Endings

I finished reading chapter 84 of Kaichou wa Maid-sama this morning. I wanted to read chapter 85 but it will take a while until they release the English translation, so I just scanned through the raw version and searched for the plot. It turns out that chapter is already the finale. For the past months, I have been watching anime online and reading some manga in my phone. Once I reach the last episode/chapter, I start feeling sad and ask myself "Now what?" Even though it only takes me a few days (weeks if I'm reading) to finishing watching a series, there is this feeling of attachment. After scanning through chapter 85, I came to realize that everything comes to an end.

Endings usually give a happy or sad feeling but the only way to get over it is to move forward, just like school. I will be graduating in a few months and graduation might be the most emotional event, not only in my college life but my OBMC life. Being in the school for 14 years has developed me into loving the environment. Despite the changes and complaints my classmates & I had throughout those years, I am not ashamed to say that I love the school and I am thankful I ended up there when I transferred from Canada. However, I have to let it go even though it hurts to leave. Reminiscing on the good days is alright, but dwelling on it won't be good for anyone.

I would like to think of my life as a manga. A whole series is divided into volumes with a certain number of chapters in each of them. As you read each chapter, you begin to understand the story. You remember a few scenes, which was shown in the previous chapter or volume, and be amazed by the changes of the characters as you are on the way to the ending. Once you are done reading, you may have a tendency to go back to a few chapters to reminisce on those great moments in the story.

Funny how a manga made me think deeply that it lead me into creating a blog post. I guess, I take simple things too deeply sometimes.

Titanic

Last Tuesday night, I saw a tweet saying that Titanic was on Star Movies. The last time I watched it was back in 1998, so I took the opportunity to watch it and refresh my memory to see if I'll understand the story this time. When I switched the channel to Star Movies, the scene was when Jack shouted "I'm the king of the world!" I was late but thankfully, not that late.

While watching the movie, my emotions started changing for I understood the things I didn't understand before. Like: how Jack saved Rose from committing suicide, the real reason why Cal carried the kid with him, and the meaning of Rose's "I'll never let go" promise to Jack. It made all sense to me, especially the promise part. However, I couldn't believe Cal saved the kid was just so he could get on a lifeboat. I mean, back when I was 6 years old, I thought he was doing a good deed. His action was good, but his intention wasn't.

As for the promise of Rose, when Jack told her to promise him to never let go, he didn't mean his hand; it was her promise, which was to survive, continue living, and die warm on her bed as an old woman. So it was a promise within a promise.

I must say, Jack & Rose's love story is (so far) the best one I have ever seen, even better than the ones in anime. Jack cared about Rose's future, Rose went through the cold water just to save him, and they both trusted each other. It was just really sad Jack died; leaving Rose to live the rest of her life without him but she never broke her promise, which is why they reunited in the end.

The result of watching Titanic after 15 years was me in tears because I understood it as a really sad story. Sure it was a happy ending, but the fact Jack & Rose said "I trust you" more than "I love you" just hit me deep. As the days go by, I hope the story of the movie slowly sinks in as a reflection to my present life.

Burger Night!

I have been feeling fatigue for the past days, and sadly my appetite got affected by it that oatmeal was the only food I ate. Thankfully, there's no school tomorrow, so I can relax tonight. For dinner, I decided to cook some of the burger patties I made yesterday.

(Supposedly) Loco Moco and Doughnut Burger (inspired by Zark's Luther Burger)

The dishes I have prepared were Loco Moco and a Doughnut Burger sandwich. My comment for the first dish: I made an error on the egg because it was supposed to be sunny-side up, but the yolk broke so I made it a (overcooked) scrambled egg instead. Also, I couldn't make the gravy. It was still good nevertheless. For the doughnut burger, on the other hand: It was inspired by Zark's Luther Burger. Although I don't know how their burger tastes like since I just heard about it from Enzo. The taste wasn't as bad (and fatty) as I thought, for the doughnut's sweetness complemented the burger's strong flavor.

Good news: My appetite came back so I'm starting to feel better!
Bad news: I gained back the weight I lost for the past days...

Well, that's all I will say in this post. I need to find something I can do next week.

Mini Hawaiian

While I was preparing some Loco Moco burger patties, this afternoon, an idea suddenly came up. Loco Moco is a Hawaiian dish and there were some King's Hawaiian Sweet Rolls on the dining table, so why not put the two Hawaiian products together? And I did that.

This was the result:

I call it "Mini Hawaiian"

It isn't an extraordinary burger but I was happy that the taste and texture was great. (I think the size of the patty needs to be a bit smaller though) Hope I would be able to make more of these once I get the chance to buy another pack of sweet rolls!

Afternoon in the Kitchen

I didn't feel like working on my advanced note-taking in Marketing today, so I spent my afternoon in the kitchen making Spam Musubi and Salmon Onigiri. Traditionally, they're just simple snacks, but they can really be filling.

My experience in making these? I had a rough time in portioning and shaping the rice properly because I was worried it might be lesser than the spam and filling, but it turns out that I used too much rice and ended up having excess salmon. Good news, though, the shape of the onigiri looks way better than when I made it the first time.

08.04.13: While making this, I realized that I forgot to buy nori...

That's how bad it was! At least I improved and didn't forget to buy nori this time.

Evaluation of today's dishes? They tasted good although the rice's texture needs to be improved. (OFI!*) Hopefully, I'll be able to make some again for my packed lunch; once school starts.

*OFI - Opportunity For Improvement (I can't get over with TQM)

Weird Meal

I was home alone last night and thought of having pasta by using the jarred sauce, which my grandmother wanted me to consume 2 weeks ago, for dinner. While I waited for the pasta to cook, I tried opening the jar of the sauce but there was a problem... I couldn't open it, not even a bit. The jar was so vacuumed that I was tempted to break it or throw it out of the balcony. (as if I have the guts to do that knowing that I live on the 11th floor and within Makati CBD) I tried different methods* in opening it such as the candle, water hammer, static cling wrap, hot water and damp cloth; still no success. In the end, I just checked the fridge to see if there was any viand I could use, and the only thing available was Chicken Liver Adobo.

Since I was so hungry, I made use of what was found with a bit of balsamic vinegar, which is my favorite condiment. This was the result:

It doesn't look that appetizing but the taste wasn't so bad. Because of this dish, I came to the conclusion that I cook weird dishes whenever I'm hungry and alone at home.

*In case you don't know what I'm talking about, here's the link of the site: http://www.eyehandy.com/articles/10-ways-to-open-a-stubborn-jar-lid/

If I Was A Love Song

This morning, I dreamt about myself hanging out in a playground and there I saw Mr. Teddy singing and playing his guitar while walking around the place with his best friend. It's weird but the song he was singing happened to be my alarm tone, which I think was what triggered the dream to happen. Anyways, after seeing him, he went to where I was as he was continuing his song. I think I was trying to stay away from him so that I wouldn't distract him. Clumsy me, I accidentally tripped and ended up going down a spiral slide. Surprise in the dream, he followed me by going down the slide too! Then his song ended and I woke up.

It felt so weird yet I found it cute since the last time I had a happy dream about him was 2 years ago, which we were on a date in Ayala Triangle Gardens on a sunny day. (I can still remember the best part in it, actually.) I guess I really miss spending time with him or maybe something is telling me... Nah, I don't want to bring my hopes up on it. A weird dream is a dream, especially when it has something to do with romance since you can't control one's heart on who to love. I'm glad that I had a dream about him again though and best of all, it gave me a positive boost when I woke up.

Thank you for the (weird) happy dream, Mr. Teddy.

Bringing Up The Past

It has been months since the break up and just when I thought that issue with him was long gone already, some anonymous person suddenly brings it up on my Ask FM page. I just find it weird someone still has concerns about that since we broke up for almost a year and the guy has a new girlfriend now. So whoever was that anonymous person obviously hasn't moved on or probably wants to pick a fight with me.

Well, just like what my sister told me before "Haters are confused admirers."

To the anonymous person who is concerned about my past,

Here's a bridge...

Now get over it.

(I got the idea from Ryan Higa's FWP video by the way [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vN2WzQzxuoA])

A Sunflower Story

An old story I wrote during my 1st year college days.

(http://www.whitegadget.com/pc-wallpapers/157815-sunflower.html)

There was a sunflower, a small cute one, all alone in a place where nobody went to. The sunflower felt lonely, unloved and uncared for. Then one day, a stranger came and sat by the lonely sunflower. The sunflower did not like the stranger at first but sooner or later, it started to like the stranger's company. The stranger started to visit the sunflower every day.

One day, the stranger decided to pick the sunflower from the ground; so he brought a cute pot, as cute as the sunflower, and a small shovel. He started digging in the area where the sunflower stood; he dug as deep as he could to avoid hurting the sunflower. The stranger managed to dig up the sunflower without any harm. He placed it in the cute pot he bought for it and took the cute sunflower home with him.

The sunflower soon found out that the stranger was lonely too. It then felt that they were both on the same boat. The stranger whispered to the sunflower with a smile, "I promise to take care of you."

As the days went by, the stranger took care of the sunflower by giving it Tender, Love and Care, the three basic things for a plant. Soon, the sunflower started to love the stranger for what he had been doing for it. As it grew in his care, the sunflower made an effort to make the stranger happy by looking cuter and more cheerful each day. This made the stranger very happy, and he loved it even more each day.

Months later, the stranger met new people; people whom he thought were interesting to spend time with. He then started going out more often than he stayed at home with the sunflower. Day by day, the sunflower felt neglected and soon started feeling weak. Later on the sunflower could no longer stay looking cute and cheerful for the stranger. Instead, it wilted, looking ugly and rotten as it could be. Yet, the sunflower endured the pain just for the sake of staying with him.

As the days passed by, the sunflower felt even more neglected. It could no longer stand how ugly and rotten it had become. At long last, the day came when the sunflower had completely wilted.

The stranger, who had been neglecting the sunflower, dug it from the pot and threw it out, along with the soil where he had kept it. The sunflower, barely alive, could no longer bear the pain and finally decided to die...

After all those months, the sunflower never felt happiness until it met the stranger; who loved it more than anything. All that remained from the dead sunflower was a sunflower seed. The sunflower, who lost all the strength to live, can only hope that the next one who picks up its sunflower seed will be caring, loving and gentle, like the stranger was when he still loved it.

Yearning

It's strange but I've been thinking about Honey and Clover these past days. There is this certain scene in the series that kept playing in my head over and over, which was a big bother to me until now. It's that scene when Rika was reminiscing the time she and Harada went to her hometown. For some reason I feel a yearning for someone to do the same thing Harada did to Rika.

For weeks, I've been feeling sad about something (or someone) and I can't really explain why or how I ended up feeling that way. It's annoying that I just want to cry and have someone hug me saying...

I skipped a line in this scene, by the way.

I guess I miss having someone I could cry on and tell all my problems to since I don't open up that often anymore. Earlier, I was listening to a song and suddenly started crying that I had to run to my room so that the maid wouldn't see me. For those few minutes, while the song was playing, I sobbed... Remembering the pain of losing something precious, which only lasted for 3 months because of a foolish thing I did.

Later on, my brother said to me, straight-forwardly "Dude, move on. It's over. You can't expect anything from nothing. I know it's hard and depressing but yeah, at some point, I have to say this straight out 'cause it's been too long." He does have a point that, indeed, it has been too long even Gerard agreed with what he said. Almost 2 years and I'm still not over him, that's why my brother said that straight to my face, even though those words hurt me, he's right. The guy is his best friend after all.

This is what I imagined when my brother said it straight to my face

What I'm feeling, right now, is the same as how Yamada felt when Nomiya was speaking out the truth about what she really wanted to happen between Mayama and Rika. Except, I do not wish for anything bad to happen to him with his future girlfriend. (whoever she may be)

Be Loyal. PERIOD.

I just finished watching a movie titled Fireproof which my friend, Gerard, shared. I had no idea what it was about, but my sister told me that it's a nice Christian movie and indeed, it was. I think this was the first time a movie made me cry, almost as much as I cried during those heartbreaking periods. The movie was a blessing for it gave me inspiration, not only for this blog post but also for my future marriage.

"Son, God loves you, even though you don't deserve it. Even though you've rejected Him." That was one of the lines that touched me because it's something that is happening in real life. For a relationship to work, it doesn't mean getting a reward out of loving the person. For it to work, you have to love like God. You love the person not because you feel like it, but because you made a decision to love that person whether he or she doesn't deserve it. As I was watching the movie, it made me realize that having a Christ-centered relationship is really important, especially in marriage. Also, it reminded me of yesterday's talk in The Feast.

The talk was about Loyalty. Bro. Jon Escoto shared a lot of stories relating to it, but there was this one story that was very similar to the one Bro. Bo Sanchez shared almost 3 years ago. I remembered it very clearly because it was a blog post that I published back then. The title of that post was Faithfulness.* Listening to that story felt nostalgia, yet it made me want to cry because that man remained loyal to his sick wife, even though she has already been hurting him by not remembering who he is. Another thing that Bro. Jon shared was that True Love is beyond feelings. Even though we lose the feeling, we can still continue to love the person.

This weekend was a really big blessing for me because not only it was a perfect timing that the movie was somewhat related to yesterday's talk, but also I met a good friend who actually has an interest in things like these. It's cool that my best friend, Enzo, introduced me to Gerard and I hope we continue to grow an awesome friendship.

Thanks a lot Gerard for sharing Fireproof with me! It was a very inspiring movie. =)

*Even though it has a few grammatical errors, I choose not to edit it.

Ozine Fest 2013

It's that time of the year, wherein Megamall is super crowded for 3 days because of the Ozine Fest. This is my 3rd year to attend the event and unlike in the previous years, I was alone. Actually, I was having second thoughts of going but then I remembered ordering a customized bagtag from The Keybie Café, (chose 'meet-up at a convention' as my mode of delivery) so I had to push myself to attend. Also, one of my friends mentioned that he was going to compete in 2 games and I did say that I was going to support him.

When I arrived the venue, the lines to the ticket booth and entrance weren't that long, but it was already crowded inside the hall. While looking for the booth of The Keybie Café, I was trying to spot my friend since I wasn't able to get his cellphone number (talk about fail) but in the end, I didn't get to see him. Also, the bagtag I ordered wasn't finished on time but the owner said that she'll deliver it to me for free. (Yey!)

So I got some brochures upon entering the convention and just bought two cellphone charms. I left the place at 3pm because it was getting too crowded, my right thigh got a sprain (probably because of my morning exercise) and I promised my grandmother that I would get a haircut today.

As much as I would want to type more about my day, it's just too long and I feel tired due to lack of proper rest these past weeks. 

To sum it up, this year's Ozine Fest wasn't fun since I was alone but the result of my haircut made me feel better and the feeling became greater when my grandmother brought home a sunflower, which she got from a party, and gave it to me! So this wasn't a really bad day, after all.

P.S. I wasn't able to take pictures of the event

Bent Stem

I was just inspired by one of the episodes of Honey and Clover, and I didn't want this inspiration to go to waste. So I stopped watching for a while to work on this blog post.

In the episode, Ayumi shares a story about her plant being bent into two due to a typhoon. When her mother saw it, she said “That won’t stand up straight anymore, so break it off at the crease. If you do that, new shoots will grow from there and you’ll have beautiful new leaves in no time.” but Ayumi was hesitant in breaking it off because she could see that the tiny leaves, on the tip of the bent stem, were still healthy. A few days later, the plant eventually wilted in the soil. If she listened to what her mother said, the plant would have lived.

The plant is just like us. We start off as a seed and grow but during the growth, obstacles get in the way. No matter how beautifully we grow, there would always be a typhoon passing by to break us. Even if it hurts, the best way to live is to let go and let a new sprout grow or else we will just wilt, and eventually die.

It's like having a relationship with a boyfriend or girlfriend. You grow as the days go by, but once a typhoon (say it be a break up or the person left you) hits, the stem breaks. Those who wouldn't want to let go, end up being weighed down by the negative feelings and wilt as time goes by. No one wants to be an ugly plant, but that's how some people are because of the burdens they carry in their life. So break off the bent stem. Yes, it will hurt to let go but you have to put an end to it, and let a new sprout grow.

That episode sure reminded me of how I was months ago. I had someone special and after we broke up, I thought things would be well between us, even if we were just friends. However, I felt nonexistent to him so I decided to cut off the connection, hoping that he wouldn't try to contact me in the future. It did hurt, at first, but I felt better later on because he was a bent stem that I just had to break off.

For now, I want to enjoy being single.

* I print-screened the photos from the episode, itself, since I couldn't find any nice plant pictures.

Summer break (so far)

It has been 3 weeks of summer break and I'm already bored of it. Last week, I was feeling depressed because it took me about 3-4 days to finish watching all 4 seasons (including the OVA and picture drama) of Zero no Tsukaima, and I didn't know what to do anymore. There were times I wanted to cry but my eyes wouldn't let me. Until now, I can't get over the series because of the kind of relationship Saito & Louise have. As much as I want to share about it, I'll just save it for another day since I have a close friend who hasn't watched the series (yet) and I wouldn't want to spoil her.

I was thinking of watching Honey and Clover next. After that, I don't know. I'm more into anime shows in the genre: school, fantasy, military, romance and/or slice of life. If you know any anime with those genre, please let me know, I'm open for suggestions. Thank you in advance!

Summer Break!

Today is my 3rd day of summer break! It hasn't sunk in that I already am because supposedly today is my last day of school but 2 of my profs scheduled their exams early, so thank you very much for the early exam schedule! Honestly, this semester was the most relaxed one ever because we didn't have a lot of requirements to work (or cram) on and the exams weren't so bad. Hopefully, I get better grades.

So what do I plan to do this summer? Here's one fact, most of them don't involve me going out. If you were here, in Manila, you wouldn't be able to stand being outside for 5 minutes. Also, you can easily get sunburned. The things that I plan to do this break are these:

• Have an anime marathon (especially on Zero no Tsukaima)
• Attend the BLD YLSS this May (finally!)
• Cook something that I can present in my graduation (next year)
• Write the story that has been bugging my mind for the past months
• Attempt to do advance studying on two of the subjects that I will be taking this coming semester

Those aren't so much stuff but at least I planned my summer, especially realizing the fact that this is my very last break to enjoy as a student since I'll start working next year. It's sad but I can't be a student forever. Well, I hope this year's summer break will be more fun and memorable than 2011's.

LATE NIGHT SURPRISE!

After posting my previous blog post, my sister (miraculously) arrived home, holding a container of French Macarons. I immediately screamed because it's my favorite pastry! At first, she teased me by saying that they weren't for me and pretended to give me the container until I calmed down a bit.

Turns out that it was a gift from Ate Nique! It's so awesome that she knows what I like. Thank you so much for the surprise!

Now I don't know if I should eat these now or patiently wait until tomorrow morning~

Punishment or Blessing?

Just trying to avoid cramming (again)

My Friday class is usually from 9am to 12nn but today we were dismissed an hour early, so I had more time to stay in the library to work on my report for TQM. I worked on it for a while, then I took a nap and then I went back to working on it. Later on, in the middle of the process, I got bored that I stood up and started browsing through some baking books for a good baked cheesecake recipe but I couldn't find any so I went back to working on my report.

At around 2:30pm, my adviser dropped by the library and was surprised to see me. She then told me to go to the Demo Lab and assist Chef JA into preparing the ingredients for tomorrow's activity; even though I was in the library "studying." As I was getting my things from the desk, she asked why was I still in school, I frankly answered her "I don't want to go home." with that, she immediately asked "Why? Is there a problem at home?" realizing that my statement sounded as if I was upset, I defended my first answer by saying "Nothing is wrong. I just get so bored staying at home all day." (It's true!)

I was planning to leave school at 4pm but it felt embarrassing to tell the chef that since my plans weren't that important and urgent to do, so I just dealt with helping out until the end.

This was the only time I could take a photo of what I was doing

The preparation ended at 5pm and I was hoping that my purpose for staying in school, all day, would still happen. I rushed to the lobby as fast as I could and when I entered someone was shocked to see me and asked "Why the hell are you still here?"* I explained to her that it was a funny story of how I ended up this way. She looked like she was still in shock.

I finally left school and went off to the MRT station, forgetting to pass by Gourdo's to check the prices of some equipment I need to make a cheesecake since I was feeling quite tired from "studying" and the sudden food preparation. As I arrived Makati, there were so many places that I wanted to go to namely Dairy Queen, Tea Farm, The Market (for Sebastian's Ice Cream) and FaBurrito but I didn't want to spend, so I rushed going home, hoping for good food to be found in the fridge. Thank goodness that there were good foods at home and it got better when my grandmother brought home more food!

So was this day a punishment for me because I didn't want to go home or a blessing because I didn't stay at home for the whole day? I would say it was a blessing! Though the miracle I prayed for was a fail... No need for me to explain it.

Have a blessed weekend everyone!

* Unlike the students from other colleges/universities who still stay in the campus to hang out with their friends, the students in my school like to leave immediately after classes. (Long story) So far, I'm the only student who stays in school the most. (Yeah I'm a nerd but not the brainiac type)

For the guys out there...

Valentine's Day is near and I'm sure some of you, guys, are planning to give flowers (and maybe chocolates) to your girlfriend or a girl you like. That's the traditional way but do you think it shows love? Not really. For those who plan on giving flowers to their special someone, here's my recommendation and kindly read throughout the whole blog post.

1. Bouquet of Flowers

(http://lovetheblooms.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/_Presentation%20Red%20Rose%20Bouquet.JPG)

Traditionally, guys would give a single or bouquet of flowers (usually roses) to a girl but have you had the thought that maybe it's too much for something that doesn't last long? Some guys would even spend thousand of pesos just to make the bouquet really special for the girl. Sure it makes her happy but still, flowers die as the days go by. So this is a no.

2. Artificial Flower

(http://www.topiarygarden.co.uk/images/artificial-rose.jpg)

There is this quote saying "A guy gives his girlfriend a dozen roses; 11 real, 1 artificial and says he will love her till the last rose dies." I admit, it was sweet the first time I read it (in 6th grade) but when I thought about it during my first year in high school, it wasn't. Come on, 11 real and 1 artificial. It's like you're saying that the love will not be real in the end. "Fake love" that's not the kind of message you would want to give a girl you have feelings for, right? So, "11 real, 1 artificial" -- no.

3. Chocolate Flowers

(http://eechocolates.com/images/Flower_Bouquet_2.jpg)

Flowers and chocolates? Why not have them both in one? Chocolate flowers! Sweet? Yes, it is but this is a no. Why? They're expensive and not to mention really fattening, especially if you'll give her the big ones. I'm sure you wouldn't want the girl to gain weight and blame you for it.

Okay, so if a bouquet of (real & artificial) flowers and chocolate flowers aren't the best choice, then what is? I say the best would be... 

FLOWERS PASTILLAS!

This a simple yet sweet gift because it's in the closest form of a rose, they're cheap, you can choose different colors and the size is just small. I am sure that she will like it more than the typical "flowers and chocolates" gift. Also, it would be best that you let her share those flowers with her friends since love is about sharing. Don't let her have selfish love. (this only applies to the flowers pastillas)

However, if the girl is watching her weight and doesn't want to eat sweets, just give her this:

Fruit Bouquet

(http://www.andicakes.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Edible-fruit-bouquet7.jpg)

It won't be cheap like the flowers pastillas but hey, it's not typical and she will probably be very thankful for this. Just make sure that she shares those...

My main point in this post is: do not to go for the ordinary thing; try something different!

I hope this post was helpful to you guys. Have a nice Valentine's Day this year!

Blessed Day!

This day was so... AWESOME! I just can't contain how happy I am right now. If only I could just video myself instead of typing what I'm saying but sadly, I have no confidence in front of the camera, especially if it's a video... Anyways, let me share how today went.

This morning, we had our last midterm exam for the semester, which was Total Quality Management (TQM). My friends and I were worried about about failing it, so one of us thought of having a group study on the day before the exam.

It was hard at first because the fact is: I don't study! Also I usually get mind block whenever it's the review question part, but I managed to make it through the whole 3-4 hours of it. I came to realize that studying with friends is actually fun and effective because you get to share some information and brainstorm on the lessons. As Belle said, "Four heads are better than one."

When we were about to end the group studying, we agreed to come to school early (before 8:00am) so that we could have a final review before the exam. Good news, most of us arrived early. Better news, we had more time to review because the exam started at 9:30am! (No, the professor wasn't late)

When our exam started, enumeration was the first part I answered because I might suddenly forget what I studied at the last minute. Thankfully, I was able to answer most of them. Enumeration was actually the easiest part of the exam, the most challenging one was identification because he gave a different description on some of the terms there. For the other part, I just guessed them since there were choices.

The result...

It was better than I expected! Turns out that our group studying was really effective and we'll do it again for finals. As a reward for the amazing grade, I treated myself to a beef burrito and strawbana smoothie from FaBurrito.

After having my (awesome) dinner, I checked the receipt and noticed that there was 20% printed on it. Turns out that I was given a discount! I thank Jayson (the guy who delivered my order) for this! It was careless of me, though, that I didn't even notice the change was more than what I was supposed to get when I received my order. I need to be more aware next time.

SUMMARY

The things that made my day:

1.  The professor giving us more time to review
2. Getting 97% on the TQM midterm exam
3. Having a good afternoon sleep
4. A surprise 20% discount on my dinner!

That is about it, my day seemed really short since I slept for the whole afternoon but for me, it was still an awesome one.

Thank you Lord for this very blessed Saturday!

Solutions = Purpose

Everyone has problems in life, whether big or small, they are still problems. So how do we go through these problems? We find solutions.

Today, in The Feast, Bro. Bo talked about "Solutions." First he shared about how Moses solved his problem with an Egyptian, who was physically hurting one of the Hebrews. Moses just killed him and hid the body in the sand. Do you think what he did solve the problem? No, it didn't. Moses just right the wrong with another wrong.

Here is another way of explaining this topic:

Imagine that your dreams are just in front of you but there is a brick wall in the way.

(http://www.corbisimages.com/images/Corbis-42-24569545.jpg?size=67&uid=5a920d49-e662-4709-a65c-8f2bfe385648)

What would you do? Some would just give up since the wall is such a problem that they rather not deal with it anymore. Others would just put their trust in God and do nothing. That isn't right, we cannot always be spoon-fed. We can trust in God but of course, actions need to be done in order for the miracles to work. So what do you think is the solution to this brick wall problem? Get a hammer and break it? That's what others do, but that isn't right either. Breaking that wall will cause your dreams to be crushed.

(http://worldonline.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/img/photos/2008/03/28/Micro__crushed_car_Clinton__t440.jpg?9e2a24ba44807f8f9b96aad7c4082bf6ded075dc)

Nobody wants to crush their dreams but that's what others do. You know why? They use their pride in reaching them. They just focus on the problem, not the purpose of their dreams. So how do you solve your problem then? Simple, focus on your purpose! You see the photo of the brick wall above? It's just small, it's not even as long as The Great Wall of China. If you are focusing on your problem, you wouldn't even notice that the wall is just blocking the path but if you are focusing on your purpose, you will reach your dreams without having to deal with that wall.

I will share with you a story that happened to me last Friday night:

I woke up at around 7pm, from a long nap, and I had to go to the computer right away to work on a powerpoint presentation for my TQM subject. Honestly, that work could have been done over the Christmas break but I was so laid-back, enjoying the long hours on the internet without worrying about having school the next day. Very careless of me. So anyways, I had to push myself into finishing the work or else I will be in big trouble with the professor.

I officially started at around 10pm. My report was on a whole chapter and it was a long one. Searching for photos and making sure that each slide had a maximum of 6 lines was tough! I wanted to cry and start hating myself for slacking off during the break. I even wanted to tweet "TQM... Kill me now!" but I refrained myself from doing those things. Instead, I focused on my purpose for staying up late which was to finish the powerpoint presentation. It was my fault after all for not working on it when I was supposed to, so I had to face the consequence. I had no sleep that night but I managed to finish it earlier than expected. (I praise God for that!)

The next day, while I was reporting, the professor commented "I really like your presentation. When did you do this?" with a smile, I replied "Last night." He made an expression as if he was surprised yet in disbelief that I managed to work on it overnight. As I was continuing my report, he made another comment: "You know, you really have a good choice of photos." I could see it in his face that he was amazed that I did a good job on something that was long and done last-minute. That really made my day and I was thankful to God that he was by my side while I was working on the presentation. As a reward to myself for a job well done, I slept for the whole day!

If I was stressing over the problem which was staying up late and having to summarize the chapter, I wouldn't have been able to finish my work on time nor would it have turned out great. So if you have a problem, don't focus on it. Instead, focus on your purpose!

During the closing worship, Bro. Bo recommended to us on what should do to something(s) we have lost. One was about money and the other was about a person in our life. The latter one called my attention, Bro. Bo said "If that boyfriend left you for someone else, here's my recommendation: Forget it. Tell yourself "Kawawa naman siya.* He doesn't know what he's missing." and then open your heart; open your life for someone new to come in. Not now, you don't want to have a rebound relationship but take your time. Heal, find yourself and then later on, open yourself to love and joy and peace." What he said really struck me that I wanted to burst into tears. I managed to hold them back but deep inside, I was breaking down yet very thankful once again for Bro. Bo's message.

"Don't focus on the problem. Focus on your purpose."

Thank you so much Lord for Bro. Bo Sanchez!

*Kawawa naman siya means 'I pity him' (according to my sister)

Sentimental Item Lost

After blogging this morning, I remembered the ring he gave me for my 19th birthday and thought of keeping it in a safer place. I checked my wallet but it wasn't there, so I went around my room looking for it. In the end, I couldn't find it. However I found my (or his) missing dog tag, which was just on my table. Anyways, the point is... I lost another sentimental item.

It seems to me that rings are not meant for me (except the wedding ring, of course) because this is the 3rd time I lost a sentimental ring!

First this...

Then this...

Now this!

(I have no better photo of this ring)

Looks like that thing I did 3 years ago has caused me to lose the ring once I decide to move on. That's it! No more silver rings for me since they just end up getting lost. From now on, I'm sticking to silver necklaces!

Who were you back then?

"No bitter ending" I said. "We'll still be close friends" I said. Well, how are we now? Strangers, just total strangers... I guess it was too soon when I said that we'll still be friends. I wonder though, who was that person whom I once called my "best friend" back then? Was it you or your mirror?

To be honest, I strongly dislike you now, not because of the break-up but of how you were afterwards. You are a total jerk. Not to worry, I won't explain any further. I will just keep this post as short as possible. However, I would just like to say this: I do not regret meeting you; I regret not waiting for June 2012 to see who you would turn out to be. College life sure has changed you or maybe, it just showed the real you.

It's really sad to see another close friend gone. I actually lost 2 of them in 2012 and have to just move along to make sure those pains don't pull me back so that I would not dwell over it. The story of the other person will be for another day because this post is about a certain someone. Am I afraid that he or his friends might read this? No, I'm not. As I said in my first blog post, I will not be afraid to express my feelings even if it leads me to gaining haters.

Post New Year Greeting

It's quite late to greet everyone a "Happy New Year" but as my friend said "New year, for me, is not about timing; it's about cherishing old memories and opening ourselves to new ones." (Paz Diaz de Rivera)

So...

HAPPY 2013!

For New Year's eve, it wasn't the traditional 'Dinner - Attend mass in Makati Shangri-La - Midnight snack somewhere in Makati.' Instead we spent the evening in Newport Mall (Resorts World Manila): Dinner at Red Crab. Mass in Marriott Hotel. Midnight snack at New Orleans. Yeah, it sounds the same but it felt really different for me because (1)We just stayed in one place (one building) (2)We didn't get to see any fireworks since we were inside the whole time and (3)It was so crowded inside as if the mall was an extension of Republiq that night! It was fun nevertheless.

Oh, and there was one thing that made my night after the mass...

I saw Bro. Bo Sanchez!

Well, to sum this up: It was a nice New Year's eve and I hope that 2013 will be way better than 2012.

Happy New Year everyone! :)