My BICOL VACATION

     This is an updated version of the old post:  I'm Going on VACATION!

     To my fellow bloggers, friends and supporters (ahurm -- clears throat) thank you guys for your continued support and patronage.  My two blogs  Show Me Your Look Today and The Pinoy Wanderer are nothing without YOU.  Even while I'm away on vacation from January 4 to January 18, some of you folks still kept my blogs alive.  I sincerely thank you, and please know that I am deeply grateful.

     I'm updating this post because tweet random, well, randomly tweets my old posts and it's kinda hard to explain to my twitter followers that I'm already back from my vacation specially with this post's old title.  Haha!

     As I've said on the previous version of this article, I took a two-week break from blogging to spend time with my family in the province.  My flight for Legazpi City was last January 4 at 6AM, and talking about that flight -- ehrrrr -- we missed it.  I knowww, right?  So then we had to take the next flight (which was two hours later) and naturally, spent extra bucks for our new set of tickets.  

At this point, none of us were aware that the last call for our flight
have been made several minutes ago.  Pffttt!

Rose Scented Rosary From The Vatican

     Life is something that's bigger than all of us -- and for me, it's important that we believe and hold on to something so that life can have meaning and direction.  Sometimes we call this faith, other times, the lack of it.

     Hey guys, what's up?  2011 was certainly a great year.  It was not a seamless ride but the bumps along the way were just proof that life, with all its contradictions, is a great life.  It's a journey which presents us with valuable lessons as we strive to find true love, peace, happiness, and as we struggle to give meaning to our existence.

     For the year that has just ended, I shall remember the days with a thankful heart.  I have received countless blessings, and though for most I feel that I am not worthy yet they were still given to me.  I am blessed with many things but most of all, I am blessed with my faith -- for with my faith, I feel that life has a purpose.

     Talking about faith, I am deeply grateful to my best friend tokzzz for sending me these gorgeous rose-scented rosaries from the Vatican which are blessed by the pope.  I got two of them -- one I will give to my mom, and another I will give to Mamats.  They are two of the most wonderful women that I have the privilege of knowing and loving.  I feel that they rightfully deserve to have these rosaries.  Tokzzz is one of my few friends who acknowledges that there is something bigger than all of us -- that there is a God.  Among his many traits that I admire most is his spirituality.  Thank you tokzzz for being a really good friend.

Rose-scented rosary from the Vatican, blessed by Pope Benedict XVI.

     And so, let's begin this year with strong and unfaltering faith.  But though we look forward to the days ahead, let's not forget to look back and learn the lessons of the past because from the past is where we get maturity and wisdom.  To the years before me, I say THANK YOU.  And to the years ahead, I say BRING IT ON!

     Have a prosperous 2012 everybody!

A Prelude to 'Dead Stars'

      Hey guys!  What's up?

Neriz Gabelo says: 'We all have that dead star.'

     I have another guest post coming up entitled 'Dead Stars' written by my good friend Neriz Cruz Gabelo.  I will not elaborate much on the content but it is about a love that never came to be.  As a background, here's Madam Neriz' edited e-mail telling me how she came up with the post.  Names and locations were intentionally erased to protect the identity of the personalities involved. 

     There’s a girl colleague who shared with me her love story about a guy who became her biggest love ever.  Theirs was not a defined relationship but in her heart of hearts, she knew that she secretly loved the guy.  They were in college when it happened and both went through the motion of undisclosed special liking for one another.  At any rate, neither took the courage to define what they had so they both went on with their lives.  Eventually, the guy left for the US and established his own career.  He got married there but sadly they divorced after some years.  My girl colleague didn’t marry or had any other serious relations after.  She didn’t attribute it to the guy though.