Sunday, January 7 was..

the feast of the three kings

 

Yesterday, January 7 was the Epiphany, the feast of the 3 Magi..Naturally, one of the songs we did was WE THREE KINGS..Another new singer was added to our group..Her name is Melissa..There are now 4 of them ( the complete line-up would be 6 that includes my 2 granddaughters from Brampton ).

 

Father Louie opened his sermon with an anecdote concerning lion who wanted to be a king..So this lion, with a big mouth surpassed only by his big ego, went about the jungle.

 

The first animal he met was a leopard..He looked at him in the eye and roared: WHO IS THE KING OF THE JUNGLE?? The leopard, not wanting to get into any kind of trouble said: YOU ARE THE KING, O GREAT LION.. And the lion let him go and continued his prowl..

 

Again he met a panther and he asked the same question:WHO IS THE KING OF THE JUNGLE??...The panther, since he is smaller than the lion, meekly answered: YOU ARE THE KING, O GREAT LION.. And the lion, pleased as ever, continued his walk..

 

Then he came across a huge elephant. He approached the elephant who was calmly eating some leaves and asked him: WHO IS THE KING OF THE JUNGLE??

 

The elephant looked at him and in the blink of an eye, he encircled the lion with his trunk,  swung him on the air several times, then let him go. The lion flew up the air and landed against a tree trunk about 50 feet away..

 

He stood up, visibly shaken and he muttered as he walked away:

 

"Gee whizz!! You do not have to go into so much fuss just because you do not KNOW THE ANSWER???"

a poem from my high school literature

A LOVE POEM

 

I arise from dreams of thee

In the first sweet sleep of night

When the winds are breathing low,

And the stars are shining bright

I arise from dreams of thee

And a spirit in my feet

Hath led me-- who knows how?

To thy chamber window, Sweet

******

Oh lift me from the grass!

I die! I faint! I fail!

Let thy love in kisses rain

On my lips and eyelids pale

My cheek is cold and white, alas!

My heart beats loud and fast;---

Oh! press it to thine own again

Where it will break at last....

by PERCY SHELLY

a poem....

...for my father, from nida....

Just to know how much i love you

Every christmas will come

The memories kept locked in my heart

When you and Inang were here last 2004 christmas

And knowing there's no more christmas with you

It always make me very sad....

My life has completely changed since then

For better or for worse I can't say

But things aren't just the same anymore

All I can say to you all is cherish the good times

And come out stronger and be a better person in life

I can for sure that I am a much humbler person as a result of the experience

The day at the hospital when you werent? in your bed

Is the day that tonz of this were running through my head

When I left you in the hospital back to Toronto

How that hurts me so bad.....

That is the hardiest decision that I never foreget the rest of my life

How I wish I could stay with you for the last time

Give my TENDER LOVING CARE

As I gave to the people who are sick

Nothing I can do Amang

Because I need my job and you need money to survive

But money can't buy life

Now youre gone, no one to call Amang

Anything in the world has never been this hard

Because no farewell words were spoken

You know I'll always love you

Much more than words can say

So here I bring a good news to you

I'm going to get married

Your wish for me to settle down

Has come into reality

And I know that wherever you are

You will gonna be happy.....

 

From your daughter with love - nida -

a final tribute to my Dad

To the LOVE of my life...my Dad

I know he loved me the most..
In answer to the unflinching love i felt for him..
He was dressed in white..
It was my choice of color..
In this special voyage..

 

Then the inevitable goodbye came..
My tears dripped profusely on my face like RAIN..
In that chilly, winter  night...

 

I love you Dad...goodbye..

sue villanueva

Arsenios Blog on his...

...Philippine Holiday Wrap up..

My vacation wasn't enough, no chance to be alone. Every minute, a guest would come in to see me, not even had a time to visit some of my relatives just like my promise to Manong Rudy Torres. He wanted me to stay in their new home in Sikatuna Village but I didn’t have any chance.  I brought my laptop with me but no it was no use… I attempted to write once when I got a chance but I can’t find my inertia on those keyboards.

Only a fortuity when I met those group of student at the Internet café. I don’t think by seeing them conversing about Manong Vic works were coincidence. I’m sure from my own reckoning they are not only the one who had interest. I should talk to them and get more information, like what they need, etc.  But my mind was empty just like I put my self into the position of bluntness because of my excitement while chattering to them. That’s normal particularly to the unplanned situation, everything would be instinct. I did not frequent the Internet café, maybe I went there only 5 times. I want to it but it was hard to manage my time.

How about the Internet and Computer Laboratory in LMMSAT, how is it? That’s a good IDEA, we have to support that.

What is the update? Is it been ready or deployed? Alfred Gelacio is the best, I think he is involved helping the team or the organization. Bear on it and keep going! More power to you Alfred.

I went home for just one purpose to have 100% pure vacation only but there are good circumstances that came along to change my itinerary. I like it, although was not relaxing.

The only pleasure I had from my vacation when I stayed in Shangri-la Hotel EDSA Crossing for 3 days before my departure back in the U.S.

Did anybody know about this? The very best in life experience is the nearby from that hotel is the 8 hours spa, WOW! I never done anything like that before. Listen to this, There are 2 to 3 female/male (in your own choice) assisting you… 2 hours massage, 2 hours facial cream, 1 hour pool and hot sauna room, 1 hour Jacuzzi with your pick what kind of aroma to put in the water. Free lunch, free finger foods around you, 2 hours watching big screen plasma while having a foot massage and manicure or pedicure then 2 hours massage again ‘til you pass out. Is it something? What a wonderful experienced. I will call it the “Vacation Delight” for just 5000 Pesos or a hundred bucks if it will converted to dollar. That kind of service is so expensive here in the U.S. I heard it cost to 5000$. Hump! Never mind. I’ll wait my next vacation again. Next time I will include that to my itinerary.

Yeah! For sure next time, I really want to try that “Vacation Delight”, too late already when they told me. Anyway, I just did the 1 hour massage service from the hotel every night before bedtime, it’s very pleasant and very affordable… do you want to know how much for 1 hour massage? It’s 1,200 Pesos/Hour if equivalent to dollar it’s only a few US $$!!!. I know it’s very affordable compare the Thai massage here in the U.S. that will cost 20$ for15minutes only.

So if I were you, when you plan to go home include that in your itinerary. The Shangri-la Hotel is very accommodating as you can see in my pictures, I can’t really complain.

I should be thankful where am I at because certainly I work very hard to get here. Not rich but I am okay! Definitely we are all the same in the land of opportunity (abroad) as long as you know the trend, that’s the important thing. We  here  abroad I think  deserve to have a good life with 10 maids, drivers and everything when we go back home. At this time, that’s my problem… thinking where I would stay when I’m retired.

Anyhow, I moved one step forward toward things what I want to do back home, just in case I want to stay there.--#

Holiday Memories...

HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM

            FRIENDS AND RELATIVES...

As soon as the calendar changed from 2006 to 2007, we try to feel relaxed and reminisce what had just happened in those few but oh, so hectic days of Christmas. In our house, for example, 3 of my grandkids had a pre-Xmas fun of switching labels on the gifts..I baby-sat them for a bit while their folks had a last minute Christmas shopping. Then came Xmas eve and it came and went with a whoosh! like a flock of reindeer driven by an ever smiling man in a red garb and white beard. Yesterday, I received this e-mail from my daughter Bernadette which said partly:

we had a great time in brampton / toronto this christmas!

however with the constant blurb of people coming in and out of the house and the mix and match of present labels thanks to Dillon, Chloe and Emma we have accidently received presents that did not belong to us.

 

MIKE..we accidently took a present for you and Selina (still wrapped) from Auntie Aurora...MICHELLE..Dillon accidently took your "TRUE ROMANCE"

also Dillon + Chloe were supposed to receive POLAR EXPRESS..has anyone seen it?

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

bernadette

 

E-mail says it all in our house and maybe in a few others. It's part of the fun and gaeity, I guess without which Christmas won't be Christmas!

Soon we will start packing the Xmas decors, wrap them  and store them in a box..labeled carefully so we know where to find them comes November 2007. But you know what? In our household as soon as the Yuletide season arrivesand its time to bring out the decorations and lights..we could not  find the fricking boxes that has all these stuff..If we do find a box with Xmas decors, it is a box which I stored away about 5 Christmasses ago. Hopefully, the box labeled Xmas decors 2006 will surface again on Christmas 2011!!

 

..and a Happy New Year to you too!!!

 

 

to eat, or not to eat, or to give it to the dog?

 

 

See?..Emma ate it!

 

 

Rick Untinen and his two winsome daughters, Caitlin and Patricia. Patricia has just joined the choir last Jan 1, 2007.

 

 

The Untinens, this time joined by Louena, their Mom who has to wake the 2 girls every Sunday morning...

 

 

               

 

Rain aka Sue is one of my adopted  daughters from the DC.( I  think they adopted me as their dad, her and another Susan ).

 

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Archie Macanas took...

 a sentimental journey...

the well known corridor between Asingan and Urdaneta,,

another shot of the Domanpot road...

At the outskirts..the famous ( or infamous ) KETEGAN..Stuff are sometimes dumped in the wide fields beyond the road, and I am not talking about garbage..

 

This  road linking Asingan to Urdaneta could be the first an Asinganian or a town visitor would see when visiting our place. Of course, unless he/she is taking the Carosucan road, it will also be the last one to be seen.

Archie wrote quite a story re: this road, and I am reprinting it, complete and unedited..Enjoy !

Just only today got a chance to sit in front of my computer to tap the keyboard. I tried to recall my experience vividly from my last November vacation in Asingan. An events as apprehended. I will call it "The Asingan-Urdaneta road of Death." Maybe many of you heard about this road, Grim Reaper is so very active to that particular place, so many lives he already taken. Actually, I have 2 cousins lost their lives the same time to that road cause by accident but that was not link to the barricade things like that.

These pictures taken from Domanpot the busiest road in Asingan. That road is the most grievous road although it’s nice and smooth pavement made of concrete. I hope this will not offend to anybody since this is base of true observation.

The road is connecting to urdaneta as you can see from the pictures, people from this particular community (Domanpot) were drying their rice-grain into the road pavement. Nothing wrong about that everybody knows and used to it but only my concern is why they put barricade in it. For me as one of the regular biotic community of Asingan then, I think those barricades already there but nobody cares.

The barricade from the middle of the road and Kulig-lig vexed all drivers included me. Now I realized why did not bother me those barricade, Because I don’t drive then.

I heard those rice-grain barricades and Kulig-lig will cause or stimuli of the serious accident now and then but seems nobody care. One time we went to Dagupan City, at noontime the way back home we got minor accident in Domanpot and we blamed those rice-grain barricade. The other driver and us were voluntarily pulled over and talked until we ended our conversation blaming the barricades from the road. Suddenly people from the street appeared don’t care. Maybe they realized nothing serious happened, what we can do to them anyway, fight? Why we can’t even say anything to them, maybe because justice is in their side? It’s there right because that’s their territory, every driver or we should understand them (The Farmers) without them we don’t have nothing to eat, Yeah! I heard that, a legend from our metaphor old folks. Well, my question is who will to blame for this situation? Nobody, I guess! But who can tell them not to put barricade in the middle of the street particularly in Domanpot?

Almost everyday we were in the road, since after the incident I’m pretty observant. I noticed only Domanpot road up to Bactad in Uradaneta the one putting barricade. Their reasons the road is busy, too many cars passing by, they don’t want anybody to run through their wet rice-grain to prevent free grind mill. “Maybe their rice-grain it will turn to peeled grain before retrieving after dried off.” But what is important from this situation? the lives or the grained. For me when life is gone! It will be gone by the wind but to dry off our rice-grain? Many alternatives you know, just little brain twist to the Asingan officials.

Now we have new roads, Market and Municipal building. Our new roads are busy, compared before it was a rocky road and the king of the road were “Karomatas.” Today more and more vehicles on the road and mostly they’re gravely like fast and furious running in the streets. Our children were lucky because there’re Internet café that they can spend time and useful for their school homework. We have had most everything in our beloved town modeled and Hi-Tech but our posture still the same and it should also be changed. I’m sorry to say this but it’s true.

This road (Domanpot) changed and became busy, I hope the rice-grain barricade and Kulig-lig will go away from the road for everybody safe. How could it be the Kulig-lig will be a ligit transportation and run to the highways. May rest in Peace to all of the Asinganian who their love ones, one of the victim from that road tragedies (Asingan-Urdaneta Road).

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