Bishop's Table

The Bishop room is a place where the affairs of the Church is being administered. It is a place of evaluation and soul searching questions that enables the members of the church to determine their worthiness and church standing. A bishop is the Lord's representative. He is the judge of Israel. I have experienced the power of the priesthood so many times in this room, right before this very table. I support and uphold my Bishop. Never will i entertain apostates or malicious gossip nor will i become a fault-finder. Of course they are human, capable of doing mistakes and lapses in judgement but there is only one thing that i expect from them: To honor their Priesthood.

A Glance of Infinity

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Love is like a mirror. When you love another you become his mirror and he becomes yours...And reflecting each other's love you see infinity

Where can you find a place where you can see multiple copies of yourself? This is a local barbershop where you can see mirrors facing each other thus reflecting you reflections as far as light permits. Remember that i have to place the digicam where my eyes should be so that it will be according to my view. Just like multiple or parallel universes, i can see other infinite "versions" of my self in these mirrors.

Cosplay

If I have the power to make a difference, I should put it to good use

-Kira Yamato, Gundam Seed

It was the most exciting acquaintance party i have attended. The students exerted real efforts to come up with such beautiful costumes for the party. This one is my favorite. He is Jeff Miranda, a 5th year BSCOE student and is the awarded Cosplayer of the year! Congratulations!

Squid Balls

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Squid balls are among the street foods brought to the Philippines by the Chinese. Similar to fish balls, the taste varies according to the sauce. I love squid balls. They are sold by street vendors pushing wooden deep frying carts. The balls are served skewered, offered with a choice of three kinds of dipping sauces: spicy (white/orange colored) - vinegar, water, diced onions and garlic, sweet (brown gravy colored) - corn starch, banana ketchup, sugar and salt, and sweet/sour (amber or deeper orange colored) - the sweet variety with lots of small hot chilis added. Dark sauces are rare as these are soy sauce based and soy sauce is expensive in terms of food cost for street food. A recent trend in the Philippine fishball industry is the introduction of 'ball' varieties: chicken, squid (cuttlefish actually), and kikiam. The last are low cost renditions vaguely resembling the original Chinese delicacy of the same name. This one is taken from FM Food and Noodles today at 6:33 pm.

Rubber Balls

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While looking for some props for our techno acquaintance party, i spotted these colorful toy balls. They are inflated rubber balls that resembles the medieval spiky mace heads.

Trophies

Practice as if you are the worst, perform as if you are the best

Schooling is not all about academics. We also value physical and spiritual growth of students. The university sport fest is coming very soon and everyone is cramming to shape up in able to compete. These are the trophies of our college from the yesteryear. They might not mean so much but they are valuable for those student athletes who obtained them. Come September! And once again we will try our best.

Class Room

He who opens a classroom door, closes a prison

Tired and weary, i fell asleep too early, i forgot that i have taken a nice picture today. But wait I was suddenly awaken in the middle of the night: this night! Here I almost failed to post my photo for today. Dedicated to all teachers and students, here is my photo entitled: Class room. I am blessed to be a teacher and a supplier of mind. By teaching correct principles and equipping my students the technical knowledge, teachers and students are shutting the doors of prisons for the next generations.

Innocent Tears

Let your tears come.  Let them water your soul

I lost sight of my nephew Jamal and i looked for him all over the chapel. Here i found him crying because he can't catch up with his bigger sister who keeps running away from him. My first picture of a crying child, sincerely crying about small things. :)

Public Dining

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He who eats alone chokes alone

This was taken at the food court of Megacenter mall. I am lucky to spot this almost vacant area. It is usually bustling with people to eat and it is very hard to spot a vacant seat or table.

Yellow-Green Dragonfly

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Dragonflies are part of my childhood days. Catching a dragonfly using bare hands requires discreetness, patience and speed. For some people, they represent swiftness, activity and water. There is this superstition that when a crowd of dragonflies swarms in great number, there would be rain.

Bisin

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My wife sent me a stuff toy. She filled it with many kisses before packaging it. I named the toy BISIN, the Ilokano word for hungry. Since we are oceans apart, i am always hungry for her love. I took this photo today as i think of her thoughtfulness.

Flower Fireworks

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They are colorful. There is harmony in their colors. But wait! Each flower is composed of three colors. Oh no, on the closer look they formed a bouquet! They resemble those colorful fireworks! These blooming plants in front of the College of Nursing caught my attention on my way to OSA after the devotional today. I never thought i could see three different colors in a flower. Reminds me of those multi-talented people around. Some are undiscovered. Some are just needed to be appreciated.

Langonisa ng Nueva Ecija

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One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating

Longanisa or Langonisa? It is Langonisa in Nueva Ecija. More specifically, the Cabanatuan's. For me it is more delicious than the Vigan or Pampanga Longanisa. The taste is similar to Vigan's but it is juicer. The aroma of garlic lingers in every bite, it is a little salty, sour and sweet. The above photo is uncooked langonisa i found from a local market today. Can't wait to have it cooked because it is a long story.

Sunset Over Bitas

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We cannot lift someone up unless we are on a Higher Ground

Taken at 6:10 pm today from the second floor of a house at Brgy. Bitas, Cabanatuan City. It is hard to capture such sunsets in areas crowded with buildings and residences unless you are on a higher place. Being on a higher ground gives us a better view and beauty of the world.

Bridging the Mountains

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“People are lonely because they build walls instead of bridges"

Philippine's highways, roads, bridges, are an indispensable part of our lives. They link one end of our provinces to the other. We use them each and every day, for every conceivable purpose. This one is called the CUPAS Bridge. Finished on 1994, It can be found at  San Nicolas, Municipal of  Bambang bridging two small mountains and crossing a river. The view from the bridge at sunset is spectacular: the orange sun reflecting from the river. This one is taken around 4:00 pm today using my only point and shoot digicam.

Consolation

Today is a very sad day for ate Talia and her family. We have come to bury her husband, kuya Jun. We all know the sadness and sorrow she is passing through. It seems no words of comfort could pacify her. While the people around are getting emotional, i looked for things that could give me peace. I saw this plant from a nearby grave. Growing in such a lifeless place, it reminded me that there is life after death. I wish i could share ate Talia my faith that through the atonement of Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father's Plan of Salvation, families can be together forever and that kuya Jun is not really lost-he just went on the other side of the veil.

Ingredients

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Competition is the spice of sports; but if you make spice the whole meal you'll be sick.

Featured in this photo are four of the most common ingredients of the Philippine cuisine: kamatis(tomato), kalamansi(calamansi), sibuyas(onion) and bawang(garlic). Pinoy food is often served with various dipping sauces such as combos like kamatis and bagoong, kamatis and patis, kalamsi and patis, suka with bawang and sibuyas, kamatis with bawang and sibuyas, and many more. Our Filipino cuisine is distinguished by its bold combination of sweet (tamis), sour (asim), and salty (alat) flavors.
We have a lot of ingredients to spice up our meals and our lives but I am afraid that we see an extensive efforts of dismantling our good traditions and morals by secular peoples... These are ingredients for our nation's catastrophe.

Thirsty

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If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

So many good things to capture today. I did captured them. But I have to feature only the best this day. A poor "pusakal" (stray cat) is having a gulp to quench its thirst. The action is quick so i moved very quick. The cat quickly scampered upon recognizing my presence and vanished in my view after taking this shot. Taken at 11:27am, me too, feel hungry and thirsty but my soul is full of the Lord's goodness.




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Helm Down

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Just this morning as I commute on my way to work, i noticed so many motorists carrying their helmet not on their head but on their left arm. I cant help but smile on this ignorance and letting down their guard in favor of convenience. This practice is dangerous not to mention that the traffic police might confront them of this attitude. Time for my lowly digicam to take some shots and I tell you that not wearing your helmet while riding your motorcycle is wrong in the eyes of this wanderer.

Capturing the Rain Drops

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It is rainy days and it is raining almost every afternoon or morning. How I wish I could capture some rain drops using my digicam. The above picture was taken at 2:17 in the afternoon while my students are preparing for some recitation. The rain drops appeared as long streaks of white lines. Sometimes, whenever I have the luxury to spend some idle moments, I watch the brief life of those rain drops and wonder that they have come so far and it it will take time to go back to where they used to be.

Pikachu

Pikachuuuuu

I met this cute Pokemon character way back during my freshmen college days. I heard about it first from Harry, Richard and other friends and that they are doing some sleep-overs because of its addicting video game. I then started collecting Pikachu toys from small action figures to cheap big stuff toys. No I do not buy expensive ones. I got some from McDonalds Happy meals from time to time, from toy vendors outside elementary schools and from innocent school children who won't resist my offers. Some of my collection got lost when my "pamangkins" joined our family and some got destroyed by floods. This is all that remains until now so i decided to take some photos and who knows when will this wandering eyes  spot another Pikachu for my collection.

Daughters of God

Cute Little Daughters of God :)

I believe that each girl is a princess on her own. She is unique and full of potentials. The above photo is taken today in a primary class where little boys and girls are being taught the word of God. This group of girls listen attentively to the teacher while a group of younger children nearby is getting ready for the presentation practice. The church teaches them family values, respect, obedience to the laws of God, modesty, personal cleanliness, self-worth, seeking good things and doing good things. They are growing empowered ready to take the roles of life. To become good leaders, citizens and covenant people of Jesus Christ

Team's Energizer

This is our team's energizer: ITLOG! Today is the first meeting of Team Silencer at MGL resort. Ria brought some egg energizers to aid our struggles in the water. We do not know why but eating some hard-boiled eggs before training and eating eggs again during training gives us a lot of energy. This becomes like an energy potion for our swimmers.

Fruit Stand

I feel very tired today. I didn't have a good night sleep and some of the people i love are getting some head-on collisions due to misunderstandings and warmongers. Not to mention my tight budget in order to have some savings, and im not sure if im having enough nutrition from the cheap foods i eat. Somehow this fruit stand reminded me that i must eat a balanced diet and that i need them too for my health. I know following a healthy diet would cost me some extra money but it would save me from sickness and diseases.
According to the Harvard School of Public Health, people who eat fruits and vegetables as part of a balanced eating plan are less likely to develop conditions such as stroke, coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, bone loss, and cancers of the mouth, stomach, and colon. In addition, these highly nutritious foods may reduce the risk of developing kidney stones.

WEB of SENSES

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After a day's work, i saw this spider spinning his web across a space, as if claiming it as his territory. Capturing this photo is very hard for the spider and his web is above me and is against the light. Luckily, i could make some use  of a tree at the background to capture the details of the web.
A spider creates a web to capture unwary insects as his meal. The web is a device and the spider quickly senses if anything touches it as if it is an extension of its senses.I love spiders and this is one of my favorite photo today

Pockets of Memories

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Behind each and every USB Flash drive in this photo is a student. Gone were the days of disks and diskettes. Nowadays, this small handy storage tool is popular specially to students and teachers alike. One can easily transfer files between computers, take home office works, share files, work on your paper or project on several computers at once, and back up some data. The oldest one in this photo is mine with a capacity of 128MB containing lectures and exams way back my TSU teaching days.

Covered Walkway

It is a strong and beautiful structure constructed to ease discomfort of walking in the scorching heat of the sun or during the messy rainy days. You can see such walkways in large campuses and universities. I have learned to appreciate such walkways because they are a great means of protection for the little children as well as for the adults.It is also an opportunity to expand the school premise by linking it to a remote area.
Not to mention they are stylish and beautiful so that they greatly enhance the appeal of  our college.

Empty Vessel

The empty vessel makes the greatest sound

We have a new set of Academic heads, a new leadership, new responsibilities, and a new beginning. While checking the new arrangements at the office of the Dean, i saw this vase at the top of the table. Ninang said she will put some flowers on it later. The vase is there empty, awaiting to be filled with flowers. A new thought sprung from the view so i grabbed my digicam and took some shot. One teacher can't help but smile while he/she shakes his head. I don't know what he/she thinks but i ignored that insecurity.
Just like ourselves, we cannot receive new knowledge if we wont be emptying first our false beliefs. Truth is hard to accept if we are full of pride and insecurities.

Peculiar

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Someone must have playfully put that lonely salty egg there but i thank him. While shopping for my food supplies today at NE mall, i spotted these eggs. At first we might think that it doesn't really belong there because they all should be white eggs in that tray and that red egg is out of order. But this sight made me ponder so i brought out my digicam from my pocket, took some shots and put the red egg back to where it belong
Being peculiar is easily noticeable specially today that our morals are deteriorating. There are people who are in world but not of the world. I chose to be one of them.

Tithing

...prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

Malachi 3:10

Tithe means one tenth. The law of tithing was given by God to His church as one of the principles of the gospel. It means giving "one tenth" or ten percent of our increase to the church. It is not so much a matter of money as it is a matter of faith. Tithing is paid by faith more than it is by money.
The Lord has promised to give us spiritual and material blessings when we pay a full tithe. I myself is a witness of this blessings.

Enlightened

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This vine came from the other side of the wall. The wall is sturdy, unmovable, tall and strong keeping the outside out and the inside in but the persistence of this vine has made it possible for me to see it. May our faith be such as persistent as of this vine: overcoming whatever obstacles little by little everyday.