Happy New Year To All!

It's been a crazy week indeed and the fun continues with us visiting in-laws again for the New Year`s eve. Apparently this is also my mother-in law`s birthday. I'm so grateful for family and connections that last a lifetime. If you have a happy family, you have happiness in a great measure. I also like the whole week off from work. Only the days were too short, and it will be far too long until I can enjoy that long vacation again. Sigh.

How was yourp 2012? Mine was full of ups and downs, as always in this life, but it has been a joyful year for me. I'm looking forward to 2013, and I have plans and hopes ... but I've really learned that there is no way to predict how it may turn out. There is such a fine balance between planning/preparation and waiting on the Lord to see how things will unfold.

I came across this poem that`s funny and true. And it is also my wish for all of you

May your hair, your teeth, your face-lift, your abs, and your stocks not fall; and may your blood pressure, your triglycerides, your cholesterol, your white blood count and your mortgage interest not rise.

May you get a clean bill of health from your dentist, your cardiologist, your gastroenterologist, your urologist, your proctologist, your podiatrist, your psychiatrist, your plumber, and the BIR.

May you find a way to travel from anywhere to anywhere during rush hour in less than an hour, and when you get there may you find a parking space.

May December 31 find you seated around the dinner table, together with your beloved family and cherished friends, ushering in the New Year ahead.

You will find the food better, the environment quieter, the cost much cheaper, and the pleasure much more fulfilling than anything else you might ordinarily do that night.

May you have the strength to go through a year of electoral campaigning, and may some of the promises made be kept. May you believe at least half of what the candidates propose, and may those elected fulfill at least half of what they promise, and the miracle of reducing taxes and balancing budgets happen.

May what you see in the mirror delight you, and what others see in you delight them.

May the telemarketers wait to make their sales calls until you finish dinner, may your checkbook and your budget balance, and may they include generous amounts for your church and charities.

May you remember to say “I love you” at least once a day to your spouse, your child, and your parent(s).

You can also say it to your secretary, your nurse, your butcher, your photographer, your masseuse, your seamstress, your hairdresser or your tennis instructor, but not with a “twinkle” in your eye.

May we live as God intended, in a world at peace with the awareness of the beauty in every sunset, every flower’s unfolding petals, every baby’s smile and every wonderful, astonishing, miraculous beat of our heart.

May God bless you with happiness, great health, peace, and much love during the next year and all those that follow.

Now do you see what I mean? Who can ever beat this kind of New Year Greeting? Also, I want to thank Jon of JonDMur for taking the sweet time to make this!

Thanks, Sir Jon!

Holiday Bug

Happy Friday and Happy Holidays again to you all, my dear friends. Here's to a wonderfully relaxing weekend of peace and joy spent with family and friends. I'm sending you giant hug through the computer. Can you feel it? I'll be eating lots of sweets this weekend and watching Twilight movies (I haven't seen yet Breaking Dawn Part 2...).

And in case you did not get the gifts you wished, or your plans failed, or found that the long vacation is really more tiring than relaxing, remember to:



Remember that what comes around, goes around. Okay?

I ♥ You One and All!

Well friends, here we are- one day past Christmas 2012. Really, where does the time go? It seems like it was only last year. Does time go fast wherever you are?

We are now back home. We were at my in-laws Christmas eve and my son remarked that he had few gifts only. Actually its shaping up to be a rather bittersweet Christmas for us this year. We`re still getting over our debts. I worked out this plan of paying all our arrears and never to use, charged any purchases to credit cards. You know those pesky cards? And using our present money means no frequent shopping, no movies, no travel. Don't get me wrong. I've not completely gone grinch  -- let's just say I've mastered the art of thrifting, and my catchphrase has become, "it’s the thought that counts” when buying gifts.

And I won. I have never charged anything to credit. I paid cash up to the last centavo. And it was good.  I did not make any major purchases but I`m quite sure things can wait.

So to all my friends, almost friends, and far from being friend.

To my silent readers, the excellent followers and people who appreciated my humor, sentiments, and fears that are all over Thinking Outloud. I am so grateful that you've welcomed my little blog into your life with such open arms. I wouldn't want anyone else sharing this amazing adventure with me, so THANK YOU!!!!

To my friend Margj, who did not only lend me her loyalty but also her generosity all the way down to my family.

Here’s to the merriest season and the coming of a new brilliant year and the eating of too much sweets, slash chocolate slash fruit cake

I hope you have a wonderful holiday, wherever you are.

P.S. Dear Zumba, lets meet again when Ì`m ready, okay?

It's Almost Christmas, People!

                         I thought I want to share this with you, my friends.
                
                      Have a Blessed Christmas and by the way…..the world will not end today. 
                      It is just the beginning of another beautiful life ahead.

Getting Through Christmas

{The breaking news started midmorning. Elementary school. 20 kids shot. Five was the youngest. Teachers killed. I broke down. All those children. So, in honor of the kids who passed away, ten days short of Christmas, I give this poem. I imagine them all excited for the holidays, telling what they want to have under the tree. }
Dear Santa

Dear Santa, here's my Christmas list. I hope you'll bring it all. I've only asked for gifts my parents can't find at the mall.

I'd like to have a UFO, with aliens inside, and maybe a Tyrannosaurus Rex that I could ride.

A ninety-nine foot robot is a present I could use. I'll also need a time machine, and rocket-powered shoes.

Please bring a gentle genie who will grant my every wish, and don't forget a wizard's wand, and, yes, a talking fish.

Of course, I'll need a unicorn, and won't you please provide a dragon, and a castle in the English countryside.

Of course, the weight of all these things might cause your sleigh to crash. If that's the case, dear Santa, just make my growing up years, cheery and bright!

Ana Marquez-Greene, 6

Jesse Lewis, 6.

Emilie Parker, 6

James Mattioli, Jessixa Rekos, both 6

Noah Posner, 5.

Olivia Engel, 5

Dylan Hockley, 5

Daniel Barden, 5

"The child must know that he is a miracle, that since the beginning of the world there hasn't been, and until the end of the world there will not be, another child like him."--Paolo Casals

If You Don’t Know Then You’ll Never Understand

While many of you cram to look for soft and hairy, or excited to dance Gangnam Style at your office Christmas parties, you are lucky, people!

We don’t have Christmas party.

So contrary to the year after last year where we are asked to dress up like in the 70’s like you see in the picture below.

I miss this psychedelic, spotted, Gina silk costume already. You see, I don’t mind wearing shower curtain some days.

The pleasant feeling stays and the memories linger even after so many years. I now enjoy parties, which I don’t when I was a kid. I was embarrassed at the time but luckily I outgrew being self-conscious of my klutziness and find it hilarious now.

Parties bring people together, in one room, eating and drinking, and sharing stories that never end. My officemates still laugh when they remember my legs wrapped in fishnet stocking looking like a Chinese Ham. But despite of all the shame of looking like K-Pop star gone mad, I enjoyed every minute of it.

Not that I take pleasure in being laughed at. I am just so “game” for anything fun. Clean fun, though. I have realized that sometimes you got to seize the moment and have a good time. That instead of clamming up in one corner, why not mix with people, enjoy their company and tick each other’s funny bones.

But then I realized, its not only parties, not even food and drinks that bring people together. It’s really more the friendship and closeness that build up throughout all of the years of working together.

So with or without office parties?

It's the time to make your own party.

With some of your nicest officemates, few burgers and fries, and a Magic Sing? BOOM!

=====

*Okay, may be it’s not that bad. Many government agencies have also called off their Christmas parties this year.

• The Office of the President

• The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council

• Armed Forces of the Philippines

• Philippine National Police

• Department of Education, Culture and Sports

They are donating the funds to assistance for victims of typhoon “Pablo.”

Pound for Pound

What do you get when you cross Mujammad Ali, Slyvester Stallone and Bruce Lee?

Manny Pacquiao.

Funny, his name pronounced like a comic-book sound effect: pack-ee-ow!. But in his 6 pack abs lies the strength of steel, which made him a pound for pound boxer of his time. Slightly less than half the national population of 90 million would be dying to watch his fight with Juan Manuel Marquez tomorrow, their 3rd match in a row.

So have your fill of fun and excitements, of oohs and ahhs. Let your jaw drop to the floor and yell if you must. Who will care?

Quick Stats:

*the first boxer ever to win seven world titles in as many weight divisions

*the first athlete ever to appear on a Philippine postage stamp

*a man who in 2008 portrayed the Philippine warrior Lapu-Lapu, whose forces killed Magellan and repelled his conquistadores, in a reenactment of the 1521 Battle of Mactan

*a man who often survives on three hours' sleep

*a man who halted his cockfight business, closed his nightclubs, and stopped his foray for baccarat, because of a change of heart

So, friends, the million-dollar question: Which team are you?

The Quiet Place Project

I woke up pre-menstrual and I hate this feeling. It makes me feel fat and ugly.

But yay! I came across this website and I will feel doubly bad if I will not share this with you guys. I like it because it will prompt you to be a little bit more introspective, especially when you’re in a little sullen mood like I do. This will help you realize that everything can wait. You don’t need a wee bit of sound if all you’re crying for is some quiet time.

Relax

Don’t worry this is not the thing that scare the crap out of you.

See my answers.

The Dreams Room. It will urge you to what really drives and burdens your heart.

.The Thoughts Room. Pour out your heart , fill the text box to the brim. Don’t worry, it’s a secret.

The Comfort Spot. Let’s talk deeper about what makes you feel the strongest, and the deepest too.

The Quiet Place. Silence is a breeze. After all, it is what you really want. Isn't it?

90 Seconds Relaxation Exercises. It will challenge you to spend a bit fraction of your time doing nothing, but just to relax.

How’s that? May be you can try it too and we can exchange our experiences.

Would You Ever Fall For....Disc Jockeys?

Would you ever fall for someone you have not seen but only heard? Did you ever try putting a face to the voice? Today, DJs play a more visible role in mass media thanks to live video streaming and commercial endorsements. But growing up, I can only imagine how they look in real life. I remember listening to AM radio where early news and dramas are main staple. And if ever you’re my age and are also fond of listening to FM band, you will know this Mellow Touch line…

You are the minstrel, I'm your guitar I'll play your music straight to your heart Each day (blah.. blah..) You are the minstrel, I'm your guitar The mellow sound of W double L...

Just merely singing it come waves of rushing memories. Songs touched me in a natural way. They speak my heart. Sometimes we think nobody can ever relate to us and so we find ourselves in a rut. We trick ourselves into believing that we are -- without a doubt -- the only people on the planet who have ever felt the way we feel or have experienced what we have. But songs are such powerful tool to describe how really does one feel.

And these days where radios are not only about songs but life seen as a whole. And listening no longer one way but interactive, a lot more fun and alive than it was during my time, I can’t help but be smitten by how these Disc Jockeys touch the lives of their distraught callers. They may sound trivial, and funny but if you dig ever so slightly beneath the surface, reality takes place.

Here’s what they said.

Joe D’ Mango, Love Notes, DZMM

True love only comes once in a lifetime, so take it as it comes along and enjoy every bit of it while it is still burning strong

Papa Jack, 90.7 Love Radio

We all wanted to be superman only to venture out in life looking for our very own kryptonite.

Bro Jun Banaag, Dr.Love , DZMM

To let go of someone doesn't mean that you have to stop loving. it only means that you allow that person to find his own happiness without expecting him to come back.

Chico and Delamar, The Morning Rush, RX 93.1 Smile! You don’t own all the problems in the world. Some of them are mine.

Papa Bear, Barangay LS FM, LS 97.1

Life is definitely a roller coaster, it's only when you begin to appreciate the ups and the downs that the ride becomes more fulfilling.

What do you think, friends?