Category Archives: Say Cheese!

Light and Darkness

It’s Sunday night and it will be Monday in a few minutes, and I had a really short yet busy weekend. But it was all very interesting. :)

Last Saturday, I woke up late and rushed all the way to Makati to meet up with Cors at Greenbelt for our confession. I realized then how far Makati really was. Total rides I had to go to all the way to Makati from our place: 4. Gah. Well, at least it gave me a lot of walking time. :P

After lunch at Burger King, we roamed around at Greenbelt 5. We visited the new branch of Fully Booked and marveled at (what else?) the books and other items like greeting cards that greeting cards online cannot replace. I was on a mission to find a paperback copy of City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare, but instead, I found Sarah Dessen books! Hope is not lost! I couldn’t leave the store without them, so I ended up swiping my card to get That Summer, Dreamland and Keeping The Moon, which I haven’t read yet. Talk about giddy. :P

After confession (yay happy forgiveness :D), Cors and I met up with her friend at Robinson’s Place Manila (it’s been years since I last went there), and then headed to MV Doulos.

Now it’s my third time to MV Doulos, and I wasn’t really expecting to get anything there, since the last time I was there, there wasn’t anything I liked. This time, though, they brought back the fiction area where I got my Francine Rivers books (that I have yet to read!) from my first MV Doulos trip. They were now selling three books for P200 there with a free bag. There were CDs I wanted to get but decided not to, a kid’s series that I wanted to get but it wasn’t complete (sometimes I hate that I have to complete a series to fully enjoy the books), but I still ended up buying something after a quick search over at the center table: Jake Thoene’s Chapter 16 series. I hear they’re like Tom Clancy books which I haven’t read yet, but I’m curious. :P So they’re now added in my growing TBR list.

Earth HourI got home thirty minutes before Earth Hour. I joined last year’s Earth Hour and I totally forgot to turn off my lights but this year everyone was intent on making me remember. :D It felt like a New Year’s countdown when everyone was counting down to turn off the lights and then it was total darkness. Except for my iPod, laptop and the TV. :P

I watched some of the coverage of the Earth Hour, and I know this is incredibly sappy, but I started tearing up and blubbering when I watched Nat Geo’s video clip about how the world united as one during the 2008 Earth Hour because of what Sydney did in 2007. Did it make sense? I don’t know, something about people uniting for a cause always touches me and makes me blubber like an idiot. ^^;

The darkness was oddly calming, though, and it was really nice to be a part of something big. :) And this has totally made me think more of how I do things now, and how it affects the environment. Seriously.

Today was another day at the mall, where we heard mass and then went our ways to go shopping. I was still hunting for City of Ashes so I went to Powerbooks…and guess what did I saw? The rest of the Sarah Dessen books. Crazy. I couldn’t leave the store without it, especially The Truth About Forever. After lots of roaming around, trying to spot City of Ashes, I decided to get Someone Like You, This Lullaby and The Truth About Forever because I know I would totally regret it if I don’t. My credit card is definitely complaining though. :P

Dessen!

Weeee. Don’t they look pretty? :D Now I only need to wait for the paperback copy of Lock and Key and it’s complete. :P

And I can’t wait to re-read The Truth About Forever in print. ;)

Speak novels

I love that they all have that Speak logo there. The very last book (the one with the green back) is Robin Palmer’s Cindy Ella). I am now always on the lookout for these kinds of YA novels. :)

Now it’s already past midnight, meaning it’s Monday already and it’s back to work. I better get to bed now. :) Busy week up ahead!

Twenty Three

23rd Birthday

This is a super delayed post, thanks to everything that happened this week. So I apologize for now, but hey, this post has pictures! (Like that’s any consolation :P)

ANYWAY. I’d go through paragraphs and paragraphs of how my birthday went but I realized it may be a bit boring to read…so instead, I’ll go for timelines. So…how did my twenty-third birthday go?

March 16, 2009

7:00pm – received a call from Niki, and when I answered, all the YFC DLSU present at the worship (16 of them, I heard) sang me “Happy birthday”. ♥ I have no idea who everyone was there, but thank you! ♥

7:30pm – received a groupcard in my work inbox. Hey, it’s a Group Card from my IBM friends! A day early but what the heck. Thank you!

9:00 – 11:00pm – had the longest call of our training ever. I was chatting with Grace, Cors and Reggie all the while and I kept getting asked what time my call would end and all. Reggie then asked if I wanted to go get ice cream later after the call which was kind of weird since he’s on a diet. The call ended, and I started fixing my stuff. But wait, there’s another call! Reggie calls me and tells me someone was waiting for me outside, though, so…

11:00pm – I headed out to the reception area and saw Cors’ shoes immediately. I saw her carrying a cake with a candle and was already surprised, but not until Happy popped out from behind the reception table with a bouquet of flowers and the yelled “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” Whoaaaa. I accepted the flowers, gaped at Happy’s presence at the office and then blew the candle out. Then I noticed, right in the middle of the bouquet was a SUNFLOWER. AWWWW talk about finally crossing that out of my wishlist! :P

11:10pm-11:45pm – I had to go back inside because I still had one call, so Cors put the cake in the box again and Happy said she’ll wait for me downstairs. I went back in and got back into another call, but still shaking from the surprise and amazed at how pretty a sunflower looks in real life. We had the call and then headed down to go home.

March 17, 2009

12:10am – arrived at home, and Happy and I set up the cake and took photos. I blew the candle off again and then it was cake time!

12:20-2:00am – ate cake and talked with Happy. And marveled again at how pretty the sunflower is. :P Ahaha, I’ve never really spent the first few hours of my birthday with a friend so this is a first. :) Thanks Happs. ♥

2:00am-3:00am – Birthday prayer time! :)

9:00am – woke up with text messages in my phone with the usual greetings. I headed back to my computer and saw my gMail inbox was filled with Facebook notifications. Overwhelming, man. And they kept on coming! :D

12:00pm-1:00pm – arrived at SM Megamall to hear mass. Met up with brother’s girlfriend after the mass then we hunted for a place to eat.

1:00pm-2:00pm – Lunch at Bigby’s, my treat! Yummy salad, yummy steak, yummy shake, oh and I got a free cake! And a birthday song. My brother’s girlfriend also gave me a really nice present — something I could definitely use in my commute. :P I’ll post about that sometime soon. Bigby’s was a lot like TGI Friday’s with really nice decor. Our waiter was really nice, and very friendly — I bet he’d also be good at sales jobs. :) Oh, it’s my first time to be greeted at a restaurant too. :P

3:30pm – Got to work, and saw a present from some office friends on my table. Opened my email and saw an overwhelming number of emails and Facebook messages again. Haha.

5:00pm – Headed to Haagen Dasz (sp?) with Grace to buy ice cream for the team…and then headed to 7-11 instead. I dreamt of Haagen Dasz, but it’s waaaaaay out of my budget. So…no thanks. Pistachio ice cream is nice. :)

7:00pm-10:00pm – Found out there were two episodes of The Listener for download! Wohoo, Craig Olejnik! ♥ It’s like another birthday gift, haha! Anyway, I spent the rest of the night at work, finishing some things and then went home when my brother arrived.

11:30pm – full with ice cream and cake, I looked at the sunflower again and then went back to my room to watch The Listener episodes with Macy.

March 18, 2009

12:30am – Felt a bit bummed that someone I know and is close to forgot my birthday. I don’t know what’s up, really…but it kinda stung. Oh well. Maybe I’ll post about it sometime, but not now. I want good vibes.

7:00pm – Birthday dinner with Cors, Gel, Anj and Grace at Pancake House. We missed you, Bel and Rosco! Talked about lots of stuff, got another present (thanks for the very pink journal :P), and took pictures for Marvs who we were all missing. :P

March 19, 2009

12:45pm-2:00pm – Met up with Jomar after a loooong time, and had lunch and talked about books, blogs, music, media and all the things that Joms and I talk about. Haha. Then had dessert at Red Mango while he played with Macy and I played NFS with his phone.

The rest of the week was filled with a game of charades, issues at work and the general feeling of being older. Haha. The “birthday” glow has long faded, as far as I can tell, but being 23 isn’t so bad. I just feel…well, older but in a good sense.

I’m happy at how my week turned out. Plus there were so many firsts in this birthday that it’s really going to be memorable, just as how every other birthday has been. :) I mean, come on, it’s another year to celebrate life, how could it not be memorable?

So, I thank everyone who’s greeted me, made an effort to make my day special (that’s you, Happy! :P), the people I fed, those who left Facebook messages, text messages, YM messages, Multiply comments, and comments in my previous post, and who greeted me in every way possible. :) Thanks to my family for allowing me to get the iPod Touch, haha!  Thank you, thank you, thank you. ♥

And most of all, thank You Lord. I know I don’t deserve any of Your grace or Your love, yet You give them anyway, and that is reason enough to be even more thankful. Thank You for another year, and I pray that this year be a year that I get to know You and love You better. Thank You. ♥

Here’s to 23. :)

Twenty Two

Here we go again, exactly one year after I posted last year, before I turned twenty two. It’s less than 24 hours till I turn twenty-three, and…well, I thought I’d post early since I don’t think I’d have the time to post later. Busy, busy day at work. ;)

My 22nd year was a blur. I don’t know why, but it felt like it is. Maybe it’s because I was so busy with everything in my life that I hardly noticed things. Well, okay, I did, and they’re safely written in my journal (at least, almost all of it), so my memory is kind of failing right now. Maybe my journal-writing is really becoming like Dumbledore’s Pensieve (did I spell that right?). Hm. That’s a thought.

I was sick almost the entire week last week because of that nasty indigestion I had last Monday. I was so weak last Monday that I could have asked for NO2 Black, except I don’t know what that would do to me. I can’t remember if I posted about it, but I threw up again on Tuesday, for eating a too heavy dinner too soon. Bah. I was reduced to a crackers and juice and congee diet for the entire week. I was so hungry by Thursday, but I had to keep at it because Friday was Pizza day with the teammates. Good thing I was well enough by Friday, and I got to eat normally, but not as much as I used to.

Which is a good thing, really, because that means I can lose weight by eating less. :P

Anyway, Saturday was a big day, because I got my first birthday present for the year. :) I let go of Triskal last Friday and sold him to my boss, because I was planning to get the much-awaited and wanted iPod Touch. :) I’ve been losing sleep over the weekend playing with it and installing apps and making sure all my album art are complete. Haha, Apple products do this to people, srsly. I’ve yet to make a proper review of this, but here’s a photo:

Macy the iPod Touch

So pretty! The silicone case is my brother’s birthday gift to me, plus my pink earphones, so it’s all pink. ♥ I named it Macy after the lead character of Sarah Dessen‘s The Truth About Forever. I knew that a guy name wouldn’t fit this one. :))

Sunday, after catching up on sleep, I cleaned my room. I used to clean my room three times a year back when I was studying, but ever since I started working I hardly do. But yesterday gave me a reason to do so, and see here:

The Bookshelf!

YES, IT’S FINALLY HERE! Took three months, but it’s okay. :) This is actually my brother’s Christmas present, which I kind of feel bad asking for since it’s a bit expensive. :) But thank you, none the less! I realized yet again that I have so many books, that i didn’t know how to fix them yesterday. Note that those aren’t the only books I have — I have more on a separate single shelf on my dresser. :P

I haven’t figured out a real way to arrange the books, except that the non-fiction are on the left, the young adult/teens were on the right and the ones in the center are my favorites. The ones on the top are the books I have yet to read. I have to figure out a better way to organize this and fit more books, but for now, I just like looking at it. :)

Today’s going to be a long day at work, with QA’s and goal setting, and documentation and training at night. I hope I can get home before midnight, though. I want to start my 23rd year at home. :D

Balai Laiya

So last weekend, we went to the beach.

Beach!

And yes, that photo up there is the same view we had for two days. :)

Anyway, we’ve been planning to have a beach trip (or just any trip of some sort) for the club since last year after all the work we had done, and I’m really glad we got to do it last weekend. Of course, not everyone made it, but it was okay. The weekend was just what I need to relax and have fun, you know?

So Saturday, after my long night of dinner and drinks and talks with my teammates at the previous night, we rode the rented van and headed for an almost four-hour trip to Laiya, Batangas. We were at Coco Grove last year for our company outing, and Balai Laiya is a few resorts away. After breakfast, a long ride and no sleep in the van because of all the jokes and the bumpiness of the rides, we finally got to the resort.

And let me just say: WOW.

Continue reading Balai Laiya

I Planted a Tree

A little less than a month ago, I embarked on an adventure that I have never done before.

I went to a tree-planting activity.

Okay, so it was for the club at work, and since I’m part of the organizing committee, I had to join this activity. Plus I promised the project lead I’ll be there and I have nothing else to do that weekend…so off to the tree planting activity I go!

The tree planting activity at work has been a yearly tradition for the past three years, apparently. Employees have gone back to Ipo Dam to plant trees every year, and so far all the trees are still alive. We received good news during the ocular visit (which I was supposed to go to but didn’t because of WordCamp), so we were expecting to have a relatively easy time come tree planting day itself, provided that it didn’t rain. Although it rained Friday afternoon, it was clear by Saturday so we thought it would be an okay day.

Boy, were we wrong.

Okay, it wasn’t that it’s not okay. It’s just that we had totally, totally wrong expectations in the tree planting activity. I mean, I know we’ll be planting trees which means soil, so I brought gloves and wore rubber shoes. One of the participants who helped out last year told us the holes have been dug and all we need to do is to put the seedlings in. So all the while I thought we’d be planting trees in a level plain with holes dug up and we’d be done in an hour.

Boy, was I wrong.

Plain? What plain? We had to trek up a muddy route up the mountains where we have to plant trees around a slippery mountain side. And who was I to know I’d the the klutz of the day starting from the moment we disembarked from the boat?

Trekking!On our way to the site after disembarking from the boat.

 

Mountains!The planting site

Here’s the list of accidents I got into that day (cross posted from my Multiply album):

  1. As I was disembarking the boat, I accidentally submerged my right foot (in rubber shoes, socks and jeans) in water. O_O
  2. I was trying to get to solid land from the boat, so one of the guides in the place helped me cross over…and I accidentally pulled him into the water. >_>
  3. I was going around the mountains trying to get to seedlings and plant them when I slipped on my butt. Only one guy saw me though. :P
  4. And then I slipped again.
  5. On the way down, I had to have one of the guides help me around since my shoes are SO slippery. Oh and my backpack strap broke. :(
  6. On our way back, I was walking to solid ground but still had very very bad balance…when I submerged my left foot in a puddle of mud. T_T

You know those trips where there’s this one person — usually a girl — who ends up getting into all sorts of accidents and needs to be rescued almost at all points of the trip? That was me that day. I felt like the wimpiest and klutziest and noisiest employee that day. Oh and the dirtiest:

Shoes

Bah. The clincher? These were my Mom’s shoes. :|

But it was fun. Like what my friend Rain kept on saying that day: charge it to experience. Well it’s an experience all right, one worth more than any Outer Banks rentals. I’ve never felt so beat up after (well the last time was during a GK build two years ago)! Oh, and I did plant trees…four. Ha. But still!

So will I join again next year? Most probably. But this time, I’ll make sure I have proper gear and a change of clothes so if ever I end up rolling in mud, I wouldn’t be that bothered. ;)

Visiting Cebu after 7 years

Around August, I was rummaging around my stuff at home and found my HSBC Travel voucher that I got when I spent the first 5K using Lizzie (my HSBC card). It entitled me to a free domestic round trip ticket to several locations in the country. I thought, cool, I get to travel sometime within the year. After a sort of devastating cancellation of my Sydney plans, I figured I deserved a trip.

So in the middle of my very busy September, Happy and I flew down south to Cebu (cameras, laundry hamper and all) to take a weekend off.

Welcome!

Now it’s been so long since I was last in that city. The last time I went to Cebu was during the YFC International Leader’s Conference back before senior year in high school. It was one of the best ILCs I’ve ever been in, but I have to admit that I was too focused on being in the conference (let’s not ask why, shall we? :P) to actually look around and appreciate the place. I think the “tourist-y” place I went there was…erm, SM City Cebu. Haha pathetic, I know. :P I was there, but I wasn’t really there, you see? So this time, I was the tourist who has never been to Cebu, with good friends to tour me around. :D

Instead of boring you guys to death with paragraphs, I’ll go bullet points instead. :D

Continue reading Visiting Cebu after 7 years

For the love of WordPress

WordCamp Philippines

It’s been a long time since I attended any blogger’s thing — the last time I attended one was during the Philippine Blog Awards 2007. After that I really meant to attend other events, but my schedule just got so jampacked with work and other stuff that I disappeared from the “social blogging scene”, if there was any.

Well yesterday I decided to break my streak of non-attendance and headed over to the first ever WordCamp in the Philippines (and in Southeast Asia), held at College of Saint Benilde, in Taft. I was kind of excited to go there the day before but then I realized that since I have disappeared from online meet-ups, I don’t really have anyone to go with at WordCamp. Oh, I know people are going, but I wasn’t sure if I could tag along with them, you know?

But anyway, I also realized that this is one day where I could meet new people, so off I go to Taft — late, of course haha — with Aslan in tow. :D

Continue reading For the love of WordPress

Lifehouse in Manila, July 26, 2008

So, it was the first time in more than a year that I watched a concert where I wasn’t part of the organizing team. It was kind of a strange feeling, but it felt a bit relaxing too, as I wasn’t in any stress and all I had to do was to sit back and watch the show.

But I do miss the perks. Meeting the artists from the moment they step in the country. Making sure the place was okay. Getting really good places to stand (because we can’t sit down) during the show and then congratulating the artists personally after their performance. But…like I said, it’s kind of a welcome break.

Oh, and one more thing: it sucks that I have no camera. :| Sure, Captain Tal did okay (see blurry pictures below), but my micro sd card is still 64MB because I totally forgot to buy a bigger one (okay, maybe I was a bit too lazy to do so)…plus I could’ve taken more photos and clearer videos if I had a camera with me. Next mission: buy that pink Canon Ixus 80 IS, ASAP!

Anyway, so last night, Tue, Happy and I trooped to Araneta Coliseum (exactly two months since Hillsong United, oy!) to watch Lifehouse. I’ve been excited for this since Happy told me she bought our tickets (Upper B is all we can afford) and for the past week I’ve been listening to their songs just so I’d be ready on concert night. And because I’m on constant Lifehouse mode for the week, I’ve made a playlist of songs I wish they’d sing on concert night:

  • Whatever It Takes
  • First Time
  • Blind
  • Breathing
  • Simon
  • Everything
  • Hanging By a Moment
  • Somewhere in Between
  • Undone
  • You and Me
Our view of the stage from where we sat
Our view from where we sat (Upper B).

So the show starts, and even if we’re in Upper B, we had a pretty good view. Lots of people screaming (including us, of course!), and because we were well prepared, we sang along with the songs that we know. :D For a moment I wish we were at Patron or LowerBox…but after some time, I realized how relaxed we were at Upper B. I even sat down at some part of the concert. :P And who knew Araneta could be so cold?

The guys were amazing, and I swear, I love Jason Wade. I love his rocker voice on mp3s and CDs, but hearing his voice live is just…to die for. Love, love, love! He has an amazing stage presence too, and I love that he makes sure to look up at us people who were at the higher part of the coliseum. :D

I <3 you Jason Wade!
This is the closest I could see of him...on projected screens, which conked out by "You and Me". :|

The show wasn’t as fluid as the ones I’ve watched before (i.e. Switchfoot), because sometime in between the songs, the stage would darken and there would only be low guitar/bass riffs and not too many friendly chit-chat with the audience, not at least until the middle? There was even a time when Jason went offstage for some reason and then ran back up. But performance wise, they were really amazing, and I am even a more fan now than I ever was before. :)

The concert ended a bit too early too, and I can’t help but feel like it’s bitin. But then again, they sang more songs than the Switchfoot show, so maybe it’s only because I’m used to being backstage before the concert proper, which makes it feel longer. Haha. Or maybe it was only because not all songs from my wishlist were played. But, regardless of all those thoughts I just typed, I had fun, they were amazing, and the show was worth it. :D

Since I didn’t have access to the actual setlist after the show, I made sure to note all the songs they sang in my phone (titles in boldface are the songs I love):

  1. Make Me Over
  2. Spin
  3. Am I Ever Gonna Find Out
  4. SimonYES! Looove that they sang this! ♥
  5. Hanging By a MomentReminded me so much of my prayer before I resigned.
  6. Blind — ♥
  7. Take Me Away — Tried calling my friend when they played this since this was one of her favorite songs but she didn’t answer. Oh well. :(
  8. Somebody Else’s Song
  9. From Where You Are — This is the part where we sat down, because we didn’t know the song. Who has a copy of this? :D
  10. Bridges — Bryce sang this one, and it sounded a lot different from Jason’s version. I love the part where they shared one mic though.
  11. Better Luck Next Time
  12. Whatever It TakesWe screamed when they started playing the intro of the song :)
  13. You and Me
  14. First Time
  15. (ENCORE) DisarrayAfter last night, I now love this song.
  16. (ENCORE) Broken I love the meaning of this song.

I still wish they sang Everything…but 6 out of 10 wished for songs isn’t bad. ;) I hope they’d go back (and can our team please handle them now? :D), and I will definitely be there again. :D Here’s to another bigger Lifehouse fan. *cheers*

Like being in love with you for the first time. ♥

End of Difficult Weeks, I Hope

Ah, Saturday!

It’s no news that the past days/weeks has been a bit of hectic for me, because of all the things I’ve signed myself up to do. The past weeks has been difficult — physically, mentally and emotionally. But I think I’m finally done with everything…okay, almost everything. I think I still have some leftover stuff I need to do, but most of the pending stuff are done. :)

Admittedly the past week has been better than the last few ones, probably because I’m not worrying about Australia anymore.  I guess it really is a blessing in disguise that I didn’t push through because if I was, I probably be wouldn’t blogging right now, plus I’d probably be going crazy right now with preparing. Not to mention bankrupt with all the things I need to buy for my trip. No regrets. :)

Townhall Team - Photo by Sam YaokasinLast night was our company’s townhall ((A company-wide meeting where the bosses give updates about the company and its initiatives)), and I was a part of the townhall committee. It was a month-long preparation, and I’m really glad I survived it. :D I got to head the creatives team, which I chose to be a part of mostly because of what I do for the club I am a part of at work — make email announcements. Turns out there’s so much more stuff to do for the team — from the program concept to the script to the sounds! ACK! Thank God I was with a great team! It was stressful, yes, but it was all a great learning experience. In the span of two weeks, I learned how to animate in Flash ((Yes, I know Flash, but I’m more of an Action Script person than animation)) and edit sounds in Garageband (overnight!). I also made a simple Flash presentation in the span of an hour. That’s a personal record. :D

The townhall was a success, at least in my point of view. It may not be as grand as the kick-off early this year, but I know we gave all our best here. There’s still one more townhall on Monday which I have to sit out on since I really need to rest. But that’s one thing off my Big Rocks list for the next week. :) Yay.

Oh, but there was a surprising moment yesterday! On the second part of the awarding ceremony at the townhall, they were showing some videos about employees who have embodied one of the company’s values. On the fourth video, there was a news report of sorts by none other than our club president and other friends, and then all of a sudden, I saw my face (and four other friends’ faces) onscreen. Haha, turns out, we were being honored for being dedicated to the club! Surprise galore? So that’s why MM said something about everything being worth it in the end. Haha. So again, even if I said this in the email last Friday, let me say it once again: THANK YOU! :)

After last night’s second run, I met up with my successor in the project team I’ve been heading for the past two quarters, and I’m really glad that my term for being lead is over. :) I like what I do, but it’s kind of tiring being the lead. Plus, it’s time for someone else to take over. :)

I went home and slept like a log until almost noon. I watched Horton Hears a Who on DVD and then some TV and finally went to Galleria to go online. Obviously I’m still here, and I’m still deciding if I should get a pedicure later to treat myself. But maybe after I finish accounting my funds.

So it’s a relatively slow Saturday. I’ve got some little stuff I need to do, but like I said, it’s little. I want to spend some time alone for a while because I’ve been surrounded by people lately. Me time, me time.

I just realized how…novel-ish this situation is. I’m sitting at a coffee shop with my laptop, iPod plugged into my ear, cellphone beside me and a book waiting to be read. Plus I’ll be going home to the condo later, and for a few hours I’d be sitting there alone because my brother’s going home late. How…grown-up. Ha, I feel like I’m Rain.:P

Here’s to a relatively quiet weekend. :) Starting next week I’ll be going back home to our house because condo living is expensive. Sure, it feels more posh to live in a condo but it’s definitely cheaper to just go home. I guess…here’s to a relatively quiet week ahead. :D

Happy weekend everyone!

I'm proud to say you're mine ♥

Happy Mother's Day!

I remember it so well: it was the day of m first thesis proposal defense. I haven’t been home for a few days and I was so scared and nervous. Then you text me, wishing me luck for the defense. I texted back, telling you to pray because I was scared…and you called me and talked me out of my fears. We failed that afternoon, but when I called you, you gave nothing but loving and assuring words, telling me everything’s going to be alright.

There was a time when I came home from school, and I sensed tension in the air. Turns out you accidentally chanced upon my journal, and saw some of the things I’ve been hiding. I told you everything, and I was afraid you’d get angry…but we ended up bonding. :)

I was having blisters all over my body — my fever was bad and the skin problem I had was getting worse. You brought me to the dermatologist and got me medicine to drink and cream to put all over my blisters. Even if I was in college already and I can manage pretty well, you helped me put the meds just so everything’s covered. :)

I was tired with schoolwork and thesis. You accompanied me as I got our thesis ringbound, and while I was waiting for it, you disappeared into the grocery. A little while later, you were back, carrying a bag of groceries for me to take to the dorm for the week with all the stuff you know I like, and an additional bag of M&M’s chocolate. :)

We weren’t always good to each other — in fact, I think I answered back to you too many times as I was growing up. But I know that despite all that, you were, are and always will be there for me. I know that even if we don’t really like and understand the same things, I’ll always be able to count on you to storm the heavens for me. You’ve taught me to pray, to value my faith and to believe in God’s faithfulness. You don’t have to apologize for not being the perfect mom, because to me, you ARE perfect. :) Flaws and all. :D

Without you, our family wouldn’t have been the same, our home wouldn’t have been the same. I wouldn’t be who I am, I wouldn’t be where I am. Thank you. :)

Happy Mother’s Day, Mama! I love you! ♥

And before I forget…Happy Mother’s Day, Mama Mary. :) Thank you for always praying for us. :)

And finally: Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there!