My TOP 10 Obsessions for 2010

1. Glee
Glee never fails to surprise and amuse me. Which is why I voted it number 1 on my list. The funny antics, the storyline and ofcourse the music, I can never get enough of it. I would watch my favorite episodes over and over. (I even bought two GLEE shirts!) I’m a certified GLEEK!

2. LIFE
Life is my favorite website for this year. It’s reading the story behind every picture. For photography and journalism enthusiasts, I recommend www.life.com

3. Healthy Living
People who see me now tell me that I lost weight. I could tell that I did lose some pounds. But I feel really great about it. Fitting into my old pair of jeans, I never felt so carefree about choosing clothes to wear. All I did was to limit my food intake and I walk a lot. I encourage my mom to do number 3. Trust me ma! You can do it!

4. Mystery Case Files
I’ve never been so obsessed with puzzle games before. But the Mystery Case Files game series really got a huge slice in my pie. I finished all the puzzles (with the help of some online cheats as I hate to admit it) I can’t wait to solve more.

5. KPOP
I hear it every morning, when I come home at night, and even in my dreams the sound haunts me! Hahaha. My fancy with KPOP started with my cousin, my brother and my sister singing and dancing KPOP everyday. I admit I was not interested at first, but there was really something about the music that got me. Suddenly I found myself, dancing and singing Korean music (trust me sometimes we really do sound like we were fluent in the language). I even added SEOUL to my top 5 foreign countries to visit in the next 2 years. Saranghae KPOP!

6. Reading all the books I’ve purchased from last year’s
I’m guilty for panic buying books and promising to read all of it asap. It’s hard I tell you, with work and the other stuff that I have to do. But I resolved to reading all the books (consisting of Sweet Valley High, Sweet Valley Twins, the classics such as Emma, The Prince by Machiavelli and Amy Tan’s books) I bought last year before the year ends. So far so good. I just have 16 more books to go (and it’s already December) Wish me luck!

7. My Passport
My nth time to prioritize my passport whew! After staying at DFA for 5 hours, I got my passport delivered to my office. I was so excited with my passport that I thanked my AIR21 courier a lot of times! Now, I’m off to see the world.

8. Our “Corporate” Chorale
We started practicing for our annual Christmas party competition. This year was a chorale competition. My obsession grew after knowing the members, singing wonderful music with them and after spending a lot of times laughing, crying and talking with them. I knew that our bond would last. What we’ve shared was not just a night of music to compete but also a lifetime of memories and friendships that we’ll cherish forever.

9. History
My fascination with anything old and historic got me glued with the holocaust. My boyfriend bought me the complete BBC Docu on Auschwitz and I bought other documentaries on the wonders of Egypt, Life after Man and other features by National Geographic and Discovery Channel.

10. Violin
Thanks to my ever-patient violin teacher, I can now play 3 Christmas Songs together with my brother and sister. It’s never too late to learn new things and I’m excited to learn and discover more.

My TOP 10 Obsessions for 2010

1. Glee
Glee never fails to surprise and amuse me. Which is why I voted it number 1 on my list. The funny antics, the storyline and ofcourse the music, I can never get enough of it. I would watch my favorite episodes over and over. (I even bought two GLEE shirts!) I’m a certified GLEEK!

2. LIFE
Life is my favorite website for this year. It’s reading the story behind every picture. For photography and journalism enthusiasts, I recommend www.life.com

3. Healthy Living
People who see me now tell me that I lost weight. I could tell that I did lose some pounds. But I feel really great about it. Fitting into my old pair of jeans, I never felt so carefree about choosing clothes to wear. All I did was to limit my food intake and I walk a lot. I encourage my mom to do number 3. Trust me ma! You can do it!

4. Mystery Case Files
I’ve never been so obsessed with puzzle games before. But the Mystery Case Files game series really got a huge slice in my pie. I finished all the puzzles (with the help of some online cheats as I hate to admit it) I can’t wait to solve more.

5. KPOP
I hear it every morning, when I come home at night, and even in my dreams the sound haunts me! Hahaha. My fancy with KPOP started with my cousin, my brother and my sister singing and dancing KPOP everyday. I admit I was not interested at first, but there was really something about the music that got me. Suddenly I found myself, dancing and singing Korean music (trust me sometimes we really do sound like we were fluent in the language). I even added SEOUL to my top 5 foreign countries to visit in the next 2 years. Saranghae KPOP!

6. Reading all the books I’ve purchased from last year’s
I’m guilty for panic buying books and promising to read all of it asap. It’s hard I tell you, with work and the other stuff that I have to do. But I resolved to reading all the books (consisting of Sweet Valley High, Sweet Valley Twins, the classics such as Emma, The Prince by Machiavelli and Amy Tan’s books) I bought last year before the year ends. So far so good. I just have 16 more books to go (and it’s already December) Wish me luck!

7. My Passport
My nth time to prioritize my passport whew! After staying at DFA for 5 hours, I got my passport delivered to my office. I was so excited with my passport that I thanked my AIR21 courier a lot of times! Now, I’m off to see the world.

8. Our “Corporate” Chorale
We started practicing for our annual Christmas party competition. This year was a chorale competition. My obsession grew after knowing the members, singing wonderful music with them and after spending a lot of times laughing, crying and talking with them. I knew that our bond would last. What we’ve shared was not just a night of music to compete but also a lifetime of memories and friendships that we’ll cherish forever.

9. History
My fascination with anything old and historic got me glued with the holocaust. My boyfriend bought me the complete BBC Docu on Auschwitz and I bought other documentaries on the wonders of Egypt, Life after Man and other features by National Geographic and Discovery Channel.

10. Violin
Thanks to my ever-patient violin teacher, I can now play 3 Christmas Songs together with my brother and sister. It’s never too late to learn new things and I’m excited to learn and discover more.

My TOP 10 Obsessions for 2010

1. Glee
Glee never fails to surprise and amuse me. Which is why I voted it number 1 on my list. The funny antics, the storyline and ofcourse the music, I can never get enough of it. I would watch my favorite episodes over and over. (I even bought two GLEE shirts!) I’m a certified GLEEK!

2. LIFE
Life is my favorite website for this year. It’s reading the story behind every picture. For photography and journalism enthusiasts, I recommend www.life.com

3. Healthy Living
People who see me now tell me that I lost weight. I could tell that I did lose some pounds. But I feel really great about it. Fitting into my old pair of jeans, I never felt so carefree about choosing clothes to wear. All I did was to limit my food intake and I walk a lot. I encourage my mom to do number 3. Trust me ma! You can do it!

4. Mystery Case Files
I’ve never been so obsessed with puzzle games before. But the Mystery Case Files game series really got a huge slice in my pie. I finished all the puzzles (with the help of some online cheats as I hate to admit it) I can’t wait to solve more.

5. KPOP
I hear it every morning, when I come home at night, and even in my dreams the sound haunts me! Hahaha. My fancy with KPOP started with my cousin, my brother and my sister singing and dancing KPOP everyday. I admit I was not interested at first, but there was really something about the music that got me. Suddenly I found myself, dancing and singing Korean music (trust me sometimes we really do sound like we were fluent in the language). I even added SEOUL to my top 5 foreign countries to visit in the next 2 years. Saranghae KPOP!

6. Reading all the books I’ve purchased from last year’s
I’m guilty for panic buying books and promising to read all of it asap. It’s hard I tell you, with work and the other stuff that I have to do. But I resolved to reading all the books (consisting of Sweet Valley High, Sweet Valley Twins, the classics such as Emma, The Prince by Machiavelli and Amy Tan’s books) I bought last year before the year ends. So far so good. I just have 16 more books to go (and it’s already December) Wish me luck!
7. My Passport
My nth time to prioritize my passport whew! After staying at DFA for 5 hours, I got my passport delivered to my office. I was so excited with my passport that I thanked my AIR21 courier a lot of times! Now, I’m off to see the world.

8. Our “Corporate” Chorale
We started practicing for our annual Christmas party competition. This year was a chorale competition. My obsession grew after knowing the members, singing wonderful music with them and after spending a lot of times laughing, crying and talking with them. I knew that our bond would last. What we’ve shared was not just a night of music to compete but also a lifetime of memories and friendships that we’ll cherish forever.

9. History
My fascination with anything old and historic got me glued with the holocaust. My boyfriend bought me the complete BBC Docu on Auschwitz and I bought other documentaries on the wonders of Egypt, Life after Man and other features by National Geographic and Discovery Channel.

10. Violin
Thanks to my ever-patient violin teacher, I can now play 3 Christmas Songs together with my brother and sister. It’s never too late to learn new things and I’m excited to learn and discover more.

Ever After

I’ve always fancied fairy tales. It talks about beautiful places, people, heroes. princes and princesses the list goes on and on. Adventure is always in the story. Themes would always include heroism, love, forgiveness and family. It’s the kind of story that you would want to delve into because of its endless possibilities. It’s as if you’re invincible to pain, death, anger and harm. Happy ending always ends the tale.

I remember when I was a child I would jump up and down in excitement hearing the phrase “once upon a time…” That phrase would bring back happy childhood memories of my papa reading to us late at night or my aunt mimicking the voices of the characters.

I guess when you grow up, when you feel like you got smarter and wiser to be fooled by such stories that you also become invincible to hearing happy stories. I guess its because you know the reality you’re living in. But that’s what I miss the most. Being amazed by good deeds, dreaming of adventure, waking up in the morning wishing I was in a castle. But life goes on. We realize there is no prince charming to save you from a burning castle, a fairy godmother who would grant you three wishes for the day or that with a snap of a finger all your house’s mess would suddenly be in order.

I miss imagining what happens after “they lived happily ever after”. Did the prince and princess have children, were they together for the rest of their lives or did they grow apart? That’s the thing about fairy tales. There’s always a happy ending. No matter what the protagonist goes through, no matter how powerful and conniving the evil witch is, fate always seem to get things in order. Just how a happy ending should be.

Bukas Palad's New Album Christify

Last Saturday, my family and I watched a concert of the Bukas Palad Choir. I’m literally a fan of liturgical songs and I believe that these meaningful songs play a huge part in the mass. These are songs that empower you, inspire you and brings out emotions that you can’t express. Mass songs played a huge role in my life not only because my late father used to be a church choir organist, but it’s also because those songs gave me a lot of strength during the low points in my life. Anyway Bukas Palad opened the program with the lively “Let Your Praises Be Heard”. I love that song. It made me dance for joy because I felt God’s love right then and there. After a brief introduction the choir sang the immortal compositions of the Jesuits. The first note of Sayo Lamang gave me the chills. I was listening to such beautiful music that it made me cry. The lyrics was so deep and real, added with the accompaniment of a beautiful melody, I just cried. My mom who was seated next to me was also crying. The first part of the concert featured the popular songs while on the second part, they sang songs from their new album Christify. (I bought the CD and the music sheets by the way!) Anyway, one of the choir members said that Christify was about how we could live our lives according to the will of God. He said that giving praises to God does not end with the recessional song, the true challenge begins there. I love all of the songs from Christify. My favorites are Kailan Pa Man, Miserere, Magnificat and Sa Tahanan ng Poon.

My mom usually says that singing church music is twice as good as saying a prayer. Maybe it’s because you get to praise, pray and sing to God at the same time. I met some of the members after the concert and I can’t help but say thank you to them. Truly they have touched many people that night in many ways that they can ever imagine. How wonderful it must be to be a part of something so amazing! After the concert, I was so inspired that I one of the lines from the song “Amare et servire” which they sang kept on playing inside my head. In omnibus Amare et servire Domino.” In everything love and serve the Lord. That’s what I will do exactly. From this moment on, I will do everything for the love and service of God. Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam!

A gift from Papa

Last night my siblings, my boyfriend and I watched the world renowned violinist Uto Ughi. Uto showed brilliance with his music. I remember sighing after I heard him play Beethoven's Spring Sonata and his last piece the meditation. I was literally clapping out loud. Many people came to watch the concert but we got our tickets for free. It was such an experience to share that moment with the people I love.

Anyway last night was also my late Papa's birthday. He would have been 46 now. While we were waiting for the shuttle, my sister whispered "Uto is right behind us". Apparently Uto together with his also exceedingly gifted accompanist that night Alexander was waiting for their ride home. I couldn't stop myself from approaching them and asking for their autographs. Uto and Alexander did not hesitate to give us their autographs. They were very friendly and they were even praising each other for their respective performance that night. My boyfriend took our pictures. After that moment my boyfriend told us that he saw Uto carrying his violin with the strap branded Garnieri. Whew! Uto plays with a Stradivarius and a Garnieri by the way. Tow of the finest violins in the world for its rich tone! These violins are so rare that one time a Strad was auctioned it was sold for about 3 Million dollars. I would die to have just one but Uto has two! I believe his violins were made during the 17th century. He deserves it anyway.

It was a gift from Papa. Because we were the only ones who got their autographs and pictures. Everyone was waiting for them at the lobby but apparently they left right after the performance. We were fortunate enough to spot them at the artist's entrance. After our heavenly moment with the two great artists their car was just on time to pick them up. Other people who saw what we did, did not have the chance to get their pictures with the artists. We were so lucky. I feel somehow guilty though because I was in Cloud 9 that I forgot to take the camera from my boyfriend so that he could have his chance of having a souvenir too. I remember him telling me again and again how he admired the pianist during the performance. Sorry hon. I'll make it up to you.

After that we immediately called our mom to tell her our winning moment. I knew my mom was somehow emotional that night because he missed our Papa. Six years after my father's death, sometimes moments like that still happen when you just remember him and you cry because you missed him. Anyway I know Papa did something in heaven that's why God made this whole surprise to us.

Thanks Papa for the gift. We love you and we miss you!

Keep an eye on all of us okay?

Rainy days are here again

It was a hot and sunny day when I woke up. Yeah it was still summer but it's the last week of May. Soon, rainy days will be here again. I was packing my things as I prepare to go to work, ate my breakfast and headed off to work. Then suddenly "drip, drop, drip, drop". It was raining. I couldn't help but to make my face come out of the jeepney's window and marvel at this sight. Rainy days are here again. Suddenly everything became darker. Dark clouds started to fill the city. The jeepney driver even had to open his jeepney lights so that he could see the passengers. One even said"may bagyo yata." The wind was blowing hard and everyone started to complain "wala akong dalang payong!" "Naku wala akong dala na tsinelas" I can't help but to put a smile on my face. I felt so happy that it was raining. Maybe it was because after all the heat and exhaustion for two months, like how it was meant to be, like how God designed it to be. The rain came. It was like it took forever for it to get here but it did.

Maybe the reason why I felt that way is because sometimes in our lives we are face with situations that would make us feel trapped. As if we're never going to get away with it. And that time stops at that moment and we just feel, sad and depressed. Accepting that misfortune is our fate. But the rain reminded me that "it will come" Happy days will come. What I want in my life will come. I was reminded to be patient aand to wait with a hopeful heart. Maybe someday whatever we want will come just when we least expected it.

Thank you Lord for the rain today. If the fulfillment of having what I want would feel like what I felt when I saw the drops of water falling from the sky, then let your will be done. I'm willing to wait...