teacherHOPE

i was trying to look over youtube the other night for my favorite fairytales.  i wanted to listen to audio versions before i rest to sleep. as i go through the choices, i remembered three of my favorite books (not the fairytales but they're really good-reads):  hope for the flowers, missing piece meets the big o, and guess how much i love you.  it surely made my night extra special and added to the feeling of sleeping in peace.  here's to share to you these stories.  i hope you also like them.

missing piece meets the BIG O (a picture book by shel silverstein)

quoting from my friend-wiki: 
this fable can also be interpreted to mean that no one should try to find all the answers, no one should hope to fill all the holes in themselves, achieve total transcendental harmony or psychic order because a person without search, loose ends, internal conflicts and external goals becomes too smooth to enjoy or know what's going on. too much satisfaction blocks exchange with the outside.

guesss how much i love you (written by sam mcbratney and illustrated by anita jeram)
friend wiki shares: the story is simple but effectively shows the love the two share for each other

hope for the flowers (novel by trina paulus)
it is a fable or parable "partly about life, partly about revolution and lots about hope - for adults and others including caterpillars who can read)


too bad i wasn't able to find a good cover of the book but its really one book close to my heart. you may want to check out http://www.hopefortheflowers.org/ for words from the author herself.

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one thing i learned, it's always best to read books like this especially on low times of your life. the stories and illustrations, though may appear simple, have that power to transform hurt to hope, sad sighs to just being thankful for life, and solitude to a different kind of harmony.

sometimes i wish life can be less complicated..
hai.

then again,
today is wednesday.

102611wednesday

starFISHES

another long overdue blog entry. though i have so many stories to share,  lately i just feel so lazy gathering my thoughts and writing them up.. but i guess this friday can be different.. so here goes..

not many people are aware that one of the things written in my short term bucket list for this year is to be able to finish a 21k marathon.  i started preparing for it since june.  i made it a point (even on lazy days) to run at least 3x a week after my work.  most of the time, i also ran alone.  when the month of september came in, i would wake up at 3 am to have my training at the ultra from 4-6.30 am.  i guess i was too determined to really have a good run for the camSUR international marthon. not until...

one week before the race date, i sprained not one but two of my ankles.  talk about unlucky days.. the pain was excruciating.  i had to keep it as a secret to my sisters and parents that my feet were not well.  i was scheduled to leave manila on a thursday (sept 22). up until that that day, i was half-hearted to give up my uaap tickets for the 1st game of the finals in place of the big possibility that i won't be able to run the race. but because my folks were all set up for my visit, i decided to push through with the trip.

i arrived in naga at 3am. too excited to finally have a bite of biggs extreme burger, i had an early breakfast treat with via yang, tinig, and bolang de kanto (boy, you are huge).  i really felt so honored that they woke up early to join me for breakfast.

i decided to spend my friday at home. the entire "me" knew too well how much it misses the scent of my room and the entire ambiance of the house. i practically slept the whole day (with my baby stuffed toys). it was also fun chatting with my parents.

saturday came and i decided to meet up with via yang, and pipi't bingi for lunch.  i was having the strong craving for bicol express and pinangat.  God, i really miss bicol dishes so much. i got teary-eyed when we separated after lunch.

i had to hurry home to watch on tv the game 1 of the finals. though it was so different watching it live, i really rejoiced and was so proud of emman monfort's performance.  boy, he really played so well.

i was still feeling the pain in my ankles.  seeing my running shoes, i put in on and tried a short run inside the house.  i realized the that an expensive pain killer will do its works.

i woke up hoping that the pain was left in dreamworld.  unfortunately, it so loved me that it decided to stay with me. i even had a hard time bringing myself to the start up line because of the pain.  5 minutes before gun start, i took two more of the magic pills. 

the gun start made me really excited.  i must admit that i was at the same time having fears on the possibility of not finishing the race.  but this is my 21k dream. the race has started, and my heart was pumping to go for the big push.

i cannot explain how much hope i had with me while i started running.  i realized that a lot of people were running fast, but i decided to stay on with my pace. the race route was also (so far) the best route i've ever have.  the presence of the locals on the sides of the streets was overwhelming.  they cheered for the runners.  the shouted inspiring words for runners to continue to push hard.  the kids were amazingly supportive as they held out their hands for high-fives.

i was happy that i reached the 12k mark at 58 minutes. i just thought that if i would be able to sustain my pace, i would be able to reach my target time for my 21k race.  unfortunately, as i reached my 13k mark, the effect of the magic pills started to wear off. i started feeling the pain again and i knew that it would be impossible to not stop every so often.

there was a point when i wanted to stop and not finish the race anymore.  but thoughts of the training i did, the sacrifices made for waking up so early, giving up my uaap tickets, and fulfilling a dream, all these made me more determined to continue.  i was holding the yellow guy as we continued to push to the finish.  i did alternate walks after every 200m run. the pain was making every step worth it.

amazingly, as i was near the finish line, no other runners were in front of me.  the scene was so much like a movie to me.  the emcee goes 'we have another 21k finisher approaching the line.. no. 961'.. everything felt like slow-motion.  i cried as soon as i crossed the finish.  :) haha..


i finished my first half marathon in 3.08 hours.  it was not my target time, but it is thus far my greatest achievement in my running journey.  and having my original running buddies around made this experience really extra special.


in the afternoon, i also got the chance to watch an adnu game.  i also wanted to watch allan play his last year in basketball.  watching was of course happiness in the company of pilyong querubin, bolang de kanto, via yang, madam trish, free spirit, and seth.  


dinner was even more fun as via yang and i finally met our idol journeyingjames with his couch-surfer friend clara.  that gave me another chance to enjoy bicol dishes before i leave again.

this bicol trip was truly awesone.  although still half-hearted because of the missing pieces, at least i know that another dream from my bucket list came true.

thank you heaven. 


102111friday

monfortFEVER

i made sure i won't let my first UAAP basketball season experience (watching live games) end without getting my favorite player's jersey.  A-Shop knew how long i waited for this jersey which only became available on the date of the bonfire.  nonetheless, it's always better late than never right?

although i already have a shirt  (flash knows by blue crew) signed by emman monfort, i (of course) won't let the season end without having the jersey signed by myRocketman and the entire team. like any other fan, i came early to line up for the ateneo blue eagles' autograph signing.  the long line and waiting was incomparable.  i knew my heart was happy when i got the last man signing my jersey.

so Lord, will my time be soon? :)

100911sunday

disneyMAGIC

i am a disney fan. it certainly have a special place in my heart. i love the different characters they have introduced and specially love the stories that revolved around them.  my heart has this certain peace and and smile brought by the sound of their music. disney have a way of making my heart and soul dance in clouds (like fear never exists and hurt is never real). disney is magic and all about it.

i guess even adults have this special thing about disney.  i believe that every soul who believes in love also believes in the magic that disney brings. i feel blessed that i got the chance to watch the mickey music festival last thursday, (october 6) with my friends (big thanks to mommy d for the tickets - patron seats). like any child present in the big dome, my heart was overjoyed to see some of my favorite disney characters and the music they played during that night. 

the show opened with a musical blast by mickey and his close friends donald, goofy, and minnie. each had their own production number which was also joined in by back-up dancers.  i had a great time watching the opening and was so amazed on how the audience (kids and kids-at-heart) cheered as each character came in.   hearing the loud cheers and giggles were really uplifting. :)

then apppeared the magic lamp and poof! genie came out. aladin had been one of my classic favorites so i got really excited. magic carpet also came in for the carpet ride of aladin and jasmine.  i was nearly to tears as they performed a whole new world.  the visual effects made the production even greater and more real.  and just like he movies, the flying scene knocked me off of my feet. a-m-a-z-i-n-g.  

a big shell came out and everyone knew who it's going to be. the audience were surprised to see sebastian inside the shell.  ariel came out later with her beautiful tail.  there was also a glow-in-the-dark production of the different sea creatures and the crowd went cheering when flounder appeared.  the audience also enjoyed the scene with ursula and the daughters of triton dancing their version of single ladies and kiss the girls.  and just like any disney story, everyone loved the portion where ariel meets eric and the rest of the story went even magical.

then came these bunch of green soldiers (sarge and the bucket o'soldiers) which i didn't figure what story they were representing right away.  only when a cowboy went out and i figured its toy story time. seeing woody was really exciting because of his perky personality. he was later joined in by his horse bullseye, and jessie where they played double dutch.  the crowd got even charged up when these huge asteroid-like-balls came flying and where thrown to the audience. the scene signaled the coming of the handsome space ranger buzz lightyear.  it was fun seeing that the toys turned big for this show. :)

the show ended with all casts on the stage for their final production number.  i was kind of sad to realize at that point that the show was over. oh well, it's still going to be one experience of a lifetime for me.  i hope i get to see the bigger production on december (if time permits of course). 

in the meantime, i thank heavens for this chance. and it's also a good feeling to know that my heart (though scarred and ab-normal) is still young in many ways. 

100911sunday

nikkiNOTES

i heard some news from home

i know i have every reason to be happy

got to run to celebrate..

thank you Lord for wednesdays..

100511wednesday (yes, it is)