Manic Monday


I arrived from Manila just this early morning. Night trips are the ones I like. As soon as I sit down on my seat, a few minutes I'll feel sleepy and before I realized I have fallen asleep, I'm already in Baguio. :) Anyway I went straight to my room and was relieved to see that it seemed spacy - my roommates had just left a week ago. I changed into my home clothes and went to sleep. It was already 5:30 and was hoping to get up by 7:00. When 7 came, I was really hesitant to push myself off to bed since the weather is cool, fog is everywhere and the skies are as clear as summer. The sun rays were piercing through my window and it would be nice to sleep all day long but I have to get up.

I instantly remembered my Operation Report today and it would be a shame for me to refuse and make alibis again to my supervisor why I can't report. The truth, I'm really scared talking in front especially with big people. I mean it's managers and supervisors I'll be talking to and who am I? I'm just a lowly apprentice who does errands for five months feeling satisfied and fulfilled with all the colorful reports he's made just to fight boredom. (You should've seen my reports and you'd say I'm good with color combination) Anyway I got up, get dressed and went to work. I arrived there just in time and met a few officemates along the way. I haven't met my buddy, Ate Teenie at the anteroom so I proceeded directly to the canteen to have breakfast. There I met the "Breakfast Fellowship" minus Mau (she already grauduated last week) already eating. After eating, I went to FA to cross-section three lots of ICs I'm suppose to finish last week. But I really bargained some things to Ate Teenie to let me go early last Friday to attend John's birthday at BP office. Fortunately, I'm such a nice guy :) that without a doubt she gave me her permission but I have to do those pending tasks today. :( Anyway, as I was absent-mindedly to cross-section I was thinking if I should continue to stay at my place or find a new one or not, to finish the two-week extension and go back to Davao, looking forward to visit a prospect workplace in QC this Saturday and join WordCom audition for Christmas Cantata and a song suddenly popped into my mind. After that I was finished cross-sectioning my ICs and went to measure BLT.

Lunch time came and we had lunch with the members of the "Lunch Fellowship". That's when I felt sleepy again and went to sleep while everyone else is chit-chatting over food. By 1 pm, I woke up and went back to work, cross-sectioning and was nervous this time cause I'm going to have my report this 3. I switched my phone off so that Ate Teenie cannot contact me but she knew better, she called the FA and asked for me and so I was doomed to report this 3. Anyway, 3 came and I was the Sunken Garden waiting for the big bosses to come and there was Sir Yunus, the ever-inquisitive, quite angry and irritated NPD boss ogling over his laptop. I felt scared so went for awhile to gain composure and prayed to God for calmness. Anyway, the big bosses came later and Ate Teenie presented her Die Crack update, then she segued to gave way for my report - well "this is it" and there I was with my powerpoint presentation feeling like a Makati executive in my blue polo looking so confident while sweat was starting to form on my forehead. (Whew!) Sir Yunus wasn't even listening to my report but I knew it made an impact cause the bosses asked me follow up questions and I answered like I knew everything. Hahaha, No... I think the report just went well, nothing glorious, much less of a grand inauguration yet not a slop on the other hand. It was ok. Yeah.

Anyway, I have only one mission to do for this day - to ask my landlady Ate Sheron for my extension for a much lesser rent. Just a few hours ago, Clarence texted me that she, Adrian, Grace and Dex were looking for a new house and they want to join me but as I went about thinking throughout the day, I felt I needed to be alone for two weeks, to think and meditate on what's happening in my life so far, where I will head and discern God's plan. I really prayed and God granted me my request, I'll continue to stay in my room for a lesser rent. Well, it has been great day for me and I'm glad I'm in front of this computer sharing what an ordinary day it is! Ordinary days that are sometimes unappreciated. Ordinary days where God's small miracles are felt and experienced. God Bless.

Treat Yourself With Kindness


I never expected times like these will come. Times when you feel lost and confused and nobody seems to care. It would be easy to succumb on those feelings and curl on your bed feeling sorry for yourself, blaming yourself for the sad story you yourself have created, blaming others for sometimes treating you with unfairly... and before you know it you're so focused with yourself and all that matters is just ME...

Treat yourself with kindness: I have often heard in TV shows. I guess now it meant treating yourself with worth and not reducing yourself into something God haven't intended for you to be - a totally insignificant individual whose contribution in this world is negligible. Life couldn't be that bad. You have a place in this world. I have a place in this world. I may not have anything worth of high praise but it doesn't mean I'm worth nothing. I have treated myself with no dignity on the identity God gave me... It would be an insult to your maker. It doesn't require an extensive "Why-Know-Why" analysis to things beyond your control. Ask God to give His grace that you may love yourself just as He loves you. God Bless.

Another Weekend


My friend Ryan and I met today at their office near Siena College in QC. This guy is currently into robots. That's his business nowadays and he's hoping they could distribute these robots in schools for educational purposes and of course for entertainment. When I got into their office, Choes showed me the robots he assembled. He even let me see how some of those work. This picture I have below plays golf. Depending on where you place your hand near which sensor attached to, the range of its swing varies. Pretty cool, huh! I do really pray, my friend can make it big. He will be going to Singapore this Aug 22 to take a qualification exam regarding operatorship with these robots.




By 12, we left the office and we walked a few distance to Banaue street. Ryan will be treating me to a mini "shabu-shabu"... Is it about drugs? No! Basing on what I've heard it's a restaurant where you cook yourself the food you will eat. Interesting! Well, when we got there, the waiter ushered us to the table with a hole at the middle. Under the hole is a heater where you will put the "kaldero" with the broth in it. The waiter placed a plate with an assortment of vegetables like cabbage, carrots, mushrooms, "gabi", corn, meat like crab meat, fish balls, sotanghon, noodles, tofu and some chopped onion leaves, garlic and chilli. We ordered fat beef as our main meat. We started to "experiment" how to cook, bringing the broth into simmer then putting the chopped ones. Next we put the beef, then the vegetables... I'm really wondering how'd it turn. I had fun stirring so far. Then lastly we put the noodles and finished with an egg. Finally we had a "Fat Beef Shabu-Shabu"... We tasted, boy! It tastes terrific! It was so delicious and the vegetable were cooked just right!

Worship is ... A Lifestyle


When I first joined the weekly Bible study meetings with TI employees at Sir John's house in Loakan, Kuya Mike gave me a compilation of praise and worship songs. As I was listening, most of the songs are sung by one artists - though there are Hillsongs UK and Don Moen, most of the songs are sung a buy a group of guys with voices-you-want-to-have. I do my research and asked Kuya Mike who those artists are and I've learned they are "The Katinas" and the songs are taken from their live worship album, "Lifestyle". Last Monday, I went to House and Praise to buy a copy (discounted!) and I'm so ... what can I say? So blessed with the passion these brothers have for singing songs to God. In the album, most of the songs they sing are popularized by several Christian artists like Don Moen, Reuben Morgan, etc.


The Katinas


At the end of the album, one of the brothers made a short exhortation about what praise and worship really is. It is not singing songs to God. It is a daily walk with God, in what we do, with what we watch, with what we think about. It is a lifestyle. Sometimes we Christians are only 'Sunday Christians'. During the rest of the week, we go back to the ways of the world. It is a challenge to us Christians to pray and ask for God's grace to be able to walk in His ways every step of the way.

Visit "The Katinas" website: www.thekatinas.com

Warning: No Fretting!


This is the title of the sermon by life coach Alice Villareal at Soul XP. At first, sister Alice introed her sermon with our current life situation. When we go the mall, we get to see magazines luring us that we should feel good about ourselves by how we look, by what we have and by being with the people we want to be with. There so many things that we have to do to attain all these things and in frustration, we fret. For one thing, I'm so guilty about this, I've been trying to get myself into shape to attract people I want to be with. To get myself into a ridiculosly metrosexual man I want to be. That was it used to be and when I look back I think is this what matters most in my life? In this course of life, I've learned that to feel good about yourself is communicating with people - to enjoy the fellowship of one another and to know each other - the strength and the weaknesses, that we may help each other as we go in our faith in Jesus Christ. Let me share the key verse we have found in Matthew 6:25-32

²⁵"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life[b]?

28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Sister Alice, being a member of an "Astronomical Club" share this fascinating fact about our own planet. She said that according to scientists, for a planet to support life everything just have to be right. Take for example, the earth is tilted 23.5 degrees from the vertical axis. If it goes higher or lower, life would be impossible in Earth. How would this thing happen? One of the factors is our satellite, the Moon. If the moon were smaller or if we have two smaller moons like Mars has, the earth would tilt 30 to 60 degrees from the vertical axis. If this happens, during summer, the northern hemisphere will suffer 6 months of scorching heat and south pole will be below zero for 6 months. It would be like 12 o clock noon for six months and there will terrible rainstorms and hurricanes due to the uneven heat between north and south poles. Another example would be that if a planet to be able to support life, it has to be 90 to 100 million miles away from it's star. Guess what? Earth is 93 million miles away from the Sun. What is amazing is that of all the planets and stars in this wide whole infinite universe only the solar system had the right ingredients to support life. As I was thinking of all these things, I'm so amazed. There must be a creator who planned all of this, who takes note of the nitty-gritty details of even the simplest things. God makes sure that our planet is in balance. Why fret? God provides Sun to enjoy it's light during the day. Why fret? God provides layers of atmosphere to protect us from harmful UV rays. Why fret? God protected us from meteorites outside the solar system by having Jupiter (FYI, Jupiter is a planet with high gravitational pull, it sucks away other foreign bodies. Think of it as a vacuum cleaner) Why fret?

We are so absorbed with ourselves, of amassing things which we think will make us happy. When will I get the job that will pay me 30T pesos a month? When can I work abroad to earn dollars? When can I buy a new house and lot? When can I buy a Porsche? When will I lose weight? When I look like Tom Cruise/Katie Holmes (:)? We are so absorbed, distracted and worried with material and fleshy things that we forgot to praise and thank God for all the simplest things He has done like protection from harm, like the air we breathe. Jesus said in v.33, "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you.". I guess what is important of all is seeking the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. It is communing with fellow believers, immersing in God's ministries, to reach out to the broken and pray for lost souls. He continued, "and all these things will be added unto you." God makes us content with the very fruit of His Holy Spirit that material things don't really matter that much. They are there but they would be sufficient enough for your needs. So don't worry if you will lose a job next month or if you are uncertain of your future. God will provide your needs just as he feeds the birds of the air. Why fret? God bless you all!