i havent written here in so long because sometimes i have no words to describe certain situations or feelings being experienced. since july there's been a good amount of happenings and un-happenings. for some reason im blogging now because im going down memory lane. with the past few weekends and other social events happening, they've all been quite memorable and awesome to add to the collection of "what happened in our lives" chapter.
im at a loss for words right now but the feeling is overall good and happy. even through the difficult situations you must look at them from a blessed point of view. all good things are blessings we notice but sometimes when the difficult and frustrating times come by its more 'ay nako- not again' feelings but in actuallity they are blessings in disguise.
today in time, we rarely count our blessings. and why is that.... society likes to dwell on the negative that's why there are acronyms like FML....( so far that's the only one i can think of...) but if you look at facebook, twitter, blogs, or anything else... FML seems to be tagged everywhere....(this might be a continuation from Ang's 2 cents-maybe) all the negative will only produce negative unless otherwise thought with a positive good reaction...
Be THANKFUL for what you have because sometimes whether you think about it or not, you might be in better situations than some people out there. do you have a loving family? do you have caring friends? do you have a roof over your head? any food in the pantry? have transportation? got a lil money saved up? whatever it is- be thankful for anything big or small given to you for it is a blessing noticed or in disguise.
GOD PROVIDES EVERYTHING!!!! We just have to acknowledge that however we dont because we are greedy. we want more than what we really need and sometimes things we desire we get and become useless for we feel "we dont need that anymore" It is true of the saying "a person's trash, may become someone else's treasure." so all in all... - BE THANKFUL - BE GRATEFUL - BE BLESSED
i kinda swtiched gears for a moment. i was really contemplating about life. this is what i got out of it..... LIFE IS HARD BUT LIFE IS GOOD
difficulties in life are inevitable. we go through life with periods of testing to know where our faith stands. sometimes it is weak and we fail miserably. other times it is strong so we have the will and hope to survive. at times its just in 'la-la' land trying to figure out what in the world is going on.... when we've reached that state in life, we know that we might go nuts or probably in the process of cracking up....
the best solution possible is to stop, breathe, focus, and think.... think where God is in our lives. is He by our side? is He far off in the corner? Is He in the front or the back? where is God in our lives?
life is uncertain for there are so many ways to turn, but if our focus is constantly on God, Who leads us on the road to goodness and holiness, then we're in good shape.. it's a rough ride out there, but its all well worth it in the end.... God gives and continues to give....
be good - focus on God - be strong - have faith - be holy
wow- i really didnt intend to write on this topic but o well- it came out and so it is written... " now send" hahahhaha I was just thinking of memories and good moments in life then this came out.... hahahha
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East Coast Trip Itinerary
You can read it if you want…. It’s just long…
Day 0 Tuesday, June 30– LAX @ 4 am – Departure @ 7am
oJFK - Arrival Time @530pm w/ 1 hour delay in the air due to weather in NY
oWe circled around Ohio and Philadelphia then another delay in the New Jersey, New York, & Atlantic Ocean areas
oFirst time riding a cab –it wasn’t so bad, but if drivers in NY go to LA- they will get a ticket- eeeshhhh
oStayed @ the Double Tree Hotel Guest Suites in the heart of Times Square- literally on the streets of Broadway
oExplored the area for a bit and hit the bed… At this point weather wise, the rain was on and off but everyone was still out walking and doing tourist stuff- rain or shine, Manhattan was full
This trip was a good one since it was my first time in New York, but then the places and tourists spots that I’ve discovered showed a different part of my trip. At some points it became more of a pilgrimage than anything else and I have no idea what that means. O well I just went with the flow and explored the city. Twas a good experience- tiring but good… walked all over the place from north to south and east to west of Manhattan- saw parts of Queens and Brooklyn and Central Park… That was a big long exercise, which means I now need new shoes. Hahahahaha
Day 1 Wednesday, July 3 – we wake up and everyone explored the city individually. Grandparents and elders went straight to bus terminal and took a ride to Atlantic City, where the casinos were at. O well they won something…big bonus for us kids…
My bro and cousin did their thing and so did I. I started to walk anywhere and what do I find first, a church. I go inside and I was blown away by the architecture and the paintings. I thought it was a Catholic Church but it wasn’t it was Episcopal but I was still in awe of the oldness of the church and how it is being preserved. I continued my exploration of the city and found Radio City Music Hall, NBC Studios, Rockefellar Center, and soon Saint Patrick’s Cathedral. Again I was in awe of the building structure and its history, especially since they celebrate Mass every 30mins starting at 7am til 530pm, of course with a break in between when its “work” time. I come back to the hotel within the hour of my walk and find my family ready to explore so I join them. This time we go south of the city to go to Brooklyn cuz my dad wanted to go to an electronic store, which is the biggest in the East Coast.
We literally walked, walked all the way south. That was tiring very tiring. Until we hit Penn Station and finally get on the subway. This would be my first time riding one, which in my opinion, it was a nice experience. So we finally get to our destination which is in the Financial District of Manhattan and we hit City Hall and its surrounding tourist’s spots there. A few blocks down was Ground Zero, however we weren’t able to see the ground itself because they were doing construction for the new World Trade Centers. After a few more stops at the sites, we head to Chinatown of NY and eat. We eat at Chinatown because my family wanted rice. At this point, I was asking, “why go to Chinatown to eat, since we have one in LA, but o well.” I just went with the flow cuz I was hungry too. We get back to the subway soon after, however we take the wrong one. It was in the same direction as north, BUT it was far from where we stayed. Good thing there was a transfer of trains if not, we’d still be lost until now roaming around the streets of New York. We finally get back to the hotel and we all sleep cuz it was a long day…
Day 2 Thursday, July 2- Statue of Liberty – Ellis Island- a long day and still lots of walking
Day starts @ 5am so we get ready to take the train from Times Square to lower Manhattan area to the ferries. We walked through at least 4 security searches and that was tiring in itself due to waiting in line and the searchers literally going one by one through each person.
We walked up the statue and that was just the base. 156 steps up that was still tiring though it seems short. We get to the bottom skirt of the lady and take a 10 minute breather and go down… hahahha more above the statue are about 200 steps but we didn’t take that cuz they were closed to the public that day. Just within the trip of subways, walking, ferry rides, and whatnot that took the half of the day, but when we got back home, we all slept for 4 hours til dinner time.
Day 3 Friday, July 3- we wake up and pack up everything- my trip to New York comes to an end and off to New Jersey we go. (Story in between- funny but too long to type)We go for my parents and grandparents high school grand reunion. Their school has been up and running since 1945 til now, so there’s a lot of students to be proud of and celebrate their graduation from Morong High School in Morong, Rizal, Philippines. As usual the adults do their thing and the kids stay in their room at the hotel, but good thing I called my cousins who live there so we got to hang out with them the rest of the time. It was good seeing them and hanging out there since we rarely get to see them. My nephew is growing up so fast. Last time I saw him he wasn’t able to walk or run, now he’s all over the place.
Day 4 July 4th- Happy Independence Day!!!!- Since we’re in New Jersey, we explored the historical places of our American History. Reunion of people from Lagundi , a barangay or town in the PI at the New Jersey homes. Fireworks were really nice too… they do a great show over the bay area, so it’s a view of the Hudson Bay overlooking New Jersey and New York.
Day 5 – Morong High School Grand Reunion Picnic- again everyone had a big reunion of ppl chit-chatting and eating and gaming and whatnot. My cousin took a video of my brother bulldozing our nephew accidentally while playing- it’s funny but sad at the same time cuz our nephew is only 2 years old and Matthew, 9yrs old, ran him over… boom- keep an eye out on facebook….
Day 6 – nothing but whatever- just roamed the city- prepared to leave for La
Day 7- New Jersey wake up @ 5am- leave 6am off to New York for JFK Airport @ 1130am - we depart and arrive in LA around 330pm
i think im getting the big picture of what i'm supposed to do with my life....slowly but not yet quite surely- just getting this feeling.....o well at least it's something....
so im back in school here at good ol' UCI... woohoo go anteaters!!!!!
anyway.... it is totally different. i feel like i dont belong- everyone is younger than me hahahha. in one of my classes i have a broad range of students from freshman to seniors. walking on ring road is not that bad- i bump into people i havent seen in so long and plus its a good exercise. ay nako school... school is school, but what can you do...
although this is my break from being the yaya/maid/butler at home....in all honesty before i came to uci my first year, i thought that everyone would grow including my family, but to some extent they didnt. i think i spoiled them when i came back on the weekends still doing laundry, cleaning, cooking, etc... i know i shouldnt complain about doing work and should just do it with prayer, but it gets tiring sometimes especially if your siblings dont help. hahhaha im ranting about this right now- i just need to get it out.... o well but hopefully this time in this short period of time i have away from home, im praying that they will grow spiritually, mentally, and actually come to terms in letting me go. ay nako "letting me go" o boy ay nako... God help me...
everything seems to come into play now that everything is starting again. school, my future, family, liwanag, etc... o Liwanag how i miss thee, but not but i guess i do... lol this qtr is going to be something and i am positive of that. besides academics, something else will arise and i am totally scared out of my wits of the outcome... why? cuz i am.... im not ready... i cant do that... i dont wanna do that. ay ay ay.... o why did i pick up the phone. i should have just left the answering machine on and delete the message without hearing it, but no i listened and thought about it for tooo long...(if you guys dont understand this phone analogy, then its okay- if you do know what im talking about though, then good for you- ay nako)
so in other news- Holy Week is coming up soon- I think this year's Lent went by too fast. and in all honesty, i dont think i've grown. i'm very stable or just bleh right in the middle without an increase or a decrease. just like a flat line you see on the screen of the machine hooked up to a person in the hospital. Lent has also been very difficult. i dont think i fulfilled any of my promises either. I tried, but havent really completed any. I only have a few more days and im still trying and working on it. A good priest said to me this... "It is not by the completion of your Lenten promises is God going to give you graces, but by the act and merit of the promises you tried to fulfill them in." In other words, even though we may have trouble in our commitments in life whether it be for Lent or other situations we may experience, the thing that counts is our intentions of doing good and improving for ourselves in an act through sacrifice, prayer, and love.
and with that i shall end... happy wednesday to you all
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