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Some relationships end too soon, too bitterly. My April was a headache. It severed a prospective, strong friendship. But I am glad that redemption is finally occurring.

Endurance is a virtue, along with patience and resilience. It was an exodus of emotional battle and cold war, and I expanded patience for pragmatic concerns. But recent happenings forced me to make an aggressive decision, one that is beneficial to the majority including myself. I now realize that decisions seem right when peace descends after arriving at one. And now it feels like home.

According to the World Book of Happiness, it matters not if income is lower than the previous one, so long as basic necessities are met by that limited funds, as significant increase in salary may have a minimal rise on the happiness graph. Happiness is gained not from material things but from relationships built. I will shell out more than what I used to, the trip will be longer, waking hours earlier, but friends to share worthwhile memories will turn every penny into an investment. They say we gain some, we lose some. But I say we lose some, we gain a lot. At the end of the day, relationships founded on trust equates to happiness not every nickel saved can even account for. The sum is peace of mind. And the finished product? With delicate aroma that entices the sensitive olfactory organs, freshly baked 'home'. And I am. :)

Caramel Latte

Human beings, as frail as we are, are prone to committing mistakes. Quick thinking, a beam, and a heart-felt service conceal the blemish.

I was in McDonald's last Sunday. I just purchased a book about happiness as perceived by a nation according to experts. I was very excited to start digesting the wonderful thoughts embedded in it. I headed straight to McDonald's McCafe, the perfect place to traverse in the passages on each leaf, while awaiting a friend I was supposed to meet. I walked directly to the counter to place my order.

Ten minutes passed and it finally arrived. I was puzzled when I noticed the absence of caramel syrup on the whipped cream. I asked the crew about it, only to be told I ordered a latte. Be it Starbucks or McCafe, I rarely experimented. I have always been fidel to my caramel. Imagine my dismay.

In the midst of my dilemma, the manager intruded. He suggested replacing the cup. I hesitated. He repeated the offer, and I persistently convinced him otherwise as I did not want to witness an innocent latte being drained its existence away. I convinced myself to take on a new challenge and just sip the darn drink. The manager apologized, looked at me, and uttered the most magical statement my ears had ever heard in the whole afternoon. "Do you want your caramel syrup on the whipped cream?", he said. My eyes twinkled.

Compromise is a sturdy bridge. It helps people admit without losing face and injuring a relationship. I missed my caramel, I welcomed my caramel-flavored latte. I happily embraced its uniqueness. I imbibed my drink, embarked on my journey in my new book, my mind was clouded with a special feeling for having to consume such a favorable blunder. Mistakes are miracles in disguise. Even the greatest men committed mistakes that gave birth to serendipity. Like my latte was. :)

Thank God It's Good Friday!

TGIGF. Thank God It's Good Friday. Friday's good!

Friday is not only the season-ender for the long, draggy, boring week. It is not only tantamount to sparkling laughters partnered with intelligent talks and silly conversations hovering the mellow-surrounded place, nor to drink-till-you-drop party you barely can remember the next day. It is not only the reason for the hangover. Friday is valentine's day.

Friday. The persecution day for the Son of Man. Blood was shed, bones were nailed, love was demonstrated. Spatter of the red pigment was scattered everywhere, and everyone tainted by it had been imbued by the divine love. That makes Friday good.

In the modern calendar, Valentine's day falls on the 14th of February in an annual cycle. In the Chinese counterpart, this event transpires every seventh day of the seventh lunar month. I say in Jesus', it falls every Good Friday.

Friday is not only the season finale for the prolonged mundaneness; it is the denouement of God's love. In His attempt to gather all His children, God decided to mortalize His only Son for the salvation of the wicked. The Son of Man 'breathed His last' so the lost sheep can respire in the truth. His sacrificial end is our beautiful beginning. The object of our infatuation might have missed Valentine's arrow, but not a soul has missed the pointer aimed by God. The shaft misses the apple of the first sin, flies past the enemy's treacherous traits, hits us bull's eye. It revolutionized Valentine's.

Happy Valentine's Day. :)

Twilight

He is the man of your dreams. Towering at six feet, high society confidence exuding from every tiniest pore in his porcelain skin, the crowd could not help stealing numerous glances as he strides. He permeates a sweet smelling scent, covering the blood sucking putrid that percolates through his very existence. But do not attempt to fall for him if you do not want to be the next budget meal. He does get tired from fast-food chains from time to time. Vampires have a delicate taste.

Edward Cullen has transformed into a household name after the release of the book, Twilight. The novel has later met its cinematic counterpart. The popular book by Stephenie Meyer reintroduced and resuscitated the vampires as they live in the modern days. They are still the blood sucking family of leeches that we know; this truth will linger on. But the author has added a little flavor, a once in a lifetime, rare phenomenon: Edward fell in love with a human being.

Countless stories have been inspired by these creatures based on European folklores, among which is a novel written by Anne Rice, The Vampire Chronicles. Lestat de Lioncourt is the main character, the metro sexual type in the dark world. Edward’s passion is to win Bella, Lestat’s is the human race. His mortality is lived morally, as least he tries to be. He loves mankind. He cares for his father despite the friction between them. He is depicted as a hero, feeding on crooks and the evils of society. It may have been translated differently, but Edward and Lestat have one commonality: love. And the color of love is red. It is the very thing that keeps them alive.

Despite their softer side, however, vampires are considered taboo. Edward is a lover, the only identity known by public. Despite his charm and personality, if he dropped the bomb, everyone he knows within a six-mile radius will disappear out of fear. So he conceals the truth. He walks and lives like a normal teenager, without them realizing he is actually 110 years old, glitters under the sun, and bites. Literally.

The movie is still an unfinished business though the book is. In spite of the dragging acting by Kristen Stewart (Bella), Twilight remains in the top ten for top-grossing films of 2010. The movie Eclipse raked more than USD600M worldwide according to Wikipedia, exalting Edward as the most sought after vampire of our time.  The final installment, Breaking Dawn (Part 1), will be in cinemas this year, expecting to gather millions of dollars on its first day. This vampire business is a filthy one. A filthy rich business. Like the vampires themselves are.

Vampires are normally stationed in high-ranking positions, rubbing elbows with the elite and the royalties. Dracula was a count. They infiltrate human societies where they are safest. It is a common conception that villains lurk within us where they are most unnoticeable. The same tactic is applied by the wittiest of creatures. The mystery of vampires will remain as such, while authors with vivid imagination will continue to thrive on everyone’s curiosity. The films will roll, the novels will be published, Edward will love, and his clan will remain. Whilst the blood runs in our veins.

Limitless

I remember my father mentioning to me that we, human beings, have not really accessed our brain's full capacity. Even Einstein could not boast he did. This is what makes us human, he said.

Limitless. The title is mundane, the actor is an upgraded version of himself, escaping from his stereotypical chick-flick roles, and the genre a pinch of everything. When I saw the trailer, I thought it was another Matrix type of films, mind-boggling, action packed. Surprisingly, it jumped out of the expected. It tends to provoke the mind but in a direct kind of way. I guess we have had enough of Inception to last us for another decade.

The secret is access, and the password is Math. Had I known the significance of Algorithm I should not have dozed off during class. When Eddie Morra swallowed the pill, his last resort to salvage his hopeless career, his 'blindness' was cured. He awoke to the undivulged world of endless possibilities. It is the modern version of Adam and Eve, only this time Adam initiated. Adam becomes invincible.

The effect lasts for a day, the side-effect fatal. Heavy traffic of information being bombarded by liberated neurons pumps in his brain that if he stops, he might explode. He feeds his hunger for knowledge. He uses them wisely. He befriends Mathematics, and he gains two million dollars from investments on Wall Street in two weeks, leaving everyone baffled with this new specie of genius. He is declared a deity.

I half-expected that he would run out of the pills, that he would suffer from its medical consequences, but that he would survive to tell the tale. He did not run out of it. He employs a scientist to reproduce it, thus extending his stature for eternity, with the world in his hands. While everyone was struggling to climb their way up the corporate ladder, he has already conquered and is waving the flag. The pill was the shortcut.

The concept knocked on the door of my image of God. Imagine the Greater Being that monitors our every move. The idea of the film may in the future be feasible, but the basics will hog us - the Higher Being that created 'all that is seen and unseen' still holds the throne to absolute consciousness. We have a glimpse of His Being as of the moment, maybe experience a quarter of it once we attain 100% control of our brain, and He will still be light years away ahead of us. The magnificence of God beyond human mind, eyes exposed or bound, with or without the pill.

Limitless, yet marginal. That is what makes us human. We are.

New Beginning

I had been enveloped with dark, heavy cumulonimbus these past few days. I started and punctuated the days with tears, a heavy heart, and an outlook of a dusky future.

No man is an island. We will always need someone to strengthen and resuscitate that lost glimmer in our daily living. Mine held a stethoscope. And he cost $68.

He took a needle and poked me with it. I witnessed my precious blood flowing right out of my teeny weeny veins into his mighty, frightful syringe. I stared in horror. This liquid version of me will either relinquish or reclaim my being. I chose the worse.

The good thing in being part of a religious community is having prayer warriors. Immediately after that nightmarish jabbing experience, I messaged everyone to intercede for me. A chain of prayers was built, God agreed with it, and translated the collective plea into a positive result from the clinic the next day. I entered the doctor's office with crushed spirit. I left it with renewed soul.

Some people regain life from a horrific accident. Some from a tragic experience. I came into being for the second time after a depleting paranoia that consumed my cheerful personality. It is a miracle. The results nailed factuality of God's definitive miracle hands still at work, though they may appear ambiguous at times, through communal intercession among his brethren. Communion of the saints works wonders.

I have been breathed of a second life. I am eternally grateful. :)

Sunday School: P5 Version

I guess a teacher's greatest achievement is seeing her students learning something. It definitely is a cloud nine feeling.

I taught my catechism class a song last week. I was surprised to know none of them knew it; it was such a popular one. The lyrics were simple, the melody too, and the good part is, it is an action song. Some practice here and there, laughing at everyone who got confused including me, and we perfected it. As expected, they acquired and sang the song like they have known it for a long time.

I was talking loudly today, trying to get everyone's attention, but to my surprise, it was mine they caught. One of the students informed me he sang this particular song I taught them in school, two of them in fact as these guys are also classmates academically, that their teacher even noticed them. Then they started singing the song in front of me, doing the action while seated, making me gape in amusement. They giggled. I giggled. So they learned something!

I volunteered to handle catechism class as a minute way of reciprocating to God. But instead, God, in His most sagacious, showed me an alternative route that leads to His grace of fulfillment. My Sundays have been a happy rainbow, and my one-hour journey with these wise miniatures has been the shortest and the most meaningful. Who will not fall in love with them? I did. ^^