the Book...

its been a long time.. since the last time i blogged..

and as usual if i am not blogging, it's either i am watching movies online or i am reading a book..

the latest book that caught my interest was the book entitled "the Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho, a Brazilian writer who wrote this book about following one's dreams in the form of fable. The said book was first published in 1988, and imagined my surprised knowing that this book was published 20 years back but the lessons it convey are still very much up dated.

I had fun reading it, apart from the story's valuable lessons, it is also intellectually simulating, the use of the figures of speech was really fascinating. Santiago's journey is the journey of all mankind. He is a representation of what we people are: he dreams, he loves, he fears, he fight, he fails but he never give up til he get his goals in life.

I have penned down some interesting excerpts from the books in my journal that i wanna share..

Dig in !

** the secret of life is to fall 7 times and get up 8 times.

** Everyone seems to have a clear idea at how other people should lead their lives, but none about his or her own.

** What's the world's greatest lie? It's this: that at a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what's happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate.

** if you believe yourself worthy of the thing you fought so hard to get,then you should become an instrument of God. You help the soul of the world and you understand why you are here.

** when you want something, all the universe conspire in helping you achieve it.

** if you start out by promising what you don't even have yet, you'll lose your desire toward getting it.

** The wise men understood that this natural world is only an image and a copy of paradise. The existence of this world is simply a guarantee that there exists a world that is perfect. God created the world so that, through its visible objects, men could understand his spiritual teachings and the marvels of this wisdom. That's what I mean by action.

**In his pursuit of the dream, he was being constantly subjected to tests of his persistence and courage. So he could not be hasty, nor impatient. If he pushed forward impulsively, he would fail to see the signs and omens left by God along his path.

** Remember that wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure. You've got to find the treasure, so that everything you have learned along the way can make sense.

** love never keeps a man from pursuing his dreams, if he abandons that pursuit, it is because it wasn't love.

** One is loved because one is loved. No reason is needed for loving.

** People are afraid to pursue their most important dreams, because they feel that they don't deserve them, or as they'll be unable to achieve them.

Our hearts become fearful just thinking of love ones who go away forever, or of treasures that may have been found but were forever hidden in the sands; because when these things happen, we suffer terribly. We are afraid of suffering... and yet, the fear of suffering is worst than the suffering itself.

** I don't live in either my past or my future. I'm interested only in the present. If you can concentrate always on the present, you'll be a happy man. Life will be a party for you, a grand festival, because life is the moment we're living now.

** the darkest hour of the night comes just before the dawn.

**It's not what enters men's mouth that's evil.
It's what comes out of their mouths that is

** there is only one thing that makes dream impossible to achieve.. the fear of failure.

** no project is completed until its objective has been achieved.

the Washing Machine..

It's Sunday today...Day off at last after 6 days of toiling.

My body clock woke me up automatically at 5 am, that's the maximum time it gives me to prepare for work on a daily routine.

So i went back to sleep..chiding my "body clock"for not remembering that I'm not supposed to wake up that early today. it's my off for heaven's sake! i drifted off to sleep again after that.

I finally got up at 8:56am. It's nearly 9 and i need to put my laundry at the washing machine to make sure my uniform will be ready for ironing in the afternoon!

In Dubai, a typical day OFF is a laundry and iron day only. We are in a sharing accommodation so everything is on schedule. So you better not miss your laundry schedule, otherwise you will have to wait till next week to do your laundry. Availing the service of laundry shops is out of the question, apart from the fact that its so expensive and not at all practical these days, you can never be sure of the cleaning quality.

After i made sure that i have already "guarded"the washing machine, i took the magazine that i had bought the day before and finished reading it along with my HOTDOG sandwich brunch and 2 MUGS of Black coffee (while all the OPM stored in my laptop is being played from sun up to sundown). This is how I typically achieve my "rythm" during my day off .

Without the noise of the airport, the silence at house is really deafining. This is one of the millionth times, when homesickness really strikes; and in my 5 years of living outside my home country, I have learned all the possible ways of "filling-in the BLANKS of my life, desperately trying to achieve balance in my day to day lving without my family and the so-called "Philippine Spirit".

I have read somewhere from one of MOMMY JENNY's messages that, reading will take you somewhere when you need to stay where you are, (not the exact wordings but the thought is the same) and i couldnt agree more! When I want to travel but couldnt afford to, money-wise or otherwise, I just settle in reading travel magazines. The excitement of course is not the same but it somehow appease my "travel addiction".

Maxwell Coffee is not as good as the kapeng barako ng Batangas but just the same, the smell of a brewing coffee makes me feel close to home.

The hotdog sandwich is not as appealing as those I always bought at 7 eleven back home but it still reminds me of home; sad thing is, no matter how many kilos of garlic I put in my adobo it still will never achieve the taste of my mother's home cooking.

I miss my Tatay's silent support everyday, he is really a man of few words but his actions and his presence is a lot more assuring. Inay is a different case, we are as different as night and day. Like Cory and Kris.. me being Cory and her being Kris.. (hahahahah!) But just the same i miss our small bantering and manicure bonding.

My Nanay (grandmother), has a lot of kwento.. most of it she had related to me for a zillionth times.. hahaha.. and those stories took place way back 19-forgotten, all stories i couldnt even relate to but still humorous nonetheless!

My oldies are getting old every day, my siblings are just babies when i left, now they have their own lovelives to boost and its a lot more interesting than what i ever had! There are a lot of damn good things that i am missing but i dont have any choice but to stay here in a warm country who offers temporary refuge to someone like me, seeking for a greener pastures and better oppurtunities while the government of my country is so busy plotting for their next corruption, exposing fiascos here and there that involves almost everyone that we are supposed to trust.

If only the government has something "decent" to offer to all the millions of OFW who are working their ass off , enduring every hellish days of being away from their family just to put food in the table, send kids to school and lead a good life, we would probably take the next flight back home and invest our skills and knowledge in our own country instead of working for someone else's.

Hmmmmmmnnnn...

I look back at the spinning washing machine.. how i wish all my longings can be washed away by this so-called technology! It would have been nice if I could take all the TRAPO's (traditional politicians) back home, put them in the WM and give them a good cleaning so they could come out clean and think "clean"as well.

I want to go home. I want to enjoy my life with my family. Life is too short to spend it away from the people you love and afar from the place you call your own . Im sick of being treated as apart of a minorities from the alien residence we are are currently in. I am sick and tired of settling for the life's second best because i couldn't get the "real"ones.

And i am sick and tired of using this washing machine which does nothing but discolor and ruin my clothes!

Darn it!