Happy Birthday, Tatay!

Tatay is turning 66 today. He is old, but still active.

I am thankful to God that He sets another year and I know more years to come for Tatay. He is the person who I find my strength as well.

I have remembered when we were still young that he never stop working and I was in the verge of asking how could he possibly do that, that he never gets tired of working even though he aged. I recalled the times that he teaches me how to read, write and sing. He is such a good teacher for me.

I also can remember that he would tell stories as he puts me to sleep almost everyday when I was young as 3. I could not forget those times that he corrects me if I mispronounced the letters of the alphabet and read the words properly. He lets me write on a pad paper in a blue to red, blue to blue lines from letters A to Z properly without any mistake. I was trained to write in a proper stroke.

I always remember those times that he sends me to school and fetches me in the afternoon. He used to give me huge allowance for school. He bought me delicious snacks for school. He would always asked my teachers about my performance in school and how do I perform during classes and extra-curricular activities.

My life at those times is grounded like with a "CCTV" camera. It is like 24/7 monitoring. When I reached my teenage years, my father tightly monitor me. I could not hardly collaborate with friends and I was like in the house the whole day, practice singing, reading books, strumming the guitar, watching TV and helping my mother. I could go out from the house if I were with friends.

I can remember how he and my mother give me instructions and morals out from the things that concerns my stage. They always set time, rules and policies that oftentimes restrict me from doing things on my own. But in the end, I have realized that those set of rules and morals are for my own good.

My Tatay (father) is hands-on with me. I come to know the world fully, not hating it, but loving it the way my parents taught me and how my tatay teaches me some ways in order to fully form me to what I am right now.

Every father is unique. They do everything for the sake of their children in order for their kids not to be harmed and for them to be ready to face their lives and their future, bringing with them the kind of "home" and upbringing their parents teach them.

As of my father, he never lacks to inculcate and to teach me things in life. What I am right now, I both owe them to my parents.

I love you, Tatay! Happy Birthday!

Happy Father's Day to my Tatay, Mr. Teofilo Gulle Abucay!

Today sets the day for honoring all the Fathers in the world, a Happy Father's Day!

Father's Day is a special event that started in the year 1910 by Sonora Smart Dodd which it was founded in Spokane, Washington, at the YMCA. In fact, its first celebration was in June 19, 1910. She honored her father for raising them up, all six of them. Her father was a single parent. It was supposed to be celebrated on June 5, the birthday of her father, but the pastors did not have time to prepare their sermon, thus, the celebration was deferred to every third Sunday of June.

Just like Sonora, I take pride to my father, Mr. Teofilo Gulle Abucay (65 years old) who takes care of us even until now that we are grown up. My father laid so much attention and concern in letting us enjoy the kind of happy life he wanted to share with us. He is so kind, God-fearing, understanding and wonderful. He never leave us alone. He works hard for us. We are schooling in a wonderful schools even when we were at our younger years because he wants us to have a quality education. He always provide us with delicious food. When we are sick, he is there to find ways in order for us to be okay.

I have remembered when I was in my younger years that he teaches me how to write, read, draw and sing. I never forget those times that my father will always provide me with many things for school so that I will excel in the class. He lets me enrol into a music lesson. He even gets a private tutor for me to know how to play the piano. He encourages me to sing and join singing contest in our town.

My father is the provider of our daily needs, not just that, he also give morals and values, teaching us the right way, what to do and when things gets worse, he opens up, telling us that we should make good decisions in life. He is always up to making follow-up especially when it comes to school works and our performance.

The best teaching I learn from my father is that "Do not forget to recognize God at all times" and "Always do your best in everything you do so that the world will also love you".

Now that we are grown up, we always bring the teachings of our father. He is the best "Tatay" in the world and we salute him for not taking us for granted, nor disappointing us. He is always doing his best all the time even though I could feel that he is already tired.

We miss him so much because he is in the US right now. But no matter how far we were from him, I know that his presence still lingers on.

We love you Tatay Pilo! I thank God for giving us a father like you.

When my system clamors for rest

Once I start to open my eyes in the morning, it means start of my day. The second-hand watch of mine started reminding me that I have to get up and work. Then, the rest explains the kind of business that leads me in a day. Then, my story begins.

Out from the days gone by, I have realized that whenever I do lots of work, I can't anymore tolerate to finish them all directly. My body clamors for rest. Piles of reminders run into my mind and my brain is like overloaded with agenda that runs like a contests of prioritization. Then, this started me to miss thinking some of its process and I try regaining them because I don't want to lose track.

It is quite a very tasking job for me because I am just one. I can't break my body into parts in sustaining to achieve everything and their every demands or "request" shall I say. It is just that I am also getting tired.

Many times, I can say that what if I just stay passive and just be in the corner and try to do nothing so busy. Sometimes too, I would say that I have to exert not much effort because in the end, it is me who is overly tired of all of this. But then, I can't afford not to be concerned and of concerned. Hope that my only request of them letting me breath is just a simple act of my allocation so that I can rest and have more time for myself.

I know all this comes into a choice. But I just hope that no matter I make choices, there is that worth that can let people form that I am just a human being who easily gets tired. I have feelings. Now, I would say that my body clamors for rest.

The Most Wonderful Gift in the World

Giving of gifts is a habit for everyone. Such act of giving is very common especially when special occasion arrives. Gifts can be of varied types, but its essence of giving always mean from the "heart" of the sender. 

In the diverse world where there are options of looking for gifts of any forms, there is only that one very important gift and in fact, it is the most wonderful of all to be given to everyone.

Catholic store at CatholicFamilyGifts.com offers the biggest ideals when it comes to choices of the valuable gifts in order for you to give to your friends, your loved ones or families. Their items are reasonably a mix of love and touch of grace because it will always bring us to appreciate life more and to know that God's love is everlasting. 

They also provide church supplies Rockford IL. Because of their wide collection of these Catholic gifts, it reaches to the spirits of many and it will bring us all closer to God. 

This kind of gift is extraordinarily beautiful and in fact, it is the most wonderful gift in the whole world.

Just like this bee.

It is so wonderful to have witnessed this bee doing his thing of storing food in his little shelter. This clearly means that he is apt to finding ways in order to survive. He is in his little abode, putting everything in, in order to prepare himself and finds a comfortable place that he would call, "the right home".

He doesn't care about the noisy environment. He doesn't give more attention to what is happening in the surrounding because all he does is to really attain to his goal of doing something for his home.

It is a real-capture right from my very naked eye that such a bee like this also has his life like human beings do. People do have goals as well in finding means in order to survive, that no matter what is happening in the outside world, we don't care, but all we do is to really go on with our plans and goals, just like what this bee does.

How simple life is that no matter how minute or shall I say, sometimes "cliche" it would be, there is that moment of simplicity that always surrounds the whole atmosphere. In fact, this captured moment simply means life.

Gluttony is a sin

We eat in order to survive. This has been the reason why we need to work hard and earn a living so that we could be able to sustain ourselves with food. But there is wrong in eating - eating in excess.

Gluttony is a sin in a way that when you are already full, you tolerate yourself, not minding that you already have a full stomach, then you eat even more. In this manner, this kind of unhealthy behavior doesn't imply positive output in one's life. Eating too much is unhealthy.

Before, I used to eat too much. I don't care minding of being too full because what is on my mind is the concept that I have to eat, eat and even eat more because tomorrow, I can't be able to eat this kind of food. That I find eating at those time an unpleasant behavior. It was then that I have found out that I need to eat in moderation. I need to love myself by way of eating healthy and moderately. I need to change my thinking of abusing myself, storing those adipose tissue that irritatingly accumulates my stomach. I need to change my bad concepts of eating in too much pleasure by eating in smaller amounts.

I have realized that when everyone goes into gluttony, he can't be able to reach a kind of life that is blessed with many opportunities. Loving much is loving your life. One way of taking the "love" in every one of us is to put something for our body that can lead us further to live a healthy life until we grow old.

Father's Day is nearly approaching

I am so excited to create something unique that I would give to my father and to my husband this 16th of June, the Father's Day.

Indeed, Father's Day is fast approaching. After this week comes the big event of all the fathers in the world. I am so much excited about my ideas and plans that I want to really actualize them to happen in this important event in their lives. In fact, I have here the list. Top the most is the usual overwhelming touch of my love and appreciation through a letter.

I can't wait to join all the ideas I have and put them in one concept that is truly amazing. I am so excited to start them. 

Waking up from a bad dream

I was not able to sleep. My dream is so horrible. I want to scream really harder.

My sound sleep turns out into a weird nightmare. I dream of a very bad dream. We were staying in our house with my family. Our house is located near the beach. We are happily chatting and laughing around. Suddenly, there was a huge earthquake that seems like we are dancing. But we never panic. We are just taking our calms. We even didn't go under the table to protect ourselves. We just left standing.

The earthquake seems to shake the world. I waked my sister up. I told her to get the slippers so that we will run going out of the house, to the road. Suddenly, the big waves of water washed away our house. My eldest sister went back to the house to get my mother. She hurriedly find my mother. I was also shouting, calling my sister's name "Bambi". I really shout from the bottom of my lungs.

I have seen there were people who are eating at the small restaurant near our house. They did not know that the water is horribly washing the place. It is like a huge tsunami. But all those people in the restaurant are enjoyingly eating their meal. They don't care on what is going on.

I never stopped calling my sisters and my mother. I want to go back to our house, but I just can't do it because the water is so big. I want to save my books, but there are no chances to do that.

I don't know what to do because I have never seen my family. I shouted and shouted like I am like a paranoid. I want to open my eyes, but I just can't quickly open them.

It was a horrible nightmare!

Thanks that it is just a dream. It is not true. It is just a dream.

As I woke up, my body is heavy. It seems that I can't lift it directly. Then, I pray to God that hope what is in my nightmare would not happen in real life to my family. I then prayed one "Our Father", one "Hail Mary" and one "Glory Be".

Thank you, Lord, it was just a dream.

Thank you, Lord!

There are so many reasons in order to give thanks to the Lord. One of it is this day because I have felt that this day is smoothly sailing for me. I don't have much problem that I have encountered. It is a day that I feel quite relaxed and overwhelmed on the other hand.

Thank you, Lord for this day!

Happy Birthday, Ate Lenen: I would not do nothing for you.

Days gone and even passing and today sets the birthday of my sister, Ate Lenen. She is in her past 30s. We love her so much.

If Mama is just really present personally here with us today, then, her birthday would be grand. If Tatay (father) would also be here, we would be able to taste the usual birthday dish that he used to serve when we do celebrate our birthdays, Sabawng Manok nga Bisaya. But those were just wantings right now.

Ate Lenen is so special to us. She is a kind of a reserve type of person. She is our motivator to go on living life with hope. She is the strength also why we should work and keep working. She is my inspiration. She is my also my strength. She measures my capacity of moving on, sacrificing and pursuing my life even if I am not okay sometimes. She is just a realization of our family that there is always hope and the door of possibilities is never closing for us.

We love her so much. We are doing our best for her, for this family and for each and everyone of us. We know the road to success is not easy, but everytime I saw her struggling, it awakens me that life is indeed full of happiness and there is always the reason for living.

I love you, Ate Lenen. I would not do nothing for you, but to give you all the best. I would not be impotent to find ways because I will do my best just to make you happy and okay all the time.

Happy Birthday!

Different personalities

Having "another" person living in a home apart from the nuclear family has "clashes" to spoil and that is what we inescapably feel everytime there is an "extension" of a home.

Nuclear family has "feel" for each other. For how many years that this family live together, they are acquainted with the kinds of personalities and attitudes their every member has and when there is a "little" argument, it is easy to cope with the situation.

Now, here comes an extended family. He is living together with the nuclear family. The extended family has attitudes that oftentimes would trigger the nuclear family. Again, the stay of the extended family is not well-acquainted with the nuclear family and that what makes the "clash" happens.

This is a normal scenario if there is "another" person living in a house. Whether that "another" person is a grandparent, father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, etc., tests come to the family. It is up to them how to patch things up, but the huge help is to open the situation with a talk.

Charice: You are entitled to your own opinion.

After news that speculates that Charice is a lesbian, people may do understand her situation, others are in the point of not accepting who she really is for the moment and others would be in shock until this time. 

Charice's revelation about her gender as she was interviewed last Sunday by the famous talk show shocked me. She admits that she is a lesbian, saying, "Opo, tomboy po ako."

It takes guts to admit a person who she really is out from what the people sees Charice as a cute, beautiful girl who was first known to the world as an international artist now turns out to be a lesbian. She is asking her sorry and she even say that she is happy right now of who she really is.

After that interview, I come to understand Charice that what she is struggling into is not a joke nor it is not a big mistake. In fact, there is no wrong about it of her being a lesbian. It is just, I was so shocked that she turns out to be that way. The little girl who I admire most because of her powerful voice in a small body swifted to be that way, the "she" that is right now. And that, I can't judge her.

The kind of sympathy I have for Charice is not erased. I come to understand her more fully this time. She is entitled to her own opinion. She has the right of expression. She is a revelation of a strong person who has something to tell to the world.

Maybe I am quite right of what I believe that maybe Charice turns out to be a lesbian because probably she was triggered by something which she only knew and that she turns out to be like that. In this world, no one is born to be an instant lesbian or gay. I believe that there is triggering Charice that makes her a lesbian and that I don't know which she is the one who knows about it.

Maybe the reason of why she admits right now that she is a lesbian is probably due to some sort of experiences, a feeling of being "boyish", a struggle of identity crisis or just merely anything that pops into her mind and tell herself that this is what I am and I am happy with it. And again, she only knows about it.

There are many sides of the coin out from this story, but again, it is only Charice who can answer them. What is important right now that she comes out into the night, telling everyone that this is me and I am happy about it.

Sooner or later, the people will come to understand her. And I am totally understanding her. What is important is that she is happy with herself right now.

Indeed, there is no way to judge people because we are entitled to our own opinion all the time. 

Exercise everyday

It is so hard to struggle everyday about one's weight in gaining and not in losing. This kind of unhealthy feeling haunts me like a ghost that I should have to go straight to my aim of doing something about it.

It takes discipline and hard work in order to gain a healthy body. Now, I make sure to exercise everyday because I want to lose weight. I want to be physically healthy.

I am so jealous of my friends because they can wear what they wanted to wear. Those tiny, cute and elegant dresses really fits their body. And I was like..."Okay, hope it fits me.". Because of this struggle, I make it sure that I don't have to waste time not doing something about my weight. I have to open my eyes and face the reality that I really need to shape up. I need to monitor my weight. I have to do something about it!

My aim is to look healthy because I know as I grow old, bodily pains and illnesses come in. In order to protect myself from these unwanted, cruel health-feeling, I need to discipline myself and start working out.

Passport Wallet: How important it is in traveling.

Part of the requirement in order to reach from country to countries is to secure and have a passport. This important thing makes traveling possible for everyone who would like to reach far destinations that needs the use of it. 

That is why, there is passport wallet that safeguards the safety of everyone's passport, that no matter where people go, it functions to protect and not allowing this precious thing to be lost nor destroyed.

Traveling to different parts of the world is not only minding where to stay and what kind of airplanes to fly. It is about taking care of your passport and covering it with passport wallet for in this way, you will always travel light and secured. 

Passport wallet is just a mere simple thing, but its functions means a lot to every traveler like you.

Life displays no permanence.

We may be happy for a lot of times, but then sad for some reasons.

This is what I have felt this day. I don't know why, but the sadness just blown away. Maybe because I worry much due to the fact that I need more cash in order to cope with the rising needs here at home. My David is schooling and the school fees are so high. My husband is working real hard as well because I am schooling too.

I felt that my husband is really feeling tired already. But I always remind him to take hold grip because in the end, all these sacrifices will turn out into fruits of happiness. There are lots of reasons indeed for us to fully work hard and cope with the finances of our daily needs.

I always remind myself to breath deeply because I know as time goes by, when I finish my schooling, all is well because I can be able to help my husband in our daily needs.

It is really survival that keeps us going to work and our inspiration aside from God, our little David would always remind us to work hard and even harder because we want to give him a very bright future and a wonderful tomorrow. Residing into the experts, like his professional teachers, indeed pays a lot. But it is not a waste of time because I do know that he is learning more and excelling well in school.

There is always a means to an end and an end to a means. I know that both ways would always lets us to travel into a hopeful and prayerful world that makes all our dreams come true.

It takes hard work in order to succeed!