somehow i find myself in this song. i don't know why. but i just do.

SEVEN YEARS
(sung by Norah Jones)

Spinning, laughing, dancing to
her favorite song
A little girl with nothing wrong
is all alone

Eyes wide open
Always hoping for the sun
And she'll sing her song to anyone
that comes along

Fragile as a leaf in autumn
just fallin' to the ground
without a sound

Crooked little smile onher face
tells a tale of grace
that's all her own

Spinning, laughing, dancing to her
favorite song
A little girl with nothing wrong
a she's all alone.

ilang taon na ang nagdaan
pero patuloy pa rin akong dumudungaw
sa bintana ng jeep
tuwing dumadaan sa katipunan
nagbabakasakaling makita kang
naglalakad sa daan

ngunit kung makita man kita
hindi ko alam
kung kaya kong pumara
at harapin ka.

i just realized that i have a fascination with women's shoulders and backs.

nung nakaikot ako ng visayas para bumisita sa mga hopeful eventual partner institutions ng JVP, lalo akong nadis-appoint sa gobyerno. eto na nga ang mga tao at institusyon na gumagawa ng trabaho na dapat ginagawa ninyo, pinapahirapan pa ninyo. mga permits, certifications at kung anu-ano pang kaek-ekan na hinihingi niyo hindi niyo maibigay kaagad. tapos ang laki-laki pa ng bayad na hinihingi niyo. sila na nga ang tutulong sa bansa na kayo ang nagpapalugmok, pahihirapan niyo pa!!! nakakainis talaga. i mean, if you aren't going to do anything about things around you, at least don't stop others from doing so. damn it.

it was only now
i discovered that
the 4pm sun
could be so beautiful
through tinted windows.

(witnessed 2-18-03, written 2-26-03)

Quizzes all stolen from Ina.

Me? Yaiks.


-Perfect- You're the perfect girlfriend. Which
means you're rare or that you cheated :P You're
the kind of chick that can hang out with your
boyfriend's friends and be silly. You don't
care about presents or about going to fancy
placed. Hell, just hang out. You're just happy
being around your boyfriend.


What Kind of Girlfriend Are You?
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Interesting. But does not seem quite me.

You, my floating skeleton, are a surrealist
painting. You have imaginative ideas that make
up your living fantasy and though theyre
sometimes strange...they're pretty awesome.
(Artist of This Style: Salvador Dali)


Which Painting Style Are You?
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Cool. and uncool.
I Am

Which tarot card are you?
Sad. The only I have read is The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Though I have been meaning to read it for quite some time already.


The sixth book written, you're nevertheless the first chronologically. You not only describe the creation of Narnia and tell where the White Witch, the lampost and the wardrobe came from, you get to bounce between worlds with the help of Uncle Andrew's weird magic rings.


Find out which Chronicles of Narnia book you are.

something weird happened. how do you edit?

Ottava rima? Me? That can't be right!    Too frivolous? But tut, there's no such thing! Let others ponder thoughts of wrong and right,    Or sit and think how much they love the spring; I'd rather spend my time in gleeful spite,    Or maybe laugh, or maybe sit and sing. Besides, it might be fun to be inspiring - But surely it would get so very tiring. What Poetry Form Are You?

A bit more like me... but still not.

Then the terza rima appeared again. Duh.

I'm terza rima, and I talk and smile. Where others lock their rhymes and thoughts away I let mine out, and chatter all the while. I'm rarely on my own - a wasted day Is any day that's spent without a friend, With nothing much to do or hear or say. I like to be with people, and depend On company for being entertained; Which seems a good solution, in the end. What Poetry Form Are You?

This would have been true a few years back.

The alternative:

I am the sonnet, never quickly thrilled; Not prone to overstated gushing praise Nor yet to seething rants and anger, filled With overstretched opinions to rephrase; But on the other hand, not fond of fools, And thus, not fond of people, on the whole; And holding to the sound and useful rules, Not those that seek unjustified control. I'm balanced, measured, sensible (at least, I think I am, and usually I'm right); And when more ostentatious types have ceased, I'm still around, and doing, still, alright. In short, I'm calm and rational and stable - Or, well, I am, as much as I am able. What Poetry Form Are You?

Huh? I think I need to take the test again.

Gannsy pooh... congratulations! A father? You. My gosh. :)
Toni, thanks for being a spectator of my travels. Though I tire at times, I relish every bit of experience (of which I shall segue to).

Just came from Llorente to return to Borongan to get some clothes I left at the volunteers house. I thought I would just stay for two days then proceed to Cebu. (Un?)Fortunately, the boys I'm visiting have great convincing powers to make me stay and check out one of the islands tomorrow. These unknown islands will be hard to return to once I leave JVP... so I said yes.

I miss walking around in the rain with or without an umbrella. Since it's raining hard in Borongan, my sandals are wet and a bit muddy. With nowhere to go to, I just walked and walked. Looked for shorts. Looked for shoes. Ugh. Mahal. Will wait when I get to Iloilo or Cebu. At least may SM. Which means surplus shop! Anyway... I never liked walking in the rain in Manila. But in the province, even if it is almost a city... is somehow surreal. This day has been pretty much surreal actually. As if I have been floating the whole time. What the heck. Moments like that I cherish.

Llorente is a beautiful place. An hour before Borongan. Waves are ginormous! Richard says surfers come over December to ride the waves. Right now, they're big but not big enough for surfing. Nonetheless, looking at it is both pleasurable and scary. It seems that anytime soon, it could get to you and gobble you up. To be offered to the people of the sea. But then, there is much peace in looking at the turbulence of the waves. Give me some time to reflect on it. Maybe I can write a piece. :)

You are the pilot.


Saint Exupery's 'The Little Prince' Quiz.
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i do believe i can be a storyteller. but my sorrow can be comforted naman. my faith has grown that much. :)

Ooooh.
I got to sleep in Leyte Park Hotel with the two volunteers for free. One of our requesting areas manages the place.

It feels like I have been away from home for months already when in fact, I just left Manila last last Monday. Imagine being in seven different places in seven different days. Sometimes, I am in two places at one time, just passing through for a few hours at a certain area. When you are not all tired from lugging around your backpack, you get to enjoy the idea that in a span of hours, people are speaking a different language. Plus, the view in Visayas is quite spectacular and breathtaking. Kakaiba talaga. I would love to just ride a motorized scooter around the whole place and just take snapshots. The weather is kinda dreary though. I haven't got a healthy dose of sun for the past week. Leyte and Samar weather is really like that, though.

More prayers for the fast recovery of my bro. He's fine. But he had a mass on his nose removed. There is nothing major about the mass but it blocks his breathing and just to be safe to. He also had tonsillectomy today... long overdue. Hope things are fine with him there. Fast recovery lang naman kasi the operation is very basic.

Thanks for the prayers during my last request. When I got to the hospital, he was up and about. Thank you. Thank you. I am not as worried as before.

Second day in Borongan. Thank God, I am able to spend more than just a day in a single place. Honestly, I'm beat from having to be in a different place on a different day. But nonetheless, there are still many perks with this kind of job.

Yesterday, I crossed a river. Cool. I want to write a more detailed description of the experience but it takes time. I'm sort of in a hurry. So as soon as I get time to relish everything by putting it in writing, you'll see it here.

Last night a rat in the volunteer's house actually amazed me. We left our breakfast on the dining table since there was no fridge in the staff house. But he had a palangana cover it so the rat couldn't get to it. We went on our day. When we got back home late in the evening... lo and behold, a hole in the palangana! That rat had really strong teeth because even if it was plastic, it was quite thick. But still, he gnawed through the thing. Amazing. Was raving about the whole thing for ten minutes or so, just wondering about the ingenuity of that creature. Grabe.

Guess where I am.
Borongan, Eastern Samar.
This is my first time on this side of the island. Most of the time, I am on the Leyte side. Nice. I like the place. Very nice beaches. Rocky though. But it has been dreary since I got to Visayas. Rain. Rain. Rain. Darn. Traveling while raining isn't exactly called fun. But nonetheless, I have not been really sick. Sniffles. But remedied by a strong dose of Vitamin C. Yey.

Pero pare, pakiramdam ng katawan ko tenderized meat. Sakit na.

Tapos can relate ako sa lyrics ng isang kanta ng Eraserheads na song, "Nasaan nga ba ako? Kaninong kama 'to? Ilang ulit na bang nagigising sa ibang kuwarto?" Sometimes I wake up in the morning having to remember where in the Philippines am I and what day of the year is it. Sometimes cool. SOmetimes uncool.