I reckon that Akon did not...

...I looked at my calendar and realized its already Dec. 2 (duh)... which means that, either I must've been so busy the past 2 weeks, or the Manila Penn incident was such a BIG story, that I TOTALLY missed AKON's concert.

Or did he manage to not push through last Nov. 29?

Someone please tell me, because if I did, I will ensure that I WILL NOT miss the concerts of MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE and VERTICAL HORIZON in the upcoming weeks!!!!

I reckon that Akon did not...

...I looked at my calendar and realized its already Dec. 2 (duh)... which means that, either I must've been so busy the past 2 weeks, or the Manila Penn incident was such a BIG story, that I TOTALLY missed AKON's concert.

Or did he manage to not push through last Nov. 29?

Someone please tell me, because if I did, I will ensure that I WILL NOT miss the concerts of MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE and VERTICAL HORIZON in the upcoming weeks!!!!

Stranded in Currimao, Ilocos Norte

Typhoon Mina brought Signal #3 upon all 16 of us on the last day of our Team Celebration outing here in Ilocos. This meant our flight got cancelled this morning, and making contingent plans to get our team on the 1st flight out tom via PAL tom (Cebu Pac flights are only MWF!), plus consider additional costs for food n accommodations, which will thankfully be borne by the company!

Sitio Remedios looked totally different when we woke up today. The first sign of change was when we got out of our bedroom. We were shocked to see the living area slighty flooded, and furniture was moved out of the way. Carla realized all the rustling and whispering she heard early morning outside our room was because the staff had been working to secure our huge 2-storey house from the typhoon. All the while, she was freaking out because she heard all sorts of bumps and movement, and had imagined our house being stormed by ghost 'Katipuneros'!

Our breakfast had to be moved from the cozy open-air Abrao dining hall to the dining room of Balay Radrillo across our house.

I'm posting before and after pics of Sitio Remedios here. So that means all the fun and happy pics taken in the first 2 days will be in a succeeding entry.

Good Boys finish... FIRST?

Chez Super

I grabbed this comic strip off Super's blog, not because I could absolutely relate with it... but because I TOTALLY agree with it.

I have to admit, I had to do my own retrospection to see if the boys in my past fit the bill. Lemme see... Good, good, bad, bad (turned out good pala), good (turned out bad a bit, but good pala)...

So the winning characteristic for the men in my history (sounds like a lot ba?? Naahhhh...): GOOD.

And with the list of "Essentials vs. Preferences" that I drew up again almost 3 years ago, I realized that in my heart of hearts... I really do wanna end up with a good man. I almost fell off my chair when I tried to draw up some "excuses" for a man, and realized that all this time, they never really were in my priority list. So who was I kidding?? At ang babaw ko naman!! But maybe, just maybe, I'm finding all the possible loopholes because I'm getting scared of the possibility of the good guy being the one, finally.

God is good.

So why be afraid?

In the silence of one's heart...

... the Lord does speak.

Last weekend, I had my first silent retreat after the one I had in high school back in St. Scho Manila. Sheesh, high school? That would've been around age 15, a good 18 yrs back.

I struggled to get to Notre Dame La Vie in Novaliches. Not exactly an area I frequent, ergo am totally not familiar with the place. An officemate of mine, who so coincidentally was with me during the online mtg last Friday night, coincidentally LIVED in Novaliches. So I decided to give this "angel guide" a ride home, and let her point the way.

I'll do a series of posts about the weekend. Suffice to say, I was IMMENSELY blessed. I had almost filled up a Cattleya notebook, short of 2 pages, with my reflectiions, meanderings, and some random thoughts sprinkled here and there. But I must say that I TRULY felt His love and mighty presence in the place and within my heart this weekend. I've gone through countless (ok fine, I can count, but not now) Singles Encounter weekends in the past 13 years, and the stark difference of this silent retreat was what made the striking difference. I knew that ALL of us present needed it. There were about 22 of us there, all leaders of the BLD Singles Ministry, all of us knowing the blessing of the SE, but incredibly, we also knew in our hearts the privelege of having been part of that unique weekend.

Fr. Manny Flores SJ, in his serious-and-comical combination as Spiritual director and faciliatator, openly admitted that he was moved at how seriously we were taking the silent retreat that he felt almost stupid cracking jokes where practically no one opened his/her mouth to react... he couldn't even evoke a giggle from us. Now THAT cracked me up (I had to stifle the laugh, and that made it even funnier).

I've to retrieve the notebook first and upload its contents here... Now I have to determine whether or not I want to post it for all in Multiply as well...

In which I'm stuck here...

...at the office right now.

Earlier, I enjoyed a (free - woohoo!!) scrummy dinner at the original Som's restaurant. Our order was composed of Garlic Pepper Prawns (P95), Sweet Yellow Curry Prawns (P95), Green Curry Chicken (P120), steamed rice and a bottle of deliciously authentic Thai Milk Tea (P35). My gosh, 3 tummies full for only P460?? That's one lunch at Ponti's na - FOR ONE!

Then we headed off to nearby Grilla for after-dinner drinks. Had a double-double-Tequila Rose (where's my own bottle?!?!? They charge double the retail price for 1 bottle! Anovaahh?) before calling it a night.

When Carla dropped me off at the back, I noticed 2 HUGE trucks slooooowly unloading a spankin' brand new transformer (not more than meets the eye) into the driveway.

Which is why am able to blog this entry.

And to ward of creepy sounds, I called Carla to bug her about being stuck here. I also got to talk to Super, who just finished his training in real nippy weather at 930am in SFO. No more creepy sounds, till the manong guard came.

Its confirmed, I'm officially able to flee this Tower of Power.

Are you an "Elderly Gravid"?

The description really creeped me out.

I googled the term, and these short paragraphs under first link that welcomed me:

If you have thrown your dreams of parenthood into the chill of the laboratory,
this book will bring every memory to the surface. If you are thinking about
supplementing old-fashioned procreation with science, this book is a good
field-guide to what lies ahead. And if you are a woman in your 30s, this book
should ring like a warning bell in the night --- at 37, you move into the
"elderly gravid" cohort, and the chances that you'll become a mother start to
drop dramatically.

It continues with:

The lesson? Don't wait. In your early 30s and thinking you have loads of time? No. You don't. The articles that make you feel good about postponing pregnancy may be true --- but not for you. Unless, that is, you're looking forward to writing a check to doctors that could have gone to school fees, child care or a summer house.

Why hello there, elderly gravid. Want some calcium to go with your cane?

More SPINNER BIKES - from Dana Cosio-Mercado

Link

For some strange reason, I've always wondered how Paolo and Dana Mercado did away with their flourishing spinning business when I had only started hearing about it about Q3 2006. In fact, I had almost attended the demo class that Paolo gave to the Women of Ateneo group in one of our meetings.

Then to my utter surprise, I suddenly heard that their family moved to Paris (tama ba Dana) this year!! How could things happen so quickly in so short a time (drama!)?

Now Dana had posted her past pics and the bikes in their present (lonesome) state.

I don't know why I keep on thinking about them....

Spell with Flickr - ubercoolness!

My Patronus!

What Form Would Your Patronus Take? (With 10 Excellent Results & Pictures)

Your Patronus would be an Eagle!
Take this quiz!

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Lucky Me Sweet and Spicy TVC.mpg

Found this amusing. I've seen this ad more than a couple of times, and only realized NOW that the 2 talents are kinda "work" related! Ezra's one of our creative guys from Saatchi, and Felix Rivera was our talent for the Smart Buddy Cashwerte TVC.

Small world!

Duh.

Dunno who sent this to me...

(I highlighted the lines which I felt are powerful...)

Where is my mate Lord?

Everyone longs to give themselves completely to someone, to have a deep soul relationship with another, to be loved thoroughly and exclusively.

But God, to the Christians says, “No, not until you are satisfied, fulfilled and content with being loved by Me alone, with giving yourself totally and unreserved to Me, with having an intensely personal and unique relationship with Me alone; discovering that only in Me is your satisfaction to be found, will you be capable of the perfect human relationship
that I have planned for you.”

You will never be united with another until you are united with Me, exclusively of anyone or anything else, exclusively of any other desire or longing.

I want you to stop planning, stop wishing, and allow me to give you the most thrilling plan existing, one that you can not imagine. I want you to have the best. Please allow me to bring it to you. You keep watching Me, expecting the greatest things. Keep experiencing and learning the things I tell you… You just have to wait. That’s all.

Don’t be anxious. Don’t worry. Don’t look around at the things others have gotten or that I’ve given them. Don’t look around at the things you think you want. You just keep looking off and up to Me, or you will miss what I want to show you.

And then…when you are ready, I’ll surprise you with a love far more wonderful than any other that you would dream of.

You see, until you are ready and until the one I have for you is ready, I am working even at this moment to have both of you ready at the same time, until you are both satisfied exclusively with Me and the life I prepared for you, you won’t be able to experience the Love that exemplifies your relationship with Me and this perfect Love.

Dear one, I want you to have this wonderful love. I want you to see in the flesh, a picture of your relationship with Me, and to enjoy materially and concretely the everlasting union of beauty, and perfection, and Love that I offer you with Myself.

Know that I love you utterly.

I am God. Believe and be satisfied.

~ From an unknown source