happy bday

today is my brother's birthday.

i wish him good health, successful career, inner joy and happiness, and long life. Our relationship became stronger after Dennis is gone. We value each other more, we exchange text messages more, we talk more often and we love each other and the rest of the family more. We treasure every moment we're together. Though we're not physically together to celebrate this day, our hearts are close.

i hope he got all be best in life that he deserves.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DALE!

one of the best guy i've ever known..

Dennis..one of best guys I've ever known..one of the best man in my life..my dear brother.

Barely 7 months ago, a very unexpected thing happened. I was busy working in the office when i received a call from my youngest brother informing me that Dennis had a vehicular accident. At first, i thought it was just a minor accident, because i know that he was a very cautious driver. When i asked how's the condition, Chan told me that he's still in the emergency room, so i continued working. Then after 15 minutes, my cousin called me again, asking if i could go back to Batangas.. I began to tremble. I cant explain my feeling, i know something is terrible wrong. At first i didn't cry. I tried to be calm as much as possible, but when they told me that he's in ICU and is in coma, the world began to crumble. i cried so hard, my body trembled, it seemed that a pail of cold water was thrown to me. Still, i asked what's wrong, then i received the news that i never thought i will, he had a multiple fracture in skull. I began to cry bucket of tears, because that news meant that its quite impossible to him to survive...I never made it to the hospital to see him alive. He joined the creators hand barely 4 hours after the accident...30 minutes before i arrived. It was the most painful thing that I've ever went through...

Memories rushed through my mind..He was a very responsible guy..a very sweet guy...a funny guy...there's no dull moment when he's around. I wont be where i am now if he didn't help me. He sacrificed so many things for me..to the point that he stopped his studies so that i could pursue mine because during that time my dad lost his job. From then on, i promised to myself that I'll do everything to reciprocate all that he has done for me, but that chance that was given to me was so short.

His daughter, Alyssa is only 3 weeks old when he passed away. I felt pity for his little angel..she was not given the chance to see, and bond with her dad..although we promise to be with his daughter no matter what happened the presence of her dad is irreplaceable.

I still miss him to this day. I still cry for his untimely demise. I wish he's still with us..laughing, living...enjoying life the fullest.

the colors of spring

lets stop and smell the flowers..admire God's wonderful creation. be delighted with the colors of spring....


while walking around the streets of Tokyo, my fiancé took this photo. actually, this was located at the back side of the fence.

violets and blue..hues that were made for me and you.











i rarely see blue flowers. whenever i saw one, i made sure that i captured its beauty just like what i did with this one.














so simple yet so elegant.. so delicate yet so strong.. that's how i see this flower, somehow, i want it to represent me.













violet/purple is a symbol of royalty..one of my favorite hues..it so relaxing..







hope you enjoyed veiwing my pix...the resolution of this pix were not edited and this was the first time it was published...i'll be posting more in the coming days.
till next time..live and let live..enjoy life to the fullest!

trip to japan

Last June I went to Japan for a Kick-Off Meeting for our new project. During weekend i got the chance to visit places. Let me share with you some of my photos.

Ueno park is so big that it took me hours to finish the roaming around. I enjoyed looking all over the place, i even visited Ueno Zoo! I was amazed when i saw the flamingos, polar bear, seal, red head panda and penguins.

After two hours of walking, i took a rest at the base of this Giant Man-made tree in Ueno Park in Tokyo. I was so tired, but its all worth it.

Tokyo Tower before sunset. This photo is not edited. Maybe, i really had a knack in photography. One hobby at i want to pursue in the future.

At 333 m tall, with viewing deck at 150 m, i could see Tokyo 360 degrees. The view was spectacular. The place was so romantic. A must see for every tourist in Tokyo.

till next time..live and let live!

reposted

I posted this article in my other blog last april 2006. I really love this article. Let me share it with you even if its tagalog. One time i'll find time to translate it.

_______

naiinis akong makipagsiksikan sa mrt, so naupo ako sa isang bench sa station ng ayala mrt, umaasa na maluwag ang susunod na tren. asa ka pa, sigaw ng isip ko, eh rush hour ngayon. gaya ng nakagawian, wala akong pakialam sa lahat ng tao na nasa estasyon, kinuha ko ang "hope for the flowers" at itinuloy ang aking pagbabasa.
pagkalipas ng ilang saglit, naramdaman ko na may tumabi sa akin, pero kagaya ng dati, hindi ko iyon binigyan ng pansin, marahil isa rin siya sa mga katulad ko na ayaw makipagsiksikan.

mayamaya, nagsalita na siya.

"you still love reading books huh"

muli, hindi ko iyon binigyan ng pansin, masyado akong abala sa aking pagbabasa para bigyan ng pansin ang taong katabi, at isa pa naisip ko na baka pick-up line lang yun ng isang taong gustong makipagkilala. hehehehehe, umiral na naman ang pagiging snob ng lola.

muli siyang nagsalita.

"you're really a snob, hanggang ngayon"

opps, teka, parang kilala nya ako. matapos kong maiangat ang aking mukha, isang familiar na mukha ang aking nasilayan.

"hey jack, sorry, i've been busy with what im reading"

"i can see that. so how are you doing now?"

"im fine, busy with work?"

"oh, i see. still single? you look great now"

"thanks, yeah im still single, so what brought you here in makati?"

"finishing some business details"

"ah ok, i got to go now, nice meeting you again, jack. bye"

at pagkatapos nun, nakipagsiksikan na ako papasok ng tren. halos pitong taon na rin ang nakaraan ng huli ko siyang makita. halos wala pa rin siyang pinagbago, hindi nakikita ang marka ng pagtanda.

nakita ko na lang ang aking sarili na nagtatanong, "single pa rin siya kagaya ko hanggang ngayon?"

"hmmmm, bakit siya nagcommute?" muling tanong ng isip ko.

nawalan na ako ng balita tungkol sa kanya pagkatapos ng huli naming pag-uusap.

naalala ko tuloy....

"so is this all the you really want?" sabi nya.

"you have to understand, from the start you know what are my priorities."

"your family again. i heard that several times, ginagawa mo na lang scapegoat yun eh"

"look, from the start, i made my self clear. dont make me chose now. all im asking you is to give more time, my family still needs me."

"fine, what do you want me to do? understand you? again, gosh, its been 5 years now, i getting tired of all your reasoning."

"look, listen to me first"

"listen? i've been listening for long, will you listen to me now?"

"look..."

"hey, stop it, i'll chose for you. i'll make it easy for you"

tumayo siya at iniwan akong nag-iisa. mula nuon, hindi ko na siya nakausap. ang huling balita ko, lumipad na raw papuntang canada.

pagkatapos ng insidenteng iyon, isang araw, i got a message from unknown number. pero di kagaya ng dati, binigyan ng panahon na sagutin ang message galing sa number na di familiar sa akin. nalaman ko na si jack pala yun. nakuha nya ang number ko sa isang dating kaibigan.

"could we meet and talk, for old times sake?" ang sabi nya.

"for old times sake huh?? im busy."

"ok, i'll adjust to your sched."

"text me later, im bound for singapore tomorrow. i'd be staying there for a couple of month."

"ok, till then. see you when i see you"

bakit kaya biglang gusto nya akong makausap? for old times sake? para ano pa, we both moved on na. pero "both" nga kaya? pano kung siya hindi pa? common, tagal na panahon na yun, di ko na dapat iniisip yun.

pagkaraan ng dalawang buwan...

"hey, jack here, free tonight?"

...........


"hey, jas, would you like to come with us for lunch?" tawag sa akin ng officemate ko.

"sure" ang sagot ko, malayo na naman pala ang narating ng isip ko. :-)

till we bite the dust

We're total strangers, traveling on paralleled crossroads. I was alone and so you were, both were unsure of what road to take, dreading where life would lead. We were neither friends nor foes, just two individual, walking in seemed to be endless road, searching for unfeigned meaning of existence.

Incognizant, every step that we took directed us closer to each other. You presented yourself politely that left me no choice but to respond in the same way. Time flew so fast that we didn't realize how far we got. Though thousand miles apart, our hearts knew no distance. You became my refuge and I was yours. Our friendship intensified. My heart that was in slumber slowly woke up. The doors that I kept closed showed modest openings. The impenetrable walls of hate, fear and towering standards began to crumble. I was falling, and so you were, like a freely falling body, like the last dry leaf falling from the bough. We resisted but like the pull of gravity on freely falling body, our resistance did nothing, instead the feelings became intense. We were inseparable, discovering this wonderful feeling of love and being loved, unraveling the mysteries of life that lies ahead. We were walking on cloud nine.

Somehow, not everything was sugarcoated, not every road was smoothly paved. Soon enough, after half past year, we had petty disagreements and the fear of slowly drifting away began. But at the end of the day, it was comforting to know that we wanted to nip it in the bud.

At some point we maybe at sixes and sevens, we still have bones to pick, but it is clear to us that we still want to share the rest of our life together, till we bite the dust.

staad training

I will be starting my Staad refresher course by Aug. 12. I enrolled in one of the training centers here in Manila to study the said software last March 2004. But after completing the course, i did not get the chance to practice it because my line of work is not connected in concrete and steel design. Its good thing that i transferred work almost two years ago. Now i already had a chance to use it.

I've always wanted to be a structural designer, that's why i took up civil engineering in college. I'm fascinated whenever i see industrial plants, skyscrapers, towers, bridges. I always told myself, that one day, i will be designing one of them. I know, that each step i took each day, lead me to the fulfillment of that dream.

Gambari Masyou!

Till next time...live and let live.

nihonggo II

ohayou gozaimasu!

whew! i'm practicing my nihongo. next week, i be starting the class. 3.5 hours a day, twice a week. i must admit, at first I'm hesitant to enroll in this class for several reasons. first, i have a very busy schedule at work, managing the civil and structural group is hard, it requires full concentration and hardwork. secondly, i don't have time to study. I'm planning to pursue my masters degree by next semester, for sure, it will consume most of my free time. and last but the most important thing is, my fiance and i are preparing for our wedding next year.

come what may. i just have to manage my time well. this is a good gauge in measuring my capability in terms of time management.

till next time..live and let live.