weekend rush

Saturday

Saturday early morning started out with me driving all the way to the office to go to work. I usually just go to the office just once a week so a Saturday (or Friday in North America time) was an exception because our team had new members coming in as their first day. Welcome to the team Sally and JD! I'm glad I did too as I had a lot of work I was able to finish that day.

I don't know how I got by that Saturday because I went home around 10:30 am, slept for around 2 hours? And then headed off to Powerplant mall in Rockwell. You see, an old friend just happen to buy a new Honda Civic! Top of the line model pa! He was supposed to buy a Subaru about a month ago, but that didn't push through. So I was surprised to get a text message from him last Friday informing me that he finally bought a new car! Not Subaru as intended, but a Honda Civic instead! Not bad at all. So he invited me to go for a joy ride. We were thinking of driving around the metro but since I had dinner appointments that night, we just decided to meet up around 4pm at powerplant and then drove all the way to Mall of Asia and had merienda there to talk about anything under the sun. Interesting as I never really talked to him much before (ok, I never really bothered talking to anyone before!).

So he did bring me back to Powerplant just in time so I can meet up with my girl friends that night for dinner. Before we went to dinner, the girls and I dropped by Urban Bazaar there. They have some pretty nice stuff there. We did end up going back later on that evening so my other friend who came later could check it out. Lo and behold, nakita namin si Marian Rivera and Roxanne Barcelo (spell check). They're both very pretty and petite girls.

Sunday

Woke up pretty early Sunday (after only sleeping for a couple of hours) and dragged myself to pack up for our girls overnight and go to EDSA Shangri La Hotel by 9 am to attend free yoga class! Who can say no to that? The best part of it is that, we finally got to go Chi Spa! Pagpasok mo pala doon para kang nasa ibang mundo! Very solemn, ang bango, you name it! The yoga session itself ran for 2 hours... but it seemed so short! I was just learning the Koshas! And trying the various poses that I couldn't figure out. Hahaha But it was fun! I sure hope there are yoga classes near my place, that would be better. Good thing though that I got a yoga book from Leda. I should start reading it.

The only thing I didn't like was walking in the hotel and in the mall wearing my house shirt looking like I just woke up.

Malayan Overnight

My college friends and I decided to have our overnight after n years again last sunday to monday. We stayed in Malayan, which is just in front of Podium. Not a bad place for the price, but not the best as well. I think I remember Astoria was better.

Anyway, we went to Megamall to check out Forever 21. That store is huge! But we ended up shopping at Cinderella! Hahaha I think everyone bought something right? I didn't realize how fun it was to shop with these ladies! Ang hindi ko makakalimutan were the times we were in the dressing room. I will not forget Marcy's catwalk with her new blue blouse! Grabe payat ng tiyan ng lola mo!

In general, it's always nice to hangout with friends. That's what the girls and I just did in Malayan. Although, madaming plans na hindi natuloy, paano ba naman, sobrang antok na! Ganoon na ba tayo na tumatanda? Hindi na kaya mag stay up till wee hours of the morning doing nothing? hahaha We love our sleep more these days.

We're getting older!!

bible quotes

"therefore i tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. and when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your FaTheR in heaven may forgive you your sins."
mark 11: 24-25

"'for i know the plans i have for you,' declares the LoRd. 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'"
jeremiah 29: 12

long sleep

Went home around 9 am yesterday, slept around 10 am, and had an uninterrupted sleep until 1 am!
Can you believe it? I was that tired! Now that I think about it, I think I had a total of 6 hours of sleep over 48 hours. Definitely this 15 hour sleep is well worth it.

And after almost 3 days, my arms are still sore!!

August 23, 2010

Monday turned out to be a pretty interesting day.

Started out with me going to gym, as usual. I asked my trainer to change up our workout, and I wanted to workout my arms (for good reason!). Oh man, wrong move, my arms are so sore right now! Even during the workout, I was trying to do some biceps curl, I couldn't do it anymore. My arms just pretty much died!

And that means I have an excuse not to go to the gym tomorrow! I'm sore!! Yehey!

Late afternoon, after having a 2 hour sleep, I got ready to go to Makati (again!!) to meet up with Rachel. I was suppose to go to her office, park my car there, and go with her to Makati, but holy cow, traffic was crazy! Traffic reached all the way to Quezon Avenue! So in my attempt to rush rush, I exited EDSA to look for some side streets to hasten my trip. I was thinking of going to Greenhills Ortigas path or go back out to Cubao. Of course, I picked going back to Cubao and lo and behold, I turned right, when there was no right turn!! Crap!!! And now, after getting my license since almost 10+ years ago, I got my first traffic violation!!!

First the officer wanted to confiscate my license, and told me that I have to get the license in Makati! Hello! Too far, so I begged and begged and I ended up just having to pay 150 pesos (via Metrobank), and I got my license back! So I don't need to go to Makati just to pick up my license. Good and kind officer. :) Blessings indeed. At least hindi ako kinuhaan ng pera. Very honest guy actually. Kudos.

After that unfortunate event, I wasn't able to meet up with Rach as I was late, and she was meeting someone new :) so I did have dinner with Marcy. Talked talked talked, waited for Rach to finish up, and finally got to talk. Well, kinda disappointed with the outcome. But what can we do right?

By the way, Murphy's Quiz Nights was featured in The Beat at QTV. Unfortunately, we were not seen in the clip. :( At least nakita sina Sally!

Oh well, they say that when there are a lot of disappointments, something good eventually comes up. Hoping for a good day tomorrow!

congratulations!

My very good friend Hanni just passed the boards and is now officially a doctor! Congratulations Hanni!

Funny thing is, I posted a congratulations in her Wall in Facebook, and her reply was:

"Definitely!! :) magreply ka ah! Matagal ka na nagtago hehehe thanks bev! :)"

Was I gone that long? Haha Maybe yes, come to think about it, I haven't seen them for the longest time, I didn't attend their get togethers. Now with the changes in my life, I'll be able to join them more!

Songs Songs Songs!

For the past couple of days, I've been on the hunt for some nice musics to dedicate to my friends. Been having fun sending Leda some lyrics along the way as well. :) I also remembered a couple of weeks back when the girls and I had dinner and we were talking about the different songs that best describes what we're feeling at that specific point in time. So just for fun, here's my short and hopefully fun list for everyone. I picked these songs not only because the lyrics really do mean something, but also because the songs actually sound good!

1. Right after someone breaks up with you:

Lady Antebellum - I Need You Now
"It's a quarter after one, I'm a little drunk and I need you now
Said I wouldn't call but I lost all control and I need you now
And I don't know how I can do without
I just need you now"

---> hindi ba feel mo kating kati ka makausap siya? Aminin!!!

Christina Milian - Until I Get Over You
"The sun won't shine since you went away
Seems like the rain's falling every day
There's just one heart, where there once was two
But that's the way it's gotta be,
'til I get over you"

---> optimistic?

2. Now when you're in denial.

Stonebolt - I Will Still Love You
"When the moon disappears forever
And the sun shines electric blue
And the mountains and trees tumble into the sea
To rest there for eternity
No matter what you do
I will still love you"

---> impossible na! pero mahal mo pa din...

3. Moved On! Over!

Daughtry - Over You
"Well I never saw it coming
I should have started running
A long, long time agooo!
And I never thought I’d doubt you
I’m better off without you
More than you, more than you know
I’m slowly getting closure
I guess it’s really over
I’m finally gettin’ better
Now I’m picking up the pieces
From spending all of these years
Putting my heart back together
‘Cause the day I thought I’d never get through
I got over you!!! "

The Braxtons - Only Love
"I'm over you somehow
Only love knows how
I have the strength to move on again
The more you put me down
"Cause love knows how
It gave me the strength to move on "

---> need I say more?

4. Going into a new relationship (ok, dedicated to someone I know!!!)

Katherine McPhee - Terrified
"You said it again my heart's in motion
Every word feels like a shooting star
I'm at the edge of my emotions
Watching the shadows burning in the dark,
And I'm in love and I'm terrified.
For the first time in the last time
In my only life."

A lot of things to be thankful for

I've been slowly realizing the extent of blessings I've received the past couple of weeks. God is really good. I have been saying "Hay buhay" a lot of times during those dark days. But I shouldn't have been doing that. What I should have been saying was "Thank you Lord for the blessings". I was blinded by the bad things that happened to me (ok, the one major bad thing that happened), which overshadowed the good things that I actually have. And now I have a clearer view to those things. And I'll list them down as a show of gratitude.

1. Family
I am very blessed to have a family who cares so much for me. My mom, especially who even went to HK with me just to help me unwind. Who texted me "gisingin mo lang ako kapag kailangan mo ng kausap". My sister who told me bluntly to "Move on! ano ka ba!". LOL!

2. Friends
I really don't know how my friends ( you know who you are ) put up with me during the dark days. Kahit paulit ulit na at sirang plaka na sinasabi ko, at sinasabi nila, they're still there! I can't believe how much they cared! The nice thing about all these is that I've rekindled so many friendships over the past weeks. I now have weekly get together with the bruhas, and now I even revived my friendship with my high school buddies and made me feel extra special again. For the past years, my life revolved around work, home, and him. And I've missed out so much! And now, I'm loving this life!

3. Finances
Ok, so I have to admit that one of my outlets was to spend spend spend. And now that I think about it, I've very thankful that God has provided me with so much, if not, I wouldn't have been able to sustain my spending spree! And not just that, I've recently got some nice winnings in the stock market, and not to mention that I have some new investments that's giving me a pretty reasonable return every month. Not bad at all! So let's continue to spend! haha

4. Gym
The gym has been my haven for the past couple of weeks. So maybe my attendance to the gym has slowed down a bit, but definitely the gym has helped me get through a lot of things. When I'm feeling sad, I just go to the gym, workout, and I'm fine after wards. Not only was it a good outlet, but it made me more confident about myself! Hitting two birds with one stone!

5. Work
I hated work so bad. I regretted accepting this job, going to Canada, you name it. Everything about it I hated. I wanted to bring back time if I could. I always thought, things would've been different. But you know what, it may have been different, but I wouldn't have experienced and grown as much had I not experienced what I experienced with this job. Unfortunately, a major part of us got lost somewhere during the process but we're already here now, it happened, and we cannot turn back the time. I was going to change things, I told him that, he knew that, but I guess he didn't want to risk any longer. So here I am, took me a while to love what I'm doing again, but I'm slowly getting there.

How can you not be thankful for this job? When I was down in the dumps, I asked for some time off. Talked to my team lead, she told me to go on vacation the following week at once, for two weeks. Then talked to my manager and told me to go, fix up whatever the personal issue was, and then if I need another week or so, let him know. How can you not be thankful for this job?

And after wards, around end of July, they made me team lead. Well it's a admin job, but it's still experience! How can you leave this job now?? Everything tells me to stay put!

So much things to be thankful for... everyday. I learned to appreciate so much in life.

This diagram pretty much simplifies what I felt the past weeks.


I think I'm towards the bottom already. Happy emotions na ako these days eh. :)

HS Friends

Saturday was probably one of the best days I've had over the past weeks. I was expecting it to be fun, but I didn't expect it to be way more fun!

Saturday as usual started with me finishing up some work at around lunch time. Then bummed around for a bit and then went off to Shangrila to meet up for coffee and catch up with Rach. We stayed there for almost 2 hours just chit chatting. Got a lot of juicy gossip from her! And of course, she had to give me some points to ponder on regarding my "life" as it is these days.

After which, I had to drive all the way to Makati first, to pick up Stella and then go straight to Bonifacio High Street in the Fort. Saw my old ICA friends which I haven't seen for such a long time! I didn't know how much fun they were until I actually saw and hanged out with them. We stayed in Fridays till 1 am! Had to go home as I was starting to get sleepy (been awake straight for almost 20+ hours).

What was interesting with this get together was that I geniunely felt like I had so much more friends! So much more friends who each approached me and told me that if I needed someone to talk to, they're always there. I think that's why I felt so happy that night. Actually kakatawa, we just laughed at what happened. Comedy na ang pagkwento ko nun eh. haha

And I realized, my friends have all matured!! Dati rati, when we meet up, may driver iyong mga yun. But now, each has their own car! Hala, gala galore na ito! No curfews na. At nakadamit pa lahat. Nasabi ko tuloy, "whatthe! ako lang and hindi nakaporma?"

Anyway, here we are:



Awesome night. I slept with a smile, and I woke up the next day with a hangover - from smiling :)

forgiveness

I went to mass again earlier and was very much enlightened but what the sermon was about. Going to mass the past two days have given me so much strength and enlightenment the past days. It has given me hope that I will be 150% back on track any time soon.

Back to the sermon, surprisingly, the topic was about forgiveness. Two things he said that struck me most:

1. The first step is to forgive yourself first
When he said this, I felt so... comforted. If that's the right term to use. All this time, I've been confused and guilty of the things I have done in the past. I've acknowledged that we've had our share of pains but I always believed that there's a big chunk to blame on me on why the relationship went sour. It's always been me taking him for granted. I always blamed myself for doing that. But now, I know in order to make things right, I need to forgive myself for the things I've done wrong in the past. And I just started doing that yesterday and now here is the Lord, reiterating it to me. Very much comforted by His words.

2. Once you've forgiven yourself, then that's when you can start forgiving others, or asking for forgiveness from others
Totally agree. It always starts with yourself. And for once you've humbled yourself, you can truly feel for the others. This will be my next step.

And you know what struck me the most during the mass? Right after homily, lights went out, brownout! No lights, just candles but priest continued the Mass. And then right at the end, when we said "Thanks be to God", lights came back on. Blessings indeed.

Sunday Randomness Trip

Nothing beats a Sunday randomness trip with my three amazing girl friends - Leda, Sally and Mae. We initially planned on trying out the Treetop Adventures in Subic, but come Sunday, it was pouring mad - Esther was passing by the Northern Luzon. Leda and I were frantically texting each other that morning on what to do, should we push through with it or not? Do we just go the other way South which should have better weather? But no, we just decided to just let things be! So I picked up Mae at our usual pick up point in McArthur Highway, and then Sally and Leda at LRT Balintawak. Although Leda was an hour late!! Blame it on the bus, right Leda? :)

So we ended up driving to Gerona, Tarlac to eat at Isdaan! Wonderful place. Good ambiance, good food. And of course, we had a wonderful time throwing plates and cups in Taksyapo! Love it!

So right after lunch, we headed back to Manila. I think we spent a lot more time in the car than in the places we went to, but nonetheless, it was one of the best trips I've had recently. Nothing beats going on trips like this where you girls can just talk about anything under the sun (or under the rainy clouds)!

Back in Manila, it was way too early to go home so we went straight to Cafe Breton in Tomas Morato. Of course, we chatted our way for an hour or two until we decided last minute (due to Leda not wanting to go home yet) to watch a movie after! So we ended up going to Trinoma - to watch Inception. I don't know if I was tired by then or not, but I did sleep a bit in one of the parts of the movie. Haha Inception fans might get angry at me! But movie's well worth it.

All in all, a random day with the girls turned out to be one of the best days so far. Even though by the end of the day, what was left of my full gas tank was just a quarter. But so what, I can pay to get that refilled. But time spent with my friends, irreplaceable.

Shall we head south next?

reposting an excerpt that I just love

Before a new chapter is begun, the old one has to be finished: tell yourself that What has passed will never come back. Remember that there was a time when you could live without that thing or that person.

Nothing is irreplaceable, a habit is not a need. This may sound so obvious, it may even be difficult, but it is very important.

Closing cycles. Not because of pride, incapacity or arrogance, But simply because that no longer fits your life.

Shut the door, change the record, clean the house, shake off the dust.

Stop being who you were, and change into what you are.

- Excerpt from Closing Cycle.

My One Week Vacation last May (Part 1)

I haven't posted anything related to my big May 2010 Vacation ever since. My relatives from Canada planned out this one week vacation to Las Vegas. And we had side trips to Sedona, Arizona (Grand Canyon!), Hoover Dam then back to Vegas. It was a one week vacation, worth every penny of it (including my losses in the Casino!).

So here I am, arriving late at night in Las Vegas:



I arrived there via Allegiant Air from Bellingham. Since they're like the CebuPac of the USA, I crossed the border first from Vancouver to Bellingham, then took the flight from there. It was almost $200 cheaper! Vegas' airport is huge by the way. And, did I say they had slot machines inside the airport as well?

So our first stop the next day was actually a road trip to Arizona, but we stopped by Sedona first. I loooove Sedona. It was one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to. Sedona is also known as the "Red Rock Country".



And in order to preserve most of the Red Rock Country feel, even the commercial establishments looked kinda reddish. Beautiful place indeed.



And then off we went straight to Arizona!!



The night before we went to see Grand Canyon, there was almost like a wind storm outside. The wind was so strong all throughout the night and the next morning, things outside the hotel we stayed in were toppled all over. And when we go to the Grand Canyon itself - it even snowed!!! We were not expecting that. I only brought a thing layered jacket. It was freezing up there!

Btw the way, here's a nice family picture we took.


Grand Canyon is beautiful. When you look at it from the view points, it just looks like it's a picture. That's it. It's that awesome too look at. Peaceful too. Grand Canyon is way too big. You go from one end to the other, it'll take you 30 minutes to an hour! But going here is well worth it.

I think we spent two days in Arizone (including Sedona side trip). On our way back to Vegas, we dropped by the West Rim which had the popular Skywalk. The skywalk is like glass floor walkway that hangs on the edge of one of the canyons out there. It's actually not part of the national park of Grand Canyon. This one's being run by a group of native American Indians out there. It's a bit of a tourist trap though. You see, from the main highway going to the Skywalk, it'll take you around 30 minutes to an hour (not to mention you have to drive by a stretch of road that's not paved!). And then once you get there, you need to pay an entrance fee, and that's still aside from the skywalk itself!! Too expensive. But since I was there already, might as well cash out and go pay for it! It was fun though. But I'm probably not going to go back there. haha

Here's the "paid" shot. You can't bring cameras to the skywalk itself. They have official photographers if you want your picture taken.


(additional cash out again!)

That's it for now. I'll save Hoover Dam and my Vegas experience to the next post.

More pictures available in my multiply account too!

fixing up my finances

Now that I finally got my online account linked to my different bank accounts, I will start working on fixing up my finances. I haven't had a chance to monitor them for quite some time. I just realized that money that I withdraw, never gets deposited to my savings account, for some reason, it just vanishes from my wallet and I don't even know where I spent it!

I'd be doing this as part of my August cleanup! Especially now that I've gotten my Credit Card Bill! Face the consequences of my actions!

gym, eat

I went back to the gym this morning after 5 days of not going. Tried the same routine, could only finish 4 sets. And after going home, I finished up the ruffle chips I bought yesterday. Yikes!

Salt on a Saturday!

I can't remember when was the last time I went out on a Saturday afternoon-night! Let's see, before I went to Canada last February, my work shift was still 1am to 9 am. So usually, I stayed at home during Saturday and went out on Sunday. I think it's been quite a long time already (months and months, or probably even years!). But now, since my work shift has been moved to 4 am to 12 noon (think of it as just waking a earlier than usual), I'm now able to go out on afternoon's and even on evenings! I feel like I have so much more time in my hands these days. My drastic change in work hours has definitely given me more freedom to go out more often and do more things.

And so last Saturday, I finally went out and got to watch a movie. We were supposed to watch Inception in Trinoma but I couldn't believe the line in the movie house there! Crazy! So we ended up going to Shangri La and watched Salt instead. How I missed watching a movie there. Salt was nice. I really enjoyed the movie, except that the group of people to my right was annoying. They kept talking about what was happening in the movie.

Anyway, after which, we tried out this restaurant - Secret Recipes. They offered Asian cuisine and I ended up ordering this Vietnamese noodle soup. Not bad, but not the best either.

It was a fun day altogether. Not sure if it's too early to do this or not, but I don't think it hurts to have fun every now and then right? All I can say is, time flies by so fast. It's been two months already! Oh and how I feel way different from then compared to now. I guess that's how it really is. Cliche as it sounds, but we all just need time. :)