Weekly Photo Challenge:Escape

My idea of escape:

a place where no one knows me

a place where I can forget all the craziness of the urban life

a place where I can fully appreciate the wonders of nature

a place I can enjoy with people who truly matter the most

ESCAPE.

More “escape” submission at Daily Post.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Pattern

I feel bad I was not able  to post for two consecutive weeks. Thankfully, I managed to squeeze some time today  in my chaotic schedule. So here’s my take on this week’s challenge:

Meet my mom’s dog, Robbie! He’s an askal (asong kalye), the Filipino term for mongrel. He’s the one that came to my mind when I saw the theme because a friend once told me, “The pattern of his dog fur is so weird! Is he a dog or a tiger?” I realized yep… he indeed looks like a dog with the fur of a tiger.

Check out the entries for this week’s challenge at Daily Post.

Keep Your Word

One lesson I learned from my freelance writing jobs is I should not commit to an assignment if I can’t beat the deadline. The same goes for writing about topics which I am not very familiar about. But sometimes there are unavoidable situations which cause me to submit a paper late or in worse case, request it to be reassigned to another writer.  The price I paid was steep. The fee for reassigning the paper to another writer was deducted from my salary and I was put on probationary status. Since then, I have been more careful in selecting my assignments and I have always tried to finish a paper at least an hour before a deadline even if it meant not sleeping for 24 hours straight.

Sadly, the same kind of penalty cannot be imposed for friends or relatives who do not keep their word. After all, friendship and any other form of human relation are complex in nature and cannot be caged in boundaries and rules that apply for instance in our work.  We can always go back to the “we are just human” argument that we can’t control people, situations and decisions. We can’t always expect things to happen the way we imagined them.

True, there are very few things in life that we can control but the way we respond or handle a situation is something that will always be in our control. Failing to meet a commitment once is forgivable especially if the reason is an emergency, a life-changing situation or is of higher priority. However, if we repeatedly fail to honor a commitment, I think it is appropriate to look back at our actions and reflect why we made  commitments in the first place.

Often times, we are afraid of disappointing other people so we give our yes even if we do not like whatever he or she is proposing. Then, at the very last minute, when we have determined our heart is not really into it, we back out. This situation, I think, is far more disappointing than being told outright “No, I can’t be there” or “No, I can’t do it”. If we keep doing the former, we lose our integrity and the trust that people placed in us.  They may not want to engage our help or presence in the future due to our history of ghost promises and appearances.

More often than not, it is our word and actions that define us. If we want to count on others, then we should make people see that they can count on us too.

 

Weekly Photo Challenge: Culture

Philippines has probably one the most extensive or detailed celebration of Holy Week. In my hometown, we don’t have just one procession, we have five. The first procession is held during the afternoon of Holy Wednesday. The second one is held on the  afternoon of Good Friday . Another procession is held late at night during Good Friday. We call it Soledad and  its route is  exactly opposite of the procession held in the afternoon. My mom said it symbolizes “tracing the path that Jesus walked on his way to the cross”. The fourth procession called Salubong (literally means welcoming the Risen Lord) is held very early in the morning of Easter and the final one during the afternoon of Easter Sunday.

Regardless of the day the procession is held, the setup is pretty much the same. There would be pasos or images of the saints or scenes in the Passion of Christ. There would be altars where the priest would stop to say a prayer. And of course, there would be people holding candles during the procession. When I was a kid, the processions was very organized. People fall in two lines beside the pasos. In between altars, we prayed the Rosary. Some even walked barefoot.

A lot have changed since then. Processions became more crowded but for the wrong purposes.  I know this is a tradition that will continue for a long time but whether the intentions and solemnity will be preserved is a different question.

More entries at Daily Post.

24 at 24

Life is not perfect. However, it is the imperfections that make me love it more. There is always something to discover and learn. I have always tried to live that way—always in pursuit of higher but life-changing lessons. I do no want to stop because I know the moment I do that I would stop growing as a person. I would choose the uncertain anytime over a boring, repetitive life

I am blessed for being to able to realize this goal in my 23 years of existence. Life has not always been kind but it has certainly  been rewarding. I look forward to more years of fruitful existence.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Up

 Looking the world at eye level means taking things at is. On the other hand, looking up means discovering new perspectives, aiming for the intangible and fostering imaginations of what could be beyond the usual veil of blue we see. It pays off to look up every once in a while.

This picture was taken in Matukad Island, Caramoan. I wanted a different perspective of the cliff so I lied on the sand and took a picture of it.

Check out the entries for “Up” at Daily Post.

Staring is not a Norm

One of the double-edged characteristic of humankind is our natural tendency to be curious. We have this urge to know what’s happening with whom, why a certain someone did this etc Nothing is wrong with that but we must recognize the limit as to when we can poke our noses into other people’s business.

 One of the most blatant examples of this habit is staring. In fact, I find staring to be the worst kind. Because it involves no words, the meaning can range from admiration, simple curiosity, jealousy, and even hatred. No matter what the reason is, staring is plainly rude and counts as intrusion of someone’s privacy.

 Just yesterday, while in the jeepney, the person in front of me is peeking at his seatmate’s phone. And earlier, I found someone standing beside my table reading the paper I was reviewing.  I asked myself, “Does staring and poking into other business’ make a significant impact in their life?”.

The question, above I think, is the most important thing we should ask every time we attempt to get involved into someone else’s life. Do we really need to know what our officemate is reading?  Do we really need to look at two couples cuddling each other? If the answer is no, then we should stop staring or meddling and go on with our own lives. Sometimes the reason our life is stuck in limbo  is because we are too busy interfering in other people’s lives.

(Credits to http://www.passiveaggressivenotes.com)

What do I do when someone stares at me? I stare back. I stare back until he can no longer hold his stare. I do not do it because I tolerate staring. I do it because I want to let the other person know that I feel offended by what he did. And hopefully by doing so, he would not try staring at others again.

(Travel Diary) Weekend in Caramoan Part 1

Last February 15-17, most of my relatives from the father side trooped to Naga City for the long planned getaway to Caramoan Islands in in our home province of Camarines Sur. My Uncle/Ninong Albert and his family also came home from Canada so it was a great opportunity to bond with them.

The beauty of Caramoan is quite famous in the international community and  so, it is ironic that even though it’s only about two hours from my home town, I never managed to visit these past years. Finally, I had the chance to see its charms and I was quite surprised we have a paradise so close to home.

The shores of Matukad Island.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Change

I wanted to share a picture of my application papers for graduate school as it is the change I think I need the most. However, the results will not be out until the first week of May, so I am sharing another activity which I think helped changed my perspectives a lot: traveling.

I am not pampered but I am used to staying within the boundaries of my comfort zone. Two years ago, the habit had finally taken its toll. I felt I had no purpose and my whole “take it from my experiences” talks were of no substance. I had this urge that I need to see more… experience more.  I found that satisfaction through traveling. The decision to leave the glitz that I’ve been used to, and explore new places with only my bag and my feet as my companion was one of the best things I’ve done in my life. I found new appreciation for almost everything–the color of the sky during sunset, the feeling of seeing underwater, the thrill of jumping without reservations, and even  the bed I am using everyday. Perhaps the most important thing I’ve learned so far is… life is most beautiful in its simplest form.  Enjoying life does not mean we have to succumb to the glamour dictated by the society. Sometimes,  all we need is ourselves  and the beautiful surroundings God provided us.

Two years after my hulabaloo, I can say that while I am not yet a changed person but I am definitely an improved one. The saying that “once you started traveling, you cannot go back” is indeed true. My thirst to wander is larger than ever but this time I am not feeling so lost.

Entries for this week’s challenged can be found at Daily Post.

Encounters

The other night, I treated myself to dinner after a stressful day. While seating comfortably in the corner of the restaurant, a stranger sat in the next table and  greeted me with a big smile. Not wanting to offend her, I just smiled back. After I finished my meal, I stood up and looked  her way. She smiled again and said to me, “You’re done? Bye!”

I didn’t smile back, I just said to myself, “What an interesting person.”

It was not the first time I had an interesting encounter with a stranger. Way back  in December, while walking towards the jeepney terminal of SM Bicutan, a car stopped beside me. The driver rolled the window down and shouted at me, “Hey miss, do you have an umbrella?”

I thought twice before answering but I ended up replying, “Yes, I have one. Why?”

He replied, “It’s drizzling, in case you haven’t noticed.”  I looked up and it indeed, there was a light rain.

He added, “You should put out your umbrella now.” I didn’t know how to reply so I just smiled at him. He smiled back, and waved at me. He then rolled up his window again and drove off. I was left dumfounded as I said to myself, “Weird.”

These were not only instances when strangers greeted me enthusiastically. And yet at every encounter, I returned the favor with skepticism. In a place such as Manila, I learned it would do me no good to be endlessly polite and accommodating. I developed a habit of doubting strangers. A man looking at me could be a thief. An approaching lady might pretend that she needs money to feed her child. Some hardly take a look even if  they stepped on my foot while rushing to walk past me in the overpass.

When someone smiles or greets me, I always expect something to happen. A request, a comment, or even the question, “What is your name?”. So I am caught off guard, when nothing follows the smile or the greeting. I guess it’s still indeed possible…greeting strangers just because we can and not because we have a hidden intention or we need something from them.