thanks life.

That's what I've been coaching myself to think, "get a life!" DO NOT DROWSE! It's my first day at work since I have been hospitalized for bleeding myself to almost dry that I had to be a vampire by a needle to survive. I'm wobbly that's why the husband is like a "stage dad" watching my every move and asking if I'm okay every 10 mins...oh he cares a lot right now, I've given him such a scare. I wont DIE, not yet at least I have to make it to my birthday this Friday and my wish is to live a longer happy life. ^^ Well these things happen, at least our marriage is tested for what we vowed for "in sickness and in health" ... we're just not ready for the next phrase the "till death do us part" part, that's why we said "until we both shall live" in our marriage vows and not the latter because it sounded better... I mean, the moment seems perfect to say that I will stay married to him even in death...nice eh?! ^^
Well now, I just wish for a mind reader that directly feeds into my blog as I have been wanting to write but the trouble is time and my ability to write in the midst of daze and tubes...but I'm well now, I'm at work proof that I have survived stubborness and not taking care of myself... hit the gym! hit the gym! I swear I said that many times in my hospital bed that I will go back to lifting those weights and sweating it all out! whew. stubborn. sassy. me. next year promise, 2010!
Anyway, lets head off to my hometown where we'll be in a few days to spend the holidays and like my oldest friend LIFE isn't giving me any normalcy... I just want a holiday and there goes Mt. Mayon spewing ashes and lava, tremors and all that volcanic erruption thing, I could see Mt. Mayon from our backyard!!! Well...it's hard not to see Mt. Mayon anywhere in my city...it's as majestic as you think it is...how you would draw a volcano when you are told to do so is how it looks...triangle in 2D, perfect cone in 3D, perfect circle on top view!!! Lovely and WILD! She's our muse, she's beautiful but dangerrrrrous. We never blame her for any destruction, oftentimes people are lured to stay close in awe of her beauty. What can you do about the forces of nature? It doesn't choose a time, if it has to fill our land with more land, what can you do??? Boulders would shoot up in the air like it has no weight but the sizes of which ranges from a refrigerator to as big as a house!!! Such a spectacle from afar. I have my fondest memories of Mt. Mayon's erruption in my head and it includes barbercue at the park with binoculars! If you happen to have lived in Legazpi City where Mayon is you will understand its BEAUTY and SHIFTING TEMPER like a true woman it is hardly predictable but unassumingly charming. So yes, even if the news says people are evacuated and will probably stay at the evacuation centers 'till Christmas, Christmas will still happen! Nothing can stop it! For as long as everyone keeps a distance, Mayon erruptions will stay as a spectacle rather than a calamity, it's brialliant to watch how it glows bright red in the dark, really I tell you it's eerily wonderful...there's some hint of delight in danger... I'm out of my mind, don't listen to me, I'm under medication so bear with me will ya? :) OUT.

Wedding at the Bamboo Church

How fun it was haha...eventually the whole formal event didn't came to be...^^ Everyone was notified to just store away their gowns and be in a "semi" formal wear or whatever they feel right about wearing to a wedding...my husband has stuffed his tie in my clutch bag and I wore a flowy blouse and pearls. We car pooled with friends making the travel less harassing. The traffic was sooo bad at the coastal road, we began watching movies...yay! 'perks of being friends with a Congressman's wife, we rode into her car with one digit plate number and 2 LCD screens and snacks! awesome... We were able to breathe in our clothes as the location is about 2 hours drive from our city that wore on to be an hour more snailing our way through.
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We finally reached the church 20 minutes before 4pm, our first time to see the St. Joseph Parish in Las Pinas (Las Pin-yas) famous for the Bamboo Organ built in the 19th Century. The organ still plays, they used it for the wedding and it sounds fantastic, very much like what Dracula would use in his castle at the mountaintop to sound scary...tentententen! But this sounded awesome clear, you can only imagine what it was like for the people of the 19th century singing with this instrument playing, it would've been the coolest church in the country! The church also has bamboo chandeliers and ceiling, terracotta tile floors and ornate stone walls, though small it is cozy and has a feeling of being in a medieval world but also very Filipino for the use of Bamboo.
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The ceremony was very solemn, they only have about 100-150 guests of family and friends. The church was decorated with Sampaguita..^^ I find it very interesting that they did...even the Bride's bouquet was made of clustered Sampaguita, it's a white Jasmin flower that's very fragrant, it filled the church with it's scent.
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At the reception, the tables were still set "somehow" formal with all those spoons and forks and glasses that we scrabbled together eventually when the food came because the tables have huge centerpieces of roses and fruits, beads and the couple's photos that there weren't much space for the plate with food sooo...yes, eventually the utensils went out of its proper order, so what!

The cake was HUGE too! wow...I gaped at it.period.
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My husband and I won a game for the couples, winning our table an extra bottle of wine! yay! we were awesome at naming body parts with the letters "P" and "T"...

The night went on great, I'm sure the couple are pleased that there are NO major hitch at all besides the guests not being able to find their seats because the seating plan was a "mirror" image of what is actual! haha... nothing bad or worse was noticeable other than that so good job to the couple and the on-site coordinators! ^^ and good job ME and hubby for winning the delicious wine!

i love weddings!

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me and the hubby reminiscing...

the bamboo and Capiz shell chandelier

Sampaguita (jasmin) flowers as aisle decor

my red shoes to go w/the motif.^^

the 19th century Bamboo organ played at the wedding

coming as we are!

ceiling lamps at the reception

the HUGE cake. 'but was too far for my camera...and me.

Donabel

HUGE centerpiece.

yummmm...not just for the kids! yay!

friends not behaving.

me and the hubby

cheers!

Happy Weekend!

xoxo
Sassy

perfectly imperfect

masculine lines eh?

I was lent a book by our Structural Engineer about writing. YUP! writing...besides being our senior struc. engineer, a family man, 'guy with lots of stories and advice to share about life, HE writes... and how I wish I could...because I'm not a writer per se, just like owning a guitar but doesn't really play it, I write. I write without knowing if I get my message across 'loud and clear! 'I know lots of other bloggers do, with beautiful-expressive words and that sort of made me ... "hey! wait-a-minute" myself ... because I'm nothing like that.

I don't usually wake up with days that's bursting with ideas on what to put on my blog and all will be brilliant and funny and witty... and how I wish I could. BUT nah-ah! like many contadictions in my life, I have plenty much skill but none that I master!

Like when I pick up a piece of paper and start doodling, I end up making quite a masterpriece as they say, with my hands working on lines that are too masculine, dark and heavy that no one would even suspect it's my work ... (damn! even line-strokes has gender!!!) BUT when I'm asked to do something for like an art contest or exhibit or something, I LOSE IT...I don't know where my hands had kept those "muscle-memory" for me to make all those strokes come out in a canvass! YUP, frustrating ... a lot of times that I had to deal with standing up in a room full of other "artsists" only to stare at my blank palette and brush untouched. I have dealt with a mentor who looked at me with huge disappointment like I had sank Titanic ... So NO. I'm not a true artist. Besides not being a good writer, I'm no artist. If having the attitude and moodiness of an artist counts, then yeah, I'm one.

... BUT before I make a complete realization of how my life is extraordinarily typical. I'll stop. I'm not perfect but I'm not too hard on myself either. If I can't do it like others can, I wont dwell on it, I'm probably bound to do other things, better things ... different, but that makes me, ME. So, I'm gonna do ME. Like what everyone should.

Going Organic

I'm chewing on a Green Tea mint Flavoured gum...with sooo much enthusiasm ... mm... this is goooood, it's so fresh, it's "earthy", tastes like chewing on a tea leaf ...now chewing with mouth open...mm ... tastes like jasmine flower now ^^... it actually iS beginning to taste like cheap perfume! ...yeah, I probably should get rid of it 'cuz I hate floral scents, I wonder why they ever invented this! It's ...so weird on my taste buds. BUT, apparently my friend here, enjoys it. She's chewing at it like there's no tomorrow... "hey stop!" haha she makes me laugh, I can never influence her! We're friends for so many reasons other than liking this green tea gum and that ... tea-leaf she's been driking that tastes like ... old, wooden cabinet ...

-ahaha! she laughs, have you eaten a cabinet before???

-Well, no but that's why you shouldn't eat that! We don't eat wooden cabinets and those cabinet-tasting things!

What a day ...

Anyway, we are going organic on a few things, taking it slow ...'cuz we're still learning more about it though we are pretty convinced that it's the healthier way, it's the sources that we are concerned about ... if we'll find an all organic market nearby here in the BIG city...'cuz I'm pretty sure in the province we have those. But here, it's quite a challenge! Sunday markets are held at the Metrotent in Ortigas but I think that is only by schedule, sooo ... YES! Finding the supplies is our latest goal!

We have another friend who's selling organic products like lotions and stuff, that I like so much 'cuz it smells very, very good that I want to lick it off my skin! It's made of fruit extracts and beeswax ... so imagine the smell of honey, yummm... maybe if I "accidentally" ingest it, it wouldn't hurt me ... ^^

'Let's go Green!

you 'gotta give this a CHANCE. part I

Everybody knows Wowowee ... I know Wowowee, you know Wowowee! We know Wowowee! ...

Ok, so NO. But if you have Filipino friends or you're A Filipino, you surely have heard of this popular noontime show that has appealed to the masses BIG TIME! Especially showcasing raw talent from all walks of life (usually with heartbreaking stories ...*sob*) in their segments like the "Willie of Fortune", where contestants must show their talent before the actual game, and in this video are just some of the featured talents for the day that has come by the studio to try their lack on the jackpot prize.

Very entertaining, very real (guard your emotions!), lots of singing (two-parts!) apparently, that was the category for that particular day :" That you must have won an amateur singing contest and a teen." So enough said come let's watch...

PART 1



Hope you enjoyed!

xoxo

I love you Dad!

A Greek short film

...and I just said to myself while a friend of mine posted this on her facebook that I wont get carried away by another "emotional" video, that none of these things will ever make me cry at all, after seeing so many of these, I just refuse to be a crying mess! BUT as usual ... whenever I gear myself on something too much ... I'm a wreck. I guess I haven't learned how to stop myself each time!!! This film is short yet has struck a string into my soul that resonates guilt and shame. I'm probably not alone in this feeling, that sometimes we are too impatient for the elders and our parents that we never realize what it was like when we were small and they had to teach us almost all things we know. Imagine how they had to clothe, feed and hold us so we'll never fall while learning how to walk. 'Just the same, when our parents are too old to be feeding by themselves, to be clothing by themselves and to be walking by themselves, it's time for us kids to be there for them because they were never too busy to do it while we were needing them.

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Anyway, it's a good cry, not a cry of loneliness but a cry of times that I wish I could spend more with dad. But as you know, we live far and now that mom and my brother is here ... I'm so guilty I'm making him spend Father's Day without us! But I'm sure my sister and her family will spend this day with him ... Happy Father's Day Dadi!!! I love you, I always say I do with the hugest hug in the world and the loudest kiss!!!

You know, it's not hard to be communicating all these thoughts of love with my dad on this very special day anymore because he is 60 years old and uses a cellphone! I think every dad now has a cellphone, so why not just call or send over a text message or with a picture message that says: Happy Father's Day! That's what I'm going to do ... when I'M DONE WRITING MY BLOG. haha...

Well, my dad Jose ... 'always the strongest, tallest, bravest person I know in the world. He used to carry both me and my sister in his arms and swirl us around the room while mom laughs and cheers. That's when we were kids, small and needing protection, small and believing in super heroes! When my brother came, he was a proud dad. My brother is named after him, Joseph. They would spend every Sunday together going out to play, buying comic books and ice cream. They call it: "Bunso Day" which means dad's day for the youngest one in the family who is my brother. Dad never gets mad, he's a man of few words, he was quiet and patient. When he says he'd be there, he'd be there on time! ... so NO excuses that the "dance" didn't finish on time ... haha, yeah, he'd pick me up from my High School Dance or parties, or the beach -- I'm like the girl who's always had dad and mom on the wing... ^^

My dad, most of the time just loves cleaning up his things and stuff in the garage. He spends most of his hours tinkering on cars, he loves cars! That's what he's good at, cars! Our family car is always on tip-top shape, that he's got many people wanting their cars fixed and tuned up by him, it had become a business at some point, that we had sold car parts and supplies that put us through school. Now dad is I guess, retired from doing that business ... it just slowed down for him when BIG car companies started putting up huge car supplies and dealership that had put him and other small players well "out-of-business." BUT, his love for cars and collecting rare parts didn't fizzle, he still spends time scrubbing, cleaning and restoring things, like any other collectors do. That's my dad's thing. If other dads got fishing and golf, my dad has 'car parts' thing goin' on!

I think good dads deserve as much shown love like we show mom.

... I love my dadi, he's forever be my number 1 guy (husband wouldn't mind!) ...

Happy Father's Day!