Goodbyes are not Forever

There is no perfect way to execute a goodbye. There is the lightness and the familiarity that we all want, the feeling that even its final moments, a relationship is still just as fun as it always was. Because when we are saying goodbye to someone, we’re not just talking to them, we’re talking to the person that we are at this very moment. We know, even if we don’t want to admit it, that we will never be in this exact same spot again. We will never see the world the same way, and closing the door on someone’s chapter means committing it officially to memory, that it’s no longer an organic, living thing.

“If nothing ever changes,” we think, without even really thinking it, “then maybe we can be young forever.”

I think that we'll say a hundred goodbyes, sometimes forcing myself to go back and add one last thought before the every person walk out. I told certain people what I’ve always thought of them, told them that I believed in them, told them that they were good at that thing they’ve always considered just a hobby. Goodbyes are a certain brush with mortality, the feeling of time running out that leads you to say every thing you’ve ever considered too uncomfortably honest. There were people I’ve known for months who only in that moment heard what I truly felt for them with no filter, and all I regretted was not having told them before.

There are people we will never be able to say goodbye to, even if we have to leave. They are the ones we will make every last effort to stay close to, the people we will text and call and Facebook and Slack with in the early morning hours to accommodate shifting schedule discrepancies. They are the loves that can’t be tempered by distance or time, and the goodbyes you force yourselves to say are really just an “I’ll see you soon,” even if they make your chest hurt in the moment. Even when you are about to leave, you imagine that you’ll see them just one more time, even if it’s just get together or "inuman".

When the account is over, I wonder how many of these people I would really never see again. And while I knew, on some level, that many of the goodbyes I had said were permanent ones, I thought it better to assume that I would see all of them again some day, even in the same room. It seemed a better way to live life, imagining that your next reunion is just around the corner, and that your story will never have to come to a real ending.

Strip Mall : Promenade Greenhills

Promenade Greenhills, Located at San Juan, Metro Manila, at the rear side of Greenhills Shopping Center. Basically a strip mall filled with fun, enticing and cozy amenities such sa Bar and Resto, Coffee shops, Movie centre and many more that your family and your friends will be surely enjoy.

"shiok" - means cheap, affordable in Mandarin

Refreshments and delicious beverages can be bought at very affordable prices ranging from 100 ~ 500 pesos.

Also, the right side of the structure, is a Videoke centre which you can bring along your barkadas to have fun and exciting filled experience.

Located in the midst of call centers and condominiums, Promenade is surely a place which you can relax and unwind to escape away from a busy working day. Bring along your friends and have some fun!

A Blast from the Past: Edsa Shrine

The main idea of a "Shrine of Peace" is to serve as a memorial about the People Power Revolution that came as an inspired thought to Jaime Cardinal Sin two days after President Ferdinand Marcos fled to exile in Hawaii. The Cardinal was riding in the vehicle together with Bishop Gabriel Reyes, then Auxiliary Bishop of Manila, passed to the way to Camp Aguinaldo where they were to celebrate a Thanksgiving Mass. They came upon the intersection of EDSA and Ortigas, and Bishop Reyes pointed it out to the Cardinal Sin as the spot where intrepid but gentle nuns and young men and women stand in front of the tanks and offer flowers to the soldier.

At that corner , on an empty lot had stood two huge billboards of the Family Rosary Crusade, featuring the image of the Blessed virgin Mary with a message inscribed in it saying, "The Family that prays together, stays together" and also "A world at prayer is a world at Peace". The felicitous coincidence could not but evoke the reality of Our Lady's presence at EDSA during the People Power Revolution.

At the chapel of the perpetual adoration the Blessed Sacrament is dramatically exposed through the monstrance sculpture done by Castrillo.

At the other side chapel named after the first Filipino saint, San Lorenzo Ruiz, there is a wall mural depicting the saint's life painted by artist Ben Alano.

Various works of art symbolizes the spirit of freedom and peace at the shrine's promenade area(like the photo above). at one end is the "Flame of Freedom," a sculpture done by artist Manny Casal of three hardy men bearing a cauldron of flame over their shoulders, representing the Philippines' three major islands, Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Throughout the plaza are the 14 station of the Cross as rendered in bronze by the national artist Napoleon Abueva.

The main chapel spans the breadth of the entire intersection and is accessible from either avenue. At each side are chapels, one, the San Lorenzo Ruiz chapel and the other chapel of Perpetual Adoration, Natural lighting is obtained from all sides, except the main altar hall, which draw light from the skylight above. This skylight is diffused by a strained glass ceiling designed by artist Eduardo Castrillo.

Within the main chapel, a floating glass sculpture of the Risen Christ by Ramon Orlina overlooks the main marble altar also created by Abueva. The upper walls are muted murals that depict and interpret the four-day revolution by 15 artists from Angono Rizal, led by Nemi Miranda. The Art works "Doves of Peace," also by Casal, rest gently on the holy water fronts by the entrances.

The Architect of the shrine is no less than, Architect Manosa, he designed it in such a way to evoke the freedom of movement and celebratory spirit of the original EDSA revolution. The shrine is to open out the streets with the image of Our Lady Queen of Peace, as sculpted in bronze by the late artist Virginia Ty-Navarro, forming the apex of the structure. The promenade is accessible through cascading stairs and ramps from EDSA and Ortigas Avenue. The center of the Plaza faces the convergence of the two main roads and has become the site of the Eucharistic celebration held each year to commemorate the People Power Revolution.

At the corner could be found the Carillion Bells, which are crafted by some people from Holland from bullets and cannons of the Second World War. At given intervals during the day, the bells chime familiar patriotic and religious tunes, mostly evoking sentiments of the people power revolution.

These works by Filipino artist, the architects, sculptors and painters form a unique collection that pays tribute to the indomitable spirit of the Filipino people. These works inspire, elevate, comfort and cheer, and in their unifying purpose, bring the people who visit, pray and celebrate in the Shrine closer to God, the source of peace.

Reference: wikipedia