i feel blessed :)
woke up very early to start this day with a prayer and church service attendance with my two girls. upon arrival in church, i was greeted a happy birthday by co-officers even before i can turn my name tag… thoughtfulness! 
listened intently to the message imparted to the congregation and after the service, we had a hearty champorado breakfast at home, and a couple of birthday cake slices. 
then i prepared for the children’s worship service. i taught the CWS lesson for today regarding the commissioning of Bro. Felix Manalo as the messenger of God in these last days to preach about the Church of Christ. Then afterwards, we had our choir practice. new hymns were taught by our choir mentor and they are very nice. It made me look back to the years when we used to sing the same hymns with its old tune, and now they were revised to an even better tune! i’m excited to sing them in the worship services! 
after all our church obligations, i fetched my two girls and had lunch at my in-laws. then off we went to Greenhills… spent time to stroll around and look for some “good buys.” when it was about dinner time, we headed to the parking lot to leave the place. i was asked by my family where we were heading but i chose to keep it a secret until they heard the street name “Calbayog.” right then they knew we were going to the very cozy, elegant, and class A Italian restaurant— Galileo Enoteca Deli. It was my second time in the place and i already fell in love with it the first time i went there with my officemates. right then i promised to take my two girls in there and today was the perfect time!
we enjoyed the food, not to mention the ambiance was fit for any special occasion. we had pasta al sugo con salsiccia, tutta carne, penne arrabbiata, & vegetarian. we also had a taste of their primitivo the whole dining experience was very good! the crew were all friendly and accommodating even if they are all busy with the people coming in to dine in and perhaps celebrate their own occasions as well. it was my first time to give a big tip without having second thoughts. i usually look at the receipt if a service charge is already included in the bill but this time, i didn’t care. the service and the over-all dining experience deserve a compliment.
Awit 36, BMBB
5 Ang wagas na pag-ibig mo, O Yahweh, ay walang hanggan,
at ang iyong katapatan ay abot sa kalangitan.
6 Matuwid at matatag ka na tulad ng kabundukan;
ang matuwid na hatol mo’y sinlalim ng karagatan;
ang lahat ng mga tao’t mga hayop na nilalang,
sa tuwina’y kinukupkop ng mapagpala mong kamay.
7 O Diyos, ang iyong pag-ibig mahalaga at matatag,
ang kalinga’y nadarama sa lilim ng iyong pakpak.
8 Sa pagkain ay sagana sa sarili mong tahanan;
doon sila umiinom sa batis ng kabutihan.
9 Sa iyo rin nagmumula silang lahat na may buhay,
ang liwanag na taglay mo ang sa amin ay umaakay.
10 Patuloy mong kalingain ang sa iyo’y umiibig,
patuloy mong pagpalain ang may buhay na matuwid.
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nagpapasalamat din ako sa tatlong sumali sa aking “post-mothers day” blog contest. at dahil birthday ko rin ngayon, yung tatlong entries na nasa comment page ay kapuwa ko bibigyan ng premyo mula sa The Bonenica Shop. pakisabi na lang po sa akin sa pamamagitan ng blog na ito kung ano yung 3 accessories na pinili ninyong ibigay sa inyu-inyong mga mahal na nanay
a post-mother’s day treat
everyone of us has an unforgettable mother story at some point of our life. today, 03.03.03 stories is giving away a post-mothers’ day treat to a blogger. here’s how:
1. blog about that special mother story you wouldn’t forget, include one photo of the mom. the mother story can be about your mom, your mom-in-law, grandma, yourself or your wife— as long as the subject is the mother.
2. link your blog post thru a comment on this post.
3. include your facebook username or FB link in the comment.
4. get a chance to win 3 ladies accessories for your mom, only from The Bonenica Shop! FREE SHIPPING for the lucky blogger! Simply like The Bonenica Shop page and choose your own prize among the many accessories the shop is offering.
5. the winner blogger will be announced via this blog on Mothers’ Day, May 12.
i caught dengue
Posted by aajao in faith, life's like that on 07/05/2013
taken 3-May, 2013
above all, i thank my dear loving God for letting me experience all of these… His love was again manifested thru this trying time.
Mayo uno, may sakit si Edilberto
Posted by aajao in life's like that on 02/05/2013
Actually, Abril a-trenta pa lang, giniginaw na ako. Pero pinilit ko pa ring pumasok sa pag-asang mawawala rin ang sama ng pakiramdam ko. Pero habang nasa opisina, lalo akong gininaw. Kahit naka-jacket na ako (na nahiram ko sa isang ka-opisina na kabilang sa “Team Awesome”) sa gitna ng matinding sikat ng araw, pakiramdam ko ay tamang-tama lang ang timpla ng temperatura sa paligid ko… ito ay kahit lahat ng kasamahan ko ay nagrereklamo sa init ng panahon. alaws… may sakit nga ako.
pagkatapos ng pananghalian, nagpaalam na ako sa boss ko at hindi ko na talaga kakayanin. habang may natitira pang sigla ang katawan ko para bumiyahe dahil coding din ako noong Martes. at least, pwede akong umidlip sa biyahe. halos lahat ng ka-opisina ko ay kinapa ako at lahat sila ay nakumbinsi naman na kailangan ko nang umuwi.
Bakit ba naman kung kailan may holiday, saka pa ako daratnan ng lagnat? sayang ang isang buong araw na “family day.” umuwi pa naman si lolo daddy para bisitahin ang kanyang one and only Magat na apo. mabuti na lang, medyo lumakas na ang katawan ko para sumama sa grocery treat ni lolo daddy. grab two boxes of milk, one big pack of diaper, couple of fruits, solve! puno na naman ang supplies ng anak ko! hay naku. mabuti na lang may mga lolo at lola sa buhay ng anak ko.
ngayon, akala ko ay makakapasok na ako. pero minabuti kong dumito muna ulit sa bahay ng isa pang buong araw para tuluyang makapag-ipon ng lakas. mahirap nang mabinat. sasabak pa naman (dapat) ako ngayon sa taping ng huling segment ng Open House kaya malamang ay init-lamig na naman ang sasalubong sa katawan ko. palagay ko, init-lamig ang dumali sa akin. akala ko hindi na bibigay ang katawan ko, napapagod din pala ako at kinakailangang magpahinga. rest, rest lang din kapag may time. 
bumaba na ang lagnat ko pero balak kong ubusin ang isang banig ng paracetamol na binili ko noong isang araw… bukas, fight, fight, fight na naman sa trabaho!
business and pleasure
This has got to be one of the most memorable trips in Iloilo for me. Since last year, I usually visit Iloilo for a business trip and it’s not really different today. But unlike my former business trips here, my colleagues & I made a side trip to an island which I only used to view from a distance when we were traveling to Iloilo from Bacolod City via passenger ship when I was still a kid: GUIMARAS ISLAND! We took a boat and got off at Magic Island where we stayed until lunch time. From there we ate crab, lobster, imbaw (local shells), and the clincher— pork sinigang! haha! drank bottomless fresh mango and buco juices, we sang, we swam, we took several photos, we did boating, then off we went island-hopping! during our boat ride, we saw sea weeds, few corals, many star fishes. water is generally clear and less salty. we also passed through the mangroves where the imbaws are bred. it’s a very wonderful experience! i hope to bring my two girls in Guimaras some time! It also helped that we have our colleague, Mae, who gave us a very good deal for the day trip in the island… from the boat, land service, island accommodation with full meals, and everything! before leaving the island, we dropped by the town to see the Mango Festival celebration. too bad we weren’t able to catch the “eat all you can mango” as the celebration was already wrapping up when we arrived. i just bought some favorites— (original) Guimaras dried mango, and for my father-in-law, pure mango jam.
off muna ang diet
but of course, the Iloilo trip wouldn’t have been possible if not for the official business. we invited some media to attend the house blessing of our new house model in Monticello Villas in Pavia, Iloilo— the Daniella.
Everytime I’m here in Iloilo, I feel relaxed. Perhaps it’s because of the people, or the “laid back culture” which i love rather than the busy city life. now it’s time to leave for Manila. Excited to see my two girls and i’m sure there’ll be more Iloilo “adventures” in the future.
[photos credit to THE RICKY ADEVA]
end of day reward
Posted by aajao in career, contemplating, fatherhood on 17/04/2013
i’m currently with my little girl, my sweet reward for a tedious day.
started the morning hurrying up, trying not to be late for my 7AM appointment with Tina. we shall be supervising the taping for the two business establishment owners in Cavite scheduled at 9AM for the show Open House. so i was pacing up my driving just to make it on time, and i did. before we went to the head office to meet the segment producer, i quickly printed some email items and gathered my things to bring them to our shoot location. anyway, we have a 30-minute allowance to spare which will cover the waiting time for the SP. clock ticked. i decided to just meet the SP along Shaw boulevard near EDSA so as not to spend more time waiting. an hour has passed already and she’s still two crossings away from EDSA-Shaw. and traffic is NEITHER LIGHT NOR MODERATE. it is HEAVY. I was trying to calm myself with the time already being wasted and at the same time, my boss keeps on texting me things that i needed to follow-up other than the scheduled interviews for the day. my cellphone signals were fluctuating! BOTH GLOBE & SUN! barely fifteen minutes before our appointment time in Cavite, the SP showed up… in Greenfields! hate late? i can tolerate a few minutes but for over an hour… it’s a different story.
good thing the interviewees were cooperative. we finished the two interviews before lunch time. but at this time, i was rushing the coordination of the script for the next interviewees. the first script made was mostly wrong as the questions intended to the other were mixed-up. to add insult to the injury, the script writer didn’t show up for the day reasoning out that she’s sick! (later on, Akina & Ren were destined to catch her in the MRT station)
the host of the program was giving us the very short time limit as he said he needs to leave by 230 in the afternoon. huwaaaaaaattt??? we’re just starting the main interview for the segment! and he needs to interview 4 more people!
to make the stressful day short, the taping went generally well. yeah, in spite of all the hindrances! my boss gave us all a halo-halo treat afterwards. refreshing!
before going home, i dropped by Pancake House to pre-order clubhouse sandwiches for our event tomorrow.
now while wifey’s attending church services, i’m with my little one, passing time here in the OFW center of the mall, enjoying the cool air, and the tranquility together. earlier i let the little girl grab her ice cream cup and then played in Worlds of Fun. these moments… are priceless. sooner or later, it’s not gonna be the same anymore when the little girl turns to a lady…
a day with an unexpected famous person
Posted by aajao in career, lighter side of life, surprise story on 13/04/2013
yesterday we received a letter from a photo journalist asking if he can shoot his subject in our project, Lancaster. the bosses immediately asked for coordination and said yes as it was an opportunity for us to be “part” of the National Geographic where the photo journalist works for. Akina & I have to “supervise” the shoot today and it turned out to be a star-struck moment. we are actually accommodating Jonas Bendiksen!
Jonas is a member of Magnum Photos
pose with Jonas who went to Manila to shoot for a feature in the National Geographic
an open prayer
Thank You, dear Father for the great blessing I have received today. It’s been so long since I’ve held on to Your promise of giving what’s best for me and I know You are currently working on it one by one. Today is a great day for me, as you have blessed me the confidence of my colleagues, my bosses. Today is the first time I have ever been promoted in a corporate set-up and i am clueless that it feels this way. THANK YOU. I’m bringing back all the glory to You, my Father.
text-moso
Posted by aajao in friends, huwaaat??? on 02/04/2013
kahapon ay April Fools Day. Hindi na bago sa akin ang “pagbibiro” sa tuwing darating ang petsang ito. katunayan, noon ay nagawa ko na ito, hindi lang minsan kundi higit pa. pero talaga yatang iba ang impluwensya ng Facebook. Mas mabilis ang pakikipag-ugnayan sa mga taong nasa list of friends mo. isang click lang, marami kaagad nakakabasa ng update mo sa buhay-buhay. less private, ‘ika nga, kapag nag-post ka sa FB. higit sa inaasahan ko ang bilang ng mga “nalito” sa pagbabago ko ng petsa ng kaarawan… may 100 mahigit din ang bumati sa akin sa pinagsamang wall comment at private message:
huwaaaaatt?? na-overwhelm ako. pero na-guilty rin at the same time. hindi ko na binawi yung kalokohan ko maliban sa iba na sinagot ko ang private message or sa text ko na lang sinabi na hindi ko talaga birthday kahapon, part lang ng April Fools prank. Sori na. may mga nagtext din kase at bumati sa akin. hindi ko lang alam kung may kaibigan pa akong babati sa tunay kong kaarawan sa susunod na buwan.
oh well…
kanina, dahil coding ang sasakyan ko, sinubukan ko ang bagong commuter’s route na itinuro ni Denver. LRT 2 at jeep ang tandem na sasakyan ko (plus yung tricycle syempre mula sa loob ng subdivision.) MAS MABILIS ang naging byahe ko! hindi ko alam kung dahil sa wala nang pasok ang mga estudyante o talagang mas mabilis lang kung hindi dadaan sa makipot na lansangan ng Ortigas. Ayun. parang magiging habit ko na tuloy mag-LRT tuwing coding day. At dahil bored ako sa pagkakatayo sa LRT kanina, napansin ko agad ang pagti-text nung estudyanteng totoy na nasa harapan ko. careless syang mag-text, eh may mata ako, so ayun. sabi nga ni Akina, text-moso raw ang tawag dun. na-stress lang ako sa usapan nila (ng girlfriend nya) sa text. basically, ganito ang naging flow…
- start of transcript –
boy: wala un, tropa lng. kaw lang tlaga love ko *smiley*
girl: cguraduhin mong di ka nilaland* nun! dahil dyan wala tayong session mmya!
boy: weh? di nga wla taung session? wla tlaga yun, kaw lng love ko *smiley*
girl: sabhin mo jan sa bbaeng yan, may girlfriend ka! di ko kau nakikita pero tndaan mo pag nilapitan ka pa nyan its gonna be war!
boy: wla talaga yun, tropa lng, kaw lng love ko pramis. *smiley*
girl: wag nang makasabay-sabay sau yang bbaeng yan! sasampalin ko pag nakita ko yan!
boy:cge. d nko sasabay. wla lang kase yun. kaw lang tlaga love ko *smiley*
- end of transcript -
eh time na para bumaba ako ng station. di ko man lang namalayan na pitong istasyon na yung nalakbay ko… i was like… wow si kuya ang gwapo! pinag-aagawan ng two girls? you olreydi, men! at juice ko pong pineapple! ano kaya yung “session” na tinutukoy nung magkasintahan? ganun na ba talaga mga kabataan ngayon? kakatakot magpalaki ng anak, lalo na kung babae ang sa iyo. :O
teka, aminin nyo, minsan na rin kayong naging curious sa pagbabasa ng text sa hindi nyo naman cellfone.. kahit di pa ninyo kakilala yung may-ari nun, di ba? text-moso! haha
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sori na sa lahat ng naabala ko at sa naatraso ko. pramis, magpapakabait na ulit ako
papakabait na ako, pramis!
Semana Santa— a gift to non-Catholics
the blog title seems controversial as i have mentioned a specific religious organization. but this season is indeed a Catholic holiday. Semana Santa or Holy Week is being observed by Catholics yearly, as the climax of Jesus Christ’s life— or death for that matter. for non-Catholics, like me, this is a perfect time to catch time with your loved ones. FAMILY TIME! ‘holy week’ is always a gift to Filipinos who seem to crave for long vacation from working daily, much more if work requires a 6-day attendance in a week.
driving home this early evening, we passed by the ‘headquarter’ of our homeowners (phase) officers and they’ve already set-up a pabasa already in their tent. the pabasa used to be music to my ears during my high school years when i used to live with my Catholic grandparents. our house was just in front of the barrio’s bisitas and the pabasa will definitely not be missed by our ears. for over four years, i have become accustomed to it.
“di ba wala kayong holy week?” is the question i get pretty a lot recently (since i moved to a new work group). i could have answered with yes and followed it with a “kase lahat dapat ng linggo, holy tayo” but it may sound offensive as we know why it was labeled “holy week” and i have grown to learn to respect other beliefs as well, even if it’s contradicting to mine.
nowadays, more people seem to see “holy week” as a time to unwind, rather than strictly do Catholic traditions. this may be debatable but i don’t know. perhaps i am just around people who seems to view this season as a prelude to the real summer vacation. “Saan kayo sa holy week? Kami Boracay.” “Ah kami sa puerto galera lang.” “Disneyland Hongkong kami, Lunes na balik…” and the likes. of course i could be wrong. Many of my Catholic friends (and some relatives) still observe the Lenten ‘rituals.’ but for me, yeah, it’s purely family time! this is indeed a perfect time to catch up with my loved ones from being chained to a 6-day workweek.
today, i took my girls to Greenhills and gave them a treat. but really, the priceless thing about this is the time spent together. i can just imagine how happy our little girl is upon learning that i’ll be with them for the whole day. of course, i still need to work on an official business i was tasked but being the master of your own time is another priceless thing!
i was able to visit our *new* office this afternoon and was able to took a glimpse of our soon-to-be workplace. looks very old outside but inside, it looks pretty fine. it’s more spacious also compared to the current workplace. our group is expanding, the organization is growing… it means one thing: our job is secured… well at least for more five years?
the new office being “dressed-up” for Monday
before going there, we grabbed two cold drinks from Tokyo Bubble Tea and their teas taste good (not yet tongue twisted? repeat last three words 10 times and faster)
then we toured the prime shopping area of the yesteryears, had a date with my two girls, and enjoyed every minute of it. we also (finally) purchased a memory card for our free tab, and have games, songs and applications installed in it. now we have more gamesssssssss in our fingertips, woooooohhhh! time well spent is really PRICELESS… even if you spend the last centavos in your pocket, the moment can not be compensated.
Little Aya ang her newly-purchased pink mobile phone
taken last Friday, my two girls never fail to amuse me!
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for whatever this semana santa season will bring each one of you, make the most out of it. let’s thank the LORD our God for each day that we still are able to breathe.
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