My Little Mermaid

This post is dedicated to my mother who is celebrating her birthday today. She was an example that inspired me to take good care of a special child like Lyca, who was a Little Mermaid during the Christmas party of the rehab center of Quirino Memorial Medical Center, where she undergoes regular physical therapy.

Happy Birthday M O M !!

Musings of a "Batang San Miguel"

Today is my eldest daughter's birthday, I wonder how else can I make her day happy aside from cooking her favorite pasta. Oh yes, I made her use my laptop practically the whole day until the desktop computer was vacated by her brother.

I thought maybe I can search youtube for a song I can dedicate to her so I'm now searching. But my search brought me to an article she wrote for my former employer's newsletter, "Kaunlaran". Here it is:

MUSINGS OF A ‘BATANG SAN MIGUEL’

‘Ang Batang San Miguel’- 1. The epitome of the humble Filipino patriarch, who works day in, day out, to provide for his family. At the end of each grueling day, he finds himself weary, nevertheless still inspired by the blessing that his family is as he reflects and relaxes over a bottle of his favored Gold Eagle beer; 2. The hardworking Filipino laborer, who, in the hard slog of manual drudges, finds time to loosen up with fellow laborers, over warming shots of Ginebra San Miguel Gin; 3. The much-idolized San Miguel cagers, who, in their ‘game-less’ nights, take on the flippancy of your ordinary ‘barkada’ in your ‘inuman sa bahay’ thing, guzzling none other than the ‘barkada’s’ favorite pick-me-up, San Miguel beer.

Much of the familiar personas of a ‘Batang San Miguel’ are owed to the ideal images indicated in San Miguel beverages advertisements. The lesser known of all these personas, is the ‘Batang San Miguel’ that I claim I am. I hardly fit into the embodiment of a modest patriarch, or of an industrious laborer, and especially not of a vigorous San Miguel cager, though I enjoy the liberty of drinking the famed beer in moderation. But I am a ‘Batang San Miguel’ in the most literal sense I could think of. How? Let me walk you through the prospects of an unassuming San Miguel ex-dependent: Myself, a ‘Batang San Miguel’.

My mom became a San Miguel employee in 1987. I was seven years old then, and all I knew was that mommy holds office in a big building of slanted glass poised in a big space of greenery and ponds of orange fish. I did not know that her employment would have repercussions on us, as I did not understand why we should drink Coke (not Pepsi), or consume Magnolia Ice Cream (not Selecta), or even why we should root for San Miguel Team (and not any other when San Miguel is on the court). We just had to because her company endorsed the products. I got used to being a loyal consumer anyway, and that was not so difficult especially when we got product freebies, discounts, and free tickets to San Miguel games. Through all those years I grew up in amusement of San Miguel celebrity endorsers, and my teenage years were consumed in admiration of the hunks that San Miguel cagers were.

I basically grew up reaping most of the benefits of the common dependent. Of course, your usual San Miguel dependent enjoys a whole lot more benefits than product freebies. I, for one, at fourth grade, had my first pair of spectacles prescribed by and loaned from San Miguel. I was entitled to subsequent visits to the San Miguel clinic in Makati for free check-ups and consultations, taking on the San Miguel route through my mumps, chicken pox, measles, typhoid and other childhood ailments I do not even remember having. For the more pleasurable benefit of it, I always tagged along in company outings, which took our family to different scenic summer places such as Cavite, Antipolo and Batangas. I also had the opportunity to suit myself as a spectator in San Miguel events and programs (singing contests, photography exhibits and the like), but the ones having the most impact on me were the performances of the recently founded San Miguel Orchestra and Chorale, which I beheld with much amusement and pride, as they, I believe, are the best in the country.

Though I personally think that all these opportunities and benefits were a great deal to earn, our family’s ‘involvement’ with San Miguel was not limited to mere advocacy of the products, nor to the ‘event-crashing’ we constantly did. Not long after my mom’s employment, San Miguel Corporation organized summer workshops for the employees’ children, which ended with a culminating activity at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. My brother and I were made to join the workshops, myself in the beginner ballet class held at the gym, and my brother in the singing workshop they had for little kids. It was a fascinating experience for me, a shy seven year old, to socialize within the San Miguel complex, then energized and animated with more than enough kids my eyes feasted on (and WOW they were all potential playmates!). The workshops were fun-filled with much dancing, singing and acting, as we prepared for our production entitled ‘The Wiz’, directed no less by the Bernardo Bernardo. It was my first taste of ‘stardom’ as I tottered on stage, as one of the flowers in the play. From then on, I was no stranger to public performance, and my brother, as a Batman action figure, had his debut in the theater at four years old.

Now, at almost twenty-three years old, it gets a little different, I guess. No more perks for me because I AM an ex-dependent. But come to think of it, I got more than what was given to me, that in this adult juncture in my life, I regard myself someone who has a far better title than “The Ex-Dependent”. I am a ‘Batang San Miguel’, because it would be hypocritical of me to say that I was made nothing by all of my ‘dependent’ years. After all those years of product endorsements, event spectacles and glitzy productions, I found myself in a “destined deja-vu”. Interestingly (for me, at least), I turned out to be a public performer, because I took up a course, the love for which, was instilled in me by my San Miguel workshop days ---- MUSIC. I came to love music and I found myself in proximity to the stage, and all the love for that started when I was designated a flower in a glittering powder blue tutu. It was also all those years spent as a spectator to San Miguel’s creative programs that I was unknowingly honing my own creativity and imagination, as I sat through each singing contest, choral competition, dance intermission, photography ehibit, and most of all, the breathtaking performances rendered by the San Miguel Chorale and Orchestra. Not only was I given the privilege to witness all these happenings, but to a greater extent, I was given the honor to become inspired by it all.

I guess for the most part, the benefits enjoyed by San Miguel’s dependents do greatly to ease the everyday lives of the employees, that they are assured of aid to come especially in times of need. Little do they realize that they are in store for more significant advantages, like what being a San Miguel dependent did to me: it gave me the inspiration to find out who I was, and to seek where I belong to. I now deem myself a part of the San Miguel family, as I deem it a valuable part of me. With all of these musings in mind, I am full of pride in claiming myself a ‘Batang San Miguel’.

Lauren Lois Venida
11 Sept 2003

Mission Impossible Part 2

One of my favorite posts in this blog last year was "Pearl Farm in Davao and Mission Impossible", probably because it tells about the most unforgettable chapter in my life, so far. My trip to Davao was sudden, of course also the stay at the beautiful Pearl Farm resort in Davao. I was not on vacation, I was on a mission, and that was to take back a special child to Manila.

My task in Davao was just to wait if the mother, who asked me to adopt her child who was born inside our house in Manila, will bring back her child to me before I go back to Manila. I brought them to Davao because the parents of the mother wanted to see their grandchild who just turned a year old, and whom our whole household, including that of my in-laws, learned to love so much in spite of the child's disabilities. She is blind and has cerebral palsy, two reasons why we and the mother would like to take her back. So she could be taken cared of, which would be hard in a remote town in Davao four hours away from a hospital.

While the mother's parents were enjoying their biological grandchild, my daughter and I stayed for 2 days and 1 or 2 nights at Pearl Farm resort. My objective was to forget the real reason why I was in Davao, and to take away all my worries. Afterwards, a couple in Davao City very close to our family brought us to the Santo Nino Shrine to pray. My prayer was to grant to the child “whatever is best for her welfare”.

On our fourth day in Davao, it was time for the mother and child with a child's relative to meet us in a mall in the morning. While waiting, my daughter and I shopped for some items, but ended up buying only for the child (a stuffed toy and a pair of cute sunglasses). I asked my daughter, "will she be able to wear this?". We were both sad, but decided to think positively. Unfortunately, they did not appear.

There was a garden resort owned by my husband's good friend, Mr. Puentespina, where we were invited to stay even for just a day, so my daughter and I proceeded to go there. But on our way, the child's relative sent me a message through my cellphone saying that they rented a van and that they wanted to follow us. She did not mention if the child was with them.

It was past noon I think, when I was waiting outside the resort for the van. As they went out of the van, I can't describe how happy I was to see the child. I learned that at 2 in the morning, they kidnapped the child using the rented van with driver. The mother kidnapped her own child.

I think that was August 26, six years ago. The adoption process is now over, only this month, and that was the reason why I haven't told a more detailed story like this one in my first post. Her new birth certificate is now filed in the National Statistics Office. It took years to complete that, because we wanted to be sure about the mother's decision, and some red tapes happened during the process.

Both the biological mother and grandparents of the child are now happy that she is in good hands and is loved so much. The adoption process is over, so she is no longer an adopted child.

2009 Babies

The New Year is always symbolized by a baby, so to start the year 2009, I’m excited to talk about the things babies or toddlers will need! I know that a lot of mothers are more excited than me because a baby grows so fast, and sooner or later will need this and that.

When my son and daughter were babies until they became toddlers, I could remember I would go to several malls to look for the exact item fit for them. Window shopping for the right item at the right price would last me a week or two. It’s easier with my special needs child now, since her requirements are not as many as that of a normal child. But I’m equally excited as the other mothers because this kind of child would use children’s items for a long time, and therefore I should choose the more durable ones. Our special needs child is now six years old, but she still has to use the play pen or play yard we bought more than 3 years ago. We knew that would happen, so we saw to it that it was a durable play yard.

I have good news to parents! That exact model of the play yard is not always available at the store where we bought it, but I saw it in a website called ShopWiki, which is linked to several stores. It was fun to go through this website and the sites linked to it because all the items for babies and toddlers can be found there. It is categorized into "buying guides" that will assist the buyer, and each guide presents helpful information that are linked to other sites or stores. The play yard for example, can be found in the "Activity Sets and Play Yards Buying Guide". The "Infant and Toddler Clothing Buying Guide" has countless of different kinds of clothings for babies and toddlers to choose from.

While everyone is skeptical about how Baby 2009 will develop or progress, mothers can’t wait to see what their babies might need the whole year. With proper nurturing, both kinds of babies will be healthy and happy throughout the year!

Passion and Persistence

When I was new to Toastmasters Club in the Philippines in 2002, I was surprised to hear from the district officers of the club that my father was behind Manila Bay Toastmasters Club’s consistent status of belonging to one of the top Toastmasters clubs in the country. When I became the VP for Education of another Toastmasters branch, the Makati Toastmasters Club, I felt I had to achieve for my club what my father was able to accomplish for his club, even just for the duration of my term and I succeeded. Another success followed the succeeding year, which resulted to our club being included in the Hall of Fame of Toastmasters International.

Whenever Toastmasters Club had a speech contest and I was a contestant, my father consistently supported me, till I reached the division level. When I was retired from work, I had to resign from the club to study, while my father became sickly and also had to resign from the club.



Shown are photos of Taal Lake surrounding Taal Volcano where only a small crater is shown but it is only the mouth of the volcano, because its body is immersed in the lake. It is one of the active and famous volcanoes in the Philippines. I can say it is one of the most visited tourist spot in the country because it is in Tagaytay City, the second coldest city in the country.


The second photo which included my son O.C., and our adopted special child, Lyca at the foreground, was shot at a "viewing strip" that are occupied by restaurants, like the one shown in the third photo which included some members of my husband's clan, the Venida clan, with an overlooking view of the lake and volcano. All these first three photos were shot in January 2005, at the same time my father was exclusively selling lot properties in a subdivision near this viewing strip of the lake and volcano. My father was a real estate broker almost all his life and even in his 70s, almost every weekend he would bring clients to Tagaytay City or meet them there, until all the lots in this subdivision were sold out. It was his usual passion and persistence that made that possible.

When my own family had acquired real estate properties, my father not only had time to always personally meet me to answer my real estate property queries but would even always remind me to immediately attend to concerns related to real property before they become big problems. Even during this time that my father is now sickly, I don’t expect him to exert an effort to help us sell our townhouse unit, but he still continues to help us look for a buyer.

Most people who didn’t know me before I got married were not aware that my parents had separated a long time ago and had their own families. In spite of that, I consider myself very lucky because both my mother and father had spent considerable time to show their love for me, and most of all, to inspire me to do my best.

My father wasn’t present during my growing years but maybe that was meant to be. It was during these past years, even in my 50s and my father in his late 70s, that I needed his presence and advices the most, and I’m fortunate he was always around to guide me.

From my husband Renz and me, and grandchildren Lauren, O.C., and Lyca,

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY to my Dad and the rest of the fathers in the world!

El Guayaboso by Novo Concertante

I’d like to end this Mother’s Day month with music that every mother and her whole family will surely enjoy! I can’t also end this month without sharing how Mother’s Day was different for me this year. It was only this year that I realized that any special day that was started to be celebrated on its eve will be extraordinarily special because it will set a happy mood hours in advance.

I had a grand time during Mother’s Day Eve because my son and daughter, O.C. and Lauren, treated us their parents, to a concert where their choir, the Novo Concertante, were one of the participants. After that, we ate at Tereyaki Boy where I enjoyed the food chosen by the two young adults. The food was very good, maybe because we were first satisfied by the “appetizers”, the songs of Novo Concertante.

My camera can only shoot two songs at the most, and I was lucky that there were no distractions while I was shooting their last song, El Guayaboso, unlike the song prior to that where there were a lot of “passers-by”.

You will surely enjoy this video of Novo Concertante singing El Guayaboso (The Liar), because of their unique rendition. O.C. and Lauren were side by side (below the middle of the "Voyages" signage), at the right of their choir master, Arwin Tan. The concert was part of the series of concert of Madz et al Festival 2008 titled “Voyages”. It was a festival participated by choirs conducted by former members of the internationally known Madrigal Singers of the Philippines. Arwin Tan was one of the Madrigal Singers, and he is the conductor of Novo Concertante which won several international awards the past years. He was also the conductor when University of Asia and the Pacific Chorale won the grand prize at the international contest in Preveza, Greece (The Victory post of this blog). Some members of this chorale like my son, are now members of Novo Concertante.



I published this video in “You Tube” and there was a comment that shared the story of El Guayaboso. It is a Cuban folk song composed by Guido Lopez Gavilan of Cuba. "It tells of stories that are purely lies which Gavilan heard from his grandma when he was still little.. he composed the song but was actually made for a group of percussions.. thus keten keten, etc, cum cum, etc.." (parts also sang by the choir).

A "stage mother" like me will not miss to take photos of her children right after their concert so you'll also see those photos here.

Pearl Farm in Davao and Mission Impossible

I hope those who read my previous post The Special Child’s Rights will be able to read this post because it tells what happened before we adopted Lyca, the special child. I assumed the responsibility to care for the mother and child after birth and also brought them to the relatives especially the grandfather of Lyca who lived in a remote town in Davao, a province in the Philippines. The biological grandmother of Lyca stayed for a while in Manila to see this child so she was already with mother and child and a cousin, when we all went to Davao, my daughter Lauren also with us. My daughter and I stayed in the city of Davao while the grandmother, cousin, mother and child proceeded to the remote town where they lived. Lyca was already one year old at that time, her disabilities already known to many.

Lyca’s mother had wanted me to adopt Lyca since birth, but I was ready for whatever can happen when they reach their home in Davao. I said I’ll stay in Davao City to wait for them to come back, but only for 3 days. Whether they come back to me or not after 3 days, I’ll go back to Manila.

In the meantime, Lauren and I had the opportunity to stay with one of the closest persons to me when I was a child, her name is Ningning and lives in Davao City, and also the opportunity to spend a two days and two nights vacation at the most popular resort in Davao, the Pearl Farm Beach Resort in Samal Islands. At first I thought it was really a Pearl Farm so I expected to see shells with pearls but they said it used to be a pearl farm. It is now a resort that was initially exclusive for tourists until they opened it to the public. It has two white sand beaches and another two or more beaches at a smaller island.

That two days and two nights vacation at Pearl Farm Beach Resort felt like a gift from God. It was the first time I took a vacation leave from the office after 15 years, and it covered the eve and the day of my 50th birthday!

The video posted here was created by Ully Jerus, the President of Makati Toastmasters Club at that time, but it was just a series of photos that were of course shot by me, or Lauren if I was the subject. Ully used the "Mission Impossible" soundtrack which I feel is very appropriate because the only reason why I was in Davao was because of my mission to take back Lyca which seemed impossible at that time. I was also known as "Malui", and that explains the title of the video.

To make my story short, Lyca’s biological mother fought for her child to be brought back to me. Their place is not suitable for Lyca’s condition because it is a remote town two hours away from the nearest hospital by boat and four hours by bus, and there were limited facilities at the hospital. Worst was the grandmother couldn’t accept that Lyca has disabilities so she wouldn’t tell everyone about them. The latest that I’ve heard was the biological grandmother of Lyca has already accepted that the best for this child is to be under my care.

The Special Child's Rights

At first I thought I shouldn’t participate in blogging about Human Rights because there are a lot of bloggers who can beautifully discuss that issue. Until I realized that “human” includes every person, including my special child. What if no blogger will remember to talk about the rights of a “special child”? I will never forgive myself!

From the time a child is conceived, it has the right to be well taken cared of to be able to live! Any attempt to neglect the child through the food a mother eats or takes in, the fetus will immediately feel “rejection”. That fact is probably unknown to many. The child will remember that feeling until he or she is born. The mother can make up for it of course, but she has to have a thorough understanding of what transpired while the child was still inside her so she can patiently accomplish what needs to be done.

What about a special or disabled child? If his or her disability is congenital and not hereditary, the rejection he or she felt while inside the uterus is unimaginable! In that case the parents of this child will need all the help to be able to make up for the feelings of rejection this child remembers. But the reverse happens to a lot of families with a disabled child. This child is taken for granted, considered a shame to the family and so on and so forth.

Why did we adopt a special child who is blind and has cerebral palsy? Primarily because she has the right to live! Not to be taken for granted but to be loved as part of our family, just like our very own children.

Several times this special child fought to live! She was just one pound when she was born so nobody thought she was going to live. She was brought to the hospital together with the placenta, her umbilical cord uncut. After one day, she was traveled by car to be transferred to another hospital that had available incubators. There was an accident after her blood transfusion that she turned almost gray. She was discharged much earlier than expected because her neighboring babies died because of an epidemic. By the time this photo was shot, this special child was just taken home because of the epidemic at the hospital. Notice her very tiny head at one month and 20 days old, emphasized by the presence of the adults around her.

If you were counting, this child met five risks until she was taken out of the hospital. She met and surpassed five risks, at the time it was not even time for her to be born! All of us concerned about this child can’t help but ask “what is the mission of this child that she has to surpass all those risks and still live?”

Our special child's name is Lyca, and she will turn 6 this July. Through this post alone, I know a part of her mission is accomplished. Her story is a reminder that children like her have the right to live normally and be educated, and most importantly, the right to be loved!

Mom's Greatest Legacy

Whenever I read my previous post about my Mom, it seems unfinished. How could I forget her most important legacy to us her children?

Mom sings to the flowers, no wonder some were even taller than her as shown on the picture in my previous post. If ever there was a value our Mom had consistently exposed us to, it is compassion to all living things. People loved her because they were always welcome in her home. She treated her domestic helpers like her own relatives. That was why one of them would always come to our house every Christmas season to visit her in case she’s spending her Christmas in the Philippines. Her name is Emily and is living comfortably with her own family but she would jokingly say “I should have asked “Mommy” to adopt me!”.

I have committed to contribute a post about human rights on May 15 and it touches on adoption. Thanks to my Mom’s legacy, adoption was easily accepted to our family. With this addendum about her greatest legacy, people will now understand why without any second thought, I adopted a special child.

I love you Mom!

My First Idol and Inspiration

I got a comment from my post “House Painting Turned Into A Hobby” that I am already an expert. Not really, it’s just that I have the confidence of an expert since I’ve learned to paint the house when I was still in high school. It was my mother who taught me how. It was also my mother who was the first to expose me to the field of arts by sketching my portrait when I was a child. Because of that, I discovered that I also have a talent for sketching, especially portraits.

In one of my March posts in this blog, Dreams List, included was to be an announcer or an emcee, not because I really wanted to be one, but because I wanted to experience even just for a while, the job of my mother as a radio announcer and drama talent. I was her avid fan then and I idolized her.

The trophy of my mother as the “Most Valuable Employee” from one of her last employers in Manila had inspired me to always work hard. I longed to get a similar trophy but I knew it was impossible because my longest employment was in the biggest corporation in the Philippines.

Just recently, my mother took up a Medical Assistant course (Medical Transcription in other countries), and she was the valedictorian in her class. When it comes to learning new skills, my mother had always been my inspiration. “She’s already 70. If she can do it, I can do it!”, I would always tell myself.

Last year, my mother’s poem "Soldier, Soldier", got an “Editor’s Choice” award from Poetry.com and the International Library of Poetry. Maybe I can also try to make a poem though I’ve already made one in Filipino, but I can also stop trying to accomplish whatever my mother has accomplished. Her award is enough to inspire me to try to also get an award from blogging. Whenever I wonder how I can do that, I always end up with a mental block (hahaha).

Well, whatever I had fulfilled in life, I owe to my parents. I had tried to follow their good examples though of course, they have talents that cannot be copied by anybody, and I also have my own unique talents.


The photo shown is my reproduction of one of my favorite photos of my mother because she was at the midst of her product of labor, her garden at her former house in Washington State. The first photo of flowers was freshly taken at SM Megamall in Manila using my cellphone. It is something I’d like to give my Mom this coming Mother’s Day if she’ll be here, but of course that is impossible since that will already be tomorrow here in Manila.

Thank you for everything Mom, and HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!

Transitions In Life

The past days, I and my only son, OC, have been busy testing several features of the upgraded network system at home since we finally got a router that will enable my laptop’s WIFI or wireless connection to the internet. The whole month of March, I monopolized the access to the internet since we didn’t have a router yet, allowing me to create this blog and to post several entries, but members of my family didn’t have the chance to read my entries.

OC will be 25 this year. That reminds me of the seminar about transitions in life that I’ve attended about 10 years ago. In that seminar I’ve learned that transitions in life will be encountered by a person during adolescence, mid-20s, midlife or 45-50 and 65-70. It is during this transition when a person is in crisis, and when questions to God are asked the most, like what happened to me in June 2001 when I was almost 48. I was very lucky that God gave me a very beautiful “I love you" answer intended to mankind, leaving me that mission to remind everyone about that. He already has proven His love through the birth of His Son, Jesus Christ, and He keeps on proving His love like what He did to me (Blogging post of this blog).

I am very grateful that OC lets me know the questions plaguing him nowadays, and maybe it is God’s will for him not to have read my blog, otherwise my answers to his questions will be pre-empted because they all came from this blog. In other words, my answers were rehearsed through this blog. (Photo shown is a self-portrait shot by OC).

When the prize of the Lotto reached more than 200 million pesos, both OC and I got 3 digits right, so I won 100 pesos for those 3 digits, while my son won 200 pesos because he had 2 tickets. One question in his mind was what to do with the money if he wins in the Lotto, but he said what is clear was a large percentage will go to charities. He really hasn’t read my blog because in my Dreams List in this blog, I had shared very specific plans what to do if I was the one who’ll win, but obviously, he doesn’t know anything about that plan.

My plans involving charities if I win the Lotto were very specific and maybe ambitious, but I also didn’t fail to consider what can happen if those plans were pushed through and I’m gone? In my mind I knew my children will be willing to take over but I don’t want to oblige them, so come what may. Anyway, God will not allow me to win for sure, if there’s nobody to take over my charitable project when I’m gone.

Amazing Grace in Greece

I was in Greece with my son and daughter in July 2005, when my employer’s Top Management announced the need to close down our department by the end of 2005, which will result to us, the staff, to be retired involuntarily. If that was announced earlier, I wouldn’t have gone to Greece, since the transportation alone was expensive. However, whenever I’d think about that and the events that happened in Greece, I’d always end up very grateful that the announcement was made later because I consider the trip to Greece an amazing grace from God.

The trip to Greece was an opportunity for my daughter and me to watch the University of Asia and the Pacific Chorale where my son was a member, compete during the international choir contest at Preveza, a small town in Greece. From the Athens airport, we rode a bus and on our way to Preveza , I’ve seen a very beautiful spot that can be seen in any part of the world, but the site of the clouds emitting rays of the sun at that time looked very special to me. It appeared like a sign that God’s graces will be showered to the UA&P Chorale so I told Arwin Tan, the choir master, “It looks like you’re going to win!”, while we were all looking at the clouds.

I watched the UA&P Chorale rehearse, and during their breaks, I would read the John Maxwell book that I brought. A chapter of that book was about John Maxwell's determinants of victory, and I was astonished because the choir sounded like the winner whom John Maxwell would like to address his “determinants of victory”, so I copied it and was read by Arwin Tan to the choir.

During the contest proper, while listening to the UA&P Chorale, I knew I was right. I knew they will emerge as the winner. Not only did they sing like winners, there was even a Divine Intervention during one of their first songs titled "O Magnum Misterium" ("Oh Great Mystery"). The climax of the song was a series of "Alleluia" and about two seconds before that, the nearby church's bells rang and blended with their song then stopped right before the final alleluia! It was very beautiful!