Cruisin' time in the USA, again :)

yes, the woodward dream cruise is here again in spite of the bleak economic situation around the globe. america's love affair with their vintage cars is still going strong. i saw one price tag for one not good looking classic car for sale and it is a whopping 4.5 million pesos. now that keeps me thinking. we were only there for around 1.5 hrs. and it is a whole day cruise. thousands of cars coming from different parts of the united states so that must be in high millions of maybe billions worth of cars on display just for one day alone. wow! only in America folks. the classic cars roll on with hefty prices...hmn, mr. jay leno, my favorite comedian loves classic cars to death. he doesn't have kids but he collects these beauties. i won't be surprised if he was here in the motor city, actually it is in the suburbs of Detroit, the car manufacturing hub, that this yearly dream cruise is being held. maybe they ship these cars here by train all throughout the U.S. and the owners either fly or drive their regular cars to come here to show them off, laughs...here are some classic cars or not that i happen to shot :) billions worth of moving steel, old, vintage, classics from the past, they are here to entertain the present, cool :)...i think it will be nice at this point to stop blogging for the time being... lots of cars to entertain my few visitors here...(^&*)...that is a very good idea :) the question is if the idea will go into fruition, most likely not. but i can try :)

purrfect kitty & tame birds...

our cat and some tame birds infront of our house :) the quality is not that great on these images because JC used his cell phone, laughs. but h_saya loves JC's blanket and yesterday while arriving home these birds were feeding in our front lawn...you could tell that we are cat and bird friendly :) on winter, autumn, spring and summer months birds take refuge in that big evergreen tree near our window and the smaller evergreens as well that surround us. so bird songs and tweets are just common sounds that i hear everyday. isn't that lovely? :) h_saya is sooo furry. his fur is thick, long and very cuddly :>

a happy event in a former vice president's abode :)

with all the trimmings of design and decor...happy is the word for sure :>...he survived an assassination attempt, maybe because of it he never ran for president. went to teach bible classes after that incident and his name is what Jesus is also known for which meant "God with us"... cool, very very cool, indeed. i love it :)

the new presidential bus, aka the bus force one

the new presidential bus :)

president obama's speech today about the downgrade of...

...the U.S. credit rating from AAA to AA...reassuring and true. the US government political system is controlled by the houses of congress, the senate and the house of the representatives, and the presidency and as we all know from the recent election, the republican won the lower house, so they have the majority. they used this power to block an increase in the debt ceiling which btw was done countless of times before without much ado because of the implications of what is happening now, the downgrade of the US credit rating. we know that a law or a bill or any initiative can only bear fruit if the majority votes are there. the lower house which is 1/3 of the US governing body owned at present by the republicans because they have the majority, they refused to vote for an increase of the debt ceiling without tying it to the current deficit, they want to decrease government spending giving pain to president obama and to the american people plus investors worldwide...it is a coup actually. why on earth that they are using this trick which wasn't used before because of its economic consequences...it is the fight for the white house in 2012. they don't want barack obama to be a 2 term president. so they used this power as a leverage and as a tool to make life harder for our president and in the process the american people as well...for what do they care, right? here in the US there are 2 political parties, the elephant symbol which is the republicans who fight for the interest of the rich corporations and the donkey, the symbol for the democrats who are for the american workers. when 280,000 manufacturing companies moved to china for cheaper labor, they enriched themselves and conquered china economically not by war mind you, the Tienanmen square upheaval failed, remember? now with that movement of manufacturing jobs out of the US, no more made in the USA products here except for a few, 25 million americans lost their jobs in the process, either permanently or working part time now. so the rich won in this battle, the middle class shrunk for people are poorer now. no jobs, so they can't afford to pay the mortgages of their homes resulting in the 2008 US economic disaster that president obama had prevented to happen and the US economy did not went off the cliff. president obama bail out plan helped saved the US economy from collapsing to the brink. when 25 million americans aren't properly employed, the US economic recovery will be just a dream. and now that 1/3 of the political machine of the US is owned by the republicans and that is the lower house, this problem is even worser. there is no care from them for the american people, it is politics at its worst. spinning their votes for whom they served, the republican for the rich and the democrats for the working people. see the solution is the creation of jobs. jobs, jobs, jobs here in the US that can not be shipped overseas. and until this employment problem won't have a solution, the US economy won't be going not up but down...president obama knows this and any job creation initiatives by him is always blocked by the republicans. i dunno, it is not really hard to understand but i think a lot of americans must not be tuning in into the political wind here for if ever it is just a matter of voting out these republicans out off office, that is the solution :) gosh! i am a political junkie really. politics make my mind tick for it is the law enacted by these politicians that affects lives here either for the good or for the bad. with this downgrade people will suffer by the increase in interest rates in homes and in college loans. wow, life is not that much fun for me and that is for sure, i'm very sad...

what a wonderful sight, a bird & a butterfly :)

here are my winged friends right in front of me today at my window seeping nectar or plain flying over saying hello? and enjoying my few summer blooms. the joy of gardening are these unexpected visits, fast but sweet...a bird and a butterfly. the golden yellow lovely insect sucking a thistle bloom. a thistle is the flower equivalent to the crown of Jesus Christ because of its thorns, as roses is the flower of the Virgin Mary :) and no the thistle just grew out of nowhere, meaning i did not plant it. i was tempted to cut it but when i googled this plant i learned about its resemblance which is Jesus Christ's crown of thorns. and the Virgin Mary in flower symbols of roses in front of my front window, and the thistle, they both make me smile every time i open my window curtain. i told myself, what a lucky day :>...pls. click images to enlarge so you could see a bird in flight, the no. 2 pic on top :) plus an amazing victory winged-shaped butterfly, the bottom one. very nice :) and that top bird was flying literally into my face poking at the glass window. what? saying hi? to me :) very  lovely if that is the case, laughs. wow! now how can i ever stop blogging when there are so many beautiful things like these to blog about...(^&*)...i dunno, blame it on mother nature...

unexpected visits, unexpected smiles

i look out at my window
and here you are
buzzing and flying
capturing my fickle mind
you just know
how to set a trap
to entice me to never stop
to record these memories
that won't happen again
for it will be gone

one click of the shutter
one second had elapsed
one point of a lense
and here you are
captured for eternity
one frame at a time
life lived one bright summer
when the sun was all shine
but as we know
there are clouds lurking by
ready to pour its rain
as it trickles
as it dampens one's spirit
yours and mine

why can we all be smiles
when life is so fun
it is just day and night
as our earth turns over
there are bumps and highs
as there are tears and laughter
until we all say goodbye
as we become mere skulls
and bones of the past
as others are born
and welcomed after us

why can there be death
when life is a blast
tell me how can we dodge
such fate, such sadness
and suffering
tell me how...

Jasmines of my heart :)

i won't ever crush your soft and delicate petals, so i would never put you in my pocket, laughs. the single bloom below is mine. but the one above, a semi-look alike was taken by me :) at the side of Paco Church one past vacation time. i wonder if the great amorsolo who was born in paco like me :) i am thinking did he ever set his foot at paco church then as well, just wondering :> i love the Phil.'s national flower for its pure white color and its ever perfect penetrating perfume :) a God sent heavenly scent, an unforgettable delight for the nose and for the eyes. happiness! and that is what defines a flower for me :> and yes, under my sooo tall and big ilang-ilang tree in the province are semi-sampaguita blooms as well. cool plus lovely :) i remember the late husband of my virgin mary look alike spanish benefactor collects them every morning then in their home in san lorenzo village and puts them in their altar...now that is even more cooler :) i love the family that sent me to college. an act of kindness that changed my life forever for the better. no words, no repayment of any kind could ever surpass that act of kindness, nothing. i pray that God will bestow on them the grace of living longer on earth in happiness, peace and in good health. generosities have no match. kindness has no rival in that vocabulary of our lives. it equals to love for your fellowmen and it demonstrates our love for our maker, for we are made in the image and likeness of Him :) He said that whoever did good things to his brothers and sisters, ergo, he or she did it to Him as well :) and vice versa, whoever treats his fellowmen grudgingly, he or she did it to God too...(^&*)...

kiss goodbye

Atlantis had landed safely so it's finally over. in sadness we must move on...

the long and winding road
has lead us here
the blue and distant sky
has brought us here
farewell dearest dream
rest and sleep while we
continue to kiss and con
the lonely days and nights
the hot and burning embers
of remembrances of your flight
of you soaring high gone in a flash
but today is the last
thank you dear dove of steel
you inspire little kids
you make their hearts
dream of impossible things
but us adults you made us
think of the possibilities
that no one could ever imagine
for you've flown where
no one has gone before
victory had been explored
conquered, felt and savored...

if the blogging stops the music must not :) and let's start with "cause i have you" by wynn stewart...we have our cats, muses, loves, family and friends. so life should be a blast. if not, it will. mark my word :) let's think positive :>...if not at least we've tried, right?...(^_~)...for having life itself is a celebration, a win, a gift that is given to us only but once. therefore it should be our choice to make it shine, to make it smile, to make it matter or to make it count. for a lot have wasted theirs, sayang naman diba...sooo let's color our lives brightly like the sun. color it for us, and for others as well...

Atlantis is ending it soon and...

...it is making the final voyage of the space shuttle program. launches are always spectacular as ever and nostalgic. it will be missed not only by me but by a lot i'm pretty sure. president obama talks to the crew of space shuttle Atlantis :)...as all good things in life must end so is the U.S. space shuttle program as we wait the final touch down and the last return of its shuttle, Atlantis, who is ending its spectacular voyage for the last time and its last rendezvous with the international space station above us...

endings are like periods and dots. some are happy, some are sad... endings though, we must have... to open new doors or new gates to a new life...

what's up and what's next? even our mom do not know when the first commercial flight to ferry space loving humans into the ISS, when that will happen...(^&*)...but in the meantime let's have a siesta :) i'll be back to post the return of atlantis for the last time and that's it? i wish i can really get a true break here, laughs.

forget about blogging siesta for a moment

for my favorite actress of all, the one and only superstar...welcome back!? i'm happy if it's true :> so many detractors but i think they're just jealous. music is just magic to my ears everytime this lady sings a song. i love nora aunor :>

AIDA is an opera...by verdi :)

Aida and Radames, Elaborate Lives...the original cast... embedding is disabled so i do the linking :)

it would really be nice if i can take a siesta in blogging...(^&*)...maybe this is the right time. i wonder how John Singer Sargent will paint it if he is alive today and how much will it cost to buy that art, in millions? we will never know...similar to "we don't know whose words are true" and "hard to know whose loving who" unforgettable lyrics of this on going song, "elaborate lives" how very true, we all lead such elaborate lives, filled with lies that can bite and stripped of truth that makes an onion cry. playing games that's not important, throwing viles instead of love. aiming swords in the heart, not cupid bows that bring smiles. life is hard but the night is gone, the sun will come as i wipe these tears that i long to crush. hope is here as love comes, for eternity that no words can define, love is here at last for us :) yes, that is my summation of AIDA, Verdi's opera :> i love it :) okay it's now time for a real blogging siesta, or hiatus :?  hope for long, hope for true this time around...(^&*)...but life is a lie to some and as you know that's how my blogging goes. it's rest today but i immediately post afterwards, so you'll just have to wait and see, laughs...but thank you all again for your visits :)  in the meantime just enjoy these snippets of Aida, the musical about love till death. the Korean version tops, what talent these humans have, unbelievable!...i dunno, i think i finally have the post to end this blog if ever...i'll remember you all...(^_~)...good or bad...for it's not me to judge you, it is HIM on that cross who will :)

and let's not worry too much about life, ourselves, or of being good in what we do or not. if we gave it all that should be enough. it's useless anyhow for there are always people that are lesser or better than us :) that is how life rolls. let's just be glad that we have one more day to be alive. that should be enough as well, rich or poor, wise or not, young or old, beautiful or not for we don't own this universe. someone greater than us do and He decides ultimately of what will become of us. you are happy today, you are in love today, you are in cloud nine today but He only knows what our future will be :) and the wisdom to know that we are all just tiny specks of sand being blown about or away by the wind in any direction and that wind is really God :) knowing and recognizing this is priceless. to put it simply we are at the mercy of one powerful force. so let's ask and pray for a nicer ride on that boat of life, a calmer sea so to speak :) let's look up to the divine than looking at us who are just humans. maybe in the process we can find the true meaning of our lives here on earth. the reason why this universe spins like it does :)

my voice is for Him and for Her :)...

JESUS and the Virgin Mary...but on few occasions i can add and dedicate it to a few :) so how about you? come on now, even how bad and low quality your vocal cord is, like mine :) our LORD and our Mother do not and never discriminate :)





Malinak Lay Labi...a popular love song in my province of beautiful beaches where you can just walk and roam with your lovey dovey, muse or sweettie pie:)





recorded November, 2009,  during one vacation time. yes, i need another one, just can't wait...i was under the influence of not alcohol then but by the colds as you can tell with my voice...and this recorder do not do any justice to this beautiful beach...you have to see it for yourself to savor and experience its allure :) and do not forget to bring your new muse or new prince for that will be a much more happier experience for you :) just a bit of a tip here :> even i knew you don't need it. i know you can go to boracay, camarines, phuket island, palawan, camiguin island or any special beach island for that matter but...this place is just a few hours drive from manila and...you don't even have to ride a plane...plus there is a little zigzag road as well that you can experience like baguio...what else? fresh catch from the sea, i meant fish to your heart's content, and some lobsters and shrimps too plus the scenery of driving looking at rolling hills, mountains, farm lands and be with nature at its best...it's just a big WOW, i can assure you that :) and no i'm not selling my home province, just wanna tell you about its natural beauty that is unsurpassed :) just sharing it so to speak but she is mine :>

karaoke time, again...part 1 & 2 :)

yeah i know, i am trying hard. but hey at least i am trying, laughs. the tune is "elaborate lives" in AIDA, the opera...i am reading that a controversial love affair is headed to the altar soon much to the dismay of the lady's son who has complaints of, one, the soon to be groom is the same age as him, her son, that too many loves in the past with a video pa viewed by all with him having you know what with another woman, laughs, and drug use and etc. hmn, plus a pre-nup should be in the works?...okay my piece in this topic...we are not suppose to say something or criticize these 2 love birds. if ever that we do let's just keep it to ourselves for this is a very personal matter for both of them only and it's their lives not ours :) and who are we to put judgement on these two? live and let live, okay? love came for both of them, let's toast to their happiness instead :) but after the pre-nup though :>...for i'm assuming he is not in for the money of this doctora, laughs, so there should not be any problem from him at all signing a pre-nup agreement because if there is then the conclusion will be, it is not really love. it is money love, right? don't we poor people are happy because we don't have to think of such things, laughs...oh well. but whatever their decision to marry or not we are out of the loop for we are not them. we are just spectators to a love that is unique, unusual, for it doesn't happen that often. after all there might be really something special, something undefined that these two lovers have discovered in their relationship. so let's not be on their way to happines, my take. let them be and let's leave them alone :)

art is very expensive...for sure...

posthumous sales of john singer sargent's paintings...

In December 2004, Group with Parasols (A Siesta) (1905) sold for $US 23.5 million, nearly double the Sotheby's estimate of $12 million. The previous highest price for a Sargent painting was $US 11 million.(From wikipedia)...Portrait of Robert Louis Stevenson and his Wife sold in 2004 for $8.8 million to Las Vegas casino mogul Steve Wynn to be installed at his newest casino, Wynn Las Vegas.

music...

...is an art of the heart similar to poetry and painting...images are from the www, thank you for sharing :) bottom art is an amorsolo? not sure, but i love it :)...fernando amorsolo...a great name, though an irony, one love? he had two, laughs. oh well. one is not enough, i guess...(^&*)...i'm sorry he was widowed pala, so comes number 2 love. the truth naman ay people love so much talaga that maybe they need more people to spread their love, although i think there is only one true love, right?...(^_~)...

and yes, we only know that we really love somebody when we lose them and we try to get them back in our lives which is in contradictory to my philosophy of one chance...i am just idealistic not a realist i suppose...but in love you fool me once shame on you but if you fool me twice shame on me...for i will never let you, one chance and that's what you've got, just like life. we only live once. with friends and family too i am a believer of one chance...for i always remember the injustice that you did to me every time i see your face. i can be civil but for me it is not easy to forget, though i forgive :) if i am a good friend and you did not live to that i won't be your friend anymore for you lost your only one chance...how would i know if you will do the same things again, i am now very leery. like trust once it's lost it is really hard to restore...it is lost forever...call me strict but that is how i measure people in my life...(^&*)...and back to square one...you were never a true friend or family or love in the first place for true people that really cares never let you cry, never let you down and always value you as a person and never ever will disappoint you in life, never...(^&*)...

that first chevy

it gets under you skin, for sure :) mine was a white chevy camaro. america made it possible for me to purchase and own one with my own earned salary. and then of course a dream house made in brick with a finished basement. small, simple but it's an abode bought by dollars i earned in america. if i am in my country of origin working as a nurse with a bachelors degree, i could not even do these things, it is impossible. but america made is possible for me :) see, that is why this country is great. it uplifts people, even michael will get an education until he is 26. no one could ever beat that. america is the land of the free. you can run for any public office except only for the U.S. presidency, barack obama's job for they need born in the USA people, but maybe JC can, even i know that is a stretch of a dream, laughs. but america is one country that value its people and welcome immigrants from all over the world like it did to me. now i am a citizen of this country and i am very proud and very happy :)

and yes, i am living now in the USA, the country of john travolta, kirstie's movie partner and he has a child like michael, his boy died in a bathroom during a seizure episode while they were in the Caribbean vacationing. i did not even have a hint then as i watched "grease" at magallanes theatre which is just a walking distance from san lorenzo village where my benefactor lives even now. she is 80 years young but still as beautiful as ever, no kidding. i have a feeling that one tweeting pretty girl is her grand kid for they share the same last name :) i must ask her on my next vacation for it is like a pilgrimage to me, a must see her, a must visit her house every time i am in pinas :)...yes, as i watched grease then little that i know that i would be living in the same country as John Travolta's in the future and also having a special child just like him...just too sad that his boy passed away...but he and his wife kelly preston just had a newborn baby, so happiness came again for them :)

greased lightning by john travolta...memories are made of this...

america, the beautiful...

a beautiful country, a beautiful mixture of races converged into one spot. beautiful wide spaces, pretty wild prairies, innovator, inventor, first, top, most modern, the only super power in the world.... america you've changed me, you've opened my horizon to knowledge beyond anything that i could ever digest, think of, or imagine...you've lifted me up plus you've given me countless smiles...thank you :) ...happy 4th of july, everyone :)

hmn, america was always an inviting country, the ultimate crush of other nations, always a player in all aspects of living, like in technology, science, the conquest of outer space and so on and on...but never a player of the heart :)...once america had gotten a hold on you, america will never let you go or will never let you down...(^_~)...and you can never leave america either like me, laughs. but seriously america has given me so much in my life that no words could ever express my gratitude...(^&*)...

here's the ongoing 4th of july parade in our city taken from our backyard just a few moments ago :) tiny images, blame it on this thing, laughs. actually it is very near, just a parking lot away but in this video it looked so far. oh well...and my pink roses, again :)

"have you arrived?"

maks the dancing partner of kirstie in the dancing with the stars program this past season had mentioned this phrase...so this made my brain pause, think and digest what that phrase meant in the true sense of that combination of words, "have you arrived?" he also said that you've made it when they couldn't find you in your own house meaning it is sooo big that one will just give up looking for you, laughs. although my take is...a big house is really hard to fill with love :) and the take about arriving in life is really individualistic. it is mostly tied to what your goals in life are, what makes you tick or happy, what makes your world turn so to speak...and each one of us has a different look at it. one may want fame, others may want money or financial freedom, others may yearn for a beautiful face and body while the rest may just want a life closer to God's teachings, simple but meaningful. and how to achieve that is a ladder. once you've reach that top then one might have arrived. so have you arrived? or simply, have you made it in life without you being born in a silver platter that stuffs are just being shoved to you, done for you without you working a sweat... my guess is a lot of us would probably say "not yet"...(^&*)...

and maks is here in our state today :) and yes, winning is not about being famous, rich, or having a beauty crown. winning is having an impact in another's life for the better. if that life wins you will win as well. it is just sad that at some point the help that you have given were not even being recognized for some people expect more than what you could  ever imagine to give at that point. nothing is enough so to speak for these people. they are wired to take and take with the mind set that you are better off than them. this makes up for the sadness of giving...you let somebody live in a place you own without any expense for them, meaning free and you get the response at the back, that the place they're living at is not really theirs so ergo they expect you to give that place to them. nothing can ever satisfy an evil heart, even you do good in this case...just pray that they won't turn you into the devil incarnate yourself, laughs. i smile if i think about it...it is really sad that we encounter such people...let's be reminded that it is better to be able to give and give than receive and receive :) and life is timed so let's fill it with love if we could and the best that we can. :>...that is how my dad will think i'm pretty sure for he was a decent, loving and caring man who died at 60, so early for he could have lived 20 years or so more. and for my dad i will give and give :) but to a point...if i ask for help you should also give me some help, relatives or not for that is how i measure you...

it is very interesting about what happened today. JC and me went to shrine of the little flower church for thanksgiving purposes and there was a funeral, so we went to do some errands first and decided to drop by an hour after. so we went back to church an hour later just as the funeral procession is departing. then we went inside and lo and behold another ceremony is about to unfold after death. there is this celebration of life, a debut ceremony of a young very pretty teenage girl all made up wearing sparkling jewelries and in a beautiful red dress :) and that gives hope to my special day...the passing of another year represented by the past which is the funeral representing death and the celebration of a new life which is about to come, the future, represented by the upbeat ceremony that is about to take place when we entered the church, cool :) and i thought my day was all sadness but it is nothing but...

thanks for the e-mails, greetings, phone calls you all...i really do appreciate them more that all of you will ever imagine or know. I LOVE YOU ALL. Good night and sweet dreams...(^_~)...over all my day is a victory :)