i walked the walkway

All photos mine.

This year's Holy Week, the Hubby and I spent whole chunks of time volunteering for Walkway: Reflections on the Stations of the Cross at Bonifacio High Street. It's an interactive installation exhibit with applications on the death and resurrection of Christ.

The past week was an exhausting one, but it was fun and enriching at several different levels.

We've visited it the past two years and we decided to help out this year. since we first stumbled upon it in 2009, I found it so brilliant - a refreshing, current and effective way of taking the message of Christ outside of the church and into the community. I've always loved the idea of it. This year I took this a privilege to step outside my own comfort zone, to be part of this large-ish event that forwards the Gospel.

I was often positioned at Station 14 (the last one), handing out communion elements to participants - if I wasn't there, I would've been at the merchandise table selling shirts and stuff - so got to interact with people after they've gone through the whole exhibit. I sometimes asked people how they found it, and it was very uplifting to hear their positive feedback on Walkway. I didn't hear a single negative one, not even a neutral one.

If you weren't able to check it out last week, you can go here to read the text for all 14 stations, and see some photos from the 2010 display.

this summer's first beach trip

Summer just ain't complete without a trip to the beach. I spent yesterday with the Hubby and the in-laws at a lovely resort in Hamilo Coast, Batangas.

All photos mine.

The place had white sands, several swimming pools and amenities worthy of five stars. The resort isn't completely built yet, but there's a lot to enjoy in it nonetheless .


We had a great day of swimming (well, it was more like wading in water than actually swimming, haha), chatting and eating and snapping photos. I was a bit high on antihistamines because my allergies suddenly acted up, so I wasn't very active the whole day. I felt so congested and surly, but at least the feeling that my head was floating around gave me a sense of relaxation.


I made sure to get lightly toasted. I want tan lines to show so it would be obvious to everyone that I've been to the beach.

Next trip: Subic, first week of May. ^_^

tv comedy

Afternoon. I was working on a necklace design while our helper watched TV. From where I sat I could hear the clumsy Filipino dubbing, so I supposed it was another one of those Tagalized Korean dramas.

From what I gathered, it was supposed to be a drama, but the awkward language just made me laugh like it was a comedy. Seriously, who uses unfamiliar, five-syllable Tagalog words in a casual conversation? I wonder where these local distributors find their translators and if those translators actually get paid. Anyway.

One scene just cracked me up. It involved a male character and two female characters, one of which I assume was the b*tchy girlfriend and the other seemed like the suspected other woman. The girlfriend-figure started out in all her royal nastiness, "Sinasabi ko na nga ba! Tumalikod lang ako ng sandali, naglalandian na naman kayo!," and then suddenly, so sweetly, like she switched personalities, she said, "Sweetheart, nagugutom na ako, puntahan naman natin yung bagong bukas na restaurant."

I had to look up from my work and absorb it - What the heck was that about? Was the character supposed to have some sort of mental deficiency? Did the translation miss something? Was there a portion of the scene that was edited out? Either way, it sounded idiotic, and I just had to pause and laugh at that weird monologue.

And then, as if on cue, the commercial that soon followed kept me in a snickering mood. An intelligent-sounding voice over goes, "These women will experience the [brand name] difference. Why? Because [brand name] is different." Toink. What a cleverly packaged tautology.

The drama program resumed and I found out that it's entitled "Temptation of Wife". Whaaat is that supposed to even mean? Like, if the non-sequiturs in the dialogues weren't hilarious enough, you could always cap the awkward translation with wonky phrasiology.

another answered prayer

The Hubby and I hung out with a few of our younger friends after church service last Sunday. We chatted and did some catching up in a resto with J, B and K.

K had just graduated from University and told us how he had already begun to apply for his dream job. This was a field he had always wanted to be in, and we've been praying about it since he was in high school; the Hubby and I had supported him and trusted with him that it's his destiny. It's something that we believe God placed strongly in his heart, and we can envision how the Lord can really bless him and use him to bless others in that area.

It was like watching the rising action part of a movie - it was already becoming a reality for him, that kid we invested our lives in (who is now no longer a kid, by the way). It truly was exciting, and we hoped for the best with K while he waited for a callback. The only problem K perceived was that there was one other more qualified applicant for the particular position he was aiming for. K still felt confident about it though, somehow knowing this job is really for him.

We paused to pray right then and there for K. It wasn't a begging, pleading "whatever happens happens" kind of prayer, but a positive and faith-filled one, phrased as if K was already sure to land the job. We all just sort of knew; after all, God had already made it known somehow years before.

Just as we finished, another friend of ours came into the resto. Our older friend L. The Hubby came over to him to greet him, and led him to our table to introduce him to our younger friends. As I introduced them, I felt the urge to include brief, interesting details about each person (a useful tip I picked up from Bridget Jones' Diary a couple years back, haha). As it came to K's turn, I mentioned he had recently graduated from university and applied for this particular position in this particular organization. Who does that, right?

Without pausing, L asks K to write his name and the position he was applying for on a piece of paper. It turns out L personally knew the head of that conversation. No promises of course, but he did put a word in for K.

Earlier this evening K gave me a call, announcing that he got that job. Wheee! Though we already believed he was getting it, it still felt great to hear that he actually nabbed it. Even if it wasn't my personal success, I celebrate with him. It somehow feels like my accomplishment by extension, because he's a person that I love.

I stopped by his Facebook wall to leave him a note. "I believe in you," I said, "this is the start of something big".