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,