Author Archive

  • 18 Feb

    Posted by
    Joni


    Category

    Pets are Allowed

    1

    “Few religions are definite about the size of Heaven, but on the planet Earth the Book of Revelation (ch. XXI, v.16) gives it as a cube 12,000 furlongs on a side. This is somewhat less than 500,000,000,000,000,000,000 cubic feet. Even allowing that the Heavenly Host and other essential services take up at least two thirds of this space, this leaves about one million cubic feet of space for each human occupant – assuming that every creature that could be called ‘human’ is allowed in, and the the human race eventually totals a thousand times the numbers of humans alive up until now. This is such a generous amount of space that it suggests that room has also been provided for some alien races or – a happy thought – that pets are allowed.”

    — Terry Pratchett (The Last Hero: A Discworld Fable)

    A happy thought, indeed! I, for one, would love to see all my pets again. :D

  • 05 Feb

    Posted by
    Joni


    Category

    See you soon, old man.

    4

    Lost John Locke

    If you’re following the TV series, LOST, there’s no doubt you know who John Locke is. John Locke’s background is a sad one, which is why every time they feature his story in an episode my heart really goes out to him. I was even close to tears when he died in the series (but then he came back to life so yay). But why, do you ask, am I so affected by this John Locke character? The truth is, he reminds me of my father.

    Obviously, Papa is not Caucasian – duh. I can’t explain what it is exactly but I find the lines, creases, and scruffy facial hair on John Locke’s face similar to Papa’s. They kinda have the same smile, too. I’m guessing they’re around the same age (mid 50s).

    LOST is now back in circulation for the 6th and final season which means I’m gonna see more of John Locke. With that I can at least imagine my father walking and talking again. Hee. Creepy, huh.

    It’s Papa’s first death anniversary today. It’s hard to believe that it’s been 365 days that he’s been away from us. Mama and I usually talk about how it feels like Papa is just away on vacation in Bacolod and that we’re waiting for him to come back any day now. I guess that’s our way of coping, but it doesn’t necessarily help us move forward. I trust that time will.

    I still believe with all my heart that I’m gonna see him again.

    See you soon, old man.

  • 02 Dec

    Posted by
    Joni


    Category

    Taal Basilica of St. Martin

    6

    In the Philippines, the “historical sites” we have are mostly Catholic churches. I’m not a Roman Catholic, but I do appreciate visiting old churches and learning their history. En route to Manila from a beach in Batangas on Bonifacio Day, we stopped by the largest church in the Philippines and in Asia located in Taal, Batangas. I was surprised when I peeked outside the car window, because I didn’t expect it to be that big!

    Taal Church, Batangas

    The Taal Basilica was established in 1575 by the Augustinians, with San Martin de Tours as patron saint. Read what Wikipedia has to say about it. And apparently, it’s where Ogie Alcasid and Michelle van Eimeren got married in 1996. But we all know how that marriage ended.

    Across the Taal Church are rows of heritage houses, also known as “Little Vigan”, because it’s second to Vigan in the quantity of heritage houses that were preserved since the Spanish Colonial Period.

    Taal Church Batangas

    You know those inscriptions hanging on the walls of churches, temples, or shrines? And those leaflets being passed around at tourist spots? I (try to) read them all. Knowing more about a place makes exploring it more real. It’s like adding colors to your imagination when you try to relive the significant events that occurred there years ago.

    Our country may be tagged as one of the worst nations in the world because of our greedy political figures (and all the inhumane killings), but it’s good to be reminded that there are still beautiful things to see and experience here.

    P.S. I didn’t make this theme. Because I’m too lazy to create a new one, I’m using this free theme from KreativeThemes.com. I repeat, I didn’t make this. It’s too pretty. :D

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