What's In the Box?

It all began one hot summer during high school. Together with two of my friends, we decided to write each other letters, as a way of keeping in touch during the vacation. Apart from the usual text messaging and telephone calls, of course. Letters were something I’ve always fancied. I am a sucker for colorful packaging, so any bright and multicolored stationery call out to me.

So there I was, writing letters for my dear friends, telling them stories that made me laugh and cry. They were not just simple letters stuffed into envelopes. Crammed into those small colorful envelopes are the joy and sorrow of our friendship, and the slightest touch of affection that kept our friendship from going flat. Those letters relieved us of our longing to see each other again, and jogged our memories that we maybe separated by miles, but our hearts cannot be bothered by any distance.

For once or twice a week I welcome the mailman with a hearty smile, happy to be given my letters. After reading them several times over, I keep them carefully in a decorated shoebox. It was a self-made repository of my treasured letters. And through the years the letters grew in number. My shoebox contains not only letters from friends, but from my family too, and from the man I love. On folded pieces of paper are soothing words of ‘Thank you!’ and ‘I’m here for you’, and a whole lot of ‘I love you!’. Once in a while, I get my shoebox from the shelf and read my letters. They are something I can always touch, read, and rely on when my life becomes difficult, reminders of the wonderful people I have in my life. My blessings. Inside that decorated shoebox are love and comfort that I can always believe in, even when I am alone. As of now, I could no longer put down the cover of the shoebox properly. They were many, but they will never be enough. I would never want to stop receiving letters, for in each of them are pieces of my heart, and each have contributed to the woman I’ve become. Gifts of great beauty and value are nothing compared to a humble, decorated shoebox filled with joy and love. It’s something that cannot be bought, and a loyal memento that the best things in life are free (minus the postage stamp cost, that is!). And sometimes, they come in folded papers of all shapes and sizes.

I decorated another shoebox for keepsakes of all sorts- from bracelets to candy wrappers. You maybe are wondering why I keep all these ‘trash’. But never for a moment did I consider them as trash. They are pieces of me too, in their sticky and cluttered form. :)

Bea's Bookstore Frenzy

June 1's drama was adieu summer and hello new school year. So to make it official we all went to the mall to shop for school clothes and supplies. We do this every year to mark the end of our summer vacation and commemorate the upcoming opening of classes. It also follows that for the remaining days of vacation, my siblings ought to sleep earlier than their usual summer bedtimes so they can wake up earlier too, just to bring their morning routines back to school-mode. Super hirap kasi nila gisingin sa umaga! Since we do the shopping every year, it sort of became a tradition na. Only yesterday it wasn't our parents who accompanied us but my two Titas. And since Tita Ana's with us, Bea joined in the fun too.
She was ecstatic over the fact that she can run around the bookstore and skim every single kiddie book within her reach while the others were waiting in line. Of course I had to tag along and watch over her. I was delighted to see that she was very much interested in books! That was until I felt my legs hurt and the idea of wearing heels that day came back to haunt me and punish me for my guts to wear heels on a shopping day. ouch!

I was left with no other choice but to sweet talk her into sympathy of any kind for my aching legs so she can stop running around like a madwoman. Luckily, she gave in! I was sooo happy. :) It turned out that her sudden change of heart was brought about by her hungry stomach. She was like, 'Balik na tayo arnee, kasi baka kain sila mama ko, iwan tayo.' hahah :) Needless to say, she was once again in ecstatic mode when Tita decided that we should hit Shakey's and grab a pizza before going home.

Josh's lullaby

Louise and I just got home from the church where we watched SaMusikaATawa with Archie. It was some sort of variety show featuring the altar servers-for a cause, so I guess the time plus the sweat was worth it. Grabe ang init sa loob!


We went there at 6.30, bought Archie his ticket, waited outside for about 45 minutes, fell in line, went inside, then waited again inside for an hour. The show was fun BUT what happened before it started almost sent the audience home. They played this Josh Groban concert video and within five minutes people around us started complaining and yawning while some was even asking for their money back. A girl behind us said, 'Ibalik nyo na lang ung bente ko. Pang load ko pa yun!' I looked around and saw at least ten people fell flat to their faces, obviously not interested. Louise who was trying very hard not to fall asleep started playing Chip's Challenge on my phone. Then miraculously, the video was cut short right at the middle of the SIXTH song. The crowd, who took it as the end to their agonizing experience instantly went wild. Really. We were so happy, most people were clapping and cheering nonstop. How rude. We were inside the church! Anu ba?!
Before the show ended, Father joined the altar boys in singing Tanging Yaman then he took that opportunity to thank everyone for coming. Oh well, it was for a good cause, and the least we could do is to support the program as a form of Thank you for the answered prayers, for the constant guidance, and the valuable enlightenment we gain from the church every Sunday visit. :)
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I just checked the portal for my grade in Industry Practice I. I got a 3.75. Yay! sweet :)
My head's aching due to sooobrang init. And the tub's inviting me for a long, nice, strawberry-flavored bubble bath.. Gotta go. :)

Summer Lovin'

Airheads, anyone?

I am so loving my mornings with the kids. Aside from running around, laughing and trying really hard make themselves noticed, some of them found useful things to do. Renz started reading some of his new books for the incoming school year, he's also doing some practice writing and solving math problems every morning, thanks to dad. Louise on the other hand is mustering up all her strength, hopeful to make some progress in her newly found ordeal. That is, to finish reading 430 pages of Dan Brown's Digital Fortress. She'd been reading Goosebumps for the loooongest time and now I'm glad she's taken her reading skills into greater heights. But wait, here's the catch. I promised to buy her new Goosebumps if she finish the book. Ha! Seeing her so engrossed with the book, I can't help but think of the many quiet times I used to so enjoy like finish reading not half a book but several books.
Unfortunately, my little cousin isn't too fond of books or pens. He's just started learning some of his first few words which for grown ups like us are incomprehensible. Pito's words for the day are 'Accchiiiii', which I would take for 'ate' and 'Paaaakiiiii'. First word's a give away but the second one still remains a mystery. :) Aside from the constant muttering of his 'words for the day' he also learned flying kisses today. That was cute.

I'm planning this get together with highschool friends. We haven't decided on our destination yet but Shar suggested the ecopark. So I googled, and here's what I've found:

Lopez Picnic Grounds – Five hectares of picnic spots with grilling facilities underneath a forest of varied trees.

Salt Water Swimming Pool – Probably the only salt water pool that is open to the public. Salt granules are used instead of chlorine making the water safer and less toxic.

Superferry Boating Lagoon – To experience and enjoy a paddle boat ride, one once had to trek all the way to Baguio’s Burnham Park to do so. Now this popular activity is available right here in Quezon City.

Fishing Lagoon – Fishing is another very popular to-do at the park.

Petron Fitness and Mountain Bike Trail – Here, one can enjoy a full-body workout under the shade of trees. The fitness trail has 17 exercise stations and connects to a forested 1.2 km mountain bike trail.

Shell Flower Terraces – Two hectares of flower terraces. This is actually the dam wall of the reservoir.

Ecomuseum – A museum dedicated to environmental education and biodiversity conservation.

Butterfly Trail and Hatchery – An educational walk through the wonderful, colorful world of butterflies.

Various pavilions for rent are available for private functions.

Overnight camping facilities also available.

I can't wait to see my highschool friends. It's been a while and we surely have a lot of catching up to do! Can't wait. :)

I've got mail. :)

We are a small group of volunteers who want to change the world, one kind act at a time.350,00 cards have appeared around the globe since 2003, bringing smiles to people of all colors, ages, and backgrounds.
Thank you for joining the Smile revolution.

Wanna do more? Log onto our website to read heart-warming stories of what people have done with the Smile cards. Sign-up for a weekly newsletter. Join the growing number of Smile Groups, people who are committed to doing an act of kindness every single week.

www.helpothers.org

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wooohoooo... I've got my smile cards.:) I've been writing stories of kindness and commenting on other volunteers' heartwarming stories during the summer. And I was soooo happy when I earned enough karma bucks to order my very first smile cards.


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Spending the whole morning with Pito, I was surprised he actually agreed to come play with me. He's been here all summer and has been clinging to Tita all the time ever since. He cries nonstop whenever Tita's out of sight so I had to bribe him into coming with me while Tita's taking a shower. All it took was a cola flavored ice candy.

Yum yum.

No, I won't share.

Been there. Done that.

I was so absorbed with office and field work for the past four weeks. I did enjoy my internship. sooobra. The wonderful people I've spent my summer with, the pressure of the non-stop arrival of SOs, the tension brought by alarms, telephones ringing off the hook, the non-stop tawanan and kalokohan that we've shared- all of these deserve to be written here.



Surely there's a lot that I've missed- a friend's grad celebration, my sister's birthday, a get together with friends, lots of time with Archie BUT I've gained new friends at the office, I had fun, learned new things, helped people out.. I might have skipped the beach and all the fun-under-the sun stuff but my time in Digitel was time well-spent. :)



Don't get the wrong idea. That wasn't easy. My arms and legs hurt like hell the day after. I couldn't even walk or sit down properly. :) But it's ok. At least I experienced being up there. The experience was anything but ordinary.



It wasn't all about the call path tracing and subscriber line testing and managing SOs all the time. It also involved some dirty work. Literally. Dirty. They advised me to bring an extra shirt next time, but I was thinking 'there will be no next time. If it's an RSS you're visiting, I'll pass.' :)

Messy, huh?!

Internship's over. I guess this is how reality bites. And it's the sad part about SUMMER FUN- it STARTS and ENDS in summer. Bye bye for now. But THANKS for the memories.

19 months and still counting..

It's been a while. I've been busy with my on-the-job training that I did not have time to blog for five straight weeks. And the semester's fast approaching.. I don't know.. maybe next time it will be five straight MONTHS.
After completing 230 hours of on-the-job training in a telecommunications company , I spent the whole Monday afternoon finishing my accomplishment report. Then I went to school to submit all my requirements early this morning. I even had some one on one with my practicum coordinator. He asked lots of questions about what I did in the office and in the field, my daily activities, the things I think I contributed to the company and blah blah blah blah.
The office has been my home for almost a month, and coming back to school today was.. I don't know. Weird? I saw some of my classmates and it took me a while to remember their last names. Funny. I guess my memory gap's starting to affect my social life.
I'm not trying to be melodramatic but coming back to school today after quite some time was like knocking some sense into my head. We're going on our final year.. and SOON enough I'll walk a different path. SOON, it'll be about goodbyes and separating ways. Okay-- now I'm being sentimental.
What I missed most about school was my friends. I saw Ann and Ria today and all we did was talk non-stop. Each was trying very hard to catch up with each other's life. I know it was just four weeks but I bet you know how we girls are. ^^
Then I went to the mall to meet Archie. We had lunch, went to the movie house to see Speed Racer. Whew. I think I strained my eyes trying not to blink the whole time. The movie lived up to its name. Everything was moving way too fast, which was good. I really enjoyed it. Each time with Archie is a blast. And today is extra special, for this is the day WE turned 19. ^^ Hugs and kisses for you muffin. xOxOxOx