My Daily Lunch Dates

I do not know what came into Joniel that when I visited their office this morning, he was taking photos of himself! And since we rarely have photos together, I requested forced him to let a student take our photo. And since we are inside  Ces’ office, we also requested that a photo of us three shall be taken. Here’s the result:

Joniel frequently stars my blog posts, basically because we see each other daily and he usually accompany me when I need to shop during weekdays. He is a batch mate of my cousin and was one of our Peer Counselors. He is one of my most favorite gay friends because he is gay. LOL!

And there’s Ate Ces. DH got my number from her. Haha! I love her to bits and aside from Wes’, her shoulders are my crying shoulders. After Wes, she was the first person I talked to when I learned about the condition of my second baby. She cried with me that day. But aside from sharing my sorrows, she has been sharing my joys too. And I have always been an admirer for her strength and faith. She rarely complains despite of the pains that she has been experiencing.  

And this is her office. On her small table, five of us share our lunches five days a week. There’s DD and me, Ate Ces and her DS and Joniel. This is where we talk about trivial and important things alike, share secrets and even funny anecdotes like the one experienced by Ate Ces’ husband abroad while asking lady for the cheapest Outer Banks rentals last month. If only this table could talk!

They’re just two of the many wonderful friends that I have at the university. Aside from my desire to work for and with the youth, another reason that drives me to report to the university everyday is to be with them.

P.S.
It’s a Wednesday, which is our students’ wash day. We (Joniel and I) took advantage of it and declared the day as our jeans day. :p

Saturday 9 on a Sunday

Saturday 9: Be True to Your School

 
1. What was your favorite subject in high school? English.
2. Do you watch reality shows? Which ones? Sometimes. Pinoy Big Brother.
3. What's your favorite all time reality show? Pinoy Big Brother, I think.
4. Do you feel "reality" shows are real or are they faked? I don’t really care. Haha!
5. What did you look like when you were a teenager? Slimmer with longer hair.
6. Whose advice do you listen to? My husband’s.
7. How often are you sick? Too often. :(
8. Do you like or dislike change? It depends on the change.
9. How many times in your life have you had a broken heart? What’s that? LOL!

The Sloth Survey

1. What is one thing you’re supposed to do daily that you haven’t?
:: Sleep early. Yikes.

2. What is the latest you’ve ever woken up?
:: 10 AM.

3. Name a person you’ve been meaning to contact, but still haven’t?
:: A childhood friend, Sarah.

4. What is the last lame excuse that you made?
:: I am still sleepy.

5. Are you a regular latecomer in class or at work?
:: You betcha. Haha!

6. How many times did you hit the snooze button on your alarm clock this morning?
:: No alarm clock here.

7. What’s one thing you’re supposed to do today but feels like postponing on some other time?
:: Help my parents find a good home alarm systems but we prioritized attending Jose Joaquin’s baptism today so it has to wait. :D

Thanks Mai!

Tomorrow…

… will be the State of the Region Address to be delivered by a high-ranking official in the nearby province. However, since the regional office is based here in the city, obviously, the SORA will be held here! As always, we expect heavy traffic because many VIPs will be arriving to grace the said event. Thus, I need to sleep early (but that is not possible right now) so we can leave early and avoid traffic.

Anyway, it’s a brand new week and I am optimistic! Few days more and it’s December! I can’t wait!

Bob Ong Books

While our husbands were talking about basketball and cars and Ferrari parts (all alien to me), Marijo and I talked about her collection of Bob Ong books. It was a nice discovery for me because I never knew that she’s into Bob Ong. I asked her who influenced her and no surprise here, it was our friend, Raquel. And because she (Marijo) has two copies of the Macarthur, the unopened copy was given to me! Yay! She willingly lent me her copy of ABNKKBSNPLAko? which I began reading once we arrived home. And boy, it is one hilarious read! Hilarious and true, like what Marijo said.
I can’t wait to finish it very soon and start the Macarthur. And since DH will be leaving for Davao next week, I already asked him to buy me all the Bob Ong books (instead of me using up my GCs from Trin! Haha!)

Jose Joaquin’s Day

Today is a special day because we welcomed Jose Joaquin to the Christian world! He is the first born of our good family friends, Marijo and Joel. The rites began a little after 10 AM and it was followed by a sumptuous lunch which we all enjoyed. We opted to stay late, even after almost all of the guests went home. It was a great opportunity to take photos of the little boy who was asleep most of the time! Marijo and I hope to schedule a pictorial for Joaquin. Good for me because I can get to practice. Haha!

Anyway, here is a photo of us at the church:
  

Bingay, your family is the only one missing! :)

Stylish but Cheap

Now that Halloween is over, I know that many of us are getting ready for the next big celebration and that’s Christmas! Have you made your list? Took out the holiday decors from the storage? What about picking a pair of Holiday Fun Eyeglasses to complete your Christmasy look? I just checked out the New Arrivals at Zenni Optical and here’s one that caught my fancy:

I love the color and it’s unique design! Say goodbye to your boring and plain eyeglasses and say hello to fun and stylish $8 Prescription Zenni Glasses!

How To Live a Life of Miracles

Last night, I began re-reading Bo Sanchez’ How to Live a Life of Miracles. I can’t really remember if it was I who bought it or if it was given to us by a good friend, Laurence. But nonetheless, I love how Bo reminds us how abundant miracles are in this world if we are only open to them and make a choice to be aware of them. Moreover, he stressed that everything that we do and say affects us and the world, thus we can choose to bless or curse, to be proactive or reactive.

I like how Bo make things like this understandable and simple. His preaching are somewhat inspirational and practical. And not to mention amusing. :)

Thank You, Ma’am Alma!

During our stay in the host school of the inter-school meet, we (my boss, myself plus a student assistant) were accommodated by one of our university professors who retired last year. Ma’am Alma, as we fondly call her, is such a sweet and nice person to let us in her house and stay there for five days without charge! She even stayed up late at night to wait for our arrival. On the last night, more staff arrived to witness the socio-cultural contest and guess where they stayed for the night. At Ma’am Alma’s place, of course.

Talking to her is a breeze. She understood our complaints about how our delegation was accommodated by her alma mater. She even sympathized with us when our contestants were not treated and judged fairly. She fed us with sumptuous meals and provided us with beds and pillows to use when we got tired.

She shared to us that the host school and her alma mater approached her and offered her a teaching post but after two weeks, they talked to her saying that they are having problems with her social security claims so they had to let her go. We don’t believe them but we feel for her because she is such an inspirational person and we know that she can positively influence more students given a chance. Thus, she is an invited facilitator and speaker during our graduating students’ retreat. They having her around, talking to her. She taught Religious Studies when she was a professor at the university and many were inspired by the way she taught them.

To say that we are very grateful for her kindness and generosity is an understatement. She is one of the kindest persons who stepped on our university’s grounds. We pray for her long life and good health. We pray that she won’t be doing any disability appeal because she deserves to live a good and comfortable life for a long time.

Thank you, Ma’am Alma, for providing us with a shelter and a kind mother during our stay there. See you very soon!

A Surprise!

A friend is planning a honeymoon trip to anaheim next year so as early as now, he is already looking for the best deals on transportation, destinations and accommodation. Only the best for the love of his life, he says. It’s a surprise which he will divulge during their wedding reception and his future wife will surely be ecstatic as both of them love to travel. In fact, they met during a trip to Hong Kong three years ago. I am very excited for them and I hope that they will have a fun-filled honeymoon and a blessed married life.

Cheers to A and E!