skipping something you like

this afternoon, i attended for the first time the Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola Eucharistic Celebration at the Ateneo de Manila University.  i was invited by a friend who had only the highest praises for said mass.  he said it's the biggest mass celebration in the philippines with maybe a hundred jesuit priests.

i went with a friend and true enough it was big.  the mass was held at the Ateneo de Manila High School Covered Courts and the venue was full.  i'm not really sure though whether it's the biggest mass attendance i've seen.  what i am sure of is that this the first time in my life i saw so many priests gathered together.  i stopped counting at 60.

earlier i was thinking when my friend said there were so many priests that all of them would be at the altar concelebrating the mass.  well, not quite.  there were only two onstage.  the main celebrant and the homilist.  the rest of the priests were seated in the front rows.

the mass itself was just like the regular masses except that you had a part where the readings were in different languages, delivered by different nationalities, with english translation on the board.

after the mass, there were free food and drinks and even ice cream.

now what i find unusual is that the friend who had only the best words for this annual mass did not attend it himself.  he kept on calling me about the mass.  just this day he called me four times before the mass, twice right after and three times nighttime, the last one that many only because the line was getting cut off.  i dunno whether it's because i told him i don't want to go out with him and i was telling him i'll be attending the mass with friends.  i'd like to think not but i really am not sure.

hmmm...  he has attended this eucharistic celebration before.  he has told me there's a big crowd.  had he really wanted to, he could have attended and i doubt we would have bumped into each other there.

i am puzzled...  and fighting off feeling guilty...

to buy or not to buy

i don't anymore have an oven or a stove at my place...  i don't cook anyway...  thinking of whether i should buy the philips induction cooker my best friend has been egging me to buy...  she got herself one...  on sale...  55% off, in celebration of philips's 55th anniversary...  last day today...

hmmm...  will i be able to use it?  my gas has been unused for four (!) years...

(weird, btw...  i have gas tanks but no kitchen appliance to go with them...  when i gave away my range, no one was interested in the tanks...)

mass wedding

i attended a mass wedding this afternoon...  first time for me to witness one.  a friend whose office was organizing the activity invited me to the event.  two things:

1.  she wanted me to see the couples whose stories, she said, would really touch your heart.

2.  she wanted me to take pics.  nope, not as an official photographer...  just our usual wont where we get together and click, click, click.

i did not really commit to going.  i was kidding her if she could marry me off there then i'd show up, harhar...  ; p

this morning, however, she called to remind me about the invitation.  there was a slight drizzle and i was sleepy but i was thinking if she called to remind me then she really wanted me to be there.  now, i love this friend dearly so off i went.

before leaving, i, of course, informed my dad where i was going.

me to dad:  'i'm going to the city hall...'

dad:  'it's a saturday... what are you going to do there?'

me:  'i'm going to attend a mass wedding...'

dad:  'with?'

me:  '<female friend's name>... it's a project of their office...'

dad:  'ah, ok... take care...'

uhm...  i wonder what his reaction would have been had i mentioned a masculine name.  maybe he would have blocked my car, hahaha...  ; )

i arrive at the venue with my tripod and my memory cards and my spare batteries and my charger and, guess what, i forgot my camera!  this is not the first time this happened!  ugh, ugh, ugh, i'm turning senile...  huhuhu...  :'(

the times this happened in the past, i just dispensed with taking pics.  this time though, i decided to use my phone.  i wasn't sure how the pics would turn out...  i haven't really taken many pics with my phone.

well, downloading the shots i'd say i wasn't that disappointed with the outcome (click here for the pictures)...  nothing great but not that awfully bad either...  definitely better than nothing.  my complaints are basically the speed and the brightness.  i had to delete certain pics because they either came too late or were too dark.

anyway, there were around a hundred couples who tied the knot.  the venue was at the city hall...  trimmings were sparse...  the ceremony was very simple...  only the bride and groom marched down the aisle.

dunno what happened...  i was ok all along but when the couples started to walk down the aisle i seemed to choke with emotions.  you see all sorts...  couples young and old...  bride and groom of all shapes and sizes...  clothes of varying presentability.  regardless of the physical and material state, however, you can feel their inner joy at finally being able to wed.  certain scenes tugged at the heart and was a good reminder that it really is better to be lacking in material things but overflowing with love than awash in material things but wanting in love.

anyway, a reverend officiated, with the guys first reciting their wedding vows in the vernacular, followed by their brides who recited theirs in english.

then the ring...  and the kiss...  the couples were asked to repeat the latter...  the first one was deemed too short.  they announced that the longevity of your marriage is tied to the duration of your kiss...  a one-second-kiss is equivalent to one year of marriage; two-seconds, two years; five seconds, five years and so forth.  (oh..  i should have kissed forever...  aw!)

they also had the cake, wine and dove ceremonies...  they had only one cake, three pairs of wine glasses and a pair of doves...  not all couples got to do it therefore...  just a selected few.

some of these newlyweds have been together for years...  living as a couple...  living as a family (there were those who marched down the aisle with their child).  you'd think having lived together for so long they'd already forgo the idea of a wedding.  but no...  it appears what is viewed by others as a mere piece of paper has remained at the back of their minds and in their hearts.  given half a chance they'd formalize the union.

hmmm...  some things simply are not quite complete without its pair...  love and a relationship...  a relationship and a wedding...  a wedding and a lasting marriage...

congratulations and best wishes to the newlyweds...  make it good...  and make it last...

dream... and believe...

i don't really watch any sports (much more play)... but walking by i chanced upon the first goal of the philippines vs. kuwait 2014 FIFA world cup asian qualifier on TV...  48 minutes into the game, it was scored by stephan schrock of the philippine azkals...  boy, did the crowd go wild... thank you very much, stephan...  : )

that was followed by a recap of the best moments of the first half of the leg 2 qualifier...  hmmm...  i decided to sit the game through...

yousef nasser  of kuwait's al-azraq caught my eye and broke my heart soon after by scoring the first goal for kuwait which evened out the score (my heart, of course, remained with the philippine team)...

the game ended with a 1 - 2 score in favor of kuwait shutting out the philippines from the 2014 world cup...

from the commentaries after, i learned that it really was a long shot for the philippines and that the azkals were outclassed by the al-azraq all along...

oh...  explains the battlecry...

well...  it's okay, guys...  you gave your all...  just as important as the outcome is that at some point you gave us a dream...  and 'we believe'...

sharing the news

i was sleeping this morning when i suddenly heard my name.  i opened my eyes  ->  'twas my sister holding up her phone.  she smilingly went, 'we don't have work today,'* then left the room.

uh-huh...  sharing her joy with everyone awake and asleep...

\m/


* because of typhoon juaning

enduring love

there is this someone i've earlier decided to cut out of my life.

there was a time when i was really sure he loved me...   but some things transpired which made me think otherwise.  he has tried to reassure me but i somehow am not convinced.

he's been reaching out and i've been rebuffing him every time.  sometimes i think it is the right thing to do.  other times, i have doubts.  i must admit though that my heart breaks a bit every time i turn him down.

well, last night, i opened my bible asking God what He has to say to me about this guy.  without looking, i placed my finger on a page and land it did on the line:

'His love endures forever.' (Psalm 136)


whoa!

shallowly profound  ; p

i was going to the bank this morning and my sister was urging me to bring my car.

i was like, 'it's so near...  walking is my only exercise...  why would i bring a car???'

uhm...  i know this isn't good but i really don't exercise at all...  the only exercise i'm willing to do is to walk  ->  and not just walk for the sake of walking...  you won't find me circling this area or turning that corner just to do exercise...  i like to get it while i'm actually on my way someplace...  so there, i walk when my destination's near (near, of course, is relative...  my sister finds the distances i find near far)...  and the one i enjoy most  ->  i walk, walk, walk and walk around the mall...  ; D

anyway, so this morning i again walked to the bank...  guess what, halfway through i heard someone calling out, "best friend!  best friend!"

ei, 'twas my best friend on her way to work.  she was with her husband in the car and they hitched me to the bank along the way.  hmmm...  thanks...  : )

now yesterday, too, i was at the bank.  i was already on my way home walking when a cousin saw me.  well, he hitched me on his motorcycle.  again, thanks...  : )

gee...  twice already my exercise was cut short...  i like to think everything happens for a reason...  i wonder whether this means i shouldn't exercise anymore...  har har har!  toinks!!!  ; p

a sexy, young lady's clothes

yesterday i wore a hand-me-down-twice-over shirt to a children's party.  it's a disneyland resort shirt originally owned by my friend's daughter.  the daughter didn't bring it anymore when she settled in the US.

one time i saw it on my friend and i went, 'aw, tinkerbell...  so cute!'

my friend immediately went, 'oh... i'm going to give it to you.'

i was like, 'oh, no, no, no.  i just found it cute.'
(i'm not into previously-owned items actually.)

well, guess what.  one time we met up, she brought the shirt and gave it to me together with two other outfits of her daughter's.  one is a spaghetti-strapped green dress; the other, a spaghetti-strapped white top.  both have, uhm, low necklines.  she said they'd look really good on my cleavage.

huh?!  wahaha...

i didn't want to accept the clothes but my friend was really insistent to the point of bringing them to my car herself...  uh-oh...

thanks, friend...  i like the modest tinkerbell shirt but i'm not sure i'd do justice to the other two outfits...  my, your daughter's not even half my age!

oh, well....  we'll see....  \m/

break-in, not break-up

former neighbor:  'how are you?'

me:  'i'm fine.'

former neighbor:  'are you ok?'

me:  'huh?!  uhm...  yup, i'm ok.'

former neighbor:  'so you weren't hurt in the break-in?'

ooops...  ahahaha...  so he had in mind the burglary at my brother's place...  for a while there i thought he was asking about my lovelife, and wondering how he knew...  : }

raining on my parade

i was on the phone with someone yesterday and we had this exchange:

me:  'he sang to me in japanese...'

guy:  'voltes 5?

♩ ♪  tatoe arashi ga hukou tomo  ♫ ♬'

me:  'heh!  not that!'

guy chuckles.

me:  'he also said he wanted to write me a poem but his mind wasn't working.'

guy:  'oh, really?'

me:  'yup.  he's tired.  then he said my shirts were beside him when he slept.'

guy:  'maybe those shirts belonged to your ex?'

me:  'hello!  i'm not that crass!  they're mine...  he slept with my shirts by his side...'

guy:  'and then his saliva drips on them.'

huh?!

ugh!  some people just like to spoil your joy...  >: (