Now that my 10 week [tag]weight management[/tag] program is over, I reflect with a slight disppointment over my [tag]weight loss[/tag]. I expected to lose more than 10 pounds in that 10 week period. I guess my age and the Holidays made it extremely difficult to follow the weight management regimen. I lost a total of 9 pounds. I should be happy but not really. That 9 pounds was my weight gain I needed to lose anyway. I still want to lose 15 more pounds to attain my ideal body mass index. Don’t get me wrong.

The expense of shelving out 7,700 pesos was not wasted. Today, I am able to exercise longer with greater stamina reaching 300 calories an hour unlike before where I only burned 100 calories an hour. Talk about quality exercise this time. That entailed 30 minutes of cycling and 30 minutes of treadmill with a 4.0 gradient and a speed of 5.5 . Even if I am not happy with my weight loss, I am pleased with the exercise benefits. More endorphins makes a happy me. While contemplating the renewal of my contract with Fitness First weight management, I caught sight of the colorful Del Monte Booth by the gym lobby.

Looking closely at the brochure, I became excited.
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The brochure screamed ” Do you want to lose weight and get the BODY you’ve always wanted. I continued on flicking the pages of the brochure of Del Monte’s Fit ‘N Right Challenge

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Meet Traffic Enforcer Noel Quilatan. Every morning on my way to the gym at The Fort, Taguig City, Noel is a sight to behold amidst the magnificent skyscrapers in the background. His cheery disposition lifts my spirits for the day and revs me up for my daily workout. You will find the Noel at the intersection of Mckinely Road, Makati and 5th ave of the Global City. What makes this traffic enforcer different ? Well for one, his traffic signals are choreographed to his own rhythm. It’s unlike other robotic traffic cops you see waving hand signals here and there. He executes slick dance steps unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. Second, his sunny smile beams all day after hours and hours of dancing to the tune of traffic stop and go.

My husband surmises that Noel might be crazy. His reasoning “How can anyone smile all day handling Manila traffic with the tropical heat hitting on you? One has to be crazy to beat all that.” That got me thinking. Is Noel crazy? Or does Noel just have high endorphin levels? Or is he just enjoying his job? And again, I remember a series in Grey’s Anatomy where a woman was found to have high endorphins due to a brain tumor. I brushed my husband’s theory aside. Maybe he is just born with a positive spirit.

Noel is quite popular with the Makati and The Fort residents that he even got featured in Ms. Vicky Morales “Wish ko Lang”, a wish giving show. Surrounded by stuffed toys given by generous motorists, Noel’s wish was to see his mother whom he hadn’t seen in years. Noel could have asked for material gifts but he preferred to be with his mom. With tears streaming down his cheeks, Noel’s wish was granted.

I wish I had taken a video of Noel’s dancing moves . Here are a few photos posted by European websites:
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stop150.gifThe first time I puffed a cigarette was when I was 18 years old in utter defiance of an ex-boyfriend who refused to leave me alone. Thinking he’d get turned off with my smoking, I blew smoke into his face. Unfortunately, that didn’t work. He continued to pursue me relentlessly until I met my husband. (having another boyfriend didn’t stop him but that’s another story) The sad thing was I got hooked into cigarettes till my mid-thirties. Until one day….an 8 year old Lauren wrapped her arms around me and begged me “Mom, smoking is bad. I learned in Science class that you could die of lung cancer. I don’t want you to die. I love you mom

The heart rending plea tugged at my heart. Of course I didn’t want to die. How could I leave my children alone? I looked into Lauren’s imploring eyes “Yes, dear. I will stop smoking“. I kissed her cheeks. I couldn’t stop smoking right away but the thought did occur that I should give this vice up. And I did . It wasn’t hard. In fact, I felt triumphant that I conquered the smoking habit.

Little did I know that 8 years later, a reversal of roles would occur.

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Imagine eating grilled prawns or even Angus steak amidst sparkling heart-shaped fireworks. Just add wonderful company to that scenario. What a perfect night to watch the World Pyro Olympics between Germany and the United Kingdom. It’s my first time to witness such a grand display of color and lights. The event was even more meaningful when I met up with famous adventurous blogger, Anton , problogger Abe together with Anton’s friends or followers (?) like Tanya, Brian, Ivan, Sam, and I forgot (sorry guys forgive me for my frail memory) at the Highland Steak , SM Mall of Asia. The plan was to take photos at the venue proper but Anton wanted a change of scenery. Dining at the second level where Highland Steak House is located proved to be an advantage. The spectacular view of the World Pyro Olympics was simply amazing. My point and shoot Canon Powershot A710 IS does not do justice to the spectacular fireworks. The captivating colors turned up overly exposed and white. Frustrated at my futile attempts to take great photos , I ended up taking short videos which I uploaded to youtube such as these.

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I got invited as a resource person for the Digital Filipino’s Blogging and Social Networking Forum which was held at the swanky Microsoft office. My topic was Personal Blogging Experience. What great timing. Just a few days ago, an old office mate, Myrna Co dropped by to ask questions about blogging. You know, back at the old days when I was a researcher for UP Institute for Small Scale Industries, my research had to pass through the scrutiny of our editor, by who else, Myrna Co! I was always amazed at how my writing ended up so well-polished for publication. How I admire writers ! So I was pleased when she finally started a blog niche on retirement and growing old. It got me inspired to share the little knowledge I have of my 10 month blogging experience to others who are just starting.

A common question, and asked by my friend Myrna: ” how do I get people to go to my site, apart from begging my friends and relatives.?” When I started my blog, I wanted people to visit me. How else can I promote my advocacy if no one reads my blog? How else can I reach out to bereaved family members if they don’t know about my mission? I developed strategies to drawing in visitors. These [tag]Promote your blog[/tag] ideas are not original but they worked for me.

1. Write/show (not just tell) my unique experience and topics close to my heart.
Use senses (smell, taste, touch, sight, ) to show an entry. Without sounding sappy or appearing like a victim, I illustrated my grief journey with a few emotional insights. I’m sorry if I made some of you cry. It really wasn’t my intention.

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angelPyro died. Another child left too soon. I only found out today about Pyro’s death. I wished I had been there for his wake. For the past 11 months since I discovered Mec’s blog on her pain over Pyro’s illness, I longed for a miracle, hoping against hope that Pyro would make it. It reminds me of that fateful day when I thought Luijoe would also wake up from his unconsciousness. We always hope. We don’t give up. I can’t help but tear over Pyro’s fate. Just a month earlier, Pyro had been treated for germ-cell carcinoma, an already rare type of cancer, only to have doctors abroad find that what he actually had was Ewing’s Sarcoma… a rarer type of cancer. Despite having lost a child myself, I cannot say that I truly understand their pain. Pyro suffered for more than one year battling the ravages of a tumor that pressed on his heart and lungs. My Luijoe died a sudden death.

I cannot imagine their emotional roller-coaster of hope and fear: surgery or drug therapy may bring remission, a welcome period of normality and expectancy that the worst is past, only to have our hopes dashed as symptoms return with renewed intensity. The pain is unimaginable, unspeakable and excruciating.

Mec, the loving aunt of Pyro writes eloquently of her grief and her love for her nephew. Their grief journey has just started. For newly bereaved family members, everything has changed since the death of their child, especially their priorities. What was once so important is now comparatively trivial. What once gave them pleasure now feels somehow significant. Rather than make plans for a ‘new, year’, there are many who must learn to live with what has now become for them the ‘new normal.’

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new year goalsMy sister in San Francisco greeted me a Happy New Year then asked me “so what are your New Year goals?”. My goals are etched somewhere in the crevices of my brain but I hadn’t written it down in paper. I realize now that I needed to write down my goals, as an affirmation of myself, my life, and my ability to choose. Then I let it go. New Year goals are something we need to dig within and discover what we would like to happen in our life this year. It is an affirmation that we are interested in living life in the year to come. Goals give us focus. Goals give our life direction.

So the questions evolved. What would I like to attain? Where would I like to go? What would I like to happen in my marriage and family life? I have to remember that I am not out to control others with my goals but rather giving direction to my life. So I continue on pondering. What problems would I like to be solved? What decisions would I like to make? What would I like to happen in my business?

These are my goals for 2007

1. Start the construction of our new home by February.
2. Move in to our new home before the year 2007 ends.
3. Attain my desired weight of 125 pounds.
4. Have an ever closer relationship to God.
5. Develop membership responsibilities in The Compassionate Friends.

6. Start research on “brick and mortar” business.
7. Create more high income-generating blogs or redefine my current blog niche.
8. Encourage my 2 girls to be the best they can become.
9. Be more loving to my husband . (more loving than ever, hehe)
10. Expand or promote my webhosting business to starter businesses.
11. Treat my husband and myself to a trip abroad.

I will continue to write my goals regularly as needed.

Things may happen that are not within our control. Sometimes these events are happy surprises and sometimes they are of another nature. The year 2007 looms before us like another chapter in a book just waiting to be written. We can help write that story by setting goals. We will do it not to control but to do our part in living our life.

Hey, I even had my goals published in the papers:

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Thank you

firecrackers[tag]Happy New Year[/tag] [tag]2007[/tag]. My ears are still ringing from the din of our neighbors merriment. The house across our home were filled with party revelers spewing [tag]firecrackers[/tag] blast and [tag]fireworks[/tag] display starting at 9:00 PM till midnight. It’s been a long time since I’ve inhaled so much toxic smoke considering the village we live is relatively peaceful. Next year, I should remind myself to check in at a hotel to avoid this racket. The street looked like a warzone with debris of the fireworks strewn all over. The firecrackers’ explosion created so much noise I could barely hear anyone beside me for the whole duration. The girls were furious and scared of the noise. I mean , we can take in some noise but these were like total destruction to our eardrums. While taking the video, sparks flew towards our front porch hitting me on my arms. That’s how powerful it was. Listen to this nerve-wracking firecrackers explosion.

Our celebration is so tame compared to our neighbors. Here are videos of our fireworks

1. Serenity fountains,
2. Dancing Dragons
3. Angels in the Sky (mini rockets) and
4. Peacock fountains.

I placed the garden hose beside us just in case the fireworks go haywire.

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fireworksAfter having an early dinner, Butch dragged all of us to the SM Mall of Asia. Knowing there are [tag]fireworks display[/tag] at 7:00 PM every fridays and saturdays, the idea of sipping coffee and watching the outdoors fireworks display sounded like a swell idea. Just as we sat down on our chairs in the UCC Vienna Cafe, the crowd of mall shoppers started to swell. Fumbling with my camera’s navigation buttons, I failed to see the video option. Fireworks’ images don’t say much of the dazzling display . It’s the video that captures the splash of colors and the sounds of the crowd’s gasp of oooooh and ahhhs. Too bad I didn’t get to take a video of the 5 minute fireworks’ display. It’s my first time to see a huge fireworks display amidst a wide area of black space of Manila Bay. It’s really pretty.

Just as we went back to the coffee shop, Steven Tan, the general manager of SM Mall of Asia called out my husband’s name. What a delight to see Steven! He invited us to their New Year Eve’s [tag]fireworks[/tag] display at 12 midnight. According to Steven, the pyrotechnics cost 1.8 million pesos. What a hefty sum to blow off for just a few minutes. Perhaps the fireworks play a purpose to drive away the evil spirits and bring in good luck and harmony for the new year. I don’t know if we are going to watch the fireworks display. It’s always been our New Year’s Eve tradition to create loud noises ,toot the horns, light up a few sparklers and fireworks and then eat our noche buena. Safety is an important consideration . I get paranoid of stray bullets and careless people who just throw off fireworks to passing cars. We’ll see if a change of scenery might be worth it.

These are a few Photos of the Fireworks display that I took tonight.

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salamat docThe overwhelming response to the episode, “Positibo ang Pinoy” in ABS CBN “Salamat Dok” shows the wide coverage of the show not only in the Philippines but in the USA , Australia, Saudi Arabia or wherever the Filipino Channel is . Right after my 15 minute segment, I checked my phone and to my surprise saw 31 text messages and 21 missed calls. For the next two days, my phone received a barrage of “missed calls” and text messages. I lost count. It probably reached to over 100 messages and 50 missed calls. Basking in the cool morning breeze , the show was shot live in an outdoor scene. See, I never thought anyone would be watching a 6:00 AM show so I gave away my cellphone number freely . I have often done that in other TV shows and newspaper interviews. My cellphone number and The Compassionate Friends website flashed on the screen for bereaved parents who might want to join our support group. Though I got around 20 legitimate queries from bereaved family members, the rest of the inquiries probably misunderstood “The Compassionate Friends” purpose. Maybe they thought I was their compassionate friend. I can do only so much , really. Much as I want to help the world, I have a family to attend to and I need to focus on my mission to help bereaved families towards a positive resolution of grief.

Receiving a barrage of text messages and missed calls made me realize the value of the text messaging among cellphone users. Without revealing the content of the text messages, these are some of my observations.

1. [tag]Cellphone[/tag] text messaging is used as “talk-therapy” . Cellphone users unload their problems to someone who had been there. Knowing someone out there is listening comforts them. Even to acknowledge a simple “I understand” evokes a “Thank you so much” reply.

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