Dear 2012,

May you be awesome and fruitful and full of wonderful surprises.

Love,

me

Sent from my iPod

Winner!

2 Sundays ago I have been feeling under the weather when I got an awesome news from my sister! I have been following Chuvaness for the longest time and I got really lucky I was one of the 10 peeps who won swag from her. :) 


My friends and I love her and her blog.  She is chica. :)  The stuff got delivered to our house and I couldn't contain my excitement.

I got a number of different things which I liked so much!

Chuvanotes and Pepper Lunch and Team Manila notebook

I am a notebook addict and these two are such a wonderful addition the things I have now!

Manansala x Freeway Mousepad

Enjoy Cards

I can't wait to use 'em all.

  

 Burlington socks

a bunch of really soft socks

GCs

can I say WOOT! :)

Thank you Thank you! I never ever win anything so this was such a nice surprise. YEY.

Meet Kourtney

Early this month, I got myself an iPod touch.  I have been planning to get one for the longest time and I just couldn't wait anymore. :)  So, I went and got it with Marl and Gracie. My iPod shall be called Kourtney.  I really don't want to go into details why I named her such, but lets just say she has two sisters. *wink*wink*


Here is a photo of her. Such a lovely thing if I may say so myself. :)  32G of awesomeness housed in a pink rubber case with Blue and Pink Kandies. I have been toying with her since the day I got her and I am hooked. I love that I can do everything with it.  Check stuff, play games and read.

Lately, I have been enjoying these apps the most.

Something Quick

I've been meaning to post something for several days now but been kinda preoccupied with stuff lately. I got a new toy and I have been doing nothing but tinkering with it since last week. I will write all about Kourtney next. :)

Oh, something exciting happened to me over the weekend but that is for another post. For now, just wanna say - I am still alive. 🙆

Sent from my iPod

TIA

For those who have no idea what this means TIA stands for This is Awkward. :)  Yep, I am hooked!  I am all caught up with this MTV series, thank you very much.  I love Jenna and it is absolutely possible that I am in love with Jake. :)  It is totally high-school, super fun to watch.

2nd season will start next year. I cannot wait. Woots. 


BTW, I am seriously running out of series to watch.  :|

Friday. Friends.

 

Gracie and Marl moved to the Eastwood site which makes my daily grind way less sucky.  Actually, it had been pretty awesome the past few days.  I miss laughing this much!  We would laugh about the silliest things and mostly I love having friends in the same building. :)


  This week we realized, now that the three of us are together in the same site, it could be challenging to keep within our budget! Yes! We find ourselves roaming the Eastwood mall to find which restaurant would bust our pockets next every night.  This is not good.  So over dinner last Friday, Marl and I made an agreement that we would only splurge during Fridays.  Gracie quickly agreed when I told her about this plan :)  Also, this way there will be something really nice to look forward to at the end of the week.


  To start the Friday habit, we ate at Pasto.  I really enjoyed the food and the price won't break the bank.  It is an Italian cafe that serve pizza and pasta the way I like it.  I can't wait to bring my other friends here.  It can be an after drinks kind of place - if you're sick of good ol' chinese or starbucks.  :D   I wish I had a better camera or just the good sense of taking more pictures, but here are the things that we ordered to share because we wanted to try different things as much as we can. :)

Spaghetti Alfredo with shrimps.  This can be ordered with chicken if you are allergic to shrimp.  Creamy parmesan sauce with black pepper.  Good.  

Arrabiata.  Now, this I really love! :)  Mildy spicy but really good - ooh, and it has bacon. *swoon*

Greca.  We were suppose to order Vegetariano but we realized Gracie might not like it.  So we opted to get this - which is also an all vegetable pizza. So, that kind of confused me a bit. :P  This is really yummy.  It has olives, capers, artichokes and feta cheese -which Marl loves. :D

To round it up, we ordered Raspberry iced-tea - REFILLABLE.  Yey!  I just wish we tried their antipasti too but we can always go back, no?

2011 Reading Challenge



As you might probably guess, I like reading.  I've always been in love with the fascinating opportunity we get, to be part of another universe - a different life while reading.  Beginning of this year, I took up a reading challenge over at tumblr.  I love this challenge!  It actually gave me an excuse to read as much as I want; not that I need an excuse anyway. :)

A couple of weeks ago, I just completed my challenge of 50 books! woots!  I read all sorts of stuff - but of course my all time favorites are Memoirs, Period Novels and yeah, YA books. I also found myself liking the dystopian novels which took me by surprise quite frankly because I like reading how things were before my time and not how it would look like in the future.

I read 50 wonderful books and the year is not even over yet! Isn't that exciting?! :)  Some of these books are beyond awesome, some I almost didn't finish because I lost interest halfway through but ultimately - books are LOVE. :)

Just like any other reader, I have favorites.  My top ten are as follows:

10.  Plain Truth - Jodi Picoult
 9.  Anna and the French Kiss - Stephanie Perkins
 8.  Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang - Chelsea Handler
 7.  One Day - David Nicholls
 6.  Looking for Alaska -  John Green
 5.  Divergent - Veronica Roth
 4.  The Sky is Everywhere - Jandy Nelson
 3.   Dash and Lilly's Book of Dares - Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
 2.  A Thousand Splendin Suns - Khaled Hosseini
 1.  Millenium Trilogy (Girl with the dragon tattoo, the girl who played with fire and the girl who kicked the hornet's nest) - Stieg Larsson



I know my number 1 choice is kind of cheating but I don't really care! LOL.  I love these novels!


Oh, and before I forget, the books in this challenge, they are all ebooks. :)  I still love the old school books, but ebooks are easier for me to carry and I have several choices whenever I need a quick read fix. So, I don't hate ebooks at all! :)

Meanwhile in TV-landia

I have always been a TV junkie.  I watch all kinds of things on TV and lately I have been hooked on new shows. :)


NEW GIRL - Zooey is love.  The cast is hilarious and true to its tagline, the show is ADORKABLE! :)

2 Broke Girls - When I grow up, I wanna be just like Max - BADASS!

Jersey Shore - okay, this one I did not see happening! haha.  One day, I was staying at home and there was a rerun and I got addicted.  I can't even understand half of what they are saying because of all the accronyms they use. But I am ADDICTED. :|

50. Fixing Delilah

And my 2011 50 Book Challenge is ovah!  This is the last book to complete it. :)

Fixing Delilah is a novel by Sarah Ockler about a girl trying to piece together her past in trying to move on to better future.  I love that the story revolves around the Hannigan girls and how they find themselves challenged when it comes to talking about their feelings and the things that happened to their families.  My favorite character of course is Patrick. I got really giddy when I read the love story between Patrick and Delilah. ♥


♥  It‘s complicated. I think when bad things happen—whether someone dies or people argue or split up—you get to a point where it‘s just too hard to go back. There‘s so much lost. So many versions of the truth. So many versions of how things might‘ve turned out differently. We all long for what could have been. For some people, it‘s just easier to move forward and try to forget.

Lately

Lately,  I've been having a fantasy of quitting my job and not caring.  I have this fantasy of quitting and just working in a library, or a bookstore or a specialty coffee shop.  Life would probably be easier. *sigh*

Train Love

Got tickets for the Train concert! I am sooo excited. :D  I cannot wait.  Here's my song till then..

Oh October...

You have been quite rough with me. I think it is only now that all the things that happened are settling in my mind. You have emotionally drained me, I am guessing. Today, I am very tired trying to figure out how to make things not bother me – and I am losing that mind game.




Breathe in, breathe out. One of the things keeping me together now is the knowledge that everything is working together for my good. God is wise and has a purpose for all these. I trust Him and I claim victory in His magnificent name.

 

49. An Abundance of Katherines

An Abundance of Katherines is another book by John Green.  I saw this book before but only started reading last week.  It is pretty interesting how the plot was written, about one boy falling in love with different girls with the same name! :)  I actually have no favorite character in this book but I kind of wish Lindsey's middle name is Katherine too. 


♥ What's the point in being alive if you don't at least try to do something remarkable?

48. Bossypants

I enjoy reading memoirs and Tina Fey's book is no exception! I love how I get Tina in the entire book. I can imagine her saying those words. And it is really funny!

Here is my favorite part:

First, Lord: No tattoos. May neither Chinese symbol for truth nor Winnie-the-Pooh holding the FSU logo stain her tender haunches.  May she be Beautiful but not Damaged, for it's the Damage that draws the creepy soccer coach's eye, not the Beauty.  When the Crystal Meth is offered, May she remember the parents who cut her grapes in half And stick with Beer.  Guide her, protect her when crossing the street, stepping onto boats, swimming in the ocean, swimming in pools, walking near pools, standing on the subway platform, crossing 86th Street, stepping off boats, using mall restrooms, getting on and off escalators, driving on country roads while arguing, leaning on large windows, walking in parking lots, riding Ferris wheels, roller-coasters, log flumes, or anything called "Hell Drop," "Tower of Torture" or "The Death Spiral Rock 'N Zero G Roll featuring Aerosmith," and standing on any kind of balcony ever, anywhere, at any age.



Lead her away from Acting but not all the way to Finance. Something where she can make her own hours but still feel intellectually fulfilled and get outside sometimes And not have to wear high heels.  What would that be, Lord? Architecture? Midwifery? Golf-course design? I'm asking You because if I knew, I'd be doing it, Youdammit.  May she play the Drums to the fiery rhythm of her Own Heart with the sinewy strength of her Own Arms, so she need Not Lie With Drummers.  Grant her a Rough Patch from 12 to17. Let her draw horses and be interested in Barbies for much too long, For childhood is short--a Tiger Flower blooming Magenta for one day--And adulthood is long and dry-humping in cars will wait.



O Lord, break the Internet forever, That she may be spared the misspelled invective of her peers And the online marketing campaign for Rape Hostel V: Girls Just Wanna Get Stabbed.  And when she one day turns on me and calls me a Bitch in front of Hollister, Give me the strength, Lord, to yank her directly into a cab in front of her friends, For I will not have that Shit. I will not have it. And should she choose to be a Mother one day, be my eyes, Lord, that I may see her, lying on a blanket on the floor at 4:50 a.m., all-at-once exhausted, bored and in love with the little creature whose poop is leaking up its back.  "My mother did this for me once," she will realize as she cleans feces off her baby's neck. "My mother did this for me." And the delayed gratitude will wash over her as it does each generation and she will make a Mental Note to call me. And she will forget. But I'll know because I peeped it with Your God eyes.






Amen.

Random Stuff

Lemme just post some random things from my life lately...

Happy Lemon is LOVE!  I am in love with this shop, my faves are Lemon Yakult and Cocoa Rock Salt n Cheese.

When I grow up, I want a juke box like this in my house.  This is currently played in Johnny Rockets. 

They serve the best Strawberry Milk Shake in town!! YUMMY! :)

I have long been wanting this slumbook and Chai found it in Cubao Expo! 

this is how Cinema8 looks like in between services. :)  I find it great since this is where small groups are usually held.

my friends are addicted to the photo booth app for iPhone. Awesome!

Next to Normal

The first run of Next to Normal in Manila was first quarter of this year.  I wanted to watch but I got lazy following up on tickets and such so it didn't happen.  Fortunately, there was a special run this month! woots!

My friends and I caught the 3pm showing last Sunday.  I liked the play, it was a bit heavy though. There were parts when I thought that Diana was better off dead. :|   But it was really good.  Jet Pangan played Dan really well.

I liked the musical score and until now am still singing I'm Alive in my head. :)

Quick Note

Dear God,


I am sorry that I grumbled when I should be thankful.  I should know better.. I know better.  Sometimes, situations get the best of me and I feel defeated.

I know that I must trust You but this traitor heart of mine sometimes make it difficult.  Again I am really sorry.

Thank you for making me realize my fault, for reminding me that I must enter every situation with a grateful heart.  That all things happen for a reason and all things will be beautiful in Your perfect time.

All things will be beautiful in Your perfect time.

Again, I thank you for being Awesome and Mighty and Wise.

Love,
Me

thoughts before sleep

Tonight before I rest, I realized that I have been immensely blessed.  I am thankful for so much. I am thankful for a really great time with friends. I am thankful that i got home safely. I am thankful for family and laughter and friends, old and new. But most of all, I am grateful that God is amazing and wise and always in control of my life. I am in awe of how great He is and humbled by the fact that despite my failures, He continuously shows me the things I need to see and talks to me through different people in my life .


Lord,

 I am and will always be grateful. I magnify your awesome name!

Amen.

--
Sent from my mobile device

47. Keeping the Moon

This is the first novel by Sarah Dessen that I've read.  It took me less than a month to finish this as I was I only read it if I'm in the mood. :)

This book is about knowing who and what you are.  About finding love - love for self and love from others.


♥ Being brave and self-confident doesn't necessarily start inside... It starts with the rest of the world, and it leads back to you.

This weekend.

I usually love weekend, but today I feel like this...

I have tons of work to do and I need to be in the office tonight - Saturday.  I wish I could stay home and do this...

**all photos from weheartit.com

Busted

That awkward moment when someone you blocked in twitter asked you why you blocked him!


ME: hahaha. How did you know? Hahaha.




True story. :|
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Sent via Nokia Email

Ephesians

At church we have been studying the book of Ephesians.  It is actually one of my favorite books to read, probably because I like reading letters and the book is a letter of apostle Paul to the people of Ephesus.  So I am truly excited to learn more about this.

The series will run for six weeks and we are now on our 4th week, 4th chapter of the book.  The past couple of days, I have decided to read Ephesians in both NIV and The Message version.  The Message version is still my favorite, mainly because it is so easy to understand.  It is not romanticized, the word is what it is.  These are two verses from Eph 4 that struck me hard.


26 Go ahead and be angry. You do well to be angry-but don't use your anger as fuel for revenge. And don't stay angry. Don't go to bed angry.27 Don't give the Devil that kind of foothold in your life.



I realized that I have to make a conscious effort in making sure that I follow these reminders.   I may seldom get angry, but I get annoyed a whole lot, with so many different things.  I realized that by harboring unpleasant feelings towards different situations I find myself in, I am opening myself to more awful positions - and I really don't want to be awful!


29 Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift.

 I noted in this verse that I have to also be very careful not only on things that come out of my mouth, but those that are running inside my head.  I would always say that my thinking mean of something is far better that me saying something mean.  But the reality is, it's just the same.  Both cloud the heart. 

Mosby

Mosby is little less than a year old.  When we got her, she is such a tiny pup and now she is humongous! She barely barks but my mom and I had a conversation yesterday about this.

Mom:  G, lam mo hindi talaga maingay si Mosby.  Kaya lang napansin ko tumatahol lang sha pag may nakikita sha nakakadiri like centepede or dead things.
Ga:  ayun! anak na anak mo lang sha dun sa kaartehan nyang yun teh!
Gian:  I'm so proud of her! hahaha

She is getting so big, when my dad walks her, he gets dragged already.

46. Genesis

Genesis is a science fiction novel by Bernard Beckett. I started reading this at 5a in the morning and by 2p I am finished. I find myself reading this kind of books lately and totally enjoying it. The lead character in this story is Anaximander, a history student that is new candidate for The Academy. I loved how articulate she is and how sure of her strengths.


♥ A society that fears knowledge is a society that fears itself.

♥ In the end, living is defined by dying.

45. Nineteen Minutes

Another book by Jodi Picoult, this took just a couple of days to finish. By now, I am pretty much familiar by how she writes. This story is a bit like Columbine in the sense that the lead character started shooting his classmates at school after a lifetime of being bullied. It is pretty easy to read and wasn't too heavy to deal with given the heart of the story. I didn't like most of the character in this book, especially Josie because I felt she is too wishy washy.

♥ Happiness is what you choose to remember.

Reminder

Today I've been thinking about things that did not come together as expected, of broken promises and of plans that did not pan out. I have been thinking how heartbreaking it is. It is so easy to be angry and bitter about it all. It is easy but it would not be right.

I kept reminding myself that some things have to fall apart so better things can be set up. God will not give me something that I cannot handle. So, I thank Him for giving me a strong heart. I trust Him and I know things will be okay.

Reading Pastor Dennis' blog, this verse struck my heart today, Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

And so, I will remain smiling and trusting and happy. I believe for amazing things in Christ's mighty name. Victory is ready for the taking.

Master

Yesterday, I was trying to get out of the office early because I wanna make sure to catch Masterchef. I was waiting for my teammates to finish fixing their stuff.

Gian: tara na! If di ko mapanood masterchef today, I'm going to be pissed!
MC: eh madam, kung di mo mapanood masterchef, master show man na lang watch mo!
Gian: hahaha. CHE!

happy happy joy joy

Okay, so I am super duper psyched about being able to accomplish something I have wanted to achieve since the minute I stepped in the company I work for. I have thought about how to do it; I have planned and spent so many hours working on it. I have prayed for it and many times, my team and I have “almost” achieved it. We have been in that space where we are but a breath away from the goal, a breath but still away. I did not lose heart though, because I know God is faithful. He promised me victory and I claimed it in His mighty name. Amazing he is always and to Him be all the glory.

Dear God,

Thank you. I lift up this win to you, glory to your name God.

In Jesus name, my Lord and savior,

Amen.

44. How to be good

How to be good by Nick Hornby is basically about a woman’s struggle to keep herself together despite the things that are happening in and around her. I love how Katie isn’t perfect and has quite a lot of questions and reservations about her husband’s way of being “good”.

I can totally relate to Katie. The way she would question her intentions, not fairly sure if she should do the right thing. It is so human.

♥ So now what? What happens when words fail us?

43. Second Glance

I read another book by Jodi Picoult. This wasn’t my favorite definitely, but this is one of the most interesting of her books. This talked about love, ghosts and eugenics.

I found eugenics really interesting because I cannot fathom people doing this to other people. It is ugly and wrong, especially if you look at it as the ground work for what the Nazi did then.

♥Love is not a because, it's a no matter what.

♥Heroes didn't leap tall buildings or stop bullets with an outstretched hand; they didn't wear boots and capes. They bled, and they bruised, and their superpowers were as simple as listening, or loving. Heroes were ordinary people who knew that even if their own lives were impossibly knotted, they could untangle someone else's. And maybe that one act could lead someone to rescue you right back.

♥People work too hard to figure out the meaning of their lives. Why me, why now. The truth is, sometimes things don't happen to you for a reason. Sometimes it's just about being in the right place at the right time for someone else."

42. Room

I started reading this book quite a long time ago, but I was only able to finish it recently. I was so bored in the beginning, it was really dragging. I just wanted to finish it already (not in a good way.) My favorite character is Steppa. The least favorite will be Ma.

♥ In the world I notice persons are nearly always stressed and have no time...I don't know how persons with jobs do the jobs and all the living as well...I guess the time gets spread very thin like butter all over the world, the roads and houses and playgrounds and stores, so there's only a little smear of time on each place, then everyone has to hurry on to the next bit.

No Life

My friend Noel said that I have no social life. And this just proves that. Yep I have no life.

41. Water for Elephants

I liked Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. I started reading and just couldn’t stop. The lead character, Jacob is my favorite. Both the old and young Jacob.

♥ Keeping up the appearance of having all your marbles is hard work, but important.

♥ Life is the most spectacular show on earth