Nala’s whisper

No matter how positive you are in life..life is not always easy. Sometimes things do not happen the way you want it to. There will always be low points in the day that you have to deal with: you get stuck in traffic when you have to be in for a call, or you missed a deadline, or you realized you are loaded with so many tasks and you are pressured to complete all of them, or you get pissed off with someone, or you realize you had to work overtime or you made a big mistake at work…

Since I am so aware of the things that can make my day bad, I decided to be conscious of the small things that makes my day…small things that I can get whenever I want to. If making my day bad is easy, then making your day good should also be easy..accessible…and cheap. hehehe.. The term here is to be CONSCIOUS of these things.

Here is my list (hey, they are all food )

1.)  Starbucks toasted bagel with cream cheese – I ask for jam and butter when I buy this pair. I usually have this for breakfast when I worked late the night before and I arrived early at work the next day. I also order this in 6750 Starbucks when I walk from MRT to MSE.  I try not to do this regularly since I think this is an expensive breakfast. With this, I feel like celebrating and receiving a big reward whenever I eat this.

2.) BigChill Supercharger – I buy this though before as punishment for forgetting to drink vitamins in the morning until I started to like this.  I feel so healthy drinking this. It gives me a positive feeling that I am at the right track in terms of health.

3.) Jollibee Jolli hotdog and creamy macaroni soup – my usual order when I need to eat dinner while working…best for me when working overtime. I am in love with Jollihotdog, the good combination of their ketchup, cheese and hotdog is a killer. The soup is perfect..just like my mom’s soup. This brings me home.

4.) White Chocolate   -  This is the easiest to buy.  This brings me back to my childhood days when I used to come up with anything sweet with milk and love it big time. I ate lots of condensed milk and treat it like a soup. I love eating my own version of pastillas (rolling NIDO milk with butter and sugar on my palm..tasty). I love how I used to fix myself a glass of milk , I grab a spoon of powdered milk, dip it to my glass of milk then eating the powdered milk off the spoon.  White chocolates taste the same way as my own milk concoctions. This is just the adult version hehehe… With cash version (compared to no cash at all version).

5.) Sundae Caramel -  I love the combination of vanilla and caramel. Nothing extraordinary though. I eat this when I work overtime hehehe and I wanted a cheap but great dessert. I remember eating lots of these when I used to have a hard time at work. Also, I ate one of these when I was pissed…(ISANG SUNDAE KA LANG!!!).

6.) Ham and Cheese Empanada – I buy this usually when I walk alone going to MRT from work and I have not eaten dinner. Its the best quick dinner for me. Its the same thing for me as eating in a great restaurant. (hehehe exaggg… but its somehow the same).

Do not limit yourself to food. It can be calling your Lolo from the province or calling your sister abroad, making someone laugh, making yourself pretty or updating your blog hehehe. My point is that we cannot really stop bad things from taking place in our lives. Why not make good things happen to us anytime we want to? Its just fair.

 WARNING: This should be done though in moderation (for low points only)..and not during depression. 

Yes I have to admit. I am now BUSY. I may be completing tasks for the project previously but I did not consider myself as busy when people ask me. I know how it is to be busy and I have been there. I was never busy for the past year and believe me I didn’t waste my time. I spent lots of time fixing myself from the past “busy” me, fixing my life, resetting my priorities and getting to know myself more.

Here comes the next big wave…I am now feeling it..all the allergies..its coming back. I am starting to be busy… crazy kind of busy. Part of me says, “This is it”. I have been expecting this to come again in my life but I didn’t expect it to be now. I know someday but not necessarily now. But hey…if now is the time, now is the time. Perhaps, an assessment from the heavens tells me that I am ready to handle this better now.

Part of me is scared. I remember in my past experience, I messed up. I focused too much with the wave itself that other aspects in my life fell apart. Now that I know now what went wrong when I first handled this big wave, I should know better and handle this well. I have to be more confident. Hopefully this will not destroy everything I have built from the ruins of the first wave. This will not break me down.

Someday I will be in a position where I will get to face my second waves especially those that hit me hard. If it comes in God’s perfect time, I’ll be ready. I am sure others have handled bigger waves than this. This is a special wave for this is my wave. I will get through this. God bless me.

(http://www.lionking.org/scripts/Script.doc)

 Rafiki – A mandrill whose role is a mystical shaman. Outwardly he appears to be crazy, but in reality he is very wise.

{Simba is left out in the fields. There is just a cloud left where his father’s image was. The wind tosses the grass restlessly. Rafiki approaches.}

Rafiki: What was that? The weather– Pbbbah!  Very peculiar. Don’t you think?

Simba: Yeah. Looks like the winds are changing.

Rafiki: Ahhh, change is good.

Simba: Yeah, but it’s not easy. I know what I have to do.  But, going back means I’ll have to face my past. I’ve been running from it for so long….

{Rafiki smacks Simba on the head with his staff.}

Oww! Jeez– what was that for?

Rafiki: It doesn’t matter; it’s in the past! {laughs}

Simba: {Rubbing head} Yeah, but it still hurts.

Rafiki: Oh yes, the past can hurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it… or … learn from it.

{He swings at Simba with his staff again. This time Simba ducks.}

Hah!  You see?  So what are you going to do?

Simba: First… I’m going to take your stick.

{Simba tosses Rafiki’s staff to the side.}

Rafiki: No, no, no, no! Not the stick!

{As Rafiki picks up his staff, Simba starts running off.}

Hey!  Where are you going?

Simba: {Shouting back} I’m going back!

Rafiki: Good! Go on! Get out of here!

{Rafiki laughs, hoots, ‘n’ hollers.  As he holds his staff above his head, a few shooting stars zing across the sky. Music rises into celebratory “Busa” theme:}

My best videoke group:

My Family – We enjoy singing videoke. I am so glad my dad is like that because he sponsors the chips. (Thanks Dad..you are heaven sent.hehehe.) Its a pleasure singing with them because there are songs that are already assigned to a person. My dad sings the usual Daddy songs hehehe (you know what I mean). My sister sings all songs that have high notes..(generally all songs that have high notes which I do not like to sing because its hard). So basically we get along. My mom and brother will most probably just be listening or eating something while they watch us. I can be in the dirtiest place in the world, worst job, no lovelife, bad hair, bad skin but for sure I’ll get by with life as long I have these sessions with my family. Its our bonding moment.

Among my friends here in the village, highschool friends and friends at work..I do have to watch out for the following people who are just like me:

(Their identities are all hidden. They will never be revealed.)

A - this is a natural videoke lover, never in denial. If there is something in the world that can take him away from working…that would be singing. He does not want to watch concerts or go out with us for a friday gimik…but I think if it is a videoke party,he will be there. His favorite song: Beautiful Girl (when he hears it, its like a calling from above that he has to sing it if ever it is setup to be played. Nothings going to stop him. That song is his song.)

A- This singer is very versatile..he can sing from rock to rap to alternative to love songs and farewell songs. He could scream his lungs out if the song calls for it. He adjusts the songs that he sings depending on the people listening. When we were singing without the bosses..hehehe, he sings all rock out loud. Someone had to tell us that we were so loud. 

A - This singer is a shock to me. I remember him getting all the Cds and checking out the songs he likes..even looking into the whole list, telling everyone he has songs in line..(hmmm he knows the trick). I had to blink and shake myself off a number of times to really check out if its really him. He sang the night off, rocking in classic 80’s songs.

J -  This is all love song kind of guy. When he sings, it is as if he forced to sing. It does not look like he is game..but believe me he is.  He is still in line. I actually had to act out the song as if I am singing it with so much passion without a voice coming out just to squeeze off some passion out of his voice..make it appear that he really like what he is doing. 

S - This guy sings all heart especially when I tried to make him internalize the song..singing a dramatic Martin Nievera song with hands clenched and eyes closed…as if our hearts are going to explode with that song. I sang it with him without the voice coming out of my mouth but with all the facial expression and hand gestures.This guy really internalized the song and sang with passion. He sang Kahit Isang Saglit. I will never forget him for that.

 R – I have just recently discovered my partner in videoke singing. This guy sings as if he is really a singer..and he is game to sing any song (with eyes closed sometimes kind of thing hehehe). We were able to sing duets (Smokey Mountain duet hahaha and our full effort to sing Endless Love…oh yes we tried) and to really make fun of our selves.

B -  This guy is silent but a true videoke fanatic. Swabe. His songs are mostly Rey Valera. I think this is the real one compared to myself. He knows the lyrics of most of the songs and he knows the tune as well. He does not talk a lot but he is always in line. He makes sure that his numbers (videoke numbers) are in line. He knows when he is next.

Hahah they are all men. These are just some of the people that made their mark in videoke for me. I am still looking forward to singing with a new group. I can see potential videoke freaks..I will name them hahaha joke.

K- Song chained: Borderline. She secretly owns a magic sing.

J - I heard her sing and she sings so well. She is inviting us to go to a videoke bar somewhere I think she is a hustler.

C - He did not deny that he can’t sing when I asked him. There must be something up his sleeves.

E - Owns an Extreme! Extreme Magic Sing – that says something

For sure, I missed mentioning other people. If you know of others, please just inform me and make comments. Thanks!

For people who are really crazy about videoke, they will really appreciate my sidebar.  In the videoke world, the biggest issue is not hitting the high notes but finding the nicest song FIRST. This is because if you sing the nicest song first, people next in line can no longer sing it or they could wait for a number of rounds before they can sing that song. However, in most situations, they should wait for another day where they can once again get together and sing the song first. The worst scenario is that sometimes in a group, there will be a song that is already chained to a person. No one else can sing that  song but that person. (hahaha I remember my Dad asking permission if he could sing my song. Believe me..in my little videoke world here with my Dad..that song is mine). Hence, its not about hitting the high notes…whether or not we will be able to sing the song..hit it right or not..we will still sing it anyways.

As a videoke freak, I am actually doing a selfless and noble act. I am already displaying the songs that are good to sing…good songs that would be nice if tied to you. I hope that you all look forward to checking out this section which I will try to update on a weekly basis. I still have lots of secret songs on my sleeves. If you have missed it, then good for me.heheheh.(It will remain mine. hehehe)

Videoke tips:

For beginners: Videoke is not really about how well you sing. What’s important is how “game” you are when singing it. You are supposed to have fun while singing it even if as if you are singing in your own world, that’s still nice. Sometimes people will force you to sing. If you are not game and shy, I have tips for you. Before giving in, make sure you have good backup singers (good meaning — “game” not necessarily with talent).

For veterans: I do not actually have tips because basically if you are game to sing…you will make it to this world. (hahaha as if I made it na no) Usually, if you are a veteran and you have your own magic sing at home, it is recommended though that you sing only those songs that you have sang many times. Do not try out something new out in the open just out of curiousity. If you start with a so so song, not easy to sing song, then it might ruin your whole videoke mood.

My best videoke groupies would be..my bosses, my mom and my brother. They all do not like to sing. Ellen would just listen as I sing and sometimes she does suggest good songs to me. I would love to be people who do not want to sing but are so interested in listening to people sing. If you are that person, then I would love to invite you in one of our videoke sessions.

Of course, I have to deal with the worst case scenario, when I am with a videoke session with people who are just like me. For sure, there will somehow be a line..where people take turns. If you are two in a group, that’s ok. If you are three..still ok. But if you are more than four…wow..that’s a long wait.  I end up not getting in line and just let them sing. I have lots of strategies though to make me sing my favorite song in a big group, I think my friends know that already hehehe. I will just keep it a secret.

This is not just my land. Believe me, you will be in this land at least once in your life..especially if you are a Filipino. You have to choose which side you will be..the listener or the performer. I think I was able to inform you how it is to be the best in both sides. Enjoy singing or listening!

Hahahha…I think I give up finding the right eye cream. I will change the topic to finding the right concealer hehehe. I will still try to sleep early.

If you have read the out of the box journey of the economist, you would know what I am talking about. I appreciate the comments of Arbie and mr. nice ash!..There have been significant changes with the theory on living life to the fullest. Please see the comments section of that article for the full discussion.

Here are the main points:

1.) By mr. nice ash:

more promises to have a happier life –> more things you might expect
more things you might expect –> more failures to come
more failures to come –> keeps you uncomfort and stay inside the box

if you stay inside the box –> the potential to live life to the fullest decreases

2.) By Gia: increase in the number of times a person moves out of his comfort zone = the number of times the person dares to fail

Dare to Fail!(by Billi Lim)

3.) By Arbie: The Ochoa principle is not a principle or a theory. (Gia: it is an opinion only hehehe; cannot be submitted to the Economic Board of the whole wide world.)

I have been checking out other people’s blog. I think I have a weird blog. It has nothing to do with what happened to me during the day or the week or the month.. All are just bits of a small percentage of my life. But its already all..dadadaddadadadadadadadad. I don’t even have pictures. So that means, I still have more things to dadadadadadadddadadadadad.

I am thinking about a moment where one day I will find that I have exhausted myself from sharing everything I have learned in life. That I no longer have nothing to share… I actually have shared a huge chunk of everything I have learned which is just represented by some scenarios in my life since people understand it more if it is not directly delivered…lessons from relationships, faith,friendships,work,love,so and so.  

So will there be a point when I no longer have nothing to share..

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impossible..

Really?

Oh Come On…
Did you cheer him up when he is down?
Did you tolerate his misbehavior?
Did you believe in him?
Did you respect his decisions, choices and actions in life even if it is painful to you?
Did you listen to him attentively?
Did you celebrate with him when he did a good job?
Did you push him beyond his limits?
Did you push him away because you are busy?
Did you trust him?
Did you ignore him?
Did you follow his advice?

If you have been a good friend to cupid for the past year (hehe just like me..yata..in all aspects ba..? hala..self doubt..yung number 4, super good friend talaga ako nun ah… yung ibang questions..ewan..basta..oo good friend na rin), then we all deserve to celebrate valentines day. That’s all that matters! Yey!

Happy Valentines Day!