The story begins when boy meets girl. Without a script but with a clear storyline, it unfolds slowly. And as if they are in front of a blue screen, the song plays as their background.
The thrill of discovery. Passenger Seat by Stephen Speaks. You Give Me Something by James Morrison. This Never Happened Before by Paul McCartney.
The rush of wanting more. On My Way To You by Barbra Streisand. Two Sleepy People by Julie London. Come Away With Me by Norah Jones.
The giddiness of falling in love. If We’re Not in Love by Patti Austin. 8th World Wonder by Kimberly Locke. Time to Make You Mine by Lisa Stansfield.
The bliss of togetherness. I Find Your Love by Beth Nielsen Chapman. The Sweetest Days by Vanessa Williams. When I'm With You by Tony Terry.
The frustration of unavailability. Dream of Me by Kirsten Dunst. Will I Ever by Side A. Someday I’ll Be Next to You by Wilson Phillips.
The realization of the futility of it all. I Can’t Seem to Make You Mine by The Clientele. Waiting in Vain by Annie Lennox. Giving Up On You by Lara Fabian.
The hurt that was just looming. 4 Seasons of Loneliness by Boys II Men. Towerblock by Julia Fordham. After You by Michael Johnson.
The indifference as a defense mechanism. Make It Easy On Yourself by Siobhan Pettit. Where Do We Go From Here by Brian McKnight. Taken in Again by Mike & the Mechanics.
The resolve to move on. They Can’t Take That Away From Me by Beverly Staunton. I Wish You Love by Natalie Cole. Always on Your Side by Sheryl Crow and Sting.
So what is it? Is it love or just the trick of music? I think I have a glimpse of the answer. I Call It Love by Lionel Richie.
Cole Haan Black Asymmetric Collar Belted Trench Coat
"...elaborate study... by women in the pursuit of trifles..."
- Julia Ward Howe
Whim Black Cashmere Tuxedo Jacket
"...it was the truth of every woman." - Betty Friedman Kenneth Cole New York Black Wool Double Breasted Coat "Because I am a woman, I must... succeed." - Clare Booth Luce
What if you can jazz up some old materials? With a little help from a tranzilator, here's how sweet can turn cool soft punk.
I arise friznom dreams of tizzy In tha fizzay sweet sleep of night, When tha winds is breath'n low, And tha stars is smokin' bright.
I arise from dreams of thee, And a spirit in mah fizzle Has led me - who knows how? - To thy chamba-window, sweet fo shizzle! Know what im sayin?!
The spendin' airs tizzle faint On tha d-to-the-izzark, tha silent stream The champak odors fizzay Like sweet thoughts in a dream.
The nightingizzles complaint, It dies upon her heart, As I mizzay die on thine, O, beloved as tizzy art!
O, lift me friznom tha grass! I dizzle, I faint, I fizzay! Let thy love in kisses rizzle On mah lips n eyelids pale. My cheek is cold n white, alas paper'd up!
My heart beats loud n fizzy Oh yeah baby! press it close ta thine again, Where it wizzill break at last drippin hits!
* With apologies to the work "I Arise From Dreams of Thee"
Waking up when the birds start to sing by the window. Deciding it is still early for a decent person in holiday to wake up. Going back to the sheets.
Waking up because breakfast is served. Dallying by the tv room. Telling the girls to wash their hands. Telling the girls to wash their hands the second time. Ordering the girls to wash their hands now. Preparing a mug of Swiss Miss. Eating 1/3 cup of rice for breakfast. Trying ever so hard to stay on the diet.
Watching Nika and Gela go back to the tv room. Watching Mike go to clean his car. Running back to the bedroom for my own movie. Watching Brad Pitt in "A River Runs Through It". Watching Brad Pitt in "Twelve Monkeys". Deciding not to watch Brad Pitt. Deciding to go to the mall.
Singing with Wonder Pets. Dancing with Backyardigans. Singing and dancing with the Little Mermaid. Telling the girls to close the tv set. Telling the girls to close the tv set the second time. Ordering the girls to close the tv set now. Reading the Winx comics. Reading the Disney Princess comics. Reading the dictionary. Printing Bratz postcards.
Discovering that there are no "nam-nams" in the cupboard. Going back to bed. Leaping from bed. Looking for paper here. Looking for paper there. Finding paper and paint and brush. Deciding to paint flowers. Grinning to see Nika and Gela join. Painting asters. Painting daisies. Painting sunflowers. Attempting but never finishing a rose. Joining Mike watch "The Legend of the Falls". Winning Brad Pitt ultimately.
Falling to the trap of getting bored. Falling to the trap of getting hungry. Having lunch. Acquiescing that Mike goes to have his car cleaned. Deciding to go to the mall. Checking out the numerous bottles in the bathroom sink. Taking a very long 2-time-shampoo 3-time-body-wash bath. Combing hair infront of the mirror. Accepting the person has changed.
Combing Gela. Accepting that little girls must cry to release some unspent energy. Wondering if the same works for big girls. Combing Nika. Joining Nika and Gela watch Scooby Doo. Lying down on their laps, alternately. Smiling inside, so the smile was not visible. Catching a nap. Losing the nap.
Pretending not to hear Mike arrive. Hearing him play "Counterstrike" online. Deciding to pester him. Complaining "Mike, I have a headache." Complaining "Mike, I am bored." Putting on loud music like "Hips Don't Lie." Thinking uh-oh inside, so the thought was not visible. Laughing with the girls. Screaming at each funny step we make. Watching Mike join the dance. Showing them my Terpsichorean moves. Dancing like an Egyptian. Dancing the moon walk. Dancing the sexy dance only allowed for moms hahahaha.Deciding to go to the mall.
Going back to bed. Thinking the vacation must not end. Thinking for a while to extend it forever. Deciding forever is a very long time. Deciding there are really no more cotton balls. Listing fresh milk in my mind. Getting dressed. Picking out black because it is kind to your body. Taking the whole family. Going, finally, to the mall!
It really does not take much effort to let one's mind wander.
Into dark cold uncharted territories or the familiar old road hidden from prying eyes... and then again, I veer off. Can you sing with all the voices of the mountain? Can we just stop and talk awhile? Would you rather have a gorilla attack you or a crocodile? … Who are you to me?
Was Nat King Cole really a merry old soul? Do you know the way to San Jose? Why do people touch and then they're gone? Why do you lose your heart when you win in love?
Why does this woman think she can speak among men? What's wrong with rainy days and Mondays? Why do they fail to put fallen Humpties together again? Have you ever seen blue like that before?
What does the summer know? Do you believe that what goes around comes around? How can a thing of a moment last for a lifetime? Does Philippines need all of its islands?
Have I paid my pipers? May I come for an interview? Why is it wetter under the water? Will you still love me tomorrow?
Where are the simple joys of maidenhood? Would somebody come when I will cry wolf the third time? Must some promises start with "If I were elected..."? Why is goodbye the trouble with hello?
Where is the bus that would take us to heaven? Is your figure less than Greek? Do you remember the time? … Who am I to you?
I believe that couples who couch-potato together have a fat chance of staying happy together. So being an attention-crazed wife, and knowing that there is a swarm of forces out there to distract Mike, I sometimes take the chance to sit beside him.
So I sat and screamed with him through the "PGA Open Tournament", "Robot Wars", and "F1 Racing" on cable tv. I sat with him in front of the pc and fidgeted when he played “NBA Live”, “Company of Heroes” and “Monopoly”. And I sat and admittedly appreciated the 12-dvd anniversary collection of "Cirque du Soliel", the 4-season collection of “24”, and lately, the 5-season collection of “CSI: Miami”.
Now I’m never into shows with a dead ugly body in every episode. But CSI: Miami, which does feature a dead body that comes bagged and gets studied as a specimen, is fast becoming a favorite. Not in the swooning oh-my-gosh manner of favorite, but the c’mon-do-you-believe-that well-would-that-blow-me-down favorite kind of way.
CSI: Miami is a show that calls out the bipolarity in you. On one hand you got good-looking second-lead actors dressed in lab gowns if they’re not gun-toting in a crime scene in downtown Miami. On the other hand you got an all-knowing super-duper set of computers that could tell you whose fingerprints match with whom, which flora has this leaf design in which park, what chemical will stay on fabric even after washing, and how all five crime suspects are traced to have stayed in the same residence by looking at the records for the past thirty years. Undeniably, nothing gets unsolved in this crime lab!
But at the center of the show is Horatio Caine. He is the supervisor at the Miami-Dade crime lab, heading his select group of crime scene investigators. Horatio has a lot going against him. Most importantly, he can never be the Miami Guy and have a chance of out-lodging that cute guy with the dimple from the old Miami Vice series. Horatio does not smile nor get excited; and he is angry, pestered by his own family and girlfriend issues. And he shoots his enemies, as crime cases usually end up becoming personal with him.
Now when in action, Horatio tries so hard to be the model of cool, and is consistently wearing a black jacket, no matter what the Miami heat. He must have camera issues as well, because he does not look at the person he talks to and just faces them when he reaches the last few words of his dialogue. Then add his obsession for his sunglasses. He dons them on before he delivers his man-of-the-universe lines and he even wears them straight into the sunset!
But Horatio takes tv into a different level with his one liners, being the know-it-all he-knows-better-than-everyone lieutenant. He speaks, looks at the ground, pauses, looks up, puts on sunglasses, and finishes his line. What could be more irritating and at the same time fascinating than that!
"Tomorrow is what you make of it." "Everyone has something to hide." "If I find out you did this you are going to pay." "He is a liar. I just don't know what the lie is yet." "Bag it, tag it and let's see what else is there!" "Hold tight, it's about to get interesting." "...when you're in Miami, we never close."
There are more of those one-liners. I should know, judging from the various websites dedicated to Horatio, created by people who both love him and loathe him. Mike gets a big kick reading out to me the different entries and forums on the character.
Yet Horatio surges on as CSI: Miami was adjudged the most watched tv series in America - while Mike places his hands on his hips, takes a silly pose and gives me the dark man-of-the-law I’m-gonna-getcha look, before he closes the bathroom door.
I laugh aloud. Horatio and husbands. It’s a world that revolves around a man they call “H”.
The study tour of Japan three years ago for the period March 24 – April 15 was made possible by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) under its 2003 Japan-ASEAN Youth Friendship Programme for the 21st century. For many years now, Filipino youth have been sent to Japan under various studies to experience the country, its culture and its people through a programme of a little less than one month. I was a participant in the Local Development Group, representing the NEDA Region 10 Northern Mindanao Office.
The study tour started off with General Orientation for 5 days in Osaka. This was followed by the Tokyo Program for 5 days. An inhouse seminar for 3 days made up the Osio, Kanagawa Programme, followed by the 7 days Tokuyama, Yamaguchi Program. It ended with the 3 days evaluation programme back in Osaka.
The opening ceremony in Osaka launched the friendship program. Attending were JICA officers, the Philippine ambassador, all the Filipino participants and even the Vietnamese participants who were also in a similar study tour. During the Osaka Programme, lectures were given to deepen the participants’ general view of the country as well as their knowledge of the present situation of the Japanese people, culture and economy especially after World War II. Three sessions of Japanese lessons were also conducted to enhance the already acquired minimum Japanese expressions of the participants. This was necessary for the one-day exercise of the Filipino participants with the Japanese youth volunteers.
... all around me was the soft chill of early spring. And everyone we met happily awaited the first buds of the cherry blossoms. It was a heady combination.
The Tokyo programme began with the ride in the Shinkansen, the famous bullet train of Japan. The trip from Osaka to Tokyo indulged everyone with a view of Mount Fuji, the most revered mountain in the country. Moreover, the ride presented to the Filipino participants the hustle and bustle of the everyday life of a working person in the country. It also showed the ingenuity of the Japanese infrastructure, from their buildings to bridges, to tunnels and to road networks.
The Tokyo programme was filled with visits, lectures, briefings and excursions to include the Roppongi Hills; Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications; ASEAN-Japan Promotion Centre on Trade, Investment and Tourism; Edo Tokyo Museum; and, Honjo Life Safety Learning Center.
... spreading its two arms of buzzing city streets and silent cobbled nooks, Tokyo welcomed me, who, like a petulant child, wouldn’t believe this place existed until she finally steps down and breathes its cool breeze.
The Kanagawa programme was a three-day in-house seminar which was conducted in the Oiso Prince Hotel. Aside from the Filipino party, the seminar also had twenty other Japanese youth who participated in a one-on-one sharing and discussion sessions.
The Kanagawa programme enabled a closer encounter between the Filipino and Japanese participants. The in-house seminar brought about a personal understanding of the similarities of peoples despite the differences – not only through the workshops but also during the informal sharing during mealtimes and evening get-togethers.
... up and down the hill, through hedgerows, down the lane, around the azure pool, and into the warmth of the extended hands of friendship – that’s how we went.
The Yamaguchi Programme started on April 6 and was hosted by the organization, World Youth Friendship in Tokuyama. While in Yamaguchi, the group stayed in the Ad Hoc Marufuku Hotel in Shunan City. It was where the welcome party was held together with all the officers and members of the sponsoring organization.
Like in the Tokyo programme, various lectures and on-site visits were conducted during the Yamaguchi programme, to include the Tokuyama Technical Junior College, Kudamatsu Street Redevelopment Project, Mazda Auto Company, Horikoshigama Pottery, Yanai Power Plant, and Kisan Elementary School.
... the gray sand in the stretch of beach and the sunshine in the sea mimic the warmth of my home; but there the similarities ended, because this indeed, is a different place with its distinct agenda, and moving on its own cadence.
The Youth Invitation Programme provided the participants priceless opportunities to observe Japan’s local development and posed a lot of challenges for the young civil servants of the Philippines.
This would mean though that participants from the central or the national government would have bigger responsibilities in terms of applying the various lessons because most of the local development policies in the Philippines come from the central government.
From the perspective of the participants from the local government units and regional line agencies, the application of experiences would be on the formulation and advocacy of policies that promote good practices of Japan and applying these in the Philippine setting, and, capacity building program on key areas of local governance and development. Referring to the highlights of good Japanese practices and utilization of experiences would be helpful in the promotion of local development.
As the biggest challenge for the participants to this programme would be the translation of these experiences to the local setting, and replication of these learnings to the offices and local government units, the first steps to its realization would initially be done through testimonials in various public seminars or briefings, policy discussions, conduct of advocacy campaigns and project development.
... each day a new lesson was bestowed upon us – and we received them all with amazement and acceptance – and we wondered, what else is there? And then we wondered some more, what can we learn from this?
Japan welcomed us with the first tinges of spring, and as I listened and embraced the sessions and the activities, I realized that I too, was waking up. Japan, to me, did not boast of its development. The surrounding cleanliness and the industry of the people have been there, and I was just given the chance to see it. All along, they’ve been busy planning and creating and building and preserving, and it was a pleasure to view it and just be a part of it all for a few days.
If for anything else, I have created with this study tour a new network of acquaintances and friends. My host family was a delight, I found out that the Japanese volunteers and the youth during our in-house seminar have similar interests with me, and most of all, the local group I belonged to was more than I could bargain for. When at the beginning of the programme, there were nineteen other participants for the Local Development Group, at the end of it, there were already nineteen friends for me from all over the country: Jason, Nadz, Loren, Marge, Sosty, Rommel, Jane, Weng, Jhoe, Alvin, Rizan, Didi, Laryx, Milay, Dhonn, Sandy, Liza, Rex and Eunice.
The Japan study tour was a superb experience. Undeniably, I have gathered lessons and expanded my horizons. And though I believe that there is no place like home, I think that it also would not hurt for the home to learn a few good things from that place which played as our host for fantastic twenty-three days.
... nihon e kite yokatta desu. Ii omoide ga dekimashita. Taisetsu ni shimasu. * An excerpt from my study tour report. In salute to a group now celebrating an anniversary of a great friendship.
someone had said that it all began with eve. the reality and the misty fact that is womanhood. antithesis of adam, she was gift and challenge, mother and lover, comforter and temptation, partner in paradise and crony in destruction. a girl like that. this is someone optimistic, dreamy, tenacious, warm-hearted, fiercely possessive, emotional, summoned
by the future but taught by the past.
yes, a girl like that...
"Some enter life from under gray temple vaults, with head bowed in awe, with the light of sacrificial candles in their hearts and eyes. Some enter it with a heart like a pavement - tramped by many feet, and with a cold skin crying for the warmth of the herd."
HOW IS MY ENTRANCE?
"... with a sword of a Viking pointing the way and an operetta tune for a battle march."
The story begins when boy meets girl. Without a script but with a clear storyline, it unfolds slowly. And as if they are in front of a blue screen, the song plays as their background.
