But I sure know how to count my blessings. Ü
Everyday last week, I made sure I share with my friends one thing I was grateful for. I enjoyed doing the exercise as it allowed me to take a closer look at the everyday things I may not necessarily take a second look at. While some things are greater than the others, It's just the practice of reminding myself how blessed I am in small to huge-scale ways that assures me I'm in a good place. :)Here are the things I came up with every weekday of last week:
Monday - Today, I’m thankful for my girlfriends. Thanks for keeping every base covered. Good job girls!
Tuesday - Today I'm thankful for every little thing I have in my capacity to help save the environment.
Wednesday - Today I'm thankful for the wise, wonderful and wacky people I have the honor of working with. :)
Thursday - Today, I’m thankful for my Mom. On July 16, 1990 (exactly 19 years ago) a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Luzon where almost 2.000 people were killed. On that day, Mama was in a Parent-Teacher conference and I was at a nearby playground waiting for her to finish. I distinctly remember how my mom hurried to check up on me right after the shaking subsided. Mama was no athlete but boy, can that woman run! She was the first parent to come for her kid, beating a throng of fathers and other screeching mothers. I was 7 then. I did not know what just happened but from the look on my mom's face (and her "crossing the finish line" first), I knew champion ang nanay ko.
Friday - Today, I am thankful I can still run. Yes. RUN and not RACE. When I have been told to quit it altogether because of a bum knee, I'm just so stoked about being in the path to full recovery. Yeah baby! :)
I first posted these things on my Facebook account hoping it can create ripples of gratitude-attitude. Perhaps my friends have gotten the drift, perhaps not. Perhaps they would do a dipstick check on their own gratefulness gauge, perhaps not. Nevertheless, I ended last week with a renewed sense of happiness and contentment. And my favorite biproduct of it all is knowing I could go on and on with enumerating, without tiring nor repeating an item.Ü
Now, as my favorite blogger would ask, what are you grateful for today?
Friday, July 24, 2009
Lance Armstrong once said...
"Never forget your beginner's spirit."
And Jason Mraz concurs by saying...
"The Beginner’s mind is a great place to come from."
And Jason Mraz concurs by saying...
"The Beginner’s mind is a great place to come from."
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Thursday, July 2, 2009
It takes very little to make me happy
My sister forwarded to me this email after having her boss try my cookies. This definitely made my day. :-)
Subject: Aren't these the best cookies ever?
Body:
yes
seriously, yes,
fyi, i do have extensive experience in the field of choco chip cookie tasting and assessment,
my expertise is well known and my opinion drive trends (the death of the marshmallow cookie ? that was me... the rise of the no trans fat organic-choco cookie, me again)
so getting back to your sister's chef d'oeuvre... the mix of dough chewiness and peripheral crunch, the quality of the chocolate (soft enough but not melted), the development of the in-mouth flavor where you get a taste of each element before they combine into pure bliss... napakagaling !
well done the altamiras, you rule,
e.
ps can i have one more ?
Subject: Aren't these the best cookies ever?
Body:
yes
seriously, yes,
fyi, i do have extensive experience in the field of choco chip cookie tasting and assessment,
my expertise is well known and my opinion drive trends (the death of the marshmallow cookie ? that was me... the rise of the no trans fat organic-choco cookie, me again)
so getting back to your sister's chef d'oeuvre... the mix of dough chewiness and peripheral crunch, the quality of the chocolate (soft enough but not melted), the development of the in-mouth flavor where you get a taste of each element before they combine into pure bliss... napakagaling !
well done the altamiras, you rule,
e.
ps can i have one more ?
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
before i step out to watch transformers...
It is my sincerest hope that everybody finds that point in time when they realize there's just so much love to give. That love is indivisible but can actually grow exponentially. That to love more is all we ever need.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Mama was a Lawyer. Papa was a Rockstar.
Mom: Hah! I think I know the ending of the movie already!
Pop: Where's the fun in guessing? Let's see where the story takes us...
Mom: We have to prepare something special for our boy's family day at school.
Pop: Let's bring Hunt's Pork & Beans. It's his favorite and I doubt anybody else would bring that.
Mom: Please chop off the fat from your steak... Please choose something sugar-free for dessert... Please... what's that? That's soda! Don't let the kids drink soda!
Pop: Let them! Let's eat whatever we want to eat. Our friends might talk about it, at least we have something to contribute in the discussion.
(This was of course Papa's perpetual excuse to get away from his prescribed diet as a diabetic)
Mom: Let's send Winna to an all-girls school.
Pop: What? Let her meet boys her age!
(And 2 years into an all-girls school...)
Wins: Pa, please let me go to the soiree. Please?!
Pop: No anak, boys your age are boring.
Haaaayy, that's my Popsy for you!
***
Sans the excessive alcohol intake, use of prohibited substance, extravagant lifestyle and womanizing, Papa was a rockstar who knew exactly how to rock out. He is the live-in-the-moment, let's-break-away-from-the-norm, live-a-happy-however-short-kind-of-life kinda man.
He and Mama shared only 3 things in common... being lawyers (okay, so he wasn't really part of a rock band), their intergalactic love for each other, and their supersized dedication to God and our family. In their team of strong contrasts and complementarity, Mama was the blameless good cop and Papa was the one who always injected calculated heedlessness.
Susme, I miss them both. But since this is my Father's Day honoring of sorts, a love-filled cosmic shout out goes to Popsy! You rock, man!
Happy Father's day also to my brothers Ernesto III and Adrian, and to my dear friends who have been riding the fatherhood high. Apir tayo mga pre!
Pop: Where's the fun in guessing? Let's see where the story takes us...
Mom: We have to prepare something special for our boy's family day at school.
Pop: Let's bring Hunt's Pork & Beans. It's his favorite and I doubt anybody else would bring that.
Mom: Please chop off the fat from your steak... Please choose something sugar-free for dessert... Please... what's that? That's soda! Don't let the kids drink soda!
Pop: Let them! Let's eat whatever we want to eat. Our friends might talk about it, at least we have something to contribute in the discussion.
(This was of course Papa's perpetual excuse to get away from his prescribed diet as a diabetic)
Mom: Let's send Winna to an all-girls school.
Pop: What? Let her meet boys her age!
(And 2 years into an all-girls school...)
Wins: Pa, please let me go to the soiree. Please?!
Pop: No anak, boys your age are boring.
Haaaayy, that's my Popsy for you!
***
Sans the excessive alcohol intake, use of prohibited substance, extravagant lifestyle and womanizing, Papa was a rockstar who knew exactly how to rock out. He is the live-in-the-moment, let's-break-away-from-the-norm, live-a-happy-however-short-kind-of-life kinda man.
He and Mama shared only 3 things in common... being lawyers (okay, so he wasn't really part of a rock band), their intergalactic love for each other, and their supersized dedication to God and our family. In their team of strong contrasts and complementarity, Mama was the blameless good cop and Papa was the one who always injected calculated heedlessness.
Susme, I miss them both. But since this is my Father's Day honoring of sorts, a love-filled cosmic shout out goes to Popsy! You rock, man!
Happy Father's day also to my brothers Ernesto III and Adrian, and to my dear friends who have been riding the fatherhood high. Apir tayo mga pre!
Saturday, June 20, 2009
until we see each other again
There could not be a more fitting way to launch my Blogspot than with a goodbye note...
Now that the rainy season, for real this time, is here, I shall not embrace its coming without a proper sendoff to my most favoritest time of the year- SUMMER.
Summer '09 was like no other. Aside from moving forward in my plan to visit all 7107 islands, the season allowed me to learn a new skill (photography), reunite with old ones (swimming and baking) and deal with the difficulty of another (running).
The sizzling months kicked off with a trip to awesome Coron. I've been around the country and I must say the sights and beaches of Coron have got to be my favorite so far.
Man, Palawan was so much fun!
And then Diesel, my DSLR, happened. Oh how I love my boy! That's our first photo together --->
Here are some favorite photos I took during photography class:
In March, I took Diesel to his maiden voyage. Mt. Pinatubo, no less! However, I was still too "naive" to take decent photos myself so I'm borrowing some documentation materials from my friend.
April brought me to the Northern part of Luzon, to witness the most spectacular sunset ever...
I'm sure the rest of the cast of that Bolinao trip will not forget how much fun we had that weekend :)
2 weeks after, I was due South to do something I've not done in 2 years... Surfin'!
When I came back from that trip, I was super excited to learn I was once again a Tita after my sister-in-law gave birth to Aiden.
That's him with Kuya JT wearing that curious look...
Aside from a visit to my hometown Atimonan, Quezon...
May was not so much of a traveling month. Instead, it saw me through overcoming my phobia in using the oven caused by NEARLY setting our house on fire 12 years ago. I have not baked anything since then! So in April I tried making cupcakes and guess what, there is still a roof over my head as I write this blog! Sorry, there are no documentation materials for that particular accomplishment as the cupcakes were received with enthusiasm in this household. The cupcakes were all gone before they got the chance to pose for the camera.
May was also about running...
Since I was diagnosed for iliotobial band syndrome (ITBS), the entire summer was all about rehab, getting better and going against one doctor's advice to give up running altogether. Booo!! In May, I was able to race again without any pain, and without a fix of my prescription meds :) The other good thing I got from my knee injury is that I was able to swim again. Just figured it's the best, virtually no impact cardio substitute.
And to cap the scorching months of summer, I found myself in the pages of a travel magazine! Eight months after the adventure race, the photos were finally published in the summer issue of Sidetrip! Lookey, that's Ageo and me on the upper left corner!
See, I cannot be totally faulted for loving summer this much. If it could only extend all year long...
There you go! Couldn't be any happier to get this blog on the road than by paying due respect to summer :) To you, my favorite months of the year, I bid you farewell. Until we see each other again. And to you, my dear reader, WELCOME! Do drop by once in a while for your fix of the mundane, profound, funny, egotistical, nonsensical and everything in between on the worldwide web :)
***
Photo acknowledgments: PJ Azurin, Myles Castro, Ivan Del Valle, Rod Eco, Aizza Mesiona, Tala Supangco, Tristan Talavera, Jason Tinebro,
Now that the rainy season, for real this time, is here, I shall not embrace its coming without a proper sendoff to my most favoritest time of the year- SUMMER.
Summer '09 was like no other. Aside from moving forward in my plan to visit all 7107 islands, the season allowed me to learn a new skill (photography), reunite with old ones (swimming and baking) and deal with the difficulty of another (running).
The sizzling months kicked off with a trip to awesome Coron. I've been around the country and I must say the sights and beaches of Coron have got to be my favorite so far.
Man, Palawan was so much fun!
And then Diesel, my DSLR, happened. Oh how I love my boy! That's our first photo together --->
Here are some favorite photos I took during photography class:
In March, I took Diesel to his maiden voyage. Mt. Pinatubo, no less! However, I was still too "naive" to take decent photos myself so I'm borrowing some documentation materials from my friend.
April brought me to the Northern part of Luzon, to witness the most spectacular sunset ever...
I'm sure the rest of the cast of that Bolinao trip will not forget how much fun we had that weekend :)
2 weeks after, I was due South to do something I've not done in 2 years... Surfin'!
When I came back from that trip, I was super excited to learn I was once again a Tita after my sister-in-law gave birth to Aiden.
That's him with Kuya JT wearing that curious look...
Aside from a visit to my hometown Atimonan, Quezon...
May was not so much of a traveling month. Instead, it saw me through overcoming my phobia in using the oven caused by NEARLY setting our house on fire 12 years ago. I have not baked anything since then! So in April I tried making cupcakes and guess what, there is still a roof over my head as I write this blog! Sorry, there are no documentation materials for that particular accomplishment as the cupcakes were received with enthusiasm in this household. The cupcakes were all gone before they got the chance to pose for the camera.
May was also about running...
Since I was diagnosed for iliotobial band syndrome (ITBS), the entire summer was all about rehab, getting better and going against one doctor's advice to give up running altogether. Booo!! In May, I was able to race again without any pain, and without a fix of my prescription meds :) The other good thing I got from my knee injury is that I was able to swim again. Just figured it's the best, virtually no impact cardio substitute.
And to cap the scorching months of summer, I found myself in the pages of a travel magazine! Eight months after the adventure race, the photos were finally published in the summer issue of Sidetrip! Lookey, that's Ageo and me on the upper left corner!
See, I cannot be totally faulted for loving summer this much. If it could only extend all year long...
There you go! Couldn't be any happier to get this blog on the road than by paying due respect to summer :) To you, my favorite months of the year, I bid you farewell. Until we see each other again. And to you, my dear reader, WELCOME! Do drop by once in a while for your fix of the mundane, profound, funny, egotistical, nonsensical and everything in between on the worldwide web :)
***
Photo acknowledgments: PJ Azurin, Myles Castro, Ivan Del Valle, Rod Eco, Aizza Mesiona, Tala Supangco, Tristan Talavera, Jason Tinebro,
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