Piyesta sa PICC

Alone among thousands of attendees standing up for one God.

I just got home from attending The Feast at PICC for the first time. ‘The Feast’ is a catholic prayer meeting of the Light of Jesus Family headed by its founder, Bro. Bo Sanchez. The Feast also welcomes non-members like me who simply wants to attend a mass, praise and sing for God and listen to testimonies and practical advice on becoming a holistically-better son of man and of God.

Fr. Tituz  Mananzan, SVD celebrated the Holy Eucharist. Before he asked us to sit down, he mentioned we were there- I was there- because God planned for us to be there. He wanted us to partake in the celebration. And then there came the first wave of my suppressed tears. I could not believe the feeling. I have been attending Feast at SM Manila for almost a year now and I am sincerely distressed by doing such, however, the PICC experience gave me an overwhelming sense of blessings and comfort.

YOUNIQUE

The title of the four-part series for the month of August is YOUNIQUE. In simple terms, it aims to help attendees identify the facets that make them unique; a standout; without having to neither conform nor imitate; uniquely created in the liking of the Father.
Part one is about my personality. I found out that mine is mainly Sanguine which is characterized by a great sense of humor, cheerful bearings, trustworthiness and loyalty. I totally affirm that. Part two talks about my birth order. Being a second child, I possess the ‘de-identify’ mentality. That is, not to take the same path that my older sister took. Again, I affirm to that. Part three is my childhood. In here Bro. Bo said that nothing just happens. Indeed, my past was not perfect, but it was perfect for my purpose. Now I am three times affirmative.


PART FOUR

The part four talks about my mission. In here, Bro. Bo identified the means of achieving my mission similar to that needed when playing a bow and arrow- it requires alignment. The bow is my passion, the arrow as potentials, and the apple (an ancient symbol for target in archery) is my purpose or mission in life. 

Here is how it works:

The bow is the passion. As humans, we possess this ceaseless desire to be good at something, may it be at work, in sports, in parenting, or in business-, among others.  However felt, it will not work if it will not be put into actions. A man need to fuel his passion, he needs motivation, the driving force. So much so that it is not enough to simply hold a bow, but to stretch it as tight as I can to achieve a powerful catapult. 

The arrow is the symbol for our potentials. I may have the abilities or intelligence to excel in one thing yet if I do not practice nor hone it, nothing will happen too. Like when using an arrow, an archer may have the perfect projectile, but considering that the arrow is bent or blunt, it will not hit the target.

The apple is the purpose. It is what we strive to achieve in life. When we stretch the bow hardly, achieve the perfect angle, fixate a sharp, strong arrow, we will hit our target. 


SUPERSTAR ME

Another notable point from Bro. Bo- he believes, and so do I- that God has given us a unique gift that make us a Superstar in our own world. He admitted that he is not the world’s best preacher, but to his own world, he is. He is the best when you look for a preacher who is (1) Lay, (2) Catholic, (3) Married, (4) Practical, (5) both Funny and Corny, (6) Storytellers, (7) English- speaking; he actually explained why he is poor in Tagalog, and (8) who have mole on the left cheek.

I realized that I can be a superstar, too. I may not be the best guy there is, but I am a superstar in the world of guys who are (1) bookworms, (2) honor graduates, (3) has many girl friends, (4) eligible bachelors, (5) with great sense of humor and entertainment, (6) life of a party, (7) writers, (8) sincere, (9) with edgy jaw lines, (10) not so tall at all. That is my niche! I am such a star!


CORE STRENGTH

Just a quick review of Bro. Bo’s talk regarding core strength; one must identify his strengths and weaknesses. In order to be a superstar in your own knighted rights, focus on your strength and forget your weaknesses. When one tries to develop his weaknesses, he can only be as good as C or C+. However, when one nurtures his strengths, he becomes an A or A+. 

I would have to say that while I agree that we should focus on our strength, it is also valuable not to forget your weaknesses because they make us more humane and vulnerable. They remind us of a gap that we are forever in search of. And whatever they may be that we lack in the physical world, God can provide.

He cited further that the problem with the education system is that students are trained to be a jack of all trades, but master of none. In this sense, students are being taught to be good at all subjects offered in the curriculum and they grow up being mediocre in all of them. With this, I instantly thought of thanking TESDA for providing technical and vocational skills to the underprivileged. Yes, it may be weird, but come to think of it, TESDA is very much appreciated by millions because it gives its students a chance to be skilful in something others are not. Given that most of them have feared the academe, they are being offered a detour on the way to a livelihood, hence stability. They could be superstars in their own world, too.


I AM FULL

Prior to going to the Feast, I have never felt so full (busog)- spiritually speaking. I was in a feast where everybody is invited. We were offered a buffet of faith, love, and thanksgiving. We said a lot of prayer during the three-hour meals. I chit-chatted with new found acquaintances.  And you know what’s forever good about this Feast- I will never get stomach ache because I know who the Cook is. 

Pencil Awareness 2


Kakauwi lang namin galing sa Manila Doctors Hospital. Hindi ko alam kung anong nararamdaman ko.Hindi ko talaga gusto ang nangyari. Nagpapasalamat na lang ako kasi naagapan ang mga kailangang agapan sa mama ko. Pero hanggan kailan aagapan? Hindi ba pwedeng sa umpisa ay iwasan na agad? 

Naghahanap ako ng 'funny moment' habang naka-confine ang mama ko, pero wala eh. Ang dami kasi naming hinarap- ung napakalakas na habagat na pumilay sa trapiko ng kamaynilaan (at ng halos buong Luzon at Visayas), yung schedule naming lima na nagpapalitang magbantay sa kanya, yung gastos na isang linggo lang tumungtong na ng otsenta mil, at yung pag-iisip na uuwi ka ng bahay at hindi kayo kumpleto- yung isip ko nasa Room 517A ng MaDocs.


Agad- agad

Gawa nga ng trabaho ko, kinailangan naming tumulong sa mga nasalanta ng baha sa maraming lugar sa Luzon. Bumili kami ng mga relief goods, nag-compute, nag-impake, bumiyahe nang pagkatagal-tagal, at nag-abot ng 400 relief bags- paumpisa lang yan. Maganda sa pakiramdam ang nakaktulong, pero kung may pagkakataon lang, ayoko na muna, mas gugustuhin kong magbantay sa mama ko sa hospital. 

Itong buwan ng Agosto, medyo hindi ko nagustuhan ang mga kailangan naming pagdaanan. Ako at ang mga magulang ko ay kinailangang magpa-check up para sa kung anu-anong kumplikasyon na baka nga isang sakit. Salamat na lang at wala namang nakitang malala. At yung kay mama- uulitin ko- naagapan ang sa kanya.


At 21

At 21 years old, nagulat ako at kinailangan ko nang magpa-ECG at 2DEcho para masolusyunan ang occasional chest pains at shortening of breath ko.Aba, teka?! -laging reaksyon ng mga doktor- ang bata mo pa?!

After all the medical procedures, wala pa rin. Normal naman daw. So ano ito? ah alam ko na-STRESS. Napapansin ko nga, sa tuwing hindi ko nagugutuhan ang mga nangyayari o ayoko na ng ginagawa ko, may nananakit sa kin-puso, batok, utak...kung anu ano.


Hinga.Kalma.Dasal.

Sa kabila ng lahat ng hirap ko, lagi kong iniisip na importanteng wag kong makalimutan ang huminga, kumalma, at magdasal. Ako ay isang anak ng Diyos- hindi niya ako pinapabayaan. Wala siyang problemang ibinibigay na hindi ko kayang solusyunan. 

Sabi nga, Why worry when I can pray? at tsaka Pray Until Something Happens (PUSH).

Anu pa man ang kailangan naming pagdaanan balang araw, tatapatan ko yan ng panalangin at pasasalamat. 


Haaay...may the best procedure (medical vs. spiritual) wins!


Hindi ito ang first time na dumaan na naman ang utak ko sa kahirapan- eto yung una na nai-blog ko  http://whenpencilwrites.tumblr.com/post/14055799037/pencil-awareness 

My 5-in-1 Summer

Do you know what I did last Summer? Well, I went on outings- yes, with an S. I beat the summer heat with five of them :)

Harley's 7th Birthday at Pansol, Laguna (Apr 21)

Harley is my first god son from a cousin. During his birthday's prelude, we partied overnight at their place. Honestly though, I only enjoyed the eating and picture takings. I did not drink. Instead, I finished reading "The Giver" by Lois Lowry- one of the finest childrens' book author I read.

The morning after, I simply enjoyed the day with both Sarabia and Figueroa clans. Of course, we were delighted by the children surrounding us- especially our favorite nephew- Howen :)

Baby Precious' Baptismal/ Porwan Trek at Cuenca, Batangas (May 20)

Baby Precious is the first born of my high school friend, Rose. We were invited to be her god parents. We saw it as an opportune time for a mini-reunion. There were eleven of us during that two-day trip.

The highlight of our trip is the Lumampao Trek- going down to and up from the foot of Taal Lake. We devoted thousands of steps to and from the location but given the chance, I would surely do that again. 

It was such a stress- reliever and I am so grateful to be with nature during that time; especially because the day after, I turned 21.

 

Megaworld's Company Outing at White Rock, Zambales (May 25)

This outing is the farthest yet the most boring among the five I have been. Why? Because we served as organizers for this event. We catered to the needs of more than a thousand employees of our company.

Unlike other outings which overemphasize DISTRESS and LEISURE, I had to hurdle with 2:00 A.M. call time, transportation committee duties, and whole day (pre,during, and post-) work. No swimming, only working; all for their happiness.

Nevertheless, it is one way of God telling me to work hard first, and I knew that there will be another chances for me.

Megaworld's HR-CSR Outing at Pansol, Laguna (Jun 23) 

A month after organizing an event for the company, we had our own. It is a simple gathering in very child-friendly private pool. If I would rate this event with 10 being the highest and 1 as lowest, it would be:

6 for satisfaction/ 10 for the billiards/ 9 for the food/ 5 for the bonding... it's a so-so.

I am just thankful to at least be given another two days to relax together with life-size characters from disney, nickelodeon, avengers, and real-life HR-CSR peeps. By the way, I will not discredit my time with CSR while we were preparing the lunch.

Megaworld's Audit-CSR-Executive Team Building at Shercon Resort, Batangas (Jul 28)

And to put an end to my long-lived summer, I joined the Audit-CSR-Executive team building activity. I have to be honest in saying that prior to my participation, I was pissed off with my team- because all of them have other things to do/ in mind. Hence, they were not able to experience what I did. It is indeed ironic to join a team building without all of my team mates.

What made me decide to join is my craving for new acquaintances and the exciting part of being a stranger for two days among bonded groups. I told myself to be real and find time to enjoy and relax. It was just hard because there were moments when I wish my teammates could have been with me, too.

Nevertheless, I eagerly participated in the activities and the bonding sessions. I was also pleased to make friends with some of the scholars of Megaworld Foundation. 

Overall, it was such a great way to end my summer spree.

Prior to having my first work, I saw summer as a means to relax,free your mind and spirit, and get gladly,soaking wet. Never did I imagine that there will be one summer when I will be experiencing all of these for five times, technically speaking.

With this blog and the heavy rain pouring on to the Philippines today due to hanging habagat (not typhoon yet), I officially bid summer goodbye!

'Til we meet again, sun!

The Not-So-Green Archers

I spent my Thursday afternoon 'til evening looking for prospective high school scholars from De La Salle- Adult Nigh High School in Green Hills. To us, it is a new road to take on since for almost a decade now, we only support college students.

Overview

DLS-ANHS is not the main school for teenage Green Archers. It is the education facility for the underprivileged who were not able to attain secondary education. Hence, most of them are way past their teenage years.

School starts at 3:00 P.M. and ends by 9:30 P.M. Students take up the usual high school subjects complete with technical- vocational skills.

If a student is enrolled in ANHS since his first year, he will then be receiving Php 500.00 monthly for the rest of his stay in the institution. This allowance is from the government. Meanwhile, enrollees have to pay for an estimate of Php 300.00 for their tuition fees.

The Encounter

Upon completion of their application forms and exams, Sir Mike and I were excited to get to know them. 

Among the remarkable students that night was a former personal assistant of a sexy star turned notable character actress. During his stint as her assistant, he is succumbed to pot sessions as per invitation of this actress.

Next to him is a kidney transplant patient who utterly hates his older sister because of her wrongdoings. As per my boss, science proves that persons who have gone through kidney transplants are likely to suffer from schizophrenia- a mental disorder manifested by breakdown of thought processes and poor emotional responsiveness.  Basing on what I saw and what he told us, this guy has anger management issues. I hope he does not develop into a full blown schizo, though.

We also had one student who tried his luck in Mandaluyong all the way from Bulacan, only to find his father who, to his surprise is a regular in-and-out inmate for drug trafficking. He used to live with his stepmother who almost killed him. He escaped and struggled in the streets and in orphanages until DLS Center for Street Children taught him.

For the girls, most of them are house maids/ house helpers. Luckily, all of their employers are very supportive of their studies. One said that she needs a scholarship because "ayaw ko naman maging katulong habambuhay;" tear- jerking words from someone who aspires to change her course in life. 

Meanwhile, when I asked a single mother-of-three why she doesn't want to change anything in her life, her quick reply is "kasi po nagbago na 'ko".She is from Cagayan Valley; had 2 kids from her late partner and 1 kid from a married man working in San Miguel. Mind you- his recent partner has two other families. 

I would also like to single out this 32- year old staff worker who wants to take up Accountancy in college. Our concern is mainly the mismatch in his interest vis-a-vis his competence. As much as we wanted to help him, we do not see him as a very good educational and business investment. We are however happy that his kins are proud of him because next year, he will be graduating from High School.

After a grueling six hours of work, I struggled to contain my emotions and I felt so grateful that at age 19, I finished college with honors without having so much trouble to deal with, financially-speaking. (Oh, thank you public school system!) These students have been street children, house maids, bagger, staff, masseuse, etc. yet they know the value of education and as elusive as it may seem, they continue looking for ways to achieve it. In the hope that one day, they too, could be successful.

I hope that in small ways, I could help change their lives. My epiphany: if a person has a school to study to, he is considered a pupil. But if a person has a dream to prepare for, he then becomes a student.

Good News

Last June 20, Manila Bulletin called me and congratulated my entry to their Write To Fame promo (Travel Category) which got into the Top 3. My article won't get to be published though I still got two cinema tickets.

Last night, while I was walking amidst the rain, ABS CBN called me and advised that I am already shortlisted for the Scriptwriting Workshop headed by master writer and personal favorite, Ricky Lee. Immediately after that, I ran back to the office and shared the good news to my teammates.

Good thing they do know how to spoil and support me.

Meanwhile, I will be waiting for my exam and interview. I hope and pray that I could be able to make it big this time.

Thank you for reading. Pardon my blogging.

#Overwhelmed

 

An Ode To The Scribes

While waiting to get a haircut last Sunday, I browsed through a copy of Pilipino Star Ngayon and read an interesting article commending the value of writers to the society:

Ang pagsusulat 

PILANTIK Ni Dadong Matinik (Pilipino Star Ngayon) Updated July 01, 2012 12:00 AM

Pagsusulat pala’y magandang ugali

na taglay ng mga dakilang bayani;

Panulat ni Rizal saka ni Mabini

nagbigay ng dangal sa bayan at lahi!

Bukod sa kanila marami pang iba

na sa pagsusulat ay naging dakila;

Sa ngayo’y nariyan ang maraming diwa

ang mga sinulat ay yaman ng bansa!

Maraming editor at mga reporter

nabuhay, namatay tapat na supporter;

Nang mabuting puso’t gawaing matuwid

na sa buong bansa ay dapat mabatid!

Mga nagsusulat ng nobela’t kwento

ay kinikilala sa lahat ng dako;

Ating nakikita sa TV at radio

kanilang sinulat may aral na ginto!

Mga komentaryo mabuti’t masama

sa dyaryo’t magasin ating nababasa;

Kaya ang magsulat talagang maganda

ideya ng puso nalaman ng bansa!

Mga photographer sa lahat ng lugar

ang kamera nila nagbibigay-linaw;

Sa larawang kuha sa mga lansangan –

nasa caption nito ebidens’yang tunay!

Ang mga sakuna’t malagim na krimen

nailalarawan ng batikang writer;

Kaya sa husgado’y nagbibigay-pansin

sa tamang notasyon ng clerk na magaling!

Kaya ugali kong magsulat ng tula

sa gabi at araw aking ginagawa;

Ito ang gawaing sa akin ay akma

ay dito’y kabilang – Diyos na Dakila!

Ang mga composer, mga mang-aawit

lubha ring maganda ang kanilang hilig;

Kung sila ay wala sa ating daigdig

sa duyan ang sanggol ay di maghihilik!

Old fashioned. True.

Jim Paredes Tweets Back

This Sunday morning is both relaxing, and inspiring.

Earlier, I was tuned in to the live streaming of the The Feast at PICC. I constantly felt light and happy hearing Bro. Bo Sanchez on the background, and watching hundreds of attendees today- all worshiping our Divine Master.

Sidenote: He promoted helping He Cares Foundation, founded by Bro. Joe. He Cares is a personal favorite because it was the first foundation I went to for a feeding program as a Corporate Social Responsibility representative of Megaworld Foundation, Inc. Add to that was I did my first storytelling for street children about The Prodigal Son.

Meanwhile, on Twitter, artist Jim Paredes tweeted his article on Philippine Star which centers on the topic of Secret Doubt. As per him, secret doubt is revealed whenever we feel we are not good enough, bright enough, worthy enough, deserving enough to feel otherwise.

Julia Cameron, author of the book The Artist's Way, says secret doubt is what we all harbor deep down that makes us feel we do not deserve to lead creative lives. It is the 'doubt that we are really creative and deserving of the care we need.'

I then had an epiphany: I possess Secret Doubts. Whenever I feel like I should let go and be creative (write, read, think), something says stop, relax, leave it for tomorrow, or maybe next week. There were more moments when I feel that nobody would read my entries. Hence, the effect I wanted to instill to my readers would not be possible.

Like Jim Paredes, I just constantly remind myself that I am worthy of the recognition I receive because the Lord gave me the essentials, and I can reach whatever it is I dream of. Paredes puts it in a highly thoughtful way though, “I carry within me the Creator’s DNA and so I can’t help but be creative; that I am a force of good; and that I am capable and powerful enough to create things and situations in images and likeness that reflect the greatness of the Greatest Artist of All."

Upon reading this, I replied to him on twitter and surprisingly, he thanked me. I was sincerely more than happy to be noticed by one of my idols:

For more of Jim Paredes, visit his blogsite : http://haringliwanag.pansitan.net/

Porwan's Great Lumampao Trek

The summer season is over yet the feeling of my recent spree with high school friends remains warm.

Last May 20-21, I went to Cuenca, Batangas, together with my high school friends, to serve as god parents to Rose’s daughter. However, we saw the occasion as most fitting for a mini- reunion and summer escapade.

There were twelve of us who endured the two-hour travel just to see the picturesque Mt. Maculot as backdrop of my friend’s house. Equipped with our digital cameras and missed friendship, we walked up to the foot of Mt. Maculot and clicked the shutters like we don’t have two days to fill.

By night time, we dived and swam in a local resort and my friends surprised me with a birthday cake because on May 22, I turned twenty-one; a should-be responsible man. I could not have chosen better people surrounding me during my birthday’s prelude.

The following day, Rose accompanied us to a trek called Lumampao. Locals say it takes a thousand steps to reach the lake of Taal, the infamously active volcano in Batangas. In fact, we devoted a thousand steps going down the forest and another thousand going back up. But I would gladly do it again if only to see Batangas’ floras, fauna, and to experience reaching the lake while laughing, chatting, and sweating with long-missed friends.

We were running as we saw houses by the lake. All our efforts was worth the scenery: peaking sunrays, blue lake, dinaing, boats painted with ‘sariling sikap’ signs, locals, and to our surprise, sweet scattered mangoes fallen from generous trees. We then thought we needed energy to burn while going up. And so we picked up ripe mangoes from nearby the shore, washed them in the poso, and devoured like we have not tasted mangoes in our lives yet. Every bite was delightful since it was a product of hard work and eaten together with trusted buddies. A caution though; make sure to ask the locals first before you do anything in their place. If you do so, you could also be treated with a plastic of mangoes like us.

We didn’t mind swimming in the lake because for one it was exactly noontime, and secondly, we only have our umbrellas, water bottles, fans, towels and cheerful bearings. No extra clothes, only extra cameras.

If you have friends living in Batangas or you can afford board and lodging expenses, I highly recommend trying Lumampao trek with your friends. If you want to lose those carbs, better do it with your buddies. If you want to be adventurous, do it in Batangas first, so you won’t have to worry being away from the Metro.

I have previously done trekkings in Davao and Mt. Makiling in Laguna. However, my Lumampao Trek topped the list because of the place, the food, and the people I rediscovered. Do not just beat the summer heat. Actually, trek amidst the summer heat.

Segue: I submitted this article to Manila Bulletin's Write To Fame promo (Travel Category) and it got into the Top 3! It didn't get to publishing, however, I got two cinema tickets :)

for more pictures, visit the ff:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3324315755699.2129526.1502542687&type=1

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.444795502199938.109141.100000084778196&type=1

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.469898696358785.128807.100000159761921&type=1

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.468483159833672.128566.100000159761921&type=1

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3921381442426.2173030.1516265191&type=1