Happy Birthday Master Laiza!

My sassy girl friend Laiza is celebrating her 20+ th birthday today! :) I call her Laizee because I usually give a little alteration on my friends' names. (Wala lang. Feel ko lang. Hehe..)

We met a year after my first year in MSU. My first year was in 2007. So the year after was... Uhmm... 2007 + 1 = 2008! Yes! We met in 2008. I couldn't remember the first time we talked but I do remember how we became friends.

Every girl in the office were married except me, Ate My, and Laizee. And maybe because all single ladies like to have fun, the three of us clicked! And not only that! We're all Aries girls! I really think it was destiny :) There was always girl bonding moments! Love that! As the cliche goes, the rest was history.

The Sassy girl I know is a master.

1. Master Buddy

All the pics were our adventures and misadventures before her leave to study in Manila.

2. Master Joker

I laugh even when there's nothing to laugh about. Haha! She wonders why I laugh at her statements.  She says something and her friends break into laughters. I really think she's funny even if she's in doubt of that. Haha!


3. Master Eater

(It's surprising that I can't find evidences of her eating so much!)

She eats a lot! She can eat 3 or four cups of rice in one meal! But she doesn't get fat! Yes, the world is sometimes unfair. When we all have to watch our carbs, here comes a girl who's a monster eater but her body is like that of a goddess.

4. Master Traveler

She goes everywhere and does everything she wants. It's her goal to go around the Philippines. See her adventures here.


5. Master Adventurer

She likes to do things that are out-of-the-box. She likes to try out everything!


6. Master Tita/Sibling/Daughter

She's a loving, cool, and supportive daughter.

7. Master in IT

Yes! You read it right. That's why I'm calling her a master in everything else that she is to cue this very significant achievement she received recently. This young fabulous woman has now her Masters Degree in Information Technology from Ateneo De Manila University. Congratulations Laizee!

8. Master Lover

She's a certified master lover of LIFE!


And she's still more than what I've enumerated above. Words... even pictures cannot express how wonderful the person that she is. I love you Laizee!

Happy Birthday to a woman of beauty and brains :) (Parang Miss Universe lang. Hehe..) See you soon!

MSU-Gensan's 33rd Commencement Exercises

I dedicate this post  most especially  to my very first students in the university - the BS Mechanical Engineering and BS Electronics and Communications Engineering students. It was a Monday of June 2007. My first class at 1:00 - 2:30pm was with the BSME and the next class at 2:30-4:00 was with the BSECE. As  I entered the room, I felt strong energy of eagerness to absorb so much. They seemed to be sponges in my eyes. Top students coming from top schools in General Santos City were seated before me and ready to give their best.

In the one semester that I've handled them, I knew they were at their best, freshmen at that. I was really impressed with their performance that I even had to gather more references to be able to offer them more.

And after 5 years, they have finally hit the finish line! I'm as proud as a parent. You all hold a very special space in my heart.

And some even finished with flying colors! 

Here are my other students who are Cum Laude's, too. 

Your grades and medals may not be your real weapon to face the real world but these are your gifts to yourself, for all the hardwork and to your parents most of all for all the sacrifices, love, and support they've given you all your life.

God bless you all on your board exams!!! Make your parents and alma mater even prouder!

I'm sooo proud of all of you!!! Big hug for everyone!!!

This year's commencement speaker was no less the Senator Antonio Trillanes IV.

Photo courtesy of Alma Aguja

I remember the first two things that he stressed out. 1) Always do good to everyone. You can never go wrong in doing so. And 2) Always strive for excellence.

I was with no pen and paper then (which I regretted). I could have written his other points, too. He spoke briefly. He delivered truly for the graduates and not for himself, for any project, or for anything else. 

And the most significant moment that morning (well, at least for me) ...was a photo op with the senator! (Talk about a simple girl who melts when seeing a celebrity. Hehe). But nope. I was not alone with him. We were in a group. 

Everyone was trying to get a photo with him that I got shy asking him for my turn. I had several chances because we were at the backstage seeing to it that the ceremony was doing all well. And he was passing by me several times! But when I got a chance, my knees trembled, my lips sealed, and my feet were as if nailed to the floor! :)

Anyway, here's the photo.

Photo courtesy of Rhumer Laniojan

The consolation? I was beside him! :) See that? The Senator then me then all the other people who seemed to be not existing that time. Hehe.

Ok. Enough Ems! Snap out!

Going back to my normal state of mind, this year also I became part of the Protocol Committee of the Commencement Exercises. And as I have written above, we were assigned in making sure that the guests and the ceremonies were all at the right place. And the people on the photo are the other reputable members of the Protocol Committee.

And here are other photos of us.

Photos courtesy of Alma Aguja

A successful event indeed!

A salute to all the graduates and the faculty!

Daydreaming Saturday: Beautiful Beds

It was such a hard week's work - checking final exams, computing grades, pondering on some considerations before finally filling out the grading sheets, and facing the down-hearted students who failed. That was one not-so-good time of every semester. I'm so glad it's over. And so I'm shaking it off! Shake it off! Shake shake shake it off! (...with shoulder sways to the left and to the right.) I can sleep soundly already. I'm dreaming of these beautiful beds. Hmmmm... Sweet dreams come to me...

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Inspirational Friday: Carrot, Egg or Coffee Bean?

I'm reading this book "The Early Bird Catches the Worm But the Second Mouse Gets the Cheese" by Francis J. Kong which I borrowed from my brother which he borrowed from his girlfriend who had the book personally signed by the author when she went to Leyte not so long ago. Wheww! Such a roller coaster :) But my point really here is the story about the carrot, the egg, and the coffee bean found in one of the chapters.

I knew I've read this sometime ago somewhere because I had a vivid memory of how the story would end. I searched for the text in the web and found so many links! I'd like to share the story with you just in case you haven't read it yet or already have but would like to be inspired again to dig deep within our hearts and reflect. :)

You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again.

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed that as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to a boil. In the first, she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil, without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She then pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.

Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me, what do you see?"

"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.

She brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. She then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, she asked her to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma.

The daughter then asked, "What does it mean, Mother?"

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity -- boiling water -- but each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But, after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

"Which are you?" she asked her daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?"

Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity? Do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and a hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor of your life. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hours are the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate to another level?

How do you handle adversity? Are you changed by your surroundings or do you bring life, flavor, to them?

ARE YOU A CARROT, AN EGG, OR A COFFEE BEAN?

My Top 5 Blogger Inspirations

My blog just turned two! Yaheeyyy! :) And for my anniversary, I'm sharing my top five bloggers who inspired me to start my own online journal, too. And not only in writing that they've moved me. Their lives demonstrate that of a fabulous woman - chic, elegant, dreamers, goal-getters, happy!

1. Patty Laurel

2. Bianca Gonzales

3. Daphne Osena - Paez

4. Laureen Uy

5. The Sole Sisters

Visit their blogs and be inspired to get to blogging, too! Have a fabulous life fabulous woman!

Cebu's Finest Hotels

I had a glimpse of some of Cebu's first class hotels. And this is a big thing for me! I've never stayed in a 5-star hotel before because... 1) I don't have to and 2) I don't need to. And though, I'd love to, I can't due to financial constraints :) Thus, a tour on these hotels is truly special!

I felt and breathed every moment knowing that I was on the same room as someone I admire who stayed in that hotel, sitting on the same chair, climbing the same stair, cooking in the same kitchen, reading the same magazine, opening the same door, riding on the same elevator, seeing the same stars, being under the same moon, and existing in the same world. Haha! Talk about exaggeration.

I may not have stayed over night but it was still a night :) We should have toured during the day because the sun gives a better view than the moon does. I'm talking about the outside view. But the lights are magnificent at night. (Of course, Ems! Why do you have to turn on the lights during the day. -Save Mother Earth Movement)..Ooops! Nevertheless, it was such a..... uhhhmmm... experience! :) Thank you Kuya Bong for taking us there!

1) Shangrila's Mactan Resort and Spa

2) Plantation Bay

3) Movenpick Resort and Spa

4) Marco Polo