Saturday photo

Milestone... and it isn't just years.
It's all about faith, love, passion... mission.

Just five years ago, I had a great fortune to climb up the stage to receive something, which many considered to be a recognition of an exemplary achievement, but which I had mixed feelings for that time (and more so now)... just because I've never had big feelings about recognition and stuff like that.  I always believed that God sent us here with a 'mission' to accomplish... and, as such, He gave us a few 'gifts' that we could use to 'get the job done'... and have great fun, too, in the process.  He continues to give us more 'gifts' if we worked hard enough to improve ourselves to be worthy of more by using well those that we already have. Therefore, only Him who sent us can tell whether we are doing a good job or not.  So, we work very hard, hoping every single day that we are doing enough to accomplish our mission... and helping others accomplish theirs.  We hope that we are doing enough to please Him... and bringing happiness to others, too, in the process.  We sincerely hope, from the bottom of our hearts and from the depth of our souls, that we are helping to make this world a better place for everyone.    

Of course, in some cases, I give in and join the 'recognition' stuff if that would mean inspiring people to stay committed to their own mission given them... and strive to make Him happy with how we are all doing.  Last Thursday (26 March 2015) was such a day... and to be honest, just like five years ago, it wasn't all that bad.  It was a good ceremony... straight-forward, no ego-buttering, just plain show of appreciation for those who the University felt served its stakeholders well.  And, I felt truly a part of it... probably because I knew there were many men and women on that day who went up that stage who sincerely felt the same way I did - reluctant to step into the limelight and receive attention, but wanting to be a part of a 'crusade' that brings humanity closer to Him who is the greatest Teacher of all... and that felt absolutely reassuring.

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Photo credit:  I took it.  It's a medal for the recipients of service award (20 years or longer) given to faculty members of the University of Santo Tomas.

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"One Duration"...

...get out, get out, get out of my head!
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by PAM

A student called me a "One Duration" fan because I am a Duran Duran (the "crushable bunch" of the '80s) fan who went to watch One Direction (or, 1D, the undisputed teenie bopper 'World Crush' of this generation) in the Manila leg of their "On the Road Again" World Tour... just a few hours ago, actually. :)  My student believed that I was 'fan girling' over their generation's crushes, and sounded (jokingly) disgusted by it. =)  The student was (exaggeratedly) perplexed by how the crushing generation cannot afford to pay the hefty concert ticket price of their crushes, while our generation who are too old to stand and dance for one-and-a-half hours to the "best song ever" bought many of the tickets instead! =)  Of course, most of us bought the tickets for our kids/nieces/nephews... and I did spend my one year worth of savings to watch Duran Duran live in Manila, too, back in the '80s - and it was worth every single cent!  

I have to say that attending the 1D concert was fun, too, regardless of the (big) difference in generations! :) 

  

"Everybody wants to steal my girl... she belongs to me."

The euphoric glee and energy of the kids in the audience was absolutely infectious. :)  It can make one feel (very) young again.  And the 1D boys were just adorable... all the while sounding kind and considerate of their fans. Seeing them reminded me again of the fact that, if I got married at a young age, I'd probably have kids their age... and I'd probably be a 'shameless' stage Mum! ;)  Anyway, the 1D boys performed well, obviously trying very hard to please their fans... and, perhaps, trying to work a bit harder to make up for the absence of one of their members, Zayn Malik, who had to go back to the UK after the BKK-HK leg of their Tour to allegedly "recuperate from stress".  Zayn was controversially photographed with a girl, who was not his girlfriend, while in BKK.  Apparently, this hurt many feelings, and it stressed out Zayn, unable to perform in the remaining venues of the Asian leg of their Tour.

So, while Zayn recuperates, I got rejuvenated by 1D's energy - mixed well with their Manila fans' impressive show of support.  

"...everyone else in the room can see it, everyone else but you... 

...that's what makes you beautiful."

Speaking of impressive support, it was fascinating to see so many parents and grandparents accompanying their kids and grandkids, respectively, to the concert. Others went to watch with the young people, others just escorted the kids to the gate, took souvenir photos, and then waited for them after the concert at the gate... with take-out dinner on hand. :)  I went with my nephew.  He is a Script kind of a kid, so I thought he was not really into it and was just being nice to his aunt, but he did appreciate 1D's performance, too, which is good.

"...baby, you light up my world like nobody else...
I can't believe you don't know, you don't know you're beautiful."

So, yeah, it was a nice Saturday.  And, yeah, it was money well-spent.  "One Duration"?  Sure, why not?!

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Video credit:  I took the videos, but thanks, YouTube for the video links.

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Rewind...

"Now that she's back in the atmosphere with drops of Jupiter in her hair..."

"...she listens like spring and she talks like June."

Ugh, dang!  Why can't I write like that... and sing like that?  While life is truly happiness, sometimes when I think about Patrick Monahan, I'm compelled to agree that life ain't fair. ;)  He is too talented... and funny!  Yep, I know... this is my second time to feature this song, "Drops of Jupiter", by Train on this little corner of mine.  Well, can you blame me... especially now that I'm dying for some "soul vacation"? :)  

Anyhow, just listening to this song, marveling at its awesomeness of lyrics (and Pat's funny antics on stage) is some sort of "soul vacation"... so, just wait, I might just start 'talking like June' now - even if I'm missing the "best soy latte that I ever had, and...." :)  Yep, dude, 'I made it to the milky way'... flew, and about to land now.  It's indeed overrated. :)  Hurry up with that real "soul vacation", will ya?  And then, I'm sure there will be more room to grow.  So, we proceed.  It's another week... of growing. :)

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

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