Sunday, December 21, 2008

Simbang Gabi- 7th day

Magnificat


My soul doth magnify the Lord : and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
For he hath regarded : the lowliness of his handmaiden.
For behold, from henceforth : all generations shall call me blessed.
For he that is mighty hath magnified me : and holy is his Name.
And his mercy is on them that fear him : throughout all generations.
He hath shewed strength with his arm : he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He hath put down the mighty from their seat : and hath exalted the humble and meek.
He hath filled the hungry with good things : and the rich he hath sent empty away.
He remembering his mercy hath holpen his servant Israel : as he promised to our forefathers, Abraham and his seed for ever.

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Simbang Gabi- 6th day

Today is a Sunday. I attended mass and had breakfast afterward. I'm kind of feeling sleepy now. I've been getting not enough shut-eye for the past few days.....

Friday, December 19, 2008

Simbang Gabi- 5th day

My blog entry is getting shorter by the day. Well, there's really nothing much to say. I did the same thing I always do upon getting out of bed. While inside the church though, I was trying to control myself from getting fed up because there's this kid who was very noisy while the mass was going on and the parents did not do anything to keep their son quiet. It was very annoying...

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Simbang Gabi- 4th day

Yes, I'm still counting..I am thankful that I was still able to attend the mass for past four days even if it means waking up very early. I'm kind of used to it though, I mean, the waking up early part. Its more of a routine already and I will probably miss doing it, once the nine days are over. Talk about over-confident....

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Simbang Gabi- 3rd day

As usual, I woke up this morning feeling groggy and my eyes still heavy with sleep. I did not hear my alarm buzz off. Again, my friend had to wake me up. I hastily took a shower, dressed then have some coffee while waiting for the time. For three straight days now I've been getting up at 3:00 AM and I do intend to keep it up till I complete the nine days. Wish me luck...

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Simbang Gabi- 2nd day

I missed the alarm sounding off. Good thing my friend came to my room and woke me up. I was startled for a bit and I was wondering why I did not hear my alarm clock sound off. Not wasting any precious minutes, I took a shower immediately. As always the water was freaking cold. it took an ounce of willpower just to endure the biting cold water. Minutes later, I was toweling my myself dry and get dressed. At the church, I felt so sleepy, it seems that I can't stay awake. I try to distract myself by just looking at all the different lights on the altar.......

Monday, December 15, 2008

Simbang Gabi- 1st day

I went to bed early last night so I could have enough shuteye before today's ordeal. I set my cellphone's alarm clock and my Winnie the Pooh clock just to be sure. Only my cellphone's alarm sound off. I don't know what's wrong with my other clock. Anyway, just as soon as the clock buzz off, I instantly got out of bed. I cannot afford to linger for any minute longer for fear of falling back asleep . I took a shower and boy, the water was really damn cold. I got goosebumps all over my body as soon as the water hit me. I closed my mouth shut to keep it from rattling...It was really, really cold...Today was the start of the nine day novena before Christmas so that's the reason for my waking up early today. The mass started at 5:00 AM but I was up and about at 2:30 AM, call that overly excited. As usual, the church was filled with people. Those who came in late brought their own foldaway chairs. Well, I always make it a point to complete the nine days. Hopefully this year, I will be able to do so....

Saturday, December 13, 2008

...belen...





I happened to go out last night and I was able to see various decorations depicting Christmas. Its mostly lights and more lights. Christmas trees are always there and Santa too. But what caught most of my attention is the nativity scene, whenever you go around the streets or inside the malls, this one bit of Christmas scenery is always present. So I did a a little research about it and here it goes...

A
nativity scene may be used to describe any depiction of the Nativity of Jesus in art, but in the sense covered here, also called a crib or manger in the UK and crèche in France (meaning "crib" or "manger" in French), it means a three-dimensional commercial or folk art depiction of the birth or birthplace of Jesus, either sculpted or using two-dimensional (cut-out) figures arranged in a three-dimensional setting. At Christmas time these arrangements are created and displayed in Catholic and Protestant homes, churches and parks. For the Christmas season, two nativity scenes are put on display at the Vatican. The first is put inside the Vatican Basilica. The second, placed in the Piazza San Pietro before the Christmas Tree, was made by Saint Vincent Pallotti. ( Wikipedia)

Here in the Philippines we call this nativity scene as "Belen" from the Spaniards' influence....

...season's greetings...


AJ and me would like to wish every one a very Merry, Merry Christmas...Have a blast guys....

Thursday, December 11, 2008

...combo platter...




One of my fave chow at Pizza Hut...

...the WORLD is just awesome...



I like this commercial in the Discovery Channel. The world is totally awesome despite of all the things going on from the different regions. This is the only place we have whether we like it or not...

...my favorite girls..


AJ and Mokang will always be special to me. Though I don't get to see them as often as I want to, I always make it a point to call them every now and then. They take turns talking to me on the phone and they always have something to tell me..from AJ missing school to Mokang's tantrum..Well, they quite make a ruckus everytime we talk and we always end our chat with.."..love you, take care, bye.."

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

...Christmas i-Wish list...



I'm being a little bit hopeful today and so here's my wish list for this Christmas. I'm hoping Santa will be able to read this post. He has at least a week to look for my presents...

..BONES...


A TV series I've been following since I began watching it. I've watched the three previous seasons already and now I'm waiting for the remaining episodes of Season 4. What got me hook to this show is the lead character's intelligence and her "being so in the moment" when it comes to her job. Though, being in close proximity with dead people, much worse, beyond recognition corpses and bones, is not my cup of tea, I find myself very interested with what the characters are doing when they are in the lab...

Monday, December 8, 2008

..newbie's pics...



Lately, I discover the wonder of capturing anything under the sun thru photography....

Sunday, December 7, 2008

...Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince...

This is book 6 of the Harry Potter series. I've just finished reading book 7. I was expecting Half-Blood Prince to be shown last November and I believed it was really scheduled at that time but due to some reasons its release date will be next year. I've read the book a year ago so probably I will read it again to refresh my memory and in time for the movie. I guess it won't take anyone 6 months to read it again not when you're so into it that you can't stop reading and just keep on turning the next pages....

..the CuTtiNg EdGe...

It's been 16 years since I first watched this movie. The other night I watched it again on cable TV and it felt like I was watching it for the first time. Cutting Edge is one of the movies I never get tired of watching over and over again. I watched the sequels but they don't compare to this one...

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

..fAstFoOd..


Not the typical so-called "fastfood" that we're so familiar with but likewise gaining popularity among the masses. Its easy on the budget that satiates the ever present hunger pangs....

Sunday, November 16, 2008

...random shot...


I took this photo early in the morning while I was waiting for the sun to really come up. Too bad that day was somewhat gloomy, the sun didn't really showed up.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Happy Birthday


Today is my sister's 29th birthday. I know she will probably object to my mentioning her age. Her name is Maria Lourdes but we called her "Odong" for as long as I can remember. I don't have any idea where my folks got that nickname for her. I always think that we have this special bond between us though I am three years older. Her exact date of birth- Nov. 12, 1979, mine- Nov. 21, 1976. We get along pretty well. We used to share the same room when we were still living with our parents. We used to fight on some trivial things but we always make up. For now, we only keep in touch through voice chat almost everyday despite the time difference. We swap stories about anything but most specially about our family back home...

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

...love comes first....

" Kassandra Okvath has battled cancer since 2003, when doctors diagnosed her with high-risk Stage III Neuroblastoma. Doctors gave her a twenty percent chance of surviving. She was seven-years old. Confined for many months in hospital, young Kassandra came to decide upon her legacy as one of hope. Cancer could very well take her at so young an age, but she would not let it define her life or its meanings –– for her everyday deeds of care, compassion, and hope would live far beyond her young years. This is how Kassandra came to dedicate herself toward improving the lives of fellow patients, children also, to help lift their spirits during the long, arduous medical treatments.

Kassandra set about to raise money for remodeling and painting the children’s Bone Marrow Transplant Unit (BMTU), creating a warmer, more hopeful space to lift the young patients’ spirits and help with their healing. To help raise money, she put together sets of beads and arranged them by color and design to create very special necklaces that would symbolize the various aspects of the struggle to overcome cancer. For instance, pink represented a cure; white pearl, the children’s courage; blue crystal evoked the tears for lost ones, clear crystal, the faith in doctors and in God. And pink crystal represented above all the power of love. She didn’t stop there, either. During her long stays of treatment, Kassandra became a fan of the Home Improvement televisions series, and she decided to seek help from the show’s staff in publicizing her necklaces as a way to raise money for improving the hospital ward. To Kassandra’s surprise and delight, the Extreme Makeover Home Edition answered her request. So many requests for the necklaces followed that Kassandra could begin not only to donate money for cancer research, but also to improve the lives of her fellow patients.

With the proceeds from her necklaces, Kassandra immediately set out to help her fellow patients. For example, she sponsored morale-boosting outings and picnics for the children and their parents at University Medical Center. In another example, Kassandra founded a non-profit organization -- Love Comes First -- to help address the emotional and spiritual needs of children struggling with life-threatening and or terminal diseases. She has undertaken yet another initiative to raise still more money for medical research and for procuring new toys, games, computers, and all manner of things and projects to help families cope during their most difficult days of their child’s hospitalization. And she has vowed to continue, even if for but for one hospital at a time, to bring a sense of warmth, care, and above all hope for young patients in their most elemental struggle to survive.

Even as Kassandra Okvath continues her daunting struggle with cancer, she also brings joy and comfort to countless other young patients and their families. She continues to make new plans, initiatives, and goals, even though she might have precious little time. Her struggle is poignant, and her drive to do good is heroic. Kassandra Okvath builds her legacy with each day she remains with us. Inspired by friends who lost their battle with cancer, Kassandra has inspired us all by giving families the happiest memories of hope, compassion, and love in the most dire of times. In doing so, Kassandra Okvath leaves us the most precious legacy of all: the will to do good as the means to live life at its fullest and most meaningful."

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Friday, April 4, 2008