X-Mas Party Pix 2008...

The memories that bring Christmas of 2008 having been celebrated with people I consider as friends made a lot of sense. I consider the celebration as one of the best. Through the years I had celebrated Christmas away from my family. I could hardly remember anymore how we spent Christmas together because of the many years that I am away. Or maybe I’m just trying not to remember all those memories for it will only make me feel poignant. Here in the ME celebration like Christmas is taboo. But we had our own celebration in a very small and intimate way of celebrating in the comfort of our own homes. The pictures I have posted above shows how we celebrated Christmas in a very simple way.

The Ties That Binds....

2008 is almost gone and over. There have been so many memories during this year and a lot to be thankful for.

During the early part of the year I had episodes when I felt like I was walking on unsure territory and I could hardly see beyond and what’s in store for me. The middle part, I was struggling and into so many emotions, but I survived.

Definitely the year 2008 brings a lot of fond memories that are surely worthy of remembrance, either me or the world. I may have ups and downs but at the end of the day it is me who decide which side I should be. I have discovered a lot of things from around me.

I made a big transition in the latter part of the year. Lessons learned. Then things happen and flow in random. All I know is that the last quarter of 2008 made such an impact personally and socially.

Significant events transpired. Awards won. Singles and albums have been released making it at the top of the chart not to mention the world. A new black US President paving its way to history with a big promise to the world, change. It’s never-ending. I could spew out every single detail in here but I chose not to.

2009 is in the coming days and I wanted to break out into something new, experience a new major undertakings and a new adventure. Looks like another year, another drama!

Suddenly Everything Has Changed...

In my entire stay in the Kingdom over the years had I remember the opportunity to get to know quite a lot of people, people that eventually become my friends and some of them I lost. It’s either they left the kingdom for good or just wandering around it's four corners waiting to be found. They come, they go. They come, they go. Any new person I meet, a new detail I encounter, a path uncovered becomes sign that seems to affirm that I am being led to a new life that awaits me. A recurring situation which I believed I had become a master of it in no time.

As people come by in our life without us knowing it, there are situations that are quite similar. I could hardly remember how many times I have move from one place to another except for the last one which happened a week ago. A feeling that everything else I was doing was pretty much a been-there-done-that situation. The decision of moving to a new room is always out of my control, although I may have the ability to delay and hold a few more weeks before finally moving out.

Just the idea of moving and the transitions somehow scare the hell out of me. One is being asked to leave one place and go to another. Never mind that the place I am leaving has become boring, transitions can still be daunting to say the least. You have to actually let go of your comfort zone and jump into another and build a new one until you reach the comfy side of it once and again. This last one, I have left behind so many memories that I was weary of bringing along with me. A decision that for the first time I felt like it’s actually right, no matter how exhausting it was. I just had to accept and embrace it and turn away from the things I am familiar with. I have to leave one place and go to another and not to live the exact same old life I was once had.

Situations like these, I feel like I am free again. Scary as it is, I must do it if I were to move forward because it is the path to growth, although the transition may not be that seamless.

Happy Endings....

Life is a journey filled with lessons, hardships, heartaches, joys, celebrations and special moments that will ultimately lead us to our destination, our purpose in life. The road will not always be smooth; in fact, throughout our travels, we will encounter many challenges.

Some of these challenges will test our courage, strengths, weaknesses, and faith. Along the way, we may stumble upon obstacles that will come between the paths that we are destined to take. In order to follow the right path, we must overcome these obstacles. Sometimes these obstacles are really blessings in disguise, only we don't realize that at the time.

Along our journey we will be confronted with many situations, some will be filled with joy, and some will be filled with heartache. How we react to what we are faced with determines what kind of outcome the rest of our journey through life will be like.

When things don't always go our way, we have two choices in dealing with the situations. We can focus on the fact that things didn't go how we had hoped they would and let life pass us by, or two, we can make the best out of the situation and know that these are only temporary setbacks and find the lessons that are to be learned.

Time stops for no one, and if we allow ourselves to focus on the negative we might miss out on some really amazing things that life has to offer. We can't go back to the past, we can only take the lessons that we have learned and the experiences that we have gained from it and move on. It is because of the heartaches, as well as the hardships, that in the end help to make us a stronger person.

The people that we meet on our journey, are people that we are destined to meet. Everybody comes into our lives for some reason or another and we don't always know their purpose until it is too late. They all play some kind of role. Some may stay for a lifetime; others may only stay for a short while.

It is often the people who stay for only a short time that ends up making a lasting impression not only in our lives, but in our hearts as well. Although we may not realize it at the time, they will make a difference and change our lives in a way we never could imagine. To think that one person can have such a profound affect on your life forever is truly a blessing. It is because of these encounters that we learn some of life's best lessons and sometimes we even learn a little bit about ourselves.

People will come and go into our lives quickly, but sometimes we are lucky to meet that one special person that will stay in our hearts forever no matter what. Even though we may not always end up being with that person and they may not always stay in our life for as long as we like, the lessons that we have learned from them and the experiences that we have gained from meeting that person, will stay with us forever.

It's these things that will give us strength to continue on with our journey. We know that we can always look back on those times of our past and know that because of that one individual, we are who we are and we can remember the wonderful moments that we have shared with that person.

Memories are priceless treasures that we can cherish forever in our hearts. They also enables us to continue on with our journey for whatever life has in store for us. Sometimes all it takes is one special person to help us look inside ourselves and find a whole different person that we never knew existed. Our eyes are suddenly opened to a world we never knew existed- a world where time is so precious and moments never seem to last long enough.

Throughout this adventure, people will give you advice and insights on how to live your life but when it all comes down to it, you must always do what you feel is right. Always follow your heart, and most importantly never have any regrets. Don't hold anything back. Say what you want to say, and do what you want to do, because sometimes we don't get a second chance to say or do what we should have the first time around.

It is often said that what doesn't kill you will make you stronger. It all depends on how one defines the word "strong" It can have different meanings to different people. In this sense, "stronger" means looking back at the person you were and comparing it to the person you have become today. It also means looking deep into your soul and realizing that the person you are today couldn't exist if it weren't for the things that have happened in the past or for the people that you have met. Everything that happens in our life happens for a reason and sometimes that means we must face heartaches in order to experience joy.

This article is so nice not to post. It deeply moved me. I had this article for like years at my email archive and I believed its worth reading and sharing.

The search for something more...

After all the delegated routine work done at the office everyday, thoughts came rushing through my head that working as a secretary is a dead-end job and it won’t lead me to anything. This is the kind of job that I have put up with for a long time now. It felt like I’m being stack in one corner forever. True to say that we are all seeking something better and very few of us could say that we are truly contented with every aspect of our lives.

Sometimes I go nuts having to sit keeping my chair warm for long hours doing nothing. Not to mention losing my temper for having to get up bright and early everyday doing the same thing over and over again. But other times it’s like I’m really gung ho and in good spirits working all day long. I wonder why! It doesn’t matter what my boss thinks of me. After all I’m exactly doing my job the way it’s supposed. A little appreciation would do to boost my self worth.

In all honesty, for the many years I have been working as a secretary, learning to love your job is the key. If you look at the bright side, all else will be ok. If it weren’t because of my work right now then things wouldn’t be right for me. Being out of work is something that I wouldn’t dream of. Although sometimes it stressed me out that I couldn’t sleep at night.

You may think that I’m always whining and complaining about my job, which I do. This is actually sort of like my way of liking my job. I have to write it out and be able to balance and come up with what is really good for me. So whatever I have right now I just have to be content and comfortable with it. I have to be happy with my job because our stay in the Kingdom is not really guaranteed, and believing that the happier we are, the more successful we can be.

And every time I think that working as a secretary is a dead-end job. I’m gonna have to think and make a decision not to think that way again. I will keep making that decision until it’s no longer a decision, but a way of life.

Rediscovering the joy of family...

For the past week I have been in constant communication with my family and friends in UK and back in the Philippines. It’s a great feeling having to talk to them and hearing their voices once again which I haven’t done in a while. I called my sister in UK and I heard my 1-year and 6 mos. old niece Nicole cry for the first time. I’ve seen Nicole thru pictures at my sis friendster account only, and her older sister Kate Cassandra is 3 years and 5 mos. old. How time flies.

I called Mom, Roldan & Jun-Jun, I also got the chance to talk to my niece Alexis who’s 8 y/o now, she’s the daughter of my brother Jun-Jun. Alexis is still a baby when I left the Philippines years ago, and now she’s all grown up while Zachary is 3 years old and he looks a bit like me daw when I too was a baby. That’s interesting.

Also, I had a 3-way conference call with Andy and Lalay for almost an hour. Andy is in Polanco while Lalay is in Siocon. What an amazing telephone I got here in my office. I just have to wait and see till the tel. bill will arrive nxt month. Or maybe they might kick me out because of this. Hope not. I don’t wanna end up jobless.

God knows how much I missed everyone back home. I know it’s been crazy coz I feel like I have to make up to them big time. I finally feel I am again at peace with the world. I feel like a brick has been lifted off my chest. Nothing can be compared to that feeling of joy of being able to connect with them.

Keep the faith....

There are things in life that you didn’t expect to happen. People who surprises you with their gestures; unforeseen forces of nature that you don’t actually understand until you realize that it hit you hard, real hard. Sometimes you asked; what have I done to deserve all this? But most of the times when you think deeply, you realize that all this are a result of every action you may have done in the past and you may have to live with the consequences all along.

What’s confusing is that how people would react which surprises me one way or another.
Perhaps right now, I felt like I have the ability to let people be who they really are. Come out from their cocoon which reveals truth. Some are good ones and some aren’t. Shocking but its true. I have somehow realized that when it comes to whatever I have done, it’s always been big deal when I think it shouldn’t.

If I have the power to let everyone know what I feel, I will. If I have the power to let everyone know what the real story is, I will. But spare me. I have chosen to keep mum except for people whom I believe I could trust.

But let me just take a little sleigh ride down memory lane and tell all of you that the one thing that I have no regret it happens to me in the past, a part of my big past, is what makes me happy and sad. Being in love. I don’t care what I have done or whom I have done it with; I don’t care about whatever demons I may have in my closet. I care about what he makes me feel and he makes me feel strong and safe and calm and warm and true and sad. He makes me feel so many emotions I had no idea I have. The memories are good ones, some of the few that I have.

Right at this very moment, I may have to think that my pasts are nonexistent, my future but a distant fear. Life can be hard and depressing and brutal but I have to live with it. I have to think that this is all in the past. My anger and my hatred, my failure and my shame and my horror and the humiliation, I have to live with. And I pray that all this will be forgotten. Slowly forgotten I must. Life is about change, sometimes it’s painful, sometimes it’s beautiful, but most of the time it’s both.

Right now, the pain is gone.

What keeps me holding right now is my faith. And this time, I have to embrace and accept the idea that faith can make my life better. I know my faith makes my life better, and whether that I believe in exists or not, because I have faith in it, I get the benefits of that faith.

XO,

B

Breakfast at Peggy's.....

THURSDAY. I had a pretty exhausting weekend to say the least. My late-night film viewing has always been at the top of my list which made me waked up a little too late. I was at my ptj for 4hrs, then window shop with chin and abby at citimax for an hour. I spent the rest of my Thursday at pegs little dungeon with Margaret, or, baleleng at humabol pa si dugong around 4am galing daw ng swimming.

There’s nothing so amazing more than spending time with them, it’s like we could hardly even notice how the hours fly by. Our conversation could never end. There’s always something to talk about and laugh about. Baleleng was a revelation. Her stories were inspirational; it had us begging for more and she just keeps going.

Also, I had the chance to watch the bb. Pilipinas ‘08 coronation night. It was ok; we actually had fun watching the ladies strut their stuff especially during the qa segment of the show. Janina SM, this girl is special. She’s obviously the one to watch at MW 08 this November, believe me she will rock MW. LoL. We had breakfast at 5am, which happens to be my first time eating that early, ever. Btw, napuyat lng naman kaming lahat, for a good cause naman (good cause daw oh!). If there are drugs that could obliterate my being puyat, then I would take them. Hehe!

FRIDAY. Baleleng and I went home around 6am, Friday. Slept for 5 hrs then attend my regular class at Comsofil from 1-5pm. So far, I have learned something new again at my PCA & MSA class, I might wanna put it into practice. Somehow, this goes directly at my “to do” list for the holidays.

But, the most interesting part yesterday was listening to Britney’s new single “Womanizer”. I had chills, I promised. I played it many times, over and over again. It has a very catchy tune. Believe me, the world will like it. Wait till jive releases the cd on Dec. 2 the same day as Britney’s birthday. After days of mystery waiting for the single to come out, finally it’s over. Yay! This is gonna be humungous. Watch out!

Around 630pm yesterday, just an hour and a half after my class at comsofil, we went to cheer Elena’s guy S at this basketball tournament. Mark-it (ate ko) was there, who’s actually fresh from Jeddah and also Jun, Poch, Jam & Benj. I actually miss going out with them.

Then it’s time off for me.

Today looks like it’s another day another cycle here gone back tomorrow gone again.


XO,

B


P.S. I was watching ANTM last night and Isis has been eliminated at the show. Her performance gets weaker and weaker each week and the judges had nothing else to do but boot her out.

Eid AlFitr Holiday....

Four more days to go then the Eid Alfitr holidays starts, 29 Sept – 6 Oct to be exact. I have not even plan on what to do with this 7 days. I remember last year, Jam and I spent the holiday in AlKhobar initially, then with a few more friends like Pegs, Alona and Chin. Time fly by really fast, it’s been a year. I could only remember how much fun we had that time. We would spend the whole night roaming around the city, exploring sites like the KF Causeway – Bahrain Bridge, Corniche, and many more picture-ready sites. Sometimes we would just stay in our room the whole night spending our time laughing to our own stories. Expect the worst extreme kwentos you could ever hear of from beauty pageants, to men, sex and a lot more intriguing, controversial and censored stories.

Like what I said, I have no plans just yet on what to do next week, although Pegs is trying to convince me to visit AlKhobar again. He’s actually planning on spending a day in Bahrain and the rest in AlKhobar. Let’s just see what happens. I might accept the invite. But if I were to go anywhere in the Kingdom right now, I’d choose Jeddah. Jeddah would be fun and it’s gonna be my first time if ever. New place, new faces, sounds really fun isn’t it.

This is actually off the topic, but I just want to say that I had fun watching “The Jane Austen Book Club” yesterday. It’s one of the best films I have ever watched. “Definitely, Maybe” made me cry though. I highly recommend you watch the movie then you’d know. Miss J and Chin, whatcha waiting, whatcha waiting forrrrr. Next stop, stardust.

XO,

B

My eyes are glued....

Its TV series season in the US once again. As a fanatic, I have been overly excited watching every single season premiere of my long list of favorites. This month of September, avid followers of the many series airing its premiere episode converge in one place, the cyberspace. Every single one of them errr us go gaga digging the internet looking for the best quality of audio/video of it. It’s like they could never miss a thing, because if they do, then it’s not gonna be as exciting watching each and every single episode of them. Potatoes are better served hot, right?

A lot of other websites where people like us meet somehow. We may never know each other in person, but deep down inside us, we do, we actually have a little something in common.

Week after week, night after night, I have been crazy downloading all my favorite series beginning with;

OTH-S6, my all-time-favorite, then there’s GG-S2, which made Mark-it get hooked with the series already like the millions of other girls out there. Not to forget PB-S4 which up until now keeps my heart pumpin’ by just watching Wentworth do some action scene. What about the newbie 90210-S1? I’m trying to actually like the show; I really hope I would by watching a few more episodes. The characters of the show somehow had potential. So let’s see what happens. But I couldn’t just leave Tyra behind, ANTM kick ass, esp. cycle 11 where Isis, the natural born-male contestant showed some kick-ass couture poses which made the judges liked him even more. U go gurl, the G community is rooting for you! Smallville_S8 definitely had the best season premiere which I had the chance to watch last night.

Every season, TV series gets better and better plots and I couldn't help my eyes but get glued in my computer screen all night, anticipating every single episode every week. I would have to change to a bigger monitor. Bigger is better for my aging eyes. LOL.

Watching them is definitely one of the highlights of my weekend. Hopefully I'd get more seeds the next time I would download the next episode. Then I'd get better!

From Persia to Arabia...

The start of my weekend was pretty exciting. Chin invited me and pegs to be at their company’s sahoor summer outing. I have posted a few pix of the event below, and as you can see we had fun. We got to play volleyball and a little of football. For the first time ever, I have tried smokin’ shisha and it taste good, and finally, we got to show-off who we are for the most part. It’s so funny how they reacted at us.

But the luckiest person that night was Alona, winning 32” lcd sony bravia tv during the raffle segment. Alona’s reaction??? As if she had just won the Miss Universe title by the way she opened her mouth widely like most Miss Universe’s. LOL. Congrats gurly, u seem lucky having kuya Gary in your life. Just keep your relationship on fire, alright! That’s the secret.

Anyway, I have spent my Thursday mostly keeping fresh at chin’s room and working at my ptj that night and head back home. Friday, I did my laundry in the morning and I was at COMSOFIL for my regular class on PCA and MSA afterwards. In the evening, I did some stuff in my room and organize my closet a little.

Other than that, there’s nothing really much to say. Now I’m back to work for another week, and the week after this, then it’s the 1-wk eid vacation everyone had been waiting.

Malath's Sahoor Summer Outing '08...

Couture

Pictures were taken at Malath's Sahoor Summer Outing

17 September 2008