The happy royal couple + the annoyed flower girl

(You thought everyone's happy about the royal couple's first kiss? Nooooo!)

It was a happy feeling seeing two people so in love with each other.

We'll probably see a lot of beautiful and "kilig" photos of the newly weds. But I liked the candidness of this one, not only because it captured Kate's and William's first kiss at the balcony, but the flower girl who seemed so annoyed and impatient was too cute! I liked that she didn't care that she's actually now a part of a historical and fairy tale-like wedding; she reminded me of the genuineness of a young heart, the impatience over a long wait. I'm sure that she'll giggle over this photo sooner or later. I've got tons of childhood (and even grown-up) photos with that face. :)

When a Muslim greets me, "Happy Easter!" and asks for THE Gossip

A Muslim workmate really took her time to send me an Easter greeting. She copy-pasted one of those photos of Easter eggs from the net and emailed to me with a subject Happy Easter.  I recall the first time I (awkwardly) greeted a Muslim for the Eid celebrations (after Ramadan). I said, "Happy... Eid (?), err, Ramadan, no, it's Eid!" Whatever it is, my intention was clear, that I was happy for them. It's the thought that counts. The next year, I became smarter (that's me loving my ego hahaha). I managed to exclaim, "Ramadan Kareem" and "Mabrouk". Lesson learned... don't forget to consult the more experienced residents + our friend, Google.

Anyway, I gave her one those chocolate bunnies. And she was so happy. I didn't imagine that the chocolate can light up her Sunday that bright. I actually intended to eat that. Pero nahiya ako... I felt something that compelled me (to get it from my bag) to give it to her instead. It's amazing how a small act can affect one's life.

Then the biggest question of the day blew me. She wants to hear an Easter Sunday mass. I supported the idea, of course and directed her to the mass timings via Saint Joseph Church's website. "Will there be a gossip?", she asked. "Gossip?", me punctuating in my mind. "You know, when the priest tells Gossip." "Ah, the gospel!. Yes, there will be."

The 8-hour sleep

Dear God,

When we were kids, our parents used to 'force' us to sleep early but most of the time we've applied delaying tactics. But it's a cycle and now that we're old (errr, grown ups), there was a point when I asked, "can I please buy more hours of sleep?"

I know that You'll be "dead" by Good Friday. But before that, I just want You to know that I'm extra thankful today because finally I got a straight 8-hour sleep. I consider that priceless nowadays.

Happy sleeper,
witsandnuts

Palaspasan

Palm Sunday celebrations outside the Baclaran Church.

What a delight to see this photo feature at guardian.co.uk. The sight of colorful palaspas (the decorated palm leaves) brought me home.

It's raining! And it's April!

For the past three days, some areas in the UAE are experiencing rainshowers. And this morning, on my way to the office, I was so lucky to have savored droplets! Not that I drank it. Hahaha. But really, I was ecstatic. You can of course tell how much I miss the rain especially that I was raised in the Philippines. At work, a colleague who is a UAE national even took photos of the thunderstorm and lightning. It really IS a big news. I advised her to visit the Philippines during stormy season for her to experience the "total package". Then she recalled my Ondoy experience and other accounts of my explanation on how a normal rain happens in the Philippines. "Noooo, I'll go crazy. I can't bear that!", she exclaimed.

Anyway, it's odd that it's raining this time of the year. We're supposed to be welcoming the summer heat anytime soon. In my over 3 years stay here, this was the first time it rained in April. Talk about global warming.

I hope I can hold the rain as much as I want. I wish it were a weekend, so that I can be out of the house the whole time and walk-jog or go to the park to fully taste the raindrops.

Manny Pacquiao in The National

I liked that the news about Manny Pacquiao's preparation for the fight with Shane Mosley is on the front page of the The National today. He's probably the most popular Filipino in the eyes of the UAE residents, both locals and expats. I recall one of our random encounters with tourists in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (Formula 1) last year, instead of asking about the weather or President Noynoy, they babbled about how good Pacquiao is... plus, how intriguing is our balut. Going back to The National, which is by the way one of the top 2 English broadsheets in the UAE, I also liked that there is a dedicated portion/link (on the top right) about The Manny Pacquiao Story.

To the guys who wear sando

Here's an asteeeg article from Lourd De Veyra that gave me an LAS (last article syndrome) that's making me giggle inside my head until now. It also re-introduced me to some Tagalog words.

Sa Ikaaayos ng mundo, 'Wag Mag-Sando! (For a better world, don't wear sando!)

The Weekend, Scotty and Casey

There's something about the nearing of weekend that excites everyone as if it's happening for the first time; then we dislike it whenever the first day of the workweek is approaching as if we're not used to it, huh! Anyway, I'm just so happy that it's weekend already (note that we have Friday & Saturday as UAE's weekend). I felt that the concluded workweek was jampacked of workloads and other things. That's the beauty of a weekend, it gives us a break and we always have something to look forward to on a regular basis.

On new things that I look forward to:

1. Scotty McCreery's and Casey Abrams' performances in American Idol. I know that Scotty won't be the ultimate winner but he's definitely going to make it big sooner or later. He's too young to be my crush (LOL), but seriously, I'd buy his album as soon as it comes out. His country tone is soooo pleasing to the ears (and the looks, too) and I like that whenever he introduces his own version, he makes it really his own. As for Casey, I'm now a fan! After a number of performances, he has proven that he's really an artist (as if I'm an artist who knows how to discern my kind, hahaha!), can survive any song, and unique! Recently, he sung Elton John's "Your Song" very genuinely. I'm surprised that without his usual banging and squiggling, he can be really captivating by being "quiet" this time. I can't get over it that I taped it through my TV's personal video recorder + I recorded it to my handyphone in HD format so I can bring that particular performance and listen to it anytime I want. (Yeah, that's addiction.) It's sad though that our very own Thia Megia has been eliminated. At a tender age, she has exuded remarkable ability. She has a bright future.
2. To use the Dreamy Diana Lens with the SLR. I need to find time next weekend to test it.
3. Tomorrow's photo walk with my Iggy sisters. How cool is it that we are going to release our shutter bug the same day?!

Have a balanced weekend everyone!