Do you have a person in your life who can make you happy just by spending time with you, even if the two of you are doing and talking about nothing? What do you call those people?
Okay, before proceeding, I tell you now that this post is not educational. This is just a pure emotional wall of text that you might or might not relate to. Don’t blame me if you feel like you just wasted 5 minutes of your life after reading this. Read more
Ang layo na ng narating natin. Ang dami na nating pinagdaanan – masaya, malungkot, nakakagalit, nakapagtataka, lahat na. Lahat ng iyan pinagpapasalamat ko sa Diyos. Sa bawat araw, simula pa lang noong una tayong magkita, hindi na ako tumigil sa pagpapasalamat sa na pinagkaloob ka Niya sa akin. Parang pelikula nga, sa dami ba naman ng mga masalimuot na pangyayari sa nakaraan ng bawat isa sa atin noong hindi pa tayo magkakilala, akalain mo, nagkasundo parin tayo. Okay lang sayo yung mala-jeprox na long hair ko, at wala namang problema sa akin yung slight na pagiging kinesthetic mo. Nagkakaintindihan tayo noon eh. At masaya tayo.
Nasa Trinoma nga tayo nung una tayong magkita. Dapat eh photoshoot yun kaya lang ginabi tayo kaya gumala gala na lang tayo sa mall. Sa loob ng maraming taon ay doon na lang ulit ako nakakain sa Jollibee, yun favorite mo diba? Pagkatapos nun eh naglakad lakad pa at bumili ng hot tea sa Starbucks. Brand-loyal ka pa sa CBTL nun, kaya nung nagyaya ako mag-Starbucks eh naghesitate ka pa. Habang umiinom eh nagusap lang tayo about kay Rizal, sa quantum physics, at sa beliefs natin. Dun natin nalaman na parehas pala tayong Born-again. Gabi na tayo umuwi nun, ang tagal nating tumambay sa may parking bago nagpasyang umuwi na. Ang saya.
Naalala ko pa nga noong minsang kumakain tayo ng sumang moron sa may UP. Picture picture lang at walang humpay na kwentuhan tungkol sa DC Universe. Paganun ganun lang pero masaya. Walang oras na walang ngiti sa mga labi. Akalain mo iyon, halos isang taon na din pala ang nakalipas, ano?
Naalala ko pa noong kumakain tayo ng siomai, sa UP din. Dahil odd ang bilang ng siomai eh nagmatakaw ako biglang nagsabi ng “dibs” sabay tusok dun sa isang sobra, ibig sabihin sa akin na iyon. Nagtaka na lang ako ng bigla kang umakap sa akin, “dibs” sabi mo. Sa totoo lang, napaiyak ako ng kaunti.
Naalala ko din noong araw na nagusap tayong magkita sa Gateway. Nauna akong dumating kaya naman sinabi kong maghihintay na lang muna ako. Nagtext kang malapit ka na kaya tumawag na ako sayo para mas madali ang usapan. Nasa Fullybooked tayo noon. Naglalakad habang naguusap, nakita natin ang isa’t isa, pero hindi natin ibinaba ang mga telepono, at kahit na magkaharap ay sa telepono parin bumigkas ng “I miss you”. Sobrang kinilig tayo nun, kaya naman ginawan pa natin ng re-enactment~
Naalala ko rin noong unang beses mo akong ginawan ng Sandwich. Tatlong piraso yung at bawat isang pack ay may papel na label. Ano pa bang 3-letter-word ang nandun? Alam na. Hindi ko makakalimutan yun, kasi yung ang pinakaunang beses na may gumawa ng PB&J sandwich para sa akin. May label pa. Nasa sakin pa nga yun hanggang ngayon.
Sa bagay, lahat naman ng mga binigay mo sa akin ay nasa sakin parin hanggang ngayon: Yung pinakaunang letter mo, yung may co-factor na banat, ang tagal din namalagi sa picture-pocket ng wallet ko yun. Meron pang isa na puno ng pink doodles na sinabayan mo pa ng isang Snorlax na plushie, na hanggang ngayon eh katabi ko sa pagtulog kasama yung teddy bear na binigay mo rin.
May Project 365 pa nga ako noon. Bago ako tumigil at sumuko sa project na yun, halos lahat na ng mga last shots eh puro ikaw na, o kung hindi man ikaw yung shot para sa partikular na araw na iyon, kadalasan eh magkasama parin tayo nung nakuha ko yung shot na yun.
Bumisita ka rin sa dati kong pinagtatrabahuhan nun. Cool lang, kasi sa loob ng isang taon na pagtatrabaho ko dun, ikaw pa lang ang naging bisita ko.
Hindi ko rin maliliutan yung pinakaibang beses na kumain tayo ng isaw sa UP. Medyo alanagan pa ako nun dahil may masamang karanasan ako sa isaw. Pero tila nahuli ng UP isaw ang panlasa ko. Simula noon eh isa na yun sa mga naging paborito nating pagkain.
Nagbago na rin ako ng pananamit, salamat sayo. Hindi na ako mukhang aleng losyang na ginawang lalaki.
First time din sa buhay ko na may makasama ako na hindi mga kamaganak sa araw ng pasko at bagong taon. Mayroong kaunting salimuot ang mga araw na iyon, pero naniniwala akong mahalaga parin ang mga araw na iyon.
Para sa mga pelikulang pinanood, sa mga gamit na magkapareha, sa mga lugar na pinuntahan, sa mga bagong taong naging kaibigan, sa mga larawang magkasama, sa mga araw na sobrang daming kinain, sa mga araw na nagfasting, sa mga araw na magkasama sa worship service, sa mga terms of endearment, sa mga late night chats, sa mga awitin over-the-phone hanggang makatulog, sa mga aral na natutunan, sa mga sweet na facebook status at tweets, sa lahat lahat – pinagpapasalamat ko sa Diyos na naranasan ko ang mga ito ng kasama ka.
Sabay tayong nangarap. Sabay tayong nagbulaybulay tungkol sa mga bagay na pwede nating marating at mapagtagumpayan ng magkasama. Sabay tayong lumapit sa Panginoon. Sabay tayong nanalangin para sa isa’t isa. At naniniwala ako na hanggang ngayon, pinanghahwakan ko parin yung tugon na ibinigay sa akin ng Panginoon.
Nanalangin ako para sa isang babaeng mamahalin ko at makakasama ko na ng habang buhay at dumating ka sa buhay ko. Sa lahat ng pinanalangin ko, wala na ata akong mas maipagpapasalamat pang higit sa pagdating mo sa buhay ko.
Sa mga araw na katulad ng ngayon, kung saan malabo ang mga bagay, sana hindi mawala ang pagmamahal at pag-ibig. Sa lahat ng kasalanan na nagawa ko, sana mapatawad mo ako. Pinagsisisihan ko lahat ng mga pagkakataong hindi kita nabigyan ng sapat na pagpapahalaga. Sa lahat ng mga kamalian ko na hindi ko pilit kong ipinagpilitan, humihingi ako ng tawad. Sa lahat ng sakit na narasan mo ng dahil sa akin, pangako, gagawin ko ang lahat, mapatawad mo lang ako.
Mahal kita. Hindi naman na ito sikreto. Mahal na mahal kita at hindi ko kayang mawala ka sa buhay ko.
Lord, thank You for the life of Beth. Thank You because of her existence. Thank You because You continually use her a vessel of Your blessings. Thank You because Your light shines bright in her. Thank You because through her, people experience Your love. Thank You because Your plan for her is pleasing and perfect.
Forgive me, Father, for all the hurt that I might have given her. Forgive me because I was so stubborn a lot of times and it brought her pain. Lord, forgive me.
As we go on with the next day, Lord, may your Word lead us. May the Holy Spirit be upon us. May we move according to Your plans and may Your will be done in our lives. Only you, God, knows everything. I love you, Lord, and I trust in and claim Your promises.
I bring back all the praise and glory and honor to You.
This I pray, in Jesus’s Name. Amen.
We, my family, were on Starbucks (in Robinsons Otis) earlier just drinking coffee and eating stuff at around 2PM. We went there just so we can get some rest from all the things that we did for the tedious 36 hours that just passed. We were just talking about random stuff over coffee and donuts. At one point during the conversation, I realized that I’ve never experienced celebrating Christmas on a rainy day before so I asked them if they’ve experienced one when I was not born yet. They haven’t. I looked up at the sky and the nimbus clouds are forming, I thought it would be my first rainy Christmas, but to my dismay, it did not. Not that I wanted it to rain, I just wanted to break the no-rain-during-Christmas-streak. (And oh, my family lives in the heart of Metro Manila, just in case you’re wondering about the weather on our place).
From that question, we continued the conversation talking about the differences between the past Christmas celebrations and the one that we just had this year. I think we all agreed that presents are harder to come by this year. Case in point, no one aside from my family and Beth (which I consider family as well) gave me presents this Christmas. It’s not like we’re counting the presents we’re giving and receiving, it’s just an obvious thing which is not very hard to descry. My dad also noticed that there were less number of kids who did caroling now compared to the previous years, he thinks that the “Just go back on the 24th” response scared them. And so we went on and on talking about those stuff which, if you sum up, only means that the past Christmas celebrations were better than this one. I don’t mean to be crass, but it’s somehow true. Life in the Philippines is getting harder and harder everyday.
It was 2:30PM when I told them that I’m going to Alabang to meet with Beth and attend an afternoon Christmas service with her (different story), and that I need to leave in a minute. So I just gave my mom my unfinished doughnut, kissed her and my dad goodbye, wrapped my coffee-cup with paper-napkin, and left the mall. The main road is just in front of the mall, I crossed it and tried calling a cab. After a minute or so, I was already on my way to Taft.
Inside the cab, I was just being OC with the paper-napkin wrapped around my coffee-cup when the driver started a conversation with a ”Merry Christmas, sir”. In my head I was like “Okay, I just hope you’re not one of those people who uses the occasion to ask for a tip.” I hate cab drivers like that, if you’re blatantly asking for a tip, you’re missing the whole point of giving tips. Good thing, well I don’t know if it’s actually a good thing or not, he’s not like that. “Merry Christmas din, kuya. Kamusta po ang Pasko ninyo?” I replied. I don’t like conversation dead-ends, so as much as possible, I try to end my responses with interrogatives or with totally-dumb-to-the-point-of-being-self-deprecating remarks, some people find it funny. But for some strange reason, my words just lingered inside the cab for 5 seconds or so before he answered my question ”Hindi okay, sir.” And with his shaky voice, he began with his story, which by the way disturbed me big time. Read more
I hate it when I’m explaining something and people make me repeat myself.
I hate it just as much as I hate conversations that run in circles.
But I don’t mind telling you how beautiful you are.
We can talk about it for hours.
I hate it when the people around me do unnecessary movements.
I hate it more when they’re actually with me and they do it in public.
But when you do your little dance in the middle of the department store.
I now dance with you.
I hate it when I share to people that my taste in some things have changed and they all go like “Look how one person can change you.”
But I don’t mind, it’s true. So I respond to them:
“You know what it’s called? LOVE.”
Before anything else, happy birthday!
Yung original content ng letter na ‘to eh nanjan parin naman sa baba, pero sa totoo lang eh nagdadalawang isip ako kung ibibigay ko pa sayo ‘to. Recently lang kasi eh isina-public mo na gusto mo ng hand-written letter for your birthday kaya parang nakakapagalangan, eh alam mo naman ako, may pagka-hipster ang mindset, feeling ko kasi kung sakaling ibigay ko ‘to sayo, hindi lang ito ang handwritten letter na matatanggap mo. Kaya digital copy na lang. Anyway, it’s all good. Ibig sabihin madaming may gustong maging masaya ka sa birthday mo! So without further ado, eto na yung sinulat kong letter for you »
Happy Birthday, Bebeth!
Nakakamiss din pala magsulat ng letter ano? Puro na kasi essays at poems sinusulat ko lately. Pero alam mo ba kung anong mas miss ko? Ikaw! Haha! See what I did there? A taste of your own medicine. Haha!
Okay, balik sa birthday message. Happy birthday! Honestly, feeling ko sa mismong araw ng birthday mo eh maririnig mo na lahat ng klase ng greeting at lahat ng klase ng birthday messages. Kaya instead of giving you a so-birthday-ism birthday message, allow me to thank you for everything.
Beth…
Thank you for being a true friend.
Thank you for being forgiving even though we your friends hurt you at times.
Thank you because you never cease to care about the people around you.
Thank you for going out of your way just to help/be with me and your friends.
Thank you for all the insights and advice that you shared to me.
Thank you for all the intellectual conversations we had.
Thank you for all the geeky/nerdy conversations as well.
Thank you for all the love.
I know that your ability to share so much love comes from God, I thank him for that.
I thank Him because a certain you exists.Happy birthday. May God bless you always.
Oh, before I continue with my story, allow me to introduce myself first. Don’t worry, this would only cover the basic stuff. I’m Bridget Gail Andrews and even though my name sounds English and my skin and eye color may be a bit different than a usual Filipina, I assure you that I’m the least-English English woman you’ll ever know. My dad is from Manchester and my mom is pure pinay. I was born somewhere in Sta. Ana, Manila; grew up in Pandacan, Manila; and is now living in Paco, Manila. I just turned 22 a couple of months ago but since I don’t have that young-face-asian-magic, people always think that I’m older than my age. It doesn’t matter, really. I actually like it because it helps me avoid dealing with younger men.
If you’re wondering about how I look since I’m Eurasian (I get this almost all the time especially on the internet), try to picture this: Most people say that I look a lot like Spice Girls’ Melanie Chisholm who dresses up like Natalie Imbruglia (my dad doesn’t like it). The only difference is that I’m not that tall (5’5″), my skin is not flawless, and that my jeans and shirts are not always branded. Well, you can add these stuff to my I’m-like-this-but-I-don’t-mind list.
It’s just sad that people associate me with Chisholm and Imbruglia only because of how my appearance resemble each of them, not because of how good they are on their field (music). I like singing and playing the guitar but I just don’t know when I’m doing it right or wrong. This, I do mind. Speaking of music, and since this is pretty much an all-about-me post already, allow me to share to you to my musical preferences. To make it easier for all of us, I listed down all of my favorite bands: Red Hot Chili Peppers, Death Cab For Cutie, Incubus, Rage Against The Machine, Soundgarden, Switchfoot, Blur, Radiohead, and most of the 90s rock bands out there. As you can already tell, I like 90s stuff.
Oh geez, I can’t believe I just posted an about-me entry. LOL. I didn’t have the chance to even continue the story from my previous entry. But the real “geez” here is the fact that I’m sleepy again. I’m so sleepy I extended my arm towards the left side of the keyboard reaching for a water bottle that doesn’t exist. I’m already dreaming, I hate it. Ugh, So okay, I guess I’ll just continue this story next time. Ciao!
- Bridget Gail Andrews [ 24-Nov-2011 | 03:21 ]
I have this terrible habit of keeping supposedly public issues to myself and when the people around me starts to feel that I’m hiding something and forces me to reveal myself, it puts me in a very awkward position because people won’t believe me even though I already told them what I’m keeping to myself. Its like keeping to yourself that Bruce Wayne is Batman and when people forces you to reveal what you’re hiding and decides to tell them the truth (that Bruce Wayne is Batman), of course they won’t just believe that you already told them everything (well, knowing that Bruce Wayne is Batman is kinda like everything already). You get my point?
I don’t know. I’ve always wanted to keep some things to myself since I was a kid. I used to be a big-time liar when I was still in grade school and I think that’s one of the reasons why my high school life was a train-wreck. I kept on saying lies after lies until it piled up to the point where even I can’t tell which ones are true and which ones are not. At age 15, I was a living lie. The people who didn’t know the truths loved me, they loved what they thought was me. And those who did know the truths hated me, they left me forever. And it all started because I just want to keep some things to myself. Geez.
I then realized that I lied too much. I wanted to come clean. I wanted to restore the relationships I’ve have ruined. So I spent some time alone just sorting out things and trying to find the person who I really am. I tried analyzing my speaking patterns, how I communicate to people, how I react when a situation compels me to lie, and how I decide when to lie and when to tell the truth. I did my best. I gave it all I’ve got. I’m happy about the thing’s I’ve learned about myself.
Right after the whole “sorting out” and reflection thing, I went to my class, sat on my chair, talked to my seatmate, and lied.
I failed once again. And this is where the real story starts.
Do you know what’s the worst part about all this? It’s the part where I tell you that I’m already sleepy and will just write the continuation of this story next time. Hah! (cutting off stories like this makes me write more, so yeah. I like it.) Make sure to read the continuation next time as it will have the same amount of nonsense-ness just as this one, or even worse.
- Bridget Gail Andrews [ 21-Nov-2011 | 03:05 ]
Officially, today is already October 31, 2011; and most of us are probably preparing to go to the cemetery later to remember our loved ones who already left this world. People tend to grieve and mourn (again) whenever they think of their late loved ones, I do feel the same at times because I miss my Lolo and Lola so much. But since I’m assured that both of them are saved, my mourning turns to joy, relief, and gratitude.
I’m still very sad though, almost crying even. You know why? A guy I love just made me cry tonight. Don’t get me wrong, this is not a gay entry.
If you’ve been following me for a while now, you may notice that I love Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) so much. I already tried practicing/playing the sport and I’m so excited to get back to training as soon as possible. Lots of people (including my Mom and my close friends) don’t feel good about my idea of competing in an MMA bout. I know that they’re just concerned about me and all, but it’s really hard to just give up on something you’re really passionate about. That being said, allow me to introduce the guy who, just like what I said earlier, made me cry tonight.
I’m talking about this guy:
‘The Prodigy’ BJ Penn. And trust me, he need not punch or choke me to make me cry.
BJ Penn is my favorite fighter of all time. For me, he’s the greatest lightweight to ever graze the MMA scene not just because he’s one of the only two fighters to ever hold UFC championships on 2 different weight-classes, not just because he’s the first non-Brazilian fighter who became a champion in the World Jui-Jitsu Competition after only 3 years of training, not just because my niece resembles him, but because most of the fights that inspired me to learn MMA (that are forever etched in my memory) were courtesy of this guy right here.
I am very sad because after his match against Nick Diaz, The Prodigy already decided to leave the sport for good. Up to this point, I still don’t know how to accept the reality that I won’t be able to see him perform inside the octagon ever again. It pains me a lot seeing him paving way for the new generation MMA fighters, yes, but I abhor the fact that his time is done already.
Never will I hear his Hawaiian walk-in music again. Never will I see him throw another amazing uppercut to an opponent’s chin. Never will I see him submit another opponent out. Never will I see his ‘slapping-my-own-face’ act before and after a fight. Never will I see his very relaxed game-face. Never will I be able to analyze his beautifully technical fighting style. Never will I see the person who inspired me to practice MMA fight again.
As of this moment, my drive to train in MMA is very weak. I honestly want to fight or even just spar with BJ Penn, but the possibility of crossing-out that item on my bucket list seems to be very low now. Gah, I’m sure my mom would be very happy to read this paragraph.
Haaaay. This post has to end. So to The Prodigy, if you’re reading this right now, I want to tell you that you’ve inspired a guy who used to be bullied around his elementary school to train and push the limits of his body to it’s extent, that’s me. It’s such an awesome privilege to be able to see you perform inside to octagon during your prime until now that you’ve retired. May you be successful with whatever it is that’s next for you. God bless.
BJ Penn Highlights [video]
P.S.
I’m a web developer and I’m willing to revamp your site any time, for free.
My sister and I were talking about MMA and UFC stuff earlier (we almost always talk about MMA, y’know), more particularly, we were talking about different fighter’s entrance music. And since I both love music and MMA, I decided to list down my top 10 favorite entrance music in the UFC. Also, I haven’t posted anything related to MMA for quite some time now, so yeah.
(Just a little clarification, this list is not my Top 10 Favorite MMA Fighters list)
So here’s My Top 10 Favorite Entrance Music In The UFC in order (with pictures and other stuff).
#10: Shane Carwin – “Bodies” by Drowning Pool
“Let the bodies hit the floor, let the bodies hit the floor!” I think this is a very fitting song for Shane Carwin. Put him in the fight-card and surely someone’s body will hit the floor. It can be his opponent, after eating some hay-makers from his heavy hands; or him, after depleting his gas-tank in the earlier rounds. LOL
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#09: Diego “The Dream” Sanchez - “La Bamba” by Ritchie Valens
Yes! La Bamba! That’s not the kind of music you often hear during a UFC show, well, Diego Sanchez is not the kind of fighter you often see as well, so the music kinda suits him.
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#08: Chris “The Crippler” Leben – “Love Roller-Coaster” by Red Hot Chilli Peppers
I actually don’t like Chris Leben. I know that he’s got some serious power behind his punches and he’s got a heart of a lion but I really can’t like him knowing the fact that almost everyone in his division has got a W over him. But anyway, I like his entrance music. RHCP yo!
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#07: Rich “Ace” Franklin – “For Those About To Rock” by AC/DC
Random fact, I’m a sucker for ’80s rock. Glam rock, hair metal, trash metal, etc. I dunno, I just love ‘em. And so is this guy. This former long-time UFC middleweight champion right here definitely is one of my all-time favorite MMA fighters.
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#06: Tyson Griffin – “Eye Of The Tiger” by Survivor
♫ den! den den den! den den den! den den deeeeeeen! ♫ Oh I know you played it on you rmind. Hay. Do I really need to explain why this song is in this list? If you really don’t know what this song is, I’ve got one advice: Google “Rocky”
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#05: Brock Lesnar – “Enter Sandman” by Metallica
I told you I like ’80s rock. Metallica’s music has been one of my main influences when it comes to my guitar-playing. Actually, “Enter Sandman” is included in my first band’s repertoire when we
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#04: Nam Phan – “Pumped Up Kicks” by Foster the People
Nam Phan is a really funny guy, his Twitter account is proof. Well, I guess entrance musics really reflect each fighter’s personality.
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#03: Clay “The Carpenter” Guida – “Taste Of Ink” by The Used
Clay Guida is one ball of energy. Never was he in a dull fight. He’s a living proof that even if you’re not as great as other fighters in terms of technique; stamina, cardio, endurance, and a little craziness come earn you a win. Watch him enter the octagon while the “Taste Of Ink” is playing on the background and I’m sure whenever you hear it, you’ll remember this guy, or whenever you see this guy, you’ll remember the song.
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#02: Micheal Bispng – “Song 2″ by Blur
I guess Blur being an English-band makes lots of sense why Bisping chose this song. Entrance Music or not, Song 2 is one of my favorite songs. It’s just pure rock and roll, and nothing else. Perfect choice by The Count.
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#01: Me (shut up) – “Holy Diver” by Dio (or Killswitch Engange)
This is actually the main reason why I wrote this entry, to answer the question “If you would become a UFC fighter, what would your entrance music be?” and this is my answer. Hah! Should there be a Flyweight division in the UFC, I’d compete there, and you’ll definitely hear this song on the background (and maybe I’ll do some air-drum solos like Clay Guida before taking my shirt off, or in other words, reveal my nonexistent abs. LOL)
So there you have it. I guess I’ll post more MMA stuff sometime next week. Ciao!
(all of the UFC fighters’ photos are from: ufc.com)
