The Great Tiller Man: Cat Stevens

Cat Stevens has created a lot of soulful songs in his early music career before he left the limelight and sought a new faith. But I believe his songs and his words transcend generations, beliefs and religions. I don't have a favorite Cat Stevens' song. They're little masterpieces all on their own.

The Wind

I listen to the wind

To the wind of my soul

Where I'll end up well I think,

Only God really knows

I've sat upon the setting sun

But never, never never never

I never wanted water once

No, never, never, never

I listen to my words but

They fall far below

I let my music take me where

My heart wants to go

I swam upon the devil's lake

But never, never never never

I'll never make the same mistake

No, never, never, never

On busy days...

On busy days when the steady hum of mundane chores overwhelm me, I look back on the quiet, bright places I've been to and everything else disappears.

Someday soon. I'll roam once more. To places where everything is new and different.

Corregidor Island, Philippines

Then I snap out of it and I get back to my chores. :-)

Here's my latest attempt at screen-writing! :-)

At 26

Dear Life,

Let me be wrong today than risk the fear of not knowing.

Let 26 be the age to start a new adventure.

Let me be 4 again and be shameless and arrogant.

Let me be 12 again and be confused in the middle of a daze.

Let me be 16 again and live for romance and summer dances under the starlit sky.

Let me make just one more mistake, before I leave all else to fate,

before I let go of the little girl in me.

Let me be careless for one more day.

Let me take that leap of faith.

-with fingers crossed,

Me at 26

Janeism

No, I am not turning gay over some girl named Jane.

For the past 3 months, I have been going on a Jane Austen craze all thanks to a dear dear friend who loaned me her mother's copies of Sense and Sensibility, Mansfield Park and Emma. Hence my un-updated blog. :-)

Here are some mental notes I have made while traveling through the renaissance period in my pajamas.

1. I would have been considered dreadfully attractive THEN. Yes, contrary to what those magazines and TV shows have been making you believe in, there was actually a time in history when it was pretty to be plump! Hahaha! Take that Olsens!

This explains why Gwyneth Paltrow shouldn't have played the part of Emma, hahaha

2. However due to my lack of social connections, want of finances and inability to play the piano-forte, I would still be considered ineligible and would therefore shrivel up to a decent old age before I die of pneumonia or tuberculosis.

3. I would have found it impossible in this present day and age to find enough house-help to do the laundry. All those empire-cut gowns with crinolines and bustles would have been a chore.

4. I should be thankful for the fact that I don't have to write this blog or any other printed article under a false name or wait until after I die to have it published posthumously.

5. It's sad to realize that some people can never experience the thrill of awaiting a letter or the intimacy of hand, ink and paper. I vow to write more letters today.

6. I should be so lucky to have the luxury of airplanes, jeepneys, taxis, tricycles and more comfortable shoes. You can never see too much of the world.

7. I should probably stack up on classic literature just in case my future children turn out to be as bookish as I am. There's no use filling a library with outdated issues of Cosmo for your grandchildren to appreciate.

8. Knights in shining armor don't have to come in Brad Pitt packages. Just so you know, Darcy was rich and pleasant but not handsome, Mr. Knightley was 16 years older than Emma, and Fanny Price married her cousin (though this I don't really recommend to any of you).

How about you?

What's your favorite Jane Austen insight?

Diving for Coins

The Philippines is home to hundreds of ethnic groups and the Badjao people have a distinct culture all on their own. They live in close clusters and thrive in little makeshift boats. 

In these little boats they roam... their young skin soon aged by the sea.

because under the same sun, they can never be too young...

or too old...

never too helpless...

or too eager for a coin...

never too weary...

never too patient...

never too scared...

On that particular day,  I entrusted all my little coins to the sea. 

It's Only Words

 

It may only be normal for me to be plagued by shallow musings sometimes.

Yes, I can't always be as enlightened and inspired, and for that I owe nobody an apology.

The following are everyday words, everyday signs... 

but I am a Filipino who likes reading between the lines... 

You know you are a Filipino when you love using "Z" instead of "S" or "K" instead of "C", in an effort to be "unique" of course. :-)

]

 

Filipino jeepneys are freedom boards waiting to be welded together...if you see what I mean.

 

An air-conditioned jeepney in the middle of a crowded street in Manila. Ingenuity at its best!

 

This restaurant has several
"golden" branches, make way for the golden toothpick and the golden tissue!

 

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, this label says it all.

 

This resto would have looked really wholesome, if it wasn't in Malate. hahaha

 

The Filipino palette does not discriminate against things that would have been inedible in other countries, or perverted in some (see first word).

 

No wonder many people are still hooked! Charlie Sheen cured their brain as well!

 

This makes for the perfect ending to every meal. 

The world doesn't have to be a sad scary place, there is humor in everything!

Views by the backseat...

 

 I don't have an SLR camera, not yet.  Hence, the hazy pictures. But I wouldn't trade these shots for anything else in the world. Somehow there's just something endearingly imperfect about them. Views from the backseat are supposed to be hazy and hurried anyway. Life happens to be just as hazy and hurried sometimes. 

Yet, if we choose to look at it closely, a moment of wonder unfolds right before our very eyes. 

Like the medley of light and shadows...

or a still collection of sunlight amidst the trees...

a split second dance between dusk and light by the roadside... 

an ethereal view of the world.

like the wide open spaces that somehow look within reach...

or the fiery hues that make way for the stars...

For all we know, life may simply be a collection of still frames from your little spot on the backseat. So enjoy the view!

The Paraw Regatta Festival 2011

After a month-long hiatus from the Sports Complex and Frisbee team practice, we had a beach tourney on the shores of Villa Beach in Iloilo. The event was sponsored by the Iloilo City Government as part of the sporting activities of the 39th Paraw Regatta Festival.

Amidst the grueling heat of February and the intense games we played, I found some other picturesque scenes that may also be blog-worthy...

Local boys going for a quick dip after spending the entire day under the sun.

A bicycle and a determined soul...

The colorful sailboats failed to mask the mundane look on this boy's face.

Adolescence still struggling to walk the straight path home...

An unlikely playground in a patch of dark sand...

Cameras and spectators delight in the intoxicating sights.

Village girls scavenging for an evening meal...

While the rest of us longed for mangoes, some were eager to sell them all away.

Two men, pondering over the day's catch...

For this young mother, all the day's festivities couldn't have competed for her attention.

The world may be your oyster...

or your shady little corner...

While the games went on, the colorful little boats merged with the setting sun and the pale blue ocean.

The crowd cheered.

The winners rejoiced.

But for some people, it was just another ordinary day at the beach...