changes

This story changed my life.

A Mother and her daughter was walking home from school when they stopped at a fruit vendor. While the Mother was browsing thru the selection, the vendor gave the girl an orange. The girl excitedly showed her Mom the orange she she said.

" Now dear, What do we say to the nice man?"

Her daughter, after examining the fruit, stretched out her arm to the vendor and with a smile replied "Peel it!"

This was from the book The Daily Bread, the little inspirational literature with a story for each day of the year. I already misplaced my copy (since it was circa 1998 or 1999, I think) and I ernestly tried to tell this story verbatim. The moral of the story was that most of us fails when it comes to appreciating the small blessings that have just been given to us, like the little girl in the story. Sometimes we are all focused on wishing for the things we want and forget to give thanks on the things we receive, most of which is what we actually need. There's actually another proverb about this...

"God always answers our prayers. He says Yes I'll give you what you want.
He says wait, it is not yet time or He says No and gives you something better."

My life was a mess back then. I'm not in trouble or something but I just hit some bumps in the road in all aspects of My life. I was actually depressed. Everything was stagnant, my work, my love life and life at home. My work has become really boring, monotonous even. I've just had my heart broken and I've also played with the feelings of another girl, something I promised myself I wouldn't do. My relationship with my family was a mess. Not even a bunch of inspirational books lifted my spirits, but this story changed all that.

Every morning I read the passage for that day. I was just going through the motions of my routine and then it hit me. I did not move for a few minutes as mixed emotions rushed through me and for the first time in a long while, I was in tears. How could I've been so stupid and not realize this earlier. It would have saved me a lot of grief and distress.

I went to work later with renewed faith and hope that whatever what happens, I'm still thankful just to make it through the day. We can't avoid change and time changes everything. Let's just hope that everything changes for the better.

P.S. I started this post with just 1 niece and finished with 2. Two kids now calls me Tito as my sister gave birth by CS to a healthy baby... i don't know exactly as I didn't pester my Mom with the details. It's a good thing that "Milenyo" has passed already before she went into labour.

and 1

This post can also be titled 2 in 1. I just realized that I've been blogging for 2 years now. Shoutout to Vikki as the one to blame... hehe. Just joking. Many thanks to you Ma'am.
"How do you measure, measure a year." Thanks for visiting and here's to "another year" of nonsense and hopefully I'll be able to rename my blog to "single-attached!"

525,600 minutes.

Borrowing the opening line from "Rent", is exactly the amount of time I've spent here in Ilo-ilo. Give or take a few thousand. I never expected that a 3-month project would take this long to finish but hey, I stopped countin' a couple of months back.

In reality, I only have another month to go till we officially turnover the "houses" to their respective Owners and I'm eagerly waiting the day my boss tells me to pack-up and leave already. I'm officially 1 year old here and I'll just subtract this number from my real age when I'm back in Manila.

1 year working away from home is equivalent to...
~89,496 total steps up 7 sets of stairs 6 times a week.
~4,405 kms. travelled to and fro along with 28 hours of waiting time for the plane to leave.
~1,695 kms. travelled on foot while working.
~375 or so reading material (newspaper and magazines)
~330 actual days spent in Ilo-ilo,35 days in Manila.
~44 movies watched at the mall.
~bought 4 pairs of footwear, 11 shirts and 1 beach towel.
~3 seasons of the Amazing Race
3 broken promises.
~2 trips to the beach in pre-oil spill Guimaras.
~2 seasons of Survivor
~2 Manny Pacquiao fights.
~one NBA season, Rockstar and American Idol.
~1 bout iwth UTI and 9 or 10 days with the flu.
~0 pounds lost due to the delicious food and numerous dinners of batchoy, chicken inasal, mangoes and "langka".

i feel pretty.. relaxed.

so says Yuri Sharapova's t-shirt from Nike during HIS daughter's championship run in the 2006 U.S. Open.

It's the battle of the sponsors. Round 1. Nike vs. Adidas. Nike won.


Round 2. Nike vs. Reebok. Will it be a sweep for the swoosh? I think so!

almost a year ago part 3

and a couple more....

house no. 2
house no 1
my work here,
and another one in manila...



that's one reason that I have to finish up here, pronto!

almost a year ago part 2...

and now after 12 months or so...
house no.3,
house no.5,
house no.4,
the clubhouse,
and the compound.

almost a year ago....

I started to work in Ilo-ilo and here's what greeted me..


the clubhouse,

the compound,

house no. 5,

house no. 4,

house no.3.

to be continued....

what the...

You Are a Sprinkled Donut

Flamboyant and flashy, you're easily distracted by shiny things. You're definitely a snazzy number, and you usually catch everyone's eye in the room. And you've got the goods to back it up your colorful image. (Though too much of you gives people a stomach ache!)

What Donut Are You?

30 thigs a MAN should KNOW by age 30.

This is from a newspaper article clipping that I saved way back in 2001. It was about a month before my 29th birthday and saving the clipping would give me a list of things to accomplish in the next 12 months.

Rage against Age.
30 things a MAN should KNOW by age 30.

1. The difference between love and lust.
2. How to change a tire, a diaper and a woman's mind.
3. When to hold on and when to let go.
4. Your capacity for intimacy and alcohol.
5. Basic carpentry, plumbing and automotive repair.
6. Advanced foreplay.
7. Trouble when he sees it.
8. True love when he feels it.
9. A load of bull when he hears it.
10. The symptoms of PMS and how to deal with them.
11. How to fast-talk and slow-dance.
12. The art of seduction.
13. That his wife (lover, grilfriend) is not his mother.
14. A woman's erogenous zones.
15. What he wants out of life and how to go after it.
16. Which medical tests he needs and when to get them.
17. How to make money, dinner, conversation and love.
18. How to start a fire - in the hearth and the heart.
19. How to unhook a bra with one hand - in the dark.
20. How to give a toast and take a compliment.
21. The fundamental workings of the female psyche.
22. The Ten Commandments.
23. The importance of trying to follow them.
24. His way around the Kitchen.
25. The futility of unrequited love.
26. The ecstacy of unconditional love.
27. How to open a bottle of champagne.
28. How to negotiate.
29. How to close a deal.
30. How to open up.

4 years hence...21 out of 30 ain't bad.

what they mean...want ads

Read this from the Business section of the Philippine Star....

Her's how to interpret some of the things they say in want-ads.

Competitive Salary - we remain competitive by paying less than our competitors.
Join our fast paced Company- we have no time to train you.
Casual work atmosphere - We don't pay you enough to expect that you will dress up.
Seeking candidates with a wide variety of experience - you will need to replace three people who just left.
Requires team leadership skills - You will have the responsibilities of a manager without the pay or respect.
Good communications skills - Management communicates poorly, so you have to figure out what they want and do it.