Things.

From a discussion that I had with my e-mail buddies:

Regarding being hurt by people who are closest to you: It is very true that those who are closest to you are the ones that can hurt you the most, whether they are your friends or even your own family. I suppose they feel that they have the right to interfere in your life and think that they know what's best for you, because they know everything that you're going through. So they impose their feelings and their opinions on you as to how you should live your life, etc, without even thinking how you would feel.

Regarding the hardships of being a Christian: The Christian life gets harder, because as you get to know more about Christ (through His word, etc), the struggle between our own desires and following His teachings become more apparent. When the light of Christ is shone on that struggle, we become more aware of it. But hardships refines us in the fire, strengthens our faith, so that's the hope we can hold on to as we go through hardships in our Christian life.

Regarding marriage and finding a mate: For both men and women, as far as knowing what we want, who we want and when we want it, if it's not there, don't force it. Don't go around just looking for someone because you feel that you have to or you're told that you need to get married straightaway! But don't wait for that person to fall out of the sky either. Sometimes the person is right under your nose and you don't even know that that person is there because you're so caught up in looking out (into the horizon) instead of looking down (right under your nose). Of course you have to keep praying about it, but you would probably need to take that first step as well toward your prayer being answered.

Because I felt like it.

I bow down to your awesomeness. You truly are a Knight of the Round Table, ready to defend yourself against the Knights of Ni, use the Holy Grenade of Antioch, and RUNAWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!! from the horrible monster of ARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHH!! Or perhaps a barber who truly desires to be a singing lumberjack. Or better yet, you are Brian, fighting off the misguided crowds and wondering what on earth you did wrong to wind up singing “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” while hanging on the cross. Well whoever you choose all I have to say is Go you!!!

How big of a Monty Python fan are you? brought to you by Quizilla

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March 18th, 2005
10:10 pm
Ioan Gruffudd, a.k.a. “Horatio Hornblower” is Mr. Fantastic in the upcoming movie Fantastic 4. *sigh* He’s Welsh, people, WELSH! LOL

Day off!

Bliss! I had the day off today! And, I finally went to the gym today, after not having gone for the past few months. Let me tell you, it felt great getting all drenched in sweat (ewww…gross, I apologize), but boy, did I need it, especially today! Anyway, for the rest of the day, I just stayed home and took it easy, read my Bible and then moved on to reading The Chronicles of Narnia. I know what you’re thinking, “you haven’t read The Chronicles of Narnia?” No, I have not read it at all, although I have been meaning to for a very long time. I have the one volume edition, which contains all 7 books. It will be quite a daunting task but I intend to finish the whole thing by the end of the year. But anyway, I digress. It was quite a nice day, although it did rain, which I wasn’t too keen about, but I thank God for the rain all the same. If it hadn’t rain today however, I would’ve gone to the beach (which was my original intent before I found out that it was going to rain this weekend) and do some reading. Maybe some other time. Good day, a very good day.

Another treat as well was that I had a chance to chat with my best friend, Rizza. That was quite a surprise as I had not seen her online for quite a while. It was great just to be able to catch up with her and find out what we both have been up to since we had last spoken / chatted. Chatting with her made me miss Toronto. I do miss that city and my friends over there. I would love to visit them some day. Moving back to Toronto is still a possibility for me, and I’m definitely not closing the door on that. But it’s a matter of where the Lord wants me to be.
I think I’m going to resume reading. Good night!

March 13, 2005 - "An Afternoon of A Cappella" - B.B. King's, Universal Citywalk, Burbank, CA

It’s been 4 days since m-pact’s LA debut at B.B. King’s at the Universal Citywalk, I think it’s time for me to write my thoughts about it. The B.B. King’s gig was supposed to be m-pact’s debut performance as an LA-based group. I am quite excited about the fact that one of the best a cappella groups in the world call Los Angeles home. I just hope that Angelenos will catch on and appreciate the phenomenal talents these guys have.

My cousin April, and I arrived around 5:15 p.m., along with April’s boyfriend Jeremy and my friend and fellow Papuri member Marnee, just in time to catch the UCLA Scattertones’ set. Walked in and ran into the guys at the lobby, said “hello” to Jeff Smith (their tenor/alternate vp) and got a hug from him, then proceeded to go to the 2nd level to find seats, since the floor seats were already taken. *sigh* We were reduced to watching the performances on the flat-screen TVs situated right above the stage in order for the people on the 2nd and 3rd levels to see the performers.

After The Scattertones “scattered” so-to-speak (I know, hehe), the incredible vocal jazz a cappella mixed sextet, Sixth Wave, took the stage, along with their new alto, Jennifer, who replaced our friend and fellow CASA ambassador Amy Fogerson just earlier this year. They sounded fab! I have found a new vocal hero in Elin Carlson. What an incredible coloratura soprano! That lady has some pipes! They did about 6 to 7 songs, which included Icarus and Pick Up The Pieces, 2 of my favourite Sixth Wave tunes.

The final act of the night of course, was m-pact. Britt seemed to be a little under the weather. During the opening number, he was not hitting the high notes, on purpose. He was holding back a little. I was a little disappointed at first, but then he just pulled out the stops after the first couple of songs. I love their Stevie Wonder/Chaka Khan medley “I Wish/Ain’t Nobody”. My favorite out of all their pop covers, and Rudy and Britt are just fabulous vocalists! Of course they had to showcase Jake Moulton’s singing and vp skills, so they did both “I Found a Love in You”, a Britt Quentin original (I love that song!), and “What If We Was Cool?” Jake’s just a freak of nature. Such a performer, I love it. It’s one thing for a singer to be able to sing and sing well, it’s another for a singer to perform and have a presence on stage. Jake IS a performer. So are Britt and Rudy. The rest of the guys can hold their own as well, but these 3 are the ones who always catch my attention. They just suck you in. I have to say that Jeff Smith is one heckuva vocal percussionist. I love his exchanges with Jake in “What If We Was Cool?” Oh and did a rendition of Take 6 and Ray Charles’ “My Friend”. Crazy. I’d love to see m-pact perform with Take 6 one of these days.

It was a short set but everyone seemed to have enjoyed themselves. This show was actually part of an “Afternoon of A Cappella” concert series, which will hopefully be a regular series at B.B. King’s. So that was quite exciting to know. Maybe we could get Rockapella to be in it one of these days, what say you Boys? ;)

Well, I get to see m-pact again this Sunday evening, March 20th at The Baked Potato in Studio City. It’ll be a night of a cappella music as well. Can’t wait!

Laugh-’til-you-cry-funny.

It’s like The Lord of the Rings, on crack or something…

The Fellowship of the Ring
The Two Towers
The Return of the King

Yes, I am a geek. Thanks.

Yet another survey.

I’ve been on a survey kick as of late. I know, where’s the real post? Too lazy to come up with one to be honest. I like this, it’s a lot more fun.

1. favorite main entree:
Too many to mention. It depends on the type of cuisine. Pad thai, just to name one.

2. favorite salad:
Chinese chicken salad

3. favorite soup:
toscana from Olive Garden (trust me, it’s gooooood)

4. favorite appetizer:
chicken lettuce wraps

5. favorite dessert(s):
raspberry crème brulee or a “pizzookie” from B.J.’s – yeahyuh!

6. favorite fruit(s):
Mangoes or apples

7. favorite vegetable:
Haha. I’m not a big veggie eater (ask my family, they’ll attest to that), but I like some green, leafy ones like spinach, et al.

8. favorite sashimi:
salmon

9. favorite sushi roll:
tempura california rolls

10. favorite soda beverage:
Always Coca-Cola!

11. favorite non-alcoholic beverage:
Starbucks’ Iced Mocha

12. favorite alcoholic shot:
Don’t like shots.

13. favorite alcoholic drink:
Sour apple martini

14. favorite cake:
not a cake person

15. favorite pie:
banberry pie from Polly’s

16. favorite ice cream:
Strawberry-banana cheesecake ice cream from Coldstone’s

17. favorite milkshake:
Strawberry-banana from Ruby’s Diner

18. favorite cut of beef:
Any tenderloin cut.

19. favorite cuisine:
I’m starting to like Thai more and more.

20. favorite part of chicken: (leg, wing, thigh, breast)
wings

21. favorite fried food:
chicken or onion rings

22. favorite cookie:
oatmeal raisin

23. favorite indian curry:
haven’t had much indian food actually

24. favorite gum:
Altoids. Yes, they make gum as well.

25. favorite candy:
tamarind candy – yeah!

26. favorite crepe:
Strawberry or banana-filled would usually do. With a good helping of Nutella! And sprinkled with powdered sugar.

27. favorite sandwich:
My ever-reliable patty melt.

28. favorite pizza:
BBQ Chicken pizza from BJ’s

29. favorite mexican dish:
nachos. Not a huge mexican food fan

30. favorite vietnamese dish:
any kind of pho would do

31. favorite korean dish:
bool-googi!

32. favorite chinese dish:
OK, there are just too many to list.

33. favorite filipino dish:
Ultimate fave is the sinigang na baboy (pork in tamarind soup), or adobo

34. favorite southern food:
fried chicken!

35. favorite instant noodles brand:
Top Ramen!

36. favorite juice:
orange or passion fruit

37. favorite snack food:
chips – flaming hot cheetos

38. favorite fish:
salmon

39. favorite cereal:
Raisin bran

40. favorite pho:
braised beef steak, spicy

41. favorite breakfast food:
ham and cheese omelette

42. favorite french food:
I don’t think I’ve ever had authentic French food. I know, sad.

43. favorite mcdonalds food:
The fries.

44. favorite pasta dish:
anything seafood with white cream or lobster sauce

45. favorite bread:
banana-raisin

46. favorite tea:
green tea

47. favorite 7-11 slurpee flavor:
don’t like any

48. favorite hershey’s kiss:
just the regular ones

49. favorite flavor of m&m’s:
plain

50. favorite candy bar:
Baby Ruth

Quote of the evening.

“Daewoo…BOUNCE!” - an Asian gangsta-wannabe character, played by Bobby Lee from MAD TV, demonstrating the voice-activated hydraulics he installed in his Daewoo.

The funniest thing I’ve heard in months! ROFL

In other news, I’ll be seeing m-pact and Sixth Wave tomorrow at B.B. King’s, Universal Citywalk. Looking forward to that.

Life in 2005…

From my cousin, Joyce.

Guilty as charged! At least 75% to 80% (if not all!) is true of me! LOL Enjoy!

Life in 2005…

This REALLY is a riot! Enjoy!

You know you’re living in 2005 when…

1. You accidentally enter your password on the microwave.
2. You haven’t played solitaire with real cards in years.
3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of 3.
4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.
5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don’t have e-mail addresses.
6. You go home after a long day at work and you still answer the phone in a businesslike manner.
7. You make phone calls from home and you accidentally dial “9″ to get an outside line. 8. You’ve sat at the same desk for four years and worked for three different companies.
10. You learn about your redundancy on the 11 o’clock news.
11. Your boss doesn’t have the ability to do your job.
12. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home.
13. Every commercial on television has a website at the bottom of the screen.
14. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn’t have the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it.
15. You get up in the morning and go online before getting your coffee.
16. You start tilting your head sideways to smile.
17. You’re reading this and nodding and laughing.
18. Even worse, you know exactly to whom you are going to forward this message.
19. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list.
20. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn’t a #9 on this list.

AND NOW YOU’RE LAUGHING at yourself. Go on, post this on your journal-you know you want to!

Because I have a few minutes to spare…

A - AGE: 30
B - BAND LISTENED TO MOST RECENTLY: m-pact
C- CRUSH: some. names shall not and will never be disclosed…hehe
D - DAD’S NAME: Rafael (a.k.a. “Paeng”)
E - EASIEST PERSON TO TALK TO: too many to mention
F - FAVORITE BAND: I guess it would have to be Rockapella, since I’ve seen them the most live.
G - GUMMY: huh? gummy bears?
H - HOMETOWN: Scarborough, Ontario, CANADA
I - INSTRUMENT: piano, guitar, some bass and drums - but very minimal experience
J - JUICE: orange
K - KIDS: 2 max (a boy and a girl)
L - LONGEST CAR RIDE: 24 hours to Seattle (with only a few stops)
M - MOM’S NAME: Leah
N - NUMBER OF SIBLINGS: 0
O - ONE WISH: “I wish those days would come back once more…” - Steveland Morris (a.k.a. Stevie Wonder) hehe
P - PHOBIA(S): I think I’m mildly claustrophobic.
Q - QUOTE: “We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition,when infinite joy is offered us. Like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud piesin a slum because he cannot understand what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” - C.S. Lewis
R - REASON TO SMILE: the fact that I’m alive is pretty much a good reason to smile.
S - SEXIEST FEATURE: goodness! LOL eyes I guess.
T - TIME YOU WAKE UP: between 8am-11am during the weekdays and then 7:30am during Saturdays and Sundays
U - UNKNOWN FACT ABOUT ME: I can sew, and knit scarves…LOL
V - VEGETABLE YOU HATE: broccoli
W - WORST HABIT(S): hmm… i’ll have to think about this one. LOL
X - X-RAYS YOU’VE HAD: i’m not sure.
Y - YUCKY FOOD: i’m not sure. there’s quite a few.
Z - ZODIAC SIGN: aquarius

Another one? LOL

Yo JJ! Congratulations on your engagement to Alainee. You snuck this one past everyone, didn’t you? LOL

So, who got next?

AND…

It’s my MOM’s birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMA! I love you!