I Read from this Side of the Story

¹⁰When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. ¹¹On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. (Matthew 2:10-11)

Much like the magi, I am continuously amazed by the reason of the celebration. One thing I've learned this season is the fact that I won't be able to truly share the gift of love until I learn to recognize His grace, be overwhelmed by His love and be yearnful to constantly allow Him to fill my heart.

Merry Christmas, everyone!!!

I Race for My Life

Photo courtesy of Real Life Foundation

I arrived barely 10 minutes before the run. A lot more people were already at the starting point and, most probably, have done enough stretching, unlike me. Do I have to worry? Not a bit, I thought. This run, after all, is not outdo them, but to set a benchmark for myself.

I heard the queue and, with the rush of adrenaline, I wanna run ahead and create a good start. But good thing, though, I have been reminded not to exhaust myself too early in the game as this can tire me throughout the run. 

Where is home?

I have been busy looking, thus it has almost been two months since I last blogged. I thought I did enough to finally get a home, but this season has instead tested that very lifelong desire of mine. Am I making the right decisions? Am I taking the right direction? Indeed I questioned -- and not just the fact that I'm still as transient as before, but I questioned the very essence of why I had dreamed of having a home. 

So much has been revealed since that victorious day, but I have to admit the heart is still in the process of mending, and that I am still constantly asking. I am asking to the point that I again started questioning and, worse, rant about all that's happening. 

Exhibir en Galleria Taal

Exhibit at Galleria Taal.

I was about to wrap up my Taal tour upon visiting the Villavicencio houses when the lady caretaker informed me of the newly re-opened Galleria Taal. It was just a walk straight ahead from the house  (along Agoncillo St.) so I gave it a shot anyway, and I was just so glad I did.

Graflex Graphic Century camera, 1950; USA

Visita Brgy. Balisong

I've always declared myself a proud Batangueño and so I felt the obligation to discover the Balisong Capital of the Philippines. And finally it happened when I came to visit the Taal Town.

Brgy. Balisong

Viva Villavicencio

Viva - (adj.) living, enjoying life, active; (int.) hurray!

A well-deserved description indeed! Villavicencio's heritage houses at 33 Marella Street in Taal, Batangas is probably one of the most popular destinations in the town.  The pre-1850 ancestral house was the abode of Gliceria Marella de Villavivencio or "Aling Eriang." Aptly referred to as the "Forgotten Heroine of the Philippine Revolution," she and her husband Eulalio Villavicencio contributed a great part of their fortune to help the revolutionary forces against Spain. 

Gliceria Marella House

Aling Eriang donated the family ship, the "SS Bulusan" which was purchased in 1893 and it was the first warship of the Revolutionary Government.

El patrimonio de Taal

The Heritage of Taal. 

My tour of Taal Town last July 15-16 was surely an eye-opener of a heritage unknown to many of us. It is listed as a heritage landmark by the National Historical Institute, much like Vigan. Unlike Vigan, though, the whole town is in itself a well-preserved Spanish Colonial Town and walking around it brought me a reminiscent of a rich cultural past that we've learned only through the books.

At the center of the town is Basilica de San Martin de Tours or commonly known as Taal Basilica, said to be Asia's biggest Catholic Church. 

Taal Basilica

Original church was instituted on 1575 and current church structure was constructed on 1856.

Church is said to be Asia's biggest Catholic Church