Random 1 : Saturday
Due to my sore throat and congested nose with occasional phlegm-ing (gross!) I was not able to come for choir practice last Saturday. I wouldn’t want to hurt my throat and make it worse (this is one idea I owe from an unnamed friend who said I shouldn’t stress my throat into singing if I don’t plan to make it worse) so I sms’ed the people in-charge that I couldn’t come for practice for the above-stated circumstance. For some strange reason, nobody texted back to confirm me or decline my reason. I waited and waited when about 12noon my phone buzzed with a message from Bro Alex. He said “Blessed rest brother. Take care and drink lotsa water” with which I confusedly replied “Ooh. Yup will do. thanks bro.:-) God bless”. In my mind I was thinking, wow such discernment that my brother knows that I’m in trouble. Amazing. However, still with a little doubt in my head, I checked my Sent Items and there you go, I accidentally sent the message to the wrong person. I immediately texted back Brother Alex apologizing for my carelessness and for calling him “sis”. Boy, the man is engaged to his girlfriend and I don’t want to create chaos. Haha Please forgive my phone’s absent-mindedness. Yes not me, my phone is the one to blame. Peace!

Random 2: Still Saturday
Some foul spirit decided to spoil my beloved HP Laptop that I’ve been using for the past ahmm.. I don’t accurately know – maybe less than 2yrs – last Saturday. Well, I don’t really know when it all started but it was only on that day that it showed apparent problems. My dear laptop just suddenly turned off in the middle of me watching the movie Bridge to Terabithia just in time when I was at the climax of it. So annoying.
On the other hand, I don’t really feel so much bitterness that the machine died down. I felt as if God was telling me “My son, My son, finish your lunch now..” Haha But seriously I felt thankful that dear lappy broke down. It’s time for it to hibernate for a while.
Update: I brought it to HP Customer Service Center yesterday at Alexandra Road and am expecting to get it back within this week. It’s apparent reason for breaking down, as what the guy donning a “wind-blown-to-the-right” hair said, was failure in graphics card. As of now, I just have to contend to the fact that no facebook, twitter, youtube, etc. for the next few days past office hours. The pleasure is mine, buddy!

Random 3: Saturday is nearly over
I thank God for the opportunity to help. When Sister Girlie announced to the choir last Sunday before dispersing that we will be gathering some old clothes to be shared to the victims of Typhoon & Flood in the Philippines, I was excited. Not only will I extend a helping hand to the victims of the disasters, it will also be a time to clear my cabinet of old clothes. So the feeling is mutual. Hehe Kidding aside, I really felt happy beyond words to do my share. I know it may not be too much but I believe in my heart that at least a few people will be clothed and will somehow feel loved because of what I gave. I know that if something is handed over to God, He has a supernatural power to multiply whatever that is until everybody’s needs are met. Think about the story of the kid’s “five loaves of bread and two fishes”. [Reference : Luke 9:10-17 NIV Bible]

Random 4: Sunday morning
As much as I wanted to sleep till noontime, my body alarm clock went off at 8am and I was officially awake. You know that feeling when you want to steal some time to sleep some more but the spirit of drowsiness just left without saying so? That’s what happened to me. So, instead of tossing around my bed and just let some precious time pass by, I decided to get my butt off the bed. I remembered that I have lotsa things to do actually like having my pants altered, cook (or do you call that boil?) the corn that I bought in Fair Price the day before, iron the clothes (that I was talking about in random 3), and take a bath. So the itinerary for the morning was : Iron Man job (yeah, ironing the clothes) while cooking the corn (really, won’t you call that cooking? huh?), bring the pants for alteration + go home and take a bath after eating the (okay boiled) corn + collect the pants after bathing. See, I actually have a handful of things to do. Really, God knows why He wakes us up on time, so don’t complain. Haha

Random 5: Sunday 11.05AM
I was all set like a Mr Labada (Landry man) who decided to drop by the Church first to attend the Service (or Mass for Catholics) before going to work. I was inside my room for some final touches – which hand to carry which bag, where to put what, and others – while dripping in sweat like I have a sprinkler on top of my head. Little did I know that while I was burning in heat inside my oven (I mean room) the world outside looks like there’s a typhoon brewing. I opted to go back stay indoor and told myself not to go out anymore. I’ll miss the 11.15AM Service and instead go for the 7pm service later. I felt disappointed. (No “Haha” or “:D” here. Sorry)

Random 6: Sunday afternoon
You want to know what happened after that? Here it goes…
It was 11:40AM and I am clueless as to what to do. Lol It’s as if my plan was just until going to church then after that I’ll just follow where the winds blow. Most likely that was what would happen though. Nyay~ Anyway, so since I was really itching to go to JB, Malaysia in the past weeks for no good reason at all, I decided to take a bus and flock with like-minded Singapore-dwellers to Woodlands Checkpoint to exit the country. Good thing, the checkpoint wasn’t that packed yet so I got passed the immigration officer as smooth as the clouds in the now clear sky.
I stayed for the whole duration of time that I was in JB at City Square (that’s the name of the mall connected to Malaysian checkpoint, right?) Had lunch there, roamed around the shopping mall, ate again, checked out some shirts (but i didn’t buy coz i thought they’re not so cheap like what I expected), bought a ticket to watch Inglorious Basterds (which was a typical Quentin Tarantino movie. but it surely made me laugh along the way. but [i really need not say this but i couldn't focus on what i was watching due to some stinky smell that's coming from somewhere/someone nearby. sorry, i said it]) not to mention that the dude in-charge of checking the tickets tore apart my ticket carelessly that I needed to ask for some help just to figure out what my seat number was. whew! that was quite a handful of info there. hehe

Random 7: Sunday (the sun’s final blow showcase)
I reached home around 6something. Just perfect for the 7pm Sunday Service. I washed and groomed myself to head out again for church. I called a cab (again, donning a Mr Labada look) and was so encouraged to have a friendly cab driver bringing to church. He bid me a “have a great weekend” greeting as I was getting out of the cab to which I replied “You too. God bless!” That really made going to church like floating in the air. Mababaw lang kasi kaligayahan ko – I am deeply moved by such random acts of kindness like that. I went directly to the artiste room and left my bags of clothes there and went straight to the worship service.
I really missed attending an evening worship service. This time of the day really reminds me of some wonderful University days. During then, since the choir at my church then sang for all the services and 530pm-7pm being the last one, I would usually walk my way home after church while munching peanuts or chips along the way. The best part that I loved was when I would have a talk with God while singing and discussing with Him the sermon that day. Along with it was that peaceful feeling as if everything in the world was perfectly in place for me. I tell you those were some precious moments for me. Boy, I would give everything just to experience that glorious feeling once again. Grin.

How about you, how did your weekend go? Mind you, these are all random. Hehe

God bless!

Having said all that, to make things simpler, here are some of the video clips that have helped me and made me think. These are funny, amazing, inspirational, or just your ordinary clip to help you breathe for a while and get some slack from a tiring day.
Enjoy!

Here we go…

What Harry wants, Harry gets. Well, not always. But sometimes I just can’t appease myself when cravings of some sorts like burgers and crispy chicken (among others) come chasing after me. Feeding on these temptations less likely haunts me than giving my self a ‘no’ and suffer the torment of frustration and disappointment. Hwat??? Ok. never mind.

So yesterday, I went to Vivo City just to follow the lead of my mouth and stomach that so long for some juicy and mouth-watering Carl’s Jr burger. Nom Nom Nomzz. I decided to knock off from work about 7pm and wanted to go home so to make it to the swimming pool but the urge to eat Carl’s Jr burger was just undeniable. I reached there and managed to get a seat even though the place was so packed with human bodies – man and woman, young and old, hungry and hungrier, blah blah blah. Sat there sipping my iced lemon tea (drinks were unlimited, by the way, just so you know if you don’t) for about 10mins before my meal finally came. I had a Super Star with cheese (Charbroiled beef) burger in one hand and their great-tasting fries on the other with my iPod touch plugged into my ears listening to RXTMR, and my trip to who-knows-where land began. Ok I wanted to take a snap of my meal before munching them but I was just too hungry to even stop and take a photo. I was that hungry, I tell you. For the sake of sharing, Carl’s Jr’s burger roughly looks like this. Heavenly.

Carl's Jr Burger. So mouth-watering, aye?

Next stop, home. I didn’t really intend to stay long in Vivo City since it’s a Friday and next day will be Saturday (I can hear you say, “yeah, everyone knows that!”). LOL What I mean is, I want to be home not too late because I have to prepare my shirt and others because Saturday (that is today) is church time. On my way to the MRT from Vivo, I passed by a store called Club Marco (not really sure if it’s the store name but I could somehow remember that the plastic bag had a print Club Marco in it). I went inside and looked at some of their shirts. I remember telling myself two weeks ago that I will go more into the black and white shirts from now on because I thought I like wearing them nowadays. I tried a few shirts and finally found something that really caught my blurry eyes. I tried it in and, perfect! I like the fit and so I queued up to pay at the counter.

And so I went home happily, fulfilled my craving for burger and even got a new shirt at a reasonable price.

I was preparing for some Iron Man job (ironing my shirts.. haha) when I decided to iron my newly bought shirt first. I pulled it out of the plastic bag and looked at the cute little graphics written at the front which I didn’t really know the meaning of. Above were the not-so-English words and below was, if I may assume, the Chinese translation of what the not-so-English words meant. I was a bit shocked when things dawned on me that the not-so-English words actually meant something… something vulgar! or so I thought. Here, judge for yourself and interpret it for me.

It really looks cool from afar, doesnt it?

Marthur Farker? haha

I was thinking really wisely if I should wear it today, today being a Saturday and I’ll be in church for most of the day. I decided not to wear ‘em. Maybe next time when I go down the city to get something. There it would look cool and hip. But not in church, just not perfect for church. I think. hahaha

Ok, you can stop staring at my shirt now.

Early this morning at about 3AM, I woke up with a heavy heart and sweat all over my body. I dreamed about my dear mother. Oh God, I woke up crying like a little baby without any reason at all. “Lord, why why why..” were the only words that I could utter with my lips.

This song sent to me by my good friend Jenny Kam months ago is just perfect for what I am feeling today. The song is entitled Homesick by MercyMe. I think this just what I really feel now, “I just want to go home, Lord. I’m tired.” But then again, I know God still has a wonderful plan for me. And as what I’ve been learning countless times during these days (I really don’t know why recent messages that I get from Godly people always have to do with “God will not allow us to go through something difficult if He knows we won’t be able to overcome it.” Sometimes I just wonder if all these people talk among themselves and agree that these will be their lines when talking to me. hahaha But I think it’s far from possible.) I believe God will see me (and my family) through all this.

Anyway, back to the song.
I could totally relate to the story behind the making of this song. I too lost a loved one and am feeling just the same. Let me share to you the story behind the song Homesick :

By November 2003, MercyMe was ready for a well-deserved rest. The stratospheric popularity of their single “I Can Only Imagine” and the endless touring that came with it kept them busy much of the year.

“We kind of had the attitude that we were off the clock,” says frontman Bart Millard, “it even kind of felt like we were [saying] that to God: ‘We’ve worked really hard, we’re off.’” But the band’s work of ministering to the hurting and broken was far from done. In fact, MercyMe was just getting started.

In early December, a pregnant friend that Millard and his wife had grown up with lost the twins she had been carrying for five months. Because she was so far along in her pregnancy, it was necessary to deliver the babies. “It was devastating,” Millard recalls. At the funeral, Millard sang “I Can Only Imagine,” a song inspired by the early death of his father that has been played at countless funerals since its release.

Moved by the service, Millard wrote what would become the chorus for “Homesick.” But fearful of belittling the moment by “putting it into four or five minutes of music and trying to make it rhyme,” he tucked away the unfinished tune.

Then the funerals continued. Band member Jim Bryson lost his father. Other deaths in Millard’s hometown followed. “It seemed like every other day someone close to us was passing away,” Millard says. “It was overwhelming. And already having a heavy heart, at times you just feel you’re being beat down, like it’s never gonna stop.” In a period of less than six weeks, the band lost eight people close to them.

The eighth, Millard’s 20-year-old brother-in-law, Chris, was a godly man who had recently been struggling. He hit rock bottom in the early hours of Jan. 3, 2004, and paid his sister and Millard a visit. “He just wanted to know God was real. He didn’t want to doubt anymore. He wanted to see him face to face,” Millard recalls. “We went back and forth for several hours. We said all the right things.” Then Chris left around 4 am, only after promising to meet later that day with a friend of Millard’s who ran a local church’s college group. But Chris never made it to that appointment. On the way home, he fell asleep at the wheel and was killed instantly.

A heartsick Millard finished “Homesick” in time for the band to sing it at Chris’ funeral. Despite his grief, he was glad for the ministry opportunity it provided. “We had this amazing opportunity to share the gospel and talk to his friends,” Millard says. “And that was pretty much the end of the song. It wasn’t meant to go anywhere else so I wadded up the lyrics and threw them away.”

Unlike “Imagine,” which was less of an “I miss my dad” song and more of a pondering of Heaven and what we’ll find there, Millard says “Homesick” “was really just for the situation, for me and my wife and her family. We were confused and angry and broken. The truth is there’s no goodbye in Christ, but the waiting can hurt just the same.”

That may be why Millard’s mother-in-law urged him to share the song, saying “I think it’s a tragedy to write something like that, knowing how other people go through what we’re going through, and for them not to hear it.” Millard didn’t know how to respond to that. Then he recalled what Holly, the mother who lost her twins, had said following their death: “I wish my twins could have lived long enough to make a difference.” It all added up to a change of heart and it filled Millard with joy to be able to tell Holly, “because of what you went through, [this song] could reach millions of people. So don’t ever say your twins didn’t live long enough to make a difference.”

And that difference was felt almost immediately. The studio version, featuring the famed London Symphony, appears on MercyMe’s latest CD, Undone. But even before it hit stores, the song was having an impact. On tour, Millard told the story each night to packed houses and the band was bombarded with email about the song.

“I was real reluctant to talk about Chris on a regular basis,” Millard says. “It was very taxing on me emotionally and physically because it was so fresh.” Some nights, after telling the story, it took Millard several minutes to compose himself enough to be able to sing the song. But it was something he felt strongly about. “After everything we went through, I knew other people needed to hear it, needed some comfort.”

Millard received another blow when he unexpectedly lost a favorite uncle earlier this year, but he and the band remain willing conduits. “For whatever reason, God will not allow us to leave that season of helping people grieve. So I’ll do it with great joy.”

Source: The Story behind the Song “Homesick”

Volunteers re-packing the goods for Typhoon Ondoy victims

In the midst of all these hardships that the people in the affected areas are experiencing, what inspires and encourages me the most are the efforts of our fellow Filipinos from all walks of life in every city in the world to do something to alleviate the struggles of their fellow kababayans. Different sectors and groups of Filipinos around the world responded positively to the need by raising funds, goods and whatever they could collect to send back home and do a little help to those in need. Not to forget those rescuers and volunteers from non-government organizations who have risked their lives to rescue those who are on their rooftops and some secluded rural places who were trapped and had nowhere to go. My deepest respect goes as well to those that have raised funds (i.e. PNRC, et al) and have donated some money, food and other needs for the victims of Typhoon Ondoy who lost their homes and are now staying in evacuation centers. There are also those students and concerned ordinary citizens who have volunteered to help re-pack the goods that are to be distributed to the victims of Ondoy. These are ordinary people who have walked the extra mile to extend help to their fellow Filipinos. Support from different cities and provinces all over the Philippines also came in one after another. It’s heartwarming to know that even the inmates in Cebu have to let go of their one meal just to send the equivalent of sacks of rice and canned goods to the victims in Manila. Financial aids and goods came in from different countries as well.

A "mud-man" looking tired after cleaning all his mud-soaked furnitures from Typhoon Ondoy

Typhoon Ondoy has indeed taken its toll in the lives of so many Filipinos in the past few days. Many lives were surely changed in just one day. Many things were learned by everyone which I believe wouldn’t have been learned had these typhoon and flood have not happened. This disaster did not just affect those that were in areas reached by the flood but every concerned Filipino as a whole.

"Bayanihan" spirit still lives on among Filipinos

And now that Typhoon Ondoy (International code name: Ketsana) has left the country, relief operations and evacuations are still on-going. Some areas are still soaked under water. Yet some are starting to clean up the mess and mud that the flood has brought. This may take a while after everything will have to settle down and say it’s over. It’s quite discouraging and sad to see such sights, I know. It’s more painful even to those who have been worse-affected, that I know as well. And I know too that it’s not easy to forget (if ever we could really forget what happened) this part of the country’s history. But the more logical thing to do right now is to get up and keep going. We, as a nation should move on and face life head on. I believe in my heart the the Filipinos will weather this storm that had just hit the country, and even the ones in the future because of our faith in God and the survival and “bayanihan” spirit that we have within us. I know that God still keeps His eyes on to our country because there are still a lot of Christians who believe and truly trust God. There are still people who care and pray for our nation – I, included. And this bayanihan spirit that is innate in every Filipino is a powerful instrument that keeps us all united and accountable with each other wherever fate may bring us. The recent calamity just proved everyone that in times of sorrow and difficulty, there will always be your fellowmen with golden heart that is ready to help and rescue.

Kudos to everyone for the heroic acts that he/she showed during this tragic time. Mabuhay and Pilipinas!

If God is leading you to extend help of any kind for the victims of Typhoon Ondoy (Ketsana), you can do so by donating through some reputable government and non-government institutions. Listed down are just some of them. Thank you!

Philippine National Red Cross

GMA Kapuso Foundation

UNICEF Philippines

World Food Programme

*Disclaimer: I do not take credit for any picture attached to this post. Photos were lifted from different sites on the web; for the sole purpose of sharing.

There was one experience about the flood that I could never forget though. That time, it had been raining for two days and when we woke up that morning, NOT much surprise to everyone, the water level had already reached a point where one’s normal mind would suggest that classes would be suspended that day. Everyone of us in my boarding house was delighted with the thought. There was one problem though, we don’t have food in stock. The street in front of our house was flooding with brown water up to the waist level so we couldn’t really go out to do anything but stay inside till the water subsides. We all stayed in the living room and talked away the morning with stomachs crying out for something to grind. And so we decided to do something. Everyone went out of the house and braved a good 3km distance walk soaked in water just to get to the nearest supermarket to buy some goods. We were able to reach the place after trudging the flood and when we got there the place was full of human bodies, mostly students just like us, buying some noodles, loaves of bread, canned foods and others. I tell you the sight was like a herd of people panic-buying as if it’s the end of the world. hahaha Of course, we did the same thing. haha In my mind I was thinking of getting as much as I can to get myself ready for whatever is coming and stock as much as I can. By the way, it was my first year in the university and in that place (Iloilo City) so I really didn’t have any idea how long it would take for the water to actually subside so in my mind I needed to at least hoard (haha the word!) for maybe 2-3days. Besides, I didn’t want to walk in the flood again just in case I run out of food if the flood is still there and the rain keeps pouring down. So being the trained boy scout that I am, I bought a loaf of bread, some canned goods, cheese, sandwich spread, noodles (and that’s all that I can remember). We happily went back home and spent the rest of the day in the house watching TV, eating and sleeping. The rain stopped pouring down that night and the next day when we woke up there was no trace of water in the street. haha Talk about wrong estimation.

Anyway, what I’m trying to say here is that Filipinos as a whole are well aware and naturally-trained to weather such kinds of calamities as these. My people had enough training to overcome disasters. Typhoon Ondoy, however, seems not well-anticipated and underestimated by everyone that they thought it was another typhoon just like the rest. His rage was way too much than its predecessors that everyone, especially in the Manila and Luzon areas, did not expect it to bring such a horrible damage. Water level rose up to the neck level within the suburbs and even the main streets of Pasig City and Marikina that people were foced to go up to their rooftops and pray and wait for the rescuers to come and bring them to evacuation areas. Countless houses were destroyed and lives lost due to the strong water current. Properties, cars, animals and house furniture weren’t spared as well from devastation. The picture was quite saddening indeed. It wasn’t easy for them to see that everything you’ve worked hard for just went to waste. It’s not easy to feel helpless knowing that the things that happened seemed so uncontrollable that all you have to think about at the time was on how to save your and your loved ones’ life. Even worse a feeling was for those whose family members have lost their lives or are still missing up to this moment.

It may be all too difficult to accept now, but I know, the Filipino is a fighter. Lalaban tayo!

… to be continued.

*Disclaimer: I do not take credit for any picture attached to this post. Photos were lifted from different sites on the web; for the sole purpose of sharing.

Anyways, just so you know, these weeks that have passed have been quite a roller coaster ride. Yeah, except that the roller coaster I was riding on got a problem and the brakes (if there are any) got stuck as it was at the highest peak. You can just imagine how scary and unimaginable it is if you were there at the top, alone, and do not know if somebody would ever come by and rescue you. Superman and the rest of the superheros went for a holiday so I have to figure out on my own how to get myself down… You get the drift.

As I have shared here before, last month has been one of the lowest moments of my life when my dear mother went home to be with the Lord. The pain and the sorrow was unexplainable and overwhelming that even now when memories of her would surface out, I couldn’t help but feel sad. I know I miss her. Things have not been okay with me since then and though I was confident in answering “yes, I’m Ok!” to those people who checked on me, sorry, but I don’t really know how to be alright. I guess, it really takes time to heal and get over this phase in life.
As if it weren’t enough though, last week my grandfather who’s been bed-ridden for quite sometime departed from this world as well. To be honest, I didn’t know exactly what to feel when I got the news from my uncle. It was as if I were already too numb to feel any more of loneliness this world has to offer.
Things back home got a little too hot just as well. There was a conflict between my father and his siblings that has become a little too serious that they needed to settle it, otherwise things would get more complicated. I opted not to jump in and join the party, so to speak, since I thought they were too old to know what’s right and wrong, but I was wrong. Okay, not too much about my clan issue, alright. The last news I got when I called home yesterday was that they all sat down and talked already so I think everything went back to normal now. Praise the Lord!

Now, at least you have the slightest idea why I have been dormant and silent in the past weeks. Let’s just say that I have not been in the mood to talk or share with anyone. Please bear with me. Your understanding is highly appreciated. Thank You!

How about now? Well, thank God for that relieving sneeze a while ago. Funny how one sneeze could open up my eyes and see things from a different vantage point. I know it’s not easy to understand what I’m saying, you might think it’s odd but that’s how things go with me sometimes. hehe But yes, that sneeze really brought something good in me. I have realized that I still have a lot of things to thank God for. Things might be kind of dark now but I am almost seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I just need to keep going… Up, up and away!

Lastly, you might wonder about the title. I don’t have time to explain it now, maybe next time. But I just want to say that I love that song and I kind of connect with the lyrics. Weird? Nah, I’ll further explain this in one of my future posts. In the mean time check out the video below.

It’s not easy… to be me.

And the weather.. The weather is not being so friendly, too.

Crap.

~~
Don’t tell me that I didn’t warn you…

Dear Harry,

Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you…

For I AM the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour…

and I Love You.

I AM,
God Almighty

* Now here’s a game. Change my name into your name and read it again like a personal letter from God adressed to you! God Almighty is speaking these words to you as well. Fear not.