Temporary Hiatus

Sorry I've been MIA for the past couple of weeks. I haven't been in the mood to write lately. Just wanna say that I'm gonna be on hiatus until further notice. No worries, this is probably just gonna last for a month. =) See ya!

Capping the first week of the new year

010507.
It was DAY1 of the World Pyro Olympics. On an impulse, hence my failure to prepare for the horrendous traffic, I went with Rach and Char. It was a great way to cap the first workweek of 2007. I wasn't able to bring "a real camera", so I only took shots from my phone. I decided to just post the pics here since they are so few.

I had great expectations for Australia's show. I mean, they won last year! But it was kind of disappointing, especially since we waited so long for the delay! There were no chairs, it was really more of a kanya-kanyang dala affair, and since I came from work, I couldn't have possibly brought some! So you can probably imagine na ngawit na kami by the end of the night. There was a lot of laughter though, so it was still great fun.

If someone has really good photos of the fireworks, please tell me! =)

Bracing the traffic was worth it though. It took me two hours to get to Diosdado Macapagal! Golly! Anyway, here we are during the wait! (Just click to enlarge!)

They were selling these headbands with glowing horns! It was fun to wear, but Rach didn't buy. =(

Everybody's got something they want to sing about, laugh about, cry about

It's true.

And to complete the chorus from Train's song, for me, it's you.

For me, there are a lot of people, places, and things that I want to sing about, laugh about, and cry about, all at the same time...
1. Close friends and family
2. Work
3. Waking up every morning
4. Sundays
5. Christmas
6. New Year's Eve
7. Josh, my brother
8. God's immense love
9. Ambitious dreams
10. Living in the Philippines
11. The prospect of what I know will be a bright, yet uncertain, future
12. The future in general
13. Being single
14. The one.
15. Dream job

So is there a specific "you" for me, in the way it was meant in the song? Of course, but that's another story. ;-)

The thing about having big dreams...

... is that it requires an even bigger faith that they will come true.

And I don't want to be "the girl who used to have big dreams".

Learning from our Asian neighbors

I've only been to two Asian countries apart from Hong Kong, and the last time I went there, I was only five. If I were given a choice between living in Asia and in the West, I would still choose Asia any day. Well, for now, at least. The Philippines may not exactly be a promising country right now, but a lot of our neighbors are. I was just reading about Vietnam's booming economic growth this morning. Call me strange, but I find such a delight in reading about Asian progress. If only I could read about the same thing about our country. =(

Now I don't have data to back up what the succeding paragraphs will talk about. My family's travels has always been such a great source of learning and inspiration about many different things, and I thought I should blog about two of them.

Cottage industries as tourism boosters
China

Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine factories as busy tourist spots. But they really work.

The only time we ever took a package tour for our travel was on our visit to China. Afraid that we wouldn't be able to get around by ourselves since none of us can speak Chinese (and only 3% of the population can speak English), we took time off our own hands and toured with a group. What was quite interesting was a number of trips to factories/production houses of materials that are authentically Chinese. For instance, we went to a place where silk was manufactured. We saw how silkworms got transformed into this gooey substance until it was woven into silk. And to culminate the tour, we are directed to a store that sold silk at "factory prices". Of course, being a tourist spot legitimized them to sell at "tourist prices" instead. The same happened in a jade factory. We were also brought to tourist shops that gave commission to the tour guide for his group's purchases.

The great thing about this is that tourists are exposed to the history and the production of these items, leading to a better appreciation for these products. After a saleslady showed us how to distinguish real jade from fake ones, you learn not to go jade shopping in Xiang Yang market. We ought to do the same with our cottage industries. We've got so many! From abaca materials to rattan and narra furniture to dried food, the list is definitely a lot more than silk and jade! Sure, these items are available in malls, but I don't think tourists will mind being taken to remote areas just to be shown how these are made. There was nothing fancy about the factories we were taken to! Silk was smelly, but we all didn't mind. We were even amazed.

Regulated democracy through productive participation in government activities and regulations
Singapore

They don't take their concern to the streets as often as we do, and yet, the Singaporeans are unified and progressive as a democratic society.

When we were in Singapore, my dad stumbled upon a newspaper article that talked about a private citizen who won around a thousand dollars from the government. As it turns out, the government solicits practical ideas from its citizens. They don't have to be groundbreaking. At that time, that month's winner submitted a very simple suggestion that guaranteed cutting the government's expenses on a somewhat significant scale. He simply suggested that the government should stop sending its letters via registered mail, and use the regular postal service instead, since it is efficient anyway. When the receiver forfeits to comply with the letter's instructions, that's the only time the government should resort to using registered mail. He did some calculations on the total savings that will be accumulated from this method. And voila, 1000 dollars. Now that's productive participation.

The year that wasn't

Pardon my uber delayed new year's entry. As you all probably well know by now, the earthquake in Taiwan has severely affected our communication lines. It's funny how the "strong" Asian technological infrastructure is now seen as volatile. Anyway, I'm getting sidetracked. I'm not going to spend my first entry of the year talking about technology, wireless networks, undersea cables, or the earthquake for that matter.
I actually already had a piece in mind for this entry. I even wrote the draft. I reread it though and realized that it didn't really quite capture the distressing, yet blessed, year that was 2006.

Anyway, let me begin with my year that wasn't...

1. It wasn't easy.
The first three months of 2006 were the last three months of my senior year. The final three months of my college life. It comprised of the last 4 issues of the paper, the final installment of our thesis, our final defense, our strat paper, my one and only full-on all nighter, all other things in between, and then graduation. Moving on from college student to unemployed to job hunter was no picnic. Joining the adult world is no picnic either. I thought it would be, but it really isn't. To say that it was emotionally trying would be a real understatement.

2. It wasn't the year I planned it to be
I guess it's only natural for college graduates to have high, if not ideal, expectations after leaving the hallowed halls of their campus. I thought 2006 would be my "breakthrough year", a.k.a. my "take-the-world-by-storm" year. Well, it wasn't. So maybe 2007 will be it. Who knows? But then, I realized that before I can "take the world by storm," I have to take on myself first. It may not sound like it was a tough lesson to learn, but for me, it was.

3. It wasn't pain free.

4. It wasn't sad.
Sure things went a bit topsy-turvy, but I had so much to be grateful for and to be happy about. For one thing, I finally met my cousins in Canada and got to spend some time with old friends who migrated some years back. I also truly felt what a strong and loving support system I have among my friends and my family. It has been quite a while since I really felt that, and I guess it's because this year was just so full of uncertainties and new experiences.

5. It was everything else
Nope, it didn't come close to anything I had envisioned in my head. I'm not sure if it turned out a lot better, but I came out better, and in the end, that counts a lot more.

____________________________

I was going through my old junior-first quarter of senior year blog (so full of stress and angst! tsk tsk!), and found this. It was sent to me during college, and it was nice reading it all over again. And this time, it takes on a lot more meaing. I know it's long, but do take time to read it.

Everyone longs to give themselves completely to
someone, to have a deep soul relationship with
another, to be loved thoroughly and exclusively.

But God says, "No, not until you are satisfied and
fulfilled and content with living, loved by me alone,
with giving yourself totally and unreservedly to me
alone. I love you, my child, and until you discover
that only in me is your satisfaction to be found, you
will not be capable of the perfect human relationship
that I have planned for you. You will never be united
with another until you are united with me, exclusive
of anyone or anything else, exclusive of any other
desires or longings.

"I want you to stop planning, stop wishing, and allow
me to give you that most thrilling plan existing, one
that you can't imagine. I want you to have the BEST!
Please allow me to bring it to you. You just keep
watching me, expecting that satisfaction, expecting
the greatest things, and know that I Am. Keep learning
and listening to the things I tell you. You must wait!

"Don't be anxious. Don't worry. Don't look around at
the things others have received. Don't look at the
things you think you want. You just keep looking off
and away up to me, or you'll miss what I want to show
you.

"And then, when you're ready, I'll surprise you with a
love far more wonderful than you would ever imagine.
You see, until you are ready and until the one I have
for you is ready (I am working this very minute to
have both of you ready at the same time), until you
are both satsifeid exclusively with me and the life I
have planned and prepared for you, you won't be able
to experience the love that exemplifies your
relationship with me...and this is perfect love.

"Dear one, I want you to have this most wonderful
love. I want you to see in the flesh a picture of your
relationship with me and to enjoy materially and
concretely the everlasting union of beauty and
perfection and love that I offer you with myself. Know
that I love you utterly, I am God Almighty. Believe
and be satisfied."