On Personal Sacrifices

Too bad I am working on holidays but it was fun. I never thought that coming to work today will give me some sort of realization which I may have missed have I took the leave and stayed home.

Let me relate an incident that had happened in our cafeteria:

Me: Happy New Year! (Talking to servidora)
Servidora: Happy New Year! (with facial contortion)
Me: Something wrong?
Servidora: Too bad I have to work tomorrow, New Year's Day. Can't even attend our family reunion and meet my relatives. :(
Me: Too bad. Call in sick then! (Bad influence! hehe)
Servidora: Good thinking! Unless you want me terminated!
Me: Good gracious! Kidding :D

Our life is difficult. My hands are all up. But this makes life an interesting journey and an opportunity for us to improve and realize our worth and become instrumental for other's success. Much to a coal that was burned and suffered extereme pressure for years to later turn into a diamond, our life transforms us to somebody that is fully equipped with all the needed ingredients to reach our ultimate success. Hardships and trials just add spice to it to spur our commitment and willingness to accomplish tasks; completed tasks that validates our individuality and pride.

Dance for Christmas

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

First Ever Facial Treatment

Today is an exciting day for me since a long lost friend from Malaysia came by to spend the rest of the day with me along with some friends from Australia. These were some of the great friends who have helped me pay part of mom's hospital bills and cover some medical expenses. They are just great and their deeds are something that I'll be forever indebted to.

After dinner, one of my friends suddenly invited me to undergo facial treatment (hmm...I know I got lots of discolorations and blackheads lol!). I was a little hesistant but I ultimately gave in (yes, it was a treat LOL).

I never thought that such treatment is painful! I just found the middle half of my body rising from my bed due to the uncomfortable pain of that skin/acne and blackhead pricking! My whole face is in pain and swelling. =( I just can't imagine myself giving in to the idea of facial skin treatment. I'm a bit glad that the swelling has subsided...I'll rest my face for a while before it gets any worse. :(

Shopping and Saving Made Easy at Findsavings.com

Post Christmas shopping is everybody's favorite. Since most stores usually do not pul their prices down during the peak of the holiday shopping season, literally almost all stores drop their prices down after Christmas. At Findsavings.com so you'll surely be able to save once money by taking advantage of discount coupons.

Although coupons are hard to find at times, if you do most of your shopping online, you can make use of Findsavings.com online coupons and use it to purchase sporting items and video games that is popular for youngsters.

If you are running out of gift ideas or you just want to give your love ones with a fresh buoquet of flowers, try getting 1-800 coupons at the site. You can check on the discount coupons here and discount codes to you the best deals.

Christmas: A Season of Giving

Its been a long wait! Merry Christmas!

I've been looking for a youtube video of President Macapagal Arroyo's Christmas message but unfortunately, I can't find one. But then as I browse through the Internet, I saw incoming US President Barack Obama's message to the American people. It was very simple yet meaningful. Below is an excerpt and a video from youtube.

“This season of giving should also be a time to renew a sense of common purpose and shared citizenship,” he says. “Now more than ever, we must rededicate ourselves to the notion that we share a common destiny as Americans – that I am my brother’s keeper, I am my sister’s keeper. Now, we must all do our part to serve one another; to seek new ideas and new innovation; and to start a new chapter for our great country.”

Ate Inna and Armand's Wedding

Ate Inna's wedding party was a lot of fun! I enjoyed it so much. And of course, the pictures. :) I never got the chance to take pictures myself since all of them have all the powerful cameras in the world! :( But well, I snatched the pictures to post it on my blog and other social networking sites. I am the guy in black. (well, black long sleeves and skin lol!)

Sleeping here lol

Sleeping again? hehehe

Apple iPhone Camera

picture from apple.com

Jamie, a co-worker/friend who works in our Manila site took a picture of me using her fabulous Apple iPhone camera. After "showcasing" how it works and giving me an idea about the enormous number of functionalities and applications it has, I feel like wanting to buy myself an Apple iPhone right away! Now that's a gadget!

2.0 megapixel camera is good enough though as seen in this picture. The downside is, it is not equipped with a camera flash. Amazingly, photos taken from Apple iPhone can be uploaded into Facebook in a sec! What a gadget! I am amazed! Apple people just know how to make people wanting to buy more gadgets in the midst of financial crisis :D

Baler (Film)

I haven't seen the movie but a couple of friends who have seen it using pirated DVDs told me that it was nice. :) Well, I won't follow what they did LOL! I'll perhaps wait for it once it becomes officially be available in the Cinemas. I checked out Youtube and found Baler's Trailer and find it nice. You can it out here. Gathered some photos in Multiply.com, too, and see what I got...Anne Curtis is very beautiful. I just don't think Jericho Rosales is a good match.

Anne Curtis (Baler)

Jericho Rosales and Anne Curtis (Baler)
Pictures from abs-cbn

Baler is an Official entry to the 2008 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF). MMFF is an annual celebration of the local entertainment industry showcasing films created and produced locally. It usulaly runs every Christmas Day (December 25) and last untilt the first week of January the other year.

Baler depicts how Spaniards struggled in defending Baler (now the capital of Aurora, Philippines) against Filipino soldiers in 1898 during the revolution (War between Spain and the Philippines). The love story I guess is just a fiction but the movie itself is one way for us to appreciate the beauty of the place which we usually do not experience within the four walls of a classroom.

Stealing Cases at Lohas Hotel New Well Being Spa at Clarkfield Pampanga

A couple of friends at work, Angie and Maricar, who works in Communications Department shared a very disappointing hotel experience earlier today. Almost PhP 22,000.00 cash were stolen from the suite they rented at Lohas Hotel New Well Being Spa Hotel at Clarkfield Pampanga. These are the same money that are supposed to be used for Christmas Party, Planning Activities, and Hotel Accommodations, etc. It was supposed to be a very secured place considering that rooms are equipped with sophisticated door locks that can only be opened by a card that is only specific for that room alone.

I am not in the position to speak about the whole situation but the mere fact that money were stolen (around PhP 22,000, personal and company money, pesos plus some gadgets) in a place where you think will happen least is absolutely disappointing. This gives me an idea that security is poor making it not a perfect venue for company meetings or relaxation site.

Stealing is loathed in the Bible. It is God's 8th Commandment. Thou Shalt not Steal as expressed in King James Version. I wonder why some people can stomach stealing other people's money and buy it for food for their families to eat. May they be spared from God's wrath.

Reaping the Product of Anger: Iraqi Journalist Throws Shoes At George Bush

I was watching television a few minutes ago and I just saw in the news that an Iraqi Journalist have deliberately thrown shoes at George Bush while giving a speech in front of media people. I must admit that he had kind a good reflexes though but that still is kind of shocking to a lot of people who were watching the news.

I understand the feeling of being angry but we need to control our emotions and control anger before it controls us. I know that I am not the right person to preach this and I must consider that getting angry is a natural response to certain provocative situation, but expressive anger aggressively for the purpose of inflicting physical and emotional pain to other people is unacceptable; even when the person is something that we hated so much.

You can't just stand in front of everybody that we hated and start lashing out at them. We are controlled by social norms, laws, and "common sense", of course, on how far the feeling of anger can actually take you. Somehow, we must know how to manage our anger and control just how far our reactions can go. We can't stop the feeling of being angry but we can control our reactions by thinking at the consequence it might bring if anger overpowered us.

Check this video and see how George W. Bush was attacked by an Iraqi Journalist using a pair of shoes.

Twilight the Third Time!

This is the third time I watched Twilight. Its not because I am addicted to it, which I am sometimes, but because I couldn't resist a couple of friend's request to accompany them to watch the movie. I feel like I can rewrite the movie relying on my memory alone :D

But well, I haven't been able to check on my blog and post something because of my busy schedule. Workpain is taking its toll on me. =D I miss you guys!

GMA 7's Starstruck Ultimate Male Survivor Marky Cielo Dead at 20

Marky Cielo (Mark Angelo Cadaweng Cielo), the winner of GMA 7's talent-search program Starstruck, died in his sleep at Dawn on December 7, 2008. He was 20. The reason is not yet clear but there were initial reports that he may have died of acute pancreatitis. As of this time, his family is still waiting for the release of his medical records to finally clear out the real cause of his death.

He first showed up in the show Fantastikids, followed by Encantadia, Bakekang, Asian Treasures, among others. He is one of the best dancers I know in Philippine showbiz industry. Too bad he died too early.

No matter how difficult we see life is, we should always be thankful; thankful that God still wants us to live and feel all the life's pain for I believe that He wants us to grow further. Life is a gift. We must enjoy it while it last. :)

TKO by Round 8: Manny Pacquiao Wins!

pic/wallpaper from pusang gala

Congratulations Pacquiao for a job well done! Proud to be Pinoy! =D

De la Hoya has displayed an inferior offensive skill which made him very vulnerable to Pacquiao's attack. The game was declared TKO in favor of Pacquiao. The entire Filipino nation is very proud of you Pacquiao. :) I hope you won't forget giving part of what you got to the less fortunate. $100 Million USD is like a lot! Share it with us, too :D hehehe

Dream Match: Go Team Pacquiao!

pic from telegraph.co.uk
Oscar De la Hoya and Manny Pacquiao

I just can't believe that this so called "circus fight" is about to start in a few hours. This is another milestone for Pacquiao whose boxing career has flourished since his campaign for 106 lbs. Now that they (De la Hoya and and Pacquiao) met at 146, no one is really gonna stop them from meeting at the fighting ring. I just wish that Pacquiao wins this $100 Million USD game. Such an incredible money I could myself 10 McDonald and Jollibee franchise! :D

No Man is an Island

This is a phrase taken from John Donne's prose Devotions upon Emergent Occasions written around 1600. The passage below is perhaps the best part that took its greatest mark in my head.

"No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of thecontinent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea,Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if amanor of thy friend's or of thine own were: any man's death diminishesme, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to knowfor whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee."

Its true that we were not created to exist alone. We were created to support each other and recognize that each of us is different and that such differences bring beauty and strength to the entire human community. Differences that makes us strong for that's where we pull the strength that we need which some of us sometimes doesn't have. Respect for diversity should be something that we need to teach our children so that we will be able to breed a new generation that embraces peace and love for humanity.

Moymoy Palaboy: Iyotube Guys of GMA 7's Bubble Gang

I can't help it but this is so hilarious so I just thought of sharing it with you. Just saw this video from youtube. I guess the two guys are already working with Bubble Gang's GMA7, a Television network operating in the Philippines. Watch and laugh. Enjoy!

Spice Girl's Wannabe

Girlfriend by Avril Lavigne

Bella's Chevrolet: Twilight

"There, parked on the street in front of the house that never changed, was my new — well, new to me — truck. It was a faded red color, with big, rounded fenders and a bulbous cab. To my intense surprise, I loved it. I didn't know if it would run, but I could see myself in it. Plus, it was one of those solid iron affairs that never gets damaged — the kind you see at the scene of an accident, paint unscratched, surrounded by the pieces of the foreign car it had destroyed."

I just love big cars just as Bella does in Twilight. Although my personal favorite is Ford. Seriously I feel that I am starting to get overly hooked up to the novel although I only was able to read few pages of the first book yet. Now I feel how others feel when they get to read a certain novel and almost spend the whole day reading it without a pause! :)

I also plan on reading harry potter books just to check if it appeals to me. Although undoubtedly it is a good book, I still want to see how good it is myself.

I am just reading the book online. Hopefully, I will be able to grab a copy for my personal use so I read through it even when i'm offline. It takes a lot of eye pain to finish reading a novel over the net so just imagine how I am feeling after reading non-stop for 2 hours. :D

Surely it was a good way to die, in the place of someone else, someone I loved: Famous Twilight Quote Series

"I'd never given much thought to how I would die...Surely it was a good way to die, in the place of someone else, someone I loved. Noble, even. That ought to count for something."

Imagine yourself dying. Surely, that's painful. Well, its relative. But perhaps, lying in your deathbed, dying, will never be much sweeter when you are with someone you truly love. Twilight talks a lot about dying. Perhaps, death is one of the interesting topics that Stephenie Meyer enjoys. Well, I hardly know much about her but her novels suggested death and dying so much that even an elementary kid wouldn't fail to recognize.

I have started reading the first few pages of the book and I am beginning to enjoy it. I haven't given reading much time lately though due to my busy schedules but I am doing everything I can to take a little time out of my work hours to actually read this novel to be able to work on my goal on reading just a single novel this year for my own personal fulfillment. I am fond of taking notes on interesting passages or phrases to whatever article or book I read so expect more passages to come as I read through the pages of the novel. :)