Our Lady of Lindogon

Shrine of Our Lady of Lindogon, Simala, Cebu

According to local history, the hills of Lindogon was once a barren and uninhabited place. No plant would thrive there for its source of water was scarce and its soil was dry, stony, and full of limestone, but a wise old man predicted that Lindogon would not be forever deserted. According to him, Lindogon Hill will become holy once the White Lady reigns the place. True to his prediction, the wise man, no other than Ingko Niyong Villamor, was not wrong. (click for reference)

Pilgrims of the Simala Shrine on a rainy Sunday

I've known this place ever since my Elementary years. Back then, it wasn't as grand as it is now, yet it still had the same pristine holy aura and unchanging devotion felt within the cathedral-like architecture. Even the gloomy weather today did not stop devotees from giving their veneration to the Blessed Virgin. Pilgrims come from all over the province to see for themselves the miraculous Lady of Lindogon. 

Facade of the Shrine

The trip to Simala Shrine, though pretty long, was worthwhile. Attending mass, lighting candles, and writing a petition, this is how I like to kick-start my week--thanking the Lord for surviving another week. 

Life's not easy, y'know? It's only right to thank that someone from above for what the previous week had given us.

Your downtowner,

 

Facebooking through the Years

Never the type to stay in the mainstream, I wanted to deviate from the most recent jejemon ("jej") throwback popularized by netizens this New Year, but upon reading a blog entry by a fellow blogger, I suddenly found myself reflecting my Facebooking through the Years experience. To be honest, at one point I did feel a bit jej. Yeah, my own Youtube account username remains witness to that. 

Hello twelve-year-old me

Typing the letter L in capital when it's not supposed to be and using zero to substitute the letter O, sooo six years ago. Dayum. What can I say? Boredom got the best of me, and so I found myself scrolling down my own Facebook timeline.

The typical meh

 Now I remember how Obsessive Compulsive (OC) I was ever since. There's a reason every single thing I own that I bring to school has my name, and even if it has, it's not a guarantee of 'return to the owner if found'. For every (almost) item I own, I have both one for home-use and another for school-use. Pretty OC, huh? Dayuum.

Classmates for three good 'ol years

 From Dossa to Jassies, and Jassies to Quatrines, these girls are one of the best gals I could have ever known. Though our decisions have taken us to different paths already, I'm pretty sure wherever these girls are, they will succeed just as much as they did in High School. Aww, those years.

Summer Leadership Training Course, military style

The training that taught me discipline, military discipline. 15 minutes of standing still, 15 minutes squatting down, and another 15 minutes parade rest as Military Courtesy Discipline (MCD), jogging around the campus every morning, suicide runs, and survival training for the whole two weeks of summer, who wouldn't call it a challenge?

Life is when people just come and go

It feels great knowing how much positively I've changed throughout the years that had gone just as much as people had come and gone, so let's leave behind the sadness and learn from every bit of that feeling.

Hoping 2014 would contain as much positivity as last year, or even more. There's so much stuff I found in my timeline and too embarrassing to share (call it the transition from childhood to puberty). Don't even go digging in my timeline, yo. Ain't gonna find nuthin' there. Past is past fo realsies.

Leggo fill this year with positive vibes guys. Live 2014 to the fullest, chyeah!

Remember,

Your downtown gal,

The Angel Tree

There's a story behind every story. A story that only I would know. --AM

For fear of the ax, the tallest tree stood still. Pray it did, it prayed and prayed until a miracle did happen. Swung as mighty as the axeman could, he could not cut the tree down.

The tallest tree, envied by none, loved by few, and cheated by all, was never one easily put down. Quick to trust and easy to love, the tall tree had the best spot in the woods. It was the most magnificent in all the forestry. With branches stretching high up as if reaching the skies, it welcomed the birds that wanted to rest on its arms. It was a favorite tree, a title that took hundreds of years to earn, yet little did anyone know how much the tall tree worked hard to be the what it is now.

The tallest tree had seen the greatest tempest and heard every tale of love and lost underneath its canopy. The whispers of the wind, the uproar of nature, this all the tall tree had witnessed. An old ripe age it has reached, as old as the constellations in the galaxy. Wise, the tall tree was, it would simply smile and bid adieu to the lost travelers intruding its territory. It would neither help nor reject, it would simply acknowledge the passing of another lone soldier.

On the crossroads of the forest, a stranger marks his path. Axe in hand, cigar in the other, he looked all over to find the perfect tree, and in the middle of the woods, he had found what he sought. Calling another and some others more, they started their work slow and steady, creating havoc amidst the noise and pounding of their axes. For fear of the axe, the tallest tree stood still. Still as it stood, the pounding continued, the men would not simply give up, so the tallest tree prayed.

Then, a miracle did happen. The pounding stopped. Swung as mighty as the axeman could, he could not simply cut down the tree. Frustrated, he prayed. He prayed as hard as he could, then a miracle did happen.

It rained.

As it rained, the man saw the little creatures that came out from inside the tree and the birds that flew out of the tree's branches. The man now understood. More than how much he needed the tree, the creatures of the forest needed it more.

He could not cut down the tree, and so with his fellow loggers, they left the forestland.

For as long as the forest creatures needed the tree, the tree would live until its branches could no longer reach out to the skies and its body unable to withstand the tests of time.

TUMBLR, the New Year's Resolution

When I first chose a blogging platform, I wanted something hassle-free, one that would save me from the blogging nightmare I call codes. I wanted a platform that would let my creative juices flow until I've run my brain out dry, so I chose Blogger. Well, that was last year and now it's another year--a New Year marking the beginning of a new blog.

Why Tumblr?

Time, that's the simple answer, my dear Watson. I am just a quarter-time blogger and a full-time student, I could not handle the basic requirement (as I like calling it) of hardcore blogging: length. Pictures, sure, I'm vain enough for that, but I couldn't make make my posts longer than 200 words. I can reach 1, 000 if I'm that emotional (*winks*). I have so much to do than write the night away, thank you MedTech life!

Okay, so back to the topic. When I researched about blogging platforms, the key word 'microblogging' struck me hard. At first, I was against it because, well, I love being original and creative, it's never in my standard to have a blog full of quotes, images, etcetera reblogs from other bloggers and no self-published blog entries (no offense!), but then I realized how efficient a microblog like Tumblr is. I don't have to keep the mainstream of reblogging, my blog is my copyright.

These are my top 3 reasons for choosing Tumblr oven n number of blogging platforms:

1. Queuing system 

I love how you can just decide when to post your entries. Whenever I'm free, I could just make a line-up of my entries and set the date I'd want them to be posted. No need to check in my account to manually post my entries, the program automatically does the posting.

2. Follow button

Like Twitter, Tumblr also has a follow button. I'm not after the followers, I write to express, but it's nice knowing which people share the same interest as me or are interested in the things I write about. Mostly about love, though. Haha. Plus, there's also its hashtag feature that keeps me updated of stuff people are into. Very Twitter, right?

 3. Popularity

Maybe it's the acquisition of Tumblr by Yahoo or the number to teenagers into this blogging platform? Let's face it, majority of internet-users are adolescents, like me, who love blogging made simple, yet trendy and new. It's easy to use, the current 'in', and has lots of eye-catching customized layouts. Make a worldwide poll for people below 25 and voila! We have the Most Popular Blogging Platform as of October 2013.

I'm already on my 4th day as a Tumblr user, and goodness, I still do prefer Blogger. I find it easier to use and there's that auto-save button in case of a sudden blackout or browser crash, but when it comes to quickies, it's Tumblr any day. 

Follow me at: 

angelchameleon.tumblr.com

Wishing You a Happy New Year,

1st National Gathering of Girl Representatives

After a month and a half hiatus, I'm finally back, and glad to be. School kind of gotten busier than usual, barely giving me free time to do posts. Seriously, I want to write the whole Christmas break away. #DEPRIVED

Last November 28 - December 4, 2013 had been memorable. It was a week (almost) of GREENness, of girls in green, that is.

With fellow Girl Representative Donnah

With the theme: "Timek, Tingog, Tinig: Hundred Voices of Girls in Action," the Girl Scouts of the Philippines celebrated its 1st National Gathering of Girl Representatives (NGGR) in Ating Tahanan, Baguio City. 144 scouts joined the national event, each representing their respective councils. It was from the 1st NGGR that I met girls from different parts of the country, yet girls with one same ideal--to become change-makers.

Ating Tahanan photo credits

Too AWESOME for words. Too awesome that in my excitement, I forgot to take a picture of the whole venue. Whoopsies. After settling down on the 29th of November, we had an orientation led by the planning team, staff and consultants. By night time, we went to Baguio Country Club's very own Christmas Village. I wonder when we're going to have one in Cebu, hmmm?

Photo opp with Kuya Panda

 There were lots of pretty, Christmassy sights, peg Santa with friends and all. We were just in time, too, to see the reenactment of the first three Joyful Mysteries (Annunciation - Birth of Jesus). It was a great welcome present indeed.

If only breakfast ALWAYS had strawberries...

              

On the rest of the days, the event's agenda included the Opening Ceremony, sessions, dinner at the Philippine Military Academy, International Food Festival, Women Icon Night and the Closing Ceremony. 

Selected Girl Scouts leading the Colors Ceremony

 

I had missed seeing Girl Scouts leading the Colors, you don't get too see much of these ceremonies in college (oh, the agony). Parade and review, pasa masid, and all that stuff. The hours of being excused from class just so you could prepare for the Arrival of Honors, the sacrifice of joining that ceremony, even if the sun takes delight in painting me tan and making my feet hurt from standing, was PURE discipline.

Tita Lina from UBE Media Inc.

One of the sessions we've had focused on the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs). The MDGs are goals initiated by the United Nations that aims to lessen eight identified global issues.

Advocacy awareness in the field of Digital Media

These issues were generalized into four, and each scout was made to rank the MDGs according to which we believe was the most important. I chose the MDG relating to education and that became my advocacy.

Tita Patti from SAVE Ourwomen

The session on Violence Against Women and their Children was one of my favorites. In this session I met an amazing woman, Tita Patti Gallardo, the Founder/ Executive Director of Save Our Women, a Baguio-based NGO aiming to raise awareness of the realities of violence around women.

Health and wellness session

It makes me wonder how did GSP ever get such bigtime guest speakers, wow. Just wow.

Si Jorgie na make-up artist for the night

During Women Icon Night, we were all dressed up into our women icon. Too bad I didn't have a photo...cause I missed the program, more like slept through the program. Sorry Ates, peace out. Shhh....

Hannah. Isn't she lovely~

Talo ako ng mga 'to eh. Ako nga may-ari ng make-up, 'di na man marunong gumamit, 'di rin gumagamit. HAHAHAHA! :)

¡hola mi amiga!

Representing the Western Hemisphere for the International Food Fest, we dressed up as Chica Mexicanas. Each region had its own dance number and delicacy to share.

This is what Visayas region's table looked like...

Goodness, what big appetite girls have! Food Fest was exactly after dinner, and after a few mouthfuls of siomai, popcorn, biscuits, nachos, and..I don't know what else I ate, I was still craving for more. Ahh, food is LOVE. Love is LIFE, therefore. Love food, eat food, if you love life! Food for long lifeeee.

...and after half an hour

Sadly, to every happy celebration is always an end. The following night, the gathering finally reached its conclusion. The closing ceremony was full of thanksgiving and parting words at the same time, but the real conclusion was this... 

Fireworks display c/o Ate Kyla, 1st NGGR Chairperson

 ...and with the fireworks display came the promise of the 1st NGGR marking the beginning of the hundred voices of girls that will soon echo throughout the whole of Philippines.

Some places we've been to in Baguio catching the bus ride to Manila included Mines View Park where I got a shot with this big doggy (cost me Php 10.00). Now I want my own Saint Bernard! Although a Siberian Husky would be nice too. Someday, someday.

All I want for Christmas is YOU, you dog.

The boat ride at Camp John Hay was pretty enjoyable too sans the embarrassing moment of paddling (nearly) the whole half-hour in circles compared to some fellow Girl Scouts with their Tita who paddled the boat by herself to the middle of the lake in just minutes. Thanks to those Kuyas whole helped get our boat to shore. Great first boating experience for me, oh yes.

Groupie with these beauts.

The trip even though time-bound and too hurried, was still worth bucks of money spend on travel expenses. It's the people I was with that made everything worth while.

Hoping I'd see the all the ladies I've met thoughout the 1st NGGR someday.

Congratulations to the Planning Team and Staff: Ate Kyla, Ate Angeli, Ate Michelle, Ate Precious, Demie, Shamah, Kyara, Megan, Katrina, and Fara for a job well done. 

Thank you also to Tita Salud,Tita Cristina and to the rest of the people who've made the 1st National Gathering of Girl Representatives possible. 

Whatever dreams you all have for us girls, Titas, Ates, we will make a reality. The effort you've all put through will not be put to waste. 

One year, one project, one change-maker. We will all be change-makers.

What It Means to be a Girl in Green

USJ-R GSP Batch 2013-2014

 Being a Girl Scout is not just about girls in green wearing scarves and camp outs, the name itself is the purest form of one global organization aiming to be the change this world wants to see.

Independence Day 2011

It is a community of girls making a radical movement in their own little ways, and I am proud to be part of this community--the Girl Scouts of the Philippines. I've been with the Girl Scouts for four years (and counting), and in that four years, I've witnessed how life-changing being a Girl Scout is. 

Two-years-and-a-half ago

Being a freshman in the University of San Jose-Recoletos sans a knowledge of the school's organizations, I was recruited into the world of scouting. The moment I passed through the series of Oral Defenses and skills training prepared by senior Girl Scout Leaders is the moment I became the girl who does things extraordinarily well.

Ground-To-Air

Tree planting in Guiwanon, Argao

More than the summer trainings, the sun-kissed skin of summer extending for 4 consecutive years,  the outdoor cooking with matching Nagaraya-stylized rice, the visit to the student disciplinarian resulting either from Friday formation escape-ades or  in campus stays beyond curfew, the uncleared clearance in GSP triggering a game of  hide-and-seek looking for Mrs. Mauring-Recto's or the resident Finance Officer's (S4's) signature, the Saturday nights spent encoding and revising letters signed by the Principal and Father Director themselves, the cancelling of month-planned activities, the academic pressure steaming from an overload of extra-curricular activities, is a passion so strong that no matter what obstacles are thrown your way, you will always find another way.

Tatak Josenian GSP ka if you can read this

The many roles Girl Scout has given me: friend, sister, confidant, truth-seeker, role-model, and inspiration made me experience so much in High School that made me mature and live in reality. It gave me the confidence that gave rise to the many faces I owned: campus journalist, public speaker, debater, campus ambassador, RAYer, peer facilitator, squirette, and COP volunteer.

Meeting Brgy. Capt. Lorna Damalerio

Ambitious I was, and still am, and an overachiever too, I would always challenge myself to never settle for mediocrity--this was what High School taught me, the Josenian core value of Excellence. Despite being in the graduating class, despite the hectic schedule of irregular after school extracurricular meetings, and despite the doubts of maintaining my academics, it was in challenging myself that I joined the Chief Girl Scout Medal Scheme.

Construction of my work station

Giving solicitations at City Hall

Surveying my community

It was never an easy road, honestly. From the very first step, you have to brace yourself and be prepared for anything. It was like walking on water, much like how Jesus Walks on the Water . It was a feat that could only be achieved with complete faith and trust in God. You will fall in the middle if you get frightened and hesitate, yet your strength to persevere will grow once you overcome your anxiety. With every step you take and every turn you make, there's always a choice and a decision to make. I chose the field Livelihood over Environment, Dressmaking over a Water Reservoir. I chose a community I haven't been to and people I've never met. I chose to be different, I chose to be the risk-taker, the overachiever that is me. And did I regret? No Sir, I did not, and never will.

Sunday training on dressmaking

From my experience, I learned the importance of trust. You can not accomplish anything without trusting your beneficiaries, advisers, work group, and most especially yourself. Learn to trust others if your want others to trust you. Learn to be flexible in your encounters with people (be polite when asking for something, and if rejected, remain courteous and patient) and in your management of time (do paper works little by little, not altogether, and always make a back-up plan).

Turnover Ceremony

 After a year of hard work, my efforts finally paid off. The journey finally reached its end, yet the greatest reward is not the medal, nor the title, but the smiling, happy faces of the people who benefited from the hard work and effort done to make the project a success. It is their priceless faces, their hard work of sewing clothes and rags to earn an income and sustain the project that no amount of recognition can ever compare, and the even bigger reward would be seeing the same workstation 20-30 years from now fully-operating and buzzing with people.

CGSMS Awarding Ceremony, Visayas Region

L-R: Me, Kristien, Gilian, Apple, Danielle, and Jealyn

It was an achievement of a lifetime. It was a milestone that I could not have accomplished without my solicitors and donors whose solicitations and donations were used to construct the workstation of my project and to buy the sewing machines and materials, my advisers, most especially my parents who, even with a lot of arguments and a 'little' discouragement, were the pillar of strength that pushed me one, Tita Grace who inspired me to take up the challenge and taught me the meaning of service, my work group (Jhanica, Joann, Sandra, Kim, Jeciel, Karen, Inna) who despite the busy 4th year life,  helped me in their little (turned big) ways, my beneficiaries who remained with me throughout the year, and my Josenian and Girl Scout families. Where would I be without these people? :)

I am a Girl Scout and always will be for, hopefully, for as long as the fire in me remains fueled by the desire to serve others. Medical school may grow be too toxic for me to join activities and encampments, but wait a few years at balalik rin ako! And if I can not, then I'll make sure my kids will (in 15-20 year's time or more, haha). Even if my registration expires, in my actions I will always be Girl Scout...in my thoughts, and in my heart.

Signing off (for now),

Cadet Scout Angela Marie S. Magsucang

18th Ain't About Parties

The day you officially graduate from your teenage days and turn into an adult is, well, kind of a normal experience. No big bangs or ta-tas, but just the normal any other celebration of any other year. Just the way I like it. 

Rather than spend much (say 50K +) for a one-night event, why not be practical and use the money wisely, hmm? Isn't that what adulthood is about? Or maybe for me, that is. Attending mass, having an outreach somewhere in Cebu, and lunching out with family, relatives, and close friends, my day being a day of giving, that's my ideal way of spending the 18th. 

And so I did.

Road trip going to Sitio Napo

 When I told my mother I wanted to have a community outreach on my birthday, I already had a community I wanted to go to in mind, the same community I had my CGSMS Project, but she suggested otherwise...and look where it took me.

Kids from Napo Elementary School

The trip to Sitio Napo wasn't quite that long, being about 10 minutes away from home, and when I did reach the venue, how surprised I was! I wasn't used to being sang a birthday song, so I kind of became a bit shy. Plus, they also prepared birthday cards.  "No card, no food." My mother even jokingly said. How sweet of the kids.

Simple gifts that mean so, so much

Their thank you's and big smiles were too heartwarming that I swear I could've flown if I had wings. I almost cried, not because of the presents, but because (to be honest), I know I made God proud of this good turn.

A lot of the kids out of a class of 37, haven't tried eating Jollibee, and being able to give them this simple joy is enough for me. It brings justice to the reality that people who have less appreciate more the little things given to them than the rich who are given more, yet appreciate less.

The trip to Napo Elementary School served as an inspiration to make every birthday of every year a day of giving.  

Photo courtesy from: http://jaredramos.files.wordpress.com

True to my list, the second one to cross off would be the lunch out in Patio Isabel.

R-L: Ate Mimi, Kuya Francis and Kuya Ton-ton

I truly appreciate the people with me celebrating one of life's events. Them lending me their time and effort (jima moment here, awee).

Feeling blessed and thankful

I want to thank everyone who've been with me for the past 18 years: my family who has always given me love and inspiration to do my best and make 'em proud, my relatives who have been great supporters full of love and care, and my precious friends who I wish would still be there for the rest of my lifetime.

Most of all, I'd like to thank God for the gift of life. For helping me make it through life's trials, and granting me success. I know life's going to get a lot tougher after this, but I believe anything's possible, and that any trouble brewed will all come to pass.

Post-celebration!

Your downtown lassie,