On the Manila Hostage-taking Tragedy

First, this whole taping someone who's dying / who died has got to stop. Seriously. Second, I still don't understand why the police had to focus on their conspiracy theory re: the hostage taker's brother. Third, if only they watched Denzel Washington's The Negotiator, they could have at least known that CALCULATED and ...not POINTLESS PATIENCE is the key. Fourth, it seemed like they didn't take the threat seriously and tried to intimidate someone, who obviously was ready to die, by harassing his brother. Fifth, from experience, pag may galit, BAWAL MANG-AGIT! Today is a sad day.

Let's all pray for the souls of the victims and pray harder that everyone learned a lesson or two from this unfortunate event. Please, please, please try to train our Crisis Management Teams more thoroughly. Oh and media, how do I start?

The (Turn)Around

picture from POSTSECRET

One chance after another,

I waited, and hated.

One mistake after another,

I remembered and regretted,

One moment after another,

I faded.

One chance,

One Mistake,

One Moment.

For the last time,

Turn this all around.

Or I will never be around.

The Missed Point

"It wasn’t just my imagination, it was ours.
Yours and mine are these daydreams,

Delusions and memories, blurred into one
Portrait of the (be)loved, fading
into the intricacies
 of our creative non-fiction.

 Open your eyes, or open mine.
Look at me, stare (at you) blankly.
I miss missing you.
 I miss missing you
miss me.

 All because I  missed.
 All because we missed."

 -@legallyblunt, "The Missed Point"
5 July 2010

 #thoughtbubbling #realityeverafter #Photords #introvertmindextrovertheart #LegallyBlunt #Photography #blackandwhitephotography #BlackAndWhite #photooftheday #digital #digitalphotography #monochrome #Poetry #TheStalkerPicsSeries #LegallyBlunt #LegallyGrunt #RealityEverAfter #writersofinstagram #fastfoodfiction #buttonpoetry #listen #findyourvoice #instapoet #shortform #instapoetry

Confessions of a Closet Daddy’s Girl

Confessions of a Closet Daddy’s Girl

A Father's Day Entry

One of my most favorite memories that relates to my dad was a scene that happened when he wasn’t even there. I think I was around four years old, when my mom was giving me a bath and I was being a bratty kid. Obviously, I wasn’t enjoying being bathed because I was sleepy, and my mom was aggressively pouring water all over me and scrubbing me. In that moment of desperation, and in tears I shouted, “Isusumbong kita kay Daddy!” I don’t know why I thought the statement could save me, but somehow, I think even as young as I was at that time, I just knew that my Dad will always come through for me and will always save me from whatever shit I get into… no matter what.

Growing up, I was a good daughter; I never disobeyed my parents, and NEVER did anything to jeopardize the “future” that my Dad would always rave about when he’d talk to me about school and my grades. I have only been spanked twice by my Dad, the first time was when I got a low grade in my Christian Living periodic exam in grade school. Well, it wasn’t really low, it’s just that I ranked third in that exam. The second was when I got into a fight with my brother and sister and he woke up, not too happy about it. He used his belt on all of us. My brother and my sister got hit more, but only because they were more “pasaway.” But if there’s anything endearing about this whole “spanking” thing, it would be the fact that my Dad always explained why he had to do it. He made us sit on his lap, would ask for a kiss and explain, carefully why we deserved to be hit. Surprisingly, I did understand. Years later, I would always remember those moments and remember the valuable lessons that he taught me in relation to them. The first time, he wanted make me understand that it is acceptable to not always be on top, but what wasn’t acceptable was to not give it your all. The second time, he needed me to remember that my brother and my sister will make mistakes, big and small ones, but I should never ever give up on them in the same way that they shouldn’t ever give up on me. He wanted us to learn the importance of family.

My Dad is the only one who can get away with giving me the nickname Tabachoy without me taking offense. He’s the only one who can call me Frenchie Dy, Marissa Sanchez and sometimes, Marissa Delgado, when he feels that I’m fastly gaining weight, he’s the only one who can call me Heidi Yorac after i get a haircut with bangs, Dennis of GhostFighter when I got a layered haircut and Nazareno when I had my hair curled. He’s the only one who can caution me from “artsy looking, madungis guys” because he thinks they look patapon… notwithstanding that fact that he isn’t good-looking at all. He’s the only one who has accepted my fashion eccentricity enough that when I was walking with them in the mall with my skirt half-lifted all the way to my butt, he didn’t tell me because he thought it was “my style.”

 To my friends, my Dad is the cool one. He embarrasses me every time he gets the chance and they love it. One time, my Dad was teasing me about my weight in front of the Perksquad and to my defense I said, “Wow, nagsalita naman ang payat.” I thought I won, but he had to give me a really malupit comeback, “Ako may asawa na, e ikaw?” Personal attack! He loves my friends, he genuinely cares for them and never forgets to ask about them when he gets the chance. My Dad values the simple things in life, he is not a big fan of grandiosity but he only heeds to materialism when the ones being material are US. He’d choose Argentina Corned beef over all the imported ones, he’d be most happy with LIGO / MEGA Sardines and never enjoys Spanish sardines. His simplicity just inspires me and reminds me that nothing matters more than contentment and love.

Most importantly, my Dad has taught me to NOT BE AFRAID TO FAIL and COMMIT MISTAKES. He has fallen gazillions of times, and I have never seen him resign to the idea of hopelessness. He has always been calm, occasionally making fun of the gravity of the situation. He’d shrug his shoulder and move on. He taught me to be strong but acknowledge that there will be times that you will have to be weak with God. He taught me to have FAITH.

My Dad is not perfect, far from it. But his imperfections do not offset his acts of love for us. His willingness to sacrifice and to endure even the most difficult of challenges for us gives me hope. He inspires me to reach for my dreams because I know that he wholeheartedly believes in me. He’d often tell me how proud he is of me but really, I am prouder to have the best father a daughter could ever have. I get the occasional pat on the back and big hug and they mean the world to me.

To my Dad, Happy Fathers’ Day! I love you and I could never thank you enough for loving us and taking care of us. I promise to make you prouder, and to take care of you, Mom, Ichie and Hazel when it’s my time to do so. Don’t worry  I don’t plan to get married when I’m 28 nor when I’m 29 (You and Mom should acknowledge that your argument re: the right age to marry was just pointless.) and when I find the right man, I will make sure that he will live up to the very high standards you’ve set. Oh, and I promise that he wouldn’t be madungis!

On Living With Pain

picture from POSTSECRET

So, you get hurt. Big deal. One thing I learned about living is that, “Pain is inevitable.” The moment you are able to come to terms with that, you realize that pain, really, is just a wonderful front act. You get hurt, once in a while, with some periods more painful than the others. The danger really is, not in not enduring pain, developing an addiction to pain. When you look forward to it, when you see it as an exciting turn of events, that is when the real problem arises.

If pain is the only thing that we are looking forward to, we need to be reminded that this is not the end point. We need to believe that we are worthy of happiness, the kind of happiness that just brushes off the occasional hurt. We should never be scared of happy endings, we should never doubt that happy endings are just that, happy endings.

Not so long ago, I got into a discussion about retail and wholesale happiness. I think, it shouldn’t be an issue. I think that we should take happiness as what it simply is… pure and unadulterated happiness. We should enjoy it without fearing that at one point, it will stop. In reality, chances are, there will be pain. But happiness doesn’t stop when you’re in pain. In the same way that love does not disappear when the person you love end up hurting you. Happiness does not cease to exist, it just becomes more challenging to recognize and feel.

Be happy. Get hurt, and choose to be happy still. Only when you start letting pain get to you that you lose your chance to live. Believe and claim it.

Live with pain but don’t live IN it.

The Deviant Love

Some stare into each other’s eyes,

while we take quick glimpses and sideway glances.

Together, they dream of forever,

Yet we, for what seems like forever, dream of “together.”

They hold hands,
and instead, we hold hearts.

And when they make love,

we wait to see what love will make of us.

#thoughtbubbling #realityeverafter #Photords #introvertmindextrovertheart #BenCabMuseum #Photography #museums #paintings #photooftheday #digital #digitalphotography #Poetry #LegallyBlunt #LegallyGrunt #RealityEverAfter #writersofinstagram #fastfoodfiction #buttonpoetry #listen #findyourvoice #instapoet #shortform #instapoetry

What's the origin of your name?

Eunice fem. proper name, from L., from Gk. Eunike, lit. "victorious," from eu- "well" + nike "victory."

ZULEIKA
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: zoo-LAY-kə
Possibly means "brilliant beauty" in Persian. According to medieval legends this was the name of Potiphar's wife in the Bible. She has been the subject of many poems and tales.

I'm an open book.

The One [that Got Away]

picture from POSTSECRET

In the context of, “I’m so bored… at wala NANAMAN akong issues,” I shall write today about that really sucky concept we call, “The one that got away.”

A majority of the men and women in this paawa sad world will, without batting their eyelashes, tell you that they have it. The person whom they think will be the perfect guy / girl for their very own fairytale, the person whom they consider to have loved most but didn’t end up staying, the selfish, cruel, manhid, stupid person who cannot seem to figure it out as described in a novel written by the person who was left behind. This person plays different roles, from the best friend, to the Romeo-ish acquaintance whom your family / barkada hates, to the bad guy whom you claim to have a soft side that only you can tap into, to that guy whom you would have wanted to hook up with if only he did not date your sister/best friend/friend/ sorority sister/ cousin/ boss / officemate first.

Bottom line, you wouldn’t want a prisoner for a lover. When you love, you offer a part of you, or maybe the whole of who you are. It is consummated by a meeting of the hearts. That’s just it, a simple yes or no. There is nothing in between. Believe me, I have been through this “the one that got away” boat for too long and if there is one thing I learned, it would be that, “An escape is always voluntary.” If a person got away, it just means that he chose to get away. More importantly, the person chose to get away from you.

So, shake it off and never ever look back.  Let the one that got away - get away. Keep in mind that you are worth being still with. For someone, you are worth staying and waiting for. 

Mang yari Lamang

Mang yari Lamang
by Rico Abelardo

Mang yari lamang ay tumayo
ang mga nagma hal
nang makita ng lahat
ang mukha ng pag– ibig
ipa malas ang tamis
ng malalim na pagkakau nawaan
sa mga mal abo ang paningin
mang yari lamang ay tumayo rin
ang mga nagma hal at nasawi
nang makita ng lahat
ang mga sugat ng isang bayani
ipadama ang pait ng kabiguan
habang ipinag bubunyi
ang walang kat u lad na kag itin gan
ng isang nagtaya
mang yari lamang ay tumayo
ang mga nan gangam bang magma hal
nang makita ng lahat
ang kilos ng isang bata
ipa malas ang kat a p atan ng damdamin
na pilit ikinukubli
ng pusong lumaki sa mga engkanto at diwatamang yari lamang ay tumayo
ang mga nagma hal, mina hal at ini wan
ngu nit handa pa ring magma hal
nang makita ng lahat ang yaman ng karanasan
ipa malas ang kato to hanang nasak si han
nang mag ing makahu lu gan
ang mga pagh ag ul gol
at sa mga nana natil ing nakaupo
mang yari lamang ay dahan– dahang tumalilis
papal abas sa nakan gan gang pinto
umuwi na kayo
at sum batan ang mga mag u lang
na nag palaki ng isang halimaw
at sa lahat ng nai wang nakatayo
mang yari lamang ay hagkan ang isa’t isa
at yakapin ang mga sug atan
mabuhay tay ong lahat na nag sisikap na mak a ba lik
sa ating pinagmulan
at higit sa lahat mag pat u loy
sa pagmamahal.

The Conversation We Never Had

picture from POSTSECRET

“So it was me. It has always been me?” You asked.

I rolled my eyes and blurted out, “Yes. It WAS.”

Way before you liked them, way before all your stories

Of admiration thrown at unsuspecting friends,

Way before I realized that it was never ME.

Weighing what I feel, if I still feel

and when I started feeling you wrote, “Why?”

“I was stupid.” In the same way that you were.

For not loving me. For not holding me.

Or maybe you were just being honest.

Too honest for my own sake.

“Did you ever love me?” I shouted.

With pity you answered, “Never.”

I nodded and smiled. “Kinda figured that out.”

Now fuck off. For real. For--ever.

The Guilt that We Built

But every time you look at me,
(Or is it I who look at you?)

 I see it.

 Through your eyes
You say “Sorry.”

 And through my smile
I plea,
“Set me free.”

I can finally be me
when you leave
and let me be.

 - "The Guilt that We Built"
@legallyblunt 

#realityeverafter
#Photords
#introvertmindextrovertheart
#LegallyBlunt
#LegallyGrunt
#thoughtbubbling
#fastfoodfiction

#Photography
#blackandwhitephotography
#BlackAndWhite
#photooftheday
#digital
#digitalphotography
#monochrome
#photoart
#photo
#nature
#photoshoot
#picoftheday
#travel
#travelphotography

#Poetry
#writersofinstagram
#buttonpoetry
#listen
#findyourvoice
#instapoet
#shortform
#instapoetry
#writing
#writer
#love
#quotes
#poem
#poet
#poems
#art