Morgen ist heute schon gestern (Teil 1)

Na ja, ein Monat ist schon wieder zu Ende und dann kommt morgen vielleicht eine große Überraschung meines Lebens...

An: KurtsKurs

hallo, Leute. Nun möchte ich euch für euren Besuch in meiner Seite danken. Ich hoffe, dass ihr die Fotos genießt und eines Tages versuche ich etwas auf Deutsch zu erzählen. Bitte vergesst nicht in 'shout-out box' zu schreiben.

Auf euren nächsten Besuch würde ich mich sehr freuen.

Viel Spaß und Vielen Dank.

La canción me da mucho dolor en la cabeza

the song doesn't play properly. *aargh!!* perhaps i should upload a better one... i put this track on my website just for me to have something to listen to while browsing through my page. hehe.
*If you find this song annoying, i suggest that you turn down the volume of your speakers or better yet, turn it off. :)

song: duele el amor
(aleks sytek & ana torroja)

Baño for everyone

woah! I found this sign posted on our bathroom door quite intriguing so I took a shot of it...

Mis cosas preferidas

my favorite things.

Remembering Manila

Posted below are some of my favorite places in Manila... *aaawww... it makes me want to go back home*

Universidad de Santo Tomás 1611
España, Manila

*aargh* i miss UST!! Could somebody take me back to Manila? hehe.

esta de la foto es mi madre como caminaba hacia el Palacio del Gobernador en
Intramuros de Manila

mi tía. a stolen shot in front of a hotel in roxas blvd.

Basilica de San Sebastián, Plaza del Carmen
(Quiapo, Manila)

Fort Santiago
(Intramuros de Manila)

one of my favorite destinations in Manila is the walled city of Intramuros. Julio and I would always spend Friday afternoon sitting upon its walls and strolling around the old city. It made my stay in Manila truly worth-remembering.

Here's a panoramic view of the buildings along Roxas Boulevard. This shot was taken by my stepdad during his trip to the historical Corregidor Island.

welcome aboard!
(manila bay, march 2005)

José Protacio Mercado Rizal y Alonzo Realonda a.k.a. Pepe or Joe:). This is the monument of the philippine national hero. Again, this was taken by my stepdad but I enhanced the texture and color of this picture.

the oldest-existing picture of Iglesia de Sto. Domingo in Manila. It is the literal imitation of the York Cathedral in England.

A Glimpse of the Past: Concentration Camp in Mauthausen, Austria

I know how strange this may sound, but Mauthausen has one of the best sights a tourist spot could ever have. The main highlight of my trip was the visit to the concentration camp where thousands of Jews, Russians, Spaniards, and other Europeans had been ruthlessly tortured to death. Despite the devastation it had brought to the lives of innocent people during Hitler's regime, tourists from different countries still visited the site and thoughtfully reminisced the tragic history that had left a deep wound in the hearts of every survivor.

a few steps more...

Upon seeing the main gate from a distance, I felt as if I was being transported back in time. The massive wooden portals and stone fortifications were properly restored. It looked as perfectly the same as it was before.

Mauthausen looked nothing like a concentration camp, but rather a medieval fortress.

gateway of death.
once you cross this portal, you're dead.

in memory of the Jews
who were ruthlessly slaughtered in the concentration camp (ca. 1945)

other tourists entering the camp

high fortifications.
(courtesy of John)

While searching for a possible entrance through the barracks, my cousin peeped into the window to see whether there were restless souls wandering inside. (just kidding.)

peeping John

Häftlingsbaracke, which means Prisonsers' Barracks

a closer view of the watch tower

these wooden double deck beds served as
the prisoners' sanctuary.

Looking through the windows, i took this
amateur shot of their beds

Plan des Konzentrationslagers. The map

Inside the barracks.
(it's kinda cold in here.)

Tattoed survivors found in a barracks in Mauthausen
(May 5-15, 1945)

here's my cousin, still smiling
despite the devastated faces of suffering prisoners in the photo

Das Begräbnis.
The graveyard

Der Friedhof. The burial site of the other victims.

similar to a giant oven.
The Crematorium
(I didn't like the smell at all!)

could you imagine just how many people were burned in this so-called, giant oven?

Exekutionsstätte. The actual site where the holocaust took place

Inside the Sezierraum.

Der Sezierraum. literally means, The Dissecting Room.
As the literal meaning implies, this is the site where the corpses were... ok, never mind.

prison cell.
(go toward the light...)

Die Häftlingskleidung

the victims...
(i just could not afford to stare at their faces.)

a brief history.
(click on the image)

An old picture of the concentration camp.

stone fortification of Mauthausen.
(quite similar to that of Intramuros in Manila
or Fort San Pedro in Cebú)

Granite taken from the quarry was used to build the massive stone structure of the prison. In addition to the stone buildings, there were barrack buildings for the prisoners, constructed of wood and painted green with white trim around the windows.

Juan, Riche and ehem... yours truly

Linzzzzzzzzzz.....

A baroque church in Linz

eine Straße in Linz
(ich und Riche an der linken Seite der Straße)

These are my Childhood Frustrations. hehe

Welcome to Pöstlingberg in Linz!

surprised gnomes

I guess it's their first time to see a camera! Just look how surprised they were!

whatever..

The centerpiece of the fairy-tale land is a model of the main plaza of Linz constructed in 1936.

Roglerauer Urhase

on our way to the concentration camp

Filipinos in Linz

with my cousin in Grottenbahn. the ride was extremely boring! aargh!

Lewd thoughts...

Sometimes I feel the urge to %$&"§¿?!!! off when I know I should be doing something else.

Concealed Emotions

Flashback… 4 march 2003*

Someone broke into our house just as we were all asleep. When I heard a very familiar voice speaking right underneath my bedroom, I slowly got off my bed and pulled the door barely open, through which I could squint and have a little view of what was going on outside. What came into my sight was my father who was walking toward my room. Startled by what I saw, I jumped back onto my bed right away and pretended to be asleep. Mixed thoughts came rushing through my reverie, as though I couldn’t tell which emotion I should feel upon seeing my dad. In my dimly-lit room, he entered. I could feel his strong presence as he laid something on my bedside table. Whatever it was, I wouldn’t want to know. Without a word or even a gesture, he left me with a blank look on his face. Exactly as he had gotten out of the room, I followed and tried to reach out for him though he wouldn’t look back at me. Instead, I concealed myself behind my bedroom door to avoid being seen by my aunt, who, at that moment, was speaking to him. My father seemed as if a robot, having shown no expression on his face as he murmured peculiar words which sounded like gibberish to me. I peeked from behind the slightly opened door and watched my dad as he slowly walked away and out of sight.
Frustrated to express my sentiments for him, I felt as if I was a prisoner of my four-cornered room, as if I had been locked on a chain that obstructed me from reaching out for him, as if I had been ensnared by my emotions that I didn’t know whether to be happy or be sad. Instead, I was only a little child whose voice was unheard.
I confined myself on one corner until I found myself crying so hard that my breath almost stifled.
After awhile, I suddenly became unconscious.
Thinking that I had been suffering from a fatal nightmare, a person came rushing into my room and said, “Gising na, you must have been dreaming.”
After having traveled to a fantasy (which I know would seem impossible to happen), my poor restless soul finally came back to my body as my cousin suddenly slapped my face so hard that it brought me back to reality.

(This dream had occurred the night before I left for Austria. 4.March 2003)

Duele El Amor

duele el amor

Duele el amor sin ti,

duele hasta matar.

Siento la humedad en mí,
de verte llorar, ni hablar,
si es que tú te vas de aquí
creo que a mí me va a sufrir.
Hoy quisiera detener el tiempo,
la distancia entre los dos,
pero se apagó la luz del cielo,
ya no sale más el sol,
soy fragilidad sin ti,
¿cómo superar el fin?
¿dónde es que dañé?,
no sé, y el recuperar se fue.
Ni tú ni yo somos culpables,
pero somos vulnerables,
son las cosas de la vida,
¿qué me queda por vivir?.
Duele el amor sin ti,
llueve hasta mojar,
duele el amor sin ti,
duele hasta matar,
duele el amor sin ti,
todo está tan gris.