Year 3: Still Alive

And still standing posting, haha. It’s just that never in a million years would I have thought that I’m going to be doing this for a month so to say that I have been blogging for 3 years is a feat for me. 🙂 I love how time flies! And it’s so funny that every year I get surprised to learn as it dawns on me that August is WIBME’s anniversary. Heck, I started this when Friendster was still a thing! And look after 3 years Facebook (shameless plug: please like my page) and Twitter rule the social media universe, I’m on WordPress and on Tumblr by the way – it’s called Open-minded (same posts basically, go follow me). I think I’ll be doing this for a loooong time, don’t you think so?

I feel proud that I can officially say: “Happy 3rd Anniversary WIBME!” 🙂

In search of my Personal Legend

And when I say “in search of” I really mean “I don’t know what is”. Reading ‘The Alchemist’ enlightened me but didn’t necessarily bring me out the dark. This novel gave me answers but more importantly it left me with questions too. Now this “treasure” that I’m supposed to follow, Paulo Coelho said, should come to you early on life. But what if it doesn’t? Or maybe you didn’t realize that that was destiny giving you a heads up. “Maktub” as said in the book – it is written but not everyone possesses an Urim and Thummim to help them along the way. Or do they? How does one read omens, more so, interpret them? I want to believe that “When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” But what if you want the wrong things? It’s all so inspiring and seems simple but of course like anything in life, it’s not. I may be deemed cynical for this but I do believe there is such a thing as a purpose in life, a personal legend. The problem is, I’m already turning 25 this year and yet I know I’m nowhere near figuring out what mine is let alone actually fulfilling it. Did I really miss the signs? Or was I just not looking hard enough? I’m as clueless as ever. Maybe the omens got tired already. Moving on, what I’m taking away from all of this is the four obstacles Coelho talked about. I agree with all of them and learning them now makes you feel prepared for battle, if you know what I mean. Here are the four:

As a child, we are told that everything we want to do is impossible. Some people call it being rational and it affects our mindset. This is true especially as we grow older and reality sets in. The innocence is lost and we discover that life is not fair.

We are afraid to hurt the ones we love by pursuing our personal legend. I understood when Coelho said that “If what one finds is made of pure matter, it will never spoil. And one can always come back. If what you have found was only a moment of life, like the explosion of a star, you would find nothing on your return.” It’s like your true love will be there to support you not hinder you.

The fear of failure, in my humble opinion, is the hardest obstacle. Because we gave up everything to follow our dream we can’t fathom the idea of losing. And this fear is the greatest; it’s do or die. The difficulties and trials will always be there so we must persevere.

Lastly, there is the fear of realizing the dream. Ironic but true. Some people, after working so hard, do falter once they discover that the goal is close at hand whether because they feel unworthy or that somehow that the dream would not be what they thought it would be. Sometimes just because others weren’t able to fulfill theirs, we feel undeserving as well.

Two statements from the story also stuck with me: “Everything that happens once can never happen again. But everything that happens twice will surely happen a third time.”

And, “The secret of life is to fall seven times and to get up eight times.”

What’s in between my ears? Apparently not much lately…

Okay, so I’ve been trying to write this other post since last week and I can’t even get past the first paragraph. I’m not sure if it’s because of what I’m writing about or I just don’t have any motivation to “put pen to paper” – I’m even taking time to draft this one. Writers call it writer’s block but for me I guess it’s more of a brain fart. If things went according to plan I should have added four more posts in my blog by now. It’s frustrating because I know if I delay this any longer I’m not going to post altogether. As cliché as it may sound, I need inspiration! Anyone got thoughts? What inspires you?

Eugene Domingo IS Eugene Domingo

I swear she is one hell of a comedian and actress! Fresh from watching Ang Babae sa Septic Tank the other night, I can’t help but grin every time I remember a scene. A movie about an indie director and producer filming a story about a family in the slums wherein the mother (Mila) was forced to sell her kid for money. They needed someone to play Mila and that’s where Uge comes in. I feel guilty sniggering about the situation because these things do happen in real life and it’s no joke but Director Marlon Rivera managed to give it a spin. Uge’s brand of comedy: undeniable. Her timing: spot on. And her performance: award-winning. Evidently, the movie garnered awards from the Cinemalaya. Kean Cipriano and JM De Guzman, though odd choices, held their own – I was actually surprised they can act. They were believable as the 2 aspiring filmmakers. I had a laugh with the ‘expresso’ guy too. What a douche! You have no idea how many people are like that in Facebook. The musical portion was entertaining as well as the discussion whether Cherry Pie Picache and some actress were better fit for the role. (haha) I was doubtful when the movie started but once Uge (as herself) came to the picture it was a full-on riot. It’s like that scene in Kimmy Dora where Dora pretended to be her sister. Also I learned a thing or two about filmmaking. The end was side-splitting, so do watch out for that. All in all, the movie feels a little cut short but the second half is truly worth the build up. A must-see, I missed laughing like that in the cinemas. 🙂