Ninya Nerisa

writer • wanderer • Child of God

[ninyanerisa]

Hi Tumblr, it's been ten years since I was last here. I keep on encountering posts that mention your existence and I have been meaning to resurrect myself here since.

Ton and ton of things happened in the last decade. But let me begin with a random photo from my phone - PH has new polymer bills! It's a beauty but I lamented that the national heroes were replaced.

I'll catch you up one at a time. XOXO

[ninyanerisa]

Walang hugot, walang ampalaya: Happy Valentine's friends! Life is too short to hate, so spread the love! 😘❤😃😄✌💑🎉🎆🎶

[ninyanerisa]

Saturday morning. 😄😃😁 #leterrr #playedwithwatercolor #psalm #prayer #itsactually #63versefour! #weekend 😘

[ninyanerisa]

"To hear and accept God's call, to make a home for Jesus, you must be able to rest in the Lord. You must make time each day for prayer.... If we do not pray, we will not know the most important thing of all: God's will for us. And for all our activity, our busy-ness, without prayer we will accomplish very little." #PopeinPH #BlessedByThePope #mercyandcompassion #meetingoffamilies #Pontifex #PopeFrancis #lablab #welovethepope #letterrr

[ninyanerisa]

Sharing with you one of my favorite songs/prayers, Shifting Sand by Caedmon's Call. 😊😄😋😃🎤🙏 "And like a consumer I've been thinking If I could just get a bit more  More than my 15 minutes of faith,  Then I'd be secure  My faith is like shifting sand  Changed by every wave  My faith is like shifting sand  So I stand on grace..." #prayer #song #marinduquebeach 😊

[ninyanerisa]

The elevator which must raise me to the heavens is Your arms, O Jesus! For that I do not need to grow; on the contrary, I must necessarily remain small, become smaller and smaller. O my God, You have surpassed what I expected, and I want to sing Your mercies. Happy feast of St. Therese! Oh little saint!

[ninyanerisa]

I had breakfast alone at Marco Polo Davao this morning and so I've got no one to talk to but myself. 😁 Bro. Bo Sanchez said that life is like a buffet table - everything you would want is just right in front of you - fish, beef, chicken, fruits, veggies, sweets, etc.. All you have to do is grab them. I guess, he's right. God conspires for us to realize our dreams and aspirations that He Himself implanted in us. We just have to let Him direct us. #reflectionbythesunrise #breakfast #work #wowdavao #happysaturday

[ninyanerisa]

Akala ko sapat na yung isang oras na palugit para makarating ako sa Edsa Shrine. At akala ko male-late lang ako sa misa. Ayun wala akong naabutan! Along the way I realized that maybe, we experience delays in life because Jesus is purifying our hearts and our intentions. He is testing how far would we go to get what we want or to where we dream to be. And just like the sweetest things in life that we chase, a dream, a status or relations we want to keep, no matter how long or strenuous the journey is, the destination is always worth it. 😊 #feelingblessed #grateful #loved #prayer #thursdate #thankyouJesus

[ninyanerisa]

Chocolate Goodness

It started with Giulio Di Sturco’s photo for Time and since I only know Madagascar from the animated comedy film on four zoo animals, I clicked on it. 

The short article and the series of photos showed farmer and gang member killings over cocoa beans in Madagascar. Cocoa being one of the major agricultural products and Madagascar being one of the poorest countries in the world, cocoa beans literally mean life to them.

As an advocate of eating chocolates when sad or tired or just craving, the first question that came in my mind was, ‘Is my favourite chocolate sources its cocoa from Madagascar?’ And so my research digs further.

Africa, where Madagascar is located supplies 70% of the cocoa needs of the chocolate manufactures in the Western part of the world (slavefreechocolate.org) with the Ivory Coast being the top producer (1.650 million metric tons in 2012). This is because the Cacao trees thrive easily in equatorial regions.

Aside from the killings in Madagascar are also the issues of child labour, human trafficking and abusive labour practices in the cocoa industry not only in the country but in the African continent. Grist.org cited in one of its articles a 2011 Tulane University study that projected the number of children working in cocoa-related activities at 819,921 in Ivory Coast and 997,357 in Ghana.

Nevertheless, not all cocoa farmers/workers are underpaid and abused. There are Fair Trade Certified Producer groups or cocoa farmers that are paid with or even above the minimum market price. Chocolate manufacturers who buy cocoa from them gets the ‘Fair Trade’ chocolate label or in other words, slave free chocolate classification.

This brings me now to a list of Fair Trade chocolates which unfortunately are all foreign to me. 

(this is from slavefreechocolate.org:)

I thought of looking for organic or fair trade chocolates that are locally produced. I found Theo and Philo Artisan Chocolates that boast of being the only bean to bar chocolate in the Philippines. This chocolate company, founded in Davao City by Philo Chua shows off unique chocolate flavours with a Filipino twist like the Adobo flavour that has soy sauce toffee and black pepper.

I tried it since this might be my staple chocolate from now on. The Milk Chocolate Turon flavour taste good, the banana taste is really there and the crispy caramel made it more fun to eat. I also bought the Dark Chocolate with Green Mango and Sea Salt and it was really dark. Haha! I am not fond of eating dark chocolates but for those who are, please try this, it will really kick in to your senses!

A friend told me to try the Labuyo flavour or tour around GK Enchanted Farm in Angat, Bulacan to see how the chocolates are made. (Theo and Philo, I guess partnered with Tony Meloto’s Gawad Kalinga.) I said I just might do that some time. Tara! 

05/29/2014

[ninyanerisa]

To make sure your favorite dessert contains authentic cacao beans and is not a product of child labor or human trafficking in Africa, we can always buy this Filipino produced and made chocolates from Davao. 😊 Theo and Philo chocolates taste good though I've only tasted the Milk Chocolate Turon and Dark Chocolate with Green Mango and Salt flavors. Hihi. 😊 Next time I'll try the Adobo flavor, chocolate with soy sauce toffee and black pepper😜 #filipinomade #buypinoy #loveyourown #chocolates #theoandphilo #newfavorite #notransfat #sweets #pinas #damingalamanuba #fairtrade

[ninyanerisa]

Monday Morning

The last thing you want to be or do is to wake up late on a Monday morning. This is the moment when people scurry to public transport terminals to go to the office or school. Well, in our case (I’m not sure with yours), it is during Mondays when the queuing for a bus ride takes longer than the traveling time.

Today, I woke up late. I’m supposed to be at the bus terminal at 5am but I was only awakened by around 5:10am. Without panicking, I went to the bathroom while thinking if I will take breakfast or not. But I just can’t leave the house without eating and so I took my time.

At the terminal, the line was long as expected. I saw my katukayo from 1st Year College, Nerisse Niña and told her (as if she doesn’t know already) how cruel Monday morning lines can be. Haha! I also saw a church friend and we chat for a while.

Upon seeing that there’s only one bus left, I decided to hop in even though I will be standing just so I won’t be late. While walking in the aisle of the bus, I noticed an empty seat and asked the next person if someone seats there. He said no and I felt that it was actually saved for me. :)

I don’t know if this short story is even worth your time. I just wanted to share how God has been sweet to me in the littlest of things. Sometimes, I don’t notice the little favors I am getting, screw me! And so each day, I resolve to find the blessing and not the curse. Join me in counting? 

05262014

[ninyanerisa]

Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.

Andrew Gide

CHANGE. The only constant thing in this world; the one thing that can encompass both beautiful and ugly. But for my part, it was a beautiful phase of my life. 

Friends, I made a decision recently (when I say recently, it's like two months ago. haha) that changed my life, my direction and my motivation. 

There's a lot to be said about it, too many that I have to devote a major blog post for it. 

Soon. :)

04/07/2014

[ninyanerisa]

Forgiveness liberates the soul. It removes fear. That is why it is such a powerful weapon.

Thank you and RIP Nelson Mandela

[ninyanerisa]

This might appear to be a selfie but for me it’s not. It’s more of remembering a friend and a brother.

These are photos of me taken by Kuya Joseph. He died when I was still grasping for ways to mourn for my cousin’s passing. I don’t know if I was able to give him a proper tribute. If not, please allow me to do it now.

Kuya Joseph, thank you for teaching me techniques in Photoshop and Premiere, for always listening to my stories and rants and dreams, for executing my ideas both in our AVPs and in bullying our office mates (esp Ate Didai and Cecille, PEACE po), for your encouragements, for sharing with me Daryl Dixon, este The Walking Dead, for influencing me with the extra rice (esp those times when we eat at  Mang Inasal during payday), for your sacrifices to our projects (esp those concerning the National Government), for our long chats on our way home, for doing my sister’s project and my friend’s too (even though you haven’t met him), for your suggestions in my segments, for making the office lighter and happier, for your music (minsan lakas mo maka-boyband, hmmmm), for being with us sa pagtakas tuwing Thursday (alam mo na). For everything else you did that I fail to mention, thank you!

It’s hard to get used to you not being here esp when it’s always you and Mac I see when I open the door. May the good Lord grant you eternal peace! I miss you! 

[ninyanerisa]

Love, Life

Life is not measured by the number of years on earth but on the number of hearts one has touched.

If we’re going to measure yours with the former, 19 years is really really short. But if we’re going to count the number of people who went to your wake, who shed tears for your passing, who wore personalized shirts to honor your 19 years, there is no doubt your life is well lived.

I was not only astonished by the number of your friends, but I am also amazed by how you've been a blessing to each of them. Their overflowing love for you only goes to show what kind of person you are. You may be naughty at times but you loved genuinely.

In your passing I cried so much, my heart ached like it was torn into pieces. I cried because you’re gone and I won’t see you anymore, hindi na ako makakaangkas sa motor mo. But I cried for myself too because I could have loved you more, I could have done more things for you, I could have returned your sweetness. Now, I won’t have chance anymore.

I am afraid I might forget you, the things you do, the person you are. But maybe I won’t since you left us with the greatest reminder… that life is short, that no one really knows when our time is up, that life is just about loving. I even think you left us, your cousins, a little more loving. We touch each other na. haha!

I love you cuz! Pray for us! See you soon! 

[ninyanerisa]

Love becomes greater and nobler in calamity.

Gabriel Garcia Marquez

[ninyanerisa]

Days of Gratitude: Day 322 :) Last night I dropped a prayer to my SFJTD box bec I don't want to worry much about my shoot today. I was particular with the prayer of getting back my 'paluwal' for d day. hihi. True enough, I haven't arrived yet to my destination, my officemate told me she got d amt already from our boss! haha! And I got to enjoy so much touring Angat Dam!! Thank You Jesus. #somethingforjesustodobox #blessed #amazingplace