MARGIENARY

UB, AJ, Sarah and I just got home from Baguio earlier this evening. It took us four hours to drive from Baguio to Bambang via the dusty Ambuklao Road. I wished I had a cam to snap some pics of the ongoing work up there. They are really doing a nice job except for the talks I've heard that the road construction should have been finished by now. I have heard that there were three construction companies who were contracted to build equal length of the road from Aritao to Baguio so it would be completed relatively at the same time, but it seems that the only contractor who kept his word was the one who was assigned to do the Aritao-Kayapa Central end of the road. In the past, a ride from Bambang to Kayapa Central would take two hours, give or take a few minutes; but yesterday, it took us less than an hour because they really did a good job at paving the road. I dream for the day when I can just swing by Baguio early in the morning, spend 5 hours of shopping in the Baguio and back to Vi...

I just got home from Baguio earlier this evening. It took us four hours to drive from Baguio to Bambang via the dusty Ambuklao Road. I wished I had a cam to snap some pics of the ongoing work up there. They are really doing a nice job except for the talks I've heard that the road construction should have been finished by now. I have heard that there were three construction companies who were contracted to build equal length of the road from Aritao to Baguio so it would be completed relatively at the same time, but it seems that the only contractor who kept his word was the one who was assigned to do the Aritao-Kayapa Central end of the road. In the past, a ride from Bambang to Kayapa Central would take two hours, give or take a few minutes; but yesterday, it took us less than an hour because they really did a good job at paving the road. I dream for the day when I can just swing by Baguio early in the morning, spend 5 hours of shopping in the Baguio Public Market (that'...

I received an email from a certain butterfly, and the butterfly okayed for me to blog it. The butterfly said that she got her heart broken for the nth time but this time the culprit has tore it with its bare hands, spat on it, stepped on it, threw it into a furnace and burnt it (parang kanta yun ah!). Anyway, now that the butterfly has picked up a little speed in her recovery, she believes that 60% of it was her fault, maybe even greater than that. . This is the story of the butterfly: “I am married but I fell for this spider who seemed to be all the man that I dreamed my partner to be. I have dedicated 99% of my time to him, .5% to my work, and .5% to everything else. Yes, I know, it's insane but I was insane in the first place. I didn't have any rights falling for someone else being married and all but anyway I did. In my eyes, this spider was everything my husband is not; but one day, I received a message from an insect telling me that we are in the same murky situation...

Yes, we are in the middle of Consultant Checking and our consultant is so bored he keeps falling asleep on us! Bored cuz our translation is almost perfect! Hahahaha! Kidding!!!! We were able to get four chapters of Jeremiah done yesterday and we just finished two more this morning. Jeremiah's time was one of the periods in the history of Israel when they chose to abandon their covenant with GOD and chase after foreign gods. It is a book full of tragedy, destruction and punishment. Because of Israel and Judah's rejection of Yahweh, He warned them over and over through Jeremiah that like a vineyard, He will bring enemies from the north who will strip away their branches; but still in all those pronouncements of doom, God said that He will forgive them, heal their land, and deliver them if they return to Him. There was even an instance when God told the people to find someone in all the land who "desires" to follow Him, and He might turn from doing what He threat...

No, of course not!!! I'm not talking about withdrawal symptoms from drugs or alcohol. I've never been on drugs, i.e. illegal drugs, so the withdrawal symptoms I am talking about is not from quitting drugs. :) As many of you are, I am used to being online for days end; but for the last two weeks or so, our internet connection went totally down. Our connection is not perfectly good. There are instances when it just go off for a few hours then comes on again. Not this time though. . On the first day, I did the first thing you'd do: Check the connections from the modem to the pc, and all that. I turned the modem off then turned it on again, but still nothing. And for that whole first day, I did nothing but tinker with the cables and the off and on button. I can't work, can't think, without first going through the routine of checking my emails, checking my blogs if someone left a comment, reading my friends' posts, and everything you do when you open your pc. I force...

I just finished watching the movie GHANDI and it got me into thinking about the kinds of leadership that I have learned or experienced over the years. Ghandi is a must-see movie! Here's a bit of a reflection on the leadership modeled by MH. History shows one of the cruelest ironies of human nature; Mohandas Ghandi, the advocate of non-violence died a violent death. Human cruelty, multiple imprisonment, fearless speeches, and prolonged fasting did not kill him but 'liberty' did. The true ‘legend’ of Ghandi, an ordinary Indian attorney, turned out to be a hero not only to his beloved India but to the whole world exemplifies to me, a somewhat unfathomable kind of leadership. As the story unfolded and one sees how Ghandi lived his life, I can only but shake my head in disbelief, rather in awe, of such a human specimen of ‘near-perfect’ leadership, a very unique way of leading; the kind which makes an empire surrender and the human heart of revenge take courage to look inside an...

This morning, Sarah, Norman, and I started reading Sara's translation of Jeremiah. (For non-translators:  This is called committee checking where the translation team tries to improve a draft by agreement and disagreement, rejecting or accepting, etc. the words, structure, etc, used to express the exegesis (meaning) of the texts.  Jeremiah is a difficult book, I just found out! We have a hard time translating the passages where God is very angry.  What tone would God use to speak when He is angry or jealous?  For a language like Kalanguya, which depends so much on speech intonation and discourse particles for meaning, these are questions that arise when we translate. Committee checking is a difficult process.  It calls for humility, presence of mind, attention to detail and sensitivity from all members.  If you are the drafter then you have to remove yourself from your work.  KEEP DI...

Ang kabalbalang ito ay sinulat ng isang bangag sa kakornihan ilang siglo na ang nakalilipas. SLN ang nagdurugo mong kaisipan at ang namayapa mong pagkahumaling sa buwan. (ANO DAW?--Ferri) . Oh April, who could have imagined, I would hug you so tight When I was too occupied crying over the sunset with nothing in sight Yet your winds have brought on such a wonderful surprise You came and promised me a beautiful sunrise.. May, oh what a wonder, in all your summer glory With your taste of saccharine spice, so sweet and sugary Though you came with a cry so acrid and vinegary You have left me drunk of love that left my heart cheery.. June is a dream of losses and absence But in our hearts we’ve felt one another’s presence As we hold on to love even from a distance Even without music, we have learned how to dance.. July, you're a beauty, oh blissfully so Like no other splendor I ever saw You’ve shown me a love, such a marvelous love So lovely as a rose, so free as a dove.. August, how can...