Last working day in 2011

I'm so bored and I can't concentrate in my work. I have a lot of deliverables, but I can't focus on it. Well, I just leave them for 2012. Heheh!

Its December 29th today, this is the last day of work here in the Philippines because its a holiday tomorrow to commemorate the death of our National Hero "Jose Rizal". Today, the office is very gloomy and dull, only a few people reported. They are busy for the holidays and I think they are having their vacation. I was not able to file my leave because I want to save my leave for next year, because 12 days leave are convertible to cash. So, I better save them than take my leave, after all I don't have any vacation plans. No budget for that, have some important things to look at rather than that.

Today is a  gloomy day at the office, as we are nearing year 2012, it seems so dull and pale. We are not that excited or we are not looking forward to 2012, because our project will end on June 2012, and all of us will be left unemployed. But I'm not worried, I know that there are a lot of opportunities around I am positive about it. God really provides in time, we should be patient and always ask for His guidance in every endeavor we have.    

A rainbow of hope for Sendong Victims

December 20, 2011 - Four days after the destructive typhoon "Sendong" that had shattered dreams and stolen the lives of our brothers and sisters, a rainbow appeared in Cagayan de Oro City, one of the worst affected cities in the aftermath of the flood. The rainbow reminded us of the covenant of God to Noah after the great flood that hit our planet (B.C., thousand years ago). 

Photo: Credit to Yeb Sano

Excerpts from the Holy Bible (NIV):

When the land is dry, God tells Noah to leave the ark, and Noah offers a sacrifice to God. God resolves never again to curse the Earth, "for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth." God grants to Noah and his sons the right to kill animals and eat their meat, but forbids meat which has not been drained of its blood. Blood is proclaimed to be sacred, and the unauthorised taking of life is prohibited: "For your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man...Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image." God then establishes his covenant with Noah and his sons and with all living things, and places a rainbow in the clouds, "the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth."

It's a sign for the survivors of the tragic flood that they should get back to the Lord and keep their faith in Him always. God has made a promise in Cagayan de Oro, that never again will the great flood hit the city of "Golden Friendship".

Help Sendong Typhoon Victims

Let us help the victims of Typhoon Sendong in Cagayan de Oro City and Iligan City. As of today, the death toll is estimated to be 900, a senior government official said, as cities prepared mass burials for the victims. The number of dead bodies is expected to rise even further as more floating bodies are recovered after sunrise, said Benito Ramos, head of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council. Authorities likened the impact of tropical storm Washi to Ketsana, one of the country's most devastating storms which dumped huge amounts of rain on Manila and other parts of the country in 2009, killing more than 460 people. (Reference Article from Teodoro Aljibe | AFP News) Visit  http://www.sendongrelief.org/ and donate.

A million thanks

My family and I are very grateful for the wonderful people who have shared their support and love during our crisis. I am so blessed to have people around that are always there to give us strength and encouragement. These people gave us so much joy to move forward and start a new life together as a family. All I can say is.. THANK YOU.... IM THANKFUL..

Google search rank

I am a first-time blogger and I rarely had an opportunity to have my keywords searchable on the net. This morning, I noticed that my post about the Magallanes Riverside Fire was among the popular posts (that I have). When I tried to enter the "magallanes riverside fire" keyword on google search, I was surprise that it ranked number 2. I was shocked because I did not expect that this will be ranked. Nevertheless, its so ironic that the personal post that trended was about the fire incident that hit our family. Everything has its own positive side I guess. I will continue to share the pages of my life and try to impart the positive things in every aspect of our lives. My blog is a personal blog that talks about my daily life experiences, as well as my opinions on different matters that I am interested in. Keep on reading  my blog and share your views and opinions.

Moving on and paying it forward

Source: www.epicvelocity.wordpress.com

Don’t be afraid to keep moving on,

For what was before, now has gone,

God wants to accomplish so much more,

But we need to move forward in the Lord.

© By M.S. Lowndes, Based on Isaiah 43:18-19

After the fire incident in our house, we are gradually accepting our fate and move forward to paint a new rainbow after the storm. Its not easy for us to forget the things that had happen, but we cannot always think about it and regret the things that we should have done to save our house. But our life has no rewind, we cannot erase and live to the past, we need to move on.

Moving on is such an easy word but its very hard to accomplish. I am blessed that I have friends and family that gave us strength and encouragement to live our normal lives again. Even though, we are still living at a friend's house, we are trying to adjust and be diligent in living there, because its hard to live in somebody's home.

When my friends and work colleagues knew about the incident, blessings were showering in our home. I realized that in this lowest time of my life, you will know who your real friends are, who are there to support you in your ups and downs. I am shy about the gifts that I have received, but it will be disrespectful if I would not accept their offer. This is the time to take away my pride and "magpakumbaba".

I am so blessed that I have a loving work colleagues, they are a family to me. When my boss heard about the news, he immediately called me and said that we would initiate some help from our head office. They gave me financial assistance and there are also some help from the US Head Office that will be given to me. That amount would be very helpful in building again our house.

Hallelujah! God is great and marvelous! He endures forever! With these blessings, I can say that God has a purpose in this trial of our life. He did not made this situation just so to hurt us, but He has prepared something great for us. Every trial that He made, He wants to send a message, a message that we need to keep our faith in God, always and forever!

I said thank you to my colleagues and even sent greeting e-cards just to express my feelings of gratitude. My boss was touched by my message and he even said if they have done good deeds to me, I need to pay it forward to others who are in need. I told him that even if this incident had not happen, I am willing to help others who are in need.

Source: www.madmikesaamerica.com

I maybe in need right now, but there are still people out there who have less in life. I am still lucky that I can eat three meals a day, I still have a job and my family is complete. I can no longer ask for more, God has given me a lot of blessings already. This incident will be remembered for the rest of our lives, not as a tragic incident but an event where God did great things for us! Amen!

12/09/11 - Shattered dreams in Magallanes Riverside Fire

December 09, 2011 - A day to remember in the lives of my family. Our dreams were shattered in just minutes and they were turned into ashes like dust in the wind that flown away and nowhere to be found. A tragic event that wounded our hearts and bewildered our plans in the future. Just because of a kid who played fire while cooking in the kitchen, turned a simple accident into a blazing fire fuming with black smoke, causing the clouds to get heavy.

At 9:15am that day I was preparing to go to work and I said good bye to my 9-month old daughter. I noticed a certain sad aura in her eyes, she was sad that I will be leaving her in the house. But I need to go to work for them. I felt something bad, but I did not mind about it when I saw her sad face.When I rode a jeepney going to bajada, I had a call from our family friend, she said in a terrifying voice that there is a fire in Magallanes just at the back of Grand Men Seng Hotel, which is very near at our house. I was shocked and panicked, when I texted my husband informing him about the situation, my hands are shaking and I am very nervous. 

At 9:30am, I got off the jeep, and rode another jeepney going to Magallanes. I just dropped at Ponciano St., because the roads were closed going to Magallanes. I felt the heat of the fire even in San Pedro St., and as I move closer to the City Hall and Magallanes Elem. Sch. , the fire was still scorching. I went to City Health Office, where are house is nearly located, I saw blazing red fire with black fuming flames. Our home is nowhere to be found, it was turned into ashes and flown away in the air. (Watch me here at 5:47 mins http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnPeN-DhbQ4.)

I keep on calling my mom and dad, but they were not answering the phone. When I received a text message from our boarders, I was relieved when she said that they are safe and they are on the other side of the dike, so I hurriedly went there. As I was walking towards the other end of the dike, which I will walk through Bolton St., I saw fire trucks and people watching the fire. I kept on crying because I want to see my family safe. A lot of people were panicking and getting the things out of their house, it was daylight nightmare.

When I went to the place, I saw my family and we hugged each other and we cried. I kissed my daughters and I was happy seeing them safe. I thank my two boarders who helped my daughters escaped from the fire. It was an unexpected event in our lives, but even in this tragic happening we are still blessed that we are  alive and safe. My dad's boss offered that we could stay in their house temporarily until we can build our house.

We are slowly moving forward to start a new beginning, I know that it is not an easy journey but I know we can do it together as a family. God has a purpose for this trial in our life and I know He has prepared something great for us. We need to move on, we cannot live by the past alone but we can think about the future and plan a new chapter of our life.

Frugality in this trying times

"Every peso counts."

In this trying times, we want to maximize our resources, as much as possible we want to spend our money wisely. We want to get what we have paid for because every peso counts. Well, I am "kuripot" (hehe), maybe that's a not the right word, because it has a negative connotation. The right word for me is "frugal".


I'm just prudent and thrifty in spending my income, because I need to compensate all our needs with the amount i'm getting. Some of my friends say that I should chill out and spend money for night outs. But that is not on my mind right now, because I am not only thinking about myself, every food that I ate I always think about my family. Money  should be put to important things that are of necessity to my family.