april's first weekend

travelers and fliers

going around historic intramuros

visit to mike's university of sto. tomas

taking it slow in serendra piazza

between the old and new year

bring out the old, bring in the new
a midnight wish to share with you
your lips are warm, my head is light
were we in love before tonight?

i don't need a crowded ballroom
everything i want is here
if you're with me
next year will be the perfect year

before we play some dangerous game
before we fan some harmless flame
we have to ask if this is wise
and if the game is worth the prize
with this wine and with this music
how can anything be clear?
let's wait and see
it may just be the perfect year

it's new year's eve, and hopes are high
dance one year in, kiss one good-bye
another chance, another start
so many dreams to tease the heart

we don't need a crowded ballroom
everything we want is here
and face to face
we will embrace the perfect year

we don't need a crowded ballroom
everything we want is here
and face to face
we will embrace the perfect year

- The Perfect Year from Sunset Boulevard

x marks the holiday

I've been reading up on people complaining about the removal of Jesus Christ from Christmas and calling the holiday Xmas instead. One woman at the Farm Town market was even huffing and puffing about it and was calling expletives at other players who disagree with her.

Oh that's my world now, in the interactive scenes of an online game.

But back to that letter of the alphabet. The family has a friend named Christopher, and his nickname is actually X. I originally thought this was hip and catchy, since yes, Christmas at times is Xmas to some.

With this divide on the shortening of the Christmas word these days, especially to accommodate cellular phone messages and cool holiday cards, About.com has this to say:

Question: Why Is There an X in Xmas? Some Christians complain that the abbreviation Xmas for Christmas is part of a move to secularize the holiday, to take the Christ out of Christmas, but this isn't really justified.

Answer: It is said that when the Emperor Constantine had his great vision that caused him to convert to Christianity, he saw the Greek letters Chi and Rho intertwined. Chi is written as an 'X' and Rho is written as a 'P', but they are the first two letters of the Greek word Christ 'savior'. 'XP' is sometimes used to stand for Christ. Sometimes X is used alone. This is the case in the Chi (X) abbreviation for Christ in Xmas. Thus, Xmas is not directly a way of secularizing the holiday, but since 'X' is not Chi in English, we read the word as X-mas and see no connection with Christ.

Now that is a relief to know.

Why is there an X in Xmas?

christmas eve

a tree covered in lights and tassels and decorations..
christmas gifts wrapped and boxed scattered at its foot..
whew! it had been a race to finish the
tree and those gifts the whole afternoon!

the refrigerator carrying the simple fare..
but of course the preparation had been not so easy..
cooking is not really a strength, you might say..
but there's spaghetti, and fruit salad..
a healthy vegetable salad with italian dressing too..
and the fruits! apples and grapes and oranges..

the table.. aahh the table! it's a masterpiece..
with the red mantle and the red candles now lit..

the house scrubbed and cleaned..
the people important to the heart had arrived..

.. but where is everyone?
locked up in rooms and jailed inside their angry hearts?
.. screaming silently and crying unshed tears?

the candles flutter in the soft wind from the windows..
the tiny lights continue to illuminate softly..

.. and silence

somewhere..
this is christmas eve for someone..

season's greetings!