It's our holy supper at church today. It usually is a tiring day after a week of devotional prayer and weeks of choir practices. But as always, everything is all worth the preparations. God is full of love as He always gives us an opportunity to start anew and get things straight again.
Had the chance to invite my dad to visit our home and see his grandchildren again. he stayed overnight until lunch time the following day.
I'm not talking about my kids but this blog just turned 20 years old today. Looking back, there are a lot of memories to look back at for the past two decades. The beauty of this platform is you get to remember things that you may have forgotten had they not been written or documented through a diary, in this case, an online diary. Blogs have evolved from initially being a personal hobby or outlet where you can write what transpired in your life for the day, to being commercialized (monetized) to make it as a way to earn. Then when handy phones became more advanced and video cameras and editing apps became more accessible, most blogs were converted to vlogs (video blogs). This reminds me of Coy who could have been one of the pioneer vloggers who may have been instrumental in its existence if only he's still with us today. He's the one who introduced to me what a vlog is, as early as year 2007. That same year, he's already been encouraging fellow bloggers to try out vlogging. I've stated my thoughts about it more than 15 years back: Pinoy Vlogging In A Personal Blogger's Perspective.
Today I am pondering if I want to revive updating more often. Being aware that this is a public space and unlike 20 years ago, network of people can easily "stalk" you thru many means today, I am having double thoughts of preserving my private life. Since this used to be known only to my closest friends (online and real world), it is a different story today. Like those FB friends you just add as friends but are not actually close to you, most people now can easily access your writings online. Because it is what people has become--- well-versed online. So let's see what is in store next for this blog of mine.
Among the many posts I make here, the year-enders have always been my favorite as it summarizes a year of my life in one long post. And come to think of it, this blog reached two decades already but I only managed to write one "decade-ender" post. It was actually a feat doing it and now I want to give myself a pat on the back for doing it.
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| My first-ever year-ender blog post, written and posted from Canada. |
It's my Ate B's birthday today... hooorayyy!!! Almost April 25 here in Manila but to my ate's place, it is still an hour to noon time, April 24th! So there!
I decided to make my first ever chicken macaroni salad recipe. Why? Because I was craving for it for the past few days already. :( I only have a few knowledge of how to do it so I needed to consult my friend, Google, and look for an easy recipe to follow. Found one! So I headed to the supermarket earlier to get some ingredients and after finishing my day job (from home), my little "assistant" assisted me in making this masterpiece after dinner! Look!
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| Chick-mac salad made with love <3 nbsp="" td=""> |
Hello, blog! Today marks your 17th year of existence in the worldwide web. What was once a simple fad has become a hobby, and later on became one of my most valued life anecdote. Numerous times I attempted to revive the frequency of my updates, specially now that I have more stories to tell, and memories to remember in the future. Perhaps this year may be a good start to keep that fire going... to write again, and get back to updating my "online diary." While most people now are into vlogging, I prefer the more silent "web logging" (blogging). In this social media era, people tend to lose attention fast as they are now more used to fast-paced browsing. It is different during the early years of blogging. People tend to "listen" (literally read) more to what you say and when
they needed to give you a feedback, the comments section becomes a precious read for the author. With blogging I gained real-life friends, and they are like family to me. And even if we don't see each other more often, we still connect pretty good online as if nothing has changed. Welcome back to blogging, aajao!
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| blogger pals Kuri, Edsel, Glenn & Alex |
Last day of January for the new decade, or is this supposed to be the end of a decade? Too many deaths this month, two of them, people close to my heart. First, my uncle Red, who I was first introduced to when we lived our early years in Cainta more than two decades ago. I think it was the first and the last time I ever saw him alive, and this month witness him laying in his "final bed," with colleagues validating how good a person he was during his eulogy. I was able to find time to talk to my 2nd cousin, uncle's eldest, and re-introduce myself. I felt like a stranger when I arrived in the room (while the eulogy was on-going) and having my dad there gave me that relief of no-obligation to tell me who I am. At that moment, I felt how lucky I am to be in our clan. People seem to look up so much on members of our family and I never felt so proud about it. Another person who passed away this month is a good friend and fellow church choir member, Liam. I've know Liam for over a decade now but it was only in December 2015 that we became close due to our church performances. I usually fetch him during Thursday morning performances and give him a ride home after late night choir practices. He succumbed to pneumonia complications after being sick for quite some time in 2019. He got well for a few months so all the while I thought we will have more time to perform our duties again together as he became assistant choir director and was assigned to our area. Too bad, everything has to be short-lived.
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| family dinner out with mamsi |
In another happy thought, we celebrated DJ's 3rd birthday in our hometown in Minalin, with our relatives from dad's side. Although the cousins are incomplete, the visit to our hometown was worth it. Mom and dad were able to talk about some things, our fresh 3-year old enjoyed every moment with his 2nd cousins, and I was able to see some cousins again, including our balikbayan aunt (and ninang), tita Rina. |
| Finally... CONGRATS! |
My blog turns 15 today, March 3rd. For a blogger who still manages to keep his online diary up-to-date, it is really something. I, for one, has abandoned updating my daily life account, for the past years. When I look back at my "younger" posts, I come to appreciate the frequent updates I used to posts way back my early blogging years. So I somehow envy the bloggers who still take time to record their day-to-day activities, which in time, will turn out to be memories. My blog has been a witness of my life since 03-03-03. Through the years that I haven't updated much already, a lot of things already happened. But the most memorable ones were documented, at least in my year-ender posts.
Today I take yet another role of a dad, spending my day with my family and having so much priceless time with our youngest family member. It's a delight to just stare at your little one tirelessly walk around the house. Soon, he'll be more firm in using his feet and go even farther.
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| 9 years of blessed union |
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| 8 years of 08-08-08... through thick and thin, for better or worse, God is still the center of our relationship. May our family grow in hope, faith and love. |
"Bahay at mga kayamanan ay minamana sa mga magulang: nguni't ang mabait na asawa ay galing sa Panginoon." - Kawikaan 19:14
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| Happy birthday, Towtow! |
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| At Papa Rey's wake in Marian Memorial Chapel (Marcos Highway) with PCFI officemates |
Before I call it a day, let me once again greet everyone a happy & prosperous new year! Time's indeed fast. We just waited for 12 midnight to arrive yesterday and now, the first day of the new year is almost ending. After my two girls slept until almost half the day, my family went back to Mommy's place to celebrate new year with them over lunch and afternoon snacks. I lost count already on how many times I was offered to drink with the big boys while the big Lucido clan gathers and each time I turned them down with the help of my parents-in-law, answering for me, "hindi yan umiinom. sa softdrinks lang matakaw." I am not sure though if they (my in-laws) are proud about that or what. hahaha!! We had a nice time there in Mommy's place and even my little girl enjoyed bonding with her 2nd cousins. This is the first new year that her first cousins, JM & Miguel, were far from us as their mom just recently went home from Dubai and they spent their own family time together in Baguio.
After the gathering in Pasig, we dropped by the mall to get some stuffs for our mobile phone. I know, I know, I don't have a new mobile phone unit so I just bought something for it to look like new. Talk about saving for future new plans.
We were texting the Ocampo siblings on the update with their Papa Rey. A very sad news broke last night just more than an hour before new year stroke. Papa Rey was gone. His suffering ended just before the new year. He was diagnosed with a lung cancer and everything happened too soon. Just merely a week being confined in the hospital, his true condition was just revealed by another doctor too late already. This is the first time in my life that I didn't greet a whole family a "happy new year." And yes, it is a very hard time for the family I considered my second home when I was still a bachelor.
So just as they have settled in the funeral home, my family was there already. We checked what's needed and assisted the siblings who are all younger than I. We still manage to smile as we greeted each other and tell stories of what really transpired during Papa Rey's medication days in the hospital. But really. We can only do so much to console them. We volunteered to bring sopas tomorrow for them to have something warm for the tummy. After meeting with a few acquaintances who also tried to visit the family early, we left promising to come back the next days until Papa Rey's burial.
I ended day 1 of year 2016 by attending our Sunday School class for the first time in the new locale where we transferred. This is it. Back to square one. I need to reminisce my starting years as officer in the church where most of the time I am a follower rather than the leader. It's all good though... gives me a humbling experience to reflect once again how a church officer must perform his duties to God, following the leaders which God elected to administer the faithfuls. I admit, I lost a great part of me when the special tasks in the choir and in the PNK were left in the former locale. But I fully trust God why we are here now. It's all for the better, I believe. When the purpose is known, I will all the more praise and give thanks to the LORD, our God, for He is good all the time!
"Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.Pray for us. We are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way."
- Hebrews 13:17-18, NIV
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| the SUPER boss knows how TEAMS should be. Happy birthday, sir! :) |
It was fun visiting Jollibee-Ligaya branch once again as cousin Faith's firstborn son celebrated his 2nd birthday. While the celebration was very near our place, it was delightful seeing some distant (literally) relatives attending the party. Jameson and family came from Las Pinas, while Tita Peng and An's family drove all the way from Pampanga. Of course it was extra good seeing cousin-balikbayan Faith who now works and resides in London. My little girl enjoyed the party, participating in the kids' activities and even asking me to take photos of her with the mascots. Marco had three mascots in his party! Wow... gracing his 2nd birthday bash were Hetty, Twirlie, and of course, the ever-witty Jollibee! Being the supportive daddy that I am, I stayed in front (activity area) most of the time to be with my little girl. So I was called to participate when it was time for the parents' game. It was a fun-filled gathering.
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| From leftmost top, clockwise: Aya with the birthday boy Marco and his parents; kids enjoying the game "my boat is sinking"; Aya with Twirlie; Aya with Jollibee; Aya with Hetty |
I was strolling around Starmall during lunch break and I passed by this area where there's a Chinese New Year set up. "Lucky" items are being sold and a tree with hanging "ampaws" is also present. But what really caught my attention are the big Year Signs that forecast your 2015 "fortune." I don't believe in fortune-telling but I always find it amusing. Here's my year sign, and my 2015 "destiny" foretold:
100 BLESSED YEARS! Today marks the centennial year of the Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church of Christ) since its reemergence in the Philippines. From its humble beginnings, the church membership today comprises at least 110 nationalities in over 100 countries and territories. That is God's mighty work!
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| July 16, 2005--- With the kids after the CWS Thanksgiving in the locale of Mayagay, Rizal district. |
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| "Mississauga boys, Senior B" (July 25, 2004) |
in a few minutes, it's gonna be the 8th month of the year already. July seemed to be a long month but i am too busy to even notice how it flew so fast. July marks the start of the 'working' fiscal year. i thought we're not going to be busy at work this passing month since budget per department is still being approved. but no, i was definitely wrong. a series of opportunities opened up for me this month. first, i confirmed my promotion from an officer to an assistant manager. this month also gave me the opportunity to spearhead three events, two of which have media invitees. according to the execs' feedback, 'job well done' on the major events. well, thanks to my colleagues who made each event a success! speaking of promotion, it wasn't only i who have been promoted. Arn, our web & digital senior in the department also got a promotion. so we gave our team mates a dinner treat at Conti's one July evening.
Family Time Is Quality Time
in a week, i spend 9 hours at work for 6 days, plus a couple of extra hours daily for travel to and from the office. that leaves me more or less an even 12 hours a day to spend with my family or a total of 72 hours for 6 days. i try my best to squeeze in quality time with my two girls whenever i'm off from work. this month, i'm just a happy dad to treat my little girl (and the big girl as well) into the big screen twice. following the movie Monsters University which we watched last month, i took two nights this month to take my two girls in the movie house and see Despicable Me 2 & Turbo. Even if i'm already tired after work and just slept it out the whole duration of the movie, who cares? simply seeing your little girl giggling in joy everytime i am awakened by the moviegoers' laughs is simply PRICELESS. i can always catch those on DVD anyway. but your kid experiencing 3D (kid) movies with both her mom and dad is something that can not be replaced by anything.
Iglesia Ni Cristo: Countdown to the Centennial
July is always a special month for me, for my family, for all our brethren in the church. July 27, 2013 marks the 99th year anniversary of the Church of Christ (Iglesia Ni Cristo) all over the world. The church, as a yearly devotion, has celebrated it through thanksgiving worship services and thru the missionary work dubbed as "Kabayan Ko, Kapatid Ko." The missionary work resulted to hundreds of thousand people newly enlisted to undergo indoctrination through Bible studies. All brethren are excited and we're all looking forward to the church's centennial celebration. God's love for His church never fails. He's continuously keeping His promise to His nation. If one just sees how big the Iglesia Ni Cristo is today, he/she can not imagine how humble its beginning was. The Iglesia Ni Cristo story should be seen next year to its centennial movie offering, "Ang Sugo." The film, as i understand, will relate three generations of the church from its humble beginnings in 1914 up to where it is today through God's guidance and blessings. The movie is to star Albert Martinez as Ka Felix Manalo, Richard Gomez as Ka Erdy, and Bong Revilla as the church current Executive Minister, Bro. Eduardo V. Manalo.
Thanking God for all His blessings!
Ambilis lang ng panahon. O siguro, abala lang talaga ako sa trabaho. good thing. ito lang ang naging trabaho ko na talagang humihila ng mga araw. yung tipong papasok pa lang ang buwan, may plano na hanggang sa katapusan. at ito na ang tina-trabaho araw-araw. at pagkatapos nito, may susunod na kaagad. minsan sabay-sabay pa. ganito ang eksena sa buong isang taon. sabi ko nga, good thing. mas gusto ko nang ganito kaysa petiks at naghihintay lang ng oras sa opisina. well, sa nakaraang trabaho ko, wala rin namang petiks mode. pero ang trabaho, one day at a time lang. pagkatapos ng araw na ito, panibagong araw na bukas. kumbaga sa TV show, bagong episode na bukas. literal naman na ganun ang trabaho ko noon.
Nitong nakalipas na buwan, andaming okasyon sa pamilya. unang-una na ang birthday ni wifey. tapos birthday ng biyenan ko. tapos, birthday ng tatay ko. at syempre, birthday ng little girl namin! kasabay nya yung birthday ng uncle nya at pinsan ni wifey. nakapunta rin kami sa dinner celebration ng birthday ng lolo ko (na pumanaw na). puro birthdays. kaya siguro ang taba ko na naman :D
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cup cakes for wifey's birthday :)[/caption]
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birthday gift ni little Aya kay Lolo Daddy nya. plus... surprise visit! :)[/caption]
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celebrating Apung Tino's birthday with family and relatives. happy day :)[/caption]
recently, nakapanood na ng pangalawang wide screen film si little Aya. ito ang dahilan kung bakit sobrang dalang na naming manood ng sine. gusto kase namin ni wifey, kasama namin si kulit sa panonood sa wide screen. unang palabas na pinanood nya sa sinehan... Alvin & The Chipmunks Chipwrecked. Familiar na kase sya sa characters sa kakapanood ng kiddie films sa DVD. at sa DVD rin nya nakilala at kinawilihan si GRU at ang kaniyang minions. Kaya naman, susunod na schedule naming papanoorin--- Despicable Me 2! Pero bago ito, nakapanood kami (nang hindi planado) ng Monsters University... in 3D! Enjoy kaming tatlo. haha, oo, kami talagang tatlo ang nag-enjoy kase bukod sa natuwa si little girl, maganda rin yung palabas. first time kong nanood ng installment nito (hindi ko napanood yung Monsters, Inc.) at hindi naman mahirap magustuhan yung palabas. ayun. sulit ang family bonding.
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first 3D-movie experience ni little girl - Monsters University[/caption]
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andaming nakapilang aktibidad sa opisina. sumabay pa ang mga ito sa 99th anniversary ng INC. kaya hindi biro para sa akin ang buwang ito. sana nga lang madagdagan ko pa ang update ngayong July dito sa blog... kung may time at sisipagin! kasabay pa ng busy month na ito, magli-leave yung 2 kong team mates.. una si King, tapos si boss Nix. tig-isang linggo silang mawawala. huhuhu... ako naman magbabakasyon sa susunod. ang lunkgot lang kase ubos na yata yung leave credits ko. YATA. tignan natin.
looking forward din ako sa pag-uwi ng ate ko at buo niyang pamilya. pati si mamsi, uuwi rin. hmm... hay! makulay ang taon na ito para sa akin. mukhang magiging emo ang year-ender blog post ko ah. :D
woke up very early to start this day with a prayer and church service attendance with my two girls. upon arrival in church, i was greeted a happy birthday by co-officers even before i can turn my name tag... thoughtfulness! :D listened intently to the message imparted to the congregation and after the service, we had a hearty champorado breakfast at home, and a couple of birthday cake slices. :) then i prepared for the children's worship service. i taught the CWS lesson for today regarding the commissioning of Bro. Felix Manalo as the messenger of God in these last days to preach about the Church of Christ. Then afterwards, we had our choir practice. new hymns were taught by our choir mentor and they are very nice. It made me look back to the years when we used to sing the same hymns with its old tune, and now they were revised to an even better tune! i'm excited to sing them in the worship services! ;)
after all our church obligations, i fetched my two girls and had lunch at my in-laws. then off we went to Greenhills... spent time to stroll around and look for some "good buys." when it was about dinner time, we headed to the parking lot to leave the place. i was asked by my family where we were heading but i chose to keep it a secret until they heard the street name "Calbayog." right then they knew we were going to the very cozy, elegant, and class A Italian restaurant--- Galileo Enoteca Deli. It was my second time in the place and i already fell in love with it the first time i went there with my officemates. right then i promised to take my two girls in there and today was the perfect time!
we enjoyed the food, not to mention the ambiance was fit for any special occasion. we had pasta al sugo con salsiccia, tutta carne, penne arrabbiata, & vegetarian. we also had a taste of their primitivo the whole dining experience was very good! the crew were all friendly and accommodating even if they are all busy with the people coming in to dine in and perhaps celebrate their own occasions as well. it was my first time to give a big tip without having second thoughts. i usually look at the receipt if a service charge is already included in the bill but this time, i didn't care. the service and the over-all dining experience deserve a compliment.
Awit 36, BMBB
5 Ang wagas na pag-ibig mo, O Yahweh, ay walang hanggan,
at ang iyong katapatan ay abot sa kalangitan.
6 Matuwid at matatag ka na tulad ng kabundukan;
ang matuwid na hatol mo'y sinlalim ng karagatan;
ang lahat ng mga tao't mga hayop na nilalang,
sa tuwina'y kinukupkop ng mapagpala mong kamay.
7 O Diyos, ang iyong pag-ibig mahalaga at matatag,
ang kalinga'y nadarama sa lilim ng iyong pakpak.
8 Sa pagkain ay sagana sa sarili mong tahanan;
doon sila umiinom sa batis ng kabutihan.
9 Sa iyo rin nagmumula silang lahat na may buhay,
ang liwanag na taglay mo ang sa amin ay umaakay.
10 Patuloy mong kalingain ang sa iyo'y umiibig,
patuloy mong pagpalain ang may buhay na matuwid.
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nagpapasalamat din ako sa tatlong sumali sa aking "post-mothers day" blog contest. at dahil birthday ko rin ngayon, yung tatlong entries na nasa comment page ay kapuwa ko bibigyan ng premyo mula sa The Bonenica Shop. pakisabi na lang po sa akin sa pamamagitan ng blog na ito kung ano yung 3 accessories na pinili ninyong ibigay sa inyu-inyong mga mahal na nanay ;)
everyone of us has an unforgettable mother story at some point of our life. today, 03.03.03 stories is giving away a post-mothers' day treat to a blogger. here's how:
1. blog about that special mother story you wouldn't forget, include one photo of the mom. the mother story can be about your mom, your mom-in-law, grandma, yourself or your wife--- as long as the subject is the mother.
2. link your blog post thru a comment on this post.
3. include your facebook username or FB link in the comment.
4. get a chance to win 3 ladies accessories for your mom, only from The Bonenica Shop! FREE SHIPPING for the lucky blogger! Simply like The Bonenica Shop page and choose your own prize among the many accessories the shop is offering.
5. the winner blogger will be announced via this blog on Mothers' Day, May 12.
