Tag Archives: 2007

Dear Diary

Last Working Day

3 Comments

And before you say anything about my title, no, I don’t mean my last working day ever here. What I mean is, it’s the last working day for 2007! For us, at least.

Ah, what was I doing last year? I was worried and all about the upcoming year, and it’s mostly because of work. Hah. I’m that neurotic. Well, I’m still a bit neurotic in that sense, but I am definitely doing so much better this year than last year. :)

This week has been package week for me at work. My gift for Grace arrived yesterday, as well as a late birthday gift to Happy from me and Tuesday, and earlier today, I got my Moleskine Asia order, which contains my 2008 planner, 2 blank notebooks that I plan to use somewhere (journals, yay!), and my gifts to Tuesday and Bea. I was so giddy when I received my packages — even if I spent on all of them — just because. I miss receiving letters from snail mail. The only letters I received for the past year were bills. Hah. I now know the feeling.

Maybe next year I can invest in snail mail stuff. Hmmm.

Armed for 2008!Anyway, a bit earlier today, while fixing my stuff, I was holding my new planner and the Moleskine I won a few months ago, when I was hit by my OC-ness. I tore the two pages I have written in in the said notebook, then opened one of the plain Moleskines I ordered and told myself this would be my journal for 2008. Why change from the other even if they’re both Moleskines? Can’t tell, I was sworn to secrecy. :D But anyway, I’m now using this other plain pocket Moleskine…So now I have two identical-looking notebooks all ready for 2008.

Suddenly I’m excited. :) I remember last year I was so apprehensive at the incoming year; this year, I’m psyched. I’ve always made predictions at the start of every year since 2004. Not the fortune-telling kind, but the a general feeling of how the year will go. Like, 2004 was the year of “many happenings” and 2005 was the quiet year, and 2006 was the year of promises and 2007 was the difficult year. What about 2008?

I think 2008 will be…different. I believe it will be definitely better than 2007. In what ways, only God knows. If 2007 was the year of Great Adventures, I think 2008 will be the year of Big, Fun and Scary Stuff (thanks to the NaNoWriMo people for this term :) ). Come to think of it, I think that term is very similar to Great Adventure. ^^;

But yes…2008 is going to be the year for it. :) The year of Big, Fun and Scary Stuff. I don’t know what 2008 holds, but I’ve got several things to put in my list of Big, Fun and Scary Stuff to conquer this year. :) Like, lose weight (seriously), drive (seriously), bake something new other then my revel bars (and maybe get myself an Ove glove to prevent burns), and go to Sydney. :D Woooh. And that’s just the start! Exciting!

What about you? What do you think 2008 holds for you? :)

Dear Diary

Best Posts of 2007

5 Comments

And Christmas is now over, it’s just five more days until 2007 comes to a close. As with a lot of bloggers around the Net right now, I’ll also be making a list of my own best posts of 2007. Vain much, I know. :P By best, I mean those that contain a lot of meat in them, the ones that gives fond (or sometimes not) memories. Let’s see if I can remember what some cryptic entries meant. ;)

Warning: this is an insanely long entry.

January

  • Never Take Friendship Personal (January 15, 2007) – this post was an angry post. I was annoyed at some people from my previous work who I thought were my friends, but then they stopped including me in their breakfast/lunch plans…in fact, they stopped talking to me altogether, and I had no idea why. Things loosened up around March when one of them was resigning. It hurt a lot.
  • Passions (January 18, 2007) – this post is the start of my doubting if I was in the right job. Note that I was only four months into the job then. I wondered about quitting, and the entire thought of loving your job.
  • On Crushes (January 26, 2007) – Just because this entry is so…hee! Boys are brothers, not prospects!
  • Parteeh Hangover (January 28, 2007) – Because this is the most link-loving post I’ve ever done. :)

February

  • MUfHH: Are you ready to be offered? (February 6, 2007) – One of my early meaty reflections, about trusting God and letting go. Reading this reminds me of how deep Oswald Chambers’ reflections can be. And how deep I can reflect.
  • For My Love (February 14, 2007) – My “mandatory” Valentine’s post. I love how positive this sounded. :D Haha.

March

  • Hurt (March 4, 2007) – Reading this entry still gives me an ache in the heart. :( Written after totally eventful night which I really do not want to happen again.
  • Cryptic Entry # 2: Why? (March 13, 2007) – Ah, I guess I can divulge the reason for this one. :) I wrote this after hearing from a friend that my low exam results in the pre-employment exam in the company where I currently work now did not make me qualify for the next step. How sad. But look where I am now. :)
  • The Great Adventure (March 18, 2007) – The obligatory (post-)birthday post, where I psych myself up for my 21st year.
  • Cryptic Entry # 3: I Want Out (March 23, 2007) – This is where I cracked from all the dislike I had for my previous job, because it seemed like people could not bear to give even the smallest of encouragement to their colleagues. Hay.
  • Skimming the Surface (March 29, 2007) – This is where I elaborated on why I wanted out. I just re-read the entry and was surprised at how emotional, broken and angry it sounded. Wow.

Other notable entries here are the “What happened when I was ___” in preparation for the birthday. :)

Continue reading Best Posts of 2007 →

Randomnities

2007 Year-end survey, Part 2

10 Comments

This is the second year-end survey that I have been doing since 2003, except for 2004, which I probably missed because of me being in Saipan. I’d post the answers in the previous years just for kicks, but some of them are kind of too long. Heh. 2006 answers can be found here. :)

What did you do in 2007 that you’d never done before?
Get myself a truck bed liner. Haha, no, just kidding. Resign from my old job. Join a sportsfest team (Bowling!). Go boxing. Watch Switchfoot. Go to Singapore and Naga. Become a Municipal Liaison for NaNoWriMo. Buy a MacBook and actually paying for it with my own money. Pay for my website hosting with my own money (after three years!).

Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Agh. Maybe only 2? I did not make proper resolutions this year for some reason. I can’t even remember them now. As for next year…I will probably make some, but they’ll most probably be similar with the previous ones.

Did anyone close to you give birth?
My cousin’s wife gave birth, as well as my nephew’s wife. Haven’t seen the babies though. I saw my nephew’s baby (my…grand-niece? :-o) yesterday.

Did anyone close to you die?
Like I mentioned in the first survey, Erwin passed away last year but I only found out about him early this year. :(

What countries did you visit?
Singapore!

What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?
Better prayer life (once again), more confidence in my driving, possibly even higher salary (heh), and more willpower to actually lose weight. Heh. Better time management skills and more assertiveness. Oh, and a 250GB external hard disk drive for Aslan.

Continue reading 2007 Year-end survey, Part 2 →

Randomnities

2007 Year-end survey, Part 1

5 Comments

For the first time since I started my not-so-new job, I’ve never been so happy it’s the weekend. This week has been the same fun, but there’s been so much work and I’ve got too little sleep much thanks to the Misa de Gallo/Simbang Gabi, so everything feels like I have too little time to work on it. So let me breathe a sigh of relief that the weekend is here, and I’ve got a four-day weekend to look forward to. Then another four day weekend next week, but let’s not go to that yet. :)

I’m supposed to make a list of things that happened in 2007 that is worth mentioning but I’m too tired to think. I found this old survey from my LiveJournal though. As with everyone else in the blog world doing their 2007 recollections, here’s my second one (the first one being this). The last time I filled this survey out was back in 2003. To make things more interesting, I’ll keep my 2003 answers (in italics) in the survey so we could all laugh at how I see things 4 years ago. :P (Oh and some names are censored to protect their privacy…and prevent me from being embarrassed :)) )

Continue reading 2007 Year-end survey, Part 1 →

Randomnities

First Sentences for 2007

5 Comments

This post’s content is taken from Kyameel‘s blog, the first of my 2007 year-end memes ((Ergh, I still hate using this word)) on the first early morning of Simbang Gabi, because I can’t go back to sleep (and I bet I’ll only be able to sleep around noon. Even an adjustable beds won’t help me this morning). This is the price of my body clock continuously getting whacked. Hah.

Anyway.

Take the first sentence (or two) from the first entry of each month and post it here. That’s your year in review.

  • January
    “Where was I for the past first five days of 2007? Let me list them down: January 1: I spent the first two hours in prayer. *blissful smile*” ((Sigh))
  • February
    “Wow, it’s already February. Where did January go?”
  • March
    “Well hello, it’s March already. Can you believe it?”
  • April
    “Okay, I think it’s pretty presentable now. :) This is the less pink layout I wanted, and if you didn’t see this post before I edited it, I realized that I used Christmas colors here, but according to the Color Schemer website where I picked this scheme, it’s supposed to be apples.”
  • May
    “Happy Labor Day everyone. It is so good to be able to take a break in the middle of the week — with pay!”
  • June
    “Hello, Friday! Hello, June! I never mentioned it, but I started a Script Frenzy blog.”
  • July
    “Last Friday was my last day at work. I was permitted to be a bit relaxed, provided I finish all the documents for turnover and request for transfer early. Around 3:00pm I was done, so all I did was talk with my officemates and do some picture taking.”
  • August
    “If you still don’t have a mosh pit ticket, then this should convince you! :) For all mosh pit ticket buyers until August 6, you will get the following: Free limited edition poster autographed by the entire band for every mosh pit ticket purchased, and Free Sunchild Redeemer T-Shirt for every two tickets purchased (Sunchild Redeemer shirts were sold during the Reuben Morgan worship two years ago).”
  • September
    “Let’s have some mindless fun again before I talk about my long, long book fair day. :) This quick survey is taken from the That’s My Answer meme for September 1. :)”
  • October
    “Hello, it’s October! I’m still sort of swamped at work, but I thank my teammates for taking some of the load (Hi Mike!) off me.”
  • November
    “Hello November. :)It’s a non-working holiday today and today is also the day we fly to Singapore.”
  • December
    “Yes, this is another NaNoWriMo post. :) Which I am supposed to post here (well, it is cross-posted, soooo) but this blog seemed to be abandoned now, and Mike has been demanding I make a new post…so here. ^^;”

I just have to laugh at how I always marveled at a new month’s entry. Did all months of 2007 pass by that fast?

Okay, now I’m sleepy. :) I shall take a nap before reformatting Ginger and putting her up for sale. :) Good morning everyone!

Dear Diary, My Two Centavos

Craziness NOT Over

5 Comments

Warning: This entry is very ranty, maybe a bit selfish. Please excuse me, a corporate slave has been interrupted from her work. Let me let out some steam, please.

And I thought today would be a peaceful day, you know, since there’s only the real work I have to deal with, no extra-curricular activities. Plus, it’s the weekend, so I look forward to shopping tomorrow with Happy for something to wear for Saturday’s company Christmas party…and then relax on Sunday while capturing this video for work. You know, a nice, normal, quiet weekend — something to recover from the stress of the week.

But other people have other plans ((Read: The Makati Standoff)). And everyone’s affected ((Read: Manila curfew)).

If you happen to be in the country and you don’t know what’s going on, you are probably not watching the news…so here’s a short version: two grown men — a senator and a general — decided to throw a tantrum because the people won’t hear their side and lock themselves up in a hotel. Oh and they brought friends too! Hey, maybe they listen to us now!

Six hours later…“FINE! I’ll go out now and surrender…but only because I don’t want people to get hurt!” *Ignores all the guests staying in the hotel who had to go out because of what he did, the workers in Makati who got hassled, and all the people who got hassled because of the curfew imposed as a result of this whole shenanigan.* Oh, at least no one got hurt, right? They’re hassled, yes, but they’re not hurt! It’s okay! The Manila Peninsula has a tank smashed up the front entrance that destroyed the hotel entrance and probably their nice ceiling lighting? Cool! But no one’s hurt, right? The place is just badly damaged, but don’t worry, you can fix that! Oh, media people? Sorry we had to use you as human shields, and sorry, we’ll use you as well so some of us can try to go out. You might get arrested, but don’t worry, it’s okay! You’ll get out! Your networks will let you out! Everyone ready? Okai, we go nao! Ktnxbai!

Hay. Sorry for the sarcasm, I’m just annoyed. I’m probably going to take a lot of heat with what I’m about to say, but I’m annoyed because this is my last night of late shift, and I had a lot of stuff to finish tonight, which I couldn’t because I had to go home and I can’t work on it at home because I don’t have a work-issued laptop. Ah, I’ve become such a corporate slave that all I think about is work, work, work.

I guess at some point in the past few years since EDSA Dos, I have become a bit apathetic over these things. It had a point back then, but people keep on overusing the rally power that we had, that it’s become tiring. Remember those rallies in Makati two years ago, the one where entire Ayala was closed to traffic because people decided to rally? Where they left Makati very dirty afterwards, hassling all the workers because all underpasses and overpasses are closed and no bus passes in Ayala so everyone has to walk all the way to Glorietta to ride the MRT? It’s just too much. And now this! It’s tiring, really.

I’m not pro-administration or pro-opposition, but this is just crazy. And selfish. The way they tried to call attention and get the other side to do their bidding and point fingers to blame other people for the misfortune of our country is plain selfish, when in reality everyone is at fault. Don’t believe me? When was the last time you threw away your trash on the street and not look for a garbage can? When was the last time you one-upped your friend because you wanted to get more for yourself? When was the last time I ignored someone who needed my help? When was the last time I thought of someone other than myself? And see how selfish I was a few paragraphs back, when I was talking about how this entire thing disturbed me from work and I hardly even throught of everyone in Makati who is affected and might have been hurt in this entire ordeal?

I’m still proud to be a Filipino, and I still hope for the best in this country. I just hope that the people in position will decide to side with the Filipino people — who they are supposed to be serving, anyway — for once, and not stage things like these that really shows how much they only think of themselves.

Alright, enough ranting. The disgruntled (hee, favorite word at work right now) corporate slave will just sleep and pray everything is normal — as much as it can be — tomorrow.

Keep safe, everyone.

Dear Diary, In His Steps, Say Cheese!

Revolution of Hope, Part 1

Yes, I went to Naga City this weekend, despite the comfort issues. It was a fun weekend, although it was a lot different from the Davao ILC last year. Because of its differences, it merits a two part entry in this blog. :)

So Thursday, I fixed my things and my mom (I love you!) dropped me off at the meeting area. As I said, I was nervous because I have no idea who I will be with. I met some of the people who arrived who are basically my “younger generation” since they all came from my chapter. The other people came, and it was time to leave. I rode a jeep together with other people in my chapter, some Napico kids and the SIGA who I was supposed to watch over together with Tita Precy, their couple coordinator.

On the way to NagaCan I just say that it’s a LONG ride to Naga? As in LOOOOONG. Since we were riding an aircool jeep with not-so-soft seats instead of an airconditioned bus with cushioned seats, the ride was well, butt-hurting. Plus the wind was constantly in our face and hair that I know it all accumulated several layers of dust during the travel. Traveling at night time is even different: it’s dark and cold. We all had to figure out ways how to be comfortable without messing with the other riders and to stop your butts from hurting from sitting because of the 10-12 hours of travel. It was a fun because people actually lied down on the floor to get some sleep, while some of us bundled ourselves with jackets and blankets so we won’t freeze.

Continue reading Revolution of Hope, Part 1 →

WWW

2007 Philippine Blog Awards

I’m kind of late in blogging this…but better late than never!

Philippine Blog Awards 2007Early 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. :)

Dear Diary, In His Steps, Quotable Quote

Hello, 2007

1 Comment

Where was I for the past first five days of 2007? Let me list them down:

  • January 1: I spent the first two hours in prayer. *blissful smile* I was hit by a big realization the day before while having my hair cut, and that was then I decided that I will spend the first hour of 2007 in prayer. I ended up spending two because the first one was with my family while the second was for my own prayer time. I figured out that I concentrate better in my prayer when I write while I pray so now I write it down. :) I slept, then we went to Tagaytay after lunch for kicks. We visited the lot we have there, then ate at Josephine and went home. My brother and I were supposed to go to the gym but it was traffic so off home we go!
  • January 2: Back to work. It was still kinda relaxed since most people are still on leave. Oh yeah, this was also my first day of gym! Cardio workout for 30 minutes since we got there kind of late. :D
  • January 3: Workout again in the morning, and then work!
  • January 4: Workout again, lots of work and then dinner with the parents at Wendy’s. ♥
  • January 5 (Today): Workout again, then work and now home. HELLO WEEKEND!

Kinda boring if you list it like that. :P The only interesting day I had was New Year’s. Interesting in a way that it didn’t involve work. Although work can be a bit interesting; I’m just not allowed to talk about what exactly I am doing at work here. So there.

Although, I can definitely say that 2007 has been proving to be quite a challenging year so far. And yes, it’s mostly because of work. But let’s not talk about that. ;) It’s times like these that I wonder if I might really have the gift of prophecy (as in the gifts of the Holy Spirit). It’s not that I predict things that will happen (although sometimes, the things I say actually happen, but that’s for another post). Anyway, let’s see…2004 was a year where a lot of things happened, 2005 was the quiet year and 2006 was the year where I learned of God’s faithfulness. Before 2007 started, I was quite apprehensive because I can feel like this year is going to be a year of challenges. I feel like God is going to send me challenges here and there — things that will challenge my beliefs, my faith, my relationship with Him. I don’t know what these challenges are (except work? Haha okay I shall shut up now), but it’s enough for me to balk.

New Year’s Eve, I was praying for God to still my heart, that I may be ready for the coming year. I didn’t pray for it to pass, because I know I’d have to go through something like this sometime, and what better time than now?

Scary? You bet.

But then again, maybe that’s just me. You know, being negative for a change. Who knows? Only God knows.

Though…you know what? Last year is the year where I discovered God’s faithfulness which was deeper than I ever imagined…and this year is also an extension of that. Although maybe this year, God will bring me to another level, to have a real kind of faith, not the one that relies on feelings and experiences alone, but is solidly rooted in His saving love.

As I got out of the office earlier, I was thinking of a lot of things that involved our discussion in the office, as well as battling with this feeling of wanting to quit. But thing is, I’m not a quitter. Although sometimes it feels like I’m wasting my time, and I’ve been hearing so many stories that’s enough to scare me and make me want to retreat.

But then I don’t want to do anything that isn’t in God’s will. As I was walking towards the EDSA Shrine, I got thinking…about work, and the load that’s coming in the next few weeks, the challenges that I will have to face there…and I got scared. But then a word got to me: endurance.

I read it somewhere that we are put in places that isn’t necessarily what we want, and at times we kind of want to leave it because it’s not what we want, and it doesn’t make us happy. I know we should follow our hearts, whatever makes us happy…but do we even know what it is immediately? Yes, God’s will is our deepest desire, and God wouldn’t put us wherever we are miserable…but do we really know what our heart’s desire, just like that?

I’m not saying that God would make us do things we don’t like. God cares more about the journey rather than the destination. We may see that Thing A is good for us, but God sees that Thing B is the best, which is what He wants for us. And the journey to Thing B, is not always easy, but in the long run, it’s worth it because not only did we get the best, but we also became a different person through the journey. Only God knows what our Thing B is, which makes the adventure all the more interesting, albeit terrifying at times.
And through the journey? We endure. I looked up endurance in the Bible and I got this, which spoke to me immediately:

Be assured that from the first day we heard of you, we haven’t stopped praying for you, asking God to give you wise minds and spirits attuned to his will, and so acquire a thorough understanding of the ways in which God works. We pray that you’ll live well for the Master, making him proud of you as you work hard in his orchard. As you learn more and more how God works, you will learn how to do your work. We pray that you’ll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul—not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for us.
– Colossians 1:10-12, The Message, emphasis mine

So this 2007, it may be a year full of challenges, but I know God is faithful. And God is definitely bigger than any of the challenges that will come. :)

Here’s to 2007. *cheers*

Dear Diary, In His Steps, Quotable Quote, Say Cheese!

It's coming around again

Hello, it’s the last year of 2006 and I still can’t connect through FTP so the layout will really just have to wait. Perhaps there’s other things God wants me to put in the layout so it’s waiting. Just be surprised when I have it up. :P

Anyway, I’ll be out later to go to my aunts’ house in QC for a pre-New Year visit, so I’ll be doing this 2006 look back now. I’d upload pictures, but it seems like I won’t be able to…so I’ll just link lots of stuff and re-post pictures I have lying around the site.

So…2006 was a year of fulfilled (and still being fulfilled) promises. 2004 eventful, 2005 was quiet, and 2006 was a year where I believed in God’s promises for me and the people I love; and also a year where I learned to branch out a little bit. Without further a do…here’s the monthly look-back I love doing. :P

Oh, and before you click that, I warn you this is going to be a long entry. :P

Continue reading It's coming around again →