love letters

(pahabol na post sa huling araw ng buwan ng mga puso and sort of inspired by Verns' love letter episode)

when was the last time that you made or received a love letter? the old fashion, the old school one, not thru email and definitely, not via text.

hand written, in a stationery (scented or not?) and then folded in a unique way that after reading or even before reading it, you'll fold it again and again just to figure out how to do it (that you eventually forgot it's a letter, damn).

kelan nga ba? ako high school pa, and that time, i think i can make a career out of writing love letters! i am not really good at it but i can whipped one in a flash! i don't know, maybe its the hopeless romantic in me, or maybe the dreamy teenage years of puppy loves and crushes and of picking roses and heart shaped balloons and stuffed toys with a little heart in it, or simply, i was simply inspired to write love letters.

Love letter

A love letter is a popular way to express feelings of love in written
form. Sometimes sent in the mail, and increasingly
by electronic
mail, the letter may be
anything from a short and simple message of love to a lengthy explanation of
feelings.
Sometimes letters are preferable to face-to-face contact because
they can be written as the thoughts come to the author. This may allow feelings
to be more easily expressed than if the writer were in the beloved's presence.
Further, expressing strong emotional feelings to paper or some other
permanent
form can be an expression within itself of desire and the
importance of the
beloved and the lover's emotions. The expression of
feelings may be made to an
existing love or in the hope of establishing a
new relationship.
The increasing rarity and consequent emotional charm of personal mail may
also
serve to emphasize the emotional importance of the message.
As with
any letter, a love letter could be written in any structure or style. One
historically popular method is as a sonnet or other form
of poem. William
Shakespeare's sonnets are
often cited as good examples of how to write emotional themes. There have been
published books collecting models and suggestions for love letters.
After
the end of a relationship, returning love letters to the sender or burning them
can symbolise the hurt felt.
Some stationery
companies produce paper and envelopes
specifically for love letters. Some of these are scented, though
some people like to use their own perfume to
strengthen the impact of the letter. (taken from Wikipedia)

naalala ko nung minsang gumawa ako ng love letter (high school to ha), i had my pure intentions (naks) written there and i have this thinking na yung girl lang ang makakabasa. sorry, wrong assumptions. she read it with her friends (na friends ko rin naman) and before i knew it, alam na ng buong class namin, word for word, ang love letter.

dyahe.

napakamot na lang ako ng ulo. but i thought (hindi naman sa pagbubuhat ng sariling bangko) it was not badly written, not at all bad as it produced that kilig factor that i just need. hah! and we know how things in high school are: dreamy teenage years of puppy loves and crushes, etc, etc.... and that kilig factor was, well, really a factor. and that's the start of a career, errr... romantic endeavors of the teenager named zherwin. lol

(i have friends who are reading this blog, hoy, wag nyo akong pagtawanan! lol)

but that's okey, a chapter of my high school life that itself stays vividly in my mind (enter sharon cuneta singing... high school life oh my high school life, every memory kay ganda, high school days oh my high school days are exciting kay saya...)

the song certainly brings back some memories... and it made me smile, ahh, that love letter...

(fast forward: after two years, we broke up and during college i was a freelancer *wink, thus the career, wink* and it was six years ago that i (or a friend who's the ex-boyfriend of a friend of lyn) finally found lyn, or since then, happy days.

i did not wrote a love letter to her (maybe just a couple of short notes), and she's asking me why not. i reason out that who needs a love letter when i can always tell her face to face how much i love her...

(kilig, kilig)

hmm, i just had an idea of a surprise...

I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse

don corleone?

no, don chavit singson to manny pacquiao.

lol, okey, i just made that up.

but really, what it is that makes the people champ to be this eager, very, very eager to enter the ring, err, political ring? one can only speculate. but the good news is, at least for now, that political ambition takes a backseat, for now, and that he'll just concentrate on his April multi-million dollar walk-in-park-ho-hum-of-a-fight with this undefeated AND UNKNOWN Solis guy.

what makes him changed his mind, for now? hmm, maybe the cold shoulder treatment given to him by Cebuanos on last weekend's Boom-boom/Z Gorres/Jaca Cebu fight. This article describes it more accurately. was he booed by the fans? or he just realized he's going to earn more in boxing and remain the king of endorsements? well, i am happy for him, at least for now, and he made his mother even doubly happy that she answers every question thrown at her with "I am happy and thankful that he'll not enter politics". manny's own words: for now, backseat muna ang politics. again, for now.

goodness, make it for good na.

***************************

okey, something related to the title. :) finally, i've seen The Godfather. yes, the movie. and only now. and i know now what i've missed with those years of not watching it. and what's more shameful? i have the trilogy and they're just there, just there. and i call myself an Al Pacino fan? shame, shame, shame. lol

my review of the movie will not give justice to the greatness of the film, so i will not do that. besides, i am not good with film reviews and more often than not, i give spoilers. see, i'm bad. pero, anak ni marlon brando naman, i am glued to it for three hours and was always "schocked" with those bloody "little" acts of violence, so dark, so good. (and when i saw francis ford coppola with george lucas and spielberg handing the oscars to scorsese, i wanted to say, coppola rules! hehe) and what i love about the film aside from touching loyalty and family is the way it makes you feel the scene, you can feel as you are more nervous with Michael's meeting with Sollozo and that policeguy or when Michael looked for the gun and used it or with luca brasi's "knife" encounter or Sonny's surprise tollgate experience or that Enzo (the baker) trembling in front of the hospital. how can you not loved it, the tension just keep on building up and it will just hit you. bang. and the eyes of Pacino is so intimidating that it will kill you if you refused his offer hehehe. (i remember in Devil's Advocate how those eyes "eat" the robotic acting of keannu reeves, but that's another story).

I just love Al Pacino more. and i am now excited for the next two, i'll have Godfather II this friday (wala kasing basketball) and hopefully the third one this sunday.

so, make me an offer i can't refuse. bang.

World Light Expo Water screen laser show

it may appear initially as blurry because i was running when taking this. :)

trees

parang puno, ganyan tayo.

may buhay, may panahon ng taglagas,

kelangang kumapit sa lupa kundi mabubuwal

mamamatay.

san ba tayo dadalhin ng hangin?

igugupo?

sisirain?

hahampasin?

sasabay, lalaban?

kakampi ba natin ang ulan?

kaisa ba natin ang araw?

sa pagyuko natin kasabay ng buwan

may bituin pa kayang

hahalik

sa hamog ng nakaraan?

sa muling pagsibol mula sa kinasadlakan

makikita pa kaya ang dating natatanaw?

o kawalan na lang

ang sasalubong sa dahon ng pagmamahal?

yumukod na lang sa takip silim

hayaang yakapin ng lamig

hayaang hagkan ng usig

sapagkat sa paggising

isang tinig

ang maghahatid

ng isang damping

kasing kinis ng tubig.

on the block (writer's block)

some years ago, when i was still in college and was busy with accounting and some of my org's and school activities, i still find time getting busy with the school paper. yup, i was a newspaper guy and i don't know if i was a good one or a bad one.

back then, i concentrated mostly on essays and poems, and as i always wanted to put it, parang lyrics ng kanta ng eraserheads ang takbo ng pagsusulat ko. easy to read, spontaneous at walang pretensyon. minsan tipong parokya ni edgar naman sa pagkamababaw but just the same, easy to read. medyo off lang sya para sa isang hardhitting school paper.

i must admit na hindi ako kagalingan sa pagsusulat, but if the creative juice is flowing, sige, sulat lang. marami na rin yung oras na pinipilit kong magsulat pero halos wala akong mapiga, tuyot sa ideya, lost for words. writer's block!

writ·er's block (rtrz) KEY NOUN:
A usually temporary psychological inability to begin or continue work on a piece of writing.

ngayon, i am experiencing a "partial" writer's block or a blogger's block for this case. pero teka, can a blogger's block be also considered a writer's block?

sa dami ng nagba-blog ngayon, pwedeng ikonsedera yan. pero marami rin ang pumupuna at nagsasabi na blogging is not really writing (duh!) kasi raw walang disiplinang sinusunod dito. siguro kung old school writing ang pag-uusapan, itsapwera nga ang blogging, pero who cares di ba? (uhm, teka lang, ano ba ang old school writing?? hehe)

i believe writing should not be put in a box, yung hindi tipong ganito dapat, ganito dapat at hindi ganyan. siguro kung script yang binubuo mo, maaaring you'll follow a certain path, kung nobela naman, ibang usapan din yan.

sa blogging, sariling atake na yan, walang pakialaman. kung ayaw mo, wag mo. c",)

pero ngayon kahit sa blogging, parang trying hard ako, ilan taon kayang nabakante sa pagsusulat? hala, matagal na rin pala. kinalawang na rin, wala kasing practice. inisip ko na once you have it, you'll always have it, tama, pero di ko naisip na you should also nurture it at yun ang mahalagang part. na binalewala ko. hindi pala ito katulad ng pagbibisekleta na kapag natutunan mo na, for life na yan, kahit 48 years ka pang dehins mag-bike.

i am trying to bring it back, and blogging is a good exercise for it at bonus pa yung "interactive mode" nito. just like the day after a first gym workout, i am feeling the pain for using my longtime stagnant writing muscles (talaga lang ha lol) pero pakonti-konti, i'll get there. dahan-dahan lang hanggang masanay ulit, just like lifting weights, start with the light one and as your muscles get used to it, dagdag pa ng weights! sana lang maging maskulado ako pagkatapos nito. hahaha.

motto ko pala nung high school: try and try until you die, if you die at least you try. (hanep, slum book na slum book ang dating!)

but it's true, im gonna try and try writing again wag na lang sanang umabot sa die part, ayaw ko pa yata nun. hehe

and with the writer's block? itulog na lang yan!

World Light Expo 2007 II (pictures dump)

the last post is just hard to top and since i have a lot of pictures taken, magpapagalante na ko, i'll share what i have hehehe.

the above archway leads to Macapagal avenue..

(to the tune of paper roses) paper lantern, paper lantern

a glimpse to a member of the terracota army

Entrance fee: P30 (yata)

a 3D theater

entrance fee: P30

dragons (just one, or four, of the lot)

tail of the dragon

dragon cups (me pipino sa mata, beauty secret??)

pagoda hoppers

turkey-ish

dragon ulit (this time red)..

dolls

(kung black lang yung hair, sadako resurrected!)

ah eto... (walang mai-comment hehehe)

these dolls/mannequins are actually moving..

sarimanok? (newly-hatched ba o bulaklak yung inaapakan nya?)

children

poste lang po, isama na natin, kawawa naman.

World Light Expo 2007

they had the soft opening last Feb 13, 2007. i went there last night and the damage was P300.00 for the entrance fee. take note, that's only for the entrance. aside from the Pagodas, the Korean and Chinese circus, the well-lighted archways, the water screen laser show, the little fireworks and other lighted structures, you have to pay an additional P20-50 for the -18 degree centigrade Harbin Ice & Light Festival (na hindi ko napasok, mukhang pinapalamig pa yung tent hehehe), the 1st Qin Emperor's Terracota Army (na nasilip ko lang kasi pinipinturahan pa yung ibang "sundalo"), me mga mini-rides din na napagtyagaan ng ibang "adults" at nung sumakay na sila parang napaisip sila kung bakit sila sumakay hehehe.

some facts i extracted from the Expo brochure i got upon paying the entrance:

• Gross Production - Usd 6 millions
• Gross Staff hired - 10,000 persons
• Production period - two years
• Job creation in the Phils - 12, 000 persons
• Number of bulbs used - 2,000,000
• Design Team (Philippines, Korea, China, Italy) - 200 staffs

the Expo is open everyday from 4:30 pm onwards (up to 1 am on weekends), Feb 13-April 22

Adult (over 4 ft) Php 300.00

Child (below 4 ft) Php 200.00

Children under 3 years old - Free

Parking is on the Macapagal Avenue side. If one is coming from Makati, take EDSA going to Mall of Asia then turn left upon reaching Macapagal Ave. You can also go there by boarding the bus with the signboard MIA Baclaran and go down on or before the Coastal Mall.

yellow t-shirt wearing staffs can be found around the area, you can approach them for some queries and you can even ask them to take your pictures.

the colorful pagodas and the long-bodied dragon made of ceramic/plastic plates, cups and spoons are prominently on the center of the Expo.

when i went there last night, i saw korean food stalls with the London Bridge-inspired lighted structure as its "landmark" and Indo's, strategically located near the stage where the circus and some performances are being done on an hourly basis. i didn't bother checking the food and the price as i am more interested in taking pictures than eating. hehe

there are more to see there that these pictures may not be able to give/impart, if you think the P300 entrance fee is a "expensive but-a-once-in-a-lifetime-experience", then by all means, go there, but if your idea of the expo is a star city theme park and that you can ride-all-you-can with your P300, don't go.

but this one is a nice way of appreciating other culture. and a very good opportunity to practice and/or enhance that photography talent you have. and perhaps, a huge project like this might never happen again in the very near future.

and this is for the benefit of Pangarap na Lupa Foundation (Children with sight impairments)

(my random thoughts, how much are they going to pay Meralco for the huge, huge, huge amount of electricity they will use for that 2M bulbs?)

HOT!

not me, but the weather is.

just two weeks ago, we had this christmassy cold weather and then now, we are starting to perspire and in the middle of the night, you felt hot and then you have this sudden urge, uhm, yeah sudden urge to take a bath.

lol.

is it already el niño? or summer is just early (i hear the beach calling...)? mukhang double time na ang kelangan sa pagwo-work out (as if...) to have that model-body look (walang pakialaman ha hehe). seriously, the again sudden change in weather just highlighted the unsatisfying-forever-complaining nature of men (and women). kapag malamig, nagrereklamo, kapag mainit, ano pa bang maririnig? syempre, reklamo din.

at kasali ako dun.

i have the body whom i called the sweat capital of the world. kapag nasa labas at konting galaw lang, pagpapawisan na, imagine how i look like when it's hot or when i am jogging or when i am playing badminton? scary! and i am not even chubby! hehehe. hindi naman gross tingnan pero parang dehins normal na sobra akong pagpawisan, the good thing is pinaglihi yata ako ng nanay ko sa pag-inom ng tubig kaya nare-replenish naman yung nawawalang liquid (parang gatorade, is it in you?). and i usually have excessive sweating sa bandang noo lang, leeg, front and back of my body and not in the armpit (now that is gross hehe).

on a typical day, while sitting lazily and randomly pressing the keyboard in my office, i usually consume about six to eight glasses of water, and that's before lunch time. add about the same number of glasses hanggang makauwi ako ng bahay sa hapon. buti nga di pa nagtataka dito sa office kumbakit bumibilis yata yung pag-replenish at pag-order namin ng tubig hehehe. sa loob ng mahigit walong oras na pagtitig ko sa monitor ng computer ko, at least 14 glasses yata ang naiinom ko, hindi pa kasama ang kape at yung tinutungga ko sa bahay. tapos nagtatanong ako kung san ko kinukuha ang ipinapawis ko? lol.

from what i know and what i read, sweat is the body's way of cooling itself, whether that extra heat comes from hardworking muscles or overstimulated nerves. (trivia: our external genital organs has no sweat glands, kaya no sweat, go figure! hehe). and there are two kinds of sweat glands: Eccrine (the most numerous type, found all over the body) and Apocrine (mostly confined in the Axilla/armpit and the anal-genital area. These two sweat glands have the same way and/or process of producing sweat, they only differ on the content: while both glands produced sweat with have sodium, chloride and potassium, Apocrine-produced sweat has protein and fatty acids which make it thicker/milkier and yellowish in color. hmm, kaya pala minsan parang me stain yung damit natin no? uy, itse-check nya yung damit nya. hehehe

i really do not have the right to complain na pawisin ako, ganyan na talaga eh, minsan di lang komportable at kelangan ko pang magdala lagi ng extra shirt in case of emergency at para na rin fresh (naks!) ang pakiramdam. and take note also, na hindi lang panyo ang dala ko araw-araw kundi towel. at dahil sa dami ng t-shirt o polo na nasusuot ko araw-araw, ibig sabihin doble rin ang dami ng labahan ko!!! hehehe at yun ang nakakalungkot dun. lol.

anyway, comforting isipin na kapag pinagpapawisan ka ang ibig sabihin daw ay healthy ka at normally functioning ang katawan mo. yun nga lang, marami ka laging labahan. hehehe.

you really cannot have it all :)

smoke gets in your eyes

hay naku.

ranting naman tayo. not a very good way to start a day but then...

whenever i ride the jeep, if possible, i always like to be seated in front, you know the one beside the driver. mas komportable kasi kahit pang-isahan lang yung upuan, ikumpara naman sa eight-seater sa likuran na ang pinagkakasya ay sampung elepante! hay. this morning, i got my favorite seat (at mahaba/malaki yung upuan, kahit tatlo pede), ang problema lang: sunog baga si manong!

it was not the first time seating next to smoking driver, but this early? naku naman ser, almusal ba yan? and to think most of your passengers are elementary students? bad example po yan at bad din sa mga makakalanghap ng ibinubuga mo!

i don't exactly have problems with smokers, in fact, once in a while i puff. ang ayaw ko lang at ang nakakainis ay yung mga walang konsiderasyon at hindi namimili ng lugar ng pagsusunog-baga nila. and the sad part of it, sila pa itong madalas na nagagalit kapag pinakikiusapan o sinisita. ano daw ba ang pakialam natin? kuya, bosing, ser, kami rin po walang pakialam senyo, kung hindi nyo po ibinubuga yang usok nyo sa amin, ay wala po tayong pag-uusapan. kung lulunukin nyo na lang sana yang usok, naku everybody happy di po ba?

kapag ipinaliwanag kaya sa kanila ang epekto ng second-hand smoke, mage-get kaya nila? baka bugahan pa ulit ako ng usok. hehe. this time usok na ng tambutso ng jeep nila. lol.

in our society, tolerance is sometimes the best way for you not to be in trouble but with undisciplined/uncontrolled smoking in public places especially on a jeep/bus, tolerance will get your health in trouble. the not-so-good effects of smoking in our body have been told and explained many times and in every possible means, but why is it that the public awareness on the effect of second hand smoke is not as widely "promoted" as the former?

cigarettes produced about 12 minutes of smoke, only 30 seconds of those were inhaled by the smoker and the rest the smoke? they linger on air for the rest to breathe. i chance upon these facts on the net:

Second-hand smoke contains more than 4000 chemicals. Many of these chemicals are known to cause cancer. Chemicals found in second-hand smoke include:

• carbon monoxide (found in your car's exhaust)
• ammonia (found in window cleaners)
• cadmium (found in batteries)
• arsenic (found in rat poison)

it also adds:

No amount of second-hand smoke is safe.

Second-hand smoke causes sore eyes and throat, nasal irritation, headaches, coughing and wheezing, nausea and dizziness. You are also more likely to get colds and the flu. Breathing in second-hand smoke can also trigger asthma attacks and increase you changes of getting bronchitis and pneumonia.

If you are exposed to second-hand smoke for a long time, you are more likely to develop and die from heart problems, breathing problems and lung cancer.

scary, isn't it? now, if anyone can make a shirt with a design like this:

i'll order from you, just make it in black or red, and large size please (ok lang kahit medyo fitted).

hay, and we have the Anti-Smoking or No-Smoking Law (ayan, di ko na tuloy alam kung alin ang alin). naging mabait ako kanina, nagtiis na lang pero hindi maaaring hindi maramdaman ni manong driver na gusto kong sarilihin na lang nya yung usok nya: nagtakip ako ng towel (hindi panyo ha) at umubo-ubo ng konti to my left. deadma ang lolo nyo! tigas ng mukha no?

anyway i breath easily after i reached my destination but of course without me coughing harder towards his side.

pasensya na manong, di kasi ako puno ng mangga na pinauusukan para mamunga o gusto nyo batuhin ko kayo ng mangga?

peace. :)

shadows

old pictures. i just thought of sharing, in the spirit of valentine's day. hahaha.