Aural Crack

Music, to me, can be a very spiritual experience.

It's been awhile since I've listened to an album that made me wanna laugh, cry, groove and chill out-all at once.

I am currently listening to Erykah Badu's new album New Amerykah Part 2 (Return of the Ankh)

Oh My God. This is something else. I already know what I will be listening to over and over the next few days, weeks, possibly months, definitely years.

Instant Classic. Go grab it. Hope it makes you close your eyes, smile and remember life is good too :)

--Erica Paredes

My heart teaches my fingers to write

I love the way my mom gives me unconditional love. I feel the same way for her even if i can't show it everyday.

I love the way my uncles and aunts nag about how stubborn and irresponsible I am, after all it's guidance that they are giving.

I love how my cousins tease me about all the flaws that I have, in the end they never let me down.

I love the way my nieces/nephews cry when they see me, they're just too scared too see a cute guy like me. :)

I love the way my brothers/sisters (frat members) tend to make me forget that there is a real world that we have to face. They have always been the strength that i search for in times of sorrow, they have never failed to calm down the storm inside me. We might look irresponsible, still we we have our own dream that we know we will reach.

I love the way my friends and I share laughter and tears amidst every obstacle we encounter, amidst all the hatred we felt for each other, amidst all the cussing and the teasing. We all have the love for each other.

I love the way my ex-girlfriends made me smile, cry, wasted, angry and wild!!! I'm stronger than i was before.

I love the way people around me strive to be the best that they can, how they show off their positive side, how they overcome their fears and sorrows. How they have touched my heart is just amazing.

I love the way GOD puzzled up everything in my life, It's magical how he made simple things extraordinary. It's too plain to see how great the love he has given, too majestic to describe the touch of care and guidance for every tragic, devastating scenario that storms me. He simply does gives us a reason to live, smile and love. Positivity is what he teaches us, what he wants us to believe into..

I love the way YOU give me a reason to love you. Don't wanna lose you. NO EXPLANATIONS ON WHY YOU, 'CAUSE IT'S YOU. TOO MUCH REASONS AND MEANING ON THE WORDS I LOVE YOU.
(if ever you get across this article, you'll know its you.)

--Martin Targa, Manila

5 Things - The Easter 2010 Edition

Easter Eggies

Just got back on the grind after an awesome Holy Week vacation at our ancestral home in Zambales with my fam. I know I've said it countless times but God is so good. We are all BLESSED BEYOND BELIEF - real talk! 

Over the Easter break, I got to enjoy a lot of reading, meditating/reflecting, time with my loved ones (young & old), and eating (and eating & more eating). Here's the top 5 things that stuck out through my conversations & my reflecting (not in any order):

• Being with family is awesome! Late night convos, back-in-the-day reminiscing, teasing lil cousins, re-telling the same ghost stories, & all that good stuff is  really all priceless! It fills up voids inside you that you never knew were empty or even existed. 
• Don't try to solve life problems, just outgrow them. Don't look at life problems like math equations. Instead of looking for answers to plug in, find a way to outgrow life trials & challenges. All the answers will come at the right time. Just keep an open mind & an open heart. (I remixed words from Dr. Wayne Dyer)
• Time with Nature heals. The fresh air, the warm ocean water, the dope sunset/sunrise, & just being out in the countryside detoxes your mind, body, & soul! 
• Bless others to be blessed! When you open your hearts to help others out, multiply blessings will come your way. Try this out: The next time you're having a rough day/going through challenges, bless someone with no anticipation of being paid back. If you do it with your whole heart, it'll trigger a feeling that'll help turn things around for you. We all have trials & issues, just remember, this too shall pass.
• Love & be loved. I've learned to treasure my time with my family. I've realized that all I really needed was to "Just Be." Just love the people you hold close to your heart & be loved back by them. We all get caught up in a fantasy world, where we think we need to be someone/something we're not and when we do this for years, we start believing that that's who you are when in reality, you're far from the real you. Don't ever forget to keep it real!

My highlight of the weekend was walking through the front door back home with bags hanging off my neck, arms, & fingertips while carrying a big cooler and hearing Kaya tell Sarah "Mom, you're the best Mom in the World!" Then walking over to me & saying, "Dad, You're the best Dad in the World!" Dopeness! 


Let's keep being the best we can be! Here's to new beginnings! 

Kaya & Andre chalkin' it up

Peace & Blessings!

Banj, Man-ILLA

 

Happy Easter!

                                                           Today I won this :)

Because this little girl found one of the silver eggs at Mandarin's Easter Egg hunt. Didn't know mommy's of the grand prize winners got prizes too, so it was was a pleasant surprise for me :)

--Erica Paredes

Eternal sunshine of the puggy mind

They say happiness can be found in the simplest things and I have always known that to be true. Last week, in the midst of deadlines and stress I let our adorable pug Sebastian into the room and he nestled down under my laptop. I love this little guy. And when I stopped to take a nap he poked his head as if to see what I was doing. Sebastian is a gem! He and our chihuahua, London always make me happy!

- Michelle Katigbak-Alejandro, Manila

Chivalry is not dead :)

Happy Easter!

Every time I read this blog it makes me smile. No fail. Which is why I always click on the link everytime I've had a long and tiresome day. 

Tonight, something really simple and kind made me smile. In church, I saw an older fellow give up his seat for a young woman. Now men giving up their chairs for girls in this equal sex opportunity world is already rare, it is even rarer for an older man to do it for a younger girl. He was so kind and had a polite smile and I could see he was just really raised to respect women. Even standing (which I know was hard on his knees) he still had a smile on his face.

Moved by his act of selfless generosity, Nino and I gave up our seats so he could sit back down with his wife which he accepted with a smile and a polite "Happy Easter" and as he sat down, he and his wife held hands, while his other hand began rubbing his knees.

Oh what an amazing world we would live in if only people were always so generous and kind :)

- Michelle Katigbak-Alejandro, Manila

Landing: A Beautiful View

I'm an air hostess. Normally, during landing, parents do all sorts to keep their babies and toddlers as comfortable as possible...cotton balls in the ears, baby bottles, cookies, bouncing, distraction via safety card...all sorts. Landing is tough on babies and toddlers especially because a lot of them don't appreciate being strapped into their baby seatbelts, and pressure on the ears is hard to alleviate. On a red-eye into India, this little girl sat with her Mum, watching the screen in front of them, with the forward camera showing the runway. The little girl looked at her Mum, her Mum looked back at her. She was tired, having come from Toronto - a 15-hour flight away from Dubai, and another 3-hour flight from Dubai to India. But she had eyes of excitement and anticipation. The little girl gently locked her tiny four-year old fingers into her Mum's, and as we approached the tarmac, she motioned their hands towards her lips, and gave her Mum a kiss on the hand, as if to say, "hey Mum, it's okay, don't be scared." It made me smile. It amazes me, the true nature of people, and I love catching glimpses of it everyday when people don't even know that someone is watching and admiring from a distance.

--Kristine

Friendship

Almost 5 years ago, we moved from Manila to here in Australia. It hasn't been easy since we had to leave behind family, friends, and our house which we've lived in Paranaque since 2000. We also left behind the little luxuries we had i.e. drivers and house-help.

We basically had to start from scratch. Looking for a house to stay, schools for the kids, even acquaintances and friends we had to look for as well. True friends are really hard to find, but potential friends are everywhere.

 Fast forward to 2006, I met the most awesome barkada. My best friend Jess and my other good friends: Nathan (also my boyfriend), Luke, Reece, Corey and Thomas. They are the best friends I could ever have. We've only been friends for 4 years but it feels like we've known each other forever. They helped me adjust and assimilate into the Aussie culture and didn't make feel like a stranger at all. I trust them with my life and my secrets. I thank you guys for making my 3 years in Adelaide a meaningful one. I love you and miss you all.

Of course I still talk to my friends in Manila, who I've been friends with since the 2nd grade at CSA Makati and I thank them for still being there for me. Thanks Jacques, Geoffrey, Bernice and Carmela for still communicating with me through Yahoo Messenger and Facebook. You four really are the best! Our friendship transcends distance and time. I miss you and hope to visit you soon.

Now 2010, my family decided to move here in Melbourne for more opportunities and a new place I guess. I am still starting to adjust since we've only been here for 3 months and hoping that when I start uni in July I will meet friends who are as awesome and fantastic as the ones I met in Manila and Adelaide.

Kristin- Adelaide/Melbourne, Australia

My Black Saturday was pretty bright :)

 

I live for these lazy Saturday afternoons :)

--Erica Paredes

Growing my own Garden

I am a single Manila girl.  I think that being 28 and single nowadays has a lot of great potential! You can do whatever you want as long as you have the resources and are able to find the right opportunities.  With no one relationship to focus on, you also learn to appreciate the other relationships you have around you.  In my case, I was blessed to have three dates this week – a Romansa date with one of my favorite women, another with my best friend, Mike, and a date with myself. 
Romansas, a term coined by my friend, Riza, may come in different forms:  coffee dates, dinner dates, merienda, sitting under a mango tree, walking or jogging together, sharing a pack of cigarettes – it’s really up to what fits you and your date.  The important ingredients are conversation and connection. 
One of my romansa partners, a mom of 3, a wife for 11 years and lover for 14, never fails to amaze me.  Our most recent rendezvous was no different.  I came to our date with a lot in my head.  I was tired, very very tired. 

For more than two years now, I have been in love with Mark, a man who does not and will not love me back.  I was ready for a pity-party.  We sat at a corner table of one of our favorite restos along Katipunan Ave.  She listened patiently to my rants and my outpouring of emotions.  She said a few words and then went on to sharing about her own experiences, too.  Funny how she didn’t have to address my own concerns directly but inspired me nonetheless.  Instead of indulging into the pity-party, at the end of our little date, I was reminded of how beautiful I am and how much I deserve someone who will adore me for being me. What inspires me is how she is daringly and audaciously honest with her feelings, feelings I can imagine a lot of people being too ashamed to admit.

Every time I have moments like this with her, I always have a secret desire for her wisdom to magically rub-off on me.  My being friends with her is good for my womanhood.  It didn't really matter how filling the baked ziti and penne with chorizo Parmesan cream were or how fulfilling the chocolate marble waffle was.  What is of essence was the heartwarming discovery that our sharing a little part of ourselves to each other enriched us both. 

Connection.  A few days ago, a friend of mine posted a line from the movie, Before Sunset, in one of her blog entries.  The line goes :  "I guess when you're young you just believe there are a lot of people you'll connect with... later in life you learn that it only happens a few times"  I think I've lived my life long enough for it to become a testimony to that theory.  It’s one thing to connect with many people in different ways and another thing to discover connections that are consequential, even evocative, something that is almost life-altering, or is life-altering. 

My best friend, Mike, and I had a crepe dinner at our favorite restaurant along Tomas Morato.  We haven’t seen each other in a while.  That night, Mike told me that he was newly engaged.  I shrieked in excitement.  I knew I was going to miss the single Mike but I know he deserves no less than to be with the woman he loves. 
Because of this news, I got to thinking about my relationship with Mike.  I know I love the guy but what was the significance of his friendship to my life? 

I’ve always been most myself when I am around Mike.  I learned to love and like myself because he loved me well.  So now that he’s getting married soon, I know that we won’t be spending as much time with each other but, like he taught me through his friendship with me, I know that I will be fine because I have all that I need within me. 

Yay, ballet! I’ve been taking adult ballet classes for more than a week now.  This afternoon was going to be my fourth class, I wasn’t in the mood to go to ballet.  I just wanted to sulk in a mini pity-party that my mind did not approve of but my sensitive ‘id’ wanted to mull over.  I knew I was being silly, especially knowing what going to ballet class really meant to me - an exercise to love my body.  So I dragged myself to the studio.  I forced myself to get out of bed and grab my towel and prepare to go.  By the time I was putting on my leotard and jeans, I was already excited.  Yay, ballet!  I walked tall, closing my ribs, being careful not to over protrude my already sticking-out butt.  I did that while walking to the corner to get a cab.  Talk about psyching one self up. 
During the first three classes, I didn't seem to sweat at all and I hated it.  All this exercise and no sweat?  Awhile ago, I was sweating like a pig while doing the exercises.  Now that felt like a work out!  Then I realized it was because prior to today’s class, I was half doing the exercises and half watching to get them right, plus I was so tense I held my breath instead of breathing freely with the movement.  I wasn’t allowing enough oxygen to flow through my body, therefore, no sweat. 
At the end of every one of the first three classes I attended, we would bow as a group.  At the end of today’s class my classmates and I bowed one by one.  It was the closest to being the ballerina that I wished I had become.  It was wonderful to have been able to acknowledge myself in the mirror in front of the whole class.  It was an empowering experience.  

I always thought that I needed a man to successfully grow a garden – to till the soil, mow the grass and lift the heavy machinery, but I realized that I could do all those things myself.  I could plant the seeds, water the plants, weed the garden and grow my own beautiful garden with all my favorite flora…and then have picnics in it and take tours around it with a wonderful man in the future.  

--Joanna de Guzman, Manila

The Little Things

Everyday, I try and remember the things that I am grateful for.  Often times, these are the things that we are so accustomed to and take for granted.  Nevertheless, it doesn't make them any less valuable and so I try and recall all those blessings in life that constantly surround us everyday.  Here are some of the thinks I give thanks for today:

Thank you for the roof over my head.

Thank you for the running water.

Thank you for the food I ate today.

Thank you for my brother and sister.

Thank you for my mom and dad.

Thank you for my dog.
Thank you for grum.

Thank you for the clothes I’m wearing.

Thank you for the bed I am going to sleep on tonight.

Thank you for my toothbrush, and the toothpaste too.

Thank you for my health.

Thank you for my phone.

Thank you for my television.

Thank you for my computer.

Thank you for my internet-connection.

Thank you for my drinking water.

Thank you for the numerous blessing that we receive everyday.

-Abee, Manila

Thanks Mr. Cab Driver!

Last night started out so much fun as we drank and bowled for a friend's birthday. After that, we headed over somewhere to karaoke, and at that point, most people were already starting to get drunk and happy/crazy/ok fine rowdy. It was 330 in the morning and finally time to go home.

Abdul and I caught a ride with someone and left our car at someone's house, where the party started before we went bowling. On the way back there, the car we were in got a flat tire in the middle of Meralco Avenue. With 4 tipsy people, changing the tire became a futile activity, and finally, we called one of our drivers to come help us out.

While waiting, we had about 3 offers by different people (cab drivers, truck drivers) to help us out, but it being that time of the night, and us not being completely in our right minds, we just kept declining to be safe.

I had to use the bathroom really badly so I hailed a cab and asked him to bring me to the closest one, which was Medical City. I asked him if he could wait for me and bring me back to my friends, and told him to keep the meter running, since I was really probably wasting his time. When I came back to the car, I noticed that he did not turn on the meter at all! He drove me back to my friends, and wasn't expecting anything from me. Usually cab drivers are the opposite and keep asking us to pay them extra if they are driving us to places they don't wanna go to. I know it was a close drive (2 min each way), but still. God Bless you, Cab Driver Eric! :)

Baby Steps

Today I was looking at my friend's baby album. She just gave birth a few days ago and as I cooed (through the computer) at the precious little life on the screen, it made me realize how far we (some of my girlfriends and I) have come from even as short as five years ago.

This is Dylan. He's 5 (6 in May) His mom, Thea Arvisu, packed their bags, and moved to Baguio last year and is raising him on her own. He's a funny little dude, and never fails to put a smile on my daughter's face.

This cutie belongs to me. She's almost exactly one month younger than Dylan up there. Thea and I were pregnant at the same time in 2004. Her curiosity could kill a million cats- a big ball of energy and sometimes hard to keep up with, but I wouldn't have her any other way.

This is Kaya. She's a year younger than Dylan and Ananda and turning 5 this year. She has the cutest smile and inquisitive eyes. Her mom is Sarah Meier-Albano, and is one of my dearest friends.

Fast forward to five years after. This is Ella. She's Ananda's baby half-sister. She's four months old and her mom Jena Daza has given up a lot to take care of her full time. I have yet to meet her, but already her smile is infectuous.

Finally, say Hello to the newest member of our family, six day old Noa. Her mom, Cynthia Kurleto is one of the most beautiful women I've ever met, and Noa is sure to follow suit. If only Peru was around the corner, we would surely come and visit every week!

Five years ago, all our lives were so different. Childless (well, 6 years for me and Thea) and free, we were night life staples. We lived for no one but ourselves, and suddenly God said, whoops, here you go-LEARN. LOVE. LIVE FOR SOMEONE ELSE.

...and life has never been the same since.

it also has never been better.

--Erica Paredes

I found him

September 9, 2007 --- I met him. I liked him the moment I saw him and I know there’s something. But I just waited and thought I could never deserve a guy like him so I just stared and longed.
September 9, 2009 --- exactly 2 years later… US happened. He’s in Florida, im here in Cebu. Really far from each other but we made it! It’s a really long story but to cut it short, everything is just working. God is always present, we want the same things, we have the same goals and just so happy that we found each other.

Arthur changed everything in my life. He helped me become a better person and taught me how to love everything around me. he made me realized that life’s good! And its getting better because everyday with him is purely amazing! Long distance relationship is really hard but we’re doing it because we love each other that much that it can’t shake us. As long as we know that we have each other, we’re ok.
He gave me more reason to smile every morning. He loves me like no other and until now I still can’t believe I have someone like him. Im blessed! And im thankful for the love and patience he’s giving me. I miss him everyday since he left last February. But June is just around, and I know we’ll have more blast together. Im excited like crazy!
**** Squeep, If you’re reading this, know that I LOVE YOU SO MUCH and I can’t wait to wrap my arms around you again…

Agnes Pasco, Cebu City

Reaction Formation

Last August 31, 2009, I was diagnosed with SLE (Systemic Lupus Erythematosus). It was confirmed because of the dsDNA test which was performed on August 29, 2009. The reference range of the test should be at 10-15 IU/L and my result showed 53.2 which leads to a positive result.

“You have it. It’s not curable but treatable”, said my doctor. And my reaction?? I just smile and laugh. But when I arrived at home, I got depressed. Good thing, my Mom is always here supporting me, friends who would always remind me that I should drink my medications religiously and bring my umbrella because when you have SLE you are not allowed to be exposed in sunlight.

I can say that I’m in good condition now though sometimes the symptoms would appear. Yes, I know that it’s not curable but that doesn’t mean that I will give up. These days make me stronger and made me realize that I’ve got to fight for every dream. To be strong in the middle of this lupus battle is the greatest gift I can give to the ones who love and support me.

Spend each day with a smile. My mother once said that, “Just think that those medications are just your favorite candies, I love you!”

To all SLE patients, someday there will be a cure for this. Never never give up. Remember that we are stronger than Lupus.

-eunice v.

I forgot to smile.

Yesterday I had a major milestone in my pregnancy. Justin and I saw my tummy wiggle from the baby's movements!! Her movements have just been getting stronger and stronger everyday as our delivery date gets closer!! A very exciting thing for a new mom and a very good excuse for some tears of joy!!!

After all the excitement I thought up of all my worries and fears about being a new mom that I completely forgot how beautiful the moment was when we saw her move. I gave myself an excuse to have a crazy hormonal rant with all the tears I could possibly shed. I forgot to smile. I forgot the happiness and lightness of life that was right there for me to enjoy! I have an amazing man right beside me and an amazing little girl growing in my belly. How could i forget such a thing?

I forgot to smile when I forgot all the love that was around me. We are all surrounded by love and when we take the time to remember that Happiness is available when you choose it, when you seize it and when you exude it.

Today I choose love and happiness. Smile =)


Trish Bote, Manila

What's YOUR feel good song? :-)

Always loved Stacie's feel good songs, and this one--even after five years--still gives me that little pick-up whenever I play it.





True life true to me, the way it's got to be, so simple, so simple, so simple...


Live to love, love to be absolutely free, so simple so simple, so simple...


Give me wisdom, plain and truthful, give me something I don't know, plain as education, inspiration I suppose


Give me family on a Sunday, and I'll be just fine/ There's nothing in the world that's worth all of my time...

Hope this video reminds you of how the simple things are what matter! :)

Have a good good day, everyone!


Cheerios,

Andrea de Guzman

Love in every bite

Baking, smelling and eating these cookies made my day. At first glance, they may seem like regular cookies, but these babies have an odd, but very good combination of ingredients, including chocolate, bacon, potato chips and toasted marshmallows. Aaah, the simple joys of life.

--Erica Paredes

Pleasant Surprise

So I went over my girlfriend Christina's house for her family's Palm Sunday Dinner. When I arrived her whole family was over already finishing their dessert. (Filipino time of course) After they all left I was at the long dining table with my Christina's grandma who has become very fond of me. As Christina was clearing the table of the left over pies and assortment of cookies, her grandma says to me in her New York-Italian accent," J.C., I really love ya. Even if I never see you around here I would still love ya." This caught me as a surprise; not because I didn't think she liked me but the genuineness of her voice made the statement all so true. This caused Christina to shed a single tear and left me blank. Whatta statement!

JC Albano, New York

The Need to Live Well

*Posted this originally on my tumblr {patriciamalay.tumblr.com} a few days ago. It's a Holy Monday and soon, days off for everyone. Hope everyone can get rest and really learn to live well. ;)

+ + +

I saw an Anthony Bourdain episode where he went to Brittany and thought, wow. I wouldn’t mind living there. Although I know I’m a cosmopolitan girl at heart (and feel like my lungs will collapse without the daily dose of carbon monoxide in the air), the idea of living among people who care about living well attracts me. I watched as Olivier Roellinger explained how he turned his back on the Michelin star system at the age of 51 and hied off to Brittany to open a restaurant cum bakery cum farm on his own terms, without pressure, without fanfare (he grows his own pigs for his own hams, etc.. the pig pen, he explains, doesn’t smell nor are the pigs kept how industrial farms keep animals.. he says happy animals taste different!) Or how another guy who makes sardines (in olive oil and in jars!) said it didn’t matter if he didn’t sell any as long as he did it right. Or how a woman who ran the only legitimate Balon oyster farm scoffed at the thought that other oysters were stealing the name Balon—she didn’t seem to mind the fact that these people might have made more money than her. What worried her was that they were stealing the name when it wasn’t as good as her oysters.

I’m sure an hour-long show can’t do justice to a place or a culture. Besides, all it presented were how Mr. Bourdain saw things and experienced life there. I’m sure there’s crime and irritating things like neighbors that drink too much and make loud noises at 10pm… or something. The point is, I know life can’t be that good. But that shouldn’t stop us from aiming to live our own lives well.

The French seem to have it down pat. Take your time. Don’t do something because you need to… do them because you want to. Money isn’t everything. But passion is.

So, more than ever, all signs point to happiness being a choice, yes? Maybe you don’t live in Brittany, where things seem to be easy. Maybe you’re stuck in hot, stuffy Manila, in a job you hate, making hardly any money. Maybe you’re unhappy in your relationships, surrounded by people you don’t like. Maybe you’re sour about your circumstances and really wish things would improve as soon as you win the lotto. But say things don’t change, people don’t change and circumstances don’t change. What happens then? Can you really choose to be happy, where you are, no matter what?

I’m going to say yes. Sure. Not easily, but it can be done. Perspective changes everything. It’s not a matter of putting on rose-colored glasses and wearing a fake naivete… it’s a matter of seeing things for what they are and choosing to smile anyway. Bloom where you’re planted and know that you’re part of a bigger plan. When you realize that life is more than yourself and your concerns, life begins to feel more important, significant, meaningful. When you stop trying to fix things, struggling to put everything into place, fighting the status quo so you get what you want. When you sit back and tilt your head just so and put your feet up, you will realize that life is good no matter what. The fact that you’re alive and have one more day to live makes you just as blessed as everyone else in Brittany or any place in the world you’d rather be. You’re here, you’re breathing and maybe that can be the start of good things today.

So, what are you choosing to do today?