THE NEXT ACT

mula noon hanggang ngayon (A Capella).mp3 - jonsaint

you and i will travel far by jonsaint (A Capella).mp3 - jonsaint

“So you are Jet! At last I finally met you. I have heard so much about you” “Ah Okay. Which one have you heard? The good or the bad.” “Both. Hahahaha.” “Hahahaha.” I laugh frantically. Somehow, it is flattering yet at the same time scary knowing people are talking about you. I mean, how well do you know a person by relying only on second hand information? It is okay that people believe on great stuff people say about you provided it is true. But if it is not true and you are not able to deliver the expectation, it is frustrating. It is not okay if people talk bad stuff about people whether it is true or not. Most of the time the person who was maliciously talked about would be the last one to know. Celebrities are being talked about 24 hours a day and yet they have an access to the wicked network like media and press conference where they can be aware of the controversies and where they can defend themselves. An ordinary person has less access and most of the time clueles...

a place to hideaway by jonsaint.mp3 - Jonsaint

I realize that friends of mine have to be friends of my family. That’s how it goes. Me and my family are just one. Our friends understand our situation and that was how we know they are the winners to our hearts. We found our circle friends. They found us. How do I define true friends? I might have no answer. All I know is that we respect each other. If that’s how you describe true friends, I am buying it. Definitely we are not an organization, association, company or league. I don’t even know how we got closer. All I know is that once in while we talk, we barbecue, we dance, we play, and we do all sorts of things that cultivate the circle. Why do we do that? I don’t know. If there is a reason, it should be good and it should not be categorised as ulterior motive. Why do we stick? If you find that being with them does not hurt and sometimes gives you enrichment, you got to stick.

This is a way saying THANK YOU to all of our friends who touched our lives.

Procrastination is snatching your thought from what is more important.

The first session of the Seminar on Managing Stress is interesting because it directed me to a knowledge of whether I am stressed or not. Symptoms of stress are enumerated and for sure I have a couple of them. Hey! Hang on! Am I really stressed? I can just say to myself that I am not stressed and I am doing fine. Symptoms like these would just give me a wake up call that maybe I am. Regardless of the authenticity of these symptoms, having one or more of these traits would make my performance poorer. Whether I believe that these are authentic symptoms or not, regardless of the identification of the symptoms, I would accept the fact, given the big adjustments and the hang-ups of several changes after I moved in NZ such as culture, language and accents, weather, work relations and styles, that I together with all the pinoy immigrants are prone to stress. The level of stress depends on how you behave with changing circumstances. The enumerated symptoms can be beneficial after all...

While visiting and taking pictures of several of pumping stations and water reservoirs in Ferrymead Zone as part of the data collections in coming up with a water supply model of the zone, I found an interesting subject behind Mt Pleasant Reservoir. This was an accidental art which is worth to take a deeper look. I took a picture and gave a special touch on the image.

While walking from the car park to Christchurch City Council, It has been a frequent practice for me to give a good-morning greeting to Mr. Charlie Chaplin standing on the brick footpath of Tuam Street. The man whose footsteps have been followed by Dolphy, Jackie Chan, Johnny Depp, Robert Downey Jr and hundreds of comedians in the world is always found standing together with his legendary moustache, black baggy suit and cane at the corner of Tuam and High Street. Seeing him standing there with a subtle drollness in the face is sort of bringing me to the black and white movie era. I wish that I would have chance to take a picture of me and Charlie on that very same spot. I thought of bringing a camera and a tripod and making a quick shot during one of those sauntering in the morning. But somehow I was held back by shyness and prudence. I think that it would be less inhibited when I have someone to take the sought-after picture. I need a volunteer!! Charlie is somewhat the welcome doorma...

I won’t tell you how wonderful the movie August Rush is. Many people have reviewed it and they are unison in saying “ IT IS A DARN GREAT MOVIE!”. I was watching it with Claire and she continued crying in every significant moment in the movie. Would she think that it was a remarkable movie? Well yeah. She liked it to the point that she rushed to phone Gemma and to tell her how great the movie was while the ending credits were still rolling in the tele screen. Can you beat that? Though some reviews would say it is just a fiction. For me, it’s not a fiction but a hopeful possibility. Anyone is destined to be great for a special reason. The kid was remarkably gifted and he believed that his special gift would draw him closer to his missing parents. Several touching moments were some of the important ingredients in the movie: Louie chasing Lyla while her father dragged her to his car; teary eyed August while being interviewed in the orphanage; August playing music for the first ...

I had a hang up at first in first walk on the roads after a year of not visiting the city of sails. I got used to the flat surface of the garden city where I permanently settled. Arena Hotel where I checked in is situated in Beach Road and I got to walk a few meters to reach Auckland University for a water modeling seminar. The map told me that it was just transferring from one road to a parallel road and off you go straight to the university. What the map did not tell me is that the trailing road got a few meters higher than Beach Road. Hilly roads were alright and I got no serious rheumatism complaining about it but the realization that I got used to the flat surface of Christchurch made me more and more foreign to other cities of NZ. Seeing Auckland again made me miss it. “Wait till you see the severe undulating surface of Wellington”, mentioned one of my colleagues in the seminar who works in Wellington. Hmmmm. I felt more foreign.

I don’t need to dwell so much on the ill deeds that people has done to me in the past. I don’t need to bring them out always and continue to live with a grudge. Life is happening and if I drag the load of anguish all the time, I am slowing down the pace and I might end out losing the race and not getting the greatness that I deserve. Forgiveness is wonderful healing power. This will just bury the hatchet and continue evolving with what life has to offer. To some people, time is an important factor to heal. Time will heal. Give it some time. But for goodness sake, get out of your bed of bitterness and see the sun rising! Learning from the past is a proactive way to deal with the ordeal. It is a mistake when you let others hurt you. It is stupid when you let others hurt you again. I am moving forward. I want to live a peaceful life. I don’t need that pain. Learning from the past should give me more knowledge to segregate the wheat from the weeds. I have more idea what ki...

Charity begins at home. I got to look after the welfare of my beloved before I take notice of the needs of others. Looking after anyone’s needs requires being equipped with it. Am I strong enough to carry others’ load? Am I knowledgeable enough to answer others’ questions. Am I mature enough to handle certain issues? My son is still small. He has a long way to go. I have to be equipped for a long time. Taking care of my family is taking care of myself physically, emotionally and spiritually. Once the joy has been established at home and its richness surpasses the essentials , the family should be one to dwell on paying forward beyond home.

I have been hibernating and have been doing well with it. I have not been blogging. I have not involved myself with any activity with whatever Filipino Org we have here in Christchurch. I am successful in detaching myself from any association in my pursuit to dedicate myself with my wife, son and career. Mel from Auckland, an old friend way back when we were still in the Ligaya Community tried to catch up with me through email. He asked me if I already have a support group here. I told him none formally. But I have my family and close family friends who get in touch regularly. I told him I am happy with this setup and I told him I don’t intend to complicate myself in getting tied with certain group and be branded as one of those enemies of the other. When I was a kid, I used to play Kampu-kampo with other kids. Kampu-kampo was a game where two groups owning territorial bases compete with each other by capturing enemies and bringing them in their respective bases. It was phys...

We had a not-so-eventful weekend due to a bad weather. Boring? No. I always think that no matter where I am, no matter how limited my resources are, no matter how I end up being in an inescapable situation, it is always my call. Taking charge in the moment would make the moment worthwhile. No I would not admit that I got a boring weekend. I always have my right brain to play around with my random thoughts. Playful mind's eye even when I am sitting on my favourite couch would fill my weekend with excitement. Yes I found my way to have a blast last weekend. Yes I miss a lot of things not being outdoors. However, I thank God that I found what I’ve missed when I was indoors.

I have been blogging in Blogspot for more than a year now. Well! Well! Well!

"Do you wanna ride the Gondola?" Ruth asked me when we were on vacation in Rotorua. For me that was very interesting. When I think of Gondola, what comes to mind is the romantic boat in Venice, Italy. They have them here. Great. Finally I would ride a gondola. And so the Palines Clan and I went to Skyline to ride the Gondola. When we reached skyline I tried to take a look beyond the ticket line and I haven't seen any canal or any small boat. All I could see was the mountain and cable cars. And so I learned that gondolas are cable cars in Rotorua. Take a look at this video! Gondolas or cable cars would bring us on top of Mt Ngogotaha where we had the extensive views of Rotorua City, lake, geothermal activity and surrounding hinterlands. The kids were so excited to ride the Luge which they have been mentioning on our way to the Skyline. What is Luge? The Luge is a fun ride for all ages. A World 'First' proudly designed and built in Rotorua, the Luge is a fun filled ...