The least that we can have is what we want. The best that we can have is what life gives us as a surprise.

Never lose hope. The best is always and ever yet to come. :)

Marley & Me

It’s been a while since I blogged about a movie. I guess I had to wait for one that would really get to me again. 

Well, Marley & Me is the one. Which is why here I am, still up and typing (time check: 2:46 am); I couldn’t wait ‘til the morning to write about it.

A few weeks ago, I made a list of my all-time favorite movies. Movies that moved me, whether to so much laughter, or to tears. This movie did both.

Here’s a scene that had me, quite literally, laughing through tears.

Hilarious! Arbee does something of the sort to Kimba too. He grabs hold of Kimba’s hind legs and she walks with her front ones. I always thought it made her look like a wheelbarrow.

I love shots like this

Man and his best friend. I think dogs are God’s greatest gift to man. 

The idea of a dog beach is really really great! This was such a happy scene.

This is Marley while he was waiting for the kids to get down from the school bus, having arrived home from school.

The most loyal creatures.

“You give them your heart, and they give you theirs.”

Yes, and they will never EVER cease loving you. They’ll love you every day. No matter how long you’ve left them, or how neglected they are, they’re always just happy to see you.

From who else can we find love like that. Who else has a better example of unconditional love.

Animals deserve to be loved and cared for. Every single one of them. They deserve to run wild and free. They deserve to be every bit as happy as we are because they have the purest hearts. 

It takes a lot to make us humans happy. But to them, a pat on the head, a scratch behind the ear, will get them dancing around.

This is so picturesque.

Was crying nonstop from this scene (or maybe even before this) to the end of the movie.

And then..

Dogs must have a heaven. Animals must have a heaven. If they don’t, I don’t want to have one either. I don’t want to continue to be, if the world I will go to doesn’t have one of the greatest kinds of love ever known. If animals don’t have a heaven, then we don’t deserve one either.

Maybe religious people will smite me for what I’ve just said. But the God I believe in will surely not let these creatures with the purest souls just cease to be.

I get so emotional and affected sometimes that I say strong things that can draw gasps, tuts and head shakes, but I will never ever regret saying this. I’ve always prayed to God for the animals to go up there too when they die. Where, one day, we will all live infinitely better and happier.

Marley & Me made me realize how rich and blessed this world we live in is, because of the love of even just a single dog. 

I am ending this entry with a poem I read in the book, Heartland. Although originally not made for such, this poem by Leo Marks is used in the book to give voice to the animals. I always thought it fitting, accurate and very true.

The Life That I Have

The life that I have

Is all that I have

And the life that I have

Is yours

-

The love that I have

Of the life that I have

Is yours and yours and yours

-

A sleep I shall have

A rest I shall have

Yet death will be but a pause

-

For the peace of my years

In the long green grass

Will be yours and yours

And yours

____________________________________________

Let us give them the happy life that they so deserve. 

CREATIVITY, DESIRE, PERSISTENCE, FEARLESSNESS: Lessons from the truly brave.

November 8, early in the morning— I was still deciding on whether to attend the talk my cousin informed me of. It was to be given by a Jessica Cox. An armless pilot. I did not know of her. I did not know she’d frequented the news because of her defiance of what was expected of her. I did not know she went all over the world, motivating people, inspiring people. 

I did not know what she’d inspire in me. 

The “pilot” was what drew me in. And I want to explain a little more about that (more out of fondness and interest than purpose and clarity hahaha)

In my mind there developed the idea (from the little information I know— from devouring articles, films and whatnots— of space exploration) that there are two ways to be considered for a mission as part of the astronaut corps. One was by becoming a mission specialist. Mission specialists, if I understand the proceedings correctly, are the ones who perform the experiments that are the cause of the expedition. They know the technical aspects of the operation and are responsible for coordinating it. And the other was by directing and controlling the vehicle for aviation and flight. Pilotage. 

Of the two, I’ve always preferred the latter more. I’ve never flown but it’s just something that I know my adventure-seeking thrill-wanting soul will love. When I have my astronaut daydreams, when I think of the track I will take, it’s almost always from the pilot stance.

So there you go. That’s why I was drawn in by “pilot”. And went. 

And by God how very fortunate that I did!

Jessica Cox was born without arms but what she has been able to do and accomplish all these years would humble even those with the most beautiful and able limbs. 

Here is a video of her learning how to surf: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWlX7_5J9To

Here is a video of her driving her car and SCUBA diving: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xi6r0UyMvM

Here is a video of her, featured on the Inside Edition, texting, playing the piano, putting in her contact lenses, showing her skills as a black belter in Taekwondo, and of course, her flying a plane: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2IqpPSF9-U

Uninhibited. Unrestrained. Unsuppressed.

In the talk, Ms. Cox made mention of 4 characteristics that are important in achieving a dream, a goal, a vision. The first of which is creativity. 

Creativity is the understanding that there is more than one way to do anything. As children, we learned how to tie our shoelaces the normal, conventional way. She demonstrated how she was able to produce the same outcome with a different approach. As was our experience, there was the trouble of tying the laces as a child. But she had an additional problem. After she had the knack of tying the shoelaces with her toes, how does she get her feet IN the shoes? So she compromised by tying the laces loosely so she could get her feet inside. It was the same idea she had when she had to work with the 4 point harness of the plane she was to fly— her seat belts. What she did was buckle all the belts first and adjust them after so that they were loose. Only then would she slip inside and readjust the belts to secure her perfectly.

Different approach, same outcome.

The next characteristic was Desire. She quoted Andy Munthe saying ‘A shot glass of desire is greater than a pitcher of talent.’ She believes that desire is 80% of success. If you want something that bad, then you’ve come a long way and only need to be bold enough to travel that 20% more stretch of road ahead. In the course of the talk, Jessica moved around and did things with her feet that we would ordinarily do with our arms. She pushed back chairs, drank from her glass of water, opened a can of soda… things that we want and need to do in our everyday lives. I admire Jessica for desiring to do things for herself and for not letting others see her as helpless and incapacitated. A lot of it had to do with her upbringing too. She had parents who never made her feel like a victim. She went on to tell the story of how she wanted to borrow one of her parents’ TV sets for her dorm. Her mother gave her permission but her father denied her. And so she was forced to ‘steal’ the TV. She told of the difficulties she encountered moving the TV set. For really, try moving that without arms! She had to transfer it on something that had wheels (a computer chair) so she could maneuver it and then, she had to bring it downstairs! Step, by tedious, tiring, scary, step. With her desire, she made it all the way down to the front door. But she opened it and there was her father. And he said “Honey, if I’d have known you wanted the TV THAT bad….”

That really had us all laughing. But needless to say, her point was taken. 

She then talked about Persistence. She again quoted, this time Roosevelt, ‘When you come to the end of the rope, tie a knot, and hold on.’ Persistence is going beyond the expectations that others have of you and even that which you have of yourself. Jessica says saying “I can’t” is only an excuse for not being persistent. Someone from the audience asked her what made her go on despite her incapacity and she answered wisely that sometimes, when you have things come easy for you, you become lazy. Persistence is oftentimes a matter of choosing not to be lazy. It seemed as if her not having arms even challenged her and fueled her motivation. Persistence is doing hard work, as opposed to waiting for things to be handed to you. We all have our incapacities, she said. It just so happens that hers is more apparent. More visually recognized. Some of us have parents who don’t support our dreams. Some of us have the lack of funds incapacitating us, preventing us from pursuing our desires. Some of us have fear. It matters that we persist, no matter how great and even because of the greatness of the trials and tribulations before us. 

Not brilliance, not perfection, but persistence.

Finally she said, “Be fearless”. She goes on to quote what she says is one of her favorite adages. By Mary Williamson: ‘Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our greatest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.’ 

During the talk there were countless moments when I was so inspired I struggled not to cry. I know of this quote and countless times too, it has touched me deeply. But hearing this from her.. looking up at the ceiling and blinking my eyelids ferociously was all I could do not to burst out and bawl.

Fear, she says, is an acronym for False Evidence Appearing Real. We create our own fear. What we must do is identify the greatest of them, and walk directly at it. That is what she did. She feared airplanes. And now she has a flying license.

When we have unconquerable fearlessness, when we face things with boldness, unwavering desire, indomitable persistence and always with the view that there are countless ways to get to where we want to be, then there is very little we could do to fail. 

One of the organizers of the event said to us “Maybe if you’re here, you’re here for a reason.”

How very lucky that I was there. My zeal for life, for adventures, renewed and strengthened.

Because my cousin knew the organizer of the event, we were able to go near her for a photo op (hehehe) I said, hastily because people were starting to swarm her, “Nice to meet you ma’am” and she said in such a friendly way “Nice to meet you!”. Oh my goodness, I was truly star struck.  

Thank you, Ms. Jessica Cox, for being a light of the world. 

I am a reader and I revel in the beauty of words

Blogging about words/language when I get the chance to. There is so much pent up love for this great innovation, inside me. I’ve been brooding and musing about this since summer, when I took up EU50 as elective (European Languages). Haven’t really had the time to compose my thoughts in this regard.

 In the meantime, here are some things I’ve read this week that struck me.

‘What we call civilisation is merely man’s way of trying to impose his values upon the natural world. Books, music, painting, all these constructed things are but attempts to capture the soul of what we seearound us. A way of making sense, of ordering our human experiences into something manageable, containable.’  ~ Kate Mosse, Sepulchre

‘There is no matter the human mind can devise that does not exist already within the bounds of nature. Everything we do, see, write, notate, all are an echo of the deep seams of the universe.’ ~ Kate Mosse, Sepulchre

‘Fuhji, poudes; Escapa, non’ (Flee you may; escape you cannot) ~ Kate Mosse, Sepulchre

‘The vice you nurture will choke you in the future. The virtue you embrace will be your future grace.’

If anything is to happen, we must begin immediately, and that is, right now.

More words from Sepulchre, The Hunger Games and a lot lot more!

Tumblr, we will catch up soon! Hahaha! My dash is in dire need of attention too!

My Kimba :)

She is soooo sneakyyyy

The other day, she ate the Oishi crackers I had beside me while I was busy with something. I heard *crunch crunch crunch* and when I looked at her, she stopped eating and had this sheepish look on her face. After staring at each other for a few moments, and gauging that I wasn’t mad, she went on eating ALL of it. HAHAHA

She also went inside the room while I wasn’t looking and jumped jumped jumped on the bed. 

She sniffs around

Sniffs some more

And sniffs me 

She always wants to go inside the house— to inspect every nook and cranny, to continue her sniffing, and to have a little rest.

I put my hand on her head and she immediately falls asleep. Good night little Kimbs. :)

She is so lovely. :)

To Ms. Perfect: Happy Birthday Tinnydoo!! <3

This is my friend, Kristine. I call her Tinnydoo. I only have pet names for people who are really dear to me and I hope she knows how grateful I am to be considered her friend—- because Tin is a lady extraordinaire, and you’re lucky if you ever meet anybody in the world like her. 

(By the way, she calls me Jassy, and for some reason, it always makes my heart melt. I just thought I ought to mention that) 

Tin had her birthday last October 11 and of course I sent her a birthday message (how could I not, this is TINNY we’re talking about!) 11 days later, I find out she didn’t receive it. :’( We both felt bad that we both thought we ignored each other. I decided to make this entry, not only to make it up to her, but also because it’s high-time to write about someone who inspires me a lot. 

Tin is a gorgeous girl. This photo I took using my low-tech camera did her no justice at all. I always call her “tumblr girl”. It suits her a lot. She is a real individual and she expresses herself beautifully; she’s sexy, smart, deep, strong, talented, and compassionate.

I’d like to expound on each of these words although it must be noted that whatever’s written will not be enough to describe the depth of her soul. This is Tin as she is to me and how I’ve always seen her, but I know there is more to her than this. I always see this mysterious side of Tin too. It’s part of her beauty. In the years to come, I know I’d understand more and more of her. And I’m excited about that. 

Sexy. I am not even kidding. She is slim like a model. And she HAS a figure. Like this ).( Hahaha. I really had to show it. She’s one of those people who was just BORN with a great figure, long legs and all. Some people could gym all they want; who could slim down drastically, and they’d never have this figure that warrants a bikini. Tin is not only naturally and effortlessly sexy, she chooses to be sexy. She has two tats, and one of them’s a group of stars (just about the best shape in the world). I think it’s sexy when you’re brave enough to express yourself and decide it’ll be who you’ll be for a lifetime. It’s sexy when you don’t fear what’s permanent and you brandish yourself with it. Her clothes are chic too, they flaunt her assets perfectly. On top of that, her Hispanic features are looovely.

Smart. Tin is a reader and a listener. She takes in a lot of the world. She observes keenly. She thinks AND feels. She has a lot to say because there is a lot she can talk about. There is a lot she can talk about because there is a lot in her brain. It only makes sense. Tin’s blogs are amaaaazing. She’s hilarious and yet, from her musings you realize many things. I have. Lately, Tin and I have been talking on twitter DM so I’ve been learning a lot. She really conveys her thoughts and feelings well. And they’re all of substance. She is definitely a no-nonsense person.

Deep. Tin has an open heart as much as she has an open mind. She has reveled in her emotions so she knows how they go; pain, happiness, suffering, joy, confusion, love—- she has explored and experienced things for herself. I can’t really put my finger on what compels me to say she’s deep, but I am sure of it. So so sure. It always appears to me that she’s taking in more than what’s there to see. I sort of.. feel her incorporating new discoveries into things she already knows. Like she’s melding thoughts so that they make more sense; so that they become more profound. Sometimes, I don’t feel her doing this intentionally. It’s just natural of her. People who EXPERIENCE life, who take unconventional roads, are always deep people.

Strong. Since highschool, I’ve seen Tin as someone who is sure of herself. I learned now, because we’ve become closer, that that’s not always the case. But deep inside, I also know that her strength has a solid foundation. She’s principled and she fights for what she believes is right. She never lets anyone step on her. She’s not one to sit in a corner and cry; she stands up and fights. I admire her a lot because of that. She rationalizes and justifies, as only a strong, smart, no-pushover could. She is confident because she knows who she is, and that she is someone innately good. Someone whose desires are based on what she knows is JUST. I hope Tin would always be reminded of how strong and deserving she is. That with her faith and might, she can fulfill her dreams. There can be nothing but a beautiful life ahead for someone whose will is strong and pure and undaunted. She will still have a lot of realizations about life and about what she wants. Everyday, her goals would shape and reshape. But in the end, I hope she knows there’s nothing but goodness in store for her, if she just continues to believe and persevere. 

Talented. Oh my goodness. Anyone who has never heard Tinnydoo sing has missed out on a lot in life. Hahahaha! But seriously, she has this cool, soothing voice that will remind you of cherubs and seraphs. Not only that, she plays the guitar.. and the drums.. As I said earlier, she writes well. She dances. And she can take GREAT shots. What more can I say? What more can we all say?? :)) This girl is talented to a T.

Compassionate. Another thing I really admire about Tin is her compassion. Some people can be so smart and deep but still not FEEL for the world. Not Tinny. She celebrates with the world, she grieves with the world. What burden you share, she feels in her heart and she tries her very best to help it off you. I remember when I had my heart broken and she was the only one who could really comfort me. When my other friends were too busy with the starting of our college lives (something I never really blamed them for), Tin gave time for me. She genuinely listened. You always know when somebody is just hearing you out or if they’re sincerely WITH you, listening and feeling with you. And I really really felt less alone when she would comfort me and give advises. I would’ve gone crazy that time, if it weren’t for her. Tin looooves loves loves loves animals. It has always been her dream to have a shelter for all the homeless animals. She’s so noble. Her heart goes out to those who are abused and treated wrongly. She REALLY gets MAD. She gets affected by just about anything because of her ginormous heart. She can’t not be. This also means, that when someone offends her, she takes it deeply. But another thing is, she forgives easily too. Especially if she has considered you a friend already. She’ll always love you, no matter what you do and no matter what she says. She’ll always be there to take you back in, and to go on appreciating whatever little act of love you show her. Her capacity to love is beyond proportion. The limit does not exist. And herein lies the reason for Kristine’s unparalleled beauty.  

Tin is beautiful, inside and out. I know it’s been said many times but this is the first time I’m using it officially, and I’m using it to describe her and only her. :)

I love Tin. I admire her. I believe in who she is. 

[Belated] happy birthday to the girl whose courage and individuality I’ve always looked up to; Ms. Perfect indeed—- Tinny. <3