Two4Tuesday: Dirty/Clean

From the dirty and mucky forest floor, a crop of clean and refreshing mushrooms grow ^_^

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KISMET

NOTE: I wrote this three years ago (July 2006, to be exact) and I stumbled upon it while cleaning up our hard drives. This is kinda long but if you like out-of-this-world love stories (though this is exactly NOT a love story, hehe) then you might enjoy this one ^_^ Copyright to Melissa Solito (C) 2006-2009.

Some things are meant to be. Some persons, no matter the time and distance, are destined to be together. There is that childhood sweetheart you lost, and amazingly, you met again and the spark was still there. Love is lovelier the second time around, as they say. Then there is that bestfriend you loved for so long but you never had the courage to express your feelings. That is, until you got drunk and spilled it all out – and incredibly, s/he loves you too! And then there is that ordinary person who you realized was your soulmate while you were hanging out together. You were talking to each other and there was something in his/her eyes that time, something that drew you in. You looked deeply and s/he does the same. Some alarm went off in both your souls’ deep recesses, and then both pair of eyes began talking in that secret language they only knew.. 

“Remember me? We’ve met before, in the hot dunes near the Sphinx. Then again by the cobblestones in front Caesar’s palace and also while we were riding one of Venice’s famous gondolas..”

“Yes, yes, I do remember you. We made ardent love by the river grasses of Nile and you proposed to me under the Duomo’s magnificent shadow. Where have you been all these decades?”

“I don’t know, all I know is I’ve been searching for you. Many of my lifetimes have been empty and meaningless without you. I have been restless but now I am home once again. Oh, how I loved you then! And now.”

“Oh yes, your love for me was one of a kind. Timeless, boundless, and despite the…”

But then the eyes, the windows of our souls, shifted; the connection was broken. Two persons were left staring at each other, somewhat confused of what transpired. But did something really happen? Did the soulmates, through the eyes, recognize each other? I have been wondering about it ever since. You see, I was the one who looked deeply into his eyes first. I felt the warmth of love embracing me while the “eyes/souls” were communicating. Every fiber and molecule of my being was connected to him in every level, yet I was also lost in the vastness of his being. I was startled, I was electrified, I was changed. I am now bonded to him irrevocably in this lifetime. And when our connection was lost, it felt as if I was freeze-dried. I was dazed, disoriented; I felt abandoned and lost. I crave to be connected to him once again, but he was looking away. Was he as perplexed and forlorn as me? Was he even aware of our souls’ momentary union?

Two years after the incident, I still do not know if he sensed our connection. I don’t have the courage to ask him because I fear that he will not remember it. Which will hurt me a lot for it is the only magical, ethereal thing that ever happened to me, and he didn’t even felt it? Ugh! That will certainly sting so badly. What transpired between us or within me is a once in a lifetime event. It is a rare occurrence for souls to recognize each other while in “human shells”. And for the “shell” to be aware that there’s an old soul within him and that his soul has made contact with another soul, well, that’s even more rare. The Philippines’ very own paranormal expert Jaime Licauco (oh come on, you don’t know him??) has a term for this soul recognition event. If I remember it right, he recently wrote about it in his Inquirer column. But whatever its name is, I know I’ll cherish our ephemeral soul connection for all eternity. We are meant to be.

And you ask, what happened next? Well, we became closer (we were good friends then), to the point of finishing each other’s sentences, understanding each other’s moods with a mere glance and texting the same things at the same exact time! This happened countless times and even occurs until now. We are like couples married for a long time. But we certainly are not married nor are lovers, at least not in this lifetime. Or maybe not just yet. Hehe! Naughty, naughty! And then there are also several instances when we meet at unlikely places, opening the doors of that place at precisely the same time, both of us pleasantly stunned at seeing each other. KISMET, I say! But the rational-you says I’m reading too much into these situations, that these are just coincidences. Probably. But I doubt it. I am a realist; I know things like these don’t happen. But it did – to me, to him (I hope!). And this is not the superficial crush-kilig connection type wherein you say “OMG! We’re so mfeo talaga, we rode in the same jeepney na naman!” By the way, mfeo stands for “made for each other”.

And you know what’s the distressing thing? I do not know what to do with what I know, with what we have. We share a very special bond, so what? Do I tell him and risk his ridicule? Do I keep quiet and miss out on life’s exquisite rare miracles? Do I just find somebody else to make me happy and forget him? Do soulmates even exist?? Damn our connection thingy (or perhaps my over-imaginative brain), it made my life complicated! I could do without it, thank you. Or could I? There is no end to this torment until one of us breaks and will profess everlasting love. Will it be me? Will it be him? Is love and being soulmates tied up together? Do I even love him? Too many questions! With no answers, unfortunately. If only I could look deep into his mesmerizing eyes again, and he into mine.. Eternal passion, undying ardor, infinite bliss! Yes, we definitely, are meant to be.

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KISMET is one of my favorite words. It sounds so out of this world, much like this article. If you don’t know its meaning, google it. You’d be surprised at the delightful links that will pop out. For those who are wondering if this article is a true story or a tall tale, 10 words: truth is stranger than fiction! And that art imitates life. Satisfied? I think not! ;p For those who experienced soul recognition or is interested in soulmates and the paranormal, I would love to hear from you! There is so much we do not know of our world, and I think it’s just right to start discovering first what is inside of us. Yup, I’m talking about learning everything we can about our very essence – our souls. A tall order? Definitely! But not as tall as the tale I’ve just told you! Hehe!

support my friend's perfume business! =)

Penavi is one of my high school barkada (Filipino word for circle of friends) and since last year, she has been selling perfumes, colognes and authentic Pearl White capsules with her girlfriend. They started selling online (they have a new perfume blog at workNplay.weebly.com) and hawking to friends. In fact, I was one of her perfume customers -- I bought 2 Bath & Body Works colognes for my personal consumption and 1 Issey Miyake L'eau D'issey perfume for my mother =) Another barkada of ours bought the capsules with excellent results. Right Jinx? Hehe!

Recently learned from my hubby that Penavi has a perfume/clothing store in Damosa's Market Basket here in Davao City. WOW! I think she's the first one in our barkada that had her very own shop. Awesome Pens!! ^_^ I love scents, I truly do.. But it takes a lot of time for me to finish one bottle. And in as much as I'd like to buy perfume every month and support my friend, I can't. I'm not that rich! LOL! So guys, if you're in Davao City and wants to buy imported perfumes and colognes at cheaper prices than malls, go visit Penavi's perfume site or their store in Damosa. Thanks a lot! =)

ALL my updates are in FriendFeed!

If you're exhausted of telling everyone that you've updated your blogs, social profiles and other online what-nots, it's time you get a respite. I've been fooling around with FriendFeed for awhile now and since I joined Twitter and Facebook, it has been very useful to my non-Twitter and non-FB friends. So what does FriendFeed do? It's sort of like your central office where everything you do in certain enrolled websites are listed. Take a look at my feed below (click to enlarge). It listed what I just tweeted in Twitter, what I blogged in yes, it's ME! and my status in Facebook. Awesome huh?? ^_^ But that's not the best thing about FriendFeed -- THIS IS: you can access my FriendFeed without making an account for it! 

Yup, you read it right, no need to signup. Anytime you want to know what I'm (or have been) up to, just type http://friendfeed.com/cutieissa in your browser's address bar and you'll see the latest updates in my blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Picasa, Digg, StumbleUpon, YouTube, etc, etc.If you're too lazy to type the address, scroll down this blog and you'll see my updates at the right =) Currently FriendFeed offers 59 online services including Google Reader, Plurk, Netflix and others. Click HERE to see their entire list. So, are you going to use FriendFeed? Will you check out my updates using it?

Lindsay Lohan's latest "escapade"

The sexy starlet has never been away from the paparazzi's spotlight. For the past few weeks, her drastic weight loss (drugs? obssesive dieting? eating disorder? alcohol?) and very public spats with lover Samantha Ronson have been fodder for gossip tabloids. One can't help wonder if her numerous stints in expensive rehabilitation centers in Los Angeles did her any good. I have seen these centers online and boy, they look awesome! It's as if you're just in a resort having a good time and not getting treated for something ;-) Anyway, the latest with Lindsay Lohan was her Friday the 13th fiasco -- a $50,000 warrant was issued for her, stemming from a May 2007 DUI arrest that ended in a trip to rehab for her.

The Beverly Hills Police Department issued this statement: "The $50,000 warrant issued by the Beverly Hills Superior Court stems from a May 2007 arrest of Miss Lindsay Lohan for DUI and hit-and-run. The circumstances leading to the issuance of the warrant by the court are not readily available at this time. It is our hope that Ms. Lohan will surrender herself so that this matter will be resolved in a timely manner." The good news is, yesterday, the warrant was dropped as LiLo's lawyer proved that the actress complied with the court-ordered alcohol treatment program for her DUI misdemeanor. All's well that ends well eh? I hope so coz I really like Lindsay Lohan -- she's talented but her behavioral problems is ruining her =(

the "REAL" slumdog millionaire

Have you watched the award-winning movie yet? If not, you should! It's not really of heavy material but you can take a lot of lessons from it. The lesson I took away from Slumdog Millionaire was "All you need to learn in your life, you'll learn from your EXPERIENCES" =) And lest I'll be misunderstood, I'm making it clear that learning through formal education is also essential. Your experiences in a structured school will be important when you'll work in a structured work environment later. So please, no dropping out of school kids! Hehe! =p

Anyway, if you're one of the moviegoers who saw Slumdog Millionaire and wondered how the uneducated slum kids shown there learned how to speak English, wonder not anymore! It turned out they learned from tourists and more remarkably, they also speak other languages like French, German, Arabic, Nihonggo, etc, etc. You don't believe me? Watch the two videos of a slum kid below. The first one was filmed when he was a kid and the second one was when he was already a teen (and learned newer languages!). Be prepared to be AMAZED by Ravi!

Most purists would say the multi-lingual kid is not really multi-lingual. After all, Ravi *only* knew some words of the languages he spoke -- words that he needs to sell his peacock fans to tourists of different races. But let me ask you, do you know how to introduce yourself in the languages he spoke above? Or lets try something simpler, what's "HELP" in as many languages as you can? Hmm, hard huh? That's why I say hats off to this kid (and his "colleagues") for being very resourceful despite the bad circumstances he's under. And just so you all know, Ravi is my inspiration why I'm studying Nihonggo right now ^_^ God bless India's slum kids!

join me in Facebook! =)

Melissa Solito Elbanbuena's Profile | Create Your Badge

I've had my Facebook for awhile but it lay dormant and inaccessible to people search as I pondered if it can help me with my online business. There's so much going on in my offline and online life that adding another social network is more work than play to me. Like most Pinoys, I have Friendster, Myspace (dead) and Multiply (which was dormant until it enabled cross-posting of Blogger blog posts). I also have multiple personal blogs plus websites of employers that I update daily. Do I really have time for Facebook?? ;-) It also didn't help that Facebook announced recently that everything you put here will be THEIR property. Thank god they backtracked after much hullabaloo from FB fanatics. 

Around one month ago, I finally joined Twitter (check me out at http://twitter.com/cutieissa) for monetary reasons. For most part I'm an early adopter of early web technologies but since the dot com bubble bust, I have been wary of joining popular websites especially if the hype is overwhelming. Twitter was in that category but lo and behold! More than a year later it's still around and gaining more members everyday. Facebook even tried to buy it! But Twitter said no. Anyhoo, I found Twitter incredibly informative (I'm following doctors & tech gurus). My initial reason for joining (earning $$$) has taken the backseat and I'm just savoring the Twitter experience =)

So what has Twitter gotta do with my finally activating my Facebook? Well, I found out that I can update my FB status with my Twitter feed! I actually don't have to login to Facebook to tell you guys what I'm up to! I can update my Twitter (via PC or mobile phone) and it will publish to my FB. Now isn't that kewl?? It's almost like when I update my Blogger blogs and it will publish automatically to my Multiply blog. Neat! =) And did you know that Facebook's new homepage that will show REAL-TIME updates is based on Twitter? When Twitter turned down FB's offer to buy it, FB management thought "If we can't buy them, we'll compete with them!" And with 175 million users, Facebook might just bring Twitter down -- OR NOT!