MILESTONE

It's my brother, Tony's, "Big _OH" birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BROTHER! HAVE FUN, BIG TIME!!

(Family has a big surprise for him! Shh... He thinks they're going to Fort Bonifacio for dinner with just family, but the big bash is at Wack-Wack Golf and Country Club with about 100 guests waiting for him. I'm excited! Wish Mike and I and our families were there!)

Dimsum Lunch

It was another girl-bonding with high school classmates, some since grade school, today! Two classmates, Jeanette and Mel, from Manila are in town so we treated them to a great view of the city from BofA Building, from Craig's office. Thanks, Craig! Then lunch at City View Dimsum. Viveca joined us, too. So good to see her 'cause she can't always join us for gatherings. We weren't able to join the rest for the walk through Chinatown, cable car ride, Fisherman Wharf, and the Crown and Crumpets Tea Salon, due to work. Darn! But it was just great to spend time with everybody. Getting together with childhood friends is a gift that "... never ever gets old... just like us!" as Mila says.

Luv ya'll, ladies!

http://supernanniesdayoff.shutterfly.com/5

Shark Fin Soup

On the same bus today, there was an advertisement on shark fins. You know the famous Chinese Shark Fin soup? I've seen a similar ad about it before and I'm glad I saw it again today.

There's an organization, http://www.wildaid.org/sharks, that works on global shark conservation.

I remember when I was a kid growing up in Manila, the family was always invited to big Chinese weddings, banquets, known as lauriats. Corn soup was the most popular then - until shark fin soup was "discovered"! It was deliciously expensive, so expensive that only privileged Asian families could afford them! And that to be invited made you members of The Elite! And I was so proud to be part of it...

Looking back now, grown-up, more health conscious, vegetarian... how cruel were those who cut off sharks just for their fins! And they still do it today. Shame!! Me included! All I could think of then was that I must be rich to be able to rub shoulders with the so-called, Manila Socialites! Birds of the same feather flock together, right! Riight.

Mia culpa, mia culpa, mia maxima culpa... Lord, have mercy.

Day-Off

Just when I was ready to go back to the gym, walking what seemed like a longggg walk after not having gone for a while, the gym was closed. Darn! I'm off today that's why I had all this planned... Oh, well!

I took it easy. Did a lot of paper work, trying to catch up, if I could ever.

Talk about paper work, I've been seeing and hearing the word, journalism, these days. Just today, on my way to the gym, there was a young guy soliciting for a non-profit journalism organization on the street. Then on the bus, I saw an ad on journalism. Then on my email, there was an article on journalism again - all in one day! Wonder what it's all about, what's it for me. I know there's something about it though. I feel very strongly about it. Lord Nature hints again -

I hear Ya! I just have to figure out and have a clearer picture. I'll get there... Thank you, Lord.

Why Do Cats Purr

http://www.metaphoricalplatypus.com/ArticlePagesCats/Why%20Cats%20Purr.html

I love cats but I'm allergic to them. Twice I had siamese cats, and twice I got very sick, I had to give them away.

Interesting article! This must explain why cats have 9 lives.

On a T-shirt...

Hard work pays off later

Laziness pays off instantly

AWESOME!

Post Script

What a powerful prayer! Serene... yet so deep and powerful!

Talk about change...

Prayer of Serenity

"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

The courage to accept the things I can,

And the wisdom to know the difference.

And a beautiful translation -

"God, grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change, 

The courage to change the one I can, 

And the wisdom to know it's me." 

               

                                        ~Author Unknown

... And Cathy, too!

Wow, what a special day today, celebrating different occasions! It's one of my closest friend's birthday.

Beauteous like a goddess

Lovely human being

Beautiful soul 

Pure spirit and

Transcendence 

That's Cathy -

The epitome of beauty.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MY DEAR FRIEND... LOVE YOU!

Thanks for a beautiful friendship.

Also, Remembering Deena Today

Today is my mother-in-law's 4th anniversary of her hereafter.

ONE YEAR TODAY

WOW! I made it - one year today at work! Looking back to my struggles when I started last year, (having been away from the field for a lifetime), rereading my posts from time to time from last September 2010 on till today - boy, did I learn and grow a lot! I'm proud of myself. Had my first annual evaluation and I did well, happy to say. The highest praise I got was from the lab manager, "I've never met anybody who cares so much for her patients."

From processing job into joy, here I am a year later... indeed, enjoying!

Thank you, Lord.

Excerpt from 9/11

Here's an excerpt from my post, 9/11, I wrote in 2009 -

I've just called up my cousin, Zenaida, in NY. Every year, I call her on this day. She's one of the survivors of the WTC attack along with another cousin, Joe, from the 81st floor of both towers -

When we finally connected on the phone, the day after the attack, I learned from her that the elevator she took coming down was the very last elevator that made it to the ground floor. All the rest had stopped!! She said when the announcement to evacuate the building was made, she rushed to the elevator.

In 1993, when the WTC was bombed, she was there, too. She and thousand others were stranded inside the building for about 5 hours before they were allowed to leave using only the stairways. It took her and others from the 88th floor about 2 1/2 hours to reach the ground.

This is why on 9/11, without hesitation, she took the elevator. That's how she got out. When she saw the 2nd plane hit the South Tower from the street where she was standing, she knew... she knew, at that very instant, that the plane went through her office right through her corner desk on the 81st floor!! I asked her how she knew from the ground what floor was struck, she said, "I've worked there for 15 years, I would look thru my window everyday and know exactly the angle at which the sun hits which building, the heights of the surrounding buildings on my floor, standing at my corner, sitting at my desk, looking up at my office from the streets from all sides..."

Sure enough, when the news came out later, "... the 2nd plane went right between the 79th and 83rd floors of the South Tower."

One day, months later, my cousin told me, "In any disaster where you're trapped in a building, DON'T EVER TAKE THE ELEVATOR!!"

"But it saved your LIFE!!" I literally yelled at her.

"DON'T EVER TAKE THE ELEVATOR."

I kept telling her it saved her life!

Looking back, her voice cracking on the other end of the line, she softly said, "what if...".

My other cousin, Joe, to this day, will not talk about 9/11... I respect his silence.

I wrote a music composition entitled, DAY OF REMEMBRANCE, in memory of 9/11/2001. It's in my debut album, Socorro. You can download it on iTunes.

Remembering... 9/11

I can't take it... I can't take it anymore! Watching the news, documentaries, surfing channels on TV in between commercials so not to miss anything on the 10th anniversary of 9/11 are way too much. It's utterly unbearable! Unimaginable! Unthinkable! You'd think even the worst of all evils couldn't do this!... They thought it and did it!

To all the victims and heroes of 9/11, here's remembering and honoring you... To my cousins who survived, I love you.

(I wrote a music composition entitled, DAY OF REMEMBRANCE, in memory of 9/11/2001. It's in my debut album, Socorro, on iTunes.)

NEWS : 'Estate of Mind': - The UK's Meditating Village

http://www.t-m.org.uk/meditation-news/2011/08/estate-of-mind-the-uks-meditating-village/

A Gentle Reminder

"Take it as it comes." - Maharishi ( from this weekend's videos)

DEEP REST

Just got back from the mountains up north, again for a much-needed R&R! Deeper than just beauty rest, it's deep deep rest and silence for both body & soul. What a wonderful Labor Day Weekend! "Soulful", in the truest sense of the word.

Thank you, Maharishi.

Jai Guru Dev.