i just want to share my multiply site -> http://ybban7.multiply.com. you may view all of my postings (blogs, photos, music, etc.) in there if you are one of my contacts and a few if you belong to my network.
with that, i will no longer be posting in my Friendster account, for now, but i will still visit it to check out postings from my friends.
many of you may have seen the Hollywood TV drama LOST and maybe most of you have seen all 4 seasons of it. when it was first aired i thought it was just like some “Survivor” stuff and I’m not into it. it was my aunt who somehow influenced me, well not really, but she bought the original DVD of the first season and instead of just letting it gather dust i decided to check it out. so i did and i have just completed the third season.
so how was it? let’s just say that i can’t wait to watch the next season.
i tend to read the character and where they’re coming from when i watch movies or TV dramas. as i was watching the first season something struck me. maybe most of you will say that its main theme is about “survival” or “getting rescued”. for me, i think it is more about “letting go”. almost all main characters have something in their past that they cannot let go of, that’s haunting them still. for Jack, his father died without getting any reconciliation with him. Sawyer, in search of the man who ruined his family and life and whom he eventually turned to be. Kate, for causing the death of the man she loves. John, his biological father for abandoning him and conning him. Hurley, for thinking that his winning the lottery was the beginning of all ill lucks that has happened to him and the people around him. Sayid, for all the people he caused pain.
i think the drama best portrayed how most of us are in real life, we find it difficult to let go of the past especially the people or moment that caused us great pain, regret, guilt, or even misfortune. so why do we hold on too tightly on something that should have been left forgotten? why do we keep on dragging such heavy load? maybe because we got used to it, we nurtured it, we kept replaying what happened in our mind in our attempt to find the answer and meaning of it? maybe we hold on to it to even justify ourselves, our actions, or our decisions? maybe if we continue to bear it somewhere somehow a turn of event will unchange or erase that past?
we all have our reasons why we can’t let go. i just think that instead of keeping ourselves prisoners of the ghost of our past we have to mind our now, our present, because someday this present will be part of our past. would you rather have today to be a past that you wish never happened or a present that is worth remembering in the future? just let go…
my family is blessed with having a close relationship with our relatives. i realized that this year, we have our share of blessings of relatives who stayed in our home. some of them came from provinces and stayed a little while in Manila, some from abroad and preferred to spend their vacation with us.
when family and relatives meet together, one can expect the unending exchanges of stories, sharing of food, hearty laughter, and just having wonderful time.
over this weekend we had a 2-day reunion with relatives from my mother’s side, it was unlike the many reunions we had because relatives whom we haven’t seen in years were there. among them is my aunt, a balikbayan from the U.S. she’s my mother’s cousin who is like a sister to her, whom we have not seen for 18 years. she’d been in Manila for more than 3 weeks and will be going back in few days time. then my 2 younger cousins made my tito the happiest father on earth by meeting them after almost 10 years of searching for them. my tito just arrived last week and will be here for 2 months.
First day…
it was a fulfilling half-day rendezvous at Cypress. we started with lunch, a buffet of kare-kare, pancit (rice stick), grilled liempo, crab, shrimp, grilled fish, uhmm did i miss anything?.. after that we setup the videoke system (hehe) while we waited for the arrival of our long lost cousins. we learned that they really sing well, so might as well start ahead of them before we lose our turn haha!
then they arrived, each of us took turns greeting and hugging them, they’ve grown to be very pretty. and the rumor is right, they sang very well (uhmm understatement?). the eldest already won several times in singing contests, and both are members of their church’s choir. they took after my tito, for having a great singing voice. they sang with my tito, and even my tito was amazed at how well they are.
it was also nice to see them mingle with my other younger cousins, someone would play the guitar and they’d sing along. later in the evening, we all checked out our friendsters, upload some iTunes, the Cypress cafe turned into an internet cafe (hehe).
then it was time to leave…
Second day…
we all met up at Mall of Asia, lunch time… this time we had it at Don Henrico’s (baked zitti, classic carbonara, buffalo wings, 18-inch pizza - yummy…) we were too many that they can’t find a table to fit all of us so they divided our group into 2. the first group belonged to the youngsters, my cousins and i (hehe), then the second group to the elders (our parents). i think our table was more fun (hehe)
but before lunch, we went to the Bay side and took endless photos and videos… never get tired of it. we only stopped when we were all too weak of hunger J
we had to split up after lunch since we have different “agendas” inside the mall (hehe). then we all meet up right after we’ve done all our shoppings. my legs were dead tired…
then it was time to leave again… with a promise of seeing each other very soon…
even though a gap was left by years of missing each other, we didn’t feel distant to each other. it felt like the gap made by time didn’t exist at all. we are all just very happy to be with each other’s company. it was an unforgettable moment..
i think I’ll just let the photos speak for themselves… http://ybban7.blogs.friendster.com/photos/family_reunion/
each of us has our own reality that we call our world – sometimes our realities overlap, it is intertwined, we connect and mingle but no matter how many things we share and have in common each of us still has our own reality – a world that is ours alone.
why am i writing about this? it’s because i am at a moment in my life where there’s a growing part of me that no one else fully knows, i seldom talk about, not even with my closest friends – maybe in passing but we don’t share those things – at the moment. why? not because of any other reason but just because… with this, i often feel disconnected - but then i wonder - is this normal, does it come with age? ^^
even when i stopped sharing with people i used to share, my world didn’t stop turning, like them, things kept me busy, i continue to live my life, i continue to nurture my growing interests, i meet new friends, i face problems on my own, i get lonely sometimes and feel overjoyed too but most of these i keep on my own. i remember the Bible “the heart knows its own bitterness, and in its joy no one else shares” Proverbs 14:10 – simply means that people may know what you’re feeling and why but they can’t really say that they feel what you’re exactly feeling – it’s yours alone.
i only hope i will not get to that point where i am completely disconnected. i am not worried that i will completely lose the people i love and care for, i know that in the deepest recesses of our hearts there’s an unbreakable bond that will tie us until we’re old and grey. so maybe i will just look forward to that reunion, when each of us will have our own long stories to tell, about our lives, how we have been all these years. look forward to that moment of recollecting memories and sharing new joys with old friends. then again, why wait? will that moment come? who knows…
i decided to put up my exclusive blog site just for GY ^^ that’s what has been keeping me busy these past few days *^^
so here it is… http://nabbyoo.wordpress.com/
it’s still a work in progress but it’s already out there.. there are more posts and recent ones.. ka ja~!^^
i hope you’ll drop by as often as you do here…
i am trying to keep up with my GY update ^^
these are GY’s messages with the most recent one; his messages are shorter than the ones he posted earlier this year. i think it is because with the position he’s in he can’t say more than what he’d written.
as usual these are posted by GY at YOO&I (his official fan club) - then i think one of his fans translated them to Chinese at http://blog.sina.com.tw/gongyooptt/ and then they are translated to English at the YOO Mansion… i hope the essence of GY’s message is not lost in translation ^^
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About autograph session…..ㅡㅡ (08.06.12 20:29)
I am not aware of this…ㅡㅡ;
The weather is so hot, I am worried that friends will come all the way here. That’s why I am leaving a message.
I am still not sure whether I will be participating in the Unit activities this Saturday…
The weather today is so weird…so crazily hot, but suddenly lightning and heavy rain comes, and the rain stopped again….The weather in Cheorwan changes so fast, just like someone…^^
Although I am a bit slow in reacting, just feel that the earth is turning weird…
Wish everyone has a sweet dream…Bye~
~~~~~~~
[FigⓗTinⓖ !! ] ^^ (08.06.01 16:37)
Hello everyone!!~
Hello everyone!!!~
Hello everyone!!!!!~
I am doing very well….
So don’t worry about me, I won’t die lah…my body has slight difficulties in adapting, just a little bit of problem..^^;
All of us must carry on fighting!! A ZA A ZA!!~~
The weather is very good~~~~~~
Hope all of us will have an enjoyable and fulfilling month in June…
~~~~~~~
[FigⓗTinⓖ !! ] Just this… Have a nice weekend^^ (08.05.03 20:07)
I’m doing very well.
This weekend and next weekend are rest days.
For soldiers, it’s considered extremely good days.. I wasn’t able to understand the need for weekend and even hated it but now I truly feel its importance.
Wishing all of us can have a happy weekend!!
See You again oh~
Ps) Thanks to everyone for all the stuffs you sent to me, I’m always reading, using and eating… it’s becoming my pleasure in life…
~~~~~~~
08.04.16 18:51
My previous messages were broadcast in the news and had created some problems. Hence, I have removed them….^^
Please do not worry, it is not very serious…..
I hope everything will work out smoothly…..
Ok, I will stop here….
Bye~
PS) Although spring is here, the spring blossoms and sakura are not blooming as usual…
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i know i haven’t been diligent in posting updates about GY - ^* anyway, here are some happenings about GY in the military… ^^
6th Division celebrating 60th anniversary (04-Jun-2008)
English translation:
Gong Yoo’s army unit will be celebrating their 60th anniversary with many interesting activities lining up from the 11th-14th June. The attendees for this celebration include warriors who took part in 6.25 war, civilians staying in Cheorwan, soldiers of the unit and their family. This activitiy will also be opened to public who register with them.
11th - A sports commemoration ceremony will be held in the training camp.
12th - "Army and Civilians get together Musical Concert" performed by Korean Arts School will be held in the Indoor Stadium. Around 2500 people consisting of the state governor, civilians, soldiers of the units and their family members will be attending this concert.
13th - A commemoration ceremony for 60th anniversary of the unit will be held in Commander Training Camp. The previous heads of the unit, warriors who took part in the war, officials from Cheorwan, Civilians and students will also be present. The previous heads of the unit and warriors will inspect the parade. There will be a session to reminisce the 6.25 war to convey the peaceful reunification pledge which was done that time. Other activities for that day include recognition and presentation of trophies, etc.
14th - Opening ceremony will take place in Cheorwan Public Stadium. There will be helicopters passing by the stadium with congratulatory message. The main government officials in Cheorwan will officiate this ceremony. Other activities include:
> 17km DMZ Peace Marathon
> Enlisted Celebrities vs Civilians friendly soccer match.
> Sing-together with soldiers, their parents and local residents
> Celebrity performance and Army musical performance
> Evergreen Camp Festival. Sale of handicrafts and handmade items by soldiers
In the venue, there are stalls selling food and specialities of Cheorwan. Other than that, barracks canteen and photography corner for taking memorable pics in army uniform will also be there.
There are many prizes for the lucky draws. That includes additional off-days for the lucky soldiers.
There may also be a "Superstar look-alike autograph session" and other interesting activities.
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Chinese article posted at: http://blog.sina.com.tw/gongyooptt//
안녕하세요~!! [hello~!!]
there really is no stopping me now from learning han-gul.. ^^
in my previous blog, i have posted some English words with Korean romanization. in this blog, i’ll show Korean words written in han-gul, with the romanization and English translation ^^
i have also discovered the proper way in pronouncing the Korean words, there are some tricks and you might be a little confused at first especially we’re used in pronouncing certain vowel combinations but in han-gul it is different. i’ll be sharing that in here too..
so i say let go first of the usual and embrace the new – like a slight shift in paradigm – hehe i remember this word “paradigm” and i always associate it with change. to accept change is just a matter of shifting your paradigm… okay ok ay before i wander to a different topic - now going back to han-gul, as i was saying… ^^
here are some useful tips in reading han-gul… based on what? says who? ummm… well based on my experience and some from the web: ^^
1. each set of characters is a syllable
안 – “an”; 녕 – “nyeong”; 하 – “ha”; 세 – “se”; 요 – “yo”
안녕하세요 - “annyeonghaseyo” which means “hello”
2. vowels can be found at the right, middle, top, or bottom
만 – say as “man”, the character at the right “a” connects the left “m” and bottom “n”
속 – “sok”, the vowel “o” is at the middle which connects the “s” at the top and “k” at the bottom
안 – “an”, the vowel “a” is at the top
보– say as “bo”, the vowel “o” is at the bottom
3. proper pronunciation of vowels and their location:
i = "ee"
[located at the right]
이 – “i”; 지 – “ji”; 니 – “ni”; 잊 – “ij”; 심 – “sim”
까지만 – “kkajiman” (don’t go)
do you know that the surname “Lee” in han-gul is 이? thus it is pronounced as “ee”, without the “L”. ^^
ae = "eh"
[located at the right]
해 – “hae”; 내 – “nae”; 채 – “chae”; 백 – “baek”
사랑해요 – “saranghaeyo” (i love you)
eo = "uh"
[located at the right]
어 – “eo”; 던 – “deon”; 명 – “myeong”; 서 – “seo”
어떡하죠 이젠 - “eottekhajyo ijen” (what do i do now)
e – “e” (soft “e”)
[located at the right]
에 – “e”; 세 – “se”; 게 – “ge”; 네 – “ne”; 젠 – “jen”
안녕자세요 - “annyeongjaseyo” (good night)
ui = "ee" (it’s a flatter sound than "i", but they actually sound the same ^__,^)
[usually alone or comes with a consonant at the top]
의 – “ui”; 희 – “hui”
상실의 – “sangsirui” (loss)
u = "oo"
[located at the bottom or middle]
우 – “u”; 눈 – “nun”; 물 – “mul”; 춤 – “chum”
눈물 – “nunmul” (tear)
o = “o” (not “ow”, just “o”)
[located at the bottom or middle]
소 – “so”; 보 – “bo”; 로 – “ro”; 속 – “sok”
여보세요 – “yeoboseyo?” (hello? – phone)
oe = "weh"
[usually alone or comes with a consonant at the top]
외- “oe”; 회 – “hoe”
외로 – “oero” (lonely)
eu = this is actually an absence of sound; you do not move your lips to form a sound, and you can even clench your teeth to make this sound. dig? ^^
[located at the bottom or middle]
으 – “eu”; 그 – “geu”; 늘 – “neul”; 쓸 – “sseul”; 든 – “deun”
하늘 – “haneul” (sky)
4. dashes
–> there really is no rule on when you should put hyphen between the syllables but it might come handy especially when you have to differentiate between the syllables. like the words "장음" and "잔금" can both be romanized as "jangeum". but the first one is "jang-eum" while the second is "jan-geum".
5. quickest way to learn han-gul
–> my friend todd said that the best way to learn Korean is to have a Korean boyfriend hahaha! i hope that’s easy. umm calling for sam - SOS hehe
–> well with han-gul, what worked for me is the Korean music ^^ okay it started with my obsession with GY & YEH’s Korean tv dramas, right? but i was able to learn han-gul quickly through the Korean music.
–> get your ears used to the sound – so for me the Korean tv dramas helped a lot. because if you’re not used to it then unfamiliar sounds won’t make sense, they’re only noise.
–> Korean lyrics – of course with music, there’s lyrics – in han-gul. the music i’m referring to is the Nell (넬) music (have you listened to their full track album “Separation Anxiety” in my profile?) – that one. they’re a popular rock group in Korea – i became familiar with them through GY’s cyworld – and i fell in love with their music when i heard it from arirang tv. ^^
–> i was so elated when i came across the lyrics of Nell’s album – which are in han-gul. you know me (well maybe you don’t know this side of me) – when i like a song sooo much i have to sing along with it hahaha~, i’m not content with just listening to it… so how can i sing along with a Korean music? i have to know how to read its han-gul lyrics and the challenge started there – so after romanizing each song, i have to listen to the song itself to make sure that i got it right… and guess what? i was able to romanize all 11 lyrics!!! it was so amusing ~ !!! ^__________,^
the next challenge for me is to understand the lyrics and the Korean language itself… it’s a long way but i’m ready and i’m excited… aja! ^^
inxs: some useful sites – i haven’t visited them yet though
K for Corea
annyeonghaseyo! [hello!]
i think i’m slowly turning Korean ^^… i think i posted a blog 2 years ago with some Korean words that i got familiar with while watching “Princess Hours”… i know i got a lot of them wrong – so amateurish – heee~ [mianhamninda~]
but now i know more words and i can quickly pickup the words i’m familiar with while listening. not only that, here’s something more exciting… well ok i’m the one who’s excited J i’m so passionate about the language that i also want to learn han-gul [Korean alphabet] and right now i can recognize and read a few words written in han-gul.
so i guess to prove that i’ll have to share a few in here J
annyeonghaseyo - >hello
sarang hae yo -> i love you
ireumi mwoyeyo? -> what is your name?
bogosipeoyo -> i miss you
nuguseyo? –> who are you? or who is it?
yeoboseyo –> hello (phone)
gamsahmnida –> thank you
ka-ja –> let’s go
ka-jiman –> don’t go
ige mwoyeyo? -> what is this?
jeogiyo –> over there or excuse me
yeogiyo –> here or over here
Nabby mida –> i am Nabby
jaemiiseoyo –> fun
butakhamnida –> please do me a favour
ppalliyo or ppalli –> hurry
massisseoyo -> delicious
na cha-yo -> i’m going to sleep
gwaenchanayo –> it’s okay
no this didn’t just happen overnight. learning is a process and if you have the will then you’ll embrace it and learn. it’s fun and exciting! [chincha!]… hmmm it’s 1:20am my time now, na cha-yo… ^^
World Pyro Olympics @ MOA
last weekend my cousin (kuya alain) and his family arrived from Singapore. it’s tradition that every time kuya alain is in town whether for a week or longer, we sort of have a family reunion. you can expect 90% attendance because almost all relatives on my father’s side are present (from aunts to cousins, nieces and nephews). we didn’t waste any time because on the day that they arrived we all met up and went to Mall Of Asia to see the World’s Pyro Olympics.
so guess how many we were that day at MOA? of 4 clans (haha) and 3 generations, we were a huge company of 23! we planned to have dinner first in one of the restos by the bay but we weren’t expecting that there’s an entrance fee of 150 to be able to get in the bay area… so do the math. [udeke?] with that the “clan elders” J had to decide to make some last minute changes to the plan. so while conferring a stranger jumped in holding out tickets, inviting us to their resto by the bay [“aling mahrsha”] saying we don’t have to pay the 150 entrance fee that they will give us the entrance tickets as long as we eat in their resto and pay a table charge of 300 pesos on top of our food bill. we were listening intently and i’m betting that at that moment of brief silence we were all thinking, “is he for real?” [chincha?] breaking the silence was the question “ano daw?” [“what did he say?”] [wu?] haha so typical!
fast forward… so at “aling mahrsha” we had dinner while we waited for the wonderful displays of fireworks. there were 2 rounds at 7:00 which lasted for 30 minutes and another at 9:00 which was shorter by 10 minutes. the fireworks were magnificent, ahhh can’t describe them… an exhibition of light, colors, sound, and shapes. it was awesome watching the tiny lights up the pit black sky feeling like they’re falling on you - my niece nicole had to hide her face sometimes. really amazing…
La Mesa Eco Park
on the following day, sunday, we went out again, same company minus 3 plus 1. we went to the La Mesa Eco Park at QC. they were planning to go swimming and my sister bam and i felt bad because tatay didn’t tell us about the plan so we had no swimming gears. unfortunately (or fortunately for me and my sis? hehe) when we got there the pool area is no longer receiving visitors and they’re about to close it in 2 hours. so we just went to the park – there is a 40 peso entrance fee to the park and i think another 80 pesos for the pool.
at the park we had dinner – we love to eat huh? then after, in small groups, we all went our ways to explore the park. if you want to get close to nature and breathe some fresh air, i recommend this place. there are a lot of tall trees, wild flowers, pretty landscapes, and some team building activity sites. there’s also a butterfly habitat but we were so tired walking that we didn’t reach it – i think we only explored half of the park. yeah you have to wear walking shoes and comfy clothes and get there earlier. the place closes down by 6pm because they said there’s no light in the area, they did it in purpose – eco friendly – save energy… they will also fine you for litters.
we’re all glad that the weather was nice that weekend, spending it outdoor was really fun and refreshing especially for me. i don’t get to do that often… i’m always inside my house, the office, the mall or some establishment. it’s very pleasant - to feel the wind on your skin and the heat of the sun.
