I miss singing.

I realized that I haven't really done much singing, outside of church that is, for a few months now. Papuri took a break in February and this month from rehearsing and we're hoping to start up again in April, and In Harmony is on an indefinite hiatus (gosh, I miss singing with my cousins!). Last night, I just had a grand time rehearsing with our Praise and Worship team, learning new songs (new to us, at least), and I got to play my guitar as well (I've developed the callouses again). It was just an awesome time.

I auditioned for my co-worker's band a few months ago, and it seemed like they were leaning towards getting both Blessing and I to be their singers. For the audition, they had us sing 3 songs - Chaka Khan's "You Got the Love" (that was a blast to sing, btw), "Something to Talk About" by Bonnie Raitt, and "Use Me" by Bill Withers (yes, I did the Scott Leonard/Rockapella version, vocally I mean). But alas, the drummer had other plans, upped and left to follow this girl in NYC - hah! So, that's not going to happen at all.

I'm living vicariously through the Americal Idol contestants this season. I've got faves, like Katherine McPhee (I want her to win), Mandisa, Chris Daughtry, and Elliott Yamin (I just love his voice, and I'm a sucker for guys who can sing, who cares if he's not Mr. Goodlooks?! He CAN SAING (sing), picks the most difficult songs to sing like "Moody's Mood for Love" and "Knocks Me Off My Feet" and nails 'em!), and then of course, for aesthetic purposes, Ace Young (LOL). They got to meet one of my favourite artists of all-time, Stevie Wonder, they got to sing his songs. No, I'm not dreaming to be on AI, (besides I'm WAY past the age limit - hah), but just the fact that you get to go and sing everyday of your life in front of the world is exciting. Different kind of adrenalin. Ahhh… I just love to sing, and I'm thankful that God has blessed me with some sort of ability to sing. I'm very grateful.

Some kind of survey.

Just for fun, because I feel like it. Got it from Jax

Four Jobs I’ve Had in My Life
1. Food service/Cashier (McDonald’s)
2. Library Circulation Desk worker
3. Legal Assistant at an Estate Planning Law Firm
4. Music School Administrator

Four Films I Can Watch Over and Over
1. Love Actually
2. The Lord of the Rings - all 3
3. Band of Brothers
4. Amadeus

Four Places I Have Lived
1. Pasay City, Manila, PHILIPPINES
2. Sucat, Paranaque, Manila, PHILIPPINES
3. Scarborough, Ontario, CANADA
4. Cerritos, CA, U.S.A.

Four TV Programs I Love to Watch
1. Oprah
2. Extreme Makeover - Home Edition
3. Masterpiece Theatre on PBS
4. BBC World News (on PBS)

Four Places I Would Have Visited, Had I Had the Money
1. London
2. Paris
3. Tokyo
4. Berlin

Four Websites I Visit Daily
1. My emails (yahoo, hotmail & gmail)
2. My blogs (and some friends’ blogs)
3. Toronto.com
4. TOR.n (The One Ring dot net)

Four of My Favourite Foods
1. Sushi
2. Pasta (especially any seafood pasta with cream sauce - yum)
3. Beef afritada (Filipino style)
4. Orange chicken and chowmein from the Chinese fast-food place down the street from work.

Four Places I Would Rather Be
1. Home
2. Starbucks/Barnes & Noble/Borders
3. New York
4. London

Four Bloggers I Am Tagging (in no particular order)
1. whoever feels like killing time and doing this.

Madness.

I’m in serious need of caffeine right now! What a day this has been! It seems like all the EGRs decided to pick on me today. Grace, Lord, grant me the grace AND the patience. *sigh*

Thanks for letting me vent. I’m done.

The song I’m listening to: “Trying Times” by boyz II men - how appropo.

Guess who’s back?

Well folks, I’m back. I apologize for the long hiatus. I wasn’t intending on staying away for that long, but it just so happened that I didn’t really have anything to talk about (not that I have anything to talk about now).

I’ve had quite a long day and I’m just thankful that the day has finally ended. I know I should be getting some sleep, but somehow, I’m too restless to sleep. I started the day late (which is not really a surprise). I arrived at work and I just jumped right in an immersed myself in whatever it was that I had to take care of. I’m a bit stressed out since we are starting a new semester with new classes in the next couple of weeks, and I’m already anticipating that it’s going to be slightly chaotic in the next couple of days, in preparation for the new semester. I have no holidays to look forward to, as I don’t have the time to go on one, so I don’t really have time to relax and unwind. I’m looking forward to a brief getaway in December, but that’s months away. I’m still not sure if I’d be able to afford to go on that trip. There’s Vegas in June, but that’s not really a holiday since I’ll be “working”. No, not that kind of “work” (hah! - ya’ll are crazy), more like a singing gig at one of the hotels over there. That’s still in the planning stages, so we’ll see how that pans out.

Everyone’s getting sick around me. My mom’s just barely recovered from her cough - she was having major coughing fits. I think I’m about to come down with something, but I’m fighting it, darn it! I ain’t goin’ down ya’ll. I can’t afford to be sick. Pray for me - I’m gonna need it in the next couple of weeks.

Can you believe I’m currently listening to Teena Marie?! I know, random. I’m at my aunt’s house right now, watching the kids for the night. She had asked me to babysit, as well as do some work-related stuff for her. It had become quiet, couldn’t stand the silence any longer, so I signed on Launch.com, hence, Teena Marie. hah! Boy, am I sleepy!

My current obsession: Band of Brothers. I love that series. Damian Lewis is brilliant. I’m going to marry him. Yes, I will. (Like I said, I’m sleepy.)

I went to Knott’s last Saturday with the cousins and the little chickadees, Nevaeh and Tristen, and after riding the X-Celerator, I realized that I have become too old for rollercoasters. I was feeling the aches and the pains, as well as slight dizziness after 2 rides, but it was worth it, because I got to see how much my 3-year-old niece, Nevaeh, enjoyed herself at the park. Seeing her laugh and smile made me very happy.

Well, I’m going to check up on the kids to see if they’re all settled in for the night. Good night.

Quiet.

Finally, some peace and quiet. It was a madhouse today here at work! Phones were ringing off-the-hook, parents were coming up to the counter and paying for tuition. It was going on for about 4-5 hours non-stop, and finally, silence. Thank God. I’m just waiting around for laggers to come and pay and then I’m off. Planning on hitting the gym tonight, but I’m beat and I have an early day tomorrow - 8am, and 4 new classes starting. Longest week of my life? Possibly. But then, there’s next week, with new classes starting every day. *groan*

Je suis fatigue. J’ai faim. J’ai besoin de dormir. J’ai besoin d’une vacances. And I can’t stress that enough. *sigh* But I shouldn’t complain. Praise God that I’m able to work and earn a living. I need to count my blessings everyday.

Well, I have to get going. Bonne nuit. Au revoir.

Trying hard not to fall asleep...

…here at work. *yawn*

DVD Recommendation - Band of Brothers - brilliant. Definitely add it to your Netflix queue (if you have one).

Fini.

Birthday’s officially over! Thanks to all those who celebrated with me, and to those who sent greetings via text messaging. I appreciate all of it. I love all of you, thank you for spending my special day with me. I also thank you for the lovely gifties! (I got a lot of the stuff from my Amazon wishlist - Band of Brothers!!!)

Oh, and to top it all off, we went bowling! hehe Great day.

You knew me before the world began, You chose me to be Your very own - thank you Lord, for blessing me with another year!
Sleep beckons! Good night.

Taking a break.

I’m taking a break from working. Not much to say except for the fact that I’m enjoying my new favourite Starbucks beverage - iced, non-fat, grande Marble Mocha Macchiatto (trying saying that really fast, 3 times!). No more “Dirt Water” for me, well, at least not for awhile. That is all.

I had a very nice time this weekend. My family and I spent Friday night and all-day Saturday at an uncle and aunt’s home in Temecula. I really needed it, and it was great hanging out with my cousins, my mom, my aunts, my uncles, niece and nephew. The weekend retreat was a belated celebration of my Tito (Uncle in Filipino/Tagalog) Pepe and my cousin Newie’s birthdays.
Friday night was quite an adventure for my mom and I. My mom and I got lost on the way to the Temecula house. We had to drive on our own since my mom didn’t get off work until 10pm. We were doing quite well for most of the way until the last mile of our journey on the freeway. It became quite foggy all of a sudden, so I could not quite make out the exit signs. Needless to say, I lost track of where we were going. Usually, I would’ve just hopped back on the freeway and back-tracked, or try to find a major street and go from there, but the thick fog made it quite difficult. My fog lights couldn’t even penetrate through the thickness of the fog. Thankfully, my Uncle David and cousin Joyce were out doing a Jack in the Box run. I called my Uncle David and asked him to come get us at this little shopping plaza where I had decided to park at, lest I get completely lost in the thick fog. I never panic when I get lost. I’ve gotten lost quite a few times, at night mostly, but I’ve always managed to stay calm and just find my way. Friday night was the exception. Thanks fog!

When we got to the house, everyone was pretty much lounging around, just talking, playing and goofing around (well, the cousins were). My cousin Joyce, April and I ended up playing a board game called Cashflow which, we soon found out, was quite addicting, we were up ’til 4am playing the game.

Saturday - we went for brunch. Went back to the house and we continued to play Cashflow. Then some of us went to Thornton Winery. April, Christine and I did some wine-tasting, while the parents took a tour of the winery. Headed back home that night. And I just completely crashed soon as I hit the bed.

That was pretty much a holiday for me. I haven’t done anything nor gone anywhere in about a year. Just being out there with my family was great. I’d love to do it again some time soon! I thank God for my family. We’re not perfect, but we love, support and help each other. Wouldn’t trade them for anything in the world!

Achau’s Wishlist

This song drove me to tears this morning on the way to work. The words are simple and straight-forward, but it just hit me like a ton of bricks. It’s amazing how the God of the universe can call me His friend, even though I don’t deserve it.

I like Israel Haughton’s rendition of this song. It’s so joyful. And the harmonies are amazing.

“Friend of God”
by Michael Gungor and Israel Haughton
as sung by Israel & the New Breed

Who am I that You are mindful of me,
That You hear me when I call?
Is it true that You are thinking of me?
How You love me, it’s amazing.

I am a friend of God
I am a friend of God
I am a friend of God
He calls me friend.

God Almighty, Lord of glory
You have called me friend