"You have spent many lives and much treasure to bring freedom to many lands that were reluctant to receive it. And here you have a people who won it by themselves and need only the help to preserve it."
-- Corazón Cojuangco Aquino (b. 1933), President of the Philippines

happy independence day!

thank god, GMA declared tomorrow as a special holiday instead of today :)

as i was watching ally mcbeal last night, i manage to picked-up a line or two.

** as a matter of fact, the guy i loved the most died in my arms. would you like to see the scars?

josh groban was one of their guests in the show and he sung "to where you are."

~~~

the issue of sexual harassment with bishop teodoro baccani came in quite as a surprise. i don't know if it is true or not but if it is, shame on him--he destroyed the trust of the faithful. if not, i pitied him--he became a victim of a false accusation caused by men.

how can i ever find the words to express the happiness i've felt last saturday with my beloved Lisieux? I can only write in sequence and try to relieved the memories they presented to me as a gift I will surely cherish.

~~~

last saturday, i attended the wedding of kuya jo and merly at Barasoain Church in bulacan.

even though i slept late last saturday, i woke up early yesterday to meet my Lisieux brothers and sisters at megamall. we will go to bulacan together for the wedding.

I must admit i was worried. you see, i haven't been with these people for a very long time and yet when we saw each other i readily felt the warmth and belongingness that's always been embracing the community.

the travel to kuya jo's house lasted for about three hours. the journey was long but it definitely was full of laughter and "kamustahan" :)

we arrived there only a little before lunch. after eating, we proceeded to practicing our songs for the wedding. then we quickly went to the church for the celebration of kuya jo and merly’s love for each other.

there was a get together after the mass. at around 6:30 pm we decided to get going since it’s getting late.

on our way home, we sang, we laughed and we joked around like little kids in a school bus. i don’t know why but all of a sudden i felt free.

it’s like this, when i started working -- for almost three years now -- i’m always the follower. it affected my attitude towards those who are older and “superior” than me because with them, i’m always cautious. i always wanted to please them and surely i don’t want to offend any of them; in effect (although not wanting to) i fall behind in their shadows. but last saturday, even if there’s still the feeling of not wanting to offend anybody, i laughed, i sung and i kid around with them and felt comfortable with it. and i had a great time :)

~~~

next saturday, another sister will be wedded and there will be another chance to be together again.

~~~

it was a bit different from the weekend i usually have because this time i am not within the comfort zone of being with baby, this time i am with lisieux and i am also at home.

Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one!'"
-- C. S. Lewis

~~~

arlene, kris and merla :) thank you for the words of encouragement.

~~~

(loida is one of out marketing assistant who will be leaving for Guam on tuesday. but she told me that she will be back on September to continue her work here :)

Dear Loids,

This is a thank you letter for all the things you’ve done for the program, for the people around us and for me.

Thank you for cheering me up whenever I feel depressed with my work.
Thank you for motivating me to do the things that has to be done.
Thank you for the ride every time we go home late.
Thank you for the laugh whenever I rolled my eyes on somebody.
Thank you for appreciating (and memorizing) “my” songs.
Thank you for the exchange of thoughts about love and life.
Thank you for the conversations that brighten up my day.
Thank you for keeping me company even for just a while.
Thank you for the sweetness.
Thank you for the smile.
Thank you for the friendship.
Thank you for everything.

I will really, really, really miss you :) I hope to see you again on September.

Hugs,
guada gurl

PS.
I was about to buy a new angel last night unfortunately it was out of stock. I want you to have this – It used to be mine :) -- hold it every time you pray or whenever you need guidance. Ingat ka palagi ha? ok?

I envy those people who update their blog/site everyday.

~~~

I feel depress now. my mama accused me of being a loner/anti-social again. she keeps on comparing me with my cousins. eh what does she want me to do? we are very different from each other. sad talaga. she even compared me to one of her officemates who doesn’t have any friend except her husband and kids. and whom, according to her, no one likes. pero may friends naman ako ah? :( ndi nga lang madami, kasi I really choose the people I want to befriend. but I’m polite to everybody. I just put so much value to the word friend so that I don’t confuse them with my acquaintances. i don't think she understands me.

this happened last Sunday. but it still bothers me until now…

yesterday, june 1, is the birthday of shê. she is the look alike of châ :)

{may 30, 2003 friday 5:21pm}

may 31= traffic

i've been inside the bus for about four and a half hours already and still there’s no hope of moving.

you might want to know the cause of the traffic -- it’s the annual tradition of Flores de Mayo. as a rule it’s the procession of the "reynas” & their “consortes” that’s causing all the commotions but most of the time it’s their “alalays” who are blocking the way of the passing vehicles thus casing the traffic. People more often than not hate this season because of the traffic. but i don't. i love this time of the year.

according to my grandmother, the "reynahan" started as a religious tradition. the priests or the "prayles" during the spanish time commemorated the search of Reyna Elena (the mother of Constantine the Great) for the cross that the romans used to crucify Jesus Christ.

the month of may is also considered as the flower month & the month of the Holy Mother. according to the tradition, the farmers, after a long period of summer season, would offer flowers and fruits to the holy virgin asking for the start of the rainy season. and every year, if you would notice rain would start falling as early as the last week of may.

when we were just a kid, my grandmother, whom i fondly called inay, used to put a pinch of mud in our navels whenever the first rain in the month of may drops. she said that it would protect us from a number of illness specially tummy aches.

while i’m already 23 years old now and equipped with proper knowledge on what to and what not to believe, i would still love to sit beside our window, watch the rain fall and wonder whether inay’s stories are real or just a silly tradition (which I hope is not :)