Bad Times, Good Times

For the last two weeks, I’ve been suffering again, as always every year, clogged nostrils and sticky phlegm, coupled with pre-menstrual syndrome, annoying headache and a thing that comes out of the lid of my right eye due to over smoking and unhealthy lifestyle, I guess. I decided not to take medication (aside from the Vitamin C) since it’s not getting worse anyway and that I know drinking water and eating the right things would be sufficient to make it go away. But it’s not, unfortunately. The aircon and the fan pisses me off, I go to bed as early as possible and then in the morning, its takes a lot of effort to move my ass and go to work. These, I believe are the bad times.. Bad days, when you need passion for work, but you fake the smile, and you do your best knowing that hell, it was just your problem.. Blah blah.

Good thing, after months of not-seeing-each other, I met my friend last Thursday, who turned a year older last Sept 25. It feels good in a way to have someone hear (not listen) to my rants knowing he’s not capable of giving empathy. But it was the same pleasant feeling way back in college that I talk most of the time, and he gives me that mocking grin, and off we go, knowing that we will meet again after some time.

For this week, I should say, after all the physical inconveniences, the new demands from people I’m working with, I wanted to stay positive and to free myself from the unnecessary distractions.

Parting Poem

Yesterday, my Boss (who is about to leave the country in a few days time) gave me a book, handwritten on the title page is this poem by Rainer Maria Rilke, he said that it suits me somehow. It’s true. I was teary eyed when I finished reading it the first time.

At first, I thought I was cynical because of the title , with the word ‘God’ – which is commonly interpreted as a Supreme Being overseeing and watching us all, checking if we are either doing good or bad, but in this poem, it shows the ‘God’ that is not placed in religions.

God Speaks To Each Of Us

God speaks to each of us before we are,
Before he's formed us — then, in cloudy speech,
But only then, he speaks these words to each
And silently walks with us from the dark:

Driven by your senses, dare
To the edge of longing. Grow
Like a fire's shadow casting glare
Behind assembled things, so you can spread
Their shapes on me as clothes.
Don't leave me bare.

Let it all happen to you: beauty and dread.
Simply go — no feeling is too much —
And only this way can we stay in touch.

Near here is the land
That they call Life.
You'll know when you arrive
By how real it is.

Give me your hand.

And today, 17^th September, is my Boss’ birthday.

‘De Mi Jardin’ By Jose Palma (1876-1903)

I came across this poem while being irritated that the last trip of the ferry boat going to Hulo Station left already, I had no choice but to take the LRT and MRT, and suffer from the buzzing crowd. And there, inside the train, I saw it, haunting and sad..

Me pide sampaguitas, no te envio

Porque al ir a cortarlas de la rama,

Senti temblar mis manos y mi pecho

       prensado por la lastima.

No quiero que padezcan esas flores,

Como padece, lejos de ti, mi alma;

No quiero que al contacto de mis manos,

          perezcan marachitadas.

Translation in Tagalog:

Humingi ka ng mga sampaguita...Di kita bibigyan,
Dahil nang puputulin ko na sa mga sanga'y
Nanginig ang aking kamay at ang dibdib ko'y
Nanikip dahil sa awa.

Ayokong magdusa ang mga bulaklak na iyon,
Gaya ng pagdurusa ng puso kong malayo sa iyo;
Ayokong sa sandaling hawakan ng aking kamay,

Iya'y malanta at mamatay.

Some Thoughts

Just started a new responsibility in the department I'm in, but I still cant feel the extreme excitement I have been waiting for. To kill time, I have read some articles about the previous disasters that happened in the US, Aceh of Indonesia (Tsunami), etc. Its not too much, I need more information. My assignment in Operations Center last Tuesday was great, in a way, it's always exciting the first time. But when calls come in about some emergency, there goes the rush of the blood, and the sense of urgency to decide on what to do next.

Things are still slow..

 

Puerto Galera July 16-18, 2010

Philippine/German Red Cross Pix

Getting emotional over Edward Bellamy's 'Looking Backward'. Huhuhuhuh..

ECHO Ladies' Visit Feb16-19, 2010

Music 21 Nite Out

Right after the ECHO Ladies' Visit. Fun! Date: Feb. 19, 2010. And then Marky's Bday the night after.

GRC Field Visit

Spent the whole week going around four provinces of Luzon - Pangasinan, Zambales, La Union and Benguet. We were with GRC delegates, Sir Mark Hofmann and Sir Joerg Fischer (they prefer to be called only by their first names), Sir Miguel from Spanish Red Cross and Sir Hans from Swiss Red Cross. At first, well, some of us, since it's a whole new experience for us, quoting Joerg's description - we were like chickens, running after whatever the Chapter people want us to see, and then finally, we got the whole picture of it.

For the three of us, Marion, Ana and me, we had a great time, the Chapter people are very welcoming, although in some instances, we wanted to know more, but I guess the information given is sufficient enough for us.

Had some few drinks, and clumsy Ana rolled in the beach of Zambales, after spilling about five glasses of her punch. Marion, had enough beer, and still careful about things. For me, I just maximized the time having chat with my new Boss - Joerg, and Sir Mark as well. This is the start of a whole new batch of 'workloads' (haha..), a united team, and most importantly, a successful project for the beneficiaries.

First week of February - seems like the first day of the rest of my life.. Whew!

CNS Homecoming

Held last January 30, 2010 - Saturday night. Its good to see old comrades, people I havent seen for a long time.. I was expecting more would come. Anyways, it feels good to remember how we once loved this org during college days, and how we still appreciate CNS up to now (like a cult.. haha). Despite time, we are still what we are, friends and orgmates, we will always be.

Sensya kase antagal bago ko na-upload lahat ng pix, original resolutions kase tong mga to, hindi ko na naresize. Bagal pa ng broadband, kainis. Well, enjoy the pix!

Holiday Season Vacation Shots

Baguio New Year

The first month of the year is almost over and its just now that I had the time to post these pix. It was a cold new year for our family. What's memorable for me during our stay in Baguio is that we were able to watch from the balcony of the house that we rented the spectacular fireworks of the residents of Baguio. It was like a Star Wars film, it's amazing...

DMS - GRC Xmas Shots

My new family at PNRC, shots taken during Xmas Party

Surprising December

What can I say? December is full of surprises, at least the first two weeks. My grandma's 77th birthday was celebrated together with her sisters, Apong Rosing, who just came from the US and Apong Inyang (been living in the US since then and is here for the meantime). Pix below (I dont have Apong Inyang with them though). Time passes quickly for my lolas and its so nice seeing them all together again.

And then, come Dec. 7, I received a call from German Red Cross advising me that my application was accepted. It was totally unexpected! The National Headquarters is located at Port Area, Manila so I was so fortunate to figure out that our apartment was very near the Hulo Ferry Station! So I dont need to go through the hassles of commuting via LRT and MRT just to get there! Pix below while I'm waiting for the boat to come:

And pix below with my GRC teammates, Marion Guillermo - my buddy, Anna Mariquina, Floyd, Disaster Management Team, Rhia Bartolo, Ate Karen, Kuya Borg, and Ate Resti!

I hope to post pics of my Boss, Ma'am Katja and Sir Dither soon! Its all fun! Fun! And then Willy came from Brazil Dec. 13 losing five pounds (he wasnt able to enjoy the food there, that's why). I missed him a lot.

Aurora Shots

Shots in Aurora while on vacation. These are pictures taken from the beach, Baler Museum, and Pantabangan Dam. The painting of the Baler Church is what I love best.

Cat Reposted

Reposted due to tech issues: My unnamed cat is dead.

She was brought to the house by my brother Arjay as a gift on my birthday, October 22 ’09, and then she died yesterday November 16 ’09. My father said it was Dagul’s (dog) fault, he kept on teasing her, biting her until she can’t take it anymore, she died of exhaustion! Waaaahhh.. What a stupid death. I can’t believe I lost her like that, they should have taken her to my Inay’s house to be well taken cared of. Below are our pictures, that lazy cat, I miss her so much. Dagul's pictures with Willy are also included.

One Hundred Years of Solitude

Rating:	★★★
Category:	Books
Genre:	Literature & Fiction
Author:	Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Quoting Jonathan Bate of Sunday Telegraph

THE New York Times described Gabriel García Márquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967) as "the first piece of literature since the Book of Genesis that should be required reading for the entire human race." This is the most ludicrous gesture of literary hype I have ever encountered. Required reading? The book is so in love with its own cleverness that it is profoundly unreadable. It is generally credited with inaugurating the genre of "magic realism" novels which combine the matter-of-fact narrative style of conventional realistic fiction with fantastic nonsense such as levitation and alchemy. García Márquez is at his most characteristic when a woman ascends to heaven whilst hanging her washing out on the line. Other ingredients of magic realism include gypsies, tarts with hearts, dwarves, tricksters and a cast so large and confusing that you need a family tree to keep track of the plot. Márquez and his followers are sophisticated urban intellectuals who feign reverence for the simple wisdom of peasants. Myth, fairytale and folklore are wonderful things in themselves, but it is preposterous to imagine that mingling them with domestic mundanity will somehow puncture the bourgeois complacency of our time.

Let us hope that One Hundred Years of Solitude will not generate one hundred years of overwritten, overlong, overrated novels. Enough that it has already inspired such excrescences as Angela Carter's Nights at the Circus and Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children.

1999 © Telegraph Group Limited

+++ I havent finished the book yet, two more chapters to go. The review above says exactly what I feel about the book. Although, I did enjoy his narrative style in the beginning, it's like my grandmother telling a tale with no end nor purpose, until I fall asleep. I do believe that there is a political side to this novel, the portrayal of murder of the workers, and capitalism's form of repression, but I havent read any victory of the lower class yet, or the Buendia Family, or maybe, they are bound to be losers anyways.

'Love in the Time of Cholera' is a different story though, i'll give it a 5. Happy!

Final Week of November 2009

I spent almost the whole week doing errands for the new NGO that I just recently joined – Unang Hakbang Foundation. For four days of working with Ate Merli, Mark, Mylene, and Ma’am Olie, I have observed the great differences between my past job (Call Center) and this new challenge. In this kind of job, work and life is the same, whereas in most jobs, work is separated from ‘life/ social life’.

I haven’t done much this week for the NGO though. I only updated the books of accounts, explored the two learning centers here in Mandaluyong, chatted with my colleagues, tried to adapt to this new type of work environment. I also watched them bake cookies for the fair, and being a lover of anything sweet, i can say that it’s really worth it buying those chewy cookies! They sell it for Php15/ cookie, in case you have some orders, they can definitely do it for you. In the future, I might be able to help bake the cookies, for now, I’m just an onlooker. The beneficiaries of UHF are also doing calendars for 2010 for sale on next month’s Bazaar. Below are pix of the cookies:

Then come weekend, a long weekend, Willy invited us for an impromptu visit to Baguio.