Attack of the Mad Dogs

A couple of mad dogs attacked our house last holy week.  They kept on barking and running around like crazy until one of them fell off a cliff.

Here's a video of the attack:

 

Ghost Town

        While everyone had gone off to the provinces during the Holy Week Holidays, I opted to stay in Manila for a couple more days to do some much needed "housecleaning" and to have some time off for myself for a while.  There's nothing like a much needed respite after a very hectic 1st quarter with hardly any time for a breather.

        Good Friday came uneventfully.  I recall being so busy and stressed up with work and business during last year's Holy Week season that I even had second thoughts of going up to Baguio because of too much work back then.  This year I'm still busy alright... The difference is that I now have enough time to relax, stretch out a bit, and have some time reflecting about the relevance of the Holidays.

        And so after finishing up my stuff in the afternoon, I suited up my riding gear and prepped up my bike to explore what Metro Manila is like during this season.  This being a Good Friday, and knowing that the streets will be free of traffic, I reminded myself to ride defensively and to avoid being too reckless and riding too fast...  I don't want a repeat of the Good Friday incident I had back in college when I flew off a motorbike and landed on my head on the sand when its front wheel got stuck on the beach.  I really saw "stars" when I hit my head on the sand that time -- the kind of stars you see revolving around a person's head in a cartoon when he gets hit on the head.  I even wondered "hey, where did all these stars come from?"  Hehehe.

        So with my helmet and all, off I rode...

        Well, what can you expect... with everybody having gone off somewhere to enjoy the long weekend, Metro Manila looked like a ghost town!

        Here's some ghost town pics:

 

A very "clean" San Miguel Avenue, in front of the old Medical City.

 

Emerald Avenue in Ortigas Center.  No traffic, no noise.  I could even hear the wind blowing.

 

At the opposite side of Emerald Avenue.  Still no cars.

 

I would never risk riding on EDSA on an ordinary day, so this was an opportunity for me to ride through this famous highway.  See... very few vehicles!

 

Paseo de Roxas in Makati City.  "No Parking Anytime."

 

Makati Avenue with a cool wind blowing in front of Mandarin Hotel.

~florent flora

If Tomorrow Never Comes

This morning I received a "wierd" text message. 

It's "wierd" in a sort of way because it came from a friend.  He told me in his text message that "even though I may not know it, he loved me."

Ha?!

I scrolled back to confirm...  Yup, it came from him alright. 

Hmmm, perhaps it's a mis-sent message?  Or was my friend following Rustom Padilla in his footsteps?

I was about to text him back when I received another text message.  This time it came from his wife and she had the same message for me...  "even though I may not know it, she loved me."

Hehehe, ok, ok...  I think this is a season of loving eh?

So what's with this people?  Are they attending some kind of retreat in a far flung  boondock out there?

I'm not texting back until I found out.  ;-)

Anyway, here's a poem that's fit for this occassion...
   

IF TOMORROW NEVER COMES

If I knew it would be the last time
that I'd see you fall asleep,
I would tuck you in more tightly
and pray the Lord, your soul to keep.
 
If I knew it would be the last time
that I see you walk out the door,
I would give you a hug and kiss
and call you back for one more.
 
If I knew it would be the last time
I'd hear your voice lifted up in praise,
I would video tape each action and word,
so I could play them back day after day.
 
If I knew it would be the last time,
I could spare an extra minute or two
to stop and say I love you,
instead of assuming you would KNOW I do.
 
If I knew it would be the last time
I would be there to share your day,
well I'm sure you'll have so many more,
so I can let just this one slip away.
 
For surely there's always tomorrow
to make up for an oversight,
and we always get a second chance
to make everything right.
 
There will always be another day
to say our I love you's,
And certainly there's another chance
to say our "Anything I can do's?"
 
But just in case I might be wrong,
and today is all I get,
I'd like to say how much I love you
and I hope we never forget,
 
Tomorrow is not promised to anyone,
young or old alike,
And today may be the last chance you get
to hold your loved one tight..
 
So if you're waiting for tomorrow,
why not do it today?
For if tomorrow never comes,
you'll surely regret the day,
 
That you didn't take that extra time
for a smile, a hug, or a kiss
and you were too busy to grant someone,
what turned out to be their one last wish.
 
So hold your loved ones close today,
whisper in their ear,
Tell them how much you love them
and that you'll always hold them dear,
 
Take time to say "I'm sorry, please forgive me,"
"thank you" or "it's okay".
And if tomorrow never comes,
you'll have no regrets about today

A Divine Dunking

        How does one prepare to get buried? 

        And how does one prepare for his own burial anyway?

        Ask me... I should know.

        This ain't an April Fool's Day joke:  I got "buried" last Sunday, April 2, 2006. 

        It took all of six weeks to prepare for my "burial".  Six Saturdays to be exact -- I attended Saturday afternoon classes for six weeks just to learn about it -- and how to prepare myself for it.

        April 2, 2006, my "burial" date, came very quickly to me... I woke up at 6:00AM and started my day (as always) with a special prayer of praise and thanksgiving.  Preparing for my burial meant that I had to take a bath (dapat lang!), put on some decent looking clothes with a little hint of cologne, shaved the stubble on my face, brushed my teeth, combed my hair and made sure that I didn't have any pimples growing on my nose at that time (have you ever seen anyone buried with a pimple on his nose anyway?)

        I also packed a set of extra clothes to bring for my "burial". 

        Having done all those preparations, I got into a taxicab and along the way I quickly prepared a short testimonial speech to say during that event.

        There were many people there, some I knew, some I didn't know. 

        "Kuya bakit wala ka kagabi?" someone asked me.

        "Ha, anong meron?" I asked in return.

        "Kumain lang kami sa Dampa.  Andami pa namang pagkain doon.  Akala ko busy ka lang.  Hindi mo natanggap ang e-mail?"

        "Ganun ba?  Nasa Baguio kasi ako noong Thursday and Friday kaya hindi ako nakapagbukas ng e-mail.  Tsk, sayang!"

        "Di bale, ikinain naman kita eh"

        Me: "Hehehe, ganun."

        Anyway, back to burial time...

        Barefoot, I walked to the pool of water in front of me.  Climbing down the stairs the water felt cool as it clung to my skin and my clothes.  The water was chest deep.  Having already given myself up to Christ and having accepted Him as my Lord and Saviour, I took a deep breath and let go of everything as the pastor lied me down into the water.  I clasped my hands in front of my face and quickly pinched my nose with my thumbs as I felt the water close over my head.

        Whoosh!

        I was submerged! 

        For a brief instant, everything became silent.  All I could hear was the water bubbling all around me, muffling out the sounds from the outside world.  I felt at peace in that cool environment.

        Then very quickly before I could drown I felt the pastor's strong hands pull me out of the water.

        Whoosh!

        Cool air welcomed me as I opened my mouth to take in another breath. 

        I looked up... 

        All I saw was the ceiling. 

        No bird from the sky. 

        No voice booming from the heavens.

        Ok, ok, what should I expect anyway?  ;-)

        My "burial" was over.

        Of course I was "baptized" when I was an infant.  Someone poured water on my forehead.  I'm sure of that...  I've got a baptismal certificate to prove it.  My ninongs and my ninangs claimed on my behalf that I have turned away from sin and believed in the gospel.  They also said that I have been cleansed of my "original sin" because of my baptism as an infant.

        Nothing wrong with that.

        This time, however, this new baptism means so much more.

* Baptism - taken from the greek word "bap-tid-zo", meaning "to immerse"

        This baptism will not cleanse me of my sins. Only confession does that.  ("If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" 1 John 1:9)

        This baptism will also not guarantee my salvation and a place in heaven.  ("For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" Romans 3:23)

        But having accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour, I know that I am saved already, even with or without baptism.  ("For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" Romans 6:23)

        So why baptism once again for me?

        My baptism is my public testament that I am a Christian, that I am a part of God's family, that I confess Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour, that I have accepted Him into my heart, and that I have allowed Him to be the ruler of my life.

        And what's the connection with baptism and burial?

        My immersion in water symbolized the "burial" of my old sinful self, in the same way that Jesus Christ died for my sins and was buried in the tomb.  And my being brought out of the water symbolized my being raised back in the "newness of life". 

        In effect, I have re-affirmed the vows my ninongs and ninangs made for me when I was an infant: I have turned away from sin and believed in the Gospel.

        Amen! :-)

        "Therefore we were buried with Him by baptism into His death, so that as Christ was raised up from dead by the glory of the Father; even so we also should walk in newness of life." Romans 6:4

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"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me... I once was lost, but now am found... 'Twas blind but now I see."