mabuhay!

well, after a very tiresome 20+ hours of travelling, stopovers and plane rides, we all finally arrived in iloilo, philippines on monday afternoon. since then it's been extremely busy, and the attempt to balance over a gazillion things under the influence of jetlag has become quite the surreal experience.

i love being back here, though. there's definitely more of a modern influence to the already-urban parts of the area, but still not much has changed around my mom's neighborhood, at least from what i remember from 9 years ago. we arrived in the middle of rainy season, so the climates have been pleasantly nice during our day excursions. the streams of jeepnies and surrounding tropical goodness has really put me at ease, and fortunately my ability to speak ilongo has surprisingly gone into full throttle since we got here - i haven't offended anyone just yet :o) we haven't done too much sightseeing since we arrived, mainly because we've gone straight into prep mode for my cousin's wedding, and will be doing so till the big day this saturday. but so far, the excitement has been keeping us on our toes with dress fittings, decoration-making, and figuring out creative ways to accomodate a guest list of 500 people without getting washed out by the floods... oh yeah, and we've been walking around in ankle-high water since yesterday night - it's around 2pm right now, and the rain has been non-stop since 6pm yesterday. good times! :o) the basement of my mom's house has been temporarily turned into a swimming pool by the kids, and the street outside has been transformed into a canal overnight. the fun never stops though, and it's been one interesting adventure after the other.

haven't really got much else to write at the moment, and my time is running out at this internet cafe my brother and i stumbled upon while waiting for the family to finish up planning the menu for the wedding... but once things really start picking up, hopefully i'll be able to write something more interesting!

oh, and just a side note to my girls back home: i also couldn't help but notice the number of quite attractive young men in the vacinity ;o)

miss y'all back home!

philippines or bust... but preferably the first option :o)

remember that opening scene in Home Alone where the mccallister family is in a complete frenzy running around the house the morning of their flight, desperately trying to get everything together up to the last minute?

this is current state of my household at the moment... of course, with the exception that our alarm clocks actually did go off when they were supposed to, and with the addition of a mother and a couple of aunts squeezing in last-minute dye-jobs and a full-blown breakfast production before we head off to the airport in just a few hours. meanwhile, daddy is continually making his rounds to the airport and back, dropping off box after box, luggage after luggage. yep, it's crazy around these parts, but the insanity of it all definitely raises the excitement factor in going.

a few hours spent on a couple of planes, and then it's 4 weeks of authentic filipino food and quality family reunions all around - all happening in the midst of tropical wonderment. even the fact that it's rainy season over there doesn't seem to phase me much :oP not really sure what to expect, as i'm leaving 70% of the itinerary to my family, but i'm hoping to get back into the habit of writing - the temporary lack of anything ontario-like and the predicted increase of ripe and green mango shake intake should be able to inspire some of my creative juices to flow... defintely looking forward to catching a few philippine sunsets by the beach too :o)

not really sure how often i'll be online in the next month, but i'll try to keep up with my adventures in the homeland as much as i can.

wish y'all were all coming with me!

until the next post, ciao for now! ;o)

and so the countdown begins...

it's been a tad chaotic since sunday night... unpacking from camp, doing hoards of laundry, last-minute shopping for the bare necessities, tying up loose ends before i leave, more packing, taping up boxes, realizing that we've gone over 30 kilos to which then another unpacking session was called for, figuring out wedding stuff; and omigoodness, it's only tuesday - and my living room has somehow transformed itself into a warehouse of boxes. to walk through the living room is an obstacle on its own, but the climbing and squeezing around has been rather good for my agility :oP

and on a very productive note, it seems as if my english major skills have once again resurfaced long enough for me to finish two speeches in one night, including my maid of honour speech for my cousin's wedding reception - and for someone who doesn't know anything about the bride except for her name (of which i'm sad to admit that even the spelling of it appears rather hazy in my head at the moment), the finished product came out to be a a pretty polished, sentimental and well-thought out piece of work, if i do say so myself :o) i figure as long as i sound eloquent and fabulous enough, i'll get by. after all, it's all about the delivery, right? a few tears, a few winks, a few batting of the lashes, a few colloquial giggles, and i'm all set ;oP

man, the reality of it hasn't fully hit me yet, but as the day grows closer and closer, the more i'm getting excited to go. it's been a whopping 9 years since i've visited the philippines, and people have been warning me of the changes - one of them, i'm rather disappointed to say is that the farm that used to be across the street from my mom's house where i used to chase cows around when i was little was replaced not too long ago by rows and rows of university residences. poops. i was looking forward to chasing cows again, but perhaps it just wasn't in the cards for me this time around. :oP

4 sleeps left till saturday... should be interesting :o) now that the speeches are out of the way, my next challenge is to figure out a well-organized and non-violent way of attempting to fit my entire universe into one suitcase :oD

you said it, chuck!

...I believe that the world is looking for a few good men. Not simply men in uniform who will defend our country's freedom or respond in emergencies, but men who will live every day clothed with noble character, integrity, and a willingness to lay down their lives for what is right. Men who can laugh, love, and lead; men who are tough enough to stand against evil; men who are tender enough to listen and learn; men who are strong enough to weep unashamedly.

-- an excerpt taken from Chuck Norris' foreword in Every Man's Challenge by Stephen Arterburn and Fred Stoeker

a gagillion mosquito bites later...

i'm back home again - a tad itchy, a little bumpy, a whole lot darker, and very much blessed. this past weekend was our church family retreat, held at the KOA Campgrounds in Barrie. after several long months of continuous planning, freaking out, and hardcore praying over this retreat, it's a little surreal coming to terms that it's finally over. it's been quite the whirlwind of a weekend, but 'twas one to remember, and also one church family retreat that was very rewarding and impactful for everyone that attended.


hfbc family camp staff 2005 (i am incredibly indebted to these phenomenal people!) with our guest speaker, pastor nelson estrada, and his wife, mitzie



while the rest of the camp is at play, the camp staff is bbqing away - and i of course, am taking pictures and... um, "supervising" ;o)

even with the fickle weather, everyone still enjoyed themselves and remained enthusiastic throughout the full 3 days - the amount of enthusiasm was actually more than i had anticipated, which was quite wonderful to see coming out of everyone.


and even with the rain, the campers were still all smiles :oD

our theme this year was "the amazing race", inspired by acts 20:22-24 - a good reminder that life is short and opportunites pass us by if we don't pay close enough attention to them. there was just the right balance of free time and "God" time. the worship and fellowship were awesome, and though it wasn't blantantly obvious, God was moving throughout the entire duration of the retreat.

i admit, i was a little (read: a heck of a lot) hesitant about taking on the responsibilities of being camp director this year, especially with all the different elements and changes i knew i would be bringing into the scene, which were in some ways a little drastic from the traditional way the camp was normally run, but i am indeed thankful that everyone was so open to it all. there's also the slight factor that for the most part, i litrerally had no idea what i was doing or getting myself into. but i suppose that's when having a huge chunk of faith helps :o) - faith that things would eventually fall into place as they should, and faith in and from my committee that we would see this whole thing through together, which was certainly a blessing and encouraging all on its own.


portrait of complete calm nature... um, sure? ;oP

it's amazing really what a little change can do - this weekend i've seen change bring out rather fascinating sides of people i never really knew existed - give filipinos a reason to lip synch, and anything is possible :oP it was definitely a nice change to see so many new shining stars among the group for once. hopefully this camp won't be the last time we see them come out of their shell!


... the things i make these poor innocent people do: team lip synch competition



noah unleashes the rapper within... ;o)

all in all, a fabulous weekend full of awesome worship, good laughs to last a lifetime, great insight, a myriad of new memories, and fantastic fellowship! :o)

... if i ever see another nametag again, it'll be too soon.

today consisted of spending the majority of it at home, cramping and sitting in front of a laminating machine; patiently watching and waiting as 97 3x5 white index cards made their way in and out... and yet, a part of me found it quite amusing and even somewhat therapeutic.

how sad.

seems like i've taken one too many responsibilities yet again. we've been planning our church camp for the past several months now, and before this week, i was a little worried that no one would want to go. final tally of campers that me and my committee are accountable for: 95. answered prayer? yes, of course, but now i'm onto the next challenge, which is trying to figure out what i'm supposed to do with all those people for 3 whole days :oP and leave it to the last week before the actual camp for things to start falling apart - yeesh. however, trying to maintain a positive attitude and keep my determination to persevere, i am ready to expect the unexpected and deal with whatever comes my way... but sometimes i think i should probably consider more the option of saying "no" to handling one too many things at once - a habit that i've never really been able to really grasp. will i ever learn? highly doubtful.

in the meantime, what is actually helping me maintain some of my sanity this week are happy thoughts of lying across the white sands of boracay beach, philippines, and indulging myself with the smell of fresh ocean air. *sigh* just think, in a couple of weeks, i'll be on a plane headed for tropical paradise. and in response to that, i let out a very dreamy and dazed wooooooooooot.

but as for tomorrow's agenda, i plan on moving from laminating bliss to photocopying goodness.

... must... get... through... this... week...

and among other things...

1) happy 20th birthday to my little brother! hard to believe that he's no longer a teen. the same little boy that once struggled to reach up to my elbows is no longer "little" anymore. wowsers.

2) i received a fairly big package in the mail the day i came back from montreal... the thickness of the envelope hinted that a huge opportunity was waiting for me inside. opening the rather large package confirmed it. i got the offer to teach in japan next year. now it's just a matter of figuring out whether i still want it or not.

... and yet another decision is added to the excessively growing pile.

*sigh*

the sisterhood of the travelling pant...ies?

yep, that's what we decided to call ourselves during our 4-day roadtrip to montreal - has a pretty nice ring to it, really. and appropriately enough, certain circumstances that we encountered throughout our whole trip always seemed to somehow reflect our group name... :oP

the adventures commenced on monday morning, where we drove the long journey to montreal... but to pass the time, we managed to go through a hoard of cds and ipod playlists to keep ourselves happy, including our "sisterhood of the travelling panties" soundtrack c/o jasiel, of which we grooved to such memorable tunes as "here comes the hot stepper" (MUUUHHHRRDDDARAAAH!) and other various 90s selections :oP - and if that wasn't working, we'd make charlene gesture passing truck drivers to toot their horns, for which we were able to score a nice 6/7 toots :o).

upon arriving in montreal, the myriad of one-way streets almost made us cross-eyed, but after finally finding decent parking, we were able to find our pleasantly-surprising mansion of a dorm-apartment at the UQAM campus, on the corner of rene-levesque and sanguinet.


and yes... we even made t-shirts :oP

ahhhh yes, montreal - where the people speak français and are eager to help out any tourist in despair, the pedestrians are just as insane as the drivers, and where the old and the new co-exist in a harmonious array of beautiful architecture.


residences @ UQAM



on the corner of rene-levesque and sanguinet



jasiel in the living room of our dorm-apartment @ UQAM



us in old montreal

and as expected, the jazz festival blew us away - so many talented people perfoming at the same time gave way to some (read: a lot) of indecisiveness, but we managed well enough. and being the cost-efficient savvy women that we were, we decided to stick to most of the free concerts (although we came slightly close to forking out the money to see k-os in concert, but lucky for us he was scheduled after we had gone home). annie sellick was a crowd favourite this year, with her deep, sultry, haunting voice - her rendition of "where is love" from Oliver Twist was one that gave me goosebumps. quite amazing... oh, and i think i'm going to seriously consider taking up jazz piano after hearing her accompanist tickle the ivories :oP


la place au jazz



us with the impeccable annie sellick

i think we probably lost a whopping load of calories from all the walking we did, and as an added bonus, i am proud to say that i didn't fall down any mountains this year :oP

other highlights included once again trekking up the steps of the st. joseph's cathedral, cooking amidst the smell of burning and thick curtains of smoke (...oops), indulging ourselves in montreal-bagel-goodness, walking down st. laurent at night and being extremely scared and freaked out doing it, accidentally letting our eyes gaze upon some naked french guy who purposely neglected the fact that his window was open the whole time he was prancing around the appartment across from us (yikes!); acknowledging the "princess" inside and treating ourselves to a true montreal salon experience (and DANG we looked good :oD); making good use of our spare time by having rolling-office-chair-marathons in our unexpectedly ridiculously huge apartment, the homeless guy who followed us halfway home that kept insisting we were chinese and told us "don't be sorry, just give me some change! God will punish you if you don't give me money", while shaking at least $5 in change right in front of our faces; admiring the gorgeously detailed architecture of notre dame and all of old montreal; and of course, just completely losing ourselves in a gazillion laughing/giggling sprees.


mmmmmmmm... bagels!



jasiel and jake @ st. joseph's cathedral



jake and i hiding out @ st. joseph's cathedral



me and jasiel pretending to be all "haute-couture" :oP



the sisterhood at their finest :o)


i really couldn't have asked for a more fabulous 4-day escape. it was exactly the the kind of break that i needed to rejuvenate my entire mind and body, and fully recharge my batteries. and nothing could have been better than spending it with 3 lovely ladies whom i love so dearly. it was quite the ride, but i think that this road trip somehow managed to bring us even closer to each other than we already were, which was absolutely wonderful, and very much appreciated.

WOOT!

happy birthday, canada!

proud to be canadian:


me, jasiel, charlene


"we even got our faces branded, eh?"

i think that in one day we actually managed to somehow hit at least 5 different places and take an unexpected scenic route all over the GTA in the process. but the weather was gorgeous, the breeze was wonderful, and i got to spend the day with some fabulous people.

the day went a little lot something like this:

1. the initial plan was to meet at the ferry docks of toronto's centre island on the corner of queen's quay and bay street, and eventually take the ferry over and end up watching the fireworks from the island.


2. once we found parking however, we then figure that since the fireworks show was actually going to be at ontario place, it would probably make more sense to watch the fireworks there.


3. after driving along lakeshore west and paying the $10 parking fee, we then had yet another change of heart that was shortly aroused by the realization that we didn't want to pay the $30+ cover charge at ontario place. as a result, we then found ourselves driving further east, and attempted to find parking at ashbridges park.


4. after scouring the parking lots, and literally driving figure eights around the park grounds, we soon fell in despair of not being able to find a parking space.


5. charlene then suggests that we try thomson park instead, which was actually even further east into scarborough and didn't necessarily have a fireworks show run by the city; but had much bigger chance of finding decent parking, with the added bonus of a petting zoo.


6. suddenly enchanted by the idea of being able to touch animals, and a few dozen games of cell phone tag afterwards, we excitedly made our way along brimley road and finally parked our cars at thomson park, where we enjoyed a typical filipino picnic. while others around us broke out the barbeque skewers and the hamburgers; we broke out the pancit (filipino noodles), the fried rice (with chopped up hot dogs), the spicy chicken (which was rather messy but delectably scrumptious); and of course, the casava cake... mmmm.


7. once we finished lunch, we waited around at the park, tried to get as much free canada day memorabilia as we could, and then decided to pack our things up by 2:30pm.


8. next stop: our friendly neighborhood tim horton's, where we gladly indulged ourselves with ice caps galore. :o)


9. and finally, what canada day celebration would be complete without a viewing of National Treasure over pizza and wings, and a whole lotta wholesome home-karaoke goodness... in north york?
   
   ... apparently not ours :oP

and the best part was that we got to catch the last bit of fireworks on the drive home :o) 'twas quite the adventurous day. good times, indeed!

happy canada day, folks!