It's Rizal's Day!

When I was in college, I encountered this question that gives me enough reason that I burned so much time thinking of a good answer for my essay exam.

"Why we celebrate December 30, as Rizal's Day, the date he died and not his birth which is June 19?"

I spent almost 10 minutes writing my essay, in a one-hour examination and the rest of the hour - just mumbling the thoughts in my head. I know I was able to deliver my ideas in a way that venerating it for 5 minutes is well spent.

Here is how it goes. . .

Rizal's death was celebrated by most of the Filipinos during December 30 as a medal sponsored by the Americans, just for the Indios to have someone to look upon to as a hero! Somehow relinquishing our desire for revolt, or just to satisfy our desire for a national hero. That's one way or the other, or both. . .just to suppress us Indios and conquering us inaudibly as the main goal. Rizal an American Sponsored Hero.

Celebrating his death rather than his birth is indeed a topic quite obscured for every Filipinos of today who now wears the western fashion or quite close, -the Korean hairstyle, and speak the Harry Potter English. As Rizal to them is the hero in the One Peso coin, or the statue guarded in the Luneta Park, giving us a long holiday at the close of the year.

I celebrate his death in a more compassionate sense than that of his birth, as the same lost Filipinos of today who measures the bar table when they get drunk is the same race of Indios who awoke and revolted as one against the conquistadors friars when his body fell and symbolically, for the first time and will be the last, when his blood was spilled in the dried Philippine soil by the haughty foreigners. If it's not for his writings that ultimately leads to his death, his birth would entirely mean nothing.

¡Adiós, Patria adorada. . .
¡Adiós Doktor del José Rizal

Pasko at Paksiw!

Pasko Pasko!

Pasko na namang muli. . .

. . .parang di na natapos ang pasko.

First Floor Elevator!

I had this cute story to share tonight. A small talk in a coffee shop about elevators.

A friend of mine going up the office, while inside the elevator she had this experience that catches my funny bones and caught my eyebrows!

She was about go up the elevator full of people, in a hurry catching up the morning time-in. Well, the characters, for the benefit of the story, were: my friend, two foreigners (probably Bolivians, as they have an embassy in our building), and 2ladies, lets call them lady 1 and lady 2. (others are not that significant, so etcetera). . .

As everyone press the floor of their destination, and the elevator's engines hum and starts to lift from the ground floor, then. . . ding!

It opens in 1st floor. . .

lady 1 exits, sipping her coffee. . .

Then the foreigner groans, and expresses his disbelief.

Foreigner 1: "why not used the stairs if your just a floor away and save time for others? it's just a floor away?"

Foreigner 2: "well, your in the Philippines, people are in laissez faire mood, and can't expect much, they are ladies which are treated with all gentleness."

Then the door closes and the elevator lifts up again. . .

Foreigner 1: "Errrr. . .but it must not supposed to be that way, we should do. . . "

. . . Ding! the elevator stops at the 2nd floor.

Foreigner 2: "I told you mate. . ."

then lady 2 exits. . .

then my friend smiles, she's next.


. . . ding!

New Face for my Blog!

My new blog background was taken by Andrea Marie P. Francisco, this picture was actually taken before sunset in Quezon Province.

I want to also thank her for inspiring me into photography and to continue to appreciate and share the beauty of nature, one of the best gifts of God. Hoping that someday I can also have the chance to capture the beauty of the stars.

"Some men see things and asks why, I dream things that never were and asks, why not?"
-Robert F. Kennedy