here's sirius. i wonder what dementors look like? 

i really hope PoA lives up to the expectations of harry potter fans, myself included...  

i think hermione, er, emma watson, looks wonderful here... 

i cannot wait for june 2! 

So there.

A new look to my blog. I like this template. So serene...and it so connotes what I have in mind these days.

Funny, a friend asked me yesterday how I could even think of leaving the city and living in an unexciting rural town for the rest of my life. I've never really thought of my eventual transfer into a quiet rural setting as a drastic change in my life. I do not crave parties and even shy away from them. Though I prefer to work at night, I oftentimes get really sleepy at 9 in the evening. I am tired of the pollution, the noise, the chaos, the time pressure that living in the city inevitably brings.

I have spent a week living beside the sea. I must admit, thought, that that time frame could hardly prepare me for long-term rural living. But I have always been an adaptable sort of person. I can manage. I will. I have always dreamt of someday living (or working) in a beach resort. And I will get both dreams fulfilled in one lifetime. As an added bonus, of course, I have Joks beside me always.

As for the new look to my blog, I have decided to change it because, well, I am getting tired of the old one (which, I think, was called Herbert). This one, is called Harbor. I am glad that there are new templates available now. Last year, there were only six designs from which you could choose. Anyway, I had a hell of a time trying to figure out where to put my links and whatnots. Geez. Iba na talaga pag 'di marunong ng hard code eh. I had to go at it blindly. I must have republished a dozen times before finally getting it correctly. Buti na lang, I finally figured it out.

and there i am...in the (hazy) background is the sea. and yes, debbie, the sight of the sea really is endless... 

he got his turn at the hammock...sana it was a bigger one so we could both fit comfortably... 

again, this was taken by my 3650 so the resolution's not that great but hey, i'll take what i can! 

Hello I could kiss you!

And so I filled this formerly picture-less and ho-hum blog with pictures. Yay!

Thanks to Hello Picasa, the most wonderful innovation since Blogger, I have pictures on my blog. Hallelujiah!

Tralalalala...I'm so happy!

this is joks and marvin. the older child is teaching the younger one how to color pictures in the coloring book we brought for joks' nephew. 

flowers (tulips?) in victoria, bc, canada. this was taken by joks when he brought my phone to canada. hmmm... flowers for me? ;-) 

this was taken on march 13, 2004 when debbie, yayie, tina and i went on a day trip to tagaytay. fine day. less than a month later, debbie left for the states. she says she'll come back in a couple of years. i certainly hope so. 

i took this photo a long time ago with my nokia 3650. the resolution's not good but then...i have to have MY picture here di ba? 

i took this photo of him a day before his birthday. i really like this picture. 

lovely day. lovely beach. 

Whew!

After the great expanse of the ocean, I feel oddly claustrophobic about being in the city once again.

I had a great weeklong vacation, the BEST I think, in my whole life.

There were days I spent almost entirely swinging on a hammock by the sea. Heaven...

And as I have yet to learn how to post pictures here on blogger, ye, dear readers, must settle for this, an idea which I got from Debbie...

Top 10 Best Things About My Trip to Bacolod

10. My first vacation in more than 3 years of working for the same company.
9. An authentic tan.
8. White sand, all mine, no entrance fees, no accommodation fees, no swimsuit requirements.
7. Night swimming. I found, that if I swam at night in the ocean, bubbles appear as bits of diamonds and pearls in the water as it reflects the light of the moon. Ü
6. A 45-minute plane ride from Manila to the Bacolod City airport.
5. I lost weight from eating almost purely fish for a week.
4. Warm reception from Joks' family. Ü
3. 8 Days without work, without thinking about work, without fretting about work!
2. Reading all the mystery novels I could get my hands on while sitting in a hammock on the beach all day.
1. Being with my one and only love for 8 straight days. My idea of Heaven.

No more time.

I leave, in exactly 11 hours and thirteen minutes. I have just finished four articles in six hours. I ate three tuna open-faced sandwiches which I made with my own hands.

I am worried. What if the plane crashes? Yung nanay ko kasi, tumawag ba naman kahapon sabi nanaginip daw siya about me. Masama raw. And, ayaw niya sabihin kung ano exactly yung dream niya. Damn.

What if I die tomorrow?

Though I think I can't do anything about it if it's my time to go, I would have liked to stay for a little bit more.

Gusto ko pang magka-anak. Gusto ko pang makilala ang parents ni Joks. Gusto ko pang mabuhay.

Halata bang ninenerbiyos ako?

Di bale, pagbalik ko, pag-aaralan ko ang maglagay ng pictures dito sa blogger. Sana po hindi pa ako kunin ni Lord.

3 tulog na lang.

Three more days and I'll be in heaven.
Three more days and I'll be in beach paradise.
I just hope this friggin' storm fades away by then.

And yet, before heaven, there must be hell.
I am doomed to fire off another one of my miraculously fast scripts before I leave.
So I'll do that in between packing and fretting about my trip. No sweat. Yeah, right.

Oi! Debbie, if you're reading this, some tips????

I read your blog by the way and I must say, it IS the Debbie I know and love. Buti ka pa you're so...eloquent. And I know that you have so much to write now that you're in a new land and experiencing new things.

Anyway, this will probably be my first and last blog this week. I'll update my adoring fans (haha) next week when I get back from Bacolod. Walang internet doon sa place na pag-stay-an namin so I'll have to rein everything in until I get back to civilization.

Have to dash off, I hear my deadlines calling...

It's like a rug being pulled from under your feet.

Forgive me for I have no desire today to ponder on my country's growing problems. I do have one thing to say about the current count: too early to tell.

Anyway. For now, my problems take center stage.

I have been promoted. And my slaray slashed dramatically. If profanity is just allowed here I would have broken it out in three different dialects.

Why oh why now? And why oh why ever?

The irony of it all is sickening. She says there is little doubt that I am good, and I do great work. So why am I being punished and being given a bigger responsibility. The present work because it is nominal, also gives nominal pay.

It just looks good on paper.

I need the money. Don't we all? But I am desperate.

Bummer day. Bummer life.

Today, our country's future is in our hands.

And I'm not just being poetic, patriotic or pathetic. Today, being national elections day when more than half of the country's population should have cast their votes and took a stand, the power really, is in our hands.

Unfortunately, for reasons well beyond my control, I was not able to cast my vote. And I am still kicking myself for it. At least, I am remorseful. Others who, like me, didn't endure the long lines at the polling precincts are, I can take a guess, feeling pretty smug and proud of themselves right this minute.

It used to be that I didn't believe that one tiny vote from little old me could change the world. And, I'm right. It didn't. But only because there were more who were like me then, and even more now.

In the last presidential elections, six years ago when I was but 18 and experiencing for the first time the election fever, I voted for a man who, from the start, didn't look like he was a winner. He did not win, and this year, he ran again. And it looks like he wouldn't win either.

Haay.If only my kababayans valued integrity more than popularity. If only my kababayans knew that one's vote is never wasted on a candidate who stayed at the bottom part of all the surveys and ratings. If only my kababayans understood that one should never pick the lesser evil. If only my kababayans believed that the surest way to success for our nation is to elect honest, incorruptible, and dedicated leaders.

How can a movie actor, who played numerous hero-type roles in his epic films solve the problem of poverty when for the majority of his years on earth, he was living in reel time? True, he suffered from a brief period of poverty but for many years after that, wasn't he practically rolling in dough and fame for the many movies my kababayans loyally patronized? I shudder to think how he will resolve the Mindanao conflict -- perhaps by forcing the Christians and Muslims to shake hands and hug and greet each other "Brother!" just like in the movies.

Now for the lady. While browsing through my alma mater's yearbooks, I saw her picture when she was a teacher of economics at the Ateneo. She may or may not bring the Filipino people out of grinding poverty. I know that three years is too short a time to judge whether she has done well for our country. But, clearly, she is trying, regardless of intrigues. I only hope she lives up to her promises. Gusto ko lang naman makita na because of what she did, siguro 10 or 20 years from now, we will begin to be better as a nation.

I know that a drastic and complete change will never happen in my lifetime. But I'd like to see a President who will take us one step at a time to a better future.

But wait, I have to go. I will continue pondering tomorrow.

Labor day.

I wonder why the look of the blogger post-creator reverted back to the old interface. I was kinda enjoying the newer one. Hmmm.

National elections draw to a close. I don't know who to vote for yet. I don't even know if I can still vote kasi I didn't have a chance to re-validate for a voter's ID before. I wish I could say there's hope yet for this country but the people who are probably going to win are those who won before and did nothing good for us.

Dapat siguro, palitan lahat ng empleyado ng gobyerno. Pati mga public officials. Lahat dapat bago, pati sistema. Pati mamamayang Pilipino. We need a clean slate. Kaso, di nga naman pwede. So, tiis-tiis na lang. Sayang. Pinoy pa naman tayo.