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Good to be home in the province.
Good to be back here.
Good to have a little bit of time to scribble some words.

November is here.
No October entry here.
Storm Pepeng is already nowhere.
And yet no entry to share.

Scattered brain

It takes a certain state of mind or feeling to write. Expressing things via pen or keyboard takes energy and enthusiasm; to phrase what you have in mind, to use apt words and to capture what it is that you want to articulate or convey. The lightness of being or the hardness of feeling one is experiencing also prompts certain people to scribble deep and touching notes, to compose powerful poems and soulful literary pieces. I am not writer so I don’t really know the real psychology of writing. This is again an infantile attempt on getting real at writing which I realize I am no good and no hope at.

I am alone and happy to be with my own company. I have a time for myself and that would mean if I am not preoccupied with other stuff, I steal some time to sit and type in some notes. I am again neglecting my blog and who cares, no one reads it anyway. It’s just another side of my world that only a select people know and set of random surfers who happens to pass by.
September is about to end.  I had my birthday a month ago; had a five-day vacation from work to celebrate it.
Last Saturday (September 27, 2009), tropical storm locally known as Ondoy brought a record 341mm of rainfall in 6 hours over Metro Manila. According to PAGASA, it broke the 1967 334mm rainfall that lasted 24 hours that year.
My place in Makati for the first time was flooded up to thigh high. Fortunately, the flood fully subsided the following Sunday morning. Others were not as lucky, like Marikina, Rizal, some parts of Bulacan, Pasig and other low areas in Manila. It was an experience seeing the plight of the people in the most affected areas. Watching  TV pictures of people’s helplessness as they stayed on the roof waiting for rescue was emotionally moving. In these instances, you could only pray because no matter how much you wanted to help, you can’t do anything because you have to stay put also for your own safety.
The sun already peeked yesterday, and today but with scattered rains still. As what I was saying to one of my friends yesterday, Filipinos are survivors. After this experience, there are lot of reasons to smile and laugh again. Life continues. It is good that Filipino’s are a bunch of accepting and resilient people. They accept any situation no matter how hard or harsh it is. It is the reason why again they can accept corrupt government officials with no complaints. On second thought, I don’t know if Filipinos are truly accepting. It can be that they have become indifferent and oblivious. Que sera sera. No matter what, they will survive it all. They seem to say, WHATEVER TOMORROW’S ANOTHER DAY!

Forty-five Lessons by Regina Brett

These 45 lessons which I received via a forwarded email from a friend is shared below.

They were written by Regina Brett of  The Plain Dealer.  She wrote this accordingly to celebrate growing old. Eventually, this piece become the most-requested column she has ever written. Original source can be seen in this link.

1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.

8. It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.

12. It’s OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don’t worry; God never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind & soothes the soul

17. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It’s never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ‘In five years, will this matter?’

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.

35. Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative – dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

42. The best is yet to come.

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Listen, yield and share hugs and knowledge with abandon

45. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.

JMT Elevator Experience

Its late in the evening and i am sleepy but I just felt i need to write this entry.

I thought this will never happen to me and that i will only get to see this in movies and hear about it being experienced by others.

How could i have assumed that? I work with numbers and yet i thought i am invincible when it comes to experiencing this.
Anyone who works in or frequents high-rise buildings has a likely chance to get stuck in an elevator somehow. The probability is greater than zero.

This was what happened…

After having my lunch at Lutong Macau in Jupiter, Makati with my boss and a few of my colleagues, I was allowed to go ahead of them because i was called for an emergency meeting. My team is currently doing UAT for a front-end system module and we are encountering some errors that needs immediate resolution. The meeting was in Ortigas at 2pm. My team was a bit late but the people we were
supposed to meet were much later. Anyway, after the meeting so we decided to leave the building at once and go back to Makati. While we were going down, one of my team members remembered something we should have asked. We decided to go back. When the
elevator reached ground floor we didn’t go out. The lift went down to the basement and some messengers entered. We didn’t know we have taken a service elevator. Several people entered again when it reached the ground, one with two boxes of Krispy Creme most likely for delivery and two more messengers with a push card full of bond papers.

Okidoks. The lift went up and as it reached the 5th floor, the number didn’t change anymore and one could feel that it is not rising anymore. The man near the door pressed the alarm but it didn’t sound at first. Its good there is a signal inside so i was able to call our contact in the building to tell that we are stuck and that they call for the building maintenance office so we can be freed.

Anyway, we were finally out after more than 20 minutes. Its good that no one is claustrophobic and that everyone stayed calm. While inside we manage to make jokes about the situation and talk about movies (e.g. Final Destination, hehehe) that have shown similar situations.

It was a relief being out in the open. Deep inside us, there is a silence brought about by the experience. That’s just for a while. After that, what transpired was just an incident. Something we would talk about in our workplace. Something we wish wouldn’t happen again. But from now on, the likelihood of experiencing it again is not to be thought of as null.

Eight Gifts that Do Not Cost A Cent

I got this from a colleague today and thought its nice to share it here…

1. THE GIFT OF LISTENING . . .
But you must REALLY listen. No interrupting, no daydreaming, no planning your response. Just listening.

2. THE GIFT OF AFFECTION . . .
Be generous with appropriate hugs, kisses, pats on the back and handholds. Let these small actions demonstrate the love you have for family and friends.

3. THE GIFT OF LAUGHTER . . .
Clip cartoons. Share articles and funny stories. Your gift will say, “I love to laugh with you.”

4. THE GIFT OF A WRITTEN NOTE . . .
It can be a simple “Thanks for the help” note or a full sonnet. A brief, handwritten note may be remembered for a lifetime, and may even change a life.

5. THE GIFT OF A COMPLIMENT . . .
A simple and sincere, “You look great in red,” “You did a super job” or “That was a wonderful meal” can make someone’s day.

6. THE GIFT OF A FAVOR . . .
Every day, go out of your way to do something kind.

7. THE GIFT OF SOLITUDE . . .
There are times when we want nothing better than to be left alone. Be sensitive to those times and give the gift of solitude to others.

8. THE GIFT OF A CHEERFUL DISPOSITION . . .
The easiest way to feel good is to extend a kind word to someone, really it’s not that hard to say, Hello or Thank You. Friends are a very rare jewel, indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed. They lend an ear, they share a word of praise, and they always want to open their hearts to us.

Felinity

admittedly, we’re not cat lovers in the family; we don’t actually love them as they should but we don’t hate them either. its coexistence afterall. its just respect to another life-breathing entity. i will not call it affinity; more like felinity. i thought at first that this word is non-existent in the dictionary; but i was wrong. its there! and i am using the word in a way to replace affinity, hehehe. the correct meaning is here.

this is then a tribute to the felines that freely roam our backyard in the province. we actually don’t own one, but one day one came and then another and then we noticed there’s a clowder of them already. we just can’t drive them away and so mom would give them food and they all stayed.

so here goes, one “catty” scene:

Would you dare disturb a cat who is probably in a magical feline world divinely resting like this one? and look at the position. it deceived me at first. I thought it was dead and so i went to take a look. then i saw it was breathing. that made me go back to our house and get my camera.

oooopsss, sorry! the shutter sound woke the cat and she sleepily flipped to see who is the culprit.

she looked at me accusingly. hmmm… am guilty.

and so she bolted and with grace and felinity left me to continue her interrupted sleep.

with persistence, i followed with my camera. she felt it and she looked back seeming to say, “Hey, don’t follow!”

Okidoks. So much of this already. Let’s give her rest. She must need it.

A Taste of Ivy League

I dragged myself to work today. I actually started to draft an sms telling my boss I will be out. But knowing I have a lot of things on my list and Friday (June 12) is a non-working holiday in my country, I have to really forced myself to report. I head on to iron my clothes (i do this everyday, mind you), went to take a bath, change and prepare myself to work. I was early to log-in at 8:06am for my 8:30am office call time.

I did accomplish a lot. Three emails to India answering technical specifications and queries, instructions to my small team, programs running, emails to colleagues in the business, calls, etc.  All in all,  I can say I had a productive day. I earned what the company pays me for the day plus more.

I went home excited to hear Robert Shiller of Yale University lecture on Financial Markets. His course is ECON 252. I am not enrolled in his class but last night, I downloaded the first series of his 26 lectures on the course. I slept late and that’s probably the reason why, I was about to declare I have a Monday sickness to my boss.

Anyway, call it late, but I just learned that lectures from Ivy League universities have become available in Youtube. Know why I learned about it? Its from our April 27, 2009 TIME magazine subscription which i don’t get to read regularly because i had it delivered at home in the province, hehehe. I went home last weekend and catch with my reading. See how old fashion I am. There’s an online version yet, i don’t read them. Tsk, tsk, tsk,… as if I have time.  Hmmm… anyway, on page 27 of that Magazine, Legendary lecturer Marian Diamond was featured. In the text, it says “In March, YouTube launched an educational hub called YouTube Edu, dedicated exclusively to videos from the…”.  All I can say is WOW! I need to see this.

And so last night, i get busy. Right this very moment I am downloading several lectures from this site. The moment I reach my place from the office, i switch on my machine, plugged in my portable 320GB Buffalo and then hear the opening class of Prof. Bob Shiller’s ECON 252. If that is not awesome then tell me what is!!!

I am in the Philippines sitting in front of my PC and having a taste of an Ivy League education. Thanks to YouTube Edu.

Am looking forward again to learning great things. Life is just great!

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=8F7E2591EE283A2E

2009 Year of the OX for the Rat-born

Chinese horoscopes for people born in the years: 1900, 1912, 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008.

The Year of the Ox begins on 26th January 2009.

For the Rat, the year of the Ox brings a more tranquil time. This will be more a year of peace with less rushing about and less haste. It will be a time to get to know yourself better and to aim quietly toward your personal aims.

Or, if there were any changes that took place last year, these will have brought quite a transformation into your life and now comes the chance for you to take it all in. You will be able to come to terms with all that has gone before, relax in the present and then decide on what you really want to do with your future.

Rat’s Health in the Year of the Ox

Your health will be reasonably good. You will make steady progress throughout the year and the one area you should walk away from, however, is other peoples’ problems. If you allow yourself to get dragged into a friend, neighbour or relative’s troubles, this could be your downfall.

In February and March an air of deception could cause some confusion. You might feel as if someone you had trusted lets you down but are you jumping to conclusions? Before confronting others with your feelings, look more deeply into the matter and you could find that someone has been acting with your best interests in mind, after all.

Romance in 2009 for People Born in the Year of the Rat

A love-affair which didn’t come to much in the past may be re-kindled towards the end of March. What makes it different this time? Circumstances will have changed. This time you are more willing to be open and honest with each other and whatever forced you apart now seems to be the source that brings you both back together again. A heart-to-heart will sweep any remaining traces of antagonism away.

At home, good planning is your key to happiness and contentment. Think carefully about what you want from your family life in general and then work steadily and patiently toward those goals over the next few months.

The stars caution you about a good opportunity that falls in your lap from out of the blue in April. Someone could be trying to manipulate you for their own selfish reasons so be on your guard.

Take another look at an irritating problem that has so far defied solution. With a little imagination and divergent thinking, you could come up with the ideal answer and you will wonder why you never thought of it before.

Friendships in 2009

New friends or commitments will get you thinking along new lines in July and August. There may, however, be times when you might be troubled with memories you would rather forget or phobias triggered by a past event. You can deal with these successfully now by seeing them for what they are – past and gone – and refusing to allow them to interfere with your future.

Likewise, if you are feeling a little sentimental, living in romantic memories and times-gone-by, this could have an adverse effect on a current relationship. You can’t recreate past experiences, no matter how hard you try. What you should be doing is creating happy memories now in the year 2009, to add to the store you already have.

End of Year Forecast for Rat Born People

The end of the year could be a bit of a strange time if you are undergoing any sort of test or examination. You might feel as if you haven’t done very well only to get results that outdo anything you have attempted so far in a similar vein.

Finally, a sought after social invitation could come your way at the very end of the year 2009 via a friend of a friend.

Reference:  http://astrology.suite101.com/article.cfm/2009_chinese_horoscope_for_rat_animal_sign

nameless greens 1

so what do you do when you have a simple camera and a lot of greens at home to take a snap at?

A neglected vine with beautiful white flowers.

One of my mom’s treasured variegated bougainvillas.

Purple flowers from butterfly-shaped violet leaves. I don’t know the name of this plant. Can someone give it to me?

I don’t know the name of this one either. ü

Guess from what tree this flower came from? Its Averrhoa Bilimbi!!!

rarer and rarer

so its becoming rarer and rarer. a once a month kind of thing. just like going home in the province. its a monthly thing now.

its just that scheds just got busier and busier. and to think that what i really want is a simple life and my boss would tell me, it cannot be in the corporate world. if you want to rise, sooner or later you have to accept the fact that life would not become easier only busier.

and so when i have the chance to go home, just the mere thought of seeing the greens and fresh air i would be inhaling in the province would make every cell and pore in my body tingle and jump with joy.

From Everything Green at Home