Chilled yet Fruitful Holy Week

Monday blues... corporate junkies were in AIDS (As If Doing Something) mode and most of the peeps were absent because they're sick. I guess 'tis the season to be sickly. Blame it on the change of weather or something, everybody's getting the heavy sniffies. The Holy Week break was quite bitin for me. I did rest well but it's not enough. I wasn't able to do enough activities, such as fixing our photo albums or sorting my receipts or even rip some of my boss's house music CDs. I wished that the break was longer. But hey, there's nothing I can do about it. It is what it is. Although I did have a fruitful Holy Week and it left a big smile on my face:

• Palm Sunday - Was sick... Bed rest.. Didn't go to mass.. Daddy left for Cambodia... Boohoo!
• Holy Monday - Was still sick... Bed rest... Huhuhuhu! But it was okay. Got enough rest though...
• Holy Tuesday - Went to work but still got the sniffies and coughed like a dog... got the House Music CDs from my boss... Was a bouncy happy girl!
• Holy Wednesday - Half-day and went DVD shopping at MCS... Apparently I saw a lot of people I know...Whoopsie... Looked like they're stuck here and knew the drill when people are in Manila for Holy Week.
• Maundy Thursday - Mother and I went Visita Iglesia. First time after 1990, it was such a fascinating experience. Mother and I went to (1) Malate Church, (2) San Agustin Church, (3) Manila Cathedral, (4) Shrine of the Way, the Truth & The Life, (5) Magallenes Church, (6) Sanctuario de San Antonio and (7) our parish... St. Andrew. It was a refreshing experience for me as I needed a spiritual recharge. The personal communication with God was breathtaking and I did get to reflect the sacrifices He did for us, He even died for us just to be saved. We also went Way Of The Cross at Sanctuario de San Antonio and it was just beautiful because the prayer for each station was personalized. I just loved it. Oh here's a funny story: Mother was even proud to bring out her Via Cruxis pamphlet that she bought from Israel, little did we know it was filled with historical facts and not the actual prayer. Proud pa naman siya... Haha! But more than the holy introspection, it was so amazing to see different people from different walks of life. Vendors were all over the place and the goodies were just yummm... (Photos by Carmel Valencia)
  

Manila Cathedral

Pusit naman jan!

San Agustin Church

Stations of the Cross, San Agustin Church

Roasted Corn... Pinoy Style

• Good Friday - Father's arrival from Cambodia. But first, mother and I went to Manila Memorial to visit my grandparents & uncle. Lit a candle for them and went straight to the airport, picked up my dad and hoped that we could go to Duty Free. Too bad it was closed... duh coz it was Good Friday. My dad was telling us how enigmatic Cambodia can be, even if it's so friggin dusty. He vividly narrated how the country is rich in cultural heritage. He went to Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom. He was just marveled. Can you imagine the Khmers built such huge temples back in the 12th century? (What was Philippine up to at that time aside from alibata and the balanggay foundation?). He also said that Angkor Thom was placed in the middle of a jungle and through the years, trees massively grew and to this date, the roots are just humongous! In a nutshell, Cambodia was a major surprise for daddy, more than the country's mine-haven and Polpot-cruelty history. I think the country does not want to be perceived that way: violent, cruel and "mine blowing". Good timing, he bought a really gorgeous camera and he couldn't help but take excellent pictures. While he was sharing his trip and showing the pics, I felt like I went to Cambodia already. But it made me say to myself that someday I'll visit this cultural enriching country. Then daddy shared that there's a cheaper way to go there: Tiger Air + cheapo hotels for less than US$100 = At least Php30,000 worth of the trip, colorful snapshots and priceless memories (Mastercard? Haha!). Friends you wanna go to Cambodia? Tratratra!!

Thailand trip 2007: Replica of Angkor Wat....

.... and this is the real thing... Angkor Wat at night

Stoned carvings of Angkor Wat

Angkor Thom: Face Tower

Daddy and the Buddha fezzes

Cambodian Granny

Massive!

"Ugat Power".... Daddy loves his roots

• Black Saturday - The Veneracion family went to our house. Major moment to catch up. See the story here.


• Easter Sunday - Excellent family dining table discussions over lunch and dinner. A time to bond with the folks. Retail therapy at its finest and easter Sunday mass.

I realized that even if most of the urbanistas spent their time in the beach or in some place outside the National Capital Region, a lot of us were stuck here but we had fun. I had fun (just look at the bullets). There were some days during the break wherein some friendships were reconnected. It was nice. When daddy was away, I had the greatest laugh trip bonding experience with my mom. She couldn't help but tell me stories of my toddler days. She's such a natural comedian, she made me laugh out loud. And of course, DVD marathon... no need to explain. Speaking of DVD marathon, I watched a lot of 60's and 60's inspired movies. I started to adore 60's music so much, especially The Velvet Underground, Beatles and Bob Dylan!

Each day during the break, I felt God was so present. God is good and has been good. We are so loved by Him. Our challenge for us is to hold on to our commitment to Him...

But hey, it does not have to be Holy Week to reflect and communicate with God. This can be done everyday. A little "what's up Big J?!" up there made a big difference today and will be making a lot of breakthroughs in the next days to come.

Happy Easter peeps!

*Basta Ikaw Lord! +*