A Love, Lost and Found (Luis and Amelia)

This is a story of love that goes beyond the test of time.

Of a love that defies age and knows no boundaries.

Of a love that survives amid life’s adversities.

Of a love that’s selfless and infinite.

Of a love that’s resolute and true.

This is a story of a love, lost and then found.

And this, this is a real one. 

Lola Aurelia Matias (73 y.o.) and Lolo Luis Matias (78 y.o.) had been long married to each other for decades. Among their nine kids, two had already passed away. Lolo Luis suffers from dementia brought about by old age. Lola Aurelia, on the other hand is considerably robust. Back in the day, Lolo Luis wooed Lola Aurelia by singing her songs of Nat King Cole and Tom Jones and of course, Lola Amelia got swooned. Both young hearts in love, they decided to finally settle down. So they did and have since hurdled on every storm that their family had come across with. Lolo and Lola have been simply living on with their lives, holding on to each others arms. They knew they had their time and perhaps are aware of what lies ahead.

           Just when you think that they are done professing their love to each other in their lifetime, they prove us wrong.Love proves us wrong.

On the 11^th day of November, Lola Amelia, busy doing her laundry had left Lolo Luis upstairs after she fed and bathed him. Focused on her unfinished chore, she didn’t notice him come down the stairs and leave the house. She was worried after finding out that he was gone so she went on looking for him around the neighborhood, asking every person she could. But alas, no one knew where he went.

                He didn’t come home. He couldn’t come home.

A couple of days had passed, Lola, desperate and forlorn, searched for him wandering from the outskirts of the neighborhood, walking farther and further away, until she found herself in the bustling streets of the metro.  She only wanted one thing; to find Lolo, her one true love. Pinning Lolo’s picture on paper in front and at the back of her clothes, she gambles her life and races with time, hoping that someone would inform her of his whereabouts. 

Love always finds a way.

A man named Reddie Js, picked up on her, took her photo and posted it on a social networking site. Word got around and then finally, Lola got a lot of help. After almost two weeks of search, the day she was waiting for finally came. Lolo, wandering around the train station, was at last found. In no time, they were back in each others loving arms.

 “My love for him is immeasurable” – Lola Amelia, teary-eyed, expressed. “In sickness and in health, we will be together” – Lolo Luis’ response as they both hug each other. Their reunion was moving and inspiring. It makes us believe in the power of love. 

Finally and fortunately, this is how the story ended. Like the fairy-tales we grew up with, the prince found her princess. Only this time, it was she who found him, and of course with the help of thousands of today’s Fairy God-mothers and fathers.  Though it didn’t ended magically - with a missing glass slipper found, magic-mirror broken down, nor with sparks and fireworks above a castle high, most importantly the story of Lolo Luis and Lola Amelia ended HAPPILY.

And perhaps, EVER AFTER.. .

News Credits:
GMA News
ABS CBN News
Inquirer.net

The week that was . . .

Poster by Ryan Ray Merencillo

Nov 23 2011 marked the 2^nd Anniversary of the Maguindanao Massacre. 

     2 years ago, the entire world was in shock of what will soon be the most heinous and inhuman massacre of journalists: The slaughter of the Mangudadatu election envoy by the rival Ampatuan clan. Ending at a gruesome body count of 58 innocent civilians (34 were journalists), this will forever go down in history as the single deadliest event for journalists*.  2 years hence, still no justice. None from the accused Ampatuans are convicted and sentenced regardless if all witnesses point to them and all evidences lead to them. Sadly, knowing the kind of rotten judiciary system the country has, I am afraid that this case might possibly be forgotten and be forever swept under the rug. Still, let us not be hopeless.

Then and Now

 The circus that is the Philippine Politics

     The case of former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (in an unhealthy and sickly state) being barred from departure as publicized in every corner of the country is media frenzy at its best and worst. I thought that she does not deserve our sympathy after her crimes of graft and corruption but after much pondering, I realized that no, she may not deserve our sympathy but as humans and as educated people, she at least deserves compassion. I do not want her to leave but let’s let her recuperate and be healthy enough to face the accusations hurled against her. I applaud Leila de Lima (Commission on Human Rights Chair) but I fear that the present administration is alarmingly being vindictive and vengeful. Its obligation is towards the betterment of its country and its people. Thus, is in no position to be so, neither should we, the public be.

In Time – The latest movie I have seen.

     The idea is beautifully conceived and almost all elements are coherent to the futuristic theme except the landscape. BUT it adds another plus to the uniqueness of the concept. I love how the treatment of a futuristic world is not like any cliché sci-fi wherein the world is perceived to be full of flying cars, robots and laser lights. Instead, the movie portrays a classic, almost vintage setting. However, I personally think that all the beauty of the concept got lost in the chase. The denouement could have been more gripping or at least, it could have had a better ending. I give it 3 stars out of 5.

Happy Lemon – Newfound indulgence!

     Relatively young in the Philippine market but already giving the usual coffee beverages brands a head-on competition is the new franchise aptly named Happy Lemon. A break from caffeine-based frappes from Starbucks, Coffee-Bean etc, non-coffee drinkers will absolutely love their smorgasbord of choices!  I tried their cocoa with rock salt and cheese variant and it was yummy and palatable! Now, who ever thought you couldn’t drink cheese? 

Footnote: * - as how Wikipedia puts it 

11/11/11

After I got home and as I was about to sleep, I was contemplating on how the day has been and it was only later that I realized it was indeed a symbolic day of firsts as much as the date numerically suggests.  I thought that like any other day, it will just pass by and nothing really significant will happen. It was a scheduled off from my lousy job and my co-workers thought of trying ice-skating. So we met up at Mall of Asia where we braved ourselves in doing it for the first time in our twenty-something lives. Being in a tropical country, it’s not usual to have snow. Scratch that, we REALLY don’t have snow. So as follows, ice-skating is not as popular as any other sports like, say, basketball. Plus, I think there are only 2 places in the entire archipelago where you can go ice-skating.

So we rented our skates, knotted its shoelaces and entered the rink one by one. And there we were with our knees shaking and making fun of ourselves and each other. I never thought it was that hard (It looked easy the way I see it on movies and TV). We were like how babies are learning how to stand up and walk. For the first hour, we were just on the sides of the rink holding on to the wall. Let’s say it was also a day of embarrassment. Little kids were passing and gliding us by.  Since we paid for it, we thought that we really should learn, even at least just standing straight without the need of holding on to something or anything. Luckily there were guides and first-timers, too. So after another hour, we finally learned how to. And for the rest of it, we were already chasing each other – albeit slow and struggling in keeping our balance. It was a fun first time and we made it through the rain, er, the ice.

Leaving MOA and the ice rink, we thought of going somewhere for a drink. It was Friday night and traffic was hell and the rain made it even worse. Although it’s highly anticipated, EDSA highway looked like there was a street party - of cars, jeepneys and buses. It’s like not even a bicycle or a person can pass through the vehicle gaps. The train too was overly crowded and the lines were snake long and we just couldn’t bear lining up with all that density, heat and sweat. So we took the bus instead – a non-air conditioned one and thought of just chatting off the traffic.

The highway is notorious of 2 things: First, of its traffic (which we all know) and second, apparently of swindlers, snatchers and thieves. But theft does not happen every single time you course through the highway. So as we were scattered by two’s in different seats and were busy chatting, two peanut vendors came up the bus (a ride-to-ride occurrence and God knows how many vendors come up on every bus in EDSA, so nothing really suspicious about them until...). At one snap of a finger our heads turned at the back where we heard a shriek from one of my co-worker. Shockingly, one of the peanut vendors grabbed and tugged with her, her Blackberry phone, speedily running down the bus and disappearing through the horde of vehicles behind. We just stared at each other and gaped in disbelief and so did the other passengers. We never thought it would happen to us. It was heart-pounding and it left me with I-should-have-known thoughts but it happened. It was another first for us that day. We still drank after we got to our destination. Luckily, none of us were harmed. It could’ve ended worse. And all that feeling of shock, awe and loss went down every gulp of booze. So I guess we still made it through the rain after all.

Why my opinion counts, IF it counts: On "Praybeyt Benjamin"

1.        

      That the movie “Praybeyt Benjamin” is the top grossing Filipino film of all time.

I absolutely cannot fathom this. My senses revolt yet I also cringe at the very thought of it. What with our artistic prominence - as evident by our recent inclusions and our garner of accolades in various film festivals around the globe, should we be labeled for this commercial attempt at comedy? I say attempt because I accidentally saw the trailer and no particular amusement, rather any emotion, did it ever evoke from me. I say accidentally because the trailer was shown as filler preceding a movie I watched the last time. I did however, was able to predict the entirety of the plot. And NO, I am not going to watch it. The trailer is a dead give-away which easily translates to bad marketing strategy (I guess the 200 million peso gross in its 1^st week proves me wrong on this).

Pardon me for being high-brow but we; both as an audience and a people, deserve so much more than this. I am not in any way against the people who watched the movie and I am happy that finally our local cinema is being patronized more, but I am just against it representing the kind of taste that we have (or the kind of movie we "invest" our money and time on). There are more sensible films than this and I am definitely not against it because it is a comedic film as there are comedy films that are creatively and profoundly better thought of. “Kimmy Dora” and “Zombadings” are examples. Don’t get me wrong too, I don’t have anything against the movie and this is my subjectivity (and taste) speaking here but I do hope that when someone makes a list of the world’s top grossing films, I just don’t want us to be again and for the nth time, in a bad light. And although at times, I do get amused by Vice Ganda (the lead) with her (gender-sensitive here) antics on TV, I actually feel a degree of embarrassment for that person/people she makes fun of. I’d like to coin her comedic approach as “verbal slapstick”: slapstick, only verbal. Self-explanatory much, eh?

I know that being the top-grossing film of all time does not necessarily translate as the best film ever but wouldn't this say something about us as a people?

7th Billion is a PINOY

Sometimes, Fate has its own way of slapping us in the face with Irony. 

A couple of days ago, humanity’s 7^th billion was born in our very own country. As expected, the rest of the world was at watch. Now why to us and why here? Why couldn’t the baby be born in America, where the grass is perceived to be greener (at least to some Pinoys)? Or why not in China, where there is highly-significant economic progress? Or in Europe, Australia, Singapore and I could go on and on with every country that seems to be better in almost any aspect of living than the Philippines.

This event is symbolic as it is monumental. 

Perhaps the more appropriate question should be WHY NOW?

Why now when we are struggling economically, socially and I guess with almost everything.

Why now when there are more people getting hungry every day?

Why now when corruption has decayed even the very basic unit of our system?

Why now when life here is relatively not at its best?

         
            The timing is just perfect.

The answer is glaring right at our faces but we tend to look away. This is perhaps a reminder that we need to be keen on the issues our country is dealing at hand especially that of population control. That we need to stop being apathetic about how we are slowly killing our natural resources due to uncontrollable demand. And that we need to be more serious and vigilant about sustainable development. 

 We need to be involved.

The answer lies within us. We are the solution as much as we are the sole cause. We will be reaching  the 100 million mark population and there is obviously no stopping us. We need reproductive health reforms as we need responsible parenthood. We need to be educated and we need to be informed. We need to realize that we have to change for the better and not think backwards as what seems to be happening now. We need to look at the bigger picture and free ourselves from the bondage and blindness of self-righteousness. We need to ensure that there still will be a country called The Philippines for generations to come and that there will be HEALTHY people called Filipinos.

                 

         When the 7^th billion baby grows up, what kind of life would she and others after her would have? What kind of life would you want YOUR baby to have? So let’s ask ourselves, what do we really see now when we look around us? What will we do now for the world around us?

                 

            We know the answer, we see the answer.

We just look away.

The Jason Mraz Experience

The Poster

My Ticket

Finally. Someone REALLY worth watching. 

Though I learned a little too late that Mr. A-Z was coming, I told myself I should not miss it. Not this time, when someone who really makes REAL music is staging only a one-night show. And so I grabbed the chance.

 I only had a few days to save and I apparently was paying up for something so I wasn’t able to afford the front seat at 3,500 pesos which was considerably more affordable than other past acts. I was left with no option but to settle for general admission but I didn’t care. As long as I hear him sing live.

And so I did. And it was a beautiful experience. 

The crowd’s cheer got louder as the lights shone brighter signaling that the show was about to start. And then at one fleeting moment, there he was, the man of the night: Mr. Wordplay, Jason Mraz. Sporting what seemed to be a Jesus inspired look: scruffy beard, relatively long hair under a yellow bandana and wearing a shirt that says “peace”, was then joined on stage by Taco Rivera, who was as equally skillful with his percussion as to Jason with his guitar. As the very first pluck of strings resonated, the crowd roared and the dome thundered. On that ample-sized stage there were just the two of them, their instruments and their music. No blinding laser lights, tacky costumes and rowdy back-up dancers, just two men and their endearing yet commanding performance. I closed my eyes at almost each of the songs decrescendos as if I’m hearing him whisper right at my ear. And the crowd, like a baby being rocked softly in a cradle, swayed in unison. At one moment, memories of college came in fragments: How I TRIED mastering the guitar and memorizing the fast-paced, tongue-twisting song “The Remedy”. And I thought it was silly. What I felt and experienced at that night was surreal, never mind how far I was from the stage. I was present for only one thing: his artistry.

I would say that his is a simple and humble passion that separates him from his contemporaries. That his music may just be music for the common folk but it is at the very least, prose and at best, poetry for true-blue fans like me. And yes, at that night, I was not alone. I was with fellow fans. There were numerous individuals who stood up and danced by themselves because they came only by themselves and they didn’t care. And then the rest of the crowd were of lovers; holding hands and leaning on each others shoulders, being serenaded on with perhaps one of their love songs. Then there were families; of dads and moms sharing good and quality music to their kids. And then there were friends; singing gleefully in chorus atop their lungs, never minding if it was in tune or not. And then I remembered my friends and how I wish they could’ve experienced it with me how ecstatic the night was.

The concert was capped-off by the multitude of crowd singing along the song “I’m Yours”. Towards the end, almost everybody had already stood up, gathered closer to the stage cheering and applauding, some asking for more and some thanking Jason Mraz profusely for the night. Oh that beautiful night, when everybody was loved. 

Yes, I was this far . . .

The best my BB phone could

Side note:

We brought our DSLR camera but it wasn’t allowed inside (hello???) and my cam phone’s zoom feature was no good, so unfortunately no good pictures for me. Many people brought their DSLR’s and were complaining, too.

Smart Araneta Coliseum (with its interior and acoustics) is a LETDOWN. Is this really the best that we have? (Paging Manny Pangilinan for renovation)

I love my sis for paying for our tickets. I owe her this experience.