I should be bonked on the head HARD

I don’t like myself right now. Pfft.

I’m pretty sure You don’t like what I just did either.

:-<

I ♥ Fridays

I think I could make posts like these every Friday, because the longer I am here at work, the more I love Fridays. So really, it’s Thank God it’s Friday. :) Wheee.

What do I love about Fridays? It’s the feeling that the week is ending, and that there’s an entire two days ahead of you not to think about work. Everyone gets the chance to shed their stiff-looking business attires and dress down (or, in our case, slightly dress down because we’re not allowed to wear jeans and shirt and rubber shoes unless it’s announced by the HR). For some reason, everyone laughs louder, smiles wider and feels better when it’s a Friday. :)

Friday is truly one of God’s best gifts to thr world. Agree? :)

My SFC household head told us last Sunday to compile our own Joy List for this month and then we’ll talk about them in our next household. :) I used to make lists like that, and I called them The Positives. Since today is a particularly happy Friday, here’s this week’s Joy List/The Positives. :)

• Early morning and lunch time sessions with Jane, Anne and Reg a.k.a. “The Gang”.
• Learning more on my “new” job.
• Getting my permanent ID.
• My new boss assuring me that he won’t surprise me with all the things I have to learn, and that he’d try to make it easy for me to transition to my new job.
• Free merienda at Pancake House yesterday c/o Kok-see.
• Being told that I’m photogenic (aww :D).
• Free movie passes for World Trade Center last Thursday.
• Lots of free food thanks to our SVP who is celebrating her birthday today (Happy Birthday po!).
• Being able to accomplish the work given to me on time and correctly.
• The newly established carpool and the fun times on the way home.
• Free day tomorrow to work on a new layout for refineme.org.
• Serious talks with my brother about our family and love life (!!!) among other things.
• New music! New music!
• Being able to break out of my shell and talk to more people in the office.
• Being able to laugh, laugh and laugh some more.

I’ll post more later. Now it’s time to get fixing because it’s almost time to go home. :)

Have a great weekend everyone. :)

World Trade Center (2006)

Rating:
The World Saw Evil That Day. Two Men Saw Something Else.
Directed By: Oliver Stone
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Michael Peña, Maria Bello, Maggie Gyllenhaal
Runtime: 129 minutes

September 11, 2001, around 9:00pm Philippine time. I remember I was at home, on the Internet, minding my own business when my dad switched to CNN and saw a pillar of smoke coming from one of the Twin Towers. He told me about it, and all I did was glance at the TV, thinking it was just some kind of special movie effect, forgetting that it’s on CNN. The next day, I woke up to the news video of the two towers collapsing and going up in smoke. That afternoon, I went online and saw most of my online friends in one message board I post in all sharing sorrow over the tragedy.

It’s been five years since that happened, and since I wasn’t affected directly being on the other side of the world, the tragedy didn’t really have that much bearing on me. It saddened me mostly because of all the deaths, but I didn’t share the same sadness Americans felt for having to witness and experience such a big blow like that.

Last night, I was given a chance to watch World Trade Center, the true story of two Port Authority Police members John McLoughlin (Nicolas Cage) and Will Jimeno’s (Michael Peña) attempt to evacuate people, in turn getting trapped under the collapsed buildings and their rescue. It also shows how their families went through the entire ordeal, and how people, not only Americans, can find goodness amidst all the tragedy and evil in the world.

“It’s like God made a curtain of smoke, shielding us from what we’re not ready to see.”
- Staff Sgt. Karnes, before going to Ground Zero to help in the rescue mission.

The movie is quite long, and since it’s based on a true story, don’t expect anything other than a display of the buildings, some flashbacks, their families and their conversation as they wait for rescue underground. The movie was panic-inducing because of the idea that the rubble around them could collapse any time if there were more sudden movement. I was half-covering my eyes and fighting back the tears as I felt myself empathizing with the Americans, especially the families of John and Will. Although I don’t really know the two officers that the two actors portrayed, I think Cage and Peña were perfect for the roles.

My favorite part would be when Jimeno saw Jesus giving him a bottle of water when he closed his eyes. I think that is the best thing they included in the movie. :)

After watching it, I immediately read all the information I can on McLoughlin, Jimeno, the movie, the other casualties and the survivors. The movie sure opened my eyes and became more aware of the tragedy that happened five years ago, but it also made me see that people are born with good hearts. :)

And after watching the movie, do say a little prayer for all the people who lost their lives in this tragedy.

Thursday Thirteen # 10: NaNoWriMo 06 MC

It’s two and a half weeks before NaNoWriMo 2006 starts, and to be honest, I haven’t done much preparing. ^^; So to practice and to provide something intresting for this week’s Thursday Thirteen…here’s…

Thirteen Things about my NaNoWriMo 2006 Main Character

1. My main character’s name is Anna Rain De Castro. She uses the nickname Rain because there were five other Anna/Ana’s in her old school and someone else already claimed use for it.
2. She was named Rain because her mother likes rain and she was born on an unusually rainy April day. Ironically though, she doesn’t like rain — she thinks it makes the day sad.
3. Rain is a 24-year-old systems analyst/programmer/technical writer for a business process outsourcing company in Makati City, the business center of the Philippines (comparable to NYC in the US :D). She’s on call 24/7, in case some of the systems they implemented for their clients go down.
4. She lives with her older brother in a condominium in Ortigas (the next business/mall district in the Philippines), near her brother’s workplace. Rain’s parents moved to the US after she graduated from college. Their family is pretty well-to-do, which is why Rain basically grew up getting what she wants.
5. Rain is a neat freak, coming close to slightly obssessive-compulsive and is very much of a control freak in her own life. She doesn’t like it if things suddenly get thrown off her schedule. Consequently, this attitude of hers shows in her love to bake, where things are pretty much controlled.
6. Rain is a devout Catholic, with a strict 6:00am prayer time. She has a fixed routine for her quiet time: listen to at least three worship songs, read the Bible and her devotionals and then pray silently. During Saturdays, she does her own morning worship by singing along the songs. She also has a “song for the day”, which basically speaks of God’s message for her that day.
7. Rain’s is really close to her older brother RJ and his oldest best friend, Raymond. Her other best friends are Meah, who went to the US for graduate school; Faith, who became a full time missionary for their singles group and was on mission for 2 years somewhere in South America; and Mark, her only other male best friend who semi-disappeared from her life when he got a girlfriend.
8. Rain likes long drives (alone or with someone) in her red Honda City she named Betty.
9. Rain’s favorite comfort foods are vanilla ice cream with bananas and Nutella, toasted wheat bread with thick cream cheese spread.
10. Rain dislikes mainstream and secular music, for she only listens to Contemporary Christian/Christian Alternative/Christian Rock and Praise/Worship songs.
11. Rain is not close to her cousins unlike her older brother, because she was too immersed with her work to socialize with them during family gatherings. Whenever she is free, she usually ends up resting or sleeping or just silent on the corner, observing people around her.
12. Rain likes her work, but she also wishes to be a magazine editor, a web designer and even a manager for a band.
13. And finally…Rain is a not so proud member of the No Boyfriend Since Birth club. She doesn’t mind, really, until lately, of course. :P

Note that these are still quite rough, and I’m still in the process of creating Rain’s personality and character. :) If you have any suggestions, I’d like to hear them. :D

And for the record, although Rain has some of my characteristics…she’s not me. :P Haha. I made sure of that. :)

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POOH!

I remember seeing you the first time during my covenant orientation, I think, where you gave a talk. I was always shy around you then, because I really didn’t know how to talk to you. The first words you actually spoke to me was during the Sumulong Mega Camp, when I was looking at the participants in our classroom while Talk 4 was being given…I think you said, “Don’t be afraid…the light will shine in the darkness. God loves you.” Something like that. :)

Then I missent you a text quote, and then you asked me if I wanted to have YFC in my high school alma mater. Of course I said yes, because I’ve been dreaming of that since I got into YFC. It was then I became “volunteer-ed”. :P Haha.

You’re one of the people who really inspired me in my service in YFC. Your famous, “Mahal mo ba si God/Do you love God?” line always gets to us when you’re asking us to do something difficult but important. Your words are always comforting, and you never failed to make us happy just by smiling and greeting us. :)

I’m really, really thankful that I missent that message because if not, I wouldn’t have known someone as great as you. :) Happy birthday, Kuya Don, East High School’s own Winnie the Pooh! :) I miss you so much! Hope to see you soon. God bless you! ♥