Up & Down

Stand-up for Down's
For the past few weeks, i've been feeling down or, should i say, tired because of the pressure of getting our deliverables done in time for our monthly release. After working 16-18 hours daily (office and home), i think i've collected a lot of pals and bags. Pim-pals at Eye-bags. Mukha na nga akong racoon e. Hehe.

So one time while I was busy working at the office, i received an email from our company's outreach program group. It was an invitation to join the Happy Walk. Hmmm, parang Fun Run lang ito. I opened the email, read the content and signed-up. 100 participants lang daw ang target pero kahit pang 347 na ako, go-go-go pa rin. Good thing I did kasi nag-confirm sila na pwede ako mag-join. Great! I invited Chyng and good thing she also said yes.

7am we had to be at Megamall for the registration. On my way to Megamall, nakita ko na marami nang tao sa Mega Bldg A entrance. At maraming naka-yellow. Hmmm, lucky me dahil naka-yellow din ako. As usual na-late ako, 15 minutes to be exact, and Chyng was already waiting sa Ortigas MRT station. We headed straight to the Mega Bldg A entrance to register. On our way, sabi ko kay Chyng, "Yellow ang color ng mga participants na may Down Syndrome. Ang swerte ko. I belong." Well, it's not the exact words, pero parang ganun na rin. When we got there, tama nga ako.

Picture taking muna bago mag-walk. Fresh pa kami rito. Haha

10am pa ang start ng Happy Walk but the Opening Remarks started at 8am. There was a short introduction of the event, slide show ng last year's Happy Walk, roll-call ng mga participating companies and sponsors at syempre di mawawala ang entertainment. To keep the DS folks entertained, umindak ang pinakasikat na bubuyog ng bansa. Sino pa ba kundi si Jollibee. Niyakap niya nga ako e. Inisip ko na lang, ginawa niya yun dahil alam niyang mahilig ako sa chickenjoy at hindi dahil naka-yellow ako. Hehe. It was a touching moment for Chyng. She had goosebumps nung makita niya na sobrang saya ng mga DS folks while dancing with Jollibee. Nakakatuwa kasi genuine happiness yung nakikita mo sa kanila.

Magaling gumiling si Jollibee. Napasaya niya ang mga Down na kids and adults. Criteria kaya sa pag-apply ng Jollibee mascot na dapat magaling mag-shake ng booty?

Before the Happy Walk started, naki-mingle muna kami sa mga tao. Picture-picture. At ang pinakapaborito ko sa lahat si Mysie. Natuwa kasi ako dahil pumayag siyang magpabuhat sakin. May instant connection. Hehe.

Ang cute na si Mysie. Sarap niya buhatin dahil hindi makulit at magulo.

Si Mysie uli kasama ang daddy niya. Nagpe-prepare na sila for the Happy Walk.

By 10am, nag-converge na ang mga tao at the back of Mega A for the Happy Walk. It was estimated that 3K people joined the activity. It was indeed a happy walk. Bukod sa pagbubuhat ng tarpaulin at pagkuha ng pictures ng mga tao at ortigas skyline, i saw the happy faces of the DS folks. It's an activity that they were able to share with their loved ones and other people. I met some friends and project mates along the way. Nakaka-relate tuloy ako sa kanila. Hehe.

Leaders of the pack. They may not exactly know that the event was for them. But I'm sure that they had a great time. Dapat lang, kasi araw nila 'yun :9
Grabbed this picture from an officemate's album. Irene, sasabihin ko naman sa'yo pag nagkita uli tayo. Hehe. Thanks!

What do you get from joining these activities? My bestfriend asked nung ni-meet namin sila after mag-mass. I paused for a few seconds and answered. There is nothing much that i gain from joining, in terms of freebies or other material stuff (pero pwede rin kung meron, hehe). It's more of the experience and the awareness. And probably, self-fulfillment. A lot of us wish that we can do something to contribute in the betterment of our country including the special sectors. It doesn't have to be grand. Sometimes you just need 20 pesos, 4 hours of your time and walk a couple of blocks to make a difference.

What have i learned from the experience? I found out that February is the National Down Syndrome Consciousness Month in the Philippines. It is the most common genetic disorder affecting one in every 800 children in our country. It is a genetic condition caused by extra genetic material. It got its name from the British doctor, John Langdon Down. And most of all, people with down syndrome can live normal lives as possible, learn self-care tasks, read/write and acquire livelihood skills given the proper medical attention and support.

Sana next year maka-participate pa rin kami. Hope you can join too :9


Upside Down
After the Happy Walk in Megamall, we headed straight to Banapple for lunch. See Chyng's latest entry for amazing shots of the cozy place and delicious food.

Then deretso naman kami sa Greenbelt for coffee and mass. Syempre picture taking muna bago mag-coffee. I found one picture very interesting.

The Others. Parang creepy yung picture. Yung shadow na nasa right, parang may red eyes pa, gawa ng japanese coi

It looks weird seeing the picture upside down pero makes me think of something really important in life. Sometimes we have to look at ourselves or in situations the other way around. Minsan kasi we are too focused on what we believe in that we refuse to acknowledge our shortcomings or mistakes. We might be surprised, meron naman talgang point ang ibang tao sa mga sinasabi nila, especially people who are very close to us and only want the best for us.


Up, Up and Away
'Away' as in malayo, hindi 'Away' as in fight. Hehe.

Last Saturday, gumising din ako nang maaga. Destination? Hidalgo. I've been itching to go there kasi gusto ko bumili ng CPOL (circular polarizing filter). I read from several forums na maganda ang effect ng filter na yun para sa day shots. Mas nag-standout ang mga clouds. Great for landscape pictures at syempre para sa beach. Nakow, Panglao Island, here we come! :9

Here are some sample shots using the CPOL. Next project ko ang tripod at 50mm Nikkor f1.8 lens. Gusto ko rin ma-explore ang bokeh shots kasi.

Greenbelt at a glance. Medyo blurry. Mukhang miniature replica ng GB park.

High Rise. Mukhang drawing lang. Kamukha ng mga poster ng soon t0 rise buildings.

Postcard from Saudi. Ayaw maniwala ng pamangkin ni Chyng na totoong picture 'to at hindi in-edit para lagyan ng building sa likod.

It feels good to write again . Hehe. A lot of ups and downs for the early part of this year. Pero gaya ng roller coaster, let's just enjoy the ride. Thank you Lord! :9