planes ready to land amidst the winter sky

every day in the evening as i punch my key board, i look up at the sky and comes lines of light in droves. every five minutes there's a flicker of light that glows, infront of me as i put my eyes beyond the lonely sycamores, bare and bones.

one by one the planes hover over my head as i gaze outside the window pane. they fly so low ready for a touch down thinking of their destinations anew. inside are tourists, maybe, all passengers that's ready for a home. after a long journey warm beds are waiting for them in tow.

what a sight to behold, amidst the dark and forbidding sky. what a thought to be had when life is tired. what an inspiration that fills all empty hearts. think about the planes above the sky coming down full of love hope and pride...
***
as i am typing this i counted 7 planes that were in line ready for a landing. they are still high above but you can see their lights flickering some with red on the right side as i peek out my window. our house is a good 1 hour drive to the airport and our house i guess is their path for a touch down and i don't mind for they are just an amazing sight to see in any given evening :) there are around 5,000 planes in the U.S. air space every single day as you can see in the web site about planes on air...planes ready to land is a free wonderful experience for me that repeats itself every night. one of the best :> planes are carrier of dreams. i rode one from the philippines then. my first ever flight and it landed here in the greatest country in the world...mine now :) but actually i ride a plane to go to the first ever wonderful country in the world too and there are 2 of them in my life and in my book :) lucky me for God is good :>

the first state of the union address...

...today...of our president Barack Obama :) he mentioned about the "killing" of the health care reform bill now that the democrats, his own party do not have the super majority in the senate. like an "offering" of the newly elected senator who replaced the seat of the late senator Ted Kennedy. he said, this new republican senator, that he will cast the vote that would "kill" the passing of the health care reform bill that their democratic opponents in congress had worked so hard on this past months, maybe an offering to his "beloved" republican voters who put him into office...but our president said that he won't give up to find a way to give us a decent health care bill...bravo! really in my case we have health insurance through my employer so it is not really for me primarily but there are provisions that will strengthen it...so i salute him for trying to fight for those who don't have health care coverage in spite of the tidal waves of opposition from the republicans who are against it and you don't have to be a genius to figure why...for they are for the big rich corporations, the health and drug industries here who spend millions to lobby elected government officials to oppose the president initiatives for a decent health care bill for the working middle class American public for it will be their loss...well, really...you don't have to be very vocal or graphic Mr. Republicans, i say...for you have long been "killed" in my heart and in my book :) for i am a working class democrat needless to say here, laughs. and yes, the killing and the offering as a gift of something...this reminds me that i need to open a painting that i bought? or tried to buy which has a smile on it...honestly, i haven't open that painting yet, for i thought that the pic of that art sent to me by the gallery is enough, laughs. now, you can say that the painting was killed already before i can even see it in actuality? laughs. try to figure that out...but I'm sad that my dad might not be very happy about this. although, killing for a cause can be justifiable only in metaphor okay? this if you're trying to prove your affection, then by all means let's kill it :) let that painting be not in the open for my eyes to see :> maybe that is the reason why it was never opened in the first place because it was destined to be killed? laughs. how sad then but on the contrary it might be probably better that way for no one would like to see a painting that will be dead anyway, laughs. oh well. just a joke...(^_~)... smile :) and yes, of course sorry for the joke...even that painting hasn't been seen by my eyes, i thank you dear artist for it ...just the same :) ...although killing a smile is a no no for me, really...no laughter, no joy. maybe i'll go in the basement now and put that art in the living room? laughs, hmn, maybe...yes, maybe :) it is mine now after all so i can do whatever i please with it :) if it's time to put it out, i promise i will, how about that? laughs. oh well. again, in all of these, as long as someone is made happy...i am happy as well, the bottom line :) and you don't want me to spell out my true take in all of these, laughs. the truth is really there is nothing to be unhappy about, so there's no need or no reason to kill a smile :)

joy is an ocean cruise :)

the aida diva, a cruise ship in germany...Alleluja means "praise the Lord" ...for cruise ships that sail on water paradise :) ...purse and cruises, hmn...a muse' purse was being taken care of by some lovey dovey during a cruise, this i've read awhile ago. it must be a ball sailing into the open seas in the company of our sweettie pies :>

the ocean made me smile...

as i look at the distant shore, i said goodbye for awhile
while the dimming harbor lights flicker and ready to die
the waves are waving gently as the ship quietly glides
i'm ready to depart and to feel the blue nostalgic skies

as i walk at the decorated deck my anticipation swelled
what will the distant lands and exotic places held
will they tame my playful spirit and capture it to rest
will they offer lasting glories and memories' best

will it conquer my soul and make it whole once more
will it tell me true stories and never lie to me at all
will it hug me and comfort me when my tears are ready to roll
will it, that's the big undying question written in my notes

the sea is vast and the ocean is wide
the journey is now, let the sun emit its shine
let the warm breeze bite my cold stuffy nose
let the cruise go ride, rip and roar

let it refresh and renew my tired body and soul :)



water and music, the opera, are my name connections, i don't mind, laughs...the diva ship, hmn, now that made me longed to be in a cruise but can't afford it bec. i'm poor. sometimes i thought about cruising that it is just like you're in prison with your consent. similar to gambling in a casino where with your consent they are cheating with your hard earned cash, legally or with the consent of the law. they just sold you a dream of next to nothing fulfilment of big bucks. of course they will fill their coffers first before dolling out that dream moolah to one lucky person out in a million. so there, in short, the odds are if you gamble you lose. be smart better take a lovely cruise :) ...now i know why i love the water and music for it had to do with my given name, laughs.

the aida diva must be saying, come sail away with me... but aida the opera must also be implying let's go er be together till our last breath on earth, bec. you are my true love... i wonder if verdi gave them the last rites in ending his world wide acclaimed opera :) if not he should have. sadly i haven't been in to see aida, the opera...so i won't know...maybe in the future :)

aida what it meant. very interesting, to me at least :> let's sail on!

welcome next...

the curtain fell
for the play
has to end

the drama
is real but it's
time to heal

gather your
strength for the
next phase is here

life is a book, it has
too many pages
to read...

soothing water, dance and healing...plus a poem :)

"JOY"...on air, music by giovanni :)

just us all alone in a beach
just you in my mind no one else
just them holding hands so tight
in this ever changing carousel of life

you, who is always there by my side
you, who never left, never vanished
never died

you, who will forever live
in my heart :)

yeah, yeah, yeah. think of love, always...(^_~)...even in the midst of divorces, break-ups and love gone lost...like memories, that something to hold onto once our muses, spouses or lovey doveys leave, die, or are gone, laughs. but really it is just a poem to make me smile and laugh. to get a break from the most serious business and that is the business of living my life in a happy and productive way...true happiness for me is happiness given to others because that is happiness served to God :> and yes, JOY is me according to wikipedia and of course joy is also h. saya :)

the raindrop's rinse...

inspiring and a heartfelt poem ...thanks to you for your nice art :)

i need a bath that cleanse the soul
i need a drop more and full
i need a spring that soaks and clean
i need the rain that drains the pain
of living and of everything :)

this sunday evening is just a drawer of sad TV programming. just watched the times and the moment when the asia tsunami hit in vivid and horrid film forever captured in one's memory. what was then a fishing village of 1,000 residents, only 10 survived. a train loaded with passengers capsized and turned over like a light weight match stick helpless and so its passengers most of whom drowned and died. the raging water is so powerful that no one dares to be on its way...or else.

a few seconds of earth's movement and shaking, then rubble from collapsing buildings around mercilessly pinning and burying frightened victims, taking and ending their lives just like that...the pain of living is the pain when all of these lives ended suddenly without warning. no time for thinking of myself today when a lot are suffering in this hemisphere where i'm at. no time to think of vanity or similar to that...no time.

with just the touch of your cell phone's keypad, you can make a difference and help. express your sorrow and compassion by donating to the Red Cross by texting...Haiti 90999... or Haiti 20222, to Bill Clinton's Haiti fund...your donation of only 10 dollars will be charge to your monthly cell phone bill. let's do it and then we can think of ourselves after... thinking other's need first is the priority... esp. in times like this :) your beauty coming from the inside will enhance your beauty of the outside, guaranteed!

i did it and so can you :>

now i am trying to do some math here...a total of 300 million people lives here in the U.S. and that includes me, laughs. if only a third of that will donate 10 USD each by texting, that will add up into a tremendous amount of moolah that could go into a very, very long way in helping the haitians recover form this tragedy...whom most are living in the tune of 1-2 USD a day...now the more reason to do it...be a part of the solution and little sums add up :)

the tiny Phil. has 93 million population to date and that is 1/3 of the huge USA. no wonder in manila, people are packed like sardines then and more so now. it is really hard to think of progress. in terms of space alone the comparison is mind boggling and in terms of technological advancement it is really just no comparison. now i am very sad...but...if there is a redemption, the beaches are beautiful :) okay, define me as shallow, laughs, for i haven't seen our president barack obama's hawaii's beaches. i heard they are gorgeous as well :) beauty after all is in the eyes of the beholder aka what is beauty to one might not be to another...but could beauty be based on the hair? or in the brains? now a challenging question...and it will define you on how you choose, laughs. oh well...but whatever moves our boat :) or whatever makes us happy let's go for it for really no one cares except us, laughs, and i got that one right, that's for sure :)

wow, kidding aside here, politics is hard to play... i bet our president is thinking now. and with the recent approval by the U.S. supreme court on the limitless amount of contribution any big business can give to their candidate of choice in any given seat...there is a big fat chance that it will affect the outcome of an election for money talks and walks, ask the devil and the lobbyist who will be working hard to buy the votes of elected officials here, for them to look their way or to favor, aka vote for their causes...sad, that we, the poor american public, our welfare will be put in jeopardy starting with the upcoming midterm election here in November. hope that goodness and the right consciences of our politicians will prevail and win, i hope and we better start praying to God now...God, the champion of the truth, love and compassion and everything wonderful and nice :) no one could ever dare to dispute that even though we could not see Him around us. He helps, He knows, He loves... so if we are smart, we go for the winner, right? awesome :)

love makes you do things, laughs

i listened closely to mrs. yap's side of the story :) it was long and you can expect that it will most probably be closer to the truth, laughs. wow, okay, the lady here should stop bothering mr. james yap in respect to the two married couple. request granted to mrs. yap if i am mayen austria, but you know she is still young and might not see the way a mom like me sees things, laughs. oh well. but really, untouchables are people with commitment. married or GF/BF palang because you don't want that you are making somebody shed a tear because of you, a no no :) for there won't be true happiness for you, iyon lang my take :> and yes, she made decisions that are not acceptable morally but she is the only one alone who is responsible and will face God with regards to those decisions. wala tayong pakialam doon. and we better not judge her for only God has the power to that :) and her candidate sibling has nothing to do with her own actions for she is an adult and with the intelligence to know what's wrong from what's right...so ladies, find your happiness where you won't cause anyone to cry bec. of it. remember karma will come to get you but most importantly always remember that God is looking at you :) beware...

very sad that a republican guy won the seat of the late Ted Kennedy today. a big blow to the Obama white house for the 60 senators that is the filibuster proof number in having their agenda being pushed through without opposition went puff. now it is 59. this guy is a no vote to the health care reform law that they're trying to pass. a law that will give some kind of a little acceptable form of health care coverage to the middle class and would bring health coverage to more Americans which is always being profited and taking advantaged of by the health and pharma industries here. it is harder to pass that law now although all is not lost yet bec. they have some options still to consider like not going back to the senate for a re vote...the house of congress will just vote on it as it is, one option, so you won't get that guy's no vote...they thought that they have that seat in the bag but lo and behold they were wrong and they lost that very important seat...complacency and counting your eggs even though they weren't hatched yet...blue eyes crying in the rain here including me...ironic that Ted Kennedy's wish before he died was the approval of the health care for most Americans and here is his replacement, a republican who is against it...made me think that what he wanted most before and even in his death bed that was then seemed easy to get...now it is hanging by a thread...the fight for this health care bill is going to be harder and harder with the loss of the democrats' super majority in the senate. makes me wonder if it would still be a worthwhile bill at the end if it will pass at all and only time will tell...

wherever you are...

today is my dad's b-day...morning glories taken on the seashore at my brod's beach, 11-11-'09. and there was a wedding coming up at Saint Sebastian's Church, my dad's name sake...

sanjay gupta, the surgeon :)

if you need brain surgery...go for the best...sanjay gupta...(^_~)...

operation: touch someone...

i love this beautiful tune, the so called earthquake song ...just saw today at CNN Dr. Sanjay Gupta, a CNN journalist and its chief medical correspondent plus a neuro-surgeon from our state here. he is performing brain surgery to a 12 year old girl, a quake victim in Haiti...the video is not available yet at you tube and so his interview today with former president Bill Clinton in Haiti. this brought memories for me bec. i was once an OR nurse in the Philippines assisting MDs in different surgical procedures covered in mask, gown, gloves and all :) serious business but fun times :> i love Sanjay Gupta :) he turned down the offer by the Obama administration to be the U.S. Surgeon General and now here is one reason that he made the right decision...the service to humanity in tough times like this. the ultimate bringer of great accomplishment, self worth and joy...lucky man :)

a break in the clouds

it's been a tumultuous journey
the feet are cracking now
the road was filled with filth
black stones and sharp rocks

it was a winding freeway
which lead to dis-array
the trip was worth it though
nirvana is earth's heaven's half

the clock finally ticked
its sweet calling ring
the sun, the moon are on their way
to brighten earth's lost lair

hello to sunny, singing skies
goodbye to dreamless life
tomorrow will be different
the angels' trumpet's high

the song bird sings with love
the bees will buzz and dance
the butterflies will flip and flap
over perfumed flowers' heart

God's light is always a gift
God's love is always constant
no way is closed, it's forever open
have faith that hope and smile will reign and shine :)

images are from the www, thanks lots you owners for sharing :>

the passing of judgement...

the kris yap story is getting a lot of mileage in the www. a lot is condemning the girl for her poor choices in life. well, in my own humble opinion only God could pass judgement on her life whatever that is...only God is perfect, not you, not me and not her...so true, but a lot seems oblivious to this fact :) sinners and saints, rich or poor, young or old. we all breath the same air and we will all die someday. sooner or later. so let's enjoy life.uplift instead of condemn, give phraise more, love more. not the opposite :> a minute waste in hate is like a mile driven in darkness...send in the light please :)

and yes i know it's sooo easy to notice flaws on your fellowmen but in hindsight how about YOU? you will get wrinkles, look old and with sagging everything too, it is just a matter of time, laughs. oh well. maybe it's botox time and surgery time for kris then? and for all vain people as well, but that won't be beauty natural...not unless you want fakes, laughs. oh well, again! talking about this is just plain stupidity if you ask me for whatever your fellow men does is not your business and whatever they look too. you're just being nosy, so kindly stop for it is just defining you as a person here instead you defining others in not sooo flattering ways...ergo are you venus personified now? and if it is so, will you stay that way forever? i doubt it... for nature says that we will all grow old :)

but if you insist on fake beauty, here are prescriptions...for sagging elbows=exercise, weight lifting, i am doing it :) for sagging everything else, the surgical knife...but for that sagging and nosy conscience, none can cure that except, you yourself :) as our pres. barack obama here wanted then... change is the key and it begins with us :> with sagging this or that and all, laughs. oh well, again, as usual...

the U.S. Navy's Comfort...

a floating hospital is off to Haiti today :)

a miracle happened...celebrating life...

here's one for the books :)

what will you do? a semi-funny story :)

mrs. yap was in a girl's house recently who was calling her husband, maybe telling her just in case there is really a relationship between them that "he is mine?" well literally and figuratively true for she is the wife. that is not good public relations strategy though for it will be in the news and she is a public figure. i noticed that the true inner make-up of a person is exposed in trying times like this, be a GF or a wife :) so ladies out there young or old, married or not, behave, be nice and let's not jump into conclusions right away for many do :) ...love is like a bird, it could not be put in prison for if it's true it will fly out no matter what you do...and if you love somebody let him go and if he will come back to you, he loves you truly :)...i observed that happened many times and one just recently :> so stay cool kris :) you fight for your love to your husband but really if your husband loves you truly have faith that he won't do any harm to your relationship and if he does he is not worthy of your love so let him loose or let him go...as simple as that. for you won't want anyone who does not love you even though you love them to be around you. give them their happiness, in short. that is a sign of love that is giving, you suffer if you must. some die pa nga for their true love diba? :) now that reminds me it's the story of one opera that is tied to my name but no correlation to my 2 cents here, this is my own take, laughs. but really kris, lighten up...remember you can't imprison love :) as if she is reading me, but i know not, laughs. oh well.

a warm dog's SMILE :)

our bulldog's reincarnation :) 11-15-'09, phil...this is Goodwin the son of George at Saint Michael's church...strange but he looks exactly like our pet dog, bulldog, when we were young ...a splitting image, a re-incarnation of our dog then if you will :) bulldog's mom was spotty, who looked a little like George... white with brown spots in her as well. that's why we named her that, spotty...and speaking of George, the dad of Goodwin here i took pics of him 2 yrs. ago but the security guard told me that he was ran over by a car and died like 6 months ago, i was sooo sad...glad that Goodwin is here to take his place guarding the church of St. Michael, the protector against evil of all the saints :)




and here are the 2007 pics of the late George, really sad. glad that the nice security guard at St. Michael allowed me to take this pics then...more than 2 yrs. ago...

more than 100,000 people are feared dead in the aftermath of the catastrophic earthquake in Haiti. the archbishop is also dead, 85% of the population is catholic. the palace, the house of their president also was not spared. the city that is supposed to accommodate 50,000...there are 2 million people packed in there...then the major problem of buildings built poorly which won't have a chance to stand a major earthquake...i am thinking of the Philippines. i hope that the buildings, houses, high rises are more better built just in case a similar case, (hope to God not) will happen...truly heart breaking, heart wrenching, an apocalyptic nightmare, totally terrible and a hell hole of ungodly proportion...we ask God in times like this, what could be wrong, what was the message, who is to blame...human's soddy constructions of buildings for one...i wish that there will be an invention in the future that could warn humans even for just 30 minutes in advance that this tragedy will occur soon so they could evacuate and flee to safety, i wish...

a dog can sense the coming of an earthquake seemingly but only for a few seconds before it happens...we need more animals that can do that for us in more than 30 minutes to evacuate. this proves that animals have more developed sensitivity to their surroundings than humans...

7.0 magnitude earthquake hits Haiti

"the sky is gray and covered with dust" one described the place immediately after the quake. a hospital collapsed and people are screaming for help while there are wailing and crying in the streets, one resident said. it is a catastrophe with magnanimous proportion since the epicenter is just 10 miles of the capital Port Au Prince which is densely populated. the buildings there do not even compare in safety to the oldest buildings in California. even the new buildings there are not built in earthquake safety specifications as required in those buildings in California. so a lot here in the U.S. fear for the worst. like the lost of lives in this place, the poorest country in the western hemisphere, the first republic. they really do not need this devastating event. let's pray for the population of Haiti and hope for the best...

9 churches...

Church of the Child Jesus near the Mall of Asia where a wedding was going on :)

Our Mother of Perpetual Help
Saint Therese


Saint Sebastian
Saint Michael

Saint Jude
UST chapel


Manila Cathedral

Quiapo Church
***
shots of the 9 churches in manila that we visited on that day during pacquio's fight...there was no traffic so we did it in just a few hours :)

take one and take two...

but it's no better i warned you, laughs. gosh! singing is hard! and up to 3 minutes is all this camera can record. i really did not plan to sing but the stars lined up for it, laughs. i heard in the mass 2 days ago about the phrase "come follow me" so i thought that was a nice song. i started to research it but that's not the title so i have to google it and it was "be not afraid" then i went to itunes and Jon Sarta has a piano piece of it. got the lyrics and since my recent posts were about churches, the houses of God, voila, why not try to sing it myself? laughs. oh well. so here it goes, me trying hard to give justice to the song but failed. hey, i am not a singer, so that's my valid excuse, laughs. oh well. maybe i could listen to a nicer voice version of it somewhere, someday, and maybe it will be coming from you, how about it? :>




Be Not Afraid...Bob Dufford, S.J.

You shall cross the barren desert
But you shall not die of thirst
You shall wander far in safety
Though you do not know the way.

You shall speak your words in foreign lands
And all will understand
You shall see the face of God and live.

Be not afraid
I go before you always
Come follow Me
And I shall give you rest.

If you pass through raging waters
In the sea, you shall not drown
If you walk amidst the burning flames
You shall not be harmed.

If you stand before the power of hell
And death is at your side
Know that I am with you, through it all.

Be not afraid
I go before you always
Come follow Me
And I shall give you rest.

Blessed are your poor
For the Kingdom shall be theirs
Blessed are you that weep and mourn
for one day you shall laugh.

And if wicked men insult and hate you
All because of Me
Blessed, blessed are you!

Be not afraid
I go before you always
Come follow Me
and I shall give you rest...

...played in the piano by Jon Sarta...

h. saya in the philippines

nov. '09...see you next time, philippines, God willing :)

pink tea plants, a river/creek and more...

i am a flower freak not a book worm that's long been established. it's not my line of job maybe that's why :) you read to be able to get some ideas for your write ups right? but me i go for the extra ordinary beauty of nature which are plants, flowers, beaches and people :) i'm done with books in my school days so time to move on to things that turn me on and make me smile :)

white flowers near an ilang-ilang tree

plus a wishing well :) ooops i forgot to toss a coin, laughs. yes, plants galore and some more in the province and this is just a small portion of a huge garden with mangoes, kangkong ponds and a small river besides my brod's property...lucky him, it's a little slice of paradise :)