Through the Spectacles

BULONG NA LAMANG SA HANGIN E. Garcia Araw noon ay sumilay, Nakita mukha mong maamo. Dumampi init ng araw, ngiti ’ y hindi nagbabago. Nangako kagaya ng ginagawa nila, nangakong hanggang sa huli. Tulad ng ihip ng hanging hindi mahuli-huli, kailangan bang may magwagi? Bigla na lang hindi na naintindihan pag-ibig na napagkasunduan. Gusto na nating kuhanin kanya-kanyang mga daan. Ayaw nang pagmasdan mga larawang maliliit na inipit, Pag-iisip ay iba na kaysa sa dati, huwag na lang ipilit. Ngayon tayo ’ y magkalayo ano pa nga bang magbabago? Inisip at sinuri ngunit hahantong naman talaga dito. Tinatangi ko dati, ngayon ay nasa malayo. Pinagluluto ka dati, ngayon ay hindi na kasalo. Kung sakaling iyong maisip minsan, Iisang tala at buwan lang ang ating tinitignan. Sadyang hindi lang talaga siguro para sa atin, Pag-ibig na maibubulong na lamang sa hangin. Kapag malalim na ang gabi at wala akong katabi, Naaalala ko ang palagi mong sinasabi dati. ...

What is an altar server? How to become one? What is their training? What can we expect from them? So many questions have been asked by some curious people – the churchgoers. What is it that makes an altar server an altar server? He – or sometimes she, is a servant of God and His Holy Church. These questions usually come to our minds whenever we see one wearing their white robes holding a metal shaft with a candle or a cross on the end. Making their way first going to the altar as they signal the start of the Mass by ringing their fancy sanctus bell or swaying a censer giving us all a bit of the scent of the heavens, and sometimes, very minor coughing. These young guys are called Altar Servers or “Sakristan”, they are being commissioned as a volunteer of the Church to assist the priest in administering the Holy Mass. Let me share this essay tackling the very essence of these servers and how did the ministry affect them in a good or bad way. I am an altar server for more than a decade,...

These past few days, the streets had taken its break on the rumbling cars, bussed and jeepneys as the nation's capital, the Metro Manila, has been put into an enhanced community quarantine as of March 17, 2020, as the coronavirus, also known as COVID-19 is at large and keeps on infecting the vast populace of the metro. We heard the first 'lockdown' news last March 12, we were in the office at that time. We had no idea what was going to happen, then it happened. An emergency meeting has been called by the management to announce that our company had received the news regarding the Manila lockdown and we were told to go home to avoid the hassle. It all just suddenly became so real, it was so fast. I went home right after the announcement has been made by the group general manager, together with some of my colleagues who happen to be residing outside Metro Manila. During that time, there was a sudden increase in police visibility around the BGC area. The authorities were dres...

My day starts at 5:20am. A nice and quick breakfast usually suffices. I am a graphic artist by profession and based in Manila, Philippines. Traveling to the office is a common problem in the metro, that's why I should be prepared before 7:00 in the morning to avoid being late in the office. The traffic jam here is second to none. Believe me. Upon arriving at the office, my routine starts. First things first, email checking, one of the most important parts of the day. I tend to have a notebook ora jotter pad for doing my task list for the day. By around 8:30 to 8:45 in the morning, we are called to the boardroom for our daily morning briefing, where we talk about the latest developments of each member of the department. Our department is composed of three (3) teams namely, the sales team, marketing team, and the reservations team - by the way, I am a creative who renders my creative services in the hospitality industry. The whole team is seated in a big rectangular table with the ...

These past few days, I've been reflecting on my life; as where am I now? What significant things have I done yet? Am I a worthy friend? and so on. Thoughts are flowing out of my mind, but I have nothing to write. As I am writing this blog entry, I am writing a piece of my personal void. Trying to express my own insights about my recent reflections and still I realize that I have nothing to write. I just turned 24 last month, left my job recently due to my poor health, has a messy love life, just sitting on a couch or staying still on the bed all day long trying to comprehend what's happening or why do these things happen to me. Overthinking all night long about a certain part of my life where I messed up so bad, that I couldn't even pull myself together back on my foot again. This is the reality in me right now, I don't know what triggers these things to happen but every time I am alone, they tend to linger and be my company for a long period. I am asking myself most ...

Have you ever experienced eating a certain dish and then suddenly, memories of the past rushed in your head? That's what I always experience every time I dine at 'Ma Mon Luk' restaurant in the middle of hustle and bustle of the Quiapo district, Manila. The humble restaurant serves a typical Chinese noodle house menu: their signature and famous chicken noodle soup, popularly known as 'Mami', hot pork bun or 'Siopao', siomai and soda. The restaurant was established in the late '40s and is still operational up to this day. The restaurant doesn't look any special or fancy, it is a typical restaurant with marble tables and a wall full of newspaper cutouts wherein the restaurant has been featured by the local newspapers, magazines or cutouts of famous personalities who have dined there. When I was around 7 or 8 years old, I and my grandparents used to eat at Ma Mon Luk after hearing the Mass at the nearby Quiapo church. I remember myself indulging i...

In a world full of modernity and use of the highest technology possible, I have a strange fascination for the things that had once used as a part of the daily lives of the people of the yesteryears - and this is my love for the typewriters. A majestic piece of a mechanical marvel that brings us all back in time where wifi, facebook, IG and Twitter haven't been invented yet. A time where post offices are so busy tending all the paper letters because the email has not yet been born. Typewriters are the writer's best friend and companion; it is their musical instrument as for a musician is the piano. My fascination with typewriters I guess started when I was 8. An aunt of mine gave me her Olympia portable typewriter complete with case and ribbons. As a child, I don't have much interest then, all I want is to play with my friends and indulge in arcade games during the weekends. Some nights when I wasn't been able to go outside, I usually type poems or short...