Monday, June 14, 2010

must love dogs

I was not thinking about blogging tonight because I didn't have anything to write. Not until I browsed my sissy Cathy's FB photos and saw Mimi, her very cute dachshund puppy. She really loves dogs. I do too.

I grew up in a family that had plenty of dogs (well for my standards) in the house. At one time, i remember that we would have five in house. They could be messy, and rowdy, and playful, and noisy especially during meal times. I still remember the dogs dearest to us - gringo and aga. Both had been our best friends, our companions, our gate keepers, and our stress relievers.

If anything, dogs give you unconditional love. Yes, they do. They would stand by you no matter what. They do not judge you. They do not keep a record of your shortcomings. They do not let you down, and they will be there till they turn grey.  I wish us, humans, have the same capacity to love, forgive, and be loyal to each other. Just  own a dog, and you will know what I am talking about. :)

Lord I hope that 'he' loves dogs like i do. :)

Friday, June 11, 2010

the joy of waiting

To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under the heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones;  a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to gain, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away; a time to hear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace. [Ecclesiastes 3:1-8]

I was truly blessed to hear Rachel Ong's podcast this morning. I was reminded of how many times in our lives God will challenge us to wait upon Him, and to wait with a joyful heart!

I am just imagining how a significant portion of my time, probably even half of my life, will be devoted on waiting for things -  waiting in queue, waiting for the perfect job, promotion, the next raise, waiting for the bus, train, the next traffic light; waiting for the next vacation, holidays, and eventful occasions; waiting for people, friends, family, and for God's best. Whew! Just thinking about all these make me want to cross my arms and tap my foot! I admit, I am guilty of whining, of throwing a tantrum, of thinking how others do not respect my time, of complaining, and of asking God why.

Why should I wait, and wait with a joyful heart? Because God says so. I may not understand today why God has put me where I am now, and why He allows me to deal with things I am going through but I know and believe that He is on top of all these and in His perfect time (when I have enough wisdom to understand), everything will be revealed to me.

Life is more colorful because of the different seasons in our lives. And we should cherish every season and pray that we get the most out of it. That we come out of it wiser and appreciate God's gift to us in that season. Sometimes, I feel that He is letting us wait and not allowing us to move on to the next season  because we have yet to get what we should be getting out of it. How do we know? Only He can tell. Some of us will hear or feel it, or He may just shove us to the next one. Well, just live life! and live it for His glory. ;-)

Wednesday, June 09, 2010

rice and life

It has long been my desire to have a work-life balance and as much as possible, Im always trying to avoid bringing home work stuff, much more writing about it to cap my night. But I am doing it now.

Rice. I just could not think my world without it. I grew up having rice three times a day, that is, every meal.    It's practically every Filipinos' must have on the table. Well, this explains why the Philippines is the biggest importer of rice in the entire universe! (This explains the energy, and well, the big tummies of many Pinoys...hehe).

Rice is life! And for the past days, well, make it year, my life has revolved around rice matters - from rice figures, demand, supply, and price, to rice traders, buyers, sellers, and what have yous. It's fun studying the industry, gaining a bit of knowledge how the market works, knowing who are the key players in the business, and just whacking your mind to coming up with new ideas for the next conference. Technically, I will be 4 rice conferences brighter after October! But how I will get by from now until the next one, that will remain as a surprise, and a big challenge!

As much as I love eating rice, I have to admit that cutting or skipping some rice cups (especially at night) has its wonders. You see, I have an active life - and by active I meant that I am involve in a couple of sports activities (dragonboating, circuit training, frisbee, and running) - but the extra inches on my tummy and hips (and arms and legs) just would not go away. This do not help either as I, most of the time, find myself eating more than what I should every after these activities. However, a friend (it's you F) told me to just skip dinner and just drink milk or eat fruits but both of which I do not fancy. I just could not give up dinner that's because I am most active after 6pm. So the best possible option for me is to just cut the rice. And it is working! :-) I can feel my waist losing some of the inches and it's not just my imagination because my other friends noticed it too.

So, if rice eaters can just skip 1 cup of rice a day, just imagine the amount of water we can save! Huh?! Well, this is another rice fact. I didn't know that for every kilo of rice, farmers need at least 3,000 to 5,000 litres of water to produce it! In Thailand, which by the way is the biggest exporter of rice, 70 percent of their water resource goes to agriculture, and only 4 percent is consumed by people. Imagine that! On average, each person (a rice eater) consumes about 54 kilos of rice a year. So say, if we just miss 1 cup of rice a day, and just consume 35 kilos, we can save up to 95,000 litres of water a year!

On the second thought, it is just me. For majority of people living in the lower income economies, rice is a staple food. At the end of the day, if we just take everything in moderation, everything will be alright. Just like life and the inches on my waist.

Tuesday, June 08, 2010

Blogging on Mondays

I cannot remember when my last blog entry was. It has been ages! Whoever thought of the password recovery is heaven sent for people who, like me, has a short-term memory. I remembered visiting this blog several weeks ago, i intended to recover my password, do some template upgrading, and write again but it is only today that i finally get to do it! Thank you Mavic for inspiring me to blog again (I was never a serial blogger and one can tell by the number of entry/s i have in a year). Blogging is indeed a big challenge but I promise, with all the grace that i need, to just write... consistently.

Anyway, today was nothing different, only it is a Monday. While Monday is the busiest day for most, this is actually my rest day. My favorite day apart from Friday and the weekends. Monday is a day to rest from my usually crazy weekend of activities. While most stay late to work, I would go home at the strike of 6pm and head home to relax, laze around, and just enjoy the tranquility of doing nothing. I love Mondays. I hope for many more Mondays. And Mondays may just be the day that I get to blog.

Sunday, June 08, 2008

gabriel garcia marquez

If God, for a second, forgot what I have become and granted me a little bit more of life, I would use it to the best of my ability. I wouldn't possibly say everything that is in my mind, but I would be more thoughtful of all I say.

I would give merit to things not for what they are worth, but for what they mean to express. I would sleep little, I would dream more, because I know that for every minute that we close our eyes, we waste 60 seconds of light. I would walk while others stop; I would awake while others sleep.

If God would give me a little bit more of life, I would dress in a simple manner. I would place myself in front of the sun, leaving not only my body, but my soul naked at its mercy. To all men I would say how mistaken they are when they think that they stop falling in love when they grow old, without knowing that they grow old when they stop falling in love.

I would give wings to children, but I would leave it to them to learn how to fly by themselves.

To old people I would say that death doesn't arrive when they grow old, but with forgetfulness.

I have learned so much with you all, I have learned that everybody wants to live on top of the mountain, without knowing that true happiness is obtained in the journey taken and the form used to reach the top of the hill. I have learned that when a newborn baby holds, with its little hand,
his father's finger, it has trapped him for the rest of his life. I have learned that a man has the right and obligation to look down at another man, only when that man needs help to get up from the ground.

Say always what you feel, not what you think. If I knew that today is the last time that I am going to see you asleep, I would hug you with all my strength and I would pray to the Lord to let me be the guardian angel of your soul. If I knew that these are the last moments to see you, I would say 'I love you'. There is always tomorrow, and life gives us another opportunity to do things right; but in case I am wrong, and today is all that is left to me, I would love to tell you how much I love you and that I will never forget you.

Tomorrow is never guaranteed to anyone, young or old. Today could be the last time to see your loved ones, which is why you mustn't wait; do it today, in case tomorrow never arrives. I am sure you will be sorry you wasted the opportunity today to give a smile, a hug, a kiss, and that you were too busy to grant them their last wish.

Keep your loved ones near you; tell them in their ears and to their faces how much you need them and love them. Love them and treat them well; take your time to tell them 'I am sorry'; 'forgive me', 'please', 'thank you', and all those loving words you know.

Nobody will know you for your secret thought. Ask the Lord for wisdom and strength to express them. Show your friends and loved ones how important they are to you.

Send this letter to those you love. If you don't do it today...tomorrow will
be like yesterday; and if you never do it, it doesn't matter, either, the moment to do it is now.

For you, with much love,

Your Friend
Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Sunday, June 01, 2008

Wow! here i go again...another entry after almost a year! :) I have been really busy with so many things... work, friends, and more worthwhile activities. Hehe, but still not a reason to blog once a year! But it has become a tradition... sometimes, old habits are hard to break (bondage!)...oooppss, sorry sisters!

I was reading through some posts and some thoughts made me cringed. I can't believe the way I thought before... it made me even more thankful that God led me to Singapore. Super relieved! PG!

I am so recharged! I am ready to face the week and nothing will steal my joy!

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Waiting

I could not believe I'm calling this a blog. A blog is supposed to be a logbook, a journal of what transpired during the day, or maybe the week. I'm defeating its purpose by writing only whenever I can, or make that whenever I remember, which is close to never.

Anyway, so much has changed since my last posting. For one, I didn't know that blogger and google are collaborating already. I had to create a google account before I could sign in. Good luck to me, I wish I'll remember the id. I don't want to think that this might yet be another reason to skip blogging. hehe. Well I'm not really a blogger. I'm just a wannabe. A fake. A fluke. Whatever.

I can't believe how time flies so quickly. In the span of 4 years, I've only written about 5 entries, well I've deleted some since I don't want to be reminded of some things. Well, it's either the time is quick, or I'm just living my world in such a slow motion. But what really changed was how I view some things differently now. I can't believe how much rubbish I put in this blog. I just can't stand it, I erased some. Well, from now on, it will only just be quality. Quality posts. Hmmm, now where will I get those?

Okay. Since there's a significant time gap between this post and the last, I'll just pick up from where I left. Hmm, ok, I left and will live with the spinsters and I don't know when I'm gonna be back...

Here goes.

I came back after 6 months only to leave again after 10 months. Now, I am in Singapore.

I can't believe I did it again. I left in haste without so much as a plan. I keep berating myself for always being so impulsive. I do what I want, when I want. If I'm planning on getting somewhere, I have to be a little more mature that this. I have to have a plan. I don't even have a Plan O. Well, I couldn't do much about pre-planning anymore because I'm already here.

So the plan right now is to get a job as soon as I can. I've been hunting for about 2 months now. I've had several job interviews some went well, the others didn't. But one thing I noticed here in Singapore was that, getting that interview is already close to getting the job. You only have to prove that you are capable of doing the it.

Anyway, the same day I quit my first ever 'job' in Singapore, I was interviewed by another company. Thank God. Now, I'm just anxiously waiting for their decision. I worked so hard to get to the last leg of the interview. I want the job. I've never wanted something more in my life. hehe..kidding. I'm just so desperate to get a job now. So I'm crossing my fingers. And praying really hard.

Friday, October 21, 2005

fragments

Yey! After 45 years, I'm here again with my new entry... shoot.


*******

Many things have changed.

Well, for one, my blog has a new face... ehem, thanks Ma-an for your expertise... hehe. (well, i hope to write a separate entry of gratitude for you... uhm, I deleted some of the pics, I'm sorry... ang dami kong kagagahan and I'll leave our pics in my photo album, which is not really an album but a box...hehe) Uhm, pwede ka nang mag-resign sa work mo.>:)

Second, I'm 14 units brighter! That is, if I pass all my subjects this semester... I hope I do because this sem I believe that I studied better... and makalaglag-undie ang classmate ko... hehe. Grabeng inspiration yun... I was almost struck by lightning just to get to that class.

I learned my lesson well, nonchalance gets you nowhere.

Third, I changed job in November of 2004. Good or bad move? Heck I don't know... I guess everything comes with a price. Well I may have some regrets about my choice but I have to stand up for it. Afterall, I wouldn't be where I am now if not for that decision. I went out of my comfort zone (subarashii!).

And, I gained 3 new housemates! One was evicted by Big Brother last July. Heck, I'm missing the high-pitched-long-hair-born-with-heels Madame Maylene. I hope to visit you soon.;)


*******

Still, many things remain unchanged.

I still love my old friends, and and new ones...


*******


I'm going to the US and live with spinsters! Haha, scary... I'll be missing you guys... Don't know when I'll be back...


*******


Looking forward to the next bend.

Friday, May 14, 2004

www - wired (weird) world


I recently read an e-mail from an old friend and my former roommate. We were together for just a short time, four months if memory serves me right, but it feels as though I've known her forever. Ang sabi nga nya, ang gaan ng feeling... parang ang tagal naming roommates. I totally agree. To think, we only used to talk to each other few hours in the evening and a little in the morning because she was working then in a contact center. Nonetheless, those were my treasured conversations.

Anyways, I solicited from her an advice regarding my predicament. I dunno. It just made me appreciate her even more. Her positive attitude kind of rubs unto me (yeah, my "eternal optimism" sometimes fails me..hehe).

It's just a breath of fresh air to hear/read thoughts which see things in a different, more positive perspective. Well, she made me think that's what.

Re-evaluate my situation. Make it fruitful the best possible way. There are a lot of weird-er stories which happen. I'm a hopeless case I know. But the best advice i've heard so far.

Thanks Biel, you really are something. =)


Monday, January 19, 2004


gawd, it's been ages! er... uhm... time to update my blog.

grabe ang dami nang nangyari since my last entry...

Nov 30...celebrated my 24th birthday (waah! tanda ko na)

Dec 2 ... lost my bag at timezone along with 2 cel phones, payments for insurance and dorm, and other important documents (kainis... dahil kasi sa katangahan 'to)

Dec 23 rvcd a text from him asking if he can call me on Christmas (super dooper HP! muntik maihi sa tuwa!)

sleepless nights in between until Christmas day...


Dec 25 Christmas! Woke-up early... waited for that one call that never came... rcvd a text from him telling me he can't get thru my line... oh well... (sheesh, i was devastated... this one would have been a perfect Christmas gift...haay )


Dec 31 he greeted for the new year... replied something mushy to his mobile, wonder if he never got it or he just chose not to reply...

Jan 6 our last conversation...

missing him... worried sick because of his absence... paranoid... thankful in between emotions.

living my life. discovering myself. finding meaning in my existence.

eager to please God.


Jan 15 arrived at a place i never left. hunted down old profs to get recommendation letters for the MS program. wish i could turn back the hands of time. i miss the good old days in Baguio.

Jan 18 went to Jesus Loves Little Children Foundation with my ex-roommate. asked if they needed volunteers. turned out God has other plans for us.



Tuesday, November 11, 2003



i don't know what i'd do with my life. i lack focus. it's like everything's in a blur. the last time i checked i was so keen on pursuing graduate studies. i really wanted to change career. but it got me to thinking about my finances and current responsibilities. my enthusiasm crashed just like that. i realized i couldn't afford to send myself to school again, because that would mean paying for my tuition fees, books, and other expenses. reality check. with my meager monthly salary, sending myself to school would be next to impossible. following your dream has a price to pay. for now, i can't afford it. it has to wait.








Tuesday, May 27, 2003

An otherwise boring day...


this morning, i was going through my boring office routine again. opened the PC. checked e-mails. yahoogroups. offline PMs. my friends' blogs...uhm..did i just say blogs? BLOG. my saving grace for the day. yeah right. as if i know anything about blogs. i just read them. big time. hey, i can't be blamed. it's free gossip for crying out loud. the idea of making my own, publishing my thoughts online wasn't that enticing at first. so what made me decide to do one? that i'm not sure. maybe the anonymity suddenly becomes appealing to me.

so what else makes this day otherwise boring? it's raining. and it's all that matters.