sweet melancholy of autumn

the heart

the blush
the scarlett
the maple tree
the maple leaves

the confettis

the kaleidoscope

the blur

the butterflies

the foliage

the patchwork

When I think of AUTUMN season, I associated it with being melancholy -- of winding down energies before the bleakness of winter. And as the chill of winter is in the horizon, the weather turn into murky, and this makes some people turn gloomy and inwardly as well. In spite of this melancholic mood, autumn -- also brings out and emphasizes a peaceful, and beautiful lush abundance of the season. You would agree with me that the sight of a fall foliage at its peak is like a lovely patchwork of art and it is such a wonder to behold!

I have always loved autumn season. Couple of decades ago, back in Philippines, (I was very young then )…. I have always dreamt of experiencing the wondrous of autumn season. I’ve only seen fall foliage before in movies, paintings, Discovery channel, National Geographic magazines, have read in books and I had always wished to see these breathtaking sceneries in person. And coming from Southeast Asia, I am not familiar with this attractive fall coloration phenomenon at all. Here in BC, and throughout much Canada, the cool fall weather usually brings us spectacular and dazzling displays of colors, and autumn is the best time for me and anyone to enjoy and admire Canada’s best sceneries and landscapes.

I have not thought much about leaves until autumn comes. While I am taking these photos, for a brief moment - I marvel at the multitude vivid colors that emerge from these leaves what was previously just a plain green background. Of course, there were subtleties of shade and texture in the greenery that surrounded us all summer, but after the first flush of green in the spring, we quickly grow accustomed to the green backdrop of plant leaves and focus our attention elsewhere.

But when days shorten, weather gets cooler, skies turns grey, and trees grow crisper, colors are changing and leaves fall into their own. Funny it seems, but it is only when they are about to ‘fall’ that they finally attract our attention. As the golds, yellows, reds and browns of autumn emerge we come to realize the diversity of the plants that once made up the summer greenery. The green background is transformed into a mosaic of individual plants in varying hues. For a few short weeks before winter's white coat arrives, Mother Nature shrugs off her dowdy greens, throws fashion sense to the wind and bursts forth with a season ending an explosion of color.

One thing that always amazes me about fall foliage is the natural variations of the rich colors of the trees. As shown in the photos, some trees turns to an almost-impossible-to-believe-shade of blazing red every fall. I think certain colors and the timing of the color change are characteristic of each tree species. Oaks turn reds, browns and russets. Some trees turn into golden yellow, some purplish red and some just light tan. I can easily tell maples trees, being pre-dominant of all trees, and because that’s the only one I am familiar with. They turn fiery-scarlet-red or brilliant orange-red. These trees are being offset by the rich emerald greens of pine.

I have always wonder what causes this fall splendor? I also wonder where do the yellows, golds, reds and browns come from? I am pretty sure that the answers to these questions involve some pretty hefty science, with lots of plant biochemistry and physiology. I don't pretend to fully understand the myriad of processes involved, but I think I've got a little bit grasp of it and just enough to handle the nature’s wondrous phenomenon.

I think God's wondrous creation is so immense, that it is incredibly hard to fathom, and yet, is likely easier to marvel the beauty of it.

books you can't put down

Everybody loves that feeling you get when you find a book that is just perfect for you. It feels as if you will never be able to put the book down. I mean those kind of books you start reading but cannot put down until the last page is turned? Have you ever missed work because you slept so so late, or you have not slept at all because you couldn’t stop reading? I did! There's nothing like being carried away by a great read. It can take you to places you've never been, to meet the people you'll never know….

Everyone has those experiences where they can't put a book down because the book is a page turner and it's just so good and so engrossing. I've occasionally been unable to put a book down when it is so perplexing, yet timely and critically acclaimed, and I keep thinking, "This has got to be going somewhere…”

When I read a wonderful book, there's that bittersweet pleasure as I approach the end. I want it so badly to discover the conclusion, and I just dislike the idea and the experience of being completely engrossed in a story to be over.

I have quite a list of books I can’t seem to put down. Some of these books were really very well written and brings-up some great issues that really hold my interest. The books listed below were the best as far as I’m concerned…the list is not in specific order though….and by the way, I have only listed books that I have actually read and enjoyed. Some were classics, contemporary fictions and non-fictions, novels, memoirs and biographies, some are so poignant, bleak, powerful and moving, some are narrative-style, but they are guaranteed great reads and I personally hand-picked them. I know, there's something specific genre for everyone - and every occasion. But whatever you choose, you can be sure that once you start reading, there is no way stopping!

At any rate, the next time you ask yourself, "What should I read next?" I hope this list will prove helpful.

1) Khaled Hosseini, Kite Runner
2) Khaled Hosseini, A Thousand Splendid Suns
3) Wally Lamb, She’s Come Undone
4) Wally Lamb, I know This Much is True
5) Billie Letts, Where the Heart is
6) Dan Brown, Da Vinci Code
7) Dan Brown, Angels and Demons
8) Dan Brown, The Lost Symbol
9) Michael Ondaatje, The English Patient
10) Bernhard Schlink, The Reader
11) Ian McEwan, Atonement
12) Jung Chang, The Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China
13) James Frey, A Million Little Pieces
14) Sydney Poitier, The Measure of a Man
15) Steve Lopez, The Soloist
16) Stephanie Meyers, Twilight Saga Series
17) Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina
18) Arthur Golden, Memoirs of a Geisha
19) Gustave Flaubert, Madame Bovary
20) Greg Mortenson, Three Cups of Tea
21) Asne Seiertad, The Bookseller of Kabul
22) Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre
23) Frank McCourt, Angela’s Ashes
24) Jodi Picoult, My Sister’s Keeper
25) Truman Capote, In Cold Blood
26) Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Pray & Love
27) Elie Wiesel, Night
28) Alice Sebold, The Lovely Bones
29) Michael Cunnigham, The Hours
30) Carol Shields, Stone Diaries
31) Anne Rice, Christ the Lord-The Road to Canaan
32) Anne Rice, Christ the Lord – Out of Egypt
33) Andrew Morton, Diana
34) Robert Ludlum, The Bourne Identity Series
35) Amy Pastan, Martin Luther King
36) Anita Shreve, Resistance
37) Thomas Keneally, Shinder’s List
38) Wladyslaw Szpilman,The Pianist
39) Anne Frank, The Diary of Anne Frank
40) Ruby Wiebe, The Stolen Life
41) John Grisham, The Pelican Brief
42) John Grisham, The Firm
43) Toni Morrison, Beloved
44) John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath
45) John Steinbeck, East of Eden
46) E. Annie Proulx, The Shipping News
47) Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
48) Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
49) Edith Wharton, The Age of Innocence
50) Azar Nafisi, Reading Lolita in Tehran

things i am thankful

Because of our busy lives, we barely have the time to reflect on the good things that we have, so when Thanksgiving Day comes, we get the chance to reflect on the things we are most thankful about. There are a lot of things I am thankful about, here’s few of them; --

I am thankful for our great God who enables me when I can’t bring about things on my own, a God who upholds me and keeps me going, a God who fills me up when there’s an empty space in between. I thank Him a lot for He holds me close and carries me every single step of the way. I’ll forever thank God for having had the chance to meet few special people who walked me through and introduced me to Jesus.

I am thankful for my family. I am thankful for my husband and children, they are always been my inspiration, my great motivations and my biggest cheerleaders. They believe in me when I gave them the reasons to do so. In return, they bring out the best in me.

I am thankful for my health, while I could certainly spare to drop a few pounds here and there and do a bit of exercise regimen, but that’s not about it. I haven’t been well before, I have dealt with couple of health issues, splitting-severe-migraines for one, but I thank God that I haven’t had any episode for almost a year now, and that overall, my body, mind and spirit are in one accord. I am thankful that God gives me the strength I need to cope up and overcome such difficulty. I am grateful that God has been so gracious to me.

I am thankful for job, a job that suits my needs and preferences. A job that makes me excited to go to work, ready to face the challenges of the day and be able to deliver what I am expected to do. This job helps my family a lot in as much as my siblings back home to enable to support the education of my nieces and nephews. Most of all, this job allows us to be able to save some for my kids’ college education, travel and retirement.

I am thankful for a bunch of good and true friends, old and new ones, who’s been truly incredible. Without them I wouldn't have close people to talk to when times get tough or have someone to share good news with. I've had some wonderful times with my friends and will keep on having wonderful times in the future.

I am thankful for my church, wherein my family and I can be connected and feel the sense of belongingness, and be able to meet other people that share with the same purpose, that is to praise and serve God.

I am thankful for my everyday challenges, big or small, without my struggles there is no learning and therefore no progress. Failures make me humble while mistakes refine the rough edges in my character. So, for the times I've failed and that I've been wrong, I'm thankful as they'll help me do better in the years to come.

I am thankful that I have been given a gift that no amount of money can buy. I am thankful for love, inner peace and for life.

the aftermath of typhoon 'Ondoy'

It suddenly came like a triple bolt out of the blue for which no one was prepared. The typhoon Ketsana also known as ‘Ondoy’ began on Friday evening with rain and wind warnings from the local PAGASA weather centre. Utterly unrelenting, the rains quickly turned into floods and by Saturday afternoon, the whole Metro Manila was swamped. With the heaviest precipitation in 40 years, typhoon Ketsana ‘Ondoy’ dropped about 17 inches of rain on the Philippine capital, equevalent to a month’s worth of rainfall all in 24 hours! At the height of the flood, about 80% of Manila was submerged. The storm affected some 2 million people, wreaking havoc on both lives and land.

Unexpected strong currents pushed flood waters into people’s homes, turned many of Manila’s busy streets into swimming pools and tossed floating vehicles around as if they were toys. Survivors were rescued from the roofs of their homes, some after 10-hour waits in the cold downpour. No one was spared…

When I heard this alarming news, I was like – in total disbelief! It’s sort of a big blow and it hits me hard. First thing that came to my mind was to call upon the Lord and ask for His help to protect my people. And then later that day, I get the chance to watch the breaking news on CNN and had seen dozens and dozens of unbearable photos slides over the internet - I was in tears…it's painful to watch my own people suffer... there's this achy lump in my throat, and it hurts like a bad sore, and while I watch my fellow Filipinos desperately gripping so hard and doing their best efforts to save their very lives....the pain just swell even more...

Ketsana’s destructive impact left behind Philippines in pain, anguish and in sorrow. Filipinos were devastated and fearful for their lives brought by Ondoy’s wrath. Hundreds of photos and video clips show debris from the typhoon which left hundreds of people dead and hundreds of thousands homeless, still scatters squatter areas. Trash, mud, water, woes afflicts hard-hit areas such as Provident Village. The desolation was palpable. The devastation and desperation was unbearable...

The photos shows residents of Manila do their best to come to grips with life.

No books – no classes
Elementary students, done so far all ways to dry their textbooks following the flood.

Playground amidst trash and debris. Kids play on a passenger jeepney toppled (one would notice the "Jesus is Lord") during the onslaught of typhoon...

A family eats on planks of wood just outside their still flooded home

Amidst this situation, Filipinos have never stop showing kindness. They still manage to show their true spirit of ‘bayanihan’, its most distinct and unique Filipino trait that has been part of their culture for ages. Even before the floods subsided completely, civilians of all ages had helped mobilize and rescue and relief efforts were underway. Government step up it’s clean up drive to prevent the outbreak of disease and clogging of drainage. Facebook, Twitter, e-mails and text messages carried news about which relief centres needed which goods the most. Local and international churches mobilized. Families supports and shared the grief. Friends sympathized. Colleagues extends donations. International charitable organizations, even students were motivated to raise funds for relief. Hundreds of relief operations were conducted. Rescue efforts are still on-going. Help for typhoon relief continue to pour.... People around the globe were touched and moved. People are compelled to give and aid at this time of need.

Now all that's left is to clean up and cope. The aftermath has already passed by, so now we are just having to deal with the tragedy and the loss of life. My heart really goes out to the victims... But things that I am so proud about Filipinos? Filipinos are resilient, persevering, resourceful and by God, forever searching for that silver lining... They are always ready to pick up the pieces. More than willing enough to start anew and move on with their lives, no matter how hard it is. No matter what kind of calamities, storms and adversities they’ve gone through, there is always the will to survive. That is because Filipinos hearts are always full of HOPE and optimism. There is always the sense of trust in God and humanity. The presence of anticipation that God’s provision will come along the way. Filipinos are faithful and so is God! With great gratitude and beaming faces, they will and are ready to face another brighter day. I take pride in the fact that Filipinos can take whatever fate they deal with...and has always emerge stronger than ever..

The life we live nowadays is never safe anymore. There’s always the parallel risk surrounding to it –- natural disaster, economic downfall, environmental concerns, global warming, virus outbreak, political plight, terrorism, cultural chaos. We can never be hundred percent secure anywhere, anymore at all. However, on the positive note, we can always find assurance and security in the presence of our Creator. When storm like this hits – who do you wanna call? GOD. Yes, God it is. Because we can find refuge and protection in Him. He extends His hands to everyone who comes to Him. And he gives His grace and mercy to every mankind. All it takes is an acknowledgement that He is the ultimate provider of all things. God can and will provide exactly what we need and when we need it, for His timing is perfect.

At the end of it all , we get the chance to see the greatness and goodness of our Lord God and the compassion in the hearts of others too. It is very comforting to know that we can always find strength and hope in Him specially at times like this....