thefranceschronicles

[thefranceschronicles]

Choosing authenticity is an act of resistance. Choosing to live and love with our WholeHearts is an act of defiance. - Brene Brown

http://www.brenebrown.com/

[thefranceschronicles]

it's out in the universe. i surrender. 

[thefranceschronicles]

thank you Robbie Boyd for providing the soundtrack of this unforgettable Boracay trip! 

[thefranceschronicles]

bora in my mind

i shall miss the early morning swim, reading by the beach, fantastic food and great company of friends. this by far is one of the best halloween i've ever had. :)

[thefranceschronicles]

while waiting for my evaluation to get done, i was amused with the students' take on the 200M UP budget cut. i didn't mind the pouring rain at all. 

[thefranceschronicles]

passion made simple

there's so much to say about my meeting with Katrin de Guia, purveyor of Kapwa psychology in the country and wife of independent filmmaker/ icon, Kidlat Tahimik. She is fondly called Nanay Katrin by those close to her and i'm not surprised as to why. Her unassuming demeanor and simplicity makes conversation with her so easy. She shares her take on Kapwa psychology, the state of independent filmmaking, organic farming and the arts and music of the different indigenous communities in the country. She returns to Manila that same day so the conversation has to end somewhere. She leaves me with encouragement to pursue filmmaking and never give up on that passion. She always says to go back to your roots, go back to who you are.

  I hope she and Kidlat accept our invitation to give a lecture/ talk sometime November in time for the Sunrise Music Festival. 

Vegetarian food for dinner after the meeting with amazing people. Thank you Universe!

[thefranceschronicles]

leaders series

Second day of our validation rounds and this time i found myself in the province of Capiz. Our first stop was the municipality of Panay, headed by the dynamic Mayor Dante Bermejo. They gave us a warm welcome and a few minutes after the introduction, i liked the people and the place already. When lunch was served, i couldn't help but feel ecstatic since they prepared my favorite (sea) food. After which, the group took a side trip to the historic Sta. Monica Church and some of us climbed 63 steps to see the biggest Christian bell in Asia. Perhaps the highlight of this visit was finding out that Mayor Bermejo uses Human Nature.

 In the afternoon we headed off to their provincial capitol and there we experienced first-class hospitality. The whole staff complete with a band literally welcomed the team and we had quite a surprise. We did the validation with complete ease and the people there were more than willing to supply us the answers. Commendable too was the fact that Gov. Tanco never left the hall while the validation was going on. When we gave our feedbacks later on, they all listened and took our suggestions. 

The day didn't end without us bringing home lots of goodie bags all containing their native delicacies. 

Today's experience taught me that when a leader has true political will, it emanates in its people. When they are empowered, they move and create ripples making sure that what they have is indeed a government that works.  

Off to Aklan tomorrow.

[thefranceschronicles]

women at the helm

i had the chance to visit the municipalities of Anilao and New Lucena today, i went as part of the Gawad Pamana ng Lahi Awards validation team conducted by DILG. I was impressed by how their women mayors were able to mobilize their people through innovations and projects all geared in making their towns the best in the province of Panay. Anilao's Mayor Debuque excitedly shared their town's best practices and the projects they were undertaking in reviving their seas through coral reef restoration. I was very much impressed with their management info system (MIS) where everyone could access the accounting records of the municipality showing full transparency. I was hoping Iloilo City would have something like that in the near future.

Mayor Seville of New Lucena, on the other hand, shared how organic farming could help their farmers and presented projects related to it. These amazing women showed just how possible it was to bring their towns to a much higher level regardless of what income class their municipalities belong to. These women, although placed with a lot of challenges in a world supposedly meant for men, proved that power when used right could bring a lot of good. 

[thefranceschronicles]

the universe of possibility

i had to admit that being optimistic was so not me. a few months ago, the old me would have wallowed in self-pity, cursed the world for being so cruel, or blamed other people for whatever misfortunes i was going through. So i was surprised at myself for acting so calm and peaceful lately despite the fact that the decision i made was something that could drastically change the course of my life for the next few months. somehow, after finally accepting it and acknowledging the truth, i felt free. little did i know that i was already stepping into the universe of possibility, something i thought before was a difficult thing to do. I had been operating in the world of survival ever since i could remember that the world of possibility seemed alien to me. I felt that this was a start of something more meaningful and that i had to go through all of these in order for me to realize that there are a lot of possibilities if only i open myself to them. 

[thefranceschronicles]

it's crazy, it's stupid, it's love

for the past few months it became my habit to watch at least one movie a week in the movie house. i used to do this when i was still in manila and i enjoyed watching alone but i stopped when i moved back to iloilo. one reason is that people look at you as if you're from a different planet when you watch alone. so good thing that i now have a couple of friends who are movie buffs as well and whom i can drag along with me when something worth watching is showing. 

last week we watched crazy stupid love and i absolutely loved the film! well, i'm biased because i happen to love steve carell, well, in some of his worthy movies like little miss sunshine and dan in real life. forget about him in all his other goofy movies though. 

im not about to make a review of this film because i'm pretty lazy now and all i want to do is just to lie down and do nothing. i'm just happy that the film did not disappoint so i think i might watch this movie again but this time, in a better cinema. 

[thefranceschronicles]

random thoughts 008

expect the unexpected. :)

[thefranceschronicles]

random thoughts 007

i have finally decided to let go. i have done everything i could. So be it. 

[thefranceschronicles]

varekai love

i couldn't remember the last time i felt this giddy with excitement that my mouth was literally hanging open the whole time i was watching them perform. it felt good acting like a kid again. to be transported in the world of Varekai is indeed an amazingly magnificent experience. 

ps A kind soul allowed me to watch Varekai for free and for this i am profoundly grateful. :)

[thefranceschronicles]

random thoughts 006

manila. road trips to tagaytay on a whim. hours spent in fully booked. ex boyfriends and late night house parties. mixed tapes. sound tripping on lazy sunday afternoons. watching obscure bands play. ukay ukay. movie marathon with friends. ahhh... such was life. where did those days go? 

[thefranceschronicles]

random thoughts 005

watching toy story 3 on hbo and im actually teary-eyed towards the end of the movie. im still such a cry-baby. 

[thefranceschronicles]

i wonder if i'll ever get to watch this while it's running here. i'm praying for a kind soul to treat me to this show. 

[thefranceschronicles]

give in or give up?

slowly coming to terms with the reality of things. letting go makes a lot of sense at this point, so what's keeping me?