An Ideal Woman

During our CLE class a while ago, we witnessed the life of a young and ordinary - yet special- girl named Maria Goretti. She lived an imperfect life, just like all of us. But through all her troubles and breakdowns, she never failed to look up to God for prayer and to seek the brighter side of everything. One can call her the 'ideal' woman-a perfect example of someone who values her virginity or in other words she valued herself, being a woman. She respects herself, whoever she may be, and everyone in clodse ties with her and her family. She has great compassion for everybody, even the person who was responsible for her death. She forgave him before she died and even said that she would take him to heaven with her. See? How nice to hear something like this from a 12 year old. This teaches us to possess a forgiving and compassionate heart. Yes, forgiveness is a process. But everything in this world isn't permanent. Everything will pass. So before it's too late, we should think about forgiving those who have hurt us because first and foremost we are all imperfect. We do make mistakes, but we also do learn from them. Saint Maria Goretti is the patron saint of young women, purity and forgiveness. Here are som pictures from her canonization in 1950:

Crossing Over

I'm going to share the Shakespearean quote I chose to share to class tomorrow:

"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts." - As You Like It

Basically, this quote tells about life's true meaning. The world is like a stage where the play (our lives) occurs. All of us are the characters and we play the game of life. We have our beginnings and endings, breakdowns and breakthroughs, we live and we die. Just one blink, and anything can happen. A play can either be a tragedy, comedy, or whatever. Our lives are full of relentless drama, full of emotions in other words. A person can choose his own path and direction. Where he would decide to go is his choice. Choices. We can choose to be a good person (the hero of the play) or we can lead a dark and shaky life by becoming the evil one (the villain). We have different characteristics. At first we were cute little babies then the next moment we forget everything brought about by old age. But that's how life really is. We begin. We live. We end.

Tour It With Me

Last Saturday, Reine and I had an adventurous escapade. After she finished her Spanish class, we met up at McDonald's Atrium to discuss our Journalism project which is to take pictures of anything we see that violates the proper English grammar/vocabulary. We set off on our mission excitedly with beaming smiles. Never did it cross our mind how tiring and time-consuming it would be. Not to mention how scorching hot it was! Because we were very eager to get it over with, we didn't have time to be embarrassed or bothered by all the stares and snickers following us. Eventually, we managed to survive amidst all those distractions. Yey! But eventhough we had our troubles and complaints, we also felt the glorious feeling of accomplishment, relief and fulfillment. AND, we had a great laugh too! People are so careless yet funny sometimes.

My Number One Fan

Today's Sunday and I went to church with my family this morning. The gospel was about the Prodigal Son/Lost Son. This story is not new to me so I paid less attention to the priest. But I clearly remeber one significant thing he said about fathers. He said:

"Your father is someone you'll look up to no matter how tall you've grown."

One day we would realize that no matter how much we've changed or how big or rich we've become, our lives and all the success and failures that goes along with it are shaped by the sacrifices and love our fathers (and mothers, too!) have showered upon us. Now I understand why a father finds it hard to let his 'baby girl' go.

I love you, Dad and I'm very blessed you are mine :)

Move over, Ice Cream. Fro-Yo's back!

I absolutely love Frozen Yogurt. Whatever flavor it may be, with toppings or without. Period. Last summer, when we went to Manila to visit my dad, I made sure I got a piece, a scoop or just even a smell of Fro-Yo. If there was one place memorable to me in Manila, it would be the Fro-Yo shops. At that time, there was still no franchising business of it here in Iloilo. But surprise, surprise! I just ate my beloved fro-yo 4 hours ago. Ha! Unbelievable. I was just about to go home when suddenly I stopped to look at something smiling at me. Well, I felt it was inviting me in. Weird, I know. Ha ha. I was just so shocked to see that, ah at last, someone was selling it here in Iloilo too. So, no worries. My long, devastating days are finally OVER.

Okay, so to give you more background about Frozen Yogurt, or "Fro-Yo", here are some fast facts of the Yogurt Craze which gives Ice Cream, its closest competition, a run for its money:

• Aside from its heavenly taste, its actually very nutritious. So better watch out Ice Cream!
• Helps to overcome lactose intolerance
• Aids digestion of milk protein
• Helps prevent and combat digestive tract infections
• The possibility that yogurt can help boost the immune system
• An indication that yogurt may be useful in lowering serum cholesterol
• Yogurt's potential in the prevention and management of certain cancers

In addition, yogurt is a good source of…
• Protein
• Calcium
• Potassium
• The vitamins B12 and Riboflavin

This begins a whole new war - Ice Cream vs. Frozen Yogurt. Which side are you on?

It Runs in the Family

Have you heard about Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh's unique and eccentric family tree? I haven't either, until I saw this article about him in Reader's Digest while I was scanning through looking for something to read. Be prepared for what's in his family tree:

Vincent's dizzy aunt - Verti Gogh
His brother who ate prunes - Gotta Gogh
His grandfather from Yugoslavia - U Gogh
His magician uncle - Where-diddy Gogh
His Mexican cousin - Ah Mee Gogh
His constipated uncle - Can't Gogh
His ballroom dancing aunt - Tang Gogh
His bird-loving uncle - Flamin' Gogh
His fruit-loving cousin - Man Gogh
His litlle bouncy nephew - Poe Gogh
And his sidter who loved disco - Go Gogh
His aunt who taught positive thinking - Way-to-Gogh
His nephew who drove a stagecoach - Wells-far Gogh
His Mexican cousin's American half-brother - Gring Gogh
His brother who worked at a convenience store - Stop 'n' Gogh

Latte, anyone?

Seriously?!

A certain tv show becomes a hit when you know it begins to leave a mark. Oh wait, scratch that. A McMark rather.

Seriously, I never thought I'd be hooked and addicted (ugh. I hate to say the word!) to a TV series like this-a medical show I used to think was boring and a complete waste of time. But, guess what? I'm wrong! Grey's Anatomy IS one of my favorite shows or probably is my ONLY one because firstly, I don't watch TV shows that much and second, I'm not really the sort of person who goes all crazy when I miss an episode of Glee or Agua Bendita. But when it comes to Grey's, I just don't know :D All thanks to Mocca :)

One reason why I certainly adore this show is because I share the same passion with the characters which is medicine. I'm dreaming of becoming a doctor when I grow up so watching them perform such tasks perks up my interest. Aside from the fact that it's an easy-to-like show because of its wittiness and sexiness, their catch-phrases also catch my attention. This was called the "McLabeling trend".

First in the list would be Derek Shepherd, who is popularly known as "McDreamy". This title couldn't get any better because he really is a heartthrob. Any girl would surely be smitten just by staring at those dreamy eyes. We also have Dr. Mark Sloan or "McSteamy" (Don't ask me why), McVet, McHot, McVomit, McDog and many more.

Another famous legacy of Grey's would be "Seriously." This makes the questions and statements made by the actors more emphatetic and funny. Because the characters often overuse this word, viewers and avid fans made this a part of their vocabulary. Seriously, I'm no exemption.