This is exactly how I feel...TIRED and SLEEPY

PASS THE RH BILL! NOW NA!!!

I was busy typing some report when the news item caught my attention - the RH Bill in the plenary! The session was suspended, as the debate was getting (as expected), a little heated.

Hey Congressmen, NOT ALL CATHOLICS BELIEVE WHAT THE CHURCH DICTATES! Remember this, The Church is the People, the Faithful. Not the clergy! And ninety (90%) percent of Catholics believe and awaits government funding for RH care and services. These are the things that matter, not some dogma from whatever and whoever who has not seen the plight of mothers and children in the Philippines!!!!!

hmnnnn...

Today's a special day and even if I am so sleepy I wanted to blog about it. We just got the electricity restored, and we lost it since 10am. Naturally, I couldn't sleep so when the light turned on, I got up the bed and logged on the net. =)

I just wish I am not this busy. The past week was full of meetings and this week's pretty much the same!

Haay... Good Morning...

The Weekend getaway

I had one of the best weekends last weekend. For quite a while, I never felt that happy the way I did during the last two days I spent out of town with someone I love so dearly.




Wish it could always be like that, and my life would be perfect. =)

Being a teacher

I am done with Tuesdays with Morrie. I feel like I have to blog about it since I mentioned it in an earlier post.

Actually, it just took me one sitting to finish that book because once you start reading it, I can't really put it down. I consider it now one of my favorite books.

A teacher indeed affects eternity, as you can never tell where his or her influence stops. Thanks to the author, he shared all that was passed on to him by his professor Morrie to us.

I used to be a teacher, well I never really gave too much meaning to it, it was just an opportunity that arose when I was in law school and I took it, so I could have my extra-money aside from my allowance while studying the law. The funny thing was, I was teaching Math, particularly Algebra as my college degree was Math major in Computer Science.

Anyway, recently I got this message from a former student I don't really remember through my nephew's blog and she said she has been looking for me and found me through a picture posted in my nephew's blog. She wanted to thank me because I made her like MATH that she became a Math Whiz in her class. And now she's also in law school. =)

That was one of the best compliments I ever got. It felt good knowing I have touched her life the way I did. Priceless.

On reading

I am done reading The Witch of Portobello and what a "reading journey" it has been.

The concept of "blank spaces" is something we all could relate too. Read the book.

Now, I'm suppose to start reading "the Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini as recommended by a very dear friend, but I'm reading "Tuesday's with Morrie" first. This is one book I have always promised myself to read but never got to buy the book then.

This is another heartwarming story I will definitely write about.

About the future

"The future is not some place we are going to but one we are creating."

Which means I have to start creating the future I really really want huh?

Paulo Coehlo and his books

I have to admit that ever since I read Paulo Coehlo's The Alchemist, I developed a liking for his works. The book was a recommended read by my best friend in law school, Raffa. From thereon, I have read his other novels, The Valkyries and Eleven Minutes.

Now, with this new project I manage, I find myself being able to do a lot of reading. =) And so after that sweet book of Marley and Me, I am now reading another Coehlo - The Witch of Portobello. Interesting. I am not done with it yet but the first fifty (50) pages are quite intriguing.....

Will try to share my thoughts about it next time...

*** next in line is "the Kite Runner" which I realized has been developed into a major motion picture...

One good night

Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts. And we are never, ever the same.-- Anonymous


Last Wednesday night, I had dinner with the UNFPA Country Representative for Indonesia, Dr. Zahidul Huque, with whom I had the priviledge of working for in Jakarta. Consequently, Dr. Huque has become a very good friend of mine, too. He used to be the UNFPA Country Representative for the Philippines from 2002 to 2006. He was here in Manila last week, together with five (5) other delegates from Indonesia, to attend the 2nd Regional Consultative Meeting on Universal Access to Prevention, Treatment, Care and Support in Low Prevalence Countries (LPC).

Anyway, my post is not about the said conference but more about my "friendship" with this great person. You know how someone touches your life unexpectedly, in ways you can never really explain? That to me is Dr. Huque. And in the process, a unique and a very special kind of friendship was built. Something you know you would want to preserve for the rest of your life. I couldn't help feeling honored and privileged having his trust and confidence in me. Even the way he speaks about me to others makes me ask, "Am I really all that?". It can be pretty overwhelming as I wonder what have I really done to merit this person's respect and friendship?

In his kind of life, he has undoubtedly met thousands of people, in all forms and shapes, from various cultures and destinations. He would know the people that are trustworthy from those who are not. Needless to state, I feel so blessed I am one of those people whose life he has touched in ways that could never have been achieved otherwise. And because of him, I am more confident and secure...knowing I am on the right path.

Sometimes, it just takes one person to make the difference you need.

Marley and ME

I've been meaning to write about this book I read - Marley and Me. It's about a dog, a labrador retriever and its owner ( who is of course the author of the book).

It's "a heartwarming and unforgettable story of a family in the making and the wondrously neurotic dog who taught them what really matters in life."

I guess in a way I could relate to it because I, too have dogs, a mixture of sharpei and labrador retriever, which I love so dearly. My day actually starts with them, cleaning their cage, changing their water and giving them their "breakfast". I also believe they can't sleep at night unless I give them my "good night" kiss.

The author's relationship to Marley quite resembles the one I have with my own pets. The attachment to one's pet, the joy of simply being with them, the irritation at some of their nasty habits when I'm busy and the longing during times I can't be with them. I must confess I found myself crying during some parts of the story.

You see, those who love animals, dogs in particular, share common values. This is something I have observed from pet lovers around and to quote the book:

"Animal lovers are a special breed of humans, generous of spirit, full of empathy, perhaps a little prone to sentimentality, and with hearts as big as a cloudless sky."

Indeed, that statement is so true. You can learn a lot from a dog. - Courage, Joy, Unconditional Love and Loyalty are just some of them. Everyday, my pets show me what unconditional love is all about. They really don't care about anything else but me and my attention for them as well. They can also be very protective and possessive at times. =) But most of all, they are contented simply having me with them, as that is probably the best part of their day. And the truth is, that is mine, too.

Give them your heart and they will give you theirs. "It was really quite simple, and yet we humans, so much wiser and more sophisticated, have always had trouble figuring out what really counts and what does not."

Read the book and appreciate your dogs more. And if you don't have pets, you will probably get one. =)