Ramblings Intérieurs

Choices

I had no plans of voting for today's Barangay and SK elections but the circumstances that happened allowed me to vote. My plan was to go to work since it would be a holiday and it would be a rest day overtime for me (today also happens to be my rest day) and if our 13th month pay schedule of release would be the same like last year, I would have a 20k payout (that would give you an idea how much money I'm making...hehe) this 16th of November. That's a lot of money to pay for our debts and bills. Unfortunately, my pop was assigned to be a chair member in his school for today's elections and that means no one will be at home to open our mini-store and my mom would also not be able to vote. So I decided not to go to  work and instead help my mom at home and not going to work would also give me a chance to vote.

This is the first time to vote that I was not prepared. I don't know who the candidates for Kagawad (except for the one who lives in our subdivision) were although I know who the candidates for the Barangay Chairman were. I blame myself for that because I initially didn't plan to vote for the same reason that most, if not all, Filipinos say - "It really doesn't matter. The candidates would all be corrupt and nothing will change!"   

What made me decide to vote? Not just because I had nothing to do since I did not go to work but because last night, Sunday, I saw one candidate (I won't mention the name but he's the one who lives in our subdivision) went to our house to asked us to vote for him and he was doing this house-to-house. What's wrong with that? Nothing, except that campaign period was already over last Saturday. Next thing I heard they we're drinking already in one of the houses of one  officials in our subdivision. You may asked again what's wrong with that. Well, there's already an ongoing liquor ban. Then this morning I read an article in Philippine Daily Inquirer that says don't vote for the drunkards. The reason of course is self-explanatory. 

I said to myself if these are the guys that are going to be elected, I might as well vote and not vote for them. I ended up voting two (2) Kagawads that the last name I know and registers because they had their share of elected relatives before and then crossed out the other four spaces for Kagawad because I didn't know who the other candidates were. But I'm confident that the one I voted for as Barangay Captain is very capable of leading our barangay and is righteous enough (a doctor) to have a moral authority to lead. But still I don't know him enough.

Did I made the right choice? In not going to work and voted instead in the Barangay elections and passed the opportunity to have a big pay on my next payday? In not voting for the people who lives in the same subdivision I'm living? In voting the three people that I really didn't know that well. In voting itself? 

Frankly, I don't know. I just turned to the Lord for guidance after reading what my "Vessels of Honor" calendar says for today. It read "When faced with a morally gray area, we have the authoritative standard of God's Word, the inner witness of God's Spirit and the mind of God's Son to guide us."

I hope we all voted wisely and made the right choice.

Thank You

(Note: A tragedy happened last Friday in Glorietta and my prayers are for the victims and their families. However I would not be writing about it not because I don't want to but because it's a Sunday today. Just like the "radical optimism" thing that the Philippine Daily Inquirer has every Sunday, I would also try to write about something good if it's a Sunday or if it's not possible, I will try to write something good about a bad news. And today, the third Sunday October of the year 2007, will be the start.)

Yesterday was the 1st National Thank You Day courtesy of Toblerone. Yes, the legendary triangular Swiss chocolate with honey and almond nougat. At first I thought this was just another commercialization thing and marketing strategy for the chocolate maker. Well, I think it still is but I let go of any doubts in my mind for the meantime and tried to instill in my mind that their intentions are noble. This idea was prompted because of a recent survey in Readers Digest that Manilans ranks at the bottom in the list of courteous people and forget to say "Thank You." Sad but true. The event was to dispel this survey.

I already knew of this "National Thank You Day" event in advance because I joined in one contest of a very famous blogger, Noemi Dado (http://aboutmyrecovery.com/), about two weeks ago where I just need to come up with a creative or different way of saying "Thank You." I didn't really plan to go there because I checked my email last Friday and I didn't see any email saying I won and I also have an "abscess" (again) but when I checked my email again yesterday in the afternoon, there were two emails saying I won two (2) tickets and a one thousand (1K) peso GC courtesy of Toblerone. I had won a few contests in my life but I always don't get the chance to claim my prize. I decided that I should get my prize this time even if I can't walk straight because of my "abscess." So, I hastily asked my friend, Christian, to accompany me to the concert venue and claim my price. I was glad I did. I got the chance to see and talk to Mrs. Noemi Dado herself and of course thank her. I also saw her two beautiful daughters-Marielli and Lauren (also famous bloggers in their own right). I also saw some great bands like The Dawn, Salindiwa, Stonefree, and Reggae Mistress and of course one of my all-time favorite female act, Cynthia Alexander.

My winning entry? “Thank you for showing how to be human: how it feels to lose someone you love and how to cope with it to someone who hasn’t experienced it.” If you want to know why that simple sentence won, read Noemi Dado's blog. I'm sure you will also be hooked to her blog just like me.

Earlier in the morning (about 10 in the morning yesterday), however, I was quite surprised that no one was sending me a text message saying "thank you" or no one was aware that it was "National Thank You Day" considering that my friends always remember special occasions and even greets me in advance (a new friend sent me a really early Christmas greeting) so I sent a text message to my friends list that goes:

"It is my friends who made the story of my life.

In a thousand ways they have turned my limitations into beautiful privileges and enabled me to walk serene and happy in the shadow casted by my deprivation.

My friends are my oasis, encouraging me to go on.

They are essential to my well-being.

Thank you for everything.

I could not afford to lose any of you...

A big thanks to all of you."

I was expecting for a couple of replies but to my disappointment only one person replied and this person is a new friend. Why guys? Is the survey in Readers Digest correct? Are we too busy that we fail to say "thank you" or we just don't care anymore? Or am I expecting too much? Good thing in the morning, one of my close female friends replied with another quote. The not-so-good thing (again) is that this friend is a Smart subscriber. She just sent me a quote acknowledging my "thank you" and it didn't matter to her if it would cost her a peso for that.

The sermon for the last two Sundays of The Holy Mass was all about thanksgiving. I still remember what Bishop Ted Bacani said last Sunday. "Sure, we have a lot of problems, difficulties, hardships, and trials but you can add all of it and it still wouldn't equal to the blessings that we received from the Lord."

And earlier Fr. Nolan Que read a poem entitled "So Much To Thank God For." You can read the whole poem below.

"A grateful heart is all that you need
to let God know that you are pleased.

When you are thankful for things you have been blessed,
remember to thank God first before anyone else.

When things turn out the way you want them to,
clasp your hands in gratitude to God to whom credit is due.

When you're at peace and contented, thank God in silence,
for no one else in the world could have given you that solace.

When you pray for amenities and don't get what you expect,
thank Him just the same with all due respect.

Times when you're bestowed the things you have not sought,
thank God cheerfully for possibilities you have not thought.

Sometimes you'll receive some things you most need,
thank God for not waiting your call and for taking heed.

At other times you ask God for things you need to live,
understand the long wait 'cause He knows when to give.

Thank God promptly for daily desires granted,
even if these do not come in the amounts wanted.

God knows what you need or what you want,
so thank Him with relief for deciding what to grant.

When you escape a mishap thank God in a snap,
Praise Him for His goodness, shout His Name and cheer up.

When you're hard up and don't know what to do,
thank God for trusting that you can get through.

During days of tribulations when you almost give up,
try thanking God you'll see, your troubles will ease up.

Thanking God in a few words is worth a thousand praises shouted.
It's enough to lighten your load when you need to tread the road.

When you want to pray and don't know what to say,
oftentimes a "Thank you, Lord" is just enough to make your day.

Therefore, give thanks and give your best thanks always,
and leave it all to God to understand what's more."

I'm not trying to be preachy here but a couple of weeks or months ago I was really, really down and I failed to thank God for the blessings I have and wallowed in self-pity but now I'm back and stronger than ever. I just said two words to the Lord in my prayer about a few weeks ago. Guess what the words are?

If you happen to be reading this blog, I would just like to say two words to you:

Thank you.

The Wedding

Finally the wedding is over. I am really honored and happy to be a part of the wedding of my best friend Tuneng (the name I called him during my speech/message to them to the smiles of the audience) and Yveth. It was probably the happiest wedding I have attended. It had it shares of problems encountered along the way but all in all it was very happy and memorable. How happy was it? Let's just say our friend Edmund wanted the time to stop there at the wedding reception and wanted every day to be like that. Because tomorrow everything goes back to normal. I just told him well it's just the way it is, "Every good thing must come to an end." as what Christopher De Leon said in the movie "American Adobo." I say I am so happy with the wedding I can't find the right words to describe it and I can't find the right flow of words to write about it here in my blog. Maybe I'll be able to write something about it after I watched the video. Right now I can only describe it in two words - almost perfect.

And all I can say now is Congratulations and Best Wishes to Tony and Yveth. Cheers to a happy future!

The Best Man

Since I've been writing about not-so-good things and a lot of not-so-good things are also happening that I'm also tempted to write about (like the "Broadband” scandal and the "Desperate Housewives" issue), I decided not to write about one and instead I will just write about a happy occasion that I'm really looking forward to-the wedding of my best friend and one of the closest friend I have, Antonio.

Antonio, or Tuneng (not really a nice nickname especially if it's your first time to hear it but it's cute and really fits his personality), as we call him chose me to be his Best Man. Ahem! Although I was not the first choice, I am more than honored and privileged to be his Best Man. I promise myself that I would be the best "Best Man" for him and her beautiful fiancée, Yveth.

One week to go before the wedding day, which is this coming thirteenth of October, and I'm really, really excited. My colleagues said that I am more excited than the couple who's getting married. I should be since this is my first time and probably the last time to be a Best Man in a wedding.

Two months before the date of the wedding and I was already researching on the net what does a Best Man do in the church, the reception, and his duties and responsibilities. I found out that I would just stand beside the groom in the church the whole time. I would also help in the wedding preparations and assist the groom in any way possible. Well, that's easy and as of this moment I think I did my part. I would also, based on English tradition, be doing the ceremonial toast in the reception and make a speech. I asked Antonio if I would be doing a speech or give a message on the wedding reception. He just answered with a question, "Ikaw?" Two weeks before the wedding, he said that I will not be doing the ceremonial toast. However, I will still give a message and they also asked me to do the Invocation.

I was ready for the speech/message thing but not with the Invocation because I already made a prayer for the couple and I couldn't write the same thing I had in the prayer and on the Invocation. Thank God I was able to do one and it seems okay to them. Regarding the speech/message thing, I already have a script and I'm more than ready. I don't know how I would do however because this would be my first time to speak in public in front of many people. But I'm taking this as a challenge and this would be a test if I would be able to speak in public.

The most important role of a Best Man however is to be a confidant, a friend, a support system for the groom. That's what I'm trying to be not just before and on the wedding day itself but also after the wedding.

Weddings are such a joyous occasions for me and every time I attend or see one, I can't help to feel happy because I can feel that love is really in the air.

But you know the real reason why I'm excited about the wedding? I can't wait to see myself wearing a Barong Tagalog. Hehe....