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Cloudy With A Chance Of Orchids

“You are not allowed to pick any of those orchids.” My mother told me when I asked her if I can pick just one. So under the cloudy sky, with the sun peeking every now and then, I was mesmerized by the beauty of my mother’s orchids she calls ‘banda’. She loves plants and she enjoys gardening. My sisters and brother bring her different plants from everywhere and she can identify which plant is given by whom. Have I brought her anything? Of course, I have. I just couldn’t remember what kind of plant.

Ano hugis ng sinag ng araw? Siguro kayang-kayang sagutin ng mga scientists ang tanong na yan. Para sa akin, tama na muna ang alamin kung ano ang hugis ng dahon ng San Francisco ['yan daw ang pangalan ng mga malalagong halaman sa harapan ng bahay namin sabi ng nanay ko] kapag ito ay itinapat sa sikat ng araw. Dahil sa liwanag, kitang-kita ang design nito. Napansin ko rin na walang design ang mga dahon na magkakapareho.

Ang sabi sa isang episode sa Discovery Channel, ang bawat dahon ng halaman daw ay mayroon energy. Hmmm.. ano kayang energy meron ang dahong ito?

I finished this book more than a week ago. I picked this one because the writer sounds familiar [I haven't read any of his books, but I heard about him], its only 126 pages and the back cover says: “A metaphysical ghost story about a woman alone… intimate, spare, exquisite.” [Adam Begley, New York Times Book Review]

This book is about Lauren Hartke, “an artist whose work defies the limits of the body. Lauren is living on a lonely coast in a rambling rented house, where she encounters a strange, ageless man, a man with uncanny knowledge of her own life. Together they begin a journey into the wilderness of time - time, love and human perception.”

I, the reader, joined them in their journey. Got lost and found my way. Is it possible for the mind to play tricks after a tragedy especially when one chose to be alone? This is the question that I posed to myself while in the middle of the book. My answer, after reading the book is, its possible. And one can always outdo the mind because of reality.

After reading the book, I found other reviews: Magdalena Ball’s Slow, Spare and Painful…, and Michiko Kakutani’s ‘The Body Artis’: A Marriage Replayed Inside a Widow’s Mind.

QUOTE, UNQUOTE

“Maybe he falls, he slides, if that is a useful word, from his experience of an objective world, the deepest description of space-time, where he does not feel a sense of future direction-he slides into her expereinces, everyone’s, the standard sun-kissed chronology of events’

Am I the first human to abduct an alien?

~~~

It was the kind of day in which you forget words and drop things and wonder what it is you came into the room to get because you are standing here for a reason and you have to tell yourself it is just a question of sooner or later before you remember because you always remember once you are here.

~~~

There is something about the wind. It strips you of assurances, working into you, continuous, making you feel the hidden thinness of everything around you, all the solid stuff of a hundred undertakings-the barest makeshift flimsy.

~~~

How much myth do we build into our experience of time?

~~~

Maybe there are times when we slide into another reality but can’t remember it, can’t concede the truth of it because this would be too devastating to absorb.

~~~

Are you unable to imagine such a thing even when you see it?

Is the thing that’s happening so far outside experience that you’re forced to make excuses for it, or give it the petty credentials of some misperception?

Is reality too powerful for you?

Take the risk. Believe what you see and hear. Its the pulse of every secret intimation you’ve ever felt around the edges of your life.

Noong Martes ng gabi bago ako pumila sa bus terminal na patungo sa lugar na aking inuuwian, dumaan muna ako sa Chowking. Oras na kase ng hapunan pero pauwi pa lang ako. Mahigit dalawang oras ang biyahe bago ako makarating sa aming bahay. Dahil kumakalam na ang aking sikmura, bumili ako ng Chao Fan na may toppings na siomai at ice tea. Pang-take out sabi ko sa teller. Ilang minuto rin akong naghintay sa pagdating ng order ko. Habang naghihintay, naalala ko na dala ko pala ang aking digicam at kinunan ko ng picture ang order slip ko.

Pagkabigay sa akin ng crew, umalis agad ako at dumirecho sa pilahan ng mga pasahero. Wala pang sampung minuto ay nakasakay at nakakuha na agd ako ng puwesto. Sa tabi ng bintana. Pagka-upo ko, binuksan ko agad ang styrofoam na may Siomai. Pero bago ko matikman, may tumabi na sa akin na isang babae. Natural, inalok ko syang kumain at ang sabi nya ay salamat. Eh di inumpisahan ko na ang Siomai. Nakalimutan kong kumuha ng toyo sa Chowking kaya dun ko na lang sa something spicy na kasamang ibinigay sa akin isinawsaw ang siomai habang paminsan-minsan ay lagok ng ice tea. Nang maubos na, sinunod ko naman ang Chao Fan, Wow! Graveeee! Ang anghang pala!! Mas maraming bell pepper kesa sa beef and chicken ang ibinigay sa akin. Pero nakaya ko namang ubusin kase may ice tea.

Karaniwan ng may mga kumakain sa bus kapag gabi ang byahe. Karaniwan burger and fries at kung anu-anong chitchiria. Pero sa palagay ko, ako lang ang may ganun pa-epek nung gabing yun.
Sa totoo lang, pangalawang beses ko nang kumain ng ganun habang pauwi ako sa bahay. Yung una, sa sobrang kabusugan ko, nakatulog ako pagkatapos kumain at nakalampas sa dapat babaan. Buti na lang nung pangalawa, nung Martes na gabi, hindi na uli ito naulit.

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I told Jed that I’ll just get a snapshot of his toys and will return them at once. But I couldn’t convince him so he tried to grab the toys as soon as I put them in the keypad. Can anyone tell me how to cajole a 1-year-and-six-month-toddler so I can get a decent shot?

He is all over the US media and the Inquirer’s Sunday editorial talks about his conquest. CNN gives a comprehensive coverage but its EWTN that appeals to me both on TV and the Internet.

I’m one of the 1.1 billion that he shepherds. A tough mission. But he is ‘tougher’ and it started long before he accepted his current post.

And by the way, Uno’s name, John Benedict came from his paternal grandfather and from Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger’s name.

‘Berdeng sinturon’ is the literal Pinoy translation of the word greenbelt. But if you’re in a malling mode, Greenbelt means only one thing: a place to see and to enjoy. Last Tuesday, I was there, not to shop and dine but for a photo gig. Why? Just to update a friend who used to visit the place.

I uploaded all the 46 photos in my flickr account but for this entry, I chose only ten. Not enough. Fifteen, still not enough. So for this today’s entry, I’ve got twenty five photos! I thought of writing a series, but what the heck, put them all at once and enjoy. I also thought of dividing the photos to indoor, outdoor and something in between but there are some overlapping shots and I just dropped it. Okay, its a lousy excuse for being blogilly lazy. I still have four more photos in my cellphone but for some strange reason, I cannot upload them unlike the others. My digicam turned lowbat when I was there so I used my cellphone for at least 15 shots.

The main entrance from the elevated catwalk going to Landmark

A quiet place for weary souls… Sto. Niño de Paz Chapel

Haw-haw de karabaw de Batuten

May halimaw kaya sa mga banga?

This artistic direction post is right in front of the Greenbelt 5 entance

The bridge, the frogs and the still water

My favorites! The butcher, the baker and the candle stick maker

Fishpond infront of the GB 4 entrance

Quiet.. A fishy meeting is going on

Excuse me… but i have a photo shoot to finish

A lone waiter not waiting for something

Five knights waiting for King Arthur

I wonder lonely as an escalator rider

Wanna taste these fruits?

I was tempted to wash my hands in this fountain

View from the third level going to the theaters

This is a dining area for Fuzion, a hip bar

There are several bars and restaurant in the area and I lost count of them. These three caught my attention simply because of their names.

Do they really serve their dishes in a banana leaf?

A haiku for Haiku..

Can you serve a verse?

While waiting for a cold drink

And my breezy dream?

This is a vodka bar that I’d like to try sometime.. Sino kayang magti-treat sa ‘kin dito?

For the culturally inclined shopper, this is a must destination

After the photo gig, I went to Landmark to buy some summer stuff for Uno and Jed. I was glad to find all that I needed under one roof. On my way out I passed by Glorietta and decided to have cup of coffee. The coffee shops overlooking the activity area were full so I went to the fourth floor. And there I found a perfect place to rest. I didn’t get a cup of coffee but something else. The barista said its one of their best summer offering. He didn’t disappoint me.

To answer the question written on the table: I’m just a bit tired after my Greenbelt gig..

NOTE: WordPress.com has a new dashboard interface and many users are newbie including me. I couldn’t link my flickr files to the images so I ended up uploading the pictures here which took me a thousand years to do!

I know I’m not alone… and its the joy of blogging. Plus the fact that somewhere, someone will reminisce about Greenbelt and will dream of coming home.

ang isang magandang bagay na dala ng tag-araw ay ang mabilis na pag-papatuyo ng mga damit na sinampay. kahit isang truck ng damit ang i-hanger at ilagay sa sampayan, hindi matatapos ang mag-hapon na hindi tuyong-tuyo ang mga damit.

maraming ng style ang mga sampayan ngayon. meron yung parang sa department store na clothes rack na di lalampas sa 5 feet ang taas tapos ilalagay lang ang mga damit na naka-hanger na pila-pila. meron naman ‘yung double-triple line na ikakabit sa isang lugar sa bahay tapos ang kabilang dulo ay detachable. kapag may isasampay ay ilalatag tapos kung tuyo na ang mga damit at tinanggal na, parang ititiklop o iro-rolyo ang sampayan. space saver daw ‘yung ganon.

kami dito sa bahay tatlong lugar ang sampayan lahat sila fix at old style. isa sa labas, isa malapit sa CR at ang isa nasa isang kwarto. eh bakit ang dami kamo? pag tag-ulan kase problema ang mga damit na di agad matuyo kahit pa may washing machine dryer [actually, sira pa rin ang dryer namin ] tapos ang dami pang nagbibihis sa amin di lang isang beses isang araw.

kung tatanungin mo ako kung ano ang mas gusto ko, sun-dried or machine dried, mas gusto ko ang amoy ng pinatuyong damit sa sikat ng araw at ihip ng hangin. fresh na fresh na parang baby.

From Meditations For Women Who Do Too Much by Anne Wilson Schaef

Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me learn from you, love you, bless you before you depart. Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow. Let me hold you while I may, for it may not always be so. One day I shall dig my nails into the earth, or bury my face in the pillow, or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky and want, more than all the world, your return. ~~ Mary Jean Iron

This moment is right now. It is what we have. How often we have squandered the treasure of today and dreamed of the fortunes of the future, only to mourn for the loss of this day. Today, we can see the excitement in the eyes of a child over some new discovery. Today, we can listen to an old friend before we can get on to the next task. Have we missed today by not being present to it? Will we later seep tears of mourning and wish for its return? How much better to live it today.

Just a normal day-what a gift!

napadpad ako do’n kaninang tanghali sa paghahanap ko ng ipapalit sa planner kong nawala nung nakaraang byernes. tulad nang huli kong punta no’ng ilang  buwan na ang nakaraan, hindi ko pa rin matandaan ang mga pasikot-sikot. matagal ko ng gustong mamasyal uli do’n dahil sa manila bay sunset na matatanaw sa viewing deck. kaya lang makulimlim ang buong maghapon kaya di ko rin nasaksihan ang gusto kong makita. pero ayos na rin kase may mga nadiskubre akong na hindi ko alam dati.

may ilang pictures akong nakuha sa loob at labas ng mall. hindi ako masyadong ginanahang mag-shoot kase ang bigat ng bag na nasa balikat ko tapos may dala pa akong isang bag. pero i promise, next time na pumunta ‘ko do’n, lahat ng pwedeng kunan ng pictures lagot sa ‘kin!

sa loob at labas ng… di-maliparang uwak na tindahan