Beware... of Wrong Spellings!

Describe love.

I haven't written about you for such a long time now. By now you should know why, or perhaps you have forgotten why.

I'll reminisce, then. I remember you asking me why I haven't written a poem for so long (except for the one I emailed to myself the other day). I simply answered you, "I have difficulty in describing indescribable happiness."

I have difficulty describing my teary-eyed moments with you, while our laughter fills the whole house.

I have difficulty describing the kisses you plant all over my face, and how I would laugh uncontrollably whenever you plant a kiss on my nose (a ticklish part I never knew until you discovered it).

I have difficulty describing how I feel whenever you look at me, whenever you pout, whenever you gently hit my arm... let's just say whenever I say you're cute at what you're doing, it's exactly that -- I find it cute whenever you look at me, whenever you pout, whenever you gently hit my arm.

And then, every now and then, after all my difficulty in describing my indescribable happiness, you ask me if I'll ever grow tired of you.

Let's just say I prefer to be happy eternally, even if I can't describe it.

Critical times

So many scandals have racked this once proud country, so much corruption has maligned even the lowliest of public servants. The cancer is ever-growing, never stopping, as if Jose Rizal the national hero had not written his novels describing the prevailing social malaise.

A decade ago, when I was wailing my head off writing for college papers, I was already writing against the apathy that was engulfing my generation, and the generations after me. It was like finding a needle in a haystack if ever I knew someone who was thinking of the same problems I was thinking, and who shared the same views I held.

Nevertheless, I am not losing hope that we'll get out of this mire alive. It has always been that way. I do believe, though, that as a people, and as a forgetful civilization basking in the tropics, we will never walk outside the shadow of a colonizer, be it the United States of America or the People's Republic of China.

Still here, and existing

Perhaps it is a basic thought, but the past few weeks have not rendered me speechless, or have blocked my hands from writing. I have taken in another new meaning, I have taken in another life, I have taken a job.

The entrepreneurship trip is not over, though. I would rather want to see it from the perspective of a penniless businessman, who has to generate income to steamroll his own road towards progress.

I have aligned myself with the graphic design industry for two years now, and it seems I find more comfort in being creative with shapes and fonts rather than being creative with words and concepts. It is hard to learn, but it is so much better than being dumb and numb.

Caleruega on a hill

A rotunda in a cul-de-sac fronting the administration office that looks like a church perched on a hill welcomes you to the retreat that is Caleruega.

Coming off the Silang exit along the Southern Luzon Expressway, a two-hour drive takes you to this spiritual haven that can also be an available venue for your commercial functions, be it for your company's spiritual retreat, or an escapist wedding set in the midst of lush, green surroundings.

Inside the administration building, a chapel dedicated to Mary Magdalene takes you for a surprise, and your thoughts begin to swirl around the debate whether she was the Messiah's wife or a plain prostitute rescued.

Nevertheless, the whole Caleruega experience can literally take your breath away on any non-rainy day, as you walk up towards the chapel itself located on the topmost hill, and then walk towards the hanging bridge on the very fringes of the Caleruega estate, only to walk up again the steep incline towards your car parked in the busy rotunda in the cul-de-sac fronting the administration office.

Caleruega is not commuter-friendly. Located in Nasugbu, Batangas, just a few meters away from the boundary of Alfonso, Cavite, the haven sits behind a golf club. One can easily miss Caleruega altogether, since only a small arrow perched on an electric post along the national highway points to the direction of the golf club's gate. Not one notice tells the commuter that one has to pass through the golf club's gates to reach Caleruega. Upon reaching Caleruega, that's the time you get to know how to reach Caleruega, through a map in the brochure that tells you how to reach Caleruega. Don't forget to pay the 50-peso fee per head, and sorry, no discounts for kids.

Pabrika Imagery is now officially under construction

My road to entrepreneurship is still going. And I can see that the road, although it reaches far into the horizon, is almost obstacle-free.

After successfully making an exchange deal with Pinoy Press, I am now fully underway into constructing my very own website.

On my links tab on the left you'll see Pabrika Imagery on top of the list.

Much work still needs to be done, especially with the conceptualizing and all the bells and whistles that we're planning to put up on the site, but at least I have quietly launched my groundbreaking ceremony.

We have successfully registered the company with the Department of Trade and Industry, and now I still need to get permits from the City Mayor's office and the local Bureau of Internal Revenue.

And hopefully, by the end of this year, I can confidently call myself a businessman.

Some things on my mind

There are some things on my mind right now, and the rains, the pouring rains are just keeping me whoozy. I am planning to cook champorado (by the way, champorado goes best with rains, and I don't like mixing it with tuyo).

My stepson and my niece are laughing heartily in the background, while Alisa takes her time in having her rest. She's feeling sick with all the rains and all the stress that goes with her job, and she has to be strong enough to go to work tonight. I don't know what will champorado do for her, but then again, mixing chocolate with rice is a miracle, a delicious confrontation between the Orient and the Occident.

Christmas has been a very merry one, while the New Year celebrations heralded another new year for new ideas and new friends.

So many ideas are brewing now, so many ideas that need to be born, to be raised, and to be taken for the world to see.

Just this week we bought a magazine's maiden issue, and that maiden issue excited us with competition, with a resolve to do something better with what we had bought (Basically, we bought that magazine out of sheer curiosity).

And of course, time has that fearless job of murking things up. We cannot attend the supposed brainstorming sessions we had scheduled for today due to Alisa's condition, and thus the birth of a very, very exciting idea must wait for another week.

This project will be born, not only due to our sheer determination to make better stuff, but also to deliver to the Fates what they had brought to our very feet in the first place. Oh, abstract as it may sound and as it may read, but giving birth to a very exciting idea gets my adrenaline going. It is just Father Time telling us, make it good while I slow it down.

Look at what I found this Christmas

For Christmas, I bought myself something I've been missing all these years. It is not that expensive, but it is really hard to find -- happiness.

Being a complete family this Christmas season has enabled me to find happiness in my families, in the company of friends I have kept all through these years, and among my colleagues and associates I have returned to here.

There are new cherished friends, and some friends thought lost but are now here again.

There are, of course, gifts for children for whom Christmas is special beyond faith.

And as this fateful year draws to a close, I would like to wish everyone luck and happiness beyond measure for the coming years.

Maligayang pasko, Pilipinas, at manigong bagong taon.

On my way to Manila

Here right now at a free Smart Bro booth at the Mactan International Airport. Spent almost two thousand pesos for the extra cargo and the airport terminal fees. In a few minutes, we'll be boarding our 4pm Cebu Pacific flight to Manila.

This is Alisa's last day here in Cebu. Some part of me is of course sad that upon my return to Cebu, I'll be spending all my days all alone, alone at the pension house.

Of course, I clearly understand the need. This is our adventure. Another chapter of our lives as husband and wife has come to an end. This is the transition... this is where the hero falls on his knees and seeks the help of the heavens in his last great fight.

I am also on my own return, on my own journey.