From the monthly archives: February 2007
I’ve been a viewer of Pinoy Big Brother since the first season, and I am kind of excited for this new season…and in connection with this, I present to you: Chismosang Kapitbahay! :) It’s a blog where I talk about anything connected to PBB Season 2. My take, my opinions, my observations and whatnot. :P Comments are highly welcome; now come on and be a chismosa in Big Brother’s house. :D
Today, I went back to one of the loves of my life, GK.
Now before you go thinking that this is some boy, no, it’s not. If you’ve known me for a while, you would probably know what I would be talking about, but if not, GK stands for Gawad Kalinga. To give you a formal definition of what GK is:
Gawad Kalinga (GK) translated in English means to “to give care”, and it is an alternative solution to the blatant problem of poverty not just in the Philippines but in the world. GK’s vision for the Philippines is a slum-free, squatter-free nation through a simple strategy of providing land for the landless, homes for the homeless, food for the hungry and as a result providing dignity and peace for every Filipino.
The first time I visited a GK site was during my first Summer House Training (SHOUT) with YFC High School Based. One of our activities for the week was to visit a GK site. Back then, GK wasn’t really that big yet. We visited one of the biggest GK sites in Bagong Silang, Caloocan. At that time, all I thought about GK was like Habitat for Humanity or something like it — all building and such. So what I was really looking forward was the builds. But when I got there, I got to meet some of the kids, who were all soooo sweet. =) They stuck to us like glue, and I know some people had a life-changing experience because of the kids. It really didn’t matter that much to me yet, because I was just really doing it because I was a YFC leader and it’s expected of me.
Now where should I start? You’re one of the reasons why I am where I am right now, and why I am who I am. I wouldn’t be back in the community if it weren’t for you (and Myka) always asking where I was, “bugging” me to go to the tambayan. I knew there was a reason why I went to the discovery camp back in 2004 (and Engel saying I was her simple joy) was because I’d meet you.
I’ve only known you for two and a half years, but I feel like we’ve known each other all our lives. I love how you understand me and my quirks, how we always seem to understand each other, how comfortable we are about talking about God. I love how assured you are of God’s love, how dedicated and passionate you are of GK. Most especially I love how you never judge a person, but you love them just the same. Actually, there’s so much I love about you, and that’s why you’re my best friend — too many reasons to write. ;)
On this special day of yours (which I missed by 4 minutes last night!), I pray that God will bring you to places where you could shine even brighter than you do before. I pray that God will continue to make your heart bigger so as to accommodate even more people inside. I pray that He takes care of you and your mom and everyone else you love. I pray that despite all the trials you have experienced and will experience in your twenty-first year, you will still continue to smile and laugh and make other people smile and laugh, because the world wouldn’t be the same without that Beaboo cheer. I pray that you touch more lives, that they may see through you (just as I have) that God is a good and loving God. I pray that our friendship will last longer, grow stronger, until we are all old and have our grandchildren playing with each other in your big flower garden, where we will all spend our afternoons with our GG’s and closest friends. And finally, I pray that on your twenty-first year, you’ll grow into the woman that God has made and is making you to be. :) Actually there’s so much more I pray for you, but it won’t fit. :P
Bea, Beaboo, Bei, Liberty, Billie, Boo, Pink 5, Awesome Chick, Princess…so many names, all the same great woman. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARIE BEATRICE LIBERTY O. CORTEZ! :) You don’t have to be demure for people to love you; we love you just the way you are, Princess Chick. :D Sister to sister, yours in life and death. I love ya, soul sister. ♥
February 25, 1986: our parents and grandparents rallied in EDSA to throw a dictator out of presidency and in turn, change the country. It was the change that everyone is waiting for. It was the promise of a new life for our country.
Twenty years later, another group gathered on this day. While everyone else was rallying, blaming the government for the country’s misfortune and while the entire country was in a state of emergency, other people chose a different path and decided not to point fingers of blame but to start doing something more worthwhile, something that actually works.
February 25, 2006. GK1MB is born. 1 Million Heroes, out to help raise the Philippines from poverty. 1 Million Filipinos not joining any rallies, not taking any sides, not pointing any blame, but accepting responsibility and acting on it to bring the country (and everyone else) up instead of down.
[Click on the image to see a larger version]
One year later. February 25, 2007. On the 21st anniversary of the EDSA People Power 1 revolution, be a hero. Join the GK 1MB National Build nearest you! Click on the image to see the details. ;)Let’s go, friends! Let’s pick up our construction materials, arm ourselves with a smile and join other heroes in rebuilding this nation! :)
For more information, visit www.gawadkalinga.org. :)
Has anyone noticed how hot it has been lately? The kind of hot that seems to burn down on your skin? Ergh. It’s sad that the cold weather is already gone. As much as I love bright and sunny days, it’s just so hard to go out under the relentless sun.
Although this kind of heat reminds me of some fond afternoons and nights. Like sitting in front of electric fans set to number three while reading or watching TV…or long conversations under the shade of some trees, waiting for a breeze. Bumming around at home, watching TV all afternoon while munching on Chippy and washing it down with a big glass of ice cold Coke. Summer afternoons eating P15 halo halo at Dingalan, or sleeping on a mat outside the small yard of one GK house in Dingalan, Aurora for siesta, resting for the afternoon before going back to build work before dinner.
Ah, summer. As much as I hate the heat, I can’t help but love you. This summer though, since I am working and still have no available leaves, there won’t be too much summer outings for me. :( Unless I go on weekend trips, but they’re always so bitin. Hmmm.
But anyway. I won’t think about summer just yet because another significant event has to happen first before I can feel it’s summer already. :P More on that significant event later. What about you, though? What are your plans this summer?
Random things before I go: I’m listening to Anberlin‘s Cities…and it’s good so far. Yez, new music! Haha. :) Oh yeah, and I’m nominated here…along with 70+ other people. Good luck. But whoever nominated me, thanks! :)
Please let my PC have internet tomorrow. Please? More to that tomorrow, if I have Internet. :P Good night world.
Because I had nothing else better to do tonight, plus I spent the entire day working on this, I decided to upload the new layout and upgrade to WordPress 2.1. Yay. Unfortunately, there are still some things I have to upgrade in this layout and change for the new WP version, which will have to wait until tomorrow because it’s late and I have two birhday greetings to do and I have to sleep.
But in the meantime, enjoy this very…pink layout. This might stay a while, as long as I don’t get sick of it. :P Some things are still kind of confusing me (like where did my next and previous links go??? never mind, I found it), and I hope I could fix them all by tomorrow. If not, I’ll try to get them all done this week. :D
Anyway, it’s bed time. I have to say that WP 2.1 looks spiffy. :P But like I said, it’s bed time. Good night everyone!
P.S. I know! Go drop by Godchicks while I fix this! :) Go on, click!
So how was your Valentine’s day? Mine was okay. I wore red, because I felt like it. People in the office asked me if I had a date, to which I answered “No” with a smile. I saw flowers being delivered all over the office and the mall, but it didn’t bother me as much as it did the past years. I felt really pretty in my favorite red blouse and khaki pants, enjoyed free lunch thanks to my boss, and I was happy with just doing my work, plus spiffying up Godchicks and promoting the site to everyone who I would come across.
I wasn’t expecting anything that day because who would send me anything on Valentine’s Day? I’m pretty much resigned to the fact that I would have minimal gifts for that day until God gives me His gift, and keeping that in mind makes me less bitter for the occasion. So imagine my surprise when that rose (see picture) arrives at the office, with my officemates giving me friendly jokes about who gave me the rose.
I received a rose for Valentine’s Day. With that cute little bear. In a big box. Wow. Don’t I feel special!
Oh, and in case you’re wondering, it’s not from someone. It’s actually from a vendor (work related people, in short), and they gave roses to the girls they know here in the office. :P Anne, my officemate, got one too, and we’re like two of the few remaining singles here in the office.
But it was a very nice surprise. :) No matter how much people say that Valentine’s Day is commercialized, flowers are overrated and that roses are old school, it still feels good to receive flowers from someone, especially on that day. Come on girls, admit it! It’s enough to make you smile and blush slightly. :P
Anyway, so that was Valentine’s Day. Because of all the hoopla with Godchicks, I was focused more on that than on this. :D And speaking of Godchicks, I posted something there earlier that I’d like to share with everyone. :D
This is one of my current favorite love songs, sang by the young, beautiful and talented Bethany Dillon. I’ve been listening to this song around November, and I love every bit of it. It’s perfect! Read the lyrics:
For My Love
Bethany Dillon (2004)
Walk towards me
I want to hear
The heavens singing over you
When you breathe
And look at me
I want to be captured by youGaze into my eyes
And let me know you’d fight
Thousands, for my love
Slip your hand in mine
Ask me to dance with you tonight
Just ask me for my loveI want to hide
What’s deep in my eyes
I’m scared to be known by you
But when I turn my head
And see you there
I want to be pursuedA dream I won’t wake from
A story that will never end
The ground your feet walk on
Let me be there, let me be thereBethany Dillon: Acoustic Guitar
Dan Needham: Drums
Calvin Turner: Bass
Ben Shive: Piano
Ed Cash: Wurli, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Mandolin
Ken Lewis: Percussion
Background Vocals: Ed Cash
Gaze into my eyes, let me know you’d fight thousands for my love. ♥ ♥ ♥ Here’s a story about it (from Bethany‘s website, emphasis mine):
It’s deeply rooted in every woman- the question, “Do I stand out in a crowd?” The vision of someone walking across a room and asking me to dance plays over and over in my mind; out of the whole room, I was chosen. I’ll be honest, I’m fifteen… I have crushes… but more than whimsical feelings and fickle emotion, I really do want to be fought for. I long to be recklessly pursued. I’m looking for true love, something honest and untainted, with no hidden agenda but that it wants to chase after me.
I love Psalm 45: “Listen to me, O royal daughter; take to heart what I say. Forget your people and your homeland far away. For your royal husband delights in your beauty.” That’s it! That’s what every chick flick revolves around, that’s what every romance novel is written about, those are the exact words that made me want to be a princess when I was younger.
The sad reality is, though, that women often aren’t validated and reassured that they’re worth that kind of affection. It scars us in the deepest places and causes us to cover our mouths when we smile and hide who we truly are. But, that’s what I love about Jesus—he’s a husband to the widow, the freer of a captive heart.
Exciting! I wonder how it feels to be pursued? To be fought for. Waaaait. Scratch that, why am I wondering still? I’m being pursued right now. I’ve been fought for and is still being fought for. No, there isn’t a guy as of now…not here, that is. There is Someone who’s been wooing my heart since I was born. And I give in to that wooing…and then stray away…then go back again. All the time, He’s still fighting for me. In fact, He even died for me.
I’m being pursued! I’m being fought for! Wow.
Were you single this last Valentine’s Day? Don’t be sad about it. =) If you’ve been waiting for someone to fight for you, who thinks you’re worthy to be pursued and wooed for your love, stop. Because He’s already here. Jesus loves you like a man crazily in love with his wife, like a boyfriend who is about to propose to his girlfriend. Jesus pursues you everyday, and He thinks every bit of you is worth fighting (and dying) for. :) Bask in that love, because it’s yours forever. :)
Be blessed. ♥
I’m kind of late in blogging this…but better late than never!
Early in my days of webdesign, when I was all so into cutesy pink kawaii stuff (Now who remembers that word? :P Kawaii!!!), I joined this site competition thing called The Site Fights (or was it something else? I think there was something like this called The Royal Rumble…wait, that’s wrestling… or The Site Rumble or whatever. Haha I might be wrong), where you join, your site gets evaluated, and once you’re in, there are different levels where you have to get into until you get to be TEH ULTIMATE SITE FIGHTS CHAMPION! Or…something like that. ;) To get into the different levels, people would have to vote for you and the winner with most votes will go to the next level while the rest will remain there. I remember getting into the second to last level, but I couldn’t move out from there because there was this site that looks so…um, kawaii, that everyone votes for it more. And it’s hosted on expages (I was hosted on gurlpages back then :P)…how can she beat me?! Arrogance aside, her site was actually quite…cute. Cuter…er, more kawaii than mine that is. Imagine lots of pink sparkly things, small iframe to hold her tiny text and shaking links…you know? Oh, and everyone still thinks the “Me, You, WWW” is still teh coolest thing for site navigation back then. ;)
When I realized that I might never move out of that place, I gave up and didn’t want to work on it anymore, until I moved to another host and forgot about it altogether.
But that’s not my point. The point here is…the 2007 Philippine Blog Awards is totally different from this. ;) I quote:
The Philippine Blog Awards aims to recognize notable FIlipino-owned blogs in their respective niches. With topics ranging from the arts, culture, technology and politics, Filipinos have become more abreast because of the fast growing blogging industry here and abroad. The Philippine Blog Awards is a venue to showcase notable blogs with quality content that engages readers from around the globe.
As Shari and Darwin said, this isn’t some contest you join and you’d get a blinkie to display on your site. No, no, this is bigger, better and more exciting, especially when you see the prizes! A trophy is better than a blinkie, yes? Of course.
And that 30GB iPod Video again. Lord, will this be my chance? Pleaaaase?
Nominations are open until February 28, so go and nomitate the blogs you think are worthy of winning the best in the these categories. :)
From the Blog Parteeh ’07 to the 2007 Philippine Blog Awards…2007 sure is shaping up to be a great year for the Pinoy Bloggers. :)
We’ve waited for this for a loooong time and finally we have it up! No more words, it’s time to launch this!
GODCHICKS
Putting God in the heart of the chick.
What’s Godchicks? It’s a group blog/semi-eZine made by me and three of my friends, Tuesday, Bea and Happy. :D Godchicks is based on Holly Wagner’s book entitled God Chicks. This blog is up for all of us to share to everyone our insights, adventures and other interesting things for Godchicks out there. :) We try our best, with God’s grace to be real Godchicks, and we hope that in some way, we would be able to help other girls to become Godchicks themselves. :D
But wait! Godchicks isn’t just for chicks! Although all of us are chicks (haha, that felt weird), and mostly we’d be talking about girl stuff, guys may also visit this site to read about what may go on inside a Godchick’s mind…you may also learn how to understand Godchicks better here, relieving you of some burden in deciphering girl language. ;) Of course, we’d also love to hear from you (don’t we all?).
And with the opening of Godchicks, since it’s Valentine’s day, we‘d be talking about that crazy little thing called love. ;) Feed your love sickness and Valentine’s fever the Godchicks way! Come on now, click! =)
Wohoo! :D
I was there at your camp, but being the antisocial girl I am, I only stuck to the people I knew. I remember you thought I was your classmate in one of your Eco class. :P I disappeared from YFC after, but then I got back, but I never knew how to talk to you. To be honest I was kind of afraid because I didn’t know how to approach you and such.
And then God put you in my household. Now that’s divine intervention. :) I was nervous, but I set it aside because I know I had a resposibility towards you. No matter how much you annoyed my partner, I wanted to get to know you. And I’m really, really glad I did. You’re one of the people who made my last year in college worth it. True to your birthday, you’re one of the most loving people I know. Words cannot express how much you made my year brighter — be it your diligence in attending households to the way you call me “Inang”…and to the way you have grown in Christ, which I am privileged enough to have seen. :)
You’re one of my dearest friend and sister, and I hope we’d get to be that way for a long, long time. :D HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MY DEAR ANAK GIGIE! :) Thank you so much for everything. I’ll see you on Saturday, okay! Music and Lyrics! I love you! ♥
