He’s the reason why I sing.

It’s about 9:44 on a Saturday morning and I’ve been here at work for at least an hour. It’s quite slow this morning so I thought I’d just check in and update.

Last Thursday evening, I went to a “send-off” dinner for the FSBM College & Career mission team that’s leaving this Sunday night. We all met up at a Chinese restaurant somewhere in downtown L.A. Not everyone from the team made it however, but it was nice to spend time with those who were there and just enjoy each other’s company before they leave. I’m very excited for them, I wish I could go but due to circumstances I can’t. *sigh* Maybe in a couple of years. Anyway, please keep them in your prayers. Pray that they grow in their spiritual walk through this experience (since for most of them, it will be their first time going on a mission’s trip). Pray that God will use their testimony to reach out those who are unsaved and that the people will see the love of God through them. And last but not the least, pray for their safety.

Yesterday was my cousin Joyce’s birthday (HAPPY BIRTHDAY ATE!). We’re supposed to be having dinner tonight but I don’t have the details as to where and what time it will be. So, I’m not sure if I’ll be able to make it due to time constraints and distance since I’m going to be at my boss’ party in San Dimas, which is quite a drive, this afternoon after work and I’m not sure if I could just slip in and out of the party. We’ll see how it pans out. I might just have to catch up with the cousins later on tonight.

Anyway, I should get back to work. I’ll post more later when I’m awake.

Last night’s Bible study convicted me. God has an amazing way letting you know that there are certain things in your life that you need to face. We were talking about gossip last night and how that destroys the unity of the body of Christ. I am guilty of gossiping, whether I am aware of it at the time I’m doing it or not. I’m sure that all of us, at one point or another, have been guilty of it as well. I know that it has hurt people that I cared about and for that I am truly sorry. Although it may seem like I was doing it out of frustration at the time, what I realize now is that I was doing it from a place of selfishness, a place of pride, to make myself look better than everyone else. That’s where it all boils down to, doesn’t it? Wanting to look better than someone else. But it’s completely opposite of what the Bible teaches. One verse comes to mind and it’s Mark 10:43a-44,

“43aBut whoever would be great among you must be your servant,44 and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.”

Selflessness. It’s such a hard thing, to be selfless, not to look out for #1, and not to step on and kick everyone while they’re down in the process. Looking back, I think that I was a very horrible person. I was inconsiderate and judgmental. What did I gain from it? Nothing!!! It didn’t do me any good, and it certainly hurt people that I love.

I just pray that God would continue to change me everyday and renew my mind. I pray that He would continue to kill my selfishness, and to be loving and considerate of others, especially my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. I pray that I become more aware of my conversations and my speech, and avoid and put a stop to gossip when I am confronted with it.

Before I forget – Peej, thanks for the text message last night. Thanks for the reminder. I thank God for your friendship.

Oooh, looky here…

This is our little Wednesday Bible study group. You may be wondering why there are 2 “Buzz Lightyears” in the background. That’s supposed to be Erwin and Garnett. They both work at Disneyland™ and they both work as characters there, mostly as Buzz Lightyear.

Went to Ralph’s birthday party last Saturday.  Had a great time just hanging out with the kids (yes, kids).  Everyone was trying to one-up the other, servin’ up laughs.  Too bad I missed out on Josh and Ralph’s “cinematic” reunion complete with a roll on the grass!  Where was a camcorder when you need one?!  Anyway, thanks for having us at your par-tay, Ralphaeus.  Oooh, I just came up with that one right now, you like?  LOL You have to wear that shirt with pride and dignity!  And let us know how many times you win that “rock, paper, scissors” game, k?  LOL  One thing I have learned from that evening, “Conan was hot in 1997 and he’s still hot in 2004!!!”  And this comment came from the male contingent at the party…I think I’m going to shoot myself in the mouth now (got that from Babie).  LOL 

Anyway, yesterday was Nini and Lisette’s birthday party.  Went over to their house in El Monte and had Magic Mic karaoke and some good grub. 

Saw “The Bourne Supremacy” tonight.  It was excellente’.  The big car chase was insane!  Karl Urban (the baddie, a.k.a. Eomer from LOTR) looked hot!  LOL  And yes, I still have that crush on Matt Damon.   

Well, that’s all folks. I think I’m going to go get some sleep now. Nite nite.

Recap from yesterday…

Went to work in the a.m….left early…Prel and I picked up Babie from work…met up with Jer and Jo…went to Westwood Park…Jer surprised us with a tea party for lunch at the park…fabulous!…Went to Fowler Museum at UCLA to view the photo exhibit on Filipino-American history…walked around Westwood…got my Starbucks™ …Babie, Jer & Jo got Diddy Riese’s…checked out Urban…drove out to South Pas…went to Pas for sushi at Kabuki…went home…slept.

Today’s my first Saturday back here at work. I’m wishing that I’m still in bed right now, sleepin’ away. It’s okay, Starbucks™ and loverly vocal harmonies from m-pact are keeping me awake right now.

Well, what else do I want to say? Of course, God is good and He sustains me with His grace. God bless you all today.

Going to go see this photo exhibit tomorrow with Prel, Jer and Babie. It’d be interesting to find out the history of Filipino-Americans when they actually first settled in this country.

Through My Father’s Eyes:
The Filipino American Photographs of Ricardo Ocreto Alvarado
June 6, 2004 to August 1, 2004
Los Angeles showing co-presented by the UCLA Fowler Museum, the UCLA Asian American Studies Center, and the Filipino American Library, Los Angeles
Filipino Americans are one of this nation’s largest and fastest-growing Asian American ethnic groups, yet their history in this country is not well known. Through My Father’s Eyes is a rare collection of fifty-one b/w photographs taken by Ricardo Alvarado (1914-1976) in Northern California during the 1940s and 50s. Selected from more than 3,000 negatives, these affectionate images of ordinary people at work and at play— including in shops, on the farm, at birthday parties, family dinners, weddings, and community dances— provide an intimate view of Filipino life and history in the United States.

This exhibition is curated by Janet Alvarado, the photographer’s daughter, and Franklin Odo, director of the Smithsonian Asian Pacific Program. Created by the Alvarado Project, it was developed by the Smithsonian Institution Asian Pacific American Project in collaboration with the National Museum of American History, Behring Center, and circulated by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES). Additional support has been provided by FedEx and a circle of friends. Local support provided by the Wells Fargo Foundation, the Countrywide Foundation, and the Filipino American National Historical Society, Los Angeles.

Went to see I, Robot last Monday night with my cousins, aunt and uncle.  Interesting movie.  Weird, but interesting.  Still can’t figure out what the heck happened at the end.  Maybe I didn’t pay attention much.  I mean, how could I?  Will Smith was on screen the whole time!  LOL If you’re a sci-fi buff and/or and Isaac Asimov fan, go check it out and let me know what you think. 

Was browsing through this a cappella site, Mainely A Cappella and just checking out the latest in contemporary a/c music and stumbled upon mp3’s of this vocal group from Denmark (yes, Denmark, LOL) called baSix.  Wonderful stuff.  I love the lead singer’s voice. 

I’m currently listening to When It Snows by the Blenders.  *sigh*  I know it’s not Christmas, but for some reason, I’m on an a cappella kick today.  Oh well. Such a nerd, eh? Cheeky.

1 NAME YOU GO BY:
Aura

1 NAME YOU GO BY ONLINE:
achau211

1 NAME YOU MOST LIKE TO BE CALLED:
Achau (pronounced “AH-chow”)

1 NAME THAT IS FOR EXCLUSIVE USE OF JUST ONE OR A FEW PEOPLE:
Bubba – only babies and little kids can call me this. (i.e. Nevaeh)

1 THING YOU’RE GOOD AT:
Singing

1 THING YOU’RE BAD AT:
Crafts

1 RANDOM PERSON YOU KNOW:
April

1 RANDOM THING YOU’D LIKE TO DO TO/WITH THAT PERSON:
See our fave a cappella groups together

1 FRIEND YOU’D LIKE TO SEE:
Neva!

1 WORD YOU CAN ASSOCIATE WITH SAID FRIEND:
Loving

1 FRIEND FROM THE OPPOSITE SEX:
PJ

1 REASON WHY THOUGHT OF HIM/HER:
Because he’s an awesome brother in Christ

1 FOOD YOU CAN EAT FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE:
Sinigang!

1 THING YOU’RE AFRAID OF:
Drowning?

1 THING YOU LOVE TO DO:
Sing

1 THING YOU’RE INTERESTED IN:
Music

1 DOMESTIC ANIMAL YOU’D LIKE TO HAVE AS A PET:
Dog

1 WILD ANIMAL YOU’D LIKE TO HAVE AS A PET:
Elephant – haha!

1 GAME YOU LIKE TO PLAY:
Monopoly

1 COMPUTER, ETC. GAME YOU LIKE TO PLAY:
The Sims!

1 QUOTE YOU LIVE BY:
”The chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever.” – John Piper, Desiring God

1 PERSONAL MOTTO YOU LIVE BY:
”Just do it.” LOL

1 COLOR YOU LIKE YOUR THINGS TO BE COLORED WITH:
Pink

1 COLOR YOU LIKE TO WEAR:
Pink

1 RANDOM NUMBER:
7

1 BOOK YOU’D LIKE TO READ:
’War and Peace’ – one day I will conquer this beast of literature by Tolstoy

1 BOOK YOU’VE FINISHED AND LIKED:
’The Lord of the Rings’ by J.R.R. Tolkien – duh! LOL

1 BOOK YOU’VE FINISHED AND HATED:
’The Apology’ by Plato – because it’s such a hard, freakin’ read! LOL

1 MOVIE YOU LOVE:
’The Lord of the Rings’

1 MOVIE YOU HATE:
’Unbreakable’ – I didn’t exactly hate it, I just thought it was lame. LOL

1 SONG YOU LOVE:
’I Can Only Imagine’ by Mercy Me

1 SONG YOU HATE:
’I’m not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman’ by Britney Spears – make up your mind!

1 ACTOR YOU’D LIKE TO MEET:
Dude, must this question really be asked? LOL Well, it’s a toss-up between Orlando Bloom and Viggo Mortensen (both have to be in costume as their famous characters, however…ROFL)

1 ACTRESS YOU’D LIKE TO MEET:
Catherine Zeta-Jones – look, I ain’t gonna hate, the woman is beautiful.

Man, where do I even begin?! God truly blessed our efforts! We were able to collect a little over $2500 last Saturday, and contributions are still coming! It was quite an exhausting and very long day, but it was all worth it in the end. Thank you for those of you who came and supported our vision. I hope that you were blessed.

There were a few minor glitches with the technical stuff but overall the concert went pretty smoothly. One of our monitors blew out, so we were having a hard time hearing ourselves, so I’m sure we were flat on some of the songs, but that didn’t really matter at all because I could just tell that God was going to glorify Himself despite those glitches.

A few highlights for me were: ‘Adonai’ – Christine crying and almost losing composure. She poured her heart out and I definitely knew right there and then that people were going to understand our vision. But she was a trooper and was able to sing her solo without a hitch and that just completely blessed me. I think that moment captured the spirit of the evening. My most favorite moment though was singing ‘God is All Around’ unplugged – just Erwin on the acoustic guitar and Tubie on the djembe’. It was incredible.

The band sounded great! Tubie did a great job getting the band together. I appreciate all the efforts and sacrifices that they made to rehearse and putting their hearts and souls into it. They definitely tore it up during ‘It’s a Matter of Love’. It’s such a blessing to be surrounded by talented and gifted people like them. It’s inspiring.

I can’t wait to e-mail Pastor Fulfer’s daughter at Subic Bay to let her know that God blessed our efforts and that people were more than generous to help them out.

I’d like to thank the following people:

Babie – for coordinating this event and for being able to express our vision and cause to the people so eloquently and passionately.

Karen – for getting this thing rolling for us. And for being our ‘logistics’ queen.

Cat – for assisting her patootie off and helping out in every aspect of the project.

Pastor Omer – for his spiritual leadership and for his support of and heart for the college and career group.

Jeremy, Joe and Nate – for all their technical expertise and their willingness to help us out and make us sound and look decent.

Ralph, Julio, Marlon, Anthony, Katzy and Aries – for all your help, and for your desire to serve others in whatever capacity you can.

Our parents, especially our moms!

And the band – Tubie, Bryan, Uncle David, Wally and Erwin. Thank you for blessing us with your talents and gifts! You’ve found new ‘groupies’. LOL

Nitro – our vocal coach. Man, I know we stunk up the place, we’ll do better next time, we promise. hehe

Uncle Romy and the Papuri Singers – thank you for lending your voices and for your willingness to help the cause.

My cousins, In Harmony – thank you for the sacrifice and efforts to get to rehearsals and for working through our little kinks and stuff, and for owning the vision along with the rest of the FSBM College and Career Group.

Thank you to those who came and gave. May God bless you abundantly and return the blessings a hundred-fold!

Thanks you to those who supported us through prayers. They do move mountains!

And last but not the least, we want to thank our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ for exhibiting the best example of love, love that is so unselfish and unconditional, so that we too can know how to love others, especially those who are in dire need of it.

For pictures of the concert, visit Ralph’s site: www.xanga.com/djralphalpha and his In Harmony site: www.xanga.com/in_harmony

Shaq-fu has left the Lakers. No more P.J. (Phil Jackson) and now Shaq-daddy’s gone?! What is the world coming to? Well, I’m not much of a Laker fan anyway. Their one redemptive quality was that they had Phil Jackson as their coach. (I’m gonna get tar-and-feathered for this! LOL) Then, there was talk of getting Mike Krzyzewski (no, really, I spelled it correctly, LOL) to coach the Lakers. I got all excited and was chuffed at the possibility that Coach K might take over. But alas, that didn’t happen. The Lakers’ glory days are slowly dwindling down. Awww…poor Karl Malone, won’t he ever get that ever-elusive championship ring?

This concludes my basketball commentary for today.

Here’s pic of my cousins and I with our friend Ralph taken from last weekend at the FSBM Family Church camp.
(Photo courtesy of Ralph a.k.a. ‘djralphalpha’)