Anywhere

Dear my love, haven't you wanted to be with me
And dear my love, haven't you longed to be free
I can't keep pretending that I don't even know you
And at sweet night, you are my own
Take my hand

We're leaving here tonight
There's no need to tell anyone
They'd only hold us down
So by the morning light
We'll be halfway to anywhere
Where love is more than just your name

I have dreamt of a place for you and I
No one know who we are there
All I want is to give my life only to you
I've dreamt so long I cannot dream anymore
Let's run away, I'll take you there

Forget this life
Come with me
Don't look back you're safe now
Unlock your heart
Drop your guard
No one's left to stop you

Forget this life
Come with me
Don't look back you're safe now
Unlock your heart
Drop your guard
No one's left to stop you now

24 Hours Awake on Sunday

After 3 months of not being able to go to Church, finally I'm back. I had no sleep since Saturday morning till Sunday 5PM. After going to my friend's Church who's now a Pastor, I immediately proceeded to my Church. I call it "mine" because this is the first Church where I found real Christians. Anyone can establish a relationship with Him as long as one is willing. This is the Church where I've been going to since August 2005.

God grant me the Serenity to accept the things I Cannot change… Courage to change the things I can... And Wisdom to know the difference…

I got there 12.30 PM when the 11 AM service was almost over. I did not want to go home. I knew I had to stay even if I hadn't slept since Saturday. I'm hungry of His Words. I'm thirsty of His presence. So, I stayed.

Without any companion, I took my lunch in TokyoTokyo 'cause the next service would be at 2PM. I had 1 hour left to eat. TokyoTokyo is the best place to go to if you would want to be the replica of Cookie Monster who, instead of gobbling cookies, is gorging rice - but of course, I did not gobble! I still managed to chew my food with felicity and femininity. Hello? Mag-isa na nga lang ako, ipapahalata ko pa bang patay-gutom ako?

There were 2 guys looking at me. I saw them but I didn't give them the kind of look they were giving me. Rule No. 1, never flirt back when your pets in your stomach are violently piercing each other, or else they would pierce your tissues instead. Call me kill joy, but I do not flirt with strangers and I'm not a flirt.

The lady crew approached me and gave the Mango Sundae. I just nodded, but I thought Did I order one? Di bale na, gutom na rin naman ako! Baka freebie nila! Then the woman beside me with her son asked the lady crew, "Ah, yung Mango Sundae namin?"

I don't even know if the name of that dessert is Mango Sundae. Basta, yellow sya na parang ice cream. Period.

When the lady crew heard her, she said "Ay, akala ko po magkasama kayo." Then I thought, Sayang! Kala ko pa man din maiisahan ko! Kidding aside, I really thought it was a freebie! (Defensive!) You'd really think of such things when your super hungry that you begin to look at everything you see as food! Chairs, tables, forks, spoons, and best of all cockroach! (eew). It's one creature I'd never dream of touching! I left our home 9.30 AM with only 2 pieces of pandesal for my breakfast. I didn't want to be late for Church so there's no way to stay any longer at home.

It was 1.45 PM when I jumped off my feet to go back to Victory. I got there 1.55 PM. TokyoTokyo is in the ground floor of that wide mall while Victory is in the 4th floor. I took the elevator and upon reaching the very glass door of Victory Fellowship Church, the ushers smiled at me just like what they do to eveyrone who enters the Church. I smiled back and I felt so free. It felt peaceful in here. It was only 5 minutes before the service started but the place is already crowded with countless members and visitors. You cannot identify which is which since it's a big Church. I'm speaking of the number of attendees, not the physical size of the place, although I must say the physical size is also wide!

The usherette guided me toward the left division of seats in front. It was my favorite seat. After 3 minutes, song leaders marched on the stage. 5,4,3,2,1... We were then asked to stand and sing a song of praise... and worship. Everyone was not ashamed to sing, especially me! (hehe) It really feel so good to sing a high note to God, to extend one's vocal cords, breathe deep and exhale it with the most beautiful voice you could create! I envy those people who know how to play guitar, drums, keyboards, violin, saxophone... because if only I had such skill, I would want to share such talent and use it for His glory! If only I had such skill, I would want to perform in a crowd with my instrument... but all I have is my voice so I sang my heart out to it. I didn't feel shy to sing aloud since singers infront with their instruments were over-powering the music. We sang Songs of Praise first, then followed it with Songs of Worship. We sang songs which I could not remeber the title anymore. One of it was the Tagalog Version of Hillsongs' You Are My Shield. We ended the vocal-cord-stretching with With All I am.

Before I left the Church yesterday, I was decisive to return to Victory. For 3 months I haven't been attending the service. There's a sad truth that someone almost made me believe that he's the truth. It's a sad truth that he even happened to be a Pastor. It's a sad truth that he even happened to be my old friend. It's also a sad truth that maybe he's not aware that what he had done could make one stumble. I was tasked to create the website for Victory Singles'. I even had the idea about what name we should give our Singles' website - but because my focus to do His will was distracted, I thought His will for me was the other way around. I thought... At oo, maraming namamatay sa maling akala. I gave someone my precious time but in the end, I realized it's not all worth it. It's true that experience is the best teacher, but we should not always agree to that. If you will learn by your "own" experience, you will learn only after experiencing the consequences of what you've done. The sad part about that is you'll only learn after getting yourself bruised and wounded, perhaps shattered. To learn from the experience of other people would be the wisest way of learning - from Bible stories and from stories of people in the present world. Through this, you not only save yourself from being hurt too much, but you also save the value of time God has entrusted you.

I don't know if I could still create that website...but I'm very much willing to go back to where I really belong (GMA7 ba to?). Starting Saturday this week, I will bond with Singles in our Church to meet more Christian friends. When we have fun, we have fun without cigar or alcohol. This is God's will to everyone.

Be happy young man while you are still young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever our eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment. Ecc. 11:9-10

He said "Whoever comes to me I will never drive away". He also said "He who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst." Never in the Bible have I found that our God has broken a single promise. All of His promises are fulfilled. That is why I know that despite of everything that has happened, I am still here, still putting my trust in Him. I know He was just testing me.

Before the 11 AM service ended, before I even got to TokyoTokyo, Ate Evelyn and Ate Alma were surprised upon seeing me. "Cherie, girl na girl ka ngayon ah. With skirt and all. Bakit tagal mo nawala?", they asked. I responded with a semi-laugh-full-smile, whatever! I said that I visited another Church and just checked what's up with it. They cracked a joke and I realized how much I miss them... I also miss the other Singles with whom I played billiards before I lost my phone. I lost my phone and I guess that was an omen.

Now, I just feel so free. I feel I'm so back to my old self again. I want to do things more for Him. I want to stay in Victory and find that one day I can also be able to bring my family there...

I got home totally feeling sleepy. It was a struggle to get back home as if there was a large stone on my feet. I wanted to text my parents and ask if they could fetch me from this Mall back home. They're tired, I thought. I gotta make it on my own. So, I took a long walk toward exit. The catwalk from the Mall's exit to the terminal was another mile! I knew I just had to continue walking. In the bus, I was already sleeping. Everytime the bus would stop, I would also open my eyes and check where I was. I didn't want to fall completely asleep although it was sooo tempting. I haven't had sleep for continuous 24 hours!

Upon reaching home, I washed my face and began to sleep.

It felt so good, though, to keep myself awake for Him this Sunday. I know, there are still a lot of things He will reveal to me only if I will continue to trust Him. It is always conditional.

It's Monday today... It's the first day of the week again. I will sleep later then wake up to go to work again. It's gonna be another day.

* * * * * * * * * *

WITH ALL I AM: Here is the last worship song we sang in Church yesterday (See below).





HERE I AM TO WORSHIP: We did not sing this yesterday. This is, however, one of my favorite Worship songs. (See below)




ONE WAY: I like this rock Praise Song. (See below)





WHAT IS WORSHIP: Below is a video of people who are caught unawares of what worship is all about. :-( What is worship? Find it here. Watch the video below.




Enjoy watching the video!

Kanlungan

Earth Shaking while Working

I was on my station, staring on my 2 LCD monitors, writing... steady, concentrating, doing my everyday job. No voice calls were coming in. It was supposed to be blended voice and email, but what I was receiving were emails, emails, emails when suddenly I felt a little dizzy as if it was shaking. I thought there was an earthquake, and there was.

"Lumilindol", one of the Supervisors said. He was calm. Everyone was calm. I realized it was an earthquake. Unlike pure voice calls in most call centers where you could hardly steal a little chat, or crack a joke, simply bond while working with your teammates, here in our company it's an enjoyable and more relaxed milieu. You can talk with your friends sitting just beside you or, perchance, sitting on the other bay because you're not taking pure voice calls. You also have email task to balance your work... and I love it!

Communication skills plus technical knowledge is the thing. I love my job.

Despite the fact that it was shaking, everyone was still doing his job while talking to clients with headsets on... As if nothing's happening. The customer on the other line is not even aware that there is an earthquake, that you might die now before you could even say goodbye!

Those who were focused on email at that time, like me, were all distracted. I could not write anymore. Who could write well when the earth is shaking!? If it's not yet the end of the world, then AHT (Average Handling Time) would still matter! And it still matters because I'm still alive. Those few seconds we were distracted were counted against our AHT.

The guard was walking and Bullit, my teammate, told him "Manong, lumilindol". As if earthquake is happening everyday, Manong Guard just smiled and continued walking. Hey Manong! We're gonna die here and is that all we get, a smile???

Earthquake shook Makati at 10 PM and 1 AM, 19 and 20 August 2006 respectively, 3 hours apart. To be honest, I was not nervous at all when the earth shook. It felt even exciting! I mean experiencing earthquake on the 25th floor is exciting compared to having it on the ground floor. You will really feel the earthquake if you're on top of the building compared to experiencing it in the ground floor. I even had the guts to work overtime till 5 AM. May meeting daw, sabi ni Boss. Unpaid yung meeting, kaya pipiliin ko na lang magtrabaho at least kung mamamatay man ako, bayad pa rin!

What if earthquake shook us and made the building collapse? I mean, we were not taught how to end our spiels while talking with our customers. Are we gonna say "Mr. Smith, it's my opportunity to have spoken with you today as my last customer. I WILL BE BURIED UNDERGROUND. Should you have any further inquiries, DON'T HESITATE TO CALL US BACK, OK? Thank you for calling (company name). Long life to you!"

Who Am I?

Who am I, that the Lord of all the earth
Would care to know my name Would care to feel my hurt
Who am I, that the Bright and Morning Star
Would choose to light the way
For my ever wandering heart

Not because of who I am
But because of what You've done
Not because of what I've done
But because of who You are

I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
Vapor in the wind
Still You hear me when I'm calling
Lord, You catch me when I'm falling
And You've told me who I am
I am Yours, I am Yours

Who am I, that the eyes that see my sin
Would look on me with love and watch me rise again
Who am I, that the voice that calmed the sea
Would call out through the rain
And calm the storm in me

Not because of who I am
But because of what You've done
Not because of what I've done
But because of who You are

I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
Vapor in the wind
Still You hear me when I'm calling
Lord, You catch me when I'm falling
And You've told me who I am
I am Yours

Not because of who I am
But because of what You've done
Not because of what I've done
But because of who You are

I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
Vapor in the wind
Still You hear me when I'm calling
Lord, You catch me when I'm falling
And You've told me who I am
I am Yours

I am Yours
Whom shall I fear
Whom shall I fear
'Cause I am Yours
I am Yours

- adapted, maybe this is a song... I don't know who the writer is, though.

Pantry

Panda found a hard time chasing after Tripoddy cuz Tripoddy is an absolute snob. She hates being with other cats. Ater 3 years of courtship, finally Panda’s love for Tripoddy brought fruit!



Barakong Panda



Supladitang Tripoddy


Now, here is the result….

Pantry on Ate Val's cactus collection

Pantry and her twin carpet

Pantry and my hand

Her name is Pantry. If I'm gonna explain her name, I'm gonna show it through arithmetical method:

Panda + Tripoddy = Pantry

That explains all!

When Christmas Time is Near...

It’s the month of October. I should be talking bout Halloween stuff and scary stories, but I feel like talkin’ bout Christmas time. It’s only 5.16 AM. I got awake after a refreshing 6-hour-sleep. I slept around 11 PM which I am normally awake during weekdays. This mid-day sleep happens only once or twice a week. It’s not the kind of ordinary sleep I have during weekdays. Saturday is, honestly, the only day I prefer to hibernate. This is the 6th day from the first workaholic day, Monday. Those 5 days are filled with 9 hours of busy work in the office. I must admit that I’m giving more than that to learn more about what field I am into. I’m working approximately 14 hours a day. I only get to sleep 7 to 8 hours which is ‘bitin’ for me. When I was still studying, I was used to sleeping at least 10 hours! Wow. That’s really healthy, but now, I gotta back up my system with vitamins cuz 8 hours or less of sleep would attract illness. Poten-cee works for me! It’s only a few bucks in Mercury Drug and I noticed my appetite has improved. I can now consume approximately two cups of rice during meal. Dati, walang gana! Lagi na lang walang gana!

Now, I’m trying to manage my time, rule my time, unlike before… I treat time as gold. It’s true that you can never ask the hands of Mr. Time to stop. The not-so-lingering and not-so-friendly Mr. Time cares for no one. It would continue to walk its hands around his flat circular body and would never get tired doing its job! We do get tired, but Mr. Time never does, so then don’t expect him to wait for you. He does not even get attracted with me no matter how many times I glance at him. He’s an ultimate snob, a man of his own world and never cares but to tell you what time it is! That’s why I see how important it is to manage one’s time.

We hear a lot about Time Management, however, there is this author who argued the terminology. He said you can never manage time as it waits for no one, but you do can manage you priorities. So then he said, it’s not right to say Time Management, rather ‘Priority Management’. You cannot manage time, but you can manage priorities. It does make sense, right? However, popularly speaking, Time management is still the terminology used by many.

I consider it valuable for me how I spend time, with whom I spend it, and with whom I waste it! In my field, every second counts as we talk about Average Handling Time (AHT). Every word you utter counts against seconds. It’s a challenge to be less chatty as sometimes I tend to overly-assist the other person on the other line. Fifteen minutes of break time in between would prompt you to speed up munching your food. Mabagal pa man din ako kumain! Sixty minutes of lunch time sounds like a freebie but to be honest, it’s still ‘bitin’ for me to hang out with my friends for the said limited time! This is why every minute counts while I’m in the office. At home, internet access is the best way to chat with new friends without leaving home and going through deadly traffic. It is the best way to learn, too. To go out, leave ones home, and meet an interesting friend matters, too! It will consume greater time than staying on the internet, and greater physical effort to walk with that person (haha!) and go through traffic on the road! So that person oughtta be special :-)

This is how I manage my priorities every day. I gotta be wiser this time as Mr. Time, time and tested as he is, awaits no one…

Now, I ended up talking 'bout how I manage time, not about Christmas! I’ll talk about it next time… ;-)



Vocabulary:
Hibernate -> become less active: to become less active, especially by staying at home rather than going out to socialize (informal humorous)

Bitin -> Tagalong. Not enough

Microsoft® Encarta® Reference Library 2004. © 1993-2003 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

You Are Where I Need You

You love me but I don’t care.
I seek my own ways, yet You guide me.
I choose my plans, yet You protect me.
I honor my desires, yet You are still there.

You love me stronger than I can resist.
I hate the world, yet You give me hope.
I despise myself, yet You preserve me.
I deserve death, yet You give me life.

Why do you love me Lord?
My name belongs to lowly people.
I have been running from You
Yet You are always beside me.

You keep my sanity
when I am about to give up;
You carry my whole weight
Just when I am about to jump.

You renew my trust in people
And give me a reason to live.
You wipe away my tears
And send angels to my relief.

You watch me day and night,
While I walk or sleep.
Where I am thirsty
You go with drinking water.

You are where I need you
And I am where Your love is.
Why should I ever worry
If You are always beside me?

- adapted, from a Pinoy writer