irony

i was in national bookstore at Glorietta 5 early this afternoon. i did not mean to linger. was there to buy some stuff for the day. so i thought dropping by was a nice idea.

earlier last week, i agreed to have a lunch date with a close friend at PSID today. but i replied to a message that came in early this morning for a raincheck.

it was me. me and my lazy bone. again.

i was usually up at 5 a.m. been planning to go back to my jog routine with a loved one. but i failed to comply for the nth time. after writing off a scheduled mountain climb with the Inquirer outdoor club late last year, i have become increasingly lazy going out for a jog.

i usually end up taking an early breakfast and more time for reflection over my bible reading. and after that, i began snoozing again. so much for getting healthier.

so i found myself inside the mall in the afternoon, inside national bookstore to be exact. and having a soft spot for author John Maxwell betrayed me again. i ended buying three of his books in a flick of a finger. "The power of Leadership;" "The power of Attitude;" "The power of thinking big." seemed all are nice reads. timely for the new year.

shortly after nodding to the checkout girl upon paying for them, i decided to take a walk along Ayala avenue for a change. it's nice to forego the usual commute through a cab from time to time, and take the longer route instead.

been living in the business district for quite a while now, but seeing people who dig into garbage bins for food still surprises me.

yep. right there along Ayala avenue, in front of a tall building that speaks of prosperity, was a middle-aged woman in shabby clothes, looking into a garbage bin to salvage some food. yet, she was oblivious of the yuppies in fancy clothes, who somehow noticed her, but did not seem to mind, though.

that scenario tugged at my heartstrings somehow and i felt sorry for her.

isn't it ironic that the city is called the hub of commerce, the central business district, but yields people who spell poverty in different faces from time to time?

well, this kind of problem has been existing for how long no-one-knows. and maybe the government should pay attention and address it soon.

talk about the irony of it all. next time, maybe i should really take the cab so i won't be seeing such scenarios again.

another life snuffed out

i have not witnessed many people dying in their deathbeds. and the last wake i have gone to was that of the late Cory Aquino's. and though i don't fear death at all, it still makes me shudder upong hearing harrowing deaths of innocent people killed by unknown criminals.

i am not in any way related to the Lozanos but i feel for them. if a mother would wail to her heart's content for a daughter's or son's death, what difference does it make for a father?

seeing lawyer Oliver Lozano talk on TV early this evening, with his voice cracking, i knew right there and then that for a father to find his son lifeless and burnt beyond recognition felt like more than "hell."

that has left me thinking how could a man slaughter another man?

i am a retired soldier's daughter. and though i was used to my dad's stories in the battlefield, i have yet to witness remains of brutally murdered individuals in person. i would only see dead bodies of violently killed people through pictures, those of fellow journalists and others in the maguindanao massacre, and i was never used to seeing them.

i have so much respect for human life, and even that of animals'. and it was even once a childhood dream to cure the sick and the dying. to see people being slaughtered by fellowmen drives me to so much tears. my heart aches for innocent lives being snuffed out.

perhaps there was a reason my childhood dream never collided with reality, because emotional people are not meant to be in operating rooms and hospitals where deaths are commonplace.

i know. i have got a low emotional quotient. but forgive me i am just being myself. and it is not surprising that i cry over deaths of people i am not even related to. so i am putting this entry to end cause as this writing gets longer, my heart sinks deeper. and i don't wanna get emotional again.

newly sworn-in appointee

okay. i'm sitting in front of my desk right now. hands on keyboard. eyes on monitor. a best-selling thriller is sitting on my desk, a cup of coffee on the upper left and a pc mouse on the right. far right is the paper for today. have actually read the headline announcing that Sixto Brillantes has been installed as the new Comelec chair as of yesterday.

Yep. same guy, who Mr. Roxas, or Mr. Aquino's last year's defeated running mate, never liked. but i won't explain it here why. it's for you to find out through news on TV or online. anyway, the article revealed that the newly sworn-in chair of the commission was finally OKd by the former senator. And thus has ironed out some kinks over Brillantes' appointment. let's just hope that he will be doing a good job in preparation for the next elections in 2016 so Mr. Roxas would be fully satisfied with his appointment by nonetheless Mr. Aquino, his former running mate to whom he had relinquished his candidacy for presidency in last year's elections.

i don't mean to offend anyone here. and i hope it won't. just merely saying my high hopes for the newly appointed official. :)

"..fallen in-love"

i have fallen in love with this letter so many years ago. it was written by a Malaysian artist-film director named Chan. i just stumbled on his blog one chilly December morning. it was so poignant that i was even moved to tears. i even added him in my network of friends in Friendster and he's still in my network but he sort of stopped writing and updating his blog.

so i am [re]-publishing his letter here since blogs are usually for public consumption. in case you're gonna stumble upon my blog mr. Chan, my apologies but i found your letter worthy of re-publication ;)

so here it is. it's time to get emo, in time for the upcoming event this February. by the way, Taylor Swift is gonna be here next month, so better try your luck in case tickets are not yet sold-out..;)

"a love letter"

"By Chan

"Dearest heart,

"It's been a while since we last spoke.
Not over the phone, not over messages, not over emails.
But it's been a while since our hearts spoken to each other.

"I thought of the words to say to you, thought of a thousand possibilities but when i tried to open my mouth, the words fail to come.

"So here i am putting my heart out to you.

"It hurts to be away from you. Not because i can't hold you or be with you.

"You are my other self and i wake up everyday and face the day knowing that two souls are not complete.

"I try to move on with life, but everywhere i turn, everything around me reminds me of you and us. Try as i may, it's hard because every road leads to you.

"I'm learning to love myself a little more everyday, trying to make peace with my inner demons that drove you away...but i cry out for the other self who's so far away.

"Even though i find a little of myself everyday, i still feel lost. For so long you have been my home.

"I long to talk to you again, with my heart, and with my soul.

"If you allow me to, I'll show you the person that you've always believed in and know who's there all the time.

"If you allow me to, please let me show you the way home.

"Missing you, missing us."

"Malling"

i was in the theater last night.

went there with family. shortly after dinner at Kenny Rogers, mom suggested we head for the cinemas. I have wanted to watch "The Tourist," but we opted for a good laugh instead. So, "Gulliver's Travels" was it. first movie of the year. and funny movies have never failed us so far.

i usually watch movies at the Glorietta Mall, whether with a loved one, family, friends, colleagues or classmates. i don't know. but for some reason, G4 is the one closest to my heart. maybe because i have been living in the business district for quite a while now, more than a decade to be exact.

I've been to the Powerplant mall at Rockwell, i think, 5 times; been to the Mall of Asia at least thrice last year. same with TriNoma in Quezon City and maybe twice or thrice at Market Market in Taguig. been to Greenbelt as often as i've been to G4 but i have never grown "in-like" with the place, i mean, not as much as i've been with G4.

i've been to other malls in Las Piñas before, but i've never liked any of their cinemas as much as i like the ones at G4.

oh, well. why am i talking about the cinemas? i am not even a movie buff. and i usually hang out at coffee shops and restaurants. but maybe because i had a good laugh last night. and thanks to "Gulliver's Travels." Made my day, or shall i say, night? :D

"caffein-ated"

nulla diez sine linea. "not a day without a line."

the phrase stuck in mind coming across an article published in a long-forgotten magazine a decade ago. if memory does not fail, the author was some writer-editor who was battling writer's block at the time.

case-in-point? i'm having a writer's block at the moment.

i do know my power hour. it begins at 4 in the afternoon and lasts towards the end of the day till midnight. writer's block does not set in often, but it was probably lack of sleep that triggered the "angst" of the villain. my muse could not even "flex its muscle" to fight a good battle.

but i am not leaving this day to fate. i used to write at least a line every day. i've got to do something.

a cup of coffee a day isn't bad, is it? so it's time to get caffein-ated.

not a day without a line. indeed. now, let's get back to work.