We humans are good at burning bridges. It's easy. It's addictive. Pride and arrogance can easily consume us like drugs. When our friends hurt us, we tend to push them away and we always have that desire to escape the relationship. Worst, burning bridges is easy as 1-2-3.
I have burned a lot of bridges myself. I escaped some relationships which are actually the good sorts. I became a selfish, self-righteous, envious monster. Sad, but true. We can all relate to this (I hope I am not alone, haha).
On the other hand, building those burnt bridges again is never easy. It takes a lot of courage and humility to apologize, to say 'hello' and to offer a hand. No matter how hard it could be, let us build them anyway. Relationship matters. Love matters.
***
Filipinos love for the underdogs.
We all heard of the "Amalayer" incident--the furious girl talking and shouting at a lady guard on duty. Filipinos reacted and they were really affected on the issue. It was a trending topic in twitter, facebook and youtube. A crowd of netizens became "haters" of the girl and they have posted harsh words against her and her manners.
After a while, another group of netizens came to the rescue and told them to stop cyber bullying the girl. They told the other group not to judge the actions of the girl because we haven't really seen the whole picture or the story behind it.
One thing I admire about Filipinos is their love for underdogs. Aside from the telenovela culture in which we all love the "bida" and hate the "kontrabida", its innate in us to make "pagtanggol the inaapi". In this case, both the lady guard and the furious girl are standing on the same ground.
Whether you are part of the first crowd or part of the second, a Filipino will never stop caring for others. And that's part of being human. :)
Biyernes, Nobyembre 16, 2012
Lunes, Nobyembre 12, 2012
Huwebes, Nobyembre 8, 2012
Behind Glasses
Here are my shots today, November 8, 2012, using my New Lomo Cam. They were all taken behind a glass--the windshield, a car window, a store window, etc.
One of my personal favorites.
By the way, I lied... I don't have a lomo cam, but I can make things look awesome haha.
Makati City, Philippines.
Makati City, Philippines
The Busy Streets of Makati.
One of my personal favorites. 
This was taken at a Christmas Decor store in Trinoma.
I love the design of the wall.
I am in love with the glass effect. Really Lomo-ish.
Can you see the face of Obama? Congratulations to him.
Rainy day in North Edsa.
By the way, I lied... I don't have a lomo cam, but I can make things look awesome haha.
Martes, Nobyembre 6, 2012
November 6 Field Work
The following pictures were taken during our fieldwork last November 6. We invited some participants for our trade fair this month and other activities.
This picture reminds me of Cambodian art. A bas relief taken from Mary Ann's Handicraft.
Baphomet-ish fiber glass sculpture. Scary, yes!
I think this is the real thing. Brgy. Gandus, Mexico, Pampanga.
Mount Arayat, Arayat, Pampanga
The very heroic dog. Magalang, Pampanga (infront of DAR office)
The mirror house. Ellen's House of Frames and Crafts Showroom. Apalit, Pampanga.
A picture of my shoe inside the mirror show room. Apalit, Pampanga.
Lantern Tour
Christmas is nearing and the Lantern Makers of the province are already "bombarded" with orders from all over the world. It's a good sign. It's their season. It's their time to shine. Get it? Shine? LOL.
Anyway, the task of our department is to provide them with new designs which will be useful after Christmas Season. It's pretty cool, you see. Unfortunately, I cannot post the prototypes developed by these manufacturers. It's a no-no! It's a deadly sin. Haha. Kidding aside, we want to respect the privacy of these manufacturers.
Instead, I will post the behind-the-scenes of one of the factories we are assisting, Rolrens Lanterns and General Merchandise.
Getting up close and being able to see how these lanterns are made is an honor. I am excited this Christmas.
Love Chronicles #2
Our college teachers usually open the class with a prayer. But theology teachers are different. They open the class with a prayer, but they also close it with a prayer. Kailangan yun siguro because of the mere fact that they are theology teachers and its a Catholic School.
One afternoon, my Theo teacher closed the prayer with the shortest prayer I heard. After the usual sign of the cross, she prayed: "God of Love, teach us to love, Amen", then the sign of the cross again. It was short. I don't understand it. I know that length is irrelevant but I grew up in a lengthy-praying family. My mom is a prayerful woman. She prays for ages. So, the 7 word prayer is new to me. She got our attention because of the shortness of the prayer, but not really what the prayer means. I was 15.
After 8 years, the memory of that Theology class and the prayer came back to me. I realized that its not just a 7 word prayer but its a 7 word prayer that we all need to pray. Loving is freakin' hard. It's never an easy task. It's a sacrifice. Gaya nga ng Love Chronicles #1, one takes to be awkward to love. We are given the power to love, but we are incapable to express it for we think that its just an idea. Love hurts. Love entails hardship. Love is sacrifice. We need God to help us love. His love is the perfect example of love.
God of love, teach us to love.
Amen.
One afternoon, my Theo teacher closed the prayer with the shortest prayer I heard. After the usual sign of the cross, she prayed: "God of Love, teach us to love, Amen", then the sign of the cross again. It was short. I don't understand it. I know that length is irrelevant but I grew up in a lengthy-praying family. My mom is a prayerful woman. She prays for ages. So, the 7 word prayer is new to me. She got our attention because of the shortness of the prayer, but not really what the prayer means. I was 15.
After 8 years, the memory of that Theology class and the prayer came back to me. I realized that its not just a 7 word prayer but its a 7 word prayer that we all need to pray. Loving is freakin' hard. It's never an easy task. It's a sacrifice. Gaya nga ng Love Chronicles #1, one takes to be awkward to love. We are given the power to love, but we are incapable to express it for we think that its just an idea. Love hurts. Love entails hardship. Love is sacrifice. We need God to help us love. His love is the perfect example of love.
God of love, teach us to love.
Amen.
Love Chronicles #1
Let me write may first tagalog-english post. iakakapagad mag English, nakaka nosebleed. Anyway, this is a collection of love-related stories and sabe nila, Love can be expressed in many language.
This "love chronicles" is my daily observation about how good people are and how love is present everywhere. So in short, this is all about LOVE.
This "love chronicles" is my daily observation about how good people are and how love is present everywhere. So in short, this is all about LOVE.
***
It was 7am. I arrived an hour before our first subject. I was a freshman in college. Before my classmates arrived, I placed a smiley pin on each desk, 40 of them. I told myself that I will make this batch happy, so I did some random acts of kindness. When they arrived, I saw the smile on their faces as well as shock. Nagtataka sila bakit may smiley pins sila.
During that same semester, I have come up with a pseudo reality show through text. It's a big brother inspired text game but the "housemates" are all cartoon characters--spongebob, mickey mouse, snow white, etc. During "eviction" all my classmates vote for their favorite housemate. The cartoon character with the least number of votes will be evicted. It was funny that my classmates are actually talking about it during break time. The twists and turns of the game is really fantastic. I made this batch happy, and Im sure of it.
Don't get me wrong. This is not to boast about the "good things" I did in college. Actually, looking back, I am asking myself "Bakit ko ginawa mga yun?". What got into me to enter such an awkward state. I should be the quiet guy. Ako dapat yung mysterious guy. Hindi dapat ako mainvolve sa katatawanan. I am not the high school kid anymore. I am in college. I need to be mature.
But I was thinking, LOVE will always be awkward. Instead na mafeel ko ang awkwardness, I got frustrated that I am no longer living a life of whimsy. I entered the safe zone. I lost my zest to do such stuffs. Love left me. No. Actually, the love that was left in me is the love of self. Ang napapasaya ko na lang ngayon ang sarili ko.
I want to live a life of whimsy again. The goofier the better, as long as it is done with love.
And that reminds me of Jesus' love for us. It is actually strange that he saved the world by being born in a manger and died on the cross. Goofy but POWERFUL!
Prayer for the Heart and Will of God
Grant me, O Lord, to know what I ought to know,
to love what I ought to Love,
to praise what delights Thee most,
to value what is precious in Thy sight,
to hate what is offensive to Thee.
Do not suffer me to judge according to the sight of my eyes,
nor to pass sentence according to the hearing of the ears of ignorant men;
but to discern with a true judgment between things visible and spiritual,
and above all things always to inquire what is the good pleasure of Thy will
- Thomas A. Kempis (Germany/C. 1380-1471)
to love what I ought to Love,
to praise what delights Thee most,
to value what is precious in Thy sight,
to hate what is offensive to Thee.
Do not suffer me to judge according to the sight of my eyes,
nor to pass sentence according to the hearing of the ears of ignorant men;
but to discern with a true judgment between things visible and spiritual,
and above all things always to inquire what is the good pleasure of Thy will
- Thomas A. Kempis (Germany/C. 1380-1471)
Huwebes, Nobyembre 1, 2012
Mag-subscribe sa:
Mga Komento (Atom)