Concluding the Christmas Break

Christmas break’s over, and now its back to the quarry… But it’s nice to look back on what happened this vacation. Here are the top 5 occasions:

5.) Joining a New Choir. It was a usual evening Christmas novena mass in the MSJ Chapel. Well, by chance, we sang “Give Love on Christmas Day” for the Communion Hymn, which is not liturgical, and inappropriate. After the mass, one of the parishioners approached me and told me about the fault. Well, that correction did hit me, but I was brightened up when they said they have a choir that could sing for the Chapel – a timely offer for us leaving the place. Moreover, they also asked if I could join, and I accepted the offer. Starting this weekend, I would regularly go home to practice and sing or play the keyboard.



4.) The Batulao Hike. At the start of the vacation, the Don Bosco Ex-sems Calamba Hills Chapter decided to take a hike up Batulao. Incidentally, my younger brother and my father joined the hike. Finally, after a long dormant period, I was given the chance to appreciate God’s wonder, and to celebrate my youth. Who knows? It might be my last climb, but hopefully not. My brother remarked that hiking is an exercise you don’t find in the city (except Baguio and other mountain cities).



3.) Bonding with Cousins. Of course, vacation is vacation, and in Philippine tradition, vacation is reunion. We had a swell time together, laughing, taking pictures, going places, eating and… eating. LOL.



2.) My Brother's Wedding. When Tito Bong died, our family had to compromise preparation time for mourning. There were only a few weeks to go before the wedding, so there we were all cramming – Christmas gatherings, delays, and distance constraints were all pressing factors. At one point, I even resolved NOT to marry because of the hassle caused by the preparation. But then again, if one wants a memorable wedding, it should be given reasonable time and resources. Then wedding day came. Though it was another day, we all had fun, because of the effort we put into the preparations, but more importantly, because we, the family, worked together, and enjoyed together.



1.) Christmas. This is supposed to be the essence of the vacation, but it seems that the items above were more emphasized on those weeks. There are good reasons though, and reflecting on the vacation’s “misplaced accents”, I see the greater picture, which is family spirit. That apparently is Jesus’ birthday treat to our clan. I am grateful for this opportunity to spend my vacation with my family, and to strengthen my bonds them.

Three Kings?

Hi there, I am back in Calamba from a fun-filled Christmas vacation, and starting tomorrow, It is back to work and studies... Darn this hangover. LOL

Today is Three Kings - as it is popularized by whoever said it is. Yeah, we greet each other, "Happy Three Kings". But that is a misnomer because the term THREE KINGS takes the focus off the real attraction of Christianity, who is Christ. In the first place, today is correctly called the Epiphany of the Lord, or better yet, the Manifestation of the Lord. Why is it called the Manifestation of the Lord? It is because the Lord invited the three magi, representing the kingdoms of the world, and manifests Himself, or in other words, shows Himself to them. What is more important is that the three kings represented the world, so Jesus showed Himself to the world, saying, "I AM HERE".

The magi offered their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. A little note, even the gifts of the magi are symbolical - gold represents the kingship and dominion of Jesus over the world, frankincense, which is burned in religious festivals, represents Jesus as the High Priest, and myrrh, an embalming material, represents the suffering Jesus would undergo.

A SUPER-COOL Caroling

This performance is done by Straight No Chaser. This, I mean THIS, is the kind of group we should see more often! YEAHH!!!!

A Happy Christmas to you all!

Nature Trip at Batulao Photostory

Drop-off point: Don Bosco Batulao.
Next is the view at the start of the trail



They say Mt. Batulao was an easy hike. Experienced climbers usually take it in 1 hour. We took 2 hours and 15 mins, a far cry from the par.



Pictures of the climb, at the peak - Edward, Joseph, Aries, Kerwin, Armine, Wilhelm. I forgot the name of the little boy in the middle. Not in the picture is my father, who happens to be the photographer. Hehe



The view from the peak