Christmas, 2005

It was our first Christmas without my father. We decided to celebrate it in our parents' house in Bulacan. Everybody was trying to put on a happy face so that our mother wouldn't feel very sad. We said that we are not going to be weepy this Christmas. Mother kept on saying though that if father were still alive, he would be very happy because we are almost complete. (Only Ditse wasn't able to go home)

My mother's bravado crumpled when it was time to eat the Noche Buena. She suddenly burst into tears which prompted me to embrace her and say that we are always there to support her.

Last Christmas, both my parents were in our house in Cavite. But now only my mother is with us.........

Lunch with the IAs

Right after the exit meeting, our group treated the IAs to lunch at Tagaytay. They enjoyed the food as well as the scenery. Sonia was touched by the rendition of a Chinese love song. Too bad, the singers do not know any Indian song for Mustafa....

Tried by fire

You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us as silver is refined. – Psalm 66:10

"The main end of life is not to do but to become," F. B. Meyer said. And for this we are being prepared every day. As silver is refined by fire, the heart is often refined in the furnace of sadness. The Psalmist said in his sorrow, "We went through fire" (Psalm 66:12).

The refining process may be very painful, but it will not destroy us, for the Refiner sits by the furnace tending the flame. He will not allow us to be tried beyond our endurance; it is for our good.

We may not understand why we have to endure such misery year after year. The ordeal seems endless and pointless. Our days are wasted. or so it appears. We feel as if we are doing nothing of lasting significance.

But God is doing what matters – we are being refined. He is placing us into a crucible in which we acquire patience, meekness, humility, compassion, and the other "quiet" virtues our souls naturally lack.
So don’t be afraid and don’t fret. Your present trial, as painful as it may be, has been screened through God’s wisdom and love. The Refiner sits beside the crucible tempering the flame, monitoring the process, waiting patiently until His face is mirrored in the surface. – David Roper

"As thy day thy strength shall be!"

This should be enough for thee;

He who knows thy frame will spare

Burdens more than thou canst bear. – Havergal

Fill The Glass

Do all the good you can, to all the people you can,
in all ways you can, as often as you can,
for as long as you can.

- Charles Haddon Spurgeon

It does not matter
whether the glass is half empty or half full.
Our challenge is to fill the glass.

The glasses of our lives
comes in different forms and
they need to be filled in different ways.


Some of us
need to be connected, to be heard, and to be understood.
Some of us
need to be acknowledged, to be appreciated, and to be wrapped in a warm hug,
Some of us
need laughter, companionship, and camaraderie.

Christmas is not
about holidays, shopping, and exchanging expensive gifts.
Christmas is
about filling the glasses
within the home and around the world.

I wish
your love ones and you
a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2006.
Find your voice, serve your world.
Do it now.

Starbucks-Tagaytay

Dennis is going back to the US. We had dinner at Leslie's where we had the usual...kare-kare..sinigang na hipon..pinakbet...etc...

Afterwards, we moved to the nearby Starbucks where we enjoyed the cold Tagaytay winds while sipping our coffee...

We were already in the carpark when Leah said we haven't had our usual picture taking. We requested the guard to take our picture and we were laughing hard because it took the man so long before he was able to do so.

Penang, Malaysia - Dec 4-10, 2005

It was only during the stop over in Singapore that I found out that I had some officemates in the same flight from Manila. Some of them were heading to Penang and some are heading to India. We ate lunch together at Changi Airport. Then, we girls decided to have some pictures taken at the Sunflower Garden while the guys opted to puff some cigarettes.





Below picture was taken during the CS Asia Capital teambuilding dinner that we had at the Equatorial Hotel, Penang, Malaysia.
(I am the only Filipino in the picture)

My Grown Up Christmas List

Do you remember me
I sat upon your knee
I wrote to you
With childhood fantasies

Well, I'm all grown up now
And still need help somehow
I'm not a child
But my heart still can dream

So here's my lifelong wish
My grown up christmas list
Not for myself
But for a world in need

No more lives torn apart
That wars would never start
and wars would never start
And time would heal all hearts
And everyone would have a friend
And right would always win
And love would never end
This is my grown up christmas list

As children we believed
The grandest sight to see
Was something lovely
Wrapped beneath our tree

Well heaven surely knows
That packages and bows
Can never heal
A hurting human soul

No more lives torn apart
That wars would never start
And time would heal all hearts
And everyone would have a friend
And right would always win
And love would never end
This is my grown up christmas list

What is this illusion called the innocence of youth
Maybe only in our blind belief can we ever find the truth
(there'd be)

No more lives torn apart
That wars would never start
And time would heal all hearts
And everyone would have a friend
And right would always win
And love would never end, oh
This is my grown up christmas list

This is my grown up christmas list