Call Me Xander

Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning . -  Psalm 30:5 Our country faced another very difficult situation. We were again flooded and some of our Kababayans were affected by this unfortunate event. Despite the wrath of Maring washed out the things we build, our houses and some of us lost our loved ones yet we stand still and remain faithful to the one who sits on the throne, GOD.  I remember the song by Bob Fitts, entitled You are so Faithful that says: In the midst of the storm Through the wind and the wave You'll still be faithful When the sun refuse to shine and the time is no more You'll still be faithfull You'll still be faithfull, Lord. I believe that everything happens for a reason. And I also believe that if something has been taken from us, greater things will be given.  I may not be able to help those who are in need during this tragic moment but by prayers and petition and solemn supplication, I am abl...

Do you know where you are going? I always asked myself that question but I cannot find an answer. I see myself going in  a different directions for so many years. One road directs me to become ambitious, so focus and self centered while the other, me as a free-spirited human being, one who is happy-go-lucky, never care about what tomorrow brings.  Funny as it may sound but choosing the right road to travel is a tough one. We do not know if the road we will choose will lead us into someone that we want to be or will give us what we are looking for. We do not know what lies ahead. All we know is that feeling of assurance that what we choose is the right one for us. And so, we travel that road. And we start to hope that our journey to that road will reach our destination. But you know what, who cares about the destination. What matters is the journey and the joy and fun while traveling. That will make us a better person. The stumbling blocks, road blocks, and th...

Alam mo yung nadamay ka lang dahil sa palpak na nagawa ng ibang tao. Yung nadali ka dahil sa may maling ginawa ang kasama mo sa trabaho. Pak one pak ol. Yung hindi ka naman talaga dapat kasama sa pagagalitan, pero since pinagalitan yung isang ka-team mo. Pinagalitan na din kayong lahat. Alam mo yung isang tao lang ang dapat makarinig ng masasakit na salita pero nakadinig ka pa din ng masasakit na salita dahil nasa isang room lang kayo, at para hindi rin masyadong obvious na siya lang ang pinaparinggan. Yung  dapat may overtime sana kayong lahat, pero since yung isang kasama mo eh ang lakas mag-OT pero wala namang ginagawang trabaho. Walang output. Damay ka sa policy na hindi pwedeng mag-OT nang hindi nagpapaalam kahit dati walang paalam na nangyayari. Wasak ang kumikitang kabuhayan. Alam mo yung, hindi ka dapat kasama sa nahold-up pero since nakasakay ka din sa jeep na hinohold-up, eh damay ka na. Yung isang kasamahan mo sa trabaho naiin...

Habang nasa byahe ako kaninang umaga papuntang work, bahagyang uminit ang ulo ko dahil sa sobrang traffic ng kalsadang dinadaanan ko. Halos dalawang oras ang byahe ko papasok sa work na kung tutuusin ay nasa 30 minutes lang ang byahe. Pero kaninang umaga, kakaiba! Hindi ko alam kung anong meron pero sobrang traffic talaga. Isang oras na ang nakalipas sa byahe eh medyo nagagalit na ang ibang pasahero na kasabayan ko. Pati ang driver mismo ng jeep ay galit na din. Pinipigilan kung magalit kasi kapag nagalit ako, alam ko na buong araw na akong galit. Kaya hanggat maari ay ayaw kung magalit. Sinuot ko ang earpiece at nagpatugtog na lang para kalmado pa rin ako. Music play.... Akmang-akma ang musika na napakinggan ko... "Jesus Take the Wheel" ni Carrie Underwood. Naisip ko na sana si Jesus na lang ang nasa manibela, Im sure mabilis ang byahe namin ng walang problema. Habang paulit ulit kung pinakikinggan ang musika ay mag dadalawang oras na ako sa byahe. Isip...

Hindi ako mahilig sa mga surprises. Ayaw ko ng sinosurprise ako kasi hindi rin naman ako mahilig mag surprise. Well may one point sa buhay ko na sinorpresa ko ang isang tao, pero sa huli ako ang na surprise ng bonggang-bongga. #nakakabadtrip #BrokenHearted #WasakAngPusoNiLastimak Pero sadyang mapaglaro ang kapalaran at ang buhay ng tao ay parang isang gulong na umiikot (paki connect na lang!) Minsan kasi sinosurprise tayo ni Lord, lalo na kapag medyo siguro gusto niya na i-shake yung buhay natin ng kunti para magkaroon ng thrill at excitement. Gaya na lamang ng trabaho ko. For the past three years, masyadong magulo na ang nakalista na mga company name sa resume ko, if not mahaba. Marami kasing offer sa akin (Lol... partly true). Bakit nga ba? Dahil na rin siguro ay palipat lipat ako ng pinapasukan at hindi ako kontento sa mga ginagawa ko. Aaminin ko madali ako ma bored sa isang bagay o trabaho lalo na kung routinary na ito plus dagdagan pa na mga taong nasa paligid mo na wala...

Kung ang bigat ng mundo ay 5.972E24 kg at idagdag mo pa ang bigat ng mga tao na nakatira dito, mga nasa 316 million tons ang bigat ng lahat ng adults sa mundo o 633 billion pounds.  Yung 16.5 millions tons ay mga overweight, ayun sa World Health Organization. Ngayon, idagdag mo pa ang bigat ng yung loob dahil sa problema na sa tingin mo ay nagpapahirap sayo at dahil sa bigat ng loob mo ay dinamay mo pa ang ibang tao... Kaya mo pa kayang pasanin ang mundo? Well, unang-una... GINUSTO MO YAN! Bawat isa sa atin ay may kinakaharap na problema. Ikaw, ako, kahit sinong nilalang ay may inisip at hinaharap na suliranin. Kahit pa yung asong nasa kalye ay namomroblema sa kung ano ang kakainin niya. Kaya nga siguro may asong baliw o ulol dahil sa nawalan na sila ng ulirat sa dami ng problema nila.  NGUNIT, nasa sayo din yan kung hahayaan mo lang na pasanin mo ang daigdig na puno ng problema. Hindi ito nauubos... Pero ang pasensya at lakas ng tao kunting kunti l...

Larawan kuha sa Pangasinan Habang binibilang ang natitirang araw bago matapos ang taon naisip ko maraming pagsubok at pangyayari ang dumaan sa buhay ko.  Sampung buwan... Sampung buwan na din ang dumaan, mahigit sampung pangyayari na din ang naranasan ko. May masasaya at may malulungkot. Pakiramdam ko sa bawat lungkot ay may nawala sa pagkatao ko, materyal na bagay man o hindi. Sa bawat saya ay nadadag-dagan ang pagkatao ko. Maraming nawala; bagay, kalusugan, pagkabata, mga pangakong nakalimutan, minsan din ay ang karapatan. Ngunit may mga bagay na hindi pwedeng mawala sa ating pagkatao hanggat hindi natin hinahayaan ang iba na kunin sa atin ito: A. Nararamdaman/Tingin sa Sarili. Hindi mahalaga ang kung anong sinasabi ng ibang tao tungkol sa pagkatao mo. May dahilan kung bakit tayo andito sa mundo, yan ay ang pag diskubre sa kung ano ang kakayahan mo bilang ikaw. Mahirap mabuhay sa utos at dikta ng iba.  B. Sariling Pananaw. Bawat isa sa atin ay ma...

Sa aking pagpapatuloy ng pagiging positive sa buhay. Isa sa pinanghahawakan ko ay ang tiwala sa Panginoon. Alam niyo, kahit na anong pagsubok sa buhay malalampasana natin kapag tayo ay may paniniwala at relasyon sa Maykapal. Higit sa anong uri man ng relasyon ay kailangan natin ang Panginoon. Gaya ng sabi ko, kahit anong pagsubok man ang ating pagdaanan dapat tayo magpasalamat. Ngunit aminin natin na minsan hindi maiiwasan na nalulungkot tayo. Hindi natin hawak ang buhay at ang bukas. Kaya kapag nalungkot ka, tandaan mo lang na may isang gustong makinig sayo. Para maipagpatuloy ang pagiging masaya minsan kailangan din natin ng lakas na galing sa kanya. Kaya kapag malungkot ka at nahihirapan, ibigay mo lang lahat sa kanya. Magiging masaya ang buhay mo. Kaya ang card na ito ay pinapadala ko sa lahat ng mambabasa ng blog na to at mga mahal ko sa buhay na sana wag tayong bumitiw agad at magtiwala lang. Masaya ang mabuhay... Cast all your cares on HIM, for he cares for ...

          Marami sa atin ang naghangad na magkaroon ng tunay na kaibigan. Maliban sa pamilya ang mga kaibigan ang isa sa mga tinatakbuhan ng karamihan sa atin sa tuwing magkakaron tayo ng problema. Sila yung mga taong matatawag natin na pangalawang pamilya o di kaya ay mga kapatid natin sa ibang ama/ina. Gaya ko marami ng dumaan sa buhay ko na tinawag kong tapat na kaibigan. Mangilan-ngilan na din ang nagsabi na kabigan nila ako, ganun din ako sa kanila. Madali akong magtiwala sa isang tao lalong lalo na kung naramdaman ko ang integridad o katapatan. Ilang beses na dni akong nasaktan dahil sa sobrang tiwala na binigay ko sa isang "kaibigan" ngunit sa bandang huli ay nagiging parte lang sila ng aking nakaraan at hindi ang hinaharap. Yung parang dumaan lang sila sa buhay ko para magbigay kulay at maging bahagi nito sa maikling panahon. Nangangarap tayo na may isa o dalawang tao tayong makakasama sa kahit anong pagdaanan natin sa buhay malib...

borrowed from here Dear Humble and Kind Jeepney Driver, You seems so nice to your passengers today. I really like that. Keep it up.  I will never forget the first experience I had with you last 3 weeks ago, I was mugged. That give me an impression that some, if not most, of you could be the culprit to incidents like that. Anyhow, today you showed how kind and respectful you are to your passengers. Imagine how happy the old lady was when you let her ride for free. She maybe around 80 years old, I believe. If you can just see her face and how she reacted when you said she don't need to pay. She is really happy about it, and she started to utter words that I don't understand, but I know she means thank you.  I never wish that you will also give in to my hopes that you will also give me a discount or maybe allow me to ride for free, but I am just happy to know that there are still kind and friendly neighborhood around. Thanks for reminding me to respect people ov...

Dear White Bond Paper With A Black Dot In The Middle Thank you for giving me a clearer view on how should I react to my current situation. At a first glance, all I can see is your black dot in the middle. I didn't notice the biggest part of the paper which is the clean and white part of it. I tend to overlook and taken for granted many wonderful things and focus my attention and energy on that small, dot-like failures and disappointments. I know realize that my so called "problems" are usually like the black dot, small and insignificant. All I need to do is widen my horizon and look at the bigger picture and the brighter side of it. Thanks! Regards, X.A.N.D.E.R.

Some of us are afraid to ask questions but we love answering questions. According to Voltaire, "Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers." ...because if we ask the right question we get the right answer. Some of us are afraid to ask some of the questions listed below: What is the difference between living and existing?  If we learn from our mistakes, why are we so afraid to make mistakes? What impact do you want to leave to the world? If life is so short, why do we do so many things we don't like and like so many things we don't do? If you looked into the heart of your enemy, what do you think you would find that is different from what is in your own heart? Life is too short to tolerate __________? How do you know whether it's time to continue holding on or time to let go? Why do you matter? How many of your friends would you trust with your life? Are you happy with yourself? Based on your current daily actions and routines, where wou...

Occasionally, everyone tell lies. Some white lies save relationship, some save us from a very dangerous situation, some white lies buy us time. It's a human instinct to commit white lies because this is our easy way out. To some, the world becomes a better place to live because of our white lies.  White lie is acceptable to others as long as they did not hurt anybody and didn't break any law. It's not good to lie as this will reflect our personality. Whether a black lie or a white lie, its still a lie.  Below are common white lies people tell and why we tell them: I'm almost there! - Because I cannot tell you that I just woke up and still at home. This might freak you out. Thank you so much! I just love it! - Because we might hurt someone's feeling if we tell them the truth that their gift sucked and that we will be called as an insensitive jerk. I'm 18. - Because telling your 18 makes you feel younger even if your looks doesn't tell you. I...

According to Mae West, "We only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.  I committed a lot of mistakes in the past. I can do it all over again but it doesn't mean  I'm a failure. I have so many decisions that didn't work the way I wanted it to be. But that's fine. I always reminded myself with these things: 1. I follow my intuition and heart.  I led by my dreams and not by my problems. I always make sure that whatever is in my heart, I follow it. I am just being me. If I fail because of that decision, then I will try again. If I fail again, I will never give up and will try. At least at the end of the day, I will not wonder what could have been if I didn't follow whats in my heart.  2. I am proud of myself I am my own bestfriend and my own biggest critic. Regardless of what other people are saying about me, at the end of the day the only reflection that I can see in the mirror staring back at me is myself. I appreciate everythin...

My boss handed me a letter of invitation from our local government to participate in a seminar about sexuality. As a head teacher, I was chosen to be the representative of our school.  When I arrived at the venue, I was surprised to know that only a few people participated in the seminar. While waiting for the presentation, I had the time to read the documents provided to us and found very interesting topics. The purpose of the seminar was to help the community be aware of how to prevent early pregnancy and disease. As I continue reading, I found out that abstinence was not given highlight in the presentation. When the speaker arrived accompanied by a local doctor, they asked if there were any questions. I asked why abstinence did not play a very important role in the material they provided.  To my surprised, I heard an enormous laughter from other people. I even heard someone call me a jerk for asking such a stupid question. I looked at the speaker and the doctor bu...

As humans, we desire to look good physically. At an early age, maybe three or four, kids are already aware and has consciousness whether they looked good or not. Men in particular, specially those who are unprivileged would die to have the looks of Brad Pitt or maybe Mario Maurer or Sam Milby. Men who are less fortunate spend most of their time at the gym trying to achieve the look that they wanted. While those who are fortunately able, spend their money and undergo plastic surgery and have those looks pasted on theirs. Women on the other hand; wears make up, tight or fit clothes, wear jewelries to attract the opposite sex. For what reasons? One, maybe because that is what society or media is telling them/us to do. Why? Maybe, again, to get women so easily or maybe to attract others with less effort for their own personal gain. I can see that some companies are hiring people because of their "pleasant" appearance. Tsk... Tsk... Tsk.... But bei...

I was washing my clothes this morning and was in a hurry to get it done so I can do other stuff today. I washed those clothes I wear when I go out to a party or special event, those clothes I always wear when I go out with my friends, when I go to church or when having a dinner with someone. As I keep on soaking those clothes in the bucket and squeezing it with my hands so dirt will come out, bubbles also came out every time I squeeze it. I sort of enjoying what I'm doing when a panoramic view of my life started to came out in front of me. One by one, I can clearly remember those scene of my life. There was a scene when I was still a kid trying to play with my siblings, a scene when I was in high school and had my first crush, the time I was broken-hearted, a scene when I started to lie just to keep myself away from trouble. There is also a picture of me trying to make decision which causes more problems in the end. Another scene of me seeing myself hating someone so much that ...

hiram kay manong google.com The past few weeks was one hell of a ride. It was a moment of ups and downs. Been into emotional depression that causes my health to go down and I've been sick for weeks. My faith in God and in myself have been tested. For a time, I forgot who I was. I dont remember anymore the same person I used to be when I was a kid. My purpose disappears and in just one blink of an eye I forgot everything I have been dreaming of. This morning while I was reading the Bible, yes you read it right I read the Bible (did I just mentioned the word read three times in a phrase?..gosh). I was meditating the book of 1 John 1:7 - If we walk in the light, as he is the light... The Blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from sin, when a drop of faith reminded me so many things. Suppose a student doing a science project and experiment on the effect of light and darkness on the growth of the seed. The student gets a mung bean from a store and plant it in four Styrofoam cups...

When I woke up this morning and preparing myself for my job interview. I ask God, through my thoughts, if this job is really for me. I ask If He had a better plan for my future. I know I wont get an answer immediately. It takes a while. It's a process. It should start in me. Then I evaluate myself for the past few months about things that I did and accomplished, if any. I always found myself in the middle. You know, I always play safe in everything that I do, always making sure that I am pleasing in the sight of others. But what about God? Did I please Him with what I am doing? I guess not. Maybe thats the reason why I am suffering and encountering problems upon problems because I am always in the middle. I never step out of my comfort zone. I never came out according to what God wants me to be. I am never that strong. Never! Not until now. Today, I am praying for peace of mind and serenity of my heart. Lord, give me the strength that I need for me to move on with life. Give...

Nagising ako sa sinag ng araw na dumampi sa aking mga pisngi. Maganda at maaliwalas ang panahon kaya naisipan kong bumangon ng maaga, magkape at tumambay sa labas ng aming bahay. Dumiretso ako sa isang duyan na tambayan naming magkakapatid noong mga bata pa kami. Habang nakaupo sa duyan at hawak ang isang mainit na tasa ng kape, bumalik sa aking alaala ang panahon ng aking  kamusmusan. Sa mismong duyan na ito nagumpisa ang aming tawanan, kulitan at magdamagang kwentuhan. Minsan sa isang usapan naming magkakapatid natanong ni Mama kung ano ba daw ang pangarap namin sa buhay. Si Kuya nangarap na maging seaman. Ang aking kapatid na babae ay nangarap na maging isang nurse at yung isa naman ay teacher. Ako? Simple lang ang pangarap ko, ang maiahon sa buhay ang aking pamilya, ang matulungan ang aking mga magulang sa gastusin sa pagpapaaral ng bunsong kapatid ko at maibigay sa aking pamilya ang buhay na masagana. Humigop ako ng kaunting kape at humiga sa duyan habang pinagma...