incessant rambling

if you ever find yourself stuck in the port of dumaguete waiting for a boat to Cebu, you may want to entertain yourself by watching the info-tv-board that flash bits of information, tips and trivia. I mean, do you know that the first recorded celebration of Christmas in the Philippines was 200 years before Magellan landed on our shores? Or the fact that "Silent Night" was composed in 1818 by Franz Joseph Gruber, an Austrian who came up with the ditty because the Church Organ had a malfunction, probably from disuse. (Church, Organ, Not-Functioning - makes sense eh?) other Christmas Trivia include the fact that Gloria is never sung in Advent Masses (and if you go by the signs of the times, that Gloria is really popular with the Church nowadays). It is an often forgotten fact that Advent Mass is not only to prepare for the Birth of Baby J but is also in preparation for the Apocalyptic Christ, or the second coming? That fact is emphasized by the gospel reading of the last and fi...

my friends have noted that i look a bit sleepy and haggard for the past week. they are even wondering why i keep to a promise to attend the misa de gallo (a dawn mass tradition that lasts 9 days prior to christmas) when i missed the first day. the premise is that one completes the 9 day novena for one's wish. don't get me wrong, there are things that i dearly wish for. santa knows all about it except that i haven't been exactly a good boy this year :) anyways, we always ask for this, demand for that, petition this and clamor for things that J must feel like a government office beseiged with incessant requests. Despite the fact that everything is His to give, He deserves a thank you. if waking up before dawn to offer a quiet prayer is inconvenient, think about getting yourself nailed to the Cross.

If you're reading this today, Christmas time, you probably should be out and visiting part of the real world luv! (this is a pre-posted, scheduled blog entry, so am entirely excused!) In any case, I just want to greet everyone the Merriest of Christmas. No long message, no deep meaning, no reflective thoughts. As I'm typing this piece, I am scheduled to sign a new contract tomorrow (24th December, 2008) that is a totally unexpected last minute Christmas gift from the Big J before I take my break. In many ways, there could have been instances where this particular deal could have gone kaput except that in every moment I felt I was going to make a big mistake I had an invisible hand pushing me along. This is one instance where I appreciated Someone being pushy. No matter what we went through this year, we are certainly blessed. We're here right? This very second is a blessing of "existence". The only man who can't achieve his dreams is a dead man. We're stil...

Just a quick photo blog entry for the Fluvial Procession for Santa Maria that's held annually in Tuyan, Naga of Cebu Province. There's a long history behind the tradition that won't fit given the short amount of time i have to post this entry. [which means i have to post a follow up entry, darn] a crew member, looked too young to be doing seafarer's work. boats go around the constantly moving vessel that carries the image, it is a careful maneuvering process to make sure that no boats collide with each other. miraculously, there has been no reported accident for the past couple of decades in this particular procession. i took a closer snap with our boat dangerously crossing the bow of the main boat.

people avoided sitting beside her inside the church. who can blame them? unkempt, bedraggled, dirty and an odor borne from walking under the sun is enough to deter anyone. she held a deck of plastic cards on one hand and kept muttering to herself throughout the mass. despite my initial reaction of disgust, i reflected on the fact that she, not anyone of us who lived lives of comparative luxury, deserved more of God's grace and compassion. When we worry about everything in our lives, we listen less and less to his Words that fade into oblivion. Why is it, that when we're almost down to nothing, we listen more closely to his call?

according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, while both male and female reindeer grow antlers in the summer, the males shed theirs at the beginning of winter while female of the specie retain theirs until they give birth in the spring. which means that Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and Rudolph were all pretty strong ladies. yes, girl si rudolph the red nosed reindeer. eleven more days to christmas :)

i hope that didn't mean you're an ugly ha g in korean. you see, i was looking for the right words to greet my friend kim young sil a happy birthday. together with some friends, we went to marco polo hotel where we were given a semi-private area near the buffet area - good thing that franco and tonette are good friends of hans hauri, the current general manager of marco polo. -picture from left, sitting: glenn, tonette, marie. standing from left: me, franco, yvette, nam soo, eduardo, sameer, ron in any case, dinner was like a united nations convention with a swiss-german, iranian-filipino, koreans and pinoys sharing an evening of laughter and good cheer. interestingly, the marco polo christmas tree is up and we didn't miss getting the chance to get our pics snapped. the firing squad. mr. park looked a bit funny he he he. great food, great company, great place. perfect birthday!