booknewb

This bit of dialogue was from an episode of Running Wild with Bear Grylls. This time featuring the current US president. Bear: What have you learned about getting things done that are really on your heart? P. Obama: Persistence. I'm a big believer in persistence. They've done studies of kids growing up in poor neighborhoods, or war torn regions of the world. And the kids who survive it and thrive. It's not necessarily the smartest kid. It's not necessarily the strongest kid. It's the most resilient kid.  And I think that's true in just about every circumstance.  A lot of stuff that you try is not gonna work. But if you stay determined, typically you make real progress. and you have to have something of an even keel so you don't get too high or too low in order to stay determined.  One of the things I try to tell my daughters is "Don't believe the hype when things are going good and don't despair when things are going bad." ......

I enjoyed this.  It's a good insight into the backbones of modern Rom-Com's. The story is simple enough. We get to see the staff of Matuschek & Co. It revolves mostly around its shop in Hungary. The two main characters are easily identifiable, as they are both reserved, awkward and hopeful. We see them banter with each other by day. and unknowingly be lovely to each other through their letters. I feel I learned a little about the 1940's. It would seem like a lovely period, before the war set in.

Great Insight in to San Antonio Spurs General Manager R.C. Buford by asssistant coach Ettore Messina. To sum up: 1. Be respectful, low key and accessible 2. Develop your own opinion. Don't get too caught up in group thought. 3. Be curious. See things firsthand. This is from: http://www.expressnews.com/sports/columnists/buck_harvey/article/Spurs-Buford-off-to-the-side-always-looking-6709124.php

There might be a universe where a version of me grows old alone. I'm beginning to think it may be this one. I'm starting to get used to the idea.

"Sometimes it can be easy to romanticize our unrequited loves, so maybe be wary of that. Again, you want what you can't have. And if someone's being shitty to you, just move on" -Aziz Ansari

I'm around 2 hours away from my 25th birthday. I'm fairly young still. I feel, as human beings at 25, this is the point where we don't have to hurry.  and we don't. we really don't.  There's a small sense of urgency, or simply to not mess up. but you know, No rush. We still have our fair share of wins and disappointments. Or simply put our successes and our lessons. At this point in my life, I am blessed beyond what I can comprehend. I have parents and brothers and sisters, I get to call family. I have friends I get to call "my friends". I have had more opportunities than most people I know. The fact that I am alive and living is amazing. Thank you God.

" Your brain is the biggest obstacle. Generally, human beings are hardwired to hang in, not to leave or quit. Adages— like “Winners never quit, and quitters never win”—aren’t really necessary. What’s hard for human beings is letting go. As the Nobel Prize-winning work of Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman famously showed, We are a conservative and loss-aversive bunch." -Peg Streep,  https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/tech-support/201501/8-ways-you-can-tell-its-the-right-time-quit

"I feel like now, in internet culture. It's all about. We're all just sharks looking for blood.  and anytime someone says racist stuff or drops an "N" bomb.  I feel like there's all these websites that are like "YES! We can write about that for a week. This is awesome."  We're not sharks. We shouldn't be looking for blood. We're human beings. We should talk to people and look for dialogue and understanding." -Aziz Ansari

I had a different view of how this holiday season would hopefully turn out. I guess, that not's going to be the case this time. But you know, that's just how it is. Sometimes you're particularly lucky. Sometimes not. Things don't always go the way we want them to be. And there's nothing wrong with that. We have full volition of how we spend our time. or make our choices. We are not prisoners of outcomes. We are active participants in the scenes we aspire to be in. We are not perfect. We make mistakes. But we also have the capacity to strive for the best versions of our selves. We become weak. We get scared. We get angry. We get lonely. A reminder that we are in fact, humans. The good thing to know is that, we survive. We have the opportunity to stand in courage. To be happy. To join each other in times of our failures and weaknesses.

"When our ambition is bounded, it leads us to work joyfully. When our ambition is unbounded, it leads us to lie, to cheat, to steal, to hurt others, to sacrifice things of real value. When our fears are bounded, we're prudent. We're cautious. We're thoughtful. When our fears are unbounded and overblown, we're reckless and we're cowardly. ... The lesson i want to leave you with from this data is that our longings and our worries are both to some degree overblown because we have within us the capacity to manufacture the very commodity we are constantly chasing when we choose experience." -Dan Gilbert

"Your heart might be broken but it isn't gone. If it was gone, you wouldnt be this nice." Home Alone

On the difference between excitement and fulfillment "We confuse excitement with fulfillment. We confuse the big wins, with the money we make, with being fulfilled.  It's not. It's just exciting." On what we essentially ask for our leaders "Help me learn, Help me try.  Be there if I fail. Let me fail. Let me try and fail.  Help me build my confidence. Help me realize that I have more capacity than I think I have." On good leadership and quality of lives it affects "It's like being a parent. at some point, you will look back and see the life that you've created. and question is, do you want to be proud of it or not? And I don't mean your life. I mean the lives of others. Like a parent, you look back and you look at your children, and say "I did ok, I did ok, you know" That's the quality of your parenting is how well your kids turn out . well the quality of your leadership is how your people turn out, not your...

Paid my last respects to an old friend yesterday. Went to the St. Peter's Parish Shrine of Leaders.  I realized, I've been very near reminders mortality in the last few months.  As scary as the thought of death is, I remembered the first time I had a clear emotion/reaction to it. I was in grade school. It was an afternoon. I guess the teacher was out because I don't remember him/her in this memory. They had distributed this science magazine, a couple pieces of soft printed paper with science-y ideas. I don't remember the exact article but It was something about mortality. I remembered browsing through that magazine. I felt really scared. What's going to happen to me? What about my parents? and people i know etc.  That kind of fizzled out as the days went by. Then yesterday, i realized that death is special. It made me realize that the life we get to have is precious. That there's an end. It made me appreciate more of days we get to have. The mornings and ev...

"I think a broken heart is something that everybody should experience because it makes you appreciate any future experiences that you have.  You felt the hurt so you can enjoy the positive aspects of love." -Gates of Heaven(1978)

"There's going to be a day when you're not going to do this again. When that day comes, you're going to miss this."

Just saw the 2014 Spurs Championship Documentary. One that really stood out to me was this bit of dialogue by Gregg Popovich. "Pop: We start that training camp by watching that game, every frame of it. Manu: Pop wanted us to see it again, to feel it, to realize what happened. Pop: You're in control of things . You don't blame it on basketball gods or anything like that. What can we do better. Either we will or we won't." Perhaps the best way to start the healing process is take good stock of the events. To own what happened.To realize. To acknowledge. Not to push it away. Also, to realize that, You are in control of things. You don't blame time. You don't blame fate. What can we do to get better? Be the better person.

it's time.

"The truth is we're all trying to figure it out." -Kid President

But where are you now? Where are you now? Do you ever think of me In the quiet, in the crowd? -Mumford & Sons

gloomy.

Baah! I'm old. I knew friendster. NAME:  I am jack's untold name AGE:  24 BIRTHDAY:  December 8, 1990 PRESENT ADDRESS:  I am here WHAT WAS YOUR: 1. Last beverage:  a glass of water 2. Last phone call:   someone i know 3. Last text message:  my boss 4. Last Song you listened to:  if you're not here 5. Last time you cried: fairly recently HAVE YOU EVER: 6. Dated someone twice:  i have 7. Been cheated on:  hmm i don't really know 8. Kissed someone and regretted it:  have not 9. Lost someone special:  I have 10. Been depressed:  have been 11. Been drunk and threw up:  have yes LIST THREE FAVORITE COLORS: 12.  White 13.  Black 14. Gray LAST YEAR (2014), HAVE YOU: 15. Made a new friend:  I have 16. Fallen out of love:  May count, yes 17. Laughed until you cried:  I have 18. Met someone who changed you:  Yes 19. Found out who...

Digital Detox... on

Some days I'm well.  Some days, I'm terrible. Tonight's the latter. I feel exhausted. Tired. I think I'm going to have a fever. I want to get better.  I can.

"The government is not the Philippines, The Philippines is not the government... We are the Philippines. The Philippines is each and everyone of us" -Gang Badoy During one of RockEd Philippines' events for Rock Mabini. She also mentioned something close to this. I can't remember it word for word now. But this is close enough. "Your loudest voice in this democracy is that one vote."  Let it be heard. Make good use of it.

Maybe. Just maybe, this is supposed to happen. you're in good hands whenever you leave behind failure. means you're closer to what you aim for. it's amazing that this was even possible. you are lucky. that you got to have that memory. let's just make the most of it while it's still vivid. because really the bad part is when you forget. when you dont care anymore. so while you still do, acknowledge. savor the moment.

It's almost the time of the year. It's always the "time" of the year. It has slowed down. Back to the usual days. Little steps. Little tries.  Wait and see. Wait and see. There is no shortcut. No skipping steps. To do something, do it the right way. wholeheartedly. purposeful.

This is a life-saver.  The way music can affect you is always amazing. I needed this.

Concentrate on the fact that you had a good 4-5 months, and it ended badly ... You wanted more, but that's tough. Get over it, move on and figure out how to get better and deal with it.

"Don't worry about it. There's nothing, no problem right now that's gonna be that big in like a week, a month, a year."  -SoulPancake

and now... what? i don't know. keep trying. 'til you get it right.

It's quiet. It's warm. Peaceful.

"When a person tells you that you hurt them, you don't get to decide that you didn't." -Louis CK

"For a moment i was warm and the world made sense" -Copeland

Hango sa sulat ni Bob Ong sa librong Si. "Doon ko lang nalaman na maari rin pala tayong makasugat ng sarili, at humihiwa rin ng kaluluwa ang pag-asa."

This is a short story told inside a movie. That movie is called Cinema Paradiso. The Princess and the Soldier "Once upon a time, a king gave a feast. And there came the most beautiful princesses of the realm. Now, a soldier, who was standing guard, saw the king’s daughter go by. She was the most beautiful one, and he immediately fell in love with her. But what could a poor soldier do when it came to the daughter of the king? Well, finally, one day, he managed to meet her, and he told her that he could no longer live without her. The princess was so impressed by his strong feelings that she said to the soldier: “If you can wait 100 days and 100 nights under my balcony, then at the end of it, I shall be yours.” Damn! The soldier immediately went there and waited one day. And two days. And ten. And then twenty. And every evening, the princess looked out of her window, but he never moved. During rain, during wind, during snow, he was always there. The bird shat on his head,...

"1897 Mayo 1 Mahal kong Oryang, Mali ka. Hindi kita nakasalubong upang sa dulo ng kalsada, ako ay liliko sa kanan at ikaw sa kaliwa. Sapagkat saan man tayo dalhin ng ating pakikibaka, ikaw lang ang aking itatangi at makailang ulit na ihaharap sa pulang bandila. Hindi tayo nagpalitan ng mga kwento upang sa pinakahuling tuldok ng pangungusap, ang karugtong ay alingawngaw ng katahimikan. Walang pagod kitang aawitan ng imnong pambayan, Oryang. Hindi kailanman ako mauubusan ng salita upang maialay sa iyo bilang mga tula. Maging ang bulong at buntung-hininga’y magpapahayag ng pagsinta sa tulad mong umiibig din sa bansa. Hindi tayo sabay na tumawa, nagkatinginan, at tumawa pa nang mas malakas, upang sa paghupa ng halakhak ay may butil ng luha na mamimintana sa ating mga mata. Loobin man ng Maykapal na pansamantala tayong magkawalay, tandaan mong ang halakhak at sigaw ng ating mga kasamahan ay sa akin rin. Hindi ka dapat masabik sa akin sapagkat ako’y mananatili sa iyong piling. ...

I don't want to do it your way, I don't want to do it your way. I don't want to give it to you, your way. I don't want to know I don't want to change your mind, I don't want to waste your time. I just want to know you're alright. I've got to know you're alright;

Doctor: So you took a chance on being happy even though you knew that later on you would be sad. Louie: Yea Doctor: And now you're sad. Louie: Yea. Doctor: So, what, what's the problem? Louie: I'm too sad. I like the feeling of being in love with her. I liked it. but now she's gone and I miss her and it sucks. and I didn't think it was going to be this bad. and I feel like why even be happy if it's just going to lead to this. It wasn't worth it.  Doctor: Boy, misery is wasted on the miserable.  Louie: What? Doctor: You know, I'm not entirely sure what your name is, but you are a classic idiot. You think spending time with her, kissing her, having fun with her. You think that's what it was all about? That was love?  Louie: Yeaa. Doctor: This is love. Missing her. because she's gone. Wanting to die. You're so lucky. You're like a walking poem. Would you rather be some kind of a fantasy. Some ki...

I have one last thought, which is that it really makes a difference what we say. The words that come out of our mouth.  I learned this from a woman who survived Auschwitz, one of the rare survivors. She went to Auschwitz when she was 15 years old. and her brother was 8 (years old). And the parents were lost.  And she told me this. she said.  We were in the train going into Auschwitz. And I looked down and I saw my brother's shoes were missing. And I said "why are you so stupid. can't you keep your things together for goodness sake" The way an older sister might speak to a younger brother.  Unfortunately it was the last thing she ever said to him, because she never saw him again. He did not survive.  And so when she came out of Auschwitz, she made a vow. She told me this. She said "I walked out of Auschwitz into life. And I made a vow. and the vow was, "I will never say anything that couldn't stand as the last thing i ever say" -Benjamin ...

Prayers make a difference

It's been awhile since I've had this sort of nagging head ache. If I remember correctly that was almost 2 years ago. What I did then was to get some rest and vitamins. Which I'll do now.

Quotes of Gregg Popovich from an interview  “Everybody’s pretty different. I’ve always thought of myself as a non-lifer. You know, there are lifers – guys that it’s in their veins from morning ’til night. Larry Brown is a lifer, Hubie Brown, those kind of guys. They’re real basketball people. I’m sort of a pseudo basketball person (laughs). I enjoy it. I love the guys. I like going to practice. I like competing. But when it’s done, it’s done . Some people are able to do that, some aren’t. But I’ve always felt that if you don’t let it go, you’ll drive yourself crazy.   We try to pass that on to our players. Not to get excited in wins, not to get depressed in losses. Just keep moving forward. And Steve [Kerr] did a good job of that this year. He called me one time and said, ‘Pop, this is easy! You guys always acted like it was tough. This is easy!’ That was after he’d won about 19 in a row or something.”  Keep moving forward. There are a lot of guys and tea...

Kung wala tayong gagawin, paano tayo mabubuhay?

My mind's racing to a million paces This shell's calm but my insides are a mess Of panic. Of anxiety. A blur.  Keep calm. Nothing's changing. Or maybe everything. Just not the way I thought they would. Keep calm. The sun and the night sky never stays in one place. They day always marches on. Keep calm. What time has in store for us we dont know. We can only prepare and hope we're ready when life hits us.

"Faith isn’t always a source of answers, but it can give us a sense of the road forward. It’s alive in anyone who has suffered an intense loss and kept moving, who has doubted the existence of God and yet prayed anyway, and who has endured suffering for the sake of another and found great strength in doing so." http://time.com/3911316/pope-francis-joseph-biden-suffering/ Christopher J. Hale

Grateful. Better things are to come.

" Please do not be cynical.  I hate cynicism. For the record, it's my least favorite quality.   It doesn't lead anywhere.  Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get .  But if you work really hard and you're kind, Amazing things will happen. I'm telling you. Amazing things will happen."

I awoke. One friend posted on Facebook, her feed was a flood of #walangforever posts. So then i thought about it. Not that it really matters but, it seems like a big issue nowadays. One can't really prove or disprove the statement. Improvising a Henry Ford quote for my own purposes: "Whether you believe forever exists or you believe forever doesn't last, you are right" the original quote goes ""whether you think you can, or you think you cannot, you're right."

I tried the myers-briggs personality test. Apparently, I'm an INFJ. I don't know much how these things work. But, i think it's fairly accurate. I took another one, as sort of a 2nd opinion. INTJ. My thinking/feeling is blurred.

Songs from the Deep by Mishka Adams Great song

So i just saw this Taiwanese sports film.  It's a true story about a high school baseball team in the 1930's.  We are told they have never a won a game and in one year competed at the finals of the country's top high school baseball teams.  It has the makings of what a sports movie is. Values of hard-work, determination, team, sacrifice are all present. The movie's biggest concept comes from a papaya tree that bears the biggest and the sweetest fruit. Overcoming adversity. It's a good story. It's interesting to know that race also was an issue in some parts of Asia during certain periods of time. In this time, growing up, It was never an issue. I learned that we are not so different after all. We may be from different countries or different time periods. But we are all capable of cooperation and of competitive spirit.

Oh well.

It is a fascinating story. Every person has a lesson. If that makes sense. Every day has a point.  Why Alex's character in the story did what he did. I can't figure that out yet. Maybe, there's always an incredible longing to be free. The search for freedom. But what is freedom. What's the point of freedom if you're the only one to enjoy it. To rephrase that last quote, "Happiness is only real, when shared" Earlier in the story, he tells an old man, "You are wrong if you think Joy emanates only or principally from human relationships." He's not saying relationships are not important. It is. It's very important. I too believe that one's quality of life depends on the quality of one's relationships. I think what he's saying is that, Happiness can also be derived from novelty. New experiences. It maybe a matter of perspective also. A random day to a person could be a monumental day for another. 

Just to sum up this past 2 days in 1 word, Incredible. Being able to play music for a bigger purpose is always awesome. It's more than welcome. Also, I'm kinda jealous of my guitar, Phoebe. She just got played by a pretty interesting girl. And that specific moment. That's cool. It gives me joy just remembering it. It's heart-warming. More than that. It's being of service to something bigger than me and my life. That certain knowledge that in a small way hopefully I've affected another person's life in a positive way. Saturday was a time for community. Sunday is for family. It's always nice having the relatives around. It's also way nicer having my brothers around the house. And having that small bit of talk with our dad. Priceless. Nothing will ever amount to those moments. Having the opportunity to converse about life issues. Incredibly grateful for my Dad.