Friday, December 30, 2011

Inspire & Be Inspired

That should set the tone for the coming year. With less than 2 days to go before we bid adieu to the rather devastating 2011, I'm sure a lot of us are now creating our annual resolutions, rehash of past resolutions, mantra to recite at the start of the year, the lucky colors, hair styles, fashion trends for the coming year, etc.

But one must always keep in mind that without inspiration, there isn't anything much we can look forward to. The world after all is replete with all the nasties and the negativities. One must be made of really strong stuff to survive it.

And one of the things that can help us all to remain strong and vibrant the whole year round come 2012 is to seek inspiration from just about anywhere.

Woke up to the sound of annoying neighbor? NO worries! Tune it out, but first, be grateful you can indeed hear the sound however annoying it may be. That you have the gift of hearing. Then proceed to turn on the radio to your favorite music and voila! there's the first inspiration of the day for you.

Then as you cook your breakfast, savor the smell of bacon frying and you know that it will inspire you to eat it even before the crispy juiciness touches your lips.

That's just for starters. There are many, seemingly trivial and mundane things that we ignore where we can actually glean inspiration from. But one of the best things is to also make sure you work on inspiring others and in doing so improve your mood.

How about a rather amusing SMS to your loved one? Just a few terms of endearment for the love of your life. Inspire him and be inspired yourself.

The opportunities for finding inspiration and for being inspired are limitless. One must now consciously seek it and that should be our theme for 2012..

INSPIRE, BE INSPIRED. in that sense, whatever challenges or trials come our way, we'll never really grow tired. fair enough??

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Yuletide Blues

Well, no one is exempted from feeling a bit of the blues during this period. It's not the holiday season really but just the times rolling by as if it doesn't pay us no mind.

Actually rolling is more of a mild word to use in this instance. Fate has been bamboozling us, all guns blazing to see how far we can still go despite the trauma, the pain, all the aches and dizziness that it brings.

One is either reduced to a mass of acquiescing minion, an angst-filled entity or even a reluctant rebel with all that's going on.

It's not just the natural disasters, the man-made wars or financial gloom enveloping all our earthly skies, but something that we can't quite put our finger on.

And they are still not calling it depressing times, there still are plenty of reasons to smile after all but the melancholy spreading almost everywhere. Somehow it pervades the air we breathe that one can almost taste it.

But I dare not venture into the unknown. I'd just categorize it the easiest way I know how and term it like the old-fashioned do - a simple case of the blues. Just in time for the yuletide season.

Still, if it doesn't entirely crush our spirits, we can still say we're okay. So, are we??

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Ako ay Tubig

Kung ako ay iyong isang inumin, ako ay tubig. Alak o beer? Hindi ako yan. Oo, maaring gusto mo ito, at andyan ang alak sa araw ng pagsasaya ngunit kapag iyong ininom ito sa oras ng kalungkutan ay lalo ka lang malulungkot. Kape?? Hindi rin ako yan. Oo, ito’y pampagising pero hindi mo ito nanaisin sa anumang oras. Gatas? Pampalusog, mabuti sa katawan siguro pero hindi ako maaring maging isang gatas na bibihirang magustuhan. Softdrinks? Hindi rin. Exciting kung minsan lalo kung may masayang salo-salo pero sa sobrang tamis neto ay malamang hahanap ka pa rin ng pampawala ng iyong umay.
Sa tuwina ay iisa lang ang binabalik-balikan. Ang tubig na iyong hahanapin sa bawat oras kahit gaano na karami ang ibang bagay na nainom, mapa-kape, beer, juice, softdrinks, o gatas, tanging tubig lamang ang tiyak na papawi sa iyong uhaw. Kaya ako ay isang tubig para sa iyo. Simple, walang kulay pero klarong –klaro at tunay na pinakaimportante sa iyong buhay.

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Numbed = Dead

Just when I thought I was already inured to the pain, yeah, being all a veteran of goodbyes and then some, it hit me. The realization more than anything else is what jarred this being. All the sweetness was there, one cannot ask enough of that, but now it left a big hole like a sugar stuck in a pan, turned black & burnt really painfully. Pity the heart that has gotten used to much sweetness for there would sure be plenty to miss. Again, after many years of a sweet, exhilarating, sometimes anxiety-filled but very beautiful moments, the heart's subject is once more on the sandy path in the middle of nowhere. To toil somewhere far away to ward off hardships of the past months. When he has no choice but to leave lest all sanities turn into human frailties. Sad parting it was, bade our farewells, the numerous I love you's mouthed off in person, while in tight embrace, during the kiss and after, and over the phone hours before that big air bus took off.. Thought I'm beyond all that pain but now it left me with the kind of depression reserved only for when someone close to you really died and went into the spiritual realm. And now, this spirit must be forced to keep moving even if all it intends to do for the next couple of days, probably weeks, even months, is to just stay inert. Sadly, being alive doesn't numb us from the frustrations and loneliness. Not even music can desensitize the soul or let the heart not feel the pinch of worlds being torn apart by situation and circumstances. Where the only thing we can rely on are the beating of our hearts, to make sure it would remain in synch throughout time, space and distance.

I Know It's Not Easy

Having me in your life is like a constant rush of adrenaline and a dash of placebo at the same time- - boosting one moment and stabilizing the next. I know, it’s not easy being me nor is it any easier being you while constantly falling for me. Years would remain witness to all our trepidations, the pitfalls we try so hard to get ourselves into..both taking risks. I know it’s not easy. Falling in love w/me for one thing is quite an insurmountable task. With my silly insecurities now and then, the slight immaturity and grating childishness, the tendency to keep asking questions. I know it’s not easy. But I know too that without me you’d miss those sweet tender affirmations of affection, the twinkle in my eyes and the heart that returns the smile from your own, those SMS in the morning laced in saccharine brilliance. Yes I know too the smile, the nod of appreciation you’ve shown at those moments that once passed will never return. and together we bask in all those things and more..even if yes, we know it’s not easy..

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Mix fix

just when you're starting to get swayed by the saccharine pronouncements, it was suddenly followed by a mildly bitter vitriolic barb you almost tasted bile. then the sweetness resumes, but this time it has a certain spiciness to it. the mix is what you're living with for close to a decade. it does intoxicate although at times it offers if not a discomfort some form of nausea before you're taken back to the exhilaration. makes one feel like a specialty cake on a blender - something to either enjoy or endure.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Top 20 songs for me this 2011 (the shortest list)

It's probably a bit too early.  I normally do this in December but with just a little more than a month to go I am listing again the songs that have somehow made it to my LSS list of the year.  There were a lot of great songs that came out this year.  Some of them re-makes (mostly the Filipino songs) and I did not add the OPM greats this time although a lot of them did capture the eardrums this year especially those songs they used in the telenovelas. These songs that I made it to the shortest list I could come up with comprise of those tunes that have rung in my ears countless times.  Those songs that even when they aren't actually playing you still can hear them in your brain.  There might be a new hit to come out before the year ends, but usually those songs are carried forward to the next year just like some of the songs here that were originally released last year but only gained much playtime in 2011 and went mainstream into my bloodstream this year so this is just about my list for the year:


Tuesday, November 8, 2011

LIMITLESS

kept hearing about the unlimited this, unlimited that.  Everything has its limits except some limitless things. Like the heartbeat that goes on forever, the music that doesn't stop playing, deep inside. And yet somehow its limitless is limiting to the self..

Saturday, November 5, 2011

CHANCES' NUANCES

    Everyday we are given chances by life..by people, loved ones. Some of us take it for granted while some are aware of it and take advantage of the way we are offered these chances.

    There are some chances that lead to changes, as there are chances that we should not take at all if we don't want things to change. Chances are, whatever the chance we're given there is a considerable change somewhere.

   The other day a friend was asking if she should give somebody a chance. Apparently their is a stumbling block to the relationship they had. This got me thinking that while we are giving someone a second chance, maybe a third, or fourth chance even, we are also opening up ourselves to a limitless array of - - chances.

    It's like giving ourselves a chance as well, the option to take life or the relationship to another level, whereas even if misgivings or shortcomings are discovered it's now on another plane..knowing we could never go back to the earlier category when troubles are miles away.

   To face up to the challenge of entering into a different point in the relationship to see how much we can handle. That is a chance we take for the choices we made.

   It's never-ending..chance definitely has its nuances..whether we chanced upon a good fortune or not depends again on the next chance we take..and on and on it goes..

Of Hues and You

the color it turns from red to blue, sometimes gets hit by green (yes, a very nasty green)..then turns grey..

And before you let it brown the path, it turns slightly yellow, somehow getting to orange then back to red again.

You fill the life with these hues, but then the rainbows when it gets too much just becomes too painful for the eyes and mind to take. Ah! but then the colors, that is all we live for, right? LIke music that one can't live without.

Without the hues, there can never be you just as without you, the hues, well they will forever get me singing the blues..

Sunday, October 16, 2011

erratic beat

at first you thought it was so well in its place. You hear it alright. Same pulsating rhythm, ticking and pumping the blood as it should.

Then all of a sudden the sound becomes less familiar..it's like you're hearing it for the first time or at least from a not so distant past from some far off lifetime. It just almost stops to make sense.. Has time really changed this much, you tell yourself.

The beat it seems turned erratic, not exactly sounding and feeling the same..will it ever revert to what it was or to go off somewhere else??

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Who knows??

How the rains took away the moment, when one can say the sky took the tears right out of my eyes..

It's a quiet sort of downpour, not really much but a slight pitter-patter but one that would leave its path soaking, wet & cold..

He would be off to a faraway land again, and the years would drag on and on like it never would. This last portion of the year that I am not sure I would look forward to but who knows??

Either time and distance can save the romance or leave us both to pine for something else..in any case we will always never know except by our hearts that beat in an endless crescendo..

Adele - Someone like you (OFFICIAL VIDEO LYRICS) HD Live from Brit Award...

Monday, October 3, 2011

Another Again..

yes..that title of this post is borrowed from a song of one of my favorite singers of all time - John Legend. It captures the moment as it is now.

Part of the lyrics pretty much sums up what's happening to us..

'So we did it again
Knowing we should quit it
But we simply won´t admit it
Again
Oh it feels so good, it´s so good but I won´t do it again
It´s so dramatic again
After we go at it we get mad then we go at it again
Oh I love it, then I hate it'..

The question is how long can we keep at it..surely there must be something that would either stop or prod us to go on..There are times when you simply want to say enough is enough and also on the same instant suddenly reverse your decision by the mere twitch of an eyebrow and the teasing twinkle of the eyes. And wham! you're again back to square one.. Like being pulled over by a cyclone either to carry us up high, to feel what heaven tastes like or to pummel us in full force both landing w/a loud thud on the ground -- with a sense of (make that no sense of) whatever..

Hard to define, even harder to explain but never to be apologized or excused for.. we just simply do it again.. and then Another Again..

John Legend - Another Again Music Video

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

So there..

just when you felt like losing it.. it reappears, either teasing or in a melancholic way trying to ensconce its way into your heart.

Confusing state of mind trying to contaminate the other's mindset..but both caught in the whirl and whirr of the emotions. And aware of the fact that one cannot entirely survive without the other.

Especially when it doesn't make sense to simply exist or subsist but to live in intimate bliss..

Saturday, August 20, 2011

chill and love


this would remind me of our endless not-so-summer nights..the fondest memories evoked from simplest pleasures..this chilled drink, with enough kick to warm the spirit.. just like our love forever heating up each other's hearts..despite the cold, chilly days of moments spent apart.. you are my license to chill..and my ticket to love..

Monday, August 15, 2011

The Rowing Team

If you are paddling your oars together, the sea becomes like a road easily mastered.

No matter where the tide turns, or how large the waves may batter when you move clearly in the same direction, then it doesn't matter.

However dark or rough the water may seem, it becomes a soothing sea of affection knowing that you're in it together, rowing ever closer, in one smooth and sweet motion.

Happily rowing forever on the same team.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Unrhymed mind

there is a mood that one could not tell if bad or good..
all you know is there isn't much you can do in the 'hood..

but still it can be said that no one needs to be sad
even if what will stop the feeling is just a lounge in the bed..

certain that when that ray of sunlight reappears
this too, whatever that is causing the chills would finally cease

Sunday, May 29, 2011

When Dining Out isn't all Food trip

Yesterday was meant for chill-out day. Well for starters the weather was a bit on the cold side so might as well take a break from a helluva work week to satisfy my cravings. I've been really meaning to go out and get my fix of that famous chicken of one of the fastest rising franchises in the country - BonChon Chicken and yesterday was a good a time as any to fulfill it once again.

My visit to Megamall was intended initially as a food trip. I did mention on one of my tweets that the chicken there is sort of addicting. Like I said I wanted to get the cravings done and over with before the next week's grind so I went to SM with that in mind. Of course I was also coming off an early morning rendezvous and was hoping to cap that with a wonderful lunch. Anyway, the food and my cravings are another story and I'll just muster in some superlatives on that for future posts.

But in this post I want to tackle another issue and that is 'the dining experience'. While not really a gourmand, an expert food connoisseur or even a restaurant critic, I've been to a lot of restaurants, food stalls and eateries to somehow understand when I'm getting a good enough service worthy of my hard-earned money. You name it, fine dining restaurants where 'finesse and class' are alien to the wait staff, the barbecue stall w/the uber-friendly 'grillman' who tries to perfectly grill your barbecue like it was the masterpiece of his life, the fastfood with v-e-r-y--s-l-ow service. Yeah, I've been to a lot of these joints to know what I'm talking about. Enough to say that a good restaurant is worth it's weight not in gold but in good (no, make that efficient and exemplary) service. I mean you can have the best looking dish prepared, with the finest and most expensive ingredients but when it is presented in a rather rough manner and service takes too long that will not count as a good dining experience, right?

Which brings me to my point yesterday when I went to Megamall. Before lunch I first went to one of the stalls that serve fruit shakes - Cocktales. And the fact that the guy at the counter was friendly and even explained to me the nuances of why the menu says mango martini when it doesn't even carry an alcoholic beverage made me appreciate my mango-melon shake more. I'd say that is what you may call 'grade A' service.

And then off to BonChon I went for my lunch of soy garlic fried chicken. I was almost turned off by the long line but seeing that it was moving smoothly and there was even a crew at the entrance to welcome diners w/a smile I prodded on. Besides I know that the long line would be compensated by the meal (I was right, of course). Now, I'm a pretty observant sort of person, and the fact that the branch there just recently opened yet it could draw in a line like that did not escape me. That pretty much says a lot about the food and the service. And true to my observant nature the fact of how well the staff & management handled one incident at the counter wherein one customer spilled the contents of her iced tea all over the counter floor was not lost on me.

The girl who spilled her drink was right ahead of me on the line and I even heard her muttering morosely and I was almost expecting the restaurant crew to be rattled somewhat but instead they (one of the assistant managers, I guess and the cashier) simply shushed the awkward moment as if that happens every minute and just smoothly proceeded to lead the customer to her table w/assurances that they'll just re-fill the drink & then went on to wipe the wet floor dry. The thing that stuck with me is how they showed no sign of panic or even hesitation. The situation was well under control from the get go and both service crew and manager just played down the whole episode so as not to unduly cause more embarrassment to that customer while at the same time show the other waiting customers that they remain at their service. And it happened right in the middle of lunchtime where the hungry crowd is starting to get really big & tables are all filled out so the professional way it was handled impressed me.

And while I was already seated I also observed another lady customer who tried to order using a supplement credit card or probably the card of her husband (or so my nosy self overheard as I was sitting near the counter). The managers (one male and another lady manager) discreetly discussed the matter and was able to also handle that situation very well. It was calmly explained to the lady (who in my opinion looks rather intimidating and and kind of snooty) that it is against company policy to accept a credit card purchase when it is not the customer's name on the card or if the signature does not match the one on the back of the card. Again, the managers played down the scenario and the customer is spared further embarrassment. Everything was done calmly, professionally without both parties raising a ruckus. Again, these are the nitty-gritties of eating in a public place where certain moments can impress the mind and provide a delightful experience.

And to top it off, their service there always comes w/ a smile making customers feel really welcome as if the restaurant staff is there to fulfill their every wish. Hats off to the management, the crew and the brand that makes dining at this branch of BonChon a truly worthwhile experience. And no wonder at that lunch hour, they seem to be the only restaurant in the level that's packed full of customers yesterday. I can say that BonChon Megamall takes fastfood dining into a higher level.

Friday, April 22, 2011

Catch 22 (Heart or Mind?)

Whistle of the past, starting to gnaw
somehow preventing the future from taking control.
It is still very much present in the here and now..
Nothing ever one can do seem to take it out
Or is there really a choice?

For who creates the options, by the way?
No one.. everything is dictated by the mind.
Or so it seems..but one cannot ignore the beat,
pulsating rhythm carrying the blood, pumping
the thoughts, the desires, the whims to the brain.

In truth, the one at the center is after all
the one in full control..at all times. The mind simply
is an instrument of the heart.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Slow Week

Slow week need not be equated with a low week. For there are highlights - one borne of the mind and others felt deep within or more significantly etched inside the heart.

Taking a moment to reflect - this is what the season is all about. Lent.

Or has anyone lent their presence enough to someone? Like a cousin who needs just somebody to listen to her problems although she knows she can very well take on anything life throws at her? Still enough reason to lend an ear just to know that you understand how she is human after all. That despite passing through life's ordeals in a superhuman effort, she is still a mortal like us.

Or what about a loved one, say your guy who happily shares what goes on at work, who just wants your presence around as he talks about the exploits, at the same time hear some lamentations from his house not so much as to drag you into his problems but just to show that he just needs a willing ear and an open heart to once again listen, untiringly as an ardent lover should.

And what about the beleaguered friend of a sister, a wife who may or may not be a victim of an unfaithful husband. Still worth listening to her story however unfounded or justified it may be. And most importantly to cheer her on and show that she is not alone and that someone wishes them well.

Lent.. it's also about shoutouts of good things.. food cravings perhaps by a friend who may be feeling the pinch of inflation and bad economy or really bad employment opportunities or all of the above. Chatting about food, whether imagined or actually heating up in the oven is never a bad thing. For it warms not just the stomach but evokes moments of pleasurable experiences. Knowing these things exists, and that friends exist, then there are a lot to look forward to.

So you see, a slow week need not be a low week. And a Holy week need not be sad.. He would never allow us to feel that way, right? As the evening progresses and we are now closer to commemorating the hour of the Last Supper this Maundy Thursday, let us give a silent thanks to those who have been there for us and 'lent' us with their magnanimity, passion and spirit.

Monday, March 14, 2011

Is The Earth Really Dying?


The question was raised by recent events that seem to remind us about those age-old predictions, the Mayan calendar and others.. well it isn't even 2012 yet but somehow the catastrophes, the conflicts happening across the globe seem to hint at that possibility.

I don't want to burst anyone's bubble here but this is just a gut feel as one of my friends put it. It might even be preposterous and by end of 2012 we may all be laughing about the so-called end of the world as we know it. But it is not a laughing matter to see the sufferings across the globe.. from natural calamities and force of nature to man-made conflicts in the gulf area. And if only because of those things we can say that yes, the planet is probably terminally ill and may even be close to dying.

But so what if indeed it's ending? There's no reason to panic or feel afraid especially when one has lived a fulfilling life and explored all means to be happy consequences notwithstanding. At the end of the day, or should I say, at the end of the world, what matters is how much we have shared with others, how meaningful our relationships are and how many lives we have touched & how deeply we have loved.

That in essence will never die even if ultimately the earth as we know it does..

Friday, January 28, 2011

Pain Is Rather Good

we don't hear it often enough. but there is a certain kind of pain that is welcome..while not necessarily pleasant, somehow it evokes a feeling of being alive. Knowing that it exists is enough not to throw in the towel.. woe if we become numb..

You know what pain is?

It doesn't mean that you are doomed, nor should you feel sorry about your lot in life. It only means you care so much, that you have a heart that is involved and fully committed. That you are not simply going through the motions, that there really are emotions involved. That it is real.

And it doesn't go away, pain never leaves us alone like other emotions and experiences that are fleeting. A heart that is inured to the pain is a heart that never loves and perhaps will never know its meaning at all.. and that would be the most painful reality of all.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Probably not a bad thing at all..

Despite all the not-so-good things, there's still probably some light or consolation. To know that I am after all not inured to all the pain. Which only means that in due time the opposite of pain which is exhilaration and joy beyond compare can also be felt at any moment.

Also learned to treasure things and moments while you can, while you can still share them with people around you and especially with people who are dear to you.

Though one can't deny the certain sadness lingering for a while or perhaps lingering indefinitely. That is a bummer, most unfair but who says life is all about being fair?

When you can throw brickbats at destiny, challenge the fates with your gut and gumption, one must be prepared to endure whatever it is life throws back at you. The spirit must be kept alive in whatever form, and the mind that may at times falter & give in to 'unfounded' fears should be rein in by the heart and carefully assisted by the music it hears.

The beat goes on and again be thankful that it will never grow numb even if the pain is sometimes unbearable. Not a good thing-- that pain.. but probably not entirely bad at all..

Friday, January 7, 2011

'Let it be'- trite but true

re-learning that again from the old Beatles song, yes.. some things are simply better to just let on. Let it be becomes the primer for the year.. to get a glimpse of what's in store yet not exactly revealing it all lest it destroys all the excitement.

When faced with a rather mounting situation, it is best to just let things be.. and enjoy whatever happens.

In other words, let the universe guide your passion, your inclinations and just keep doing what's good and avoid hurting anyone least of all yourself.