I'm leaving Singapore today. Excited to see my family and friends back home in the Philippines, but also a bit stressed out. My head so tired now and my eyes so heavy. My Singapore-Cebu flight was delayed from its 12:15 a.m. schedule today to 2:45 am!
I'm at Singapore's Budget Terminal departure area now waiting for boarding. So many Filipinos hanging around, waiting for their flight like me. I heard some Cebuanos talking, joking, laughing about their stories as overseas workers - all excited to be home.
...some people feel the rain,some just get wet.
since December 2006
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
I've got mail, again!
Haha. I checked my mail box today, and yes, I've got another mail (delivered by FedUp Express :-)). It's the third snail mail I got in just few days time. Hmm...this has been a slow, but happy day for me - I got to enjoy rain and a mail from a dear friend.:-) Quite a good treat for the day.
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Cold day
I felt extra cold today. It's not like the cold climate I've experienced in the US last year, but I felt cold enough today in Singapore (country with tropical climate like Philippines) that I dared not turn on our AC or even our fan. It's been very rainy here lately. I looked out our window and enjoyed the sight of the thick sheet of rain. I heard all day the steady rain fall. I love it. I was reminded of Kawasan Falls in Cebu. Oh, how cold and refreshing.
With my red sweater on, I curled up in bed. Watched TV. Hmm...yes, it's NOT a crazy, busy day.:-)
With my red sweater on, I curled up in bed. Watched TV. Hmm...yes, it's NOT a crazy, busy day.:-)
Saturday, December 16, 2006
He said, She said...
If only we know it's our last, then we probably would have more guts to say and show our love to people dear to us. We might be bold enough to ask or extend forgiveness to those we have hurt or have hurt us. Or maybe we will care more to simply thank those who have made our lives beautiful. If only we know...
My friend Angel is not taking chances with her dad who has dementia and had lost most of his memory. Lately, he's been refusing to eat and has been sick. Angel, a daddy's girl, sought and waited for an opportunity where her dad can talk and connect with her again - even for one last time. And her wish was granted.
Angel helps him remember who he is through music. On his bedside, she patiently sings his favorite songs till he finds the words and melodies of the songs he loved. Oh, how light and tears fill his eyes when he remembers and sings! The sight of them trying to hold on and stay connected in some kind of emotional channel brings me wonder, nostalgia, and tears.
This four-minute video clip I made for her will show you bits and pieces of their precious dialogue and some old photos and fragments of songs recorded by her dad many years ago.
May you be blessed and be challenged to make meaningful times with your loved ones. Who knows when is the last time, anyway? This I challenge myself, too.
My friend Angel is not taking chances with her dad who has dementia and had lost most of his memory. Lately, he's been refusing to eat and has been sick. Angel, a daddy's girl, sought and waited for an opportunity where her dad can talk and connect with her again - even for one last time. And her wish was granted.
Angel helps him remember who he is through music. On his bedside, she patiently sings his favorite songs till he finds the words and melodies of the songs he loved. Oh, how light and tears fill his eyes when he remembers and sings! The sight of them trying to hold on and stay connected in some kind of emotional channel brings me wonder, nostalgia, and tears.
This four-minute video clip I made for her will show you bits and pieces of their precious dialogue and some old photos and fragments of songs recorded by her dad many years ago.
May you be blessed and be challenged to make meaningful times with your loved ones. Who knows when is the last time, anyway? This I challenge myself, too.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
I've got mail!
I came in the office this morning and found a mail on my table! It's a Christmas greeting from a friend in Kyrgyzstan. Made me smile.
It always warms my heart to get a snail mail. Never mind the long wait. It's the thought of having someone take time to pen down some thoughts on a paper, put a stamp on the envelope, and drop it in the post office that counts. It takes time - that's why it's always valued.
I remember how elated I get when I receive letters and snail mails in high school (we didn't have internet yet in town that time). Regardless of content and some messy handwriting - letters, personal cards, and snail mail always make my day bright. I remember those scented stationeries, those corny love words, quotes and promises (copied from books or movies or from someone else!) from boy friends in high school who wanted to impress by trying to sound like a poet. Haha. I remember wearing a big grin and jumping in my head every time Mr. Postman drops by our house and waves his hand with a mail and shouts, "Aurelia Castro!"
Oh, those were the days...
Now with internet, I can send and get messages in an instant. I maintain and share a blog in an attempt to stay connected with people dear to me who are working, sleeping, and living in different parts of this world. Yet no matter how glued I am now with computer and all those instant things, I always try to go back to the old way of sending my thoughts to my family and friends via snail mail. It makes me slow down and teaches me again what thoughtfulness means.
I mailed a number of letters the other week. My office friend saw me put the stamps and she wore a surprised look in her eyes. "You still do snail mail? You don't use email?" For a moment, I felt so old-fashioned. But I was so happy to be so.
After all, it's the oldies that bring me back close to home, close to my heart.
It always warms my heart to get a snail mail. Never mind the long wait. It's the thought of having someone take time to pen down some thoughts on a paper, put a stamp on the envelope, and drop it in the post office that counts. It takes time - that's why it's always valued.
I remember how elated I get when I receive letters and snail mails in high school (we didn't have internet yet in town that time). Regardless of content and some messy handwriting - letters, personal cards, and snail mail always make my day bright. I remember those scented stationeries, those corny love words, quotes and promises (copied from books or movies or from someone else!) from boy friends in high school who wanted to impress by trying to sound like a poet. Haha. I remember wearing a big grin and jumping in my head every time Mr. Postman drops by our house and waves his hand with a mail and shouts, "Aurelia Castro!"
Oh, those were the days...
Now with internet, I can send and get messages in an instant. I maintain and share a blog in an attempt to stay connected with people dear to me who are working, sleeping, and living in different parts of this world. Yet no matter how glued I am now with computer and all those instant things, I always try to go back to the old way of sending my thoughts to my family and friends via snail mail. It makes me slow down and teaches me again what thoughtfulness means.
I mailed a number of letters the other week. My office friend saw me put the stamps and she wore a surprised look in her eyes. "You still do snail mail? You don't use email?" For a moment, I felt so old-fashioned. But I was so happy to be so.
After all, it's the oldies that bring me back close to home, close to my heart.
Sunday, December 10, 2006
writing from the heart
My friend AK and I attended a joint workshop (How to Write an Effective Speech) with the Society of Singapore Writers (SSW) and Toastmasters Club yesterday. The president of SSW shared to us two best speeches ever made in the English language - Antony's speech on The Life and Death of Julius Caesar and the Sermon on the Mount. Those were concise, clever, and powerful words that hit the human hearts - best speeches for all time.
I enjoyed the workshop though I wasn't as interested in making a career in speech writing. What I counted more as a challenge and a thrill for me was to be acquainted with the society of writers in Singapore - to be with people who understand the joy and pain of writing.
The following points are things that I already know. But to hear them again and again is worth it for it creates a spark in my soul.
* Each one of us has a message to tell. It's something that you own, you know, and you believe in. It's something that you have experienced. Those are stories from your heart of hearts. There is a Truth to tell.
* To be a writer is a lifetime calling. The love for words, the practice of writing and learning and improving should be a part of your daily life; a part of your culture.
* Writers don't live by themselves alone. They have to have a gang; a support group to journey with them in the arena of writing, publishing and teaching.
AK and I ended up having dinner at Pizza Hut. Our stomachs were starved, but our hearts were full. We feasted on our meal while we talked till late about writing. What a privilege to be in a network of people who share the same passion. What a joy to have a friend who breathes the same calling.
p.s. here's an extract of the speeches we've read and studied:
Antony:
Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears;
I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.
The evil that men do lives after them;
The good is oft interred with their bones;
So let it be with Caesar. The noble Brutus
Hath told you Caesar was ambitious:
If it were so, it was a grievous fault,
And grievously hath Caesar answer'd it.
Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest -
For Brutus is an honourable man;
So are they all, all honourable men -
Come I to speak in Caesar's funeral.
He was my friend, faithful and just to me:
But Brutus says he was ambitious;
And Brutus is an honourable man.
He hath brought many captives home to Rome
Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill:
Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?
When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept:
Ambition should be made of sterner stuff:
Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;
And Brutus is an honourable man.
You all did see that on the Lupercal
I thrice presented him a kingly crown,
Which he did thrice refuse: was this ambition?
Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;
And, sure, he is an honourable man.
I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke,
But here I am to speak what I do know.
You all did love him once, not without cause:
What cause withholds you then, to mourn for him?
O judgment! thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason. Bear with me;
My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar,
And I must pause till it come back to me.
THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT
From the Gospel of Matthew
Date written: 63 AD
The Beatitudes
1And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. 2Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:
3"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted.
5Blessed are the meek,
For they shall inherit the earth.
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.
7Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God.
9Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they shall be called sons of God.
10Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11"Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you,
and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.
12Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven,
for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
I enjoyed the workshop though I wasn't as interested in making a career in speech writing. What I counted more as a challenge and a thrill for me was to be acquainted with the society of writers in Singapore - to be with people who understand the joy and pain of writing.
The following points are things that I already know. But to hear them again and again is worth it for it creates a spark in my soul.
* Each one of us has a message to tell. It's something that you own, you know, and you believe in. It's something that you have experienced. Those are stories from your heart of hearts. There is a Truth to tell.
* To be a writer is a lifetime calling. The love for words, the practice of writing and learning and improving should be a part of your daily life; a part of your culture.
* Writers don't live by themselves alone. They have to have a gang; a support group to journey with them in the arena of writing, publishing and teaching.
AK and I ended up having dinner at Pizza Hut. Our stomachs were starved, but our hearts were full. We feasted on our meal while we talked till late about writing. What a privilege to be in a network of people who share the same passion. What a joy to have a friend who breathes the same calling.
p.s. here's an extract of the speeches we've read and studied:
Antony:
Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears;
I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.
The evil that men do lives after them;
The good is oft interred with their bones;
So let it be with Caesar. The noble Brutus
Hath told you Caesar was ambitious:
If it were so, it was a grievous fault,
And grievously hath Caesar answer'd it.
Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest -
For Brutus is an honourable man;
So are they all, all honourable men -
Come I to speak in Caesar's funeral.
He was my friend, faithful and just to me:
But Brutus says he was ambitious;
And Brutus is an honourable man.
He hath brought many captives home to Rome
Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill:
Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?
When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept:
Ambition should be made of sterner stuff:
Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;
And Brutus is an honourable man.
You all did see that on the Lupercal
I thrice presented him a kingly crown,
Which he did thrice refuse: was this ambition?
Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;
And, sure, he is an honourable man.
I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke,
But here I am to speak what I do know.
You all did love him once, not without cause:
What cause withholds you then, to mourn for him?
O judgment! thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason. Bear with me;
My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar,
And I must pause till it come back to me.
THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT
From the Gospel of Matthew
Date written: 63 AD
The Beatitudes
1And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. 2Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:
3"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted.
5Blessed are the meek,
For they shall inherit the earth.
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.
7Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God.
9Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they shall be called sons of God.
10Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11"Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you,
and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.
12Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven,
for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Deadline no more
Big smiles.:-) I’ve submitted my stories for our publication’s December issue a day before my deadline more than a week ago. All I got to do now is help in the video project we are doing and then get ready for my trip back to my beloved home in the Philippines in two weeks time.
For now, I got more time to unwind...get more sleep, watch movies, read books, enjoy quietness of the heart, and go around Singapore and be like a tourist.:-) And also, I got more time to play with my blog – the reason it now comes with a new face.
It’s a joy to share my life. Thanks to all for journeying with me.
For now, I got more time to unwind...get more sleep, watch movies, read books, enjoy quietness of the heart, and go around Singapore and be like a tourist.:-) And also, I got more time to play with my blog – the reason it now comes with a new face.
It’s a joy to share my life. Thanks to all for journeying with me.