Found this shop at the Darling Harbour mall. Harbourside, I think that's what it's called.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Rehearsal Dinner
Rehearsal dinner at Red Chopsticks Vietnamese restaurant. This wedding party included English, Lebanese, Australian, Irish, American, and Filipino citizens.
Monday, November 12, 2007
St. Mary's Cathedral
I tend to be the advanced party for cities who are hosting big events for 2008. Last March, I was at Beijing watching the city being spruced up for the Olympics to be held next year. And then last weekend, I was at St. Mary's Cathedral in Sydney, which is being prepared for the upcoming World Youth Day. Well at least I could say I was there for the pre-events.
Lunch at the Harbour
We had a million family occasions to celebrate in less than two weeks. We pretended it was May 20 on November 10 and celebrated my parents' 40th wedding anniversary, all 13 of us. Luigi woke up Lola and greeted her with "Happy Pretend Wedding Anniversary, Lola". We had the cake and the flowers for them. We also ate duck.
Circular Quay with Miko
There are times when we have to let the photos speak, as we are yet collecting the words that would capture best what we wanted to say. Sydney 2007 with the whole family is one of them.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Monday, October 22, 2007
Havin' It All: A Myth
I have to admit that the latest Sharon Cuneta commercial caught my attention. She's endorsing a product that claims to give her the ability to "have it all".
In the past, I would have bought into the marketing blitz and taken the multivitamins if only to extend my energy, or shall I say, power. The world brings that out in me - the desire to "be all", to "have it all", and to "be complete". I'm reminded of another multivitamin brand that promises to give me everything I need from A to Zinc in order to help me fulfill my dreams and realize my passions, whether it be of opening a business, or of saving the world (the actual claims of the product endorsers are even grander).
If there were any truth to this advertising, then I would probably stand to benefit a lot. I could wake up earlier, prepare my lunch, have a healthy breakfast, spend time in prayer, squeeze in enough time to exercise, avoid traffic, arrive at work cheerfully and look my gorgeous best, go through the work day with passion and dedication, leave the office early to attend mass, meet up with friends or go home for dinner with my parents, help out young people with their homework, do volunteer work for the church, attend baptisms and birthdays and weddings, hang out with friends at the latest "It" mall, clean the house, organize my room, read books, watch movies, and blog. Those are only the major things I want to accomplish in a week. I have a thousand other dreams, the complete fulfillment of each being the condition before I could contentedly purr that "I have it all".
If I took the capsules and found the results wanting, then I would just be my usual, human, self - a stress magnet who is forever anxious to get one more task done, a frustrated artist who refuses to create for fear of failure, and a hard-to-please child who throws a tantrum every time she gets less than the best that the world has to offer.
I think it is a myth to say that anyone can have it all in this world, for St. Augustine correctly put it - our hearts are restless 'til they rest in God alone.
Up until my college days, I tried to be perfect and complete, but naturally, I met disastrous results. Then when I was 19, I met a Man, Someone who taught me that it's better to "give than to receive". That was my paradigm shift - instead of wanting to receive it all, I learned through my growing, personal relationship with Jesus that I would find more meaning in life and gain eternal life if I strove to "give it all". He changed my life completely.
In Tagalog, I would call this "todo na 'to", roughly translated, it means to give full blast, without holding back, into whatever it is I commit to do. Last year, I prayed for my finances to stabilize so I could be free to pursue my passions. Now, I have the opportunity to do that. For this job, my mantra is "todo na 'to".
I've reviewed the aspects of my life that I gave up temporarily as I was studying the path God wanted me to take. There were many things I could not give full attention to before - mundane things that I thought the saints like Francis of Assisi or Teresa of Avila shunned - but which turned out to be things I had the ability to do without betraying my identity as God's daughter. I would probably write about them in detail in some future time.
Tonight, my Lingkod friends are gathered in a national conference in Ormoc. Some of them have texted me that they miss me out there. I miss them, too. I miss everything about Lingkod, the NLTC, and most especially, the brothers and sisters. But even my time in Lingkod had to end, in order for a new life to begin. Who knows, I might find myself serving in Lingkod again, in my small way. But I've let go of my attachment. I miss them but I'm not incomplete without them.
Todo na 'to. I'm experiencing how it is to be disciplined anew and to be open to blessings I had not thought myself qualified for before. The next Ella will use her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Economics, combined with her Bachelor of Laws degree. *
* With apologies to the writers of Ate Sha's ad.
In the past, I would have bought into the marketing blitz and taken the multivitamins if only to extend my energy, or shall I say, power. The world brings that out in me - the desire to "be all", to "have it all", and to "be complete". I'm reminded of another multivitamin brand that promises to give me everything I need from A to Zinc in order to help me fulfill my dreams and realize my passions, whether it be of opening a business, or of saving the world (the actual claims of the product endorsers are even grander).
If there were any truth to this advertising, then I would probably stand to benefit a lot. I could wake up earlier, prepare my lunch, have a healthy breakfast, spend time in prayer, squeeze in enough time to exercise, avoid traffic, arrive at work cheerfully and look my gorgeous best, go through the work day with passion and dedication, leave the office early to attend mass, meet up with friends or go home for dinner with my parents, help out young people with their homework, do volunteer work for the church, attend baptisms and birthdays and weddings, hang out with friends at the latest "It" mall, clean the house, organize my room, read books, watch movies, and blog. Those are only the major things I want to accomplish in a week. I have a thousand other dreams, the complete fulfillment of each being the condition before I could contentedly purr that "I have it all".
If I took the capsules and found the results wanting, then I would just be my usual, human, self - a stress magnet who is forever anxious to get one more task done, a frustrated artist who refuses to create for fear of failure, and a hard-to-please child who throws a tantrum every time she gets less than the best that the world has to offer.
I think it is a myth to say that anyone can have it all in this world, for St. Augustine correctly put it - our hearts are restless 'til they rest in God alone.
Up until my college days, I tried to be perfect and complete, but naturally, I met disastrous results. Then when I was 19, I met a Man, Someone who taught me that it's better to "give than to receive". That was my paradigm shift - instead of wanting to receive it all, I learned through my growing, personal relationship with Jesus that I would find more meaning in life and gain eternal life if I strove to "give it all". He changed my life completely.
In Tagalog, I would call this "todo na 'to", roughly translated, it means to give full blast, without holding back, into whatever it is I commit to do. Last year, I prayed for my finances to stabilize so I could be free to pursue my passions. Now, I have the opportunity to do that. For this job, my mantra is "todo na 'to".
I've reviewed the aspects of my life that I gave up temporarily as I was studying the path God wanted me to take. There were many things I could not give full attention to before - mundane things that I thought the saints like Francis of Assisi or Teresa of Avila shunned - but which turned out to be things I had the ability to do without betraying my identity as God's daughter. I would probably write about them in detail in some future time.
Tonight, my Lingkod friends are gathered in a national conference in Ormoc. Some of them have texted me that they miss me out there. I miss them, too. I miss everything about Lingkod, the NLTC, and most especially, the brothers and sisters. But even my time in Lingkod had to end, in order for a new life to begin. Who knows, I might find myself serving in Lingkod again, in my small way. But I've let go of my attachment. I miss them but I'm not incomplete without them.
Todo na 'to. I'm experiencing how it is to be disciplined anew and to be open to blessings I had not thought myself qualified for before. The next Ella will use her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Economics, combined with her Bachelor of Laws degree. *
* With apologies to the writers of Ate Sha's ad.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Oxymorons and Other Morons
There are many things I don't get in life, most likely due to my limited understanding and perception.
I don't get why the new Bayantel product is called a wireless landline. I don't care if the consumers could more easily understand what they mean even if it does not make sense. It still is an oxymoron in my book and it's contrary to the common meaning of a "land line".
I don't get why Kris Aquino still has many billboards. Is she considered a role model for Filipinos? Why do people buy the products she endorses, or watch the shows she stars in? I don't care if her father is considered a hero. People should stop giving her attention; otherwise, she just won't smile her way to the bank, she might be the second woman in her family to win a presidency that her father aspired for. I shudder at the thought.
I don't get why it's taking the police too long to determine the cause of the bombing in Glorietta 2 yesterday. It has claimed nine lives and caused injuries to a hundred innocent people, aside from damaging the stalls and restaurants in the surrounding area. Filipinos are once again fearing for their safety, and we don't know who to trust anymore.
I don't get how the bomb from high-powered explosives could have gotten through the "strict" security of the mall. It goes to show how useless it is to pretend to check the belongings of everyone who dares enter the malls in Metro Manila. What a futile exercise. The violation of our privacy and the unwanted delay in our schedules do not bear the necessary fruit, for recent history shows that malls still get bombed. Maybe I'm asking too much when I want to be protected from bombers - whoever they are, as speculations abound as to who the real minds were behind the incident in Makati yesterday. For the sake of my ignorance, I won't say any more about this.
Since it's an incident that's so sad and frustrating, the Glorietta 2 incident deserves another rant in this post.
I don't get why PGMA chose those words when she addressed the people immediately after the incident. At the very least, I was expecting her to succeed in assuring us, the Filipino people, that we are not on the brink of chaos. Who are her speech writers? Couldn't they have written, however hastily, a more sincere-sounding speech, one that could have reached out to the victims, or showed some concern over their plight, or expressed firm control over the situation? I felt the same way every time I watched her give her SONA. Maybe the problem does not lie with the speech writers.
There are days when I dare voice out questions such as these. There's plenty more where they came from, but I'll save them for another day.
I don't get why the new Bayantel product is called a wireless landline. I don't care if the consumers could more easily understand what they mean even if it does not make sense. It still is an oxymoron in my book and it's contrary to the common meaning of a "land line".
I don't get why Kris Aquino still has many billboards. Is she considered a role model for Filipinos? Why do people buy the products she endorses, or watch the shows she stars in? I don't care if her father is considered a hero. People should stop giving her attention; otherwise, she just won't smile her way to the bank, she might be the second woman in her family to win a presidency that her father aspired for. I shudder at the thought.
I don't get why it's taking the police too long to determine the cause of the bombing in Glorietta 2 yesterday. It has claimed nine lives and caused injuries to a hundred innocent people, aside from damaging the stalls and restaurants in the surrounding area. Filipinos are once again fearing for their safety, and we don't know who to trust anymore.
I don't get how the bomb from high-powered explosives could have gotten through the "strict" security of the mall. It goes to show how useless it is to pretend to check the belongings of everyone who dares enter the malls in Metro Manila. What a futile exercise. The violation of our privacy and the unwanted delay in our schedules do not bear the necessary fruit, for recent history shows that malls still get bombed. Maybe I'm asking too much when I want to be protected from bombers - whoever they are, as speculations abound as to who the real minds were behind the incident in Makati yesterday. For the sake of my ignorance, I won't say any more about this.
Since it's an incident that's so sad and frustrating, the Glorietta 2 incident deserves another rant in this post.
I don't get why PGMA chose those words when she addressed the people immediately after the incident. At the very least, I was expecting her to succeed in assuring us, the Filipino people, that we are not on the brink of chaos. Who are her speech writers? Couldn't they have written, however hastily, a more sincere-sounding speech, one that could have reached out to the victims, or showed some concern over their plight, or expressed firm control over the situation? I felt the same way every time I watched her give her SONA. Maybe the problem does not lie with the speech writers.
There are days when I dare voice out questions such as these. There's plenty more where they came from, but I'll save them for another day.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Hannah Banana
This is me with my goddaughter Hannah, who left the Philippines when she was just two months old. We met in 2005 when her family visited us while we were vacationing in Arizona, but she was too young to remember. When I went to their house in Las Vegas, it took her a while to warm up to me.
A few Disney Princess lip glosses later, I became her favorite Tita and she asked me:
"How come I didn't know that there was a you?"
I loved her more then. She's pretty, she's smart, and she's a chatterbox. She definitely knows how to make her presence felt. She's very animated and has the makings of a drama queen. I wonder who she takes after...
Oh, I know. Her mom!
A few Disney Princess lip glosses later, I became her favorite Tita and she asked me:
"How come I didn't know that there was a you?"
I loved her more then. She's pretty, she's smart, and she's a chatterbox. She definitely knows how to make her presence felt. She's very animated and has the makings of a drama queen. I wonder who she takes after...
Oh, I know. Her mom!
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