from The Fiddler on the Roof

watched (and this time, finished) the film Fiddler on the Roof in dr. hornedo's class a couple of hours ago. we are suppose to look at it under the framework of Soren Kierkegaard. as a matter of fact, we ought to come up with a reflection paper on wednesday. (oh God, i've been lagging behind my papers!)

there are many scenes that prove that the film invokes deep philosophic reflection. one that caught my attention was that when Tevye and his wife Golde are talking about their daughter's being engaged to a liberal Jew. their argument of whether they should render their blessings brought them to a sort of evaluation about their love for each other.

the conversation, presented through a song again made me cry (sorry, iyakin); although i must admit that many parts of the film brought me to tears. well, here goes the song...

DO YOU LOVE ME

(Tevye)
"Golde, I have decided to give Perchik permission to become engaged to our daughter, Hodel."

(Golde)
"What??? He's poor! He has nothing, absolutely nothing!"

(Tevye)
"He's a good man, Golde. I like him.
And what's more important, Hodel likes him.
Hodel loves him. So what can we do?
It's a new world... A new world.
Love.

Golde...
Do you love me?

(Golde)
Do I what?

(Tevye)
Do you love me?

(Golde)
Do I love you?
With our daughters getting married
And this trouble in the townY
ou're upset, you're worn out
Go inside, go lie down!
Maybe it's indigestion

(Tevye)
"Golde I'm asking you a question...
"Do you love me?

(Golde)
You're a fool

(Tevye)
"I know..."
But do you love me?

(Golde)
Do I love you?
For twenty-five years I've washed your clothes
Cooked your meals, cleaned your house
Given you children, milked the cow
After twenty-five years, why talk about love right now?

(Tevye)
Golde, The first time I met you
Was on our wedding day
I was scared

(Golde)
I was shy

(Tevye)
I was nervous

(Golde)
So was I

(Tevye)
But my father and my mother
Said we'd learn to love each other
And now I'm asking, Golde
Do you love me?

(Golde)
I'm your wife

(Tevye)
"I know..."
But do you love me?

(Golde)
Do I love him?
For twenty-five years I've lived with him
Fought him, starved with him
Twenty-five years my bed is his
If that's not love, what is?(Tevye)Then you love me?

(Golde)
I suppose I do

(Tevye)
And I suppose I love you too

(Both)
It doesnt change a thing
But even so
After twenty-five years
It's nice to know

little wonderful things about the accreditation

i was the sole hands-on accreditation laborer on philosophy's end, thus i think i deserve to write this entry, hehehe.

sure, i tired myself off for that event albeit my disbelief of its credibility. (1) it was quite obvious that two (or i must say, two and half) out of the four accreditors knew so little about the rigour of philosophy as a degree program. (2) and just as how everyone in AB would assess, the exhibit is exceedingly overwhelming (thanks to sir ferdie's prodding). PHILO, LIT, ECO and LM will definitely gonna make it to level three.

admittedly, it was not a futile job. now i shall look at the brighter side. personally, this proves that hardwork reaps a lot of blessings. most of the time, they are living gifts, and so allow me to thank them:

* my students -- i gotta thank these kids for helping us out. they kept me up for the entire week. they were the reasons why i never escaped from work. thanks for being so cooperative and i apologize for the li'l terrorisms. (to my 4phl and 3phl kids, we'll see if i can grant your Chicken Alfredo request -- actually si gozi ang particular about this, but i definitely owe all of you)
* the computer room team -- ma'am lea, sir jeff and ma'am dors for introducing me to this wonderful "freedom room", for making me appreciate Black Eyed Peas and Pussycat dolls even just for that time.
* ma'am dors (yea, you must have an exclusive item) for the reassuring hugs. (awwww...)
* ma'am vivian -- sure, we get strength from each other's hugs... i really did appreciate that.
* kuya jose -- for the styro that i "stole".. bati na tayo ha... =)
* sir/ma'am ferdie and mommy mel -- for understanding me if i need to make a "flying trapeze", and for a weeklong of vocabulary-enriching experience.
* sir bong -- for the lunchtime lectures, and for the "no frontiers" evening.
* to a friend, for the library photos.
* to another good friend who has been a constant buffer for my every incapability.

thanks. sobra.

OFF-TOPIC: sana manalo ang uste mamaya. bow.
---------------------------
Endnotes:
(1) level to be given by PACUCOA is irrelevant to CHED's discernment for a COE. there is no direct relation and significance about being COE and accredited as level three, and for philo it is COE that matters most.
(2) i am giving it though to the one in charge of Faculty and Instruction. She knows her stuff.

stonehouse overload

hehehe, isa pa ma'am dors. stonehouse overload.

talk about transcendence, here goes one of the few recent (uhhh, is it?) songs that will make you think.

IF I AIN'T GOT YOU
by Alicia Keys

Some people live for the fortune
Some people live just for the fame
Some people live for the power, yeah
Some people live just to play the game
Some people think that the physical things
Define what's within
and I've been there before
that life's a bore
So full of the superficial

Some people want it all
But I don't want nothing at all
If it ain't you baby
If I ain't got you baby
Some people want diamond rings
Some just want everything
But everything means nothing
If I ain't got you, yeah

Some people search for a fountain
That promises forever young
Some people need three dozen roses
And that's the only way to prove you love him
Hand me the world on a silver platter
And what good would it be
with no one to share with
no one who truly cares for me

Some people want it all
But I don't want nothing at all
If it ain't you baby
If I ain't got you baby
Some people want diamond rings
Some just want everything
But everything means nothing
If I ain't got you, you, you

Some people want it all
but I don't want nothing at all
If it ain't you baby
If I ain't got you baby
Some people want diamond rings
Some just want everything
But everything means nothing
If I ain't got you, yeah
If I ain't got you with me baby

Oh, ooh, so nothing in this whole wide world
don't mean a thing
If I ain't got you with me baby

to stargazers

somebody (itago natin sya sa pangalang Ma'am Doray, hehehe) is looking for this song online. and since this is a common favorite, guess am helping through posting the lyrics. (ma'am dors, sana maperfect na nung nasa stonehouse yung kanta, hehehe)

MISTY GLASS WINDOW (Starlight)

rain falls
dark clouds are racing up above
i gaze in solitude
lookin from misty glass windows
coz then it used to be the two of us

this empty room
filled my thoughts with memories of you
i turned and looked around
oh but found no sight of you
i guess it'll never be as true no, no

starlight, all i need is you tonight
oh, starbright, grant my wish tonight
i'm begging you starlight,
all i need is you tonight
oh starbright, get rid of this spell tonight

rain falls
dark clouds keep racing up above
yet still in solitude
oh, longing for you
i guess my heart will always be with you
my heart will always be with you

starlight, all i need is you tonight
oh, starbright, grant my wish tonight
well i'm begging you starlight,
all i need is you tonight
oh starbright, gotta get rid of this spell tonight

from the malate walkabout (no frontiers part 2)

here are pictures taken from the malate walkabout with sir bong. it's either i was just sad and tired that i need an outlet or i just happened to have a camera. regardless of which, am thankful since i was able to save imprints of that eventful evening.

here goes...

psychedelic. a toy being sold at sulayman, prolly a replica of the lightposts along Baywalk. if i could just sell this to ABS-CBN, hehehe.

si attorney, feeling senti. kuha ng pasmadong kamay, told me to maintain the color settings para daw melancholic.

the fount at sulayman

sir bong.

Inay

september's been a personal favorite, not because my birthday and christmas are both fast approaching. it is just of its being attached to my favorite "suplungan". am a kid ever addicted to this woman, i am already failing on my daily rosary, but a day won't pass without me remembering her. even if i do not truly uphold my Inay's "humility" (admittedly), i find her as my paragon of profound strength and love. among all the people i look up to in heaven, it is only through Mary with whom i can establish this sort of "usapang babae" (na it's like, "Nay, alam mo 'to, babae ka eh...") but of course on earth, i have my mom. now that i teach philosophy of the family, i have greater attachment to mothers, not just because of their roles in the family, but of their strength in being true to their roles.

here are photos from the ab pax romana's marian exhibit. i know that ma'am florence would like to have a copy of the photo of nuestra senora de la guia, but i gotta find where that is stored pa.

soon, it's gonna be october. and my dominican spirit will be up again. true-blue dcans, see ya at La Naval.

WHO IS A PILGRIM?

A pilgrim...

* is not a tourist. S/he is always up to a determined and regular destination.
* is not travelling for pleasure, but for devotion and commitment . S/he is not up to entertainment but to fulfillment.
* makes the journey a religious event.
* assures that the destination is profound and definitely worth it.
* journeys with love.

no frontiers

i was out with sir bong last wednesday evening. having known (guess it was pretty obvious) that i was so tired with that "big" work, he pulled me out of AB at 7pm for a malate walkabout. while on the car, he made me listen to a song. and prolly due to a good combo of fatigue, frustration and hunger, i started to cry.

oh well, here goes the lyrics of the song. i italicized the lines where i gave in.

NO FRONTIERS
The Corrs

If life is a river and your heart is a boat
And just like a water baby baby born to float
And if life is a wild wind that blows way on high
And your heart is Amelia dying to fly

Heaven knows no frontiers
And I've seen heaven in your eyes

And if life is a bar room in which we must wait
'Round the man with his fingers on the ivory gates
Where we sing until dawn of our fears and our fates
And we stack all the dead men in self addressed crates

In your eyes faint as the singing of a lark
That somehow this black night
Feels warmer for the spark
Warmer for the spark
To hold us 'til the day
When fear will lose it's grip
And heaven has its way

Heaven knows no frontiers
And I've seen heaven in your eyes

If your life is a rough bed of brambles and nails
And your spirit's a slave to man's whips and man's jails
Where you thirst and you hunger for justice and right
And your heart is the pure flame of man's constant night

In your eyes faint as the singing of a lark
That somehow this black night
Feels warmer for the spark
Warmer for the spark
To hold us 'til the day
When fear will lose it's grip
And heaven has its way
And heaven has its way
When all will harmonise
And know what's in our hearts
The dream will realise

Heaven knows no frontiers
And I've seen heaven in your eyes
Heaven knows no frontiers
And I've seen heaven in your eyes

yea right, all shall be well. =)

more trigger happy files

cabuyao laguna, jan 2006

si muning, pusa ng isang kaibigang aeta sa tarlac, jan 2006

depleting energy

there are times when strong people also admit that they become weak.

even if i tell to myself that God will just be there to keep me up, there are times when i demand for a more visible and evident ally. for me, such are the hardest times because i tend to crush my pride when i start to admit that i can't be alone, or that i can't just be alone with God.

as somebody who tries to become a hero for everyone else, i must admit that am also looking for a hero. sure, God's here, and that hero might just be around... prolly, oh i hope and i pray!

all i know is, my powers are starting to deplete.

next thing i know, am beginning to post pathetic blogposts.

sigh.

but wait, here's more!

cabuyao, laguna, 1 january 2006, my uncle's "backyard"

atimonan quezon port area, may 2005, the sunset in its splendour

so i kinda like know how to post pics now eh!

not really into photog, am just always given the task to shoot photos during family events. however, i oftentimes end up shooting things than people. (y'see, it couldn't just be everyone's faces)

although i couldn't discount the fact that there are some people who taught me the "basics" - eina, raiz, dean, thanks much.

yep! here goes... di ako pro, di rin enthusiast, praktis lang yan ha. hehehe.

calasiao (pangasinan) belltower, 1 october 2005, during pax romana's annual pilgrimage, reminds me of a favorite subject -- the barasoain (bulacan) belltower that i photographed twice during our highschool fieldtrips (on separate schoolyears, first and fourth year ata). too bad, i wasnt able to save a copy, they were both submitted as part of a group project in social studies. i'll prolly have more belltower photos by october, may pilgrimage uli eh, hehehe.

las pinas, december 2005, while being bored in the reception of a cousin's christening


from pansol sometime in april 2006, during a class outing with 2phl, akala ko sira yung flash ng gigicam yun pala sobra nang masilaw yung araw, heheheh.

all of these through canon powershot a400 gigicam.

just putting every trigger happy mode to good use! =)

also available in the friendster blog. =)

sure, yea right!

FROM BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S

paul to miss holly golightly:

"You know what's wrong with you, Miss whoever-you-are? You're chicken. You've got no guts. You're afraid to stick out your chin and say, 'Okay. Life's a fact. People do fall in love. People do belong to each other.' Because that's the only chance anybody's got for real happiness. You call yourself a free spirit, a wild thing, and you're terrified somebody's gonna stick you in a cage. Well Baby, you're already in that cage -- you built it yourself. And it's not bounded on the west by Tulip, Texas or on the east by Somaliland. It's wherever you go. Because no matter where you run, you just end up running into yourself."

yeouch...