Hitting the beach in a few hours!!!! :)

Sad Truth

People cannot change the truth..

...but the truth can change people.

Something to Ponder on

 On this day of your life, Patricia Marie, we believe God wants you to know ... that God doesn't give you what you want, God gives you according to who you are.

Change who you are to change your life.

The Other Side of my Story

Amaziiiiiing. I was so bored tonight when I decided to open my other blogger account. I've been maintaining two blogspot accounts - one private and other public. I haven't logged in on my private blog for the longest time. I actually almost forgot what my password is ( I didn't get the correct one on my first try to log in). Since I'm bored, I decided to read all my previous posts. Funny thing is, some of my previous posts are about this certain person. Looking back, it made me think that change is really the constant thing in the world. The exact person I blogged about years ago is the same person I'm blogging right now - only in a different scenario. Ay anlabo ng sinabi ko. Hahaha! Basta yun. Ang saya saya pala dati. Ngayon... ewan ko na lang.

Oh well. I must sleep now. Got this from my other account:

In his status message a while ago it read: "Happiness is a choice".

I say "You and I have everything that we need for happiness. Happiness isn't "out there" but sometimes that's deep within us. We choose to be happy. We choose to make our lives great." 

I'm so excited!!! I'm going out of town with my Dent blockmates on Monday. It's been agessssss. :)

Just a Thought

Why would you miss the ones who diss you and diss the ones who miss you?


The prettiest smiles hide the deepest secrets. The prettiest eyes have cried the most tears. And the kindest hearts have felt the most pain.

Learning The Art of Being Appreciative

I had this app on Facebook that never fails to inspire me everytime. For today it says,

On this day of your life, Patricia Marie, we believe God wants you to know ... that you are to let grace flow freely from your heart.

Think back over the last few days, - how many times have you felt appreciation towards another? How many times have you thought about another: 'what a lovely smile', or 'she is so nice', or 'such a kind man', or any of a myriad of other appreciative thoughts. Did you express them? Did you come up to her and say: 'you are so nice'? And why not? Why did you stop divine grace from flowing freely from your heart? Do you want to change the world to the better? This is it, this is how you start.

...which made me think "Have I been generous in appreciating small things in my life?" Sure, I appreciate big events or things that happen to me. It's normal. But what about the small stuff? For the past weeks, I've been blogging about "not-so-happy-things" that are happening in my life. For a change, I want to share some things that I'm really grateful for. It's important to think of at least one thing that made you happy for the day - it doesn't need to be grand like winning a lottery or something. Today, what made me smile is the thoughtfulness of my officemate Jason. Today he brought caldereta for lunch and he said,

"Patch, ikaw talaga una kong naalala dyan kaya nagdala ko nyan"

Oh myyyy. Am I the dreaded officemate who leeches other people's food kaya niya ko naalala?! Haha! I'm known for being matakaw though. Seriously I found the gesture sweet. Kaw ba naman maalala sa caldereta diba? Hahaha! And eventhough the food he brought is only good for one person, he shared it with everyone else, including me of course! Yummmyyyyy. Food talaga weakness ko. Hehe!

Starting today, I promise to be more appreciative of people and to be more generous in giving compliments. I admit I'm sometimes shy in giving compliments or thanking people for the small things they do for me. Nahihiya ako kasi baka sabihin nangbobola lang ako. Haha! I'm thankful of course but I just don't know how to express them in words. Maybe I should learn to be more expressive not just to people who are close to me but to everyone else.:)

What Really Matters Most

Disclaimer: I just reblogged this. One of my friends posted this on Facebook and I feel that I should also be reminded of this one.

I've been into relationships before and I must say that it is not all roses and butterflies. Sometimes there are thorns and caterpillars, too. I've been hurt a lot of times in the past because of love. But I understand that being hurt is part of loving. I'm still waiting for "The One"... The thoughts below will just serve as a reminder before I enter into a new relationship again.

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Sometimes we need a reminder. We need to set apart the insignificant things from the things that really matter the most in our lives and in our relationships. Oftentimes, we lose focus and neglect the things that are of utmost importance.

Love, although they say is the greatest of them all, will not sustain a relationship by itself. I’ve come up with my own list of things which are necessary for building and nurturing healthy and happy relationships. Life has a harsh way of teaching us a lesson but our own values and beliefs are formed because of it.

1. Respect

I’ve always believed that respect is not something that is asked for, it is earned. It doesn’t necessarily mean tolerance or a state of recognizing who’s in power. It just means that you treat the person as an equal and give them a great deal of consideration in all your actions. When you are with someone, this means that you acknowledge his individual qualities, values, and character. More importantly, this means understanding that you may not agree on everything and that sometimes, it’s good to just agree to disagree and leave it at that.

2. Acceptance

In relationships, the first few months may all be of bliss and infatuation but as you both go along, that’s when you get to see the imperfections of the person you once regarded as “close to perfection”. Acceptance means knowing the things you can change and cannot change.. and accepting the hard truth that a person can never change for any other person but himself. This means that even after realizing that the person you have don’t necessarily match your set of ideals, you accept him with gratitude and consider him as more than enough.

3. Pick your battles

Know when its best to argue or discuss and compromise. If it’s something you cannot change, then it’s probably best to try to read the first two things on the list before even bringing up the issue. If it’s something you can change, then talk things out and work together to reach middle ground. Yes, it requires a great deal of understanding but it will save both of you from wasting time without getting the result you want anyway.

4. Listen

In communication, no one admits to being a bad listener but come heated conversations, our ears seem to lose its proper function and we do all the talking instead. We might say that we are listening but at the back of our minds, we are already thinking of our next comeback to defend our sides. Probably one of the hardest things to do is to really listen with an open mind and extract the meaning of the conversation and why it’s being said rather than the actual words itself.

5.Forgive and Resolve

Let go of pride and the need to always be right. It doesn’t mean that you have to deny the hurt and pretend that everything’s okay- it just means that because your love is greater than that hurt, you are willing to work things out with that person. It also means that although making up might be an easier choice, you are willing to go through the harder path of solving the root of the problem. Ignoring an issue is just delaying it until you both aren’t able to take it any longer. Don’t wait for that time. I’ve always believed that disagreements can either kill a relationship or make it stronger. How well you handle these things together will determine whether it’s heading towards the former, or the latter.

6. Forget

It’s always, always good to forget the feeling of being hurt but not what it taught you. If you didn’t learn anything from it, then it means that it’s bound to hurt you again.. until you finally learn. If you dont let go of past hurt, it’ll occupy your mind and little by little, eat up all the space in your heart that could have been used for loving the person instead. When too much time is spent with hurt feelings, there is little time left for love.

7. Appreciate

The greatest form of compliment is appreciation. It may be the little things, or the occasional grand gestures of sincere kindness. Appreciating means that you are always aware of the things that made you love the person. It means that, even in times of disagreements, these things are never forgotten or set aside. It is also knowing that something is great when you have them, and not realizing it later when it’s gone. Mostly, it means never ever taking things for granted.

8. Trust

I cannot be in a relationship without 100% trust. When doubt enters a relationship, it ruins it. The moment you feel insecure about anything means that something is lacking- either self-esteem or affection. Trust that you are enough and trust that you have shown enough love to have security. You have to have complete trust that the person you’re with will never mean to hurt you. In reality, they may hurt you at some point but it will never be deliberately done. You have to trust that the relationship itself will never be destroyed because of what it is, and because of what it has.

9. Support

A major advantage of being in a relationship is knowing that there is always someone to turn to during the best and worst days. It’s knowing that someone always has your back and is willing to be there when you need them most- either celebrating a victory of mourning over defeat. A healthy relationship should help you and not hurt you. This person will not tolerate you if you’re truly wrong, but will work with you instead and make you a better version of who you were.

10. Quality Time

In this fast-paced world with people preoccupied by wealth and technology, it is important to remember that one can never have enough time, one has to make it. There will always be something to do or something to attend to. What sets apart quality time is that despite however busy you are, you are happiest whenever you are spending time with that person. It means that you regard this happiness as something that is more important than all of the other things that make up your busy schedule. It means that every time spent is never wasted because it is something that you will always enjoy and cherish. Having quality time is a proof of how important it is for you to make that person a part you no matter what. Without a doubt, the greatest gift you could ever give is your time because when you give time, you give them a part of your life as well.

They say relationships are hard work but it should never feel forced. It isn’t supposed to be that hard if you are both sincerely willing to be together and stay together. It’s only hard when you’re going through everything alone, or when you are in a wrong relationship with the wrong person to begin with. True, it’s not all bliss and butterflies- both of you will go through trying times.. but trying times are not times to stop trying because no matter how difficult it may be, you know that you have something that is worth all of it.

I miss you Baguio!

My Stat barkada are currently enjoying the cool breeze in Baguio right now and I couldn't be more envious! Rawr. Good thing though that they are all religiously updating their Facebook statuses and twitter so I feel that I was with them. I've been looking forward to that much awaited out of town trip weeks before but due to "uncontrollable" circumstances, I wasn't able to join them. Oh well as Vlad put it, "Wag ka magalala Patch. Isipin mo na lang may rewards yang sacrifices mo". I do wish!

Oh well. I'll just upload some Baguio pictures I took last January when I attended JR's wedding.

on cooking and relationships

Cook's philosophy on relationships: The secret to a good dish is to know the tastes of your ingredients and blend it together into one perfect taste. It may not be perfect from the start but some dishes are perfected through time. Never quit on one dish if you believe in it. Be patient, learn to compromise, never stop experimenting.

frustratiiiiiing

Just because of one month, I lost 3 months.

Rawr.

Try to analyze the logic behind that. Pffffft. :\

I did it...again!:)

Last Saturday, I delivered my Level 5 Speech at Toastmasters Camanava. I actually crammed my speech - composing it an hour before our meeting. Hurray I'm such a Master Crammer! Tsk tsk not such a good title. Haha!

By the way, Toastmasters is a non-profit educational organization that operates clubs worldwide for the purpose of helping members improve their communication, public speaking and leadership skills. Through its thousands of member clubs, Toastmasters offers a program of communication and leadership projects designed to help men and women learn the arts of speaking, listening, and thinking. It's an international organization. It's an organization for cool people like me. Wahaha! May pagbebenta! Seriously, if you want to know more about the club, you can rely on google.

Anyway, I've been a club member for 10 months now and counting! When I joined Toastmasters, I didn't only improve my public speaking skills (yehess,kala mo ang galing na talaga!), I also gained a lot of new friends. Sadly, I just finished my Project 5 of the Competent Communication manual. So what does that mean? It means...hmmm... ang tamad tamad ko magspeech!! Hahaha! Oh well, from now on I vow to regularly attend our meetings and to deliver my speech each time.

As I've said, I made my speech an hour before our club meeting and what made me really happy is that I got the Best Speaker Award! Wohoo! Akalain mo bumenta yung speech ko. I shall post it here soon. I will edit some parts or rather I will finish it first! Hahaha! Actually, I wasn't able to finish the draft of my speech. Impromptu yung ending talaga. It's my second time to win the Best Speaker of the Day (We have a contest every meeting for the Best speaker) and I'm so proud! Most of my speeches are based on my experience,with little modification of course. That's the good thing about Toastmasters, you can talk about anything under the sun. For my speech last Saturday, I talked about flaws and imperfections. Now, I'm pressured to think of another topic.

Oh my dream!

When I called my friend Keith last week to ask about our upcoming Baguio trip, she said she had a weird dream about me.

"Sis! Grabe napanaginipan kita. Ikakasal ka na daw tapos umiiyak ka. Tapos sinasabi namin ni Fay sayo na mag runaway bride ka na lang."

My gulay! Even in other people's dream I'm crying! Anobaaa. I asked her if she has seen my groom in her dream. She said no. Awts. Sayang. Haha! So, I googled the interpretation of her dream. Well unfortunately, I can't find the exact interpretation of her dream because most of what I found is the dreamer is the runaway bride. In her case, Keith is not the runaway bride. I am. And oh, in her dream I'm still not a runaway bride in real sense. I asked her "Bakit niyo ko sinasabihan na mag runaway bride?" Keith said "Eh kasi nga malungkot ka. Umiiyak ka. Basta nakabihis ka na nun ng gown pero wala pa yun sa church. Parang nagaayos ka pa lang yung set-up"

So here are some of the things that I found:

Runaway bride may symbolize things you feel bad and regret about. Perhaps, in your daily life you are feeling rejected or regret about things you have decided, and that is why you projected as runaway bride.

On a relationship level it could mean you are not ready for a commitment yet,or it could simply mean there is something you are running away from,something you don't want to face up to yet.

Hmmm... I don't know if these interpretations are reliable but then I can't help but think it is. So swakto! Haha! Which reminds me, I'm also having weird dreams lately. I just remember a little about it the moment I wake up. But in my dreams, I'm always running away from something.

I don't know the science of dreams nor do I know if dreams are what my subconscious mind is telling me. I seldom dream. I only have one when I have a long sleep which I think is normal. I wish I'll dream of something better though. I'm tired of dreaming that I'm running away. Lol. Alright, I'm going back to sleep.

One thing I learned from my officemate today while we're having a "debate":

"Lahat ng bagay maski mahirap, natatanggap. Pinoproseso lang."

Nice. That explains it. Or well maybe not.

This is it!

I'm doing something for the first time. I'm scared and excited at the same time. :)

Have a blessed Holy week.

P.S.

I've been eating a lot of chocolates for the past few weeks. Ang sakit na ng lalamunan ko. :/ Chocolates is not my comfort food anymore. Boo.