Battle between inertia and exertion ( or stagnation and growth)

Imagine: dark heavy clouds, terrible traffic, no dinner, unknown locale, weary eyes and body after a long day of work, crowded transportation system, etc. You get the picture. Makes me want to go home and crawl into my bed and rest all night long. But do these all the days of your life and imagine again: stunted imagination, narrow perspective, and undeveloped mind. Yeah, yeah, exaggerated but this can happen to anyone who will choose not to expose oneself to the finer things in life (…and so the artists may say).

Good thing I decided to brave the dark clouds, fight the terrible crowd, subsist on a small siopao, and just rest my eyes and body for a minutes while waiting for the show to start Good decision to meet my mother at the MRT station instead of at the house since the need for rest might have tantalized my groaning body to just stay home and forget the free tickets my brother got for us. Good thing.

And so I was able to watch the musical “Beauty and the Beast.” The stage, creatively used with three wide screens flashing different images depending on the scene, and moving backdrop with beautiful depictions of the countryside and interior of an immense house, was enchanting. The characters, all in colorful and exquisite costumes, sang with beautiful voices. The lyrics, containing hilarious puns and modern allusion, were poetic yet not boring. The dance creations combined classic and contemporary steps that made the show interesting. The music, done live by a full orchestra, was quite hypnotic ( I am not only saying this because my brother was one of the violinists!). It was quite deceiving because it was quite perfect, making one think that the music was recorded.

Of course, the musical was not perfect. It was a preview show, I have to say. The characters might have been saving their energy for the grand opening the next day. Sometimes a singer did not reach a high note or sustain a long tune. Four sets of characters may not be doing a dance step at the same time. It was not perfect yet it was truly excellent. Especially for someone who has not seen a theater play for quite some time.

It was superb, superb in reminding me that I need to make an effort. It was a love story that admonished me to exert myself. I need this. For my own growth.

War in Corregidor

My recent trip to Corregidor taught me a lot. I learned a lot of things about how the Filipino and American troops defended Corregidor against the many months of onslaught by Japanese planes. They succumbed 5 months later after heavy bombardment and depleting ammunition, supplies and medicines. The Japanese came with new weapons and relentless pursuit (with Kamikaze and all). Of course they did take over of Corregidor. But later on, the Americans came again to retake this small tadpole shaped land. And the Americans did this within a few weeks. When the Japanese felt their defeat, they (almost all) went inside the Malinta Tunnel and killed themselves together with all their firepower. And so McArthur was able to raise the Filipino flag above Corregidor once again.

 

The Lights and Sounds show inside the Malinta Tunnel bore witness to the events during II World War. It showed the courage and forbearance of those people who tried to defend their land and freedom. The ruins were preserved as they were. Ruins of the office buildings, housing, battery crock, tunnels, the old canons, the pictures, old flags, and other souvenirs of that time. There were pictures of surrender, of pain, of the wounded, of the death march in Bataan, and so many others. All of them proof of courage but at the same time the futility and senselessness of war. Why, oh why do people go to war?

 

 

 

Summer is gone

Scorching heat, sweaty body, parched throat. All of these are common for all of us who just experienced what was supposed to be the hottest summer ever in our history. Gone is the summer that many people cursed. It sapped our energy, made us eat the coldest desserts, and pushed us indoors where the welcoming coolness brought momentary comfort. Summer is gone. Gone also are opportunities to travel around, to discover new places, to bask under the warm sun while lounging along the sandy beaches of Boracay, to ride to Baguio with close friends.

Rain has fallen again. It brought cooler air. It brought respite. And yet, it also brought obstacles to the adventureous.

I await again the birth of summer.

A beautiful promise

I just wanted to put this song in here. What a beautiful song. I just wish that this could be the song of all women so that there will be less pain in the matters of the heart ( relationship with the opposite sex).

 

I promise (by Jaci Velasquez)

 

Lord, you know my heart

And all my desires

And the secret things I’ll never tell

Lord, You know them well

Though I may be young

I see and understand

That at times, like sheep, we go astray

And things get out of hand

 

So I promise to be true to you

To live my life in purity as unto you

Waiting for the day

When I hear you say

Here is the one I have created

Just for you

 

Until then, Oh Lord

I will be content

Knowing that true love will come someday

It will only come from You

Coz I have seen the suffering  that loneliness can cause

When we choose to give the love away

Without the righteous cause

Crossing the line

I cannot help but pity Anakin. Or is it just me? Somehow I felt sad that no one helped him get through what was happening all around him. Obi Wan should have known and gave advice. Yoda could have indicated something to Anakin. Padmi could have assured him that all will be well. Or anyone one among the Jedi Council. But then, it is really the decision of Anakin to join the dark side.

Maybe that is my problem with the good force in the Star Wars: you have to listen to what you feel. Feelings though are not to be trusted. Let’s take Anakin who trusted his love for Padmi. Was it wrong for him to want the love of his life to continue living? Was it wrong to feel betrayal when the people around you when they seem not to trust you (unfortunately Anakin was deceived by the Emperor)? How about the other Jedis? Were they not feeling that something wrong is happening? They should have known that something is amiss with Anakin.

And all this made me think about the line: the line between the good and the dark side ( or for Star Wars : the force). How easy it is to be lured by power, immortality, fame and strength. How easy to be deceived that what you are doing is for the good of someone but in reality you are doing it for your own good. Did Anakin really want for Padmi to survive her childbirth for herself of for his own?(it was for his own really, a selfish decision that pushed him more to the dark side) Did the Chancellor wage the war for peace and democracy instead of power? (Of course, we saw that it was for power).

No one can stay on the line. One must choose. It must either be for or against. And I hope that for me, it will always be the “good” force.

What matters most...

I just watched the movie "In Good Company." I could say that it follows the Hollywood formula : the good eventually succeeds at the end, the good things in life are relationships, family, character, and love for your work. Yup! It's the standard feel good movie. But then, it makes me wonder how come so many people still miss out on this. Many still take for granted relationships and their family. Many people do not really love their work ... it's just a way to sustain their needs and wants. Character? What's character to the world which seemed to have lost it's contact with the true good things in life? In the end, one of the main characters (played by Topher Grace - what a different but nice screen name!) finally realized that what he has done for the last few years was not what he wanted. He turned his back on the fast and crazy corporate world and decided that he might pursue a career in teaching. The last scene shows him jogging along the seashore, enjoying the scenery... a deep contrast to a forestry scene on the tv while jogging on a treadmill. Good for him! He realized at 26 (or maybe 27) what he wants out of life. How I wish that many of us will realize this early on... and not miss out on so many good things in life... not exchanging them for things that seems worth reaching for, but not true...

Hating chocolate

I just read a book entitled “The Chocolate Touch.” It’s very much like the story about Midas whose touch made everything gold. The Chocolate Touch, yes, you’ve guessed it, is about a young boy whose touch made everything into chocolate. It came about because of his greed for anything sweet and most especially for anything made up of chocolate. Of course, he learned that chocolate is no longer quite so good when it’s the only thing you eat all day. Just imagine, drinking chocolate water, eating chocolate egg, crunching a chocolate chip (instead of potato chip!), using a chocolate spoon, taking chocolate medicine, tasting a chocolate fruit (whew! What taste would that be?), etc. That would really be cloying! And anyone of us would feel mush the same as he did: hating chocolate.

 

Doesn’t this make one appreciate the fact that God created so many different types of food? Isn’t it great that we can savour so many types of food that are sweet, sour, spicy, bitter, and salty and even a combination of these different tastes? Now, I am making myself hungry this early (it’s 8:41 am and already had my breakfast)! Just a reminder for me to thank God for my different taste buds and so many varieties of food in this world!