i tripped

Too much pain can numb a person, so anesthetized that one failure would not hurt anymore.

Everyone has had a fair share of disappointments, but echoing Boy Abunda’s commercial spiel—“Sabi ng nanay, manghihina ka muna bago ka lumakas.”

Yes, accepting our setbacks and moving on may be easier said than done; however, the cliché holds water.

Here are some inspirational quotes that inspired me to go on:

“Fear stops a lot of people. Fear of failure, of the unknown, of risk. And it masks itself as procrastination.” Lisa Anderson“The rivers know this: there is no hurry, we shall get there someday.” Winnie the Pooh“Triumph is try and a little oomph.”

I have had my fair share of downers but good thing I learn early that a little fall is just but okay, what matters most is that we stand up again, and again, and again and again. I am currently in a complex-perplex-confused-situation right now, but I know I will survive. 

Stand-up

Apparently, Lourd de Veyra, a renowned writer/ TV5 host and a co-Thomasian gave a Commencement Speech in guess what, no, not UST his alma mater, but in UP, on one’s capacity to succeed (especially in this time of age where information is just a click away). For the complete speech, here. 

However there are times when no matter how hard we try, and retry, things or plans don't come our way. But don't fret. No matter how cliche 'leave it to God' may seem, leave things to Him.

Lourd puts it this way:

“Tumigil na akong maniwala sa pagpaplano ng buhay.

Corny mang pakinggan, mas naniniwala ako sa tadhana. Kung totoo na talino at galing ang sekreto sa tagumpay, dapat wala ako dito ngayon. Hindi ako ang pinakamahusay na manunulat sa aming kolehiyo. At higit na mas marami ang mas magaling mag-isip kesa sa akin.

May paborito akong kasabihan mula sa idolo kong nobelistang si Kurt Vonnegut. “Unannounced changes in life’s itinerary are like dancing lessons from God.” Napakagandang ideya. Napaka-akmang metapora. Dancing lesson.

Sa dancing lesson, wala kang ibang pwedeng gawin kundi sumunod. Pag hinila ka dito, sunod ka na lang. Pag binaba ka, bumaba ka rin. Pag hinagis ka, magpagaan ka ng katawan.

Susugan din ito ng isa pang quote mula kay Voltaire: “I refuse to believe in a God who does not know how to dance.” Ang pagsayaw ay isang ekspresyon ng ligaya, ng laro, ng kalayaan ng katawan at diwa na mayroon pa ring sistema. Pero ako mismo ay literal na hindi marunong sumayaw.” –Lourd de Veyra, 2012. 

Do it all over again

The bottom line, I guess is that, we should not be afraid of anything, even mistakes. But make the most of what our hands can grasp. Our bodies may be fatigued, minds tired and soul bruised. But I guess we must be willing to do it all over again. And this I say to myself. (And yes I sounded too preachy.) HAHA. 

  

age gap

I rarely say ‘I love you,’ but when I do, I mean it.

These three words, they could change our lives forever, seems overrated and clichéd nowadays.  How can someone love somebody in a span of days?

If you happened to watch ABS-CBN’s Pinoy Big Brother (PBB) Teen Edition 4, one of its housemates, Claire was bursting and expressing her feelings towards Yves, another housemate.

“Hindi ko siya (Yves) crush, mahal ko na siya,” words to these effect were said by Claire. Love?  Oh come on.  

Iba na talaga ang mga kabataan ngayon. Ang bilis ng panahon, at tila kay bilis din magbago ng pananaw ng mga bata ngayon. Now I feel older!

I used to watch PBB religiously and would often get excited in the teen edition but I felt off in watching the fourth instalment as the theme of the show seemed to focus on the superficiality—‘kalandian’ ng mga teenagers ngayon. Sorry to use the term but that’s just how I see the housemates, shallow.

The housemates were blindfolded during the first week, the purpose of the task was to avoid prejudices as people tend to look and assess a person based on his or her physical appearance. However, the intention of being temporarily blind was defeated once the housemates removed their goggles.

Hindi mo naman nga maiiwasan ang tumingin sa panlabas na kaanyuan ng isang tao, dahil ito naman talaga ang una mong makikita. Ngunit, tila nag-iba ang pakikitungo ng bawat housemate noong nanumbalik ang paningin nila.

Every time they would talk, the theme of the conversation focused on the statuses of their romantic relationship, (one of the housemates said she was engaged, hija, do you know the responsibilities of being engaged?) their crushes and their failed love lives.

Kung hindi man lovelife ang topic, nag-aaway naman sila, nagbaback stabban. Ito na ba ang kabataan ngayon? I’m not generalizing the youth today, but please prove us wrong.

of faith on fate

from goodreads.com

Surviving alone in the vast ocean for almost a year after a ship-wreck is almost unimaginable and hopeless, but to be trapped in a lifeboat with a 450-pound Bengal tiger? Forget it.

If something seems impossible, forget it...not.  This is the theme of Yann Martel’s novel, “Life of Pi”.

The book draws an almost fine line between an orthodox and personal, covert and overt idea of the universality of religion, or at least of one’s own faith.  

The idea of being ambushed in a boat with a tiger may seem comical and overdramatic. But it is plausible.

Pi, short for Piscine, practices Hinduism, Christianity and Muslim all at the same time amid the seemingly polarities of the religions. His family owns a zoo but decides to migrate in Canada for a greener future, India that time was under an economic crisis. And so they, together with their animals, travelled along the Pacific Ocean but the ship wrecked which left Pi, Richard Parker (the tiger), an orang-utan, a vulture and a zebra as the survivors. Richard Parker devoured each animal as the days passed.

The novel depicts the physical, emotional and spiritual misfortunes of Pi and how he has survived each passing day, of being orphaned and of befriending Richard Parker.

The story may end with a predictable scene: Richard Parker has not devoured Pi, they survived and lived happily ever after but the moral is sharply intertwined along the anecdote—the power of believing and having faith in the Almighty (or whatever name you want to call that Force).

The book deserves a perfect score in Goodreads. #

“If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or objects," Albert Einstein.

pinterest

My recent purchases: (My addiction apparently has to temporarily stop as I am now paving way for job hunting. Getting broke by the minute!)

Meanwhile, I guess I have to be contented with pinning up the things that take my fancy. Add me up on  Pinterest!

would-be

Day after day passed, I am still sitting in front of my portal, waiting, waiting, waiting in vain

Waiting in vain for my would-be lover to make a call right now, right now, right now

Right now, I am exhausting my efforts and energy for the wrong reasons

Wrong reasons—life has never really been fair

I may sound rancid, melodramatic, acrid... but I –

No, I would not dare say my gibber,

I might regret it later

Hope.

here's to us

Now playing: Here's to Us

"Here's to us
Here's to love
All the time that we've messed up
Here's to you, fill the glass
'Cause the past few days have gone too fast
So let's give 'em hell
Wish everybody well
Here's to us"

selfish

I totally agree!
*from tumblr

Segue.
My "selfish" plans:
For the next five years, I will: (*crossed fingers)
  Take my MA/enroll for a second degree
  Learn a foreign language--> be a book translator, why not?
  Have a job promotion
  Travel!
  Have my own personal library
  ...and the list goes on!

post-grad jitters

Almost a week after grad, I felt like I've "lost" my essence. Napapa-'now, what?' ako ngayon eh. I missed the deadlines, quizzes, paper works...
Pagkatapos ng Pagtatapos, now what?
Anong dapat gawin to ease my boredom? My urge for productivity?
Books and movies keep me busy...for a while. Pero, nauubos din sila, at magastos bumili linggo-linggo. Yeah, my recreation is very high-maintenance.
I. NEED. A. JOB.

'Di mahirap maghanap eh, ang problema, ako.
Ipinagsisiksikan ko ang sarili ko sa mga "big" companies, ang kaso, marami kaming nangangarap sa ganoong kompanya. Marami kaming nagsisiksikan sa bottleneck na daan.
Choosy.
I don't have the right to be picky right now.
#LamentInUnemployment

Graduation day! (photo courtesy of Pat Buenaobra, Marvin Panganiban, Grace Libero)