My BIrthday - 28 December 2014

Birthdays are days to say Thank You, God
Thank You for Your Blessings and Graces
Thank You for my friends and loved ones

There were my friends from Sampaloc, Israel and Efren
My sibs Jonas and Yet (with daughter Patti)

Alice and Manny, Amihan, Boboy and Amy, Jerry, Paeng, Dale, and a surprise - Gorbo
Clarits and Annabel, and Khristian

I had fewer guests this year because i thought i was going to be sick
and worried about managing my guests

But all was well, and we had a nice get-together.

pics to follow

A Goodreads quote - seems perfect for this Season

It is our purpose in life - to give meaning to our existence.  I once read a poem in an olde M&B book ... it goes 

what is this life if full of care, we have no time to sit nor stare....
so sitting and staring is part of our lives, to think, and meditate...

What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult for each other? 

George Eliot

George Eliot (died December 22, 1880) was the pen name of Mary Ann Evans, author of classics like Middlemarch. For twenty years she lived with her lover, the philosopher George Henry Lewes, and her pen name was a tribute to him. Eliot was code for the phrase: "To L - I owe it."

A GoodReads quote -

The power of the mind is truly amazing.  So keep thinking positive. Have good thoughts and may good prevail .... Keep the light in your spirit aglow

The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven.. 

John Milton

When John Milton (born December 9, 1608) wrote Paradise Lost, he was blind and nearly impoverished. The epic poem took six years to write and he sold the publications rights for just £5—not a large amount even in 1667.

PALAWAN TRIP -

It was my first trip to Puerto Princesa.

and it was a huey

here are the pics, the story to follow

at the airport

in the plane

Island hopping

Manny, Evelyn, me, Alice

Ka Lui food - really good food

A meeting with friends and officemates

last December 6, the OEVP-Operations

in no particular order

Mamu (Emily Ferrer) with Papu, Hermie Bungay, Ging de la Paz, Tina Sampang, Clarits Vidal, Anabel, Ranil and family

Noel Trinidad had to drive his mom to the province, and Rey Oriel had Lion guests

We trooped over to the Shrine of Santo Nino de Providencia, which was a few meters away from the ancestral home of HT Templo in Las Pinas. We were first-time visitors to the shrine so we were given info and pamphlets and novenas.  We stayed there a while to pray, to ask for blessings and peace in our lives.

Kuya Pat, Ht's man-about-the-house maintains the house and gardens and indeed, they are well-maintained.  I especially took a gander around the gardens, and checked out the flora.  The plants were pretty, and specially the flowering plants.  Horace was very knowledgeable about his plants, but i guess you would too, if you were the person who got the plants and had it planted in the first place.

And the food.  Oh glorious food.  Seafood mainly although there was liempo and the ubiquitous chicken.  I loved the crabs, and the sugpo, and the fish!  i also drank some red wine ....

I had brought over salad greens, and the ladies set about to preparing it.  Ht said there were lots of onions and i had to say mea culpa because i particularly like the sweetness of the onions - they were the red onions.  i also bought over my favorite sesame dressing - because i didnt have time to mix my own.  my friend Alice says she likes my salad dressings .....

Curiosity prompted me to examine his oven, and he willing explained the conceptualization and implementation of the brick oven.  The food was cooked very nicely, that we will all attest to....

Pictures to follow .....

A Viral Post on Malts - drinks, anyone?

Single Malts.  it isnt quite appropriate to say yum, but .... wellllll....

it goes down well .... it also looks quite spectaculat

take a look-see. click here

A GoodReads quote - the Inner you

Your soul - keep it yours.... do not give up a part of it for the Darkness - for any price.

That luminous part of you that exists beyond personality–your soul, if you will–is as bright and shining as any that has ever been....Clear away everything that keeps you separate from this secret luminous place. Believe it exists, come to know it better, nurture it, share its fruits tirelessly. 

George Saunders

Happy 56th birthday, George Saunders! The big-hearted American writer's short stories concentrate on the beautiful, the weird, and the profound. He is the recipient of a MacArthur "Genius" grant.

A Goodreads quote on Seeing.....

Vison.  To see what is not there.  To see with the mind, or the heart, or the spirit, or all of them.
To be now what is the future.

Vision is the art of seeing things invisible. 

Jonathan Swift

Satirist Jonathan Swift (born November 30, 1667), author of Gulliver's Travels, was a founding member of the Scriblerus Club, along with fellow wit Alexander Pope. This literary society's sole aim was to ridicule scholarly pretension.