My Train Moments

Light Rail Transit o LRT ang unang tren kong nasakyan. Naalala ko pa yung kwento sa Pagbasa kong libro noong nasa elementarya pa ko. Ayon sa kwento, nagkakagulo ang mga jeep, trak, bus, kotse at iba pang uri ng sasakyan sa pagtatayo ng isang mahabang tulay na may riles sa itaas. naiinis sila sapagkat abala sa trapiko ang ginagawang tulay na ito. At ng matapos ito lahat ng sasakyan ay nagulat ng may nakitang may tren na umaandar sa ibabaw ng tulay. Sabi ng jeep, 'aba! ang yabang naman nitong bagong sasakyan na ito, akala mo kung sinong matulin tumakbo'. sabi ng bus. 'oo nga at kung makapagsakay ng pasahero ay hindi nagtitira', at lahat ng sasakyan ay.... ah! hindi pala yan ang gusto kong ikwento...

Tuwing pupunta kaming Caloocan ni Mama, LRT ang sinsakyan namin mula Edsa/Pasay hanggang Monumento... at dahil bata pa ko nun, lagi akong nakatayo sa upuan at nakaharap sa salaming bintana, tinitingnan ang lahat ng gusali, daan, puno at karatula ng Jollibee na madaanan. Pero ang lagi kong inaabangan ay ang mga tila malalaking bahay na makulay at magarbo ang disenyo, na may mga buda sa pintuan...sabi ni Mama ko, Chinese Cemetery daw yun... (at oo, hanggang ngayon kapag nasasakay ako sa LRT, inaabangan ko pa ring madaanan iyon...).

Yung malaking orasan na kulay pula... Sabi ni Mama Orasan ng Maynila iyon. Bago dumating doon, yung malawak na lugar na may mapa ng Pilinas na nakalutang sa tubig... Tama, Luneta nga ang tinutukoy ko. Lagi kong sinasabi sa sarili ko noon, sana bumaba kami sa Luneta at mamasyal bago kami dumeterso sa pag-uwi, kaso hindi naman kami bumababa, hanggang tanaw na lang ako.

Laging masaya ang paglalakbay tuwing sumasakay ako ng LRT noon, hindi pa kasi siksikan masyado noon at higit sa lahat bida ako sa kwentuhan naming magpipinsan...

itutuloy....

Idiot Box...

I wonder what keeps you glued in an Idiot Box for hours?
What interests you?
What holds your attention?

I'll share my little delights when glued on the Idiot Box...
**Among the talk shows...foreign: I recently discover Ellen DeGeneres show... gosh! she is so funny, smart and very spontaneous... obviously being a stand-up comedian...Her frankness is not intimidating... and her wittiness is undoubtedly natural... it's very homy watching the show (check her site on the side menu of my blog). and get addicted to her...
**On the local talk show...: uhmmmm.... Teysi ng Tahanan... ay wala na pala ito... why can't they make a talk show like this... sensible and informative...
ahhhhh....Mel and Jay.... shocks! wala na rin pala ito... I love their tandem and the way they deliberate a topic... bakit ba kasi ni-reformat pa... too commercial...
hmmmmm....couldn't think of any... pass

**I watch Fab Five's Queer Eye for the Straight Guy... they are just so cool, very gay, intelligent, funny, outrageous with sense... Their show is inspiring.... seeing those so called straight guy's transformation from worst to best... it gives you hope that men can change...

**such freak shows like:
Mythbusters, Braniac, I didn't know that, How it is made... Ang kulet!!! pero super informative.

**I have Jologs favorites... yes! I watch these shows... Swear!
Totoo TV (ABC 5, Monday 7pm)- it's not your usual interview questions with your guests...anything goes...whatever question pops in Maverick and Ariel's fickle minds. Imagine such prominent guests answering not your T.V. typical questions...

Kay Susan Tayo(GMA 7, Sunday 1030am) - hehehe! I swear I watch this... it is very educational... right?!!! and Susan Enriquez delivers her spiels so well... hilarious, clever, realistic.

John and Shirley(ABS-CBN 2, Saturday after Pedro Penduko) - the comedy is classic. It just relaxes me watching their old antics.

Re-runs of Betty La Fea (Studio 23, Monday to Friday, 12nn) - my all time favorite telenovela period. (^_^)

Hallows...Horcruxes...

I've finished reading the last book of Harry Potter, at 3am last Saturday. I borrowed the book Wednesday from Ana and started reading right away... too excited, I finished reading 7 chapters while waiting for my samples...then thursday, too sleepy to read, so I let Harry wait for me... Friday after my day shift duty... till dawn I was reading...
- Naman!!! First few chapters pa lang, napaiyak na ko... (apektado masyado sa pagkamatay ni Mad-Eye Moody!)
- pero walang tatalo sa pagkaiyak ko ng mamatay si Dobey... waaaaaahhhh! (pag ito hindi ipinakita sa movie...ewan ko na lang... halos lahat kasi ng house-elf story sa book eh cut na pagdating sa movie)...
- pero bakit parang ang eengot ng mga death eaters noh?! kasi mga bata lang kalaban nila pero konting Stupefy!!! Expelliarmus!!! lang eh, lost sila.. oh! blimey...
- dragging lang nung after the wedding nina Billy and Fleur... 'zat chapters took 'zo long...
spending so much time Apparating and Disappirating... while in Grimauld place and other forests... (kaantok!)
- The Prince tales chapter... all the memories of Snape... I really have to munch every detail to fully understand everything...
- The war at Hogwarts excite me most... Imagine Neville Longbottom taking the stand to fight for Harry... and leading the D.A. while Harry was away... this is really inspiring...
and my all time favorite character, Severus Snape... you will appreciate him more than Dumbledore...
- the confrontation between Harry and You-Know-Who... (ayokong banggitin pangalan, baka under Taboo pa name nya kahit dead na sya...) as always more than exciting to read...(my imagination really flew with them...)
- and the other characters whom J.K. Rowling made to be the sacrificial lambs... so so sad... Fred, Lupin and Tonks...
- Harry, Ron and Hermione's adventure in finding the Hallows and Horcruxes is enough to keep my hands sticking to the book and my eyes fixed on every word i read and my brain working creatively more than ever...
- ok so much of my little review here... couldn't wait for the movie...
- the epilogue is so Bitin! that you'll beg for Book 8...

the moral of the story:
- er... do i need to write it up, when we all know what the Harry Potter series is all about...


Expecto Patronum! ( I wonder what will be my patronus...)

Sunset...

Sunset

melo-dramatic...
emotional...
romantic...
mushy...
dreamy...
wistful...
melancholy...
reflective...
pensive...
tender...
passionate...
remisniscing...
loving...
adoring...
longing...

sunset does not just ends the day but keeps the promise of tomorrow.

Monday...

Oh! it's monday today!

Yey!!!

while everybody is having their Monday sickness... I don't... simply because it's not my first day at work... having moving rest days keeps you off track of what day today is... sometimes, my off is Saturday and Sunday, sometimes Monday to Wednesday and sometimes Thursday and Friday...

I've finished reading the book One Hundred Years of Solitude last Saturday... I thought it'll take me one hundred years to do so... the almost same names of the characters confused me; aureliano, jose aureliano, jose arcadio, arcadio, aueliano arcadio, aureliano jose... (hahaha! may shortage yata ng pangalan noon). It is a perennial classic and the author, Gabriel Garcia Marquez is a Nobel Prize Winner, and the book is included in the Oprah's book club list. (ayan! binasa ko tuloy! pag pinagawa ako ng book report about it, patay na, babasahin ko ulet!). The book is about characters struggle on their madnesses, loves, beliefs, sacrifices... and finding their own solitude. The rise and fall of the town of Macondo based on the life of the Buendia family.... Whoa!!! akalain mo may natandaan ako....

next book....

I promise to read it in two days only....
syempre kasi may work pa ko....

ngayon pa lang, super thank you na kay Ms. Ana Maria Cabaluna sa pagpapahiram ng lahat ng Harry Potter books nya sa kin...

Yahooooo!!!! reading mode na naman ako...

Melay, nabasa mo na ba 'to? walang spoiler ha... kahit na marami na kong nabasang spoiler.... wehehehe!!!

Obedience

"All that Yahweh said we shall do and obey."
Exodus 24:7

This is an excerpt from Didache:
I like the way people in the Old testament saw everything in black and white. Good or bad. Life or death. Obedience and disobedience. Whatever God wanted them to do, it was either they followed it or not.

Right now it's hard to decipher what God wants me to do. Sometimes I wish He'd stop talking in codes and just tell me outright what He wants so I wouldn't be worried about being disobedient.

But then again, maybe God stopped giving me outright signs so that I would take time to seek His will. Maybe it's because He wants me to grow in Him, to know Him better. Maybe he stopped giving these signs so that I would obey Him with my heart, not just because I heard Him say what I should do. I'm pretty sure He hasn't stopped giving instructions yet - He just wants me to seek for it with my heart. Tina M.

DIDACHE (dee-da-ke) - the Greek word for teaching.
- is a quarterly Catholic Daily Bible Reflection Guide. It wishes to encourage the use of Sacred Scriptures among Catholics. It also wishes to reach the entire Christian people.

Fan ako

I already missed a week episode of Ysabella...
too bad for me, since it's the only teleserye I'm hooked now after Maging Sino Ka Man ended (syempre hintay ko ang Book 2 nito)...
I really like Juday's performance here; tough yet light. makulet na malambing, simple na nakakatuwa... and the fact that Juday's really blooming... (mag-fi-fitrum na nga ako!!! hehehe!)

and next week... I'll be missing more episodes bacause of my work schedule.... haaaaayy!!!

I really miss seeing derek....yummy!!! panalo appeal promise!!!

and the most of all...

fan ako ni aiza... wehehehe!
(walang pakialaman blog ko 'to!!!) (^_^)

Crossing the road: decision

when I'm at the brink of deciding whether to take that step forward or backward...
when I'm convincing myself that I'm not a coward...
when I'm choosing what to do next in my life...

I have decided... I'm taking the step forward...
I am convinced that I'm brave enough to take it...
I choose to add spice in my life...
I'm expanding my horizons...

Sunday - light and slow

It's Sunday... when almost everybody is chillin' at home... I'm workin'... Yup! after may 10pm duty last night... I'm now here at work again...at my 6am duty... (Parang hindi ko naramdamang natulog ako...) so, i'll take my sunday light and slow... with Wave 89.1 in the background... it's just soothing...

nothing pops in my mind to talk about right now since obviously all i wanted is to lie down in my bed and finished reading the book I've been reading for three weeks now, while it's raining outside... cool wind...it's just so calming...

ikaw? kwentuhan mo naman ako...

Happy, Sad, Happy

When I got home last night and watched Bandila, I was stuck in front of the T.V., Father Bossi is freed at last... Happy ako!!! (pero naman! timing sa SONA ni PGMA sa monday... magbibida na naman sya... haaaay!!!)

Tas, natulog ako almost 2am na... tas... nag-ring phone ko mga 4am....waaaahhhh!!! call-in sa work... pasok daw ako ng 6am kasi nag-SL yung dapat na nakaduty... Sad!!!

Tas, at work till 10pm pa ko... Sad pa rin...

Tas, buti na lang may internet ngayon dito...tas may nag-text sa kin na (sekwet!)... weeeeee!!! Happy ulet!!!

Crossing the road: deliberation

Been deliberating it for months... go or not... yes or no.. not or go... no or yes...
When I am most comfortably the queen of my workspace...
When I know all the sides of the story in my area...
When everyday seems to be just like yesterday...
When my enthusiasm in my work is slowly fading away...
When the challenge has become physically strenuous...
When there's no room for improvement anymore...

I have to keep on going or else find myself stuck in limbo...
My capability is being challenge...
I still have doubts, not on my ability to fulfill what are the responsibilities
but on something I can't explain...

Harry Pott.....er?

so, the 5th installment of the Harry Potter series is currently showing... Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix...
I watched the film with Zashi 3 days late from its opening date.
and what?
oh well, the film triumphantly executed what my imagination created while reading the book... Umbridge's character was well acted (galing!) and of course my all time favorite, Snape is a kick in the ass...
oh well again, if you are a HP fan, you sure get what the story is, but pity for those who just seem to get by the clamour... (bad trip yung katabi ko, kinukuwentuhan nung katabi nya! di ako nakatiis, nagparinig ako... ayun tumahimik!) naman, kaya nga series eh, dapat nasundan mo yung story... or else you'll be lost...
so the film as expected cut the side stories... (it's impossible to compact the 900+ pages of the book into a 2hr+ movie) to almost extinguished the houseelfs story. I was hoping to see the loveteam of Hagrid and Madame Maxime in their journey to befriending the giants... the Longbottom family in the hospital... Luna Lovegood's story... and the confusion between Harry and Neville as the one who survived the power of the Dark Lord as the prophecy tells...
but the fight scene between Dumbledore and Voldemort is great (kahit medyo bitin!)
and of course, the Weasley twins always marks in the movie...

since the story is getting deeper, I don't think it fits for the children. the long conversion between the characters tires your waiting for the action...

Still, it's harry potter, the boy who made reading for children and adults more interesting...

my POV:
it is more fun, enjoyable and interesting to read the book than watch the film... it is ones imagination that brings life to the story....

At last.... I'm having a date...

I have waited for this for so long...
finally...
I'm going to have a date with Harry...

dream challenge

it tops my wishlist...

from the very first time i've heard, read and seen it...

tinaga ko na sa bato....

gagawin ko talaga... pag-iipunan ko talaga...

and finally, it's my drean challenge come true....

Parasailing in Boracay with Weng and James.... the best water challenge we've ever tried... it's serene up there...it's a wonderful experience... got to do again....

next challenge.... scuba diving.... Wow! Pangarap!!!

Did you say challenges?

I've been exclaiming that I am up for new adventures in my life...

and that would mean taking the risks and making great decisions...

I started the year at peace but with tears...

I was heartbroken...

February, I went to Singapore with my best girlfriend, Zashi, to celebrate my birthday there visiting another dear friend, Melay...

with my hidden intention of covering up my pain...

.... and .... then what?

I still needed more activities to focus my time on...

and it didn't took long enough to get that sigh of relief...

The very first major decision I made...

Cut my 5 year-old long hair....

......everybody was shocked! including myself...

it brought a major change in my lifestyle...

less time in taking a bath...

no need for comb...

a little gel or leave-on will do...

tipid sa shampoo and conditioner...

mas mabilis akong kumilos...

except when i wake up....

I resemble Goku....

with my hair all up!!!

and yes, it was brave, courageous and bold of me to take that 5 minute-haircut.... that changed my whole outlook in life...

Taking my time

It was March when Weng texted me about Cebu Pacific Promo of 1P flight to any domestic destination...



Our long dream vacation to Boracay is a reality at hand...



To make the booking long story short... we were able to get a flight from July 01-04, 2007. With different departure time...(with just a minute difference on booking online...)



And so the excitement grew every single day that passes...

From the outfits, two piece, cover-ups, sunblock, and lots of essentials to browsing the net for activities to do, for the hotels, for everything we need to know about Boracay...



July 01, Day 1

I took 6pm-6am shift at work while Weng, Rheena and Ariel went ahead on their ealier flight. It was a race against my endurance, patience and excitement travelling all the way from Bataan to Muntinlupa (I needed to go home first) then to the Airport...(waited for Efren, James and Tess)...45-minute airplane ride landing to Kalibo Airport then taking 1hr-van ride going to Caticlan then about 8-minute boat ride to Boracay Island and lastly another 5minute trycycle ride to Boracay stations... arriving there at 7pm (with all the kinds of rides, sea, land and air, I was exhausted...)



.....not to mention I was dead hungry...
I was more than 24 hrs awake....



So, Boracay it is...














exhausted who?

Forgotten

it seemed i have forgotten this site....
last blog entry was january....
i have to confess, i did not forgot to write here, i forgot my password... silly me...
so i didn't bother to retrieve it...
until...

so and so...
i decided to stop blogging on my friendster account and start re-blogging here...
whether i'm the only one reading it...
it is more convenient for me...

and for the reason that i needed to refresh...

and be brave to take new challenges in my life....


I am Aura
inviting you to walk with me in my journey.....












sands of time....

Let me see…

I haven’t evaluated my 2006. The first three days of the year, I had a slight fever, cough and irritating colds and when I returned to Bataan, my worked schedule is a killer. If this indicates what will be my 2007, then I’ll be a cranky-nut.

Gosh! I wasn’t even able to shop for Christmas presents for my friends. T’is the only year that my December to-do list is outrageous, crazy and screwed.

Contradicting it may seem, I had the most peaceful Christmas and New Year ever. I don’t know how everything just fall into place. I was stuck in the middle of restlessness yet deeper within tranquility embraced me. Okay, insane maybe! As I went on my to-do list, it didn’t bother me anymore on how I’ll be able to wrap it all up. I guess, it’s the spirit of Christmas. The spirit that takes your worries away and makes you smile and hopeful amidst all the hustle and bustle. Geeez! How I love Christmas!!!

My 2006 was really a great, great year. (Year of the Dog…my year…as in…Au-au-au!) hehehe! (actually, I’m under Year of the Monkey). Looking back, the priority to get myself back is a winning struggle… Ha!ha! Because it wasn’t easy picking each broken self-piece after a failed relationship. If there’s a life testimony I’ll give, it will be on moving on. (okay! Enough said). My family bonded more. Seeing my father refraining from drinking alcohol, attending to church masses more often and becoming more loving to my mother is a leap of joy for me. Seeing my mother more and more loving and supportive and keeping the family God-fearing is more than enough to keep my gratitude overflowing.

More than all the blessings I received last year, what I treasure most is my relationships. My relationship with my family, my friendships, my relationship with my self and my relationship with God. My bank account’s balance is still at minimum but I’m proud to say that my relationship account is reaping its fruits. God showered me with so much loving, caring, supportive, encouraging, and enlightening relationships. All heaven’s treasure. (somebody said to me only one relationship is missing… I replied: you won’t feel any is missing if you are happy with what you have…it’s in your perspective).

Let us all see things in a more positive angle and unfold the blessings yet to come…

yeah! Im asking you, "it's 2007 and so?"
except for throwing your 2006 calendar;
except for the change in the year's end number;
except for updating and filing your ITR;
except for buying a new date planner;
except for the years predictions;
except for etc....etc....etc....
what could be the difference?
when everybody's busy making their own new year's resolution...blah..blah...blah...
have you ever stop for a while and think what difference does all of these make?
i mean, after all the merry-making and parties and greetings of better year to come, does it make you a better person?
hmmmm....it is my first article for 2007 and im becoming a pessimist.... no! I'm not!
I celebrated the new year with my family, it was the usual... after attending a mass, we ate the medya noche, mom cooked. So, I still asked what's the difference?
it wasn't all the fireworks nor the noise we created to keep the bad spirits away
it was the peace I felt amidst all the noise, amidst all the celebrations and loud music...
it was the completeness I felt seeing my family together, being with them...
it was the joy in my heart God filled...

“We can only find peace when we accept the things that we cannot change and the people who cannot love us back”. – Joe D’ Mango

I laid all my cards down.
I waived a white flag.
I surrender!!!

The peace I’ve been longing for came by swiftly…
Gently caressed my doubts and fears…
Took away my sadness and grief…

It wasn’t easy though, time lapsed and unaware that I’m drowning from my own desolation.
Two years of struggling to get over with the broken heart…
Two years of fighting against my own principle…
Two years of living in the past…

This Christmas, I took my chances on sacrifice…
I tested myself again…
Will I endure?
Or suddenly give up?
Will I keep my promise?
Or start all over again?

No! I won’t give up!
And I won’t give up!

I had loved you and still loving you…
But I can love more,
But not with you…
Not with you anymore…