And you begin to learn that kisses aren't contracts
and presents aren't promises
And you begin to accept your defeats
with your head up and your eyes ahead
with the grace of a woman, not the grief of a child
And you learn to build all your roads on today
because tomorrow's ground is too uncertain for plans
and futures have a way of falling down in mid-flight.

After a while you learn that even sunshine burns
if you get too much.

So you plant your own garden and decorate your own soul instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.

And you learn that you really can endure
that you really are strong
and that you really do have worth
And you learn and you learn
with every goodbye you learn...

©1971 Veronica A. Shoffstall

Whoever said that I'm bad at multitasking should be shot in the head. I'm replying to a member from Peru while learning sentence construction using past and present participles in Spanish while listening to Mogwai and blogging! Kick a//!

Decided to work from home today. As usual the weather is gloomy that's why I backed out on the supposed walk along the coast of Craster. Such a pity cos I haven't been there and it'd be nice to be somewhere else away from my room. And my Reebok exercise bike. S and I decided we'd spend the day tomorrow eating crisps, wine and curry.

Although June is still months away, colleagues persuaded me to watch Romeo and Juliet at Theatre Royal and Zakir Hussain and coughed up quid for these "cultural pursuits" I reckon that's more worthwhile than doing CSI Miami marathon.

Oh and one more thing, I've signed up for the Drop the Debt fast and been avoiding telly and alcohol (or did I say carbonated drinks), well whatever, I can live without Coke/vodka so that's easy. But I think I'm cheating on the no telly bit since I'm watching shows over the net? There's always some fine print somewhere you know.

Estamos riendo sobre la traducción de la Avenue Q's "For Now," pero solo por ahora, pero solo por ahora, por ahora tenemos pelo, por ahora tenemos George Bush.. may be entirely wrong

Eso es todo por ahora. Soy excitado para decir a mi familia estoy aprendiendo español. Hasta luego!

Have you pranked someone today? Keen in sending out a mass email to network members saying that the world has been made a better place by having men as rulers but that's gonna be suicide I guess. Or admitting this early that Mugabe won again as President of Zimbabwe? Though this is just foul and unthinkable.

Have you seen Google's? I thought there won't be any as the Google search page has been the same old white when I checked it this morning. But lo and behold, they came up with this: http://www.google.com/virgle/index.html

Want to be a Virgle Pioneer and join the colony in Mars? Do sign up!

Just posted some photos in my long-forgotten webshots account. From our day trips to Hadrian's Wall and St. Nicholas cathedral just around the corner from where I work.
http://good-times.webshots.com/album/561693224bLoWtd?vhost=good-times


It's getting colder and colder here not to mention the frequent drizzles and howling wind. When I got home last night, I noticed that the cover of our electrical box had gone off and my housemate clearly have no intention of fixing it, bloody Gr. Ela malaka, if you're reading this :)

We're leaving early today (it's just 4pm but it looks like 6 already I barely see the sun). Have I mentioned there's a high rate of suicide in some European countries as the lack or deprivation from light causes depression? Although there's a study from the British Journal of Psychiatry that suicide rates tend to go up during hot weather, and by hot they mean 18C.

Ciao!

-I fell from the stairs last Monday and broke the heel of my boots.

-I got in the wrong train last Tuesday because my colleague and I were so angry over some unethical practices.

-I got my pc installed only yesterday after a month of persistent email exchange.

-Survived the 4 degrees temperature yesterday. I wonder if I'd survive winter, this is just autumn.

-Loving Sainsbury's cooked Indian meals: I've tried lamb rogan josh, chicken jafrezi, and chicken korma, and they're all great. Hail to ready to eat meals!

-I'm hoping to get a new laptop by end of November, a lovely Dell XPSM1330 :)

-Need to force myself to go to the gym and sign up!!

I opened my browser and saw this really cool ad from Firefox.


They're looking for 'agents' to put up 3.5-feet firefox stickers in prominent places, but you gotta have a plan, if chosen you get an Apple Macbook as grand prize. I might try putting it up at the Angel of the North statue but I'm afraid that would result in me being booted out of this wonderful, highly-developed and migrant-friendly nation who have done so much for the world.

The Angel of the North at Gateshead. Photo taken from http://www.ukswebsite.co.uk

Puma Complete Trailfox image from zappos.com

I've been very busy these past few weeks. Sorting out visa, entry and exit clearances, getting pissed off by the sheer incompetence of some people, though everything seems to be sorted now. I've started to pack my luggage, put my new skywards tags, list down things I still need to buy, and squeeze in last minute meet ups with friends and relatives. We just got back from a one day visit to my lola in the province over the weekend, very hectic and tiresome but I just have to see them one last time before I leave for a whole year.

I'm quite excited, it's gonna be a new environment, new people, new work altogether. I'm expecting lots of challenges too. Right now I'm trying to get accommodation remotely, google map comes in handy in locating potential flats close to the University.

My thinking is that I've survived Johannesburg, I'll definitely survive Newcastle. But looking at the weather and the kind of assistance that I'm getting, I'm starting to doubt that. My stay in SA is soo organised: somebody had picked me up from the airport, I already have a place to stay before I got there, transpo going to work all sorted out. This trip looks like a journey to Mars coordinated by Philippine airspace travel (which is basically nonexistent). At the moment, I'm quite stumped deciding over which shoes to leave and which to bring.

Good thing about me is that I don't easily give up. I was able to communicate with a Filipino living there in Newcastle and he's really so nice to help me out. Too bad he's moving to Australia.
I've also been negotiating with a Brit for my accommodation, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she'll see reason over the Western Union money transfer thing which I'm not gonna budge in.

I have a hundred things to do and only two days left, I think I'll be needing some vodka.

***
This is gonna be tough for hny and I, but we have plans on meeting up probably next year and we're both praying that he'll get the scholarship so we can travel around Europe together :)

I'm off to Glasgow on Sunday and I haven't packed a single thing. Bummer. Lots of things to do but I just can't find the energy to start off with anything. Then I'll cram on Saturday, so predictable no

Have to sleep first..

I received this article from my ivolunteer.ph subscription and I was really enraged (I'm ante-dating it so as not to get mixed up with my KK posts). Apparently, the multi-awarded former mayor of Naga City, Jesse Robredo was disqualified by COMELEC to run for the election on Monday because he is not a Filipino citizen. I just can't believe this.
I'm re-posting the article here, written by Geronimo L. Sy, published in the Manila Times, 10 May 2007.
__________________________

HERE I STAND
By Geronimo L. Sy

In defense of Jesse Robredo

There is no need to talk about the credentials and accomplishments of Jesse Robredo, mayor of Naga City. He is the city administrator par excellence and man of integrity. And he has been disqualified as candidate for mayor for the May 14, 2007, midterm elections because, according to the Comelec division hearing the case, he is not a Filipino. The case has been appealed to the Comelec en banc.

I refuse to read any political color to it. True, Mayor Jesse is in the opposition camp. He is, however, not of the type to descend into lawless violence, to shortcut and deny due process or to mindlessly grab political control by leveraging his electoral clout. He is the model of transparency and accountability in administering the once third class but now first-class
city. His city happens to be in Bicol, one of the poorest regions in the country.

Mayor Jesse has been elected five times by the people of Naga and overwhelmingly at that. If his action is not proof of his election as a citizen of this country, who else can be? Witness the millions who have chosen to be elsewhere and some (including politicians) who gladly take to a different passport. At a certain point in time, we ought to come to our senses and stick to the adage that we are what we do and that actions speak loudest. Mayor Jesse has faced down several similar charges on his citizenship way back in the nines.

Granted that the Comelec division’s finding is flawless, the timing is altogether a different matter. For cases of this dimension, the august body should always act with dispatch lest accusations of partiality and bias gain anchor. Surely, the administration needs the likes of Mayor Jesse on its side to show that we are a working democracy—to allow an independent local government official to govern and govern well; to prove that the ruling party tolerates
principled dissent and ethical responses. After all, the great project that is democracy is about the exchange of ideas in a critical and continuous debate between opposing stands of the majority and the minority. The administration exists to articulate the aspirations of the many. It never is about unfair and underhanded methods. The opposition is there to check on the excesses and not to forever plot to seize power. The acid test of any leader, local or national,
remains his commitment to good governance.

Maybe we should talk about his local governance. He is a leader by example and empowers people to help themselves. He redefined the meaning of participatory governance by opening opportunities for people to makes decisions and implement programs. Under his watch, his city has received more than 30 international, national and regional awards in local governance. These are no ordinary ones and include the 2004 UN Public Service Award for Local e-governance; 2004 UN Development Fund For Women (Unifem) and UN-Habitat Women-Friendly City Award; 2004 and 2003 PCCI Most Business Friendly City Award, 2003 World Bank citation as Model City for Government Procurement, 2002 UNDP CyberCity Award for I-Governance initiatives, Galing Pook (AIM) and Gawad Pamana ng Lahi (DILG). Jesse himself was the 2000 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Service, a recipient of The Outstanding Young Men of the Philippines (TOYM), the 1998 Konrad Adenauer Medal of
Excellence as Most Outstanding City Mayor and the first ever “Dangal ng Bayan” Award of the Civil Service Commission.

Contrast this to the petty tyrants and corrupt mayors elsewhere and your heart bleeds. There is no love lost for a mayor who hostages the country by exhorting citizens to join political rallies in our financial district. Or for a mayor whose city colors are gray and black in an environment of filth and darkness. Or for any local chief executive who puts self-interest above the welfare of his constituents. Mayor Jesse is not, by any measure, such a guy. He is a dedicated public servant, he is Filipino and he is running for mayor.

I'm blogging about my new shiny, fresh books from FB.

Listening to an assortment of songs, mainly Coldplay's, Tori's, Freshly Ground, etc.

Trying my damnednest not to watch another ep of CSI.

And watching Alanis Morrisette's parody of My Humps in Youtube.

Busy.

Aside from the terrible heat today (31 deg), I couldn't complain more as I just received my freshly stamped passport from the British Embassy. They gave me 6 months multiple entry, God bless UK.

Did I mention I'm working full time now? From home? God bless Civ.

Now hny and I can focus on our travel to Malaysia which makes me a bit nervous expenses-wise.

I have to pay for everything for my Glasgow trip upfront then I'll get reimbursed later. Just too many expenses and the dollars won't come until the the first week and end of May. By then, I'll be paying huge amounts for my credit card bills. Ah life.

At least I got an uber-nice shoes for hny and myself, the amount of the latter totally pales in comparison to his shoes, like 13 times less. Oh well.

The commemoration of Holy week was one of those times when I felt like being part of the minority. I don't belong to an organised religion and sometimes the consequences of making that choice are quite discomforting. I've learned that since I was a kid, there'd be a time of the year when there'd be no cartoons on TV, for a week! That's quite traumatic for a kid you know.

Last week, I received an email from a colleague in Johannesburg inviting me to attend the World Assembly in Glasgow. I was asked to book my ticket and by Friday send back the costs that I'll incur for that trip. Knowing that the entire nation would temporarily hibernate for the rest of the week, I frantically called travel agencies trying to book my ticket. Communication with people during these times would be futile since their minds are already in vacation mode. I received erratic quotes (there was one where my name is Cristianne) though not entirely their fault. I think I did panic too. Thursday night, I was on the verge of crying, and yet again I was saved by Technology. Yes, that god-less, amoral creation of man. To cut it short, I was able to book a ticket with emirates.com and sent back the claims form that same night, within a few minutes, without the hassles of misspelt names and incorrect dates.

I still have loads of things to do and at one point wondered if Glasgow is worth all these sh*t. I have to cancel my attendance in a summer course on globalisation and civ soc, get bank statements, letters, and undergo the whole rigmarole of applying for a visa, where you're life would depend on a single individual with biases and prejudices deciding whether to give you that much-coveted stamp or deny you entrance to their blessed country. And yet, it's different the other way around, when 'they' apply for a visa to go to Asia, it's almost served in a silver platter. What's more pissing is the waiting time. I have to get my passport back before May 10 because of our trip to Malaysia.

Last night, I stopped thinking about these for a while and enjoyed glasses-ful of vodka, cherry and sprite, and I thought, this is how life should be; chilled, uncomplicated, worry-free. But no, because most of the time someone eventually gets drunk, makes a mess of himself, and you have no choice but to see the bastard home.

Things are obviously hectic these past few weeks; work, school and a lot of things in between. It's easy to get caught and drown ourselves even with the mere idea of being busy and often, we forget how important it is to actually live for ourselves and for the people we love and care for. It's amazing how one can learn so much within a very short span of time especially once you've seen first-hand how beautiful yet short life really is. This is not supposed to be a philosophical post, I just wanted to share in a forum a compilation of beautiful music (fyi, another rare find of hny) which has been very helpful in keeping me sane and collected. After googling (Carl Doy/Martin Winch) in search of the CD cover, I came across the story behind the production of the CD titled Espresso Guitar. And this is the line I've read which lead me to write this quick reflective piece: