Chasing Your Happily Ever After or Living It?

Fairy tales taught us that the main character will find his or her happily ever after in the end of the story. It's either a knight-in-shining-armour will come to save her and that there will be a damselle-in- distress that needs rescuing by the brave knight. That villains will be punished and that everyone will rejoice when the prince charming gets the princess and gets married. The story stops there. The end.

We all strive to find our happy ending, but do we want it all to end when we already achieve that happines we all look for? Ofcourse not. We want to live in that moment and wish time to stop or gets slower so that the happy moment will last like forever util we breathe our last breath.

We will always find what we are looking for if not now maybe the next best thing to it and you all will surely find your happy ending where a new story will begin you just have to keep on looking or be content to what comes your way.

Searching for true happiness and the quest to achieve it is not an easy task, that was what I though before. Because I use to believe that struggles and roadblocks will always be a hindrance that will leads to where I want to be. But I was wrong, happiness is being satisfied with the now and actively choosing happiness over sorrow. Life is never easy but we can thread lightly.

It's been said that our destiny is laid to us even before we were born, it is not there waiting for us and ready to come straight at us in an instant. It's there it is what's meant for you. Yes we have to go and we will go through many obstacles, meet people, deal with situation that will affect wherever we wish to be. Sometimes we give up so easily because we can only take so much.

Is giving up the only option? Is surrendering to your failure the only best thing to do? Is this what you want? Is this what you think you deserve? Will you be happy in this decision?

Yes, your happiness matters. If you are not happy then those people around you can feel it. Sometimes we should be selfish to think first of our welfare before anyone else because if we are not happy within ourselves whatever we do will be temporal and after awhile we will feel empty. Go chase your happily ever after.

How do you know its your happily ever after? When you open your eyes when you wake up in the morning with a smile on your face and a glow in your heart, with little worries, and you can sleep comfortably at night I think thats how you'll know your living your happily ever after.

My Statement of Gratitude

I made this blog solely to be more upbeat and appreciate even the small things in my everyday life because simply I am tired of worrying, tired of hearing complaints and tired of the growing negativity around the world and it’s simply draining (and it’s not good for the complexion too, imagine wrinkles, dry skin, zits, frizzy hair!)

Almost two years ago when I created my S.H.O.E. , a month ago I created this blog and it tremendously helped me with my outlook in life and I can easily stomp off negativity, honestly.

Of course, there is the occasional outburst, but like what Shrek always say better out than in. I also have a place to dump my complaints, grievances and hysteria, my other blog, my PMSing mode blog (Pissy Mood Syndrome) Earthly Explorations . Once it’s out, let go. I actually laugh at my silly outburst sometimes when I see them in that blog.

Thank you so much Pinay Jadefor tagging me with this Statement of Gratitude. How I am gratitude let me count the ways:

One, I am gorgeous (hahahaha! nobody is allowed to complain here go to the complaints link if you want to hahahaha!). Two, I am so lucky to have my family, despite our sometimes love-hate relationships, it’s normal, when you love someone you are not afraid to tell them of their mistakes and love them all the same despite their imperfections. Three, I have the most sweetest, prettiest, smartest, mischievous, loving daughter. Four, I am happily in love everyday of my life and I am thankful for finding a man who compliments me in every way. Five, I love how he loves me, true we have our ups and downs but we have weathered all the storms, I would be the happiest woman on earth when we will be able to prove the world they are wrong. But, honestly, we don’t need to prove anything to anyone but ourselves and that is all that matters. Six, I have the most amazing, nicest, playful cat in the world, my cat never fails to amaze me with all her crazy antics and her loving ways. I love that cat. Seven, I’m glad to have internet at home and blog and write and create stuffs with pictures using photoshop. Eight, I have accomplished so many things in my life that the average 30 year old like me might not have gone through. Nine, I have my share of the spot light and the 15 minutes and more of the fame allotted for every person in the world. Ten, good friends, who drops by from time to time, leave me notes, call me up, the thought that they remember is a feel good factor and I am thankful for they consider me as indispensible (indisposable?) friend.

If I count them one by one, this blog space will not be enough, so, I will just leave it at those ten general things. Material possessions and physical appearance wither, but what’s inside of you, how you feel inside and how you make others feel towards you are the greatest blessings and the ones to be most thankful about.

I hope everyone will find time to sit down and contemplate, if they cannot list down, everyday, the things they are thankful about each day and acknowledge all the beautiful things in their lives instead of the bad ones, probably that way, the world will change, not instantly though but slowly and surely.

I believe everyone has a thing or two to be grateful about, past or present experiences. I encourage you to post and tag along with this “Statement of Gratitude” on your blogs and copy the statement below as you tag others (but this tag is completely optional).

I am tagging: Donald , Prily , Bobby , Zunnur , Ambrosia , Salamat , and Piebuko

*Start Copy*
In order to be able to achieve and maintain happiness we need to, actively, be able to do two things:

1) Complain and then let go (Dump the baggage, the roadblocks to happiness.)
2) Express Gratitude (The open expression of gratitude promotes happiness.)
After all everyone has something to be grateful for and/or something to complain about. If you would like to share, please follow the appropriate link and do so: "Are You Grateful?", "Complain Complain Complain."

Add your name to the current List of Contributors:
1-Attitude,the Ultimate Power
2-Max
3-DianaCA's Metamorphoses
4-Mental Poo
5-My Thoughts
6-Baba Doodlius
7-Wake Up America
8-Life is a Roller Coaster
9-Life is beautiful
10. –My Happiness Haven *End Copy*

By the way, I would like to thank Blog Catalog for making me one of the Popular Blogs in the community. This is so inspiring, what a nice 1st Month gift. Thank you so much BC and all my friends in there for your support and inspiring words.

Oh yeah before I forget, don't forget to turn off the lights on the eve of March 29 on your respective countries just to give the Earth Hour a boost and have our little contribution for our dear planet! Happy Weekend!

Travel the World with Me

We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.

Jawaharal Nehru

Travelling and discovering new places, culture, foods, meeting new people and captivating the experience through photographs is a sure fire to make anyone happy.

On my sidebar is a list of the World’s Happiest Countries according to a research done by a university in UK. I wanted to write an individual feature on each country but it will be useless since I have not been in any of them. ( Although, inputs from everyone who lives or lived in the countries mentioned below would be nice. )

Anyway, just to summarize what the report said, in comparison to 178 countries they surveyed below were listed as the top-10 countries whose residents are happier and satisfied with their life. Click on their links and travel the world with me, I’m sure it will make you itch to travel the world :)

1. Denmark
2. Switzerland
3. Australia
4. Iceland
6. Finland
5. The Bahamas
7. Sweden
9. Brunei
8. Bhutan
10. Canada

11-20. IRELAND, LUXEMBOURG, COSTA RICA, MALTA, THE NETHERLANDS, ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA, MALAYSIA, NEW ZEALAND, NORWAY AND THE SEYCHELLES, respectively
My country, the PHILIPPINES ranked 78.

Other notable results was that USA is only 23rd; GERMANY 35th, UK 41st, FRANCE 62nd, CHINA 82nd, JAPAN 90th, INDIA 125th and RUSSIA 167th.

For a comprehensive report about this and to see where your country ranks just click this : World's Happiest Countries (know I know how to do linking it’s so easy and convenient :)

Fun Tagging Along

Don't listen to anyone who tells you that you can't do this or that. That's nonsense. Make up your mind, you'll never use crutches or a stick, then have a go at everything. Go to school; join in all the games you can. Go anywhere you want to. But never, never let them persuade you that things are too difficult or impossible.

Gwladys Douglas Bader

I’m so glad to get to know some nice and fun people at Blog Catalog. The_Mrs tagged me with this funtagged that according to her post promises more traffic and higher Technorati ratings. Honestly, like her I don’t understand the rating things but well I agree if this means people come here in and letting me know that I am not rambling to my self, is indeed a real good thing. I raise my glass at that.
How to do the tagging:

Rules:
1. Copy all the links below and replace your blog beside the appropriate letter. For example if your blog name starts with the letter "D" then replace the link beside "D" with yours, and put the replaced link at the bottom of the list. Also add the person who tagged you at the bottom of the list.
2. Tag at least 5 people and encourage them to take part of the game - tag blogs only and only those without bad rated material like pornographic, violence, racism etc.

My List:
A acowboyswife.com
B bloggingcents.com
C chatbugkaren.com
D delusionsofgrandeur.org
E everythingandanythingblog.com
F -
G GeekMomMashup.com
H hoysater.no http://hoysater.no/oyvind/
I ipentimento.com
J juliesjournal.com
K kabalyero.com
L ladylike4.com
M My Happiness Haven
N nicusor.com
O originalmx5.net
P peapodsquadstuff.com
Q qweddings.com
R ringtailsquealer.blogspot.com
S stephanmiller.com
T TenaciousCreations.com
U utada-online.net
V valmg.com
W wickedbabylon.com
X xaviermedia.com
Y yimto.com
Z zbudapest.com

Replaced link: michaelpark.net
Previous tagger: ringtailsquealer.blogspot.com

Blogs I'm tagging:
Pinay Jade Life is Beautiful
Prily Capturing the moments
Gagay’s One Corner of My Life
Bobby’s Sailing on a RelationShip
Shay’s Horop Horop

I visited all this blogs and I must say there are lots interesting blogs out there :) so it's really fun tagging along :)

Loving Earth

There must be a reason why some people can afford to live well. They must have worked for it. I only feel angry when I see waste. When I see people throwing away things we could use.

Mother Teresa

Hit two birds with one stone. That’s what I think this is.

One is to preserve the dying “industry” of snail mail postal services and two, its environment friendly because we can now get rid of our electronic junks easily and they will think of our trash instead of us storing or piling them up somewhere in our homes or disposing them improperly.

What am I talking about? It’s the recycle electronics by mail by the U.S. Postal Service which is just on a trial stage at the moment in 10 key cities in the U.S. including Washington, D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles and San Diego. It is a tie up project of the postal service with Clover Technologies group, a company in the U.S. known to recycle, remanufacture and remarkets inkjet cartridges and small electronics, as told by Computer World. If successful, it will go nationwide in the fall, it said.

To use the "Mail Back" program, find one of the 1,500 post offices that offers special free envelopes. Drop in your recyclable electronics item, and mail it without postage. Best of all, for those of us who live on the road, you can take as many "Mail Back" envelopes as you please, and use them to mail your electronics from anywhere. How convenient is that!

I think this idea is great. I hope it turns out successful in U.S. and eventually spread all over the world. We only got one planet and we all have the responsibility to take care of it. We all heard about the Global Warming and we should do our part even in our own little way to lessen the injury.

EARTH HOUR

On 29 March 2008 the Philippines will join countries around the world as we literally "turn the lights out" for Earth Hour - an event that will fuel awareness on climate change and prove that when the people of the world work together, they can make a difference in the fight against global warming.

Earth Hour will take place throughout the Philippines from 8 to 9 in the evening on Saturday night, 29 March 2008. WWF invites you to participate by shutting off lights for 60 minutes, organizing your own "lights-out" event or by forwarding information to your friends, workmates and family.

If you want to know more about the Earth Hour and what time and when it will be held in your country or if you want to participate as an individual go visit the Earth Hour website.

Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life.

Rachel Carson

A Fairy Tale

There is no end of craving. Hence contentment alone is the best way to happiness. Therefore, acquire contentment.

Swami Sivananda

A married couple in their 60’s was out celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary in a quiet, romantic little restaurant. Suddenly, a tiny yet beautiful fairy appeared on their table and said, "For being such an exemplary married couple and for being faithful to each other for all this time, I will grant you each a wish."

"Ooh, I want to travel around the world with my darling husband," said the wife. The fairy moved her magic stick and - abracadabra! Two tickets for the new QM2 luxury liner appeared in her hands.

Now it was the husband's turn. He thought for a moment and said: "Well, this is all very romantic, but an opportunity like this only occurs once in a lifetime, so, I'm sorry my love, but my wish is to have a wife 30 years younger than me.

The wife, and the fairy, was deeply disappointed, but a wish is a wish. So the fairy made a circle with her magic stick and - abracadabra - the husband became 92 years old.

The Moral of The Story:
Men might be ungrateful idiots.... But, fairies are....females.

Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for. Epicurus

Thank God! It's Monday!

“Monday is the key day of the week.” I agree to what this Gaelic proverb quipped. We should be thankful for Mondays especially those who have to go to work? Why? Because this means you are one of the few lucky people who have a regular source of income and does not belong to the marginalized sector of the society because they don’t have work or can’t find work.

Work is about daily meaning as well as daily bread. For recognition as well as cash; for astonishment rather than torpor; in short, for a sort of life rather than a Monday through Friday sort of dying... We have a right to ask of work that it include meaning, recognition, astonishment, and life.

Studs Turkel

We should change the Monday sucks attitude to Monday is a blessing. This is a wonderful day where students will learn new things in school on Mondays, employees will start earning the money they spent on a weekend, employers will start to profit again as production begins and homemakers will have a quiet time at home when their husbands and children leaves for school .

When you don’t feel like working or you feel like literally dragging your feet off to bed on a Monday morning just listen to this song and hopefully it will get stuck in your heads to be the first song you sing when you wake up on a Monday moring to perk you up:

Happy Working Song from the movie Enchanted

---

My S.H.O.E. (Seven Heaven On Earth) today:

1) I just want to share to everyone that since my last post about Clicksense, 3 days ago? I now have $.31 in my account. With what I read in others this is something, so check it out maybe you can have more than what I do, I'm just happy to see that I am earning here:

2) I also found this interesting and promising so see for yourself and let's track our improvements together if ever. I will surely update you about it. 3) One more thing... YAY! I now have 15 votes can we make it 50 votes for me:D Thank you! Vote me now!

4) A female work-mate and friend (Yoyah) just told me I look like Eva Langoria from Desperate Housewife on her billboard for Elseve in EDSA (a famous streen here in Metro Manila). Oh my! That's so flattering (*blushes*)

5) Yay I can do links now! Thanks to Zunnur for teaching me the ropes :)

6) Being told by the one you love this and reminds you everyday that "You are my dreams, my hopes, my future, and my fantasy... I love you with all my heart. I belong to you."

7) My daughter, and everything that she is.

Happy Easter! (Tag You are It!)

The resurrection gives my life meaning and direction and the opportunity to start over no matter what my circumstances.

Robert Flatt

My first ever tag! Thanks to Pinay Jade I have no idea how to make links inside the post though so please excuse.

Firstly, here are the rules:
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog
2. Share seven facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird
3. Tag seven people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Weird / Random things about Earthlingorgeous

1. I like vinegar. Whatever I am eating there’s always a saucer of vinegar beside me. Yummy gets my appetite going.
2. I like to eat Milo sandwich. Milo is a powdered chocolate malt drink by Nestle.
3. I am scared of clowns.
4. I don’t drive and I don’t want to drive, I just want to be a passenger or at least someone drive for me.
5. My favorite part of doing the laundry is rinsing time. I love to get wet and wild! LOL! Using my favorite fabric conditioner, the earth friendly Downy 1 Banlaw!
6. I forget names easily, mostly random people that I met in person. Even if I have still photos with this person my head hurts to remember their name, it will take months before I remember the name, or another person reminding me of their names. A real awful and shameful experience honestly. Reason why sometimes people think I’m a snob but actually just too shy to talk to someone I know but I can’t remember the name.
7. I think I’m a very serious person. You can’t joke around me because I believe jokes are half meant. Yeah that bad! I think… I shouldn’t think anymore. What do you think?

Now I’m tagging enthusiastic new friends I made here in Blogger: Prily, LJ, Donald, Lisa, Cooper, Zunnur, Kiran and the Go! Smell flower smellers!

A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked.

Bernard Meltzer

OMG! This is Funny!

OMG! Really, I can't contain my amusement about this blog rating thing The Offended Blogger posted at Blog Catalog discussions. I had to try and see and that was the result. OMG! According to this site because I used the words pain twice and steal once. OMG! This is really funny! I think maybe this program is affected by the full moon tonight. What a lovely full moon. Hahahahaha! Jeez I'm turning into a lunatic I think!

What do you think of this program guys?

Check the rating of your blogs here if your not on Blog Catalog :)

Tired of worrying

Happiness is liberty from everything that makes us unhappy.

Vernon Howard

“You sound very optimistic,” Jean Mondistin or eblog said on my shout box yesterday at Blog Catalog. I take that as a very nice compliment, it seems my efforts are working just fine.

I am so tired of being a pessimist and a worry wart. Worrying doesn’t do anything good to me. It gives me sleepless nights, depression, wrinkles, pimples, dry skin and weight loss. It’s no fun doing that at all. I am done at that point in my life that now is the time to be just happy.

This always reminds me of Bobby McFerrin’s song Don’t Worry Be Happy and this is my favorite line: “In every life we have some trouble, when you worry you make it double”. Very true! Worrying will never ever solve anything. Life isn’t perfect. As I always tell my mom if you don’t experience problems consider yourself dead.

Enjoy summer, if you are from where I am or enjoy spring, if you are from Canada or US.

Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy.

Leo Buscaglia

Happy to be Blogging (Confessions of a Blog Addict/ Newbie)

This blog is officially 20 days old and I am so happy with the improvements and developments I made, the friends I met and the entirely new and fun world of blogging I am discovering.

You can say that I am a blog addict, this thing draws me everyday. Two years ago I discovered blogging for my pleasure of journaling everyday events, rants and thoughts. It was not as elaborate as what Blog Spot offered me now. That was in Y!360 But I it’s not “on air” now because I would like to dedicate my blogging here. My friends in there were informed of my moving-out and they understand and still visit me here sometimes. I also left Y!360 because there are some glitch on the system and it’s somewhat annoying.

Although, I still use the compose blog options of Y!360 to edit format and fonts of my post. See they have this option of being able to see the HTML codes and it’s so easy for me to change fonts and colors. Yeah I like colors, isn’t it obvious! So there that’s my secret for making this colorful blog. Thanks Y!360.

Any who, as a newbie and a self-confessed blog junkie, adding decorative blings to my blog is the first order of business I have in my for first couple days. The greatest mistake I did, but did not regret, was when I asked members of the Yahoo writing groups (that I won’t mention the name) to visit my blog. I was naïve and clueless where to get traffic for my blog. I posted a new thread that asked the members in there to go check out my blog. I was aghast! Initial reaction was so negative, I was speechless. The load people whom I often see posting threads and replying to post replied with bitterness that I could not understand. It was a friendly invitation and a naïve one at that. I just said “go check out my blog” then described my blog as I described it in here and anywhere else.

I left the group after the group administration took side of the attackers, for goodness sake they didn’t even go out of their way to check my blog and they criticize me about posting such a thread! But some were nice and messaged me in private, unlike the loud ones that the group administration allowed to get posted, and told me about friendly neighborhoods in the blog world. Last thing I heard was there was a thread administered by my first attacker about her blog. Huh! Sleek move eh? Anyway, the good thing about them driving me away in that group was I was able to discover new grounds. A friendlier and helpful environment and that is Blog Catalog.

Here I am a happy blogger, just the way I like it. Browsing over people’s page, I was very overwhelmed, so many blogs so little time another blogger quipped, was it the flower smellers. I joined Blog Catalog on March 13? Seems like years already. Here I found nice blogs and website aside from friendly people and new decorations I can add to my blog. And some interesting widgets with money making opportunities online I didn’t think existed.

I was only familiar with Adsense because it’s somehow embedded in the Blogger’s system. I have two other blogs I made prior to this happy blog and I have some widgets there and advertisement I put up from Adsense. Honestly, I really don’t think I’d make a hefty profit in these things but well it won’t hurt. Everyone could use a little help. So I browsed around some more and discovered Blogvertise, Clicksense and AdBrite among others like Pay per Play (PPP) etc. They look as decorations for blog pages and I want to get the feeling of a magazine like, scrapbook type thing going so I signed-up for those. If I made progress and make something laudable, I will tell you all about it promise.

Clicksense is making a good impression on me in this area though. In just a couple days, 4 days to be exact I think (lol), I made $.39 already. Cool! I’ve read on some thread in Blog Catalog that they reached such amount after months.
Probably that’s the reason why Blogvertise considered approving my “application” to have them place their ads on my page. According to their policy, they only approve publishers whose blogs are 30 days old. My blog just turned 20 days old today! What I liked about Blogvertise is that the tips they give budding publisher is helpful in finding places to and sign-up for to get more traffic to your blog.

I also discovered Link Referral and I love it too. Especially the options where you can be reviewed by other bloggers and have their reviews posted to your blogs (another lovely decoration for my blog) I love the reviews I am getting. Thank you everyone for the nice feedback! Link Referral is true to it’s claim that it can bring you real traffic to your blogs.

Oh! How can I forget the local blogger groups Pinoy Blogger, Pinoy Hot Blogs and Got Pinoy; Blog Listing, Blog Hub, Technorati, Link 2 Blogs and Blog Rankings, Blogarama and the Blog Writers. Please vote for me in my first ever attempt to join a blog contest the Philippine Blog Contest. You can vote for me by just clicking that little image that says VOTE MY BLOG, its all over the page. Click and submit vote that’s all there is! No registration, no anything. There's also another contest the Blog Idol by Go! Smell the flowers, from Blog Catalog I wonder how the contest is progressing.

Bad, bad, bad me! I wasn’t to blog today as part of my contrition because it’s Holy Week, in addition to the sacrifice of not eating meat until Black Friday. A religious tradition I grew-up with, stay away from earthly pleasures at least until Black Friday. I failed miserably, here I am typing away! This is the longest post I’ve ever written so far. I’m so bad!

Wow! Photos

I got these pictures from an e-mail forward from a friend, I wish I knew who the photographer was. All these pictures are simply amazing. What a way to wake up in the morning and see such a beautiful sight captured through a camera and the keen eye of an artistic photographer.

He made me suddenly realize that photographs could reach eternity through the moment.

Henri Cartier

When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence.

Ansel Adams

What's your SHOE today?

No, it’s not the typical shoe you wear to work or play. It’s your Seven Heaven On Earth (SHOE) some of you may already be familiar with it because I just wrote about it a couple post away. Its listing down seven things or events in your day that didn’t make it as bad as you think it was. Some things that made you smile, giggle, laugh, and made you feel good. It’s something or anything good that doesn’t need to be grand like; “sipping the perfectly brewed coffee from Starbucks on the way to work”.

I have become my own version of an optimist. If I can't make it through one door, I'll go through another door - or I'll make a door. Something terrific will come no matter how dark the present.

Rabindranath Tagore

Were we trained to look for negativity or was it a personal choice that we become such. Ever notice yourself grumpy in the morning? Sometimes I do, especially when I wake before the time I wish to wake up. When we wake up in a bad mood, we say we woke up on the wrong side of the bed, but have you actually heard of waking up on the right side of bed? No.

So, after waking up, we either turn on the radio or TV for the morning news or read the morning paper and it will strike you with the events the other day “59 killed in a bomb attack in Iraq”, “US in recession”, “Performer’s house burned after robbing and raping her”, “Britney Spears drugged” (my headlines are fictional I’m just trying to give you the idea). Don’t you just hate the world for all these violence and bad news going around?

And so you go to work either by public transport or drive in your own car. Traffic! So your day already is ruined. You go to work wishing time goes by fast so you can go home. Annoying office mates and some boring work you have or you have too much work to do. Today will be a horribly long day! Finally, going home, traffic, etc. etc. Got the idea?

What I mean is that finding annoying things in your life is very easy, it’s like an unconscious choice. However, finding joys in the simple things in your life can be tough and takes a lot of practice and patience.

Let’s look at the same example in a different way. Waking up earlier than expected instead of being grumpy think of it as having more time to go shower, eat a big breakfast, surf the internet or write yesterdays S.H.O.E. because you forgot to write it last night.Noticing life little wonders, will make wonders in your life. Honestly, the first few days I tried writing my SHOE it was hard, I have to think real hard, but when I get the hang of it, finding and noticing wonderful things, good stuffs around me is as simple as blinking.

Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you'll start having positive results.

Willie Nelson

I encourage and challenge everyone to write down their S.H.O.E. everyday and please feel free to tell me the experience of doing it the first time. After a couple of days come back and tell about your progress, how does it feel? Was it easier to find good things now that you are used to it than the first time? Good luck! :)

What's your SHOE today?

Palm Sunday and an Awesome Boxing Match

The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.

Oprah Winfrey

Yesterday was a great day for every Filipino in the world. Why? Our Pambansang Kamao (National Fist, yeah I know that sounds cheesy and odd but that’s the rough translation of that term), he was called that because he brought our country great honor for his great boxing skills and ability. Probably you’ve heard of him Manny Pacquiao, the first Asian to hold three titles in the boxing world. Yesterday he got the Super Featherweight Champion of the World title after winning a hair-line against another great boxer Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez. Their score is just 114 to 113. The winning factor of Pacquiao over Marquez was when he knocked-out Marquez on the third round.

Anyway, it was a wonderful day yesterday (technically it’s Monday here already but to other parts of the world it’s still Sunday night). Pacquiao’s boxing match is one of the only sports thingy I love to watch, there is something about him that entices me to watch his fight, all the time. I remember feeling his pain when he got the top of his right eye cut because of the blow from Marquez and I saw his blood flowing down his eye and he lost control over the fight for a couple minutes, I thought he’s gonna loose. Then gained momentum at round 11 where I saw the Pacquiao in his winning moments in the boxing arena. When the announcer said the new Super Featherweight Champion Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao, I jumped for joy like everybody else did as shown all-over the news right after the fight. But Marquez was equally good, they are a good match! They finished all of the 12 rounds!

What I like most when Manny Pacquiao has a boxing match and a title to win, it’s a day when our country, according to authorities, virtually goes peaceful. During these days the authorities reported that we got zero crime and the bashing, bickering, clashing political scene seemingly in harmony. It’s called the “Pacman” fever.

***
It was also Palm Sunday (Domingo de Ramos) yesterday, one of the highlights of Christianity when Jesus finally entered Jerusalem and his last moment as a man and the beginning of his passion. This marks the beginning of the Holy Week. Palm Sunday is one of the celebrated moments in Church where everyone, most especially the adults, brings palm leaves to be blessed and bring it back home to ward off the evil spirits. Some old people said they blessed palm tree leaves can also be used against manananggal and aswang, our local version of those blood sucking, flesh eating monsters in the West.

Palm leaves were significant during Jesus triumphant entry to Jerusalem because it was what the locals during that time waved around to welcome his arrival. It’s similar to waving banners or flags when someone important comes for a visit.

Perspective

Laugh at yourself and at life. Not in the spirit of derision or whining self-pity, but as a remedy, a miracle drug, that will ease your pain, cure your depression, and help you to put in perspective that seemingly terrible defeat and worry with laughter at your predicaments, thus freeing your mind to think clearly toward the solution that is certain to come. Never take yourself too seriously.

Og Mandino

I’m not all perky and happy; I can be a real bitch sometimes. I am not a perfect pretty little sweet miss. The monster in me comes out especially when I am PMSing or when G.E.M. (green eyed monster/jealousy) overcomes me. My hunny can attest to that and things can be real ugly when my hormones are soaring, I want to have a fight with everyone, I am mad at everyone and everything is just not right.

Since I started this blog last Feb 29, 2008 I felt real good. It’s wonderful, when I finally decided to change my perspective. Instead of complaining and be bitchy why I don’t get things to happen my way or don’t get what I want, I found a different approach and it’s very rewarding.

It’s not looking the other way when you see bad things. It’s changing your perspective about why these things happened and find a solution to make it better. When someone criticizes you, think of it as constructive criticism, maybe you really need to change how you do things.

I know that you, ladies and gentlemen, have a philosophy, each and all of you, and that the most interesting and important thing about you is the way in which it determines the perspective in your several worlds. William James

Humans have the ability to shift perspective. We can experience the world through our senses. Or we can remove ourselves from our senses and experience the world even less directly. We can think about our life, rather than thinking in our life. John J. Emerick

If the ones criticizing you are someone you barely know, dismiss whatever bad opinion they have of you, what should matter to you are the people around you, the people you interact with daily.

There are two ways of looking at it: When someone is having a good life they see all things beautiful when someone is having a crappy day they see shit in everything.

I think this is what they call paradigm shift.

My S.H.O.E. for the day

Ask yourself whether the dream of heaven and greatness should be waiting for us in our graves - or whether it should be ours here and now and on this earth.

Ayn Rand quotes

Seven Heven On Earth, that’s what the acronym stands for. I created my SHOE almost 2 years ago on my other blog site to focus on things that I should be grateful for, atleast seven things that made my day not so bad and stressful. I have not thought of any topics to write about today I was overwhelmed and excited by the new discoveries I found on the internet today. But I don’t like leaving my blog without posting anything so I decided time to post my SHOE for today.

1. The someone I was missing so much called me today as soon as he woke up. Isn’t he sweet!
2. When a door closes a new one opens. I left a writing group here on the net (but I won’t mention the name because that would be free advertising, haha! But if you really want to know I can whisper it to you, only if you ask me to on my comment box, haha! Teasing!) I left that group because the louder and active members are very negative and they will eat you alive. Anyway, enough of that. I’m so happy to find my way in this bloggers community, Blog Catalog. So many friendly people in there and lots of blogs to browse. So many good blogs actually and so little time. I made new friends at Blog Catalog and got new tools to dress-up this blog. Thank you so much.
3. I was invited to work as a Marketing/PR for Tuazon Racing School in Makati. Isn’t that swell!
4. My daughter has a good appetite. Very good actually. She eats what I cook and she likes to eat rice (plain rice!) every hour!
5. Officially it’s SUMMER! The sun was awesome today but it’s not too hot because there’s a nice cool breeze that comes along with it. Weather report said early mornings and nighttime here in Manila will still be cool because of the hanging Amihan (breeze coming from the melting ice in the South). Temperature is expected to rose from 22-33. Yup relatively speaking that’s extremely hot for some Western countries.
6. American Idol! I was relieved that Ramiele Malubay wasn’t sent home this week, there’s a chance for her to redeem herself and show off what great voice she really have.
7. Yummy nice barbeque my sister brought home tonight. Yup I eat rice late at night and I don’t get fat!

Conversations with a Narcissist

Narcissist, a self-centered, self-loving person!

A one-on-one interview of Wacky Loco (WL) with Earthlingorgeous (EG). (Inspired by the Fun and Games Q&A!)

WL: She’s so beautiful!
No, she’s very beautiful!!!
No, no, no, she’s mesmerizingly beautiful!!!
You can’t help going into a paroxysm of superlatives when you’re faced to face with, no doubt about, the most beautiful woman in the world.
I suspect that when heaven showered beauty and brains, she was first in line holding her umbrella upside down.
Simply put, she’s a great beauty and a great talent.
She’s Earthlingorgeous.
(On that note WL, started the Conversation)
You are oh-so beautiful. How do you preserve yourself?
EG: By embalming? (Breaks into laughter)

WL: Do you have any beauty regimen?
EG: No, I just take it easy but I burst out during PMS. Better out than in as Shrek always say.

WL: Any kind of Diet?
EG: I don’t actually diet per se. I just sweat everything playing with my daughter Tasha and loving my hunny Jeff.

WL: How does it feel being told everyday that you’re the most beautiful woman in the world?
EG: It feels great! I am not a hypocrite to say I don’t enjoy the attention and all the praise! But well I can’t blame them all for saying such because well they are just telling the truth right? I like the attention they are giving me but the one I love telling me I’m beautiful everyday is my love I always want him to keep seeing me as the most beautiful woman in the world!

WL: I agree. Have you always been so beautiful?
EG: No not really. I was an ugly duckling, I am a late bloomer. But I thank my parents for the good genes they have. It was only later on that I appreciated that I can be gorgeous.

WL: Ugly duckling? I can’t imagine.
EG: Oh yes I was. I was missing two front teeth when I was in grade school and my hair was kinky and I was so dark like a dark wood. My fashion sense, oh my god makes no sense at all! It’s out of this world! In high school, I was so skinny no curves and bumps so all the boys in high school don’t have their attention on me but towards my girlfriends who look older than their age because they already have breast and butts. They don’t look my way; they think I’m just a 4th grader! I attract the younger boys though! (Giggles like enjoying the trip back to memory lane)

WL: I bet those boys feel sorry for not looking your way now huh?
EG: Oh yes they do! Now they all suffer! (Laughs hysterically!)

WL: I still can’t picture you ugly, but by the way you tell that story you must be very different the way I see you now. How did you become as gorgeous as you are now?
EG: I didn’t do anything outstanding really. No doctors or needles too. I hate needles; well I’m actually scared of them! But I guess if you are really beautiful it comes out naturally. You don’t have to work so hard for it.

WL: Being this stunningly beautiful as you are now, do you find it difficult to chase off men or boys for that matter?
EG: I don’t chase them off I intimidate them! Growing up surrounded by boys, I know how they think and how they play in general. But the way you deal with men/boys differs it depends on what type of man/boy you are dealing with. There are different approaches from different men, so different tactics to make them bug off.

WL: What is the raunchiest pick-up line you get?
EG: Hmmmmm… well there is this “Are you a model, maybe you wanna send me your portfolio?” And there is this “I’m new here, are you an actress here in the Philippines ‘coz certainly look like one?” and the mushy ones like “Am I dead? ‘Coz if I am I think I’m in heaven and I just saw an angel!”

WL: Wow those were really cheesy, do you ever had indecent proposals?
EG: Yeah I did, I think all pretty women get one. You’ll get them often from dirty old men (DOM) or dirty old politicians (DOP) it’s disgusting. The way to turn them down is to remind them about their age and the difference between you them and Orlando Bloom! (Breaks into laughter)

WL: Your boyfriend is so lucky. Does he know that?
EG: Yeah he is, he tells me everyday. I’m lucky to have him too because he is so patient and loving towards me. He can’t take the spotlight but said he loves to watch me catch the rays.

WL: Doesn’t he get jealous?
EG: He does. But you know men they don’t show it. His philosophy is that he can’t blame all those men because with a girlfriend like me if he will be jealous he wouldn’t do anything else but get jealous all the time so he stomps it off.

WL: He seems confident.
EG: Only because he knows me more than anyone else does. Being beautiful is a bonus. Like him being handsome is a bonus for me too. You see, a guy or a girl gets more or less handsome or pretty as you get to know him or her on the inside.

WL: Just to let you know you are already perfect the way you are but just for discussions sake if you were to replace a part of your body what would it be and why?
EG: Like you said I’m already perfect the way that I am so honestly there is not a thing about me I want change but if you’d insist maybe I would just like some additional inches to my height (whispers) because I’m so petite. But then again, I can cheat with a six inches stiletto can I? So basically not a thing I would change. Anyways, wishing I was taller was like wishing to be perfect right? Nobody is really perfect, I’m just right! (Laughs)

WL: What beauty tip can you give to all the women in the world so they can achieve beauty as divine as yours? In short, what makes you Earthlingorgeous!
EG: (Giggles) Well, all I can say is that nobody can be as beautiful as me! They could try but they can’t they just can’t! On the serious note, confidence is the key. You are only as beautiful as you feel you are, if you feel good about yourself and show everyone how proud you are about you it will reflect towards the others and they will see it. Everything starts within, you can’t give what you don’t have so I say love yourself first and love yourself well. In that way you can give more love to others too. Love is the key. Feel good, look good! I feel fabulous!

WRITERS NOTE: This blog was composed just for FUN, anyone who has a violent reaction on this conversation should post a comment or send a petition to the higher court (LOL) if you can't do any of the other then SHUT UP and FOREVER HOLD YOUR PEACE!)

This is a re-post from my Y!360 blog. I love this interview so much that it deserves a space in this happy blog. My next interview is coming out soon, in the meantime have fun reading this one!

Writing and Blogging

I don’t have a flawless copy. I don’t think I’m a great writer compared to my contemporaries and others out there who have their brows raised already by just visiting this blog. Sometimes I can be very naïve, most of the times actually. You visited at your own will.

However arrogant others think I am, especially from the writing club I am (was) a part of, you can’t discourage me from writing and blogging. You can’t take me away from my passion.

I write to satisfy myself and nobody else. Writing is my form of relaxation and diversion.

I find it irresistible to write and blog. It is different and more convenient than writing diaries with a pen and scented notebook with lock. It is less messy than making scrapbooks and it’s a break away from the negative focused news writing/ journalism I was used to.

It is creating my own world, my own space, my haven.

Blogging is the perfect place for me, it makes use of my creative energies, writing, arts and photography and anything using my hands, eyes and my artistic instinct.

I see pleasure in my blog. If what is here is not important to you who by chance passed by my page out of curiosity, it’s your problem, I could care less, my happiness and the people directly involved in my life is what’s important to me. Strangers’ opinion does not matter to me.

I blog/ write diaries because I have a tendency to forget. I write to communicate to the hearts and minds of the people surrounding me what is burning inside of me. It is like talking without being interrupted.

I write because of the voice inside me that will not shut up until it sees the words written down.

I write because I have the ability to do so and I am making use of the talent I was given.

When I write it makes me happy.

(My version of George Orwell’s Why I Write)

Missing someone

Please be safe wherever you are. Come home to me I need you I need to show you how much I love you in person.

This line will be very familiar to someone I love so dearly, why not I wrote this to him in a short note when I was missing him like crazy. I know it’s mushy stuff to say but so as the famous cliché goes: Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

I know it’s an odd predicament to say that missing someone makes us happy because in a way it does. Why not? Missing someone only means that you have someone special to miss contrary to not missing someone you really don’t have or missing someone you don’t have.

It’s true that missing someone can be very hard and hurtful at times, which is most of the time apart from that special someone. Because you always wish that you have that close and hold them tight. Missing someone messes our brains up, sometimes we think of unthinkable things that I would not want to mention anymore. We wish that they were thinking of us constantly the way we are thinking of them too.

When we miss someone everything around us becomes them, every little thing reminds us of them, funny commercials shown on TV, the song you just heard a second ago, the potato chip you are munching on right now, it becomes them.

But because we are assured that they are there somewhere thinking of us the way we do, we try to un-miss them by making ourselves busy, but the missing won’t stop. The moment you halt doing things like bathroom breaks, you find yourself wandering with thoughts of the one you miss.

Missing someone gets easier everyday because even though you are one day further from the last time you saw them, you are one day closer to the next time you will.

Revisiting Manila (A stroll in the park)

Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places where other people see nothing.

Camille Pissarro

Mention Manila, Philippines to a local and the first things that comes to mind are annoying traffic, smog, irritating, not fun and relaxing at all, unsafe. Today, I saw Manila in a different light, something I wouldn't think would ever happen but it did. All I need was to look at it from a different perspective. Today, I was a tourist, not someone going to work, not a passerby. A tourist with open-mind, ready to appreciate new things.

Today was a fun and long day where we, me, my mom, my sis and daughter decided to see the famous Ocean Park that opened recently here in Manila, our country's version of the Ocean Park in Singapore. But as expected a long queu was waiting for us that we decided to skip the Ocean Park and instead explore Manila riding a horse and a carriage!

Tasha somewhat annoyed waiting to get inside the famed just recently opened Manila Ocean Park while her grandma carried her on her back. The long queu to get inside Manila Ocean Park. That was the very first time I ever did that in Manila stroll the city aboard a carriage... unexpectedly it was a fun and relaxing experience! I really enjoyed it the whole 30 minute ride on a horse and carriage (kalesa in our dialect).

Our first horse and carriage ride around Luneta and Intramuros. Very cool ride like we never been to this part of Manila before. The carriage ride was so relaxing after an annoying half hour standing in line to get in at the Ocean Park.

The Manila City Hall
National Museum
Intramuros, the Walled City during the Spanish collonization of our country. Statue of King Philip II said to where our country's name came from.

Then we stayed for a bit at the Luneta Park (Rizal Park) which I haven't done since college! I went there during the senatorial election period in 2007 but that was all work and didn't see the park as pretty as what I think it is now.

Nope this park doesn't have keep off the grass sign! Me and Tasha resting on Luneta Park (Rizal Park) after lots of running and chasing and walking and strolling and eating. Phew. Imagine Luneta Park or Rizal Park streches about 58 hectares of land! Who wouldn't get tired strolling in there!

Resting a bit.Time to go home!