| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| « May | ||||||
| 1 | ||||||
| 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
| 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 |
| 30 | ||||||
Next to Karen and her lolo, this Mc Donald’s Philippines ad is such a heartbreaker.
The lead actor is actually the nephew of a very good friend of mine. I had spotted him at a party last November and immediately saw the star material. Little was I to know that two months later he would be in a major ad on Philippine television. Here’s to greater blessings in 2009, G!
Praise God!
Yes, we made it! P is now officially an incoming Freshman to the Ateneo de Manila University! I cannot begin to tell you what a relief it was for me, for her dad and of course for P, to see her name up there on the board. And she got into her first choice — B.S. Health Sciences. It looks like we are going to have a doctor in our future.
Thank God for HIS faithfulness, his love, provisions and HIS goodness all the time!
Thank you to her mentors, her tutors, who helped hone and prepare her for examination day. And thank you for the prayers of so many who lifted her up and brought her to this day.
The moment was bittersweet way because a lot of her other good friends did not make it. As one of her wise, good friends put it — “You are so happy for yourself but a part of you cries because you wish they were happy and jumping around too.”
The moment we saw her name on the list was simply, golden. We could not help but shed tears. Remembering all the troubles we have had, her health problems, the journey we have taken to get to this day. I also cried because I could not help but be awed and humbled by the promises of God. His faithfulness and constancy and how He has blessed us with this wonderful gift.
As we Ateneans like to put it — Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam — all for the greater glory of God. We are here today, solely because of His grace. All that we have, and all that will be, come from Him.
For my Multiply contacts, pictures of the big day to be uploaded tomorrow. Right now, I am just so happy but tired from the events of the last two days. Mama can finally exhale 
Last night, rather morning, I went yo bed at 2AM in anticipation of the UPCAT results that never were. Though the website said initially that results were going to be out on January 9, 2009, apparently, there’s been a miscomm somewhere and the online results will be out on January 19th thereabouts.
My husband and I are both eagles so you can imagine what our hopes and dreams are. Then again, I’ve told P time and again that wherever God places you will be fine with us. She has already, by God’s grace, clinched a spot in the Intarmed course at DLSU, tomorrow, I wonder if we will get a shot at being at blue…figuratively, that is.
It’s in HIS hands. Tomorrow, we find out. God bless us all!
Brad Pitt (left) stars as Benjamin Button and Cate Blanchett (right) stars as Daisy in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” Warner Bros. Pictures and Paramount Pictures Present A Kennedy/Marshall Production A David Fincher Film “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” starring Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Taraji P. Henson, Julia Ormond, Jason Flemyng, Elias Koteas and Tilda Swinton. The film was directed by David Fincher from a screenplay by Eric Roth. Screen story by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord from the short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The film is produced by Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Ceán Chaffin.
Photo by Merrick Morton
We all hope and pray to find an unconditional love that lasts forever. IS this at all possible? “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” is a lovely, lyrical film that tackles and masterfully handles the universal themes of love, loss and the old adage that “time waits for no one.”
H and I had the blessing of catching the film’s premiere at the Gateway Cinemas the other night and two days later, I am still stewing thoughts of this beautiful film in my head. Many of the lessons and the scenes in this movie resonated with me on many, many levels.
The movie, written by Eric Roth (”Forrest Gump”) was based on a short story written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in the 1920s as part of his Jazz Age series about a man born in his eighties and ages backwards. Whereas the original Benjamin Button was born and lived in Baltimore, Maryland; the film version has him “born under unusual circumstances” in vibrant New Orleans at the end of World War I and takes him all the way into the 21st century — the movie is narrated from the point of view of Benjamin (Pitt) as read from his diary by a woman at mid-life (Julia Ormond) to her mother (Blanchett) who is in the last days of her life in a hospital bed while Hurricane Katrina rages outside her hospital room window. Ben Button’s journey talks about the people and places he has met along the way, the loves he finds and loses, the joy, the pain of loss, and what lasts beyond time.
Through the telling of his story, we imbibe the value of learning to enjoy those brief wonderful periods when they come, and allowing them to disappear when they must. Benjamin Button knows from the earliest days of his life that regret is useless and that forgiveness is a virtue that must come naturally. In one beautiful scene with his father (who had abandoned him at birth) he says something to this effect — “When life lets us down and we are deeply disappointed and hurt, we can either complain about it and carry it with us forever, or we can just choose to let go.” My eyes teared at this heart-rending scene that was oh-so-beautifully shot by the famous Lake Ponchartrain in New Orleans as the sun was about to rise.
The movie is a wonderful lesson for anyone (myself included) who has ever lived with momentary regret, seemingly broken dreams and missed opportunities. In a letter addressed to the daughter he never saw grow up, Button admonishes her — “I hope you’re proud of who you’ve become, and if not, I hope you have the strength to start all over.” Bulls-eye.
Though the film is two hours and 45 minutes long, the time, pardon the pun, will just fly by. Makes sure to eat and go to the potty before you sit down and catch this visual feast so that you do not miss anything.
And of course there is Brad Pitt. Those who want to see this film to catch him in all his gorgeousness will have to wait for about an hour before he finally begins to resemble his to-die-for 44-year old self. Joe Morgenstern, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist for the Wall Street Journal says this of Pitt — Not until he grows 15 years younger and she grows 15 years older, however, are they right for each other physically as well as spiritually. “My God,” Daisy (Blanchett) says at one point in their mid-40s, “look at you — you’re perfect.” It’s a charming laugh line, since he has finally emerged as a fully recognizable Brad Pitt. And what a remarkable presence the actor is, not just during that golden era but before and after, when he has only his voice and eyes with which to fashion Ben’s character while the wonders of digital technology and age-confounding makeup provide his body and face.
The entire movie is a visionary piece with sumptuous cinematography, art direction and production design that will have you in awe of all the details! They just don’t make movies like this anymore… thank God they finally did. Technically excellent, employing the wonders of digital effects with acting so subdued but powerful just the same. It was the type of movie that I did not want to end. The dialogue was just amazing, I wanted to scribble down every quotable quote that I could remember. Leave room for no regret, sieze the moment and love unconditionally — beautiful reminders to live by at the beginning of a new year that promises infinite possibilities.
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” opens in Manila tomorrow, January 8, 2009
Bestselling French author Ernaux has built her career on rendering almost every aspect of a woman’s experience, from the hidden contours of her marriage to the indelible loss of her mother, with unsparing honesty and insight. Her latest novella is an excruciatingly frank — and spot-on — portrait of romantic jealousy in midlife. Ernaux’s take on obsession will stay with you long after you zip through these 62 razor-sharp pages. — Dawn Raffel
The Heart of Mentoring by David Stoddard
Author David Stoddard has discovered that in mentoring, giving often involves receiving, and receiving involves giving. By sharing your life with others, you will help them develop their values and priorities–not with a rigid formula or agenda, but in the natural course of a meaningful relationship.
In The Heart of Mentoring, you will see that sharing your life with others is the most rewarding gift you can give–and the most satisfying gift you can receive.
The Extraordinary Healing Power of Ordinary Things by Larry Dossey, M.D.
Holistic physician Dossey examines the potential power of 14 readily accessible sources of well-being, providing a strong case for utilizing such remedies before more extreme measures. His expansive discourse on optimism, forgetting, music, miracles, plants, risk taking and other “simple” things makes clear that, while these are hardly “simple” when fully appreciated, often they are undervalued or completely ignored by the mainstream medical community, which turns to high-tech procedures and worst-case scenarios as a first resort. According to Dossey (Reinventing Medicine), a nearly single-minded clinical focus has obscured patients’ interpretation of their own experiences, leaving out important clues about how people heal. He provides numerous examples of those who have discovered “spontaneous healing,” which most physicians discount or downplay because they defy explanation. Despite the title, this is not a step-by-step guide to accessing the healing power of home remedies. Instead, Dossey takes readers on a poetic, well-researched journey into the many paradoxes that are inherent in the human condition and how they relate to healing the body, mind and soul.
What You Can Change…and What You Can’t by Martin E.P. Seligman, Ph.D.
Books are a huge part of my life and my “clutter”.
When I saw Virginia Woolf’s home in “The Hours” filled with books all over the place, I could so relate to that. Thus, To put some semblance of order into my cluttered reading list (I like going through three-four books at a time, taking forever to finish! Right now it’s an Obama biography, a book on running and a memoir…) I’ve decided to pledge to completely finish one book a month and put together this reading list for 2009. Some of the books are already on my shelf (half of them are, actually) the others, I still have to purchase. Some are new, some published a few years ago.
“Tell me what you read and I’ll tell you who you are…” Below is my 2009 selection which more or less is a reflection of my interests, currently, at this point in time. I’ve included brief reviews that I culled from various sources throughout the worldwide web.
The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan
We earn our livings and raise our children, but our parents continue to shape us. So when are we really grown-ups? Kelly Corrigan, 40, answers that question in her insightful, often funny memoir about surviving breast cancer only to find that her adored father has been diagnosed with cancer too.
Outliers: The story of Successs by Malcolm Gladwell
Malcolm Gladwell poses a more provocative question in Outliers: why do some people succeed, living remarkably productive and impactful lives, while so many more never reach their potential? Challenging our cherished belief of the “self-made man,” he makes the democratic assertion that superstars don’t arise out of nowhere, propelled by genius and talent: “they are invariably the beneficiaries of hidden advantages and extraordinary opportunities and cultural legacies that allow them to learn and work hard and make sense of the world in ways others cannot.” Examining the lives of outliers from Mozart to Bill Gates, he builds a convincing case for how successful people rise on a tide of advantages, “some deserved, some not, some earned, some just plain lucky.”
Prayerwalk by Janet McHenry
Life today is busy and full of demands, and often the very things that are vital to daily life, such as prayer and exercise, are moved to the bottom of the priority list. In PrayerWalk Janet shows how to connect the sacred act of prayer with the everyday act of walking. Three years ago, depressed and overweight, McHenry found a simple plan for her life: she would pray while she walked. Little did she know, it would change her life personally and open her eyes to the needs of her community. Mc Henry says — “Prayer walking is not an easy way to ‘take care of prayer’ while you get good exercise. It is a call to spend rich time with God, carrying others’ loads. The walking is only a means to make it all happen.”
Why Good Things Happen To Good People by Stephen Post, Ph.D. and Jill Neimark
“Stephen Post and Jill Neimark make the scientific case for generosity eloquently, humanely, and compellingly. This book meets Nietzsche’s criterion for good philosophy: ‘Change your life!’”
—Martin E. P. Seligman, PhD, Fox Leadership Professor of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, and author of Learned Optimism and Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment
“Stephen Post and Jill Neimark have brought together the main findings from the new science of genuine love and translated them into helpful, practical advice that the reader can easily apply. Those who take this book to heart will surely make their lives better, and will help to make the world a better place as well.”
—Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, PhD, professor of psychology, Claremont Graduate University, and author of Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience
The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women by Gail McMeekin
Sparked by her long search for inspiration in her life and work, Gail McMeekin has worked closely with some of today’s most highly creative women for her one-of-a-kind guide to maximizing creative energy. “For many women,” she writes, “breaking free of our societal and psychological chains is a prerequisite to truly creating a life that expresses our genuineness and uniqueness.”
The dynamic women sharing their secrets for the first time include Sarah Ban Breathnach, who channeled her creativity into the book she was “born to write” (the best-selling Simple Abundance); interior designer Chris Madden; and software tycoon Brenda Laurel. From interviews and conversations, McMeekin distilled the common themes in these innovators’ lives and work into practices any woman can use.
Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri
In these eight exquisitely detailed stories, Pulitzer Prize-winner Lahiri lights on private moments of sadness that come in the aftermath of painful family conflicts. In “A Choice of Accommodations,” Lahiri writes refreshingly about an aging body: A man puts his hands on his wife’s hips, “over the stretch marks that were like inlaid streaks of mother-of-pearl that would never fade, whose brilliance spoke only for the body’s decay.” Subtle and wise, Lahiri captures a universal yearning. — Carmela Ciuraru
To be continued…
As a new year dawns upon us, my prayer for each and everyone of you is this..May There Be Peace Within
May you trust your highest power that you are exactly where you are meant to be…
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.
May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you…
May you be content knowing you are a child of God…
Let this presence settle into our bones, and allow your soul the freedom to
sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of you…
–Author Unknown
Happy New Year!
Here’s to new beginnings and yes, infinite possibilities. Find strength in knowing and trusting that HE is fully in control and that everything is in HIS hands. Be in HIS flow in 2009 and that world crisis notwithstanding, HE holds true to all HIS promises so live and believe that all shall be well. God bless us all!!
When I first saw the print ad for this campaign I was sort of incensed. How could they do that to President-elect Obama?! BUT…after seeing it in the full context of this TV ad, I was rolling stitches! Congratulations to the ad agency who thought of this really funny and effective campaign I love Motilium
If yoiu can’t see the video — check this link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRkczEUW0T4
Feigning headaches appear to be a thing of the past.
As more women have become tech savvy, an interesting AFP news report on Yahoo News caught my eye this morning while checking email and doing Facebook…The report says that in the United States, nearly one out of two women would rather give up sex for two weeks than go without the Internet, according to a survey released Monday.
“Forty-six percent of the women polled said they would rather go without sex for two weeks than give up access to the Internet for the same period of time, according to the survey, “Internet Reliance in Today’s Economy.”"
Now, I don’t know about the sex part, I’d rather keep that privy, but this part of the report, I could relate to…
“Sixty-five percent of those surveyed rated Internet access above other discretionary spending items such as cable television subscriptions (39 percent), dining out (20 percent), shopping for clothes (18 percent) or a health club membership (10 percent).”
Yes, between buying a pair of really expensive shoes, I would rather buy the latest Dell laptop. How about you, what’s your preference?
There is so much to be thankful for…
1. Our home is now, finally our own.
2. P was accepted into a university yesterday. One down, by God’s grace, four to go…
3. The wonderful news that someone has offered to shoulder the expenses and cost of bringing Hannah’s ventilator to the Philippines!
4. The wonders of acupuncture and good health.
5. The love of family and friends.
In a world fraught with so much trouble and crisis, we count our blessings. HE is the true and constant ONE who provides for everything we need. After a weeks stay in the hospital, so much work and many chores and tasks waiting to be done.
I really wasn’t feeling all “Christmassy” and my best girlfriends and I were wondering if it was a function of our wonderful age. Over a cozy lunch, we pondered about how we just wanted to cocoon with family and the friends who matter, or just simply get away for a day to be by ourselves, to do things that would enrich our tired bodies and spirits. Somehow, parties have become a chore so you learn to prioritize and only go to the ones that matter. The traffic all over is no help so nothing beats staying home and wrapping a few meaningful presents while enjoying the chill (yes, the weather here at home is just so lovely this year!) of a quiet December evening.
This morning a good friend wrote me on Facebook — “Don’t get lost in the Christmas rush, I know you won’t.” Yes, she’s so right. It’s a simple Christmas this year for me, and I guess for many others all over the world. On Christmas eve I look forward to a quiet dinner away from the crowd and just be with my loved ones in a quiet place. We stop to remember the reason for the season and remember that no matter what 2008 may have brought us — it is in HIM alone that we find hope and reason to rejoice this blessed season. The lights on my tree may be dimmer this year but Jesus’ love burns brighter than it ever has before.
|
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
|
Add to del.icio.us
Digg this!
