Tag Archives: typhoon

Dear Diary, In His Steps

One Down

I’m okay. So this is what Basyang did to us last night, as well as some thoughts:

  • I got off work about 15 minutes to 1 in the morning, and met my brother and his girlfriend at CBTL. I had to cross a very dark Eastwood street, feel the wind whip me all around (not really that bad), and then when we were about to go, we saw that we can’t get out of the Citywalk parking lot because the parking ticket booth fell over and they can’t bill us properly for the parking. Pfft. I felt kind of guilty for going home late, and thought we’d be stuck there all night. Good thing they let us go.
  • The ride home was scary. Dark and scary. Remind me never to attempt to drive home if it’s windy and dark like that, unless I am a very good driver already. Which I am not.
  • Slept at home in the dark with the windows open, so it was cold. I prayed the rosary all night to calm my nerves, and well, God was faithful even if I am not.
  • Let me repeat that: God is faithful, even when I am not. Thank You, Lord, for protecting us.
  • I promise to clean my room this weekend.
  • I also promise to start fixing a typhoon emergency kit. And such.
  • Our dog, Batman, freaked out like I did, and he looked thinner this morning. :( Aw poor doggie.
  • Everything was okay in the morning, thank God. And don’t you think it’s funny how bright everything is after a storm? Again, God is faithful, even when I am not.
  • Dark Eastwood is scary Eastwood. Boo. But all things are okay now, I think?

What perked me up today? Other than Flaming Wings with my teammates, and Looking for Alaska by John Green (I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist!), it’s this:

Ben and Jerry's Peanut Butter Cup
Ben and Jerry's Peanut Butter Cup - so sinful but so yummy.

Oh dear.  Ben and Jerry’s in Shopwise Libis is the best discovery I had this week, and probably the most sinful. If I keep on eating this, I might need to take some apidexin! Ack! That, or run and run and run. Anyway, so I think the storm is over. I hope I get enough breathing room before the next one comes. Please Lord? And before I go, I leave you with this quote from Lie to Me S02E10:

So sometimes, when there’s nothing you can do, you just have to believe that everything’s gonna be okay…and you write a song. You can’t be worried and write a song at the same time, right?

Well in my case, it’s to write a blog. :P I’m okay. I hope you are, too. :)

In His Steps

Oratio Imperata for Deliverance from Calamities

Almighty Father, we raise our hearts to You in gratitude for the wonders of creation of which we are part, for Your providence in sustaining us in our needs, and for Your wisdom that guides the course of the universe.

We acknowledge our sins against You and the rest of creation.

We have not been good stewards of Nature.

We have confused Your command to subdue the earth.

The environment is made to suffer our wrongdoing, and now we reap the harvest of our abuse and indifference.

Global warming is upon us. Typhoons, floods, volcanic eruption, and other natural calamities occur in increasing number and intensity.

We turn to You, our loving Father, and beg forgiveness for our sins.

We ask that we, our loved ones and our hard earned possessions be spared from the threat of calamities, natural and man-made.

We beseech You to inspire us all to grow into responsible stewards of Your creation, and generous neighbors to those in need.

Amen.

Source: inquirer.net

Randomnities, Say Cheese!

Thursday Thirteen # 12: My November

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I haven’t played Thursday Thirteen for the entire month because of NaNoWriMo. On this last Thursday of the month, I’m back! And because I didn’t blog as much for the past month, here’s a recap of November in my twelfth Thursday Thirteen.

Thursday Thirteen # 12
Thirteen Things about my November 2006

  1. Obviously, National Novel Writing Month! I was kind of nervous about how I’m going to squeeze in NaNo writing for this month because of work, but thank God for giving me time to write everyday!
  2. More on NaNoWriMo: I had somewhat of a hard time writing my novel at the start because I felt like my story was kind of boring. I got out of it eventually…and now I’m really psyched about what I’m writing. I really think there’s a story there somewhere. :)
  3. And again, more on NaNo: I reached my word count goal earlier than last year! Amazing. :)
  4. Marvs arrived from the US and got me books. :) Haha. I now have: A Delirious Summer and Lost in Rooville by Ray Blackston and What a Girl Wants and She’s Out of Control by Kristin Billerbeck. Thanks, Marvs!
  5. Starbucks planner mania! Every year, Starbucks Philippines has a promo/charity thing where you have to collect 21 stickers (1 sticker = 1 drink except for fruit juices and bottled water). 9 stickers for special/Christmas drinks and 11 stickers for the regular drinks. When you complete it, you get the planner for next year, plus a donation in your name to the Spark Hope foundation. :) I have six more stickers to go! :)
    Starbucks Planner!
  6. HILLSONG UNITED IN MANILA. Need I say more? :)
    Wohoo!
  7. We finally got DSL! :) As of now, I am typing this in my room, using our WiFi Internet. How cool is that? Finally, I can download lots more stuff with this Internet speed! :))
  8. Because of the new Internet connection, I fixed my room. See before and after pictures:
    room - before and after
    Okay, so you can’t really see the bed, but the table is the more important part. now if only I could get the sofa bed out, and then put a bookshelf there for my favorite books!
  9. So much work to do all of a sudden! My gosh. I know I should expect this, but the stress level is just so high, y’know? I’ve never been this stressed since I graduated from college…
  10. …but amidst all these stress from work, I have one important lesson for me this month: Be still. God is in control. :)
  11. Another important lesson: God doesn’t hold my sin against me. He has forgiven me, and He loves me like I am the only one to be loved. How amazing is that?
  12. My first thirteenth month pay. Hmmm. Not that big, but then again, it’s okay. :)
  13. And finally, my November is ending with a supertyphoon on the way. :( I’m praying it would change its course fully and NOT hit Metro Manila anymore. And we have a long weekend ahead too. Please Lord?…uh-oh the rain is here. Better get my electronics charged already.

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Dear Diary, In His Steps

Still

This has probably been the busiest week I’ve ever had at work since I started. Have I said this before? Well, if I did, this week was just toxic. It wasn’t only full of work; but it was also stressful to the max. The earliest I’ve been able to go home since last Monday was at 7:00pm. That’s just…blah. It was so hectic that I got over my Hillsong United hangover come Monday.

Anyway, for the entire week, I feel like I was back during thesis times, only this time there’s a lot more at stake. When you’re doing your thesis, the only thing that is at stake is your personal grades. However, at work, you’re dealing with real life things, people who may not be as understanding as, say, your thesismates, when you make a mistake. I was thisclose to crying yesterday from all the stress, and if I didn’t get to talk to Tue, Happy and RJ, I don’t think I would’ve been able to have a restful night last night.

One thing I learned this week though, one thing I heard God tell me during the times I’ve been stressing out: be still. Still your heart, still your soul; I am God, I am big enough for whatever worries you. Sometimes when my heart and mind are raging, all shouting commands and worries and thoughts that I couldn’t think, I force myself to be still because there’s only one voice that really matters, His. No matter how hard the task is in front of me, no matter how there may be so many things that could go wrong, no matter how much I want to take control, no matter how much I want to just quit and forget everything, all that really matters is what God wants, what God is saying. When everything feels like it’s coming undone, keeping still is the only option left. Don’t bother trying to take even more control, being OC or letting your perfectionist side come out — those won’t work. Be still. God is in control. He won’t give you anything you can’t carry, and He’ll never let you out of His sight.

“Be still and know that I am God.”
– Psalm 46:10

The week is over. The work week, that is. No work tomorrow because of a holiday, and I was planning to get out of the house tomorrow for some needed R&R, but because of the tropical storm Reming (International Name: Durian), all my plans are as good as cancelled.

Ever since I started working, I am SO out of touch with these kinds of things. I didn’t know Milenyo was here until the day that it hit Metro Manila — can you believe that? Now I didn’t know about Reming until yesterday. I should watch more news…or at least, read news online so I won’t get left behind.

Good news is, Reming is not going to hit Metro Manila directly…but they say that’s even worse? Gah. The only thing I don’t like about this is the no electricity thing that we might experience (which I pray that we won’t…because that would be just…boring). Especially now that my iPod’s having battery issues again (drains batteries too fast. I wish replacing its batteries is as easy as looking for makita batteries…but alas. Time for a last replacement before the Apple Care ends!). Bah. I’m going to have to find ways to amuse myself once again. Like, read and read and read before darkness falls.

But please, Lord, no brownout? If it’s okay with You. *bats eyelashes*

On last bits before I leave the office: the reflections I have from the Hillsong United worship will be posted this weekend, if we have power. Hopefully, I’ll be able to post a new layout by next week too, because as much as I love this layout, it’s just not fit for Christmas. :P

Anyway, I’ll be out of here in a few. :P Have a happy long weekend everyone and keep safe. :)

Dear Diary

On "Milenyo", more work and paydays

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This is how I am so un-updated with the things happening outside the office. Typhoon “Milenyo” (International name: Xangsane) hit the country, and I only actually knew all about it around 5:40 am yesterday morning, after I have finished getting ready to go to work. If my brother didn’t tell me that there might be no work yesterday, I wouldn’t have known until the winds knocked me over.

But there was still work for us yesterday, albeit half day. We got the go signal to go home after lunch, but since it was still quite stormy, we stayed there for a while. Robinson’s Galleria was damaged big time, so we couldn’t exactly go malling while I wait for my brother. Anne and I ended up talking as we looked for places to hang out. We got to go home around 4:00pm and thankfully, there wasn’t any traffic. It was flooded at our village’s entrance and we dropped Anne off at their street corner because we couldn’t try to get in her street anymore. It was probably the deepest flood I’ve ever seen in our village, and it was…well, scary to see so much unwanted water in one place. I haven’t seen something like that since first year college!

You know what? I should have taken pictures. Darn.

And as always, electricity was out yesterday so I hit the bed at around 6:00pm. I woke up at 6:00 am with a slight headache from all the sleeping. The sun was shining down the window, and I knew it was back to work again.

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