Few important things that I learned from Ardy Abello, Chinkee Tan, Ptr. Jayson Lo – the speakers and God keeps on reminding me since I attended are:

“Success is 10% skill and 90% character”

“Success is good if it doesn’t reach your head, the same with failure to your heart.”

 ”Success is attaining your goal without sacrificing your role”

Success = Patience + Persistence + Prayer

FEAR = False Expectation Appearing Real

15 minutes a day can change your life

To be successful, be unique. How to be unique?
1. Work hard
2. Fail Often
3. Be you!

God wants us to succeed. The Bible said, ”The Lord… has pleasure in [our] prosperity.” Psalm 35:27

Batlag Falls: Main Swimming Area (Photo Credits: Bryan Villamor)

Ever since, I’ve been fascinated with water falls. The fresh water that flows down from a mountain, it’s sound as it falls to the rocks, the serene environment, the green moss – very therapeutic. Thus, last Holy Thursday we decided to escape the city with tent and foods packed we traveled to experience a wonder of nature, Batlag Falls in Tanay, Rizal.

Batlag Falls is located further up the Daranak Falls. It’s a privately owned (unlike Daranak Falls)  by the lot owners where it is situated. Entrance Fee is Php50 per head (day stay) and Php150 (overnight, though this is now prohibited).

To get there, ride a jeepney (Php53/head) or van (Php70) at Star Mall Terminal (corner Shaw and EDSA) going to Tanay. Then ride a tricycle (Php75/head or Php150/trip. You can try to negotiate with the driver) going to Daranak/Batlag falls.

Batlag Falls is indeed a good place to experience nature – the trees that surround it, the mountain, the cold water, the rocks that are shaped through time. It’s a good place to intimately talk to God, to pray and to cry your heart out to Him. It’s relieving to wake up in the morning and here sound of the water falling from the mountain, the crickets, the insects and the birds singing. It’s a serene place.

Batlag Falls: Balance Life (Photo Credit: Bryan Villamor)

All these things you can experience after 6pm until before eight in the morning. When only us are left in the falls area to stay. However between 8am-6pm, when a lot of people visit the falls to swim, drink and have fun, it’s totally different. They leave there trash in the cottage, bring their food and drinks in the falls. They even throw the “balut” shell near the swimming area (really annoying). This kind of attitude of the visitors destroys the beauty of the falls that I hope the owners will try to control so that Batlag Falls will be protected.

Perhaps, it’s best to write the greatness and love of God for us for the rest of the year. A lot of things happened – good and bad. Some made us feel better and others even bitter. But the best thing is that He allowed us to be excited again and look forward for another year.

Personally, I had a lot of memorable and remarkable experience like being “holdap”, owning and losing a laptop, receiving a joypad tablet, travelling to Palawan, hospitalization and operation, strong typhoons, successful and failed project implementation, positive and negative feedback, new business opportunities, meeting new friends and reunion with old ones, being stable and shaky,  stormy yet colorful life.

2011 has taught me a lot things like

anything we possess here on earth will be gone anytime;

relationship matters – at home, at work, in the society;

be assertive and firm;

the value of patience and perseverance;

failing doesn’t mean it’s the end, rather it’s a start of a success;

if you succeed, the first people who should feel it is your family and loved ones;

look back and thank the people who molded you to where you are now;

thank God in everything and trust Him in His plans for us.

 

All in all, 2011 is another great year of smiles, adventures, trials and success. All glory and honor to our loving God for never failing to whisper how much He cares and how wonderful is His plans for us whenever we stumble down. A happy year-end everyone and looking forward for a blessed 2012.

I even thought of just disturbing the driver and take over the steering wheel and just bump the car while in the U-Turn. However, I can’t find any police on duty who could possibly respond and help me.

They dropped the guy sitting in front to withdraw while we are moving back and forth to the same U-turn slots until the guy was able to check if the PIN that I provided is correct and maybe attempted withdraw. The guy was picked up again back to cab to report how much he got. Unfortunately, since this account has very minimal amount they forced me to give the PIN of the other ATM card that they got. I really don’t want to give them the PIN. My fear is that if I don’t give the PIN, they might bring me somewhere. True indeed, they drove me until QC circle (thank God, they went back to Quezon Ave. I thought, they’re bringing to Fairview/Bulacan area) ’til I gave the PIN. Back to Quezon Ave., they found a bank where they can withdraw so they left the guy again while they are driving me around Quezon Ave.
I felt to weak already and just entrusted everything to God. My back is aching, can’t speak loudly anymore, heavily sweating. After three turns, they picked up the guy again after withdrawing all my money in my account and continued to drive while telling me, “Pag baba po ninyo, huwag na huwag kayong lilingon. May back up kaming sumusunod. Pag lumingon kayo, papatayin na kayo non. Ito po ang bag nyo, ilagay nyo dyan ‘yang wallet nyo para di kayo halatang na-holdap.” While me begging, “Ibaba nyo na po ako. Pahingi na lang po ‘yang black na box (I was referring to my external drive). Sa trababaho ko po ‘yan. Mawawalan ako ng trabaho pag nawala ‘yan”. Then they asked, “Ano ba ‘tong box na ‘to?” So I explained, “files ko lang po ‘yan sa trabaho.” Thank God again, they hand me the hard drive and gave me Php100 (for my fare) and turn right in a street going to ABS-CBN and turn left to ELJ Ave. (if I’m not mistaken) going to EDSA (right beside MRT station).

While they continuously reminding me not to look back once they drop me nor  ask for help once they drop me. We went out to EDSA right after MRT station (going south). From there, they look for a space with no people walking in a building where there is no security guard, there is a gate going in right after John Robert Powers, more or less 100 meters away from Shell and Jollibee Sct. Borromeo. There, the left me trembling, feeling so weak, and don’t know what to do. Feeling scared that if I seek for help, the “back up” that they’re referring to will just shoot me and leave me dead. After almost a minute, I attempted to look at the plate number of the cab. It looks like TVW 503 or TVW 508. It wasn’t really clear at all.

Then, I tried to wave my hand to a bus, with no luck it didn’t stop. Looking south and north, I run Jollibee and cried for help so that I can call Bryan and my house mates. Thanks to the manager, he allowed me to use the telephone and was able to call home. While crying trembling, shaking, I waited for them to pick me up and bring me home. Thanks to Ate Via, Ate Brendz, Ate Anna and Irish. While Bryan rushed to the apartment and waited for us too. With everyone, thanking that I’m safe and alive after more than two hours of miserable life.

After almost an hour of rest and comfort, we decided to go to the Greenhills police to report the incident. Whew! This is an even more frustrating part. After initially telling the story, they brought us to the headquarter in San Juan for the Police Report. Guess what the police officer told us, “San ba banda nag-declare ng holdap? Kung sa tapat ng Kamay Kainan (me telling: tapat po ng Audi or Porsche showroom na po) … Ah sa Mandaluyong na ito. Dapat doon kayo magpa-imbestiga.”

After a quite long discussion, that’s the only time he  took my statement. After telling the whole story, the Police officer said, “Endorse ko kayo sa investigator” and brought us in the investigator’s desk near the jail (oh no!). The investigator asked me again what happened (for the third time I have to relay everything over and over again). Feeling weak and tired, we just decided to go home and take some rest.

What a horrible experience. ‘Til now I still feel scared, feeling paranoid whenever I go out and travel. Every day, every time I wake up, my dilemma  is, “how will I go to work? Which way should I take? What to ride? and so on.”

Please help me pray for my fast recovery. I need peace of mind. Thanks to my housemates and my colleagues for cheering me up and understanding, thanks also to Bryan for taking care of me, for the company and for patiently listening to my fears and for comforting me. Most of all, thanks to our powerful God who protected me from the hands of those people (they need God’s grace to change) and for giving me “second life” here on earth.

I normally take a cab when I  bring my laptop, so I took a cab in Annapolis St., Greenhills last Oct. 15 at 7:30pm. I told the taxi driver, “Manong, I’m going to _____”. After locking the door, the driver said, “Ms. medyo malambot ang gulong ko sa kanan”. I just ignored him then he said, “Lipat ka po sa kaliwa”. Since I’m confident and comfortable riding a cab in the area, I moved to the left side of the cab.

Since traffic in Annapolis is moving slow, we turned right in Missouri St. then left to Connecticut, going to EDSA. I didn’t stop the driver to take that route, since I normally take that way when traffic is heavy. As we drive to EDSA, we should be taking Ortigas flyover, but the driver continues to the U-turn slot lane so I asked, “Manong, bakit dito tayo? Dapat sa flyover.” After my last word, two guys entered the car – one sat in front near the driver, the other grabbed me, held me tight while the driving saying “Ma’am, pasensya na po. Nasa hospital ang asawa ng kasama ko. Kailangan lang namin ng pera.” while me, shouting, trying to get out from the grip of the other guy who smells so bad.

While trying to fight the holdapers telling them to just take my money (I hand them my wallet) and just allow me to alight the cab, my phone rang (it was Bryan, my boyfriend calling). I answered, “Mahal, holdaper!”(my mistake), while the bad guys try to stop me from talking and telling “ibigay mo na sa amin ‘yan kung ayaw mong masaktan.” They even told me, “Ma’am, huwag po kayong makulit. Tumahimik na po kayo. Tutusukin ko na kayo eh!”

While the cab is moving (took Ortigas u-turn), the driver is instructing the guy in front to check my wallet. While asking me, how much cash do I have. “May sengkwenta mil (50,000) or 100 libo ba kayo dyan?”  They even ask, kind of cards are those in my wallet, do I have credit card (fortunately, I don’t have), atm, etc. When they found my ATM cards, they started asking the PIN and telling me, “Ma’am, kung ayaw nyo pong masaktan, sundin nyo lang lahat ng sasabihin namin. Kailangan lang namin ng pera. Ibababa rin namin kayo”. We keep moving through, Ortigas U-turn, EDSA, then Santolan U-Turn back and port (take note Santolan U-turn is in front of Camp Crame and no police is stationed in the area). I was looking around, hoping to find someone in authority to rescue me if I attempt to shout and fight the holdapers. Unfortunately, no security officer is in the area. I felt so hopeless. I just prayed ” Lord, am I dying tonight? Please, Lord huwag muna…”

I told them, “Php ____ lang po pera ko. Di po ako mayaman. Kunin nyo na po ang lahat ng pera ko. Basta ibaba nyo na po ako.” They keep asking, how much money do I have and insisted to ask the PIN of my ATM. With my fear, I told the PIN of one my ATM that has very minimal amount. They even told me “Pag mali ang PIN na binigay mo, masasaktan ka. Siguraduhin mong tama ito.” Then they drove to Santolan flyover going to Cubao.

It was a heavy traffic Saturday night. I am hoping to have chance to seek for help from the other drivers in the vehicles beside us. However, every time I attempt to raise or wave my hand, the guy holding me presses me down and tells me. “Bubulagin na kita. Spray-han na kita ng gamot para makatulog ka. Sasabuyan na kita ng asido. Huwag kang makulit.”

With all my fear, I behaved and just waited for them to just drop me somewhere as they promised since I’ve already given the ATM PIN.

….I’ll continue the horrible story. I haven’t even gone half.

Continuation… click here

I’ve been so busy lately, for a year? (haha!)  that I didn’t have time to post much stuff on my blog. But now, circumstance calls my attention back to blogging. So guys, make sure you’ve subscribed to my rss feeds. Starting today, I’ll make sure I allot time to write what’s on my mind, share some ideas, and post some crazy and fun stuff.

Happy Reading!

In the Philippines, ferris wheel are normally seen in “perya” during barrio/town fiestas. Where kids and teenagers enjoys the ride.

Last Friday night, I really felt bad. To shift my mood, my dearest Bry brought me in a “perya” near their place. There were lots of games for fun like color game, dart (shoot a balloon for a prize),  caterpillar, slides, and of course the ferris wheel. I was really hesitant to ride. My first question is, is there an insurance when I ride here? I remember the ferris wheel accident during our town fiesta when several kids died and injured when it malfunctioned while running.

Well, Bry is really good and he was able to convince me to ride (for Php15/head entrance fee. Super affordable!). There we go, I asked Manong again, “is this safe?” Conquering my fear, we took the ride and I really enjoyed it. It feels great when we’re at the top most and we were able to see all the game boots in the place. It feels like something is tickling my tummy. It was really fun going round and round and we’ve diverted my attention to the fun ride. After the 10-minute scream and laugh, we played dart and got marsh mallow and throw a coin to win a prize.

Thanks much to my dearest Best for a very fun and memorable night.

Sometimes, we think so hard that we over-analyze every activity and events in our daily endeavor.  Sometimes we’ve planned so much that we missed to enjoy the moment. Sometimes we get overwhelmed with our mountainous dreams that we can’t focus and prioritize what’s really important in the present.

We feel restless, tired, exhausted…

Times like this, when all we want is to stop for a while and clear out our mind. When we need a little time to recall the best times in our lives and rekindle the enthusiasm that we had from the very start. When we need an ear to listen to our random thoughts. When all we have to do is seek His guidance, wisdom and light that we may know what’s best for us; that we will regain strength; and a renewed heart and mind. (Thanks to You Lord and to my Best for never failing to be right be my side.

It was the most adventurous year ever — diverted my attention to other stuff like mountaineering, rock and wall climbing, zip-line, get-aways here and there. Overcoming my physical limitations and fears is one of my greatest personal achievement.

It was the year that I had the biggest responsibility that I’m accountable for since I existed – as an employee, as a sister, as a friend, and as a citizen. That prepared me for greater responsibilities in the years to come.

It’s also probably one of the most painful years I’ve gone through after Daddy’s death –several significant people left and walked away, carried lot of burdens, experienced too much confusions, challenges at work and personal life.

After all, it was still a wonderful year — full of experiences and lessons learned, success and failure, wise thoughts and stupidities, and extreme encounters. These reminded me of a lot things of things that I should value more than anything else.

Thank you Lord for the year the past fruitful year — the joys, the pains, the achievements, the failures, the laughters, the tears, the strength and the limitations.  It wasn’t perfect but it was great. Thanks as well for every reasons to celebrate.  Lord, I trust you that this coming year will be a year of STABILITY – career, finance, emotion and relationship, and family.

To everyone reading this post, if you feel you’re a part of the past year, thanks for making it really meaningful and  I’ll be happy to know your thoughts.

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” – Albert Einstein

“The best years of your life are the ones in which you decide your problems are your own. You do not blame them on your mother, the ecology, or the president. You realize that you control your own destiny.” – Albert Ellis

“The trouble with not having a goal is that you can spend your life running up and down the field and never score.” – Bill Copeland

“If what you’re doing is not your passion, you have nothing to lose.”

“The person who says something is impossible should not interrupt the person who is doing it.”

“It is never too late to be what you might have been.” – George Eliot

“All our dreams can come true – if we have the courage to pursue them.” – Walt Disney

“What the mind can conceive, it can achieve.” – Napoleon Hill

“It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that things are difficult.” – Seneca

“Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people.” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

“Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love.” -Albert Einstein.

“If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.” -Milton Berle

“The sky has never been the limit. We are our own limits. It’s then about breaking our personal limits and outgrowing ourselves to live our best lives.”

“Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michaelangelo, Mother Teresea, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein.” – Life’s Little Instruction Book, compiled by H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

“First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they fight you. Then you win.” – Mahatma Gandhi

“When you can’t change the direction of the wind — adjust your sails.” ~ H. Jackson Brown

“Everything you want should be yours: the type of work you want; the relationships you need; the social, mental, and aesthetic stimulation that will make you happy and fulfilled; the money you require for the lifestyle that is appropriate to you; and any requirement that you may (or may not) have for achievement or service to others. If you don’t aim for it all, you’ll never get it all. To aim for it requires that you know what you want” ~ Richard Koch

“”To wish you were someone else is to waste the person you are.”

“Confidence comes not from always being right but not fearing to be wrong”

“Your time is limited, don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma, which is living the result of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinion drowned your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition, they somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” – Steve Jobs

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/20-inspirational-quotes-to-brighten-your-day.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+LifeHack+(lifehack.org)