BACK IN CEBU

After 6 weeks in Bohol, I came back to Cebu today at around 1pm. 10am ang among barko but nadugay due to the strong winds. Sa 7/11 at Bayfront Hotel n mi naniudto ni Ate Ica then nagtaxi n mi padung Palm Heights. Nanglakaw sila Nang Anel, wa p mauli tonight nga past 7pm n. Nakaimpake n ko and nakacheck-in namong duha ni Ate Ica to Davao ugma pohon. Excited n pud among cousins didto kay nag-ask n mn kung unsa kuno mi orasa maabot. Hopefully on time ra ang flight. It will actually be my 1st time to fly after the pandemic so medyo excited pud. Jia you Doki, pagpaniwang n pud. Nalipay pud among silingan nga nabalik n ko. God bless us all, good night!

GIVE ME YOUR HEART FOR CHRISTMAS

Give me your heart for Christmas. Wrap it with joy and tears. Let every beat seem to repeat, our love will last each moment of the year.. Just give me your heart for Christmas, open it wide for me.. Give me your heart for Christmas, only your love will do. And in return, my love will burn. As bright as any candle on a tree. Merry Christmas to us all! ;)

BOMB CYCLONE

At the start of winter this year, there is an Arctic blast or bomb cyclone in North America. Sus, halos tibuok US mainland oi ang under severe weather alert. Mao pud sa Canada. Sa Seattle and Vancouver jud lagi first niigo then all the way across the entire North American continent n. Chat mi ni Dexter ganihang buntag. He will binge on Netflix n lng kuno for the entire holiday season. Heheh. Si Mam Girly Visto is in California daw oi. Wow! Enjoy Mam. Tua man siya'y sister kuno didto nga nagminjo ug Amerikano. Sa kadugayang chat namo ni Dexter lagi. He asked me kung unsa kunoy akong plano in life. I said mag-usab sa ko ug work this new year pohon and then I'll look into my own personal happiness n. Whether it means getting married or simply getting a space of my own, lipay n ko Lord. All at the right time lang lagi. Aloha Doki, hang on lng gud! ;)

STORMY CHRISTMAS

Yes, it's always possible jud nga bagjohon ang Pasko lagi. Naa btaw lugar sa Cebu nga Malapascua kay bad Christmas lagi daw that time. This year kay morag stormy pud ang Christmas. Yesterday 12/23/22 p lng lagi daan sa hapon, when I went out kita n kos dark clouds foreboding a storm. Dali2 n lng pud ko ug uli. Pagkagabii sus, lagubo n ang atup oi. Abi naho ug matanggal n pud to. Thankfully wala ra man. I took a raincheck n lng on the trip to Cawayanan. Si Ate Ica n lng. Maghatod ra sija diay kunos pinaskohan ni Mikayla sa anak ni Abigail ug ni Patrick kay ija mn ng mga kinugos lagi. I have also decided to still make Cebu as my base for my upcoming job with the DA-7. Kay duol ra man kaju lagi ang ilang opisina sa Palm Heights. Atbang ra gud n silas Pacific Mall. Bahala n lng lagi tos Mikayla. Ignore n lng. I'll make sure n lng nga wa ko didto if naa sija. Di n lng putlon ang wifi but I will endeavor jud to look for my own place pohon. Kanang di n ko nija hilabtan lagi. Kataw-anan lagi nga naabot n mi aning edara nya mag-away p jud ug mga butang nga ingon ana. God bless us all! ;)

Fr. GATUS' ADVENT MESSAGE 2022

1. Discipline your disappointments. Hope because God is good all the time.There is a time for everything under the sun. If you are feeling down or disappointed, read the Bible daw. He recounted the story of how God divided the Red Sea so that the Hebrews could escape the Egyptians, how God broke down all the walls in Jericho, how David overcame Goliath, Daniel and the lion, how Jesus resurrected from the dead etc. Thanks po! 2. Hope because life is best with hope. What you perceive, you achieve. Anxiety is the second evil in the world next to sin. Whatever is out of the reach of your hand, it should be out of the reach of your mind. Amen. May bukas pa ;) 3. Hope because somebody is hoping on you. Wahhh! 4. Hope because it ends the pain. Amen! Hold On, Pain Ends. God bless Fr. Jowel Jomarsus Gatus of San Fernando, merry Christmas to us all! ;)

UNSA MAN JUD OI

'Go for the one who makes you think, not the one who makes you swoon. Go for the one who never left, not the one who came back'. I once read these lines in a Cebu newspaper about who to choose daw n guy. Paita pud oi. Ngano tawn lagi diay Lord, ngano man nga naa ra mn jud lagi ang iyang communication? Swak jud lagis be consistent but not persistent bujag. Samok! Last August ra bya ko wa tagdas Briton, Lord. Nagduha2 n lng pud ko ron if mogreet pb ko niya ug Merry Christmas or di n lng. Let it go n lng lagi Doki. Good luck to us all, aloha! ;)

WEATHER DISTURBANCES

Over the weekend, it was Kona Low man sa Hawaii. Grabe sa Maui ug Big Island man siguro to. Morag brownout jud lagi kuno sila. Daghan pud mga kahoy nangatumba. After sa Kona Low problem sa Hawaii, Arctic blast n pud didtos North America. Start of winter n man diay. Nagyagaw ang ilang mga flights oi for the Christmas rush. Ang Seattle-Tacoma airport daghan kaju cancellations. Even Vancouver mao pud lagi, covered in snow. Mao jud nay di lagi naho ganahan ng winter chill. Sila n lng ana lagi. Sige po, happy holidays to us all! Magnaning ko nga makatiwas sa akong grado today kay either tomorrow or sa Saturday daw mi mangadto ug Cebu. Ubanon n lng kuno ni Analili sila JM ug Biboy sa Cebu. Sa bukid ila Emman n lng kuno sila magpasko pohon while kami ni Ate Ica will get ready lagi to go to Davao pohon ig Dec 26 early morning. Wow, busy kaju among calendar pud. All the best sa mga plano. Aloha to us all! ;)

FR. GATUS

There's this priest whose homilies I've been following these days: Fr. Jowel Jomarsus Gatus of San Fernando, Pampanga. Kadto man sigurong magtiis lagi daw para maovercome ang sama ng loob or something ang akong natan-aw sa Youtube nga wali niya. I thank God for such people whose spiritual direction and guidance are really valuable. Padayon pud kos BTS lagi ni Fr. Jerry Orbos for this Christmas and always: Believe, Trust, Surrender. Jia you Doki, all at the right time ra jud lagi. Good night! ;)

AGRICULTURE

Gahapon man siguro to. Padung kos merkado when I saw people on the roadside farm planting rice seedlings. Then I thought, gimingaw ko'g life sa bukid or sa probinsya jud. Wa p man diay ko kabisitas Cawayanan lagi nga one month n ko diris Bohol. I will go there ra pohon. I do hope madajon jud tong sa DA oi. Si Sir Gerry Avila said the post involves a lot of travel daw. Ok ra mn pud n naho lagi, as long as naay travel allowance and naay rest period pud. Enterprise Development and Marketing Specialist man to lagi ang post so I like it ra. Within the region ang ahong giexpect nga coverage ato. Jia you Doki, aloha! ;)

D.A.

Si Sir Gerry Avila of DA Regional Office-7 msgd me today. He broached of some interesting job openings sa ilang office. I applied right away. Electronic lng sa kay next week p daw to nila ipost. Wow! The job will involve working with farmers and fisherfolk organizations daw. Ok ra ko kaju kay para I get firsthand experience from the field lagi. Morag hinatag pud ni ni Lord kay I don't welcome travelling to VSU Baybay, Leyte pud lagi. Laju n gud to and I'll only be teaching TCW subjects. I keep the faith lang. Aloha! Our alumni officer at ISS, Sandra Nijhof posted a few days ago of job vacancies at ARROW, Asia-Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women in Malaysia. Niapply ko dayon oi. But wala may bawos lagi so wala jud to. Not meant to be. Naay lain nga gitagana nako si Lord. Mosunod ra jud kos imong direction and guidance lagi po. Amen. Merry Christmas!

L, E, O

Homily ni Fr. Jerry Orbos, SVD for today, 12/18/22: Listen with your heart, E is for Entrusting everything to God and O is for Obeying the Lord. I thank God for Fr. Jerry Orbos and all SVD priests always. Si Fr. Pablito Lagura, SVD daw ang new bishop of Occidental Mindoro. Mao diay tong gimention before. Karon ra nako nagets lagi. I think he is related to our previous president sa USC nga si Fr. Ernie Lagura, SVD. Father Pio's motto: pray, hope, don't worry. Focus on the Lord and not on the load :)

CDU SOCSCI

I've been with CDU Social Sciences Department for 12 years now. Di ra hibaw-an no. Dali ra mn gud lagi kaju molabay ang one sem then another sem n pud then summer. And before we know it, the entire academic year is over n. Daghan pud ug kuti2 among new dean oi kay magsubmit daw ug letter of intent to teach in the new semester ang mga term hires in January pohon along with their syllabuses kuno and class record from the previous sem. Sus, good luck to them all. Jia you to us and aloha! ;)

COUSINS' BONDING

During the lunch at Gerarda's restaurant last October 29, 2022 for Papa's death anniversary. Si Ate Wewens broached the idea kuno of bonding among us cousins lagi. Actually magkita man mis birthday ni Patrick sa Matabao but morag kadtong sa Panglao p diay in May 2015 siguro ang last bonding among us cousins. Or sa Pangangan a few years ago nga thanksgiving b to ni Dodong. Lingaw man kaju tong among May 2013 gud sa Anda with the late Ate Cecil. I told Ate Ica nga plastaron sa naho ahong next work lagi pohon then we can talk of bonding n pohon. Diris Bohol ra gud oi aron maafford ra namo. God bless all our plans. Aloha! ;)

MINDANAO RELATIVES

We have so many relatives in Mindanao jud kay it was once dubbed the Land of Promise man lagi in the 1950s. Si anhing Tiyo Joven lang daan and his family are in Tagum, Davao Oriental. Then among maternal grandfather has another family in Maramag, Bukidnon. 7 daw sila tanan igsoona; I met Aunty Marci Ruba last end April gani sa Cebu. Then sila Andamon-Medidas pud in Valencia, Bukidnon. Tua p sila Tiyo Nostring diay sa Carmen, Davao del Norte. Morag unahan sa Panabo man siguro to. Basta kay katuod ra kos ila lagi if tua n ko. Then I'm sure sa Lantapan, Bukidnon ug sa Bayugan, Agusan del Norte tua pud mi mga paryente lagi didto. At the funeral of the late Tiya Imping sa Valencia in February 2016. There was mom's relative from Lantapan, Bukidnon who asked me kinsa kuno ko. She was amazed that daku n daw ko kaju. Xempre, pila ray paglabay sa mga katuigan lagi. Btw excited diay si Ate Ica sa among Davao trip pohon kay 2018 p kuno sija last nakasakay ug eroplano. Ako kay July 2019 p during my trip to Hawaii. God bless us all always. Aloha!

SUDDENLY

There is a song man of this title di b? Suddenly, I don't need emotions. Cause I, I'm ready to stand at the ocean. Suddenly, I don't need the answers. Cause I, I'm ready to take all my chances with you.. Gilubong nas Tiyo Joven ganihang buntag. Rest in peace again, Tiyo Joven. We will miss you and say hi to everyone in heaven for us.. Sa Hawaii kay nacrash lagi ang eroplano sa Maui. Hawaii Life Flight to, meaning air ambulance. 3 people daw nga crew to ang possibly niperish. May God take care of all of them. Aloha!

MATER DEI?

Today, 12/16/22, since I went to Mater Dei College for JM's Xmas party contribution, I thought of teaching there n lng pud. I asked my good friend Rhona Marie Caingles Noquiao. She told me to ask my elder sister instead. Thanks. She told me nga ako n lng kunoy palit sa ilang bay. Well, if di gusto ang mga kalag, di jud n matuman lagi. God bless us all always. Happy holidays! ;)

1 YEAR SINCE ODETTE

Today 12/16/22 I became busy in the morning kay Christmas party nila JM. Instead of buying pork liempo as his contribution to their Xmas party in school. I bought pork n lng which I saw by the roadside and cooked it as adobo. I sent it to their classroom and on my way back, I ran into a good high school friend, si Razelle Alima Boloico. Daghan pud mi naistoryahan oi, most especially lovelife jud. Diha pud sila Biboy nilabay and friends when we were talking. Adto jud kunos seryoso lagi. Opo Lord, I hear you and I do pray for the best n lng jud. Good luck to us always. Aloha!

DR. JOSE RIZAL

He is our national hero. Naa jud courses in History about him. He is from Calamba, Laguna but he studied in Europe. Eventually he would be martyred on 30 December 1896 which we commemorate as Rizal Day. I dunno why but during December masulod ra pud xas akong thoughts. He and many others who studied in Europe man gud like the Lunas, Pardo de Tavera, Graciano Lopez Jaena etc ang mga workers for Philippine Independence. And at present, si Howie Severino of GMA-7 ang akong nahibaw-an nga sumusunod ni Jose Rizal lagi. He has documentaries lagi of the places where Rizal had been, so literally he is walking on his footsteps. Jia you! ;)

CEBU

My good friend from NUS days, Jonathan Coronel, who used to teach at DLSU said that he'll be in Cebu kuno from December 17 to 19. Ngayo n lng pud siya ug recommendations on where to stay etc. At first he said layover ra daw nga 4 hours kay CDO jud lagi kuno iyang punta. Sige po, salamat for choosing to stay in Cebu after all. Told him to stay at either Goldberry Suites or Islands Stay Hotel in Mactan. Nus-a b mi last nagkita? Morag January 2008 p in SG. Aloha Jonathan, happy holidays! ;)

MARIA CLARA AT IBARRA

GMA-7 has a very interesting historical drama this time called Maria Clara at Ibarra, starring Barbie Forteza, Julie Ann San Jose, Dennis Trillo and David Licauco, based on the novel Noli Me Tangere of Jose Rizal. Actually I haven't read it myself. Si Jayeel quoted a chapter jud from it, Chapter 29 I think and used it on his FB before. And sila Sir Leloy kay named after those characters jud buyag: siya kay Lisandro Elias and his brothers are Basilio and Redd. I dunno hahaha. Cge po. Aloha!

CHRISTMAS 2022

It looks like sa December 25 sa hapon n jud ko ani lagi makabalik ug Cebu. Gipakuha n mn lng nako ni Ms Berns ang akong giveaway sa among admin nga 10 kilos of rice kuno. Last day man nilas office lagi kuno ugma pohon, December 21. I msgd Mam Herald Canoy and Shelex Garado n lng pud. Tua n raba mi ticket ni Ate Ica lagi to Davao day after Christmas and till 31 December mi hopefully didto pohon. Kung madajon lagi; kung di mocancel ang mahiwagang airline. Jia you to us all and aloha! ;)

FUNNY

True, funny jud ang nahitabo nga away namo ni maldita nga sisterette. But then it had to happen lagi so that we can both move on and so that I would know what my next step will be. Hapit n tawn mi 50 oi nya kadto ray among giawayan? God bless us all and aloha! ;)

December 13, 2022

Today has been a really busy day. I started this morning with finding tickets for Ate Wewens from Davao to Cebu on either December 19 or 20 pohon. Then I went outside to pay her ticket. I was able to do it at 7/11 in Tubigon, Bohol beside the plaza. Thanks Lord. From there I took a bus to Tagbilaran to have my boat ticket refunded. Sus, 300+ ang nakaltas oi. Basta kuwang ra ibayad sa ahong water bill lagis Cebu kay for disconnection n daw per Nang Anel's msg on Messenger. Ang VECO kay nabayran ra man naho via Gcash. Salamat sa Diyos. So from the Trans-Asia booking office in Palma Street, Tagbilaran City, I went looking for the Wealth Bank office in Tagbilaran. Thankfully I remembered that duol xas Cathedral. So I had lunch first at Jollibee across BQ then I went to Wealth Bank Tagbilaran na. Wala ra may tawo didto and they even gave me a free calendar for 2023. From there I went to the Cathedral n lng pud and bought religious calendars for 2023. One is the Holy Family and the other is Our Lady of Manaoag. The former ang naas Tinangnan while the latter I gave to Gypsy for their house in Sagbayan. Then I went home n via Cititransport. Dugay pud nahong hinuwat oi. Katulo gud ko nag-CR and every time I'd pay 2 pesos. Heheh. Sige lang. Nakadiscount mn pud kos tricycle kay 25 pesos ra may gikuha ni Kuya Driver instead of 30 pesos that he said before I got in. Good luck to us all. Aloha! ;)

ANALYN

She's my former student sa Economics class at CDU. We became friends. Iyang anak man jud ang nag-eskwela ug Dentistry sa CDU. Gipaeskwela n lng pud siya ug Nursing sa iyang husband nga Norwegian. I msgd her lately coz I thought of her. Giinvite p ko niya ug kasal kuno ni Manrique nga iyang klasm8 ig Dec 19 pohon. Wa n lng ko mocommit coz busy p lagis grado. But I do hope to return to Cebu soon coz Dec 21 lagi pohon ang last office day kunos CDU. I plan to get my 10 kls of rice from our admin plus my 5 kilos rice from CDUCOOP and my P500 nga GC. Jia you Doki, aloha! ;)

TIYO JOVEN (+)

When I woke up yday 12/9/22, I read a private msg from my cousin Chrismarie Batausa Parcon in Tagum that their father, my uncle Jovencio Rafols Batausa is gone. Siya raba jud last nilang igsoona nga buhi. Sila Nang Anel ug Ate Wewens n ang moadto pohon to attend the burial. Sa December 26 to 31 n mi pohon ni Ate Ica kay tua p mn pud mi ticket lagis Cebu Pacific. We last saw them during Holy Week April 2019 coz I wanted to see them before I flew to Hawaii. Si Bantil may nawani ato coz she said magbisita iglesia man kuno sija ug magdetox maong wa namo ubana. Heheh. Cge po.

JULY 2023

He said that they have tickets daw to come here in July 2023 pohon. Graduation trip daw for his daughter who is graduating from high school in July 2023 pohon. I actually don't know where I'll be by then but I just said I do hope to meet you here. Ginoo nay mahibaw sa tanan oi. Gudnyt!

DECEMBER 2022

Today, I am happy that I got to reach Sky Cable in Bakilid, Mandaue City. I told them that I would like to have my wifi subscription disconnected. Ahak oi, mahal kaju ang disconnection fee which is 2k kuno. Ngeh, I'll keep my subscription n lng oi at 1k per month. Unya n naho ipaputol pohon if barato n ang disconnection fee. Jia you Doki. One last class for tomorrow then the semester will be out. Salamat po Lord! All praise and glory be to You! Nakatrabaho man kos akong class record gamay this afternoon as well as tua n koy final test sa akong IS classes. Ang submissions n lng sa HECO Dent classes ug ang ilang long exam last week maoy need checkanan. Amen, go go go! ;)

5H

Fr. Jerry Orbos SVD's sermon yesterday was about 5H in order to keep our peace. And these 5 are: Holy Spirit, honesty, humility, hard work and humor. Mao ra jud n lagi. And syempre, ang ending is BTS jud n as ever: believe, trust, surrender. God bless Fr. Jerry and all the SVD people, and God bless us all. Amen. Aloha! ;)

BTS

Fr. Jerry Orbos, as a pioneer missionary to South Korea, would always say BTS - Believe, Trust, Surrender. And I would have to do so. Amen. Today 12/5/22 I received the msg from Mam Jhe, our SocSci chair that our dean has agreed or approved of my decision to leave CDU starting in January next year. I think di jud ko PhD-honon siguro so igiveup n lng n nako and move on in my life. Jia you to us always. Jeremiah 29:11 lng jud lagi. Amen. All the best to former spouses Carla Abellana and Tom Rodriguez. Morag 3 months or 6 months ra ba ang ilang marriage. Cge. I admire Maxene Magalona diay in her interview with Toni Gonzaga Soriano. Basta, there's always hope. Amen!

WEAREOCAMPO

Over the weekend, I got to know the Ocampo missionaries who are in Kenya. They are from the Philippines but their son, Solomon is married to a Kenyan woman, Elizabeth Muyu and they now have 4 lovely children. Hahay, life of missionaries. Jia you Doki, aloha! ;) We have to be broken in order to be shared. Mao jud nay akong need huna2on kanunay, Lord. Amen.

HERE I AM

The character of Yoon Sang-Hyun in Secret Garden sang the song "Here I Am" in that drama. I'm just reminded of the song this afternoon. Aloha everybody, happy weekend! ;)

MAUNA LOA ERUPTION

Sus, since late Sunday night daw sa Hawai'i, shortly after Thanksgiving, on November 27th, 2022 Mauna Loa started erupting. Its last eruption was in 1984 p daw. Pastilan, dual eruption sa Hawaii with Kilauea and Mauna Loa. But the more spectacular one is Mauna Loa of course. Its name means Long Mountain in Hawaiian. Incidentally, 5 volcanoes daw oi make up the Big Island, with claims of 2 underwater. Intawn. Ang Camiguin kay 7 man daw n k bulkan and I forgot nas Taal kung pila. Morag less than 2 weeks ra lagi ang Mauna Loa eruption. Just when the lava flow was about 1.7 or 1.8 miles away from Saddle Road or Daniel K Inouye Highway, it stopped. Wahh, somebody prayed for it to stop? Amazing! God bless us all, aloha! ;)