Phew! Watching the 23rd Sea Games has been the most fun-filled, game-watching thing I have ever done in a weekend. And i spent that 3-day weekend in just one place, the tennis court! :-) Now, although i have never been a tennis buff, i was never bored during those 3 days. It must have been the festive atmosphere of cheering for the home team to help them get that most coveted Gold. Not scorching heat, humid afternoons, jam-packed crowds or unpredictable rain can keep me from marching into the games. It just felt sooooo right to be apart of it all. it would have made my day much greater if our home-grown athletes would have represented the country and gotten the gold, but well, we can't have it all, can we? having our fil-am bros even just during these times is good enough. but, i hope, in the next, our true-blue home-grown bros can be given the opportunity to shine.
animo pilipinas!
Monday, December 05, 2005
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
Quote of the Month
The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of the mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one. -The Catcher in the Rye
Friday, June 03, 2005
Gratitude
By Mark Rickerby
I climb up a mountain to breathe in the air,
and leave behind, with each step, one more useless care.
The sun ripples like laughter across the wide sea.
I smile at a flower and it smiles back at me.
The wind lifts a scent from the meadow below,
and reminds me of the first girl I kissed, long ago.
I kneel in the heather, feel my spirit expand.
A bright butterfly stops to rest on my hand.
The clouds, ever present, yet no two the same,
give lively imaginations a game.
"Look! A sailboat! A rabbit! An angel! A swan!"
And it's the best kind of game because no one's ever wrong.
Everyone should have a secret place like my hill,
just to rest and let the mind roam free where it will,
far away from the traffic, the noise and the dust,
in the crystal clear sunshine of a world they can trust.
Turn your heart to the beauty that's in and around you.
Walk gently, with love, and the same will surround you.
You will surely see further the farther you go,
and remember, it's pain which helps us to grow.
For with all of its sadness, its heartache and strife,
with all of its sorrow, it's a wonderful life.
Yes, with all of its sorrow, it's a wonderful life.
I climb up a mountain to breathe in the air,
and leave behind, with each step, one more useless care.
The sun ripples like laughter across the wide sea.
I smile at a flower and it smiles back at me.
The wind lifts a scent from the meadow below,
and reminds me of the first girl I kissed, long ago.
I kneel in the heather, feel my spirit expand.
A bright butterfly stops to rest on my hand.
The clouds, ever present, yet no two the same,
give lively imaginations a game.
"Look! A sailboat! A rabbit! An angel! A swan!"
And it's the best kind of game because no one's ever wrong.
Everyone should have a secret place like my hill,
just to rest and let the mind roam free where it will,
far away from the traffic, the noise and the dust,
in the crystal clear sunshine of a world they can trust.
Turn your heart to the beauty that's in and around you.
Walk gently, with love, and the same will surround you.
You will surely see further the farther you go,
and remember, it's pain which helps us to grow.
For with all of its sadness, its heartache and strife,
with all of its sorrow, it's a wonderful life.
Yes, with all of its sorrow, it's a wonderful life.
Monday, April 25, 2005
Sex Tips
Here are some excerpts from the book, “Adam’s Curse: A Future Without Men”, which I find interesting and informative:
Chapter 7 – The blue-headed wrasse is a very handsome fish with its violet head brushed with broad yellow stripes that taper down its streamlined body. They live in harems with a dozen or so females being jealously guarded by a single male. That in itself is not unusual – it’s a popular arrangement even among humans – but what is so very strange about the blue-headed wrasse, and very clever too, is that it can change sex virtually at will. When the colorful male dies, or is removed by a spoilsport researcher, the largest female in the harem, and she alone, begins to change color and to adopt the flashy outfit of her new departed lover. She is literally changed into a male. This transformation takes about a week, after which she actually becomes a male in both appearance and in behavior. From then on he/she runs the harem, in time fertilizing, with the sperm he/she is now able to manufacture, the eggs of her one-time female companions. (hmmm...)
...The marine worm Bonellia viridis is a visually unappealing creature which spends all its time in a burrow under the mud of mangrove swamps in the warm waters around Malaysia and Indonesia. To feed, the worm pushes out an enormously long proboscis, almost a meter in length, which sweeps to and fro in a broad swathe around the mouth of its burrow, packing up food. All these worms are females; males are nowhere to be seen. That is because they actually live inside the females. Despite the metre-long ‘tongue’, the body of the female is only 8-10 cm long. But that is enormous compared to the tiny male, who is 5 mm long. This much-reduced creature lives inside the female’s womb, where he feeds on her nutrients and needs only to produce sperm when she is ready to lay eggs. Imagine having a husband like that, the ultimate sperm-delivery system, tucked away out of sight and reduced to a single function – producing sperm to fertilize your eggs! (cool, eh? here’s more…)
The young Bonellia pass through a larval stage where they wander about in the mud. At this point, they are neither male nor female and have the potential to develop into either sex. When the time arrives for them to change into adults, they settle down on the surface of the mud. If a young worm’s chosen spot is within the arc of the female’s sweeping proboscis, a hormone secreted by the ranging proboscis decides its sexual destiny. Once touched by this wondering tongue and intoxicated by the hormone, the larva inches helplessly towards the female, enters her womb and takes up residence. Within a few short weeks, all the necessary organs develop and the enslaved male starts pumping out sperm. Larvae that settle beyond the reach of a female’s tongue stay where they are and themselves grow into females who, once mature, begin casting about, quite literally, for a mate. (you wanna be a wrasse, or the Bonellia worm?)
Chapter 7 – The blue-headed wrasse is a very handsome fish with its violet head brushed with broad yellow stripes that taper down its streamlined body. They live in harems with a dozen or so females being jealously guarded by a single male. That in itself is not unusual – it’s a popular arrangement even among humans – but what is so very strange about the blue-headed wrasse, and very clever too, is that it can change sex virtually at will. When the colorful male dies, or is removed by a spoilsport researcher, the largest female in the harem, and she alone, begins to change color and to adopt the flashy outfit of her new departed lover. She is literally changed into a male. This transformation takes about a week, after which she actually becomes a male in both appearance and in behavior. From then on he/she runs the harem, in time fertilizing, with the sperm he/she is now able to manufacture, the eggs of her one-time female companions. (hmmm...)
...The marine worm Bonellia viridis is a visually unappealing creature which spends all its time in a burrow under the mud of mangrove swamps in the warm waters around Malaysia and Indonesia. To feed, the worm pushes out an enormously long proboscis, almost a meter in length, which sweeps to and fro in a broad swathe around the mouth of its burrow, packing up food. All these worms are females; males are nowhere to be seen. That is because they actually live inside the females. Despite the metre-long ‘tongue’, the body of the female is only 8-10 cm long. But that is enormous compared to the tiny male, who is 5 mm long. This much-reduced creature lives inside the female’s womb, where he feeds on her nutrients and needs only to produce sperm when she is ready to lay eggs. Imagine having a husband like that, the ultimate sperm-delivery system, tucked away out of sight and reduced to a single function – producing sperm to fertilize your eggs! (cool, eh? here’s more…)
The young Bonellia pass through a larval stage where they wander about in the mud. At this point, they are neither male nor female and have the potential to develop into either sex. When the time arrives for them to change into adults, they settle down on the surface of the mud. If a young worm’s chosen spot is within the arc of the female’s sweeping proboscis, a hormone secreted by the ranging proboscis decides its sexual destiny. Once touched by this wondering tongue and intoxicated by the hormone, the larva inches helplessly towards the female, enters her womb and takes up residence. Within a few short weeks, all the necessary organs develop and the enslaved male starts pumping out sperm. Larvae that settle beyond the reach of a female’s tongue stay where they are and themselves grow into females who, once mature, begin casting about, quite literally, for a mate. (you wanna be a wrasse, or the Bonellia worm?)
Monday, April 04, 2005
My All-Time Favorite Song
Come rain or shine, nothing soothes me better than this oldie song by Louis Armstrong..... uhm, and a cup of coffee :-)
What a Wonderful World
I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.
I see skies of blue and clouds of white
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.
The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people going by
I see friends shaking hands saying how do you do
They're really saying I love you.
I hear babies crying, I watch them grow
They'll learn much more than I'll ever know
And I think to myself what a wonderful world
Yes I think to myself what a wonderful world.
What a Wonderful World
I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.
I see skies of blue and clouds of white
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.
The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people going by
I see friends shaking hands saying how do you do
They're really saying I love you.
I hear babies crying, I watch them grow
They'll learn much more than I'll ever know
And I think to myself what a wonderful world
Yes I think to myself what a wonderful world.
Saturday, March 19, 2005
Bittersweet
The last time I saw Julia was at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, about three hours away before she stepped into her plane going to the Americas. I was her last send-off, and I was priviledged to have been there to see her go. She was full of uncertainty then. I remember her restlessness, maybe both of excitement and anxiety to face another country, another culture, another set of experiences. But she is this kind of person who has full of plans and ideas for the kind of life she wants to have, and I thought this new adventure will bring her to what she wants for herself and her family. I was happy, though bittersweet, to see her go.
Now I see her walking down the aisle together with ther parents in her wedding dress with a big smile on her face; walking toward this person quite unknown to me, but one whom she knows quite well. Instead of the uncertainty I saw the last time, today I see her face full of happiness; the triumph of conquering a foreign place, a foreign culture; an embrace of a new life.
I couldn't help but feel the closing of another chapter in my life. My bestfriend has married and has stepped into another level I'm unfamiliar with. Sure there would always be emails and phone calls and cards during special occasions, but things would never be the same. Her priorities now would not be the same as mine. I mourn for the loss of the old Julia I know. Now I would have to adjust to the new one. :-)
In three weeks, she would be leaving for the Americas again. It was bittersweet when I saw her leave five years ago. It was this same bittersweet feeling I felt when I left her after the wedding celebration.
Then I was gone, on my way home to my family.
Life is as it should be.
Now I see her walking down the aisle together with ther parents in her wedding dress with a big smile on her face; walking toward this person quite unknown to me, but one whom she knows quite well. Instead of the uncertainty I saw the last time, today I see her face full of happiness; the triumph of conquering a foreign place, a foreign culture; an embrace of a new life.
I couldn't help but feel the closing of another chapter in my life. My bestfriend has married and has stepped into another level I'm unfamiliar with. Sure there would always be emails and phone calls and cards during special occasions, but things would never be the same. Her priorities now would not be the same as mine. I mourn for the loss of the old Julia I know. Now I would have to adjust to the new one. :-)
In three weeks, she would be leaving for the Americas again. It was bittersweet when I saw her leave five years ago. It was this same bittersweet feeling I felt when I left her after the wedding celebration.
Then I was gone, on my way home to my family.
Life is as it should be.
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
Home
I have a technical job. At work, the male-female ratio is 5:1; and that's just in the central office where I work. If I consider the whole organization, the ratio would almost be about 20:1. It's a pretty tough place but it's great. :-)
I do enjoy my work. I get to try and match my capabilities with my male counterparts and I believe I have done a pretty good job. What else would I be trying to do after 8 years here? I have come to consider my work home away from home. And it's because I'm happy with it.
And then come those times of the year when I literally GO home. Ahhh... the feeling is just unexplainable. A week before those days, I already get giddy with excitement, smile with no apparent reason, feel really light-hearted. Absolutely nothing can spoil my day; well, almost absolutely nothing... But as GnR said it, "Every life has its thorn", right? ... or was it 'rose'?
My point is that I have found two homes. One is with my family in the province: my mom, my brother & his wife & his two daughters (oh those cute nieces of mine!). This home is my vacation home; my source of energy when I'm stressed with work, my quiet sanctuary. I may not always get along well with my mom when I'm there, but I wouldn't exchange those precious times of the year when I can be with my family. There other is at work in the city: my loud boss, my mischievous officemates, and my drinking and/or playing buddies. This is the life that I have created for myself, an indication of what I've learned thoughout the years, a manifestation of who I've become.
I'm happy with both worlds. That is why I call them both Home.
I do enjoy my work. I get to try and match my capabilities with my male counterparts and I believe I have done a pretty good job. What else would I be trying to do after 8 years here? I have come to consider my work home away from home. And it's because I'm happy with it.
And then come those times of the year when I literally GO home. Ahhh... the feeling is just unexplainable. A week before those days, I already get giddy with excitement, smile with no apparent reason, feel really light-hearted. Absolutely nothing can spoil my day; well, almost absolutely nothing... But as GnR said it, "Every life has its thorn", right? ... or was it 'rose'?
My point is that I have found two homes. One is with my family in the province: my mom, my brother & his wife & his two daughters (oh those cute nieces of mine!). This home is my vacation home; my source of energy when I'm stressed with work, my quiet sanctuary. I may not always get along well with my mom when I'm there, but I wouldn't exchange those precious times of the year when I can be with my family. There other is at work in the city: my loud boss, my mischievous officemates, and my drinking and/or playing buddies. This is the life that I have created for myself, an indication of what I've learned thoughout the years, a manifestation of who I've become.
I'm happy with both worlds. That is why I call them both Home.
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