Maybe You've Answered This Already

But I'd still like to ask about your ideal date anyway. 8)

For the hopeless romantics, perhaps it should include burning candles and their smiling ideal partners. For the still hesitant types (ahem, ahem), ideal dates could also involve laughing family and friends.

Well, I can already see the delightful parade of your thought bubbles so I'm joining in. Mine would have something to do with being my loved ones and...

riding a hot air balloon (just look at that cute ladybug!)

seeing white fences amid wild flowers (because the wild ones are usually prettier)










spending the autumn season (who wouldn't fall for fall?)











milking lovable cows (so that cheese would taste much more delicious)












lying on the grass (barefoot would've been so much better)











dancing in the rain (there. barefoot happiness)












having picnic under cherry blossom trees (diet? what diet? 8D)













riding the bike (even when I don't know how)












swimming with dolphins (altogether now: under the sea! under the sea!)












sleeping altogether on the roof (top of the world)











There. These activities complete the puzzle that is my ideal date. Even though it currently remains ideal at least to me (financial constraints, these-should-also-happen-every-weekend mindset, etc.), I shall always look forward to the ideal situation where it'll no longer be.

Well, what about yours? 8)

Matching Types

Directions: Do the following characters a little favor by leading their way back to <3.

Sakura & Kenshin

Kaoru & Kyo

Mikan & Shinichi

Tohru & Howl

Haruhi & Shaoran

Ran & Natsume

Sophie & Tamaki

Checklist:

Alice Academy - Mikan & Natsume
Cardcaptor Sakura - Sakura & Shaoran
Detective Conan - Ran & Shinichi
Fruits Basket - Tohru & Kyo
Howl's Moving Castle - Sophie & Howl
Ouran High School Host Club - Haruhi & Tamaki
Rurouni Kenshin - Kaoru & Kenshin

Merely listing down the names of my all-time favorite anime couples has put me in a full-blown swooning condition. Well, I just can't help but give in. 8) Anime fanatic or not, we have fancied the affection of couples around us. Be they our parents, grandparents, neighbors or even strangers, we certainly have.

Haha. If my brother reads this entry, he'll surely tease me. Not only does he know I've never been in a romantic relationship, he also predicts 30 to be my marrying age. He attributes his forecast to my homebody/bookworm/passive self, by the way.

Now that I'm practically hearing his laughter, let's go back to the said couples. Shall we? 8)

So the seven lovely pairs have spellbound me for years. And as far as the spell is concerned, there's no breaking it. Not even my realization that I'd never attend their wedding ceremonies could cause some crack.

Oh well. I admit their *coughs* love stories *coughs* give me some idea about endless marriage possibilities. At times, I relate my personality to those of the heroines' as I reflect on my brother's prediction. I even consider some of the heroes' admirable traits as I think about an ideal partner. Like Kenshin's strength or Shinichi's wit or Kyo's confidence or...

Haha. These personal ideas aside, matching real-life lovers might not be as easy as that of anime couples BUT it sure is in a Grade A status as this article shows. 8*

Eensy Weensy, Anyway

Somehow, our bedroom still looked tidy. My books were all lined up. Brother's closet seemed okay. Even the resident spiders were cooperative; none of them dared to spin a noticeable web.

Yet I reached for some rag and started cleaning anyway. "I am just killing time," I thought. Until a few arachnidan ruins showed up. There they were, enjoying their hideaway while reminiscing their more meaningful past.

Our room wasn't that neat, after all. And of course, it'll always get dirty. Dusts intend to lurk and the spiders shall multiply. Hence the maintenance. It's a lot like life, isn't it? Despite the inevitability of problems, people still choose to hold on. Anyway:

The Paradoxical Commandments
Dr. Kent M. Keith

People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.
If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.
If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.
The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.
Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.
The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.
People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway.
What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.
People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway.
Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway.

Now if only I could track down those spiders and tell them that despite the current maintenance, I understand their cobweb construction anyway. 8)

Even the Jaded Ones Will Shed a Tear

With this very heartwarming video, they surely will:




As soon as my brother and I watched this, we realized how we both wanted a lion as a pet. Badly. (Job 12: 7-9) <3

I Thought I Heard Them Cry

The branches, I mean.

A few thousand days ago, our landlady wanted shelter from the sun. So she planted a black plum tree in front of her apartment complex. Yesterday, she wanted shelter from the storm. So she cut off its branches. 

I wish the tree were portable so it could be spared. But it is hers. And more importantly, she was right. As another typhoon strikes, less branches also means less risks:

The woman in the picture is her housekeeper. Someday, I'll ask her to teach me how to climb a tree. 8) By the way, here's the result of her ninja-like struggle:

It's not a pretty sight, is it? I'm sorry. When the branches were removed, some part of me was also taken away. Whew. But then again, the act was necessary for...  

         people: Safety? Check. 
                    Ample Vitamin D in the morning? Check.
         the tree: New look? Check. 
                      Another milestone? Check.
         both: "Natural Disaster-Free Future?"

Check. So cry no more dear branches. 8) 

Even Goats Quarrel, Sometimes

The Meh Story

Goat No.1: (silently walks away)

Goat No.2: Hey, I''m not done with you yet. Hey!

I saw this cute couple a few months ago. Have you noticed they were both unharnessed? Hmm. Maybe it was their first year anniversary that their equally romantic owner temporarily let them go. Or maybe they were really siblings who just escaped the harshness of barnyard life. I wanted to ask them (haha, in my mind at least) to introduce themselves. But of course, with the apparent tension between them, all I'd get would be a loud "meh." 

Have you also been in a fight? Be it a pillow or some Pacquiao-inspired fight, perhaps all of us have. One disliked aspect of conflict is the silent treatment. Many animals could feel sorry for the second goat then because it hurts to be ignored.

With people, it still does. Right? It really does. But if one's purpose is to lighten the tension at first, silent treatment can be okay (Proverbs 17:14). I may be sharing this now but once in a while, I don't get to heed the said advice. 8|

In any case, it will always be an inspiration. 8) Hmm. Seems like it also inspired our beloved goats:

Goat No. 1: I'm sorry. I just didn't wanna say anything 
                 worse.

Goat No. 2: It's okay. I'm also sorry for hurting you.

Tricycle Driver: Wanna ride?

Goats: No, thank you. We'd rather walk together. Wanna 
          join?

The End <3

I Love You More Than _______

Is there a measuring stick for love?

For the followers of iloveyoumorethanblank, there is. Described as "a small project with a big heart," the site is wonderfully designed for anyone who wants to express his affection towards somebody via comparison. 

As far as my sometimes-bad-sometimes-good-memory can tell, I have already filled in one of those blanks a couple of months ago. Thanks to a local magazine that featured the site, I was able to say how "I love you more than you'll ever know." Yep, I love my family and my friends more than they'll ever know. Hmm. Since most of the other followers' responses referred to their ahem, sweethearts, I seemingly played safe with my answer (but it was my answer, I swear). Haha. Oh well. 8D 

Anyway, we all agree that the special people in our lives deserve every special way of knowing our love for them, don't we? Cheers to the creators of iloveyoumorethanblank, then! 8)

From Rambo to Bunny

"What's in a name?" asked the Romeo-smitten Juliet.

Plenty, my dear. The following story says so:

When war started in his homeland, Milanko, who lives in the Balkans, joined the army. Because of his courageous exploits, he was nicknamed Rambo, after a violent movie hero. In time, though, Milanko became disillusioned with the military because of the corruption and hypocrisy he saw. “That,” he writes, “led to many vices—alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, gambling, and promiscuity. I was heading for the bottom and could not see a way out.”

At that critical time in his life, Milanko began to read the Bible. Later, while visiting a relative, he saw a copy of the Watchtower magazine, published by Jehovah’s Witnesses. He liked what he read and soon began to study the Bible with the Witnesses. Bible truth put him on the path to happiness and real success. “It gave me new strength,” he says. “I gave up all my vices, became a new person, and was baptized as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. People who knew me before no longer call me Rambo, but Bunny—my childhood nickname—because of my now gentle nature.”

http://www.watchtower.org/

 

Fall in Love

I could sit under this lovely, lovely tree all day. 

Wanna join? 8)

(http://www.flickr.com/photos/financialaidpodcast/2955603509/)


You see, my love affair with autumn began when I first read my all-time favorite novel A Walk to Remember. I fell even harder upon watching my most beloved Korean drama Autumn in My Heart [a.k.a. Endless Love 1].

Both are surprisingly tragic, though (not to mention the movie Autumn in New York which I have yet to watch) - which gets most people to think that falling leaves suggest sorrow. 

But I digress. For several reasons, autumn is a happy season :

1) It makes us wanna hug our loved ones, our pets -- even ourselves!

2) It convinces us that 'idleness during autumn' is actually 'productiveness.'

3) It teaches us about the beauty of our complicated life's simplicity.

Funny how I could easily make these assumptions in my vicarious-living-loving-mind. Haha. Of course, I'll never experience autumn in the Philippines. And at present, traveling abroad seems as unlikely as having the season here. 

Nonetheless, I wouldn't be surprised if I found a lot of smiling people already sitting down that tree before I could even make a move. And we'd be talking about how delightful autumn is.

All day. 8)   

Fairy Grandmother

Naku naman. 

I can't believe how forgetful I've become. At this very moment, my Civil Service Eligibility Certificate is strolling along a nearby road. Or so I wish. I mean, it'd have been easier that way. 

You see, the CSEC is lost and I don't have a single idea where I last put it (to think I'm still seeking possible positions in government offices). I should have secured another copy - even copies - of it. And even though I'll eventually snatch it off the road, err, the area where it's currently hiding inside our house, the anticipated eureka moment may not immediately sink in.  

My Papa is right. I really have the tendency to take some things for granted. Is this the reason why I'm still unemployed? Perhaps; I relied too much on outside sources that I have almost forgotten the importance of self-sufficiency. 

Oh dear. 8(

Uhm, Uhm..

"You were overly uncertain."

Those words could have been said by the very effective Tayong Dalawa villain Ingrid to intimidate Audrey. Then the seemingly weak lass would prove her wrong with a glare right away. Haha. As much as I would like that scene to happen in my all-time favorite teleserye, I get the feeling it won't. There has been so much drama between the two that my woven spectacle is already unsatisfactory, if not unlikely.

Now the real drama happened yesterday. Well, I heard those words straight from someone whom I've shared different bedrooms with all these years - (tintinnabulation) - my brother! Nope, he wasn't being mean. Unlike Ingrid, he was only being honest.

And helpful, of course. 8D

I must admit his remark didn't motivate me - at first. Worse, he spoke with such confidence (which I painfully know I lack) I almost felt like crying. Haay naku Jorge. Ikaw talaga. But in the end, as I said, I realized his sincerity. Deep-down, I also agree that I was overly uncertain during a recent activity that we both attended. After all, it was a social event so I should have been more assured. Yikes.

Everyone can pinpoint his own weaknesses. But it usually takes a significant other to actually acknowledge the need to overcome them. In this regard, I shall say thank you to my brother, whose every single mischief (tickle fight, eh) reminds me that mischievous can be sometimes better than well, uncertain. 8)

Say Cheese, Fretful Mouse

Ever since my favorite high school teacher said that frowning involves more muscles than smiling does, I've been convinced that happiness requires little effort. Like smiling is the most natural thing in the world.

But it isn't.

After all, smiles do not always radiate happiness. Despite the universality of this fact, I have to learn it over and over again. This afternoon, I had to relearn it once more. My friends were showing their pearly whites but my mouth could barely even move. Drowned by all the grinning, I finally managed to smile. I don't think that was insincere, though. And even if it didn't feel right - lack of good mood, you see - it felt better than not smiling at all. Halfway through our conversation, I was already laughing with them.

Smiling may not always reflect happy thoughts, alright. There are times when we smile because we are already happy. There are instances when we do to become happy. No matter the purpose, we will always look forward to moving less muscles and moving forward with life. Won't we? 8)