Richmond, British Columbia
We only pass by through time...
The vertical bamboo trunks
Necessary elements
Fraser bridge
Budding greens
Laughter in the Springtime
The TriumphantCOPYRIGHT RESERVED TO THE AUTHOR. PERMISSION REQUIRED TO REPRODUCE.
TAGALOG ENTRY - Ang manunulat
I
Matang dilat sa puyat
Lumabnaw na yata ang utak
Ilang ulit ginamit tsaang mistula ng anemik
Inabutan sa pagsabog muli ng liwanag
Doon sa upuang nagtitiyaga
Uminit na ang puwit
Na kasing-init ng bombilyang
magdamag na nakatunganga
Upang pagbigyan...
kanyang pagkahumaling, ba o ?
pagmamahal sa panulat?
Ah! pag-ibig ito sa sining na hinabi
Sa hibla ng puting papel at bolpeng itim
II
Rebelasyong uulit-ulitin
Insomyak na mata di pupunahin
Sa sining na kakaulayawin
Ang kamay ng orasan at tipa ng minuto
Sa manunulat walang pagbabago
COPYRIGHT RESERVED TO THE AUTHOR. PERMISSION REQUIRED TO REPRODUCE.
How a trio made me laugh!
Me and the wife are not too fanatical coffee drinkers, but once in a while we swing by at a popular local shop drive-in to grab a coffee for myself and an iced cappuccino for her.
"Hon, could you also order toasted bagel for me, please?" she asks me as I was queuing behind several cars and nearing the speaker of the menu board to order.
My wife continued, "...with garlic and herb cream cheese, please!"
From circularly-arrayed multiple punch holes of the free standing menu board came a somewhat hoarse voice of a female and asked for our order.
Seconds after relaying to the crew our order of drinks and a single toasted bagel, my wife pulled my right arm close to her side, smiled candidly and spoke, almost begging. She wanted me to order three toasted bagels instead.
"Ummm, excuse me!" with an increase volume to my voice this time, and neck almost pulled outside of the driver side window in an attempt that my change of order is understood.
"Can you make the bagel three instead, please?"
"You want one toasted bagel with herb & garlic cream cheese to make it into three instead. Is this correct, sir?" she confirms in a positive manner and with validating intention.
"Yes. Please!"
After that we drove ahead to the next window to grab our order, but waited a few minutes.
The order crew had a very big smile on her face when she opened the sliding window. Her lips - close to her mouthpiece, indicate a crew's dedication at her job: it kept on being animated while communicating to a patron next to me.
She then handed over our order in a red-ink printed brown paper bag. She thanked and wished us a great day.
As soon as the bag got on my hand, I slowly rolled away my car on the alley while I opened the fresh-from-the-stack crisp paper bag.
However, I noticed an unusually lighter weight of it for the quantity of bagels I ordered. I continued opening the bag.
To my surprise, I did not find two extra bagels, but a toasted bagel was made into three!
The only toasted bagel in the bag was equally cut into three pieces.
"Well, I guess this works along with my dieting plan, a third for me and two-thirds portion of this bagel for you, hon!" says to my wife as I laughed at the turnout of the situation. :)
COPYRIGHT RESERVED TO THE AUTHOR. PERMISSION REQUIRED TO REPRODUCE.
"Hon, could you also order toasted bagel for me, please?" she asks me as I was queuing behind several cars and nearing the speaker of the menu board to order.
My wife continued, "...with garlic and herb cream cheese, please!"
From circularly-arrayed multiple punch holes of the free standing menu board came a somewhat hoarse voice of a female and asked for our order.
Seconds after relaying to the crew our order of drinks and a single toasted bagel, my wife pulled my right arm close to her side, smiled candidly and spoke, almost begging. She wanted me to order three toasted bagels instead.
"Ummm, excuse me!" with an increase volume to my voice this time, and neck almost pulled outside of the driver side window in an attempt that my change of order is understood.
"Can you make the bagel three instead, please?"
"You want one toasted bagel with herb & garlic cream cheese to make it into three instead. Is this correct, sir?" she confirms in a positive manner and with validating intention.
"Yes. Please!"
After that we drove ahead to the next window to grab our order, but waited a few minutes.
The order crew had a very big smile on her face when she opened the sliding window. Her lips - close to her mouthpiece, indicate a crew's dedication at her job: it kept on being animated while communicating to a patron next to me.
She then handed over our order in a red-ink printed brown paper bag. She thanked and wished us a great day.
As soon as the bag got on my hand, I slowly rolled away my car on the alley while I opened the fresh-from-the-stack crisp paper bag.
However, I noticed an unusually lighter weight of it for the quantity of bagels I ordered. I continued opening the bag.
To my surprise, I did not find two extra bagels, but a toasted bagel was made into three!
The only toasted bagel in the bag was equally cut into three pieces.
"Well, I guess this works along with my dieting plan, a third for me and two-thirds portion of this bagel for you, hon!" says to my wife as I laughed at the turnout of the situation. :)
COPYRIGHT RESERVED TO THE AUTHOR. PERMISSION REQUIRED TO REPRODUCE.
Impassiveness in a world of apathy
I grew up to be what my personality is all about right now: never speaking out my mind too often! I am not bitter nor I am too proud. Lately though, I felt some sense of vindication that how I reacted and spoken, much has been cleared inside of me.
In a culture where, being silent, in my younger years, equates respect to parents, never too long had it become my 'rule of thumb'. It carried on to my school and teenage years, and throughout my career. Getting a pat in the back, avoiding fewer enemies, being fed with shallow accolades, etc. were superficial rewards I got. And worse, I did not realise its effect has slithered silently and slickly dented my self-esteem to improve.
These past few days was not good in my social relationship. I have learned to seriously speak-up. Consequently, the unexpected reactions came to follow all around. They considered my action appalling, unseemly, disrespectful, desensitize of others, and basically rendering it as unacceptable.
Reviewing the impression this silence has caused me to become, which I thought was generally ideal - does not imply any intention of ruining every single genuine relationship that I built around me; relationships that have become a dike on my rather occasional scattered watery and insipid dispositions. I cannot simply afford that. Where I was lacking, these relationships had found me footing.
But rather, I found breaking my silence in a situation where it calls for as a way of sieving out uninviting societal relationships. Relationships whose purpose of association is to take advantage of you and to make you feel you have caused all the catastrophe on earth if they didn't like what you said.
With these virulent relationships, I came at this point and realised that being awfully accommodating and silent is not a good combination in life - yeah, at this age in my life; I saw and it started to dawn on me that no matter how I please these selfish relationships, they'll always find me lacking; I conquered and fully understood now that I can choose to play all the niceties and attempt to be liked or be sincerely passionate to relationships I truly treasure, but one thing must remain intact: enough self-respect to speak out my piece.
COPYRIGHT RESERVED TO THE AUTHOR. PERMISSION REQUIRED TO REPRODUCE.
In a culture where, being silent, in my younger years, equates respect to parents, never too long had it become my 'rule of thumb'. It carried on to my school and teenage years, and throughout my career. Getting a pat in the back, avoiding fewer enemies, being fed with shallow accolades, etc. were superficial rewards I got. And worse, I did not realise its effect has slithered silently and slickly dented my self-esteem to improve.
These past few days was not good in my social relationship. I have learned to seriously speak-up. Consequently, the unexpected reactions came to follow all around. They considered my action appalling, unseemly, disrespectful, desensitize of others, and basically rendering it as unacceptable.
Reviewing the impression this silence has caused me to become, which I thought was generally ideal - does not imply any intention of ruining every single genuine relationship that I built around me; relationships that have become a dike on my rather occasional scattered watery and insipid dispositions. I cannot simply afford that. Where I was lacking, these relationships had found me footing.
But rather, I found breaking my silence in a situation where it calls for as a way of sieving out uninviting societal relationships. Relationships whose purpose of association is to take advantage of you and to make you feel you have caused all the catastrophe on earth if they didn't like what you said.
With these virulent relationships, I came at this point and realised that being awfully accommodating and silent is not a good combination in life - yeah, at this age in my life; I saw and it started to dawn on me that no matter how I please these selfish relationships, they'll always find me lacking; I conquered and fully understood now that I can choose to play all the niceties and attempt to be liked or be sincerely passionate to relationships I truly treasure, but one thing must remain intact: enough self-respect to speak out my piece.
COPYRIGHT RESERVED TO THE AUTHOR. PERMISSION REQUIRED TO REPRODUCE.
Gone-away summertime
A burst of thunder
the whips of the spring rain
on our soaked bodies
we were cheering
after a wild fowl we chased
among the grassy blades it hid
summer and stream forged us
buoying, wading, and cascading
with our make-believe shallop
though the sun's rage lanced
we held on to joy and innocence
my 'Neverland' drifted so afar
it was my world, my comfort among places
a kingdom with them childhood friends
I will sleep soundly, I must relive
cause am orphaned now to the memory
COPYRIGHT RESERVED TO THE AUTHOR. PERMISSION REQUIRED TO REPRODUCE.
the whips of the spring rain
on our soaked bodies
we were cheering
after a wild fowl we chased
among the grassy blades it hid
summer and stream forged us
buoying, wading, and cascading
with our make-believe shallop
though the sun's rage lanced
we held on to joy and innocence
my 'Neverland' drifted so afar
it was my world, my comfort among places
a kingdom with them childhood friends
I will sleep soundly, I must relive
cause am orphaned now to the memory
COPYRIGHT RESERVED TO THE AUTHOR. PERMISSION REQUIRED TO REPRODUCE.
