Ode to Uncle Ces, Defining moment, Pickleball journey, Superhost

Thank you, Uncle for the wisdom, wit, and unwavering warmth  

  

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Conversations with Uncle Ces didn't just flowed; they cascaded from one topic to another, all rich with wisdom, sparked by inspired ideas, and punctuated by masterfully delivered punchlines. Masterfully, Uncle steers conversations to offer equal airtime to every soul seated at the table. These meals and visits forged my fondest memories with him.

His life was a testament to hard work and commitment. His genuine humor and profound humility made him the perfect companion for any occasion.

Uncle Ces championed a healthy lifestyle, passionately pursuing good health and nutrition. His vibrant love for life and unwavering devotion to family inspired everyone around him. In the academe, his pioneering contributions to duck raising, he was an exemplary dean of the college of agriculture, set a standard worth emulating.

But above all, his boundless love and the full, open-hearted welcome he extended to Ma Dahls and her family truly completed and rounded out our home.

Thank you, Lord, for the enduring gift of Uncle Ces' legacy. He has now found his peace with you and our dearly departed loved ones. May we, too, carve out meaningful, well-spent days, just as Uncle Ces did.

Defining Moment 

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The Challenge: A college entrance essay. The constraint: a rigid 750-word limit.

The Context: This monumental task collided head-on with the his school’s summative exams.

The Style: True to form, it was a race to the finish—a classic, eleventh-hour sprint. But from that pressure cooker, an essay ignited.

My heart simply swells to see the quality of the work he wrested from the deadline's grip. He didn't just meet the requirement; he conquered it.

I'm sharing his powerful output here:

One experience that has helped define me as a person was performing as a bassist for the first time. I did not know it at the time, but playing instruments in bands would become a regular part of my life. It was all because of that first performance. In December 2019, there was a church youth event, and one of the people who was involved in organizing the event asked me and my friends if we could play songs as a band. At that time, I was just beginning to learn bass. I wanted to learn bass because I had watched so many YouTube videos of people playing bass, and I became inspired. To prepare for the event, we had practices where we would play the songs together repeatedly, fix mistakes, and refine our parts until we could play them well. During the practices, I realized that playing in a band was not just about focusing only on my own part, but about paying attention and listening to everyone else's parts so that it would sound good. We kept practicing until the day of the event, and when it finally came, we were ready. It was a small gathering, but some people cheered and clapped for the songs we played. The performance went well. It was something that I had wanted to do ever since I started playing bass. It led me to continue to play bass after that. I kept playing bass and started learning new songs. By learning songs, I discovered that if I put enough effort and time into it, I could learn and master things that I thought I could never do. Breaking down hard riffs and solos into smaller parts, slowing them down, and playing them over and over again until I could play them properly showed me that I could be patient and persistent--two things I wasn't good at being. After a few years, I became a regular musician at church, playing bass, drums, and guitar. I also then joined a band at school and made new friends through music by meeting different musicians who shared my musical interests. It all started with that first performance, which led to many experiences that helped define who I am. 

Trust the journey. God has already plotted the path and will anchor your roots deep within His purpose.
Forge ahead in your walk. Your faith is your compass.

And here’s to an abundance of great music—a lifetime soundtrack of praise that rings out for Him!

We love you, always. Budi!

 

 

 

 

Pickleball journey

One fine day in December 2024, I traded the corporate grind for something wildly unexpected, my husband’s beginner pickleball class.

I’d teased him for those suspiciously long “games with friends,” warning that his new obsession might have family-wide consequences. Who plays sports for six straight hours, anyway?

Then I picked up a paddle and that was it. The sharp pop of the ball, the rush of movement, the laughter on the court, the sleek gear, the surge of endorphins. Everything clicked. I was hooked.

Fast-forward: we bought a ball machine (now “for rent” to fellow addicts), I’ve played in tournaments, earned a DUPR rating, and found a sport I can chase, sweat, and grow in.

Here’s to a life of pickleball—thank You, Lord, for the serve I never saw coming. Here's to meeting new friends, reconnecting with old ones through pickleball games.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Superhost badge 

Two homes. Two stories.
One in Bay, another in Nuvali. Both born for different reasons, both now thriving on Airbnb. And just like that, Superhost status unlocked.

Grateful for family and friends who made it happen. May every guest find the rest and comfort they deserve.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To Label or Not to Label Reflection Paper on Totoy Guro’s Special Education Labels in the Philippines

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Totoy Guro is a blog written by a Filipino teacher. It is a personal space on the Internet where he shares his insights, notes and personal experiences as an educator in the Philippines. The article listing Totoy Guro’s reasons for espousing the use of “labels” for children with special needs (CSN) is a good insight from a teacher’s perspective. Totoy Guro enumerated that using labels for CSN strengthens the teachers’ roles because labels identify the exceptional students’ needs in the classrooms. He also opposed the use of euphemisms for exceptionalities as this prevents people from truly understanding what needs understanding. He said euphemisms promote gossips and unfair labels among children, parents and even teachers. Instead, he recommended public and classroom discussions to educate everyone about exceptionalities.

Reading about students’ exceptionalities and special education (SPED) has opened my mind about the topic. The most experience and knowledge I have about it was a special classroom in my high school where the lone SPED teacher conducted lessons to students with disabilities. These students joined their class the same way regular students would, but gathered daily in the SPED room long after the regular students have gone home. Inside that room was a mystery unknown and uninteresting to me until now. 

Totoy Guro’s piece on using labels gave me an overview of what regular students, CSN, parents and teachers stand about exceptionalities. SPED and exceptionalities are facts of life everyone should accept, deal and live with respectfully of one another. As a parent and future educator, I know that having correct diagnosis of students’ learning disabilities is beneficial for the concerned student, parent and family of the student and most especially, the teacher. It is the start of addressing the necessary accommodations, therapy and changes in order to make the CSN succeed at school.

Totoy Guro has freely used the term label to mean this diagnosis. However, I understand also the possible negative reaction of those who oppose the use of labels for the stigma and wrong connotations they give. The same way that our society today has opted for politically correct phrases and terminologies in order to appease people groups coming from diverse backgrounds and concerns. Adopting politically correct phrases though is synonymous to watering down the issue, if not totally evading it. The problems with using labels then is miscommunication and lack of respect for those who are different from us. Job 6:25 KJV says, “How forcible are right words! but what doth your arguing reprove?” Right words set us towards the correct path. Arguments divide people, familites and societies. We need and deserve truth all the time, but we need to serve it with love, respect, understanding and encouragement all the time too.

Reference/s

T. G. (2011, September 3). MY LIST WHY “LABELS” FOR CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS ARE GOOD [Web log post]. Retrieved June 19, 2016, from https://totoyguro.wordpress.com/2011/09/03/my-list-why-labels-for-children-with-special-needs-are-good/#comments

Notes on Elisabeth Elliot's Love has a Price Tag

Elisabeth Elliot - missionary, mom, author

I first knew about Elisabeth Elliot from the movie Through Gates of Splendor. It documented their missionary days in a remote jungle in Ecuador and how their husbands were killed by the Auca people whom they have been praying for to share the gospel with - their husbands of barely five years.

Their story convinced me more to seek God's kingdom and live my life for Him.

Keep a Quiet Heart
Then I came across my sister's book written by Elisabeth, Keep a Quiet Heart. It is a compilation of writings on various topics like family, faith, even social issue commentaries. I read it three times from cover to cover and has been greatly blessed with her views and messages. Googled her and found out about her website which featured daily devotionals - http://www.elisabethelliot.org/.

It was sad to know she has stopped writing and speaking. She is a great blessing to the country of America, even to the world. So I decided to support her by getting another book: Love Has a Price Tag: Inspiring Stories That Will Open Your Heart to Life's Little Miracles. It will definitely not be the last book I will read by her.

Notes on Love Has a Price Tag

The purpose of life is to know God Photo credit:PraisePhotography.com

1. The purpose of life is to know God - we do this on our own. Others may point us closer to Him, yet the experience is all unique for every individual, personal.
2. When God made man, He made him in His own image. When He made the animals, His imagination roamed wide and free - The Adventures of Toby is an animation series that is not only top quality but parent approved.
3. If we give out love, there is ultimately no way on heaven or earth to avoid receiving and receiving far more than we could possibly give.
4. Life is full of things we can't do anything about, but which we are supposed to do so mething with. - My take on this, my son's special needs in class is NOT a problem but a purpose - to improve myself, that I may be able to love them more, and learn to trust God more.
5. Prayer is like incense. It costs a great deal. It doesn't seem to accomplish much (as we mortals assess things). It soon dissipates but God likes the smell.
6. Let thanksgiving be the habit of your life
7. God has no problems only plans. Corrie Ten Boom

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Which events and people will you remember 2011 for? 5-minute Bible stories for kids, Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook and Recipe for successful achievements

2011 has been a colorful and eventful year.



I would summarize it to be a landmark year when it comes to web development - my work. With the release of Apple's iPad 2, tablet and mobile use has spiked so incredibly that web designers and developers have gone BUSY. Personally, I started with developing ecommerce sites and that's AWESOME.

In terms of personalities, names like Steve Jobs Kim Jong-Il, Prince William and Catherine Middleton made the year that has been emotionally stirring. Even causing others to ask soul-probing questions about life and love.

Politically, the freedom riots in the Middle East are changing how the world works. It's getting flatter by the day.

Lastly, 2011 has been full of global weirding tragedies which claimed lots of innocent lives. The Japan tsunami, Thailand flooding, and Sendong typhoon showed men's feebleness vs nature's wrath. These same events, however, highlighted men's ability to be bigger than himself when he chooses to serve others before his own needs.


Closer note
We have adopted a Tuesday and Thursday family activity of singing hymns, praying and reading Bible stories. The two kids love it! They want to do it daily.

The goal was to enforce family devotion, and provide parent-guided communication about God and faith. It was heart warming to get this Bible passage in one of my devotionals:

1 Corinthians 3:7 NLT
"It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow."

Our two kids were gifts from God, and He himself will watch over them and raise them up in a way that will please Him. Praise be to God!


Book trivia

This year, I finished reading The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook, a gift to my husband from dear friends.

Here are cool tips I got from there:

• Bees moving in large masses are called swarms.
• To survive a stampede, determine first where they are headed and then get out of the way. If you cannot escape your only option is to run alongside the stampede to avoid getting trampled.

From the email, tumblr and twitter world

I confess, I love reading heartwarming and inspiring literature. And I get that a lot from my email inbox, tumblr and twitter accounts. Facebook too. Sharing with you one of my 2011 favorites:

The recipe for successful achievements:

1. Enjoy your work.

2. Do your best.

3. Develop good working relationships.

4. Be open to opportunities.

Happy New Year!

Seeing through other peoples' eyes

I had to leave with Lois and daddy has to work. No yaya, only Kuya duds, who is helping us out temporarily, to look after Carlos. Gave them P50 for tokens and juice to buy from The supermarket - Carlos' favorite.

Six hours later, Lois and I came back. Carlos was deep asleep, obviously tired from his afternoon treat. The following morning, both kids ask me again to bring them to the game zone.


Why we went away
The kids will be starting school soon and I have extra hand through Kuya Jordan, so I decided to attend my small group, after more than six-months of hiatus.

My group is an all-women's group which study the Bible and organize travel, outreach activities and I missed them a lot.

Tinker Toys creation - helicopter

When they saw me again, they all said I looked fatter. Though more were commenting on my daughter whom they haven't seen for a long time. They all said she has grown to become a big girl. Most asked if she was already starting grade school because she looks so tall already.

Somehow, all of their comments gave me a different perspective of the my daughter. Yes! I see too, how big she now is. Far from the toddler that I used to carry. I don't need to mind her now anymore. She can handle her self. I can even give her directions!

Even the MRT agrees. Lois is 'required' to pay now, because her height exceeds the train meter's.

KLove promo
Husband loves KLove. He always leave it playing on for all of us to hear at home.

One ongoing promotion they have is to complete the sentence: I am a living proof of God's love (blank). Listening to the contest rules, I wondered what I would put in place of the blank. Does my life really prove God's love? Do my kids see in me a godly woman? I whispered a prayer and praised God for mini-moments like these which bring me back to what's important.

I am a living proof of God's love, my life now has meaning and fulfillment. Far from the empty, hard-to-fill cup I used to live. I know that I am here on earth for a purpose, and my every day unfolds that purpose.

Washington Sycip
One prolific organization that I admire, and wish to grow even more is HistokyKo.Org

One recent activity they had, which I missed was a talk given by great Filipino business sage Washington Sycip. When I saw a DVD of the event selling for P200, I bought it and learned a lot from the talk. Sharing the insights I have taken down:

1. KT Li of Taiwan introduced computer to all age group that's why Taiwan is what it is now, a small country giant in IT manufacturing. To learn more about his life and emulate him that husband may fulfill his dream of leveraging IT to reach the Philippines' poor.
2. A person who cannot read or write is 99.9% sure to be poor. - Washington Sycip
3. Asked what he taught his children, Mr. Sycip said to provide good education for his children, thinking that afterwards, they will not depend on him. He even relayed how his parents sent them to the public school, even if they can afford the private school; and make them walk or take public transportation, instead of being driven around. Further convinced to lead simple lives to empower more the kids. Thinking comfort and luxury spoil kids.
4. Examples of leadership, good leadership is lacking in the country. Reminded even more to model good behavior so the kids may see. I often require the kids to be cordial and respectful to  the elderly, while I myself am shy. Things like that.

Overheard
We have met up with Ninang Rachelle quite often this month. She drove for us. Some funny moments between her and Carlos:

Rachelle asking CD: Did you see that other car? Or are you near-sighted?
Carlos: Me, I am excited!
Who wouldn't we're going to the pool to swim.

Kids are pretending to drive while seated at the back. Ninang Rachelle was annotating her driving. Curious if the kids are following her, she asked:
Rachelle: I am going to turn left. Where are you going?
Carlos: We're left-ing.
Oh, he's going to turn left too.

Deciding to eat via drive-thru, Ninang Rachelle asked:
Rachelle: Do you want anything?
Carlos: Yes! I want anything.

Maybe they added 'anything' in their menu?

Fashion and Science

Nature has the best science and fashion lessons to teach us. Came across this video through Twitter and was amazed at how they're actually learning from how flowers and leaves clothe themselves when designing for humans. I think I'd excuse the kids to go into fashion when they're this scientific. :)

Has anyone by fussing before the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? If fussing can't even do that, why fuss at all? Walk into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They don't fuss with their appearance—but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them. If God gives such attention to the wildflowers, most of them never even seen, don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you?

The Manila Floods: Why Wasn't the City Prepared?

The Manila Floods: Why Wasn't the City Prepared?

An article published in Times.com about Metro Manila post-Ondoy (typhoon Ketsana). Republishing it just so we will remember that we BROUGHT it upon ourselves.

The situation of the Philippines is horrible, even before Ondoy hit. This explains the exodus of intelligent Filipinos patriotic enough yet full of the country's woes. This explains why even hundred of years after our colonizers, we are still not free.

We are our worst enemies. We kill ourselves because we abuse each other - whenever we don't obey the traffic rules, whenever we take home office supplies from the office, whenever we let a friend in the long queue. We don't know who we are because we never bothered to read our history and learn from it. It's like a whole country in drugs! A president we overthrew is running again for the highest position with a big chance of winning again. A dynasty of political families who has robbed the society of its resources and dignity. We never took pride in ourselves because we have always wished to be someone else - an American, a Spanish, a European, as long as not a Filipino! Why? Because we hate hard work. It has always been luck and dole outs and alms. We sell our souls and dignity for coins. We'd rather be laughed at dancing silly at a noontime show than honestly work our day's keep. So our youth get this impression that money is everything when it's not. They become easily lured into what sells - nursing, caregiving, going into showbiz, marrying a foreigner. And once we taste luxury, we hold on to it as tightly as we can. It becomes our lord and savior. The rich and powerful would still be affluent even if they give out 10% of what they have to the less fortunate. They don't because nobody wants to break the cycle, the status quo. Change is scary, it brings the unknown. How can a people who doesn't know anything, not even himself be courageous of what is to come and therefore be prepared? So we just let the climate change consequences drown and kill us trusting that God will provide and the international support would come in.

I do not hate what is happening. This is never new. I hate it that we are not learning from this - never. We never develop that sense of dignity to look within and overcome.

My 3 Takes: Post Typhoon Ondoy

Yesterday will go down to history for being the worst flood to hit the country. PAGASA said typhoon Ondoy carried unusual amount of rainfall
equivalent to six months' average in just six hours. News showed houses and cars under six meters of flood water.

We were personally clueless because power outage started 1pm until Sunday afternoon. To keep the kids entertained, we played a lot of
imagination games. It's really challenging to keep toddlers entertained during brownouts.

Sunday newspapers didn't help because they carried mostly political stories. One headline summarized a list of celebrities willing to 'invest' in the candidacy of Noynoy Aquino. Uhm, they say nothing in this world is free. I wonder what payments they would require once Noynoy's in power? Really scary thoughts, I think!

Going back to the Ondoy calamity, to me it illustrates the following:

1. That we as humans are frail beings without capacity to defend ourselves. Without electricity, we cant even have decent meals. Against the strong winds, we cAn't stand. Against the mighty flood, we are defenseless. We are mere dust in the wind. All possessions we have can be swept easily by an hour's rainfall.

2. The unusual amount of rain is our own doing called global warming. Here in the Philippines the awareness about its effect isn't widespread but all points lead to it. Irregular rain, unusually warm weather and unexplained flooding. There are ways we can all help, StopGlobalWarming.org offers great tips.

3. There are not enough scientists in our weather agency because there has never been an accurate forecast of weather occurrence since I can recall. Maybe they have become nurses abroad?

Good news today
God bless the MRT people for lowering fare today P10 flat rate- since Metro Manila
and other 29 provinces are under state if calamity. Thank you for your
sensitivity and concern.

Joining the bandwagon

The talk about sexy star Katrina Halili and Dr. (though soon to be removed from his profession) Hayden Kho only brings upfront what has been there ever since. We all have scandals inside our self's closets. Yes, even the most innocent of us, because we are born with a sinful nature.

My two kids, one 39 months-old and another 18 months-old, both show their savage sides every now and then. We tried as much as we could to shelter them from prime time television because we do not want them oriented with violence, sex and materialism. Yet my 3 year old scoffs at her baby brother when he plays with her toys. Or sometimes, our baby boy would send his big sister crying because he hit her on the head for no reason at all. Yes, we really gravitate towards the me-side. We, for we are all human beings want us crowned kings of ourselves. And that is where the problem lies.

Selfishness, pride, lust, jealousy, fear, slothfulness. A lot of things fall in the category of sin. The world (advertising and media) only packages them as good and enticing that's why we're lured. But those who have been there know that a life of sex, vices and thrill is a life void of meaning. Marilyn Monroe, Howard Hughes, or to bring it closer, Donita Rose, Gary V. Ok, my celebrity examples are not that convincing, but I am 100% convinced that unless we realize that we are sinful and that we gravitate towards trouble we are doomed. Once we know who we are, helpless and mean, we must seek help.

The only genuine, victorious help comes from the Holy Spirit made clear by God's word made flesh in the persona of Jesus. Ok, you might think I'm losing it, but thanks for reaching this far. Only a life surrendered fully to God can be victorious. When I say victory, I mean the non-world, true-to-the-heart peace and joy.