short update

Saying, "I'm busy" is an understatement.
I really am.

Hope to update on our US trip come April. Everybody's excited. Keep us in prayers. Thanks a lot.

subsconscious

Do you believe that sometimes our subconscious minds lead us to doing things we had no idea we've done? Last night, I was working on a paper up until around 1:30-2:00 a.m. I was so tired and sleepy and resolved to retire to sleep. I thought of writing an outline not to lose the flow of thought the next day. As I opened my work today this is what I found written:

PERNAL PITLINE ===> it's supposed to be Paper Outline (I remember trying to write this!)
I LOFE MOTHER. ====> don't have any idea how that showed!

Yesterday, Feb 13, 2007 was my Mother's 5th Death Anniversary, the eve of Valentine's Day. I was really surprised to see this. Have no memory writing those. I guess you realize what my heart says even when I'm out of consciousness: I LOVE MOTHER.

Happy Valentine's Day to all around the globe! God loves you!

In God's Hands

HUMAN BEINGS ARE SUCH SMALL CREATURES, AREN'T THEY?
SO DON'T BE TOO WORRIED ABOUT EVERYTHING,
TREASURE EVERY MOMENT, DO WHAT YOU WISH TO DO.....

BROADEN YOUR VIEW, BROADEN YOUR MIND,
DON'T WORRY TOO MUCH ABOUT THINGS THAT ARE BOTHERING YOU,
DO TREASURE YOUR LOVED ONES, LIVE SAFELY AND PEACEFULLY,
ALWAYS BE HAPPY TO WELCOME THE COMING OF THE NEW DAY....... ENJOY THE SUNSHINE ...

ALWAYS LOOK AT THE BRIGHTER SIDE OF THINGS....
IT IS ALWAYS COMFORTING TO THINK THAT THERE IS A GOD WHO IS ABLE
TO PUT EVERYTHING IN ITS PLACE IN THE UNIVERSE, AND HE CARES ABOUT YOU
NO MATTER HOW SMALL YOU ARE ( HE GAVE HIS LIFE FOR YOU RIGHT? ).

-beautiful message for today-

Drowsy

I'm quite uneasy today. Caught colds last night. It feels like my head is thrice its actual weight. Got very short sleep also. Oh, I really don't like this feeling. I feel weak and drowsy. I got myself half a gallon of unsweetened pineapple juice. Got to be well. There's no room for being sick. Especially during this season.

Enchanted Christmas

We went to Enchanted Kingdom last December. See pictures here. I'm with Aidz and his sister, Aimee. This one is my fave:

No more Cinderella!

How I wish I won’t have to be Cinderella tonight! Going home at midnight is just too much.

For the last two Tuesdays, we had to stay late in the office to prepare for training the following days. I won't be home until around 12:00 or 12:30 midnight then prepare for an early travel the next day. We have another training starting tomorrow so you might guess what I’m thinking now.

For the entire February until 1st week of March, we will be out to conduct consecutive training to a total of 1000 personnel (50 persons/day). Good Lord, I pray that my body and mind can take this.

I just hope that we finish earlier tonight. That at best, I could get home by 10pm. I certainly want to be home early. Huh.

file transfer

currently tranferring files to my old pc. guess it'll eat up the rest of the day. hope to finish before 5pm. pwew!

last year, it was january 23 when i transferred my files. today (jan 26, 2007) i had to transfer again! how's that?!

generosity

currently enjoying a very rich sandwich from ate pauline. she said her husband prepared it. it's so good! i love the pickles and tomatoes! i gave her egg sandwich i made last time. she was so thankful. what i love most about this generosity is the note attached:

"your egg sandwich was a life saver!"

thank you so much. i appreciate simple thanks. let's eat!

howdy?!

Hi all! I'm doing pretty well back here. Office work has always been busy. Right now, we are conducting several training for the officers of COMELEC. Most of the time we're on the field so I rarely update my blog. Aside from writing the documentation for the training, I'm still working on the terminal reports for two funding agencies. Honestly, this is tough and I've been working on it even before the holidays! I hope to cover everything soon and so to submit these reports (with flying colors!). My policy reform brief needs some revisions. Oh well, it's hard to make policy recommendations on matters you are not really familiar with. Oh, i can't wait to finish all these papers!

My lower back has been aching for the past two days (or three?). Guess, it has something to do with my period. Hope the pain goes away soon.

Aidz finally bought us a new TV set. very nice, flat screen, 21-inch. He also brought the DVD player. Last night I started watching one my favorite Taiwanese romantic comedies,It Started with a Kiss . It was really great! I'm looking forward to seeing the last four episodes tonight.

I also enjoy the episodes of our local TV drama, Maging Sino Ka Man . I think the series is about to end, which is good (for me)! I am also amused with the Korean drama, Princess Hours. I love the characters! They are adorable.

I want to thank the Lord for the promotion at work He gave to my Ate (elder sister). She's been working really hard and now she reaps. The Lord rewards the faithful.

I've been scrolling from the old to the new testaments lately. I think I will have to focus on one book then move to another for my daily devotion. Where should I start? Timothy? i just thought it'll be best for my studies. Oh, last night i read Isaiah 41. It would really be great to have a sort of manual.

That will be it for now. Hello everybody!
God bless!

Len

Hello 2007

Belated Merry Christmas to all and a Blessed New Year!

A lot of things to thank God for in 2006 and so much great things to expect in 2007!

te voglio bene assaie!
I wish you well with all my heart!

~Pinay

Almost Christmas

people say this everywhere. i hope our office will realize this.
well, I'm blessed that my friends and family are always at my back for support. the end-of-the-year reports are so deadly.

Dear Lord, I pray for courage and knowledge to finish all these. Thank you.

An ounce of loyalty is worth a pound of cleverness.

I think I'm beginning to drop that statement. :'(

in tears

i'm not feeling very happy right now; actually, I'm shedding a lot of tears at the moment. i am so frustrated with the things happening at work and i believe i would feel better after crying. huh! i wish this is over. Lord, please equip me and give me peace. I pray for help with all my heart, Jesus. Amen.

zeitgeis

German word, technical term used in Planning
literal meaning: "zeit = time; geis = spirit"

I attended a lecture on planning today conducted by a German Professor Mattens (?).
It means combination of technical, practical factors combined with the social aspect or human feeling (in other words). Experience taught the Germans that it's vitally important to consider and establish participation and commitment from the people benefiting in order to ensure the continuous success of any project. Hmm, that's what we have been doing all along in public administration. A more familiar term is People's Involvement or People's participation. In public administration, stakeholder analysis is very important.

zeitgeis, as I got it, refers to an overall consideration and weighing of stakeholders in order to achieve a better planning output.

Goodbye, Pete! :'(

February 2004-November 27, 2006

Last Sunday, something terrible happened at home. Our dog, Charlie, bit our pet duck, Pete. I think it was really bad; Pete was so traumatized. He jumped off the creek and we only managed to catch him with a big net dipper. After he was saved, he ran off the yard and would not let anyone come near him.

I had to go to Manila that night, so I did not see Pete before I left. Last night, my sister told me that Pete cannot be located. They were searching all over and could not find him. My brother was out late in the dark to look for him. I felt really bad. I was so worried something worse had happened. Could not help but cry. This morning, she said they found Pete—dead.

This was really an accident; Pete should've not gotten near Charlie. The dog does not know him; we did not raise Charlie, so he's not familiar with the other pets. Charlie hates our cats, chickens, and of course, our duck. It has been a culture in the family that all pets know each other--by this I mean, they live in harmony. Our dogs naturally won't mind sharing its food with the cats, neither with the chickens nor a duck. The history is, Pete grew up living with our old dog Bunso. They were best buddies. Unfortunately, Bunso got sick and died. Pete thought he could befriend Charlie, perhaps because he's a dog, but that's impossibility. Since the day Charlie came, Pete always comes near him. Alas, Charlie was negative. We tried to bar Pete from getting near, but Pete would always find ways. And Sunday was the day I feared the most for Pete.

I named him Pete because he has three flipped feathers on his head like that of Peter Pan. It is so cute. Pete likes to play with everybody; tag game is his favorite. He is also very naughty; when you're not looking, be ready for a mischievous bite from this stubborn duck. At times, he terrifies children! Funny! We all love Pete.

Pete has been with the family for more than two years and had his fair share of fame from the pet lineup. He's what was left of the 15 male ducklings my father tried to raise for past time. He's certainly one unique duck who thinks he's a dog! He even sleeps at the doorsteps. So stubborn yet so cute. What I like about him the most is his ability to respond. Pete is very smart. He knows his name. Whenever he hears you call him, even if he's somewhere else, he will certainly respond with a "Quack!" and then tries his best to get to you in a flash! He's really adorable!

I told the sad news to my other brother who's away. He was so depressed; same with everybody in the family. I could imagine how sad my nieces will be when they get the message. My younger brother and sister recorded the burial rites; the other pets were there, too. My father orchestrated the event. I'm going home tonight to know the details.

I really feel sorry about this loss. It reminds me of losing my cat, Musang. So sad. We will miss you Pete. Goodbye.

back to office

we have just arrived from another training we conducted today. it was tiring but a lot easier today than the previous ones that we had. As always, I led the invocation. I got a tap on the shoulder form our Dean, saying that was a beautiful prayer. Thanks! I just made sure that as I pray, I communicated with God. Praise to the Lord.

We have so much to do until the end of the month. I'm working on the terminal report for the national congress i did last month. hey, this one's tough. I'll be submitting the report to the funding agencies and it has to be neat. Also, I'm still working on the Policy Reform Agenda Brief (PRAB) on Indigenous Peoples. This is actually the cause of my headache. i pray that the Lord would grant me enough knowledge and perseverance to finish this paper. I wish to finish it today. And also, right now I'm working on the documentation of the training/workshop we juat had. Pwew! Talk about report writing.

Next month, I believe our calendar's a lot freer. Most of our schedules has been moved in January. Hallelujah! Maybe we'll have our Bangkok trip pushed through come December. It's almost two years delayed. I want to keep my fingers cross for that.

Oh, Happy Thanksgiving to my friends out there!

bad dreams

I had another nightmare last night. It was almost 2am when I went to bed. I’m working on several papers that need to be finished; brought home a load of readings. I finally declared I have to retire from the readings; I took my Bible for the scriptures. After a short prayer, I turned off the lights and head to my pillows. The moment I closed my eyes, there’s like a surge of electricity that ran into my body, I felt numb and could hardly move. My mind was awake but I have no control over my body. Then, I heard familiar voices but this time they were speaking quite weird things and laughing hard at my ear like the ones we hear in horror films. It’s happening again. I had the same experience before. It felt like my jaw was locked I couldn’t speak. I was praying in my mind and called on the name of the Lord. I finally was able to say “Jesus”. I thought my roommates heard me but they were sound asleep. Each time I close my eyes, that numbness happens. So I said, Lord, I’m tired. I really want to go to sleep. I turned on the lights and finally found a good night sleep. Thank God.

The Embassy experience

We went early (before 10am) to come ahead of our 1:15 interview at the US Embassy in Manila. We had not met the officer until 3:45 pm.

So much for the much-anticipated interview at the embassy.

We are confident with the scheduled interview since everything we have is TRUTH. Anyhow, the Lord was very gracious to spare us from the possibility of error (due to jitters) during the interview. To our surprise, the embassy officer readily approved our application; He did not even care to see our other documents. The officer had no plan on seeing us one by one as well. Pastor Mark insisted. The officer barely said, “Hello” and that was it. With me, we had a very short talk:

Officer: Hello.
Me: Hello, Sir.
Officer: So, you are one of the performing artists?
Me: No, Sir. I’m the editor of Branded by Fire, the MYF Newsletter. I’m also one of the core leaders of MYF.
Officer: Oh! Thank you.
Me: Thank you, Sir.

That’s it. The shortest interview I ever had in my life. Afterwards, we were told to retrieve our passports with visa. Haha!

I'm pretty sure there's divine intervention right there!

Happy!

Blessed!

And the Lord's hand was before us; we found favor in the eyes of the embassy officer. We got our visas!

Thank you Lord. And thanks to all who prayed for us. This is the second miracle for this trip-to-US saga. The first is Bayside Church's invitation; next is the US visa approval; and we're praying for the third miracle: God's provision for the airfare.

We have a big God. He gave us two miracles in a row, i know He'll provide the third one. Amen!

Tomorrow's the interview for our visa application. help us in prayer. thanks.