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Archive for October, 2024


Is there an age or year of your life you would re-live?

If I have to re-live my life right now, I won’t change a thing. But, there was that stage in my life that I want to recall with such fondness. The times (almost three years) I spent being a student librarian at the University of Santo Tomas, the school where I graduated with an Economics degree back in 1978.

How would your life be when you are surrounded by books? Those were the years that I truly appreciated reading. Name it – Psychology, Philosophy, Ethics, English literature, fiction and non-fiction books, they are all there.

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Time flies….too soon!

Sometimes, I catch myself staring at nothing and my mind is pregnant with thoughts that easily slip away, like brilliant fireflies whose light  illuminates  for a while then get lost in the dark of night.  One of the hardest things to do is stare at a blank page  and begin to write the first word or the first sentence that comes to mind.  And it’s hard enough that you can’t even string your thoughts to come out with something worth-writing and worth-reading.  And you’d like to believe that you are doing it because you love how your pen always flows freely on the pristine pages.  You’d like to believe that you’re doing it to satisfy your ego – that everything is alright in your world again.  Crazy, you  might say, but that’s how it is sometimes.

Time flies…and it catches you unaware !

I feel I just need to write my thoughts down on paper. Never mind that I am using an almost a year old BPI planner and the header reads September 2010.  Many times, I find it easier to just make use of the keyboard instead of my pen.  There’s a certain kind of magic though watching your pen glide smoothly on the soft pages. Magic – there is always magic in writing.

Time flies…and you wish it would stand still for a moment!

Life is one big canvas, a blank canvas where you could draw a picture on how you want to live it.  The more colorful, the better.  You are responsible on how you can make it look interesting or beautiful.  Color it blue when you feel so much alone, color it white to make for a happy disposition, color it red when you are angry at the world or a soothing shade of green when you want to commune with nature.  Mine is  a shade of orange . It always reminds me of a new dawn, breaking, of a new sunrise or an even lovelier sunset.  There is a certain promise of hope in every morning that the sun shows its face.  And there is always something to look forward to when it settles down to rest on the horizon – another new day, more dreams to weave and promises to keep.  I remember another blog I made several months ago  and called it Color Me Orange.  Tobbie, one of my friends actually wore an orange shirt for a day to honor me.  I was so touched, I cried.  I easily get those big lumps in my throat even just listening to lovely songs on the radio or touching base with friends that I haven’t seen for a while.  And everyday is spent in grateful appreciation of being given a second chance at life.

Time flies…and when it does, it will never come back!

Today, we celebrate All  Saints’ Day. Hubby,  the kids  and I attended the 7am mass at Our Lady of Light Parish here in our place.  In the Roman Catholic Church,  All Saints Day is officially the Solemnity of All Saints and is also called All hallows or Hallowmas. Hallow meaning “saints” and  “mas” meaning “mass”.  The evening before that is called Halloween which  means vigil or Eve of Hallows.  All Saints’ Day is a Holy Day of Obligation.  We have this family tradition to offer prayers  at home on or before All Souls Day by reciting the rosary solely for the intention of  offering it to all souls in Purgatory.  We normally cook  pancit and buy bibingka to share with the family.   Then on the night of November 2, we light candles and keep them burning all night long.

Time flies… October is gone.   Welcome November!

HAPPY ALL SAINTS’ DAY TO ALL!

(Reposting this post from Nov. 1, 2010 which was entitled November Blues).

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Are you familiar with author Amy Harmon? Out of the twenty four books she has written, I’ve read eleven of them mostly rated four and five stars. The very first book I read of her was From Sand And Ash back in February 2019.  I’ve rated it five stars and even wrote a review here on WordPress.

Now, here’s another book that caught me again though it took me almost a week to finish it. It is all of 364 pages. Back in the early years, I’ve heard of Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid but it was about the movie, a real-life character brought to the movie screen. I never had the chance to watch it though.  The Outlaw Noble Salt: A Novel, is Amy Harmon’s version giving it a twist. She brings Cassidy to life, with vivid imagination along with The Sundance Kid. In Amy Harmon’s version, she gave Butch a romance, a captivating one.

Butch Cassidy was a real-life gang leader. He was like Robin Hood stealing from the rich and being kind to the poor.  Although Harmon created a novel veering away from the real story by  introducing romance, it was still a lovely read. There are uploaded versions of the movie on YouTube starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford.

When a book makes me cry, I give it five ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.

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I am enjoying reading the book given by Nissa on my birthday. There is a personal message from the authors, Fr. Kali and Fr. Regie. As I have said before in my other blog posts, both of them are Nate’s friends.They have watched  him grow from a toddler to a young man.

Fr. Regie is presently the Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Manila. He also serves as the Mission Station Priest of the Mary  Mother of Hope Chapel in Landmark, Makati and the Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Chapel in SM, Makati.  Fr. Kali is currently  pursuing his Licentiate in the Cultural Heritage of the Church at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.

The book is a compilation of their inspiring and lovely homilies when they were both assigned in Manila Cathedral  as  Rector and Vice-Rector.

I love these quotes from the book:

Jesus touches us in so many ways. Let’s share that touch with others. See to it that every day you impact even one life. Make someone happy or feel better. Do it with the touch of Jesus.

He is greater than any victory.

Greater than any disappointment.

Greater than any defeat.

Greater than  any work that we could have done.

We entrust everything to the Father – including the setbacks – because He is greater than all that. For even in disappointments  Jesus is at work, giving us small victories in life.

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Those towns and provinces affected by typhoon Kristine haven’t recovered yet but there is another one in the North. Batanes is under signal number 3 and some provinces in Region 1 are also under signal number 2 along with some towns in Bulacan under signal number 1. Luckily here in Metro Manila and Rizal, we are at the moment safe from the storm. Thank God! It is cloudy though outside.

This is the 12th weather disturbance this year and our weather bureau in its forecast said that typhoon Leon might reach signal number 5, the strongest typhoon category so far. It is a possibility. Another weather site said it is more wind than rain this time. I am hoping and praying that it won’t come to a point where it will destroy properties. Keep our people safe Lord.🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

Go Away Leon, we don’t need you here in our country.

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Nissa and Obet are both on mandatory  vacation leave at the office for a week while Nate is on a one-week school break. They went back to Cavite after we saw each other last Sunday so Nate could attend his Taekwondo training.

Nissa made a video call a few hours ago. They were on a beach resort  somewhere in Calatagan, Batangas. She showed me a lovely tree top  and Obet showed a  photo of the three of them. Since Nate was just a kid, they always planned going to the beach.  Nissa is so good at planning short vacations that the three of them can enjoy.   She and Obet went to South Korea last January. It was her gift for Obet’s 50th birthday. When Nate turned seven, they went to Singapore  and Malaysia. Last Sunday, she treated the whole family for lunch.  She is always so thoughtful  that way.

I am happy for them taking advantage of a short break from school and work.

I enjoyed seeing and reading all those hundreds of birthday greetings on Facebook. It is always nice to be remembered.

Quite dramatic, night at the resort.

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I am posting some photos here. We heard mass at Mary Mother of Hope. Had lunch at North Park in Glorietta and strolled after. I have missed the place. It has been twenty four years  since I left Makati CBD. So many changes, stores galore, new buildings,  eateries, parks.

It was a lovely but simple celebration  with family.

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Among all the greetings I received today, this message touched me the most. A few months ago, I posted Fr. Louie Coronel’s long message here when I asked for prayers. He is my mentor in our Catholic page of which I am one of the admins. This made me teary-eyed too.

“Happy Birthday!

Today, we celebrate you – a truly remarkable person whose light has touched so many lives. As you embark on another year, may it be filled with joy, hope, and boundless opportunities. Remember that every moment is a gift, every challenge a chance to grow, and every blessing a reminder of how cherished you are.

May this year bring you strength in times of challenge, laughter in times of joy, and peace at every turn. May you be surrounded by the warmth of loved ones, the beauty of new experiences, and the wisdom of all the years that have shaped you. Your kindness, strength, and dedication inspire us all, and it’s a blessing to know you.

Here’s to you and all the wonderful memories you’ll create this year! Wishing you a birthday filled with love, happiness, and all the good things that life has to offer.

Happy Birthday!”

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A friend always greets me Happy New Year every time my birthday comes. I do agree that birthdays are new years in our lives. The past year has been a little chaotic with those numerous laboratory tests, going back to my internist, finding a hematologist and a nephrologist. I deliberately postponed to visit an endocrinologist recommended by my new nephrologist since the laboratory tests the latter requested will  probably be quite similar  since they were the same lab tests my previous endocrinologist requested.  Oh, the desire to be healthy, going back and forth  to the hospital is quite stressful.

I am looking forward to my 68th year. Another journey  to traverse. Hoping it would be a year of blessings too. I am not looking for material  things but I  am praying that I’ll stay healthy  throughout the year  and the years to come. Truly, health is wealth. When you are healthy, happiness is on the palm of your hand.

I was reviewing my previous birthdays. We had lunch four times at Vikings, once with friends and three times with family. I am not sure where we’ll have our lunch tomorrow but I asked Josef if we could attend Sunday mass  at Mary Mother of Hope Chapel at Landmark’s.

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A few more hours to go and I’ll be turning 68. Nissa has invited us to join them tomorrow for lunch but we haven’t finalized the location yet in Makati. Been out of the loop for twenty four years now and so many things have changed. I am no longer familiar with the place except those old buildings like Landmark and Rustan’s.

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