just wanted to say...

happy birthday mik!!!


online gift ko. ahihi... made it myself. :)

time check: 10:40 PM | 4 rambled with her

nostalgia

my mom made me do something i should have done weeks ago... sort out the humongous pile of toys in the basement bodega. to keep, or not to keep? that is the question. first of all, the pile was really huge. second, i hate parting with things. everything seems to have a sentimental value for me. i had no choice, however. with the help of my ever-reliable brother (and mama, of course) i was able to finish the seemingly impossible chore just in time to squeeze in a few more games of star wars battlefront before bedtime.

sorting through our toys made me realize so many things. i miss the times when my sole purpose for going to the grocery store was to buy batteries for the ballroom lights of my polly pocket mansion. i miss the times when my "clothes dilemma" involved what barbie should wear to teresa's party. i miss the times when "cooking" meant tossing fake, plastic carrots, cabbage, meat and tomatoes into a flowered pot. i miss the times when self-defense meant wielding a sai or katana alongside my bro, "michelangelo," against the evil shredder. i miss the times when my brother and i were "mayors" of our lego town. i miss the innocence, the optimism, the idealism, the creativity, the simplicity - the sheer joy of being a child.

mik keeps telling me i'm too k.j. nowadays. it's true. before our sem break, i'd go home on friday nights, lock myself up in my room to study, go downstairs to eat, study again, then leave for manila on sundays. i avoided the ps2 like a plague. i stopped making up adventure stories with him like i used to. i talk, act and worse, worry like a full-grown adult.

take note that i said "like a full-grown adult." i still whine like a baby. besides, barbie still has more clothes than i do. :P


verse for the day:
but jesus called the little children to him and said, "let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. i tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." [luke 18: 16-17]

time check: 10:37 PM | 1 rambled with her

baptism by fire

wow, had my first driving lesson this morning. it really is such an experience. ika nga ni ants, "baptism by fire." (hence, the title)

i was a nervous wreck the whole morning. i was so scared of hitting hard-headed pedestrians, stray dogs, insane jeepney drivers, innocent trees... anything. sure, the car was insured... but i'm not sure if i am. i don't wanna die!!!!!

judgment time came sooner than i hoped to. i followed my instructor to the garage. he pointed to a car - a toyota altis, i believe. i wrinkled my forehead. i knew i asked for a lesson in driving a manual car. the altis was automatic, right? i tried checking the stick shift through the window. "not that one," he called to me. he pointed to a toyota revo next to the altis. "this one." let me tell you, nanlaki yung mga mata ko. hoy, maliit na babae lang ako. pang-kotse ako, tapos revo ang ipapamaneho niya sa akin?!?

but it turned out okay. even though the first road i drove through was a main road, i survived. the "car" died about five to six times. i noticed that whenever it died, the instructor lost no time in restarting it. ang galing, halatang sobrang sanay na namamatayan ng makina. i also turned before i should have, almost plunging ourselves into a shallow canal. everytime i'd brake, i'd hit it too hard, too fast, and the poor revo would lurch. if i'd accelerate from a full stop, i'd fully release the clutch, instantly killing the engine. tsk, i have so much to learn.

point of story: i did not hit any vehicles, people, animals, plants or inanimate objects. i also did not die. one session down, nine more to go. kaya ko 'to. :D

---

ang galing, i got this email from daddy. i think we can all learn from our very own miss international: precious lara quigaman.

Miss International - THE WINNING ANSWER
q: "what do you say to the people of the world who have typecasted filipinos as nannies?"
a: "i take no offense on being typecasted as a nanny. but i do take offense that the educated people of the world have somehow denigrated the true sense and meaning of what a nanny is. let me tell you what she is. she is someone who gives more than she takes. she is someone you trust to look after the very people most precious to you - your child, the elderly, yourself. she is the one who has made a living out of caring and loving other people. so to those who have typecasted us as nannies, thank you. it is a testament to the loving and caring culture of the filipino people. and for that, i am forever proud and grateful of my roots and culture."

needless to say, she received a deafening applause from the audience.
 
now ask yourself this: have you heard anything as patriotic or heartwarming from any of our useless politicians?
i rest my case. :P


verse for the day:
"if your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times he comes back to you and says, 'i repent,' forgive him." [luke 17:3]

time check: 11:27 PM | 3 rambled with her

oh... stuff

dapat ganitong quizzes ang binibigay sa med eh. :P

Your Seduction Style: Fantasy Lover

You know that ideal love that each of us dreams of from childhood? That's you! Not because you posses all of the ideal characteristics, but because you are a savvy shape shifter. You have the uncanny ability to detect someone's particular fantasy... And make it you. You inspire each person to be an idealist and passionate, and you make each moment memorable Even a simple coffee date with you can be the most romantic moment of someone's life By giving your date exactly what he or she desires, you quickly become the ideal lover. Your abilities to make dreams come true is so strong, that you are often the love of many people's lives. Your ex's (and even people you have simply met or been friends with) long to be yours. No doubt you are the one others have dreamed of... your biggest challenge is finding *your* dream lover.

haha... as if naman...

Your English Skills:

Grammar: 100%

Punctuation: 100%

Spelling: 100%

Vocabulary: 40%

ang bano ng vocab ko... :P

You Are a Beagle Puppy

Cheerful, energetic, and happy-go-lucky. And your sense of smell is absolutely amazing!

awwwww... ang cute ng beagle! di ba beagle si snoopy?

---

"how many times have you sat in the grass and done nothing?" this thought-provoking question came at exactly the right time: smack dab in the middle of my busy semester. today, i was finally able to do just that. there was no grass - only the cold, marble floor - but i guess it was enough. i did absolutely nothing, and boy, it sure was worth everything. :)


verse for the day: i know what it is to be in need, and i know what it is to have plenty. i have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. i can do everything through Him who gives me strength. [philippians 4:12-13]

filipinos should read the Bible more often. we continue to complain when we are given so much.

time check: 11:08 PM | 0 rambled with her

death

oh, don't think this post is morbid because it's not.

i lost a dear friend today. tita linda was my dad's secretary, but to me, she was so much more. she was my yaya whenever my dad - an orthopedic surgeon - would leave me in his clinic to operate on some poor person who broke his or her bones. she would buy me french fries from the mcdo below the hospital for my merienda be it morning, afternoon or evening. she held my hand and whispered words of comfort as i tearfully awaited my mother to emerge from her biopsy (they found a lump in my mama's breast which, by God's grace, turned out to be benign).

last wednesday, we visited her in the hospital. her kidneys were already failing pero may konting lakas pa siya nun. tinatarayan pa niya yung mga nurses at interns na nang-iinterview sa kanya. before leaving, i kissed her goodbye. i knew that would be the last time i'd see her alive. kagabi, nag-comatose na siya. this morning, she peacefully passed away.

magkasama kami nina mama at papa sa kotse kanina, nagkukwentuhan. katabi kasi nila si tita linda sa huli niyang sampung minuto. wala na raw pupillary reflex nung tinapatan ni mama ng penlight ang mga mata ni tita linda. "pinag-aralan mo na ba yung pupillary light reflex?" tanong ni papa. *tungo* tapos kakaiba na raw yung breathing niya. something to do with encephalopathy daw. "eh yun, naaral mo na ba? pathology pa yun, di ba?" naisip ko yung nangyayari sa tao pag hindi na gumagana yung liver. umikot sa utak ko ang lahat ng inaral ko sa biochem (o kung ano na lang ang naaalala ko). tapos naisip ko yung nararamdaman ni tita linda habang nagaganap yun. nanlabo ang paningin ko. masakit malaman ang pinagdadaanan ng pasyente. pero mas masakit malamang wala kang magagawa.

sabi ni mama sa akin, thankful siya dahil nasa magandang lugar na si tita linda. "are you?" tanong ko. nagkwento ulit si mama. last week, binisitahan daw si tita linda ng pari. tinanong siya kung gusto ba raw niyang magkumpisal. sabi niya, nagawa na raw niya. dumiretsyo na raw siya sa Diyos.

i guess i had nothing to worry about. she's so much happier now. basta wag lang niyang tarayan yung mga anghel dun. :P

---

let's continue to pray for the victims of the earthquake in south asia. the death toll is between 20,000 to 30,000.


verse for the day:
i will not leave you as orphans; i will come to you. before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. because i live, you also will live. on that day, you will realize that i am in my Father, and you are in me, and i am in you. [john 14:18-21]

time check: 10:26 PM | 1 rambled with her

still html illiterate

finally, i decided to get a blog and actually make it. after six days of reading html tutoring websites, and practicing with my trusty laptop, i still don't understand an ounce of html. sigh, maybe someday...

i just finished reading the sixth harry potter book last night. i almost cried! para sa mga hindi pa nakakabasa, no, i won't reveal who died. basahin nyo na lang. ang lungkot talaga. i was hoping j.k. rowling would put this twist in the end to make things good again. fat chance. luckily, there was a bag of oreos nearby so my depression only lasted 10 minutes. may seventh book pa naman. there's this rule naman in childern's books that good must always win over evil in the end, right? right?

on to heavier things... let us all pray for the people of india and pakistan. there was an earthquake yesterday, about 7.6 in the richter scale. so far, the death toll is around 20,000. i heard from t.v. that some of the buildings that collapsed were schools. and because, for some strange reason, there were classes on a saturday, many children were trapped underneath piles of rubble. this kid is one of the lucky ones who survived. pray tayo for the victims and their families, okay? :)


verse for the day:
blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. [matthew 5:4]

time check: 10:15 PM | 1 rambled with her