The Ocean of My Being

I have been trying to open Blogger for a few days now, but it hasn't been cooperating with me! I was half expecting it to act up again as I was trying to open it a few minutes ago but, to my surprise, it worked and opened without me having to restrain myself from pounding on my 'enter' key like a maniac! I guess this is Blogger 's New Year gift to me! And, I hope it stays this way the whole year of 2014! Hehe! But, seriously, I hope it does! :-) December is a very important month for this blog! I created this blog and posted my first ever entry on December 18, 2003 , making that date not only this blog's birthday, but my blogging birthday as well! And, no, I didn't miss it! I wanted to make this blog's 10th anniversary special, but to my dismay, Blogger just wouldn't let me do that! When I mentioned earlier that I've been trying to open this site for a few days now, I meant since December 18! Not a few days really, is it? I wanted so ...

It's been exactly a week since part of the Philippines was hit by Super Typhoon Yolanda (International Name: Haiyan ). Here in Marawi City , we had strong winds and rain. And, along with these strong winds and rain came photos and videos of other parts of the country. We watched in horror as photo after photo and video after video made clear to us how strong a Storm Category 5 was and what a storm surge could do to places. Through the news coverage and social media, we watched Yolanda pummel a huge part of Eastern Visayas to the ground! The whole Philippines (or at least the parts that weren't as badly hit by the storm) and the whole world watched whole cities and towns crumble piece by piece in a matter of hours. It was like watching an apocalyptic movie! And, it was heartbreaking! Sadly though, in the midst of this misfortune, there are those who make the situation worse. People who continually make careless, offensive comments about the calamity. There's the self...

And, I'm back again! :-) My mom and I just got back from Manila . We were there for a week. As any trip to Manila I've ever had since I came home to MSU for good back in '06, I spent happy and precious time with friends. I made sure I got to meet with some of them. Thing is, except for a few, my closest friends are in Manila . So, it's always been a must that I get to meet with some of them every time I get a chance to. Voltext Gurls in Manila I got to meet with Papay , Ibtisam , and Leelah ( Hadja Khadeejah ). We set our date on Monday and we met at the Shangri-La Plaza and had a sumptuous meal at Maple , where the food was great! It was Papay 's birthday last Saturday, so our date was a belated celebration of her day as well as welcome home party for Leelah , who just arrived from Hajj a few days earlier. And also, I got to have my first taste of croughnuts as promised by Papay and Dean , though he didn't really make it to our group date! Oh...

Assalaamu alaikum wa rahamatullahi wa barakatuhu. (May peace and the blessings of God be with you.) Wow! I can't believe it! It's been exactly seven months since my last blog entry! I'm not even going to explain why I never got to update you, blog, nor am I going to make another promise to update you more often because I've broken that promise time and again! So, I won't ever promise again so that you won't feel disappointed and neglected, and so that I won't feel frustrated with myself or that I let myself down yet again. Tsk. Yes, I'm talking to my blog because I don't exactly know where to start. Okay, okay, maybe I could start with what inspired me to blog again. I was talking to a very good friend of mine, Jo Joseph , and he was telling me how he wanted to start a blog. He's quite active in the worldwide web, you see. I encouraged him to do so because, well, from my experience, blogging is fun! So much fun! And, it helps develop the blo...

Today, I celebrate my 23rd birthday for the 11th time ! That is to say, t oday marks the 33rd anniversary of my coming into this beautiful world! Today, I celebrate my Personal New Year and remember the things that I've always wanted to achieve so that I can remind myself to keep going for the things I've been working hard for and to start going for the things I've always wanted to work on but never really got to. Today, I remind myself of the things that truly make me happy. Today, I will remind myself of the things I should be thankful for. Today, I make a toast to my life and all the wonderful gifts God has given me throughout the years! Today, I celebrate my parents, my family, my friends, my students-- my loved ones all! Today, I celebrate myself! Today is my day! I've always considered March 23 a very nice day not just because it is my birthday, but also because of the combination 3-2-3. I can't really explain it, but I just really like the combination....

What exactly is Taboan ? Well, literally, taboan is the Visayan word for market and according to cebu.sandayong.com , it is a marketplace where farmers and fishermen meet together to sell their harvests and other goods; it is a barter area. But, this word has come to have a new meaning after the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), as part of the celebration of National Arts Month , used it to refer to one of the country's biggest literary festivals. It is, indeed, an event where writers, artists, teachers, students, and lovers of literature from all over the country converge and exchange ideas about issues and concerns of and in the world of Philippine literature. Taboan as Philippine Writers Festival started in 2009 and it has been held annually since. It has gone around the Philippines as it has been held in Manila in 2009, Cebu in 2010, Davao in 2011, Pampanga in 2012, and Dumaguete this year. Hopefully, it will be brought back to Mindanao next year. ...