yes, that’s right. Go here: http://miriamsy.wordpress.com/ from now on. This blog is as good as dead like my other ones.

I picked a VERY COOL theme too so don’t just add me to your RSS readers…visit the site once in a while too!

Yes, I haven’t blogged in a while. It’s not because I didn’t WANT to, I just haven’t. 

Anyway, work and school have been stressful and I feel like my mind is about to explode just thinking of everything I have to do and not having enough time to do it all in. 

Unlike last year where almost every weekend was filled with out of town activities, this year I’ve hardly climbed any mountains and really have hardly left Makati – not even to go to Marikina on weekends. I know enough to know that this way of living is not healthy for me and I’m becoming too stressed and bordering on pessimism.

Good thing recently we’ve had some reasons to celebrate at work and this weekend, I will finally get a ‘refresh’ with a trip to Bohol.  :) I had dinner last weekend with a high school friend who was in town, finding more ‘old’ friends through facebook, and in September, Lauren is coming! Yay for the good times that have come and are about to come!

…my ‘3rd boob’ and my 2 other ‘legs’ so I’ve joined a gym again.

I’m at the ‘risky’ level and based on the statistics they say that I ’should’ weigh what I weighed when I was 10 years old. Oh my gulay.

(yes, this is really the first thing that’s actually inspired me to blog in a long time)

It’s a saturday, I leave for Norway tomorrow morning, I still haven’t packed, I’m here in the office working, and Ryan’s bugging me on YM. So, to shut him up do as I’m supposed to, I’m plugging his PIRATE DUCKY SHIRT contest blah blah.

Please, oh please, oh please, go HERE and give it a ranking. PLEASE DO IT NOW.

new camera thanks to Ian R!

now, I don’t have to think of what camera to get and I don’t have to think of stealing back the D40 from ET. Yay!

did I mention..?

YAY!

… not blogged in a while, I know.

it’s not because I haven’t had anything to blog about. i just haven’t for some reason.

some updates since the last blog:

- went to Caramoan in Caramines Sur, Bicol over the Holy Week holidays

- went to Hundred Islands for the last long weekend (Bataan holiday I think)

- got darker

- sold my Nikon D40 to ET

- regretting selling my camera to ET

- thinking of stealing the D40 back. hihihi…

- don’t know exactly what camera to buy as a replacement but I need to decide soon so i can fill-up the void

- should I get a videocam instead? no, maybe not…

-  there’s a new version of wordpress. so far, seems to be a nice upgrade.

- work, school, work, school, work, work, work

- i don’t have a permanent address anymore. i feel so homeless.

…watched other people pray?

There’s something really cool about watching people PRAY. To be honest, it’s one of the things I like best about going to church. To see that moment when they close their eyes, clasp their hands, and BELIEVE.

It inspires me and makes me hopeful.

To share, here’s a nice little prayer I learned lately – a prayer from La Salle:

Let me be the change I want to see
to do with strength and wisdom all that needs to be done
and become the hope I can be

Set me free from my tears and hesitations
Grant me courage and humility
Fill me with Spirit to face the challenge
and start the change I long to see

Even if I am not the light
I can be the spark
In faith, service and communion
let us start the change we want to see
The change that begins in me

During the last trip to Anawangin (Zambales), I brought my Nikon D40, a new color splash flash (wasn’t used much), the ‘el cheapo’ (film cam), and a Vivitar (film cam) that Mapet lent. Ang saya saya!

I’ve heard a lot of buzz going around about this person named ‘Jun Lozada’ but I didn’t pay attention to any of it.

Tonight, I was given the opportunity to learn more about Jun Lozada. He was the resource speaker for a Leadership forum series at Ateneo entitled ‘Mulat Diwa’ (the opening of the consciousness). He not only spoke a bit about his current situation but he also spoke about his childhood and how his past experiences and especially the influence of his family had a big impact in what he did.

When I found out about the speaker for the forum tonight, I was ignorant enough to be very skeptical. I figured that he was just the usual Filipino politics celebrity person-of-the-month. Basically, someone who is power hungry, starved for attention, and was just like the others involved in government.

Fortunately enough, my perceptions were proved wrong. From the moment he walked in to the auditorium filled with people, wearing a simple gray shirt and jeans, I saw a man who was obviously exhausted but still managed to smile and crack a few jokes about his unfortunate experiences.

To me, he seemed really genuine and sincere about the messages he wanted to convey. Here are some of them:

- we can’t just wish for a brighter future, we have to work for it

- we have to be aware of what is happening around us. without this, we will just continue to be a failing state

- when you want to help, it should be unconditional

- we have a choice. either to tolerate or to reject what is happening to our country. If we choose to reject, then we have to act now and not wait for someone else to do it for us.

To tell you the truth, I’m still not fully aware of all the details of the story behind Jun Lozada’s experience. I’ll let you take the first step towards AWARENESS by looking into that yourselves. I’m also not going to go into detail here and provide information of what he did or whether or not I condemn his involvement – I’m not trying to change anyone’s mind about that.

But what I am blogging about is that tonight, I saw a man with love for his country – and we can all learn about that.

a week ago from today, I turned 27. (yep, 27, and NOT 30! :p)

this year, I did something different. I decided to face my birthday head-on and really CELEBRATE to start my 27th year off on the right foot.

The festivities started on the eve of my birthday with a ’salubong’…big buddha dinner, time zone games, and red box sing-a-thon!

Thanks to Cherry, Mapet, Ace, and Ian for a very fun night!

Then the night/early morning continued with a mini surfrise party c/o Jing, Don, Pip, Sha, and Rorenz at Matanzas mansion!

Again, NO, I’M NOT 30! My not-funny friends just thought it would be nice to play a joke on me and have everyone think I’m 30 years old.

Then we capped off the work-week with a joint birthday celebration at the office where we (february birthday celebrants: me, ET, and Ernie) treated officemates to merienda and where I hired a sorbetero to serve ice cream!

But the fun didn’t stop there! We ended the week at Anawangin (Zambales) where I ate, slept, swam, ate, slept, swam, ate, and slept…just what I wished for when I blew the candles on my cake!

I’m just realizing now how fun it is to celebrate your own birthday! What a great week filled with good friends and fun-filled activities!

I have a strong feeling that 27 is a going to be a good year. Thanks everybody for celebrating with me!