Perks in Bisita Iglesia

My sister En and I have dreamt of visiting the infamous Liliw Church in Laguna. This town futhermore is known for as the "tsinelas" (slippers) factory, and thus hold a Tsinelas Festival annually.

I have this petition for a divine interference I bore within me for quite awhile; I just cannot pinpoint what specific intention. And a visit to a historic church was thought to be very necessary. And to realize the long-planned Liliw Church visit seemed to be just the time.

My sister cannot join me then since it was her very birthday and she has thrown a small party; so I went alone. I took the HM bus from Cubao that was bound for San Pablo City in Laguna. Around 3 hours later, I arrived and disembarked at SM San Pablo City. I was in the impression that the jeepney terminal was within the mall area. Having taken my lunch, I rode a jeepney en route to the city's downtown. The pick up point for passengers heading to Liliw was at a corner fronting the city's Cathedral. The jeepney ride from San Pablo to Liliw was so short and the driver courteously dropped me off at the right gate of the known baroque church in the "tsinelas" town.

Without much ado, I entered the church and marvel at the intricacy of interior design. The exterior even has this aging red bricks covering all around it. I offered my intent petitions and roamed around the picturesque surroundings.

Next attraction in the area are the slippers and sandals, the one and only product that made Liliw known also. The shops too laid side by side along the main streets. I was not able to get hold of myself and in fact bought a souvenir sandals for my sisters and mother.

My strolling was done early and so I took a jeepney and rode back to San Pablo City. And decided to check on the nearby town with equal fame as Liliw, it is Nagcarlan, Laguna. Without much knowledge of this town, so I dropped by its old Catholic Church. Its facade looked just like Liliw's except the interiors and with less intricacy. I offered again my intent petitions and took pictures of the surroundings.

 

Then I walked my way up and peeked into its municipal hall and of course its Underground cemetery. It was only there and then that I took notice of this tourist destination. Indeed, it was one of a kind and a must see. I was not able to really check on the underground since the spot was still flooding after the heavy rains in prior days.

The sweating strolls made me feel satisfied with this trip and another jeepney ride brought me back to San Pablo City. Since the drop off point was again at the front of the city's Catholic Cathedral, so I paid a visit in this white church. And for the third time of the day, I offered my intent petitions.

Having visited three churches in a day seemed a "Bisita Iglesia" to me. And it was worth it! Few months later, God helped me realize my parents requests --- the acquisition of a family car. In just three days of processing, my first Toyota Innova was released and in two more days, that car was handed over to my proud parents.

Numbers

In the Old Testament, and I am referring to the Holy Scripture, the fourth book of Moses is called Numbers, because it begins with the numbering of the people. The Hebrews, from its first words, call it Vaiedabber. It contains the transactions of the Israelites from the second month of the second year after their exodus, until the 11th month of the 40th year; that is, a history almost of 39 years.

A movie worth watching entitled Murder by Numbers is a psychological suspense-thriller that tells the story of a tenacious homicide detective Cassie Mayweather, Sandra Bullock's role, and her new partner Sam Kennedy, performed by Ben Chaplin, who became pitted against two malevolently brilliant young men, starring Ryan Gosling and Michael Pitt, in  an ingenious battle of wits as they try to solve a murder case.

I wanted to cite more writings, articles, movies, post ads that talk about numbers, just like those mentioned above. But I want to concentrate more on this article that I thought of a lot of times. Permit me to borrow the title Numbers.

I believe I am good in numbers. I am an Accountant for ***'s sake. I was awarded the "Mercury Drug Excellence in Mathematics" in my elementary years and "Best in Math" in high school. I joined Math Olympiad in my college years, and for 4 consecutive years I always reached the finalist, though I have never been declared the champion. I chuckled at this thought.

Until... I met this man. A man who is per my scaling is a really perfect 10. I initially thought I was the good one, but he is better. He is a Math geek, although he does not look like one. His pretty-boy look is the exact opposite of it. He is a Statistician, a high school math teacher. He ate numbers, so to speak.

14-15-16-19 are very significant numbers for me when I stumbled on him. They account for our first meeting, his first call, my first time to flirtatiously call him 'babe', and our first date, respectively. Numbers play a vital role in our personalities, in our relationship. He speaks well of it and I deal with it so often. 8 is our lucky number, I must say, because both our first and family names count 8. To the Chinese feng shui, number 8 is considered auspicious because it sounds like "getting rick" - which we both dream.

Our birthdays even have similarities; his is 10-19 and mine is 01-09. Hence, 'tis my theory therefore, that numbers indeed can tell compatibility. He is Mr. Roderick Jadoc Mendiola y Jamora Rosales. A good-natured person, a great man. A good friend, trustworthy confidante. A sweet lover, loving sweetheart. Absolutely a bomb, babe!

As per my computation, I will age with him a lifetime... And for this I say, though this may sound kiddy, teeny, corny, or cheesy: 1-4-3-4-4-4. Babe, you can dial these numbers anytime, anywhere; toll-free. Today is your birthday, please enjoy and God bless you more bountiful years.