why i love the morning shift

i have been working in a call center for two years and running, and the most common shift that CC employees have is the graveyard shift. thankfully, i had been transferred back to the morning shift, and am just so... loving it. really.

here are some reasons why:

getting to sleep in the nighttime.


having the feeling of being refreshed and rejuvenated. nothing beats relaxation the natural way!


walking in broad daylight with the wind blowing at your face.
(okay walang wind but... you get the picture. no pun intended )


seeing the sun set from your office window. ang ganda!

hay... gotta love working in the morning!

ten things that recently made me happy

  fyi: i was tagged to do this march 16th. bwahaha. pambihira.

1. talking to my sister this morning
   
2. spending time with iris, eca, and kitchie last night (choco fudge! )
   
3. being transferred back to the morning shift (hooray!)
   
4. that chocolate incident
   
5. this one thing i really wanted to happen suddenly happening!
   
6. listening to awesome podcasts (ptr steve's comfort or cross, ptr joey's worry and restlessness, ptr paolo's hope, and ptr joe's uncommon God)
   
7. doing things that should have been done a long time ago
   
8. realizing things that should have been realized a long time ago (hey, no regrets here... there's really just a time and place for everything, s'all)
   
9. grocery shopping, cooking, doing laundry, dishwashing. yep, i'm turning domesticated
   
10. being under the learning process!
    

i tag YOU, YOU, and the BOTH of YOU! nyahahahaha

God does answer prayers. even the littlest ones.

i went grocery shopping yesterday. on the way to the food section, i saw my favorite brand of cookies (chips delight soft brownie cookies!) and excitedly grabbed a bag. yay for chocolate! 

as i was lining up for my purchases, i decided not to get them cookies anymore because they were not part of the budget. as i was walking home, a bit sad for not being able to get my chocolate fix,   i quietly told God, "God, gusto ko po ng chocolate bukas..."

and LO and BEHOLD! before my day at work ended today, one of my colleagues gave me this HUGE bar of chocolate! with hazelnuts! and it wasn't just ANY bar of chocolate, it was SWISS chocolate!  (it sorta looked like the photo on the left but the treat given to me had hazelnuts and was not "dark.")

yes, friends... God answers prayers! sometimes we think that he seems soooooo far away. we think, rather, we worry that he won't be able to heal our sick loved ones, or provide for tuition and/or bill payments, or even restore broken relationships. but come on now, he's GOD! didn't he say that his arm ain't too short and his ears ain't too dull to hear? if he was able to bring forth LIGHT with JUST A WORD, don't you think he'd be able to answer all your prayers and concerns and more?

i may have had the littlest and seemingly most insignificant want--but if God was able to answer that prayer, how much more the things that mean the most to you (and me, and all of the people? nyuk hyuk hyuk.. corny )?

have a blessed vacation!

yehey!

so. i'm twenty-three na! i carry jordan's jersey number. is it my time to fly? hahaha!

(ang labo...ehem)

i know you guys, my wonderful readers, already have an idea of how HAPPY i am, because of everything that's happened, is happening--and i know for sure--will happen in the future!

over lunch with my family kanina i told my dad about the surprise. my dad had the BIGGEST smile. he doesn't really say much, but his face SAID IT ALL. it was PRICELESS.

seeing him smile like that made me realize that it's just how God is. when we come to him and just talk to him, tell him anything, he smiles back at us, with the biggest smile ever, with matching ruffling of hair and huge gargantuan hug. IT'S THE BEST FEELING EVER. he's never too busy or late or preoccupied with saving the world or stopping world hunger or answering your seatmate's prayer. HE LOVES US THAT MUCH. and he'll NEVER EVER EVER be madamot about his love.

e basta..i'm just...thankful for so many people, for so many things. blogging about this would take years to finish, and years to read. there's gonna be MORE, oh i know. we're all gonna keep on keeping on, running the race marked out for us!

it's gonna be an AMAZING journey!

and i know for sure
that i'm gonna fly

ocean park!

okay okay i know it's 120 days away, but i really want to go to this place on my birthday




come let's join us!

boy, time does fly!

i remember writing this two days after i rose my hand during the altar call a little over a year ago. what can i say. funny how things turn out differently a year later. :) and i'm sure, the years after.

 ==

"hard work" // oct 17 2006 10:00 am

admittedly, being a baby Christian is hard work.

Jesus always stressed the importance of loving God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and loving your neighbor as yourself.

in my case, however... *sigh*.

last sunday the topic was on walking with God, and there were three ways in order for anyone to do this: first was obedience, second was agreement, and third was intimacy. enoch was the benchmark for walking with God. we don't know absolutely anything about him: all we know is that he lived for 365 years and didn't die. God just took him away, because he simply walked with God.

it was also stressed that God wasn't looking for diplomas or vital statistics or whatever--God just wants us to obey, agree, and be intimate with him. THAT simple.

admittedly i have a penchant for complicating things. i think and overthink, analyze and overanalyze. i find it difficult to accept simple truth. i'm not content with just what what is presented to me: it has to be proven down to the very last fiber. that belief is quite contradictory to the Christian faith, because that very word--faith--is the beginning and end of all things.

along with that is my (almost) natural tendency to criticize. my good friend karl characterized me as a nitpicker. admittedly, i do find pleasure in finding fault in things--especially other people. i tend to judge quickly. i mean, i claim to be a Christian yet I have like ten million sins a day. i'm turning into something i don't want to be: a hypocrite. then again that's when the simplicity of wanting to walk with God comes in. Lord, i don't want to be like that anymore. i don't want to judge and okray and just be freaking mean anymore.

kakalurkey!!!!!

...is how i can describe the past few days (in fact, even HOURS!) have been. in a good way, of course. it's amazing how some things just happen when (cliche warning) you least expect them. they go like, kaboom! and whoosh! i'm all onomatopaeic today!

i am looking forward to sitting down and writing a normal blog again.

in the meantime... cheers! *lifts coffee mug*

me time

monday, tuesday, and wednesday post-shift afternoons i hold real important because it's only then that i have "me time." i usually lose myself in whatever "me time" thing/s i do during those days.

"me time" activities include:

1. losing myself in a bookstore. bawal ang kasama, sorry! reading time is really important for me.
2. watching multiple episodes of whatever my current favorite TV series/movie is (as of this writing, CSI NY!)
3. folding and re-folding laundry--hehe
4. walk-jogging. i have an exercise routine again! yaaaay!
5. writing

we just had a change of schedule (again.. five schedule changes in one year! such is the life of a call center agent), and at first i didn't like the new sched because i THOUGHT i was gonna miss a lot of activities, but hey... i actually am resting better now, not to mention figuring out what makes me tick and stuff. enjoying the company of me.

haaaay... ang saya saya ng buhay talaga! tenkyu Lord!

these are a few of my favorite things

yours may be raindrops, rosies, or whiskers on kittens. but here's a list of things that make me happy, in no particular order:

1. watching sunsets. i make it a point to go to work extra early (like mga 530pm) to watch the sun set from the 28th floor of my building. words cannot explain. pramis.

2. listening to the ipod, especially if i'm walking. it feels like i'm starring in my own movie and i'm listening to my own soundtrack.

3. watching sunsets while listening to classical music. best song to listen to? kanon in D. you can find it here.

4. our laptop, mommy's christmas gift to teena and me. it's more than i can ever ask for.  actually, natapunan ko nga siya ng pineapple juice last tuesday night... pero MIRACULOUSLY! NAAYOS SIYA!!!!! like BACK TO NORMAL that weekend! ANG GALING NI GOD!!! ahahahaha pinagpray ko talaga siya, AS IN! THANK YOU LORD! :) i will be MORE MORE MORE CAREFUL this time!

5. fireworks. i have always loved fireworks! maybe cos new year's is one of my favorite holidays and it coincidentally is my mom's birthday. anyway, i remember nung birthday ko (by the way i never got to wrote the long birthday post na... hahaha), and i was about to sleep. so sinasara ko yung mga bintana just in case umulan. i parted my curtain and saw FIREWORKS out my window, at eleven pm of june 6 2007.

and this really really good feeling literally welled up in my heart right then and there. and i knew there was this really goofy end-to-end ear-to-ear smile on my face. and suddenly my eyes got wet. and i was so THANKFUL that day. like God knew that it was the BEST way to end my birthday.

6. writing materials, especially notebooks and freshly sharpened pencils. there is nothing like pouring your thoughts out using pencil and paper.

7. hanging out in bookstores. i can stay in powerbooks/bestsellers/fully booked/a different bookstore/wherever na may seat for HOURS. bestsellers is my favorite pa rin.

8. waking up after ten or so hours of sleep. because i have a wonderfully wacky schedule, i value sleep. i really do.

9. DVD's of tv series. teena just bought heroes, csi: new york, and the third season of HOUSE! yaaaay! finally i have something to watch on lazy afternoons!

hmmm...eto na lang muna. i'll be adding more as soon as more ideas pop up

permanent ipod

Song You Believe Your Parents Fell in Love To	something real old i believe
Song That Best Makes The Soundtrack of Your Childhood Neighborhood Theme	the transformers theme
Theme Song To Your Closest Sibling	spice girls - mama (only change "mama" to "ate")
The First Album You Ever Purchased	totally minnie
The First Single You Ever Purchased	savage garden - to the moon & back
Album Cover That Scared You In Your Childhood	guns n' roses - the spaghetti incident
Song That Scared You In Your Childhood	phil collins - another day in paradise
The TV Theme of Your Childhood	the LACTUM jingle, the BEAR BRAND jingle ("i remember yesterday, the world was so young..." "is that you lolo?" "look at my mole.")
Favorite Song From Sesame Street	the theme itself
Favorite Song From Elementary School	everything that the backstreet boys and the spice girls ever released
Favorite Song From The Electric Company	?
What Were You Banned From Listening To In Your Childhood	wala naman
Rock Song That Rocked Ghetto/Ghetto Song That Rocked The Suburbs (as a kid)	crossroads - bone thugs n' harmony
Song You First Slow Danced To	probably whatever was uso during that time (2001-2002?)
First Cassette You Got For Your First Walkman	spice girls - spice
Best Cosby Show Theme	?
Favorite Soundtrack Of Youth	batman & robin ost
Song That Played When You Got In Trouble And Grounded At Home	wala naman
Song That Played When You Thought Nobody Cared About You	savage garden - crash & burn
Song That Makes You Smile	kc & the sunshine band - walking on sunshine
The Theme To Your First Heartbreak	mariah carey - breakdown
The First Compact Disc You Ever Brought (not Album/Cassette)	savage garden's first album!!!
Album That You "Mistakenly" Stole From A Friend	the cardigans - first band on the moon
Your Favorite Album You Think Your Friend Stole	third eye blind's first album
If Ever In Car Accident....What Song Was Playing?	DZMM. hahaha!
5 Songs You'd Put On A Mixtape For Your Loved One	sinatra's just the way you look tonight; natalie cole's orange-colored sky; maggie gyllenhaal's just the way you are; d'sound's tattooed on my mind; and savage garden's i knew i loved you
Song To Best Describe Your Marriage/Best Relationship	i will think about this. :P
Song To Best Describe Your Worst Moment of Betrayal	regina spektor - samson
First Show You Ever Went To	i forget
Magical Concert You Ever Went To	i forget
Worst Concert You Ever Went To	haha i've never hated the concerts i went to
Coolest Celeb Ever Met	-
Most Awkward Celeb Moment You Ever Had	marami.
Most Unceleb Celeb You Ever Met	-
The US Weekly "Oh They Just Like Me!" Celeb You Ever Met	-
If you Were a World Champion Boxer - What Would be Your Theme as You Entered The Ring?	elvis costello - she. angas nuuun!!!
Song That Has The Ability To Make You Cry	at the cross
The One Song That Has The Ability To Make You A Kid Again	macarena
Song You Are Ashamed To Admit You Love	jessa zaragoza - bakit pa
Song/Album To Escape From Stress To	the best of golden classics; mead johnson's smart symphonies; in love with bacharach
If You Were To Marry Now What Song Would Be Your Wedding Song?	i finally found someone (yeehaa!)
What Song Best Describes Your Children/Future Children?	i decided long ago, never to walk in anyone's shadow!
Who Killed Music?	no one did
Who Helping to Keep Music Alive For You?	God, the ultimate Composer
Song Playing Right Now	NBA announcers behind me

my very rockin' birthday!

disclaimer: this is just the abridged version. please stay tuned for the second installment! 

thank you GOD for absolutely everything. YOU JUST TRULY ROCK.  

thank you joe and vee for doing the best job you knew how to do.

thank you kat and den for the affection, bossiness, hand-me-downs, freebies, and the indirect impartation of lessons.

thank you bea for being with me for a third of my life! exage

thank you to everyone who was in one way or another "part of my world."

thank you to everyone who remembered and let me know that they did--text, multiply, email, friendster, verbal. i appreciate your greetings, wishes, and blessings.

 

2 Cor 9:8 (paraphrased)
God will make all grace abound to you, so that in all things, in all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

 

maraming, maraming salamat!

it always pays to look up

today--tonight--was the first night of work, and i was yet again checking mail, reading multiply updates, and basically killing time before i dial and make singil americans.

in between navigating pages i managed to look out the window.

i never realized how pretty the sky looked from the 28th floor of a building, at 630ish in the evening--with swatches of blue, pink, and gray innit.

i still can't stop staring! it's right in front of me as i type this.

 

ah, the wonders of the universe. thank you God!!!

a quick version of my life so far

random thoughts, in no particular order:

1. growing in the faith is awesome. i've just gotten back to the basics. i've been attending "one to one" discipleship and small group meetings. i've learned so many things already! it feels like growing up all over again. (i wonder how "christian adolescence" would be like? hmmm...) funnily enough, theory suddenly wants to be put into practice!

2. looking forward to more EN07 busy/fun-ness. by God's rockingness we've finished the script!  the work isn't quite over yet, but i'm looking forward to whatever needs to be done. it feels like i'm playing this PC game, and i'm on to level two. that's the best way to describe it i guess.

3. the whole arts thingy really is wired in my system.  i find myself thinking out loud while watching snippets movies on my lunch break. "wow ganda ng shot," sabay mimicking the camera using my hand. and then after lunch i'd talk and talk and talk about how films are at 24 frames a second and such. then i'd go about discussing German Expressionism in the next heartbeat. i loooove being a com arts major!

4. events ministry is the best in the universe! i'm borrowing the thought from this blog. i feel so right at home where i am now. *sniff*

5. i'm EXCITED to finish thesis! enough said.

6. malapit na birthday koooo! haven't realized that it's all of five days left. omaigash! i have so much to say about this, but i have to go; i have one2one eh. byers!

what's in a name

yesterday i went to the ENLI building in fort bonifacio for the EN07 auditions. performers and production staff were needed for this july's world conference, and as usual, i was excited as all heck.

after a short wait i was interviewed by darlene, one of the directors. upon introducing myself she laughingly informed me that there was a volunteer who had the same name as mine, only spelled with a C.

of course, that got me really intrigued!  it's not every day that i meet someone with the same--or at least similar--name as mine. growing up i've always been associated with either the nail polish or the soap, which of course i royally hated to bits!

i even hated my name for so many reasons: aside from the previous, it was too uncommon, and too short. i remember asking my mom to have my name changed to "kim." mom laughed at me and told me that "kim" was a name for goats (i apologize to the kims who might read this. it was my mom's way of, you know, convincing me otherwise). unfortunately, my then four-year-old mind refused to accept that!

of course i learned to live with, and LOVE my name. daddy once told me that "karess" was a variation of the greek "karis," which meant graceful (click here). also, i learned to love its uniqueness and shortness. the one-of-a-kindness got to me, especially when signing up for log-in names. i didn't need to think too hard about what to use, hahaha!  

i lived with the jokes, too. ever wondered why my name is so long on your multiply contact list?