Saturday photo

Marriage... the calm before the, er, blissful union of two souls
and the lifelong celebration of the gift of love,
given, reciprocated, and shared.

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Saturday photo

Savoring 'la dolce vita'... away from it all.

Yep, I'm feeling the stress from 'City life' now... from my toes to the tips of my hair!  I feel that my 'tank' is nearly empty and, I'm mostly running on adrenaline... commitment and inspiration. I know though that, at some point, my body will realize that I am 'cheating' it with the will of mind and my heart's passion, and it would just drop (dead) from exhaustion.  So, before we get there... I need a 'refill', therefore I'll get some! 

Joyfully, we have a special family occasion today... I have a good reason to leave behind

Date and Dine Italian Restaurant and Resort...
a hidden haven atop the beautiful hills of Antipolo.

the stressful "noise" of the City, and retreat with my family in this haven of a place, Date and Dine Italian Restaurant and Resort. The Resort is nestled in a quiet and exclusive village atop the beautiful hills of Antipolo.  It's a pretty place, a mix of classic and modern architecture that depicts the 'then and now' of Philippine home coziness, brought together by the inviting blueness of a small swimming pool in the middle.  With its cozy and homey appeal, it was initially envisioned by its owner to be a Bed and Breakfast place... a place close enough and private enough to get away to and recuperate from stress when the going gets tough in the City. 

It is owned by a lovely couple who have an appetite for entertaining guests. One is a Filipino garments manufacturer (Obra ni Juan) who loves cooking, and the other is a technology professional who later trained in the culinary field.  As they come to enjoy

Private and cozy:  highly recommended for family
events and other intimate gatherings.

entertaining guests with their cooking, they decided to open their private space to friends, and friends of friends, and share their cooking, too, using secret recipes in an Italian Restaurant.  Later, as they realized how four rooms in their modern home are rarely occupied, they decided to open these to guests as well who need a place for overnight stay, a weekend stay, or accommodation on a short-term basis.  And this led to the soft opening of Date and Dine about two months ago.  The accommodation rate is highly affordable, which includes breakfast, and the use of the pool, gym, mini office, wi-fi connections, recreation areas and the dining areas.  My family and I are very lucky to be among the very first guests of this lovely place.  We stayed overnight using all four rooms and had an exclusive use of the restaurant and all the amenities for our family event.  The personalized service is highly satisfying... it's like being in your own home with extra pampering, guaranteed to keep your mind away from work... and the stress that goes with it.    

Places like this, which make important family occasions even more special, are wonderful reminders that, indeed, life is good!  Thanks be to God that my family and I found another place to retreat to when City life becomes too grueling and unkind.  

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Happy Mother's Day

To all the "Ilaw ng Tahanan" out there, Happy Mother's Day!
Thanks be to God for all of you.

Something that a colleague of mine said yesterday made me pause to think. She said:  "You've been serving as a loving mother, nurturing the whole Faculty of Engineering...."

That might just have been my colleague's opinion, and she might just have been being generous about it, just the same, it made me think about my work... and how I got there in the first place, considering that, growing up as child, I never thought I'd ever work in the Academe.  And later, after finishing College, I still could not picture myself adopting teaching as a profession.  I guess, when you surrender your life to God, and pray that He helps you become His faithful servant - in whatever little way that your 'smallness' as an individual could handle - He really does guide you, and help you. 

Today, as a way of celebrating Mother's Day, my eldest sister and I spent the day helping out her daughter, who is also a goddaughter of mine. Our daughter is getting married soon.  My sister and I went to accompany her in accomplishing one of her Catholic preparations for the marriage, heard the Holy Mass together, and then ate lunch together.  We spoke about a number of things... very good things.  Just to make sure that I am not getting too stressed out, my sister subtly asked about my "daily routine" these days at work.  

As I was going through my activities in my head, arranging them so I could give my sister an overview... this and that scenes from my conversations with students and my colleagues at work came to mind.  I realized one thing:  most of the things I spoke to them as the Faculty's "mother"... the pieces of advice and opinions that I gave them... most of those are words from my own late mother. I am certain, too, that those are the pieces of wisdom she gained from discerning God's will in fulfilling her role as our mother.

Indeed, mothers are the instruments of God in shaping us to become the unique individuals that God intended us to become.   Biological motherhood is one way, I'm sure the best way, of experiencing motherhood.  However, as my colleague's observation, there are other ways by which a woman can fulfill the role of a "mother" the way God has intended mothers for - the nurturing shepherd of young and inexperienced souls.  The important thing is we endeavor to be humble enough to accept God's will and wisdom, serve with all our hearts and with all the love we are capable of, and remain faithful and appreciative of His love.  And, without a doubt, life becomes truly meaningful then... and happiness is the perfumed mist that keeps you refreshed and envigorated all day long.  And you glow with the beauty of it all.  

And, to lighten things up a bit, let me share a song that comes to mind on this occasion...

"Hey Mom... what was it like when you were young?

Has the world changed, or is it the same?"

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Video Credit:  Thanks, YouTube, for the video link.

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Wednesday nostalgia....

... because the present reality is too 'harsh'. ======================================================================
by PAM


The last thing I'd want for this little space of mine in the www is for it to become a place for ranting - from me.  So, I'm going to avoid it - ranting - at all cost.  

I feel that I'm beginning to forget what it's like to write creatively... I mean, yeah, creatively... as in artistically.  Uhm, well, yeah, I thought I kinda know how to do that. Aren't we allowed to have our illusions?  Well, that's mine, deal with it!  :)  

My harsh reality is 'biting' me hard lately... I think I've been writing too many business letters... recommendation letters, administrative letters (is there really such a thing?  Nah, I'm just making that up, just to make what I do at work sound important!  Hahaha....), partnership proposals (O-K, that's not how it sounds, so don't raise your hopes!), MOU here, MOA there, Opening Remarks here, Closing Remarks there... oy!  I'm losing my little artistic side - the very reason for the existence of "Sari-sari...".

Alright, I know, no ranting... thanks for reminding me!  Since it's too hard to get my mind off "work mode" even in the middle of the night that it's quite impossible to write anything 'creative', let me just take the easy route... write one of my formulaic stuff:  Wednesday Nostalgia.  And, no, that ain't cheating either... or, maybe it is... whatever!

"Notebook"... ah, luv, luv, luv!  "Feels like Home" by Chantal Kreviazuk... ah, luv, luv, luv!  What if we put them together?  Well, I'm sure it's everything that's creative and beautiful.  Let's do it....

"A window breaks down a long, dark street

And a siren wails in the night

But I'm alright 'cause I have you here with me

And I can almost see, through the dark there is light." 

Alright, I don't think there is a need to explain how that beautiful experience "feels like home", right?  I think it's self-explanatory... or, maybe, some things need no explanation at all.  So, I'm just gonna shut up right now... and play the video again.  Feel free to do the same. I'm pretty sure it's worth it. So, let's do it!

Ciao!

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Video credit:  Thanks, YouTube, for the video link.

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