yon’s best shot

for almost a year now, Ken Ruther “YON” Layosa has left the Philippines to work in the Middle East. braving the unknown, he headed out there to make a name for himself, and making a name he did!

i can’t be any prouder for his achievement and how far he has gotten in his career! although he resides in saudi arabia, we still communicate. i remembered he told me he was planning to join a photo competition and needed my comments on his photos. that’s how we usually are, we seek each other’s opinion on different matters. and as time goes by, he has gotten really good with his craft! he is indeed improving!

in the recently conducted YOUR BEST SHOT Competition by the Camaraderie Photo Club last june 13 (friday the thirteenth) in the Philippine Embassy, he won the best shot award! congratulations my friend! although some folks believed that friday the 13th is supposed to be an unlucky day, but not for ken! he won other awards too for all his photos and won second-runner up over-all! 

here is his winning photo: best shot

and his other winning entries:

and here’s the photo taken after the award ceremony: ken is the chubby guy in green (he might kill me if i call him fat… hehe!)

lost in my head

my mind still floats in mid air, i guess sleep deprivation is taking its toll on my body and my brain. adjustment phase will commence this coming monday. i will finally and officially start working in makati. i wish myself the best of luck! may i endure each and every obstacle i will face in the work place.

lack of sleep will slowly kill me, i know it. it leads to weight loss and other health-related matters. and then there’s the inclination to bum around the house on weekends whenever there’s no work, thus making myself anti-social. there are some days that i can’t even will myself to go out or hang-out with friends. i would rather spend it with myself - me and my alone time. i long for those days that i wouldn’t worry about anything else, that i don’t have to think what i would do next, that there’s no need for me to do well in something… simply put, doing nothing… let my mind roam free… i don’t get to do that anymore.

there are a lot of things i want to do, sometimes i just want to get away from it all… even for just a short while. when was the last time that i felt really relaxed and without a care in the world? i can barely remember. sometimes i just want to sleep for days, to give my mind and body the ample time to recharge and function in an absolutely normal state. but nowadays, that is close to impossible.

presently, relaxation for me would come in different forms: sleep takes the top slot. next to that would be eating, sound tripping, blogging, reading a good book and watching tv series online (GOSSIP GIRL, ELI STONE, PUSHING DAISIES) and also watching movies online since i don’t have budget for it most of the time (watching movies cost a lot, and i’d rather spend it on food, independent living has it perks).

sometimes i wish i’m a kid again… that way, i don’t have to worry about anything at all. someone else does that for me… won’t that be great?

gotta have faith

ever thought prophet isaiah could get reincarnated in our time? for stories that we can only see and read in the Holy Bible, we get really doubtful whenever we hear of such stories. it may or may not be true but it is a rather interesting storyline for a tv show.

recently, i just finished the first season of eli stone. acknowledgement for my knowledge of this show goes to my fellow trainee, albert! yup! i got hooked, and it is funny, interesting and it made me understand more of aneurism and making a difference.

it is like a better version of joan of arcadia and with a touch of ally mcbeal and some musical movie! i bet you, you’ll laugh, gasp, smirk, cry a little, but often times you’ll laugh. that’s why i liked it in the first place! 

i do recommend the show. it is a mix of comedy and romance, changing the world in little acts of kindness and making things right. and of course, having cameo appearances from george michael is a bit enough don’t you think? i am not a fan but watching the show made me appreciate more his music. i even downloaded his songs! i was fascinated with the show and i can’t wait for its second season! 

sometimes, when we feel that life isn’t going the way we want it to be, we all just gotta have faith! 

George Michael - Faith (George Michael)

fa-dear’s day

papa… pa… daddy… dada… dad… tatay… itay… tay… father…

he is called in different names, in different languages, in various dialects…

i call mine PAPA or PA. whichever is applicable…

i am the youngest and the only girl among my siblings, so i guess you can call me a daddy’s girl. i used to believe that i am one way back in my kindergarten years and grade school years. papa would always help me out in my school projects, if it’s the artsy kind, he is the man for the job! i was always proud to show off to my classmates my projects because papa did such a great work! a masterpiece! you know how we were when we were still kids… a sketch or a drawing that does not include stick people is an achievement! 

he thought me how to ride a bike and how to fire a rifle… yup! believe it or not, papa has always been fond of guns. he used it to shoot down pesky birds in the neighborhood when i was a still a kid. he was fond of dogs too! i think i got that from him — must love dogs!

he is a more serious man, moody in some ways… come to think of it, i got some of his traits too! well, aside from his good looks, i inherited some of his characteristics as well. he loves music, i can tell. every waking sunday, he puts on his santana and toto records in full volume that it literally shook the house. yup! and i am not exaggerating! sundays would mean sleeping in for all of us siblings and papa would just ruin it by waking us really early with his music! aaarrrgggghhhh!!! but that is how he is… up until now… sundays would be his day… we let him be… after all, we’ve grown to like his music… just not the platters and the stone-age singing groups! toto and santana we can take.

growing up, my papa was the stricter one. he is the disciplinarian. the sound of his voice is a force to reckon with. petty fights and arguments diminish among us siblings upon hearing his voice. if not, we face the stinging lash of his belt. that was how he is… but i was never punished coz i was such a good girl! haha! or maybe because i really am a daddy’s girl. hmmm…

i stopped believing that i was a daddy’s girl when i was in high school. i don’t know why but seemingly my papa was the strict one, and whenever we needed permission on something, we always course it through mama. i guess we always thought papa’s answer would always be a definite N-O on everything. but that changed when we grew older… times indeed changed and it was better asking permission from papa! haha! 

all families undergo struggles and woes… ours wasn’t different. we had our share of family drama…

i was in my junior year in high school, a rumor came to our footsteps telling us that papa was having an affair with my mama’s friend! imagine that! of course i didn’t believe it! i was the very last person to believe… i even fought with my mama over it. i accused her of believing such rumors without even confronting papa first. of course my brothers came to mama’s rescue and for a while there, i was ostracized. i was this close of being disowned by my brothers… see, i told you there was drama…

to cut the long story short, chaos filled the household… eventually, i believed the rumor and could not will myself to even talk to papa. i was disappointed! really disappointed! who wouldn’t be?

up until now, he never admitted to us that the rumor was true! oh well… it was all in the past. everything is forgiven…

i have new-found respect for my papa. after all this time, he never left. he stood by all of us even if we didn’t want to talk to him for some time. he worked really hard to send all of us to school. he is such an industrious man, skillful and he really loves my mom and all of us.

i guess, whatever he has done in the past, nothing is gonna change the fact that he is my father. i owe to him my life. no one’s perfect i get that… we all turn the wrong way but it is up to us to figure our way back… papa did that… and i couldn’t be any prouder to be his daughter and i will forever love him.

i miss him… i miss my family… being away from them is a bit hellish, but that’s life!

to papa, i know you have had your share of flaws (who doesn’t?), but in my eyes, you will always be the BEST papa in the whole wide world! i love you so much! (although i don’t say it much)

if only i could celebrate father’s day with you, i’ll will myself to learn to cook one of your favorite dishes — kare-kare! 

calls

i gladly took this job because it is a challenging one. i know for a fact that i would have my hands full, that time would simply pass, that i won’t be idle for long hours… training is coming to an end and as i have spent three days observing my fellow workmates, i somehow had a gist of what i am supposed to do…

my very first call was hilarious! for the very reason that all the things i have learned in training went all out the window and didn’t return til i ended my third and last call for that particular day! damn! my mind simply went blank and i have forgotten everything! thank god for mute buttons! i simply relayed the caller’s message/inquiries to my workmate. she helped me out… i felt soooo stupid! i guess my nerves got the best of me! cold beads of sweat formed on my forehead during those calls, and my workmates can’t help but laugh at me! haha! looking back, i would probably laugh at myself! haha! 

still, i do believe i am not yet ready… and i don’t think i would really be ready at all! but everyone has been really helpful so i guess i am in good hands! thank you lord! everyone has been really nice and they can’t wait for me to start! i am loving my workmates already! and aside from that, free chocolates and brownies when i had my OJT! yum! yum! my tummy was happy!!!

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