my english professor told our class once that we should only quote directly if we can think of no better way to express the idea than the way it was expressed originally.

so, this is always how i feel when i want to share with other people stuff that i've read from conrado de quiros' column. here are some lines from his previous articles, and i do hope that they create the same impact that they had on me for people who will be reading this post.


I wondered why the dark cloud that had fallen on Malacañang for a week shouldn’t make us more acutely aware of the pitch darkness that has fallen on the land for many years now.

-Empathy

yes, we should pray for FGMA, yes, we should be concerned about his health, but it is not only him who is on the brink of death [oh, wait, he isn't anymore right?]. he and his wife have taken over the country, taking away the little that's left of our beloved country's health, and this, way above FGMA's health condition, is what people should empathize with.



At the end of the day, you do not just have to live with the candidate you have inflicted on the nation, you have to live with yourself and the wound you have inflicted on yourself. You can’t be true to yourself, you can’t be true to the nation. Stop complaining about this country going nowhere. There is no vote that is wasted on a candidate you believe is fit to run this country, whether he wins or not. You do not win when you vote a fool or a tyrant to office because he or she is the “strong candidate,” you lose -- even if he or she wins. Above all when he or she wins. And you do not lose when you vote for a candidate as your conscience bids, you win -- even if he or she loses. Above all if he or she loses: It is but the beginning of struggle.

-Again, the 'wasted vote'

i felt strongly about this before when bro. eddie villanueva ran for president in the 2004 elections. and again the issue goes back, with the Ang Kapatiran party as the focus. i'm rooting for them, and i do hope that the others out there who really feel that they[Ang Kapatiran] have what it takes to do the job properly, then they should vote for them. never mind if their chances of actually being included in the top 12 is slim. after all, the people on trial during elections are not only the candidates, but also the voters. a vote is only wasted when it is given to a candidate for the wrong reasons, it is never wasted when casted for the proper reasons, even if the candidate voted for loses.



The real opposition in this country, though not always clearly articulated in the public mind, is the one that is neither pro-Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo nor pro-Joseph Estrada.

-Writing on the wall

oftentimes people feel obliged to take a side, GO or TU? but, really, there is no need to take a 'block side.' free will, guys. one person can not be the epitome of a whole ideal.



Ma’am, offense is better than defense. When you are attacked for not being elected, you oust the elected officials who are saying so. When you are caught killing journalists and activists, you arrest others for murder.

- Hello, Ma'am

this is a satirical take at the hello garci tape, the one speaking here is garci. had the garci incident been in another country, the president wouldn't only be impeached, charges will also be pressed against her. but, hey, this is the philippines. what's new?



Ducat poses the same spectacle. He is a mirror held up on our topsy-turvy society, where someone who risks this country's sovereignty is the national security chief, where someone given to injustice is the justice secretary, where someone who has never been voted to power feels free to oust elected local officials. For all his craziness, or precisely because of it, Ducat asks the terrifying questions: Who are this country's true hostage-takers and who are its liberators? Who are this country's real terrorists and who are its protectors? Who are this country's madmen (and women) and who are its rational individuals?

Alas, we do not have all the time in the world to answer those questions. The finger pressed on the pin is getting very, very tired.

-Mirrors

roles can be so confusing nowadays. who's telling the truth? who's for us? who's against us? who's 'us'? at times like this, one can never be really sure. as mad-eye moody often says, "constant vigilance!"

more articles here.

kung nanalo ng 33M sa lotto si jill...
(na imposible kase di naman ako tumataya at di ako tataya ever)

sa isang episode ng ratedK, feature yung mama na nanalo ng 33MILLION sa lotto, tapos nawala lang in one year, dahil sa sugal, iba pang bisyo, at kung anu anong katangahan. so, ako naman, napaisip, kung ako kaya ang nanalo ng 33M, anu gagawin ko?

7M- hati parents ko. hehe.. naku, kumikita pa naman sila sa mga raket, este, business nila.. hehe.. kaya pwede na sa kanila yan.

6M- tig 3M si ati tay at chevy, ang aking ate at kapatid, respectively.

8M- for charity- orgs, foundations, schools, basta, pamimigay.

500,000- luho ko sa aking aim na magpaka-techie! bibili ako ng top of the line na laptop. ah wait, panu na si Chito? syempre di ko parin siya pamimigay. i-didisplay ko siya sa stante na parang.. figurine. bwahaha! tapos, bibili ako ng pinakasosyal na ipod, yung may pinaka astig na features at pinaka malaking memory. tapos digicam, yung pang professional, tapos isang pang travel. tapos, cell phone din. isa sa globe, isa sa smart, isang suncell, talk and text, tnt, mobiline, islacom..[haha! may ganun pa ba.].. basta, techie!!! kukumpletuhin ko ang N-series. ididisplay ko si mahal kong 6230i katabi ni Chito bilang.. figurine uli? haha loves it loves it!

3M- para sa aking education sa law school. kase, kahit pinapangarap ko ang peyups law school [malcolm hall oh malcolm hall.. pagbigyan mo na ko oh..] eh kamusta naman, 1-3% lang pumapasa dun. kaya, dapat may budget if ever para maitaguyod ko ang aking pangarap sa ibang eskwelahan.

so, magkano pa? hmm.. 33-(7+6+8+.5+3)= 33-24.5=8.5M
may 8.5M pa ko?

250,000- para sa leisure time with friends. bongga! haha..

150,000- para sa mga cats namin. polly, dog, and fat, you will never ever have to eat paksiw again! haha! everyday kase yun pinapakain namin sa kanila, pinagluluto sila ni atchi rose. tapos, paminsan, ayaw na nilang kainin kase nga naman, ikaw bang pakainin ng paksiw araw araw, sa 6 years kang nabubuhay, di ka ba magsasawa? kaya, yun.. whiskas, friskies, at kung anu ano pang catfood na sosyal ang papakain namin sa kanila. ipapa-groom pa namin.. ipagagawa ko sila ng bahay sa likod. eeeeh... iniisip ko pa lang kinikilig na ko! hehe..

100,000- books books books. :) or is that too much? ewan eh, feel ko lang. :)

750,000- travel fund namin, ikutin ang buong Pinas..

700,000- extra para sa travel, kung magkulang man. kung hindi, idagdag sa iba.

300,000- personal. basta kung anong ma-feel ko na gusto ko! magpapa-lipo ako! hahaha, ipasasara ko ang gateway for a day. wait, enough na ba 300,000? kung di, bawasan yung extra para sa travel.

so, may 6.250M pa ko..

500,000- pamimigay sa mga kamag-anak..

250,000- bibigyan ng gifts ang ibang tao. basta, kung anu lang gusto nila, or, ewan, gifts for friends? hehe, pati liligawan ko na yung long time crush ko, siyempre milyonarya na ko, mag-iisip pa ba siya? hahaha!

so, 5.5? itatago ko na muna yun sa bank. o kaya i-i-invest. o diba! ang dami palang pwedeng gawin sa 33M! nakngpupu naman yung mamang yun! pano niya inubos yun in a year??? dapat di ko nalang ginawa to eh, na-imbyerna pa ko sa mamang yun.

ikaw na bumabasa nito, anung gagawin mo sa 33M? :)

cat-terrific moments


baby ni dog



babies ni dog



beh-lat moments ni polly



she's especially cute when she's sleeping



pa-cute naman to, hehe.. si fatso yan, ang kanilang reyna.



mother and daughter.



look closely, may feather siya sa bibig. haha! nilagay lang namin ni chevy yan.. haha!


aren't cats simply adorable? ü

ang aking mga pamangkin ü


asia, daughter of ate leah. haven't seen her yet in person, sana magpunta na sila dito soon. :)


sean! son of ate shiela. ang gwapo no? :)


ken ken! son of kuya ryan. ang gulo gulo gulo ng batang to, sabi niya nung kukunan ko siya ng pic, "kungwari tulog si kenken!" haha! di man niya alam gamitin yung "ako" "ikaw" kaya, sabihin niya, "huwag muna umalis si tita!" hehe!

corregidor pics


dun sa japanese cemetery to. look closely, nakapose din si ati tay, haha!


dun sa may museum to.


gen. mcarthur!


sasabog na!


weheh! nagkasya ko. hehe.


on the way..


launching ko. haha!


sculpture-mural(?) ng edsa1

etc..


pusa sa dorm ni chil. hangkyut!


yung martinez na palaging nasa window ko sa boarding house.


sa expressway, pauwi. la lang!


with chil and loreen after dg. :)


mahal kong te char at chil. :)


si mark, pamangkin ni ate mel, landlady ko dati. hehe. ang kyut din nito!


prof ko sa math 17. hahaha!


ma and i at mv doulos :)


ang tatay ko. haha! natatawa talaga ko sa pic na to! hahaha!


chevy and i sa kwarto ko, pout-poutan. haha!


hindi sila prepared. hmpf.


sa isang bench store. hehe!

let the pictures do the talking...[ok, i'll do some too ü]



sa aming bangka, si ANGELINE [uy kapangalan ko pa!]



picturan with chevy



me and chevy in our snorkel gear [super excited kaming makakita ng fish, tapos natakot na lang kami bigla nung makakita na kami! haha!]



kayak! pang-sea games na to pare! [haha, ilang beses nga ba kaming napunta dun sa 'danger zone'?]



with ma and chevy



mga experts! [haha! panic mode na smile pa rin!]



swimming sa governor's island, umuulan jan! [my favorite moment]



hindi prepared



with mudar



nasan na kami?



at quezon island. family picnic ü [alternate caption: biceps] haha!



so beautiful ü

a bad sunburn had never been this worth it. :)

i'm leaving on a jet plane..

well actually, just on a car.. hundred islands, here i come!!! ü weeeh! one more shirt to add to my still small islands souvenirs collection! :)

(hobbes) how come we play war and not peace?
(calvin) too few role models
(c) i'll be the fearless americal defender of liberty and democracy
(c) and you can be the loathsome godless communist oppressor
(c) we're at war, so if you get hit with a dart, you're dead and the other side wins, ok?
(h) gotcha.
[play war]
c) kind of stupid game, isn't?


(c) sometimes i think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us.



bakit di nalang kaya calvin and hobbes ang gamitin bilang textbooks? ü magvaledictorian pa ko.. haha! :p

the news about the gunning in virginia tech brought back what my 2nd year high school peace ed teacher said in our first meeting.. i'm not sure about the exact words, but this is the idea: "the terrorists today all have gone through your age, and maybe if we start teaching people your age about peace, then we won't have the same problems in the future." obviously, that statement stuck to me. everytime i heard of terrorist attacks, heinous crimes, i try to visualize offenders as teenagers and wondered how they were when they were my age. then, this morning, a report in the newspaper discussed about "the profile of a gunman" or something to that effect, and the people who knew the gunman, Cho Seung Hi, a 23 year old korean, talked about what they knew about him. they said he was withdrawn, and they only knew him through his projects in his classes. he was an english major and when they were asked to make scripts for plays, his always involved killings and morbid scenes. one student said that when he heard of the incident, his first thoughts of who did it immediately were of Cho Seung Hi, because of what he knew about him through his works. then i again thought of a teenage Cho Seung, who had to go through highschool.

where did things go wrong? was it about his parents' way of treating him or was it about school or other factors? i don't really know. i wish i do, though. or i wish someone does, so that it can be fixed and there would be less of those incidents in the future. what i am quite sure about is the influence that education can have in a certain person's way of thinking.

going back to my peace education class, i think our batch was the first to have it in our curriculum. i felt excited and thought greatly of the subject, because it really had a big potential to influence students positively. its objective was clear, educate students about peace so that they won't turn to violence when they grow old. too bad, though, all we did was study about how many tons of toxic chemicals were leaked to the seas. i acknowledge the importance of knowing the figures, but not to the extent that all we ever did was memorize those. in fact, i don't really think they have to be memorized. they only have to be discussed in a way that students will see the impact that pollution causes to the world. also, there should've been more discussions on issues about peace. when is peace not the best solution? where does violence stem from? at the end of the school year, i doubt if anyone really learned much about peace. the only thing that i remember learning is the one i quoted at the beginning of this post. well, maybe that's all there is to it. i don't know.

right now i can think of one certain issue bugging me- choosing peace over truth. i've always been a non-confrontational person (parang ang baduy nung term) but i've learned that it's okay to sacrifice peace for the sake of justice. that feelings matter far less than truth does. let me cite an example. a cheating incident occured, witnesses came forward, enough evidence has been presented, but people in authority ignored all those and went on as if no injustice and dishonesty have been done. so, is there peace? yes there is. those who came forward to complain knew better than to push the issue, because people in authority already decided on the matter. the offender also was at peace, but well i just hope her conscience eats her up. so see? why did people in authority let the case go that way? to avoid scandal? what? so peace is still deemed important, even if it is pursued at the expense of truth? for me, topics like this should be discussed in class. if truth and justice are taken for granted at such an early age, then aren't the people in authority breeding citizens who think IT'S OKAY TO GAIN PERSONAL GLORY AT THE EXPENSE OF OTHER PEOPLE? peace is a good thing, violence is not something anyone should turn to. but violence isn't the only thing that kills peace, truth sometimes does. difference is that truth is a good thing. and if time comes that one has to choose between peace and truth, then i really do hope that truth will be the choice.

The Heart of Worship
by: Matt Redman

When the music fades
And all is stripped away
And I simply come
Longing just to bring
Something that’s of worth
That will bless your heart

I’ll bring You more than a song
For a song in itself
Is not what You have required
You search much deeper within
Through the ways things appear
You’re looking into my heart

I’m coming back to the heart of worship
And it’s all about You
All about You, Jesus
I’m sorry Lord for the thing I’ve made it
When it’s all about You
It’s all about You Jesus

King of endless worth
No one could express
How much You deserve
Though I’m weak and poor
All I have is Yours
Every single breath

I’ll bring You more than just a song
For a song in itself
Is not what You have required
You search much deeper within
Through the way things appear
You’re looking into my heart

I’m coming back to the heart of worship
And it’s all about You
All about You, Jesus
I’m sorry Lord for the thing I’ve made it
When it’s all about You
It’s all about You Jesus

Its all about you
Jesus

oo na jologs! aminado naman ako.. waaaah. aminin mo, nagustuhan mo rin sila diba? diba? diba? haha! :p

they say that a person's bedroom says a lot about her personality. so, i tried to analyze my room's anatomy [huh?] and saw some proof to the said statement.


this is my bed. see, i'm not a very pillow-y person. just two big pillows and one body pillow. beside my pillows is my devotional book and my Bible. also, two stuffed toys from auntie irene, oh, actually one was from leo. so there.



this is my beloved casio keyboard. twas bought for me by ma about 3 years ago. it's my companion during i-feel-so-artistic-you-should-start-calling-me-mozart days.


this are my shelves. the top one contains some of my books, most bought from booksale. haha. also, stuffed toys i've gotten over the years. oh, there's that secret of the code book, it's jon2's and it's been with me for more than a year now. i hope he's not mad at me. hehe. then, on the lower shelf, left side, are some music cd's, then on the right side are my lotions, perfumes, and other body thingies. there are also hooks by the side, with id straps and hair scrunchies.


la lang. si promac. haha. mainit eh. critical na pala to. ilang beses ko na rin siyang nasipa. paminsan pag sinusumpong siya, di ko ma-press yung 1, kaya 2 parati, haha. pero mahal ko parin naman si promac.


ito ang aking supposedly study table. pero makikita naman na wala na kong natitirang space para pagpatungan ng pinagsusulatan o kung anu pa. ayan, sa left ay yung container na project ata nung gr.4 or 5. lalagyan ko ng mga bagay na tinatamad akong ayusin, tulad ng mga scratch papers, hair thingies, pens, accessories, atbp. tapos sa tabi ay si Chito, ang aking mahal na laptop. 5 months old palang siya pero mahal na mahal ko na talaga siya. Chito pala dahil, nu pa nga ba, sa vocalist ng parokya. ayan, tapos sa likod ni Chito ay yung mga librong binasa ko recently o babasahin palang. mostly Christian books by Swindoll, Lewis, Lucado, Harris, atbp. tapos may Calvin and Hobbes, Nicholas Sparks novels, yearling newberry chu chu, mga classics na ilang beses ko nang binalak basahin ngunit di matuloy tuloy. At yung tablecloth na dating kurtina ata. Ewan. Haha.


kurtina! haha! dapat kukunan ko yung view from my window, kaso gabi na, kaya kurtina nalang. blue. my favorite color.:) hehe. describe ko nalang. uh, sa mga nakapunta na samin, yung likod ng bahay ang makikita from my window. yung pinto papunta sa bodega ni papa, yung mga stante ng kanyang mga electric chorvaloos, kulungan ng mga pusa kapag pinapakain, washing machine, blah blah. basta, di kagandahan ang view, pero ok na rin, atleast di siya morning sun, makakatulog ako kahit 12nn na, kaso afternoon sun siya, kaya around 3pm eh sobrang torture kung magsstay ako dun. pero malamig naman pag gabi.


hehe. bangag mode.

ayan. this artik was inspired by gyk's first post, nainggit lang akech. hehe. well, till here. so, anu nga bang nareveal tungkol sa personality ko mula sa pagsusuri ng aking kwarto? meron nga ba? haha.. in fairness, inayos ko pa kama ko (=tinupi ang kumot) para sa pictorial niya..