y i luv blogging

i think more than any other reason, it is the love for the prose that keeps me setting up and trying to maintain a good blog site.

what else is there?

oh well, maybe it also fed my insatiable desire to pound my tactile keys to come up with sensible passages of thoughts for others to peruse. i mean, i used to be paid to write, right? so when the possibility of putting all these online, it got me up all night.

though not necessarily, i think am confused, wait...

because even before when i was still a paid hack, i already have my livejournal with me [with username/password now i can't vaguely remember, ahehehehe]. but i don't know if i was able to log on to it on a regular basis. as in sipping coffee basis. nah.

but now? i really don't know. my computer keeps on humming and maybe she is hating me now for this addiction. i even think of enhancing my sites with links or pics so others will truly have an experience going through my pages. hey, even my events management business has a blog! although i didn't get to pick the name of my choice for it.

so far i presently have this one for blogspot. yeah, i hated this site for some days since i am not able to login and add my posts. but we patched things up.

what came better out of that inconvenience is that i was able to set up in other blog services.

i set up in myblogsite.com, which is cooler i would say in terms of tools to set it up. maybe if i were more tech savvy it would have blown me away. what i hated only is that i can't seem to remove the advert box on top. plus, the size is just too way big for my liking. but what i love simply is the layout. it came across as fresh and very professional looking. plus there is a description part that allowed me to describe my site. the dashboard is really cool. it's like it's the background for your site. whatever you do there reflects on your screen, of course, but not in a choose+click manner like blogspot.

out of sheer frustration, in local parlance "pinatulan ko na rin ang Friendster," [i gave in to setting up Friendster blog]. hahahahaha. for weeks now, i am bemused with people popping in my yahoo inbox that they have set up their blogs with F. what is more amusing is that these people, except for some, is totally non-descriptive of a blogger. thus, when i set up mine, i checked out their spaces and yeah, true to form, nothing is there. more ahahahahahahaha.

gosh!

must i admit that i really am inspired by the 3 gorgeous blogmates of mine in wave 2: mau, ays and mistress theny. like, they would always refer to it as, "have you read mau's entry last week?" or "yeah, i put it in my blog." that's why when i visited my site again last week, i got hooked. i was in a trance and i was telling myself, "gio, just what are you NOT doing?" i was ashamed. and that feeling alone pushed me to scribe so many entries in my different blog sites.

the bad taste is that i will try not to post almost the same stuff from one blog to the other. i will find that pathetic. i mean, for now i can carry with 2 sites bearing the same posts but later on i will try to conjure a sense for each blog so that each will have a distinct personality yet not so very off with the other.

one may be my confession site, the other my regular blog space, the other more of a discussion one thing. i don't know, just thinking of it makes my mouth water in delirious overdrive.

i also find remembering a lot of different username tedious. i resorted to pasting all info in one notepad as well. another hahahaha moment there.

i really find this activity very romantic. it's like even while chatting this morning with a good pal, i told him, "know what? i think this is a good stuff for blog." and i did save a notepad file for blog topics so that everytime i have a chance to write something i can easily open up another notepad and type my ideas just like now. i am anticipating a lechon kawali fare for lunch with thirst quenching coca-cola drowned with ice bits [yeah, the more ice the better for me] with that piping hot rice and sweet chili sauce as dip.

ahhhhhh, life can't get any better than this.

cookie recipe

i love baking and eating. here's a recipe i snatched from my yahoo homepage. enjoy!

Sparkling Sour Cream Sugar Cookies
Provided by Better Homes and Gardens

Lemon extract and orange peel add a citrus touch to these cutout cookies we created. Top with a meringue icing, your favorite frosting, or add sprinkles before baking.


Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Dash salt
1/2 cup dairy sour cream
1 egg
1 teaspoon finely shredded orange peel
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Powdered Sugar Icing (see recipe below) or your favorite frosting

Preparation

Chill: 1 hourPrep:45 minutesBake:6 minutes per pan

1 In mixing bowl, beat butter with electric mixer 30 seconds. Add sugar, baking powder, soda, and salt; beat well. Beat in sour cream, egg, peel, and lemon extract.
2 Beat in as much flour as you can with the mixer. Using wooden spoon, stir in remaining flour. Divide in half. Cover; chill 1 to 2 hours or until easy to handle.
3 On a well-floured surface, roll out half of the dough at a time to 1/4-inch thickness. Using a cooking cutter, cut dough into desired shapes. Place cookies 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
4 Bake in a 375 degree F oven for 6 to 7 minutes or until edges are firm and bottoms are light brown. Transfer to wire rack; cool.
5 Prepare the Powdered Sugar Icing or frosting. Spread the mixture over cookies. Immediately top each cookie with candied citrus peel or let dry and paint designs on each with food coloring. Makes 40 to 50 cookies.
6 Powdered Sugar Icing: In a medium mixing bowl, beat together 4 cups sifted powdered sugar and 1/4 cup milk. Stir in additional milk if needed, 1 teaspoon at a time, until glaze is easy to spread. Tint with food coloring, if you like.

Nutritional Analysis
Number of Servings: 40 to 50 cookies servings
Per Serving
calories 105
total fat 3g
cholesterol 13mg
sodium 50mg
carbohydrate 18g
fiber 0g
protein 1g

pen and paper

i don't know what it is about writing that engages me to pursue such endeavors if i have the right persuasion NOT inspiration. oh yeah, i used to think that one can only write when one is inspired but not anymore, when i held a writing job with the foremost authority in information technology publication. hehehe, i still sound very much like "their" marketing communications officer. i would have loved to stay in that company for decades to come had it not been...oh well, that's another time.

when i say persuastion, it means, i may or mayn't have the right [or write] mood as we speak but if it's deadline today then i must finish my writing today. when i started in that company, i was never taught how to pursue the topic when it was given to me. it was like, my editor didn't coach me how to begin writing. maybe thinking that since i had the gall to apply for the position, i hold it upon me to be able to scratch the paper with my pen WHENEVER.

true enough though, i was able to bleed my pen for all the subjects the IT community find interesting: from newly opened computer shops; to ad infinitum/ad nauseam fora, seminars and presentations; to government projects especially those spearheaded by DOST, National Computer Institute, DTI etc.

it was like, what am I doing in this industry that requires so much brain cells for computer geeks [only to find out that i will be troubleshooting internet connectivity in my next lifetime as TCCR for Convergys] when my baccalaureate is Public Health?

oh life, bwehehehehehe...

anyways, now writing for me involves the subject of the act and how early my deadline for such is. i just need those parameters and then i'm off to typing endlessly. playing cresecendoes upon stacattos of prosaic paintings. well. if i had to earn my salary of P9,000 at that time for typing those articles no end then i had to do it, inspired or not. well, what i learned to love about that job was the airconditioning in our previous building. my gosh, as in, i would arrive in the house after say, 3 hours and i would feel the contents of my backpack still cold.

a writing job is never easy, you even feel wasted after slaving hours on end finishing an article you don't have your soul on. i was always feeling sore and wishing how i wish i could write someday for a publication i love and topics i love as well.

thus, when the lifestyle insert for enterprise came out i was more than willing to volunteer my efforts in reviewing restaurants etc. but i set my eyes on eventually getting into a fashion or lifestyle magazine where i really would want to make a mark. i was thinking, how lovely, to laze time off in cozy Greenbelt and just breezily park my pen when my piece on a new store selling clothes is done sipping Moccachino with my wi-fied ThinkPad eating my sentences.

i know it's odd but i liken this being-paid-to-write persona to that of a prostitute. i mean, i haven't actually done the thing [i hope, but how, when you have love packs as thick as 4 inches and weigh 220 pounds?] but i guess, they would have loved to have sex and be paid for a good one, but at least with someone not suffering from halitosis or body odor, right?

but life is hard, it is never easy most especially if we have bills to pay and lives, not only our own, to support.

all in all, writing is a gift. and just like singing, we should share it. if we are best in doing something then we must let others benefit from it. i know i write good creative magnum opus-es and just letting others partake my writings is enough.

so if you guys, would want to learn a thing or two [yeah, i know only two pointers for good writing, ahehehehehe] about writing, just drop me a line or two.

mah name means

I was searching some things on the net, actually I was on Friendster that time, when I stumbled upon sites which give your name meanings. Of course, the knowledge sucker that I am, I went on and typed furiously just to quench my desire to find out what mah name means.

Here’s one:

Although the name Giovanni creates an interest in the deeper aspects of life, we emphasize that it causes a blunt expression that alienates others. This name, when combined with the last name, can frustrate happiness, contentment, and success, as well as cause health weaknesses in the lungs, heart, bronchial area, and tension or accidents to the head.

As Giovanni you have a great love of nature and the out-of-doors, and could have a desire to be in an occupation which takes you outdoors and involves you with the products of the earth. All the finer things of life and beauties of nature are an inspiration to you and you are attracted to the mysteries of nature. Difficulty in expression results in your being too positive, blunt, and candid in speech. Although you are easily offended by others, you do not show it. You crave affection and understanding, but rarely find it as others do not understand you and accuse you of being cool and aloof.

Another one:

Johannes - God is gracious

My Chinese name:

Bei Gao Fu – tall, lofty, calming, comforting something


Analysis:

Come to think of it. I do believe that names are really worth thinking of when we are about to christen somebody with such appellation. I was informed before that mothers should be the ones thinking of their child’s name since they reared that person for nine months. It’s like they are supposed to ask and listen to the child in their womb for what name they want. Naming names is tempting fate, as Jessica Zafra would insist, since for example you named the child Aphrodite and she turned ugly later on, then she will always be the butt of jokes right?

For me, I think I read this as well somewhere, when you put a name on someone, you are casting your power over that person. For in previous millennia, it is better that you remain unknown for you are beholden if you are named. I think in Latin that is nomen est omen, the name is the sign.

When I was in kindergarten, I used to hate my name for I almost always misspelled it to something else. I find it too long, with a letter doubled and is so uncommon I can’t seem to find somebody else in the classroom bearing something similar to my name. Somebody even spelled it out as: Diyobanee. Mah gosh!!!

As it turned out, many known and powerful men in history was borne of the same name. The late pope was Giovanni Paulo in Italian. There is Giovanni Battista, Giovanni Bellini [painter], Giovanni Boccaccio [of Decameron], et al.

Although mostly Italian, they were very much pronounced mostly in Renaissance and I think, or at least would love to think, that I am very much a Renaissance man myself. I love to dip all 10 fingers that I have into so many things. I like to try things for trying’s sake alone. Although in discourses, I would appeal that I am trying them for knowledge [or research, duh?] aspirations. Hahahaha!

I think mah name really defined myself. Now, I am very much proud to display my name since I feel that a lot of people recognize it not just for its spelling but much more so since they highly identify my personality with that word.

blogspot frustration

i am definitely frustrated with blogspot. see, what happens is that once i logged in i am supposed to be able to just add my entries upon entries, right? but uncannily, what i wasn't getting on my dashboard is the option for me to add, i think that's the plus sign. i admit, i think the browser security settings are affecting and yes, i troubleshot, but arrrrghhhhh!!! nothing is working.

much more frustrating since i am on writing roll the past days and i can't post!

so for now, up until such issue is resolved [hence, am able to upload my entries] i am switching blog spaces.

happy hunting for me.

voice within

this song has anchored well on my belief that when things don't go the way we would have wanted it to, let's find that goodness inside our self to make it through.

The Voice Within
Written by Christina Aguilera, Glen Ballard

Young girl don't cry
I'll be right here when your world starts to fall, ooh
Young girl it's alright
Your tears will dry, you'll soon be free to fly, ooh

When you're safe inside your room you tend to dream
Of a place where nothing's harder than it seems
No one ever wants or bothers to explain
Of the heartache life can bring and what it means

When there's no one else
Look inside yourself
Like your oldest friend just
Trust the voice within
Then you'll find the strength
That will guide your way
You'll learn to begin to
Trust the voice within, ohh

Young girl don't hide
You'll never change if you just run away, ooh ohh
Young girl just hold tight
Soon you're gonna see your brighter day, ohh

Now in a world where innocence is quickly claimed
It's so hard to stand your ground when you're so afraid
No one reaches out a hand for you to hold
When you're lost outside, look inside to your soul

When there's no one else
Look inside yourself
Like your oldest friend just
Trust the voice within
Then you'll find the strength
That will guide your way
If you'll learn to begin to
Trust the voice within

Ohh yeah, ooh, yeah ohh

Life is a journey
It can take you anywhere you choose to go
As long as you're learning
You'll find all you'll ever need to know
(Be strong)
Break it
(Hold on)
You'll make it
(Be strong)
Just don't forsake it because
(No one can tell you what you can't do)
No one can stop you
You know that I'm talking to you

When there's no one else
Look inside yourself
And like your oldest friend just
Trust the voice within
Then you'll find the strength
That will guide your way
You'll learn to begin to
Trust the voice within, oh yeah

Young girl don't cry
I'll be right here when your world starts to fall, ohh

deciding destiny

my being nearly thirty may have been the culprit on how i am considering and thinking of how my life goes and went.

hypocrisy aside, my job now with a call center provides more reasons for resigning than staying. and believe you me, i have gone the full cycle of promotion, demotion, application, resignation.

the movement on the floor [and in subsequent months] has carried my emotions to different levels which has wrung my capacity to feel bathetic nuances to maximum sensitivity possible.

being an aquarian, however, made inroads for me to be more cerebral than emotional. i find solace in the fact that having worked several companies before, empirical data has wounded my pride several times over to think that i am actually better off nowadays than before or at the very least, 6 months going forward [provided i do find a day job i like].

what i think about this is:

however way i think my situation is right now, then it is.

for no matter what the world fates us mere mortals to have, to taste, to experience, to immerse into. the only valid power, the only total control, the only responsible decision we can make emanates only from ourselves.

i am not simplifying the overwhelming factors which contribute to how we face life and its attendant concerns.

for life is never easy, never simple.

what i am putting across is that, our decisions are entirely shaped not only by how we look at things but on how we take into consideration all things we consider priorities.

if money is never a problem,
if bills are not mounting,
if we never have to face every mornings thinking how we can put food on the table,
then we can decide for ourselves and our entities only.

in my case, even if howling winds beckon,floods traffic my transportation,illness firms my back to my consoling bed,

i have to get up and work.

i have never thought of life, since i was small, as simple.
i just never imagined that life can be this complicated.

thus, so long as the decision is ours in the beginning, only then can we be empowered by it. for if it were never ours in the first place, then we can't fully exclaim that we faced life head-on and spit destiny on its face, spewing:

"you have been a worthy opponent, mistress destiny, but fortunately for you, your life's challenge is just to read my stars and dreams. for i, and only i alone, is cast with the counterfeit blessing of interpreting your readings."

life is hard, harder still is to decide.
but hardest thing to realize is that in NEVER deciding for our lives' twists and turns in this richly hued tapestry of [past] threads, [present] colors and [future] hooks
we have never existed.

therefore, i summon, DECIDE for your self.

it is our privilege, it is a Higher Being's gift to our humanity.

for in no other person's palms reside the responsibility
of how we live our life,
on how well we lived,
in the sole purpose of our living.

end of the year ramblings (repost)

nota bene: this is a repost from my livejournal. heniweys, i still feel strongly about the same sentiments. so here it is in my blog, enjoy!

this year has proved to be a much improved year for this feeling-singer Aquarian. early part of the year saw me handling the PC World Phils. Annual Awards then the IBM event. altho' the latter really proved very wanting, at least it was not on my end. i was able to beef up my portfolio greatly through this activity.

another good thing that happened was the fact that i was able to resign from my previous company. altho' i really am grateful that from a special projects writer i became a marketing communications officer before i resigned. again with that position, i was able to leverage my self well for my next company.

blessedly, well at least for me, i didn't have any gaps in between jobs. my last day with MGC was april 30, a friday. i transferred to CVG monday, may 3. imagine that. no breaks at all!

this job has been so far, the most rewarding one financially. altho' of course you still aspire for a better paying account statement and COE, i am very much content by far.

thankfully, i moved from TCCR 1 to Escalation Supervisor after 2 months of production floor life. eventually, becoming a tier 2 support up to this month, december.

as if that weren't enough, i am now officially being processed to move to my new position: Single Point of Contact or SPOC for my account. from now on, i shall be the one in primary charge with ALL the processes and the attendant confusion, disputes, grumblings, and what have you with the account. this is one BIG responsibility and i am not any more thinking YET with the corresponding raise but more on making production much more adaptive, dynamic, resilient, efficient and productive.

i got word, that i shall be in my desk by january 10 but that i will be doing informal training with the 2 weeks prior to my assigned date.

my Lord has been so kind to the sinner that i am as always. i have been very neglectful of my duties, that i am very much aware of, but still He and Our Mother has always been there holding my hand when i am weary. i have always felt that i wasn't given much intellect and all in my lifetime to just think of my own sake.

and of course, my family has been my guidepost as always. my sister most especially, teaching me more on life, on love, on living, and on loving.

to start off mojacko on the right moja

i have always loved this song. this has been inspiring me for so many years now. it didn't hurt either that my muse, regine velasquez, sang this to and for me. enjoy!

Light of a Million Mornings

I couldn't see the sunshine through the shadow.

I couldn't seem to find a soul to care.

But in my darkest hour

You touched me with Your power.

And when I look Your Light was everywhere.

CHORUS:The Light of a Million Mornings filled my heart.

The sound of a million angels sang my song.

The warmth of a love so tender

touch my life and suddenly

the light of a million mornings dawned in me.

I couldn't try to understand the sunrise.

I only know it takes away the dark.

I can't explain your healing,

or all the joy I'm feeling.

I only know You've come into my heart.

(REPEAT CHORUS)

And now that Your Glory has come shining through.

Let my life be a candle Lord that shines for You.

Shines for You. Shines for You.

The light of a million mornings filled my heart.

The sound of a million angels sang my song.

The warmth of a love so tender

touched my heart and suddenly.

All of the light of a million mornings.

All of the light of a million mornings.

The light of a million mornings has dawned in me...