Last year, on David’s birthday, we went around the Timog area, looking for a place to celebrate the evening.  Since I wasn’t very familiar with the joints around Timog, my sister Rai suggested we go to the Off-the-grill bar, where there’s a live band that played every night.  When we got there,  the place was full.  We had to wait for a table to be vacated.  So we decided to look around for another bar in the area

The Xaymaca bar along Timog Ave. is almost right next to the Off-the-Grill bar.  We could hear a band playing, and we were wondering who the band was.  We happened to see a fellow who was locking the door of his car parked right in front of the Xymaca bar.  We asked him who was playing inside.  He said “It’s Bob Marley”.    Really!?!

We entered the bar, and the place was also jam-packed.  Everyone was standing and there were no vacant tables.  We were both eager to see “Bob Marley”

….Bob Marley?  hahaha…nope, it wasn’t.  The music was Bob Marley reggae, alright.  But guess who it was?   The Brownman Revival Band!  OMG!  I love their music!  Their songs Binibini, Ikaw lang ang aking Mahal, Lintik…. and more! 

Brownman Revival is a Filipino reggae band that started in late 1994.  It was founded by Dennis and Dino Concepcion. The group draws heavily from the music of UB40, Big Mountain, and of course, Bob Marley.

 Here are a few pictures we took last year…

David never forgot that band.  He loved their music too!  So last night, he wanted to see them again.  He checked out their schedules on their website and the show was to start at 10:30pm.  This time, we arrived early at the Xaymaca bar, about 10:20pm.   Not much customers around yet, but according to the waiters, all the tables in front of the stage had been reserved already.  We had no choice but to stay at the back side of the joint.  Fortunately for us, the Brownman Revival group’s table was right next to our table too.  David got the chance to talk to the lead singer, Dino, and some of the other band members, Dennis, the drummer and Ambet, the trumpet player.  They were all very nice and friendly.

So here are the pictures we took last night…

      David & Dino (Lead Vocals)

                                                                        David & Dennis (the drummer)
 
 

And their music… they were amazing!  David really appreciated and enjoyed their singing and we stayed on till the show was over.  And the 2 waiters who assisted us all night at the Xaymaca bar….  you were very very accomodating and very helpful…. Thank you! 

And here’s a little collection of some of my favorite reggae music by the Brownman Revival Band.  Hope you all enjoy listening!

(Just click the PLAY button & start the reggae music playing!)

David’s dad recently took a business trip to New Mexico.  New Mexico is a state in the southwestern region of the United States of America.   The climate of this state is highly arid and its territory is mostly covered by mountains and desert.

He sent me some interesting photos that I would also like to share to everyone…

These are called Mesas.  They are like flat-topped mountains.   I read that Mesas were formed by the process of erosion.  The top of the mesas used to be a large flat surface, with no valleys.   Valleys were created when the rivers continuously eroded the plateau. 

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This is a windmill.    According to David’s dad, the cattle ranchers, not having access to piped water, dig wells on their property.   The windwill has a pump, operated by wind that pumps water from the well to a cistern so the cattle will have something to drink.

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This is the Santa Ana Pueblo, a 60,000 acre tract of land owned by the Santa Ana Indians, just outside of Albuquerque, New Mexico.

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This is the Sandia Mountains, the tallest peak in New Mexico.    “Sandia” means watermelon in Spanish (“pakwan” in Filipino).   One of the most enjoyable features of the Sandias are the glowing watermelon colors these mountains display during sunset.

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….And this is the desert

I would like to thank David’s dad for these pictures… it’s really fascinating to have a peek of what’s there beyond the borders of the Philippine islands..

Everyone’s interested to read about the negative talks about the Filipina. What’s in it with this issue? Is this how the world wants to look at us Filipinas? It’s really disgusting. I mean, being a Pinay myself, I would rather that the world would search for us with keywords like “The beautiful Filipina”, or “the admirable qualities of the Filipina”, or just anything that would describe us Filipinas as the kind of women the whole world would want to emulate. Sana naman yung magagandang qualities about the Filipinas ang unang maiisip hanapin ng tao, diba?

I have a daughter, who’s now a teenager. She’s actually growing up and turning into a responsible, very reserved and admirable young lady. I AM really proud of her. I’m hoping she will remain this way, or even become better as she matures. It would really be a wonderful thought that if ever she decided to travel anywhere around the world, she would be immediately, and, I mean instantly, given that respect a Filipina really deserves…because,  hey there, World, the real Filipina is definitely not all about that controversial thing you’re searching for on the internet, ok?!!! Pinay ito noh!

God so loved us that He created us in His own image and likeness, superior above all His other creations!

Whenever I look at everything around me, I always think about how fortunate I am not to be created as an animal that can’t speak for himself, as an insect that’s easily stepped on and killed by the human beings, or as a plant that doesn’t have the liberty to move its arms and legs like we do. These are simple facts that make me realize how fortunate I am that God loved me enough to create me as a human being.

There are instances in my life when I question the things that happen around me. When problems arise, I begin to feel some anxiety within me. But then, when I go back to the basic reality that we are God’s creations, and that loves us too much that He even gave up His only Son for us, I have to ACCEPT that He will never allow anyone of us to go astray. If God provides for the birds and the bees, the trees and the wild animals to survive, how much more can He do for us, the human beings that he created in His own image and likeness? All we need to do is to TRUST in Him, SUBMIT ourselves to Him completely.

Yes, God gave us the power to think and to discern, and the power to decide. But whatever we cannot do beyond the things that He has already given to us, whatever is beyond our human control, those are the things we lift up to Him. Trust Him, let Him do the rest.

At this point of my life, I have placed my complete trust in God. Yes, I do get scared sometimes. There are even moments when I let my human emotions overpower me. I am only human. God gave me these feelings. But when I feel afraid, when I feel that no matter what I do, everything is beyond my control, when I am uncertain, I pray. I talk to Him. I may not be able to see Him, but I trust that He is listening to me all the time. He listens, no matter what an undeserving human being I am. I have proven this time and time again, over and over again in my life.

God listens. God hears us. He answers prayers, if they are good for us. If they are not for us, they just won’t happen. All we need to do is understand, and to accept. We are only His creations. We don’t dictate what we want and demand them to happen. We let God have the last word in our life, for He gave it to us.

This is a prayer I would like to share to all. It’s a prayer that I live everyday of my life with. It’s a prayer that calms my fears, comforts my pain and eases the burdens that come upon me every now and then. It’s a prayer that makes each moment of life worth living..