A Warm Feeling... :)

The light hits him in just the right way, softens his face, highlights his shoulders, and brightens his smile. That smile that is wide and brilliant, those eyes that brim with something indescribable that I can’t just look away.


It’s hard not to look at him like how I’m looking at him now, while he’s grasping the steering wheel and eyeing the people that walk and cars that pass us by.

Casual and cool, he had his other hand clasping my hands, gently stroking my fingers. As I turned and gave a side glance to see what he’s up to; he’s then doing that dorky smile which I so love.


I look at him like he’s the only thing in the car, like he’s the only thing that ever mattered to me, like maybe he’ll feel how much I love and adore him right now, in this instant that I am looking at him.


Then he looks up, catches me staring at him and gives me that secret smile, hooked up at the edge, eyes twinkling.

Oh God, I love him. I want him. I adore him. It almost hurts and constricts my chest but there’s this blooming of something– unfurling and spreading.

It’s warm and happy, like I want to grin all day and laugh about nothing. It is like I want to kiss him all the time and hold hands and dance in the wind with him; smiling at each other over the noise and chaos of the world…. :)

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Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Losing That "Ink" of Love

Oh, sappy vocabulary, where have you gone to??

After three failed relationships, my hopes and dreams filled with love and dreaminess were outshone by my cynicism and pessimism in thinking and dealing with relationships.

I once believed in princesses and damsels-in-distresses who were able to find their redeemers when trapped in dismal circumstances, ogres with different layers that needs to be unwrapped, wizards that can make you gaga by showering magic onto your life, and knights-in-shining armor who’d be all too willing to whisk you off to their kingdoms. 

However, now I only see princesses lining up for guys who turned out to be gays, and damsels-in-distresses who thought they would be saved by their liberator, only to end up being left in the middle of the road after their savior saw another damsel (who’s way hotter and cuter than them, btw). What I thought were ogres and wizards, turned out to be nothing but guys who needs Fiona way too much for her own good and “wizard” guys whose magic were not really for real— but just tactics they do to every other girl so they could score. And lastly, what I thought were knights-in-shining armors were really just pawns-in-aluminum-foils.

Together with the ebbing of my belief in love stories, serendipity, and fairy tales; so did my vocabulary, which was once filled with sappy quotes and wishful thinking, receded. Maybe it was because I have stretched out myself too much back then— writing all those notes of love and admiration for guys who turned out to be evil hoodlums, who are out there only because they are waiting for their next victim. 

I wasted time and brain cells writing about guys who are just like most guys— prancing along the road called life, stopping by every now and then to give you that wink, then a pat, and then make you fall in love with their disarming smiles and speeches only to leave you hanging and holding on to nothing.

What more is there to write about?? When all of those words you’d write would only become nothing in the end—just words that had once been full of promises and affection. What is there to write about when the person you wrote that for would only be leaving  a trail of dust? What is there to write about when what you believed were real, were nothing but distorted perceptions and thoughts brought about by Disney and Manga?

So tell me now, what more is there to write about– LOVE??

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Saturday, August 02, 2014

What Came Out of My Season of Singlehood

In the past, I set out on endeavors which I think will lead me to an esteemed lifestyle and status that will match up to that of my then-boyfriends. In my great desire to fit in and be loved, I changed who I am to please them. I reshaped my identity thinking that it will make me become the person I thought others would want to be with. But in the end, all of these stripped me down to a broken and disfigured piece of nothing, with no real idea on who she is and what she wants to be.

Which is why after 3 failed relationships, I finally decided to stop the endless cycle of going into half-baked partnerships that will most likely bring me down and destroy me. Instead, I set out to conquer my dreams and goals—independently and with no boyfriend in tow.

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Sunday, July 20, 2014

Love and Relationships, Personal, Singlehood

Love and Life- Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

Sometimes in our relentless efforts to find the person we love we fail to recognize and appreciate the people who love us. We miss out on so many beautiful things simply because we allow ourselves to be enslaved by our own selfish concerns.

Go for the man of deeds and not for the man of words, for you will find rewarding happiness not with the man you love but the man who loves you more.

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Friday, July 18, 2014

excerpts, Love and Relationships, Notes to Self

It's Clean Up Time with Kythe Foundation

One of the fondest memories I have when I started studying Social Work was becoming a volunteer for Kythe Foundation.

Kythe Foundation is a non-profit organization in the Philippines that provides psychosocial care to children with chronic illnesses like cancer. They also lend support to the family or caregivers of the patient, ensuring that the pain and anxiety that they are undergoing are somewhat alleviated.

This activity was not part of our curriculum, it just came to be because of an invitation from my classmate, Pai, who also volunteered for Kythe back then. Together with a few classmates, we went to the then-Davao Medical Center (DMC), now known as Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC), Children's ward to organize their library-slash-playroom, to make way for new toys and supplies that the children can use.

While we were cleaning and organizing the room, the children were scampering outside and snatching quick glances at us while we work. Not because we were beautiful or handsome (ehem!), but because they can't help but look with greedy eyes at the unopened boxes of toys and books they will soon be enjoying after we finish cleaning up the room. We were also joined by some nurses at the ward who told us that they were very elated about the new supplies that came since it brought about the re-opening of the playroom for the patients and their parents.

After doing the task, we then made bedside visits to the patients at the ward where we also distributed activity books, that were sponsored by a milk company, to the children. The scene of it all was too overwhelming for me. The beds were situated side by side with barely enough room for others to walk around. Furthermore, some of the beds were situated along the corridors due to the lack of space. These patients were left with no option but to let themselves be admitted in these damning circumstances due to lack of money and resources.

But amidst of all it, they gave us genuine heartwarming smiles as we visit them and their guardians individually. Their warm acceptance and deep gratitude made all the difference. Amidst the dire situation they were in, they were still grateful for the little gifts we have given them: time, service, and care. And that alone is irreplaceable.

 

It truly is a gift to be a blessing to others. All our actions, no matter how small and mundane, can create long-lasting changes that has the greatest impact.  

As long as you have hands, work for the betterment of others. Work and work, that even when you lose your hands, you can't help but find ways to use your remaining limbs to finish what you have started. Then, you will understand that nothing is impossible with or without limbs, as long as the will to serve and be a blessing to others still lives on.

Kythe is open for volunteers all over the Philippines. You can also reach Kythe and see updates about their upcoming activities through their Facebook Fan Page

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Monday, July 14, 2014

Kythe Foundation, Volunteer Works

Letter for my Future Lover

Below is the same letter I would be writing for my future lover. Thanks, Marianna, for putting the right words that will encapsulate my thoughts. You're awesome. :)

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Tuesday, April 08, 2014

Love and Relationships, Notes to Self, Personal

I Had a Blind Date... with a Book!

The stage was up, the lights were lit and the table was set... with cupcakes and pizza. Yes... loads of it.

A day after Valentines’ Day, book enthusiasts gathered at OMF Lit Bookshop to LOL, as in #LoveOutLoud, and indulge themselves on a superb night of games, fellowship, and music as OMF Bookshop held “Blind Date with a Book”. It was a simultaneous event that was also happening in other OMF Literature bookshops in Pergola, Robinsons Cybergate Cebu, Banilad, Robinsons CDO, Tiongko Cebu, and Davao.

I loved that night. I loved the songs that were sung, the duo that crooned the songs (SHOUT-OUT to the pretty ate Tillet and her equally awesome guitarist whose name escapes me at the moment. oops), the casual exchanges, the fun games and the equally entertaining host (whose name also escapes me at the moment. double oops.), and yes of course... the treats. Heaps and heaps of sweet delights! (Kudos to those cupcakes... def nom-ness to the nth level!)

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Sunday, February 16, 2014

Events, OMF Lit Davao, Sponsored Posts

Finger Painting with Lumad Kids :)

A 30-minute trek led us to a lumad school nestled in a spacious meadow surrounded by overgrown trees. Mixed feelings of anticipation and trepidation filled me as I saw the kids I was about to facilitate for the finger painting activity. 3-7 year old indigent kids who have yet to discover the joys of putting their fingers in a canister of paint in order to build masterpieces that will beat a Picasso any other day.

To be honest, I never had any prior experience with finger painting and I am not also adept even with brush painting. I tend to have poor color coordination and mixing skills. Hahaha. But still, when the invitation to facilitate the activity came, I just said yes.I love kids and I love to get down and dirty, and well, finger painting with kids encapsulated it all. 

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Monday, December 16, 2013

Pens of Hope Davao, Volunteer Works