LeBron James' Almost

I saw this on Yahoo today before I logged in. LeBron James dunks from the free throw line! Almost! I thought, ok, so what? Ha-ha. But inspite of myself, I clicked on the link, watched the replay and gawked at it like really Oh.My.God!

The Prince of Egypt

Mud…

Sand…

Water…

Straw…

Faster!

Mud… And lift…

Sand… And pull…

Water… And raise up…

Straw… Faster!

With the sting of the whip on my shoulder

With the salt of my sweat on my brow

Elohim, God on high, can you hear your people cry: “Help us now. This dark hour… Deliver us.”

I watched The Prince of Egypt last night at the boarding house together with two thirds of The Kerns. I was on the phone texting Vince and Eeyan when the movie started and this song started playing. It echoed in the interiors of the house. Some boarders even went downstairs to check what the racket is all about. Astonished I fixed my eyes on the screen and there it is. I was transfixed, swept away by the music and the animation that my eyes started to moist. I was ready to cry right then and there. But I was told that the movie hasn’t really started yet. Means I’m in for some more of this.

What mesmerized me more about this movie is the animated Moses. His facial expressions were so real that I thought the real Moses should’ve looked just like that. Fascinating. Every scene was so magical that I nearly declared it the best animated movie I had ever seen. Okay, well Cinderella was my ultimate fairytale movie but this movie is definitely something else. Oh well, if it’s the best, might as well not compare it to anything else then. He-he.

After the crossing of the Red-Sea I was already choking in tears. I couldn’t trust myself to speak about how this movie made me feel because the feeling is beyond words to describe. So after the credits I gave Aegirine and her dad Kuya Billy a quick goodbye and run quickly upstairs to hide my tears. I’m such a looser, you know. He-he. But the moment I hit the sack I was reminded of my Grandmother in Tacloban. She sent me a booklet called A Brighter Tomorrow which initially I thought was for kids. I kept it in my Starbucks planner and told myself I’ll be reading it one day.

I hit my bed at 12am because I did some more journals on my planner. I put my arms around my pillow and thought about the song I just heard. Shortly, I was singing Elohim, God on high, can you hear your people cry: “Help us now. This dark hour… Deliver us.”

Tita Ayin for a Day

Last Saturday I was in Marikina for a little babysitting with Michael. He is the son of my elder cousin Lema. This boy was born and raised in Bahrain for two years. He speaks a little tagalog now but some times he chants. Ha-ha just kidding.


It all started with the Raisins. Mikel luuves Raisins which I don't understand why because I don't eat too much of it! So I asked him to give me some to taste so I can tell what is to like about it. But he didn't want to share! Gasp.

So I tricked him by singing the Jolibee song. He loves to sing and dance to that one so I sang it and played around with him a little. Then I asked if he could now give me some of his raisins. He gave me a cheeky grin instead. Sigh.

I played around with his toys and rolled over the mattress like what a real toddler does. And when I was tired I realized he already finished three packs of it. Gosh, this kid is something.


So there, a day playing the role of Tita Ayin to Michael Blancaflor. Boy, that was hard. He-he. I didn't really mind about the raisins, you know. I was more fond of the time we shared. Mikel was such a cutie. He looked like my brother Nico when he was younger. But of course Nico is waayy cuter than any kid in town. Oh okay enough of that. Anyway, after a few more playtime with Mikel I chatted with his mom a little and was told that the they are really moving to Singapore by next year. Initially, they had planned to settle in Bahrain after their marriage because of Kuya Ronnie's work (Michael's dad) there as a Computer Analyst. But they had a problem with the immigration so they went back here. When Kuya Ronnie finally got everything fixed he was assigned to work in Singapore, thus, making them, Ate Lems, Michael and younger baby Kevin move there as well. Sad. Makes me wish that I could spend some more time with them before they're gone and be a Tita Ayin for a day again. Ayyy...

Bloggers Unite To Reunite Refugees

There had been no laughter in Sarajevo, only the sounds of exploding mortars and the anguished screams that followed. John Donne was right, Dana thought. No man is an island. What happens to one happens to us all, for we are all made of day and Stardust. We share the same moments of time. The universal second hand starts its unforgiving sweep toward the next minute."

Sydney Sheldon
The Sky Is Falling

It wasn't Sheldon who introduced me to the reality of refugees, but, surely he and the books that he had written expressing the tragedy that took place beyond my time and imagination is what inspired me to put this post today. I'm one of the many people who is here to share all efforts possible for Bloggers Unite: Reunite Refugees.

This is to all the fallen people, angels of Sarajevo and the Albanian refugees.

My 12-year old friend

Because I'm such a kid at heart I became the ultimate BFF (Best Friend for Life) of a twelve year old girl named Aegerine Kern. She's the only daughter of our landlady. She's half German if I may say so and is a few inches smaller than me. In time I know that'll change. Anyway, she's really sweet, though her stubbornness often sends people flying off the wall, I just smile at her. Aside from myself, Aegerine's one misunderstood girl. She freaks out people with her Sarah Geronimo style of singing while eating at the dining table, she bullies you back when you offend her, she doesn't eat a lot, she dances anywhere, she looks at you intriguingly and appraisingly like what most fashionistas call the "Manhattan Onceover", she talks a lot of non-sense and she bitches you around.

Oh whatever, this is a twelve year old kid who became so dear to me after about a few months of moving in. I can't exactly remember how but I think it all started when I was invited to watch zombie movies in their room after eating dinner. She started saying things like "You look familiar...", "You look like someone I know...", "You're cute..." , "You don't look like your age..." , "You're...", "You...". Basically that's when the friendship started.

Going back to Aegerine. Today, I just want to share with you something she shared with me. She's just like any other teenage girls we all know. She poses sweetly for the camera. She ties her hair in pig tails. She braids her hair. She takes a daily dose of Vitamin-C (according to her mom). She has a crush on one of her classmates named Jeffrey. She wants to be a celebrity, a singer most definitely. She wants to grow up fast. Her mp3 player only plays one song and that is This is Me from a Disney Channel show which was sung by a girl whom I have never heard of and her favorite The Jonas Brothers (eek!). She gossips. She lies. She makes other babies cry. She plays badminton in the street. She wears pink skirts. And she loves her mom and dad.

One of my most memorable experiences with Aegerine is when she's was left alone in their house. Her mother is a treasurer of Dating Daan and her dad was out on an exploration that time(I'm not sure about this though). She asked me to stay with her and watch movies. We watched White Chicks and guffawed with laughter all over the place. She learned to mimic the line that one of the cloned white chicks said when they arrived at the hotel. She'd say, "Credit card? I.D.? I am so freakin' pissed." Ha-ha-ha. I had loved that movie ever since.

I will share with you one of the things that Aegerine is most fond of. Japanese boys. Yeah. Well, this is her favorite band as of now and I learned to like it after she sang it to me the second time around. Watch it and have fun the way a twelve year old girl does.

Tegomasu - Ai Ai Gasa