Goodies from Spain

My friends are back from Spain after they attended the World Youth Day 2011 celebrations in Madrid. Sure they had a blast and the next one will be in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for WYD 2013. Being Filipinos, it's an inherent trait for them to bring some goodies for those who were left at home. Oh how I love receiving pasalubongs! No matter how small. Kahit na ballpen lang yan na libreng pamigay dun, sobrong saya ko na niyan! Because it's always the thought that counts. Madali akong kausap when it comes to pasalubong. So I was ecstatic when they handed me the goodies!


Sorry for the poor image quality. I used my webcam in taking these photos.

    All the goodies I got from my friends!

 These two were special requests. Filipinos (I know right?) are chocolate coated cookies. It also comes in white chocolate. It was first introduced to me by my friend, who brought me some during his visit to Madrid. It has become my favorite since then. I had five packs of Filipinos and two packs of peach juice or melocoton, as they call it in Spanish. They were all brought in by my friend, Nelson.

 I was also given these books that were distributed to all the delegates and they even gave extra so hakotan na talaga! The yellow book is YOUCAT or Youth Cathechism, its a personal gift from Pope Benedict XVI. It's a big help for the mission and in cultivating personal faith since it answers questions about the Catholic faith. The blue book is a Pilgrim Book, consist of prayers and meditations during the event.

The back of the Pilgrim Book bears the text MAGNIFICAT, the name of my Marian Group. That's just lovely!


Even though I didn't make it to the WYD in Madrid, I still got the chance to experience it up close through the things that my friends brought home and their stories. I am grateful to have such thoughtful friends, iba parin yung feeling ng naa-alala ka nila in the midst of an overwhelming experience like WYD. Kasi may mga kaibigan talagang sadyang nakakalimot. I'm grateful that I was spared from having such friends, if any, they are no longer in my life. Ha! So, many thanks for the goodies and the love!          






                  

Tacloban Weekend: Day One

As you may have figured out, I'm in Tacloban. A city situated right at the heart of Eastern Visayas, home to the  infamous San Juanico bridge and my hometown. The last time I came home was about two month ago just before school began, so when I figured from the school calendar that we would have a three-day weekend, I immediately booked a flight so I can spend time with Ma and the rest of the fambam. Plus, I was really looking forward to relaxing, which is hard to have when you are in the big city (unless you go to the spa). Though, Tacloban is a city in itself, it still has the countryside feel to it. New shops, clubs, restaurants and a mall opened in the recent years and the old ones also did a little upgrade. You can see development everywhere and what's good about it is that there is less traffic and we still have fresh air (thank God!).

Today (but, by the time I post this, it'll be the next day), I spent the entire morning at home, checked the whole house, played with the dogs and helped in the chores and all. I had a chat with my uncle (my mom's older brother) over lunch, it's our way of updating each other really. In the afternoon, I went for a trip to the mall which is a five-minute ride from home. Robinson's Place was the best thing that has ever happened to southerner's like me, since, most of the things have been happening in the northern part of the city (we call it downtown) for ages. 

   There was not too many shoppers so, the mall wasn't that crowded.

    The view from the 2nd level.

                      This girl is actually wearing the same school uniform that I wore back in high school.
                      Nostalgic!

                       Ma met up with me after work for some pizza. 

    My outfit was laid back and comfortable with flip flops, of course.


I'll head downtown for my Day Two, the place just screams authentic Tacloban culture. I'll write a post about it tomorrow so you'll see what I'm talking about.




Edit: I couldn't go out of the house for Day Two, it rained all day. SAD:(

Midnight Soundtrip

My computer clock reads 12:40 a. m. and yet here I am still wide awake. I can't sleep just yet, so much was going on during the day and I just need to cool things down. Being nocturnal allows me to keep up in times like this. I don't mind being up this late. I have music playing on the background to keep me company. This isn't one of those emotional nights so you can stop worrying, guys. I just need to take a pause and breathe it all in. I just wanna stop talking and take time to listen, just listen to the things around me, recall what happened during the day and assess myself if everything I did was worth it. Did I make good choices? Did I make sense? It's good to end the day with these questions and answer them with firm yeses. 

I can never exchange the solemn silence of midnight for any kind of silence there is in the world. Knowing that everyone is asleep and the place is quiet gives me so much peace. I don't have a schedule for doing this, I just do it when my mind tells me to. We need to be in a certain silence to communicate with ourselves and get our choice of music to keep us company, that way we don't have to feel that we are alone. It is always rewarding to reconnect. (Sigh) So much for tonight. I have to get myself to bed soon. I'll stay in this moment for a little while before I hit the sack. Meanwhile, I'll share with you the music that's keeping me company tonight. I must warn you the are quite old songs. Shoot me. You don't have to like them. :))

 How about you, what keeps you up at night, my friend?

Image from favim.com