* today marks my third year in the US. so what? hehe..
* i was watching felicity a long time ago, about best friends. and this note had been in my drafts for that long time - commenting on how the series was showing that felicity and julie met when they were lonely and needed best friends. that they wouldn't have been friends if not for their corresponding emotional states. but whatever. who cares when and how they met? anyway, best friendship is only as valuable as what you put in on the friendship. what matters is that they met, they spent time together, shared their lives with each other, and chose to continue on with the friendship even through the times that they did not understand one another.
* it's been a source of entertainment and amazement for me that the world seems such a small place after all. connections and communications seem to spring about around my circle. but recently, i've just been overwhelmed with all the news i've been getting - that friends and acquaintances seem to have been scattered all over the world. wow. i guess the world is not that small after all. and it's not that simple anymore either.
* i've done my share of traveling also. it's fun. ;)
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Monday, September 24, 2007
l-a-z-i-n-e-s-s
i explored igoogle last week while i was trying to organize my online files. guess what i realized? i'm not (yet) a total apathetic loser after all! haha.. i stumbled upon this article about the lure of laziness -
http://www.psychologytoday.com/rss/index.php?term=pto-20070625-000004&page=1
- and it's a pleasure to feel the enjoyment of reading once again. =)
here are some bits from my read:
Laziness by definition is not uncomfortable—it is simply an unwillingness to expend energy. But laziness in an environment where we could be highly productive is a recipe for discomfort.
..we evolved with a focus on immediate returns..
Relaxation differs from laziness in that it is a reward for a completed task. Let yourself relax after a period of sustained effort..
all my life, i've been working overtime (if not by body, then by mind) through the hustle and bustle of my years. to fit in. to make others happy. to fulfill the expectations of others (including myself). to learn. to find myself. to live. but for the past year or so, i think i've been unwilling to 'expend energy,' except for the non-negotiable 'necessaries' and the things that i really want to include in my life. recently, i'm feeling bad for all the things i was/am not able to do and share with the people i love. but can i really force myself to always empty myself out, even for the things that are not directly related to what i want in my life? yeah, i still understand the meaning of 'pakikisama,' having duties to my respective communities, and the exploration of things outside 'my zone.' but up to what extent? and it doesn't seem right if i just do them for the sake of not being called boring, killjoy and lazy..
http://www.psychologytoday.com/rss/index.php?term=pto-20070625-000004&page=1
- and it's a pleasure to feel the enjoyment of reading once again. =)
here are some bits from my read:
Laziness by definition is not uncomfortable—it is simply an unwillingness to expend energy. But laziness in an environment where we could be highly productive is a recipe for discomfort.
..we evolved with a focus on immediate returns..
Relaxation differs from laziness in that it is a reward for a completed task. Let yourself relax after a period of sustained effort..
all my life, i've been working overtime (if not by body, then by mind) through the hustle and bustle of my years. to fit in. to make others happy. to fulfill the expectations of others (including myself). to learn. to find myself. to live. but for the past year or so, i think i've been unwilling to 'expend energy,' except for the non-negotiable 'necessaries' and the things that i really want to include in my life. recently, i'm feeling bad for all the things i was/am not able to do and share with the people i love. but can i really force myself to always empty myself out, even for the things that are not directly related to what i want in my life? yeah, i still understand the meaning of 'pakikisama,' having duties to my respective communities, and the exploration of things outside 'my zone.' but up to what extent? and it doesn't seem right if i just do them for the sake of not being called boring, killjoy and lazy..
Thursday, September 13, 2007
lyrical bit
ok, a brief expanation on why I haven't been blogging:
I got too crazy with work. 'nuff said? =)
now on to my blog for today...
i brought some cd's to my new work and i just want to write down some of the things i'm hearing. it's just one of those habits i have.
jennifer love hewitt (from her first album?)
don't push the river let it flow
i'm weak at the thought of letting go
close your eyes and ease your mind
fighting is the golden rule
between right and wrong, love is the only thing that's real
it's good to know that i'm alive
so, what's up what's up?? =)
I got too crazy with work. 'nuff said? =)
now on to my blog for today...
i brought some cd's to my new work and i just want to write down some of the things i'm hearing. it's just one of those habits i have.
jennifer love hewitt (from her first album?)
don't push the river let it flow
i'm weak at the thought of letting go
close your eyes and ease your mind
fighting is the golden rule
between right and wrong, love is the only thing that's real
it's good to know that i'm alive
so, what's up what's up?? =)
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
breathe...
i've been neglecting my cyber life for quite a while now. sorry to those who thought i didn't care anymore.. i do. and i would like to hear from you too, you know. i hope even if i forget to update you, you'd still think that i am this friend you have, whether it be near or far. ;) i've just been way too busy.. i'll try to put some bits for each month:
january 2007
* sigh, didn't mean to start my year at work with a sick leave, but i did! but no deep regrets, because despite the aches and pains of the 7-hr (each way) drive, i enjoyed my San Francisco trip with my family. visited my dad's half siblings, golden gate bridge, twin peaks, fisherman's wharf.. even saw frank drilon and his family during the sunday mass.
december 2006
* (12/29) alnie's visit - ate dinner at pink's hotdog, then sushi mac, then coffee/tea @ the grove, then dessert (& dinner for alrey & arman) @ denny's..
* catering, catering, and more catering! we didn't even have time to cook for our noche buena. we just had steak & baked potato, which was fine.. yum!
* family complete! jindi arrived 12/21.. =)
* simbang gabi complete!!! =) =) =) so happy! but it was only during the third night that i started feeling the christmas season. it didn't last.. but it wasn't bad. i just didn't feel the holiday spirit for long.
november
* still arranging things at home
* i know there have been other things that kept me very busy during this month, but i can't seem to remember them now..
october
* gk marathon with banjo and ate ja. t-w-e-n-t-y- -s-i-x- -p-o-i-n-t- -t-w-o- -m-i-l-e-s whew! tiring but real fulfilling. makes one rethink the word 'impossible.' of course the whole family was there to support.
* house move - i still live far from work, but atleast june's school and mama's workplace became closer.
september
* started work 09/20. for the first few weeks, they made me go to work at 630am, which meant riding the bus at 430am. thankfully, i'm at a regular schedule now (830am-5pm). real busy at work. can't even formulate a few sentences to update my blog. anywyay, it's a seafood (fresh fish) import business, and i handle paperwork mostly. what's amusing is that i sort of am the QA too, because i ended up catching the mistakes of the people around me while i'm trying to verify my work. then, i guess since my boss saw how attentive to detail i am, i also ended up gathering the information we share on email to use them to make procedural documents. huh.
august
* had a part time job for two and a half weeks, packing cellphone parts (charger, back housing, bar codes). twas fun hehe.. although i had to keep myself awake by talking almost nonstop on the phone with myca2k.. which was ok, since i was just in one corner of the warehouse. maybe i just looked a bit weird sometimes, laughing all by myself or something hehe.. good thing this was also the month when i switched my prepaid phone to join my sister's family plan, which had 1000 text messages, about 700 hundred shared minutes, and free cingular-to-cingular calls..
updates good enough? hope so.. this entry is also helping me assess part of 2006. when i have more time, i think i need to look back some more, because i know last year was pretty messed up for me. i want to try and make sense of what i've done.
january 2007
* sigh, didn't mean to start my year at work with a sick leave, but i did! but no deep regrets, because despite the aches and pains of the 7-hr (each way) drive, i enjoyed my San Francisco trip with my family. visited my dad's half siblings, golden gate bridge, twin peaks, fisherman's wharf.. even saw frank drilon and his family during the sunday mass.
december 2006
* (12/29) alnie's visit - ate dinner at pink's hotdog, then sushi mac, then coffee/tea @ the grove, then dessert (& dinner for alrey & arman) @ denny's..
* catering, catering, and more catering! we didn't even have time to cook for our noche buena. we just had steak & baked potato, which was fine.. yum!
* family complete! jindi arrived 12/21.. =)
* simbang gabi complete!!! =) =) =) so happy! but it was only during the third night that i started feeling the christmas season. it didn't last.. but it wasn't bad. i just didn't feel the holiday spirit for long.
november
* still arranging things at home
* i know there have been other things that kept me very busy during this month, but i can't seem to remember them now..
october
* gk marathon with banjo and ate ja. t-w-e-n-t-y- -s-i-x- -p-o-i-n-t- -t-w-o- -m-i-l-e-s whew! tiring but real fulfilling. makes one rethink the word 'impossible.' of course the whole family was there to support.
* house move - i still live far from work, but atleast june's school and mama's workplace became closer.
september
* started work 09/20. for the first few weeks, they made me go to work at 630am, which meant riding the bus at 430am. thankfully, i'm at a regular schedule now (830am-5pm). real busy at work. can't even formulate a few sentences to update my blog. anywyay, it's a seafood (fresh fish) import business, and i handle paperwork mostly. what's amusing is that i sort of am the QA too, because i ended up catching the mistakes of the people around me while i'm trying to verify my work. then, i guess since my boss saw how attentive to detail i am, i also ended up gathering the information we share on email to use them to make procedural documents. huh.
august
* had a part time job for two and a half weeks, packing cellphone parts (charger, back housing, bar codes). twas fun hehe.. although i had to keep myself awake by talking almost nonstop on the phone with myca2k.. which was ok, since i was just in one corner of the warehouse. maybe i just looked a bit weird sometimes, laughing all by myself or something hehe.. good thing this was also the month when i switched my prepaid phone to join my sister's family plan, which had 1000 text messages, about 700 hundred shared minutes, and free cingular-to-cingular calls..
updates good enough? hope so.. this entry is also helping me assess part of 2006. when i have more time, i think i need to look back some more, because i know last year was pretty messed up for me. i want to try and make sense of what i've done.
Thursday, August 31, 2006
sapere aude!
i'm still subscribed to my philosophy class egroup in college. once in a while, i browse through the readings that are being emailed to the group. as i was reading something written by Immanuel Kant in the year 1784, some of the things he said struck me...
Enlightenment is man's emergence from his self-imposed immaturity. Immaturity is the inability to use one's understanding without guidance from another. This immaturity is self-imposed when its cause lies not in lack of understanding, but in lack of resolve and courage to use it without guidance from another. Sapere Aude! [dare to know] "Have courage to use your own understanding!"--that is the motto of enlightenment.
If I have a book to serve as my understanding, a pastor to serve as my conscience, a physician to determine my diet for me, and so on, I need not exert myself at all.
... and he goes on about his time being the age of enlightenment and all. i can't really say anything about 1784, but i do know that everything he said still remains true today. that there have been too many "guides" set up for us within the last few decades, centuries even, that people tend to rely on these instead of using their own understanding. traditions keep old teachings and rituals alive, even when they seem out of place already. everything has a dummy book - parenting for dummies, accounting for dummies, etc. each little item you buy includes detailed instructions about it. it's good to share what we know to others, but we must also be aware of the danger of becoming too lazy to think for oneself. it's healthy to question our ways, is what i say. hmmm, do i sound like a rebel?? hehehe.. questioning doesn't necessarily mean contradicting. it's just a manner of learning more about things.
and i know there are rules that are imposed by society, and different people have different views on how to live life, and this causes problems. but it is so much better to discuss and debate on those differing views than to stagnate and live with no progress and growth. we just need to be wise enough to know how to settle the arguments - like agreeing to disagree (kanya kanyang diskarte na lang) and compromising. of course, it should go without saying that we are not to forget the big picture - the effect of our decisions on others and all that yada about world peace.
if in 1784, it was the age of enlightenment, it doesn't follow that we are at an enlightened age already. after all the years that passed, here's to hoping that we still continue to look around us and push for a better understanding of it all.
Enlightenment is man's emergence from his self-imposed immaturity. Immaturity is the inability to use one's understanding without guidance from another. This immaturity is self-imposed when its cause lies not in lack of understanding, but in lack of resolve and courage to use it without guidance from another. Sapere Aude! [dare to know] "Have courage to use your own understanding!"--that is the motto of enlightenment.
If I have a book to serve as my understanding, a pastor to serve as my conscience, a physician to determine my diet for me, and so on, I need not exert myself at all.
... and he goes on about his time being the age of enlightenment and all. i can't really say anything about 1784, but i do know that everything he said still remains true today. that there have been too many "guides" set up for us within the last few decades, centuries even, that people tend to rely on these instead of using their own understanding. traditions keep old teachings and rituals alive, even when they seem out of place already. everything has a dummy book - parenting for dummies, accounting for dummies, etc. each little item you buy includes detailed instructions about it. it's good to share what we know to others, but we must also be aware of the danger of becoming too lazy to think for oneself. it's healthy to question our ways, is what i say. hmmm, do i sound like a rebel?? hehehe.. questioning doesn't necessarily mean contradicting. it's just a manner of learning more about things.
and i know there are rules that are imposed by society, and different people have different views on how to live life, and this causes problems. but it is so much better to discuss and debate on those differing views than to stagnate and live with no progress and growth. we just need to be wise enough to know how to settle the arguments - like agreeing to disagree (kanya kanyang diskarte na lang) and compromising. of course, it should go without saying that we are not to forget the big picture - the effect of our decisions on others and all that yada about world peace.
if in 1784, it was the age of enlightenment, it doesn't follow that we are at an enlightened age already. after all the years that passed, here's to hoping that we still continue to look around us and push for a better understanding of it all.