tonight

is a great night.

talking

walking

..just being with you. :)

was sick last week. literally everything in me, aches. but somehow, i managed to attend the funeral services on Wednesday and Saturday nights which was held by the Sunday School people and Student Group respectively.

a lot of people shared during Wednesday night - Sis. June, Bro. Robert, Sis. Helen, Sis. Gloria, Ruth, Rachel, Lindsey, Timmy, Sis. Judy, Sis. Omega, and Sis. Elizabeth. everyone shared their memories with Sien Si and i was moved to tears as i listened to each one. it made me come to know her better and realized how fleeting life is. that it's not what we have, but how we touch other people's lives which really matters.

on Saturday, i had the chance to share a few words at the wake. a lot of people was there. so many familiar faces too. and yesterday afternoon, they brought her remains at the Manila Memorial in Sucat. it's sad. but as everyone said, this is not a goodbye. because one day, i know that we will see each other again. and in that, i find comfort. :)

***

it's a Monday again. im glad it's almost over. i don't know what's with Mondays but i really don't like it. it's always back to. back to something we do normally. for my brothers, it's back to school. for me, it's back to work. which i don't really love. sigh.

im feeling much better now than last week. still have stuffy nose. but fever is all gone. thank God. :) tomorrow im going to undergo a test to check something. and sometime this week, im going to see a doctor again. please include me in your prayers. :)

during my free time, im reading again my book - Three Weeks With My Brother by (no other than) Nicholas Sparks. im a fan, i know you know that by now. :) im halfway through it, and it's really a GREAT book. :) i can read it over and over again. he's coming up with a new book again later this year. :) im excited. :)

im off to bed now. goodnight folks. :)

recap.

a lot of things happened yesterday...

my friend, Grace, is a big fan of Kim and Gerald. so last December, she was telling me about a movie that the two are going to make and that she wants us to watch it. yup, i know you know and heard about the movie - Paano Na Kaya. ;) it's been a long time since i've watched a Filipino movie. im not fond of watching the telly either. id rather sleep. hehe. so came Saturday, and we went to the mall early in the morning and bought tickets for the movie.

her two sisters, Joy and Hannah joined us too. :) but Joy didn't watched the movie. we had lunch together at Sbarro - baked zitti in white and tomato sauce, two slices of white pizza, cream of mushroom soup, and raspberry iced tea. we were full. ;) after lunch, we went to the movie house already and got a good seat. :) it ran for almost two hours. i rarely appreciate a Filipino flick because of same storylines, but in all fairness, i can say that the movie is a good one. :) i won't spill it here, just watch for yourself. :) but if you're like my cousin, who'd rather wait for a DVD copy, wait for awhile then. :)

i saw some trailers of movies coming up. im looking forward to seeing Dear John. it's a novel by Nicholas Sparks that's been adapted into a movie just like The Notebook, A walk To Remember, Nights In Rodanthe, and Message In A Bottle.. and it's one of my favorite books!! :) it's showing next week, February 5. :)

after dinner, though i am really tired, i attended church. and.. you know what happened next.

***

on other news, my Uncle and his wife came here this Monday (which was supposed to be last Saturday but was delayed because he got sick) for a visit before returning to the States again. they went to Taiwan to buy some things that they need for the church, and came here for awhile before going home again.

i entertained them while they stayed in our house. :)

and he was kind enough to reformat my really sick and slow computer. i saved some of my files in Drive D because this is what everyone told me to do.. and some in USBs. when he finished doing my computer, changing it from Windows Vista to the more simple Windows XP, voila! all my files in Drive D are erased!! haaayy. :( all my schoolworks, some pictures, the soft copy of our thesis, are all there. :( well.. im done being sad with it. because i know no matter what i do, i can't take it back anymore. but i can say that im so pleased with how fast my comp is running now. :) makes the things get done easier and faster. :) BUT! (another but) i don't have a picture editor! i can't crop, edit, adjust my pictures. and that. is. sad. anybody knows where i can get one? thanks in advance! :)

they are currently based in San Jose, California and they are telling me stories on how different life is there from what we have here. obviously, it's so overcrowded here. well, at least here in Binondo. from the time you set foot outside your house, you'll see people and cars everywhere. and im sick of it!! i wanna go somewhere else. in their place, is where people go to work. Yahoo, Google, and all these computer companies are just a walk away from their home. houses are far from each other too. unlike here where people literally live above each other's houses - condos. they drive to get somewhere, while we usually walk here. one thing that's good here? the food. haha! i can't live eating burgers everyday. and for that, im still thankful. :)

***

this morning during our Sunday School, all the teachers wore white. and it's really sad. you can see some crying.. while other eyes are so puffed from crying the night before. Sis. May Hwa, or Sien Si Bi Hwa (as i call her), is one of the great teachers in Sunday School. she has a BIG heart for everyone. and it's still sad to know that from today on, every Sunday, i won't be seeing her anymore. :(

i came home earlier and didn't finished the youth fellowship because i felt that im having a fever.. and im right. so after taking meds, i slept for awhile while waiting for Grace to finish the prayer small group at church. after that, we went to Sanctuarium together with Koo and Candy to visit. a lot of people were there too.

im home now. i didn't joined my family in a birthday party tonight because i don't feel well yet. my head aches. my body aches. i have sorethroat too. but my temperature is normal at 37.3. finishing this now.. and will sleep already.

tomorrow is a start of a new month and we're saying bye bye to January already. fast.

goodnight people! :) hope to hear from you too soon. :)

Big Loss

i am so SAD. :(

just tonight during our church meeting, i received a text message and learned that my piano teacher, Sis. May Hwa, went to be with the Lord already. :( i called to confirm it, and it's true.

i just couldn't believe it. even now as i type this. it's just so sudden.

she's such a joyful person. she's a big loss to everyone around her. :(

we lost a mother, a grandmother, a teacher, a sister, and a friend. :(

please pray for her family. may God comfort them during this hard time. :(

One Sunday

i love weekends :) this morning, my cousin Joy and i played the piano and keyboards during the youth fellowship. our songs were Throne of Praise, My Jesus I Love Thee, and How Great is Our God. :) after lunch, we got a haircut together at Hair 101 and ate ice creams. :) can you see a change? ;)

this week i read a new book - Till Debt Do Us Part: Practical Steps to Financial Freedom by Chinkee Tan. i just saw it in my grandmother's table and started reading it. and finished it in two days! :) fast for me since i only read during free time. it's a good read and i highly recommend it for everyone, even teens can read it because it is simple and practical. :) here are some points from the book i'd like to share:

- it is not how much money you make, but how much money you save.
- if you work hard now, you will play later. if you play now, you will pay later.
- people fail to budget because of laziness and lack of discipline.
- they get into debt because they spend tomorrow's income today and are unwilling to change lifestyle when circumstances have changed.

he also shared some personal experiences. :) he said that people get into debt because of their wrong attitude toward money which is greed, worry, and false security.

well, try to read it! im sure you'll learn a lot. :) it also gave me a new perspective with money. :)

the youngest among my cousins, Hannah, is up with a fever now. :( i hope she gets better so she can go to school tomorrow. bye for now friends. :)

hello 2010.

happy new year! :) another year has passed again and 2009 has been a mixture of both joy and pain. a lot of changes took place in my life during the past year, and despite all the trials, God has been faithful and carried me through. :) i attended the four-day youth winter conference at Pampanga last December 27-30. it was great and im glad that i was able to go. :) i will share more when i have time. :)

my family went to Fontana today and will stay for a night, but i didn't go so i can attended church today. some brothers and sisters shared testimonies on how God led them last year. :) after church, i played badminton with a friend on our penthouse. :) the sky is so beautiful while we were playing! it's a mixture of blue and red. loved it :)

two more days and life goes back to normal. but then, im changed forever. :)

my hands are full, but so is my heart. ♥

goodnight! :)

Merry Christmas!! :)

Unredeemed

Unredeemed - Selah

The cruelest words

The coldest heart

The deepest wounds

The endless dark

The lonely ache

The burning tears

The bitter night

The wasted years

Life breaks and falls apart

But we know these are...

Places

Where grace is

Soon to be so amazing

They may be unfulfilled

They may be unrestored

But when anything that's shattered

Is laid before the Lord

Just watch and see

It will not be

Unredeemed

For every choice

That led to shame

And all the love

That never came

For every vow

That someone broke

And every life

That gave up hope

We live in the shadow of the fall

But the cross says these are all

Places

Where grace is

Soon to be so amazing

They may be unfulfilled

They may be unrestored

But when anything that's shattered

Is laid before the Lord

Just watch and see

It will not be

Unredeemed

Places

Where grace is

Soon to be so amazing

They may be unfulfilled

They may be unrestored

You never know the miracles

The father has in store

Just watch and see

It will not be

Unredeemed

***

this is a beautiful song from Selah. :)

it reminds me of the hard times we go through, none of this will be left unredeemed. :)

have a happy weekend everyone! :)

update :)

wow. it's December already, and in exactly two weeks, Christmas is here again. :) hmm.. it's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas. :) im loving the weather too, especially at night. :) it's been awhile since i wrote here. i came home earlier than the usual from work today, so im here to write a few updates. :)

last last Saturday, i finally got my Starbucks planner! yey! :) it's simple, but i like it the way it is. :) the planner comes with a small booklet of coupons that you can use in certain months throughout the year. :)

i love this cutie little coffee bean. :)

***
last Saturday, Grace and i went to the World Bazaar at World Trade Center and did some Christmas shopping! :) there were so many cute stuffs and things to buy. it blew my mind off (or should i say, our moolah)! i want to go back! :)

***
Wednesday night, i ate at Yellow Cab with a friend and had this:

Chicken Alfredo Pasta

Twice Baked Potato Halves - simply irresistible!! :)

Vanilla Ice Cream

'twas a great night. :) we walked home together and part of me wished that life could stay this way forever. :)

***
work is okay, i think im getting used to it already. this is my 8th month at work. :) this morning, our accountant came and we gave her our payment for BIR. i can't state here how much we paid, but it's really so big. :( we tried to negotiate with them, but to no avail. it's okay to pay taxes and everything else if we see changes. but i don't see anything.. no improvements at all. im losing hope that this government will get better. even if a new president will replace the present one next year. it's sad how people do anything just for money. :( we're really living in the end times now and things just go from worse to worst. yesterday afternoon, there was a big fire near our work place. it's so big that even after two hours, the fire just won't die down. today, around lunchtime, a big transformer in front of our office exploded. we called the Meralco right away to come check what went wrong but they're too slow to take action. im afraid that this might lead to another fire. so now, im home. praying that nothing bad will happen.

till here for now. im going to wrap some gifts first. byeee! :) hope to hear from you too! :)

2012

The moment we stop caring for each other,
that's the moment we lose our humanity.

look into my eyes..
you'll see.

my week so far.

hello. :) im still here. and. i miss writing. :) i hope i can write regularly again. please bear with me. i know i'll be random. as i always am. ;)

okay.. so where will i start?

i'll try to summarize my week. here goes..

last Sunday, i was assigned to play the piano during our Youth Meeting. and it was my first time. i played several times already, but im always using the keyboard. now, it's the real grand piano. i was scared to death, but also grateful because i know i don't deserve it. it's an honor to serve You. :) after church, we had quick lunch and headed to Manila Memorial in Cavite. surprisingly, there was no traffic at all and we were there in 45minutes. :) we stayed there and cleaned the place, put some fresh flowers, and replaced the old photo hanging for more than a decade. when i looked at my Angkong's face, i almost forgot how he looked like when he was still here with us. i can remember the days that i spent with him in the fifth floor of Makati Med, when nurses and doctors come in every hour to check on him.. i can remember the time when he got mad on me and my brother for fighting over a toy to a point that he let us kneel down.. i can remember the way he drinks his soup and the way he sets his hair. but im thinking.. how much do we remember? it made me realize again that life is so fleeting. anyway.. we stayed for a few hours, and when we were on our way out of the cemetery, we got caught in traffic and, believe it or not, we were inside for TWO and a half hours!!! we were so hungry and thirsty. and we can do nothing but pray. gladly, we made it home in an hour after we got out of the place.

Monday was a holiday so there's no work for me. :) i stayed home and did nothing! :) i loved it. sometimes, i get so caught up with everything i have to do and after finishing one thing, there's always next in my to-do list. it feels good to stop and just rest. :) that night, someone came and we just spent time together just talking. :)

Tuesday, it's back to reality again. back to work. so far, im enjoying my work and i've grown to love it. :) im more used to the phone calls, the orders, the different kinds of people you encounter each day. so far, so good. Grace joined me for dinner and told me about their trip to Cebu last week where they joined the Southern Conference. :) she also gave me yummy squid flakes and peanut kisses! :) joined Prayer Meeting after dinner. :)

Wednesday, still work. tutor after work. and had coffee with a dear friend. :) red cups are out that day at Starbucks! :) and it's here to stay until January 6, 2010. :) and as i always do every year, i start collecting my stickers again to get my Starbucks planner!! :)

it comes again in three lovely designs. one must accumulate a total of 17 stickers - 9 christmas beverage + 8 core beverages. :) they also displayed new designs of tumblers and mugs for sale, and decorated the place too. it's beginning to feel like Christmas again. :)

Thursday, is such a gloomy day. it was raining while im on my way to work. and i think i didn't saw the sun that day. just dark clouds and rain pouring from time to time. joined Bible Study and saw Candy again! - she also went to Cebu - *hello Candy! :) so hungry after church so cooked fried rice and ate before going to bed. :)

Friday. today. i can't believe it's already been a week. but i really love Fridays. :) it didn't rained today.. in fact, it's hot today. our weather is really weird. just when i thought that it will rain all weekend, the sun was up and shining again the moment i woke up. i picked up the groceries after work today, ate dinner, and rushed to church for a piano practice with Bro. Robert for our Sunday School worship. i went to visitation too with Pauline and Michelle. :) and.. now im here. trying to update my blog. =D i planned to go to Ace Water Spa with my brother tomorrow, but he's down with sorethroat and colds, so i guess it's cancelled. we're moving it next next week. :)

how was your week so far? :) have a happy and productive weekend everyone! :) im hitting the sack earlier tonight. :)

goodnight! :)