And the bottom-line  we do not want such specific instances.

On the brighter side of the coin, there are entities and events that somehow lifted our spirit to a much higher level; a Nirvana.

These are some partial likes and dislikes that I can conclude throughout the years of my existence:

LIKES
1. The David Lettermen Show - though I seldom watch it since I do not have a cable, but thanks to Youtube.

2. Coffee/Coffee shops - this should be on the No.1 spot? these are not arrange orderly, just a random selections.

3. Facebook - why should I put FB on this list? Simply it is MAGIC!

4. Blogging - my favorite pastime.

5. Travelling - far away and returning with lots of stories and people that I have met.

6. Seafoods - if only I could eat them all.

7. Jazz music - to cool and to mellow me down.

8. Sleep - should I put this first or last? I should definitely include this one here.

9. Reading/Writing - I love them both!

10. Talking to hopeful people - Positive vibes recreates positive energy in me.

( this is not yet complete)

DISLIKES 
1. Noisy people on the cinema - I am watching a very good movie then all of a sudden some rude viewers just make some noise by talking so loud and whatever they are doing. So annoying and they are so unethical.

2. People who are wrong opportunists - I have met them on many occasions and I just wish they do not exist at all. But they do. And they thrive mostly succeed. Damn world!

3. Slow internet connection - a self-explanatory and I guess all of us agree unless you are not online frequently.

4. Unlucky Fever - those times that you are so excited about something and you can have them but all of a sudden you have a fever and it is postponed. And your excited died out too. An intervention of God? I do not know.

5. Other people who are so defensive of their own religion - I will not mention INC, Muslims or any other extreme religious groups, but they are so fu**cking fanatic of their own God. Wish them go to He*ll! If they have one!

6. Well I guess this is enough..but by the way those people whom I met and I guess have an authentic friendships with us and to others back then only to find out they are just Not Real and they battled each other. Pathetic. Wish them go away and God knows what I want for them!

Sweets/Heart

And the Love Week is now..Be it platonic, sexual, or whatever love that we have, I just wish a Happy Valentine's to all! Let love reigns! especially God's love which is eternal..

The Fourth

I have seen in the PDI's page that it had released the fourth installment of the popular Youngblood section in the newspaper that narrated the stories of 20-something ( age group) and all their experiences be it bad or good and made it to the broadsheet's opinion page. I have all the three previous release and I am glad that they have the fourth compilation. And upon buying it last night I browsed a few pages when I have my coffee and some articles really struck me once again with such emotionally driven entries. I hope I could read it and finish them all this evening.

Run If You Can!

 Last Saturday I have practiced running..and jogging from our house to SM Batangas..I've got a one and a half hour of intensive running and walking..and my thigh and legs ached..a product of non-regular running..I should run/jog beginning last Saturday..and also in preparation for my very first 5 KM fun run spearheaded by Red Cross..Run to save lives campaign!

with my cousin JB and my MBA classmate Rosemarie from First Gas..

 Got new shoes to encourage me more to run more!

with my office-mates, Bryan, Jaybee and Dong..

Basically I knew now how my classmate Blas aka Titanium Runner feels when he runs. Now I can feel how addictive it is. Now I can say that I want more..and maybe next week I should attend the Philhealth marathon..on the second thought I guess I should rest for awhile..and treat my ailing muscles..with Salonpas hahaha!!and omega pain killer..

Italian Dining At Casa Marikit

You do not have to go far away place just to have such authentic Italian dining experience. Just a thirty-minute ride to Lipa and you can have the delicious pizza and pasta at Casa Marikit. Just near the San Fernando Airbase with its restaurant that really looked like an Italian in exterior and interior, you can never go wrong to have a date or just taste some slice of Italian cuisine. And of course I cannot eat well without my favorite coffee.