You Just Can't Buy Happiness

“As you grow, you learn more. If you stayed at twenty-two, you’d always be as ignorant as you were at twenty-two. Aging is not just decay, you know. It’s growth. It’s more than the negative that you’re going to die, it’s also the positive that you understand you’re going to die, and that you live a better life because of it.”

Yes, I said, but if aging were so valuable, why do people always say, “Oh, if I were young again.” You never hear people say, “I wish I were sixty-five.”

He smiled. “You know what that reflects? Unsatisfied lives. Unfulfilled lives. Lives that haven’t found meaning. Because if you’ve found meaning in your life, you don’t want to go back. You want to go forward. You want to see more, do more. You can’t wait until sixty-five.”

“…Wherever I went in my life, I met people wanting to gobble up something new. Gobble up a new car. Gobble up a new piece of property. Gobble up the latest toy. And then they wanted to tell you about it. ‘Guess what I got? Guess what I got?’

You know how I always interpreted that? These were people so hungry for love that they were accepting substitutes. They were embracing material things and expecting a sort of hug back. But it never works. You can’t substitute material things for love or for gentleness or for tenderness or for sense of comradeship.”

(Excerpts from Tuesdays With Morrie)

I realized that the reason that I don’t ever feel contented whenever I get something I want like for example a new laptop is probably because I’m unconsciously using these material things as substitute for the more essential and intangible things like love and affection. There are times when I really want something so bad and when I finally get it I don’t even feel very happy about it. It’s just like, “Okay, I got it now. So what?” It doesn’t fill me up. Maybe because deep inside it’s not what I need to feel happy and contented. I’m trying to satisfy myself with material things because it’s all I can get. I’m trying to convince myself that having these stuff will make me happy. I grew up believing that. They made me like this. I’m constantly looking for what was denied from me growing up – love and affection. I wasn’t raised in a loving environment. I have parents that believe that giving their children shelter, food, clothing, education and some other material things already makes them good parents. I’m not saying that providing these things is bad but parenting is way more than that. It’s being more than just a provider. You might question what I know about parenting when I’m not even a parent – at least not yet. I know what good parents should be like because I know what I want and what I need as a daughter.

Is today The Day?

“Everyone knows they’re going to die but nobody believes it. If we did, we would do things differently.”

“..To know you’re going to die, and to be prepared for it at any time.”

“Once you learn how to die, you learn how to live.”

“We really don’t experience the world fully, because we’re half-asleep, doing things we automatically think we have to do.

And facing death changes all that?

Oh, yes. You strip away all that stuff and you focus on the essentials. When you realize you are going to die, you see everything much differently”

“If you accept that you can die at any time, then you might not be as ambitious as you are.”

“We are too involved in materialistic things, and they don’t satisfy us. The loving relationships that we have, the universe around us, we take these things for granted.”

(Excerpts from Tuesdays With Morrie)

We are so busy caught up with the everyday mundane stuffs that we forget and take for granted what’s really important. I remember a pastor saying that we should live like we’re going to die [soon]. But what do we do? We live as if we’re immortals. We live as if we know when exactly we are going to die. If you knew that you were going to die tomorrow, how could you have spent the day? You’d probably do things differently. You’d probably do the things that you don’t usually do or the things that you usually put aside and the right time for everything becomes now. You would probably appreciate everything more and draw joy from the smallest things. We could have better relationships and more satisfying lives if we always remember that we could die in a snap at any time, any place. Not everyone gets the chance to foresee when they are going to die like those sick people with numbered days.

500 Days of Summer

Tom: Paul, seriously...
Paul: Did you bang her?
Tom: No!
Paul: Blow job?
Tom: No!
Paul: Hand job?
Tom: No, Paul, no jobs. I'm still unemployed. We just kissed.


Paul: Robin is better than the girl of my dreams. She's real.

Everything I Own

You taught me how to love
What it's all, what it's all.
You never said too much
But still you showed the way
And I knew from watching you.
Nobody else could ever know
The part of me that can't let go.

I would give everything I own
Give up my life, my heart, my home
I would give everything I own
Just to have you back again
Just to touch you once again

The Real Me (daw)

Your view on yourself:

You are down-to-earth and people like you because you are so straightforward. You are an efficient problem solver because you will listen to both sides of an argument before making a decision that usually appeals to both parties.

The type of girlfriend/boyfriend you are looking for:

You are a true romantic. When you are in love, you will do anything and everything to keep your love true.

Your readiness to commit to a relationship:

You are ready to commit as soon as you meet the right person. And you believe you will pretty much know as soon as you might that person.

The seriousness of your love:

Your have very sensible tactics when approaching the opposite sex. In many ways people find your straightforwardness attractive, so you will find yourself with plenty of dates.

Your views on education

Education is very important in life. You want to study hard and learn as much as you can.

The right job for you:

You have plenty of dream jobs but have little chance of doing any of them if you don't focus on something in particular. You need to choose something and go for it to be happy and achieve success.

How do you view success:

You are afraid of failure and scared to have a go at the career you would like to have in case you don't succeed. Don't give up when you haven't yet even started! Be courageous.

What are you most afraid of:

You are concerned about your image and the way others see you. This means that you try very hard to be accepted by other people. It's time for you to believe in who you are, not what you wear.

Who is your true self:

You are mature, reasonable, honest and give good advice. People ask for your comments on all sorts of different issues. Sometimes you might find yourself in a dilemma when trapped with a problem, which your heart rather than your head needs to solve.

Fancy Dinner

I've been wanting to blog about this for quite a long time now. And now I'm breaking my silence. I'm sure you've heard or watch in the television the much talked about "expensive" dinner of Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her entourage at Le Cirque in New York.

Ito lang masasabi ko sa lahat ng bumabatikos: Ang paplastic niyo!

Wala bang karapatan si PGMA na magdinner sa Le Cirque o sa kahit anong restaurant for that matter? Eh paano kaya kung sa carinderia siya kumain? Ano kaya magiging reaksyon ng mga tao? Siguradong may negative reactions pa rin. They would probably say na ginawa niya lang yun para magpabango sa masa. Magpakatotoo ka man o hindi, wala ka pa rin lusot.

I remember one time na ipinakita sa TV yung mga kinakain kuno ng mga estudyante for lunch. Ikinumpara yun sa dinner ni PGMA at ng entourage niya sa Le Cirque. Kapag ba hindi sila kumain sa Le Cirque ay mabubusog ang mga estudyante at iba pang mga Pilipino? Hindi naman di ba? Eh ano ipinuputok ng butse nila? Masyado silang madadrama. Kapag ba ikaw nilibre ng dinner sa fancy restaurant katulad ng Le Cirque tatanggihan mo? I'm sure hindi. Kahit nga free taste sa mall pinapatos, libreng fancy dinner pa kaya. Kung presidente ka ng isang bansa lalo na ng isang bansang puno ng problema, siguro naman you deserve something like that. Privilege niya na yun eh. Kaya lang naman ginagawang issue ang bagay na yun ay dahil din sa personal motives ng mga kalaban niya sa pulitika. Hinahanap nila lagi ng butas ang administrasyon para maisulong nila ang m ga personal na interes nila. Everything boils down to politics. Akala mo naman sila hindi kumakain sa mga mamahaling restaurant. Bigla ko tuloy naalala ang pagdalaw ng isang opposition senator sa University where I go to. Usap-usapan sa klase ang sasakyan niya. So nacurious ako. Guess what? Sino nga namang hindi pag-uusapan kung helicopter ang sasakyan mo. Sosyal di ba? Take note. Senator pa lang yan. Hindi pa siya presidente. What more kung presidente na siya. Tapos kung makapambatikos sila akala mo kung sino. Double standard. Ang sangsang talaga ng pulitika dito sa Pilipinas.

Emotional Roller Coaster

Much has been going on. Ang dami ko nang mga thoughts na gusto sanang i-blog pero hindi ko nagawa dahil nga busy. It's really hard, frustrating and, not to mention, sad to be caught up in this busy world.

My weekend wasn't really good except Friday night up to the wee hours of Saturday because that's the time na nasa anniversary party kami ng Phileos. Masaya naman 'yung party but the drinks were not good. Parang tubig lang. Wala man lang tama. Nahirapan tuloy ako to get myself in party mode. I sat there watching my orgmates and the other people dance the night away for like a couple of hours. Tumayo lang ako nung niyaya na ako ng isang sis ko to dance. I danced with my orgmates. It was FUN, I must say. I felt elated because we had a chance to bond and do things na hindi namin magagawa if we were not on that party. The party served as our excuse to get close (literally) to each other without anyone noticing (or so I thought). It was all dreamy when he was holding me. I hope it's not the last kahit na nagkaroon kami ng hindi pagkakaintindihan. Hay.. Sana maging ok na ang lahat.

Fast forward to Saturday night. It's 9pm at paalis pa lang ako ng LB going home. Tired and hungry because I haven't eaten dinner. Hindi ko nagustuhan how the day went by. Nasira mga plans ko because they woke me up and made me go to the games waaayyy earlier than what I have planned. Balak ko pa naman sanang gawin 'yung project ko. Hindi ko tuloy nagawa. Bad trip. Grr.. So yun na nga. Stressed out ako. 11pm na ako nakauwi. I had dinner tapos natulog na ako. The next day, iritable ako. Hindi ko alam if I should blame the hormones o ang mga di kanais-nais na mga pangyayari brought by my sister and my mom. Wala na talagang ginawang matino kapatid ko. Tapos tumawag pa si L expressing his annoyance while I was at church. Ang bigat nun para sakin. I can't get it out of my mind. Siguradong mahihirapan akong magconcentrate sa pag-aaral mamaya. May exam pa naman ako early in the morning. Good luck na lang sakin. I could almost hear the song "Bad Day" play on the background because of what had happened.

Father to Son

I was moved by this letter of a father to his son. Dito ko nakita na maganda pala talaga ang hangarin ni Ninoy for the country.

Click here to read the letter.

Awww..

Sweet and adorable hand-holding otters.=)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epUk3T2Kfno&NR=1

I looove it!

Remember the shoes I mentioned in my earlier post entitled Friday ? After much bargaining with my mom, she finally agreed to buy me the shoes. They're finally mine! Hehe.. We bought the shoes last June 1 (Monday). Buti na lang the shoes are available in my size. Here are the pics:

*modeled by my dearest cousin

We went to the mall again yesterday to buy some stuffs including the purse that I'd also be using on the wedding. I had a hard time choosing coz a lot of the purses look great so I asked mom to help me choose. Here's what she picked:

This purse is actually not included in my range of choice but my mom convinced me that this is the one that I should buy. It's not bad after all.

Una

This is my first post here. Yey!

Mom and I went to Festival Mall yesterday to buy something from Ace Hardware and to buy the shoes that I'd be using on my cousin's wedding. Upon arriving, I saw the poster of the activities of the Bridal Show and so I asked mom if we could drop by the exhibit. What really caught my eye when we were nearing the exhibit is the bridal car. And it's not just a bridal car so I took a picture with my mom.It's a Jaguar - a vintage one. They also offer other bridal cars for rent including a very posh white limo. Since it's a wedding exhibit, caterers and cake makers also participated.

I personally love this one. It's very romantic when you see it in person. I love the colors - gold and pink. Plus, the roses are real and the floral arrangement is really nice.

Here is the photo of the shoes that I'm trying to buy from Okasyon. It has a ribbon that you tie around your ankle.

I'm actually choosing between the two.

They almost look identical. I was watching Gossip Girl earlier and Blair is wearing something similar. It made me more confident that I'm choosing the right shoes. Hehe..
It's in pink and I totally love it!