Public servant in training; troubleshooter in action and spy in another life. I live ... I ignore warning labels. I revel in the pressure, the adrenaline ... that feeling of being on the edge and the fast pace that characterizes life ... welcome to my world!
Our crafty hands and mechanical minds have built a wide world awash in wonders, but our cleverness has us in a bind as our achievements turn into blunders.
Never insult nature with bad poetry. She retaliates by confusing you,changing her climate, ways of being, so that your words can’t grasp her anymore. (Istanbul, Turkey)
Take the industrial revolution, a well-deserved homage to iron and steel, but we didn’t know that air pollution would change our planet’s entire look and feel.
As we leisurely assess the damage, impersonal clipboards and pens in hand, we seem to have crossed out the old adage: burning bridges leaves so little dry land.
I’m all for taking risks, but I don’t mess with nature and face its wrath. (Salamanca, Spain)
As we torch the sky and all beneath it, let’s write our planet a lovely obit.
In life, we experience a lot of failure and disappointments. May it be major, like not getting into a job that we really like or a little less complicated like not having the food that we crave for. It varies in intensity, but just the same, we get disappointed when we fail.
But in life, we should not place the focus on our failure or disappointments. We focus on our abilities to stand up and move on. Yes, it is easier said than done but once we believe what we say, eventually we get to make it real. Hence, when we say- “I can do this. I’m better than this and I can move on and believe in it,” eventually and without knowing it, we had already done it.
Failure will always be a part of our lives. No matter how careful we are not to fail or not to be disappointed, we can’t avoid it. Life is not enjoyed by how close to perfection we’ve lived, but how we face our failures and how we learn to accept it and be a better person after it.
They say we only get to appreciate the good things that are happening to us when we get to experience the bad or even the worst things in life. A friend of mine applied for a job as a barista. He wanted it real bad but then he failed to pass the interview. He was devastated. He didn’t want to apply for other jobs anymore for he thought he was a failure. Eventually, he got his act together and started to apply for jobs again. He was interviewed in a well-known restaurant and he passed.
From Pan Pacific Hotel in Singapore, he’s now at The Ritz-Carlton and he’s happy with it. He told me once, if it wasn’t for that failure he had on his first interview he will not get to work with this five star hotel, get to meet cool people like me (Hehehe! His words, not mine), and have the opportunities, which he values so much now. He learned a thing or two from that experience.
When something in your life failed, it doesn’t mean that will be the trend of your life. More importantly, failure does not define who you are, as long as you stand up from it and keep moving on. It’s just part of our journey in this crazy but wonderful life. It is simply just being human and you learn to be stronger every step of the way. With that, I can say failure is an occasion that will teach us about ourselves. It is a test and may be a blessing in disguise. We may see it as a reason of stress at first, but after we get passed it, we realize that it’s a reason for us to appreciate a life that we sometimes take for granted.
Most of us have had at least one bad experience, which often has the result of making us somehow mistrust life and assume that things are not going to work out. However, the past cannot be changed, and we should learn to put it behind us. As is often said, everything happens for a reason. Our lives are not perfect, and all of us will experience bad times and problems at some point, and these are an inevitable part of life and cannot be avoided.
We all have to trust life a little bit, in order to make the most of life and those opportunities that come our way. In addition to seizing opportunities, we have to learn how to take risks, so that our full potential is realized. Trust in God, remain focused and work as hard as we can, things should generally work out and we can consider ourselves blessed. In addition, we can also share our blessings with one another as that is a way we help each other trust life a little bit more.
(I wrote this sometime in 2011, a year and half after collapsing and being placed in ICU for a week. With this current pandemic, it just seems appropriate to recall anecdotes that highlight the good in people)
Whether it’s an unusual show of courtesy or a loving action that flows from a compassionate heart – the smile and friendly words of a stranger have the power to re-empower another. We experience this everyday, from that shy child you walk past on the street to the tireless cashier at your market….
It reminds me of an incident two weeks ago at the Greenhills Antique Furniture shop where I was checking on some stuff for the house. Due to the heat and the large number of people doing last minute shopping for school items, I got one of those dizzy spells that plague me. I approached the nearest shop where an elderly couple seemed to be arguing about something. I asked them, “Can I sit here, please?” and pointed to one of their antique stools. The woman replied with a quiet, sincere smile: “Please do.” They asked me if I’m okay and I just said maybe it’s the heat. The two nodded and before I knew it the elderly man bought bottled mineral water, got his electric fan and set it up in front of me. When I got up to leave a while later they thanked me for the company! I was left stammering, I was so grateful for their simple, kind welcome it left me tongue tied. It hadn’t been an overly inspiring day for me, and that incident somehow offered new hope for the often-dreary present.
A quote whose author is unknown to me: “Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes can last a lifetime.” I want to say thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Samonte.
The start of 2020 was the end of one chapter of our life and the beginning of a new one. It was time to uproot ourselves once again and go home to the Philippines. It’s all part and parcel of the life we live and have chosen. It takes a lot of planning and preparation to move one’s life from one country to another, an upheaval of sorts. But this is our 5th time, so we got everything in hand. Slight difference is that our son decided to remain in Portugal, start his own chapter of his life separate from ours. No worries, we knew early on in our diplomatic posting that was his plan. If anything, it just ensured that Portugal would feature a bit prominently in our travel plans in the future.
Lisbon to Manila, 31 January 2020Homeward Bound, 31 January 2020
Well, what we thought would have been a routine upheaval has suddenly turned into a major one courtesy of the Covid-19 pandemic. We didn’t see this one coming, and those assumptions, plans and expectations related to our return home all went flying out the window once Covid-19 went into full swing and started wreaking havoc on everyone’s lives and peace of mind the world over. It’s fair to say that no one anywhere really saw this coming, that this pandemic was a truly unprecedented situation but that still provided little comfort. The restrictions in movement, the enforced isolation, the anxiety and the mental toll this all brought about was further aggravated by decisions deemed pragmatic at the time before Covid-19. We figured we didn’t need much space in our residence as we would be taking every opportunity to be out and about, reconnecting with friends, visiting family and relatives, exploring the Philippines and the nearby region. Tension has suddenly become an uninvited guest in our home due to the nature of remote work and the setup of our cramped home. Not to mention loss and grief with their unannounced visits and rising frequency. Nothing to do but to cope, adjust and make the most of what is a truly difficult and challenging situation.
Sad to see closed restaurants … lockdowns … emptiness, both in place and soul. (Turkey, 23 December 2020 to 02 January 2021)
A year has passed and life still remains upended. However, it wasn’t without its good moments. Notwithstanding the challenges of traveling during a pandemic, the 3 of us managed to get together for Christmas and New Year in Istanbul, plus I also got to spend almost a month with our son in Portugal. Wonderful and brief moment, but well worth the effort, the risks and the cost to pull it off. A year has passed, and one is tempted to say we have slowly adapted to the “new normal” (I hate this term). Perhaps, but for me that was really just a matter of survival. We haven’t been really living this past year, at least not in my case. I am a wanderer at heart, I seek experiences, sights, tastes and sounds. I yearn for some semblance of normalcy that existed before this pandemic came around and turned everything inside out.
The vaccines have started to arrive. It represents a light at the end of this constricted tunnel that is our current existence. I look forward to the promise it brings, of the opportunity to get our lives back on track. They say life won’t be the same after the pandemic, and I will agree to that. What I am counting on, however, is that life can be and will be better with the shackles gone and our spirits and being once again unleashed and free.
Istanbul to Lisbon, January 2021Marsaxlokk, Malta (December 2018)
Hello Friends and welcome to the Diplobugs blog. Its been a while, hasn’t it? I can hardly believe it’s been a whole 7 years since we were last here. As you know, I started this a little over a decade ago during a time of inner personal transition. A point in my life where I sought to rediscover my creative side, to not only bring it to the fore but to also give it a voice. This blog is my own space online, an outlet for my creative expression and a journal.
Through this site I share and express my thoughts, feelings, opinions and insights related to my passions and broad range of interests. It is also a chronicle of adventures, travel and experiences, relayed through a variety of means: poetry, prose, essays, images, and articles.
Following a hiatus, this site has been rebooted to reflect the growth, changes and new content that have accumulated since the start of this blog. I am thankful for the support I once received from all of you, and I hope we can now take things from where we left off.
So back to normal programming. Feel free to browse around and enjoy!
The click-clack of a jump rope. The drumming of a speed bag. The cold air of a morning jog. The smell of leather.
Bruised knuckles. Black eyes. A bloody nose. Sprawling in a bath of salt.
If you lose this one you’ll be a journeyman. They’ll pay a couple hundred dollars for some slick prospect to come in and beat you up. You’ll be a record-padder, a stepping-stone, a joke, a nobody. You’ll need a new career, kid.
Raised in poverty. Surrounded by criminals. Tempted by mediocrity.
I enter the ring. I am alone. There is nobody to help me, and I have never been good at helping myself.
With every opportunity I seize, I am forced to destroy the dreams of another just like me.
Food is the best way to explore and learn about other cultures. Take risks and try something new with food. Love and make memories with food as well. When I travel, the smells, textures, and tastes of all the different foods that I experience stay with me.
This is a flat bread made without yeast, which is SOO delicious served with garlic butter, and goes well with sopa de tomate e cebola.
Food when put in the context of a particular country or culture becomes so much more. It is an entire tradition of a place and a people that is so much different from who you are.
“Carne de Vinho e Alhos” is a typical Madeiran dish and consists of small pieces of pork meat marinated in wine for at least a day before it is cooked with garlic. The dish is normally served at Christmas time, namely on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on 8th December.
Food is a means of expression. It is social,funny, and fun. You will always find some new flavor to experience, a new cuisine to sample, a new friend to cook for, and a new restaurant to toast to the high heavens.
Lagareiro Salad (Octopus salad)
Food is poetry. It is playful, assertive, sweet, and irreverent. It can make the worst day in the world all better. We use food as fuel, but it is so much better to see it as more than that.
Coquetel de camarão (Shrimp cocktail)
Food is fun. It is fluid and keeps changing. It can spark an idea, a conversation, and a completely creative way to experience life.
Everyone enjoys food and relates to it on so many levels. Social justice, creativity, and matters of the intellect can all be related to food. There are those who even say that it is the stuff of life.
Sopa de Tomate e Cebola: traditional soup of Madeira, made of tomatoes and onions topped with a poached egg. Great to pair with Boca de Caco bread.
Most of all, I find food most unique because it can connect diverse people from all four corners of the planet. It lives in a place between past, present, and the future. Food is a way to escape from the humdrum of life and make it extraordinary–even for just one meal.
Bife com um ovo a Cavaco: Portuguese steak with sunny side up on top of the steak. It is cooked in a wine-based sauce and served with fried potatoes, rice or salad.
One of the most important Madeiran delicacies this Christmas season is their famous “Bolo de Mel” (Honey cake). It is made of sugar cane – cane honey, the rum and molasses. This is the oldest pastry in the island, due to the fact that it dates back to the times when Madeira was an important sugar cane producer in all of Europe. Another variation is called “Bolo de Mel Cana” or in English cane honey cake. Honey in Madeira is made from sugar cane.
Another variation is called “Bolo de Mel Cana” or in English cane honey cake. Honey in Madeira is made from sugar cane.
Most common denominator in the food, cookies, jam, drinks, etc. in Madeira is sugarcane. Amazing and very impressive how they make creative use of sugarcane. The last time I munched on fresh sugarcane was when I was in elementary in Masbate. In Madeira, whenever you buy fresh juice you can ask for a small piece of sugarcane to munch on.
The sculpture is meant to commemorate the many workers who lost their lives building the early tunnels and in the construction of the many “levadas” in Madeira.
Sculpture just outside of Santa Catarina Park in Funchal, Madeira.“Sisi” the longest reigning Empress of Austria (44 years) championed individual identity and independence and was a free spirit who traveled the world and wrote poetry. She spent a lot of time in Madeira trying to escape the stress of life at court. She made a very good choice.Mermaid statue along the marina in Funchal, Madeira with her arms spread to how show immense the sea is.The statue “Paz E Liberdade” celebrating peace was conceived in 1988 by Manuela Aranha.Statue of Peace and Liberty
I agree, Madeira is the place God kissed the world after creating it.
Diplobugs 