EAT BULAGA!

I've been watching EAT BULAGA since I was very young. What made me continue to do so is the constant evolution of the program to become better each time. Even when I left for Dubai, my husband and I followed it through ORBIT (GMA's counterpart in UAE). We love Pinoy Henyo and KSP segments. In fact, in our free time, we will take turns guessing and giving clues, Pinoy Henyo-style.

August 17 2009 is definitely one of those dates I won't forget (at least for the next months). I brought my family, in-laws and friends to watch the show live. I was happy and truly satisfied with the presentation. The directors and staffs are very warm and efficient. It's what I want to call, organized chaos. Kudos too to the hosts for entertaining the audience.

I remember the hosts of Eat Bulaga aside from Tito, Vic and Joey: there was Aiza, LadyLee, Connie Reyes, Toni Rose, Jimmy and Ruby. Now, the EB family has grown. New bloods so to speak.

I hope that they will return the SPELLING BEE segment. I enjoyed learning new words and I believe it will be a great help in teaching students the English language.

I'll be leaving soon but when I come back, I'll definitely make reservations again to watch EAT BULAGA. This time, I'll bring the whole barangay =D

More pics.

Kenny Urbanite 09 Open Run

Kenny Urbanite 09 Open Run is definitely one of my accomplishments in life.
It was my first time to participate in a 5k marathon. I'm not much of a jogger nor a runner but I give it a go anyway.
It started at The Fort while ago, at 9:00 p.m.
It was really fun seeing other first time runners
getting ready for the run, eager to start the race.
I think there were more than 3000 runners all in all who participated in the 5k, 10k and 15k runs.
I'll say it again, it was really fun.
Then it reminded me of a line from our Legion Handbook, "Must finish the race".


My personal objective was to simply finish the race. I thought of being in the top three but that would be asking too much. In reality, I am not a regular runner so it's kind of a exaggeration if I insist on being in the top three, less I want to end up in a medic ambulance. So I settled on the goal of finishing it and it does not matter how long it will take me.

Half in the race, I'm already experiencing leg cramps and shortness of breathing but I keep on. My left ankle hurt and so I took occasional strides and brisk walking but I didn't totally stop. Like the rest of the Kenny Urbanite runners, I moved on. The sight of the finish line pushed me to continue even if I almost thought that I will faint even before I reach it.

In life, we do set goals or dreams. We also exert our best effort to realize them. And the difference between achieving it or losing it is a matter of focus and consistency in doing it. I once read that the secret to success is constancy in purpose. Like in a marathon, if you want to finish or win it, you have to continue running/jogging; you have to push yourself to keep going even if it seems too far or too hard to finish.

It was a good run for me because I finished it. Better because I did it under 50 minutes and I'm a first time 5k runner. Not bad.


I look forward to a second Kenny Urbanite 09 Open Run. It's not only the race. I am happy that I can help other Filipinos by donating to Hands On Manila and 57-75 movement.

Let's keep running for a good cause.

Amb. Grace R. Princesa: Handmaid of the Lord

She is the appointed Philippine Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United Arab Emirates. I'd like to remember her as a woman of courage and unwavering faith in God.

I met her at the Feast, a Sunday religious gathering at the Valle Verde Country Club in Pasig. She was given the opportunity to relate her experiences not only as a diplomat, but as a wife, a mother, and a servant of the Lord.

During the Feast, she shared her successes as the Philippine representative to various Arab countries. She has received citations for her work in helping our OFWs abroad. However, she also shared that she was a battered wife.

For many years, she endured both physical and psychological abuse from her husband. But she remained strong particularly for her children.

What I admire in her is that she did not hate her husband for what he has done but continued to love him and even taught her children to be loving to their father despite his behavior. Finally, her husband left her and their children.

Now, she happily shares that 4 of her 5 children are college graduates and shares her passion for helping others. One now works for the United Nations. The youngest is still in high school. She raised not to hate but to love.

There are two lessons to be learned from her sharing: One, love yourself. When her husband started abusing her, she sought psychological help and filed for annulment to prevent further beatings. Second, give, give and give happily. Give not only finances, but your core gifts and time as well to serve others. In doing so, God continuously fills your needs so you can give more.

What a happy thought!

Read more about her life.

Cory and the Catholic Faith

As I write this they have already buried her. Pres. Cory Aquino has been taken to her resting place finally. And now she is re-united with her husband, Ninoy.

Watching ABS-CBN covered the requiem mass at the Manila Cathedral, I came across a video recorded earlier on Bishol Tagle's sermon. In his speech, he narrated Pres. Aquino telling him how proud she was to be a Catholic.

I don't know anyone who will be bold enough to claim pride in a religion beset with many controversies and scandals over many centuries: the Schism, the Inquisition, the pedophile cases against priests, among others. In the Philippines, Catholicism seemed to have lost its amore among the people, particularly the young.

But when Bishop Tagle narrated that Pres. Cory's remark, I was comforted. Because here is a respectable woman who continued to believe in the teachings of the Catholic faith. Here is a woman who not only paid lip service to the merits of Catholicism but live it well.

Catholicism, I believe, does not differ from Protestantism, Islam, nor Buddhism in that we are called to love and respect one another. The question is how can we manifest it in the modern times. Tita Cory showed us how it is done: her unwavering belief in the strength and resiliency of the Filipino people, her dedication to the upliftment of women and better education to the young. More so, her unconditional love for her children and her children's children.

We have the saints of old to emulate on being better Catholics but I guess real persons liked Tita Cory made the most impact of inspiring us to be the best we can. May her examples and memories not go to waste nor unrecognized.

Rest in Peace Tita Cory. And please continue to pray for the Filipinos here and around the world.