Jandrea...so far

Performance artist near the  Sacre Couer Basilica in Paris  For my SJC Classmates... Memento mori is a Latin phrase translated as "Remember your mortality", "Remember you must die" or "Remember you will die" It names a genre of artistic work which varies widely, but which all share the same purpose: to remind people of their own mortality. As far as I'm concerned, the work of art that constantly reminds me of my mortality is the face and body I see in the full-length mirror daily. When I peer into my likeness, there is no doubt that I'm inching my way slowly into mortality. But there was a better way of convincing me that this was true. Since the last few weeks after my birthday in September,  I have been busy with my annual physical examination. The results have been trickling in, one by one, and my feelings  remind me of my Little Girl Self anxiously waiting to open my  gifts on Christmas eve.  When I did get to read all of th...

Tree in the Academic Oval For the last 17 years, I've been having a affair... with teaching... at UP. Being a teacher at UP has always made me feel like I'm in a forbidden romance. Many days, I  feel giddy just being here but for an equal amount of days, I feel unworthy to be part of such an illustrious institution.  As an undergraduate student,  I was in awe of my professors. There they were, up in the star-decked sky and I could only marvel at their brilliance from my place among the riffraff of the academic world. Although I grew up helping my teacher mother with her preparations for class,  entering the academe was never part of my plan on how to conquer the world. I admit, once in a while, I did imagine myself in front of the classroom but never actually believed I could do it in real life. It was like having a secret crush on that gentle-looking hunk in the library but knowing it would remain just that because he was someone else's boyfriend. And even i...

     For my sister , Ling, who always provides me the biggest pieces in this evolving thing... Many of us go through life looking for that single, perfect person who will make us happy, make us whole. We go around looking vulnerable, showing the gaping hole in our hearts, thinking that someone special out there has the power to stop the bleeding. Maybe it will be a guru who will provide all the answers to our life questions. Or a soul-mate who will always be in sync with our thoughts and will rejoice in our shared idiosyncracies. Or the love of one's life who will feed our desires and provide the reasons for bliss and contentment. And of course, many of us, if not all, end up disappointed in this impossible quest. In my fading years, I can say with utmost certainty that we can never rely on any one person to make us complete. Aside from holes in our heart and spirit which call for mending, parts of us were never with us to begin with.  I think t...

  I was in a rush that morning so I forgot to take my multi-vitamin right after breakfast. Coming out of the bathroom, I found a glass of water with the pill on the counter near our bed, courtesy of my hubby. Touched by his gesture, I saw once again that his kind of love comes in quiet, unspoken moments. Vitamin L(ove) really kept me going that day!

Plainly said, I like sentimental songs. I like melodies that touch my very core that I find it hard not to shed tears when I listen to them. No words are needed to communicate pain...loneliness... realizations... healing ... beauty. Here's a couple which touch the rawness of my heart, "Gabriel's Oboe" and the theme from "Cinema Paradiso" http://youtu.be/PygPri0-LNA

Day 8, Alcorcon & Madrid: 18 Aug 2011 - Catechesis at San Juan de Mata Parish - Welcome Ceremony for the Pope at Plaza de Cibeles Today was the second day for the Catechesis at the San Juan de Mata Parish in Alcorcon. Before the speaker arrived, animators were in charge of preparing the audience for the session. During the animation, from where we were seated, I could not see the person leading the songs & accompanying movements. I normally am shy about joining such activities but “getting into the groove of things” (betrays my being a “child of the 70s”) was easy as the energy and enthusiasm of the young people around me were infectious. But there was a slight unease as I could not see the animators in the front of the church from where I was standing. So I turned to the hundred others who were imitating their movements. But it was a certain Caucasian girl in the middle of the church who drew my attention. Maybe because she was directly in the line of my astigmatic visio...

Day 6, Caceres: 14 August 2011                 The journey continues... so far, it has been both joyous and challenging. My children and I have been blessed by being given the chance to be here, together. It is an opportunity that may never come again and thus, I am determined to make the most out of this pilgrimage to strengthen not only our filial bonds but also our connection to our Catholic faith.                             Today, the Cubao pilgrims joined in the celebration of the Holy Mass with the community and the families from the Parish of Beato Spinola which hosted our group for the Days in the Diocese. We were asked to lead in the singing of some of the mass songs. Thus, we chose to sing “Purihin ang Panginoon” which we had learned to sing with parts in Spanish, English, and Fil...