Think Out Loud

Very rarely do my friends and i from work ever let a day pass without us laughing our heads off. Just like last Thursday, when we had a meeting with our EVP - a meeting that was supposed to be serious and businesslike. It started out waaay serious. But as a fourth of the time rolled by, we were already rolling on our seats, laughing. And it always start out with something so shallow.

No, we're not shallow people. But maybe we're the ones who could find something to laugh about in simple things. Probably one that contributes to that is our wild sense of IMAGINATION.

We call it stress-relief.

Day 114 Outtake

It was a HOT graduation day in UPLB last April 24. This is an apt description, not a

complaint. Lest we forget, last year’s centennial commencement exercises were met with a heavy

downpour. I’ll take the heat over the wetness!

Joel Rosenberg has a new book entitled The 12th Imam and I'm on the lookout!

It was just published a week ago. I only found out about it through Kuya Ben. He received an e-newsletter from CBN International last week and one of the things they featured was Rosenberg's new book.

Hopefully by December copies will be out here in the Philippines. Maybe I should try asking OMF if they will produce copies and sell it before the year ends. I hope the cost would still be P300.

This will be a good book to read for the Christmas break.

I want to have one SOON!!!!

I'm so excited!!!

Book review by blogger Michelle V

This story, just as his others, is extremely thought-provoking, it's action-packed, full of espionage, danger, and suspense. But, it also has characters that you care about. If I don't care what happens to the characters then even a great story isn't going to keep me hanging on. David Shirazi is our main character in this particular story and he's a great character! I was rooting for him the whole way! And when the story ended, I didn't want it to be over.

This story is very relevant in the days we're living in. The events are not so far-fetched, and you can easily see these things happening. Not only that, but they fit with Biblical prophecy. That's what makes his books so thought-provoking!

I very highly recommend this book to anyone. It's full of fast-paced action, suspense that will keep you on the edge of your seat, and a story line that will keep you thinking long after you've finishing the book. There are characters that I deeply cared about and when it was over I still wanted more! If you're a Rosenberg fan, you'll love this one, and if you're not a fan, then I hope you'll give this one a try because I think you'll become a fan. His books are entertaining, relevant, and pack a powerful message.

Book Summary:

As the apocalyptic leaders of Iran call for the annihilation of Israel and the U.S., CIA operative David Shirazi is sent into Tehran with one objective: use all means necessary to disrupt Iran’s nuclear weapons program, without leaving American fingerprints and without triggering a regional war. At extreme personal risk, Shirazi executes his plan.

A native Farsi speaker whose family escaped from Iran in 1979, he couldn’t be better prepared for the mission. But none of his training has prepared Shirazi for what will happen next. An obscure religious cleric is suddenly hailed throughout the region as the Islamic messiah known as the Mahdi or the Twelfth Imam. News of his miracles, healings, signs, and wonders spreads like wildfire, as do rumors of a new and horrific war.

With the prophecy of the Twelfth Imam seemingly fulfilled, Iran’s military prepares to strike Israel and bring about the End of Days. Shirazi must take action to save his country and the world, but the clock is ticking.

I didn't expect the last entry to be that long, when here I am complaining of sleep loss because I wasn't able to take an 8 hour nap.

Yup, when it's a Saturday, naps are equivalent to a whole night's sleep.

So basically, I don't do anything on a Saturday.

But this morning was different. Finally, after a week of waiting, I was finally able to go to SM Mall. It just opened last week but I didn't dare come. The place was packed. And when I say packed, I mean seriously packed. Like thousands flocked the mall and if the construction wasn't strong enough, there might have been a catastrophe due to overcrowding. Thankfully, there wasn't and this morning, there weren't many people shopping.

The third floor view was incredible. They took advantage of the clear, horizontal view of Mt. Makiling which could make any city person green with envy, literally. It was cool, relaxing, and refreshing.

Now I know what my parents feel whenever they hear the 60's song in the radio. It was their generation. Certainly, being reminded of what had been during those years would spring forth memories of the good old days. Generational music is really one thing. It flies you back to the past like a time machine.

Last week, I indulged myself in some newfound comfort songs while I breezed through a pretty hectic week. And these songs were from my generation - the 90's! Yup! The year of boy bands, girl bands, group singers, and such.


Also the year of the then-tamed Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera who drastically rose to fame.




But, I found my new comfort songs in the feel good, wholesome digs of the British pop group, the S Club 7!


Ah, takes me back in time. I always watch their series in Disney Channel, not missing a single episode. I also watched their movie (which is the culprit of this whole entry. I saw it on HBO last Sunday and I told myself I'll find their songs and videos in Youtube).I enjoyed watching them dance, sing, act, but most especially I love the brotherly/sisterly vibe they have with each other. Their British accent were killers too! lol

What a wholesome group they were. They had this cool, friendly, hip vibe that when I heard the songs, I was hit by nostalgia.

Unfortunately, the S Club 7 disbanded. But I found myself glad that they did. In fact, I hope they don't get together again. Because knowing what's profitable for the music industry today, they might reconstruct themselves and be just like "everybody else". I just want to remember them as the wholesome, teenage-friendly group who piqued our interest to dance and gave us inspiring melodies and songs.

I feel a bit bad for the generation today. The music icons they have to 'look up to' are the likes of Miley Cyrus (who's already pushing herself to brash seduction when she's still underage), Jonas Brothers (which I still fail to understand why they're that famous. Airtimes and movie budgets are being wasted on them), Glee like Lea Michelle (who I find annoying with her major major overacting), Justin Bieber (who has a nail polish line. I think he's sick), Lady Gaga (who lives up to her name gaga), only to name a few. While artists today compensate majority of their already low-graded popularity through internet-based tabloids (but not all of them. There are still decent, truly talented ones left), the 90s artists used hip, trendy music to hook fans, and generate more.

Ah, the good old days, when you can just prance around, dance all you want, and still be clean about it.

If you're a 90's kid, get a load of these songs and I'm sure you'll be swept back to the good old days.

Thanks to Typhoon Juan (international name: Megi), we are now on disaster relief mode. So, it's busy busy busy...

one of the funny, out-of-this-world thing about the place i work in is that it is infested with huge, giant rats! right when i thought that i already saw the wildest, craziest rats that could ever exist here in the province, i was wrong. these city rats really know how to drive everyone nuts, especially when they play tag in the ceilings. the ceilings are close to falling off because they are just so heavy and agile.

every monday, we could only imagine what these creatures did during the weekend. it's like they had a party of some kind and drunk their way into oblivion. papers are strewn everywhere, canisters are open, the toilet is filled with rat footprints, the place stinks, and the food containers look like they were hit by snipers.

the pest control team didn't help much in eradicating them.

we deduced that the food mix might have did something to their hormones, or in a way genetically altered them that made them extra strong (so you better get a load of our healthy food mix!). they even feast on the medicines we store in a sealed room! they are just impossible. that is why before the year ends, we'll be moving to another warehouse where there will be no giant, city rats that would pester us.

i saw this commercial in church about 3 weeks ago. this pretty much summarizes what kind of rats we have: strong and fighters.

watch it. it's funny.

Today's playlist:

1. Listen - Charice
2. Lucky - Chord Overstreet and Dianna Agron
3. No Surprise - Daughtry
4. Devotion - Citipointe Live
5. You Alone are God - Christ for the Nations
6. While I'm Waiting - John Waller

new updates in my photo blog:Frozen moments in time: Shadows

Frozen moments in time: TV Shooting

Frozen moments in time: Benguet Medical Mission

Frozen moments in time: Please save the trees

I think Quinn and Sam's duet version of Lucky (from last night's Glee episode) was very sweet and cute! (And I never say sweet and cute together unless it deserves to be said in the same sentence). It wasn't a jaw dropping, mind numbing performance, nor was it something that would make your skin crawl like when you hear Charice sing, but it was a very simple song sang simply by two nice looking persons. The guarded vulnerability of Quinn and the bashful, boyish grins and glances of Sam made the song and their performance sweet and, as Santana put it,

My friend Dos spared me from a night full of ranting.

I have this notebook. A small, light blue notebook which I bought about three months ago. (It's pretty expensive too). I bring it me with me EVERYWHERE I go. In one of the writing seminars I attended back in college, we were advised to always bring a paper and a pen so that when a thought pops up, we could right it down and not let an idea of ours get lost in space.

So that became a habit for me. Almost everyday, on my way home from work, I would constantly write on this notebook just about anything that pops in my head. Even if it is not really that important. It sort of became an outlet for me where I can vent out my frustrations, complaints, happiness, unhappiness and even weird stories. I only had that notebook just a few days after I put up this blog. You see, it's one thing to have a blog, but it's another thing if you have a private journal. There are things that you could not just say out loud in somewhere as public as a blog.

So anyway, I was in the bus last night on my way home to Calamba. Traffic along SLEX was intense and it almost took an hour before I reached Alabang. When I got in the bus, thankfully it was not full. I decided to sit by the window on one of the 2-seaters so I could take a crude photo of the new SM Calamba (because i was planning to blog about it one of these days).

But I was really having a crazy night. And not a good one at that. Even when I was stuck in that horrible traffic, old, negative feelings suddenly resurfaced and the triggers just came shooting out from everywhere. And that feeling was so irritating, especially when you're working really hard on managing your temper and attitude, and trying to bring out the best in you, instead of the rotten ones. I had a rough week last week and the last thing I need is another emotional breakdown.

When the bus was about to leave the terminal, my entry was far from finished. I was really putting a lot of effort into giving a piece of my mind in that white sheet. I was like, "So here's the deal. This and this are happening, and this and this... and I don't like it."

But in between my rantings, deep in my heart I knew that my soul was praying to God to make me stop, because I knew I was saying the wrong things again and thinking the wrong ideas. I knew my attitude was going the wrong way again and if I want to improve, I need to put myself back on track.

And then, just about the last minute, when the bus was about to leave and I was hastily turning a new page in my notebook for another ranting session, something caught my eye outside the window. When I looked, I saw Dos! My sour mood suddenly changed and it was like something was lifted off my shoulders. Dos and I haven't seen each other in almost 4 months. We did a lot of catching up and my rantings were buried into the deepest recesses of my mind.

I know it wasn't a coincidence. I guess God heard my secret prayer and He brought my friend as an answer. I'm being tempted into continuing my rantings today but if this is going to be a battle, then it's best if I side with the good guys. After all, at the end of it, it will be all for my own good and the glory of my Father.

So thank you Lord for the life of my good friend Dos. Thank you for using her (even if she has no idea of it). Now I know why you created the relationship called 'friendship'.

:)

new updates in my photoblog:

Frozen Moments In Time

I created a photo blog in tumblr. If you have nothing better to do, you may check it out here.

It's something I created so I can share photos that I took through the years. Some are taken by friends, some by professionals. Hope everyone who sees it gets inspired and enjoy it.

If you have tumblr, follow me so I can read your works too.

:)

For the past series of challenges, Nagar was slowly losing its members because of continuous defeat. Deemed as a weak tribe, their opponent Sarmayee always gets the better of them in physical strength, power, and endurance. But in tonight's challenge, which is a battle of the mind and body, Nagar members showed that they can tough it up even without the large muscles, extraordinarily long limbs, and tacky, starch mouths.

In tonight's challenge, the castaways stood on a pole with their arms stanced like that of Buddha. But inserted in their elbows and hands were eggs. If it falls out, they're out. The tribe of the last castaway standing will be the immunity challenge winner.

Everyone thought it was easy at first. They were busy concentrating, trying to get their minds off the bitter cold and biting rain that fell right when they were doing the challenge.

But in the middle of the challenge, Richard started to wheel in different kinds of food. He brought in a bowl of macaroni soup, a plateful of biscuits, 2 big bars of dark chocolate, a glass of beer with pulutan, and a plate of bacon and ham sandwich with softdrinks. Richard offered it to them as a bribe. If they want it, they'll have to drop the eggs and give up the challenge. One by one, castaways fell into the delicious temptation. And so, the only ones left (and the last three standing) were Aubrey of Sarmayee and Mico and Solenn of Nagar.

Aubrey looked like she could still take on for another 2 hours. Her eggs still fit nice and proper in her elbows. Mico was doing well too although Solenn's was starting to slide out of her elbows because the rain made the eggs and her skin slippery.

Since Aubrey was the only one left fighting for Nagar, Richard offered her an immunity bracelet as a bribe.

Without any second thoughts, Aubrey jumped off the pole, dropped the eggs, and took the immunity bracelet.


Good for you Aubrey, your tribe mates were all planning to vote you out once you all reach the tribal council. (But honestly, I think you're much more useful than "Outcast" Michelle, or Pretty Trizia)

And so, for the first time since the merge, Nagar won an immunity challenge!

Big thanks to Mico and Solenn who fought all the way (3 hours and 36 minutes more or less) with uncracked eggs and sore arm muscles.


A big smashing whoop for you guys! You probably got tired seeing that wretched tribal council almost after every immunity game. I'm sure the tribal council is also getting tired seeing your tribe there too.

Now what to watch out for tomorrow: