Thursday, March 12, 2009

Carpe Diem: Seize the Day and Place No Trust in Tomorrow!


After posting my most recent blog last month, my 12 days in hibernation (in aquaculture we call it "estivation") seemed a year. A day felt like a month.

I now realize that once a blogger, always a blogger (forever)!

Those 12 days in "estivation" seemed to me like being cut-off from the world. As I get out of denning from time to time to peep and glance on what's going on in the blogosphere, the more my heart bleeds because though I want to get going with blogging, I just can't...It's like the proverbial cliche "so near yet so far". I didn't even know that ThoughtsKoTo is temporarily on blog-proclaimed holidays. Thanks Nebz, RJ, and Ron.. and all buddies at Ka-Blogs and others who missed my posts for the past 12 days. You make me feel wanted! Thanks guys!

I'm still shut in writing a comprehensive manual on desert coast shrimp harvesting and may take me another 5 to 6 months more to finish. It's a herculean goal which I personally set. Nevertheless, I decided not to stay longer in hibernation - masikip, mainit at madilim.

So as I get out of my den, I am posting this trying-hard poem... my first ever to be posted - it will be like a movie premiere that is expectedly not a blockbuster but believe me, it's a high-time budget poem...took me much time while in hibernation to organize it.

Carpe diem is a phrase from a Latin poem by Horace. It is popularly translated as "seize the day". The general definition of carpe is "pick, pluck, pluck off, gather" as in plucking or picking a rose or apple, although Horace uses the word in the sense of "enjoy, make use of, seize." Another use of the word is by joining it with cras. This gives you Carpe Diem Cras, or "Seize the day tomorrow" the procrastinator's motto and an exact opposite of the meaning of "Carpe Diem" (Reference: Wikipedia).

Carpe diem is the favorite line of Mario Aguado, my poet-friend who encouraged me way back 3 to 4 years ago to try poem writing. I could just imagine his smile when he sees this post. Sorry Mar, malakas lang talaga ang loob ng kaibigan mo...ahahaha.

Carpe Diem

Time awaits for none
What kind of power is this?
That overpowers everything!
Kingdoms rise and fall
Evil triumphs and dies
Bridges built and destroyed

Seasons come and go
Summer sun dances
Desert foliage turn brown
Migrating geese and pelicans
Winter breeze flee as
Sandstorm's at the bend

How come sometimes it seems
To standstill in some corner
And in a wink of an eye
All is lost and gone forever
Moves so fast, can’t be retrieved
Reality slipping wastefully away

Success does not come
to those who wait
and it does not wait
for anyone to come to it
Seize every moment
Capture every chance!

18 comments:

  1. Hi NJ!

    Yeheyyyyyy you're back! It's always hard to juggle real life with blogging. As you said "once a blogger always a blogger." We'll always come back to it inspite of our busy schedules.

    Carpe Diem NJ!

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  2. Welcome back, NJ! Sabi mo nga: time waits for none, so carpe diem!

    First heard it in the movie Dead Poets Society. Seize the day for who knows what tomorrow may bring. And for some of us, sabi nga ni Nat King Cole: tomorrow was made for some, tomorrow may never come for all we know...

    Looking forward to reading more of you.

    (By the way, alam mo ba na may lumalabas na obnoxious-looking Neobar-something sa pahina ng blog mo? Nakaharang sa text ng post kaya hindi mabasa. FYI).

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  4. Nice poem!!!...

    Bahagi na ng buhay ko ang blogging kahit 4 months pa lang simula nung naging active ako dito.Gaya mo, di na yata maaalis sa sirkulasyon ko ang pagdaan sa mundo ng blogsphere, isang araw lang eh parang ang tagal na :D

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  5. Ron, once you're into blogging, life will never be the same again. It's like a breather for me. Sana kung malapit ka lang, isa sanang styrofoam box na sugpo ang matitikman mo sa lakas ba naman ng Yeheeeyyy mo! Got to catch up with your other posts. Thanks for the warm welcome buddy!

    Nebz, thanks for welcoming me back! Come to think of it, 12 days was such a short period but it seemed like a long absence from what you and I enjoy doing. I missed a lot of your posts too. I'll make sure to go through them as I consider your posts as among the best and among my inspirations in blogging! Yes, i gotta seize the moment for tomorrow may never come! btw, i'll try to fix that misplaced neobar...malesh!

    Lord CM, didn't know you're a newbie. Your blog is so impressive that I thot of it as among the more senior ones. Tumpak ka... once a blogger, always a blogger. Your page is who you are - it's your lifeline to the blogworld and I'm glad to have come across your blog and to be counted a follower. Thanks for dropping by!

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  6. Huhmn, sabi nga ng sountrack na ginamit sa isang OFW advertisement dati, "...babalik ka rin!"

    Akala ko po kung nagbakasyon na naman kayo sa Pilipinas, nabasa ko kasi sa nakalipas na post niyo, madalas kayong umuwi.

    Busy pala... kung kayo abala sa manual ng desert coast shrimp harvesting, ako naman po ay abala sa chiken harvesting! Whew, kaya madalas akong nasa-sleepy mode ngayon. Kailangan po ba 'yan sa HACCP at sa ISO accreditations?

    Tumatagal ako kapag nagbabasa ng poem, baka kasi magkamali ako sa interpretation. o",)

    High-time budget po pala ito?! Maganda ang mensahe, lalung-lalo 'yong last paragraph, lahat tayo ay makaka-relate doon.

    Na-activate ang lahat ng mga senses ko, by the way, dito sa poem niyo especially on the 2nd paragraph.

    [Haba na ng comment ko, ah. Last na 'to.] Medyo nahihirapan akong maghanap ng very appropriate English word para sa salitang 'sayang'. Ayun, may nakuha ako, "...slipping wastefully away."

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  7. I now realize that once a blogger, always a blogger (forever)! -THIS IS SO TRUE. I TRIED SO MANY TIMES TO LEAVE THE BLOGOSPHERE... BUT STILL ANDITO PA RIN AKO...

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  8. We really missed you NJ, your absence was felt sa Ka-Blog community.

    I can sense that your "estivation" has brought new freshness in YOU, enjoying each verses of your poem, I welcome you back friend, pasasalubungan kita ng "power hug".

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  9. i like your poetry! very inspiring and enlightening...

    i agree...once a blogger always a blogger. i decided to have a blog leave for a month and it ws killing me not being able to post my thoughts during my absence here in this virtual sphere.

    ---

    Thanks for the quote. really inspiring :)

    May God bless you.

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  10. Doc RJ, 'lam kong kanta na yan ah. Yes sked ko sanang umuwi ng Pinas next month (once every 3-4 months ang bakasyon ko)pero si wifey papuntang Tate next month kaya ipinagpaliban ko na lang para sa May and bawiin ko na lang sa next sked ang delay.

    Meron na kaming SOP para sa ISO at HACCP pero hanggang papel lang un 7-8 years ago just for the acrreditation dati. Ung Manual will be my contribution to Desert Coast Shrimp Harvesting & Harvest Management - all phases of the Supply Chain and Logistics including all the Operation. There is no available manual on this especially that we're slowly moving into automation. A lot of the harvesting technologies have been re-defined here at the desert coast. Went to Mexico, Venezuela, and Colombia last December to check on their systems and ours is a bit unique in many aspects.

    Re the poem, hindi na kelangang laliman ang pagbasa...hahaha...mababaw naman ang pagkasulat...ahahaha. Happy ka sa 2nd stanza dahil may geese and pelicans...pinsan ni manok.

    Oo nga ano? di ko rin napansin na un ang English ng sayang.

    Btw, nabasa ko ung Flavors of the Road http://archive.inquirer.net/view.php?db=0&story_id=24298 mo sa Inquirer 4 years ago...Galing talaga ng pagkagawa. You make me proud to have you as a blogger-friend.

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  11. JoShMaRie, thanks for the visit. Yes, for as long as we can express ourselves through our blogs and as long as there are faithful friends who continuously encourage and accept the idiosyncracies of what we write, so long we will be in the blogsphere for those expressions!

    Pope, I do hope the estivation refreshed me. Thanks for the "power hug" naipit ng todo ang mga taba-taba sa kaha ng katawan...ahahaha. Needs to catch up with all your posts when I was on sabbatical leave... Maramirami na rin eh...

    Lucas, to hear that comment from you about the poem is something. I extremely admire your posts and your style of writing. It seems like your posts just flow freely with all the words placed where they should be. Everytime I read your post, I am just awed by how you play with words. It's a great inspiration to all the bloggers!

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  12. ayayay welcome back wah ahlan sadiq!!!sabi nga ni gary v sa kanta nya kay tagal mo ng nawala babalik ka rin,babalik at babalik ka rin lol kasi sabi mo nga once a blogger always a blogger lol oi may pasaway na humaharang sa page mo si neobox nangugulo.

    ah kaya pala nawala ka bigla akala ko nagbakasyon ka or baka siguro busy sa pagbabasa ng twilight series lol.

    ibig sabihin nyan magkakaroon ng stocks ng hipon kasi wla silang tinitinda lol kayo rin ba nagsusupply sa mga supermarket?

    carpe diem memorable yan na term na yan sakin kasi yan ang pinangalan ko sa wine na ginawa ko from guava sa isang subject sa pharmacy sa college sounds masarap kasi pakinggan

    modir nj hindi ka lang pala na isang magaling na maunulat, isa ka rin palang makata astig!!!lalo mo akong pinahahanga kaibigan ano kaya sa susunod ang ipapamalas sakin ni modir nj......tuklasin sa susunod na post.

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  13. NJ, musta na dito, haha. Self Proclaimed holiday huh? nope parekoy, my work after vacation filed up, plus may part time na ginawang quality manual at ISO Operating Procedure kaya katakot takot na work. you know what I mean being a technical man.

    misses your previous post actually pero wala palang previous kasi pareho tayo...nyehaha

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  14. mighty dacz
    musta ng ipen mo? hindi pa nagsisimula ang pagbabasa ng twilight...hehehe.

    oo nga ano, marunong ka palang gumawa ng carpe diem...so pwede na tayong magcelebrate...iyo ang carpe diem, akin ang pulutan...LoL... hindi nga baka mapadpad ako dyan during long holidays...hehehe.

    ang susunod sa pagiging makata hindi ko pa alam...nasimulan na tuloy-tuloy na lang natin...hehehe.

    Kenj
    Yehey...hindi ka nag-iisa! Pareho tayo...
    Oi nandito ang naka self-proclaimed sabbatical leave. kmusta na? Kelan mo kunin shrimps mo... i know what it means by all those quality manuals for ISO... just for compliance pero nakakainis gumawa ano? at least what i'm doing now is challenging.

    Cheers!

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  15. At first I thought your post is about fishery. You know "Carpe Diem" which I mistakenly translated to "Fish everyday". : )

    Inspiring poem you got there NJ.

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  16. Whew! Paano po kayo nakarating sa Flavors of the Road?! Talagang nakikilala niyo na ako niyan. o",)

    [Naging teacher niyo po ba si Mrs. Prisca Lozenza Santos Morandante sa Notre Dame? Teacher ko siya sa Filipino sa University of Southern Mindanao.]

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  17. Pareng Vox -
    You're really a genius! Just imagine, Carpe Diem could be translated to mean "Fish (Carp) Everyday (Diem)". Wow that's wisdom for me! It can really mean that way and I'm really serious! It reminds me of the old Chinese proverb - "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."... If we seize the day, we will always have something to fill our stomach...

    Doc RJ -
    Ito pa ang isa pang henyong hinahangaan ko.
    I like your Inquirer article very much. Simply written but full of colors and flavors. Now I got to know you more (including your age now kc nakalagay rin don eh) and I appreciate that such a young man like you has braved life's challenges and has proven that after all the shams and drudgeries, it is still a beautiful life! Isa kang dakilang anak, kapatid at kaibigan!
    By the way hindi ko naging titser sa Notre si Madam Moradante...ang maalaala ko nung hi-school na tga USM na na-mi-meet ko sa NSSPC sina Quilban at Camacho ba un?

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  18. was here. waiting for ur new one too actually (ur one of my featured remember)..

    ur a certified blue blooded blogger, nananalaytay na sa dugo mo talga, and the good things is: u always have something fresh and inspiring to offer..kaya marami talga mkkmis sa iyo pag absent ka hehe

    ganyan talga ang pagsusulat, parang paghinga na..hahanap hanapi lalo't may humahanap sayo.

    konti na lang yata tayong tumutula ah, ayos ang iyong obra bruder, more pa !

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