Bisaya Bloggers

I started to ramble on in Ate Raissa's multiply:

i like watching the Games as well. i just can't find it in my heart to boycott it to protest the Chinese political actions. it's a celebration of goodwill among nations. i remember the 1992 olympics very fondly. taekwondo was a demo sport then, with bea lucero. (yeah, i was a wannabe taekwondo jin... in my dreams, i was an athlete. haha) oh yeah, i'm an olympic baby, as well... born in the year of the 23rd olympiad. for some reason, i remember my family in 1988 waking up so early (or staying up so late) to catch televised games. and we finally gave in to cable TV for the 2004 olympics; the parents couldn't resist the lure of the games. hopefully, i'll get to be a tourist in 2012. i'm getting chills just thinking about tomorrow. whoa. /end of rambling.

Well, I guess I'm not yet done, because I'm reprinting it here.

also... i'm really looking forward to synchronized swimming, gymnastics, taekwondo, beach volleyball, equestrian events, archery and shooting, swimming and diving, football... okay, basketball as well. haha.

i'm going to be cheering for the 15 delegates of the Philippines (although, i don't know who they all are... gone were the days when i knew each one through the news). and also for the US, as well.

***
1/2 of my favorite So You Think You Can Dance pair won it all tonight. Yep, my favorite couple was the top boy and the top girl, so Katee was surprised with 50,000 bucks. Yay. Congrats Joshua. They both rocked the show. And my favorite dances of the season were danced tonight! However, my favorite dance of tonight was Mary Murphy and Dmitry's samba to Angela Via's Baila, baila. I love that song. And those two were on the hot tamale train. haha. Great end to the best dance show on TV... yeah, and that's my humble opinion.

Early Saturday morning, I had a dream that my family and I were in a Philippine ferry boat. It was just like when we were young kids traveling to Manila from Cebu on the big ferries. Only we were definitely older. In my dream, we were supposed to be in a tourist cabin, but we mistakenly claimed seats. I was outraged; how can one spend the several-days-long trip just sitting on very close seats? In any case, my family figured out where we were supposed to be staying, but the cabin was dirty, smelly, and we had to share with several unrelated men. I woke up feeling disappointed. You see, in my memories of ferry trips in my childhood, it is all great, and everything is shining. Perhaps the reality is closer to that Saturday morning dream.

Imagine my horror at reading news reports of a Philippine ferry caught in a typhoon, with 700 people feared dead. Sulpicio Lines' Princess of the Stars capsized near Sibuyan, Romblon province last Friday. It was on its way to Cebu from Manila, when Typhoon Fengshen proved to be too strong for the vessel. I am very sad for the families left behind.

I can imagine how crazy it must have been at the pier when the typhoon was talked about. What signal is the typhoon? Will we be able to sail? Are we going to be stranded? I imagine the people to have been constantly monitoring the weather reports. I know, because I was caught in one back in November. I never worried about the possibility of my medium-sized ferry capsizing; I was worried about being stranded in Cebu and possibly missing my plane back to Manila. I was even brushing off my mother's worries sent through text from Seattle. But what happened just a few days earlier to a smaller ferry could have happened to mine. When I arrived in Ormoc the next day, not even the strong winds could make me unhappy because I was safely on the other side of the Camotes Sea.

I think my remembrance of my past trips has now been colored by disasters I've been hearing and witnessing as I've grown up. I've traveled on Sulpicio Lines' vessels, though we've mostly gone Cebu-Manila-Cebu via Aboitiz Transport System's SuperFerry vessels. I can picture the insides of the ferries. I can recall the thrill of traveling on the sea as well as the scare that can come from developing storms. But I still look forward to perhaps another family trip, before we all get married and disperse, aboard a Philippine ferry.

***
As my sisters and I were struggling with putting church activities-related pictures on the correct timeline, I thought maybe my blog would be able to help. Hahaha. It turns out it was no help. Now I realize how much a whole of my life I have not blogged about. I guess this journal's living up to its tag line.

This past month has seen me putting my energies into slowly completing tasks in my 101 in 1001 days List. This project is one of the best things that has happened to me. I was going through some sort of Quarter life crisis, but this project has given me something concrete to do. Every step of this project, I am forced to evaluate not just my uncertain future, but also my immediate present. Every single task is about now, a gift--a present--that I am enjoying. I know that every single task can be accomplished, so I begin to arrange my present so I can see the completion of the list in the near future. It's really empowering.

I tackled #58 yesterday. My big blue filing box had been filled to overflowing until I ended up stacking papers in another place. Someday, I kept telling myself, I will file everything away. I had been wishing for a decluttered life, but I was lazy to do the actual job.

It took me all afternoon, and it was so satisfying. I shredded things that needed to be shredded; filed away things that needed to be filed away; and discarded things that needed to be discarded. Seeing too many receipts saved over the years made me want to not buy anything. I thought, I should just keep all my money in the bank. I don't want to see another receipt for an "accessory" from Claire's in four years' time. How necessary was that accessory, I wonder.

I also looked through letters from friends and family since the time I moved to the US. I found a letter from a friend, who chided me for keeping her in the dark regarding my family's emigration to the US. Incidentally, the music that was playing in the background was a song called, Must Say Goodbye, by Kim Hyun Chul for the Korean movie Il Mare. Crazy.

Must Say Goodbye - Kim Hyun Chul

I realized I enjoyed the stamps I saw on the letter envelopes, which I came across as I kept on sorting. And I even recovered a couple of postcards! Instead of an actual stamp collection, I should just take pictures of the stamps and maintain a digital stamp collection! Less clutter, I love it!

I also found a loose sheet of paper from a friend at my American high school. It contained her "data list" as she answered questions such as "What is your favorite color?" or "What is your blood type?" Funny because a few weeks ago, I had been looking for examples of slum note or autograph book questions online. Those were extremely popular when I was growing up in the Philippines.

This particular set of questions is Japanese made. At the bottom of the first page, there's a place for one's seal. The ones in parenthesis were Japanese words on the actual paper, but they were so tiny and unfamiliar to me. I am including them in the hopes that someone more proficient in Nihongo can correct them for me. :D

Friend's Data List

Date : June 8, 2008
Name (なまえ): Gail T.
Address (じゅうしょ): xxx, WA
Tel (でんわ): xxx-xxx-xxxx
Fax (ファクス): none
H. Phone (けいたい): xxx-xxx-xxxx
E-mail (Eメール): fluffygirdlebiscuits[at]gmail[dot]com
Birthday (たんじょうび): may 30
Horoscope (せんせいじゅつ): gemini
Blood-type (けつえきがた): O
Hobby (しゅみ): reading and sleeping
Special Ability (とくぎ): flying... i wish
Dream (ゆめ): to travel the entire world
My Favorite
Music (おんがく): many kinds not limited to OPM, classical, 90s soft rock, big band, kdrama OSTs, bossa nova
Animal (どうぶつ): kitties and fishies
TV (テレビ): korean and japanese t.v. dramas
Food (たべもの): spaghetti, mangoes and bibimbap
Talent (さいのう): singing
Shop (おみせ): Daiso!
Type (タイプ): type?! what does this mean?
Brand (ブランド): Google!
Place (ばしょ): libraries and bookstores
Color (いろ): blues and purples and greens
Country (くに): USA, Philippines (there's no place like home)
Book (ほん): the B-I-B-L-E, Jane Austen's
Movie (えいが): Finding Nemo, Pride and Prejudice
Sports (スポーツ): anything that's fun to watch
Language (ことば): everything cause I want to be like Dr. JP Rizal! woohoo. and everything that I'm learning right now: Japanese and Korean. Of course, first love never dies: English! And I don't want to be stinkier than rotting fish, so Cebuano and Filipino, too! ("Idol!" says, "Ang taong hindi marunong magmahal sa sariling wika ay daig pa ang mabaho at malansang isda."
Today's Goal (今日のもくひょう ): to complete my to-do list and have fun!
Free Space
I guess this is like what we used to call "dedication" for the owner of the autograph book. Since I'm the owner of this blog, I'll just say, Gambatte kudasai! Fighting!

Going through all those papers was a bit cathartic. By putting things in order, I feel like I'm preparing myself for my next step. And I'm ready.

***
My sisters are graduating this year. One of them will be walking later today. Yay! Thank you Lord!

I found another big blessing yesterday. Hopefully, it will be just the beginning of God's response to my (and my mom's) prayer. Will update when everything's clear.

It's amazing how much sunshine and some warmth can lift one's spirits. I didn't even realize I do get affected by SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder).

In any case, I was able to enjoy the warm sun with my kids this morning. Ahh, everything looked and felt better. I was in a better mood, and was a better teacher because of that little bit of sunshine.

Then, I ran a personal errand during my extended lunch break (which turned into two hours, instead of the expected 1.5-hour affair). I walked around Seattle's International District and in Pioneer Square, just basking in the sun's rays. How I wished for my sunglasses, but even that didn't affect my mood. Only coming back to get cooped up at work made the corners of my mouth turn downwards. *sigh*

As I was waiting for my bus, I was suddenly reminded of the excursions I had taken in the middle of the day when I went on vacation. I remember thinking how wonderful it was to be walking in the sunshine, when I could have been stuck at work.

Toward the end of the day, the warmth of the sun still lingered. As I walked Seattle's streets, I was able to smell food aromas wafting from open restaurants. I stopped walking, and closed my eyes. I remember the wonderful smell of roasted chicken by the side of the roads in Cebu City.

Ahhh... I need to go on vacation once again. I really really really need it.

I have one coming up in October (*sigh* still way too far away). Maybe I should add something to my travel experience. Being a picky eater and possessing of a not-so-adventurous stomach, I don't like to try to eat everything when I travel. But then I realize, I can expand my horizons just a little bit. Perhaps in my future trips, I can try this. Whenever I smell something delicious in the air, I should look for it, ask for it and eat it. Okay, at the very least, I'll try it. If the food smells stinky, that should be for a more adventurous tummy.

My aunt has an interesting theory/prediction/prophecy:

Those who have the tambis tree growing in their property, will be blessed with an overseas-bound child.

I paused before I laughed out loud. In our town, it sure is proving true. We had a tambis (Scientific name: Syzygium aqueum, credit to Montoso Gardens Botanical Collection) tree in our backyard. We loved eating ours fresh, and with rock salt (yum!) and the occasional stray black ant (yuck). My mother even told me that the tiny pink birthmark on my side was because naglihi siya sa tambis (she had an unreasonable craving for tambis when she was carrying me). And we are now based in the US.

My aunt says there are other families too. I pointed out the tambis tree on their front yard. She shrugs. Lots of people in town come to see her husband (my dad's older brother), who is the only one in town selling grafted tambis. I guess they all want their share of the prophecy too. :D

We talk about my cousin Daniel, who we feel will fulfill the prophecy for my aunt. He has expressed the desire to join my family here (he grew up with us and misses my brother's company). I grinned and told her, "I'd truly believe that when I see him move abroad." Hopefully, he comes over here and works for the-big-company-that-makes-software or that-big-company-that-is-synonymous-with-searching.

As I was googling tambis, I came across a MarketManila.com article on the makopa with the picture on the right. Apparently, the makopa is called tambis by Visayans. From the pictures, the fruits look like tambis to me. But one of the commenters on the post, says

makopa and tambis are two different fruits. Makopa is the one which is dark red and starchy when ripe. Tambis is the one which is pink when ripe, white when unripe and is rather crunchy when bitten. However, these fruits belong to one genus, Syzygium, and different species (which I am not sure of…)

Papa (my agriculturally-inclined father who grafted lots of plants, including the tambis), says the commenter is right. But the first two pictures in the article (and the one above) are of the tambis. The third one, he says, is of a makopa.


Edit: My mother laughs off the tambis oracle, seeing that all of her siblings are all here. She says no one has a tambis tree anywhere. Said she, "We don't have a tambis but we believe in God." Bwahaha.

Ampay. (a gleeful enjoyment of an activity or object.)
Palis. (afternoon from about 1pm to 4pm)
Subawan. (verb, to experience minor cold and cough due to sudden change of weather.)
Hakot. (pesky biting tiny black ants that hang on to your skin and crawl over your body but do not leave red raised bite marks. My aunt says they just circle around a spot on your skin, which feels like a bite. There were plenty on the stairs leading up to the main door of the house. My aunt again thinks they were trying to get shelter in the house and avoid the rainstorm.)

I now use confidently these words I had never heard before my recent trip. I know what they mean. And I even said them with a noticeable Southern Cebu accent. Papa called me on my cell phone (with my local Globe number) and remarked on how quickly I took on the accent. I excitedly told him that it came as soon as I heard the accented speech of my relatives.

I put him on the speaker phone. My grandmother and my aunt could hear him clearly. Lola said it was as if Papa was just right outside the house talking to them. So near yet so far. As my Papa's cousin said, If only America were as easy to visit.

During this trip, I found myself learning new words, testing them in everyday conversations, mulling over possible etymologies. I had wonderfully stimulating discussions on politics and weather systems and the English language with my uncle's family, who are educators. I found that my old friends have been maturing, dealing with more difficult topics such as politics, graduate school, health and ethics, and serious love commitments. But it was also a time to reminisce and talk of the good old days when we used to be content with a 5-peso weekly allowance (wait, that was my allowance and theirs were a lot larger). And crushes and puppy loves.

I heard my maternal grandpa tell more of the WWII-era love story between him and my late grandma. I saw him get giddy over his memory of his red-lipped, voluptuous, charming and smart first wife. I was the receiving end of his light-hearted warning: Don't finish all your airline food if you want to look like Korean Air flight attendants.

I got caught in the dance between the storms Lando and the much stronger Mina. One day the weather was good enough that we were able to enjoy a cooler day on the white sands of the beach. The next day, my boat was the only one allowed to brave the rough waves to Leyte. The situation was precarious enough that I thought I was going to have to be stranded Pier 3, too far from my relatives in Lapu-Lapu City. But I reached Leyte the next morning (Thank you Lord), greeted by a pretty strong wind. Then the next few days were picture perfect. I was able to travel without rain to Tacloban, fly to Manila with my plane bathed in the warm afternoon sun, and walk the dry streets of nighttime Makati with my friends. Still, I was glad to say bye to Mina and Lando and Nonoy (and to the horrible headache quite possibly from trying to drink soju just like the characters in Korean dramas).

The two weeks off was great. While I have missed home, Mama, Papa, and my siblings, I write this entry already looking forward to my next trip. For me, it's not just the destination that counts, I truly enjoy the actual journey, be it on ferry, plane, bus or tricycle.

Nothing revives the past so completely as a smell that was once associated with it.

-- Vladimir Nabokov

Yeah, what he said.

I think there's a blog entry on my memories that's supposed to go right here. But my mind is blank. Probably because my nose is clogged.

In a place where I usually spend my precious time, I found this question:

Your first drama ever...

My first dramas were Filipino soap operas. The one that first captured my imagination was called Familia Zaragoza, but my all-time favorite would have to be Bituing Walang Ningning, a story of a popular singer's fan who would eventually surpass her idol.

Then of course, the Mexican dramas dubbed in Tagalog swept over the Philippines beginning with Marimar. My favorite telenovela, as those imports were called, was something titled Lazos de Amor about triplet sisters played by a very pretty actress (All the girls in my school wanted to grow up to be Lucero).

My first ever Korean drama (that started this personal obsession) is My Name Is Kim Sam Soon. My all-time favorite is a tie between My Girl and Delightful Girl Choon Hyang. I just can't decide. Every time I hear/watch anything related to either drama, my preferences would get swayed. I think I like the director and scriptwriters too much. :D

My first ever Japanese drama is the wonderful Itoshi Kimi e, for whose subs I'm still waiting and hoping for (Dear God in heaven, please hear my prayer). While my first ever Taiwanese drama is It Started with a Kiss, but I have to admit I skipped a lot before I got to the very cute last 2 episodes.

That's the long version of my answer to the 4-word topic question.

I do have commitment issues, not the usual kind: commitment-phobia. But cessation issues. I have a hard time cutting off ties. (Other people might call this: attachment issues.)

I just canceled my myspace account because I thought it was really unnecessary. But as soon as I clicked "cancel my account" (the very last step), and I saw my myspace home change, my heart dropped. I wanted to freeze that last moment before I first clicked "cancel my account."

There was a rapid flashback of myspace memories in my head. And I missed those memories. For some reason, I felt that I could never savor them again because my account is now canceled.

Gone were the pictures I picked out of the many from the vacation in the Philippines. Gone were the comments on those pictures.
Gone was Mariaaaaaa!!!, the display name I last chose.
Gone were all the comments I made on my friends' pictures, profiles and blogs.
Gone was I from my siblings' top 8 (or whatever number they chose).
Gone were my links to old friends from college. (I really regret this one. But I console myself by thinking that if they really want to find me, they only have to Google me and they'll find my blogspot.)

I am reminded of one of my favorite images from One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garacia Marquez. I am haunted by it, by the idea of the wind blowing the dust that is my history. Cancelling my account seemed like the whirlwind that blew me into oblivion.

(I thought I had blogged about this Garcia Marquez image once, but I can't find it and it's on blogspot....)

I blame my wanderlust on my parents, whose idea of a vacation was trips, both short and long as well as far and near. It really made us who we are now. I mean, those trips were the stuff my childhood memories were made of.

We used to go to a private beach--not ours--on Saturdays as a nuclear family. Just us six. We'd fill our basket with food for the grill as well as chips shaped like macaroni and hop onto public transportation. All six of us, with our overflowing basket.

About fifteen minutes later, we'd get off near a public elementary school and purchase some soft drinks. Then we would make our way behind the school, through a gate in a barbed wire fence and set our things down in a shaded stretch of sand.

The beach was pretty secluded with a dilapidated nipa cubicle where we could have privacy and change into fresh clothes after a swim. But right beside our shady spot under a tree is a concrete wall separating our tiny slice of paradise from a loud commercial beach spot.The owners called it a beach resort, but in the Philippines, any developed commercial area by the beach can be marketed as a beach resort.

I always found it interesting that we never spent our money in the resort during those Saturdays. I've been in there, though as a guest of other relatives. But why pay, as my mother said, when we could enjoy the beach for free?

Saturdays on that private beach were always my favorite childhood memory. And even after I moved away for high school, I looked forward to those special getaways.

Then there were longer trips to other places in the Philippines. I'm quite proud to say I've been to at least 1 spot in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. I still plan on seeing all the major provinces of the Philippines in the future.

Although each of the destinations of my childhood trips were special to me, the transit part was just as exciting. Yes, the actual traveling-in-a-ferry-boat-and-riding-a-toxic-fumes-spewing-bus experience. I loved boat rides on the SuperFerry from Cebu to Manila. To us, they were cruises, maybe not the same as the American idea of a cruise. I found it incredibly sad that my family did not go on one SuperFerry trip the summer of 2006.

I guess I've just been nostalgic for traveling, now that I have a "real world job." More specifically, I longed for trips with my Papa, my Mama, Faith, Fergus and Fritzie. I'm kinda afraid our last trip together was the Pinas vacation one year ago.

I recently told my mother, "It's your fault we were bit by the travel bug!"

She just smiled, "Isn't it a great thing?"

And it is. It is a great thing, 어마.

She was wearing a yellow dress with a dark-colored sash. She was holding a toddler me; I think I was wearing a white dress with red polka dots. Well, I must admit, my memory--especially of colors-- cannot be completely trusted. My godmother must have been near some fields because the background was very green.

My heart painfully clutches at this memory of a photograph. Because I have lost the actual photograph, I am afraid that image will fade more quickly, and I won't be able to remember anything at all. I asked my mother about those photographs from which I derive my childhood images, such as the one where I was holding a pen as if it were a queen's scepter or the one where I was golden-haired from the sun's rays and I was studying either a plant or the pebbles on the ground, I'm not quite sure which. Mama reminded me that we had lost them to the humidity in our old house. We had lost even my parents' wedding photographs. And I shake off the awful thought of our family becoming like Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Buendias: all traces turned into dust that the wind blows away in the time when no one else cares and tries to remember. No one would remember the family of six who used to live in the school compound and moved to America at the turn of the millenium.

It could be that I am just feeling nostalgic or maybe unloved. The former is more likely. One hot summer afternoon on the Sunday when our afternoon Filipino church held joint services with the morning Japanese church, a few of my relatives gathered as if we were back in Punta once again. Someone played the guitar and others sang along. Children were running around. All had eaten too sweet ice cream. Others pored over old photographs my dear octagenarian grandfather had kept bundled inside a box. I remembered faces and places and instances I had thought forgotten. The photographs were dusty, but the recollections were surprisingly clear.

There was grandpa's grandparents. There was the oldest sister of my mother frozen in time as a baby in her open casket. There was me in my red dress and my cousin Brent gingerly holding the young goat's rope on a pebbled path that time and politicians turned into a paved and busy street. There was the earliest evidence of my being a water-baby. There was the first complete family picture of my mother's 13-member family when they were all grown up and several had already married. There was my cousin Basilia at puberty, and whose smiling eyes reminded everyone of her son, now aged 4. Silently, I mourned for our lost pictures. I was saddened by my inability to keep pictures and by my low regard for albums and picture frames and photographs.

Trying to hold the image of me and my godmother frozen in my mind is like trying to remember who I was then. I cannot, and I'm afraid I may have lost so many images just like that as I journeyed from being a toddler to being an adult. Along those images were memories. Along those memories were parts of me... It makes the future seem a little more daunting. I tell myself I've always looked more towards the future anyway. And still, I remember my lost images that I will forever try to keep from blowing away.

****
Maayong adlaw'ng natawhan, Dodong. Mahal ka ni Manang. Pagbinuotan ug ayaw kalimot sa Ginoo.

I did leave you, especially Ate Boogie, on a cliffhanger in my last entry. I was not being too cheeky. I was in the middle of finals, then in the middle of a workweek. In truth, I'm so full of excuses, I probably won't accomplish anything this summer.

Number 1
I owe the Youth Group a thank you for patience with me. I truly appreciate the origami book. I love it so, as you can see in the images. I've made some of the animals. I like the envelopes and boxes, especially. The origami paper that came with the book is easy to fold. The additional origami paper was very colorful but gets unwieldy after many folds. You probably know how much I love paper. I think I'd like to collect origami paper and not fold them. It is quite a horrible thought, now that I am a little more lucid. Anyhow, if you open the letter up, you'll see this...


Thank You Letter for SABF Youth
(Click on image to read letter) 

Number 2
While other women reportedly have "those times of the month," I have "that certain time of the year." I have been such a b-pain to those I love during this time. I realize it, and this is part of why I dread rather than anticipate that time. I am confuzzled as to what to do and to feel. Around the last week of May and the first week of June is that time period when I really feel stressed and deeply depressed. During that time, the temptation to hate myself is really big. Having said that, I'm glad it has been over, for this year. Now, let me share some pieces of evidence of my treatment.

Exhibit A

Two gifts to myself after a hard, hard month of April. I had just given a Molecular Biology presentation earlier that day, but I was excited to buy Blu, my iPod Mini. I stayed up all night importing songs from the CD collection. My baby keeps me company during bus rides, provides the atmosphere during studying and outside (i.e. fun) reading.

Miss Saigon at 5th Ave was amazing! At the first note, I already had goosebumps. It was such an experience for me, and I definitely am looking forward to when I can afford season's tickets. Wow. Emy Baysic, as Kim, offered not just a great voice but strong acting chops as well. She won me over, and I rooted for her till the end. And the late meal with the girls was very fun.

Exhibit B

A few gifts to myself after a hard, hard month of May. Okay, so the Champions (Sheryn, Rachelle Ann, Christian, Raymond, Frenchie and especially Sarah) were very late. I had time to go to the shops in the center and browse. Look what I found! The last DVD copy of My Sassy Girl at a closing-out sale of a car-accessory store. Wow. The Asian salesperson even confessed he watched the movie 3 times and loved it. He promised I would like it. What do I think? The Asian peeps who went gaga over this have a very good point. I enjoyed the movie very much. My sister kept saying, "Why didn't Pinoys come up with this?" That means she really liked it.

I had to buy Mark's CD. I can't say I'm a fan when I don't even have his CD. But I was not able to get an autograph, though. I wanted to give them a break, at least from this fan. :)

The champions rocked. Hanging out with the cousins (Ate Lanie, Ate Elea, Kuya Don, Brent, Wayne and Faith) was something we haven't done lately. I am glad I went, not by myself or with somebody else, but with them...

I don't have a picture of us three but I will remember our first meeting. Ate Shery, you immediately put us at ease. We were hesitant to approach you because we thought you would not recognize us. Thank you for the warm hug, inspite of your hectic schedule. I hope the Champions realize how hard you guys worked. Hopefully, they'll come back.

Exhibit C

The thoughtful gifts from the youth group. I had only begun getting really crazy over origami. I'd fold while watching TV, while eating or ahem, listening to the sermon. Was I really obvious? Thank you for noticing. It was really unexpected. Sometimes, I have second thoughts before pulling out the origami paper because I did not want to ruin the paper by folding it. I know, irony.

*hugs* JJ and I loved the snakes. :)


P.S.
To all who wanted a piece of Mark B. (including me!)

A little souvenir when the mob (i.e. Filipino fans) converged on the poor Champions. They provided a great show inspite of their jetlag. More power to them.

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