Wanderlust

Flickering light, rattling rusty steel bars, gust of wind dark as night, smell of hell, suffocating sight, I know i'm just on a Jeepney running fast.

Sonnet to a Mother Sweet-scented robes that fold Wrapped your snow white sole, no woman will surpass the beauty you hold; Your eyes behold by every man. Children adore you with May flowers that filled the air with fragrance Nor Venus, her beauty nor Athena's wisdom can exceed your puissance In your womb the Redeemer without sins Mother of the sacrificial sheep Who shed blood for our sins When my angel summoned me to the dead please, Mother, stay and pray beside my bed

Leaning on the car glass window that separated us from the smoke of Marikina City's traffic, I stared at a familiar building... A while ago I was playing in Marikina Sports Center. Just across the road is the E. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital. Twenty-three years ago, as my mom told me on one of our bedtime stories, at this same date and that same hospital she (my mom)- with my father was one of that hospital patients. My mother was giving birth to her firstborn son. After a day of laboring, I was born... Who could tell that after 23 long years that fragile, little and weak baby will come back and will play in the sports center just across the hospital where he had his first gasp of air??

           Teaching English is a booming business. Many English Academies sprung up in the many parts of the archipelago. No wonder many are attracted to this promising career – thought our teachers in school tell us that no one gets rich in teaching. My friend who is a nurse told me that, if she had known that English teacher will be in demand, she would have taken education, not nursing.            Skyrocketing unemployment rate in the Philippines urges some to try this job even though, teaching is not really their profession, e.g. Nurses, Engineers, Tourism, etc. Maybe for some, teaching English and being an English teacher is a good chance to earn a decent salary.            I have been teaching English for over two years now and I can say that I love my work. It’s not the alluring income plus the bonus of meeting foreigners that keep me in this kind of job. Although I mus...

With my Pre-school classmates singing our recognition song One day I checked my facebook - as I do daily, for updates. My attention was caught by this picture tagged by my former classmate in elementary. After all these years, we have still connected to each other; thanks to Facebook. I realized how fast time rushes in. This is our recognition picture in Kindergarten. We were singing our recognition song here with our Teacher as the conductor. I couldn't remember everything but I'm sure this moment is full of excitement and wonder; Excitement for the next school year in another school and wonder for what could be waiting for us there. I 'm an honor student (My Mom is proud of that ^^ ) so our teacher asked me to deliver a poem on our recognition day. I couldn't remember myself saying "YES" to my teacher. My mom did. But I did the task anyway. Of course, my ever-helpful "mama" helped me memorized the three-stanza poem - five lin...

 When it rains, especially during the rainy season, some parts of my College become flooded.  During my time as a student, I had to attend my evening classes with my feet soaked in the rain  water; Pants and shoes - which I spent some time polishing, smirched with mud.. ^^ imagine  the discomfort while having a class... :) When the first drop of rain fell today, this  unforgettable memory returns ^^

Sometimes I ask myself. Why God let me experience pain? a Catholic Missionary I met in our village,  told me that God doesn't want us to be in pain. Anything that is painful is due to our sins. God's trying to push me to my limit (a limit that only I created) and snatch me from mediocrity. It's painful because I resist God's will. The process of moving on is not that easy. But, Why should I fear changes and goodbyes if these things are for my own good? I was so stupid neglecting Gods "loving touch". I didn't realize that it is a purifying Pain. The pain of Love. Like a parent who cares for his/her child. After all, GOD is concerned about me and He cares.