TOPAZ HORIZON

OMG. You've got to watch this video of Michael Jackson and Britney Spears singing "The Way You Make Me Feel"!!! Two superstars on stage, singing live, feeding off each other's energy--it's electrifying.

Really makes you long for the good ol' days when real singing sensations entertained us. Not the crap we get these days. Well, at least Britney's back in the studio recording an album again. I really liked Blackout, and the critics hailed it, too, as one of her best. Sad that she wasn't able to promote it because her life was in such turmoil last year. But she's much better now, healthier, hitting the gym trying to get back her old shape. And she'll also be part of Madonna's big tour next month. And her video for "Piece of Me" just got nominated for the MTV VMAs. People really still believe in Britney!

Now if only Michael will also come back...

Anyway, here's another video that I love. At least Madonna, Christina Aguilera and Missy Eliot's still in the scene. That's quite a comforting thought really!

Aside from the occasional wedding and funeral and christening, of course. If you know me or if you've read this blog for a while, you'd know I have this huge faith in God. I'm a Born-Again Christian, grew up in a Baptist church, and I completely believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is my Savior and that my life is meaningless without Him.

So why did I stop attending church? Oh, there are tons of reasons. Here's a good list I found from The Accidental Missionary:
10. I was only going to church to please others.
9 I want to spend more time with my friends.
8. I disagreed with the church’s stance on political or social issues.
7. I didn’t feel connected with the people in my church.
6. I became too busy.
5. I moved too far away.
4. My work responsibilities prevented me from attending.
3. I started college and stopped church.
2. Church members seemed too judgmental or hypocritical.
1. I simply wanted a break from church.

And then the blog's author surmises, "Why do they want a break? I think maybe #2 causes #1."

And that's why I ultimately left. Left the family I loved, the friends I grew up with, the church that formed my beliefs and my morals. Well, I didn't become un-Christian, mind you, I just left the church physically because it just got too confusing for me. It's like what Gandhi supposedly said, "I would become a Christian if it were not for Christians." I felt back then that I was surrounded by judgmental hypocrites and I wanted to scream my head off because I was so lost in a place where I should feel found.

So I wandered off. Shopped around for different churches and checked out a few "life-changing" seminars. Studied a bit of Buddhism and even found that very attractive. Except that I just couldn't shake off my one true love: Jesus Christ. I fell in love with Christ before and I asked Him into my heart and there is no way I'm asking Him to ever leave. Never!

Anyway, now that I've had time away and apart to live how I want, explore the world I was protected from, meet many kinds of people I never would've known had I stayed in my cloistered existence... well, I can't say I regret these past 6 years. Nope, not at all. I loved every minute of it! I've had tons of fun. I've grown a deeper understanding of myself, my fellow men, and of God.

And I guess I understand now that what I thought was judgmental and hypocritical behavior before was perhaps also growing pains, the same thing I had to go through. I guess if there's anything I love about getting older, it's getting more compassionate and understanding. Wisdom only comes with age. So yes, I will welcome the years.

Ah, but it's been 6 years, my friends. And I'm starving.

*song is I'm Going Home by Chris Daughtry; video features clips from Spirit, created by horselover1166

In Facebook, an old classmate from Assumption Antipolo posted this photo last week:


That's me on the top row, third student from left (click photo to enlarge). I am 6 or 7 years old here and I have no front teeth!

Since Facebook allows you to tag people in photos, all of us who were tagged here left comments on the pic and that's also how we found each other again. I got such a huge kick getting updates from long lost friends--most of them are married, with kids or are pregnant, and juggling a career, too. We've been emailing each other (and that's a lot of mail that I've been cheerfully busy with!) and I just get soooo happy reading about them and setting up appointments to meet soon. Their lives sound so fascinating and it boggles me that they find my life exciting, too.

Okay, I love my life. I keep telling Vince that the life I have now is beyond my wildest imagination (and Vince would always chuckle back, "You didn't imagine much then!"). After growing up poor, to be able to buy my shoes and bags and dresses, eat at nice places, buy my medicines (I'm a health nut), live in a lovely home, travel, help my parents financially, and do all these and more without going into debt... this life is totally insane for me.

You see, I've been very selfish these past years, focusing entirely on myself. It's a survival thing, I think. I wasn't very happy in my youth so I've worked very very hard the last decade or so to get to this point where I am happy. But in the last year, I've begun looking outward.

Maybe because I'm so happy and settled down? Maybe because I'm older and finally wiser? Maybe because I finally listened to God's prodding and stopped focusing on me? I don't know. All I know is there is a hunger in me to be generous, to give, to love, to reconnect, to ask forgiveness and to forgive. After all, I wouldn't be where I am today if other people hadn't been so generous with me. Vince's parents gave us our home, my bosses at work have rewarded my service, my staff gives so much time to the magazine so I wouldn't need to, my friends and sisters-in-law and family made my wedding utterly exquisite, my husband continues to spoil me rotten by providing me my needs and my wants. I am so blessed because people around me, despite my selfishness, have poured out their lives and emptied their pockets just so I can be happy. God is too good to me and that humbles me a lot, you know?

Life really isn't about oneself; it's about sharing your life with others. I have finally found meaning in generosity.

And she writes, too!

Gosh. It sucks to have someone else on cyberspace who's just like you.

I haven't read her stories yet but she seems to be prolific. Now I'm envious. I haven't written any stories since 2001. And I call myself a writer, ha! Well, I do write articles and I do edit a magazine but there's an awfully annoying part of me that tells me I'm no good because I haven't written a story for so long.

Anyway, back to the other Topaz Horizon. I'll disappear for a bit so I can read her stuff. Syempre, I assume she's a she. I wonder if she's also a November girl. That's why I named my blog that because I love my gemstone, topaz--the smoky or yellow ones, not those common blue ones. I'm always in search for rings, pendants, earrings that are yellow topazes. They are quite rare!

Hmmm, I wonder if she knows about my blog... Gee, I really feel like we're connected somehow. I mean, we came up with the same name! We must think alike, eh? I'm sooo curious but I'm scared to contact her. What do you think?

Ria and Zemirah, who are both from Quezon City!

They correctly guessed that the bestselling book that featured Platform 9 and 3/4 in this photo was HARRY POTTER!

Every time I have a contest, I have a different criteria for choosing winners (so that I don't get bored and to encourage my readers to join each time). For this contest, my reasons for choosing the winners are simply because I liked their blogs!

Check out Ria's blog here. And Zemirah's blog here.

Both these lovely girls (and readers of my nutty blog) will receive a beautiful Sun Lustre bronzer from Body Shop's latest makeup collection, the Sun-Kissed Makeup Line. Each bronzer is saucer-sized and comes in an exquisite golden case. It's worth $25 each so, to the two of you, super congrats!

Ria and Zemirah, I will email you with the details on the prize. By the way, Ria, you get the Radiant Blush, and Zemirah, you get Bronze Gleam. Congratulations and thank you for reading my blog!

To the other readers who joined my contest, thank you also. I also loved your side comments and I'm so happy I got all correct answers this time!

*product photo from Body Shop website.

So, finally! Here’s my kwento on our London honeymoon a couple of weeks ago.

London is a very old city and it’s bursting with culture. It’s really fascinating to watch actually. You see centuries-old buildings with ultra-modern ones, elegantly dressed people with trendy/trashy ones. You see many many kinds of people from all over the world—lots of Europeans, Indians and Pakistanis, lots of beautiful black people (hindi yung mga nakakatakot na hiphop ones but these amazingly graceful and deeply black creatures!), but not very many Asians—sad.



Anyway, the British Museum was nearest our hotel so we visited it first. That museum is huge. Kulang ang isang araw para ikutin ito. It’s just filled with all these artifacts from all over the world nung sinaunang panahon. Our super favorite was the Lion Hunt stone reliefs from ancient Aramea. It was an incredibly large, incredibly detailed record of a king and his court on a lion hunt.



Then we went to visit the Greeks and Romans rooms. Sad to say but Vince and I got bored after a while. I mean, after seeing pots upon pots and statue upon statue, our eyes kinda glazed over. So our lofty conceit of us thinking we are scholars just went down the drain. Darn.



We did get a kick out of seeing Dum-Dum in all his stone glory. If you saw Ben Stiller’s Night at the Museum, you’d know why we giggled excitedly, “Look, it’s Dum-Dum! He wants gum-gum!” Yeah, I know we’re inane. Seriously, though, seeing a real Easter Island monolithic statue is quite impressive. You look at him, serenely gazing off into the distance, and you begin to wonder what he’s looking at, why he was made, and all those existentialist frou-frou you don’t think about on a normal day living your inane life.

We trooped over to the Ancient Egypt rooms next and there were even more statues and stuff. And then we saw the mummies. Friends, I hate to admit this but my stomach turned over. This was my first time to see dead people. I mean, I’ve been to wakes and funerals, of course, but this is different. These were people dug up from their graves and their wrappings actually still looked moist. I know that’s impossible but I was so horrified kasi lahat ng scary movies na nakita ko talagang binalikan ako and I was scared. Sorry, no photos of the mummies. I obviously didn’t want any souvenirs of those scary things but here’s Vince enjoying the sights.




For even more dead people, we went to Westminster Abbey. Here in this photo, I am trying to decide if the Abbey was worth the GBP 12 entrance fee. Syempre, dahil dalawa kami ni Vince eh di ang equivalent nun PHP 2,000, just to see a church! But the guide book said it was definitely worth it, so in we went. At first, medyo nadismaya ako kasi parang Manila Cathedral o San Agustin Church siya. You know, high ceilings, big windows, altar, fantastic architecture and design elements, etc. I’m not putting down our churches, ha. In fact, ang San Agustin ang isa sa mga paborito kong lugar sa Maynila. What I meant was parang kung parehas lang pala ng mga simbahan natin, baket pa ako nagbayad ng mahal?!

Hay, buti na lang mali ako. My dismay went pffft once we started on the audio tour (it’s so cool—there are these portable things that look like phones and as you go around the Abbey, you get a history per section, when you’re ready. Pwede mo pa i-replay! But the best part? It’s voiced by Jeremy Irons! How frikkin’ cool is that!). Sayang nga lang kasi bawal mag-take ng pictures.

Anyway, I’m a sucker for English history so when I saw where past kings and queens were buried, that was so far out. The tombs of Queens Elizabeth I and Mary I did make me somber. Their history as sisters, rivals, and queens is so significant to the world that being at their tombs—well, it just took my breath away. Andun din yung oak coronation chair. Lahat ng monarchs ng England dun umupo. It looked really crappy already but that’s because it’s centuries old!

What really got Vince and me excited was Poet’s Corner. Here we found the tombs and memorials of great writers Shakespeare, Lewis Carroll, Tennyson, Charles Dickens, Keats, William Blake, Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters and more. We were so astounded! It just humbles you, ya know? Here, at our feet, lie the most celebrated minds of our time and they’ve passed on yet they remain immortal. You can’t help but take stock of your own life and what you’ve done with it.

Anyway, for those graves alone, the Westminster Abbey’s fee was worth it. Although medyo quiet and subdued kami ni Vince after the tour hehe. So wag niyo pupuntahan ito kung di niyo gusto malungkot.



While I liked the Abbey, my favorite museum was the National Gallery. Sadly, cameras aren’t allowed here either. So all we ever got was this shot of Vince squinting at me from outside the museum. In this particular museum I saw with my very own eyes paintings by Van Gogh, Renoir, Monet, Da Vinci, Manet, Titian, Ingres, Degas, Holbein, Velasquez, Vermeer, El Greco, Poussin, Rembrandt and more. I briefly studied Renaissance Art in college and it was one of the happiest things I’ve ever done so I’ve dabbled in the study of European art since then. Now seeing some of the art I pored over when I was young… I was just struck dumb. I even got teary-eyed. Iba pala talaga kung kaharap mo na yung mga famous paintings na ito. Nakakalula.



*continue reading… Contest ahead!

Yes, they do, but I was only expecting to encounter just one specimen not dozens upon dozens!

So this is the famous Hyde Park where opinionated people get up on a box and spout their thoughts on everyone willing to listen, among other things. It's a huge park. Immense. Gigantic. Humongous. Vince and I went crazy going around it. We were going, "Where does this frikkin' park end???"

And that's just one park of many in this city. I guess that's why London, despite it being so cosmopolitan and busy, the city smells so fresh. The trees and the parks are just everywhere. And Londoners love it. At the first sign of sun, they strip to their skivvies and lie down on the grass, basking in the rare rays. 

And so is my forehead! Harhar!

Vince and I fell in love while riding a ferris wheel. Yep. We were at the UP National Writers Workshop in Baguio nine years ago. We were exhausted from all the criticism the panelists threw at us so some fellow writers got it into their heads to visit a perya to just let loose. It was a cheap perya with cheap rides. Vince and I didn't really know each other and I don't think we really liked each other at that point. However, we found ourselves sharing the little squeaky dangerous-looking pod and for a few minutes we were scared for our lives. Maybe that vulnerable moment did it, or the stars in the clear mountain sky, or the chill of the Baguio breeze, or the most incredible conversation in our life--whatever it was, by the time we got down shakily from that contraption, we were inseparable. 

I love two dead royals: Anne Boleyn, queen consort of the infamous Henry VIII, and Diana, Princess of Wales.

Our hotel was Premier Travel Inn at Kings Cross. It’s very near the busy tube station but it was quiet. I loved our hotel (sorry, no pics!) since it was near everything—the tube station, the bus station, pubs, a McDonald’s (though we didn’t eat there but it looked bright and friendly anyway), and a Tesco right at the back!

You know what’s the very best thing about London aside from the National Gallery? It’s West End.

... and two readers will win a Body Shop Sun Lustre Bronzer from Body Shop's newest makeup collection, the Sun-Kissed Makeup Line.