Sunday, November 13, 2005

An odd mood.

Wednesday:
  • Linguistics test on Morphology: 15%
  • English group presentation comparing "O" to "Othello": 15% (Group rhymes with POOP!)
  • Pyschology test on Stress, Child Development & Social Psychology: 20%

Just browsed through some of my archives... very loooong blog entries.

Just finished watching "The Sound of Music" for the first time in my life! All I can say is that the Hills are alive! The hills are alive! Not many people can believe that I, being the sentimental musical show enthusiast, have never seen this magnificent movie before. Yes, it's true, but no longer.

This is me procrastinating from doing anymore studying today. It's now 11:32pm on Sunday. 28 more minutes until Monday... yikes!

I love my Religion teacher. She stimulates my intellectual being. I crave to listen to her each morning. I feel as though I'm stocking her, I got butterflies talking to her during her office hours. She knows my name!

I wonder what Tamyra Gray has been doing?

Ok, study one more chapter, then off to bed. Goodnight.

Friday, November 11, 2005

It Don't Have to Change

Oh do you remember
When the family was everything?
Oh do you remember?
It was so long ago and so much has changed
I wanna go back
Wanna go back to those simple days
I wanna go back
But now we've grown and gone our separate ways

Times is hard
And things are a changin'
I pray to God
That we can remain the same
All I'm trying to say is our love don't have to change
No it don't have to change

Do you remember
Back at Grannie's house on Christmas Day?
Help me sing...
Do you remember
How we'd gather 'round and sing all day?
I wanna go back
To playing basketball and football games
I wanna go back
To yesterday but it's not the same

Times is hard
And things are a changin'
I pray to God
That we can remain the same
All I'm trying to say is our love don't have to change
No it don't have to change

- John Legend

Sunday, November 06, 2005

Boy Behind Bars


This shot was taken at Olympic Plaza back in August during the Latino Festival.

Thursday, November 03, 2005

All Saints Day



While we were all handing out candy to young kids dressed as goblins and princesses; people all throughout the Philippines were camping out at cemetaries in memorium for their loved ones who've passed on.

That's right, November 1st is offically called "All Saints Day" in the Philippines, a national holiday. Its much like our Rememberance Day, but with a unique twist. Almost everyone in the country will spend all day and all night by the grave sites of their dead relatives. People will bring chairs, sleeping bags, drinks, lots of food (Filipino's love to picnic), tents, playing cards, guitars, and almost anything else you can think of. Essentially its camping.

Some rich families will actually buy a plot of land at the cemetary and build their own little house or shelter which houses the grave. Some of the shelters are appart from the grave and meant only for the occasions when the family come to visit. They basically set up shop inside the shelter and sleep overnight, much classier than sleeping on the grass I suppose.



I've never attended this ritual, as my first time in the Philippines was just this past December-February, but I've heard stories. I guess there's praying and a lot of respect is paid. I think that the rest of the day is actually then spent celebrating their lives and socializing with the family that is still left behind.

I wish I could be there and join in. Spend the day with my Grandma (my Mom's aunt) who died in 2004 and my uncle who died in June. Not to mention my real Grandparents (my Mom's parents) AND my Great Grandparents! And of course all my living relatives who I bonded so closely with earlier this year.

Rest In Peace.

Monday, October 31, 2005

All Walks of Life

L-R: Eyrkah Badu, Geisha, Pharoah & Buddhist Monk.

Happy Halloween y'all! I'm just sitting by the door waiting for the trick or treaters to yell at my door. Whatever happened to ringing the doorbell and then yelling in my face? Oh well. It seems as though that as years pass by, the number of children who canvass for candy decrease. Are they all at the malls? What a pity if they are. I used to stay out as late as possible and wait until my pillowcase was unbearably heavy. I'm sure that most of you reading this can relate.

Being back in Canada to celebrate a holiday that isn't very popular outside of North America is exciting. Although, I must admit that the bar I attended last year in Cambodia was quite reminiscent of our traditions. It was much better than the lame ass "halloween" I spent with mostly British and European travellers the previous year in Malaysia (no offense, but you guys just don't aprreciate Halloween in the same way I do).
This year I attended a Halloween party with my new found friend Maribeth (aka Erykah Badu), the hosts went all out with decor and ghoulish treats. Good times, good times...

Thursday, October 27, 2005

Bring on the cheer!

I don't care that Sears already has a decorated Christmas tree displayed in their window. I don't care that Ikea already has a variety of ornaments to be purchased. As a matter of fact, I'm revelling in the idea of Christmas this year. I'm quite excited! It seems like its been way too long since I've celebrated Christmas in Calgary. I've missed the commercialization of it, the non-stop music ringing in your ears, the buzz; hell, I've even missed the cold and the SNOW!

What's so wrong about people having some spirit two months before an over rated holiday? Bring on the cheer! Cheer brings about happiness and caring, cheer brings about smiles in strangers, cheer brings about the true meaning of Christmas.

Sunday, October 23, 2005

Flight 141

I love airports. I find them very intriguing, especially when there's hardly anyone around. I picked my Mom up last night around midnight and all the businesses were closed and there were only a small selection of people hanging around waiting for friends to arrive.
The lights are dim and there's this sense of the unknown. You're in a place that's always so busy, crawling with all walks of life and so when there's no one there its quite odd and mysterious. Perhaps you'll see someone stretched out across three seats trying to catch some zzz's and you wonder what their story is. You see a brightly dressed ethnic lady with a bouquet of flowers and wonder who's arriving. Or maybe there's a young toddler running around with no supervision, excited to be free...
I wish I could spend more time at airports, too bad parking's so expensive.

Letters to my Mom - Part 1

 Hi Mom,  I'm here in Playa del Carmen, Mexico while Carlos and Isaac are in the Philippines. They visited Tita Girlie and everyone else...