Fundraising Event this Sunday for the Smokey Mountain community

The warmest Christmas greetings to all!  

For those of you living or will be in the immediate Inland Empire, Los Angeles and Orange counties in Southern California (or if you have any relatives or friends within the area), we are hosting a fundraising event this coming Sunday, December 14, at 7:00 pm, at St. Paul the Apostle Church in Chino Hills, California. This will be a fundraising event for the benefit of the Smokey Mountain community in the Philippines.  

The event will feature a serenade of songs by the Good News Chorale, a special number by special guest Sylvia La Torre, and a project presentation by Fr. Ben Beltran, SVD - parish priest of the Smokey Mountain community.  

The event is free and food will be served, but offering plates will be passed for those who would like to take part in supporting the Smokey Mountain community with their donations.  

Again, we wish you the warmest greetings this season and our prayers go out to everyone for a blessed Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

What did you want, as a kid, to be when you grow up?

Do you remember what you said as a kid that you wanted to do when you grow up? I remember at least three of my own. At one point I wanted to be a baker because I ate bread so good that I wanted to make one myself. Another one was that I wanted to be a cop, because I didn't want to get married. Lastly, at some point I also wanted to be a priest (and to be honest I had thoughts of this also when I was already a grown up, sometime in high school).

We do have a lot of dreams and aspirations for ourselves. Some of us are fortunate enough to stick to our original plan from way back when; most of us do not have the chance to do so. What happened to the baker/cop/priest? Well he was at first a mortgage underwriter, then he rose up the ranks on a health supplement company.

Indeed, we do have a lot of plans, big or small, than don't actually come through. I want this as my first car. This is the job that I want. I want to end up with this person. We will be together by this time and date. I want to live independently. I want to get rid of my debt. I want to lose weight.

And yet, even if we make a lot of plans that don't actually push through, there is at least one plan that will definitely push through - the Lord's plan for your life. And yes, my dear friend, He has a plan for you. He has given a lot of thought about you and a lot of care for you that He has spent all this time trying to map out your life so that you may live and grow in His love, even if we're still here on this earth. And whether we accept His will or not, we do know that sooner or later, His will for our life will unfold, right before our very eyes.

Now that we've realized that the Lord has a good, pleasing, and perfect plan for each one of us and after realizing as well that His will for you will come true no matter what, imagine if at one point in your life, you can clearly hear Him speaking to you about His plan for you - what He wants you to do, what He wants you to be, and where He wants to take you.

I've gone through this at least once in my life. The Lord spoke to me loudly and clearly about His will for my life. It is exciting because I am able to paint a picture of myself as I am years from now - like I did when I was young with the baker, with the cop, or with the priest. The only difference is that at this time, I am certain, more than ever, that this will exactly come true.

Years have passed since this experience happened. I am completely not there where He wants me to be. What I'm doing is way, way different from what He wants me to do. But today He spoke to me again. He reminded me of that time He spoke to me originally. He reminded me that He has a good, pleasing, and perfect plan for my life. And this time, He kinda nudged me more that it's about time to get myself back on track - to follow His will for my life.

"For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you; plans to give you a hope and a future.

You didn't get enough sleep, you're tired, you don't feel well...what do you do?

1. What do you say most when you're trying not to curse?
what the bleep bleep is that (or nah i actually just go ahead and cuss...haha)

2. Do You Own An Ipod?
yeah

3. What Person On Your Top 8 on Myspace Do You Talk To The Most?
i don't remember who my top 8 is (i don't even think i have one)

4. What Time Is Your Alarm Clock Set To?
if i did this morning, it would have been 10:30 am. hanep. haha.

5. Do You Want To Fall In Love?
corey from hell's kitchen. haha.

6. Do You Wear Flip-Flops When It's Cold?

pag lalaki ba flip flops din? basta, i even go to work wearing sandals. hanep talaga. hehe

7. Would You Rather Take The Picture Or Be In The Picture?
take the picture

8. What Was The Last Movie You Watched?
uh i forget basta a documentary sa youtube

9. Do Any Of Your Friends Have Children?
uh huh

10. Has Anyone Ever Called You Lazy?
they don't have to. i already know that. haha.

11. Do You Ever Take Medication To Help You Fall Asleep?
theraflu flu and sore throat (yung apple cinammon flavor). the best. makes you sleep for at least 7-8 hours, then you feel really good when you wake up. para bang there's this blissful feeling, not a care in the world. hehehe.

12. Do You Prefer Regular Or Chocolate Milk?
chocolate na lang, i don't drink milk.

13. Has Anyone Told You A Secret This Week?
hmmm i guess? i know i did tell someone a secret this week. hehehe. :P

14. When Was The Last Time You Had Starbucks?
yesterday, when i had my car serviced. they had this really cool, authentic, starbucks coffee press (although oo nga noh, it's possible yung actual coffee hindi) but yeah, i want one of those!

15. Can You Whistle?
uh huh

16. Do You Have A Trampoline In Your Back Yard?
meron. jumped on it. broke it. wala na. haha.

17. Do You Think People Talk About You Behind Your Back?
a lot of people do. ang laki ng back ko eh.

19. Did You Watch Cartoons As A Child?
aba, lalo na nung college ako - crayon shin chan

20. What Movie Do You Know Every Line To?
wala. i'm not good at memorizing movie lines. nor actors and actresses' names. nor phone numbers. nor birthdays. but plate numbers yeah. hehe

23. Do You Own Any Band T-Shirts?
hmmm i don't think so

24. What Is Your Favorite Salad Dressing?
dress it up with reynolds wrap. coz i don't like it.

25. Is anyone in love with you?
aba of course! hahaha!

26. Do You Do Your Own Dishes?
my favorite household chore.

27. Ever Cry In Public?
burol (of course someone i'm close to)

30. Do you think you could ever be in love?
of course. ngayon nga eh, corey of hell's kitchen. hehehe

31. Would You Ever Date Anyone Covered In Tattoos?
i don't think so. eh kasi naman - COVERED.

32. What Did You Do Before This?
ate ice cream :D freagin' one million degrees here.

33. When Was The Last Time You Slept On The Floor?
ooh haha i vividly remember that time. i went home, no key to the house, no garage door opener. madaling araw na nun and it was winter. no one was at home coz they went to vegas. i didn't want to sleep sa car because i was kinda scared na people might see me and they might nab or kidnap me or something. so, haha, winter + cemented floor....go figure. and yeah, i had to sleep on it. grabbed as many blankets as i could from the garage, but it just wasn't enough. haha, naawa nga ako sa sarili ko. now i know how the people sleeping sa may freeway exit feel...yun bang yung lamig nanunuot sa katawan mo. haha, kawawang norman.

34. How Many Hours Of Sleep Do You Need To Function?
7 siguro at least. kasi kagabi 6 lang tingnan mo, nagbloblog na lang ako. hahaha. 

35. Do you eat breakfast daily?
nope. if there was sinangag everyday then i would.

36. Are Your Days Full And Fast Paced?
yeah pretty much

37. What are you doing right now?
aside from this? trying to download an online game.

38. Do you use sarcasm?
not much. i'm pretty straightforward (but i try to hold it as much as possible. medyo patience person ako. haha).

39. Have You Ever Been In A Fight?
uh huh

40. Are You Picky About Spelling And Grammar?
very much (so sorry if i do that!)

41. Have You Ever Been To Six Flags?
six flabs.

41. Have you ever got beaten up?
no

42. Do you like Rain or Sun?
rain

43. Do You Get Along Better With The Same Sex Or The Opposite?
uhm pretty much everyone (naks!)

44. Do you like mustard?
nope

45. Do You Sleep On Your Side, Stomach, Or Back?
i don't know, what i'm sure off is that my shirt is up, my face and my tummy has scratches, and even my pillow is undressed (and my comforter is on the floor).

46. Do You Watch The news?
yup. kinda geeky about that.

47. How Did You Get One Of Your Scars?
when i started to get bed bug bites.

48. Who Was The Last Person To Make You Mad?
kobe bryant. pau gasol. lamar odom. and the rest.

49. Do you like anyone?
kulit. corey nga eh. hehehe.

50. What Is The Last Thing You Purchased?
ice creammmmmmmm :D

For people wanting to write but wouldn't know what to write about...

Random thoughts for the day:

1. There are really friends, despite the distance, that know you inside and out. These are the ones that remain lifetime friends, and they truly are the ones that care about you.

2. There are still a lot of kind-hearted people in this world. There's still hope.

3. Family first.

4. There's no way but up. And yes, there is a God.

5. I know I have to learn to really start doing things for myself, and work my way around my own priorities and values, around my own hopes and dreams. I just can't. But days like this allow me to really learn and appreciate that.

6. I really don't know what's with you but yeah, you really are something.

7. And I really don't know what's with this other person but you really are a HELL of a person.

8. I know it's hard for some to grasp the situation, which then makes it dificult for them to be understanding and considerate in light of where I am right now.

9. I appreciate the gift of people; I appreciate the small talks; I appreciate the little opportunity to both commune and communicate.

And finally...

10. Go Lakers!

Politicians...

Politicians are just like diapers - you need to change them every so often. And you change them like diapers for similar reasons.

The Heart of a Child

As adults, we face trials and triumphs of magnitudes far greater than when we were kids.

But the most amazing thing to realize is the magnitude of trust and faith that a child has towards his/her loving Father.

Lemme post the lyrics here:

Thrill Me
Tim Timmons

O God, You know all my ways
Still Your love remains, You thrill me
O God, the fact that I can sing
You're still listening, You thrill me

You'll never abandon me, You never will, You never will
You'll never forsake me, You never will
You'll never disown me, You never will, You never will
Break Your word
You thrill me

May you be encouraged.

What I can do, brokenness, and relationships

I'm supposed to be either resting or studying for an exam tomorrow morning, but I am not.

I just can't help but think about how broken the world is...

People are broken

...by trials, by failures, by sickness, by pain, by poverty, by death, by loneliness, by sadness

and relationships are broken too

...between friends, between family, and between you and the Lord

I want to be able to do what I can do to bring Christ's love, comfort and blessing in this fallen and broken world - to at least share my time and comfort with a grieving family, to make amends to friends you've hurt, to give strength and encouragement to someone facing trials - but my own weakness and my own brokenness makes me unable to do so. All the more I become broken - feeling weak and helpless.

A couple of days back, I opened God's word in the hope of hearing what He has to say to me, as I experience the magnitude of the brokenness of this world. I believe, truly, from now on, I'll never forget James 1:2-18, for amidst all these, this is what the Lord told me:

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds."

And the good, normal Christian that I am, responded, "Lord, are you kidding me?"

It is very difficult to grasp that behind every dark cloud is a silver lining; that everything we go through will be for our best. And I don't want to force that issue to you right now, because I myself am having a hard time embracing that.

But as I read on, the Lord told me something assuring, something enlightening:

"If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind."

The Lord might not tell you why we live in a broken world, why someone has to die, why my life has to be this way, nor why you have to struggle. He will tell you, though, how to live your life amidst a broken world; He will also tell you WHAT HE WANTS YOU TO DO to bring His peace, comfort and love in a broken world; He will also tell you how to bring His unity to a broken relationship.

But then again, we must believe and not doubt.

Finally, let me share something that I learned this past week. One of the greatest atheists of all time is one of the proponents of the big bang theory. They believe that from a solid mass, there was an explosion, or a big bang, that caused the universe the way it is right now.

Elementary stuff. But one very interesting fact. When this person tried to study and measure the distances between the particles that exploded during this big bang, he noticed something - the distances actually suggest and confirm that, indeed, a single mass existed in the beginning of time. When the movement of the big bang is reversed, simulating it using the distances measured, it does prove that there was one single mass in the beginning.

Now let's put this person back in the picture. As I mentioned, He is one of the greatest atheists of all time. But now, he is now open to the possibility that a God is really existing. He could never understand how a single mass was there in the beginning, and that only someone like Him - like God, can do that.

If an atheist can possibly see there's God, can you?

Can you see that God can work in your life, in your relationship, in a broken world, and reveal Himself to you?

And bring His love? His compassion? His forgiveness? His peace? His comfort?

I wish you love and blessings today.

Norman

Putting my hopes up high in the chat room

One of the bad habits I've developed is staying up late on a Thursday night, knowing that I don't have to work early the next day.

As I always do on these boring, Thursday nights, I just browse through my online network accounts, browse through whatever is on the front page of Yahoo, and other stuff that I would have intented to visit online through the course of my day.

This was an extraordinarily boring Thursday night. No updates on any of my online network accounts, nothing really interesting on Yahoo, and so I had the urge to visit the Inquirer website to keep myself updated with the things going on back at home. There was one article that I found particularly interesting. The Senate Justice and Human Rights Committee have established a chat room where ordinary citizens like us can share our thoughts and give our legislature a piece of our mind. When they set this up, they even said that they'll take whatever - praise, comments, concerns, foul language, whatever.

I found this particularly interesting because the person who pioneered this (or at least as far as I know) is the chairman of the said commitee - Senator Chiz Escudero. For those of you who might not know, as a young high school kid, I've personally seen and heard him speak about politics and society - and at that particular conference where he spoke, I have seen his honesty and his integrity as a leader. And right now, with everyone taking a dip at the ZTE scandal and trying to make a name for themselves, as far as it reaches me here in California, I have not heard him trying to take a slice for himself of the popularity pie that this issue has benefited other politicians.

Even when he chose to become the spokesperson of the PMP during the 2007 elections, I still respected him even though I did not necessarily like the affiliation. One of the things I remember that he said way back then was that it was better to take a stand that people don't necessarily agree with than not having a stand at all - which is pretty much evident with politicians who play it safe and just jump from one ship to another just as the tides of the support of the Filipino people might shift.

In the end, I did sign up for the chat room, and am very much looking forward to getting the chance to speak to Senator Escudero directly. Just as a side note, one of my professors, Felipe Miranda of Pulse Asia, said that the unfortunate thing in Philippine society is that the people left with their integrity intact are those who would never want to enter the political arena, just because they know that the system is so corrupting and they're pretty sure they'd be corrupted should they decide to get in there. But I am positive that we still have statesmen like Chiz, and it is for this reason that I would want to be able to speak to him, to try and discover his values and principles, and evaluate if we still have good leaders like him, or if I am just putting my hopes up too high.

Having what I already once lost

Pounds, that's what I'm talking about. I just want to throw it out there at this point that I'm being weight-conscious because of my health. I've seen so many older men and women who gained weight in their early 20's and it never stopped from there, and this brought out a whole chain of health problems. Also to throw it out there, I'm becoming more conscious about my diet because within the past year, my cholesterol level went up to what can now be considered as "high."

As you might know, I did get really sick the past week (not because of my weight but of a viral infection). It amazes me how there's a silver lining at the end of every dark cloud...I lost so much weight when I got sick, 11 pounds to be exact. All in a week! And the more important thing is that I started eating in smaller portions, just because I got used to it already.

You might also know about my food binge this past Saturday, and continuously over the weekend, I've been eating like crazy (well not really, just in the same way as I was eating before I got sick). In 2 days, I gained more or less 6 lbs.

To be fair to myself, it's not that I really ate that much food, but it's just that I easily gain weight but hardly lose them (doesn't that go for everyone else?).

Right now, I don't feel all-too-digestively well, probably because of my terribly erratic eating habits. I always had caramel sundae whenever I'd have an upset stomach or what not, and maybe I should have had that for lunch instead. It has always worked for me.

Now I'm back to eating very little, just because my stomach can't handle that much food anymore as it used to (except for last night's adobo spree, woo-hoo!). Maybe I'd lose weight again, but more importantly, be able to establish a diet that would be stably healthy for me.

Day with the Lord/Church Sunday

Today, I had to play at the Sunday service in Chino Hills, only that I had to be there way earlier than I'm used to (I had to be there at 8am, an hour before service, and I used to go there at 10). It was difficult waking up because my sleep regimen worked - it was raining and was really cold last night, so I thought of stuffing myself with so much food that I fell asleep immediately (something I'm not used to).

It takes me about half an hour to get there, and I woke up at 7:45 today! It's a good thing I had stuff prepared from last night, which I usually don't do, so it didn't take much time before I was ready to leave.

The other unfortunate thing today was it was still raining, which made it very difficult to drive. And so my travel time of 30 minutes took longer. But anyway I got there safe and sound, which is the important thing.

The other challenge I had today was that from Chino Hills, I had to be in Irvine by 11am - which was about an hour's drive. If I take the toll road, it would take me about 45 minutes. The only thing is that today, and only today, the 91 freeway which leads to the toll road is closed (talk about coincidence) and so I had to take the longer route. The service at Chino Hills ended at 10:15, and I even had to stop to get gas. After that, I was already on the freeway, when I suddenly realized my back door was open, also the gas tank! Geez, I had to move towards the shoulder amidst the speeding cars and the heavy rains. But to cut the long story short, I was fortunate enough to make it to Irvine on time (well, almost. I was just a few minutes late, and didn't miss much).

I loved today's service because they sang one of the praise songs that I love most. The chorus goes:

He knows my name
He knows my every thought
He sees each tear that falls
and He hears me when I call

What gets me really emotional about this song is that I suddenly thing about all the hardships, all the heartaches and pains, and I just think about how fortunate I am to have a God and a Father that is close enough to know my pain, and to feel it too; that I am fortunate to have a God and a Father who knows my unspoken dreams, desires and ambitions; that I am fortunate to have a God and a Father who listens to all the things that I say, whether sensinble or senseless - and is able to lovingly correct me with all my faults.

The rest of the day has been very emotional to me, but behind all that, I have a God and a Father who's always there for me. I'd end this with the verses of the song:

I have a Maker
He formed my heart
Before even time began
My life was in His hands

I have a Father
He calls me His own
He'll never leave me
No matter where I go

Good Day

I woke up early today, with the necessity of practicing for a wedding that I was to play for in the afternoon. I had to put in a lot more effort because there were songs that I had no idea how they sounded like, and yet all I had were music sheets with no chords whatsoever. Plus some of the songs that were familiar to me were also challenging, so I really had to practice.

I didn't have enough time in the morning though because I needed to go to school. I was trying to add a Psychology class at 9:00 am, plus I didn't have add cards at hand which meant I just really had to be there a lot earlier.

By God's grace, I did get the subject I was trying to add, and more than that...my teacher is a babe! Haha, I told my girlfriend and she's cool about it. My teacher does not require attendance, although she gives a point for every class meeting you attend, but as I told CJ, even if I'm not required to be in class, now I'd be more eager to wake up and go to school on a Saturday morning. Cool

I had to proceed with registration during break, because today was the last day, so this prevented me from attending the whole duration of the class. Bummer. But anyway, there's still next week.

I did finish registration a little bit early though and I just decided to go straight to West Covina to have time to eat at a Filipino place. I ended up eating alone at Salo-Salo. I ordered their tocino breakfast, and it was good only that the rice had some taste of both vinegar and achara already, which I never liked, so that ruined the meal for me. Then I went straight to church where the wedding was, just had to make a stop to buy candy to take out the nasty achara and vinegar taste.

After the wedding, I went to CJ's to pick her up and go on an unplanned date. We ate at one of my newest favorite places - Asian Bistro - then had Cold Stone for me after, and red velvet cake for her.

Now I feel bloated, relaxed (the bloated feeling compounded by the cold weather). And so I'd say I fairly had a good day.

Worst Ever

It's been cliche for people to hear me say I'm sick, and that I have never been this sick as before, but truly nothing beats this week - I was knocked out for one whole week. No work, no school, no choir rehearsals - no nothing.

I believe it started when I caught my co-worker's virus. We share the same room at work, and she had stomach flu the past week. She wasn't feeling so well that she had to be off from work for 2 days. I even told my other co-worker that no matter how sick I am I have never been absent for 2 straight days. And so I thought.

Sad to say, I'm used to getting sick, but what has alarmed me this time is that none of my medicines were working for me, and that I constantly had fever for 5 straight days. Thanks to my girlfriend's family, I was able to get some antibiotics, and started drinking them this morning. I did check in with the doctor this morning, and she did say that I had some serious throat infection that did require me to take antibiotics.

Now I'm starting to feel better - something that I haven't felt for the whole week. Thank God for antibiotics and His healing hand.

Old and New

There's this great distance between where I came from and where I am right now.

As I'm watching a video of my relatives doing the Igorot dance, on my one hand I hold one of the newest blackberry models today.

I am simply amazed by how far we have come as a human race - Laptops that can connect wirelessly almost anywhere; phones that capture your every email and allows you to send them as well; financial systems that allow you to buy things that you cannot pay for immediately; church services that use every bit of technological innovation imaginable - indeed, we have com a long, long way.

Fact: I know how to do the Igorot dance. I remember my relatives having so much fun watching me as a kid do this dance. I remember the cold weather I rarely experience in the Philippines but is always present whenever I vist our province. I remember the food, the warmth of family, the comfort of home - my true home.

I am very grateful for all the blessings that the Lord has given to me throughout my entire life. There's this part of me though, that misses my home, my roots, my childhood - and I guess I'd forever long for my life in the past. There's this great sense of longing to retire back to the province, to the food, to the warmth of family, and to the simplicity of life.

The hopeful side of me wishes that one day, I can go back and experience all these - and not just go back home, but to go back in that point in time. When reality strikes me, however, I do recognize that no one can travel back through time.

I guess amidst the hustle and bustle of today's world, and of my life - I just long for that serenity and peace. And I know that even though I can't go back in time, this peace - I can experience through Him.

Crazy thoughts

Crazy garbage collection schedule, made me sleep for only 5 hours!

What they used to do was move their collection days if there were holidays within the week. I don't think I ever got the memo (minus the sarcasm, they really never just told us), but I think they stopped doing that, and realizing that the truck was out this morning, I had to wake up early despite having slept so late last night.

And I'm still here, up and blogging.

Heck, what's new.

Part of my sleepless-ness is of my own doing - I've been looking at my online networking accounts, and looking at where people are and what they do.

There are those that are as crazy as before; some became worse; others surprisingly did well; others failed to meet expectations and high school predictions as to who gets married first or who hits the first million, etc. etc.

I've been thinking a lot lately about the people I used to know and the people I still do know - mainly my interactions with them, and by and large, about my own insanity.

I noticed I've become to uptight and have lost that fun, insane side of me. Thinking about it, I do want to bring back a part, if not all, of it And all the more my mind hinges on the fact that maybe some way, some how, I can grab that opportunity that is being given to me to go back home for a little while and maybe pick up that insane but fun half of me.

Crazy.

Plates and Steak

After staying here for 3 years, I finally had my take of Applebee's. Thanks to Bro. Keith and Sis. Ludy Leonin from the GNC.

I went to order a steak, but constrained by a budget (despite the additional gift card), I ordered one that was in the middle price range compared to the other steaks. The table next to mine and my girlfriend's had their orders ready ahead of ours, and so I look at the scrumptous steak that beheld one of the guys at that table.

Finally, my own steak arrived, and just to sum it up, I didn't like my steak. It had some spicy, Mexican flavor to it. Not that I despise their food or their culture, Mexican food is just not my thing.

One lesson I learned over the New Year is that we tend to minimize the Lord's provision when we look at other people's plates. To be honest there was no way I would have wanted my steak, but hey, I still had steak. I can still eat at Applebee's. Or that I can even still eat out.

We tend to minimize ourselves by looking at people who's plates seemingly have more, but we tend to minimize others when we see that they have an empty plate, or when we see that our steak is better than theirs.

But come to think about it: not everyone wants steak. And so the Lord blesses us differently because we prefer one thing over another, and our preferences are different from others. There are times, however, that we prefer steak and we get fillet mignon, or tuna, or baby back ribs instead. Why is this so?

Because the Lord is such a gracious God, He will never give us anything that will harm us, nor would be less than perfect for us. In our humanity, we see things with our short-sightedness - we think we know what would be better for us more than He does. In His infinite knowledge, He is the one that really knows what's best for us, and so He blesses us accordingly.

If this seems hard to understand, or even hard to accept, just think about a bad time in your life that eventually worked out; then looking back, you realized one of the following:

1. "That seemed really hard but it did work out for the better"
2. "I did not just get out of my situation, but I got a lot more than I expected"...or
3. "It's good that it happened - I learned my lesson and now I know what to do better."

We have this idea that the Lord owes us things we think we deserve. When this comes to mind, and you start looking at other's plates, just think about this: do you actually just want to eat steak everytime? Or burgers? Or pasta?

The Lord is really an abundant and gracious God who lets us enjoy the variety of His richness and kindness, and blesses us according to what's best for us.