A New Record Has Been Set

Yup, I just had a record-breaker trip this afternoon. I had two one-hour motorcycle drive from Legazpi to Sorsogon City and back - my longest so far! Eheh. It was non-stop so my butt ached and soon numbed. Although tiring, it was a pretty good experience for me. I want to do it again. Perhaps, even farther. How about Naga City?! Hahaha.

The reason for the trip was to attend the funeral of Tita Mary, mother of my classmate in BC-COL. May she rest in peace.

Maktub!

Forward In Christ

¹³Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,

¹⁴I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

~Philippians 3:13-14

Five important learnings from Saint Paul to live by:

Always remember of the ONE THING.
FORGET WHAT LIES BEHIND.
STRAIN FORWARD IN HOPE.
Just PRESS ON WITH THE MISSION.
Pay attention to the PRIZE.

Exceedingly blessed weekend for me and everyone who attended the CFC - Bicol Mission Core Weekend. Would like to thank you, Tito Mon and Tita Ludy for inviting me to be part of the production team. I appreciate it big time. It just saddens me that you're going through a trying moment at this time. Am praying for Lola Crispina, and that things will get better soon.

Trivia: My first time to attend such activity, as well as be part of a production team. I'm so glad. Praise God!

St. Paul, pray for us!

Maktub!

Cinderella's Drinking Buddy

Sigh, another wasted day! I'm still sleepy and definitely not feeling well. :(

At 4 pm yesterday, I was surfing the net for some stuff before going to school. While online, Peach told me that Francis wants to spend time with us since he will not attend his class. And by spending time with us, I know that what he actually mean are shot glass, pitcher, iced tea, pulutan and Mr. GranMa, and not just meeting up and chat about anything under the sun. With that idea in mind, I texted Francis "May klase ako, 'tol. Pero kung mapainom ka tas may pwerteng pulutan, pwede man baga mag-absent." (Got class bro. But if you're going to sponsor a drinking spree coupled with delicious finger foods, I can cut class.) See how easy-to-get I am! Exchanging my class with a drinking session. Very wise decision, huh? Tsk, tsk. Poor me.

And so, Peach and Francis came over to my place and welcomed the night with a liter of Mr. GranMa and 1-whole roasted chicken. As time passes by, we had a few good laughs, gave updates about ourselves, talked about others and of course, bragged a lot. Hahaha. Alongside those things, Mr. GranMa is gradually being consumed. Soon, the last shot was taken. BUT, the story didn't end there. The night is young and so is the effect of the alcohol in our body. Eheh.

Soon afterward, we decided to find another place where we can have our washing. For those of you who do not know what washing is, it is the part of a drinking session wherein you drink a round or two of beer after a 'hard' one. And by the term itself, washing is done to make something clean, meaning, it should 'make someone feel better' so to speak. However, based on several experiences, washing only worsens my dizzy feeling and eventually causes me to puke my gallbladder out - the reason why I really don't get why it is called as such. So if anyone out there knows the rationale of this apparently ironic drinking activity, kindly enlighten me. Eheh. Anyway, to continue with my narration, Peach and Francis wanted to sing the night away so we went to Myrnel's because they have a karaoke machine, aka video-singko, there. While we were there, we sang a couple of songs while gulping a round of beer or two. As the night grew a little older, we were told that it is time for the last order and so we agreed to pay the bill instead of making another order as the place will soon be closed. BUT then again, the story didn't end there. Yes, the night grew older but not enough to make us sympathize with it.

And so, we decided to go to another venue with a karaoke machine for another couple of rounds of beer. The agreed place? Peñaranda, Aircon Edition (the one in front of the infamous Lady Anne Disco Bar). While on our way, we pulled over at Tiya Bita's Fine Dining, aka Foodstep and Jollibombay, for our late dinner, then proceeded to Peñaranda right after. There we spent several hours singing, drinking, laughing, singing, drinking and laughing (Mr. Papacologne slash Folded and Hung slash Reebok indeed made our night! He's the man. Rofl). At 4 am, we left the place and proceeded to Biggs' Diner for a cup of coffee. After an hour, we parted ways and went home.

Whew, what a night!

But why Cinderella's drinking buddy, you mas ask? It is because I am making another resolution for myself (a follow up to my previous resolution). Can't wait until New Year for this one. From now on:

Alcohol intake stops at 12 midnight.

Yes, you read it right. I want to keep myself from drinking alcohol past 12 midnight. If I can't stop drinking, at least I should put limit to it. I assume this is easier than limiting the number of bottles that I should drink or that I should only drink beer. I can still stay beyond 12 midnight though but will just have to drink anything but liquor and devour the finger foods. Eheh.

Are you in doubt if I can make it? I, too, am in doubt. But you see, it has been more than 3 months now since I made a resolution regarding smoking (which I am faithfully abiding) so I guess, this resolution will not be that hard to keep. Hope it really is. Anyhow, I'll stand by it, slowly and steadily.

Maktub!

You Can't Win 'Em All

2nd Season Basketball Tournament

[Synergizers] Our team's five-game winning streak (one win is courtesy of the Happee team who already backed out from the tournament) has just ended earlier this evening; thanks to you Wild Buddies! Eheh. A 41-point margin is somewhat devastating on our part, but please allow me to excuse our team from this shame for the reason that two of our starting five players were not able to play. Oh well, a lose is still a lose, no excuses. But the Wild Buddies are a seasoned team; they have joined several tournaments already as a team. Imagine them playing against our young team which was just formed for the sake of this competition. Tsk tsk. Okay, I know. No excuses.

We still have three games remaining and we must win a couple of those games for a guaranteed slot in the semis round, fingers crossed. I'll post another update at the end of the elimination round.

By the way, Matadors also lost against DMS tonight (Season 1 Championship rivals). I miss playing with my old team. Hope they also get to join the semi-finals, and eventually meet them at the Championship round. Eheh.

Until then.

Maktub!

My 45-Day Broilers

You will surely be missed.

Last Monday marked the 45th day of my 20 broilers; 16 of them already bid goodbye to serve their purpose, and the rest were fortunate enough to live a little longer as they were bought alive. And yeah, I did the dressing alone! All it takes is some guts to murder those helpless chickens.

For the past month and a half, I have been wasting alloting a portion of my daily 24 hours just to clean my broilers' poop (the volume of which increases as the broilers grow old) and refill their feeder and waterer with feeds, water and vitamins two to three times a day.

Aside from the broilers' daily routine of pooping, eating, pooping, drinking, pooping, eating, pooping, sleeping, pooping, eating and pooping again (they can also do several combinations of these spectacular activities), they have nothing else to do. Just imagine the sacrifice I endured - the foul smell they brought to my place and the tedious task of properly disposing their copius poop. Sigh!

I admit, I don't have any single idea about broilers, much more how to raise them. But what pushed me to venture into this agri-business is my desire to earn and have something to keep myself busy after losing my job. If carefully planned and studied, poultry farming is not that bad. In fact, it is a very good business if you have basic knowledge, a good place and enough resources. But sans these must-haves, I pursued with the business, which I consider an experiment as far as I am concerned. Little did I know that I will just end up as a loser - financially, physically and psychologically. I should have looked for a good and hands-on mentor first before I took the risk. Okay, next time!

On the other hand, I got some things to be grateful about this flopped business of mine.

First, I was given an opportunity to learn more about accountability. No matter how sleepy I am because perhaps I slept late the night before or I just feel like sleeping until midday, my unconscious mind tells my lazy ass to wake up, get moving and feed my hungry broilers once they start to get noisy. The same thing happens before the sun sets down or when I get home no matter how tired I may be. But take note, feeding is the cause and poop cleaning is the effect.

Second, it taught me something new. I learned about broilers and how to raise them. And the next time I venture into this kind of business again, I know better what to do. One good thing about it is that when someone talks about broilers, I will not be caught amazed by whatever he says, filling my mind with theories. Instead, I can already share some of my first-hand experiences.

Third, I got to have an animal to take care of once again. It was way back in my High School when I first took care of an animal - pigeon/dove of different sorts. It feels good to have something, especially an animal, to keep an eye on. And while attending to their needs, I find myself entertained and relaxed with their activities. So with my broilers, the memories of my then pigeons/doves and how I took care of them were somewhat relived.

And lastly, thanks to my broilers' delicious meat! Tinola, chicken adobo, and fried chicken are just some of the viands that my family enjoyed. And surely, those who bought from me will also enjoy or have enjoyed their hairy/feathery(?) meat because as expected, I was not able to clean them thoroughly. Eheh.

So just like life, no matter how bad it may seem, there are always some good things that we should all be grateful for.

So there it goes - In loving memory of my 45-day broilers.

Maktub!

Antolin Acuña Jr.-Fatima Pavia Nuptial on 08.08.08

August 8, 2008 – the opening of the most awaited Beijing Olympics and also the most awaited date of lovers Antz and Ting to take each other as husband and wife. At the St. Gregory the Great Cathedral, Antz looked great in an all-white coat and tie attire while breathlessly waiting in front for Ting who looked lovely in her wedding gown while promenading through the nave. Before the altar, the couple looked beautiful together. Having God as the ‘star witness’ of their unending love for each other, the two exchanged vows and rings, kissed and were wed. A simple yet elegant reception at The Concourse with family, relatives and friends followed right after. Hours later, the celebration concluded and the rest of the couple’s life together started.

By the way, I’m happy to be their Bestman (my first time).

A blessed married life to my dear friends, Antz and Ting. Cheers!

Maktub!

Just Quit It

Last night, we had a sorry loss in a best-of-three semis game for our supposed-to-be-friendly-but-turning-out-to-be-serious small time tournament. After the game, the Chef told us that we will just have a short ‘meeting’ at his place. About what? I do not know. I was a bit hesitant to go with them because I am having a weird feeling that it was going to end up meeting with Mr. GranMa instead. Nonetheless, I found myself driving to D’ Chef’s House. Upon arrival, I told Air France that I will not drink, and that I will head home right after the ‘meeting’. While seated, we had a ‘disappointed’ talk about what happened in the game and planned what we should do in the next game to win and consequently play in the finals. But my weird feeling wasn’t really weird at all. Mr. GranMa did sneak in and join our meeting. With an empty stomach, I regretfully found myself drinking and smoking. Tsk, tsk!

Okay, the temptation was so strong to resist so I told myself again that I will go home after we fnished the bottle. An hour and a half later, I was still sitting and drinking but was slowly getting dizzy. Good thing, the last shot was shortly coming. After a few minutes, the bottle was down. I really wanted to go but something’s holding me back. Unknowingly, Mr. GranMa called for backup. The next moment, I found myself continuously taking shots as the night grew old. Poor me; I went home lightheaded drunk. I even puked right in front of our gate. Fortunately, I still managed to drive home safely.

To cut the story short, I woke up this morning with a severe hangover telling myself not to smoke anymore and to, as much as possible, moderate my alcohol intake (save some reservations) for a number of reasons, hence, this post. And to cut it even shorter:

Quit smoking .

Drink moderately.

I know, some of you heard this resolution from me several times already but still find me doing the same thing over and over again. And I’m guilty of that. This time however, I’m not just going to do it verbally but I am also writing this post to serve as a reminder to myself. No promises, though. I know I can’t do this alone; help me help myself.

Maktub!

Blog + Blogger + Blogging = Blogosphere.

Coined from the words web log, a blog is a website that is regularly maintained by an individual (usually) or by a group. It features an assortment of text (personal journal, commentary, description of events, advertisements), images, web links, web pages and other stuff such as graphics, audios and videos that have (or have even nothing) to do with the blog topic or theme. Depending upon the focus, most blogs are updated by textual posts or entries, or by art (artlog), photos (photoblog), sketches (sketch blog), videos (vlog), music (MP3 blog), audio (podcasting) and others. Blogs also come in different genres to wit: personal, topical, political, business, health, literary, travel, research, legal, and educational. The act of updating posts or entries is called “blogging”, the one that does the blogging is called a “blogger”, and the world of weblogging or blog-related websites is being referred to as the “blogosphere”.

Sources:
Wikipedia
Problogger


As for this site, it is going to be more of a personal and topical blog. It will basically feature bits and pieces about law, reason, love, faith, life and anything in between. Images/photos, audios/MP3, videos and whatnots will also be added for delight and convenience purposes.

The posts or entries here are primarily intended for self-expression, but if they happen to impress you then that will just be the cherry on top. For one frustrated seasonal writer like me (please correct me if this is just a misconception on my part), putting up this blog is kind of hard. Not until nature forced me to learn and know anything about blogs and blogging, I had no any idea what it was about. As of the moment, I still need to learn a LOT; I’m just a neophyte in the blogosphere, as what my very, very beautiful and kind colleague called it. Well, like life, blogging is also best learned through experiences. So, here I am now – blogging my own way.

Maktub!