Reading Madness

Yup, that's me and my reading my madness.

My eyes were bloodshot and sore from poor light and constant reading.  It's like I read one book a day minimum of 300 pages, and now I can really feel the strain.  I am sort of cramming trying, and soo trying, to finish the winter challenge which will end in March.  I still have 6 books to read.

I'm actually hoarding the library with books.  Since reading randomly, I was able to note which one is for keeps and which will definitely not.  I love books and I love libraries.  See my book blog, Leaf Through Books and you know for sure what I mean.

Toys for Boys

My son shot these photos of his toys...looking at how he handled the camera at a young age (he's only 6), I foresee a creative hand in the making...Happy Weekend!

Optimism

Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement;
nothing can be done without hope.

Helen Keller

A Life Well-Lived: A Conversation with an 84-Year-Old Usher

Our family sometimes attends mass at a certain church. Most of the time, we sit in what we call the "family area" since the kids often become boisterous and restless inside. We've been doing this for quite a while now.

At this church, there’s an old man who serves as an usher. He always hands out church leaflets with a warm smile. Yesterday, Saturday, he stood in a corner near the doors. By chance, I happened to be in that same corner. After a while, he looked at me, smiled, and started talking.

He shared that he was 84 years old, with six grandchildren, and had been married to the same woman for 62 years. He said he had lived a good life and mentioned he was scheduled for surgery this coming Tuesday for a cyst on the left side of his neck. It was cancer. He also spoke about his brother, who was battling cancer as well, though his brother's situation was worse since the cancer had metastasized. Despite the sadness, I could see he was preparing himself for what lay ahead. He said, “I had a good life. What more can I ask for?”

Truthfully, I didn’t know what to say. My mind went blank as I thought about what he was going through. Yet, I realized he was fortunate. At 84, he still serves the church, not bedridden like many his age. That, in itself, is a blessing.

I asked him again to confirm the date of his operation. He said it would be Tuesday. I tapped his shoulder and said, “See you on Sunday.” He replied with a confident smile, “You bet I’ll be here.”

And now, I’m looking forward to seeing him on that day.

An Impulse To Soar

One can never consent to creep
when one feels an impulse to soar.

Helen Keller

We Are The World

25 years ago, this song was once a charity single dedicated to the people of Africa, written by Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson. It brought together top musicians that although with different vocals, made this song a worldwide success.


Now, a new version of this song is aired recently in YouTube, this charity single is on air again to help restore Haiti. See it HERE.


And once again, let's hear the song that made a difference not just in Africa, which made known the fact that even if we are diverse, we can still unite and make a difference.

credits to tonyjeon

Mind and Fire

FIRE © Kydriashka | Dreamstime.com

"The mind is not a vessel to be filled,
but a fire to be kindled."

Plutarch

Be Alive

ENERGY OF YOUTH © Upimages | Dreamstime.com

"To be awake is to be alive."

Henry David Thoreau

Pink in the Grammy

credits to MJAcrossTheSky

She was so amazing when she did that trapeze that even Oprah was wowed (here's a link to her interview in Oprah, plus another performance featuring the song 'I Don't Believe You'). Me, I've always liked Pink. Her music really does come across with some really cool messages, and her style is quite unique and her own. What makes it more Pink is the fact that her voice is beautiful and she can go beyond being punk and back! Happy MM!



Lyrics | Glitter In The Air lyrics

Passion for Energy

HAPPY AND SMILING © Rgumus | Dreamstime.com

"Passion is energy.
Feel the power that comes from focusing
on what excites you."

Oprah Winfrey

Favorite Malls

This is NCCC Mall in Davao. This site used to be a gas station before NCCC bought the place. People come here by the thousand daily since this is the only mall in the Matina area. This became one of my favorite spots to go for three things: grocery (this is my favorite grocery), movie watching (this is the newest spot for cinemas and the sound effects are way better, and don't forget the love seat), and of course - shopping since they do have reasonable prices.

Credits to Wikipedia

This is my next favorite mall: SM City Davao located in Ecoland. Aside from the cinemas and cool shopping, what makes me go back here again and again is - THE FOOD. Yeah. I love the array of restos they have. If only I can eat every thing without gaining a pound.

This makes me miss Davao more.

Blogger Gets Cooler!

I just want Blogger to know that I appreciate their new option now.

Before, when you want to change your layout, you'll have to start over with all the widgets, one by one that at times, it's so tiring that you'll just have to make do with your current one. Now, no more.

I noticed it the first time I changed my template in the last week of January. There's an option to keep the widgets! That's soooo nice! Now, I can change my template anytime I like, keep the widgets and just adjust their positions in the blog. Isn't that sweet?

Anyway, thank you Blogger for the new option!!!

No Spam Here

I love comments. I really do. It gives a healthy dose of encouragement and happiness seeing people commenting on my posts. It inspires me to do more and give more through this blog.

SPAM © Eoseye | Dreamstime.com

What I can't take are people who have the habit of accessing blogs and commenting nonsense and URLs, definitely spammers and NOT bloggers.

So, I decided to make this a bit more humane (at least for me). I get to approve comments before they come out of my blog. And as a matter of making it easier, I disabled the one that asks you to type some words before your comment gets through.

But no, not making it easy for the spams.

Change in Plans

Image Credits to © Lincolnrog...
Dreamstime.com | edited with Picnik

Reading:

2 Corinthians 1:8-16

When I was still working as a secretary to a VP in a GOCC, too often than not, there were times that plans were altered, some last minute changes made that can make you feel not only highly pressurized, but you were expected to make the changes work.

Changes in flight schedules when you already acquired the tickets, the cancellation of appointments and reservations when it's already been set up, the documents that seem to have hidden themselves when you need them, and so on and so forth. The workload and the pressure was in mish-mash in a way you never imagine it would be, or so you thought.

But knowing that the job entails such makes it the more challenging, and the pressures just add up more adrenalin to make it work.

I guess I get lucky at most times. But you know what? A silent prayer was what helped, not because I get lucky every time. I knew God was with me when I need Him. He still is. I still am.

The Lord...is our help and our shield.
Psalm 33:20

Democracy

SCALES © Milous Dreamstime.com

Democracy does not guarantee
equality of conditions -
it only guarantees 

equality of opportunity.

-- Irving Kristol

Love Poem

This is just one of the melodies I love from the Korean series Spring Waltz. I remember being taken to the song One Love, and when I discovered the other melodies online, I listen to this music every night for the kids to get lulled into sleep. It does it magic all the time, those instrumentals such as this one does wonders to their zzzz.

credits to nlc0r0bln