MY OFFICIAL WATERMARK

Hello MSC! From this day onward, I will be placing a watermark on every photo that I post in our blogsite to add a personal touch to the pictures that I have taken or may have manipulated on. A watermark embedded in the pictures cannot be removed nor be tampered unless cropped off. It names the owner and editor of the photo.

This photo was taken about five years ago. This was actually one of my first attempts to embed a watermark on some of my Photoshop Projects in the past without having any real knowledge of the importance of a watermark.

I named my watermark

IMAGINE

i.e. I- (Ivan), IMAG- (Image), (Machine)- INE

This is just sort of giving an identity to the photos I've dealt with, perhaps a chance to advertise the skills I've acquired from my limited knowledge in "PHOTOSHOPPING" too.

I must stress out that this is not about self-glorification whatsoever.

Enjoy!

MULTIPLICITY

This shot was taken at Hotel Vida in Clark, Pampanga.

Somehow, looking at this pic got me thinking of weird means of getting people on board MSC that I won't dare discussing in this segment (not just yet). I'm still not that contented with the number of members we currently have. And it's a shame if we all fail to maintain an ideal number of "functioning" members in our group. It would surely be tragic for our present generation of MSC's if we put a halt in bringing forth new members.

That's why I invite all you talented people out there to sign up with the Maysan Senior Choir.

CONCERT AND BEYOND 2

As we were finishing up our fancy drinks and winding up our chitchats at Starbucks, NLEX, Marilao, we encountered a familiar face entering the Coffee Shop. It was Fr. Mar Arenas, one of the members of the Levites Band. He went there for an after-concert coffee before heading home to his parish at the Divine Mercy Shrine also in Marilao, Bulacan. It was about past 1:00 AM then.

It was my chance to get an autograph from him so I made Cocoy rummage through her things to find one of our used tickets where I would want Fr. Mar to sign on. It was also an opportunity indeed to personally meet him.

CONCERT AND BEYOND

Well, the Levites concert was a success especially to the people who have heard them for the first time. In our case, I and my trusted choirmates opted to go some place else after seeing our very own Tito Boyet and his bandmates perform away on stage as front act for the Levites Band.

The long walk from the venue to the parking lot was swift! All three of us were eager to board the car and go! Destination? Starbucks!!!

Sorry for those members petitioning for another Starbucks night. You didn't show up at the concert anyway. Hehe!!!

LEVITES CONCERT IN MAYSAN VALENZUELA

The Levites in the bible, is a Hebrew tribe led by their patriarch Levi, one of the 12 sons of Jacob. They are a clan of priests.

In the Diocese of Malolos, Bulacan, there is a band of singing priests who named themselves after the said tribe. They aim to evangelise the faithful through the songs that they sing. Their songs may not sound church(ish) at all, but they sure know how to put in points from the bible into them. Their song selections are of those of the positive side of thing which bring hope and cheer for the people who need it. They have done a lot of concerts in our parish and other neighboring parishes before and have done concerts even abroad!

Last October 5, the Levites went back to OLHRP to do a concert held at the Maysan Barangay Hall. This is part of OLHRP's fund raising program for the old Maysan Chapel's much needed rehab and renovation.  A couple of us were there to support. Recent events brought about by the devastation of typhoon Ketsana (Ondoy) in numerous parts of the country led the concert organizers to give part of the proceeds to the people who were affected by the typhoon as well. Which I think was truly a noble gesture.

Tatay Boyet (Bass) was one of the front acts. Along with Mike Carag (honorary MSC member), Danny Anonuevo (our musical director at the Kerygma Feast) and Barangay Captain and MSC alumnus Hon. Eric Urrutia, who called themselves "Cap and Company". Their group and their songs were well received by the audience as well especially the fact that the Barangay Captain himself was personally serenading his constituents!

Many people came out to support the Levites concert, displaying their utmost enthusiasm to support these priests. The whole barangay function hall was packed! I would say that this was a successful concert. Especially since the proceeds would go to the ones who are in dire need of it.

SHOP TILL YOU DROP!

Some people really don't know when to stop! Believe me, I know. Because I'm one of those people (ahaha!).

Right after a very nice meal at Mang Inasal to celebrate Harun's (Bass) birthday, some of us stayed behind and decided to transfer to a much bigger SM that is SM City, North EDSA. Initially, it was just for coffee at Starbucks or Seattle's Best but as we went further along, we decided to do some shopping and have a bit of pampering as well.

We went to a famous wellness spa at the basement level of SM City Annex for some foot scrubbing and massage after walking for long hours looking for things to buy! Apparently, the urge of getting my hair cut also got the best of me, so another reason to spend once again!

Our fat wallets may have lost a couple of bucks that day, but the happiness you get from true friends are simply things that money can't buy...

HAPPY HARUN'S DAY!

Sunday... typhoon's left Manila (but not yet in the provinces, sigh...), but it is not reason for us not to celebrate a special day of one of our colleagues.

It's Harun's Birthday! That is why right after the usual practice, MSC headed straight to SM Hypermarket in Valenzuela to have a nice meal at Mang Inasal (present MSC fave lunch spot).

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARUN!

GOD BLESS YOU!

ANGELI CHRISTINE BENITEZ FERRER

08.13.91

"Dream as if u'll live forever, Live as if u'll die today."

GIEEEEZ, IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY!

I bet something's cooking up at the Ibayan residence somewhere in the United Kindom!

IT'S GIGIE'S BIRTHDAY!!!

MAY YOU HAVE A GREAT LIFE THERE WITH YOUR FAMILY AND LOVED ONES!

WE MISS YOU AND YOUR COOKING! (hehe!)

GOD BLESS YOU!!!

ONDOY'S AFTERMATH 2

I was totally surprised yesterday while I was checking out some pictures of typhoon Ondoy's devastation in Facebook when I encountered this particular set of pictures taken by a High School friend of mine living in Marulas, Valenzuela.

Marulas is known for its notorious floods even in the slightest rain. But the recent typhoon proved to be more than just your ordinary storm especially to the people of Marulas. And when I saw these pictures, I thought the messed up vehicle and the one person there, looked very familiar.

It was Tito Boyet's delivery van that was lying sideways along the highway and a driver-cousin trying to salvage some raw materials for their factory as he could among many others whose vehicles got stalled and washed away by the recent flood. It is really heartbreaking to see that even my co-members were not spared. Remember that some of MSC members got stranded in their workplaces and another one even walked for long hours just to get home.

But thankful enough, there were no serious casualties. God is good to us. There may be times that things like these happen. Catastrophic events that could destroy everything that we hold dear. But if we try to dig deep into the root of all these, we might realize that maybe, just maybe, we have something to do with it after all...

God promised Noah in Genesis that He will no longer wipe out the world through means of flood. God did not permit this flood to happen... We did...