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