MY ADVOCACIES

The activities that I have participated and organized that are in line with my advocacies...

TRAININGS I'VE ATTENDED

The trainings, summits, conferences and other activities that I have attended...;

MY ADVENTURES

The places that I have been to, foods that I have tasted and things that I have discovered ...

MEETING PEOPLE

Very important people that I have met in conferences, summits, and other activities that I have joined in ...

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Archive for 7/1/13 - 8/1/13

Written by oyyvernie in


When you left



Vernie Naraja, November 8, 2012


Like being awoken from a deep slumber by a thunder;
Like a vase being smashed into shards;
Like a glass window being stricken with a baseball bat, its broken pieces flying everywhere;
Like a candle lit out with one blow, making darkness fill the room;
Like a car that has come to a sudden halt
Or a gadget whose battery has run out;
Like a rubber band that has reached its elastic limit and breaks;
Like being pricked by a needle for the very first time
Or accidentally scraping your knee;
Like how a kid feels when she unintentionally drops her candy;
Or how it feels when a bully tears your first masterpiece;
Or when your castle of sand is blown by the wind;
Like walking in stiletto heels for long hours;
Like flunking in a major exam and getting grounded for weeks
Or listening to music you really hate;
Like being humiliated in front of the public;
Like exerting so much effort and getting nothing in return;
Like an alarm clock pulling you away from fantasy and back to reality;
Like being tortured for falling in love;
When you innocently thought it was not a crime
That, just so you know, is how I felt when you left.

Written by oyyvernie in


First Day


You wake up to the sound of a bell. Not your alarm clock, but a bell in your neighborhood that rings at exactly seven in the morning every day. It’s too cold – that cold that makes you too lazy to do anything.

You’ve got to prepare for the first day of class or at least continue reading the novel you have read during the break just to dawdle away the remaining hours you got before your class starts. You look up at the clock on the wall. 7:05. It’s seven still. 

Too groggy to sit up, you cocooned in bed and covered yourself with the thick blanket. You doze off.
The cold makes sleep come easily. You dream of someone. All the thoughts of him are on replay in your mind. It is a damn nice dream that you wish so bad it was real… that that time would freeze… that you can live in that place, in that moment, forever.

You wake up at yet another sound. This time, it’s your alarm clock deafening your ears, waking you up from fantasy.

8:00. You don the dress that you bought the other week just for this day. Not that it is special but you said to yourself you’d somehow increase your self-esteem in every way you can – and dressing up is one way. A little blush to bring color to your cheeks and eyeliner is also good – less is more. Operation Self Esteem – Day one. 

You arrive at school. Maybe you’re too early because you can find three students in your classroom. Surely, there’s more to come. For no reason at all, you choose to sit in the corner. You put your mp3 on and let the music take you away from the world again.

At a sudden, you hear someone call your name. You find it weird. It’s the first day of school and someone knows you already? Wait. Oh right, maybe it’s your classmate last semester.

You slowly open your sleepy eyes and find solace in those two beautiful eyes staring back at you. That mesmerizing, tantalizing, alluring, heart-warming gaze of the man of your dreams makes you wonder why such creature exists. 

“Hey, class will start in a while,” he says as he takes the seat next to you. You melt.

How the hell can you possibly focus for the rest of the semester with a distraction like that?


Written by oyyvernie in


You can’t ‘coz you won’t

By: Vernie Naraja
Written: March 17, 2012

Heart’s broken, soul’s crushed
You keep reminiscing
What both of you had.

What to do now? Where to go now?
You keep asking
What made you fall for him

You just…


*
Believed in lies
Fell for his smiles
Drowned in the depths of his pretty eyes

Lived his kind of life
Forgetting what it’s like
To be the one you used to be

Gave everything he wanted
Just to make him glad
Pleased him in every way you can

But in return, what did he do?
He cheated on you
And made you feel blue

You’ve been wondering
Always have been
Despite all the pain, can you let go of him?

#
I bet you can’t
I bet you won’t
He’s a part of you
The one you care the most

I bet you can’t
I bet you won’t
You love him so much
A love he can’t return

I bet you can’t
I bet you won’t
I know it without a doubt,
He’s the one you can’t live without.

--
Sleepless nights, fading lights
Your keep crying
yourself to sleep

Life’s empty, heart’s weary
You keep wishing
You didn’t fall for him


But you still…

REPEAT (*, #)

Written by oyyvernie in


The things we do for love

By: Vernie Naraja
Written: 8/4/11

I.
Love can make a fool of any man
‘tmakes you do the things you can’t
‘tmakes you chase the moon or catch the stars
or burn under the scorching heat of the summer sun.

II.
Love can make a fool of any man.
‘tmakes you do things you’ve never done
‘tmakes you run for her, your only one
despite the unbearable chills of the cold winter air.

III.
Love can make a fool of any man.
it’s what makes you walk miles for
it’s what makes you cross oceans for
‘tmakes you do what you think are impossible

IV.
Love can make a fool of any man.
You cannot undo the things you’ve done.
‘tcould take away your sanity, break you to pieces
and turn your life into a complete mess

V.
Doofuses of love we may be
But we can’t be blamed for
travails d’amour mes amis.




Written by oyyvernie in


Hallways

by: Vernie Naraja
written: August 8, 2011
If by chance we meet
In the hallways,
I wonder what you think of
The moment you see me

Do you see a good old friend?
Or a past you have forgotten?
Do you see someone who’s been a part of your life?
Or a complete stranger, a nobody?

Do you have second thoughts of saying hello?
Or at least putting up a smile before you go?
Or you’re really busy to say anything
And just walk past me, ignoring me completely?

I really am wondering,
because I think of a lot of things
the moment I see you
if by chance we meet in the hallways.

I think of the busy days we’ve spent together;
all the errands we had to do just to meet deadlines;
the laughters we’ve shared despite all the left-handed compliments we’ve received;
the silly jokes and all the teasing.

I think of the soda I spilled in your notebook;
your very long to-do list;
your poignant words, your inspiring actions;
your accomplishments, your greatness.

I’d have second thoughts of saying hello
‘coz maybe you’ll ignore me if I do
I get preoccupied and think for minutes
but it’d only take seconds and you’re gone already.

what do you really think of
the moment you see me
if by chance we meet
in the hallways?


I need an answer.
I need you to answer.
I am really wondering.
It’s perturbing.

Just because years have long rested between us
Doesn’t mean we have to ignore each other.
And just so you know,
I miss you too.