From the monthly archives: September 2007
I feel like a student again. :P I’ve been in front of the computer all day (what’s new?) trying to make a decent newsletter layout for our account at work. I’m actually still waiting for the email of this PSD version of a layout from my teammate, but I thought I’d make a backup with a Word file template of a newsletter, which is now asking for graphics. It doesn’t suck, it’s just very…bland. Hmm, I remember I used to make newsletters in MS Word back when the Internet isn’t the big thing yet. :P
Anyway, so this feels like homework, which I’ve been very distracted from since this morning. It’s amusing how when we need something done, we find all sorts of distractions not to get it done. I suddenly found myself reading this book, napping, reading another book, watching a movie, watching another movie, watching a game on TV, downloading something, eating — doing anything but. Hah. But now I’m working on it…first I have to blog. :P
Oh and speaking of game…Animo La Salle! It’s the first game I watched this season, and it’s a crucial game at that! :) I don’t want to be at Araneta, but it must’ve been fun after winning. I slept a bit during the game (sugar rush because of Keebler’s cookies hee hee), but I saw the last few moments! Wohoo! :) I miss this — school spirit and whatnot. Although I have to admit, UAAP games bring out the worst in me. :P Ahehe. I’ll see if I can post about my frosh UAAP memories next time. ;)
Anyway. Right now I just stuck the second article in the newsletter layout, and I’m afraid to show this to my officemates tomorrow because it’s gonna suck. But it’s a good backup, in case we couldn’t get anything done tomorrow morning. I still have this training I have to prepare for, and I haven’t reviewed about databases in PHP — my topic tomorrow. Whee. It feels like I’ve been doing continuous reports for a class with that training.
But as much as I miss being a student — with all the allowances, the free time, the vacation, the stress of school work, seeing friends everyday, college weeks, booths with all those free stuff such as promotional pens, pulling all nighters for projects, dorm moments — I’m happy where I am. :) Then again, I sort of kind of feel like a student whenever I go to work, only with a different kind of deliverable, and my teammates feel like one big barkada…so it’s almost the same. Almost. But I’m not complaining. :D
It’s the last day of September! Whew, that was fast. :) Tomorrow’s a brand new month, and here’s a small list of resolutions that I will try my best to do until the end of the year, which I should have been doing since January but not. :P
- Eat healthier. As in at least one serving of salad a week (I love Pho Hoa chicken salad!), and less sweets for snacks (which means no more fries and milkshake or DQ…huhu)
- Exercise. Go boxing either at the gym or at home with the punching bag. My gloves are not ornaments, they are to be used!
- Go to a yoga class sponsored by my company at least once.
- Have dinner/go out with my high school friends, Godchicks and my old office friends.
- Make a new layout for Godchicks before the year ends.
- Post more to Mission: Sydney and get really serious with my going to Sydney next year. Yes I will go to Sydney in July 2007. Itaga sa bato.
- Open a bank account for my savings by December.
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That should be enough. Back to the newsletter!
One of the purchases I made in the Book Fair last month was the long overdue and should-have-been-bought-book-since-last-year Blue Like Jazz
I’m 3/4 through Blue Like Jazz and I’m loving every page. This particular chapter, Romance, is especially cool. I never thought I’d read something about romantic love in a book like this since it’s not really about it, but I like how Donald Miller explains how he learns about that kind of love. At the end of the chapter, he shared a part of this play Polaroids, which is about a man’s life from birth to death. This monologue is written after the man’s fight with his wife. He planned to have these characters divorce, but he changed his mind. Instead, his character kneels beside his sleeping wife’s figure and delivers the most beautiful monologue about love I have ever read. And here I will share my favorite part (emphasis mine):
I will give you this, my love, and I will not bargain or barter any longer. I will love you, as sure as He has loved me. I will discover what I can discover and though you remain a mystery, save God’s own knowledge, what I disclose of you I will keep in the warmest chamber of my heart, the very chamber where God has stowed Himself in me. And I will do this to my death and to death it may bring me.
I will love you like God, because of God, mighted by the power of God. I will stop expecting your love demanding your love, trading for your love, gaming for your love. I will simply love. I am giving myself to you, and tomorrow I will do it again. I suppose the clock itself will wear thin its time before I am ended at this altar of dying and dying again.
God risked Himself on me. I will risk myself on you. And together, we will learn to love, and perhaps then, and only then, understand this gravity that drew Him, unto us.
It’s such a beautiful expression of how a romantic relationship is made to glorify God even more. :) Hay. I shall print this and put this up in my journal for sure.
Book review will come when I finish it. This will definitely be in my favorites list. :) But for now I will continue reading and take a nap in my room (not in the living room sofa, for a change, woot! My bed may not be one of those modern platform beds, but it’s mighty comfortable :p) to recover from the little sleep I got last night. Have a nice rainy day y’all. :)
If you use Didache, Kerygma Family‘s Catholic devotional and you’ve read today’s reflection, yes, that Tina M is me. :P I swear, even I get surprised when I see my reflections, to think I know about it already (but yes, I forget :D).
Didache, September 28, 2007
A Thousand Lives“The Son of Man must suffer many things.” -Luke 9:22
The patron saint of my elementary and high school is the first Filipino saint, Lorenzo Ruiz. For 10 years, I had to hear his life story — where he was born, how he got to Japan and how he was killed — over and over. To be totally honest, I was really kind of sick of it. Plus, the film about him that we used to watch in GMRC/Values Education class was kind of morbid.
When I entered college, I stopped hearing Lorenzo’s life story because I changed schools. But I started to really get to know someone else more, the person who I am pretty sure St. Lorenzo followed after. Luke said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things.” And I think St. Lorenzo knew that Jesus himself suffered many things because He loves us. In return, the saint was willing to give a thousand lives for Jesus because he knew to what extent his Savior suffered for him. Tina M.
I’ll write something about how you learn more from yourself when you read something you wrote before next time. But yes, today is the St. Lorenzo Ruiz’s feast day. For those who don’t know, he’s the first Filipino saint. Pinoy pride, mehn. ;) Haha, if you want to read his life story, it’s pretty much around the net.
I can’t believe I’m shooing you guys to go around for his story. I’d post it, but I have no time to look around for it now because I am swamped with work. Not that I’m complaining and all, but it’s starting to get really crazy. I have a presentation to finish for this afternoon and a newsletter to finish for tonight plus the daily requests…so yay. I might need some muscle milk for this. Hahaha.
Have a great Friday everyone. :)
So today was another busy day, with me having to attend to three requests in the morning and finishing my training presentation that afternoon. I know it’s going to be a long day since I arrived at the office at almost 9:00am (the latest I’ve been in, except for the time when I had to adjust my shift because of the Switchfoot press conference), and my brother would fetch me late…so I had time.
Fast forward to evening, I was finished with my requests, finished with part 1 of my presentation for tomorrow and off we go to dinner. After that, I packed up and decided to go around Eastwood for a while to kill time. I wasn’t really in the mood to window shop so I just stopped by National Bookstore and tried calling some friends to talk.
I got to talk to some, which was really cool, but because of unreliable signal, or because the other person is busy, I had to hang up earlier than I wanted to. I checked my Smart bill and realized I have a lot of minutes left (I always do — I have 200 free minutes a month, which I hardly use up) so I decided to call some friends to chat.
Three times around my I-can’t-remember-how-many-people-are-there phonebook, I realized…there’s no one to call ((Of course, I removed the people I could’ve called in my Sun phone with this conclusion)). I texted some people, asked if they are busy but I guess they are because they did not reply so I browsed around again…but there was no one I could talk to for an instant gabfest. Or at least, some catching up.
How sad.
Am I that pathetic? My goodness, and I thought I had like, lots of people I could talk to. Yeah, well, okay, I do have lots of friends, but besides the usual people I talk to (Hi Tue, Happy, Jomar), where are the others? Anyone else I could just call and chat with, you know, randomly?
Argh, I suck at my social skills. And I thought I was getting good at keeping in touch already. Pfft.
So now I’m thinking. Maybe I should launch a similar project like what Ganns did (or is still doing). Because I still suck at keeping in touch, and I want to be better at it. I want to talk to my old friends…other than the people I usually talk to, of course. You know.
Or maybe tonight just happened to be a busy night for all. Hmm.
Anyway, I’ll make this simple (and informal for now). If you’re an old friend of mine (elementary, high school, college, YFC, first job — you know who you are!) who happened to stumble on this site and we shared more than a few conversations together, tell me if you’ll be around the Eastwood area during weekdays or Pasig during weekends, and let’s catch up. Bring other people we know for fun. I’m not promising a treat, just good conversation and pictures. Okay, maybe an ice cream cone too, if you want. Or some baked treats if I happened to bake before that. :P
Comment away and I’ll reply to you through email. :) Please, no random strangers asking for meet ups. I must know you somewhere before (again, I repeat: elementary, high school, college, YFC, first job). If you’re not even a slightest bit familiar and you don’t tell me where we met before, I won’t reply.
Rating: 
Last week, I stocked groceries in Freedom, Alabama. This week, I live in Nashville, Tennessee, about to take the stage at the famous Bluebird Cafe.
Sounds fantastic, doesn’t it? Only one problem, I ‘ve got stage fright.
But after years of being ruled by fear and hiding from my dream, I confronted my limited reality and left home. Forget the hometown hunk who wants to make me queen of his doublewide. Forget Momma’s doubt-inspiring tirade. I can make it in Music City…can’t I?
So I took a leap of faith, gathered my old guitar, my notebook full of songs, and packed up my ’69 Chevy pickup. Look out NashVegas!
With the help of some new friends, especially handsome Lee Rivers, my dream is about to find the light of day. But as I face my first night at the Bluebird Cafe, I realize…I might just do what comes naturally. Look for the nearest exit, and run!
Robin McAfee is an singer and songwriter…when she’s alone or when she’s in her Granddaddy’s porch. But bring her in front of a crowd, she has this really huge urge to run away like a mouse who is caught in the bright light, or a cat who’s afraid of humans.
But after some thinking and some realizations while in her hometown, she decides to make a Robin McAfee decision: try it out in Nashville as a new songwriter amidst all the songwriters around and see if she can make it.
But what if she doesn’t? What’s going to happen to “Freedom’s Song”? Will she stick it out or will she run back to her family and her best friend Arizona (no, not the same as Arizona real estate, as in a real person named after a state) and forget she ever wanted to become a songwriter?
This is a sponsored post.
Back in elementary to high school, I used to write this story about a group of girls and their little adventures. Their adventures included my main protagonist moving into town and meeting new friends but turns out they weren’t good friends, forming clubs which are against each other, winning a trip to another country, ventriloquism, ice skating, a new guy joining their “club”, and of course, having famous cousins who keep on appearing in the stories like they’re not really busy people. :P
Eventually those stories evolved and I removed some characters and those iffy clubs, but they were still quite young and so Sweet Valley-ish. But can you blame me? I grew up with Sweet Valley books, I end up writing like that. ;) Of course, Sweet Valley is located in California while mine is all the way to the other coast, my favorite state (then), Florida. How I loved Florida then. ;)
Now time for some revelations. Who are those famous cousins? Yep, it’s the Backstreet Boys. :P My main protagonist was named Danielle Littrell, who is Brian Littrell’s first cousin and Nick Carter’s second cousin by baptism (yes, I made them Catholic :p). Danielle was supposed to be this rich and unspoiled girl with one of the biggest houses in their town. I even designed her house in one of the architecture programs we used to have. :P I was so fixated with Orlando, Florida because of the Backstreet Boys that I wanted to go there and there alone. Never mind if Tampa real estate may have better looking homes than Orlando, I wanted them to live there even if it’s highly unrealistic. :P
Hey, I’m the writer and I was still young when I wrote that, gimme a break. ;)
Today I bought my brother’s birthday gift, the first expensive birthday gift I got for him. Funny thing is, he knew what the gift is already since I wanted to make sure it’s something he liked so I called him before buying it. Meaning I destroyed the entire element of surprise. Of course, it’s still in the box, and I told him he could only open it on Saturday, which is his birthday. So now it’s sitting pretty in my room, waiting for his day. Oh, it’s a 12″ model of Leonidas from 300 with sound
So I paid it with my trusty card and I started cringing. Ah, how hard it is to start spending so much on my card just because I’m getting paid more now than before. Before I got my new job, I hardly used my card because I know I’m going to have a hard time paying for it. Now that I have a considerably higher salary, I find myself spending a lot more than I wanted to. Ooooh, look at that book! It’s P500? It’s okay, I have card! Ooooh, this top looks so cute! I want it! Swipe!
So my credit card bill comes in today and I cringe. It’s not really that high as the last recorded (but if you add this month and next month’s it’s pretty high -_- ) but it’s certainly more than I want to pay for. Not to mention my October bill is almost as high as this month’s. Hay. No I’m not regretting anything (although there was this one purchase where I could’ve saved P300 from this thing I bought…but let it gooooo) I bought — most of them are important (groceries and stuff) and if not, something I really wanted to buy (like my new Bible, my Chucks, my new work shoes and my brother’s gift), it’s just…ergh. You know what I mean. And not that I can’t pay for it either; I can, now that I just got paid for this other raket I just had. But of course, it’s hard to part with that much money like that, you know?
Of course, I get what I pay for. Or swipe for. Whatever.
Now it’s time to tighten my belt a little and stop using my trusty silver [insert bank name here] credit card that I now call Sylvia. Starting tomorrow, I will not bring it anymore until I have paid off all my debts (hopefully by October). I will not use it unless it’s a real emergency (see the emphasis on real).
The new tops can wait. The new books can definitely wait (I still haven’t made a dent on my reading list!). The other luxuries can wait for now. Sylvia, be safe in your box in my desk. I shall see you in a month or so. :)
Oh, and no, I won’t apply for a credit card. Not a new one!
I need more rakets! Keep on writing, Tina!
I was surfing around innocently, trying not to look for Switchfoot stuff because of the detox mode, but I happened to chance upon this:
Tickets Now Available for Switchfoot and Anberlin Concert at SWOSU
Tickets are now on sale for an outdoor concert featuring bands Switchfoot and Anberlin as part of the Panorama series at Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford.
The concert is set for October 4 at 7:30 p.m. at Milam Stadium on the SWOSU campus in Weatherford.
Advance tickets for the event are $20 for SWOSU students and $25 for non-SWOSU students. Advance tickets for groups of 15 or more are $20. All tickets at the door will be $30.
Full article here.
AHHHHHHH! Can someone sponsor me and Happy on an all-expense paid trip to Oklahoma on October? Please? Come on! It’s Switchfoot AND Anberlin! They’re like two of my favorite bands EVER! Get me there, pleaaaase?
*stops begging* Okay, okay, I shall stop this. But seriously. If I can watch a show where Switchfoot will play with ((I have to emphasize with because the two bands aren’t really performing together, but in the same show and venue)) Anberlin, I will definitely be a happy little girl. Throw in Mae and I will be a crazy happy little girl. :)
Dream on, Tina! Yes, I will dream on, because God won’t put a dream in my heart that He has no intention of making come true (Did I say this right?)…right Lord? *bats eyelashes*
You think travelpro will be able to help me to get there?
Okay, let it go. :P
This is another semi-brainless post (because I’m feeling kind of sick, boo), much thanks to That’s My Answer. This is an answer to their first question for today:
How fidgety are you?
It depends on the situation. When I’m being interviewed or something, I can be fidgety. It would be only after the entire thing when I’d realize how much my hand moved or how my fingers played with the envelope or something that I’m carrying (like for instance, I was at this job interview, and I kept on opening and closing my plastic envelope. I left the office with my envelope’s lip broken :p). And speaking of interviews, I also realized that I don’t maintain straight eye contact. I look at the person’s eyes, then focus on another spot and talk and then look back at the person. Is that weird?
Other instances where I can be fidgety is when I’m really nervous (not when I’m talking to my crush or anyone I’m particularly fond of — I react differently there :p), like when I am supposed to do something but didn’t do it, or when the home lighting on the particular place where I am is too hot or too bright or too annoying. Also when I’m sleepy or excited or something, I tend to fidget a lot.
Hm. So am I a fidgety person? I hope not.
