Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Manila, I´m Coming Home
I will be on my first ever holidays in 2,5 years starting tomorrow. :) Yipee yey!
I hope to post as much of my (mis)adventures from there. Keep posted! :)
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Step 1, Step 2
Everyone is moving on.
I have been visiting a lot of blogs today. A lot of the friends I met last year are now posting about their next moves, their next steps. Everyone is growing up. Pretty soon, I will be reading about people getting married, having kids. Before I know it everyone will be talking about retirement.
Life indeed moves fast -- faster than we can ever comprehend. Just the other day, I was staring at the trees from our balcony and I already saw signs of autumn. I actually realized that by watching nature, observing it, being present in it, you learn a lot about life.
Last Saturday for example, after signs of having such a wonderfully sun-filled day, it rained. Just like that -- it rained! Everything in life is so obviously temporary. And yet, we live our lives as if everything were permanent.
Hmmm, once again I am lost in my own thoughts. :) But in any case, today, I just realized, I am growing up and everyone around me also is. It is a bit exciting and scary. It is like watching a movie where there are a dozen sub-plots and twists. You never know what happens next and everything is bound to catch you by surprise.
Life is indeed one big surprise. Are you ready for the next one? :)
Monday, July 16, 2007
Me, Myself and Money
I had a look at my bank account today and I was shocked. I did not have as much money as I thought I did. :) Well, don´t we have all have that moment of denial that we could spend THAT MUCH.
Unlike before though I have come to realize that money does not control me. Rather, I control money. With this thought in my head, I have become liberated and free from money worries. I now believe sincerely, that money is nothing but a resource that should be used (intelligently) to make one happy and to make others happy as well. There is no use being held in prison by something as imagined as money.
I do admit though that there are days and will be days when I will be worried about money. But I choose to look at the positives of this and simply believe that this is just my rational mind´s way of telling me to be practical. :)
Right now, since I will be traveling home and investing in my business, I know that I will be losing money. But in the end, who cares? If that is the price of happiness, then I am willing to pay it.
Friday, July 13, 2007
The Price of Generosity
I was reading through the Filipino online news websites the other day and found an interesting story about a man who founded an orphanage in the southern part of my country. The man generously shelled out 4M dollars to house and educate a number of orphans. At first I was really impressed, then I read what made him rich in the first place -- he was feeding the US troops in Iraq.
So I started questioning whether what this man was doing was actually good or not. In the first place, he is indirectly supporting a war that should never have happened in the first place.
So what is the price of generosity? I will never know.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
One Thank You / Day
The world is becoming more and more complicated and more and more simple at the same time.
I often wonder why we are perpertually searching for happiness and purpose. I wonder why I often engrossed myself in "philosophical thoughts" that really just make my head swivel back and forth towards emptiness. In the end, life is just what it is. We are here to learn, discover more about ourselves and eventually use those discoveries to make other people´s lives better. Unfortunately, I had to learn that life was simple the hard way. But I am glad I did discover it before it was "too late."
What counts after all this hullabaloo is that we acknowledge that we are alive and we have to make the most out of the time given us. How do we do that? Well try this. Every day list down one thing you are grateful for. I mean everything! From being able to see to getting a huge ass lottery winning. At one point, you will realize how great it is to be blessed with being alive and that the least you can do is make other people realize the same. Try it. It´s guaranteed to make you happier than you are now. :)
Monday, July 09, 2007
Legally Blonde
Yep! I am finally legal in the land of blondes. :)
After weeks of waiting, calling, begging and some crying, I finally got that one piece of sticker saying that I am an official, tax-paying resident of Finland. :)
Now, since I got my visa and I can go in and out of the country without hassles, I have booked my flight to Manila and will be leaving on th 19th for a 12-day vacation. I will finally be eating (real) Filipino food for the first time in more than 2,5 years.
Of course, important matters await me there as well since I will also need to attend to the business, my sister and I are trying to set up. So I guess the vacation will make me more tired than relaxed but it will pump me up positively since I will finally begin my new business. :) Yeeha! Anyway, I have come to realize that what I want to do in this world is to add extra value to a child´s childhood and if possible, to add faith! :) So the new business is connected with those. :)
Anyway, the whole visa process goes to show one thing: when you decide on something and you know that the decision will make you a better person and will enable you to live out your (chosen) purpose -- nothing will stop you. All you have to do is look up and have faith. :)
Friday, July 06, 2007
Random Points for Happiness
A list of things that made me happy since last Monday:
OCEAN´S 13 - I have gained my faith back in men after this movie. How can I not? Brad Pitt,Andy Garcia, Matt Damon, George Clooney, Al Pacino, even Eliott Gould! :) I like, I like, I like! :) And of course, the plot was not that bad either especially if you are a Steven Sodenbergh fan like I am. ;)
Sunshine - Any form of sunshine and warmth in Finland is definitely something to celebrate about. This week I actually had beads of sweat and it is the first time I sweated since I was in Belgium a year back. Hahaha. :) I am trying to get some color on myself as well. I think I have become paler over the last years and I want my tan back. :)
My DNA - One of the most striking things I remember from the book The Purpose Driven Life is that though sometimes we complain about our parents, families, whatever. In the end, your DNA makes you who you are and if not for your parents you would be a completely different person. I am grateful for my DNA because I am smart, positive and business-minded because of the genes I inherited from my parents.
Green Tea - I just feel really healthy whenever I drink green tea. I feel like something inside me is being cleansed. Granted tea has caffeine but still more people would vow for its positive effects than its negative ones. In any case, green tea makes calories burn faster (or so I believe), what is the harm in that? :)
Thinking/Praying Time in the Train - I just love it!
So there you go. My random points of happiness for the week. There are lots more to write about but for now this shall do. :)
What about you? Any contributions?
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Chitty Bang Bang!
Here is a picture of me with my new bangs. Also in the picture are Marjo and Kira, two of the most beautiful girls I know (inside and out)! :) Oh and I just needed to show my hair with the BOO-tiful summer flowers! :)
Monday, July 02, 2007
Super Mega Nice Mirje
It has been quite a while since I have given tribute to anyone through this blog. I was so caught up in my own worries and was shamefully wallowing in self-pity that I forgot how blessed I am to have good people around me. There are some friends who have never forgotten to think of me though work and time have kept us apart. One such person in my life is Mirje, whom I had the pleasure of working with for a year during my first MC year.
I must admit I did not think Mirje and I had a lot in common. I had a lot of chance to interact with her during my first year in Finland but there was never any chance to really get to know each other. Maybe it was because we were so caught up with our own worlds that those worlds never managed to merge until of course we applied for the MC and both got selected. :)
In the last two years, I have come to realize how lucky I am to have Mirje in my life. She is one of the most generous persons I know -- both of her material and non-material blessings. I can only hope that I can one day be as generous and open in giving so much of myself as she is. I remember last Christmas, when I was desperate to have someone welcome me for Christmas, Mirje (without me asking) offered to house me for those three days. I was so happy to finally get to experience a Finnish Christmas and of course, to spend more time with her. :)
She is also one of the few persons in my life who actually knows how to seize the moment, enjoy life and not worry to much. Mirje is so carefree and I really like that kind of attitude she has. She enjoys life and that is not something all of us do. It is always nice to be around her because there is always something to laugh about!
But in the end, one quality that makes Mirje stand out is that she is NICE. :) She is nice to people and she never has a bad word to say about anyone. She welcomes everyone as if they have been friends for a long time and readily helps whenever she can. I cannot really count on how many times I have crashed at her old place just so I can get a few naps in between long days. :)
Mirje is definitely one of those people that you would want to stay in touch with. She is just such a gem and I feel really blessed just by knowing that she is my friend.
To Mirje, thank you for everything -- for all the sincerity, the laughter and the care. I hope you have a blast in Puerto Rico! :) See you soon.
