Anything goes...

It was around 7pm. We were enjoying a good breeze of the air last night outside our house. As usual, the brownouts are back and became more frequent, there are about 6-9 hours each day, every 3 hours. We decided to buy a driftwood set of a table and a bench to be placed outside the freshly landscaped lawn, and while arranging everything, my boy looked up the sky and noticed about 8 to 10 orangey red bright lights. They came from down going up, there were no airplanes at the direction we saw it and since airplanes here only have day flights in our so-called international airport, we shrugged off the idea. It was not a bunch of flares too because they go up and slowly disappeared to the direction of the moon, more of some satellite, but it too can't be because they do not flicker. No, they were not stars as what my boy thought it was because it was really cloudy and we have see no star. And remember, they move. What could those things be? Chinese lanterns? UFO? It's a question we...

I am from General Santos City, and am a member of SOCCSKSARGEN Bloggers. SOCCSKSARGEN is for South Cotabato, Cotabato City, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and General Santos, and since we are but a few hours drive from each other, we join each other in a small group we call as such - SOCCSKSARGEN Bloggers. We have blogger friends from as far as Tacurong, Sultan Kudarat, and in the other direction, Alabel, Sarangani Province. But we meet in Gensan, and make different worthwhile activities. We have been doing this since last year. Spearheaded by Bariles of Gensan, we have made a conscious effort to converge our small group and at times, just to enjoy each other's presence. The first grand eyeball event we had was during the opening of Robinsons Mall many months ago, but we managed to stay close and at hand with each other, and helping each other grow in our blogging life, and staying as friends. This time, we were asked by Google to help in the mapping of the precincts for this coming Ma...

Writer's block is a condition, associated with writing as a profession , in which an author loses the ability to produce new work. The condition varies widely in intensity. It can be trivial, a temporary difficulty in dealing with the task in hand. At the other extreme, some "blocked" writers have been unable to work for years on end, and some have even abandoned their careers. Bagay ba? Hehe, wala kasing ma-post eh. May writer's block ata ako, pero promise, babalik agad ang energy to blog. Enjoy your days! PS. taken during Robinsons Gensan's Mall Opening. VIP Pass, meet and greet Derek Ramsay.

“Imagine life is a game in which you are juggling five balls. The balls are called work, family, health, friends and integrity . And you’re keeping all of them in the air. But one day, you finally come to understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. The other four balls – family, health, friends, and integrity – are made of glass. If you drop one of these, it will be irrevocably scuffed, nicked, perhaps even shattered. And once you truly understand the lesson of the five balls, you will have the beginnings of balance in your life.” —James Patterson, Suzanne’s Diary for Nicholas I just finished reading this book, a very lovely one. It spoke of life and how we must learn to appreciate it and value every day of our lives. It speaks of listening, of understanding, healing, forgiveness, and taking time to allow ourselves to enjoy the people we love. And to always tell them how much you love them, no matter what the odds are.

20 days more and it's May 10, a day of tension for politicians and grappling work for our Comelec and the BEIs. A day of anticipation for all of us, and a day that will determine the future of our children. It's still a long way to go, 20 more days of prayer, 20 more days of wishful thinking that the Lord will grant us a good, dependable, reliable, responsible and honest president. May he/she be a man of integrity, of fear with the Lord, of honest and clean heart, and with the purest intention for the good of the country. But then again, 20 more days is just as fast. We only have 20 more days. So I urge you to use this 20 more days for prayer to a peaceful and orderly elections, and for the whole nation to properly discern who to put in the highest position of the land. 20 more days to prepare yourself. This is a battle, our heart's battle. Let us vote for whatever is good, whatever is right!

It's really awful to be there. To be stuck for a day or even more is worse to worst. You cannot see and enjoy the world around you and you will miss being with the people you love. The only consolation you get is that every time you feel pain, you feel secure with your life (or maybe NOT) inside a hospital. Yesterday, I was in the office and was preparing for a lunch date with officemates when my phone rang. It was my mom. I did not answer her because I was still on the phone talking with a writer. Then I forgot about her call. While lunching, I got another call from a different number, twice. And I have this habit of not answering calls unlisted in my phone's directory. So I ignored it. And then an SMS came saying my Mom was rushed to the hospital. I was in disbelief because mom and I texted each other that morning and she never mentioned of going to Gensan. She came from Marbel, an hour's drive away from Gensan. She and a friend came over to get their transcript of record...

I am a super big fan of chocolates. And by chocolates, I mean any kind- dark, white, milk, with crispies, hazelnut or coated candies. Now, what could be more sweet than chocolates? But the thought that it was given to you from the heart. Weekend was busier for me and the hubby, all the while when we have to time to rest, he suddenly thought of arranging the garage and do the landscaping (much to my delight) of our front lawn. It's been a long overdue task (which details will be posted soon) and has been part of my heart's desire since we moved more than a year ago. The task was completed after three days of clearing, leveling, landscaping, brick-layering. And now, muscles ache everywhere. And so to reward myself, I went into indulgence: Chocolates! And even nicer that a blogger-friend sent me goodies which included 2 big bags of these. So, what could be sweeter than chocolates from Jeddah, sent with kind thoughts and pure friendship. Ahhhh, chocolate indulgence. Thank you almi...

My Ode to the Sea And with a stroke of luck I am handed a few extras, i will surely want to stay for a day or two by the sea, to be content with only you and me. The good sea, in all its majesty, Awaits for me patiently. But for now it cannot be, since the 2 of our offsprings, to school they will be. This June, it's the 2 of them I mind, I cannot dig up my pocket as deep as I can find. So the good sea will remain to me, one desire my heart longs for, But when the kids are fine and God opens the door, The sea I will conquer and maybe even more. Days of rest are days of best, When I am with you, the kids in our nest. These happy days are here to stay, and will bring to me the better pay... You, me, and them...just living, simply happy. And with the good sea, I mean: 1) Coron, Palawan 2) Bantayan Island, Cebu 3) Boracay Island, Aklan So, soonest as I hope, i will conten...

The Holy Week went through unnoticed. It was too fast-paced that we hadn't really experienced a satisfying rest. A lot of unexpected things came, some happy, mostly sad. First off, one precious thing left us, one I cannot disclose here on my blog because I promised my eldest son, none of it will be posted. It hurts him that much. So during the Holy Thursday and Good Friday, we were just home, having a DVD marathon and playing Uno with the kids. We ate and slept as we decided not to fast, but to feast in order to recover lost stamina during the lengthy days we were working overtime for graduation needs. Last Saturday, we went home to MIL's place, we stayed there until Sunday but that Saturday night was a nightmare. Tabebs woke up in the middle of the night crying heaps and complaining about a painful chest. I didn't know what to do, she was having mild fever and coughs, but the pain near the chest area was something I did not understand. I had a sleepless Saturday, I took to...

Good Friday, 2010 I woke up feeling well rested, I felt power. It was only a day of rest, of being with the kids and the whole family, but i felt invigorated by what force I don't know. The kids and husband still asleep, I felt JOY being in their presence. I grabbed a book "Between Blinks" by Jim Paredes, a gift from a very good friend given just Wednesday, the message to me was this: For Sheng, Because you need serenity once in a while. I thought about the message. For sure he knows I need to connect with myself and need inner peace once in a while. And so my thoughts wandered. Yes, when I needed money, I prayed. When I needed healing, I prayed. When I needed strength, I prayed. When I needed comfort and peace, I prayed. But when was the last time I prayed just because I needed to talk to HIM and just tell HIM everything going on with my life? I am thankful that He stays with me in my down times and in my joys, I am so much thankful of the times when I am successful, bec...