…sweet thoughts from friends…

When I love, I love deeply and these surprising messages are more than enough to keep me believing that even the smallest things I do for others can somehow touch their lives, enough reason for me to keep on loving…

From Miss Lovable:

“mag drama ko ha.. (hmmh, just wanted to say THANK YOU! for the unconditional and TRUE friendship (although we had misunderstandings in our past moments..hehe) we still remian bond and intact.. i’m soo glad having you as a friend (not all people has the privilage of having one).. we meet in Ilang-Ilang dormitory you’re in room 7 and i in room 12 the cleanest room, hehehe).. i dont know where our closeness started.. (maybe it was destined that you will have a cute and charming friend, ahem) when my tita stop supporting me you we’re thier helping me find ways for me to still continue to go to school (hing doul pa gani ta, forgot the name para maka SA for me to have a source of fund) . then, another was when it was summer again i had no money for my tuition you texted ate rich and ask her if i have a tuition and told her that you have an extra 500 for me to borrow then things follows next..until now although we are far still our closeness and bond are intact.. im really thankful to GOD for he give you as a part (a special part) in my life.. hope our frienship last after forever.. love you my dear friend MARY ANTONETTE HILOT ABELLO..MWahhhh, and before i forgot (nosebleed ko ani)heheh

i really THANK YOU for the (SciPhone i 68) mao na na atoa code run ha?hehhe damo wrong graming ani kahibaw naka..hehhe”

From Mr. Energy:

“ I will once again say thank you for everything you have done
to me during gx. My experience in that day became so much fun and colorful to remember. You always cross into my mind everytime I do something good to others. Now, I can say to myself that it is just about time for me to share to others what I have learned from you, I should say. To be a friend to others in times of difficulties and reach out for those who lose confidence to themselves are just a few things that I have learned from you. Anyway, how are you there? hearing every success that you achieved makes me so happy for you. Hope to see you soon tonet and hopefully we will see each other there in Thailand, hehe… You are one of the women that I admired… Ingats always… god bless..."

 

Avatar and the message behind

I’m not a movie-fanatic but I was deeply moved by the youtube trailer of The Secret which I owe great thanks to Joseph Emmanuel Lansang for giving me the link. I haven’t recovered from the frenzy of The Secret yet when he told me to watch Avatar saying “Watch it and you will thank me more“. In less than an hour I saw status updates on Facebook Livestream talking about the movie and how good it was. ‘Twas not until I read the Avatar review of Rebecca Murray at About.com that I finally found my way to the cinema. My friend Jytjyt Soliva was at first very reluctant to watch it because for her, ‘280 Baht is way too expensive for a movie’. But having convinced by her co-teachers, she ended up on the seat beside me.

As I let my 3D glasses take me to Pandora, I felt I was hypnotized by its exhilarating panorama. The 3D glasses was indeed successful in letting the viewers delve into the world of the Na’vis. It gave me the feeling that I was actually there, a part of their world and sharing with them the magnificent beauty that nature has to offer. Two thumbs up for James Cameron for such an ‘out of the box’ creativity. The cinematography was perfect.

What I liked most about the movie was the love ingredient James Cameron has incorporated. Jake leaving the human world to be one with the alien Neytiri was way too romantic. But despite the grandiose scenes and the magical feeling that runs through my veins, I can’t help but be bothered by the evident message of the movie. One doesn’t need to reach the climax of the story before realizing its connection to the catastrophic phenomena humans are experiencing at present.

According to Murray, “Avatar is set in a future in which we’re able to travel to distant planets and interact the natives.” Here’s my own take on that. Watching the movie was like taking off on a time machine that brought me back to the past, where our world  was like that of Pandora, peacefully inhabited by our ancestors. But humanity’s greed placed our mother land to destruction just like the Na’vis’ tree of life.

How the Na’vis grieved for losing their loved ones and home reflects the suffering of those victims of calamities at present. And the sad truth is that what ruined their harmonious life is basically the same to what destroyed our land right now, technological advancement, literally. Although innovations are necessary for the improvement of life, the inevitable misuse and overuse of these technologies led to various environmental destructions.

The last 30 minutes of the movie showed how the humans were defeated by the Na’vis despite their use of high-tech shields. I felt that the Na’vis were sending us a message, that at the very end when it’s time for mother nature to take its revenge, even the greatest inventions of man cannot save us.

The day I broke a child’s heart

Four years ago, I went to the VSU beach to witness the beauty of sunrise and breathe fresh air. I was with my friend Mariz Guino sittin’ on the rocky black sand (not the best beach though) when we saw two kids gathering seashells. We approached them and asked if we can help out. Their sweet smile reflects an innocent soul. Behind us is their grandma, in her late 80s I guess. Looking at her, I felt a pang realizing how old she was and should be staying at home. Instead, she was their religiously flipping the rocks to find what seemed to be their next meal.

I asked the kids if they are going to have it for lunch or dinner, just to start a childish conversation. To my surprise, they will have it for breakfast, which I estimated to be around 10AM after a rigorous cleaning and cooking process.

They bid goodbye and head off home but before they left I asked them to visit us in our dormitory. I was planning to treat them for a snack since that morning they need to rush off home to cook.

I waited day after day for them to come but no one showed in the dorm. The following weekend I went to the beach and was glad to find them there. I found out they never understood our instruction, went to a wrong dorm and never found us so they just decided to try and find us in the beach (really smart kids).

We’ve had wonderful moments with the kids and we look forward every weekend to see them. We brought them to the nearest town and bought each a pair of slippers, marbles (as they requested) and food. A few people threw strange stares to us knowing we dress so differently with the kids. Who cares, all that matter to us is being able to make two young hearts happy.

After strolling at the park, we took them home. Seeing their house that looked like it will slump anytime broke my heart into pieces. Located along the coast, I can imagine how cold it could be at night.

One afternoon, I had a serious conversation with Polpol, the older one which was 8 years old at the time. I asked him why he quit studying. His answer was very simple, “My teacher scolded me because I wasn’t able to bring a notebook for our project”. I asked again, why didn’t you bring one? He answered “Because we don’t have money”.

I told him he is going to school by June and promised to support his studies. I talked to my friend Mariz and we decided to provide him his school supplies and weekly allowance which is not really very expensive as he is still in his primary grade and their school is just a few meters away from their house. So we only need to give him a few pesos for snacks each day (which means instead of buying our snack, we will save our money for his allowance).

While I was telling him about our plan, he never said much, just this “I’m afraid you won’t be able to fulfill your promise”. I assured him it’s gonna happen.

February 12 was Mariz’ birthday and we organized a little surprise for her at the VSU beach. I urged Ate Carmille Bales to drive for me so I can fetch the kids. We took them to the VSU beach resort and all our Youth for Christ friends played with them. We gave them some of the food to bring home for their grandma.

Time passed by so quickly and before I knew it, the school year has ended. I enjoyed my vacation, however, I anticipated the coming school year for a lot of reasons and one of them was to see the kids again.

With all excitement, I went back to VSU to enroll. I can’t believe how I was engulfed with so many responsibilities and totally forgot the kids especially Polpol whom we promised to send to school.

Mid-June, we asked their neighbor who was working at our school’s cafeteria of their whereabouts. She informed us that Polpol’s father took him to Manila. I swallowed hard, trying not to burst into tears with the thought that he might either be safe their or better off without his father.

I never got any news of him since that day but until now, he still crossed my mind and it pains me every time. I hope with all my heart that he is having a better life now coz otherwise, I know he would feel bad that I broke my promise.

I just wish destiny will give me a chance to see him again… I wish…

Online volunteering makes a difference

Even when I was a kid, my heart always breaks every time I see a beggar on the streets. My young mind can’t help but wonder why people could afford to ignore those street children when what they asked for is just a single peso to buy a piece of bread.

As I got older, I realized that there are so much frustrations in the world other than the sight of a hungry child. My attempt to contribute was through being an active student leader. After I graduated and having volunteered in Newham and Iligan, I became passionate to work on areas in line with community development.

However, fate brought me into the corporate world. T’was just a matter of priority though as for now, my goal is to help my family. I need to stick with my job to do that which means giving up my desire to serve the people.

No matter how I tried to be positive with my job in the business sector, there were just times when I just found myself ranting over the same paradox. Thanks to Ms. Jennifer Domingo, she introduced to me the world of online volunteering. I registered and browse on some tasks which I am capable of doing to maximize my contribution to the organization.

Indeed, we will never run out of ways to do something if we only have that strong determination and will in our heart. I am now very excited to start applying and hopefully get accepted by one of the organizations I am keen to work with.