Sweet Timing

I would like to believe that I have the best luck with timing.  I say so now because my sister has such bad timing. Haha!  It's like this - she just graduated from college and has been working for no more than two months.  She's planning to go to the States by September to catch the US Open and to use her visa as it will expire by November this year.  The thing is, she wouldn't be able to save up enough money for that trip, and my dad doesn't support her plan 'cause it just doesn't seem right.  We're not rich to blow a huge amount of money just to watch a tennis match.  She hasn't even bought her own pair of shoes yet, my dad said.

And with this, I am reminded of how lucky I was that I was able to push through with my April trip (I'm sorry, just when you thought I'm done talking about it, I start telling another story. =))  You see, I had the perfect timing with that trip.  Firstly, I got a whole month of break and so I can afford to travel.  Secondly, my visa is still okay.  And thirdly, my timeline for saving money was just enough (though I could always wish to have more!).  Oh, let me tell you, I was a saving machine before that trip.  Every peso that came out of my pocket pained me!  Haha!  And lastly, it was also good timing that my comprehensive exam is done (and results are out) before my trip.  Swerte lang!

The perfect timing continues during the planning and the actual trip.  My cousin who lives in Reno, when I informed her that I'll be going there, invited me to go with them to Washington DC and New York for their kids' spring break.  She said I just have to spend for my air fare from west to east and that  she'll cover for lodging and food.  Sounds like a very good deal, right?  So, I grabbed it!  Besides, I was really going to New York, so the DC trip was a good bonus (Oh, a delightful bonus indeed!).

I was also very fortunate that the day I got to Reno was the day off of my two cousins and my aunt from work.  How's that, huh?!  If they had work during my three, short days there, I wouldn't have seen Lake Tahoe.  And I'd miss a lot!

It was also good timing that when I got to NY, my teacher friend and her husband just moved in a couple of days before I arrived.  I crashed their hotel apartment before they even found peace in their new place, haha!  And since we're all new to the city, I did not have to be shy about their bringing me to places since they're also touring themselves.

And when I flew back to the west, it was also very timely that my cousin who lives in Bakersfield is also enjoying her spring break.  Hey, now that I'm thinking about it, I love their spring break!!  Haha!  It provided me a hell of a time and saved me a lot of money!  Because of that, she was able to pick me up from LAX, along with her husband and cute kids.  She also afforded to drive me around town, too.

When I got to the last leg of my trip, in South CA, to be with my college friend, it was also good timing as she needed a time to get away and relax, and so she told me that she needed Vegas, the stories we shared, and all the chilling we did.  And I believe her.  Hehe!

Oh, I had the best timing with the weather, too!  There's a cold, but manageable, temperature in the Bay Area when I got there.  A couple of days before I arrived, my friend said the rain was terrible in their place.  Reno was a bit colder, but I regard myself as fortunate as this tropicana finally experienced snow!  Haha!  It was snowing in my second to the last day there, and it was such a freezing, and surprising moment, given that I didn't expect snow in spring time.  D.C. and NY were good, too.  There was one rainy day in the Big Apple, but the rest of my stay was sunny enough for us to go around. Also, before I went back to California, my friend was telling me how hot it is there, but I was lucky that when I got there, the weather was just fine!  Vegas weather was very cooperative, too!  Saya!

See?  That's just a few of the good timings I had before and during that eventful trip.  Hmm... there were bad timings, too, but I guess we worked around it, and so it turned out to be good just the same.  Because of all this luck, I really felt that God was with me the whole time, taking care of every detail of my trip, making sure that I get the best of it.  Besides, only He knows when I can return to that humid-free land. :)

Timing, be with me always!

M.D. for a Night

Last night, I went with my sister to a round-table discussion for doctors organized by Glaxo-Smith Kline.  It was held in C2 Events Place in Annapolis.  Well, let me tell you first that I got to attend because my sister was kind of "forced" to attend.  We were supposed to go to this restaurant with buffalo wings (oooh, buffalo wings...), but the med-rep convinced her to go and and that I can tag along.  So, there, I had to pretend to be a doctor and respond to being called "doktora" for several hours.  Wala nga akong recall e, tinatawag na pala ko, 'di pa ko sumasagot.  Haha!  

The food was goooooood!  They serve Filipino cuisine - there was salted egg with tomatoes, green mangoes with bagoong (to die for!), and grilled liempo.  Oh my, I tell you I ate a lot last night!  My plate was full, man. :)

Then, it's payback time.  I had to endure a talk about medicines, pneumonia, etc., with all sorts of medical jargons.   I couldn't have stomached the whole thing if not for the old, but very candid, lady doctor who led the talk.  She was an image of a woman made wise by time and experience that she commanded respect.  But please, don't let me get started with the med-rep who was in-charge of the crazed, ill-thought out group game.  Argh, she made me mad.

Anyway, I wouldn't say it was a complete waste of time.  I had free, yummy dinner, after all.  But I didn't like the whole idea of it - buy the doctors a sumptuous, expensive meal (or make that "beg the doctors to let you buy them dinner") to make them listen to an important talk (that's what the drug company claims, and if it's really objective, then I'm with them in saying that), and so in turn promote their brand.  I say, why don't you just sell the drugs for a lower price?  That is an advertisement in itself.  And that's helping the less fortunate at its best.  No, sending the doctors to posh resorts, or giving them a free trip to wherever, is not the way to show that you want to improve the lives of the masses.

Whoa, now I feel like a hypocrite!  Hmp, I could pay for that dinner, you know! =p

Patience

My most favorite prayer is this:


Teach me, my Lord, to be sweet and gentle in all the events of life: in disappointments, in the thoughtfulness of others, in the insincerity of those I trusted, in the unfaithfulness of those on whom I relied. 

Let me put myself aside, to think of the happiness of others, to hide my little pains and heartaches, so that I may be the only one to suffer them. 

Teach me to profit by the suffering that comes across my path. Let me so use it that it may mellow me, not harden nor embitter me; that it may make me patient, not irritable, that it may make me broad in my forgiveness, not narrow, haughty and overbearing. 

May no one be less good for having come within my influence. No one less pure, less noble for having been a fellow-traveller in our journey toward eternal life. As I go my rounds from one distraction to another, let me whisper, from time to time, a word of love to You. May our life be lived in the supernatural, full of power for good, and strong in its purpose of sanctity. Amen.

---
I got a copy of this prayer back in fourth year college, and it has not left my wallet since.  This prayer just hits me in all the right places, and I always get a smile after whispering it to myself.  That's why whenever I am given a chance to lead a prayer, I always share this one.

Lately, I'm having problems with my patience.  I thought I am impatient with how things in my life seem to be so going so slowly, that I am not getting what I want, or that I just simply want to hurry up.  And then, after some introspection, I realized that my problem is not that.  I realized that I totally understand that life is what it should be, and I'm actually all for God's perfect timing.  My problem is I am impatient with people.  There.  I've said it.  I am impatient with those people who have no respect for others and, consequently, don't want to get some respect from their fellow man (Yes, Manila drivers, I'm talking to you.).  I have no tolerance for people who only think about themselves, highly at that.  I am short for people who do not try to be at their best behavior, even if they actually know better.  I told you, patience is my problem.

I wanted to deal with this attitude, of course.  Hey, I am not perfect so who am I to be so irritable?  So see, I am impatient with myself, too.  And so, I searched for a prayer for patience.  You know what came up?

My favorite prayer. :)

Though I already know from before that this prayer touches on patience, I didn't realize that it is THE prayer for patience.  It was entitled Learning Christ, after all, and not Prayer for the Impatient, Sad Soul.

I don't know, but I find this all very romantic.  God knows what I need to work on in my life, and I didn't realize that I have the help tool with me all along.  Turns out I really didn't have to look that far- the answer is with me all this time.  God gave it to me long before the time I needed it the most.

Oh, I just have the sweetest God.  Well, we all do. :)

Testing BB

When you want to feel lame and unlearned, get a new phone! Hehe!

The Friday the 13th that I like

Today, I remember the birthday of my maternal grandfather, my Apong Toti. When I was a kid, I remember being more excited about his birthday than mine.  Besides, his celebration is much grander, complete with a huge cake, the lechon, and the videographer (it was really a big deal at that time.  And everyone, even those in the province, would come.  There was even a year when all of us, grandchildren, wore a uniform attire especially made for that special occasion.  I pray to God that you can see it.  When I woke up today, and saw that it's May 13, he immediately came to mind.  Even if it's been more than a decade since we celebrated his last.

I love my apo and he loved me.  Even as a kid, I knew that already.  Why? Because every time I'd ask him for piso o dalawang piso, he would immediately reach for his pocket, and that he would not nag before giving it. I also knew he was proud of me because whenever he would ask about school and his diligent grandchild would say something positive, he would say, "ang galing galing talaga ng apo ko".  He may have said that to all his grandchildren, but I cherish those words until today.  And you would not believe how those very words still  inspire me in a great sense after all these years.  The only thing is I will forever be sorry for the idea that I never got the chance to treat him out or to give him something really nice.  He passed away when I was in first year high school, when I didn't have money yet and didn’t know much about showing appreciation.  I guess that's just one of those regrets that I have to deal with in this life.  Nevertheless, I know in my heart that he continues to be proud of me, as his absence still inspires me.    

They say a Friday that falls on the 13th brings bad luck.  But on this supposed cursed day, it's only love and happy childhood times that I remember.

Apo, you are missed.

One of those happier days

Letting Go (of material stuff!)

The wallet I've been using was a gift to me last Christmas 2009.  I tagged this as my lucky wallet because ever since I used it, it seemed like, I never ran out of money.  External attribution, I know, but just let me hang on to this little superstition.  But like most things in life, letting go has to come.  Mine came when the lock isn't as tight as before anymore, and oftentimes, I would see some of the things inside the wallet scattered in my bag.  And so the search for the new wallet begins.  I actually started scouting for one while I was  in the States, but I didn't find one I really fell in love with.   And so when I got back here in Manila and all's settled, I looked for one.  I went around Trinoma and I almost gave up 'cause the ones I liked are very expensive, or that the affordable ones didn't attract me at all. Until… I found it!  Yey! Wait, let me just say for the record that this wallet will forever remind me how old and mature I've grown after all these years.  I will never, ever, ever have liked this wallet if, say, I were still in high school or even in college.  But now, I love it!!  Ta-dah!

From Esprit

Look how many cards it holds!  And I love how thin it is. :)

I love wallets!!

My Best Friend's Wedding

For the love of my friends, I rebooked my flight home to an earlier date so I can be at their wedding (I didn't know I'd  be part of the entourage.).  The stressful part was I almost didn't make it to the march, thanks to Manila and Labor Day traffic.  Only a few things can come close to that kind of stress.  Of course, it has to be accompanied with maniac driving, lots of cursing, and lots of prayers, too.  My gosh, the bride and groom could have killed me!  We reached the church a minute before the march, but I still got a booboo. :(  I left the belt for the gown in the car!!  Argh.  But, in the end, what mattered was I made it.  Hahaha, kidding.  What mattered was it was a beautiful wedding!!  Congrats, Don and Jam!

The groom's and bride's friends

Girlfriends :)

Reality Thug

And, we're back to work!  Can't believe my month-long vacation is over, just like that!  Wow, that was the most exciting thing I ever did (not to mention, the most expensive thing I've ever spent on, too)!  To say that it was a blast is legally an understatement.

Here's a picture of me in Vegas, in Bellagio, with the bed of flowers and my uber tall mangorita glass (which I drank for three hours! . :)


I'm no poser, but I miss it already. :(