Hope.

I've been told that as a Christian, I have to learn to be content. Count your blessings. You have to be content where you are. This is your cross, carry it. Don't complain. Be thankful. Always. 

Well, for your information, I am. I am content. Peace is my middle name, didn't you know that? I count my blessings. I thank God everyday for all I've been given. I know I am blessed. And whatever hardships I face, I know it is God-ordained. But I'm a little like those three amigos that were thrown into the fire by Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel.

I can't help but HOPE that I will be saved.

I'm no less thankful, no less content, no less joyful, no less blessed. But my hope is that God will take me to a better place. I don't live in that place. I live here, now. But I do long for the day, when things are different and I know that I am in the middle of His bountiful promise.

David himself hoped.

       I am still confident of this:
       I will see the goodness of the LORD
       in the land of the living. [Psalm 27:13]

I believe that God created me, for something more than now. I feel it in my soul. That the life that I live is so far from that someday that I hope for.


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Five Years.

It seems like death is a popular topic these days, thanks to Hollywood stars dying.

I've had one personal loss in my life. And let me define what i mean by "personal loss". It's not just losing someone close to you. It's losing someone that is part of your DAILY PERSONAL life.

DAILY. I mean, if you lose someone you only get to see once a month, thats hard... but not as hard as losing someone you see every week, and losing someone you see everyday will of course be the hardest. But it has to be a PERSONAL relationship too. Losing an officemate you see everyday will be sad... but losing a close friend will be sadder.

But roll those two into one. DAILY + PERSONAL. Now that's the hardest.

That's why losing a member of your immediate family is the hardest. They're a part of your everyday life. Your relationship with them is deeply personal. And you've known them all your life. Sets you up for one of the greatest heartbreaks of your life.

I lost my dad 5 years ago. And its one personal loss that still resonates thorugh my life today.

Happy 5 years in heaven pops. :)

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Narnian.

I finished the Chronicles of Narnia last week, after almost 2 years of "reading" it. Wohooo! Well, it took me that long because many other books distracted me from finishing it. But finally... I finished it!

 

The Chronicles of Narnia
The Chronicles of Narnia
C. S. Lewis

It was a VERY worthwhile read. I really think that great authors are just that - GREAT. Somehow, I never tire of reading their books. And their works have this capacity to transcend generations. I bet people from ANY generation would enjoy a dose of Narnian fantasy.

I love books that are easy to read but not shallow. I think a lot of books today are that way - SHALLOW. They don't encourage active thinking. They just tell a story, to entertain much like a TV is meant to. These books play on emotions and pay no attention to the intellect. Some on the other hand, are on the other extreme... being overly imaginative. It just renders it hard to read.

I love how Narnia is just right. A book that people from any generation and age could enjoy. :)

I really hope to read more of these gems from our classic writers. :)

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Naga

  • May 26, 2009
So it's my turn to blog about that infamous week-long road trip to Naga.

It started out as a 3-4 day road trip.. with the usual scrimping on cash by living in someone's house, cooking our own food, and using the Co's ever trusty Innova. Many people wanted to join the trip - I'm not sure why though, since we're not really the most cheerful bunch of people on earth, but it ended up with just 7 of us, with no so-called "new friends" joining the trip. :) 

1st stop: DJ's Bay Garden's condo at MOA.
We left CCF on Friday night, around 9 or 10pm, and headed to DJ's condo. It was just a short stopover, so Dj wont have to drive at night. We ate a late dinner at a nearby KFC, then headed home for some shut-eye. We woke up at around 2:30 AM, showered and then left at 3am. The road trip has begun.

2nd stop: The Felipe Apartments at Naga.
Yup, hardly any stopovers, only one, in Quezon for some breakfast, but that was it. Made it to Naga in 7 hours! Wohoo! Thanks to Dj's great driving. :D Yup, and illegal speeding... :P

3rd stop: SM City Naga.
After unpacking and fixing up the place a bit, we headed to SM City Naga to buy some groceries. This is where the "sakit ng ulo" starts. We ended up spending 2,700 on groceries, which by the group's "unemployed" standards, is a lot. :P And we didn't even get to buy Bens' bike and Elastoseal, not to mention Aoo's Lysol. Ate at GeeWan after that, and headed home for some petiks time. 

==The Poker Game==
Ok, so the first night was spent talking and talking and talking, and we capped it off with a poker game played with peanuts. Yes peanuts. It was Katre's first poker game, and she won splendidly, in spite of the boys conspiring against her. *Great job Mare* Bens was the hands-down loser, who should have lost earlier than he did if not for the balato help of the boys. They really wanted Katre to lose, so that she can call up a certain guy of the group's choice and profess her love for him. By the way, Bens never called!!! :-S

4th stop: Mayon Volcano. Legaspi.
After brunch, we drove out to Legaspi to visit the majestic Mayon. It was a beautiful mountain, standing out in the horizon even from afar. It was just impossible to miss. We took photos around the Cagsaua ruins, and ate at a local karenderia, which served great food. After some more pictures, we headed home for another night of kwentuhan. ^_^

5th stop: Donsol.
Woke up at 4am the next day and headed to Donsol. We arrived at 6am. And got to leave the shore a little over 7am. The whale shark season was ending so there were only a few to be spotted, and it took us about an hour before we found our first one. After that, we kinda saw a couple in a row. The first few ones were swimming a couple of feet below us, so we observed them with our snorkels on from the surface. 

==The Close Encounter==
On our 4th jump, the guide as usual said "Redi, redi!"... and then he told us to "Look down!"... which we all did. But we saw no whale shark. Until we looked straight in front of us - we saw this huge creature swimming towards us! On the surface! WOOOOAAAH! We scrambled to get out of its way. And that was our VERY close encounter with the largest fish in the world. Bow.

==San Miguel Reefs==
After swimming with the whale sharks, we ate at a local food stop and then headed off to the San Miguel reefs in Masbate. There, we snorkeled the afternoon away. The reefs and corals there were BEAUTIFUL. We even found time to climb this useless lighthouse. The view at the top was great, but it wasn't worth the climb!!! :-/ We also went snorkeling in this cave, where dwelt a sea snake. Haha. Aoo and Drew had the luck of meeting the little fellow and let's just say they were one of the first people up the boat after the swim. :P
 
We really saw the favor of God upon us on this day. We had a close encounter with a whale shark, even though the odds were against us - given the butanding season was ending. We also were given a chance to snorkel on the best spot on the reef, the Lord calming the waves enough for us to get into the cave. We even spotted some dolphins on the way back to Donsol. Weeeeeh! And God topped it off with a rainbow. It was an amazing albeit tiring day. 

6th stop: CWC
We dropped by CWC, and after realizing the amount of body-slamming we will be enduring as first time wake-boarders, we all backed out. Our bodies were still sore from all the swimming of the previous day, and it just won't take another round of beating. Everyone was already on Berocca and we could just see sickness at the end of our CWC experience. So after taking some snaps of the place, we headed out for our next stop. 

7th stop: Isarog Hot Springs
This was the Lolo/Lola version of CWC. Haha. Hot springs. :P There were varying temperatures of pools and the hot water was super soothing - it literally soothed our tired muscles from the previous day. :) We spent the whole afternoon there. It was a bit boring, but we amused ourselves by playing some "games", the most memorable one of which was the Marco-Polo game. Drew was "it" and with his eyes closed, we left him all alone in the pool. It took him a couple of minutes to realize that he was playing "alone". Hahahahahhaaha. Panalo.

8th stop: Kopi Rotti Naga.
We then headed to Kopi Rotti after grabbing some dinner at home. We chatted the night away before heading home and chatting until around 3am in the morning. By now, we have all these new terms:

1. You are my rose. This is the forest...
2. Sakit sa ulo!!!
3. Cherry bomb!!!
4. Zombie!!!
5. Its not even funny!
6. eee**!
7. Iceberg!
8. .5
9. Mga favorite "lines" ni Bam at Drew... hahaha!
10. Redi-redi!

11. kasi guys.. ang laman ng puso ko ay..
12. badingdingdingdingding
13. Pag nagexplain.. may mali!
14. YOU KNOW IT!


9th stop: Quezon Hotel

So we were finally on the road home, but James had this bright idea of calling her friend who owns a resort - hotel in Quezon if we can have dinner there and stay the night. Katz, the owner of the place was more than game. So she treated us to dinner and dessert, and had us spend the night in her new hotel. HWAW. Talk about hospitality and generosity. Thanks so much Katz!! 

We headed for Manila pretty early the next day, since we all had to be there by lunch. After a short stop at SLEX for breakfast, we all headed back to our own lives, having been filled to the brim with friendship and camaraderie for one whole week. :P And I'm already looking forward to our next adventure! ^_^ Love you guys!

Out on an Adventure.

So I'm really excited about this five-day trip I'm going on with some of my closest friends. We're going to Bicol and it will be my first time there. I'm pretty excited at all the activities lined up for the trip, like swimming with the whale sharks and even the dolphins. I think my muscles will also greatly appreciate the hot springs that we plan to visit. :D


I also think its about time I get out of the cramped lifestyle of Manila and just enjoy have nothing to do for a change. 

I'm also looking forward to talking to God - who usually uses trips like these to talk to me and also to refresh me with His promises and His love. 

If I can bottle up my feelings into one word, it would be EXCITED! :D

Can't wait 'til tomorrow, when I'll be out on an adventure! ^_^

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An Afternoon with Good Friends.

You never really set out to find good friends in your life. These friendships usually just happen, and when it does happen, you know that you are the recipient of something good. That's the case for me and the so-called "Tagaytay Gang". Born out of boredom in the land of Tagaytay, in the house of the Co's, its a group of people that accidentally became friends.... good friends... alright, very good friends... :D


Usually needing a whole weekend just to bond, we discovered an alternative to our weekend getaways, it's Sunday afternoon bonding. :) Yesterday, we had lunch at Rex's house, as a belated birthday celebration, then we headed to Starbucks for some air conditioning and coffee. It was fun, fun, fun. :)

I'm already looking forward to our next one. :) Love you guys. :)

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Joyfulness.


I got this topic for our D12 sharing. 


I never saw myself as a sad or mopey person. After all, its easy to make me laugh. Ask my corny friends - I laugh at all their jokes. :P So I was a little surprised to get this topic. And finding that my other friends got topics that were apt for their situation, I began to wonder if mine was too.

I began to examine and observe myself. Was I sad? Depressed? I realized I was a bit more short-tempered than usual, but I won't classify it under the opposite of JOY. Then, one night, I found myself crying. As is usual for me, the reason for my tears is FRUSTRATION, I was so frustrated at my current situation. Just a couple of weeks I go, I came to terms that it was God's will that I am still where I am today. And everyday, I get confirmation that I am not to be somewhere else. But it seems that my DOUBT over my life situation has given way to FRUSTRATION. 

I realize that I am HEARTBROKEN. I try to not think of it because its too painful. It breaks my heart. And so I move from this moment to the next, trying not to make a big deal out of it. But when I do (think about it), the tears come and my heart breaks.

And now I know why I got the topic.

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Griffin and Sabine

The Griffin & Sabine Trilogy Boxed Set: Griffin & Sabine/Sabine's Notebook/The Golden Mean
The Griffin & Sabine Trilogy Boxed Set: Griffin & Sabine/Sabine's Notebook/The Golden Mean
Nick Bantock

I just recently bought the trilogy of Griffin and Sabine. 
Love, love, love it! 
I love the graphics, the pictures and of course the layout! 

It's also really interactive. 
You can bring out the letters, fold 'em back up and return them!

Really cool. ^_^
I think this will get me hooked on graphic novels. :P



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Retro Peggy

  • Feb 24, 2009

So I am conducting this PhotoShop training with two of my good friends DJ and Katre. I have to say that I have learned so much in the past couple of weeks just by teaching... because in the process of preparing for lessons and examples, I do a lot of research - which of course translates to new learnings. 


I even join them in their exercises. :P I think its fun to just let those creative juices flow and try out some new techniques and stuff.

Here's one we did while doing a Retro theme covering the things you can do by changing the layer settings... it's Retro Peggy, hehe and maybe I could make the webDesign part into a reality too. :P

The colors were of course inspired by Bob. And the design was an in the moment thing. Don't really know where this came from. =P


Adobe CS4.

Wohoo! CS4 is love.


I've decided to "break-in" my new licensed copy with a long overdue wallpaper.


Message me if you want a copy. ^_^

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