The weekend.

Well, made it back from Oceanside. Unfortunately, the trip was too short. It was quite nice to be away even just for a little bit. Thanks to our gracious hosts, the Lacanientas, we really had a wonderful time with them. I’m looking forward to doing it again, sometime soon.

I finally saw “Amazing Grace”. What an inspirational movie. I cried. I just couldn’t imagine fighting for something you feel so passionately about for 20+ years, and almost not seeing it come to fruition. But William Wilberforce never gave up the fight to abolish the slave trade, and he was able to see it all happen before his death. I’m surprised that William Wilberforce is not more well-known, and well-recognized than he is. This man fought hard to abolish the slave trade in England in the late 1700’s-early 1800’s. He was also a faithful servant of Christ, and his spiritual revival in his mid-20s was pretty much the catalyst to his fight to abolish the slave trade. And he did all this with failing health (he had colitis, which he eventually died from). Ioan Gruffudd played him brilliantly. I felt like I was watching Horatio Hornblower all over again! haha They could’ve developed the story more, especially his relationship with John Newton, former slave-trader and writer of the hymn Amazing Grace (hence, the title of the movie). Bernard Cumberbatch was fantastic as William Pitt the younger, the PM of Britain at the time and Wilber’s best friend. He was supportive of Wilber’s fight ’til the very end.

This is a must-see.

My favourite lines in the movie:

John Newton (to Wilberforce): “I once was blind, but now I see. Did I write that?”
Wilberforce: “Yes, you did.”
John Newton: “At last it’s true.”
John Newton: “I’m a great sinner but Christ is a great Saviour”

Other DVD recommendation: A&E’s Hornblower series (starring Ioan Gruffudd)

Trying to stay awake...

For the 3rd consecutive day, work has been painfully slow. I’m falling asleep as I type this. My eyelids are getting heavier by the second. I’ve been reading, but reading is making me more sleepy. I need to stay awake, I have an hour and a half left ’til I have to go. John Legend’s
keeping me entertained somewhat, he’s part of my regular iTunes rotation here at work.

All the piano playing around me is lulling me to sleep! I need to stay awake. I’ve been getting phone calls from those automated tele-marketers and it’s really starting to get annoying. I don’t know what brought the sleepiness on, given the fact that I slept considerably early last night (that is, 1:30am - haha!). But then, my mom woke me up really early (6am) to ask me something, and I couldn’t go back to sleep after that. *sigh*

Anyway, I’m looking forward to this weekend. I’m going to Oceanside/San Diego area to spend time with my Papuri girls. Just a weekend to relax and reconnect with friends. Much needed, I must say. My ”usual” environment has been a less-than desirable place to be in lately, to say the least, and for quite a number of reasons. I’m not hating it, I’m just not as comfortable as I used to be. But the Lord’s helping me deal with whatever issue I’m having with that at the moment, and He’s continuing to teach me to just let things go. I’ve been getting heavily into the Word lately, and God’s just revealing things to me, one right after the other. He knows exactly what you need to hear/learn, and when you need to hear/learn it. Maybe when I’m more coherent (and awake), I’ll share more about what God’s been teaching me.

John Mayer’s putting me to sleep! Argh! haha Don’t get me wrong, I love him, but this song is just too slooooowwww…. *yawn*

I’m back to drinking Starbucks today! haha For the past 3 days I’ve been drinking Coffee Bean’s iced mocha latte’. I know, shameful! “How could you?!” you say. I know, I know. But today, it’s Starbucks anew. You’ll always go back to your first love. (haha)

About friendships.

I found this while trying to clean up some files from the comp here at work… Just thought I’d post it. I wrote this back in January of 2006! It seems like I was pretty frustrated about a friendship I have with someone or just friendships in general. I don’t even remember what triggered this. haha! Strange.

On friendships:

I didn’t realize that friendships could be fleeting. Well, maybe they aren’t. But, I am probably just frustrated about the fact that a friendship can fall prey to being dismissed so easily. It’s a lot easier to maintain a friendship when you’re constantly in the presence of the other person, but I believe that the true test of friendship happens when you are apart. How strong can a bond be between people, to be able to preserve the closeness of that particular kind of relationship? Maybe it stems from the possibility that the friendship was shallow to begin with.

Ugh.

I’m currently at work. There isn’t much going on right now, suprisingly, the phones haven’t been ringing that much (ugh! OK, I may have jinxed it now - haha!). Anyway, I have this massive headache, and the back of my neck hurts. I just want to go home and sleep. I don’t like Mondays very much (who does, really?). I wish we could just live in a world where we all don’t have to work, just sit and veg all day. Wouldn’t that be fantastic? Alas, God didn’t create us to be lazy. I guess if we didn’t work, what’s the point? haha I’m just spewing off random thoughts here. I am so not in the mood to work today, partially due to the fact that I have this monstrous headache. Maybe I’ll get some shut-eye for a few minutes. There’s no one here anyway.

Wanna know something scary? I am starting to like Coffee Bean’s Iced mocha. I KNOW!!! Please do not let the Starbucks people know! I don’t want them to question my loyalty! haha If only they (Starbucks) open a branch near my work, then I wouldn’t have to resort to buying coffee at Coffee Bean (which opened inside the Ralph’s near my work) out of complete desperation. Hello, Starbucks?! You listening?

OK, I’m going to attempt to read, if I’m not too sleepy. I’ll see you around.

Bear!

I have a new crush! His name is Bear Grylls and he’s the presenter of Discovery Channel’s Man vs. Wild. He’s mad! I heart him.

Anyway, saw 300 on Sunday night (and last night as well), and it’s quite the movie. The cinematography is fantastic. Very graphic, violent and gory though, so it’s not for the faint of heart. And I’ve never seen 8-packs until I saw this movie! Kinda inspires you to hit the gym (and stare at people - haha). Well-cast and well-acted for the most part. Lots of people don’t realize that the actor who plays King Leonidas, Gerard Butler, is the same actor who played the Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera. David “Daisy” Wenham (Faramir in LOTR) and Michael Fassbender (Pat Christensen in Band of Brothers) are in it too and are fabulous in their roles. There always has to be a LOTR/BOB connection, isn’t there? haha

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

I want to wish my momma a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I pray that the Lord will shower you with more blessings and many more years, so that we can spend them together. Love you mom.

"His eye is on the sparrow."

I’ve heard this hymn a million times and I’ve always thought that it’s a very inspiring, encouraging hymn. But it really struck me hard last Sunday, when my mom sang it as a special number at church (it’s her birthday this coming Wednesday). I couldn’t help but cry while she was singing the song on Sunday because I know that it is her testimony.

I’ve never really had a very close relationship with my mom. Don’t get me wrong, we are close, but I’m not as close to her as I was with my dad. I think it’s just natural, the dynamic of the relationship between mother and daughter in general is somewhat always strained, or there’s always conflict. But one thing is for certain though, I’ve always admired my mom for her unwavering faith in God. She’s always been the best example in my life in trusting Him wholeheartedly, along with my dad (next to my grandmother, Lola Aning). Even when she was in the most dire of circumstances, she never faltered with her faith. I’ve always admired my mom’s strength, because her strength comes from the Lord. I never saw her doubt God nor question Him. She knows that God has a purpose for everything and that He allows things to happen because He wants to carry out His plan. When my dad died, I was heartbroken, not just for me, but for my mom most especially. She lost her bestfriend. I think if my mom wasn’t a Christian, and didn’t have the faith she has, she would just fall apart and give up on life because my dad isn’t around anymore. But she is strong, she has shown me how strong she is. I was the one who was about to fall apart, but she kept me grounded, and helped me keep things in perspective and showed me God’s hand in everything that was happening at the time. That song “Dance With My Father” always reminds me of my mom. I think now, my relationship with my mom is a lot better, it’s not perfect but it’s better. I’m able to talk to her about things that I only used to talk to my dad about. I love my mom and I truly thank God for her.

That’s why the hymn “His eye is on the sparrow” is a testimony of my mom’s life and her faith. She can truly sing because she’s happy, she can truly sing because she’s free. She knows that no matter what happens, God is watching over and taking care of her.

Birthday greetings go out to my cousin, Dan-Paul! You’re 14 now. Ugh! I feel old. haha