of nothings and some other things

Jackie Evancho: straight out of heaven

I have this habit of browsing through the videos and only the videos being posted by our Facebook friends. We do this habitually and have more than often encountered great performances from various talent shows all over the world.

One particularly great performance from America's Got Talent stunned us recently. Jackie Evancho. I have never heard of her before. She was actually AGT's runner-up from Season 5, which was wrapped up last year. This 11-year old girl, who has the soul and poise of a 30 year old left us flabbergasted with her soprano voice. She has been wowing American audiences since the age of 7. But it was only last year, when she got on television, that she became what AGT's Piers Morgan called, a superstar.

I couldn't agree more with Morgan. I have never been this drawn to Opera. Jackie truly is a child wonder with a voice that no one could possibly imagine ever coming out of a such a small 10-year old body. And she is incredibly disciplined too. I mean heck, to maintain a voice such as hers, one could only conclude so.

bailando en mi mente

I miss dancing. This is one of the things that make me miss college. I didn't dance a lot. Only a couple of times during some contests. And it was always in a group of 5 or 8 or more. Practice was always tiring. And we had to do it on top of a very...very hectic schedule. But it was always during that time when I felt most unstressed. Those were the Get It Right and Sexy Back and Wanna Ride days. Good times.

That Italian Lottery Joke

"There is a wonderful old Italian joke about a poor man, who goes to church every day and prays before the statue of a great saint, begging ‘Dear Saint, please, please, please let me win the lottery.’ Finally, the exasperated statue comes to life and looks down at the begging man, and says ‘My son, please, please, please buy a ticket.’
- Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

I see this joke as a metaphor of how we deal with certain things in life...

The closest situation that I could compare it with is when we hope. We want so many things to happen to us without even realizing that all we ever do is hope. I have always believed that we will be blessed with what we yearn for, no matter what. But then again we don't just yearn for it. We have to earn it somehow and help trigger its fulfillment by doing our part. Hoping is a very positive behavior. But we have to couple it with positivity and with action for as long and as much as we can. And when we do that, we don't make a fool of ourselves by begging a Saint to help us win the lottery without getting ourselves a ticket first.

So...have you bought yourself a ticket lately?

on grazie's and merci's

Learning new languages have always been a hobby of mine. Well, maybe a more appropriate way to say it would be - I have always wanted to learn new languages and I have always wanted to make that as a hobby. Hehe..

By Elizabeth Gilbert: Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia [Audiobook]

The French language, for me, is most fascinating. The nasal tone and how each word glides smoothly into another is just so beautiful. This used to be on top of my list. Well, at least until I've started listening to an audiobook of Elizabeth Gilbert: Eat, Pray, Love.

Learning how to meditate

Lifescapes ~ Guided Meditation For Stress

I have always believed that learning to find balance in life is essential for real happiness. This kind of balance could be achieved only if you are in touch with your innermost nature. Your inner voice, if you may. Your human instinct. The spiritual health is as important as the physical one, even more important, I must say.

This leads me to a second thought that I have always found convincing - meditation will help nurture your spiritual health and help you listen to your innermost thoughts.