no more negative vibes

it is true. God truly has a way of shifting things around and moving your life. i can attest to that. there are times when circumstances make me feel bitterness, although in my mind i really want to feel happiness for others. there are times when my self-confidence have almost gone down the drain. times when i felt that i gave everything i've got, and got zilch in return. these are the moments when i ask myself "am i good enough?"

aside from sending me friends & family, God has sent me helpful strangers who eventually became new friends. then it would seem that the universe is aligning itself correctly and everything just falls into place. and then you realize, everything that gave you those negative emotions - frustration, sadness, losing heart - are actually blessings in disguise. and something more amazing is waiting for you. all you have to do is say "God will provide" and hang on to Him until the storm is over.

as what Mr. Rocky Balboa said, "It ain't about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!" 

no more negative vibes! SMILE EVERYONE!

social butterfly. not.

nope, i am not a social butterfly. actually, i am quite the contrary. i really don't talk to people who aren't my friends (unless they talk to me first, then we become friends hehe). when i'm at a new office, it takes me around 3 months to warm up to the people. i can't even hold eye contact with a stranger. that's why i always get the "suplada" or "exclusive" first impression. and why i only have a small group of close friends. but once people get to know me, they realize i talk and laugh a lot. it's not that i don't want to make friends. i'm just really shy... at first :)

however, with my new "engagement" (i really don't want to call it a job), i think i should at least try to change this. i have to practise looking at people in the eye, and not look away after half a second. i have to learn to smile at strangers. ang hirap kaya nun!

i'm glad that i met a couple of friendly people already. when random people talk to me in the locker room or in the elevator, it makes me want to do better. when i realize that there are some people who actually remember me without me even trying to, i feel that i have to step it up some more.

i'm still a newbie, but i really want to improve. so thank you everyone. for the words of encouragement, appreciation, the tips that you give me, the constructive criticism, the small gestures. it means A LOT to me. maraming salamat! :)

rollercoaster month

geez, this has been a crazy month. a lot of things are happening at lightning speed! but i like it :D it makes me feel more alive. let's break it down a bit more. this month, i've felt...

very very thankful... that my dear friend BJ is now in remission. the Lord is truly great. to family and friends, thank you for all your prayers and help.

ecstatic... that all the hours clocked in at the gym and efforts of controlling portions are finally starting to pay off. JUSKUPO!

revitalized... at the office (doesn't that sound weird? haha).

delighted... that my article was printed in our company publication. thank you for giving me the opportunity to write.

stressed and frustrated... which is surprisingly not work-related. (hay Lord, i am asking for your help again. i don't know how to do this.)

chillax... while listening to 106.7 Dream FM at work.

relieved... at nakaraos din sa BC tuitions. woohoo!

excited... for the start of mentorship :)

glad... that i met new friends.

cheery & child-like... after watching 2 good movies - Crazy Little Thing Called Love and Rio.

calm... before going to bed, after spritzing lavender linen spray on my bed & pillows.

looking forward... to a SUNNY SUMMER! i love the heat and the sun and the wind! and to a nice Holy Week with family and relatives.

HAVE A SUNNY AND WONDERFUL SUMMER EVERYONE!

let's all get together!

2011 seems to be a year of reunions for me.


first, our clan had our 4th Kimpo International Reunion which happens every 3 years. Our family consists of 6 generations, starting with my great great grandparents. relatives from across the country and over the world went to Kalibo, Aklan, just in time for the Ati-Atihan festival.


so here's to give you an idea how big our reunion is:


the 1st generation is lolo juan and lola ganday, who had 7 children (2nd generation). these 7 children make-up the current "7 families" of the Kimpo clan and each family has their respective family color. these 7 children had so and so number of children (3rd generation, which includes my grandparents), and these children and so and so number of children (4th generation), and these children had so and so number of children (5th generation - myself included), and some 5th generation-ers already have their own children (6th generation). whew!


can't wait for the next reunion!

this photo has one generation only haha!

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE. one of my bestfriends from DLSU Pops Orchestra has been diagnosed with a tough sickness. so my friends and i are doing all we can to help. this led to being in contact with old friends from Pops, friends that i haven't talked to in years! Pops peeps have been my good friends during my college years. they kept me sane. i'm with them everyday. i even stayed longer in the bandroom than in gox (our Computer Science building) that's why i don't know a lot of my comsci batchmates haha! but once everyone started working, i only got to keep in touch with a few of them.

speaking of my friend, please pray for his fast recovery. his sickness is tough, but he is tougher. FIGHT!


hope i'll be able to keep in touch with more family & friends & relatives :)

sunday randomness

i treated mom and danny and ronel and ate ditas to yoshinoya for lunch today. thank you danny & ronel for cleaning my vacuum and my industrial fan! thank you thank you! now my vacuum is ready for more bad-ass dust obliteration! bwahaha!

i spent the afternoon in megamall. i bought a ticket to the sherlock holmes movie. but i was about 2 hours early, so i went to powerbooks and got myself a new book to read :D ok, so it's not a political or philosophical or some deep sh*t book. i got a light romantic fiction - Love, Rosie by Cecelia Ahern. but at least i'm reading haha! the 3rd fiction i've purchased in half a month :)

then i went to the foodcourt and had a snack. i got taro naicha bubble tea and a ham & cheese on wheat wrap from plato wraps. both i haven't tried before. hmm... good discoveries, i should say!

then the sherlock holmes movie. it was... ok. not quite avatar-astig, but it wasn't bad either.

on my way home i passed by toy kingdom and they had this cute barbie display. of course i remembered my fellow evils and toy collectors ate ja & mik haha!

then i passed by 7/11 to get my coffee. they have a new flavor - banana cappuccino. weird, i know. hmm... weird talaga ang lasa. i still prefer my usual french vanilla. oks! time for some book reading!

ready, set, go!

there had been a bit of a change in this little lady's teeny life (not without a wee bit of drama, of course. but that's another story). i think i should get ready for adventures ahead - may it be trying out a new resto, memorizing the whole of megamall, going out with friends, or getting lost in ortigas. i already started today, actually!

1. went to Mass in my new favorite church.

2. tried chef choi for lunch.

3. tried cocktales (yes, it's spelled that way) for my snack.

4. looked for (and found) the megamall exit closest to my house.

5. finished reading a 135-page short story in 2 hours without the lights on.

i wonder what's next?

swing swing!

yesterday was a bad day.

fortunately, today seems to be the complete opposite :D

i woke up this morning at 7:30am. and i was still sleepy, i wanted to go back to sleep. but i forced myself to get up and try the body combat class in wynsum (ortigas).  i haven't been to that club yet, so i wanted to give it a try. besides, it's really near my place.

when i got there, guess who the instructor was? Ms. Fhe! THE program head (or director or something) of Body Combat Philippines. o ha? o ha? geez i envy her abs and arms. haha! and her energy! mygosh. the class took longer than usual coz she had lots of chit chat, which were very informative so it was all good. oh! and she told us that they're starting to prepare for the combat marathon this year! woooohooo! the theme would be muay thai wars or something. oohhh can't wait :D

after gym, i decided to take a stroll around my new 'neighborhood'. oh gosh. i am in love with emerald ave! ahaha! the place is just so... urban. aah i love it. the only minor glitch here is that there are so many coffee shops and i'm tempted to enter all of em! 

ok! time to get ready to go to greenbelt for ate ria's birthday lunch :D

sounds like a good day, huh? and i'm just halfway through the day. yey!

it's that day already?

today, i am a year short of being officially a mid-twentier. a lot has happened this year. there were a lot of firsts too.

- a lot of gimiks (i super love you guys)

- was able to shoot a gun for the first time.

- was able to shoot an arrow for the first time.

- had a body combat convert (bwahaha!)

- was able to start a real blog.

- discovered FashionToast and SeaofShoes.

- was sent by a client to mindanao for a business trip for the first time.

- was able to buy my first pair of naturalizers with my own money.

- had another godchild. that's 4 in total now.

- co-organized a valentines day promo for the first time.

- joined the body combat marathon for the first time

- shook ronnie winter's hand *swooonnnn*

- now living on my own (on weekdays, at least)

i super thank the Lord for showering me with blessings in the past year. i pray that more would come this year :D

so wait, i spent my birthday differently this year than the last. last year i had my "me-time". now i spent it with family and friends.

- my birthday arrived while i was watching transformers (woot! bumblebee pogi especially when in killerbee mode!) with my fellow evils.

- i got home by 2am. woke up by 8am. mom & bro arrived by 8:30.

- attended body combat and body vive with mom.

- attended an impromptu baking demo in galleria in the afternoon with mom.

- had dinner with family at annabel's.

- had dessert at annabel lee.

thank you thank you thank you for all the greetings! they are greatly appreciated! mwah mwah!

are the stars aligned?

• i was asked to go to davao last friday. work-related stuff. i wasn't really completely happy about this. maybe 50/50. probably because i had to be up ridiculously early for my flight. but then the people from davao (and cebu) were actually ok :D even if it was a business trip, it was stress-free :)
  
• on the way back, i saw my close highschool friend, roselyn, who i haven't seen in ages! of all the places to meet, sa plane from davao to manila pa talaga! haha! she was also sent there to assist their client.
  
• something AMAZING happened in the office *snicker snicker*
  
• i have 8 hours OT. i thought only 3 hours would be approved :D
  
• two of my favorite gym instructors were at the gym :) one was a substitute instructor, the other just visited. woot! lucky-ness!
  

awesome! i hope the stars would be aligned properly until the end of the week. PLEASE PLEASE PLEAAASEEE!

bestfriend

one of my friends recommended that i watch Bride Wars (anne hathaway & kate hudson). he told me that if you have a bff, you'd really appreciate the movie.

so i watched.

and i missed having a bestfriend. oh no, i'm not an anti-social loner. i have a lot of acquaintances and friends and a few really close ones. but i don't have that one person who really knows me. who i can rant and cry to when i'm upset. one who i could talk to for forever and we wouldn't run out of things to talk about.

hmm... i used to have one back in college (let's call the person X). or so i thought. maybe I thought X was my bestfriend, but it didn't mean that it was true the other way around too. X may be my closest friend, but that didn't necessarily mean I was X's closest friend as well. yes, X has been a very, very good friend to me for what, 4? 5 years? when we graduated, we continued to be great friends. but something happened (no details here. but it wasn't a fight or anything. if you hear the story, it would sound shallow, actually.) that made me realize that we weren't as close as i thought we were. 

and when it hit me, it sucked. lesson learned - never assume. so i went through the process of self-brainwashing. i had to tell myself over and over that no, we weren't really bestfriends, even back then. 

it was hard, but i'm ok now. i'm cool with this setup. X will always be a good friend, but not a bestfriend anymore. what's funny is, even after what happened, i NEVER felt any ill feelings. i was never angry. just lonely. but no feeling of angst or hatred or whatever. X has given me 5 years of incredible friendship which i'll be forever thankful for. that won't go away that easily.

i must admit, i miss having a bestfriend. but now, i'm happy with my small circle of close friends. and when the time comes that there is one person who can become my bff, i'll make sure we're on the same page first. :) for now, i guess this blog will have to bear with the musings of this little lady. :)