ulan ng pag-ibig...

when asked WHAT THE BEST THING IS ABOUT THE RAIN...

chelsea daracan, segment producer, 27 yrs. old, fighting for life
"matulog ng matulog..."

blessie calupitan, writer, 36 yrs. old, committed
"snuggling..."

arma bacar, writer, 30 yrs. old, committed
"bonding in bed with someone you love..."

lizette rayala, segment producer, 37 yrs. old, single forever
"rain... it brings a cold breeze that gently touches your whole being... makes you want to curl up and cuddle... hehehe... pwede na ba yan?"

paige halliwel, writer, 32 yrs. old, married
"i love the rain... coffee or hot chocolate tastes best when it's raining, di ba?"

jerlyn de quintos, finance officer, 31 yrs. old, married
"magloving-loving..."

stiffany adanza, headwriter, 31 yrs. old, attached
"bed weather!"

thops topico, housewife, 26 yrs. old, married
"malamig... masarap mangarap..."

piglet, tomboy, 37 yrs. old, confused
"humilata... walang ka-cuddle kaya hilata na lang... hahaha!"

maila cuevas, writer, 31 yrs. old, discerning
"masarap sa ulan, malamig... tapos may kayakap ka sa ilalim ng malamig na kumot... tapos magkikiskisan kayo ng kahit ano... pero kung walang kayakap, humigop ka na lang ng mainit na sabaw o kumain ng tuyo..."


jerome dela cruz, researcher, 26 yrs. old, katikaterang committed na di makaget-over
"i think the feeling of solitude that you get to reminisce a lot of beautiful things while watching the rain... sipping a cup of coffee and just enjoying the moment..."

juliet delos santos, executive secretary, 29 yrs. old, separated but very happy
"rain...makes us stay at home... so that we can be able to rest and relax even for a while..."

angela magallona, housewife, 34 yrs. old, discerning
"it cleans the air and washes away the dirt everybody leaves..."

denmark alejandro, segment producer, 30 yrs. old, committed
"maganda kapag umuulan, malamig ang panahon... masarap may kayakap buong maghapon, magdamag... masarap din kumain ng tinapa, sinangag, bagoong at kamatis with kape..."


cora dacong, media officer, 37 yrs. old, separated but very happy
"masarap makipagSEX!"

iriz ramos, head researcher, 23 yrs. old, abused and overused but committed
"walang pasok, masarap kumain ng champorado at tuyo... tapos pag malakas na malakas na ang ulan, lalabas ka na at maliligo..."

vky mendoza, researcher, 23 yrs. old, soulsearching and also searching
"there's nothing nice about the rain... hahaha... cynical daw... joke... magtetext ako ng serious..."

vky mendoza, researcher, 23 yrs. old, still searching
"i may have all the reasons to hate the rain and be cynical about it... but i choose not to let my recent emotional turmoil evoke continued depression... tigilan na ang pagiging malungkot! iwaksi! hahaha! sabi nga ni celine dion, LET THE RAIN FALL DOWN AND WASH AWAY MY TEARS, LET IT FILL MY SOUL AND DROWN MY FEARS!"

jeng divina, account executive, 34 yrs. old, confused and wants to be abused
"to cuddle, eat and play..."

manny segunto, segment producer, 34 yrs. old, playing and cruising
"humiga at humilata sa kama at unan na malambot na katabi mo ang mahal mo... chos!"

julia, writer, 26 yrs. old, discerning and fighting
"rain reminds me of my childhood... careless fun, champorado, cropek, vhs marathon, scrabble, word factory... at dahil natanong mo yan, bigla kong namiss, sarap balikan at ulitin..."

hannah dewara, soon to be jobless, 33 yrs. old, kinatatakutan dahil sa matulis na baba
"a very inviting weather to curl up in bed with the one you love..."

will everyone agree when i claim that the best answer is "TAYO..." this by my lifetime... waaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! kiiiiiiilliiiiiig!

my HAPPY GOLDEN DAYS...

i waited for the hands to point north... it's a personal tradition... i rejoice as i bid goodbye to august... and say HELLO to BER MONTHS...

almost all of my friends got the text but just so i continue spreading the good news, i am expressing my warmest ber greeting to everyone in cyberworld...

11:55pm
aug. 31, 2008
sunday

YEEEEEEHEEEEEY! BER NA! Merry merry meeeeerrrii christmaaaaas! My gahd!
Saya di ba! O kung may kasama ka ngaung kaibigan, hug mo then say THANK YOU FOR EYBRITING then pwede din i-kiss... hihihi... kung lovey dovey, eh di romantic kiss then embrace then whisper sa kanya ng pagka-sweet sweet na I LOVE YOU HUGZ este kung anuman term of endearment niyo... kung family, groooouuuup huuuug at paalalahanan ng REGALO KO HA... kung crush naman, i-hold ang hand then bulungan ng I LIKE YOU... uuuuy...kahit cno pa 'yan,MERRY MERRY MERRY CHRIIIIISTMAAAAS NAAAA! Magsayang ng piso, gumastos sa pagtawag, manghawa... SPREAD DA JOY! Bawal malungkot, bawal magmukmok, nawal magalit!

9:30am
sept. 04
thursday

Magandang thursday sa ating lahat... to those who have shoot today, smooth sailing coverage will be yours... to those who are ill, i breathe of recovery... to those being tested and are going through difficult times, today will be better than yesterday... to those who are loveless, know that somebody's on his way... to the penniless, it's almost payday.. to those whose family member is sick, laughter or a simple but meant smile is prescribed... Sa ating lahat, WE ARE BEING WATCHED OVER... HE'LL NEVER FORSAKE US... so let's smile, TODAY IS A MIRACLE!

10:30am
sept. 05
friday

reeeeedyoooooys... seeeleeebreeeyt... it's the 1st friday of a BER-y very happy season... 15 more Viernes to go and it's Paaaaasko Naaaaa!!! Bawal sumibangot ha!

5:20pm
sept. 06
saturday

As the carol goes, ONCE AGAIN, HAPPY GOLDEN DAYS... araw-araw tayong ngumiti... despite the odds and predicaments, harapin natin ng nakangiti ang buhay... Not all situations are problems and no problem is unresolvable... CHallenges 'yan, ibig sabihin, kayang PAGWAGIAN... Remember, we're never penniless, we're just FINANCIAKKY CHALLENGED... we're never loveless, we're just ROMANTICALLY CHALLENGED (hindi ako kasali ngayon diyan... hahaha)... we're never engot, we're just INTELLECTUALLY CHALLENGED... o cia, magpatugtog ng christmas carols... tabihan ang mga mahal sa buhay... kumanta ng sabay-sabay... and u'l be reassured... MAGANDA ANG BUHAY... WOOHOOOO... SABADO NIGHTS! 15 weeks na lang...

birthday get together...

just posting a few more pics of friends who made saturday night a wild wacky get together...



stanley and len...



paul and iris... who held a concert of their heart-felt repertoire...



again, paul with anthony, bien, iris and stan...



and that's my dear kuya nelson who looks 'mangan' with his balbas... hahaha! i bet he doesn't know what mangan is...



charmed sister paige and bff piper with tipi and my dete and nanay bles...



len with honey kuya rey...



corazon with her big papa edmond... hehehe!



ever loyal dama "acheng" who took charge of the oysters with my specialty topping...



yayita acheng still mastering the grill... no wonder lapot na lapot na... hahaha!

children of the happy sun...

day 2 in bohol was bound to be the HAPPY SUN DAY despite the threat of a heavy downpour... oh well, not even the dark clouds will stop the charmed sisters...

we picked up ate marie a.k.a. phoebe from her house... her hubby and the rest of the helping hand were all ready and armed for the big day...

phoebe's hubby, el cid (now i am wondering if it's really his name...) is the lead guitarist and at times vocalist of the reggae band BrownBuds... they are Bohol's pride in the music scene...

Morris, the long haired dude and slight look-a-like of orlando bloom, is the manager... but he too has a voice to flaunt (i heard...) and can do the percussions din... in fact, he's a member of the Rage band... i'm just not sure if he's the vocalist of the group...

the dreadlocks guy is Imbot (and til now, i'm not sure if i got his nick's spelling right... hahaha!)... he is the vocalist and major attraction of the band... a hearththrob... hmp! daming kalaban! hahaha!

and there's this bald guy i was so fond of calling 'wilson'... where and how i ever got that name? i don't know... maybe he looks like the ball companion of tom hanks in 'cast away'... hahaha! but the comic guy's real name is milo...

all were such angels...

on the way to the site, we fetch the clown... surprisingly, he was wearing his costume and make-up already... seemed as excited as the rest of us... hehehe!

we were greeted with happy faces when we reached the covered area of the community... kids who despite the language barrier were able to send messages of excitement... it was kind of hard to connect with them in the beginning but who needed words, everybody just exchanged smiles... it was more than enough for us... and the sight that some even wore their sunday's best was an indication that it was a special day for them....

ate marie, being a boholana herself, hosted the gathering... i and el cid were designated photo and video documentarists while morris took charge of the music...

it started off with all of us dancing to Edu's Papaya song... hmmmmm.... wait... i knew the dance but was too shy to cause so much laughter... imagine a hippo dancing in front of so many kids... inay ko po... hahaha... later on, some of the kids joined... which actually segued to the papaya dance contest... winner brought home toys...

we weren't the only one though who prepared a number... the kids themselves rehearsed a presentation... touching indeed...

then we brought out the surprises... first on the list were the educational tools like books donated by QTV's At Your Service, the boxes of chalk and visual aids...

the kids all clapped in acknowledgment... learning will be fun now that they have a chalk to use on the board... books to read... and the walls of the daycare center will now be decorated with visual aids...

the volunteer teachers couldn't help but shed tears of joy and gladness... i was really touched... what noble hearts they have to be happy for kids na hindi naman nila anak and yet, putting their needs before theirs... sobra... such display of raw emotion...

more gifts showered that day... bagful of groceries for the parents... then more toys as prizes... and then the jollibee chicken and spaghetti... every kid was anxious to have their meal... but they didn't keep it to themselves... it was shared with parents... siblings... i noticed one kid was nibbling the raw noodles from the grocery bag... i mean, okei... hindi naman tayo sanay ng ganun... either he was too hungry or he preferred eating it that way...

but of course, pity is the last thing they need... fine... this is just me thinking aloud... i am with anyone on that, mas nakakaawa sila kung kaawaan sila... we need to see (and make them realize...) the brighter side of their life... but i am just human, now that i am staring at the pictures again, i am struck with the bitter realities of life... OA as it may sound, ganun ba talaga? some are so much less blessed... why can't it just be that everyone... as in everybody enjoys the same benefits of comfort... oh well, pardon me for being melodramatic... it just hits me sometimes...

while i was taking pictures, i passed by one girl... smiled... the next thing i know, i had this butterfly in the stomach... i was so moved... she raised her hand and offered me her chicken... i might have looked hungry myself... hahaha... but really, it was obvious she very much liked the chicken and might have been kulang pa nga considering that she was sharing it with another kid... but good god, she was offering me a bite... so touched that i wasn't able to click my cam... but who needs the pic anyway...

Morris, El Cid, Imbot and Wilson provided the entertainment... sang two of their famous songs... Biyaheng Bohol and Olah...

the kids were so excited when we showed them the Happy Sun Backpacks... they were chaotic but in a nice way... just really clamoring to have a bag full of goodies and school supplies...


and finally, to mark the moment of happiness, we fixed on every kid the I AM HAPPY pin as a declaration to the universe... we even requested everybody to chant "I AM HAPPY" over and over again...

everybody went home really happy... the badjaos... the charmed ones... and the whitelighters of brownbuds... we are all children of the happy sun.

p.s.

piper, phoebe and prue basked and played under the rain... oh yeah... the rain fell only after we were through with everything... we received with open arms the blessings of bounty that went with the downpour...

what a happy day it was!