Breaking the silence….

Duh?! As if I have something juicy to tell hehe…Sooweee, I just feel like putting the title because I’ve been quiet for a couple of weeks now. So, what have I been doing? Hmmm…*thinking*…nothing interesting I guess. I was staring at the wall (hubby made me face the wall for being a useless wife…nay, just kidding!) Actually, I was in a state of catatonia: sitting and doing nothing for the longest time tee-hee Well, am I too late to say HAPPY NEW YEAR to all? Sige, Kung Hei Fat Choi nalang okiks?! January is about to end and I feel the need to express my gratitude for the year that was. 2008 was a fantastic year and am truly grateful for all the blessings I/we received…and my TOP 5 are:

1. My super significant other, Lester – this is the first ever that we spent straight 365 days together as husband and wife (in a foreign land pa) and as time passes, he made me feel more loved each day. Thank you is an understatement. L, I hope and pray that you’ll continue to nurture “us”. Mga temtasyon intawn ipalayo *fingers and toes crossed*


2. Good health and peace of mind – need not say more.


3. Family and good friends – My family’s unconditional love and support has always been my source of strength and happiness (aside from hubby). I can’t survive without them.

I am also thankful for my good old friends (since 19-kopong-kopong) whom I have shared my journey with for a loooong time. Thank you for the untiring ears and all =) Keeping in touch with you takes away my melancholic tendencies. Pasensya na, buangon man inyong amiga.

And to my newly found friends (mostly online buddies=) who inspired me in many ways. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and a bit of your life with me. Amidst our crazy world and the increasing wickedness around, you made me see that there are still lots of people with magnanimous hearts and kindred spirits (with exemplary talents pa) Go and multiply!!! hehehe

4. Permanent Residence Visa – which we received early this year. We are truly thankful that we got it in a breeze. Felt soooo blessed.


5. Financial blessings – we don’t have all the riches in the world (I don’t want that either) but we have enough to live comfortably and we’re worry-free from credit or debts.

Muchas gracias a Dios! Muchas gracias! This year, I have boundless HOPE and TRUST for all that is come (I fervently pray that our global economy will soon recover from its terrible meltdown )…InshAllah!

to scrimp or not to scrimp???

My parents are here in NZ for the holidays and our most awaited out-of-town vacation is causing a stir in the house! Weeeeee! Reservations for accommodation, transportation, etc. are all ready…However, when my ever concerned father (who is brilliant on financial matters) saw the print-out of our expected expenses; he suggested that we forgo some of our plans because of the looming crisis ahead. As much as I would like to give in to my innermost desires, I can’t help but admit that he is utterly sensible (as always)!

With the escalating unemployment rate and all economic woes flooding the news anywhere in the globe, it’s hard not to worry about what is in store next year. Sure enough, the crisis can’t be felt that much right now but economists foresee a global financial meltdown after the holidays. Is there really a great depression in sight?

My fingers (and toes) are crossed that bail-out plans (which are all Greek to me) will work their magic. Somehow, I’m dwelling on a wishful thinking that this will only be some sort of recession; just a part of the economy cycles…but yes, I certainly understand that this is a toss-up situation.

And so to scrimp is out of the question already! From now on, I will be officially Ms. Scrimpy (until further notice).

P.S.
Funny how ironic it is: during the times when people aren’t traveling, it is when there are really good holiday packages…Damn principles of supply and demand! Haaay, we are indeed in a world full of ironies! Tsk tsk

Live "the" life

"All earthly glory is fleeting...” This is what the song reminds me of.

For me, it intensely relates to our world where more and more people are characterized by insatiability; simply because we are awed by, if not obsessed with, riches, fame and power.

I’m not pointing a finger to anyone for I know that NOT only the Kings, presidents and whatnot are guilty of this. Many of us, myself included, have some kind of pride and greed… but whatever and whoever we are, we can either be humble or be humbled in one way or another. Nobody is invincible…

Yes, I’d like to believe that there are greater and better possessions than our material treasures and desires, or even existence. And so this Christmas, let’s give time to reflect on humility, peace and love – all these are imperative for more meaningful Christmas and joyful new year to come

Let’s celebrate life – the kind that He wants us to live. Viva La Vida!

Blessed holidays to everyone!!!

the wonders of GOOGLE =)

Google has been innovating many applications or whatchamacallit that I find soooo valuable. It has been my favorite search engine long before it became popular and I’ve also been using gmail way back in time when you can’t just sign-up unless you’re invited by another gmail user. Downloading email attachments is made very easy there and very few spams go through it and are filtered anyway. I simply love it!


Their picasa photo editor is also fantastic. It enables me to edit my photos in no time. It’s a powerful tool yet so easy to use…and need I say more about youtube? I guess not…Well, these are just among their many free services/products.

Lately, I am sooo fond of using their STREETMAP. I’ve been taking enjoyable virtual walks at New York’s famous streets and many places in the US, Australia and here in NZ (NZ’s streetmap was just launched recently). Searching for an address is fast too! You don’t even need to put the country anymore. Say, when I put our street address and suburb/city, voila! I immediately got this:

this is exactly it!

looking around...

looking farther...

Whew! Felt like I'm walking outside our street. Really. Amazing eh?! My only comment about it is that they should have taken the street images anytime but winter here. You can’t appreciate the beauty of NZ because it’s gloomy But all in all, it’s truly praiseworthy!



I definitely heart google and I am looking forward to what it has to offer in the near future. I just hope all their products/services remain free hehe

Kudos to google!

Happy Diwali!

Unique cultures in Asia interest me a lot and Indian is on top of my list. I know India isn’t a popular choice for many Pinoy travelers and I wonder why. Why not? The fact that the renowned yoga and kama sutra originated there is compelling enough for me. It’s one of my MUST see places.

So when I heard that they will be celebrating their festival of light in advance (2weeks ago) here in Auckland, hubby and I were there - needless to say hehe...I'm not sure but it seems like we were the only Pinoys there (snob ba?! hmmm) and of course, there were many Caucasians and other Asians too.

I enjoyed tasting an array of Indian dishes which are mostly vegetarian. I like vegetables, curry and spicy cuisine so you can also expect me to like their dishes too; although there was this drink (I forgot the name) that I found awfully bizarre but worth-tasting anyway. Their bright and colorful costumes (saris, salwars, etc.) gave the festival more vivacity. Their women look really fabulous in it. Now, I acknowledge the fact that many of them are really gorgeous – eyes, nose…pang-Miss Universe jud!…And oh! their distinctive dances truly entertained me too to the point that it made me consider learning it. Mind you, it might look easy on TV (and sometimes funny) but when you look closely, the moves are quite intricate. Look at this sample video; I dare you to do the moves with all the facial expression and grace ha?! hehe…

Anyhoo, here are some photos during the festival


Happy Diwali!

Shalom, Shantih, Salaam, Kapayapaan...Peace Yo!

It seriously irks me when someone becomes extremely religious as if he/she is saying to your face: “I’m absolutely righteous and you’re not!” – just because he/she never misses a mass, always prays and does all the religious rituals beyond imaginable. Mind you, attitude like this made religion to have caused and still causing wars since time out of mind

Don’t get me wrong, I am not atheist and have nothing against religious people in general BUT the close-minded and self-righteous doctrinaires ggrrrrrrr…for crying out loud!!!

Yes, I was born, raised and have remained a Catholic all these years but I am certainly NOT dogmatic about it…simply because I don’t believe that there is one ‘rightful’ religion for all.

If truth to be told, I’d still admire you albeit you don’t go to church yet you go out in the real world and do genuinely good to your fellowmen. For me, righteousness is all about the quality of goodness in your deeds and NOT on quantity of how often you go to church and pray.

Nonetheless, who will define goodness? Perhaps this is the reason why we created religion in the first place. It is like an organization wherein we try to share and unite our beliefs, principles, etc. so we may have an orthodox of goodness and may set rules for the common good. In analogy, religion is just like a government in one way or another. And just like the government, the trouble begins when one party harasses another party…and worse comes to worst, a war is triggered.

Why is it so hard for us to harmoniously co-exist with all our differences???

During my college days, I remember to have attended several gatherings of Focolare movement wherein we advocate UNITY and PEACE regardless of religion. There, I met believers from various sectors: Catholics (nuns were there too), Seventh Day Adventists, Mormons, and even the agnostics…all were united towards universal brotherhood. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we can all do that?

If you’re with me, sing with me now:

*(1st stanza omitted)

Imagine there's no countries, it isn't hard to do.
Nothing to kill or die for, and no religion (dividing us**) too.
Imagine all the people, living life in peace...

You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one.
I hope some day you'll join us, and the world will be as one.

Imagine no possesions, I wonder if you can.
No need for greed or hunger, a brotherhood of man.
Imagine all the people, sharing all the world...

You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one.
I hope some day you'll join us, and the world will live as one.

*I omitted it because I still like to believe that there’s heaven and living only for today takes away life’s meaning or purpose, don’t you think?
**Religion is OK as long as it doesn’t destructively divide us

My mortal ENEMY grrrrr...

It's time to declare WAR against my mortal enemy!!!

Actually, I should say enemies because they’re one heck of a big pesky family forming a formidable coalition and have been harassing me since time immemorial. My lasting scars are the proof to that. This f*** family thrive beneath those endearing and unsuspecting creatures. They’re soooo sneaky that you can’t foresee their impending nastiness.

I thought they won’t bother me here in this paradise-esque land… far from where I first met them…but alas! they’re here!!! #$&*@(#&!!!! I can’t seem to stop myself questioning WHY???? Why here? Why me??? (For the record, they don’t bother hubby. Not at all!) Am I that appealing??? Gosh, that’s totally unflattering!

The hardest part is I can’t just ignore nor forget about them because they are the kind that propagates their lowly species and can seriously devastate the humankind. Their malevolence actually caused the Bubonic plague or The Black Death which killed hundreds of millions of people several centuries ago…and their kind is still enduring up to now. Eradicating them is a long and tedious endeavor. Nevertheless, I shall carry on with my extermination plan.

**itching everywhere** Grrrrrrr...I’m just soooo pissed right now that I can hardly wait to detonate that flea bomb and scream fire in the hole!!!

Those buggers!!! They have surely awakened my wicked instinct to KILL!!!