I made it!!!

I just want to thank everyone for the love, support and especially for offering your prayers for the last few years. It's been a LONG and sad journey, but I finally made it. Finally hurdled that BAR.

Blood, sweat and tears talaga. There were better days, but most of the time, it's been a test of faith. And courage.

Thank God. Thank you Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Our Lady of Manaoag, St. Jude, St. Therese of the Child Jesus, and all other saints. Thank you Holy Spirit.

Thank you Lolo, wherever you are. I'm honored to continue your legacy as lawyer.

Thank you Lola. I know that of all the people, you prayed the hardest.

Much love for my family. Sobrang team effort ito. From my mom to my lola to my other relatives in the States and Cebu, they supported me through this.

Special thanks to my friends too. Alam niyo na kung sino kayo. The true ones, ha?

Also special thanks to my multiply friends. :)

I would also like to congratulate my fellow bar passers: Mariel, Adrian, etc.

Hay. I'm so happy. This may be the happiest day of my 29 years of existence.

Again, thank you.


The soon-to-be Atty. Rose

When you press me to your heart...

I'm in a world apart, a world where roses bloom...

La Vie En Rose is a movie about the life and career of French singer Edith Piaf. Apparently, she's a cultural icon, and recorded a lot of songs, which are still heard today.

While I am not so impressed with the movie, I was blown away by its star, Marion Cotillard. She looked so different in real life. Although Marion lip-synched much of the singing scenes, that does not mean she did not give a less than stellar performance. She deserved that Oscar.

To all my friends...

At least to those I have been out of touch for quite some time...

I'm sorry I haven't responded to your calls, texts, PM, YM, etc... I'm so anti-social. Been going through stuff. Hopefully I get my life straighten up. I would love to share with you all what's on my mind lately... but I can't right now... it's been mind-boggling these past few years. Hope you guys understand.

Anyway, just want you to know that I'm ok. Still alive and breathing. Anxious. Waiting. Happy sometimes. Had my bad days too. I do have a few chosen people whenever I need somebody to talk to. But they have their lives too, so I'm mostly on my own. But yes, I'm slowly picking up the pieces of the mess I made. And I'm beginning to see that I may have a place in the sun after all... So there.

I'll get in touch with you soon. Take care, you all...

Some random thoughts...

I suffered a one week affair with food poisoning. And as I'm recovering (slowly), I see my officemates were avoiding me for some reason. Maybe because the real me is beginning to show. Oh well... Hay... Office politics. I don't really hate my officemates, I'm beginning to be quite fond of them. It's just that... mahirap silang sakyan. I don't mind the asaran, I'm not just used to make asar back, maybe except to those people I know well... How do I get out of it without losing my focus to my work... which is beginning to be a problem to me. I'm getting bored... and I haven't even gotten used to the work yet. *Sigh*

On the other hand, I had a wonderful dream last night... I hope it's going to come true in a few weeks' time... It's actually my first dream about... IT... Could it be? Shucks. :)

I hope to see more good signs. Bahala na ang mangyari sa akin sa office. Hmph.

Birthday Greetings

This is a little bit late, but I would like to greet my inaanak Gerard. He celebrated his first day last Feb. 19 (the day after my birthday).

Here's my birthday wish to my inaanak. This was written a few weeks before he was born, on his Mommy's baby shower last year.


Again, happy 1st birthday Gerard!!!

Slumming Book

1. Who knows the real you?
* moi

2. When was the last time you went out?
* kanina

3. If you could kiss anyone, who would it be?
* my inaanak who is super cute

4. Whats the last song u sung?
* so happy together

5. What does it remind you of?
* happier times

6. Last movie you watched?
* 27 Dresses

7. Which of your friends live closest to you?
* Abi, Mariel

8. What CD is in your dvd player?
* wala

9. Do you drive?
* RARELY

10. What did you do yesterday?
* work, went to trinoma afterwards

12. Do you wear contacts or glasses?
* glasses

13. What's your Mom's middle name?
* Menchavez

14. Do you trust your friends?
* only the chosen one

15. Who was the last person to call you?
* Mariel

16. What annoys you?
* ZTE

17. Would you move to another state/country to be with the one you love?
* yes?

18. Next vacation you're going on?
* boracay!

19. Do you play any instruments?
* the piano

20. Do you believe that everything happens for a reason?
* yes, but i also believe that i can create my own destiny

21. Do you want multiple piercing?
* nope

22. Did you ever go to Prom?
* not that i had any choice

23. Last time you went to the mall?
* last night after work

24. What was the last thing you ate?
* Big Red Barn's servings - bitin

25. Which of your friends would make the best roommate?
* probably Lovien, but she's married na

26. Have u found the 1 u wanna spend ur whole life with?
* i wish

27. Are u happy with ur life now?
* happy is just a state of mind, i will be.

28. Do u think there's still a chance 4 past lovers to get back together?
* yes, i'm just a hopeless romantic

29. How did u spend ur Christmas last year?
* family, food, shopping!

30. Do u go for Simbang Gabi?
* yes, my tradition for years

31. Who is ur Valentine's date?
* elderly priests

32. What are u looking forward to next week?
* holiday, then more case digests

33. What song are you listening to right now?
* mishka's space album

34. Closest Sibling?
* little bro na di na little

35. Last person hu texted you?
* mama

36. Last person u texted?
* mama

37. When was the last time u smiled?
* kanina at my inaanak's 1st birthday party

38. Why?
* cute siya... ang inaanak ko

39. What are you going to do tomorrow?
* watch the oscars

Cheers!

I would like to spend my last year as twenty-something with meaning. Like setting new life goals. Starting over. And most of all, being happy. That's what I want more than anything else. Of course I still want to dream BIG. I won't surrender until the last fight. I guess I have to go through some stuff so I could really appreciate all the good things in life. And how great God is.

So today, on my 29th birthday, I just want to be thankful with all the blessings God has given me so far. And I'm hoping that I'll keep the same spirit that I have right now. I can't believe that I'm saying these things. But I still have HOPE in my heart, and believe me, it's the only thing going for me right now.

What's in store for me this year? Hmmm... I would really like to know... Until then, I just have to keep my fingers crossed.

Happy birthday to ME!!!

With Lola:

Love My Birthday Cakes

Mud Pie from Sweet Inspirations - YUM!

Rose Mini-cake necklace from Angeli - cutie!

New Baby

I am so in love with my new pink Top Havaianas with stainless white logo. This is a partial birthday gift from my friend Abi (thanks girl!) and partial treat from my first paycheck.

What a beauty.

18 Forever

Can't believe I will be reaching the end of my 20s in a few. I resolve that I will really celebrate. Not really with a big bang because of budget constraints, but I just want to be truly happy and just be thankful.

This will be my year.

Happy day

Finally! My first salary in a long time. Not much, but I'm happy nonetheless. What I'm going to do with it? SECRET!!! But I'll save up for the rainy days, for sure... :)

Lovin' the beagle

A beagle finally won best in show at the Westminster Kennel Club. I don't usually care about this stuff, except that "Uno" here strongly resembled a favorite of mine.




THIS ONE!!!



Happy Valentines Day! Love, Snoopy



Pictures from Yahoo and Snoopy.com

New month, new adventure

I reported for work on the first day of February. Still in the honeymoon stage. All I have to do is to sit down, look at the PC all day (not easy on the eyes) and try to appear busy. Not that it's an easy job or a really hard one, it just requires a little more commitment on my part. Imagine an opportunity to be treated as an author. That how I look at my new task. I just pray that the work will like me a little bit. For the first time in my employment history (which is not a lot) I felt a little more comfortable on the desk.

I'm actually looking forward to my big day, which is some two weeks away. I feel that something different is going to happen to me this year, and I hope fate's giving me what I've wished for quite some time now.

Spreading the Heigl love

Oh, I just love Izzy Stevens.

I enjoyed watching Katherine Heigl's latest chick-flick, 27 Dresses. In my eyes, she could do no wrong. She is definitely in the running to become America's Next Sweetheart.

A romantic comedy is what I needed on my last day of unemployment.

P.S.: James Marden is such a hottie!

P.S. 2: Second time watching Heigl and Marsden in a movie. Heigl previously starred in "Knocked Up" and Marsden was part of Disney's "Enchanted". I gave both movies a "thumbs-up".

P.S. 3: I am not quite feeling well right now. Maybe it's the work jitters?

Checklist:
Certificate of Employment - Sunday?!?

Blurbs!

First Lecture
Out of the blue (meaning, midnight yesterday), a former classmate and friend texted me, requesting that I will be her resource person for a classroom lecture on government for her adult students. At least 3 thoughts came into mind:

1. My mind is dormant for months.... waaaah!
2. What does a resource person do?
3. WTF!

So I haven't heard from her until she called me up--one hour before her lecture. I understand that she's busy with work and all, but I didn't know what to do. I reluctantly agreed, not knowing what to expect.

The students are about my age but they are, at least, interested in the discussion. I wish I could communicate more, but for the life of me I couldn't figure out how to explain the law, in terms they could understand.

It was a rather funny, but nice experience. But in the back of my mind, I can hear my former professors cringe. LOL.

Banoffee!!!
Afterwards, my friend treated me to Banapple Pies and Cheesecakes and I enjoyed a slice of THE Banoffee Pie... YUM-O!


But the Chocnut Cheesecake ain't so bad...



Hello calories!

Early Morning Blues
Next early morning I went with the driver to pick up my lola from the airport. I was so beat that I chose to take a break from processing my requirements for my pending employment.

Hired!!!

After more than a year (and especially, after that brouhaha last week), I finally got employed. Woo-hoo! Better check on my requirements.

Lolo and other related blurbs

Sad day. I was informed by my mom that her dad, my lolo, died earlier. Actually, we were not really that close. But he is one of my "idols", the first of the aspired three generations of lawyers. Last September, he sent a letter addressed to Mama that he wishes for me to finally pass the bar. It was accompanied by a Novena of St. Jude (and another novena, I can't remember right now). I was touched, really.

I also remember of his visit years ago, when I was just starting out in law school. He advised me to always invoke the Holy Spirit. That kinda stuck. So in honor of my lolo, I will pray to the Holy Spirit as often as I could. Even though it is limited to Glory Be... and hopefully pray the Novena to the Holy Spirit when I get the hang of it.

I'm sad that he won't be able to witness my oath-taking, or even congratulate me by phone, if ever I pass this bar. But wherever he is, I hope he is finally happy and at peace.

A friend relayed this Bible verse to me. I just want to share...

Romans 8:36-39: As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.


More reflections on this later...

Just Blurbing

I heard the news not too long ago that two former classmates of mine died in an unfortunate accident. Only now that I got to search one of them on friendster.

What has gotten me into looking them up on the net? I suppose I was so curious to see how they lived. And I truly hope they're happy wherever they are now. It's sad that they won't get old like most of us. I think the news of my classmates' passing has left me more broken. We talk, say hi, though we were not really that close. But I think I was more affected than I should be.

I so wanted to be at their tribute mass. They were my classmates, after all. I also wanted to see the people I have interacted with for so many years at law school. But I can't. Over the last few years I've lived as an invisible person, not knowing what to do and which direction I should take. I wake up, I breathe, and the rest depends on whether I have an interview, or the day that I attend a novena mass, or the day for somebody else to be happy. I've never felt so dependent on others. I've never felt so lonely. It's as if that I've died.

I definitely did not choose to be where I am right now. I would like to think that things will get better for me, I just don't know how considering my status right now. I'm actually scared on what my future holds. I certainly don't want to be invisible anymore.

Blah day

Three consecutive days of going to Makati in hopes of landing a legal assistant job ends with nothing. Nada. Zilch.

Can't believe the five of us applicants--all law graduates and under-bar (including a classmate)--have been misled by a noted law firm (or was it the company that called us?), which just needed a secretary. Not even a legal secretary. Can't believe I told them that I was willing to compromise and give it a shot. Where was my dignity?

Not that I do not want the job (but well, I kinda not want it anymore, considering everything), I just waited too long for an opportunity, a shot, a sign, that I could still make it. I was already desperate, I think. And I got this.

Life is so unfair, sometimes.

Now I have until the end of the week to prepare for next week's job application. Let's hope that one goes well or else I'll bust.

UPDATE: I am calmed down a bit. But I won't delete this entry. Just edited a bit in order to neutralize.

MORE UPDATE: I have a job! Well, it's not really that fancy, but decent enough. Sweet revenge. Mwahahahaha.

FURTHER UPDATE: I PASSED THE BAR!!! Woo-hoo! Should I delete this humbling entry now? No way!

Only in G3

While I was passing by the Greenbelt chapel this morning, I took shots of two of its regular churchgoers from my cameraphone.





What a beauty.