being good!!!!

when we were children we were told to be good at the same time we have to be good or else our mother or father will just smack us (that`s the way we were raised). but as we matured, we are also growing in our motivations, we have to be good as our Good Lord Created all of us. being good out of love and not out of fear. that`s what we are called for and that`s what we are created for.

rewards for april

i have this rewards for this month. my strawberry bear fruit and these are my harvest. at the same time last sunday april 26 i got my first medal in 200 meter freestyle. my efforts bear fruit and i wanted to share this to all of you

hina matsuri

"Hinamatsuri (Doll's Festival)" is held on March 3rd. This is a day to pray for young girl's growth and happiness. It is also called "Momo no sekku (Peach Festival)" because of the peach blossom season on the old lunar calendar. May 5th is "Kodomo no hi (Children's Day)," and this is so called "Boy's Festival." While Children's Day is a national holiday, Hinamatsuri is not.
Most families with girls display "hina-ningyo" (special dolls for Hinamatsuri, see the photo below) and dedicate peach blossoms to them. They are usually arranged on a five or seven-tiered stand covered with a red carpet. At the top are the Emperor and Empress. The next step contains three court ladies (sannin-kanjo), followed by five musicians (gonin-bayashi), two ministers (udaijin and sadaijin), and three servants ending the bottom row in a five-tiered display. There are also small pieces of furniture, small meal dishes, and other things.

a day in the park

some pictures i had taken during the outside exposure or education of our student in the kindergarten. the park is near to the church. the children enjoyed it so much to play on the ground of the newly built city library.

i just tried some pictures to upload. i like the sea but i also like to take some photos of sunshine.
enjoy!!!!

"crazy moments"#$#%&&#$%

i just recovered from what one calls "crazy moments". there are times that i feel i dont know myself. i dont have directions, no aim, nothing. but i just act as if nothing happens. these events are triggered by some moments in my encounter with people or a book that i read. i know am not fully recovered but its just crazy. i can laugh about it because i feel am back to normal. why am i wrting it here anyway??????

a view from kasaoka church

some pictures taken from kasaoka church. the church is very near the port. i really enjoy seeing the these boats from the church. we had our gathering today and the weather is perfect to take some shots.

some japanese culture

In the old lunar Japanese calendar, each season had its own day (called Setubun) to mark the change of the season. In the old calendar, the first day of spring (Rissyun) was considered to be the start of the New Year, so the Setubun at the end of winter was the last day of the year, and had special customs. Today it is the only Setubun still celebrated. In the modern calendar, it occours around February 3 or 4.
Today, various local family customs and manners of celebrating Setubun still exist. All the customs are events suitable for greeting the New Year: driving out evil, and wishing for good fortune in the coming year.
On the evening of Setubun, generally, an Oni-uchi (devil-extermination) and Mame-maki (bean-scattering) ceremony is held. Before nightfall people saute soybeans without oil, and in the evening, throw soybeans inside and outside of the house saying "Oni wa soto. Huku wa uchi! (Out with the devil! In with good fortune!)" in order to drive out any bad spirits.
In a related custom, many people make a meal of the remaining soybeans with each person eating one bean for each year of their age.
Another Setubun custom is to eat grilled sardines and mount the leftover heads on holly twigs, and set them next to the front door of the house. This will frighten away any demons atempting to enter. Depending on the area, garlic or another strong-smelling material is sometimes used instead of sardine heads.
In the Kansai area, some people also observe Setubun by eating an uncut sushi roll (Maki-zushi) while facing towards this year's "lucky direction." This direction depends upon the zodiac sign of the year. This year, the year of the mouse, the direction was south-south-east. On this one day, sushi shops don't cut their sushi rolls, but leave them whole.

some pics wonderful japan and boraccay

some of my pictures of seaside japan

Sea

this is a picture of a port in Niigata Joetsu City Niigata Ken. we had our AOS National Meeting there and the last part our program was to visit the port.

i always love the sea. when i was a child i normally play along the seashore or just sit and watch the sea. the sound of the waves is a lullaby to my ear. whenever i have the time to relax i normally go to the nearest port just to feel the sea breeze and be drawn to the mystery of the sea.

as i child i normally ask myself what lies behind the enormous sea, i want to discover, i want to go there.

Hope and Change a shared mission of all

This morning when i check the paper, i happened to see a good article about the unaugural speech of the US President Obama. i read through the text and of course i was amazed by the message. the message of change and hope is not only the president`s burden but it is a shared task for all the Americans and the people around the world who put their trust to President Obama. change does not happen when we just sit and relax on our beautiful couch rather it happens when we start to make a commitment within ourselves to changed our ways and strive to be a better person.

i will be praying for the new president and to all the people who see hope in the person of President Obama they they will be guided accordingly by the Lord to commit and work for change.

we are workers!!!!

last December 29-30 last year, we had a basketball tournament here in Fukuyama Japan. its amazing how the trainees themselves organized the event. i found myself just sitting at the back and relax as the event unfold. for two days they give their best not only the players but also the staff who work hard to make this event a very successful one.

what is noticable among the staff members is that, they were wearing a uniform with this logo (see picture). i can`t but be amazed by the word they choose "mangagawa" which means worker. normally these young Filipinos are refer to as trainees among the Japanese, but they had refers to themselves as workers. i said they are making a big leap fom being just a trainee to a worker. of which i am very very happy. i can`t keep my happiness with this development and i hope that they will be able to find their own identity and latter on demand for more changes in their situation.

the last leaf

i love the song "the last leaf" of the group called the "Cascades" . i just love the melody and blending of the voices by the group. we had a meeting in the Cathedral when a scene of the last leaf caught my attention. in the philippines we don't really see these kind of natural occurances because we do not have a four season unlike here in Japan. i took the picture of the last leaf and caught myself singing on the tune of the music and was brought back to my childhood days.

a christmas card from a good friend

i normally get christmas card from my brother and sister. they have been loyal to send greetings to me during christmas and during my birthday. i love recieving these card i keep them and look at them everytime i have a relax time for myself to see the messages again. but this year i got another christmas card from a good friend joseph cabilitasan. joseph is a classmate of mine in the seminary we studied together in the University of St. La Salle in Bacolod. during my last vacation i heard that he got a cancer of the throat i was worried about him. i tried to make contact and we were able to talk on the phone but never met personally. when i returned here in japan i still continue my communication to him and he updated me about his therapy. last year he told me that he is cured of the sickness. i celebrated a thanksgiving mass for this great gift God has given to him and his family.

this christmas i got a greeting card from him. made personally by himself and his son josh. i love the design and the idea and the material used. wow he is still an artist like when we were in the seminary. 

Please look at the baby Jesus at the picture. Please tell me what you see.

winter

today was too cold. i had a terrible headache when i get up this morning after our new year gathering with my friends here in Fukuyama.

although its cold i have to wake up early, this is the most difficult part of this season. but i love this season more than summer. at least i can sleep better even fully wrap on my futon.

xcursus

i just try to make my blog. i dont know what name should i use to name it. a book given to me by a korean friend happen to have some good names to be use. i flip over the book and found a section excursus. i remove the first letter e and this becomes the name of the blog. hope i can find a good time and reflect on what to write here.

ga