Here I was as San Mateo during the Holy Week Celebration at the San Francisco de Assisi Parish. It was a nice experience I had and it made me a new person. I thank my Dad for enlisting me as one of the Twelve Apostles.

¶ 12:02 PM //

The Holy Week that has just passed made me a new person. It brought me back to God. Not only that, I got the chance to meet new friends. The guys who played the other apostles are now my friends and brothers. We're gonna have an overnight swimming on the 2nd of April and I'm very excited about it. I hope we will have a very great time.

I also hope that the friendship we started will go on and on and on....

¶ 12:22 PM //

Maundy Thursday (môn'dē) [Lat. mandatum, word in the ceremony], traditional English name for Thursday of Holy Week, so named because it is considered the anniversary of the institution of the Eucharist by Jesus at the Last Supper (that is, the mandatum novum or “new commandment”). In some churches, Jesus's washing of the disciples' feet is symbolically reenacted. In Great Britain there is a survival in the distribution by the sovereign of special “maundy money” to certain of the poor at Westminster Abbey. In the Roman Catholic Church, Maundy Thursday is a general communion day; a single Mass is sung, in the evening, and a Host, consecrated for the morrow, is placed in a specially adorned chapel of repose. The altars are stripped bare until the Easter vigil mass.

Later this afternoon, I will be at the church for the activities we have for Maundy Thursday, the Washing of the Feet and the Last Supper. This is the first time I'll be seeing this, and also be part of it. I'm quite excited about it.

¶ 9:15 AM //

Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteers are at the rghit pclaes. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by istlef but the wrod as a wlohe.

¶ 11:54 AM //

In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the
Earth and populated the Earth with broccoli,
cauliflower and spinach, green and yellow and red
vegetables of all kinds, so Man and Woman would live
long and healthy lives.

Then using God's great gifts, Satan created Ben and
Jerry's Ice Cream and Krispy Creme Donuts. And Satan
said, "You want chocolate with that?" And Man said,
"Yes!" and Woman said, "and as long as you're at it,
add some sprinkles." And they gained 10 pounds. And
Satan smiled.

And God created the healthful yogurt that Woman might
keep the figure that Man found so fair. And Satan
brought forth white flour from the wheat, and sugar
from the cane and combined them. And Woman went from
size 6 to size 14.

So God said, "Try my fresh green salad." And Satan
presented Thousand-Island Dressing, buttery croutons
and garlic toast on the side. And Man and Woman
unfastened their belts following the repast.

God then said, "I have sent you heart healthy
vegetables and olive oil in which to cook them." And
Satan brought forth deep fried fish and chicken-fried
steak so big it needed its own platter. And Man gained
more weight and his cholesterol went through the roof.

God then created a light, fluffy white cake, named it
"Angel Food Cake," and said, "It is good." Satan then
created chocolate cake and named it "Devil's Food."

God then brought forth running shoes so that His
children might lose those extra pounds. And Satan
gave cable TV with a remote control so Man would not
have to toil changing the channels. And Man and Woman
laughed and cried before the flickering blue light and
gained pounds.

Then God brought forth the potato, naturally low in
fat and brimming with nutrition. And Satan peeled off
the healthful skin and sliced the starchy center into
chips and deep-fried them. And Man gained pounds.

God then gave lean beef so that Man might consume
fewer calories and still satisfy his appetite. And
Satan created McDonald's and its 99-cent double
cheeseburger. Then said, "You want fries with that?"
And Man replied, "Yes! And super size them!" And
Satan said, "It is good." And Man went into cardiac
arrest.

God sighed and created quadruple bypass surgery. Then
Satan created HMOs.

Thought for the day ......

There is more money being spent on breast implants and
Viagra today than on Alzheimer's research. This means
that by 2040, there should be a large elderly
population with perky boobs and huge erections and
absolutely no recollection of what to do with them.

¶ 9:29 AM //

Holy Week started yesterday, Palm Sunday. I was there in the procession because I am playing the part of one of the Twelve Apostles, St. Matthew. This will be one busy week for me as we are schedule to attend the activities beginning Holy Wednesday and will last till Easter Sunday.

I realized it's nice to be part of it. I get to know new people and I also get the chance to be near God again. I hope that this one be the start of a good experience for me.

¶ 8:29 AM //

I got a new book from my Mama Linda! I love it! It is called God's Little Devotional for Graduates. It is full of inspirational stories just like the other devotional I have, God's Little Devotional for Leaders.

I also got different stuff from her and Tita Baby. I love them both!

¶ 2:34 PM //

Be adept at guessing the ages of people you come across with. Go to Age Project.

¶ 10:06 AM //

My Dad and I went to Ilocos last Thurday for the Visita Iglesia of the San Francisco Parish. We left San Pablo at nine o'clock that night and had to endure twelve long hours of bus ride. Good thing we brought our jackets along because we weren't supposed to touch the controls of the aircon because all the cool air will go to the driver if we do that. Nice eh? We had a restroom stop at Rick's Cafe in Pangasinan and I was really tired to even get up and out of the bus.


There was a contest among all the passengers wherein each of us had to guess what time we will be arriving at the boundary of Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte. My Dad won and David, our tour guide, gave him two hundred pesos as his prize.

Before entering Vigan, we passed through a town with this long bridge over a grand river. I forgot the name but it's something like Rio Grande de Whatever. The bus stopped at a parking space and the passengers, including me, went out to have some picture-taking. It was really cold and nice, just like being in Tagaytay or in Baguio.


Most of what we saw along the way were fields of either corn, tomatoes, or of course, tobacco. We even saw grape orchards in a town in Ilocos Norte. There were baskets of tomatoes at roadsides and even trucks of them ready to be brought to factories to be made into tomato paste.


We happened to pass by a calesa on the streets of Laoag City and I just had to take its picture. I love horses because I was born on a year of the horse. But I love cats, too. Anyways, I saw more of calesas like this in Vigan.


Lunch!!! Imagine doing it an hour later than my usual lunchtime. Anyways, it didn't matter that much because I'm on a diet. The meal we had was provided by the travel agency and we had veggies, pork, and tetra-packed juice. Oh, and a banana. We did it at the park in front of the Sta. Monica Church in Sarrat and had a nice view of a desert while eating. Our guide said the desert was used in filming Panday with FPJ and now in shooting Spirits.


After the sumptuous meal, the tour guide took us to see the Sarrat Ruins, just beside the Sta. Monica Church. It was a convent built during the Spanish times that was used as a garrison during the revolt against the Spanish and World War II. There were different rooms that were used as a tribunal hall, a justice hall, a torture room, and the garrote room. This building was destroyed by an intensity 8 earthquake many years ago.


The last town we went to was Vigan. We had dinner there at a nice place called the Aniceto Mansions and we had delicious pinakbet and fish fillet that was so hard most of the people, oldies that they are, weren't able to finish their dinner. For dessert was melted chocolate ice cream. Before heading to the bus and home, we bought some local delicacies like empanada, kalamay, okoy, and my favorite Royal Bibinka.


It was a very tiring trip, I admit, but the 1500 we paid for it was well worth it. I've been to Ilocos before, about eight years back, but I was eagerly excited to go back there. Along the way, I reminisced about the good times I had there with my friends Kei, Len, and Marlon. I was glad to see once again the places I've visited there. One more thing, this with all honesty, I enjoyed the company of the people on the trip, even if they are oldies already. I hope next year, there will be another one like this.

If you want to see more pictures from this trip, click here

¶ 2:56 PM //

Sharemation doesn't work anymore—something about its being in its beta stage. I searched for another online file storage website and I found MyFileStash. It's great but you'd have to deal with a little ad on your pages, good thing it's at the bottom.

¶ 10:42 AM //

We will all be in Candelaria today for Basti's birthday party. March 1 is actually his birthday but his Mom and Dad decided to celebrate his party on March 5, which is today. All the kids are going to have lots of fun and of course, Basti will be the happiest.

¶ 9:17 AM //

I found this cool website yesterday and it kinda made me laugh. Not much in there, but hey, we need to find ways to enjoy, no matter how trivial they are. Click on the magnifying glass to watch the circus!

¶ 10:05 AM //

March is the third month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days.

March begins (astrologically, non-sidereal) with the sun in the sign of Pisces and ends in the sign of Aries. Astronomically speaking, the sun begins in the constellation of Aquarius and ends in the constellation of Pisces.

March is named for Mars, the Roman god of war.
In ancient Rome, March was called Martius. It was named after the war god (Mars) and was considered a lucky time to begin a war. In ancient Hellenic civilization, March was called Anthesterion. In old Japanese calendar, the month is called Yayoi (弥生).

March was originally the first month of the Roman calendar. Julius Caesar's calendar reform in 45 BCE began the year on January 1. The tradition of starting the year in March continued in some countries for a long time. January 1 was only instituted as New Year's Day in France in 1564. Great Britain and her colonies continued to use March 25 until 1752, the same year they finally adopted to Gregorian calendar.

Historical names for March include the Saxon term Lenctmonat, named for the equinox and eventual lengthening of days and the eventual namesake of Lent. The Saxons also called March Rhed-monat (for their goddess Rhedam); ancient Britons called it hyld-monath (meaning loud or stormy).

¶ 10:58 AM //