happy family

papa gave mama red roses yesterday. awww...

i still cannot imagine how my parents have sustained the love that they have for each other. they still walk hand in hand on the way to Bangkerohan market on Sunday mornings, they still jog together. they still smile flirtatiously at each other. one time, i caught them stealing winks at each other during church services.

my parents have a weird love story. they only had a one-month courtship and NO friendship, contrary to what the elders keep on advising us, "Long friendship and short engagement makes a successful marriage." papa's first pasalubong to mama on his first visit to her house is camote. the next week, it's papaya. during their courtship, papa's first gift to her is a brassiere. mama's family doesnt like him because he isnt chinese. she is a daughter of a Chinese lawyer-politician from Cebu. mama was 22, papa was 24.

in one of their chats last year, they realized that they had actually met in their pre-teen years. papa was a popsicle vendor outside of an exclusive school where mama went to. everyday, mama would buy papa's products and she would always love to choose ube flavor. this is one thing that papa remembered in her a long time ago. who would forget this chubby girl who always disarranged his piles of popsicle inside the icebox? so every before dismissal time, papa would already prepare mama's favorite popsicle ube flavor. little did they know they'd meet again 15 years later.

now they have 4 children. the girls are 11 months apart from each other. the boys are 13 years apart. the eldest and the youngest have a 20-year age gap. all have straight shiny hair. hahaha!

This Feb 28, we will all be celebrating their 24th anniversarry. and i am hoping that the love that we all have for each other in the family will continue on.

their love story may not be the best story in the world but i believe that is the way God designed their love story to be - no friendship, 1-month courtship, but 100-year of companionship (who knows?). what matters is what they have established as a couple. what matters is not how they started but how they sustained the relationship up to now - with love and with God.

by the way, their love story won in the Best Love Story contest organized by Chowking last year. *wink*

new year's resolutions

it is not yet late to formulate my new year's resolutions, is it?

1. Wait on God.
2. Keep my mouth shut.
3. Do not get angry so easily.

So help me God.

listen to me..

first things first: happy new year!life is wonderful!this year will be a blast im sure.

"if a little birdie in the skydropped a poopoo in your eye, dont scream, dont cry. Just thank God carabaos dont fly!"

Blessings, blessing first:

1. my baby brother now knows how to count 1-20. Thanks to Barney!
2. we already have a DVD player at home...and i got addicted to Grey's anatomy. i will finish
watching Season 1 tonight.
3. i have the energy to check papers today! hope this will sustain until weekend.whew.
4. david and i got back together. Just today. God really works in mysterious ways.
5. i now know what's wrong with me. i am impatient, overeager, dominating, and untrusting.
now i know what to change.
6. i have semi-final plans for june.*wink*
7. i want to go to guimaras in summer! a friend is offering free accommodation. cool!2 years
ago, it was palawan. last year, i went to bacolod and camiguin. this time, its guimaras!
cant wait!i love being single!
8. i bought two books from PCBS yesterday. i learned a lot.
9. i got 600 for doing nothing yesterday. wahahahaha!
10. my friends are helpful for me to learn things about life. yes, i need help. at 22, i dont know
much.

the love of mothers

why is my mom soooo kind?

yesterday,i had a long day. not a very good day. at some point, i cried.

when i arrived home from work, i saw my room already cleaned up. my shoes were well-arranged, my dirty clothes were washed, my books and paper stuff were piled neatly. my bed sheets and pillow cases were changed, my pc has a cover already, and the floor was shiny. my room was changed for the better and i was sooooo happy seeing it and lying down on my bed.

while i was contemplating on the things that had happened that day inside my room, mama got inside carrying a plate of my favorite fried bananas. how can she be soooo good to me? not that im a bad daughter to her. i just wonder why moms can feel their children's needs. really amazing! mama is killing me with her kindness! waaaaah!

when she left my room, i said, "ma, salamat sa pag-arrange (holding back my tears)."

she asnwered,"ok na ka?"

waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

this morning, shes the first person who greeted me. she asked, "did you have a good sleep?"

i smiled. i had a very very good sleep.

bakit ba?

this morning i told my friend from the ad agency that i would treat her to lunch. just for a change. i rarely get a chance to talk to her heart to heart. her first reaction was, "Ikakasal ka na ba?"

i also invited through SMS my lawyer-friend to join us. his office is just a block away from the ad agency. he replied,"bakit, ikakasal ka na?"

after lunch i went to UP to attend our 2pm faculty meeting. when i arrived, i logged in to YM since my co-teachers havent arrived yet. i IMd one of my good friends from the university who is based in palau, just initiating a conversation..

rica: hi kuya!musta?what are you doing?
teofy: eto,preparing a long quiz for my students. why,are you getting married?

waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! bakit ba? do you guys see it coming?

who are you?

yesterday i went to AVON after 3pm to pay some dues. on my way home from avon, i decided to drop by at the nearest mall to buy some pasalubong for my mom and 2 brothers at home. i rode a jeepney and sat beside the driver. i paid 10 pesos for my fare and expected a 3-peso exchange. but no, he agve me 4 pesos instead. i placed the four 1-peso coins in my purse and felt guilty after. will i return the one-peso? the driver thought im still a student that's why he only got 6 pesos from my fare. can i be blamed i look like a student? For 2 mins, i struggled with the thought.

but a big part of my heart says i had to return the extra peso. i knew im not a student. if i wouldnt return that peso, that experience would haunt me forever. so i readily got the small coin from my purse and handed it to the driver, "Sobra binigay nyo,kuya." i did it with a smile.

i finally arrived at the mall. i unconsciously forgot that incident while buying KFC burgers. i bought six - one for myself, one for mama, one for opong, one for rr, and two for my two cousins who live with us. i happily went out and looked for a jeepney bound for bangkal. i was proud i bought food for my cute and fat family. hehehehe. the problem was, i didnt want to be seen by our neighbors bringing food while walking the 100-meter difference from the highway to our house. nakakhiya kayang magdala ng pagkain ayaw mo namang i-share...so instead of dropping at the highway, i asked the jeepney driver if he's going to tour around the subdivision to get more passengers back to downtown. he faced me and nodded. i was happy with the gesture becasue he would be passing by our house and he can just drop me off. but i saw a surprising stare from the driver's eyes. sensing that i got uncomforatble, he readily got back into driving but i could see him stealing glances at me. i was sooooooo uncomfortable. what is his problem? why stare at me like that?

our house was finally in sight. what a relief. i could finally escape his creepy stares. when i was about to get off, he said,"Ikaw yung nakasakay sa front seat kanina,diba?" i gave him a suspicious look. "kato gud nagbakbalik sa piso." my face brightenend. "salamat ha.."i gave him my sweetest smile and got off.

thank you also, kuya. thank you din, piso. you two made my day.

a poignant letter

i received an email more than a year ago from a guy who's also a member of www.adventistsinglesconnection.com. and i never forgot this letter from him. it has touched me. i read this a thousand times already and it has always moved like the first time i read it.

my name in the site is bigbaby, by the way.

*****

Bigbaby,

I am an Adventist man who is also a member of a generic "find-a-bride" site, where lots of Filipina Catholics about your age contact me. It's funny, but it seems fine when they contact me--a man my age--but considering contacting you is such a challenge. I guess that's because you are SDA and they are not. I can tell from your writing that you are very well educated while, of course, many of the young Catholic women who contact me do not know much English and seem mostly interested in getting to America ... rather than finding the man that God intends for them to meet.

What you wrote on your profile is quite different from anything else I have read ... here or in other sites where Filipinas search for a husband. You speak of mistakes made, being misled by your own interests instead of following God's leading, and about realizing the error and turning back to God's will rather than following your own into regrettable relationships.

If you knew my story, you would recognize that I am one who waited MUCH longer to turn back. And I have some deep regrets.But I always knew where God was, prayed like one long open prayer, while living a life outside the church. God never gave up on me, and finally, I couldn't resist returning. But even the return is slow ... but steady.

My reasons for seeking an Asian wife are many--not the least of which is that my sons are half-Asian. And that's simply where my attraction is. I don't want to put limits on the will of God, so I am open to whoever He points in my direction ... or allows me to find. But I sense that my natural attraction to the beauty of Asian women is inspired by God, and not anything I "invented" for myself.

My reason for seeking a Christian woman is probably somewhat selfish: I need someone to remind me not to stray. I need someone who will make sure that I go to church ... even when not feeling like getting out of bed on Saturday morning. I want someone who will not let me live like a Sunday-keeper who just happens to go to church on the Sabbath. I need a woman out of Proverbs and the Song of Solomon who will see part of her life's work as being the"task" of helping to guide he husband into the light and away from the "fleshpots of Egypt," so to speak.

I'm too old for you, Bigbaby. Don't feel embarrassed if you aren't comfortable writing back. Not that I wouldn't be pleased to hear from you or amazed if somehow I fell within the parameters of your search, but I'm a rational man with no illusions about where I am on the continuum. You have a lot more to look forward to than a 54 year old man--even one who might understand who you are and what you want a man to help you do in your life. Instead, my message to you is more about thanking you for reminding me that I am not the only one who has learned from drifting away and being willful ... and especially from finding that God is always willing to forgive and welcome us back. I hope that some young guy ... someone like me, but 20 years younger ... okay! 25 years younger ... finds your profile and feels the same about it as I do. God may be preparing him for finding you right now. Don't despair.

You are right to advise potential suitors that you are not interested in premarital sex. But when the time comes for you to lift that bas--when you marry--please remember that God invented sex, and that it is a wonderful gift meant to be shared between husband and wife with great abandon and surrender to each other. Never use it as a weapon or a bribe. You will probably face the temptation some day to use it as a tool to make your husband conform to your expectations ... but even if your motives are good, using sex that way can only diminish the beauty of the act and the depth of the intimacy between you. So avoid its misuse after you fully understand the power it will have over the man you will love ... and who will love you.

Crazy letter, huh?

Sometimes you just have to write what you feel you must. Know what I mean? May you continue in the direction your profile says you are going ... and not try to take back the reigns from the One you know should lead the way.

Curtis

****

just an hour ago, i came across his profile and found this:

met someone online ! Consequently I'm not looking anymore. I will leave the page as proof that you CAN meet someone this way.

By the way, she is a widow with two kids, an Adventist, and from the Philippines. She will join me here in the Spring.

****

wala lang. nakakatuwa. im happy for him. :)

nothing more to say and prove

i am back from bohol! i enjoyed being with my relatives. ill post pics here next time. twas a short but worthwhile vacation. but the highlight of all happenings happened last sunday night...in cebu.

i came home earlier than mama. i took the fast craft from tagbialran to cebu. days before that, i already texted earl to fetch me because i would be travelling alone and i dont know cebu very well. my relatives in cebu are in tagbilaran so there's no one to take care of me when i'd arrive in the heart of visayas.

as usual, he hesitated. too many excuses. earl is always like that. that was my 3rd time in 5months to ask him to fetch me from the pier or airport in cebu. when i arived in cebu pier, i just texted my not-so-close-friend to fetch me instead. she came. buti pa siya...

when i arrived at her house to take a few hours of sleep (my flight is at 5am the day after), earl texted. he said he would like to fetch me. too late..his strict father allowed him to make rounds in mandaue and lapu lapu to visit their security guards in different establishments so he might as well bring me along. i told him not to bother because i needed some rest. he would not believe me and so he went to where i stayed. he drove his car. yeah..he's already driving...

he wore the shirt i bought for him 2 years ago. the amicus shirt. hahaha.it had an "earl" at the back. i tried to recall where was my "rica" shirt that i bought together with his shirt. i sadly recalled that i left it in palawan last december. sad...i should have worn that too.

so i accompanied him around. he toured me. we went to different resorts and hotels checking out their security guards. earl has gotten stricter. poor security guards. they're reprimanded of their sleepiness, lousy uniforms, having no socks and caps, rusty pistols, etc. i laughed at him while he was talking to them. he's learning to be the boss...at 23.

while we were in montebello, he said many things about the past. our being immature, our letters, our tears and laughters. wala pa nato to nastoryahan diba?he asked. i helped him remember the breakup letter. he stopped me. it's not worthy to be remembered, he said. why? it was part of our past.

he said, "You just don't know."

"what do you mean?" i asked.

we gave each other our sweetest smiles.

my smile said..i did my best.. nothing more to say, nothing more to prove.

we exchanged the same smiles again when he got me at my friend's house at 1am.

but the message didnt change..thank you, earl.

im going to bohol

mama and i are flying to bohol very very soon. im so happy. it has been three years since i last visited my hometown. i miss the beaches, our house, and my not-so-close relatives.

the reason why we are going there is becasue my uncle from CA is coming and he's celebrating his 50th birthday at a very sophisticated hotel. he wanted his he-doesnt-know niece to be the emcee of his party and, of course, it wouldnt be complete if his favorite sister will not attend (my mother). the theme of the party is hawaiian. two days ago, i bought a cute skirt and blouse hawaiian dress. as expected, it's red. hehehe...

too bad i can only stay over the weekend becasue i have an exam to administer on monday, 8am!it would be better if it was scheduled later in the afternnoon of monday. at least, ill have more time bonding with my chinese cousins whom i havent seen for ssssoooooooooooo long. i know...i know...the exam cannot me moved so i have to be home sunday night.

yehey!i need this break. i need to travel again in order to be refreshed. welcome me, bohol!

me bad teacher

i felt so bad after leaving my fil1 class yesterday. i punished one student for not being prepared in delivering his talumpati.

i arrived in the classroom at 11:40.only half of my students were there. i understood. they are bio students and they always come from their college which is one-kilometer away. after checking the attendance, I waited fo the others to arrive. at 11:45, i finally decided to start their speech performance, one of their major requirements in class. i started calling names randomly.

after i heard two speeches, i called out Jeff for his turn. He said, "Ma'am , mamaya na,mamaya na, ma'am. Hindi pa po handa."

"Sinasabi mo yan sa akin, Jeff?" i asked him. He just gave me a shy smile.

But deep inside, I was pissed off. I gave them one week to prepare for their speeches, and here's a brat telling me he's not prepared?gosh...what a student!

i continued calling on other names. most of the time, i caught Jeffrey at the corner of my eye memorizing lines.

after everybody had delivered their speeches, i stood up and started telling them my comments. Jeffrey stopped me by telling,"Ma'am, ako po?"

"Jeffrey, tama na. sobra na."

and i saw the most dreaded expression a student can show me in class. i cannot explain it. it's not offensive in my part. it's an expression of being embarrassed. i hate to see embarrassed faces in front of me, much more if i cause the embarrassment. i hate seeing those because i know they are uncomfortable with the feeling. i hate those becasue im not used to embarrasing students in class.

i feel sorry for jeff. but i would feel "sorrier" for my self if i tolerated his actuation yesterday.

am i a bad teacher?

funny!this is true

Your True Birth Month Is October

SelfishDecisiveRomanticEmotionalConcernedDaydreamerSympatheticJust and fairLoves to chatBad temperedLoves outdoorsVery opinionatedStrong clairvoyanceAttractive and suaveEasily lose confidenceAlways making friendsDoes not lie or pretendTouchy and easily jealousInner and physical beautyTreats friends importantlySeldom helps unless askedEasily hurt but recovers easilySoft-spoken, loving and caringLoves those who love in returnSpendthrift and easily influencedDoes not care of what others thinkLoves to travel, the arts and literature

What's" Your True Birth Month?

another tiring encounter..

Boy (using his new number): Hows life rica? Whats new with you?
(no reply)
Boy : still up?
(no reply)

AFTER ONE WEEK....

Boy : Hows life rica? Whats new with you?
Me (pretending she doesnt know his new number) : Whos this?
Boy : _ _ _ _ _ _
Me : Regards mo ako nanay and tatay. hope they're doing fine.
Boy : Sure. Miss ka na nila.
Me : Miss them also. they're still in my prayers.
Boy : Nice to hear that. whats new with you?

(no reply)

AFTER 5 HOURS...

Me : bakit ngayon ka lang nagtxt? after 2 months...what for?

AFTER 3 HOURS...

Boy : Wala lang. masama ba?



Loser. Looooooooooooooooossssssssseeeeeeeeeeeer!

and a different love story begins...

i am soooo happy for my best friend, auje.

we started as phone pals in grade 6 then we became classmates in high
school. we met a cute guy in our freshman year. eventually, he got a crush on me and we exchanged love letters since then. my first love letter, as a matter of fact, was from him.auje became our bridge, literally. she sat between us in the classroom and was the "bridge" of our love notes. he and auje were of the same faith and became good friends as well. yeah, just good friends.

auje and i went to UPdil to pursue our beloved dreams. i'm into broadcast communciation, she's into geology. we never stopped communicating even if our respective colleges are kilometers apart. we always found time to catch each other's latest happenings on our love lives, academics, and extra curricular activities. isaw and barbecued gizzard strengthened our bond. auje is the bestest friend i ever have. i appreciate all her efforts to surprise me and send me cute gifts.

when i graduated, i left Manila right away. i left her also. feeling very lonely and abandoned by her "not-so-sweet" bestfriend (peace,auj..), auje sent me a message asking for the available math and physics subjects in UPmin. she planned to cross-register from UPdil. since i have been teaching in UPmin, she thought I knew the answers to her inquiry. i passed her on to reynan, our classmate in high school, who was also tkaing math and physics subjects in his architecture course.

little did i know that that "passing on" would create a wonderful love. at first, i would not believe becasue reynan is known of his uncertainties in dealing with girls while auje has a problem when it comes to commitments..but here they are, very ahppy with each other. technology and years of friendship have made the world smaller. look at their smiles, arent they genuine?

now, i am their bridge. i have been a witness of "their" story and i am sooooooo happy for them. God knows how thnakful i am to have witnessed a love story unravelling naturally.

cheers for both of you!:)

a miracle

i feel very happy nowadays. i must have been a vry good girl to Him.

who says having braces is fun?

my teeth suck now. the dentist tightened the braces again and i'm like it's my first time to have this mettalic mouth. i feel pain. i feel regrets. and i want to forget this feeling.

it's been a month since i last visited the dentist that's why he made major revisions on his masterpiece (parang revising an essay noh?hhehehe.writing teacher tlga ako!). usually, he just made minor adjustments like it's just the brace on one tooth or two. with that, i can only feel painless move of my teeth...but..but..but yesterday, he adjusted every tooth i have.argh!a payment of being a bad girl to him.

i want to sleep. i want to go home. this is not happiness anymore.

who says having braces is fun?

my son...my son...

when you were still in the womb, i shed pails of water. i didnt expect you're coming. you are unexpected. but when i saw your charming and angelic face, everone around you changed also. you are a blessing opong. you really are. you're the reason why i want to come home everyday. you're the reason why i always want to wake up becasue i can kiss your armpits and neck again.

you're 1 and half years old here in this photo. back then you already knew how to bathe without drowning yourself.


i always believe you are the sweetest among the four siblings. God made you so. you love sitting at our balcony enjoying the ants and mosquitoes around you. you always want to stay in our nipa hut in front of our house. you always want to stay outside our house.


many say you look like kuya rr. yeah i believe so too. i saw both you growing up and i must say you both look good to me.





"hello, banker?" you always say that every night. tatay mo ba siya?

now that you are 3 years old, i guess it's high time to tell the whole world about your person. i love you opong and i am proud of you.

who is your mother? who are your parents?do these facts matter?

do i look like oyur mother?do you wnat me to be your mother?hahahhaha.



happy birthday, opong!we all love you you!





happy birthday, opong!!!

my friend pluto...

one thing i like being with nature is the feeling of exclusivity. i love to be with my fellow creatures and think that we are just one - all created by the Master Maker up there.

look at Mt. Hibok hibok, the clean waters, the white sand and me in the volcanic island of Camiguin...do you think God was happy looking at us all when this picture was taken? i think He was...

about my friend Pluto, i do not feel sorry for him. i am sure he still feels special for he knows he is a beautiful creature, demoted or not, re-classified or not. he knows he is just one of the many planet creatures of God and he's happy he's not alone. even if people on earth forget his existence, he wont care. he knows he's just there with his companion planets and his Creator is loving him just the same. he need not despair.

who makes the qualifications of a planet? the astronauts? the NASA? of course not! they are not the ones who created Pluto or any other planet. only God can say which are planets and which are not. Pluto knows he is a planet so whether he's re-classified or not, he knows he will remain a planet. God tells him so and he believes Him. The scientists cannot change that fact.

sorry nalang...

umandar na naman ang aking ka-sentihan...

dati rati, kapag chine-check ko ang aking account sa SDA singles, pangalan mo palagi ang una sa listahan ng "Those who viewed your profile." pero simula nung july 2, ang araw na nagdesisiyon akong ayaw na kitang makausap at ayaw ko na ring makatanggap ng text galing sa'yo, hindi na naging parte ang pangalan mo sa listahan ng "who viewed me". miss na kita, grandprex...kahit naging masungit ako minsan..ay,palagi pala, mayroon pa rin akong nararamdaman.

****

happy birthday sa kaibigan kong taga-iloilo. 28 ka na. ang dami na nating alam na kwento sa isa't isa. simula nung nag-alok ka ng tulong sa akin, naging instant kaibigan na kita. maraming salamat sa lahat. masaya rin akong malamang nagsisisi ka na sa mga nagawa mong kabalbalan dati. natuto kang isuka ang kamaliang ginawa mo sa "pokpok" sa kanto ng bahay niyo. naramdaman mo na ngayon ang katok ng Diyos sa puso mo. first time kong hindi nagcocomment sa mga ganoong bagay dahil dati, kapag nakakarinig ako ng mga ganoong kwento, affected talaga ako. siguro nga natututo na rin akong tanggapin ang mga ugali ng mga taong hindi ko ugali. ang Diyos ay gumawa ng mga taong hindi pare-pareho. meron din akong mga nagawang kamalian at marami akong natutunan. baka rin, ang karanasang nangyari sa'yo ang siyang paraan ng Diyos upang ikaw ay matuto rin. hindi ako nandiri sa'yo. palangga pa rin kita.

sana palagi mo pa rin ang itetext.

****

at kay makulit na herbert, maghintay ka, darating din tayo dyan...

ill finally upgrade myself!

im finallly accepted by UPOU for 2nd semester.im so excited to get a life - to study again. im admitted for the program Diploma in Language Studies for Teachers (DLST). yehey!Thank God!

i chose that program because it sounds good...just kidding! its a field that i am not familiar with and want to know more about it. i am already bored with communication.heheheh...sorry,batchmates and college profs.

our fellowmen..

yes, you go to church every sabbath, you keep the sabbath holy, you pray and read the Bible everyday...But how do you treat people?

- Bro. Mike Kindom (during our week of prayer)