Blogging Is Sweeter The Second Time Around

What would be the reason why a blog owner would suddenly show up and write a post after more than a month of absence? I guess it has to be the love for writing (or the lack of it..whichever works for you). For the past month, I've been a non-writer -- immersing myself in activities which make a person "normal" in society. I forgot that WRITERS ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE THAT.

Writers are supposed to be like this:

* Eccentric
* Weird
* err...Couch Potatoes?
* Moody
* Sarcastic
* Inquisitive (in short, mtanong)
* Reflective
* ERRATIC (a weird word which came up after one of my erratic moments..so I learned it)
* Solitary

As a self proclaimed writer, and as someone who has written more for others than for myself, I can say that I have at least...ALL of the mentioned qualities above. LOL. And each time I start becoming a "normal" person in the most stereotypical sense of the word...I lose the flair for writing.

And I found out...BLOGGING is not meant to record daily activities. I tried that. It was stressful! Blogging is a sort of catharsis (a cliche' word which actually means, a process of expressing pent up feelings and emotions).

Emotions must pile up throughout days and weeks before you can start writing something that makes sense.

Anyway, for the past two years, I have written a bunch of articles which aim to entertain target audiences all over the web. Sure I earn from these articles, but it wouldn;t hurt if you take a look. Have fun:

CLICK HERE TO SEE VERNIEL'S ONLINE ARTICLE PAGE

eternal 1 hour / more Bruno Mars comparisons / sighs

When you're waiting, minutes seem like hours!

Look at me. It's 2:30, just 30 minutes away from my next class but it seems like forever.

That's what happens when your accounting professor is absent.

And that's what happens each time you're waiting for something...whatever it is....it takes forever!! (ok, no need to elaborate the details on that..lol)

***********

Anyway, yesterday someone did a CRIME. Again. The crime is telling me that I look like Bruno Mars. lol! What's with the Bruno MArs comparisons? I started hearing that a few months ago. Rumors, please stop!! haha. I mean, I'm flattered but I like myself just the way I am!! (yup and just the way you are)..lol

*****

When you're undergoing emotional stress and things get rocky..all you can do is SIGH (physically. because some people will argue and tell you to pray. but that's a given).

SIGHS!!!!


Ok, I'm fine.

don't get too happy YET...

In my experience, it is better to limit your celebration when things are going well in your life. Why?

Because nature has its way of robbing happiness away. If you get too happy...the next thing in line for you is..well, some kind of sadder event. hahaha

If you earn a salary and you get too happy about it, you won't save a single penny. Gagastusin mo lahat yun.

If someone tells you that you look good, and then you reacted with extreme happiness, it's easy for the other person to say, JOKE LANG.

So I think the right kind of happiness is "controlled happiness". lol. It is also called "delayed gratification".

Limit or delay your celebration if something good happens to you. Place your successes in a box until a quieter time (as the Dave Matthews song goes.)

There's another side to this, and it is sorrow.

Remember that if you're experiencing too much sorrow right now...keep in mind that the next thing in store for you is joy, happiness, success, triumph.

It's true.

I'm starting to think that this is what the Bible means when it is written, "Sorrow is better than laughter". I think sorrow speaks of good things ahead. But present laughter (I mean, too much of it) leads to future grief.

So I think the pattern of nature is this:

Cry before you laugh.
Fail before you succeed.
Pain before gain.
Practice before perfection.
Work before play.
Rejection before approval.


I've found that if you turn this pattern around, in most cases you end up losing in the end in some way.

Kaya pala si FPJ pabugbog muna. hahaha.

I mean, I admit this is not true 100% of the time. There are exceptions. But if you're experiencing minor successes right now......don't give your class A celebration yet. There are greater things ahead of you!

Good day.

if you have a cat, read this. :)

Just a few days ago, I have been reading a magazine article, and one writer wrote about an interesting attitude that all cats have in common.

Now, I'm not sure if this is 100% real, but I just feel like blogging about it. lol

Research has shown that when a cat enters a room full of people, the animal usually approaches the person who has the most amount of indifference (in other words, kung sino yung taong pinaka-hindi namamansin sa pusa...yun ang lalapitan ng pusa..haha).

This attitude is hard-wired and automatic in cats. To prove if this idea is true, I tried it on our cat, Blessing. When he entered the room one morning while everyone is having breakfast, I didn't call him or throw him any food. I acted as if I didn't see the poor cat. After a few minutes, I can see the cat (through my peripheral vision) approaching me slowly! Then he started to play with my foot, trying to get my attention.

Confirmed.

Anyway, the research also found that the same trait or attitude of cats toward indifference ARE PRESENT IN MANY HUMAN BEINGS! lol

But don't bother trying this on people. Do it to your cat first!!! hahaha.

Why the Bible and my iPod go great together.....

Most people today equate the Bible with religion, rules, and worse yet, superstition. (To us apostolics, it's a different story). On the other hand, people associate iPods with pop music, technological advancement, keeping up with trends...

In my opinion, the two can be used together for worthwhile personal purposes...if you know how.


For example, just recently I downloaded the audio version of the King James Version of the Bible on my Apple device. Thank God for modern technology (well, it's not exactly a new technology, but I'm just happy about it). Now I can listen to the Scriptures everywhere I go, and "encode" the Words of Truth in my heart and mind on a much greater scale.

By listening, I am able to see a new perspective of the Bible that I've never had before. For example, in the book of Proverbs, I usually just read on and on for a long time, and have trouble grasping the meaning of each verse when I start feeling sleepy. But when I began listening to the audio (thanks Steve Jobs!), the book of Proverbs is clearer to me now. :)

By the way, you can use the "Audiobooks" feature of iTunes to start syncing Bible files in your device. If you want to know how to do this and where to get te files, let me know at 09162275715. You can do this at absolutely no cost.
"Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God". (Romans 10:17)

But of course, I still believe in reading the Bible! If you already do read yours, keep it up! But if you could add AUDIO to your spiritual menu, that would be better.

So let me ask you, what's in your iPod? :)

Don't lose the opportunity. Put the Greatest Book in History inside the best gadget of the modern age.

*** *** ***



(Happy birthday to my brother, Charis, who's celebrating his 27th birthday today. God bless you bro!)

new year's eve / overflowing food / beef or sugar?

Please don't ask for videos. I'll post them later. (Or I might, depends on the mood).

So........

I made it to 2011!! As I played Kenny G's version of Auld Lang Syne on my iPod minutes before 12 midnight of Jan 1, I felt like having a toast (soda only) with my brothers and cousins for such a wonderful year that has passed. I mean, lots of people didn't even make it! So thank God we're here.

Food was, well..."overflowing" was an understatement. Up to the last minute of 2010 I was hoping that I could at least lose a few inches off my bulging tummy...but to no avail. Why did they ever invent New Year celebrations?? It's just a way for people like us to fall for all the yummy recipes being offered. :)

Kidding aside, I had an awesome N.Y. celebration. What better company to have than family, right? And besides, I have no choice. They have no choice too, they're stuck with me...so hey we might as well celebrate together and drown in food. :)


Just before midnight we found time to kneel and pray and just thank God for all His goodness.

Gifts were cool. I got a new towel, new socks, and a piece of yellowish paper with Ninoy's face printed on it. :) (they said I could use that paper to buy things from the store. What are stores???)

Traditionally, we celebrate New Year's eve with lots of family members, in-laws and relatives. But this year, it wasn't possible, so here are the only people present:

We decided not to participate in any "firecracking" or fireworking..but we did make noise by the sound of the DRUMS...lol. I'll try to post videos of that. I also took video clips of fireworks from our neighbors.

AFTERMATH: Today, January 3, 2011...I woke up at 6 pm and couldn't stand up. My thighs are numb, my muscles are weak, and I couldn't move! I thought I was going to go lame (which is a lame theory)......thank God I'm ok now. They say it's because of too much sugar I took the past few days (soda, chocolates, fruitcake, rice, pasta, etc......). Others say I had too much BEEF (bulalo, beef steak, meatballs).

So which one is the culprit? Beef or Sugar? Post comments. :)

Hectic But Happy Holiday Season 2010......

For me, the best way to END the new year is to START a new blog. :) Now I'm not going to tell you the good old "it's been a crazy year" sort of thing. But let me start off by saying, this is quite a busy holiday season. I thought I'd have the privilege to doze off and sleep for two weeks straight, but nah. It's all good, though! I'm not complaining.

Year End Family Sunday at HCJC - Dec. 26

December 26, was our Year End Thanksgiving service and Family Sunday in church. I wish I started this blog three days ago so I could have posted a separate blog post about the Family Sunday. Don't listen to me...just view the pics. ;)

 

 Ongka Family and Sis. Jhoy 

 With Miralles Family

 

HCJC Music Team

There are so many pics of this event. I'm just too lazy to post them. I have pics with more families than you can imagine, and even lots of pics of me playing the piano (you'll get tired of it). Let me say that the whole-day affair was succesful in the sense that God honored it with His presence. And of course, everyone went home with full stomachs..and large intestines...and probably full toilets too, but that's beside the point. ;)

Wedding Gig With Sheena Rios - Dec. 28

I've had the privilege to play piano on the wedding of Sheena Rios' friend and co-teacher on Tuesday the 28th. This was held in Chattel Elysse in Bicutan. Finally after a whole month of practice, we were able to pull it off (in fact, it was just three days of practice..spread four weeks apart..lol). Sheena and my brother Charis sang there. Anyway, I was glad to see the bride and groom happy on their wedding, even if I just met them that day. Pics again:

 

Sis. Janette Ong's Birthday  /  Final Wednesday Service Of The Year - Dec. 29

It was a funny though slightly embarassing story. Our friend, Janette Ong, invited us to a lunch treat for her birthday a few days ago. I was sure to come, but when I woke up on the morning of Dec. 29, I thought it was only Dec. 28. In short, nakalimutan kong may lunch pala nung araw na yun. I thought bukas pa. hahaha. After receiving bunches of text messages from them, I finally realized my error and "took courage" to catch up with them. So here, happy birthday to our friend, Janet (wearing yellow below, not the baby): Sorry for being late! lol. Here's a pic of us at Mr. Kabab in West Ave. : (don't ask what time I arrived..lol)

After this we went straight to our choir practice at 5 pm. I'll post a video of our choir practice soon. It was such an uplifting practice session for the entire worship team. The service that followed afterwards was a blast as well. We had a mighty move of God, and it was such a great way to end the year (the final Wednesday church service of 2010). 

All in all, I'm thankful for having many people around me, lots of blessings, and lots of opportunities that God has given. As I slowly see the curtain closing on the year 2010, I counted my blessings...and FAILED! Because God's blessings are countless!

And let me add, I've had five straight days of overflowing FREE FOOD. Imagine that. That's why holidays like these are so cool. ;)

V. Cutar

 5:44 am