Archive for Life in General

Because No One Understands Me Like You Do

// February 25th, 2010 // 5 Comments » // From the Heart, Life in General

You must have seen this post coming. I know, I know this is going to be cheesy so I’m telling you now that you have an option not to read this.  By all means, you can to go to FML or back to Facebook and tend your cafe/mafia/farm/whatever. I don’t care.  Now that we’re done with that here goes nothing.

A friend told me about this movie called Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist and if you’ve been following me around in Twitter, you’d probably know that I have been raving about this movie all week.  As Tris handed his DVD copy of said movie, he said “You know Vikki, you’d be able to relate to this flick ’cause this is the story of your life (I think).  But you’re Nick in this movie.”  I found the trailer online and they described Nick as “sentimental and bad in relationships.” That’s me alright.  So anyway, I got really curious so the following day, I popped the DVD and saw it while doing my balance exercises.

In a nutshell, Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist is a romantic comedy about two people who found each other in a crazy, late-night adventure.  They were each other’s “musical soulmate”.  It took a breakup, a gig with gay friends, a search for a drunk girl friend, and the quest to find Where’s Fluffy? (a band) to create the happy ending.  (Btw, the soundtrack of this movie is just so frickin’ awesome.)  Anyway, towards the end of the movie, I wish I had my own Norah, a guy-version of her though.  Only “my male Norah” understands…

  • that I enjoy making lists like this and he gets it why I have to bring my tiny notebook around because he knows that great ideas often pop up in the middle of nowhere or while I’m in the midst of doing something.
  • how I love to kiss while we’re on the escalator. Because he knows that I like it that I don’t have to tip toe just to reach him for a hug and a kiss. And he doesn’t care about the crowd.
  • He finds it cute that I grab his butt in public. Then he’d give me this meaningful look that says, “Baby, not in front of the kids!” And then we’ll both laugh it off.
  • that there’s nothing wrong with having a diverse taste in music. We could go on listening to some song from a foreign land and then move on to whatever’s playing on the radio. Then we’d diss on the ones that we don’t like just for fun.
  • my spontaneity is my best and worst quality.  He knows that I don’t like planning much because when plans fail, I get disappointed.  I hate getting disappointed. Besides, life is more interesting that way.
  • that I have a natural tendency to turn people off but he doesn’t dump me because it’s no deal-breaker for him.
  • that I practically live in the internet and he isn’t bothered by the amount of time I spend on my blog, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Last.fm.
  • my love-hate relationship with horror movies. He knows that I like them but I am a lousy audience because I’m such a scaredy cat.
  • He actually enjoys it when I tell a story because I can be so lively when I’m at it.  You know that I just have to move and make these silly gestures, right?
  • why I like to associate people and situations with music.  Everything, every person, and event has a theme song.  We’re all in a huge movie and you know in my mind a song is playing all the time.
  • that my life is an open door and only the brave ones dare to come in and inside is a rockin’ party.
  • my penchant for numbers. He doesn’t barf at the sight of Venn diagrams, line/bar/pie graphs,  and Pareto charts because they make really nice real life diagrams.
  • He knows about all my guilty pleasures. Like how I secretly like the color pink, that I watch Showtime and  romantic Tagalog flicks sometimes, and the fact that I enjoy eating street food (fishballs and quail eggs FTW!).
  • that there’s no such thing as awkward silences because sometimes silence is good.  He actually likes some quiet time every now and then and he doesn’t get scared/bothered/paranoid.
  • why I’d die of boredom if I didn’t have an iPod.
  • that I don’t like playing the role of the damsel in distress.  Though I’d tell you if I need rescuing for real.
  • why cuddling beats saying “I want you.”

Male Norah, where are you? I’ll wait for you, OK? For now, I’ll make you some mixtapes. :)

An Open Letter

// February 11th, 2010 // No Comments » // Life in General, Raves

I know this will sound so mean but you were the last person I wanted to be friends with when I met you.  You were Little Miss I-have-it-all.  You came from a private school and wore expensive shoes and clothes.  In short, you were the envy of many girls because you’re not just well-off, but you’re also pretty.  But I didn’t envy you.  I just didn’t like you.  I thought that you will not fit into this world I made for myself.  My world was so chaotic while yours was almost perfect. I’d rather be alone than hang out with you because all I’ll probably hear are your boy problems while I deal with a dysfunctional family and how I’m going to survive lunch with only thirty pesos in my pocket. Having enough problems of my own, I didn’t want to bother myself with your trivial issues.

Though it seemed like you had everything, I kind of felt sorry for you because you had a curfew.  Your parents brought and picked you up from school. Even your phone calls were filtered by your mom.  And because your parents (especially your mom) were very protective of you, you had problems with dating boys.  They tried so hard to shoo them away so you can focus on the academics.  I can still remember that one rainy afternoon when your mom literally dragged you out of the campus because of some boy. (Or was it boys?) I can’t remember exactly.  There’s Nathan (yeah, Diether’s cute cousin), then there’s David, James (?), Gab, and then Ross. (I wonder if I missed out on anyone.)  How awful it must’ve felt to be embarrassed in front of the entire school.  But then I thought, your mom probably just wanted the best for you.  So she would do anything and everything in her power to make sure that you get a good education and keep you away from distractions.  Later on, I learned that your mom just wanted to scare the boys and that she was actually very nice.

While you were busy chatting with the cute guys, I was just somewhere reading a Stephen King novel or poring over our school’s collection of Palanca-winning works.  You had your Candy and Seventeen magazines that your mom gladly purchased for you every month while I borrowed the boring reads like Bato Balani from the library.  You read those girly magazines (and not the scientific ones) not because you’re not smart. You are an intelligent girl. You were just very interested in fashion, that’s all.  Meanwhile, I was just being my boring and nerdy self (plus I didn’t want to spend 17% of my stipend on these magazines).  Anyway, I read Bato Balani because that’s where I found out about how one of the research teams copied their work from said magazine. Ha! That team hated me because I told the teacher about it.  As a result, Sir Danny (the Davidoff Cool Water-smelling/good-looking Biology teacher) kept on inviting me to the succeeding research defense sessions.  Now we have something in common. We were both hated.

I don’t exactly recall how and when I started hanging out with you.  All I remember was that despite our clear lifestyle differences, you were never selfish.  In fact, you were ultra-generous. You have always shared what you had with me.  You would let me bring home your magazines or Archie comics or eat whatever your lunch was with me.  We also shared the same sentiments about annoying subjects or people and we both couldn’t wait for high school to end.

Probably because I was a loner/loser/nerd, your mom began to trust me.  She’d let you pick up the phone when I call past 9PM. (Did I tell you that I still know your home number ’til this very day?)  Then we’d spend our weekends in Glorietta.  Remember how McDonald’s didn’t have Coke Floats back then? We invented our own floats. You always ordered a large root beer and sundae while I had a large Coke and a sundae.  Some days, we would just eat McFlurrys and sit in the Activity Center until we grew tired. As we happily dipped our sundae cones on our drinks, we share the events of the week, the shows we saw on TV, and our frustrations. These were the things that we have already talked about all week but we go through it again anyway because it was a fun thing to do.  There were also those times when we would play Dance Dance Revolution all day.  I was struggling with Boom Boom Dollar while you danced to Paranoia like it was nothing.  You were patient enough to teach me until I could follow the rhythm and start racking points.  Do you still remember how I raided your fridge? You told me how you and your family stopped eating ice cream and chocolates because you were watching your weight. Meanwhile, I was so thin so you fed me all the ice cream and chocolates I could eat during Dance Rev breaks. (For some weird reasons, I find this funny and embarrassing.)  Then as we grew hungry from all the dancing, your dad (who you fondly call Papsy or was it Papi?) would order food from Tokyo Tokyo. To high school girls like us, Tokyo Tokyo was some fancy Japanese restaurant with a menu we couldn’t afford with our own money.  Oh, and have I told you that I tried to call my dad, Papi?  He yelled at me and said, “Don’t you dare call me that name again! I’m not a dog!”

Some people probably thought that I am only friends with you because I get free stuff from you.  But that’s not true.  I guess, if you didn’t have all those things, I’d still be friends with you because you have this one quality that none of our other classmates/schoolmates had.  You’re sincere.  Who would want to be friends with someone like me, right?  But you saw me past my cheap clothes and nerdy/ugly looks and really took the time to get to know me.  You probably don’t know how thankful I am that you’re such a good friend during those four lonely years while I was away from my mom and siblings and had to live with dad and his relatives.  In the absence of my own family, you unselfishly shared yours to me.

After high school, I was both happy and sad when I found out that you’re going to UA&P. How I wished I could go there with you! Since we couldn’t afford it, I went to a public university.  And although it felt awesome that we no longer have to put up with all the high school shit, it was also sad and scary to be away from a friend like you.  I was so mad at myself because I misplaced the only picture of us.  It was taken using that Polaroid camera of yours. Yeah, the neoprint kind, the ones that I can stick to my notebook if I wanted to? That photo was taken during that night swimming at CP’s place.  All I had were just memories of those countless weekends, phone calls, us standing beside each other during CAT, and lunch breaks.  We didn’t talk anymore while we were in college until we reconnected via Multiply.  Oh boy, we immediately scheduled a double date, didn’t we?

Today, as we sat in the salon while you have your hair done and I get a manicure and pedicure, I couldn’t help but say a little prayer of thanks.  You are a true blessing to me and I wish you more blessings and happiness because you truly deserve it.  I am so lucky to have known you and to have the chance to be a part of your life and for allowing me to be a part of yours. I pray that we will have more times like this and hopefully our kids will be good friends, too.

I’ll see you again in May.

__________________________________

My friend Joane is an avid iPhone user, enjoys shopping, loves the beach and stars (the shape), and is happily dating a handsome guy named Hans. She is a pre-school teacher and is now based in Singapore. (On Flickr Week 6/52; Project 52)

Thoughts on the Treadmill

// February 2nd, 2010 // 2 Comments » // Blog-a-holic, Life in General

First day in the gym in 2010. No iPhone or gym buddy to keep me company.

Lesgow. Stretch, stretch. Hop on to the treadmill.

Start. Speed, 2.0.  Nggrggrhh. Boring walk for one minute. Beep. Beep. Beep. Incline settings 5.5, speed 4.5. Now it’s getting interesting.

Two minutes later, cute chinito dude was doing some leg lifts at my left. Oyeh.

So what am I gonna have for lunch? Chinito boy.  Good idea. But seriously, salad?  Maybe. Gosh the music in this gym is killing me. Slimmer’s World had better music.  Maybe I should really get an mp3 player so I have something to use temporarily.  Anson’s is just right across the street.  I should check later.

Bush is so noisy. Haha. He’s already friends with the instructors.

Hey mister, please stop staring at my butt. What a fuckin’ perv.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Speed 6.0. It’s so good that I can brisk-walk and think of a lot of non-sense without worrying of bumping into someone or tripping over something.  Maybe this is why I love the treadmill.

I didn’t know that it was tough to sing and play Die Alone at the same time.  Must be my poor guitar skills. Haha.  I should stick to simpler tunes like Katy Perry’s Thinking of You.  Now, where the heck will I find the chords to The Duke Spirit’s Wooden Heart. That’s a very good song. Makes me sleep but also keeps me awake during long work hours.

Wow, I can see Mexicali from here. Mmm. Tacos, burritos, and grilled pork chops. Mmm. Yeah, I should have veggies for lunch. Darn it. I’ll make it up on cheat weekends then. Cheat.

Fifteen minutes later, I burned 69 calories. That’s how much calories there is in a shot of Patron Silver Tequila. And the thought of it makes me thirsty. Wait, I AM thirsty. Chinito boy comes back to do more leg lifts. What was I thinking again?  Nice legs, yessir. Bad Man’s World playing in my head. It’s a bad man’s world. It’s a bad man’s world.

Sweat is dripping from my back and my chest. Ten more minutes. I always make it a point to stay in the treadmill for at least 30 minutes. Walk, brisk-walk, run, brisk-walk, repeat. It’s a bad man’s world. It’s a bad man’s world. It’s a bad man’s world.  Will it be me or will it be you.

142 calories in 30 minutes.  Not good for day one. But what the heck. Time to hit the shower.

Thank You, 2009!

// December 1st, 2009 // No Comments » // Blog-a-holic, Life in General, Raves

I was told that this year is my year, the year of the ox.  However, I didn’t rely much on astrology or Chinese horoscope because everything happened based on God’s will. This year, I am thankful for so many things like how our relationship in the family has gone better. I am thankful that God blessed us with good health and financial stability. I am thankful that I was able to grow as a person and that I got to know myself better. This year, my relationship with God was refreshed. I am thankful that we were able to celebrate my parents’ silver wedding anniversary. Overall, I am thankful to God because He made this year a fruitful and a truly blessed one for me and my family. Goodbye, 2009. In a bit, we will say aloha to 2010.

_____________________________

Dear Avalon.ph,

Thanks for the chance of ending 2009 with a blast. I got to list down all the things I am thankful for plus I get the chance to win a 2010 Moleskine Colour a Month Daily Planner. Thank you for sharing your blessings to bloggers like me. :) Now crossing my fingers for the Moleskine babies. <3

Graphical Reflections: On (Un)Learning

// August 8th, 2009 // 4 Comments » // Blog-a-holic, Life in General

Back in the day, we talked about how a computer is so unlike real life – how we can’t undo things.  Today, while munching on a stick of deep fried bananas that Filipinos fondly call banana Q (or cue), I thought about the things that I wish I could unlearn.  Apparently, it’s difficult to unlearn things.  Learning is like saving files in your computer (brain).  Most of the time, I save it in Read-Only format so it’s pretty much difficult to “edit” what I’ve already learned.

What is unlearning like, anyway?  According to my boss, I am a visual person.  And because I truly am, I decided to look for a very good representation of the learning and unlearning curves. I wasn’t successful in finding a good graph for the latter so I tried to make my own.  If you have any violent reactions, please feel free to comment but I just want to remind everyone that this is just my interpretation of the unlearning curve, alright? Here goes:

So, the blue S curve represents the learning curve and the red one for unlearning.  My assumption is based on the quote, “It takes three days to form a habit and three weeks to break one.”  Under this assumption, say I attempt to learn habit A and I get to practice four times a day, I already know habit A by the third day in just 12 attempts.  Meanwhile, it’ll take about 3 weeks or 84 attempts before I can actually break habit A.  Knowing me, I think by that 10th attempt, I might have already given up.  Oh well, that’s just me.

Cussing is one of the things that I want to unlearn.  When I was a kid, we lived in the province for about three years.  This is also where I learned how to curse like a sailor.  My cousins were very “proficient” in this “language” and because people learn from repetition, you can say that I was able to add a couple of colorful words to my vocabulary.  As a fifth grader, I thought I was really cool until my mom heard me cuss.  She threatened to feed me with chicken poop!  She said, “If crap comes out of your mouth, then I guess it’s OK to put some in it, right?” That didn’t keep me from cussing, though.  Instead, I learned when to cuss and that is when she’s not around.  Anyway, as I grew older (ouch!) not all people (especially at work) like the bad words-spewing mouth.  They say it’s classless, unprofessional, and plain annoying.  I get the point, I seriously do.  And I’m trying my best not to cuss but then again there are those WTF moments.

I guess the challenge is here is not just about unlearning.  I believe that this is a continuous process of learning, unlearning, and relearning.  Now all I gotta do is to remember to “save” the stuff I learn into an “editable version” instead of Read-Only.

I Learned These in High School But I Don’t Know Why

// July 20th, 2009 // 9 Comments » // Blog-a-holic, Funnies, Life in General

Pardon the long title.  I just couldn’t think of any other way to say it.  Since I had a day of reminiscing the bad ol’ high school days, some of the things I remembered are the silly lessons we had to learn in the classroom.  Til now, I still don’t get it why we had to learn:

  1. All about phonemes. Back in first year high school, we were taught how to properly pronounce words (which is absolutely fine) in this cool speech lab.  There were headsets, microphones, and cubes per student. But one thing I don’t understand is why the heck we had to learn how to write them. Lemme give you a sample, /krapE/ for crappy. And this phonemic representation I made could be wrong cos I wasn’t very good in this subject. What’s funny was we took this subject in English with Ms. Raindrops in the afternoon (of course her last name isn’t really raindrops but it sounded like it so it stuck) and in Filipino during the day (“Ang ponema ay ang pinakamaliit na yunit…” according to Ms. Zafra).
  2. Really ancient Tagalog words. I received one of those Excel sheets that turn out as a quiz meant to measure your knowledge of old Tagalog words and I was able to translate 95% of those English words into old Tagalog and vice versa. If you think Pisika is the Tagalog word for Physics, you are wrong.  Pisika is still considered as hiram na salita or borrowed from its English counterpart. It’s actually, Hipnayan.  Okay, how about another one. I majored in Biochem so it’s a shame if I don’t know the Tagalog word for Chemistry. Any guesses? Kimika? No way, that’s still borrowed from the original word! It’s actually Kapnayan. All I can say is, man, ang hirap arukin! [It's difficult to understand!] So why the heck teach us words that are no longer being used? People no longer say, salumpuwit.  They just simply say, Orocan (if you’re poor) or Lazy Boy if you’re simply well-off. I just don’t get it.
  3. How to translate a French song in English. I was very lucky that our school’s curriculum included two years of learning the French language.  A couple of days before Christmas, our Claus-like teacher, Monsieur Ribery, brought some French bread and cheese that smelled like a dead rat.  We had nothing to do since all the lessons are done.  While the smell of the cheese wafted inside the classroom our teacher decided that we should translate the most popular French pop song during that time.  Must be the smell of the cheese that led him to do that.  Anyway, if you haven’t heard of Larusso, then I don’t know from which jungle you came from.  But anyway, we decided to translate the song, On Ne S’aimera Plus Jamais. It was simple.  The title means you don’t love me anymore. I don’t understand why exactly we did that but there’s one thing I know, I can still sing that song and pronounce each word properly until this very day. (And I have secretly fallen in love with some more French songs.)
  4. Constitution. Ahhh, Consti.  We fondly call this subject Consti.  Our teacher was a loud woman.  I don’t remember her name anymore but boy, I can still remember what she looks like plus she’s chummies with the librarians.  She’d yell at us if we walked really slow on our way to her class. (Punyeta! I didn’t say that! She did! Haha.)  Anyway, if you think I am referring to the Philippine Constitution, please allow me to say this.  It is normal and I think it’s just plain right to learn about the Philippine Constitution since we are in the Philippines.  But back in the day, on top of our own consti, we had to read through, discuss, and test on American and Japanese constitutions. I can feel the headache now. Gosh, why did we have to study that?!

I checked the current curriculum and nothing much has changed (except they added this subject called Makabayan. What the heck is Makabayan anyway?)  Students still had to endure 13 units per year. And I bet they still carry as much books and notebooks we had to carry back then.

So now, I still haven’t figured out how I’m supposed to use all those stuff I learned in school.  I wish they taught us how to compute for our taxes, how to deal with people from diverse backgrounds, how to survive college, sex education (believe me, there was none and I think this is beneficial for the sake of learning), plus some other things that I couldn’t remember at the moment.  These stuff might come in handy as compared to knowing how to say “You don’t love me anymore” but not know how to ask for help if I were lost in France, penniless.

High School was a Drag but I’ll Attend the Reunion Anyway

// July 19th, 2009 // 3 Comments » // Blog-a-holic, Life in General

I can make up a gazillion reasons why I hated high school but if ever the reunion will push through, I think I’m gonna go. So today, a friend and I had a short convo about what kind of hell high school was.  We weren’t popular (and it’s alright) but people didn’t like us because we are not like them. Or should I say, I was not like them in many ways.

  1. I was not an honor student. Yeah, but it’s OK.  I’ve seen an honor student cheat in a Physics exam. I can’t be proud of an achievement if I cheated my way to it.
  2. My shoes were made by an unknown brand. While the rest of the folks wore Doc Martens, Skechers, and Hush Puppies, my shoes were made in the Philippines by some unknown manufacturer.  They are cheap, fit the bill of what the school wants us to wear, and they were comfy.  I had no complaints.  But my classmates found it silly so they had to humiliate me in the canteen because of that.
  3. The librarians knew my name so they laugh at that, too. Since I had nothing to do during breaks, I prefer to read.  The best place to hide and read all those Palanca compilations is in the library.  I help out the librarians sometimes.  I won stuff from the library, and again they mock me for that.
  4. Contrary to popular belief, I was not a loner. I had friends but I didn’t have many. I remember I’d write short stories with some of my guy and girl friends and we’d exchange notes and read what we have made and comment on what should happen next, etc. Some weekends, Joane and I would hang out at McDonalds where we make our own Coke floats (that time, there was no Coke float at McDo) and we talk and drown our problems away with each gulp.
  5. I was ugly. Seriously.  I had no boobs, awful hair, bad skin.  Well, until now I do have bad hair and skin (and I have lil twins now, LOL).  But according to Helena Rubinstein, “There are no ugly girls, just lazy ones.”  So I guess I am not lazy anymore. :D
  6. I did very well in Trigonometry despite not owning a calculator. My dad bought me a scientific calculator but some moron stole it from my bag.  So all year, I had to go through Trigo with the help of tables.  Angles of elevation and depression were some of my favorites.  I saved my quiz notebooks because I felt so proud whenever I get a perfect score sans calculator.
  7. My classmates hated my all-time favorite teacher. Sometimes I don’t get it why they didn’t like Sir Danny but he was smart, kind, and funny.  They hated him because he didn’t like their materialistic and mundane ways. He asked me, “So pano yan, they [classmates] don’t like you?” I said, “It’s OK, I don’t like them either.” I felt so bad when one of his parents passed away.  I went to Loyola to pay respect and when he introduced me to his brothers he said I was one of the brightest in school.  I was so shy but felt good because I thought he was the only one who believed in me.  About five years later, I saw him while I was in a jeepney and we stared at each other as the jeepney passed and he smiled. I wanted to get off the jeepney just to tell him that I am thankful for everything.
  8. People laugh and mock me because I am me. I remember some idiot pulled up my skirt while I was standing quietly in the canteen.  He won’t do that to any of the popular girls but since I was the laughing stock, he thought he had the every right to humiliate me. I wanted to slap him for being mean but I didn’t.  More drama.  I didn’t want to end up in the Guidance Counselor’s office.
  9. I wasn’t girly so no boy took interest on me. Who would take interest on a geeky girl who can go over the fence (about 10 feet high) just to skip classes?  But that’s OK.  I knew that I was there to study (and skip some of the boring classes) and I have more drama at home to deal with so no time for boys.
  10. Home, school, repeat.  That’s what my schedule’s like.  I rarely go to the mall unless Joane’s going.  While the others see each other on weekends to just hang out at Rockwell, I’m at home, washing the clothes and bonding with mom. She’s home every weekend so that’s the only time I’d get to see her and talk to her.

High school was a really awful time because people talk bad stuff about other people and some just don’t like me for the clothes I wear or because I liked librarians and some of the teachers.  It’s been eight years and I think it won’t be so bad to see what my classmates are like now.  So even though high school was a drag, I’ll attend the reunion anyway.  Who knows what could happen. :D

A TIME for Change

// June 22nd, 2009 // 5 Comments » // Blog-a-holic, Life in General, Must Reads, Raves

Recently, I find myself reading more of TIME Magazine and I thought, “What have I done for the past 10 years of my life?”  Back in the day, I’d spend my money on “girly girly magazines” as my friend calls it.  And I only bought them because of the fashion.  I just wanted to know that the stuff I’m wearing are “normal-looking.”  Anyway, I recently fell in love with TIME because there are so many things to read.  Things that actually made sense and mattered in this world.  Which makes me feel guilty at the same time because I am not very good when it comes to reading the Bible but I sure am trying.  When I bought a copy last weekend my boyfriend said, “Wow, you read that?”  I didn’t know if I should be insulted or take it as a compliment.  Whatever. :p

So now I’m thinking why the heck did I buy TIME in the first place?  And then I realized that I bought it for Twitter.  But after reading the Twitter articles, I found myself lost reading the other topics that I never imagined I’d have interest on like the Iran election or who were named as TIME’s 100 Most Influential People.  I am so glad I can read and better I can afford to buy this magazine. Now I am considering an annual subscription.  I knew that it’s TIME to change the stuff I read.

Have any good reads?  Share them!

On Unanswered Prayers

// June 18th, 2009 // 4 Comments » // Blog-a-holic, Life in General

Today, I noticed that my friend’s status message says, “Some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.”  And I thought, “Does God really not answer our prayers?”

I personally think that God hears and answers all our prayers.  Yeah, all of it.  He never gets confused about our prayers because he knows the desires of our hearts before we even pray about it.  Here are some of my thoughts about this:

His answer may not be the ones we ask for. Before, I used to pray for an ex-boyfriend.  He was very abusive and I prayed that he’ll be saved someday and that his abusive ways will stop.  And God answered my prayer.  After three painful years, everything stopped and I was happy again.  But we were no longer together.  Instead, He introduced me to this really cute guy who shares the same faith as I.  It’s been more than two years and we are still together and we’re happier each day!

His answer is better than what we ask for. My siblings and I lived in the province back in the 90’s for about 3 years.  The three of us were so used to eating instant pancit canton.  We would cook a pack and divide it among the three of us and we were happy.  We’d pray that someday, we could eat 2 packs each of those instant noodles.  God did answer our prayers and now, instead of pancit canton, we can now afford to buy Charlie Chan in Yellow Cab or other stuff we’ve never imagined we can buy.

His answer is not always immediate. It is very typical for us to become really impatient.  And it can be very frustrating to wait for God’s answer.   I’ve been there.  It’s so tough to get a yellow signal from God.  In one of our Bible study meetings, we talked about Abraham and how God promised to give him a son.  It took 25 years before God fulfilled His promise.  A yellow light isn’t such a bad thing.  A friend told me, “When God says wait, that’s when we should be at our happiest because He has something good in store for us.”

So, does God really not answer our prayer sometimes?  I don’t think so.  Have a blessed week everyone!

A Walk Down Memory Lane

// June 14th, 2009 // 4 Comments » // Blog-a-holic, Life in General

Sundays…

23 years ago – I had no idea.  I was just one year old!

18 years ago – I was attending Sunday School. “Jesus loves me that I know…”, memory verses, biscuits and fruit juices, family lunches

13 years ago – I was already attending the Sunday service because I used to sing during the service.

8 years ago – Part time Sunday school teacher. “Jesus loves me that I know…”, memory verses, biscuits and fruit juices, plus kids minus family lunches

3 years ago – I sleep on Sundays. Period.

2 weeks ago, I was in church again. Just happy in the presence of God.

1 minute from now – I will shut down my computer and get ready for church. :)

It looks so nice when I put it that way.  The things that happened in between was a long story.  Have a blessed Sunday everyone.

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