What's your dog like?

Each dog is different. Some dogs playful, some grumpy, some sweet, some aggressive. My Dopey is different. She is bubbly and charming. I thought I would never like a dog that has tons of energy to spare. I thought I would like a dog that would just cuddle. But I like Dopey the way she is. I like the way she woof in the morning. I like it when every time I come home from work she'd give me the "carry-me" look. Well, that's my Dopey. What's your dog like?

Hobbes and Landes PAWtogenic Pet Photo Contest

Just couple of weeks ago I told Anna that I want to join to a pet photo contest because of the gorgeous pictures of Dopey. And now, Dopey is officially a participant of a photo contest by Hobbes and Landes! The picture above are the entries. It wasn't easy to get many votes but I am thankful to friends who are very supportive and I felt very proud as a mom of Dopey every time people would compliment her. Today ends the voting and my baby ranked 4th. Eventhough she didn't make it to the top 3, I still hope that she gets the chance to be among the 12 winners by judging. And did I say that I am so excited for the awarding event on Sunday? My camera is very much ready on that day. Oh my, I can't wait to see all the other dogs and find them really cute and enjoying their time together. Dopey will have a grand time for sure. :)

Getting Cheesy

I'm quite in a cheesy mood. Do you still remember that feeling when you first realized that the person you really love feels the same for you? Remember that wonderful tensed feeling, breathless at every time you would see that person and very much anxious. Haaaay. 'Cause I do now. For some reason I just remembered those times when I'm so clueless if he feels the same but desperately hoping against hope that he does. And that relief when he finally gave up denying his feelings and admitted that he loves me back. The first date, the first holding hands, the first straight tender look at me. Oh my.. yeah.. I am really so cheesy today.

Never been the same since Dopey.

I lead a busy life. I love my work so I work hard. I love my Anna so I spend time with him. I love my ministry so 50% of my weekend is committed on church activities. I don't complain. As much as I don't want to admit it, but sometimes I get bored with the already busy life I have. I have achieved most of my goals - my own house, my siblings have graduated - (and yeah I can read your mind telling me that to build my own family is the next thing for me) but it doesn't feel that great to achieve all of it and not have new ones. Building your own family is not a single decision so I'm not going to pressure myself on that.

Then Dopey came.

And my life got colors in it instantly. I am so thankful that my mother (we call her granny now because of Dopey) loves Dopey. And my sister are all so supportive in looking after Dopey. She's a baby in our home and I love her so much. Although it's not all cute ok. The first 2 weeks is a pain. Poops everywhere, the house stinks and sometime that week she was vomiting all over the place that I had to rush her to the vet. I felt that those experiences made me a better person, more responsible and more caring. In a way, I feel confident that I have that motherly-nurturing trait. It is just so remarkable to realize that I have this much love in me which didn't know before until my Dopey came.

My first adopted baby.

I never considered myself a lover for pets. I do find dogs, specially puppies, cute but I don't see myself responsible enough take care of them. I never thought I would have my own dog until I met this beagle on our Baguio trip couple of months back.

This dog is one feisty dog. Keeps on barking whenever we pass by. But, the more this beagle paid attention to me the more I find him/her adorable. The beagle's kind eyes and long ears got me. So 2 weeks after coming back to Manila, I looked and looked for beagle puppies -- only to look. But, the moment I laid my eyes on Dopey, I just knew that she's mine. Only took me 2 mins. to decide. Dopey is perfect for me.







So now, I am officially a pet lover.

Work in Progress

This blog is a work in progress.  I am moving some of my not so personal post from my other blog to here.

It makes me feel really nervous sharing myself to the world.  But I'd like to give it a try.  It can be liberating.

I hope so.  :)

Trying to write a personal testimony.

I'm trying to write a personal testimony and I thought it should come as a breeze to me but it wasn't really easy.  It is also a serious matter that I should consider also when and where to write it.  I'm right here in the office, doing nothing and so I thought what a perfect timing to start drafting my personal testimony however the mood isn't just right.  And whenever a momentum starts kickin' that's when somebody would ask me a technical question... *sigh*



WHAT IS A PERSONAL TESTIMONY?

I sure know that personal testimony is a personal note of experience as one draws near to Christ.  And while I understand that each Christian has its own account on how their lives were changed after knowing Christ, I didn't realized how useful having a well thought personal testimony is until I googled "personal testimony".   On one <a href="http://www.leaderu.com/touching/YourStory.html">site</a> that checked, it says that personal testimony is a very good tool on sharing the gospel to others.  And well come to think of it, how could anyone possibly convince about Christ if anyone will just present it based on idea (what the Bible says) and not on his own experience.

So anyway, I hope I find the right words to describe what happened (or what changed) after I've known Christ.  Jesus is simply remarkable and marvelous in my life that I can't stop loving him.  I've made a vow to serve him for the rest of my life.

Gotta get back to work.. email are piling up..LOL

Baguio Camp Story

I only slept for 4 hours, the trip was more or less 6 hours. First thought, strawberry taho! It was surprisingly cold in Baguio and I heard one of the manong said that it was indeed colder that day. Great!


We were greeted by a lot of people offering for a place to stay in Baguio. My bro in church (Tope) kept on saying that we already have a place - which was in my Papa's townhouse. A few minutes after a man with a paper in hand is approaching Tope. Thinking that it was another of those vendors offering for a place, before the man had uttered a word Tope already told the guy that we have place to go. Apparently the guy wanted to do an interview regarding our trip. LOL! I knew Tope was really embarrassed but kept his composure and did the interview.

Pastor was also interviewed aside from Tope. It provided us a venue to advertise our event. Hehehe, Pastor was really proud. After the interview of course we took a picture. The interview was later shown in Umagang Kay Ganda and Balitanghali of Channel 7.



Finally we arrived at the townhouse. The place always amazes me. It is simply beautiful and pleasant to stay. And everyone was very pleased as well. They already asked me if we can go back there again. By then we're all hungry and the strawberry taho for sure wouldn't last long. So half of us went to the market to buy food, half of us stayed and prepared the camp kit.


I guess everyone is on a pleasant mood despite having lack of sleep. Before breakfast we managed to clean up the place (no one stays in the townhouse so it is surely dusty). By the time breakfast was ready, it was near lunch. The weather is nice, place is great and everybody was just happy and gay. I guess everybody is just in their positive state because not one ever complained cleaning up the dishes. Or being assigned to throw the garbage. They didn't let me do anything on the house though. :)

After breakfast we all slept like dead. As for me, I didn't get to sleep much because Papa and Tina kept on texting me, checking me if we're fine.



Of course the Advance Party as planned had to see Baguio. So we went to Burnharm Park, Session Rd, Teachers' Camp and Mines View. For me I'd rather stay at the townhouse because there's nothing much to see around Baguio. But there's much to eat! Pusit, mais, strawberry... Yum!

I decided to do my shopping on this day as it was less crowded than on weekends. I was able to bargain well on my items. While we're roaming around the town, I was feeling anxious about me having a slot in worship to sing as lead (not as backup). Ate lot was very supportive to practice with me while we're walking along Burnharm.



All in all it was a great and tiring day. We decided to eat dinner at the townhouse and retire for the day as early as 10PM. I got a call from Mr. F around 11 and finally closed my eyes after that. Tomorrow is the day! :)

I'm Free

I HAVE MY LIFE BACK!!

I couldn't believe it myself. If only I had known. The life that I've been wanting back 6 months ago was given back to me after 5 days at Baguio. How?

TOTAL SURRENDER.

I wish I can really describe in words the experience but all I can say is that it was indeed LIFE CHANGING. I couldn't believe that I am just totally healed. Like last month I was so BITTER and EMO but now I couldn't recall feeling like that anymore. Like a bulb has been switched on in me and all of a sudden I find this direction in my life. I just see those things that had happened as life's lesson, as something that I have to go through in order to reach this point where I am now.

FULFILLED. HAPPY. FULL OF PURPOSE. HOPEFUL.

I feel like that flower in the photo. I'm about to blossom into something beautiful. And even if the flower has not blossomed yet, it is already beautiful. God is so awesome and wonderful. From the 5 day retreat in Baguio, I come to learn and experience again a very important thing.. TO TRUST GOD WITH ALL YOUR LIFE. In times of trouble I will not be shaken because God has a great plan for me (Jeremiah 29:11). All these problems are to teach me a lesson and this recent heartache indeed has taught me so MANY lessons. JUST SO MANY HARD LESSONS.

Too bad I'm not a very good story teller. But I'll try in the days to come to share the experience. For now what matters is that..

I'M FREE!


...and I'M IN LOVE.. oh yes.. that's quite right.. I'M IN LOVE

Lazy days at work

Don't you just have days like this when you just can't FOCUS at work. There's work to do and nothing non-work to do (except blogging) and yet.. and yet.. I just can't make myself work! sigh! I wonder if nurses have days like this too?? Hihihi poor patients for those days..

It's been a while and again I have planned to blog a lot of things that has happened since the dark age up today - which I'll call the Enlightened age. LOL. But then I am as ALWAYS a busy woman and just couldn't squeeze time to write. This is probably the reason why today I just can't work and I find blogging really refreshing. Geeez I'm feeling so sneaky right now because it's office hours and my boss is just around the table and could see me anytime. Specially now that I'm typing like a maniac.. I'm just so excited to blog.. hmmmm so how to begin with my story?? Perhaps from where I ended.. :)

By the way, my Batanes escapade had been a year ago - only last year. It already felt like a decade ago.

Psalms 62:1 - My soul finds rest in You alone.

I miss me

I sometimes feel like a stranger to myself. Things have changed, and I have changed without knowing it. Even now knowing that I am not totally myself anymore as I used to, I just don't know what it was that I lost or changed. Is it for good that I changed? Maybe. I am not certain of things anymore, even of things that I want now. I cannot also sort things now the way I used to. And so a friend of mine asked me, "what it feels like to be 30?" First word that came in my head and which I said to her was, "Resigned, not pressured simply resigned."

I have a very close friend, Mr. F, who is capable of self healing FAST. When I say fast it is indeed fast. Which I find really special of him. He told me that I am living in the past. I will not say he is wrong because he could be right. I didn't say this to him but I don't feel that way honestly. Actually, I could anytime re-live the past if I'd want to but I didn't because I believe that doing so my dreams has a better chance in the future. However I cannot oppose nature, past affects the present. No matter how this brain realizes the potential impact in my future of letting my present be affected by the past, still it happens. It is just TIRING to actually try escape or neglect the effects of the past. SOMETHING'S LOST IN ME.

Maybe God and time is just all I need. Unlike Mr. F who has the ability to get better at will, as for me I need TIME. I've been praying to God to restore me, fill me. It's been a while... I miss myself.

DTC Family Camp!

This year's Family Camp is ambitious. Grabeh, this is truly a BIG leap of faith to do. Sa Baguio gaganapin ang camp and with all the financial challenges that everybody is facing, it's really hard to tell the numbers of those who can come. While our target is 100, those who registered to come (not yet paid!) is up to 80 pa lang.

Anyways, the picture is the chosen image for our camp and will be printed in a large tarpouline. The picture surely depicts our camp's theme which is T.A.W.A.G - Time Alone With Almighty God.

Model pa dito si Anna. Surely the picture showered me with comments and teasing from my church friends.

Know God to know love

Just reposting a quote I saw from a church mate..

I truly believe in my heart that this is so true...

Anytime we allow someone to displace GOD as the focus of our affection,& instead of making GOD the object of our longing, we wrongly direct these feelings toward another human. We became IDOLATERS, hoping that this person will meet our needs and bring us fulfillment. You'll never know WHAT LOVE is until you know WHO GOD is.


And so I pray everyday that I may be able to stay my affection to the one true God. He is the only one who can fill me really.. I have ever experienced it over and over. Whoever he is that God will give to me as a partner, I truly believe that he is someone of the same faith as mine. The one who will not let my affection to my God be displaced. :)

What's the picture for? Wala. I thought it would look cute on my blog hehehe. This was by the way taken in Batanes :)

Factory Tour and the Huge Eye Glass

Eventhough it's freezing cold here I wouldn't pass this buy 1 take 1 treat.  Only at 2$!

My first laptop! Yessss!

Need I say more?  I am just excited when I got this!  

My US birthday celebration is just sumptuous and AWESOME!

Today is my last day and my boss is very kind enough to push our Factory tour here at Dell-Austin. Its more of an opportunity to see how those programs we've been working so hard to code is being used in the manufacturing factory.

Just like any other manufacturing factories, they have procedures to follow as part of their security process and so we encountered some problems at first getting inside the building but it could be because we don't look like a threat to their security so they let us in. We were given this eyeglass to wear all the time we're inside the factory. It was a clear and big eyeglass and when I wore it the lens is sticking to my eye lids. I figured that maybe the eyeglass is made for the Americans, you know with the deep-set eyes and the nose that are straight unlike most asians that are small and flat (and cute!!) My eyes are not deep set, its more of the opposite. Its protruding and prominent in my face, and my nose are small (pero di po ako pango -just small!) So during the factory tour I would have to hold the eyeglass so as it will not stick to my eyelids, besides it feels a little bit stupid for the eyeglass leaning on my lids then on my cheek. hehhe

Zsa Zsa Zatrunah - Best play ever!

A day before I flew to US, Anna and I watch ZsaZsa Zaturnah Ze Musical. Prior to seeing that show we already heard how great it was and actually Anna had been waiting for that play for over a year so you can probably imagine how excited we were that day. 

First surprise was that the room was around 60sqm only - unlike that Peter Pan show that we watched - 'twas very small and we're just one sit away from the stage. Because we're so close, my thoughts were on what we will see when Eula Valdez is on her 2 piece Zaturnah costume.. can you imagine?!? LOLZ!

And so the show started. It was hilarious, terrific.. I always had a good time watching stage plays way back college days but this one tops it all. All that time its either you're smiling broadly or want to go ROTFL. Super nakakatawa, no wonder this play is notorious. To say that it was fantastic is an understatement. We simply had a good time. Another reason why I enjoyed it is because I saw Anna enjoying it all the time too. 

I'd say that day was perfect. A perfect moment to cherish while I'm away with the people I care about in my homeplace. :)

Tabo! (US Experience)

 Isa sa bagay na hindi ko matanggap dito sa US ay ung paggamit ng tissue paper para panglinis ng pwet mo after jumebs. My golly marami silang tubig pero wala silang tabo! I was here in the office enjoying my coffee when I feel that urge to take may bowel. I have no intention of delaying it, so I went stright to the CR.



Forgive me for describing this but my dirt was something that you would want water to clean up your ass with, you know it is moist-y and soft-y hehehe. Yucky!! I just use tissue paper (they got loads of them) to wipe 'em out. No Water! Kadiri noh. I'm not used to that siempre pinoy style ako eh. It reminds me of my childhood sa probinsya. At that time, water is about a kilometer away so sa bahay ng lola ko so every drop counts. To save water, kapag nagjebs ka - we do it by squatting on a whole between two coconut logs on top of a pit - we use the coconut husks (bunot) to wipe our asses (OUCH! but its true!). Imagine my beautiful butt! LOL! 


Photos: Taken at Austin, Texas.

But come to think of it, we pinoys prefer to clean our dirt with water and our BARE HANDS, than clean it with dry toilet paper. Ironic noh?!?

A sleepy blog.

I had so many adventures this week, being my first time in US. I am here at Austin, Texas and its almost 1am here. Why am I still up? because I'm so desperate to produce an entry here. Can't believe that I've been neglecting my blog now. Hmmm di pde yun. 


So its so cold here. Like super nakakapanginig na kalamigan over here. It hurts my nose and it dries my skin. I wanted to tell you so many things buy I am really antok.


Fill you in tom okay.