this is why i changed status from'married' to 'engaged'

i have been staring at this page for an hour now.
still nothing good came out...
i'm not sure if i'm having a block or
i always am just lost for words whenever i intend
to write something about the hubby.

it started from thinking about father's day
and the fact that he deserved a tribute- but i'm lost for words.
for now i couldn't say, or write anything, aside from
he is the most normal person i have ever met.
nyay! that wouldn't be a good tribute.

i'm saving this page
so i can edit when i'm more ready
or more willing to share to the world
or if i'd have the power
to convert more than a million words to
one short blog entry. yes, he is that much!
and much much more...

but here's a peek:
once last month i asked him if he wanted to
renew our marriage contract
should it expire on the 10th year
(that would be 2011)-
he said he will if i wanted to.
that was irritatingly sweet.
as if he is back to courting
me like years ago...
so now, i'm engaged to him, again.

pyesta at piYESta KTV - my stop in Sox Summer Safari

after the hustle and bustle of the election fever (that chapter of my life when i decided to serve the country for a week sundown til midnight to recount votes as a guilt-gift because i was not able to vote),  i decided to take a short break from school. but it wasn't a break at all...even before i went to the airport, i had a list of invits, nyay! oh well, life is short so i did my best to squeeze in time for those invits, in-between house-chores, bonding with my boys, preps for my paper when i get back to school and some lazy time watching (envying) wowa swim in a pro-pool (i feel like wonderwoman!).

one of those invits is the GRAND EYEBALL of mindanao bloggers at piYESta KTV (end of may 2010). the eyeball was just one stop of the Sox Summer Safari organized by gensan's pride-the manansala duo. 1. that was the first time that i attended an 'eye-ball' and met bloggers / plurkers of davao and cagayan de oro. 2. that was the first time that i visited pyesta ktv (gensan certainly changes so fast) 3. that was the first time i ate lechon (courtesy of then mayor now congressman engr. jun acharon)  without 'pyoooking' (jejeje).

that night was fun-filled - chatters, laughters plus slurps and munch munch of more than 30 people (age ranging 14 to 54?) in a cozy room (thanks donna dear, the syringe shots made me look like a yahoo messenger smiley!). that one night is one i surely won't forget. thanks to kuya avel (http://www.gensantos.com/) for always including me as part of the sox bloggers family and orman (http://www.gandaeversomuch.com/) too.

for pixs and summary of the entire tour (say, for moments of wanting to feel envious coz i didn't have the chance to join), i just visit the pages of sox bloggers, and here's one of them---
www.etcetera3x.blogspot.com/2010/mfat-mindanao-food-food-appreciation-tour.html

now i'm back to my usual to-the-neck writing schedule for school... i keep the memories of my short break in my mind for moments i need them- for whatever reason/purpose it may serve. whew!

22 bullets - a father's day movie

it took me only 22seconds (trust me, i was holding a timer then coz i'm decorating my laptop with sticker-tatoos) to say yes after being invited by dear friend- irene sy to at least see one movie in the french film festival at shangrila plaza. little did i know that those 22 seconds would be equivalent to 22 bullets.

yes, the film's english title was '22 bullets' but literally it should have been 'the immortal'. that got me more excited to see the movie. will it be about love and immortality or would it be about guns and gang wars??? hmmmm...

the plot : a retired mobster (charly mattei, played by jean reno) goes on a revenge-spree after being left for dead (almost) with 22 bullets in his body by his former childhood friends. luckily, one of the killers intentionally (as theorized by the police) didn't hit the right spot, leaving him only semi-paralyzed in the left and strong enough to think and act like his old bad-boy self. the director- richard berry knew how to keep the audience to the edge of their seats as if watching a suspense thriller but at the same time, wishing a kleenex was near to wipe a tear or two when feelings for innocent loved-ones and betrayed friendships are shown.

the camera rolls were excellent (no need for 3D). for one, you can see the age lines in the grandma's face as she kissed charly's litlle boy in the beginning of the film. the script (i trusted the subtitles) was almost poetic yet very human in most ways. the movie tackled sensitive issues in several sectors of the society yet it always lead me back to remembering friendships and promises made in its name.

but what i liked most is the part where charly did his best to go through layers of what seemed-like-a-barbed-wire to go save his son from being killed, it was the longest 'few minutes' of my day. as it goes, no matter how bad you were, or how changed you intend to be, when your son's life is on the line, you can't help but be a father, even if it means being 'bad' for that moment.

halfway in the film, i came to understand the title choice...as it is, charly survived the '22 bullets', so he was named 'the immortal' (L'immortel) by the press. the crime drama scored 2 and a half over 3 frozen yogurt servings-- meaning? i liked it!

woes as the school opens

june came quite fast. yesterday t'was just march. hmmm. in the last two months i rushed rushed rushed so i'd have at least a mile early from my target (paper for school), but whew! thing's aren't that easy. the only consolation i have is that i'm still alive and still am strong to move forward and try to finish what i have started. reminds me of my wail a year ago (money money!!! money- it can buy happiness sometimes).

i tried having a 2-week off so i can sort things out in the house, to basically prepare my boyman wowa for his 'grade 3 schooling' and all. i have to be sure that he had his flu vaccine, that he is continuously having his swimming lessons, that his papa and him are doing okay at home with their usual 'without-me routines'.

everything seems fine, i am having an 'almost-okay-vacay' when the nanny suddenly announced her intention to continue her college education. that only means she has to leave us. oh, that's okay with me, coz i have been encouraging her to pursue that, reminding her that time is of the essence so she has to save enough but woh! i never thought she'd decide to pursue it in her father's place (education is way cheaper there, haaay).

so with about a week before i go back to finishing my paper miles away from home (about 2-hour plane ride), i am now trying to put things together to prepare my boyman and his papa and everything that i can, this time with some extra changes---'coz they won't have someone (yet) to assist them. i am shaken. i am worried. but. . . i am hopeful. everything will be alright.

pronounced miracles in the philippines

in a country joked as 'no losers during elections, coz those who lost were cheated', candidates who accepted their fate as the vote-counts came in and congratulated their winning opponents early is a miracle. (to be continued...)

writer's block (doh)

according to wikipedia- WRITER'S BLOCK is a condition, associated with writing as a profession in which an author losses the ability to produce new work. the condition varies widely in intensity. It can be trivial , a temporary difficulty of dealing with the task in hand. at the other extreme, some "blocked" writers have been unable to work for years on end, and some have even abandoned their careers. . .okay. okay! haaaaaayyy, i' m so having it now. after writing this starting statement, i have to go back to 'lower case' everything, for some reason, i forgot that  i intend not to use upper case in my blogspot unless extremely needed. why? --style lang! so what will i write about? nothing. i can't even start to continue with my literature review, i've been 'blocked' for weeks now. but here's an idea that came up seconds ago--- i'd like to share the latest from the philippine daily inquirer, ranked according to how i liked reading them (not how i liked them)  :)

1. erap on gibo: what a pity, he's most qualified (erap's brains are somewhat regenerating-wow!)
2. gov't debt hit P4.44T in january (i told you so, 4 is a bad number!)
3. marc abaya loves his cheetos (i love him, he loves his cheetos, his cheetos loves me, fine!)
4. china quake kills 400, buries more (there's always something to remind me of 'life is short', amp!)
5. happy to see 2  pals move forward in show (AI didi said so about crystal and siobhan, i say so too!)
6. palito's last movie screening on sunday (now when he is deado, as with FPJ...they're doing it again!)
7. politics stalls biomass plant project (oh my gas!)
8. evat and and watered-down cheaper medicines act are not pro-poor (PMAP can afford a full-page?!)
9. bishops condemn basilan bombings (what's new? what else can they do?...they condemn a lot lately, next!)
10. GMA accepts 'green award' (@#$%^^&* !!!- my keyboard isn't working now!)

:) have a great day!
[postscript (i seem to be having a lot of these lately): the picture? those are tombs in himlayang bayan (resting place a.k.a. public cemetery), your unique linking of the pic and the text is always welcome (winks)]

of atty. adel tamano, and of hurried (somehow-bad) writing

what could be more delightful to a blogger but to have a subject that's open, vulnerable and yummy (read: clean and handsome)? that was my feeling when i got invited/adopted by the gensan bloggers, one saturday evening (thanks to kuya-ng-gensan-avel and ganda-ever-so-much-boss-banker orman) to join them in meeting atty. adel tamano---i was del-ighted! adel, as he is fondly called by many is vying for senator in 2010's circus-of-an-election. i am not a block-voter, i have never been... and guess what, i have him in my to-vote list for 3 reasons:

1. he is qualified to be one of the leaders of the land (being a realist-academician, a lawyer, an economist, a good public speaker and a writer)
2. he is a son to one of the few good senators of our times, and a hands-on-slash-cool-father (to 2 cute kids)
3. he is a true-blue muslim ( i am a true-blue catholic but i have grown to understand, respect and love islam since i transferred to mindanao state university, you will too-trust me on this).

while waiting for him, i am stating and  restating in my mind the questions i intend to ask him. (i have in my list at least 3 questions:)

1. how much (in your heart) do you want to serve the philippines/filipino people?
2. what are your (target) priorities given the chance to serve the country as a senator?
3. are you proud to be a muslim, how do you deal with non-muslim colleagues?

i was able to ask these questions (other bloggers too) and got satisfactory answers (thanks heavens)--- i was afraid i might end up loosing faith (happens all the time lately).

1. he first remarked he didn't want the position too much to do dirty tricks/gimmiks but he later admitted he wanted it just as much as he believes in a dream/vision of a better land (still)
2. his target priorities (to my joy) are the youth and the education sector. he is quite confident he'd be able to put his funds into good use by prioritizing scholarships and retoning skills of the stakeholders in the said sector. he however confessed that he might not do as well if he will be given a cabinet position in such sector 'coz of its wide and deeply-rooted issues, problems and concerns. (it's human to be afraid)
3. he is proud to be a muslim and he understands what muslim youth have been feeling when joined with the christian majority. he learned to blend, respect and have harmonious relationships with non-muslim colleagues nevertheless (somehow,even moros couldn't tell that he is one of them---but he is, with all his mind, heart and soul)

these and other questions were answered in both serious and funny manner (he might consider being a stand-up comedian too). adel surely knows how to charm people (his 'artistahin' looks is both a blessing and a curse) as much as he knows how to make them listen when he is seriously stating a point. after about two hours (yes! 2 hours and we didn't even notice!), the meeting ended in a very light mood (some even went to KTV with him- missed it, i know he sings well, heard he is 'kundirana baby').

oh well, this entry is (long-)overdue, as usual... and yes, is in need of some polishing (i can now imagine my journalism-mentor-now-friend-gilbert tan wondering if i ever learned anything from my writing classes (too few, sad but true)--- but what the heck! i made it. congratulations for making it to this almost-last-line too (hopefully, you are still okay). finally, i learned 3 good lessons from the experience:

1. adel isn't just a pretty face- he is young, he has a vision, he wants to serve and he is getting my vote (yes, i didn't change my mind...now, if only i could save enough for my fare come 05/10)
2. one shouldn't underestimate the power of youth-vote, the z-generation even if they don't vote, they influence others (especially those who are so-oh-visible online) hence, they must be well-equipped with information and guided opinions every now and then
3. my words in parenthesis are my favorites (coz unlike others who consider them negligible, mine is done for emphasis--- why? style lang! :) )


[postscript: thanks to arnel joshua lim and orman manansala through ms. jinky for the pictures]