fulfilled

I feel so fulfilled right now.

(1)I've placed labels for all my blog entries from the first one I've ever written to now. haha. Just wanted to share.
(2)read more than 80 pages of Les Miserables today. :D
(3)finished editing write-ups of sections assigned to me. 1 section na lang di nagpapass.
(4)done w/ yearbook table of contents
(5)done w/ praisefest planning pero may practice pa

//I know. There's lots more to do. But at least I'm making some progress. :D Thank you Lord.

ILC '07

SPREAD THE WORD!

14th ILC

April 13-15, 2007

@ Naga City Sports Complex, Pacol, Naga City, Camarines Sur.

800php discounted early registration until Feb. 2, 2007

1000php regular reg deadline is on March 5, 2007

See you there and let us all be HEROES for God and our country!

The greatest gift

We all know that Jesus is the greatest gift we have all received this Christmas season. So this is about the second greatest gift we - the entire Ligunas family (my dad's & his brothers' families, my grandmother & a distant grandaunt) - received this Christmas.

We were already at our room at Discovery Suites last Dec. 24 when Tito Vonn, a cousin of my dad's from the States , whom they invited to join us arrived. Everybody was happy to see him since he hasn't come home for 6 years. But that's not the gift.

Around that time, my tito/ninong, who went out for a while, came back with a letter. It was a letter from Discovery Suites saying that Santa Claus was going to go to our room at 8 in the evening. It said that the Santa was deaf and mute so it was part of a fund-raising thing. My grandmother and younger cousins got excited.
At 8 in the evening, Santa arrived. He was wearing a mop as his beard and hair. We were all called out from our rooms to the sala so that we could take a picture with him. But instead of the kids getting excited, some of them got scared and didn't want to approach santa. :p

Since Santa was deaf and mute, he brought flash cards with him so that he could communicate with us. But first, he gave an envelope saying "Love Offering (Min: P50.00)" Ang kapal ni Santa. lol. Pero in fairness, ang baba ng minimum.

Then, these are what transpired (The contents of Santa's flash card are contained in quotation marks(" "). We read all of those aloud for fun and since some of my cousins don't know how to read yet):

"Ho! Ho! Ho!"
"Merry Christmas"
(conversation with 2 of my cousins)
Juno: baka si Tito Lloyd yan //my uncle who was out because he had a gig
Me: hindi! bingi yan e.
*gets the letter then shows it to them*
(end of conversation)
"Are you Happy..."
Us: Yes!!!
Tita Catchy: Kilala ko yang sulat na yan ha.
"With Your Face?" //Bingi nga siya db?!
(conversation with my mom)
Me: Mommy, bingi yan e.
Mommy: Hindi. si tito law na yata yan. // Tito law is my dad's brother who has been in the States for the past 3 years.
Me: Sure ka?
(end of conversation)
"Do you know WHO I AM? Hint: SANTA CL_ _ _"
Us: Santa Claus!
My Dad: Santa Clara. //corny. haha.
"My name is SANTA CLOWN."
*people laugh*
"I am a MOP HEAD Specialist. (by PROFESSION)"
*laughter again*
"I am the current commander of the North Pole MOP SQUAD"
"I can grant one very special wish for Christmas..."
"What do you wish for?"
Tita Catchy: I wish for my husband. //Tita Catchy is tito law's wife.
"But first do you want me to dance?"
Tito Vonn: Michael Jackson?
*Santa nods.* //I'm like: I thought that guy was deaf. Inuuto naman kami nito e. Baka nga tito ko talaga yan. *Santa dances*
"Ok, now here is my gift for you... Are you ready?"
"(1)Get one envelope each. (2)Do not open yet. (3)We'll open all at the same time. Ready???"
*envelopes are distributed* //I told my mom: Pano niya naman nalaman kung gano tayo kadami dito?
"Get Set... => GO!!!"
Luis (my brother): Pera ba to?

Guess what was inside the envelopes...

It was a piece of paper saying: "I'M HOME!!!"

We all started shouting. Santa removed his mop and hat. It was Tito Law. My cousins and tita rushed at him and hugged him. It was a really long hug. 6 out of his 7 children were crying. One of them was only 2 when tito Law left. He was more of shocked. Pano ba naan kasi puting puti yung mukha ni Santa? Then my dad, my lola and of course all of us na rin hugged him. My dad, my lola, my mom, my siblings and I - we were all crying as well.

We were all overwhelmed with joy. The feeling was incomparable. Seeing how happy tito Law was to be back with his family and seeing how glad my cousins and aunt were when they saw tito Law, their tears and all - these were all great. Seeing the family smile and become genuinely happy was just heartwarming. I couldn't even imagine how hard it was for all of them not to see their dad for such a long time and for tito law to miss 3 years of his children's lives. Almost every moment of our stay in Discovery, my uncle was hugging at least one of his children or his wife. I'm just so happy for them.

I have not received a gift greater than this this year. Actually, I haven't received a gift greater than this my entire life.

Turns out my uncle has been home since Friday and was staying at another room in Discovery. Ninong Larry and tito Vonn were the only ones who knew that he was back. They helped plan the surprise. Tita Catchy hasn't been able to sleep well for 3 nights. She felt like Tito Law was coming back. She was crying one night and her children saw her. She had to tell them what she felt. My mom, on the other hand, has told me quite a number of times this month, "Sana isurprise ni tito Law yung family niya this Christmas. Sana umuwi na siya." Galing ng women's intuition no?! When Tita Catchy said "kilala ko yang sulat na yan," my dad started staring at santa's eyes to see if it was tito law. Tito Vonn reminded tito law by signaling him, to avoid eye contact. Tito Vonn told us afterwards that he noticed daddy looking at tito law intently and that he had told tito law beforehand to avoid eye contact because his family knows him.

Tito Law... Welcome back. We are all so happy to see you again. You made all of us, your family, extra happy this year. We missed you. We will always be here praying for you. We know that wherever you are in the world and whatever you decide to do, God will be right beside you, guiding you, and never forsaking you and your family kasi sobrang malakas ka sa kanya. We love you. God bless!

Truly, the family is God's gift to us. They are the people who will never turn their backs away from us. Some might seem like they don't care but they truly do. Because the love that your family gives you doesn't only stem from commitment (something that often gets broken), it comes from your connection (in blood, in genes, in umbilical chord) which can't be taken away and in that bond that God has made in the very beginning among all of you. Let us all treasure our families. They're the people who will never leave your side.

Merry Christmas! :D

Merry Christmas everyone!

As we celebrate the most wonderful season in the year, let's all remember to acknowledge that Christmas is more than the parties, the gifts and suspension of classes. It's about the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, the greatest gift of all.

Merry Christmas to all!!! :D Have a blessed Christmas. Enjoy the time with your family. :D Iput on hold niyo muna ang pagbasa ng Les Miserables. :p.

God bless!!! :D

MM praisefest '06

The Metro Manila praisefest was fun. Ray2, krizelle, nico, garrick, rob, kevin, cecile and miriam were there. Sayang lang hindi ako nakasama sa A3 pero we were beside them naman. haha. Of course, we enjoyed the worhip the most. The middle parts were great too but the sound system wasn't that good kaya hindi namin sobrang naintindihan. Congrats mommy Kiara. she won the 100% pure award. yay! :) And like ray2, there were 2 songs na kinailangan kong kumanta na nagbabasa ng lyrics and may 1 na hindi ko talaga alam at all tas wala pang lyrics. but still we enjoyed it. a great way of ending the year indeed. praising the Lord our God.

To ray2, krizelle, garrick, nico, rob, kevin, cecile & miriam... again, thanks for coming!!! some of the things you said after the praisefest made the day even more wonderful than it already was. :D next time uli. :p

entry 3 of 3: Metro Manila Praisefest

PSHS SCA-YFC!! ...
at kung merong taga Pisay na gusto pumunta kahit hindi ka SCA-YFC :)...

YFC Metro Manila Praisefest
--> Sunday, Dec 17
--> 1-5 pm
--> San Juan Gym basketball court
--> reg fee: 20php

Kung hindi kayo makakapunta straight sa venue, pwede ko kayong sunduin from greenhills. :D Contact me whether you're going straight to San Juan gym, you want me to fetch you from ghills, you need directions or you need help asking permission from your parents. :p

Please come!! Please!! Please!! As part of our gift to Jesus this Christmas, let's attend. Matatapos na yung school year but we haven't been able to attend a big YFC gathering so this is our chance. It would really be great for us to worship the Lord with all the other YFC members in Metro Manila and at the same time mameet din natin sila. There's a whole lot more to the YFC family that we haven't experienced so please!!! attend tayo.

Thanks. Merry Christmas! God bless! :D

entry 2 of 3: press con

Ito yung mga nareceive kong forwarded text messages while waiting for the results of the regionals and after:

11/29 (2 days after press con) from kuya joseph - Sometimes, we put too much passion on the biggest dreams and priorities in life that we fail to love the smallest pleasures from simple things. ...

12/05 (day after awarding) from kuya joseph again - ... The many tasks we face each day can burden & oppress but spending time with God each day can bring relief fro stress. Let us be reminded that in the end, only 3 things matter: how fully you lived, how deeply you loved, and how gracefully you let go of things not eant for you.

12/06 from jami- Be thankful that you don't have everything you desire. If you did, what would there be to look forward to? Be thankful for your limitations because they give you opportunities for improvement, Be thankful for your mistakes. They will teach you valuable lessons. Find a way to be thankful for your troubles and they can become your blessings.

To think na regionals yun, that was probably the worst editorial I ever wrote pero tama na excuses ko. God prepared me and I thank Him for that. Hindi na ako nalungkot pero nasasayangan ako kasi sayang talaga yung opportunity pero finish na yun e and I have to let go. So this will be the last blog entry about me and the depEd secondary schools press conferences. narealize ko na puro tungkol dun lahat ng blog entries ko. haha. :)) the next time i write anything related to the depEd sspc, it will be about jeric, my sister and the sci scho. sana na lang manalo Science Scholar. :D

entry 1 of 3: Mary, did you know?

Thank you Charm. :D Because of you, I now know the song "Mary, Did You Know" :D

Sobrang ganda. To those who don't know the song either because you're not from Pisay and hindi mo pa siya naririnig or taga-Pisay ka pero hindi mo napanood ang presentation ng Charm (kawawa ka naman. :( ), it's a wonderful, wonderful song. I've been listening to it for the past 1 hour and 30 minutes. haha. Yes. It's that nice.

The lyrics (Click on the title to go to the site where I found it. You can listen to the song there too. Better yet download it from wherever you download songs. :D):

Mary, Did You Know?

Mary, did you know
That your baby boy
Would someday walk on water?
Mary did you know
That your baby boy
Will save our sons and daughters?
Did you know
That your baby boy
Has come to make you new?
This child that you've delivered
Will soon deliver you.

Mary did you know
That your baby boy
Will give sight to a blind man?
Mary did you know
That your baby boy
Will calm the storm with his hand?
Did you know that your baby boy
Has walked where angels trod?
When you kiss your little baby
You've kissed the face of God.
The blind will see
The deaf will hear
The dead will live again
The lame will leap
The dumb will speak
The praises of the Lamb

Mary did you know
That your baby boy
Is Lord of all creation?
Mary did you know
That your baby boy
Will one day rule the nations?
Did you know
That your baby boy
Is heaven's perfect Lamb?
This sleeping child you're holding
Is the Great I Am

haay. nakakalungkot.

nakakalungkot na may taong ganito.

Click on this: My comment to the person we don't know.

regionals press con '06

Congratulations to the following people:
Ray2 - 7th place in News Writing
Jerome - 10th place in Pagsulat ng Editoryal
and...
Jeric - 2nd place in Sports Writing (kahit 10 min article ang sinubmit mo)//fisher ka talaga. isama mo kami.

grabe! yeah. end na ng secondary press con careers namin(except jeric, apollo & honey) pero it was so fun. ang galing ni God. instead of being sad, i am more filled with joy and contentment. i'm just thankful i was given the chance to join these contests, which helped build up confidence in myself and in the way i write and taught me to look deeper into every story. ang news, hindi lang kung ano yung nasasagot ng 4 w's and 1 h. ito ay may masmalalim na kahulugan dahil ito ay may epekto sa buhay ng mga tao. haha. :D

also, i'd like to congratulate my previous school:
mandee - 3rd in news writing, 1st in editorial writing (pahingi naman ng 1 slot. lol.), highest pointer, most outstanding journalist. //grabe! galing!
kat kam - 2nd in copyreading & headline writing
kat lucas - 1st in feature writing
meryl (my sister!!! :p) - 7th in sports writing. //2nd year pa lang yan. :D
St. Paul College, Pasig - highest school pointer
*applause*

Praise God!!! :D