Cary – Page 2 – No Ordinary Day

Day 21. How would you pitch a reality show about yourself? To what network?

I’m not sure if I get this question right so I’ll just try to answer this question from the top of my mind.

There’s this reality show that I used to watch back in my childhood days. It’s called Extra Challenge, a local TV program in our country, and was hosted by news anchor Paolo Bediones and former Ms. Universe Runner-Up Miriam Quiambao. The show was a reality competition that features local celebrities who were tasked to complete a certain extreme challenge such as jumping on the river from a bridge, eating exotic food like roasted beetles, among others. I used to love that show because I find it amusing to see the different reactions of the participants before and after completing a cerain task.

If I were to pitch a reality show about myself, I think I would choose something similar to this debunked TV program. I want to try doing things that I would never dare to do so this program is a good venue for that. As to what network, I would choose the local network with least number of viewers so that only few people will watch it. ?

Week 1: A song from Your Childhood

Welcome to our first week of the challenge!

I got pressured by Lynai’s Week 1 post so here’s mine (haha!). I don’t know why but I remember this is one of my favorite songs back in my elementary days. My older relative introduced it to me and taught me the lyrics and I’ve never forgotten this song up until now.

Yesterday’s Dream

We are the children of yesterday’s dream
We are the promise of the future we bring
Waving the banners of love to all
To every nation, the rich and the poor

Refrain:

We are the world of the restless and young
And we need a hand to guide us
Helping each other
Build each other
As long as we’re together you and me

Chorus:
For together we stand, divided we fall
Together we climb to the top of the world
We can be what we what for the world to see
That we are the children of yesterday’s dream

We have the yearning to do what is best
Be someone special from all the rest
Nation and brothers in unity
Building tomorrow for you and for me

Why I No Longer Consider Myself a Hardcore Environmentalist

Okay, before you make any violent reaction, let me tell you first that I still do believe that we should take care of the environment. First, because it is a God-given mandate to all human beings to be stewards of God’s creation. And second, because the state of our environment can really affect the state of our well-being.

Last Friday, I attended a meeting and was glad to see my former officemate there. We used to work together in an environmental NGO and we’re still both working in the field of environmental conservation and sustainable development. After our usual ‘catching up’ conversation, our topic went back to work-related stuff. Then we suddenly shifted to talking about our future plans and my friend expressed his frustrations and disappointments about development work and the quality of life here in Manila. He confessed that what he really wants is just to stay in the province and live a simple and stress-free life. He also shared that sometimes, he can’t help but wonder what’s the point of doing all these environment-related work when we know that God will destroy this planet in the end? This friend of mine is also a Christian so I said I agree with him and share the same sentiment. I told him that sometimes, I also ask God if what we are doing are really worth the effort since this world is not really meant to stay forever.

My friend further shared that out of frustration, he even asks God when will the rapture be, just so because we all wanted these frustrating things in the world to end. The meeting was about to start so we ended our conversation there.

Our discussion was actually short but for me, it was meaningful and comforting because it was really nice to know that there are still people out there who share my views about environment and development work. As a Christian who is working in the development sector, it is really a struggle for me to stay passionate about my work because I know that no matter what I do, my output will never have a lasting value. Yes, it can contribute in making the lives of the people comfortable for a while, but later on, seemingly new problems and issues will arise. I said seemingly new because, the emerging issues are not actually new as the root of most problems is the same ~~ SIN. As what the teacher in Ecclesiastes says,

What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.
Is there anything of which one can say,
“Look! This is something new”?
It was here already, long ago;
it was here before our time.
(Ecclesiastes 1:9‭-‬10 NIV)

“Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher.
“Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”
(Ecclesiastes 1:2 NIV)

Unless we address the cause of the problem of this world, everything will be meaningless.

The good news is, God has already addressed the problem of SIN by sending His Son, Jesus. And with Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection, we can now overcome the world by His power, if we will also allow Him to rule our life. So as Christians, we can always escape the corruption of this world by holding on to God’s promises.

Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. (2 Peter 1:4 NIV)

Just to make sure that I get the point, God gave me this Word the following day:

The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;(Psalm 24:1 NIV)

The commentary in the Bible I am using for my quiet time said that because “the earth is the Lord’s”, we are all stewards or caretakers. We should be committed to the proper management of this world and its resources. However, we are not to become devoted to anything created or act as sole proprietor because this world will pass away.

In conclusion, the environment and its resources were given to us by God for our own use and enjoyment. As stewards, we are expected to use these resources wisely. However, we should not also hold on to these resources too tightly, as if it is more important than humanity itself, because God will someday make this world disappear. My earthly work is important, but winning souls is far more important and more fulfilling because it has eternal value.

{Book Review}: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine (Gail Honeyman)

Title: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
Author: Gail Honeyman
Date Read: August 3-19, 2017
Rating: ★★★★

SUMMARY:

Meet Eleanor Oliphant: She struggles with appropriate social skills and tends to say exactly what she’s thinking. Nothing is missing in her carefully timetabled life of avoiding social interactions, where weekends are punctuated by frozen pizza, vodka, and phone chats with Mummy.

Then everything changes when Eleanor meets Raymond, the bumbling and deeply unhygienic IT guy from her office. When she and Raymond together save Sammy, an elderly gentleman who has fallen on the sidewalk, the three become the kinds of friends who rescue one another from the lives of isolation they have each been living–and it is Raymond’s big heart that will ultimately help Eleanor find the way to repair her own profoundly damaged one.

MY THOUGHTS:

I have always enjoyed reading, but I’ve never been sure how to select appropriate material. There are so many books in the world—how do you tell them all apart? How do you know which one will match your tastes and interests? That’s why I just pick the first book I see. There’s no point in trying to choose. The covers are of very little help, because they always say only good things, and I’ve found out to my cost that they’re rarely accurate.

These words of Eleanor Oliphant pretty sum up how I came across to this book. For the past few months, I’ve been disappointed with myself for not reading enough as I have promised earlier this year (simply because too much Kdrama, haha!). And then 2 weeks ago, this book popped up in my recommended reading list in Goodreads and the summary piqued my interest. I’ve always been a fan of stories with introverted and eccentric characters and I have a feeling that Eleanor Oliphant is one of them. So I decided to try this one. True enough, Eleanor is truly an interesting and relatable character.

At first I thought this is a funny book, but as I follow Eleanor’s routine as described in the story, I realized that her life is far from funny. While I understand why she thinks that she is completely fine from her perspective, I can’t also help but feel sad for her for having that kind of lifestyle. I know very well how does it feel living alone, and it’s true that it can get lonely sometimes even if I don’t admit it. Though unlike Eleanor, I have life outside my work and my home, and I have a lot of friends and people to whom I can talk to, so being lonely is not a perpetual thing for me. That is why I can only imagine how hard it is for Eleanor to bear all that emotions she had been bottling up for years.

Overall, I really liked reading this book because it has provided a balanced combination of wit, humor and drama. I also liked how the author pulled the story together in such a way that I did not get disappointed in the end. After all, I’m still a fan of redemptive ending. As what Eleanor has said, “In the end, what matters is this: I survived.”

P.S. Special thanks to Lynai for agreeing to buddy-read this book with me. Indeed, reading is more fun when you’re doing it with someone else. ?

I’m Keeping You at Arm’s Length

I’m keeping you at arm’s length
Because it’s the right thing to do,
Because I believe it’s not yet the appointed time.
I’m not even sure if I’m making the right judgment.
I’m keeping you at arm’s length
Because I don’t want things to get messy.
Closer means risky and risk unguarded can lead to disaster.
I’m keeping you at arm’s length
Because I’m busy,
I’m busy trying to get my life together
And keep it from falling apart.
I’m keeping you at arm’s length
Because I’m not bold enough
And I don’t want to get vulnerable.
I’m afraid that by holding you close,
I might end up pushing you away.
I’m keeping you at arm’s length
Because that’s the only way I can keep you.

Day 20. Describe your most difficult breakup and what you learned from it

As someone who’s NBSB (no boyfriend since birth), I don’t think I can say much about this topic. But for the sake of finishing this challenge (my gosh Cary, it’s so long overdue!!), let me try again.

As earlier said, break up is a foreign experience to me. I think the closest thing to break up that I’ve experienced was when I learned that ex-office crush and I will no longer be officemates. I was depressed for about a week because of that. Would that count as difficult breakup?! ???

Kidding aside, if there’s one thing that I’m thankful for God, it is the blessing of keeping me from the painful experience of romantic breakups. He is so faithful in honoring my prayer to keep and guard my heart until I’m ready for a lifetime commitment. I know that heartaches and painful experiences can teach us some very import lessons so I really admire those people who are not afraid to try and fall in love over and over again even if they can end up hurting in the end. But I also believe that sometimes, we don’t need to learn some important lessons through first-hand experience. We can learn from the success and even mistakes of others. So I never considered entering into a romantic relationship just for the sake of experience.

Okay, next question please…

1st Quarter 2017 Higlights

Earlier this year, I’ve made a resolve to keep a record of the best things that will happen to me this year. Since it’s April already, it’s time to post my 1st quarter highlights.

JANUARY

Parent’s 30th Wedding Anniversary Celebration
My 29th Birthday Celebration
FPE’s 25th Anniversary
Random Food Trip with Officemates

FEBRUARY

AFFS-NCR Anniversary Celebration
AFFS-UPLB Grand Alumni Homecoming
Valentine’s Day Celebration
UP Fair 2017
Colourpop Bonding with Laslas Girls

MARCH

Iloilo/Antique trip for work (Including meet-up with Lynai)
Dipolog trip
Isaw food trip with Ingga and Sheryl
Reunion with highschool friends
Short portmanteau meet-up
New ministry
Cousins’ Birthday celebration
Natural Capital Accounting Conference
New apartment (yep, I’m moving out soon.yay!)

Indeed, God is always on the move and I’m looking forward to new and exciting things that God will do in the next few months. Praise the Lord! ?

Will I Ever Fall for a Beast?

So yesterday, I finally gave in to the hype and watched the classic Beauty and the Beast. I love the story of Beauty and the Beast because it teaches us the lesson of not looking at the outer appearance to see the worth and beauty of a person, but to look for the beauty within. Stories like Beauty and the Beast and The Little Prince, where the famous line “what is essential is invisible to the eyes” came from, are just examples of the tools that strengthened my mindset that physical appearance is unimportant.

As I was watching how the love story between Belle and Beast progresses in the movie, especially in the part where they are singing “Something There,” I can’t help but wonder, is this really what true love is? Does it really start with nothing (or disgust in the case of Belle), and then you will discover a small part of a person’s character that you’ll find beautiful, and slowly it will grow into something more, until you will see nothing but the beauty of the character of the person? Or isn’t it something that starts with physical attraction, like a beautiful smile or eyes, and then you will feel your stomach flutter and your heart beat faster than usual when you’re around that person you feel attracted to?

Though I always say that character is more important to me than physical appearance, I think I still prefer the second type of love story. I want my future love story to start with physical attraction, and later I will also discover his beauty within. I’m holding on to the truth that God is gracious to give me a man with a godly character whom I also find physically attractive. I want a prince through and through, so maybe for now, I’ve decided not to settle for a prince clothed in a beast’s clothing but to wait for that prince who’s a valiant knight on a noble steed.

Day 19. What is something about you that people would be surprised to learn

I actually don’t know what to share for this post. But thanks to the interesting lunch conversation I had with my office yesterday, I now have an idea what to write.

Lunch time with officemates is one the things I look forward to everyday, lately. I praise God that He restored my relationships with the people in the office that I am now enjoying the time I spent with them. So yesterday, we were having our usual meal time chat and out of the blue, we ended up talking about love life and dating apps like Tinder. And then another officemate shared about her experience in using Tinder, which also made me confess that I also tried installing and exploring the app before. I told them that I installed the app out of curiosity and also because my friends and I were talking about. After a few swipes to the right and a number of swipes to the left, I concluded that Tinder will never work for me. Because one, I am judgmental and all that when it comes to display pictures; and two, I’m not interested in starting a random chat with a stranger. So in the end, I deleted my account and uninstalled the app in my phone.

When I shared this incident to my officemates, one of them was surprised that I have tried Tinder. Knowing my preference and standards, they have never suspected me that I will install Tinder in my phone.

Anyway, so at the end of our lunchbreak, we ended up installing Tinder in our phones for some demo. After a few swipes, I decided to uninstall the app again because I really find it scary talking to random strangers.

Day 18. If you could have a conversation with yourself in high school, what would you say?

This question is quite related to my previous post in my letter to my past, present, and future self. My previous letter was addressed to my 15-year-old self. I was in the 4th year of high school back then. So, for this challenge, let me go back a year earlier to have a conversation with my 14-year-old self in my 3rd year in high school. I actually don’t know what to say to my younger self because I can’t remember anymore what my issues were back then. So let me try again…

“Hey, Cary! I saw that. I know what, or perhaps who, you are looking at from this window.”

“Who are you?!”

“It doesn’t matter, but I know you’re staring at that guy with the blue shoes. Maybe you’re also secretly praying that you’ll share the same ride on your way back home, later.”

“How did you know that?”

“Well, been there, done that. I’m sorry to tell you, but what you’re hoping for is never going to happen, and that’s okay.”

“What about our prom next year? Isn’t he going to ask me to dance?”

“Duh, as if you care about dancing.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I don’t.”

“But don’t worry, you’ll not end up in the all-girls section next year. Your cool adviser will find a partner for you. Anyway, that’s not the reason why I came all the way back to this distant past and brought some news about your prom. I came here to tell you a very important message, and I hope you will listen carefully.

I know you’re now starting to get anxious and feel that you don’t seem to fit in. Maybe you also feel weird that you don’t have that someone you can call a best friend. It’s okay. You’ll get by with a little help from your close friends. You are a strong girl, so you won’t need a constant somebody to lean on, especially in this current chapter of your life. Just cherish the happy moments with your high school friends because that will be the only thing that will hold you together later in life. Don’t also feel bad that no one is romantically pursuing you right now. You will thank God later for that because it will spare you from a lot of heartaches.”

“Who says that I want to be in a relationship right now?! My priority is my studies. I’m too young for that!”

“I know. But believe me, later you’ll feel envious of your classmates who have secret admirers, and you will feel insecure and unloved. So you have to keep this in mind: you are beautiful, and you are loved. So stay bubbly and carefree as you are.”

“Thanks, I think I need that. Though I still don’t understand what you are saying.”

“Later you will understand. Sorry, I have to go. You will hear again from me soon.”