GK Congress in Cebu City

March 20, 2008 - Gawad Kalinga Congress will be held this coming Sunday, March 22, 2009 here in Cebu at the Chinese Chamber of Commerce. Highlights of the event, I heard, will include updates on the Gawad Kalingaw movement, presentation of some GK Kids and of course Tito Tony Meloto will be gracing the event by giving a talk. Tito Tony Meloto is one of the pioneer couples who in turned brought to life the Couples for Christ Family ministry.

Road to International Kid's Village

KIDS FOR CHRIST website: http://cfckidsforchrist.com/news_details.aspx?id=47
12th IKV Official site: http://www.12thikv.blogspot.com/

2 GK Sites in 1 day

March 1, 2009 - On the morning, we were supposed to met at Metro Ayala at 8 AM but since i woke up a little late, I had to text my household head that i won't be able to go to Ayala anymore. I'll have to go to directly to the GK site in Budlaan. I arrived there in time to see the kids singing songs, dancing, performing, all to their hearts desire. As always, it was always heartwarming to see little kids pouring their hears out in performing.

Some ladies from C2A were the ones incharge of the activities. They brought clay toys for the kids and the kids were more than happy with the upcoming activity. The kids were grouped and kuyas and ates were asked to supervise the activites. Not only to guide them but also to prevent them from fighting over the clay materials. I was assigned to a group and the kids made their artwork.

While waiting for them to finish, Jared, Adrian, PJ and I decided to play basketball. 2 against 2. Eventually Jared and me won after 6 points because we can no longer stan the heat of the sun. We decided to go back to the activities in time to serve snacks.

After a small talk by Ate Rose, we were done. Another day complete. Another enjoyable day with the kids in GK Budlaan.

In the afternoon, we went to GK Naga. It was first time here and the site was near the beach so on the way there, we were welcomed by the sea breeze. We had games, story telling, puppet presentation and the kids really enjoyed that afternoon. After there, we said goodbye and went back to Cebu.

It was a long day but it was worth it. :)

Pacquiao RTD 8 De la Hoya

From my previous posts, this was my prediction:

"..4. The fight ends in stoppage. MANNY WINS BY TKO. From the start of the opening bell, Manny attacks De la Hoya relentlessly by powerful combinations focused on the lower abdomen. Damage will be greater since De la Hoya is older and his age is taking a toll on his stamina.."

The game turned out to be one of the greatest upsets in boxing history. And so it seemed! The game became one of the most lopsided victories that i've seen. I can't help but think that the game was a world class scripted fight happening right before our eyes. You'd probably wonder why. Here are my reasons for saying so:

DE LA HOYA DIDN'T EVEN THROW PUNCHES. Stats showed the very big difference in the punches thrown; be it power punches or plain punches. People keep saying that Manny's just too fast, De la Hoya is old, too dehydrated for the weight, so many factors that will probably affect but i didn't expect that he won't be punching at all. He just stands there waiting for punches. I'm not questioning Manny's ability but the fact that De la Hoya's resume is quite impressive, a ten time world champion, an Olympian gold medalist, he should have better than that. In that game, he looked like Sergio Medina paid to be knocked out by Juan Manuel Lopez. Sheesh.

BOXING IS NOW ABOUT THE MONEY, NOT ABOUT WINNING. De la Hoya showed that. He put his accomplishments on the line. He put the fan's expectations on the line. He put his movie-star looks on the line. He put his health and everything he's done for what? For some million bucks. DLH didn't care what happens to him as long as he got money. That's what boxing is now.

A POSSIBLE REMATCH? BUT THIS TIME MAYWEATHER SR WILL TRAIN OSCAR, SAYING THAT THEY WILL DISMANTLE PACQUIAO. Floyd Sr. keeps saying that Oscar should redeem himself. Blah blah. What were they thinking? Are they gonna make boxing a money business again? They keep on making and insisting on fights that are mediocre fights.

Everything sums up to one thing: Oscar should retire. He's not a fighter anymore. He just fights for money. Win or lose as long as he gets paid millions of dollars. For the sake of boxing and for the sake of people paying, he should retire.

Official Holiday in the Philippines for 2008

Below is a list of official holidays in the Philippines for 2008. Got any plans for the long weekends? Enjoy! Wohoo!

Official List of Philippine Holidays for 2008

(based on Republic Act 9492 or “An Act Rationalizing the Celebration of National Holidays”)
(exact dates for holidays in 2008 as provided for in Proclamation No. 1463, “Declaring the Regular Holidays and Special (non-working) Days for the Year 2008″)

A. Regular Holidays

Maundy Thursday / Good Friday - March 20 / 21 (Thursday / Friday)
Araw ng Kagitingan - April 7 (Monday), in lieu of April 9
Labor Day - May 1 (Thursday), will not be moved
Independence Day - June 9 (Monday), in lieu of June 12
National Heroes Day - August 25 (Monday), last Monday of August
Bonifacio Day - December 1 (Monday), in lieu of November 30
Christmas Day - December 25 (Thursday)
Rizal Day - December 30 (Tuesday), will not be moved

B. Special (non-working) holidays

Ninoy Aquino Day - August 18 (Monday), in lieu of August 21
All Saints’ Day - November 1 (Saturday)
Additional Special Non-Working Holiday - December 26 (Friday)
Additional Special Non-Working Holiday - December 29 (Monday)
Last Day of the Year (Special Holiday) - December 31(Wednesday)

The date of the observance of Eid’l Fitr (Feast of Ramadhan) will be issued after the approximate date of the Islamic Holiday has been determined. This will be confirmed by the Office of Muslim Affairs. UPDATE: The observance of Eid al Fit’r will be on October 1, 2008, Wednesday.

Note that December 24 is almost always made into a holiday (or at least a half-day working day) in most companies, December 25 is Christmas Day, December 26 is already proclaimed a special non-working day, December 27 and 28 are weekends, December 29 is again a special non-working day, December 30 is Rizal Day, December 31 is a special holiday, January 1 is New Year, January 2 is an “ipit na araw” so who’s going to work on this Friday, while January 3 and 4 are weekends — which means the Christmas season is going to be a 12-day holiday for most people!

No work, just play from December 24, 2008 until January 4, 2009.

Happy holidays!

Talk of the Town: "The Dream Match" - The Golden Boy vs. The PacMan

For the past months, everyone's talking about this. Even before the match was even a closed deal, fans, writers and media have been making a stir in the possibility of the "The Dream Match". Now days before the much anticipated event this year, much have been said about the possible outcome of the match. This article is one of the many. I will create situations and the possible outcomes based on the situation. My predictions are:

1. The fight will go to the scorecards. DE LA HOYA WINS BY DECISION. Given the height disadvantage and physical difference, surely De la Hoya will utilize his jab and fight in distance. In that way, he can neutralize Manny and also setup his powerful left hook.

2. The fight ends by stoppage. DE LA HOYA WINS BY TKO. In this scenario, De la hoya will be too big, too powerful for Manny. Manny's face will be bloody that the ringside doctor will call a halt to the game.

The next two situations are very slim to happen, but definitely given Manny's caliber it will not be impossible to happen.

3. The fight go to scorecards. MANNY WINS BY DECISION. Manny's aggressiveness, stamina and speed added by the volume of punches he threw will be enough for the judges to give him their nod. De la hoya will be overwhelmed by Manny's darting in and out style of fighting.

4. The fight ends in stoppage. MANNY WINS BY TKO. From the start of the opening bell, Manny attacks De la Hoya relentlessly by powerful combinations focused on the lower abdomen. Damage will be greater since De la Hoya is older and his age is taking a toll on his stamina.

i'm not saying that Manny has no chance of winning this fight, but based on history "big men always almost defeats smaller guys". I want Manny to win, definitely! but de la hoya's just too big for him. We'll just hope that even if Manny loses, he'll have no serious damage. Let's just pray together for the success of Manny Pacquiao.

Camiguin Island Escapade

Camiguin is a small island province of the Philippines off the northern coast of Mindanao. It belongs to the Northern Mindanao region.

Its capital is Mambajao and it is the second-smallest province both in population and land area. Only Batanes is smaller. The island of Camiguin is in the Bohol Sea about 10 kilometers north of Misamis Oriental.

Here are some of the pictures that I took when I went there:

Soccer Fever

Finally last Monday, I was able to buy my first soccer ball. Now I can play endless soccer.

another chance..

amidst all the worldly frustrations, failures, endless trials and tribulations, most people tend to lose hope easily. we become so engrossed in pleasing our boss, making that deadliest deadline, nailing that much covited job interview, or drinking the "tagay". we are so focused in succeeding in life, always moving forward to achieve our dreams that we forget to pause for awhile and enjoy life's beauty at its best. and most of all, we miss the chance of thanking the source of everything - God.

i was not an exception to this. after graduation, i was really excited to be in the real world. feeling fully equipped, i did what new graduates usually do and that is to search for a good paying job. looking for a job was not at all a walk in the park, it was really really hard. i become so occupied in doing interviews, taking exams and looking for job postings. that was one of the most trying times of my life and i forgot God.

after months of futile job seeking, i paused. for the first time in six years, i prayed. well, it was really not a prayer, rather it was more of a confrontation. i asked God what was missing? what do i don't have that other's have? why can't i be accepted to even one job? why? why? why? isn't my skills enough yet? don't i deserve a good job?

the good thing about God is He doesn't give up on us. He always calls us and reminds us that He always prepares the best things for us. i learned that the hard way. i realized that no matter how good we think we are, it's no use without God calling the shots. we are still nothing without God. i came to realize this and i humbled myself before Him. and lo! after just several weeks, i got accepted to a good paying job and the icing to the cake was i was accepted on my birthday. whew! it was really something. it was the best gift i had for my birthday.

it's alright to do our best to attain our dreams but we must not forget to praise God for all our talents, abilities and opportunities. we might be too busy looking ahead of the road of life and we missed the beauty trees and the pretty flowers that we passed. we have to pause and really enjoy the moment and really thank God for His goodness.

this saturday will be my last CLP session, and soon i will be a Singles for Christ. i really see this as an opportunity to thank God for all His blessings and for all He has given to me. i look forward to serving him through this community and hopefully this will be another chance - a chance to finally thank Him. May God be praised!

=)

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The application should be working fine after following the workaround.

Live Station of the Cross (Hilongos, Leyte, Philippines)

Filipinos have been known to be devout Catholics. Our culture has been made colorful by practicing century-old rituals like the "prosisyon", "Sinakulo", "Paskong Pinoy" and many other traditions that we have grown with through the years. Some of these traditions have been practiced on the most holiest days of the Catholic Church; the Holy Week.

I went home to observe the Holy Week on my native town of Hilongos in the Leyte province. I arrived on the dawn of the Good Friday and it has been a practice in our town to do the Station of the Cross around town on the early morning of Good Friday. Still lacking sleep from the travel from Cebu, I did have doubts to go with the Station of the Cross but I thought, "Oh heck! Now's not the time to just sleep and not do a li'l sacrifice." Together with my sister, I brought with me my 3110 cellphone to capture some of the highlights of the activity. Fortunately, my efforts was not totally wasted because the reflections on each station was very realistic.

Realistic? Nah, i don't really know what's the exact word to describe it but the Station of the Cross was not an ordinary one. Unlike the traditional stations, where a picture of the different labors of Christ before He was put to death by nailing on the cross, was to be seen, there was a little something different because a stage was put up on one Station and actors and actresses act something to send a message to those who attended the activity. Got it? It's like they act a picture of our modern life that represents or reflects on what happened to Jesus on a certain station. I have captured pictures on some of the stations and I will try to recall the reflections on the station.

1.Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemani. REFLECTION: The Families of Today. The first station portrays two families. One which is poor and the other which is blessed with food. The main scene is the eating time in which the poor family shares left-over foods while the rich family is dining over a feast. The rich family's father sees the poor family and tells her wife so to let the poor eat with them. The wife is reluctant at first but eventually gives in. The final scene shows the two families sharing the food. VALUES SHOWN: Sharing, unity in the family inspite of being poor, instilling to the kids the right values at their young age

2. Jesus is betrayed by Judas and arrested. REFLECTION: Pushed by the Hard Times. This station shows a mother who can no longer bear the problems of the family like so many debts, irresponsible husband and lack of funds to support the family needs. In desperation, she commands her children to do evil things. She pushes her young son to become a snatcher in the market. She tells her daughter to become a prostitute. REALITIES SHOWN: Crimes, poverty

3. Jesus is condemned by the Sanhedrin
4. Jesus is denied by Peter,
5. Jesus is judged by Pilate,
6. Jesus is scourged and crowned with thorns,
7. Jesus takes up his cross,
8. Jesus is helped by Simon to carry his cross,
9. Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem,
10. Jesus is crucified. REFLECTION: Premarital Sex. Young youth do premarital sex and brings about unwanted pregrancy. Afraid that the respective families will know and the shame brought about by being impregnated outside marriage, the couple resort to abortion. After much realization, the girl decides to keep the child. REALITIES SHOWN: Rampant practice of premarital Sex, Abortion

11. Jesus promises his kingdom to the good thief. REFLECTION: The Family of an OCW. The mother left the family to work abroad. The father does his best to discipline his child while struggling his inner struggles of stopping his vices. On one occasion, the child misses class and lies to his father. The father scolds the child and in anger says bad things to him. The child calls his mother and his mother advices his child to understand his father. Father and child reconciles after. REALITIES SHOWN: Struggles of a typical OCW family, cutting classes because of computer games addiction, family reconciliation.

12. Jesus entrusts Mary and John to each other. REFLECTION. The Prodigal Son. This story is similar to the one in the bible.

13 . Jesus dies on the cross.

14. Jesus is laid in the tomb. REFLECTION: The Rich Family. In this station, a typical Don and Doña is introduced. They are typical modern-day tyrants; they donate much an orphanage just to be seen as "good people" but in reality they maltreat people. Out of gratitude, the nun gives Don a bible and he places it on his breast pocket. When the nun leaves, they complain. A poor wife asks for help but her pleas fell on deaf ears. While walking, an angry mob sees the couple and attacks them. Instead of being hit on the chest, the bible given by the nun is the one stabbed. They see this as a good sign and decides to change. REALITIES SHOWN: Pakitang-tao, Helping Others, Chance to Reform

Love Waits

O’er the mountains and over the seas
Islands separate these two lovers
Yet to the love that they shared
They promised to stay true unscathed

She misses the way he holds her hand
While holding him in the rain they stand
She misses the way he strokes her hair
He lights her heart like a burning flare

He longs to hug her and hold her close
Let her feel loved even the seas across
He longs to kiss her with a loving kiss
In the moment of deafening silence and bliss

Even though they're so far away
They feel happier even this way
Very soon again they'll see each other
True love really waits forever

Canigao Island escapade

POSTED 07/09/09: For more information regarding this island, you can contact me at 09182095200. I'd be more than willing to help you arrange your trip to Canigao. Thanks, Fiel.

"The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one's own country as a foreign land. -G.K. Chesterton-"

After a last minute agreement, I and my officemate Adrian, decided to go to one of the many yet-to-be-known travel spots in Leyte and that is Canigao Island. Quoting what Charles Horton Cooley said, "To get away from one's working environment is, in a sense, to get away from one's self; and this is often the chief advantage of travel and change", we thought of the trip as a way to get rid of work stress, and at the same time to quench our thirst for adventure. Equipped only with thrill and excitement and a day worth of clothing, we left from the port of Cebu bound to Leyte last January 12.


To tell you a little something about Canigao, it is an uninhabited island off the coast of Itum, Matalom, Leyte featuring a lighthouse as its only significant man-made structure. The beaches are white sand, with tropical sea creatures and extensive coral reef in the surrounding waters. The western and northern part of Canigao island is placed under nature protection as a sanctuary thus making it a good place for activities such as swimming, diving, fishing, snorkeling, and boating. It was for us a perfect island get-away.


After leaving Cebu at 9 PM, we arrived on Hilongos, Leyte at 2 AM after travelling almost 5 hours across the Camotes Sea. Since we were not able to get enough sleep, we decided to drop by my house and sleep the rest of the morning. We woke up at 8 AM and ate breakfast. After which, we went to the market to buy food for the trip. Since we are only 3, together with my brother, we bought 1 lechon manok and rice. We also brought 1.5 liter coke, 1 bottle of Generoso, and mineral water. After getting everything ready, we left Hilongos and rode a bus to Itum, Matalom, Leyte at past 9 AM.

After a few-minute ride, we arrived in Itum, Matalom, Leyte. We have to walk to the coast area because the barangay proper is still far from the highway. Itum is the strategic place to get to the island because it is near and there are a lot of pumpboats going to the island. As long as there will be passengers bound for the island, there will be available to take you there.When we agreed on the fare, and the time the pumpboat will fetch us, we rode to Canigao.


Canigao Island turned out to be much better than we expected. Although the weather was not sunny, still we enjoyed what Canigao has to offer. Lush green vegetation, shrubs and weeds dominate the central part of the island. Some part of the island beach is stony, while the majority is fine white sand. After savoring on of nature's best, we decided to accomplish the must-do in Canigao, a trip around the island.

Since Canigao is not a large island, a stroll around the island will take less than hour only. While walking the what seemed to be an endless beach, a view of distant islands of Leyte, Camotes and Bohol can be clearly seen. If you look to the water, sea urchins, starfishes and schools of fish, offers a glimpse of the rich marine life around the island. Snorkeling would be best here, but unfortunately we weren't able to bring snorkeling gear.

Bathing in the sea is as enjoyable as the island itself. You'll eventually get used to fishes swimming past you in the water. You could see the sea floor because of the cool, clear waters. We enjoyed swimming in the waters failing even to notice that it was time to go home.

After walking around the island, taking a bath in the cool sea, and writing in the white sand, we hated to do it, but we had to bid goodbye to Canigao. We enjoyed the trip and hopefully we can come back to this island someday.

..come back..

days come passing by
still i kept on wondering why
what made you go away
you will come back again i pray

one day we bumped into each other
a day passed and again another
we talked and laughed and chatted
i dont know why suddenly it ended

i miss you everyday
i wanna hold you and make you stay
i dont want you to go away
you will come back again i pray

please come back.

2 gifts and counting..

"people making lists, buying special gifts.." keep echoing in my ears. yeah, the yuletide season fever is finally here. christmas party here, party there, party everywhere. a time to be with the family, our friends, our acquaintances, and people we have not seen back in our town. a time when we can rest from a year of work, schooling, exams, strict teachers, terrifying supervisors. a time when hearts are set free, exchange gifts to imitate the wise men gifts' of myhrr, gold and incense.

hahaha. i don't want to keep a serious atmosphere here. i just want to announce the two gifts that i have received so far. i guess this was already given to me. nway, just to be safe, "i assume.." first, a rubik's cube. yehey. it's second hand but doesn't matter as long as i can solve it. not everyone can solve it you know. i'm proud of having it displayed on top of my PC monitor. it's a mixed feeling when people get struck with awe when they see the cube solved on all sides. love the look on their faces. hahaha. i'm not bragging or anything, everything i just said is finished with "..modesty aside and humbly speaking.." hahaha.

second gift, shades. came from my teammate when we held our christmas party last tuesday. it's not the brand that i'm after but ika nga "it's the thought that counts." it's really the purpose of the gift that i'm contented with. anyway, i don't use it that much for now because i come to office at 6 AM and go out at 4 PM. not much sunlight to use it with. hahaha. don't want to get rayban (sana yun na lang! hahaha) and get it snatched somewhere in colon. oh well, i'm happy with it.

third, hopefully would be a jacket. discuss this later in my next articles.
that's it for now, two gifts to keep it going is not bad. hopefully i get more. Hahaha.

P.S. i'm still searching for a gift for this sunday's christmas party and i still have no idea where to find it. frank peretti stuffs, or chronicles of narnia bookset, and more. no band practice today so now's the chance. i found a long sleeve and a tie so cocktail party costume is partially solved. need to find a black slacks and leather shoes. tapos human, mura na og tawo tan-awn. hahaha. translated >> after that, i'll look like a decent man. lol!

Three More Days.. (or barely)

The gig that we we're supposed to perform in last week was cancelled. I think that was a blessing coz we haven't perfected the performance, and performing could have been tragic. Anyway, in the right time, we will be able to perform.

Barely three days to go till touchdown. We were able to practice yesterday. Luckily, we came up with a convenient time to practice knowing that I work on dayshift while my band mates are working nightshift. We played yesterday and as i expected we are definitely improving.
Aside from the minor faults, the performance was good. Everybody now has memorized the sequence of each of the songs, where to come in, to stop, etc. But still have more polishing to do. And definitely we're running out of time.

I hope we make it on time.

P.S. I'm supposed to look for a "cocktail" costume for our Christmas party yesterday but since we practiced, i left it for another day. After all, a good performance with no cocktail costume is better than a bad performance with nice looking clothes. Don't want to get remarks such a, "Maayo lang sa porma". Hahaha. I think i'll wear pants. To jive with the "banda" look. =)

'coz i'm caught in suspension

yup. i guess you're right. the title of this post is a giveaway. it's a line from the song Suspension by Mae. And it's one of the songs that a band i was recently recruited to will play.

here i am again to the "band" atmosphere. i can't say that i'm good nor i look good in a band but i guess everything's just pure luck. last year, i played for a band in my company's christmas party. i played bass guitar to complete a band to represent our team in the battle of the bands. we got the third place, in a contest between three bands. hahaha. not bad.

this year, i'm playing the bass again to a different band but this time we won't be joining a band contest. (sigh!) it could have been a great honor to lose in a battle of the bands twice in a row. hahaha. instead we would be performing for merely a presentation. an ice-breaker. sounds cool? that's the half of it. i think it's not a laughing matter this time.

aside from that, we would be playing this saturday. earlier than i thought. i dunno about the details but it's with other local bands here in cebu. one of my band mates was invited and fortunately (or unluckily is what i think is more appropriate) we were just practicing at that time, so we got ourselves to play. i dunno if this will push through.

i just pray that our performance will be well. anyway, what matters is that we play together as a "band" and not as individual musicians. as what Jack Black's character said in the movie House of Rock; "In the words of AC/DC: We roll tonight... to the guitar bite... and for those about to rock... I salute you.." This is gonna be one interesting Christmas season.

Wish me luck! =)

long time.. no see..

it's been quite a while since i posted something. the last time, if i remember it right, was april and the rest was on my college days. whew, it's been really awhile.

i have no choice but to make this one my new year's resolution: write. everything is just messed up. :) even the way i write. idea is not a problem but the way i turn into a literary masterpiece is just a mess. pure mess.

a good example would be the last two posts that i made. the statements are not that coherent. lacks smooth transition from one sentence to another.

anyway, i'm struggling to get back to the writing business. i hope my fans can wait. ;)

LONG DISTANCE RELATIONSHIPS

Many of us already have his/ her loved one. They are there to fill our heart with inspiration, joy and sometimes pain. Someone who will hold our hands while walking in the mall, hug us when we are sad, and sit beside us in the jeepneys as we go home. Someone we call honey, baby, dear, love, cupcake and many other sweet names. Someone who will greet us “Happy anniversary!” or give us flowers on our monthsaries. Someone who will let us feel just how much they care.

Most of the time, our loved one is just a stone throw away, but occasionally we can find someone who are miles away from their loved one, even continents away. They engage into what we call long distance relationships and have their long-distance boyfriends and long distance girlfriends. Now I ask you these questions, “Is it worth involving yourself in a long distance relationship?” “Do long distance relationships have happy endings?

People say long distance relationship simply doesn’t work. I think not. I believe that depends on the commitment that the partners have for each other. If they commit to their partners with all their hearts, then I think the relationship will work. Many say you’ll just miss the person too much. Yes, I think that’s true. It is true that we will be apart from our loved one but surely we will not appreciate someone that we have until they are gone. You will learn to value your partner if they are far away from you.

Why commit yourself to a long distance relationship when you can find someone who is near? To answer that, what if the long distance relationship is worth everything? The partner you love might even be better than the ones who are near. Isn’t it worth trying? They say that a long distance relationship is plagued with endless tests and temptations. That’s right but if you love the person dearly, you’ll stay true to him/ her even though you’re far away from each other. True love defies every law, even of distance and time.

How can you be sure that your partner is not cheating? My dear friends, there is no assurance but if you loved the person, you should trust with all your heart and mind. If your partner cheats, it is his/ her loss for surely he/she can never find someone as loyal as you. As Leo Buscaglia once wrote “Love is always bestowed as a gift - freely, willingly and without expectation. We don't love to be loved; we love to love.” And part of loving is getting hurt.

After all, we can’t really say that involving oneself in a long distance relationship is a complete waste of time. Just like life, every relationship is what you make it regardless of your distance with your loved one. If you fill your relationship full of trust and loyalty then I can say you’ll have a healthy relationship. But if you fill your relationship with doubts and assumptions, you’ll just end up hurting each other. If you love the person, you’ll love him no matter the distance. If you can love that much if your partner is far, how much more when he is near, right?

I can truly say long distance is not that bad after all.

"BaSuRa Mo, ChRiStMaS TrEe Ko.."

“Even the least things such as garbage can and have the potential to be beautiful.”

A lot of waste materials can be seen everywhere, waiting for proper disposal. Some are disposed properly while most are left indisposed and it becomes a problem because of the quantity of these indisposed waste materials. In the facility, we can see cans of soft drinks, empty C2 plastic bottles, waste papers, waste boxes and coffee cups. These things are already considered as garbage but why not use these materials as components of a Christmas tree? Making a Christmas tree out of these wastes can make a beautiful Christmas tree at the same time it minimize the amount of garbage from our facility. Right from the start, we knew that these waste materials are potential Christmas tree components.

Every material in the Christmas tree can be considered “waste” or “garbage”. Most of which can be seen in our facility while others are from home. Empty C2 plastic bottles, soft drink cans, and used coffee cups were the primary materials. Then coffer cup cutouts and plastic bottles were utilized for the side decorations. The star on the tip of the tree is made from the coffee cup. Green mosquito net was made as the cover of the base that gives contrast to the red Christmas tree. Then the other decorations were waste papers and boxes turned into cute gifts, ribbons, straws, paper socks and curly sheets making a Christmas tree made entirely of recycled materials.

After making the Christmas tree, we realized something. The Christmas tree is a reminder to us not only of the birth of our Saviour, but also to tell us that we can make something from our garbage and we can mold what we considered garbage into something beautiful. Every component is different and is considered waste but when put together it becomes a part of something beautiful.