Quotes about life

Need I say more? =)

I guess it still relates to one of my favorite quotes from Coelho.

I SHOULD do this.

Quote For the Day: The Adventures of Tintin

I just finished watching the Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn, and this quote just simply stuck on me so I just wanna share it with everyone. :)

Failed. There are plenty of others willing to call you a failure. A fool. A loser. A hopeless souse. Don’t you ever say it of yourself. You send out the wrong signal, that is what people pick up. Don’t you understand? You care about something, you fight for it. You hit a wall, you push through it. There’s something you need to know about failure, Tintin. You can never let it defeat you.

- Captain Haddock (The Adventures of Tintin)

Freebies for today

I just got back from the wedding of my officemate. Of course, there was free food and free fun. At the end of the ceremony, I got this nifty handmade giveaway. :)

After that, I went to the mall to look around at the items for sale. As I was going out, I bumped into this little promotional thing of the mall and in return I got a Martin Nievera CD and 3 Timezone passes. I'm not really a Martin fan but hey, it's still free so I was happy.

Starting from now on, I want to be thankful for even the little things I receive in life. Especially if they are free. ;)

Count your blessings. Not your problems.

Are You Cebuano Enough?

So you have this "I ♥ Cebu" tee. You've eaten dried mangoes and visited the Magellan's Cross a million times. But did you know in exactly which places in Cebu you can see Rizal's clothings or the original KKK flag? Perhaps you did. But for me, I've only learned it last May 25, 2012.

My journey for the Gabii sa Kabilin started at around 7:00 PM due to some work in the office that just can't be left behind. (I hope next year they can do it in a weekend so I can have more time, but oh well.) I met up with three of my friends and we started out in the museum at the University of San Carlos. It was astonishing to see some Japanese ceramic displays as well  as preserved animals and ancient gadgets such as the spear, bolos, bows and arrows. It was also my first time to see a burial jar which I've only seen in text books.

After that, we had to ride a jeep going to the Cathedral church since there was no bus for us to ride. We had to walk a bit under the rain in going to the Cathedral museum since the jeepney driver said they can't go in further since the road was blocked. 

Upon seeing the museum and the Cathedral church in dim lights, the whole place seemed magical and almost like a free teleport ride to the historical times. With a traditional percussion band playing in the background, the historical ambiance was complete.

We went inside and saw ancient statues of saints but couldn't take take pictures since we were informed beforehand that it's not allowed. Perhaps it will ruin the statues. After the tour in the Cathedral museum, we moved on to the USPF museum.

What greeted us were three beautiful ladies in long gowns. We went further inside the museum and saw the original KKK flag. We were allowed to take a pic as long as we turned off the flash.

Further on, the ambiance was really merry as we saw people sitting and facing the stage with some cultural dancers. It was a really lively performance and again, I felt I was teleported back to a time when people enjoyed performances such as these during barrio fiestas instead of  those noisy and wild concerts.

We then went inside the Rizaliana museum where we saw some remnants of Rizal's clothings, as well as letters to Rizal from Josephine Bracken. After a while, we just went out since the guard suddenly asked us if we were already done. We then felt quite lost since we dunno where to go next. Fortunately, the people assigned there were very accommodating and very helpful in giving us directions towards Parian, which was just very near. Honestly, I'm not all too familiar in the Cebu City routes.

As we were nearing Parian, the atmosphere was lively since there were so many people. They were listening to someone explaining the history of the place. We then approached this big obelisk at the center of the road and came up on this QR code with some trivia about Colon street. I personally think that this is a good innovation on learning more about the historical sites of Cebu especially with the growing trend of smart phones and tablets.

We passed by the gigantic Heritage of Cebu Monument and then proceeded to the Yap Sandiego ancestral house. 

I was both amazed and in awe as I saw this really old house which is around 300 years old. I never thought I could actually see such a well-preserved antique house still standing amidst the fast-paced development of Cebu. We went inside and it was both exhilarating and exciting to step on the creaking stairs and wooden floors, with ushers dressed in traditional Filipino costumes. We were even greeted by Ofelia Sandiego who made us feel welcome in this house. There were even song and dance performances being done inside and outside the house.

We were fortunate enough to see two of the Sandiego dancers doing a fiery fire dance. It was my first time to see an actual dance and it was simply mesmerizing.

Since we were already running out of time, we decided to end our journey with a tartanilla ride. Again, another first time for me. It was exciting and it felt really good that for a change I was riding a tartanilla instead of a jeepney on an almost deserted street, with the air so cold. The ride was quite a bit short but it was still worth it. I just felt pity when I saw some horses with foams of saliva forming in their mouths. Perhaps they were too thirsty after a long day, I wouldn't know. 

Yes six hours was just really too short considering all the traveling that needs to be done during museum hopping. So next year, most probably I'll target those places I wasn't able to visit this year and plan my route very well. More places, more time, more fun. I'm expecting these things in the next year of the Gabii sa Kabilin.

Nevertheless, the whole experience made me feel more proud that I am a Cebuano. I think that living in this beautiful island will never be complete unless I am able to explore its beautiful history and heritage. I am thankful for all the people who are dedicated in preserving these ancestral inheritance for the future generations to see. I think that this makes one feel more worthy to wear the "I ♥ Cebu" tee.

This is an official entry to the 2012 Gabii sa Kabilin Blogging Contest.

My Bucket List

These are the things I plan to achieve before I leave this world.

Written on 04/21/12:

• Work in Disney Pixar
• Meet Paulo Coelho
• Go to Japan
• Akihabara, Tokyo (03/26/14)
• Universal Studios Japan (03/26/14)
• Huis Ten Bosch, Nagasaki, Japan: One Piece (03/26/14)
• Write (and illustrate?) a popular book
• Be a millionnaire
• Buy a Jollibee franchise
• Dance in Sinulog
• Perform in a theatre
• Have my own house and land
• Have a very big land where I can build my own farm, with so many fruits, vegetables and animals
• Be an animal advocate / Member of PAWS
• Donate to a charity/charities (orphans, disabled, old people, animals)
• Go to Disneyland
• Travel to magnificent places
• Save a life / lives
• Dance a lot

5/2/12

• Be a veterinarian or at least have a vet friend
• Join a cool flash mob
• Have a Cintiq, Macbook Air, iMac

7/21/12

• Have my own art studio 

11/15/12

• Visit the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Kitchen and donate

8/27/13

• Have at least one signed "true first edition" book
• Travel outside Cebu City alone
• Travel outside Cebu alone

2/13/14

• Represent the Philippines and be damn proud and happy about it.

Quotes from The Alchemist

Another book which had truly inspired me is The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. So here are a few lines I loved from the book.

• Remember that wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure. You've got to find the treasure, so that everything you have learned along the way can make sense.
• Everyone has his or her own way of learning things.
• If bad things are coming, and you know in advance, you will suffer greatly before they even occur.
• When you are in love, things make even more sense.
• To die tomorrow was no worse than dying on any other day. Every day was there to be lived or to mark one's departure from this world.
• It's not what enters men's mouths that's evil. It's what comes out of their mouths that is.
• One is loved because one is loved. No reason is needed for loving.
• There is only one way to learn. It's through action.
• Even if you pretend not to have heard what your heart tells you, it will always be there inside you, repeating to you what you're thinking about life and about the world.
• The fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second's encounter with God and with eternity.
• All people who are happy have God within them.
• Everyone on earth has a treasure that awaits them.
• Most people see the world as a threatening place, and because they do, the world turns out, indeed, to be a threatening place.
• Every search begins with beginner's luck. And every search ends with the victors being severely tested.
• When you possess great treasures within you, and try to tell others of them, seldom are you believed.
• When something evolves, everything around that thing evolves as well.
• Don't give in to your fears. If you do, you won't be able to talk to your heart.
• There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.
• Death doesn't change anything.
• When you are loved, you can do anything in creation. When you are loved, there's no need at all to understand what's happening, because everything happens within you.
• When we love, we always strive to become better than we are.
• Everything that happens once can never happen again. But everything that happens twice will surely happen a third time.
• No matter what he does, every person on earth plays a central role in the history of the world. And normally he doesn't know it.
• No project is completed until its objective has been achieved.
• What good is money to you if you're going to die? It's not often that money can save someone's life.
• Life is generous to those who pursue their Personal Legend.

By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept quotes

Paulo Coelho is one of my most favorite authors and the book "By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept" is my favorite among his works. So here are my favorites lines from this book:

• You have to take risks. We will only understand the miracle of life fully when we allow the unexpected to happen.
• Every person on earth has a gift. In some, the gift manifests itself spontaneously; others have to work to discover what it is.
• We can never judge the lives of others, because each person knows only their own pain and renunciation. It's one thing to feel that you are on the right path, but it's another to think that yours is the only path.
• It's not necessary to move mountains in order to prove one's faith.
• Love perseveres. It's men who change.
• Truth resides where there is faith.
• Dreams mean work.
• We are our own greatest surprise.
• Sometimes if you think you know something, you do wind up understanding it.
• I will not talk to my own darkness anymore. A fall from the third floor hurts as much as a fall from the hundredth. If I have to fall, may it be from a high place.
• When we look for love courageously, it reveals itself, and we wind up attracting even more love. If one person really wants us, everyone does. But if we are alone, we become even more alone. Life is strange.
• Only a man who is happy can create happiness in others.
• A divided kingdom cannot defend itself from its adversaries. A divided person cannot face life in a dignified way.
• Waiting is painful. Forgetting is painful. But not knowing which to do is the worst kind of suffering.
• All wisdom was the result of listening to one's own soul.
• For years, I had fought against my heart, because I was afraid of sadness, suffering, and abandonment. But now I knew that it would be better to die than to fail to love.
• Even if loving meant leaving, or solitude, or sorrow, love was worth every penny of its price.
• Life takes us by surprise and order us to move toward the unknown - even when we don't want to and when we think we don't need to.
• Love always causes stupidity.
• If one can dominate the body, one can dominate the spirit.
• The closer we get to God through our faith, the simpler He becomes. And the simpler He becomes, the greater is His presence.

Customizing notification tones in Galaxy Y

Switching from the traditional layout of cellphone with keypads and a screen to a touchscreen Android phone indeed put me in quite a struggling transition. What used to be an easy step in changing an SMS notification tone became quite a challenge for me in Android. Anyway here is how I managed to do it.


1) Using your phone that's connected to Wi-Fi, download the ringtone of your choice. Usually I get my tones in http://www.zedge.net/ or I create my own customized tones using the Ringtone Maker app in Android.
2) In your phone, go to My files > download and then locate your downloaded tone.
3) Press and hold the filename of your tone until the pop-up menu appears.
4) Press Move.
5) Choose Sounds > Notifications.
6) Once inside the Notifications folder, press Move here.


To see if your new tone has been incorporated in the list of default tones:
1) Go to Settings > Sound > Notification ringtone.
Normally, you would find your new tone there.


To separate notification tones from SMS tones, I use the Go SMS Pro app in Android and I change my SMS notification tones there.