Meaningless

Not that meaningful conversation

I had a funny conversation with kuya Terd. My phone was ringing and there was no name, just number appearing on my phone. I had no idea who was calling since I've change phone last March, I didn't have the energy to transfer some or should I say many phone numbers that were saved in my phone memory. At first, I was thinking maybe it's a job interview over the phone. Hehe, anyway the funny conversation went like this...

Moi: Hello

kuya Terd: Mon? (Interrogative talaga!!)

Moi: Yes, who's this?

kuya Terd: Mon?? Ikaw ba 'to?

Moi: Yes, sino ba 'to?

kuya Terd: Kala ko wrong number ako. (Sabay tanong) Ba't may accent??

Then, I started laughing. I just can't contain myself so I laughed and laughed. Hahaha

Cravings

I've been craving for Krispy Kreme doughnuts (any doughnut from Krispy Kreme will do), Californian Maki from Tokyo Tokyo, Kit Kat, and Dewberry biscuit (Raspberry flavor) and C2 yellow. Yes I am a believer of healthy eating and I do love to eat healthy food but sometimes you're just lusting to eat sweets. So before going to the office. I've indulged myself and bought everything I've been craving for. Waaah...Pleasures!!!

Happiness

10 reasons why I am s0oo happy

1. My mom's visit (Hoo! After how many years!)

2. I went to Pangasinan with my family (Bonding moments talaga!)

3. I went to Pampanga with my brother, cousin and new friends (Thanks tita Letty sa pag-ampon mo po samin sa mansion mo, hahaha)

4. I'm immersing myself in good books (Astig talaga!)

5. Joy went to Tokyo (Di ba dapat sadness?? Anyway, for me, it's another room for Joy to grow, mature and be more independent. As her sister, I am s0oo happy)

6. I've received Mona's wedding invitation (We're s0oo excited!! Few days to go and she'll be a wife, naks!)

7. I have a good relationship with my supervisor (You know the feeling of opening up your concerns and just being honest in what you're feeling to your supervisor? We just did and it feels good!)

8. Good music (Music na hindi rock, yung pampatulog. I wanna go back to bed)

9. Telling a story with my cousin JC and just spoiling him with some chocolates (His laughter is a music to my ears, wag lang siyang sisigaw.)

10. Finally, I can send text messages (Matagal-tagal ding tinopak ang phone ko at hindi ako makapag reply, though I can call and receive messages, but sending text, tinamad talaga mobile ko. Good news, ngayon ayos na!! S0oo happy!!)

Looking forward to...

1. Mona's wedding (S0oobrang excited and kinakabahan for Mona. Ang weird. ako ba ikakasal?? Hahaha)

2. Reunion with my High School barkada (S0oo happy and excited to see you girls!)

3. Bonding moments with my cousin (I need to file a vacation leave for this, first time makukumpleto!)

4. Traveling (S0oo excited to see Cebu again! Though matagal pa, looking forward.)

5. Attending Young Professional's (2 weeks akong wala dahil sa pagpunta sa provinces, namis ko Research and Comm. Bawi talaga ko!)

Happy ME!!

Instituto Cervantes

Together with my girlfriends, I attended the Instituto Cervantes book event in Kalaw yesterday. I really enjoyed the night with them since it's been weeks now of not hanging out, tsk, tsk, tsk. Poor ME! Finally, I had a chance to talk to Lorie and Apple with regard to careers. Naks!! Ibang lebel na 'to! (Thanks for the insightful conversation!)

I also had my Spanish dinner, the Paella Valenciana and I forgot the other meal, and well, HMMM, it's MUY DELISIOSO! And of course, I can't get enough of books. I have eight insightful books again!! I bought three books for Php30 only and five books with 20 percent discount, HUWAW!! Isn't it amazing?? Yung mga ganung sale talaga hindi pinapalampas lalo na't sobrang mura!! Nagamit ko na naman ang skill ko sa paghahalungkat ng libro na matagal ko ng hindi ginagawa. Balik book sale ulit. Hehehe

It's nice to know that you have friends with the same passion as yours. I saw ate Eileen on the event and also Sherwin who is currently studying Spanish in Instituto. Kaya may tour guide kami!

NAGTATALA (Ayon nga sa cell phone ni Pam)

The stage

Apple, Lorie, me and Pam

So, same positions ba daw?? Hahaha

Books

I usually receive books as Birthday presents or Christmas gifts. However, with no apparent reason, I've received a book from a new friend. It's a woman's best friend!!!

Written by Joni Eareckson Tada, a handicap, Diamonds in the Dust looks interesting and appealing. (Siguro dahil isa akong fanatic ng makikintab, mga glittery at mga sparkling stuff!) Kidding aside, I love the message of the author to her readers...

"The book you hold in your hands is my treasure trove of diamond chips I've collected over the years. I've carefully selected favorite gems, ones I've often held to the light, turned this way and that to admire their beauty, diamonds that have made me rich in faith and wealthy in hope. But I'm not the only one. Look down at your feet. The path sparkles. God has placed diamonds in the dust of your road, too!"

Isn't it encouraging? Again, it is written by a handicap. I salute those people who, in spite of the trials and challenges of life, still see and walk in faith. They are full of hope and they have clear visions of what God has in store for them. That is s0oo amazing!!

I just read the introduction and scanned the contents and I think every page is well worth to read.

Thanks sa book, Jhay R

Completely blessed

I am very choosy when it comes to my multiply blog skin. But when I saw the color and the phrase of my newest blog skin (Completely blessed), I made an instant decision to change it. And I think it's cute!!

Yes, I know that my blogs or my multiply account speaks of me. Everything I put in here has a little or big part of me. Since my own site speaks of me, I wanna let every person who is checking out this site (Yes, I am flattered to know some friends of mine are reading my blogs without me knowing, Hi Don!) to know that I am richly blessed or better say completely blessed.

Why completely blessed?

Though I'm not born with silver spoon in my mouth, there's nothing more I could ask for. I am content and grateful of what God gave me. The experiences I've had (whether good or bad), the travel opportunities, the good relationships, the genuine friendships, the education, the healthy and good food on the table, the mentors, the lessons I'm learning everyday of my life, the love, the forgiveness and other concrete or abstract things that I can't think of right now. Everything is just a blessing! I think, "completely blessed" is the best statement I could describe my site and myself right now.

I am humbled

What have I done to deserve all these?? Nothing. I just feel s0oo loved these past weeks and I thank my family and friends for that. Forgiveness is the key. Just forgetting the past and also moving ahead with life are good for the heart. We can never withhold it. Hay...Thank God for forgiveness. That's a great lesson for me these past weeks.

Who sustains me?

Loyal and true friends, of course my family. Everyone knows that I am a family oriented woman (Yes, I'll be using woman from now on). I just love my family. They are my number one priority. They are my inspiration. They taught me to be strong, to love, to be who I am right now. My lola, my mom, Joy and Marc know it. Even my cousins. I remember someone warns me, "Monette, you have to get married ah, you should have your own family." I said my Yes confidently and then asked why? Then the person said that I seem not getting married because of focusing too much with my present family. Well, I think I'm just enjoying my time with them coz I know the fact that one day I'm gonna get married. S0oo these are precious moments!

Me, Mom, Marc and Joy

Kissing mom. We love you s0oo much Ma!!

With all the good things, I bring God the glory.

I am completely blessed!

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

James 1:17

Wow

Have you experienced being s0oo generous to a friend and you gave that friend of yours something that you know she'll really like? Yung tipong gagawin mo ang lahat, bibitbitin mo yung present mo kahit masugatan or magkagalos galos ka pa? Then suddenly, she'll post that in her multiply account just to let you know that she's been a very good steward of that present. Well, Marie Grace just did it! It's nice to know that she's really taking good care of the sunny earing holder I gave her.

Proof of stewardship: Punong puno ng earings!

My reaction: WOW!! (gamit na gamit!)

LESSON:

Appreciate and be a good steward. Malay mo matuwa yung friend mo at bigla ka na lang bigyan ulit ng something di ba? Hehe

Have a great day everyone!!

stressed

Work is very stressful. (Kaya nga work e!) And with the stress comes the boredom for an unexplainable reason. That's why sometimes you just need a stress ball. Hahaha or look at the pictures of the unforgettable experiences you've gone through and post it in your blog and put some dialogues on it to ease that thing called STRESS.

Like these...

DIALOGUE 1: (With feelings) Ey sharky wait for me!!

DIALOGUE 2: (Should be encouraging) Ayayay Starfish, ngiti naman dyan, wag mahiya sa camera.

DIALOGUE 3: (Loving the octopus) Ooohh Ursula...

I just need a break.

M, M. P

Modelling (The Imperfect ME)

No make-up, bad hairdo, bags under my eyes. You call that modelling? Kuya Terd forwarded the photo he took of me when we met in MOA (Bagong binyag sa SLR!) with the file name MON_XDA_MODEL. My reaction? Huwattt!! I never imagined myself being a model, ano kayang itchura kung sakali?? Photographer or make-up artist pwede pa.

Being a make-up artist

Yes I did the make-up for Marc and his barkada for their last prom. Congrats BRO for getting the award as SMILE OF THE NIGHT! Ooopps, make-up ko yan!! Hehe

Being a photographer

I have enjoyed and loved my Photography class when I was in college. That's why I miss it so bad!! Miss ko na mag photo shoot! Hay

Seascape. Adoring BLACK AND WHITE. This photo was taken at Indang, Cavite. Credits to Xavier Abelador for his SLR.

with sense or senseless?

The first time I saw this shirt from my officemate, it brought up a great discussion. Then, he wore it again. I can't help it so I grabbed my phone and took a photo of it.

Now what do you think???

Makes sense??

The kid in me

Remember the days when we see toys as rewards because we studied so hard and got good grades?? We love going to Toy stores with our parents and buy great toys that tempt us badly like Polly Pockets, Barbie dolls and even Tamagochi for girls. While the boys have robots, cars, billiards set, balls, superman or batman miniature. Well today it's very different. We have to face it that we are living in a changing world and since mobile phones and other gadgets are upgrading, TOYS can never be left behind! Naku, ang dami talagang kakaibang laruan ngayon!!

Thanks to Toy Kingdom for the summer discounts coz I was able to purchase Zoids for cousin JC, a great Barbie doll (the latest!) for cousin Chin and a game board, Monopoly, the Philippine edition for cousin Rainer. Yes, I know what you have in mind. Bakit di ako bumili?? Hmm, next time na lang, sila muna. Because it's summer time and because two of my cousins graduated (kinder and gradeschool), I have to reward them with their hardwork. Yea, they got good grades that's why they deserve a pat on the back and a great toy and a great time with their big cousin ME. We stayed in Toy Kingdom for approximately one hour, my little cousin JC had a hard time deciding. And when he finally decided to buy Zoids, we have to wait for it coz it has to be assembled. My patience was test! And while waiting, I scrutinized the toy store and decided to come back maybe next month for I found the game I think I will like.

Some realizations

TOYS ARE EXPENSIVE NOWADAYS. If you're invited to a kid's birthday party whether it's your friend's son or daughter or it's your inaanak, you have to be prepared. Kung ang bigas nga tumaas, Php26 per kilo and pinakamababa e, ganun din ang toys. Mahal na talaga ngayon! Though we live our lives in budget, there's this feeling in us to make the kids so happy so we give them what they want. There are several toy stores which offer gift certificate. Now, we have options if we wanna give them Php100, Php500 or more.

GONE ARE THE DAYS OF PIKO, LUKSONG TINIK, BATUHAN TAO, SIPA, DAMPA, AND A LOT MORE. Honestly, I miss these kind of games. Yes, I'll admit it. Naging batang kalsada din ako, lumaki rin ako sa kalye. Umuwi rin ako ng gabi na madungis dahil masarap makipaglaro sa labas!! Today, this is a little impossible to do. Maybe because of the danger outside, kidnapping, rapes and other crimes that the kids are not excempted. Parents usually have worries or maybe fears in their hearts of letting their kids play outside. One example of worries is the public transportation. The buses, the jeepneys and other vehicles that could hit a kid like what I've blogged about CJ, the boy I met in PGH last year because he was hit by a truck. We see street children playing outside and questions their parents and sometimes judge them, anong klaseng mga magulang 'to, iniiwan mga anak sa kalye, mga wala pang tsinelas! Who's to blame?

ADVANCEMENT OF TECHNOLOGY. Kids today play different kinds of games. We see some of them holding PSP, game boys and computers (Yea, online games). You can see them in the computer shops after classes wasting their allowances in Ragnarok or Dota. Sometimes, I wanna ask the kids, Oy, may trabaho ka na ba pang suporta sa bisyo mo? Yea, Bisyo na 'to! They stay in computer shops for a long time, instead of reading or studying their lessons, they just play online games.

THE VALUES. What are the good values they can learn? Violence maybe. Kids are more open to sexuality compared before. Is it because of some pop out screens? Again, who's to blame? Is it the changing world? Well, they are more prone to danger compared to us adults. We have to protect them and teach them the possible dangers they may encounter. Also we, adults must teach them the good values as well. Sabi nga ng teachers, good values start at home which I agree and believe in.

Time well spent

Well, spending time with my cousins, JC, Chin and Rainer was a productive time for me. It was my off from work and I should be resting and do some stuff but I decided to spend time with them and treat them in Toy Kingdom. It was refreshing to see their smiles especially when they were holding their toys in the cashier area as if it they own it already. Hehe, it feels good to see that moment and I am blessed to witness it as their older cousin. Sabi nga ni Carmina Villaroel sa Nido commercial niya with her kids, minsan lang sila bata.

Again, I had a great time and when we're going back home, they all said their Thank you's. Para kong matutunaw, nakakapag pataba ng puso and it just feels so good. The time, the tiring walks in Mall of Asia (you know what I mean), the little savings I've had for that moment. Everything, it's all worth it because of their smile. In my own little way, I've made them smile that last until this very hour.

It feels good to be a blessing, now I understand the statement, LIVE TO GIVE