Love is like a violin. The music may stop now and then, but the strings remain forever.
-June Masters Bacher

My translation:
Ang pag-ibig ay parang isang biyolin. Titigil man ang musika, subalit ang kanyang hibla ay panghabang-buhay.

Sa aking lahok itong linggong ito, nagbabalik-tanaw ako sa pag-ibig ng aking ama. Noong 2008 ng Abril, sya’y pumanaw na. Kahit wala na ang kanyang pisikal na anyo dito sa atin, alam ko na ang pag-ibig namin sa kanya, at ang pag-ibig nya sa amin ay maihahantulad sa isang hiblang hindi napuputol at habang-buhay kong pagkakahalagahan.

Ito ay mga litratong hindi ko kuha… pero gusto ko sanang ibahagi sa inyo ang aking lahok na ito, dahil alam kong sa pag-alala ko sa kanya sa aking nalalapit na kaarawan, gusto ko lang sabihin sa aking ama na ang kanyang ala-ala ay laging nasa puso ko.

Boy Scout si ama. Isa sa pinakamasaya kong childhood memory ay ang pagkanta namin ng mga Boy Scout camp songs tuwing brown out.

Ito ang paborito kong litrato ng aking ama noong bata pa sya. Ang gwapo no? Hindi lang gwapo ang aking ama. Siya’y matalino pa

Marunong pa magkung-fu

Magaling pa kumanta (bass) at maghost

Mahal na mahal nya ang mama ko Hanggang sa huli, alam kong lahat ng sakrispisyo nya, dala ito sa pagmamahal sa aking mama.

i edited this in Photoshop with the chinese characters (papa and his little Arlene)

my family picture

I’ll always remember this picture because this was his picture at the wake.

I love you, Papa. I miss you a lot. You are the greatest Papa and nobody can ever take that place in my heart.

likas ba sa tao ang ngumiti? napansin ko lang, nung lumalaki na ang pamangkin ko, parang ang una nyang natutunan pagkatapos umiyak ay ang ngumiti. kung sana lahat tayo marunong ngumiti - di kaya lahat tayo ay makaramdam ng kapayapaan?

ang mga litrato ko ay kuha pa rin sa aking Nokia phone at edited sa Photoshop Happy LP! And Happy Huwebes! at ang aking modelo - Sundae Andreanna Thay, ang aking babaeng pamangkin

♥

♥

am so loving owl city right now!

Fireflies lyrics
Songwriters: Young, Adam;
You would not believe your eyes
If ten million fireflies
Lit up the world as I fell asleep

‘Cause they’d fill the open air
And leave teardrops everywhere
You’d think me rude
But I would just stand and stare

I’d like to make myself believe
That planet Earth turns slowly
It’s hard to say that I’d rather stay
Awake when I’m asleep
‘Cause everything is never as it seems

‘Cause I’d get a thousand hugs
From ten thousand lightning bugs
As they tried to teach me how to dance

A foxtrot above my head
A sock hop beneath my bed
A disco ball is just hanging by a thread

I’d like to make myself believe
That planet Earth turns slowly
It’s hard to say that I’d rather stay
Awake when I’m asleep
‘Cause everything is never as it seems
When I fall asleep

Leave my door open just a crack
(Please take me away from here)
‘Cause I feel like such an insomniac
(Please take me away from here)
Why do I tire of counting sheep
(Please take me away from here)
When I’m far too tired to fall asleep

To ten million fireflies
I’m weird ’cause I hate goodbyes
I got misty eyes as they said farewell

But I’ll know where several are
If my dreams get real bizarre
‘Cause I saved a few and I keep them in a jar

I’d like to make myself believe
That planet Earth turns slowly
It’s hard to say that I’d rather stay
Awake when I’m asleep
‘Cause everything is never as it seems
When I fall asleep

I’d like to make myself believe
That planet Earth turns slowly
It’s hard to say that I’d rather stay
Awake when I’m asleep
‘Cause everything is never as it seems
When I fall asleep

I’d like to make myself believe
That planet earth turns slowly
It’s hard to say that I’d rather stay
Awake when I’m asleep
Because my dreams are bursting at the seams

Vanilla Twilight lyrics
Songwriters: Young, Adam;
The stars lean down to kiss you
And I lie awake and miss you
Pour me a heavy dose of atmosphere

‘Cause I’ll doze off safe and soundly
But I’ll miss your arms around me
I’d send a postcard to you, dear
‘Cause I wish you were here

I’ll watch the night turn light-blue
But it’s not the same without you
Because it takes two to whisper quietly

The silence isn’t so bad
‘Til I look at my hands and feel sad
‘Cause the spaces between my fingers
Are right where yours fit perfectly

I’ll find repose in new ways
Though I haven’t slept in two days
‘Cause cold nostalgia
Chills me to the bone

But drenched in vanilla twilight
I’ll sit on the front porch all night
Waist-deep in thought because
When I think of you I don’t feel so alone

I don’t feel so alone, I don’t feel so alone

As many times as I blink
I’ll think of you tonight
I’ll think of you tonight

When violet eyes get brighter
And heavy wings grow lighter
I’ll taste the sky and feel alive again

And I’ll forget the world that I knew
But I swear I won’t forget you
Oh, if my voice could reach
Back through the past
I’d whisper in your ear
Oh darling, I wish you were here

Presenting the Filipino-Chinese Catholic Young Adults and updates for World Youth Day 2011 in Madrid!

Galing lang akong Naga last last weekend. Nakarating ako uli ng Cagsawa ruins at sa Lingnon Hills para makita ang Mayon Volcano. Tuwing naaalala ko ang Mayon, naaalala ko na ang bait ni Lord sobra - dahil inalagaan pa rin nya tayo dahil alam nyang hindi natin kaya ang isa pang malagim na pinsala pagkatapos ng mga ondoy, etc. at lalo pa ang pinarecent na earthquake sa Chile.

Anyway, a lot of things to be grateful about. At eto naman ang entry ko sa linggong ito All shot with my Nokia phone

Cagsawa Ruins

Mayon Volcano

And this one’s for Paula, a fellow LP member who likes clouds

Luke 9:22-25
22 Jesus said to his disciples: “The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.” 23 Then he said to all, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. 25 What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself?”

THE COMMANDMENTS – A YES TO VALUES

When we hear the word “commandment” we easily shy away. There are too many “don’ts” in a time when we want to be free and think real freedom means we can do what we want. But old Moses is wise and has calmed down. He doesn’t thunder anymore like before. He puts a simple reality before the Israelites and before us: There are two ways. You have the choice because God has given you freedom.

One way is to see the commandments of God for what they are — loving signposts along the road of life that we might go in the right direction — and obey so that we may be blessed by God and reach our goal. The other choice is: disobey and face the consequences.
Pope Benedict XVI, in a homily he delivered on September 8, 2007 in Austria, gave an interesting twist to the many “don’ts” and makes us aware that the commandments of God are all a “Yes” to a great value. I quote the Pope:

“To gaze upon Christ! If we do this, we realize that Christianity is more than and different from a moral code, from a series of requirements and laws… it is the gift of friendship. For this reason it also contains within itself great moral strength, which is so urgently needed today on account of the challenges of our time…. The Ten Commandments are first and foremost a ‘yes’ to God, to a God who loves us and leads us, who carries us and yet allows us our freedom: indeed, it is He who makes our freedom real (the first three commandments). It is a ‘yes’ to the family (fourth commandment), a ‘yes’ to life (fifth commandment), a ‘yes’ to responsible love (sixth commandment), a ‘yes’ to solidarity, to social responsibility and to justice (seventh commandment), a ‘yes’ to truth (eighth commandment) and a ‘yes’ to respect for other people and for what is theirs (ninth and tenth commandments). By the strength of our friendship with the living God we live this manifold ‘yes’ and at the same time we carry it as a signpost into this world of ours today.

”Fr. Rudy Horst, SVD

From Kerygma Family

Yey! Finally, meron na din akong LP entry for the year!

Sa unang tingin, para syang mantsa sa sidewalk, pero sa pangalawang tingin, sya pala ay isang simpleng art.

Kuha ito sa HK Disneyland October 2009 gamit ang aking Nokia phone.

Stay with me, Lord, for it is necessary to have You present so that I do not forget You. You know how easily I abandon You.

Stay with me, Lord, because I am weak and I need Your strength, that I may not fall so often.

Stay with me, Lord, for You are my life and without You I am without fervor.

Stay with me, Lord, for You are my light and without You I am in darkness.

Stay with me, Lord, to show me Your will.

Stay with me, Lord, so that I hear Your voice and follow You.

Stay with me, Lord, for I desire to love You very much and always be in Your company.

Stay with me, Lord, if You wish me to be faithful to You.

Stay with me, Lord, as poor as my soul is I want it to be a place of consolation for You, a nest of Love.

Stay with me, Jesus, for it is getting late and the day is coming to a close and life passes. Death, judgment and eternity approach. It is necessary to renew my strength, so that I will not stop along the way and for that, I need You. It is getting late and death approaches, I fear the darkness, the temptations, the dryness, the cross, the sorrows. O how I need You, my Jesus, in this night of exile!

Stay with me tonight, Jesus, in life with all its dangers, I need You. Let me recognize You as Your disciples did at the breaking of the bread, so that the Eucharistic Communion be the Light which disperses the darkness, the force which sustains me, the unique joy of my heart.

Stay with me, Lord, because at the hour of my death, I want to remain united to You, if not by Communion, at least by grace and love.

Stay with me, Jesus, I do not ask for Divine consolation, because I do not merit it, but the gift of your presence. Oh yes, I ask this of you!

Stay with me, Lord, for it is You alone I look for, Your Love, Your Grace, Your Will, Your Heart, Your Spirit, because I love You and ask no other reward but to love You more and more. With a firm love, I will love You with all my heart while on earth and continue to love You perfectly during all eternity. Amen.

http://saintpiocenter.com/Praying_with_St._Pio/Entries/2009/6/15_Stay_with_me,_Lord.html

Reading a new book to me is like tasting a new dish! Smelling the pages of a new book is so exciting and exhilarating, it’s like Christmas all over again. I’ve forgotten my love affair of reading when I pushed myself into a career a few years back and forgot balancing nourishing my spiritual soul. This year, I’m glad I was able to rekindle my love for reading.

I started this year with an easy fiction book, re-read Sophie Kinsella’s An Undomestic Goddess, then I moved on to the Twilight Saga and now I’ve read “The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari”. I love books which are easy to read but makes quite a lot of sense. There are times, too that I just love reading fiction books because you get lost in the drama and I guess, in a way, an escape to all the worries in the world.

Some of my favorite books:
- Come Be My Light - The Private Writings of the Saint of Calcutta
- Tuesdays with Morrie
- The Alchemist
- Who Moved my Cheese
- Pride and Prejudice
- Bo Sanchez’s “Thank God He’s Boss” and “How to Turn Thoughts Into Things”
- Emily Dickinson’s Poems (a gift from one of my best friends)
- Johanna Lindsey’s Malory Novels
- The Bible, especially the Psalms
- Anne of Green Gables
- Sophie Kinsella’s “Can you Keep a Secret?”
- Chick lits like Shopaholic series and The Devil Wears Prada
- Robyn Sisman’s “Just Friends”

And next on my reading list:
- Mitch Albom’s books
- Dan Brown’s ‘The Lost Symbol’
- Winning by Jack Welch

Any other suggestions?

January 2, 2010

What better way to start the  new year than attending the wedding of a dear friend and having to do their flowers too? It was really a beautiful wedding to start with. The bride looked great in her CECILIO ABAD gown, and make up by no less than MADGE LEJANO. The venue was in Madre de Dios Chapel and Tagaytay Midlands and the wedding really was elegant.

These photos are taken (errr… stolen) from Jayjay Lucas of Imagine Nation Photography. Love the shots! I knew Threelogy did the video but sadly I wasn’t able to watch the video as I went home early. The perils of being the florist on the day. I haven’t slept all night and I missed the good parts of the wedding.

One of the highlights was the exhange of marriage vows. It was so sincere and full of love. I choke back tears as well. It was really a beautiful wedding, one of the most beautiful weddings I have ever attended. (No bias that I did the styling haha) but definitely a great way to start the year. Congrats Claire and Jom!