Well, I’m not going to describe everything in detail since that’s practically impossible. The beauty of Boracay cannot be measured by mere words. It’s a sight that you’ll never get tired of. I LOVED IT. The beach was simply heavenly. When we went island hopping, I got to see more parts of the island – all were too beautiful to compare to one another. Snorkel diving was great too – I got to see life under the water. Tons of colorful fishes and corals! Amazing!!

Since we only stayed for three days, I was a bit… well, disappointed. I wanted to stay longer but we have to prepare for school. The first day of classes is next week already and this whole Boracay thing was just something of a last minute thing.

Anyway, I hope to come back soon! XD

Get this – I’ve been called ‘shy’ and ‘a person who is lacking self-confidence’. GaK! Since when?! I AM NOT SHY. My friends know this very well. I AM NOT SHY. I’VE GOT JUST THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF SELF-CONFIDENCE!

But now, I’m being encouraged to ‘take up the courage to speak up’. Hello?! As president of the Forensics Club, I’M THE ONE WHO’S ENCOURAGING PEOPLE TO SPEAK UP!!! Argh! Argh! ARGH!!!!!!!! iT should NOT be the other way around.

Okay, I’m obviously so irritated right now. To avoid posting unnecessary stuff, I’ll end the entry here.

-ARGH!

Allow me to explain! It has something to do with those people who often get ignored, people who are treated as if they don’t exist. These are people who think they are surrounded by some invisibility barrier ’cause no one ever notices them. Sad, huh? But in this twisted reality, there are really people who feel that way…

Thus, I’ve decided to write about them! XD Give justice to those who are underappreciated!

How about you? Have you seen past the invisibility barrier? There might be people nearby who are waiting for you to finally see them…

Hmm… Then again, maybe going back to school isn’t such a bad thing, after all…

Heard of ‘Brigada Eskwela’? Well, if you’ve been watching the news, you should have! It’s a program of the Department of Education that concerns the cleaning-up and renovation of some public schools in the country as part of the preparation for the new school year. What makes it really great is that it is a voluntary program. Teachers, parents and student offer their services for free, making it so the DepEd saves over a million pesos (or was it a billion?). That’s all fine and dandy – as long as they really save a million pesos and not keep it all for themselves. Sigh!

Anyway, that ‘Brigada’ Eskwela’ really made me think. Imagine – students themselves are working to prepare their classroom for the school year. Um, Paulinians out there, ever think that we could do the same thing?

We can prepare for the next school year in our special way! Start studying! Advance work never hurt anyone! Fix up all your school supplies and see if you could still use the ones from last school year and make your mom happy when she hears that you won’t be buying new ones (I personally will still be using a lot of old stuff!).

The end of vacation may be near but the start of a new fun school year is just around the corner! XD

Now, before you go on reading this entry, let me just firmly declare that I AM A CATHOLIC and I am aware that Mr. Brown’s novels are pure works of FICTION, despite the facts that they are products of hard research wrok on facts and a few true historical details.

Alright, moving on… Today’s the movie Angels and Demons had its first showing in Philippine cinema and I was among the first to watch it. First thing I thought while watching: the movie does not accurately narrate the novel plot, typical for all movies based on books. -Forgive me for being a critic. I’m just a bigger fan of books than movies. – The movie was intriguing and was able to visually represent the cleverly-made plot. It was an amazing mystery-thriller – everything was connected. Everything made sense.

But, did it make too much sense? Enough to make people believe on what is really fiction?  Well, the fact that the novel is based on too many real facts may indeed contribute to the possibilities of making people believe. – I was watching the movie with some friends, and some of them admitted to have almost believed! – The secret messages hidden in actual sculptures found in real places in Vatican City… Add that to the fact that those secret messages actually made sense! This may actually add to the possibilites of influencing people against religion – but let me stress the word may.

In the end, Angels and Demons was a great novel and movie. As controversial as it may have been, I see things this way – both parties have a point. The Church says it may cause grave misunderstandings among the Catholics for it provides details that are against the teachings of the Church. This is true. The other side says it is merely a work of fiction, a novel created for entertainment not information. This is also true.

At the end of the day, the movie and novel isn’t the true danger here. The people were granted the free will to decide for themselves what to believe and what not to believe. It depends on their faith whether the movie and novel will bear any conspiracy. If the people begin to have doubts, then that is simply because they haven’t fully established their faith. They do not truly believe in the first place. But if the people remain unaffected despite the movie, then their faith is of great strength and has proven true at the face of fictitious works.

In the end, it all lies on WHAT YOU BELIEVE IN.

Reader, what do you believe in?

-Angeli Dumatol’s New Novel-

Qualifications:

• must reflect the Filipino cultues and/or showcase the beauty of the Philippines and/or feature the talent of the Filipino people
• must be of the Young Adult Fiction main genre; sub-genre may vary

Pending Applications:

• How Grand is a Grandfather? – a story in tribute of grandfathers; will concentrate on the Filipino traits of close family traits and great hospitality
  • Main Plot: Orphaned through a tragic car accident, young Adrian, together with his siblings, is forced to come and live with his grandfather, who he greatly resents. As far as he was concerned, his lolo was a bad man, despite all the praise other people give him. Adrian knew that his lolo was selfish, ignorant and indifferent. How can one call such a person a grandfather?
• Warmth -a story of friendship, crushes and puppy love; will feature the Filipinos’ love for sports, particularly basketball; will feature the Filipinos’ love and unbreakable bonds of friendship
  • Main Plot: Sarah has been crushing on Sean for as long as she can remember. When she finally confesses to him, she is surprised by his positive answer; however, it comes with a condition – Sarah must make it so Sean’s ultimate rival in their school basketball team, Daniel, can never play again. Not an easy task – especially since Daniel is Sarah’s beloved childhood friend!
• Seventh Heaven – a story set in the world famous Boracay island; will talk about some global environmental issues; will feature Boracay island at its best and address the ecological problems caused by the people’s ignorance
  • Main Plot:Kara’s father owns the largest and most luxurious hotel-spa-resort in Boracay, Seventh Heaven, making it so she enjoys the island paradise’s beauty 24/7. Little did she know that as she went on with her ‘enjoyment’. she was also destroying the island as well – a fact that a young charming environmentalist will make her realize.
• Link - a tribute to all Overseas Filipino Workers out there, a reflection of reality; will feature the strong family bonds of Filipinos, the story of the OFWs and the families they leave behind in the Philippines
  • Main Plot: Stella’s father left for Dubai four years ago to earn money enough to provide her with a chance of having a good life. They were poor and being a single parent didn’t help their sorry situation at all. Now living in the care of their close family friends, Stella is grateful for her father’s hard work. However, come one day, his letters and packages all stopped coming. Nothing came even after five whole months. Worry came over Stella and she became desperate for some means to contact him. Fortunately, as if it was according to fate’s degree, a chance for her to go to Dubai flashed before her very eyes when she finally meets Marc.

Which of the four do you guys think is best?

O_O having a hard time deciding…

It’s everywhere, not only in the Philippines. The whole world is affected by it. If you haven’t heard of it, then you better continue reading and pay attention to every WORD of this entry.

A new strain of the Influenza A virus subtype H1N1 has caused a great number of deaths and cases all around the world. It began in Mexico and since the virus can be spread from person to person through the air that one breathes, the epidemic continued on spreading to the different parts of the world.

Currently, there are still no confirmed cases here in the Philippines, though there are a few people being observed for possible infection. People’s reaction to this epidemic can clearly be observed. Thermal scanners in airports… The spreading of the campaign for good hygiene… The support for cleanliness… The tendency of people to wear face masks…

Personally, I’ve been making it a point to continue on the campaign for cleanliness. I’m also avoiding all those crowded places. We can’t be too careful, can we?

nagareru namida ga shizuka ni
nanika no owari wo shiraseru
miageta kumoma ni aozora
kitto yamanai ame nante nai

no rain no rainbow
zubunure no me no mae wo sotto nuguu yo
ki ga tsuitara ame ga yande
seijaku ga boku wo tsutsunde
nanika wo katari kakeru you ni
arawaretanda niji no arch
ame agari asphalt toori de yasuragu
suri kireta kodomo ga fu to odori dasu
mizu tamari de tensa no niji no shita
bishonure no sneaker no mama fumi dasu

no rain no rainbow
kanashimi mo itsuka wa hareruya
hmm ah icchuuya naki akashite mieta nowa
nani yori kokoro wo someru karen

nagareru namida ga shizuka ni
nanika no owari wo shiraseru
miageta kumoma ni aozora
kitto yamanai ame nante nai
kidu tsuita mune no oku ni
kirayaka na niji ga kakaru
subete wa sou koko kara hajimaru
itsuka wa hareru no rain no rainbow

itsuka wa ima no nayami sae mo
natsukashiku kanjiru hi ga kuru yo
sore made wa naitatte ii
boku no nagai jinsei no tsuukaten
toki ni ashi wo tometatte ii
namida de arai nagasu made
moshikashite mou dame nano kamo
sou omotta yo nankai mo
subete wo nage dashi nani mo kamo
akirameyou to omotta kedo
dekinai jibun no taikakusen ni
iiwake ni shite ikiteku yori
dekinai nara jibun nari ni
bukiyou demo butsukatteku beki

no rain no rainbow
kanashimi mo itsuka wa hareruya
uwa no sora oboroge na boku ni mieta nowa
nai noni yasupocchi terasu hikari

nagareru namida ga shizuka ni
nanika no owari wo shiraseru
miageta kumoma ni aozora
kitto yamanai ame nante nai
kidu tsuita mune no oku ni
kirayaka na niji ga kakaru
subete wa sou koko kara hajimaru
itsuka wa hareru no rain no rainbow

the rainbow katami wo kakaeteru yo
kitto ima tamesarete runda
nemurenu yoru mo funbatte gutto koraero
kurishii joukyou demo taero
sono hibi ga kimi wo tsuyoku saseru kara

sora ga kumo sukima kara sasu
hikari ga subete wo tsutsumu

nagareru namida ga shizuka ni
nanika no owari wo shiraseru
miageta kumoma ni aozora
kitto yamanai ame nante nai
kidu tsuita mune no oku ni
kirayaka na niji ga kakaru
subete wa sou koko kara hajimaru
itsuka wa hareru no rain no rainbow

Download Link: No Rain, No Rainbow by Home Made Kazoku

It all began with this dream I had the other night… I often have dreams, I know, but that dream was the strangest one yet. I dreamt that my friends FORGOT all about me after graduation and it was all because I didn’t stay connected through the Internet! Argh! And thus, out of my sheer nerves, I hurriedly logged in to my Friendster account, made a new layout and started this blog! Whew! Hopefully, I’ll really stay connected. To all my friends reading, DO NOT FORGET ME! PLEASE!

If you’re wondering what’s up with the very old blog entires, it’s because I exported my old WordPress blog. It’s to preserve the old entries – there are some really good ones that I like.

Expect tons of stories here!

Welcome to a twisted reality, Angeli Dumatol’s view on today’s reality – the miracle and shame of it all!

Argh! I have nothing against the Intrams itself – it is a traditional activity in any school. It’s supposed to be fun. It’s supposed to be promoting camaraderie, teamwork, sportsmanship and unity among students. It would have been just fine if it was being what it was supposed to be!

Okay…Okay…Let me be very frank. What I don’t like are – the batch practices. Sorry excuse for practicing, I should say! It’s not practice at all! It’s TORTURE. My goodness! As I don’t get enough torture from studying ALL DAY…Ugh! My back hurts like crazy and I’m positive about the fact that I am about to get MAJOR BACK PROBLEMS (Right now, I think I have minor back pains. If this continues…Who knows what will happen to my back…)