muni-muni

> ilang minuto na lang, lunes na. medyo kinakabahan ako. medyo lang.

> kalahati lang sa "take home work" ko ang natapos ko. naadik kase ako sa paglalaro ng plants vs zombies. yup. late bloomer.

> umuwi si daddy-yo! naglaro sila ng apo niya. pinakain namin sya ng super size fracasso special. yummy!

> iniisip ko pa rin ang LUNES. MAMAYA NA YUN.

> medyo naiinggit ako sa ngayon sa mga taong kilala ko na may pera--- pa-travel-travel, pa-check-in-check-in. pa shopping-shopping. slight lang. medyo lang.

> cut-off day na--- sa trabaho at sa bagong career. kaya?

> pagkatapos ng bukas, sana hindi ulit masakit ang ulo ko. *haist* gusto kong magbakasyon. ay. wala palang pera. *haist* ulit.

> nakakatuwa ang anak ko. lumalaking bibo, matalino at all-natural cute & beautiful. sana hindi magbago ang mga katangiang yan hanggang paglaki.

> malapit na... kung hei fat choi!

Contemplating Much

(the good dilemma--- amazingly, it's again about my career. here's the original good dilemma)

last night, i caught headache instantly. we were busy finishing off the bulk purchase orders of one account in time for our month-end cut-off when the most-awaited call happened. it was one of the ladies who interviewed me. she was asking if their admin already gave me the requirements to submit for employment. on top of that, she told me to start training on Monday and report to them everyday already starting next week. eek! i've been waiting and longing for this opportunity since God-knows-when, but giving me a very short notice gave me the headache which i would want least at the time we were rushing orders for our month-end cut-off. THIS IS IT. it's decision-making time:

PROS:
1. i've been praying for this opportunity since strike three.
2. i'll have more opportunity in this company.
3. room for growth and other "rakets" are wide open.
4. i'll be practicing the degree i chose to study in college.
5. goodbye, no-brainer job.

CONS:
1. salary will be more or less equal with what my basic salary is at present.
2. work time is more demanding than my present, which means, lesser time for my family (i'm hearing Saturday work and holidays)
3. i'll be hired by the company as their talent and not as a regular employee, which means, lesser employee benefits (just the government-mandated benefits such as SSS, Philhealth, 13th month pay)

looking at the lists, i have more reasons to go for it than pass the opportunity. but the negative reasons weigh much for me since i'm more inclined to choose what's best not only for myself but for my family, as well. if i grab this once in a lifetime opportunity, i have to sacrifice the time with my family. i need to pay for our own health insurance. i really need to kick my arse to get more than my basic salary to be able to survive. yep, in a month, i'm earning lesser than i'm spending due to bills. that just made my decision-making a bit harder than simply hugging the opportunity. my wifey and i already made a decision about this. you are all welcome to share your two cents worth of opinion on this, thanks!

Manyaman 27-012011

Sa unang labas ng aking kolum sa Tinig dot com, tinalakay ko ang ukol sa pagdiriwang at ilang kaugalian ng mga Pilipino sa pagsapit ng Bagong Taon. Bukas po ang kolum para sa inyong mga comments. :)

Lyca Timotea

Ito ang unang pagkakataon ko na gumawa ng tribute post para sa isang tao na matagal ko nang nakakatuwang sa pagtupad ng aking tungkulin sa Iglesia. Kung bakit "Lyca Timotea" ang pamagat ng post na ito, narito:


si Lyca (nasa kaliwa) at si Mel habang nage-emcee sa isa sa mga year-end socializing ng lokal

Si Lyca (Lyn sa tunay na buhay) ay matagal-tagal na ring kapamatok sa tungkulin (mang-aawit) at siya rin ang kalihim sa kapisanang KADIWA noong ako ay naging pangulo nito. Kahit hindi mo sabihin, makikita mo ang isa sa mga katangian nya sa pagtupad: masipag. Tahimik lang sya na sumusunod sa mga tuntuning ipinaiiral sa kapisanan at tinitiyak nya na tapos ang mga gampaning naka-atang sa kaniya.

Mula nang hirangin sya bilang pangulo ng mga kabataang mang-aawit, naging panatag ako na iwan at ipagkatiwala sa kaniya ang mga kabataang mang-aawit. yun ang simula kung bakit naihalintulad ko sya sa unang lingkod ng Diyos na si Timoteo. Ano ba ang katangian ni Timoteo?

"Kaya nga, nang hindi na ako makatiis ay nagpadala ako riyan ng sugo upang alamin ang kalagayan ngayon ng inyong pananampalataya sa Panginoon. Nag-aalala ako na baka nalinlang na kayo ng diyablo, at kung magkagayo'y mawawalan ng kabuluhan ang aming pagpapagal.
Ngayon ay nakabalik na rito si Timoteo, at maganda ang balita niya tungkol sa inyong pananampalataya at pag-ibig. Ibinalita rin niya sa amin na lagi ninyo kaming naaalala at malaki ang pananabik na makita kami, gaya ng pananabik naming makita kayo."

- 1 Tesalonica 3:5-6 (sa akin ang pagdiriin)

^ ganyan si Timoteo... isa syang mabuting katuwang ng pangangasiwa o ng mga tagapanguna. kapag siya ay isinugo sa isang gampanin, nagiging panatag ang nagsugo sa kaniya--- dahil alam nila na matutupad nang maayos ni Timoteo ang gampaning isinugo sa kaniya.

Ganyan din si ate Lyn. Ilang beses ko nang binanggit sa kaniya yan. Alam ko na sa pagtupad niya ng mga tungkulin niya, dumarating din ang panghihina at mga alalahanin pero hindi niya yun alintana, matupad lang ang mga tungkulin.

Ang hangad ko sa iyo sa kaarawan mo ngayon:

1. mabuting kalusugan
2. payapang pamumuhay
3. maligayang pamilya
4. pag-ibig na buhat sa Ama

yan ang aking BIG FOUR wishes para sa yo. sa larangan ng pagtupad mo, wala naman na akong mahihiling para sa yo dahil alam kong alam na alam mo naman kung paano tumupad ng mga gampanin mo. sabi ko, hindi kita igi-greet sa birthday mo this year. hindi ko pa rin babaliin yung sinabi ko na yun. :P

A Butterfly Story

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it had and it could go no further.

Then the man decided to help the butterfly, so he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time.

Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.

What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were God's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If God allowed us to go through our life without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we could have been. And we could never fly.

I asked for strength, I was given difficulties to make me strong... I asked for wisdom, I was given problems to solve... I asked for prosperity, I was given a brain and brawn to work... I asked for courage, I was given obstacles to overcome... I asked for love, I was given troubled people to help... I asked for favors, I was given opportunities... I received nothing i wanted, but received everything i needed.
(22-Sept., 2008)

Welcome to the 21st Century!

*our communication - wireless
*our phones- cordless
*our food- fat-less
*our sweets-sugarless
*our labor- effortless
*our mistake-countless
*our attitude- careless
*our youth- jobless
*our ladies- topless
*our needs- endless
*our situation- hopeless
*our future- clueless!!!

- received from my inbox, re-posted just for the lighter side of life

keeping me busy

i don't detail much the things that keep me busy just like i used to. perhaps it's a part of the change that happens whether we like it or not. as i've mentioned previously, your 'world' shall be different when you get married and have kid/s. the usual hobbies that you used to do will have to be put aside to give way to your new responsibilities. it amazes me though that i still blog. though i've entertained the thought of giving-up blogging a few times, i'm still here documenting my so-called "life." and perhaps one friend thought that i needed to hold on to blogging so he gifted me a year of website hosting where i can have exclusivity in my url address, hence, the birth of this wordpress page. i used to blog in the FREE blog-hosting site and having an exclusive url address is something, well, upgraded. i still am a neophyte in terms of html use so i tweak my blog designs only through the templates available in the hosting site. some think that i'm already an "institution" to this but no, i remain as the simple blogger that i am. i don't even give in to putting ads in my webpage even if i think it can help me (even a little) in covering up some of my monthly expenses.

anyway, i'm busy with my family, work, church duties and online, i frequent PEx where i moderate a couple of forums. the latter i mentioned is voluntary but it gives me something in return--- perhaps the additional credential, communication enhancement, matured judgement, and maybe, additional friends. PEx has become the largest Filipino Online Community since its debut in 1999 and i never expected that i'd be one of the moderators of this community. I think it should be more fun if my PEx friends are still active when I'm already taking this responsibility. There are still a few active old members but those who i'm really close with and develop real-life friendship are already living their own real-world lives.

i'm still positive about getting a new career this year. there are a good number of reasons why i feel this way towards the present job and i think it's high time for me to take a step forward and move on to better "responsibilities".

weekends have always been a time for family (and church day, too). two days seem insufficient to do the many activities i need to do with my very own family (so i can't imagine working on a Saturday again). i've been spending my time working most of the week and when i get home after work, i feel tired & sleepy. must be the age, haha! i really don't take vitamins ever since (if i'm given the choice)... which reminds me, mom has sent me a bottle of vitamins to consume. yaiks. anyway, i'm thinking of spending more time with my wifey & little girl to some places this year, if the funds allow :P looking forward to have their newly-acquired passports to have stamps, yay! i just don't know when. but i'm projecting it by the 3rd quarter of this year. i hope the airlines have big, big discounts on air fare by that time :D

holy supper is nearing. it's that season when temptation is more evident. as for my brethren in faith, let's all be vigilant.

btw, i'm surprisingly loving the weather in Manila--- it's cold. I love sunny weather but having this cold breeze is also like-able! I just hate it when it rains.

oh no, it's monday!

it's been almost a week since i last blogged.. no. the correct thing to say is it's been almost a week since i last updated this page. i do blog daily (well, almost) but just for my 365 days project which link is to be publicized only on the 4th quarter of this year (or perhaps by private request). It's not that "professional". really. i just wanted to bring back my old hobby of point-and-shoot since i first loved it in college. it's like... more than a decade since i frequently did that. and besides, i have no "expensive gadgets" to match with the mushrooming online photography hobbyists. but nonetheless, i'm having my own project. our college video editor noted once, and it has since marked in my mind, that i have an "eye" for the camera. i used to be our cameraman on video school projects and my framing was praised even by our college video production mentor.

anyway, i didn't notice the week that passed, i was preoccupied with some schedules (which i posted here in my blog previously) and we were able to do everything as stated. the most likeable for me was my bonding with my daughter last Saturday night as we waited for her mom to finish her duties in church. we just went to the mall, i got her 2 packs of diapers, and she just loved rounding the baby section of the department store. before we left, i bought an ionizer (the cheapest available) from a car accessory shop, then got my wifey her KFC meal. the following day was another family day blast. we had to bring my mom's padala to her sister in fairview so off we drove to Aunt Joy's place where wifey, our little daughter & i enjoyed singing until dinner was served! my uncle's videoke has the bestest sound that even i myself sounded like a professional singer, haha (dream on!) and the best thing in his playlist, he has this Go On Girl by Ne-yo song! yeah! i felt like an RnB king last night. hahaha.. my daughter wouldn't want to let go of the microphone too. :P i took some photos of my aunts & uncle to send them to my mom thru email.

and now its Monday again. time to start the week right, and look forward to better things to come. oh, did i mention, 2011 positivity? ;)

schedule

wifey text(ed) me earlier:

"_____ remind lang kita:
tomorrow wed. ka wini
thurs check-up of aya
friday papa's bday
saturday dra. denice
sunday auntie joy."

there goes the family man! :D

11 Things for 2011

today is 1.11.11 and giving credit to blogger pal Ely for the idea, i'm now listing my 11 Things for 2011. Here it goes:

1. My sister's homecoming. It's not happening until December but yeah, still it will be under this year, 2011.
2. My cousin An's wedding. It's not just an ordinary wedding but it's also marked as our cousins reunion, father side!
3. Our little girl turning two! They say that little ones learn how to speak real words at the age of two and i can't wait for that!
4. A new career! (fearless post, hahaha!)
5. Income flow! :)
6. Loose weight. :P
7. 365 Days Project completion.
8. Travel.
9. Recognition (of any pleasant kind).
10. half-way to forty (yaiks!)
11. stay young (looks and at heart)

2011 positivity! ;)

PEx EB

I'd just like to take this opportunity to document the PEx Buhay Pinoy EB which happened last night at Kabisera, Bonifacio Global City. It was like a time warp zone when i stepped in the EB place, but this time it felt a bit different since i was in a more "upgraded" level as a senior member and a moderator of the forum that held the event. among the EB's I attended, this is one of the most freebies-full of PEx EB's. from PEx admins, to co-moderator uptowngirl, and a couple of pex members made the event "bountiful". i just got a few items from the many freebies:



^ obviously, i love coffee. :P

more of Buhay Pinoy EB photos here.

PEx EB's are like, years back but having one some time these years ain't bad after all. ;) The attendees last night are even asking when's the next EB taking place.

2011 Positivity!

01-01-11
> pray with my in-laws just right after midnight
> pray with my own family after the first family prayer
> drove to Minalin with my wifey, little Aya, and in-laws
> babysit our little Aya while wifey performs her church duty
> bro. R. Esguerra officiated our locale's first 2011 worship service
> started my very own 365 days project :)



01-02-11
> performed my church duties until after lunch
> choir socializing after the practice
> home service massage
> family day @ Bonifacio Global City



2011 positivity!

bye bye, twenty ten!

the year twenty ten is finally making its exit. this year topped my most number of financial dilemma...and perhaps a handful (more) of not-so-good luck.

2010 Q1. as early as January, my frequent visit to the hospital started. February, we were expecting another call from Q channel production. It was February 2008 when we were first aired on The Sweet Life, then February 2009 was a repeat appearance on the same show. well, the same production staff contacted us weeks later and has told us that he's arranging a new guesting for us (me & wifey) on the new and (then) upcoming new show of Zoren & Carmins. but it never materialized. oh well. there goes our TV "raket" for the year. March was supposedly a "relief" month for us couple since we were referred to a household help that well, HELP us in the household chores. while wifey is a super wifey, it is still more handy to have a helper around that will do some load off my wifey's back. so wifey can concentrate on taking care of our little girl. but as good things are shaping up, it had to end quickly and at this month, our helper left us for "family" reasons. its hard letting her go but we are in no position to interfere with her personal decisions, and much more, family affairs.

2010 Q2. on the fourth month of the year, April, our MERALCO bill DOUBLED! next thing i knew, i became a victim of "gossip" at work... strike one! the pleasurable company outing served as a consolation for all these. May should be my most loved month... the first ever Philippine automated elections is the main highlight for this month. also, i (together with biep Kuri) was able to visit a blogger friend's coffee shop, Edsel's Kafferazzo. in June, our baby celebrated her first birthday :) also, mom's homecoming is another story headliner. then, another "gossip" spread at work while i was on leave... strike two!

2010 Q3. my most loved L300 was sold in July. and i had to commute to and from work for more than three weeks while heavy rains poured almost everyday :( August our new "baby" arrived! and for a while, the whole nation expected to celebrate, but was halted, but anyway celebrated for the winning of Ms. Venus Raj in this year's Ms. Universe competition. It was a major, major upset. in September, i officially became a columnist in tinig dot com.

2010 Q4. i came back a couple of times to the hospital, this time because of wifey & little Aya. that same month of October, i had another realizations. thanks to blogger friends gasul, kuri & edsel for considering to relocate the eyeball which was originally scheduled in Metrowalk just to have me join them. also this month, i met up another blogger friend, atty. aryo, who was fresh from Japan. this month, officially became a pinoyexchange dot com moderator. november the most difficult decision for the year was made... it was a story of The Good Dillemma. wifey & i entered the perfume business (WE ARE CONTINOUSLY ACCEPTING ORDERS) :) ..to balance this month, it was notable that this month gave me the opportunity to perform my choir duty in a house of worship dedication--- FYM locale (Nov. 13th); and finally... DECEMBER... i was unjustly compensated (or perhaps, not properly informed of such abrupt actions)... strike three! with these "strikes", tell me where to start in 2011?

i hear firecrackers outside. people are now celebrating--- some to welcome the new year, and some to bid goodbye to this year.