Merry Christmas!!!

Hey I have been gone from my machine and it is almost Christmas!!!

I have been busy at work then went out-of-town for our annual training and meeting... well at least I was away from divisoria and avoided the heavy traffic of vehicles and vendors and shoppers and all those things typical of my work area!!! Gone from the crowded place for almost a week!!! Yehey! that's really a break from a Divisisoria gal who hates shopping!!!

I was also gone from my blogging and surfing for a while and pretty soon i'll be going down to help out with the preparation of our Noche Buena... so i am cramming this entry in my machine...

see??? I am really cramming!!!

Anyway just thought i'd blow some cheers and love and joy to all that pass through this post...

can you feel it???

it is not just a cold wind that passes through but a really sincere greetings!!!

I also wanted to say a wish for all the people...

It is actually a small prayer that we DON'T forget that Christmas is Christ's birth...It is the birthday of the great-giver! I hope that we just don't give material presents but give a part of ourselves to our loved ones and to Christ!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!!

Divisoria, my Manila!

This is the winning photo of an officemate in the Instituto Cervantes’ photo contest on Manila, My Manila as published in a travel magazine (geez, I forgot the name!). He won first place and got a Nikon digital camera worth P65,000 plus P30,000! He did great huh?

The photo was actually taken on the rooftop of our office building… when we told his boss that he won, he asked what time picture was taken…breaktime? Or during office hour??? Hehehe…of course the boss was proud of him!

If you go over the magazine, you’ll see that there were a lot of entries that were really nice too! Some photos shows some reflection of a light or a good architecture on a pond of water in nice tiles… some photos were really romantic and artistic but I guess Jun was able to show the true essence of a part of Manila… Divisoria!

He took the shot around August of this year, if he takes another shot this time of the year… it will be different! The rail track (which is no longer used by the way) will be full of kariton (carts) of the vendors and some vendors’ as well…there would be more people and more of those vendors' colorful big umbrellas filling up the spaces left by the jeepneys… ahh the jeepneys will be lesser too since most of them would either cut their trips and do a U-turn in Abad Santos or already turn right in the street prior to the Prime block to avoid the traffic of both and vehicles… definitely he’ll be portraying a Divisoria which is more crowded and bustling with so much activities!

Divisoria is not only Jun’s Manila but My Manila, as well!

Answered Prayers

Our company cooperative had its Christmas raffle for this year this afternoon. Actually we had to buy tickets for it – one ticket is for P50.00 and you can get maximum of 6 tickets. I got 2 tickets but I had NO feeling whatsoever that I was going to win. Just thought if I win then it would be great and if not well at least it is additional fund so that there could be more prizes for raffle. And I was right, I did NOT win. But such wasn’t so last year because I really prayed to win and I did!

It is a long story but I want to write about it anyway.

You see one of our colleagues, a really close friend, was having financial difficulty and he would always borrow from our cooperative. Our coop gives out different kinds of loans and he has availed of them all and would renew when his loan is fully settled. Every time he would get a loan, he’ll send his form to me so that I could be his guarantor and I would always sign but the coop requires not just one but two to four guarantors so that I’ll ask whoever was around if they could become a co-guarantor too so the loan could be processed and they too would sign.

Anyway, something went wrong and he really got sick and he had more problems that he had to resign from the company. Even if he wanted to, he could not pay for his loans so we had to assume his loans. Those who signed as guarantors asked which loans where fully settled and which were not and those who were guarantors for settled loans felt relieved. But I felt guilty about the others assuming the loan since I knew I was being guarantor to him but some of the guys that signed just signed without really thinking. He would always obtain the maximum allowable loan so that I figured that the amount could be substantial and I was worried.

One time I was talking with one of the girls who’ll be assuming the loan and I mentioned that I hope I’ll win in our raffle so I could pay for the loan. It was just wishful thinking then.

Then came our raffle day. It was going to be held starting at noontime. I used to go to mass at noon (lunch break) and on that day, when I reached the church, I immediately said “Lord, I want to win big so I could use it for Mar (my friend)!”

The raffle was still going on when I got back to the office. My name has not been called but there were already a lot who won. So I just sat in my chair and started working, then the intercom rang and somebody said I also won. They asked how much but the one on the other line did not say so. Then I told them "Oh, I am sure I won big for I asked for it!" And sure enough I won second place. I got P10,000.00.

I told the guys, okay… I’ll give P1,000 for the blowout (addition for our Department Christmas party), P8,000.00 will be for the loan and P1,000.00 will be for me for buying the ticket.

I immediately paid the P8,000.00 to the coop when I got my winning. I was thinking that at least we would be sharing a smaller amount since I estimated his loan to be big. But after considering his savings and other benefits, it turned out that the loan was fully paid so nobody had to share anything.

And what happened to the P2,000.00? Well something bad happened while we were having our Company Christmas party, we learned that Mar, our friend had a stroke and died. Our department decided not to have a party and all the money we had were given to his family… then when we went to his wake I also gave another P1,000.00.

It was much later that I realize that all my winnings actually went to him including the P1,000.00 intended blowout and the P1,000.00 I also gave.

It was like the Lord telling me… “Aha! Didn’t you say everything was going to him? So everything should go to him!" And He made sure it did! God could be funny at times but he is really great, He could answer your prayer to the “T”! And this is not the first time he had done so, he has done it to me a lot of times but I also recall another answer during the month of December…

Our company always have raffle for Christmas of items given by from suppliers… when the economy was really good our major prizes were really big plus lots of items. Everyone (from head office and branches) looked forward to the raffle. We still have our raffles now but they are not as grand as before. Anyway, though I would love to win in the raffle, there is not really that strong desire to win something until one time. My mother was going to the province and was going to stay there a long time. I was really concerned because she had no refrigerator, I knew it would be difficult for her without one and I was canvassing for refrigerators. Then I saw the items for raffle in the HR department, there was a refrigerator and I immediately said "Lord, I need that"… talk about desire… I would say, it was pretty intense! AND I got it! I really did! I just asked our warehouse to include it in our container shipment to our branch near our province with very little cost on my part!

It really feels good when God answers your prayers and that fast!

Christopher "Utoy"

We had the Christmas party of our HOLD chapter yesterday and also the dedication of the new Handmaids who have completed their Christian Life Program (CLP) that day.

I noticed one participant to be carrying a baby. A closer look showed that he was not really a baby but he was small because he had no lower arms and legs. I looked again to see how his mom looked and she looked okay, she looks happy actually.

She was carrying him and I wondered if he could walk… then after some time I saw him running about even dancing at one point… even if he had no knees and lower leg he was freely moving about… and still a little later I saw him drinking juice holding the glass with his two arms. I asked his mom for his name, it was Christopher and they also called him “Utoy”, he was three years old and he was the sixth child. She was not a bit self-conscious when she said this and it made me glad. I also noted that there were several children that were either carrying him or playing with him and that made me more happy.

Then one of the sisters there (nope, not a nun, Handmaids call each other sister) came to me and pointed him saying “kawawa naman” (it’s a pity)! I asked her “why?” and she said “papaano na lang siya pag laki nya” (how will he be when he gets older)? I told her, “he is happy and so many care for him and that’s what’s important now. And we should not really look at him with pity since he was happy and doing so might just make him self-conscious of his handicap and dwell on it”. Then she said, right.

There’s a poster in my door which says “if there is great love there is always great miracle” so I am actually praying for “great love” for him. His future depends a lot on how much his family and friends love him and treats him! He will not likely get the miracle of having his arms and legs complete though that might be possible in the future the way stem research is going, but he’ll surely get the miracle of living a meaningful life. He could have prosthetics of course. What is needed most NOW, especially from his family is how NOT to focus on his handicap and instead give him the foundation of being able to make something of his handicap, after all nature always provides something in exchange of something we lack but we have to be keen on recognizing the form of her compensation.

Napoleon Hill also had a great quote on handicaps and difficulties. He says, “Every adversity carries within it the seed of an equivalent or greater benefit.”

He was not just talking of a principle he has no first hand experience on for he actually had a son that was born without ears —as in no ears! Not just the outer part but the whole hearing structure! The doctors told him that his son would never be able to hear nor talk. But he did NOT resign himself to the doctor’s opinion. The doctor had nothing at stake and was just expressing a professional opinion, but he had! It was his son that the doctor was talking about.

He decided that his son would be able to hear and talk. He did not know how but he was sure there was a way if he really DESIRED it! He also knew that it was not enough for him to desire it but that his son should also desire it and believe! He placed this DESIRE in his son and raised him believing that his handicap was actually an advantage. In the end his son was able to hear and speak…Oh it was not instantaneous, it took years! But the BURNING DESIRE pointed them on the right direction.

So how will Christopher be when he gets older? I don’t really know… a lot of it will depend on him and his family but I am praying for a miracle for him.

Bonifacio, symbol of Filipino heroism

It is Bonifacio day today.

The government moved the holiday (no work) last Monday to have a long weekend instead of celebrating it today. However, when I passed by Tutuban this morning, there was a band playing and they have already laid flowers on Andres Bonifacio’s monument so somehow there was still a celebration of the birth anniversary of one of our great national heroes. Tonight, the news showed a lot of protest marches against the government with some of the rallyists in Katipunero attire.

Suddenly wondered how come we celebrate the birth anniversary of Andres Bonifacio and commemorate the death anniversary of Jose Rizal so I checked again on the life of Bonifacio. While Rizal died as a martyr when he was executed in Bagumbayan after a mock trial by the Spaniards, Bonifacio was actually killed by his compatriots… fellow Filipinos! The same people he was fighting along with to gain our freedom from Spain! All because the other faction thought he was a threat to the success of the revolution!

Made me realize that his life and death actually represents Filipino Heroism. His life and struggles represents the capacity for greatness of each Filipino and the manner of his death shows the divisiveness of the Filipinos.
It is still so true up to the present time. Though many would say, especially our politicians, that they have the best intention for the country, their solution to our woes are so different. And not one would give in thinking that their solution is the best… and in the process failure… a waste of so many resources! Maybe one day we could all get united… doesn’t really matter whose solution is best as long as we all work together after all we all have the capacity for greatness, it is in our blood!