16-0. Eyes on the prize now. Go Patriots.

I've been a Randy Moss fan since his Viking days. I've never seen a wide receiver move with such quickness and versatility the way he does. With Tom Brady as his quarterback, the possibilities are endless. I knew they were going to go far this season. A bit overwhelmed though with what they've acccomplished.

Lots for the history books

::Patriots are the first NFL team since the 1972 Dolphins to win every game on the schedule going 16-0 this season


::Brady has 50 TD passes for the season, breaking Peyton Manning's 2004 record of 49

::Moss now has 23 catches, breaking the mark of Jerry Rice, who did it in 12 games during a strike-marred 1987 season

::Pats have a record 582 points for the season. The old mark was 556 by the 1998 Vikings.

Now, it's not all about Brady and Moss since they have a good supporting cast that keeps their backs covered whenever they need it. Brady's plays couldn't have been made without their defense and his offensive guards and tight ends.

Next stop. the Championship.

Our deepest Fear

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. It's not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own lights shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

-Timo Cruz (Coach Carter movie)

Some people should stop thinking about themselves ...

man that Trillanes is an idiot and a half. Does he know how much disruption he has caused the Filipinos the whole day? If, I, patient as I am, is really p**sed off with him, I could just imagine all the other Filipinos out there who are too. First off, because of his stupidity, some parts of Ayala got blocked off (causing medium traffic and re routing of public transpos). All these humble FX drivers trying to earn a living waste 1-2 hrs because of the rerouting and I believe they wouldn't be going back to Ayala anytime soon because of all the panic/traffic. They'd have to change their route for the day and pray to God that they make the boundary so that they'd at least earn. I had to walk a couple of blocks and cross Ayala over the fences because the underpass was closed - thanks again to the brilliant trillanes. I got to the office tired. The day was uneventful. Until we heard that a curfew was set (from 12mn to 5am) to deter any further coup/destabilization attempts. So our LNS(Late night shuttles) got scheduled early and we were off to our merry ways. Most of my colleagues had gotten out of the office already when I heard that mine would get delayed (since it'd be coming from Las Pinas) and there was heavy traffic everywhere - from SLEX to EDSA. I ended up deciding that I should stay in the office, as I didn't want to take the taxi at this time of the night and during these precarious times. So instead of getting home by 12mn, I've to stay here in the office until 5am blogging about trillanes' insensitivity.

Did Trillanes even know what he was doing? I don’t think so. As he seemed like he just walked out of his own hearing and acted like a baby. The guy didn’t even have a plan. First Oakwood. Now Manila Peninsula. What’s next? Shangrila. Asked if he knew who he’d recommend if GMA stepped down, the poor guy couldn’t even answer. I wish he’d stop complaining and start doing something else productive. Get a clue. Also, thinking about other people’s welfare wouldn’t hurt at all.

complete.

finally. went out with my cousins last night and it was a relief to get to talk with them again. been busy with work and parish stuff that sometimes I wish I had more time for the other people I care about. i've missed so much that they kept telling me to get out of my cave. haha. been living in one the past few months. it's all been work-sleep-work routine lately. i also miss the things i love doing. my cousins have reminded me that life is not all about overworking-yourself-to-attain-what. They've made me realize that I've to get out of my cave once in a while... my biggest frustration is that I've this ideal life at the back of my head --- wherein I'll just teach people to rock climb all day. and then i'll eat seafood all my life. only if life were that simple.

thinking too much - it's a disease

we're all going somewhere. this is most prominent early in the morning. at around 5am. wherein the hustle and bustle is very evident. everyone has a place to go to. To accomplish or to attain a certain level of satisfaction for the day. so so short term. will all our daily travels be cumulative to our end goal in life? Me, i just came from a drinking session with friends. my day had come to an end. and all these people were starting theirs. i look at their faces, wondering if they really knew where they were going or if they really know what they want in their lives. I knew where i was going. Home. My hustle and bustle started 12 hrs ago. And I'm finally coming home. It's the best feeling in the world. These are the times that I feel most alive.

to retreat is not to surrender

back to normal programming ... just came from a three day retreat and everything went swell. i learned a lot and everything seemed enlightening while i was still in the retreat house. but when i got back, it seems that what i have learned would not be enough. it takes a lot to be different. and to be good. Fr Jong never mentioned anything about doing a,b,c when it comes to, say, problem Y. To be in the middle of the world. That is the challenge. To sanctify one's own work and offer it up to God. struggling. coping. I want to be an instrument of your peace. i hope i don't drown in all the wordliness that the world has to offer -- forgive the pun - couldn't help it :)

blessed.

so blessed to have you in my life, as i wouldn't know where i'd be if you weren't here by my side. you're the only one who can ever put up with my mood shifts and rantings about the world we're living in. you put up with me, despite of my inequities and shortcomings. you've proven, time and again, that your love is unconditional and that whatever happens, I know that you'll still be beside me, cheering me up... cheering me on... being my number 1 fan and best friend at the same time.

so blessed.

Prison Break season 3

WARNING: possible spoilers

prison break's back with a new season. it's like fight club on steroids. except that somehow at the back of your mind, you're pretty sure that Scofield would live through it all. I know that we're going to go through the whole ordeal of escaping out of prison again. What's fascinating is how each character is going to act this time in a different setting. T-bag's gone the subordinate route. Bellick has gone down to the lowest part of the food chain. And agent Mahone seems like he's taking the big-brother role this time. I just don't like the way that Burrows is handling the whole thing. What Scofield did for him can never compare to what he's doing now.

Call me morbid, but I can't wait to see who's going to fight next ...

uh, ma?

September pa lang ah... Bakit nakalabas na ang Christmas tree?

Are we too connected?

Do you usually catch yourself reading the e-mail, reading a text message and instant messaging someone else all the same time? Worse, you could be talking to the colleague beside you as well. I'm guilty. I've caught myself doing that and sometimes I wonder if we're getting anything accomplished at all (as our attention is spanned over different mediums of communication all at once). We've multiple tabs open in our web browsers. Different applications open on the taskbar. We go over the next bits of news from cnn to businessweek to yahoo (which in some way or another say the same thing). All in the span of a few minutes. 

Info overload? Communication overload? Digest everything and tune in / tune out to what's important or not. Easier said than done. This is the age of digital reverie. We all immerse ourselves in spontaneous distractions. Gone are the days when you used to go to the library just to read up on a certain material. When you had to go through indexing systems just to find a particular book and you always had to have your library card with you. Afterwards, you had to return the book before its' due date or else you'd have to pay the fine instead of using the money to buy fishball/quekquek. All that hassle is gone. And all of life's conveniences is (almost) at your fingertips. 

All kinds of information are spread over the net. I call it the information explosion. Right up there with the big bang theory. We have everything at our disposal viewed at the click of a whim. The redundancy of information is all around. You look at your watch, it tells you the time. Your cellphone and the date and time on the taskbar glares at you as well, telling you the time. Everything that's staring at you is all saying the same thing.

The virtuality of the net consume some of the time that we live in reality. And the challenge is to stay focused and not be drowned by all the information around us.
So get up and live the reality that is your life. Turn off that cellphone. And shutdown your pc. I did. That's why i'm ending this piece.

same same but different

So many things to look forward to. So many things to dread. missing some people in my life(lola,lolo,cousins). Wish i had more time for them. BDG came back from Australia (good to have her back even if for a short duration) and she had lots of stories to share. She saw shirts in vietnam which said "same same but different". Doesn't make sense, right? But if you think about it, it does. Okay, forget for a moment that it sounds funny. Forget for a minute that it sounds like it came from a chinese stationery(e.g. Happy friends, forever love together fruits). You will realize that it applies to everything that happens in your life. Everyday you go to the same job/school, ride the same transpo to work/school, and then go home after a grueling day of tests/tasks/meetings. Sometimes you wake up earlier than usual, sometimes you're late. Other times you were up all night. Sometimes you eat shrimp for lunch. Sometimes it's sisig. You get home at different times as well. Same same but different, right? Is it kicking in now? 

Those shirts spell out the universal truth... that everything is same same but different. The wisdom of our Asian brothers. Those shirts come out in variations. BDG also saw some that said "same same but better". I'm smiling by myself already while I typed that. Sounds funny,right? (or mababaw lang ako ehe) That shirt on the other hand, talks about growth. And I see that with most of the people that I'm close to. Oo na tumatanda na ako. I have the privilege to see the kids younger than me grow up to mature and responsible grownups that they're developing to right now. But when you talk to them, nothing really has changed because they're still the same wacky people when they're with you. Same same but better. Galing di ba? So many things to look forward to. so many things to dread. Same same but different XD.

That's not the end of that. Guess what Yum in Vietnamese means. 

Election day

I spent my birthday as a PPCRV Volunteer. This is my first time. And the experience was fulfilling (even if I knew that somewhere along the way - cheating would still occur). I made new friends (with the other poll watchers) and got to help people looking for their precincts. The heat did not feel as blistering as I knew that my mission for the day was something that I'd be proud of. I was the poll watcher for precinct 96a-98a. And I did my best to make sure that nothing funny was going around. 

Went home around 4pm to prepare for the bday dinner that I had planned for my friends. We were making tacos (my siblings and I) and it was not an easy task. we had to slice cabbages,tomatoes and onions. On top of that, we had to grate cheese. Good thing Jose was there to do it. I even had to carve chicken (didn't realize that could become exhausting until the third chicken) BUT all's well that ends well. Tita Elsa brought cake and icecream and so did Padz so we didn't have to worry for dessert.

Never had I been so tired on my birthday. But I guess that's when I'm most fulfilled... when I've proven to myself that I can withstand anything that life may throw at me (God forbid - don't really want any big tests in the near future :) ). like i keep repeating to myself, it all boils down to a matter of perspective. you will always be able to see the beauty in things if you have a positive outlook from the onset.

Release

I've been meaning to write for the longest time now. I've so much to say that I don't know where to start and I'm afraid that i won't know how to end. I'm at the point in my life wherein i feel numb to any kind of pain or hurt. Or do i just cover it up in an attempt to deny what i'm really feeling? I've become a person who does not care what other people think about me (I'm wondering if this would hurt in the long run). The only problem that I see with that is that there is the tendency to hurt back without meaning to. Sometimes i find myself in situations that i never wanted to get to in the first place, but somehow because of my nature, I'd find myself in that same pit, trying to claw my way out and at the same time ask why i'd been there in the first place. I want to go back to the place where I try to find meaning in my life and stop my cynicism. I want to find innocence again. I want to keep believing that there is still hope for everyone and everything. I've been jaded i know. but at the same time, I've felt so much goodness in my life that i cannot just tell one side of the story. I feel like a soldier that's killed thousands in the middle of the battlefield, contemplating what he'd really accomplished in the process. He's made some mistakes as well, and is thinking if those consequences would come back to haunt him. I want to find my place in the world. Which would require me to put faith in the world (which i have little of as of the moment). time is against all of us. as much as we want to accomplish saving the world --- we are but bound by the things that keep us busy all day, like surviving. As much as we want to go out there and do it all, we have to deal with the system of how it all works. Is it right that we just succumb to the same fate that our ancestors have gone through? Isn't it time that we stood up and changed how it all works? Little by little, I will chip that block. Somehow,someday... I hope to find that place in the world.

What I really want

What i really want is ...

to spend every waking moment with you.

Save taktak road now

Would you have this?

Converted to this?

THIS IS WHAT PRESIDENTIAL PROCLAMATION 526 WILL DO TO THE TAKTAK-DAANG BAKAL/VICTORIA VALLEY ROAD.


PROCLAMATION 526 IS BASED ON THE FALSEHOOD THAT IT IS ALREADY THE RESIDENCE OF THE CLAIMANTS

HELP US WORK FOR THE REVOCATION OF PROCLAMATION 526

Write your congressman, your mayor, your governor and all those candidates who will be requesting for your support in the coming elections.

Also, please write the president in order that she will revoke a proclamation that she may have not known was based on falsehood.

law of averages

One can never go against the law of averages. You shoot some baskets. You miss some baskets. The number of times that you missed the MRT will always even out with the number of times you caught it. In the end, we could only have as much bad days as the good ones. But you can never help feeling that sometimes everything in the world is going against you and all your plans. This is where your friends come in. They always somehow manage to give light to all your problems, no matter how heavy or light. They explain to you that there is something such as the law of averages. That you can never go against the percentage. That you just have to go with the flow and keep on shooting the basketball. Because it will all even out. And even if it does, no regrets would come out of it because you knew that you shot the ball with no hesitation. And that is what life is all about. It's all about shooting the ball and being happy that you did it. Everyday. Every step will lead you to your final goal. Every breathe. Every conversation. Every cup of coffee. So take that ride to the place that you've been meaning to go to. Take that exam. Ask your girl out. Do what you want to do. Do not be afraid. Just remember the law of averages and how it all evens out.