One more

May oras pa ba ako para sa isa pang blog?

Ang mga papel, laptop, at libro nga ang katapat ko ng ilang linggo na.
Laman ng aking mga panaginip at pangamba.
Ito dapat ang tapusin ko at hindi magsimula ng iba.
Ngayon, at now na!!!

Hihirit pa ba ako? Napatula na nga ako kaya eto na ang unang blog entry ko! Hay!

All Souls Day

Our words immortalized in Ling's work in granite.

We remember our dead today. We look back at the last days but we try to forget all that which caused us doubt, confusion, and pain. We recall how we smiled at the foibles of old age. The scent of tears, we smell when we glimpse once again the last attempts at living.

We forget. We weep. We forgive. And we love forever.





(See http://tibok.multiply.com for Ling's other works )

The Look

There's a story behind the look. Someone described me in this picture as "radiantly beautiful". But this person might think twice about saying it again if it were revealed how the image of me got that way. Well, the secret is about to unfold.

A request from the editor of a glossy fashion magazine for a columnist from our department was referred to me by my boss. With little hesitation, I agreed to write an advice column and one of the requirements was I had to submit a picture they would put with the column. So after I had written, submitted, and edited the final version of the column, my work got the editor's approval. But not the ID picture I submitted along with the column. It was too teacherly, perhaps. Not consistent with the image of glamor they wanted to project.

So they scheduled me for a photo shoot. Huh, me in a photo shoot?! What happens there? What do I need to do? What clothes should I wear? PANIC! But the editor told me to just relax and they would take care of everything.

And take care of everything they did. The shirt in the picture is theirs, way too large for me but held back behind me by a bulldog clip to make it appear it fits me perfectly. The lips are Angela Jolie-like (Well, not really!) because of something called "Venom". It's like a balm applied to the lips which plumps it up (As warned, it did sting a little). My straight-as-a-pin hair was made even straighter by a straightening iron. And smeared with gel in some places to make stray wisps of hair behave. Of course, there's the foundation and blush expertly applied to disguise the brown spots and wrinkles and instead show in-the-pink-of-health cheeks. And then the eye make-up to open up my eyes some more! Even my smile disguised my wicked thoughts then. "Why am I subjecting myself to all these just to be able to see my words in print in a magazine?"

Yes, this picture was a result of a conspiracy to fool those who would behold it! But you might think that surely there is something in the picture that is genuine. Oo naman - my shoulder, the color of my hair, and my pearls!

So those of us who admire the models and actresses with seemingly blemish-free skin in the magazines, think again!!! If an ordinary person like me could be made to look this way, how much so with the celebrities whose bread and butter depends on looking glamorous and divine?

And incidentally, the magazine never came out (But that's another story)!

Did Freddie Join Us?

Seems irreverent to think of Freddie as a moth... small, brown, seemingly inconsequential. Why not a large, grand Monarch butterfly instead? But they said that would have made it hard for him to get inside Kalye Juan and join in our celebration. Oo nga naman!

And come to think of it, that was how Freddie was. A puny-looking, quiet man hiding the National Artist who used his words to portray his anything-but-grand view of the world!

I think he enjoyed our company that night. I think he was mighty proud of all that we had become. Love you, Freddie!

Photo by Fe Muit

Mactan Island

Ang mga puno sa isla ng Mactan, Katatagan ng mga Pinagbuklod-buklod!

The KIWI

He knew what he wanted. He knew his physical limitation yet he circumvented this. He knocked down all the stumbling blocks in his life. He did not give up. He toiled long and hard. He shed a tear for his triumph. Not allowing the prospect of death to get in the way of his dream!

I envy the KIWI!

The Ego, ignored

I read an entry in one blog which said that the Ego holds one back from expressing his creativity. That is probably true for me. I want to create art but I am always so afraid it will not pass the aesthetic standards of people . Well, most especially because I happen to have a sibling who is an artist! Like most things that I do and say, I am afraid I will be judged negatively. So, I always keep to the safe side of the road. Seldom venturing into the exciting but dangerous beyond-the-limit land. The ego, personified!

But I have come to a point in my life that reacquainting myself with my Id seems like a good idea. No longer afraid of being ridiculed or criticized. No longer hostage to my high Agreeableness score in the Big 5 (After all, I also have a high Openness score!). No longer caring if my work pales in comparison to L's.

And so the attempt to capture the flowers in Sonya's garden. And so the (so unlike me) vibrant colors. And so I unveil my art!

"The Ego produces Resistance and attacks the awakening artist." (Steven Pressfield The War of Art)