when God whispers your name

i love that book by max lucado. it just means so many things at different moments in life.
circumstances have been so mixed up these past few months that its hard to tell which way is right and which is left. the gray overlaps the black and white most of the time. its hard keeping things straight.

a friend of mine told me something that hits a very sensitive chord in me these days. so i couldn't help but mope and shed a few tears. i have to admit, i am getting good at this. after all, i am very human.

anyway, what started out as a "fun" chat with another friend turned into a very sentimental and meaningful conversation with a dear friend and sister in the faith. it just so happened that we logged in at the same time. something we haven't done in a while.

sidney and i met at the ccf retreat at subic about 7 years ago. we were in the same cell group. it was only over the weekend but i am so happy to have been good friends with her for all these years. i'm so sad to see her go off to singapore to join her twin, siendy. another one off. sidney in essence is also the same way my friend audrey is. both sister in faith and we have the same sense of humor and interests.

i do believe that God sends angels at the right time. This time couldn't have been better. sid has always been a voice of reason and we're there for each other. i'm so blessed to have her as a friend. she does not patronize and says it like it is. once again, she repeats what i have known the whole time but need to hear it more, "Cristy... wait." Argh! i know. i know.

Amazing how God has the patience i will never have.

the group at the subic retreat by ccf... the good old days...

wow.. we sucked at the jumprope challenge. we NEVER accomplished the task!

unsettled

You know how you wished for something for so long? You prayed, you did everything you could on your part to make that hope come true. Years of heart ache, tears, frustration and disillusionment. Then in one moment, there it is but it isn't what you hoped it would be like. Almost to the point that you are filled with malice and skepticism. You somehow wish it didn't happen after all because it just brings in more doubt and false intentions. I guess what they said was right, "Be careful what you wish for. You just might get it."

last bits of 2007

keeping with tradition (dec. 26)

as is our tradition for several years now, we usually have a jamora cousins' dinner on either the 26th or 27th of december after christmas. it all started with manang rina (numero uno) would treat us out after christmas day. just so we can bond and catch up with each other's lives some more. but since she was getting the shorter end of the stick, we all decided to take turns by two or more families, depending on the kid ratio of each.

this is probably my favorite part of the holidays since i miss out on spending christmas and new years with them.

2007 was my year along with the palmares, ana and michelle jamora. we actually forgot the original schedule and lost the scratch we wrote it all down on. so we just decided on 3 families this year.

we ended up at esca's and a bit short of the original number. its sad when people have their own lives already. work and families. that sort of thing that tends to take top priority, understandably. so we were just a handful this year. good for us though because we ended up saving on the bill (bwahaha). but it wasn't as good as the previous years. but we did have a lot of new faces joining us at the always rectangular table. welcome to yolly and kathy! san2 and david couldn't make it since they had some place to go to. same with tonito and tp. oh well.

a tabing ilog moment (dec. 28)

this was so reminiscent of that old show. our dean for business admin. invited us over to mianay where her family is based for their fiesta. they live in this area owned by the belo's (apparently they are related to that specific famous belo). they have this huge lake in the middle of hills and trees. reminds me of ungka and banate all at once. memories of childhood come flooding in.

some members of the hrm department were there, too so it was fun. with these guys, anything can happen, really.

the food was sooo good! one of the best lechons i have ever had in my life. i am not kidding you. the dinuguan that could make you sing it was that good. pantat cooked two ways, chicken binakol with ubod, adobo... it was a lot. just to show you how good it was, i am responsible for breaking the bamboo on the raft. first time it happened and it was my fault. joey was quick to document it.

it was fun drifting away with joart and jesser trying to maneauver the raft (in the lyrics from the producers : keep it light, keep it happy, keep it gaaaaayyy). it was so hillarious. agnes, the amazon woman that she is saved us from drifting towards the other end of the lake.

special thanks to agnes and her family for being so wonderful and overwhelmingly hospitable. it didn't matter that it rained a bit during the day. everything was serenely peaceful. makes you wanna pull out a blanket and just forget about everything for just a little while.

I AM THE NEW YEAR

I am the new year. I am an unspoiled page in your book of time.

I am your next chance at the art of living. I am your opportunity to practice what you have learned about life the last twelve months.

All that you sought and didn't find is hidden in me, waiting for you to search it but with more determination.

All the good that you tried for and didn't achieve is mine to grant when you have fewer conflicting desires.

All that you dreamed but didn't dare to do, all the you hoped but did not will, all the faith that you claimed but did not have --- these slumber lightly, waiting to be awakened by the tpuch of a strong purpose.

I am you opportunity to renew your allegiance to Him who said, "Behold, I make all things new."

- Bible Illustrator

Few hours to go 'till the new year. All my prayers and thoughts to you all. Have a wonderful 2008 everybody!

'tis the season

its hard to stay pessimistic this time of year. as much as you try there will always be reasons for your to remember what this season actually stands for. unconditional love.

you can either look at it with your glass half full or half empty. but to sum it all up is to see things through eyes of love.

you do get caught up in all the trimmings, food and gift giving. its hard not to have a smile on your face seeing a child with something unexpected. giving as much (or more) than what you get in return. its a cliche but i do wish that every day could be like christmas. people are more giving. more open. determined to make things better and more memorable. although i wish it could be less expensive but if you give with what is in your heart, it makes it all worthwhile.

i don't think i've laughed this hard before. everyone really outdid themselves this year. especially the ones i expected the least of all. worth every minute of it. hats off. i saw things i wish i could see and wish i would never see again. and i have the videos to prove it.

everyone chipped in this year. at the end of it all, it was a pretty good 2007.

CHRISTMAS EVE

probably the best gifts given to me this christmas came from these kids. money doesn't need to come into the picture. its the honesty and humility we all learn from this experience and the love that has no bounds.

as it has always been, this season is more about others than it is for ourselves. so to all of us, a merry Christmas! may Christ indeed be remembered today and for the rest of the year.

making things work

talk about a very busy day. bringing my brother and martin to the pier just in time for the 10am trip to bacolod to start with.

over the years i've come to befriend one of the kids there. literally, he was only 9 then. he's 16 now, i think. i keep forgetting his name, unfortunately. but he always makes my trips to the pier more fulfilling in more ways than one. the kid works hard and i haven't seen him smoke even once. i just hope that he has a better future than the others. smart and pleasing personality. here's to hoping.

icka's 2nd birthday was held at messe so joined tisha, rhet, pam, melissa and ana for lunch there. i love kids parties. i end up eating most of the give aways.

the theme was strawberry shortcake. it has been a long time since i've actually seen stuff with strawberry shortcake. i didn't even know that there was a cartoon on disney channel na and there are like 8 characters! i only knew 2! man! i'm old!

i love messe. especially at night. they have good food and the ambiance is so nice and peaceful. a dating place, in my opinion. the turtle pie is sooo good. a lot of good memories in that place so was glad to hear that i would get the chance to eat there again. wuhu!!!

had to leave early because i had to say hello to abuelita and pick up some people from work at sm, 7pm. apparently, all the hotels were full then so was almost everywhere looking for a decent place for them to stay. finally got to breakthrough at 9.

so glad i got to just hang out at coffee break afterwards and made chika with pareng mike. i was done by 12mn. still had another busy day the next day.

a david vs goliath story

everyone would agree that what we have is a case of the david vs goliath story. we're the first ones surprised when we win, actually. its so funny but i'm so glad this is happening now. the seniors deserve this and they have been training more than ever. its great to see a team unfold from a bunch of misfits with dreams of being the next big thing in capiz basketball.

indi gid ya serious.. hay naku...

where would we be without jp?

50% faith +40% heart+10%skill

table talk

tuesday...

got a text from irene to meet up at 9pm to plan emeelou's surprise shower party. i don't know how surprising it can get since its like common knowledge and practice anyway. she was pretty desperate with her text so anything i can actually do to help would be good. i can't attend emeelou's wedding since i also have to be at gerard and cathy's wedding that very same day in bacolod and i'm a bridesmaid there. so this would be the least i can do.

had a few games of badminton, thinking jing would be there since it was her birthday the day before. i forgot to greet her since i was making my way to roxas from bacolod. but she forgave me naman. whew!

went over to burp at around 9:30. mutya, aj and kat2 were already there and irene came a few minutes after. joy b dropped by as well.

its a funny thing to get high school friends together after so many years. too bad we haven't had a real reunion and its been over 10 years since high school. please... let us not count anymore ha? :)

a lot has changed most definitely. we're nearing 30 na! can't believe how time flies.

well, got everything done for the party except the venue. to be discussed further on friday. hope emee gets a good party. too bad can't be there for it. hay...

wednesday...

this time, jing played. not that many people were around so we got to dinner early. again, burp. hahah! but the steaks there are pretty good and a few other menu items. so who am i to complain?

julius came over as well. talked about a lot of things and had a good evening all in all. basta the lolas are together, sadya naman na. poor julius haha

city of smiles

the lunch at the office in iloilo is always a highlight for me. montelibano always does good food. i don't care if its almost the same thing year after year. i'm so easy ;)

met up with my cousins there. chit chat over lechon. ana cutting in line with us not far behind. i was so hungry! i don't eat breakfast when i travel because i still get car sick so i'm basically grumpy when i get to iloilo.

so glad to see a cousin in one piece after what happened to him last saturday. hay naku.. what a mess that would have made. thank God!

abuelita was making bola ting and she just has this very tarsa look whenever she does it. something about ting's P1,000 earrings naman. so funny but you have to see it to know what i mean. hopefully one of these days i can get a picture of her with that look. so priceless!

was rushing our way to bacolod because kel was so kulit nagid! pero he has his reasons man ;) so even though the wind was blowing hard and my mom warning us not to go to bacolod that day nalang... well, kel owes us big time!

had dinner at italia. been a while since we ate there. the oysters and steak was soooo good! its always good there so not a bad first meal back in bacolod. jen, kel and tin came by to join us.

saw marimon at east block with her "wares". there was a bazaar there gali so it was fun talking to her and buying her popcorn. soo good! but you really have to refrigerate it. marimon distributes the brand chef tony's in bacolod, apparently.

kel and jen slept over and we finally called it a day around 2am.

happy birthday, mom!

mom's birthday started out really, really slow. i wake up at 6:30 regardless of what i did the night before and its times like these that it really irritates me. i still wanna sleep but my mind starts racing about things that just frustrates me. haha its a curse.

did some chores. came over late for lunch and found out that it wasn't just us. i completely forgot that we were already having visitors over.

malou and richard brought over sophie. cutie! more pics of her soon. there' like a baby boom as far as i'm concerned. babies.. babies... and more babies. hehe

so happy to be able to doze off in the afternoon for a few minutes. got to see old faces and new ones at the party. the food was good as always.

one thing i can say about my weekend in general... one door closes, 4 just opened up. i am not gonna complain. :)

so happy to be going back again next weekend! wuhu!

gold rush

Dec 6, 2007

yes, practice does pay off. big big big time!

maybe it was the 6am morning air. the smell of hot pandesal. the feel of cold water to wake my snoozing spirit. but i was raring to go and this year, i was determined to keep my cool and just go with the flow.

in the past 4 years, i literally have more white hairs on the top of my head. yup! i counted. man! so this year, i wanna be what i smell.. like a cucumber, cool and good for eye bags ;D

although i did panic in more than one occassion, but i was better than last year. especially since we were all stuck in the middle of nowhere with over 30 kids under my wing. its tough.

we had our triumphs and our defeats but we all went through it in style, grace and we still made them fight for it. so i'm really proud of what we have accomplished and extremely grateful to all the people who made it possible.

got home around 8pm and i was out like a light. felt like throwing up and my brain was gone. woke up with almost 20 missed messages. sorry guys!

7 gold and 4 silvers, 2 bronzes. not a bad haul.

back to our regular programming

with the straubs gone and baby eva, things are back to normal. especially the food we have in the house. things are more quiet and i no longer have the sweet smell of baby on me. sniff!

its a friday and its fiesta time

well, for most of the people here anyway. i am still in a daze. most of the day i was glued to my computer finishing off some of the things dad got me to do. kept myself busy mostly.

came down to give michael money for the tournament fees tomorrow and was pleasantly surprised to be invited to an impromptu birthday party by 3 of our teachers whose birth dates were close together. namely, matt, tawi and harold. happy birthday guys! the lumpia, macaroni, carbonara and valenciana was sooo good. i was hungry na gid man. perfect timing!

its been a while since i've gone home in the dark all by myself. even with all the trees and the wind blowing, some people were freaked out by this but i'm fine with it. even the guard was worried about me. i just laughed it off. at least i disappear with a full stomach. just a joke! :)

bacolod time!

funny how its the provincial fiesta and i'll be making my way to bacolod tomorrow. can't help it if its my mom's birthday, too. just glad to get out of here even for a little while.