Chillax!

Waaahhh! It's been a really long time since I have written in here. Unfortunately, this one will be short. But who knows, maybe this post will motivate me to write a bit more often.

Anyways, I just really wanted to share a little something. Sort of my appreciation for the friends I have. As much as I wish I had a girlfriend to spend some time with, someone to report to (not really report to as if I am whipped, but at times, I am just the type of person that wants to speak to her after a long days work and just let her know I've missed her and stuff like that) or simply give a tight hug. Sadly, reality is I currently do not have that. But that's perfectly fine, it can wait. 

Tonight, I spent the night with a couple of my brothers. Though I already know this, it emphasized to me just how happy I am to have friends like them. My last few moments at work was somewhat rough, I just wanted to go home and watch the Hockey game and I was sort of exhausted. But finally getting home and watching the Habs game with Pyro and Ninja was great. Cheering on each goal, complaining when things did not make sense, for me, it was just great to share one of the things I love with them. We ended up the night with a long drive, and ate at Wendy's. Heck I wasn't even that hungry. But being out at night seems to be the time I am most relaxed and have my mind at peace. And to chillax with them tonight, somehow, just made me appreciate even more the fact that I have great brothers around me. 

It must of been a weird way for me to realize such thing, but nothing beats these positive emotions. Now if only I can find that girl I would love to have tightly in my arms then everything would be perfect! I'm kidding! I believe that time will come, and I am happy with the life I am living.

"The best things in life come in threes, like friends, dreams, and memories." - Mencius

God is by my side

God is by my side. This line I have been using a lot quite often. Whether I am going through difficult times or not, I can still say that God is by my side. At the end of the day, I just can't help but pray and say thank you. How? Why? It's hard to say, but through many of my different experiences in life, there is just this feeling that somehow he was there to support me and that there is a reason behind these happenings. 

I still remember my earlier experiences. I remember when I was little, I did not really want to go to church. The time felt like it wasn't moving and boring. But what do I know, I was but a little child. At least for me, the process took some time. I remember one time, I was telling my little brother (who was probably 5 or something) to tell Mommy he didn't feel like going to church. Yeah, I used my brother because I did not want to be scolded. It worked very rarely. Then as I become more conscious about the things I did, and my mom wanting me to participate in Church activities, the more I felt like there was someone watching (in a positive way). It's a weird feeling, it's hard to explain. But many things my pastors would preach would actually get stuck in my head. I believe that my attendance in Church has help shape my personality. For example, swearing, there was a time when I swore a lot. I learned that swearing isn't really a good thing, and yes, I still swear from time to time when in frustration. But I learned that swearing isn't a right thing to do. So  this is what I did when I was younger, whenever I a swear word would come out my mouth, I would say I'm sorry Lord at least 3 to 7 times. Up to this day, if I feel like I have sinned, or done anything wrong, I would say "I'm sorry" at least 3 to 7 times, heck what I would usually do is say "I'm sorry" 3 times in 3 different languages, English, Korean, Tagalog. So that's a quick recap of my early days.

Now let us go to my Teen-Adult days. The paragraph above was the Child-Teen days. Here, my belief is still growing, and becoming a bit more stable. Attending Church was no longer being a big deal. A big help to this was thanks to a great friend I used to have. I still remember the first play I participated in. I was the "King". There was this part of the script where I had to get angry, hit the table hard and stand up. MAN! It's  so memorable, I still remember the congregations reaction. But yeah, one of the most important events that has occurred for me during this period of time was the baptism. This is a baptism you choose on your own accord and you are to be submerged under water. I was hesitant at first, but i gained more confidence and my faith in Him was stronger than ever. I knew I had God by my side. I still remember the speech I gave before (or was it after) the baptism. I talked about Love. What I said went something like this.."You know that feeling when you are so in love with someone, it's a feeling you cannot explain. Well that's how I feel right now." After that speech and after being submerged, I felt refreshed. My past has been buried  and I was born again. A feeling I doubt I will ever forget. 

And now comes my early adulthood to today. I won't lie, I have not been as active as in my Teen-Adult time. But whenever I do participate, it's something I tend to enjoy quite a lot. For example, a few years ago, for Christmas, we would prepare a Filipino Choir and prepare a few songs for our Christmas event. I really miss those days when we would gather weekly to practice as a group. At first, I enjoyed to participate because I love music and love to play the guitar. After the first performance, I realized it was more than that, it was one way for me to serve the Lord. So as the years go by, I would enjoy to perform for the love of music, and for the Lord. I am really sad that the Filipino Choir has somewhat faded. But I plan to bring up something for the next event. Even if it just starts with me and my brother performing. We gotta start somewhere right? 

Outside church however, I was able to implement many God related things to my daily life. Today, I thank God for practically everything. When I get really angry and frustrated, I just don't get frustrated with myself, but I speak with God. Even if I may do it in an "angry" way, I think I do this because I feel like I am connecting with Him and speaking with Him. I also believe that it is thanks to Him that I stand where I am today. The roads were rocky and not always easy, but I know that Jesus was by my side this whole time. I still remember this story I read and heard from a friend. It's a story of a man's dream, where he walked on the beach side. There were two sets of footprints on the sand which represented this person's various stages in life. He spoke to God and asked, where were you when I needed you? He replied and said something like this "During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.". This has marked me big time.

I can go on and on about how my life grew in this manner. But for those reading this, you may already know, if not, now know just how much Jesus plays a part in my life. I know I still have a lot of work to do as his Child, but slowly and surely, I am working through this. After all, He is the reason for where I stand now, and I am happy. No matter what happens, He is my Strength and I know that He is always by my side.

(Abundant Life Faith Church, this is where I go every sunday ^_^)

If one day you pass by this place, feel free to visit, you are all welcome. =)

"Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”" - Hebrews 13:5

Year in Review 2012

I may be a bit late, but I did tell myself that I will make a post highlighting some my most memorable moments of 2012. Many ups and downs occurred during this year, however we have to look at the bright side. There were actually many great things that happened for me on the year of the Dragon that just passed so it will be difficult to post all of them, so I will be writing on topics that pops in my head first, so I may be missing quite a few.

The year started off with my family and Rochie's family going to Toronto because we had a wedding to attend to in early January. I had a great weekend there. Even the drive to Toronto was a unique and memorable experience. The weather was insane, it went from light rain, to freezing rain, to snow, to snow storm, you name it! But we arrived there safely. It was great reuniting with my relatives there, especially with one of my very special friend Ann. Though we were there only for the weekend, we did not waste a single minute and enjoyed each of it. It was a great way to start off the year of 2012.

I wanna continue with school. If you read my blog, then you definitely know that the year of 2012 is the year I graduated in Tourism. I went through a lot in terms of education, but finally, I graduated and found a job related to what I have studied. You know, we tend to say  "I hate school", or "I just wanna go home" when in the classroom. But after taking a year off in order to save money for school, the more I realized just how much I actually love school. Not that I love to study, it's a difficult thing for me, but I simply love the fact of being in school, meeting new people and learning new things. It's a great feeling for me.

And this brings me to the job I currently have. Finding a job was quite difficult. After graduating, I went in the Philippines, so I was afraid that taking a month or two off would make things more tough when looking for a job. Luckily however, after a week or two of struggle, Sunwing Vacations gave me a call and got an interview. Special thanks to Jeff (Pyro) for taking me to the interview which went very well. The next thing you know, I got hired. I have been working there for roughly 4 months now. So how do I feel about my current situation? I will be honest, I have mixed feelings. Though I am grateful I have a job where I am gaining experience in my domain. It's just that, because you work in an office, you are sitting practically the whole day. I am someone who needs to move, so staying still can sometimes drive me insane. That aside, the job is great. Co-workers are great and it has a pretty interesting atmosphere (in a positive way). I can see why I may be able to stay there for a long time, but in the same time the opposite. So what is my future? For now I will wait until my contract ends. Once that is done, if they keep me, then I will most likely stay and gain more experience, then we shall see where I go on from there. If they cut me, well at least i gained important experience. So looking in the long term, what I hope for is probably get a job at the airport...or maybe become a teacher in this domain. But like it says in the bible, worry not about tomorrow, tomorrow has its own worries. Let's keep it at that. Live now, and let God take care of the rest. So overall, I am satisfied with where I stand.

(My Desk at work)

I mentioned the Philippines in the previous paragraph, so why not follow up with that. I won't be writing much regarding this because I already have a post recapping each week I spent there. Before the Philippines however, we had a huge birthday celebration for my aunt. My cousins from Winnipeg and Italy came over. I also wrote about that in one of my posts. It was such an amazing weekend. Feel free to go back and read that post. But to make a quick recap about the Philippines, I did not want to leave Montreal, I wanted to stay here and find a job as soon as possible. In the end however, I decided to tag along with my family. I am glad that was my final decision. I reunited with a bunch of my relatives, got closer to them, and created lots of great memories. If you want to know more about my trip, simply check my post history and you will find it there. There were many other things I wish I was able to do, but overall, it was great going back. 

(A resort we visited during our stay)

I think I will end my review with none other than Gaming. As many already know, gaming plays a huge role in my life. One of my gaming life revolves around Call of Duty. Though Modern Warfare 3 released in 2011, it continued strong in 2012 because of the people I play with, especially my SoW brothers, and of course Ryan (Soulja). CoD just keeps getting us closer and closer. Black Ops 2 released in November, and for me and my friends, it was a rough start. Many of us weren't getting into it due to its issues. Though as it got resolved, many simply got busy and our schedules just didn't match. As for me, frustration continued to grow until I got the WiiU version. That version just feels totally different to me, and feels like this was the CoD I was expecting of Black Ops 2. As for the PS3 version however, things are starting to shape up. Many of us are starting to gather at night when possible and having many great laughter. I believe our reunion and having a blast for CoD is going to be returning very soon.

Call of Duty aside however, many great things has happened if you are a Nintendo Fanboy in North America. On the handheld side of things, you have a bunch of choices awaiting you such as Resident Evil Revelations and Kid Icarus to name a few. And for home consoles, you have Xenoblade Chronicles and The Last Story that finally made it to store shelves in North America. These are amazing games, especially Xenoblade Chronicles which is MY game of the year of 2012 and now one of my favorite games of all time. And of course, the release of the Wii U! This is a great console, the Miiverse is simply awesome! I can't wait to see what developers will do in the years to come, especially from Nintendo. But to end this gaming year, I want  to talk very quickly about the gamepad. The gamepad may feel weird at first, but with some getting used to, it's great, especially for shooters. Just keep in mind that not all shooters play the same. Just like how Battlefield and Call of Duty will feel different even if you use the same controller. But other than shooters, I think it would be great for RPGs. But let's just wait and see what comes along. "MONSTER HUNTER"!!! Sorry I got caught off guard.

(My gaming station in my room)

I think I will end this blog post here. It might turn out to be super long that you may get bored and just click [x]. But here's a bonus! Some may be curious about my love life...;) well...2012 was not very special in terms of that topic. But hey, you gotta be patient. Though watching all these Korean shows did make me wish I had someone to lean on or to take out on a date. Oh well, good thing I have amazing friends to lean on and hang out with. Who knows, maybe I might meet someone special in 2013, if not, well, that's fine. I'll let God take care of everything.

(A picture my cousin got us to do during new years eve...)

SO! That's that for now. I'm sure there are many things I probably missed out on, but for those whom I shared special memories with, you guys already know them. 2012 was a great year, and I pray to have an even greater 2013. I wish all of you the best for this new year. Bring it on 2013!

"Keep all special thoughts and memories for lifetimes to come. Share these keepsakes with others to inspire hope and build from the past, which can bridge to the future." - Mattie Stepanek

My Sassy Girl

Once upon a time, a friend of mine borrowed me a Korean movie that started it all. The title of this movie is My Sassy Girl, starring the beautiful Jeon Ji Hyun (전지현) and Cha Tae Hyun (차태현). This film influenced me in so many ways. The Kpop culture has been influencing many for many years, and is still growing, but mostly due to their music. Many might think that this is what influenced me, but it is not actually. Like mentioned earlier, it is this movie that started it all . But yes, I admit that later on, Korean music eventually affected me as well.

 So let's talk about its influence. This movie does so many things today's films fail to do. Heck, Hollywood even tried to make an American version but did not succeed. My Sassy Girl is a romantic comedy. What's amazing is the connection they make with the audience and how they somehow make things feel natural. For some however, what they will see in this movie may seem somewhat exaggerated, but for me it just worked, I just loved the way they did things. After experiencing this, I would wonder if other Korean movies portray something similar. As I watch more and more, I learned to realize that Koreans have their own way of making their movies feel different from something that we are used to. It's a bit difficult to explain unless you watch some yourself, then maybe you will understand. I can go on and on, but to summarize, My Sassy Girl opened my eyes to Korean Cinematography and Dramas.

As the months go by, the more curious I became about Korea's culture. I just wanted to know more in any way possible. To start off, just like anything else we do when we want to know something, we Google. And then maybe Youtube some stuff. As I learned more and more, the deeper I would fall in love with Korea's culture such as their food, history, you name it. Then the day came when I finally decided to learn the Korean Language. I studied whenever possible, even in the bus. I ended up learning how to read and write Korean with ease, though learning orally and the vocabulary was quite challenging. Up to this day I have trouble understand especially because I don't really have a friend that can teach me regularly. Though sometimes I am able to have a "basic" conversation. Here's a little story. One day I met this customer when I was working in Dollarama. I was wearing a Korean t-shirt and she suddenly spoke to me in Korean. Fortunately, I understood and was able to communicate with her. So whenever I would meet her at the cash, we would have a mini-chat in Korean which was cool. The same could be said with the nearby Sushi Restaurant which was owned by a Korean Family. I really hope that one day I will be able to learn their language properly.

My Sassy Girl also influenced my musical interest. Just like how this movie opened my eyes to Korean Cinematography, it also sparked my interest in Korean music. I would gain interest in "Korean Idols" such as Big Bang, and yes girl groups such as SNSD (I admit, sometimes it's because of the beautiful ladies XD). But being someone who plays and composes music, I didn't limit myself to the typical Kpop culture, but I also listened to Korean Indie music as well, in which I wish more people knew of. Back to what is related to this movie, the theme song of this movie is called I Believe by Shin Seung Hun. I fell in love with this song that I just had to master this on the guitar. It's the first song I ever completed that only uses plucking. Outside what is Korean however, My Sassy Girl introduced me to a classic, Pachelbel's Canon in D. Another song I just had to learn on the guitar acoustically, as well as the Rock version.

As you can see, this movie influenced me in so many ways, and I can certainly go on. So if you haven't seen this movie yet, I suggest you do. This movie is great in many ways. It will move you, make you laugh and make you smile. To conclude, I just want to recommend this movie to you, My Sassy Girl.

"Culture is the widening of the mind and of the spirit." - Jawaharlal Nehru 
 

Escape

It's been a while since I've written, and I decided to write a little something. This post is inspired by one of the videos I found at IGN.

I do not remember but it is possible I may have written something similar to what I'm about to write. It's about video games. Video games, for me, is a way to simply enter another world, a world where imagination can take you the distance. Many people do not see this and instead say "get a life", "you're too old for this", "you're wasting your time" or "do something useful". However, many just look at the surface as if that is all we do, or maybe they just dislike video games, but that is their choice. It's quite sad that they would judge not knowing that many of us may actually have a job, go to school, or even have a family. It's unfortunate too though that they do not even try to understand why we even play video games. For some, it's actually a way to socialize. In fact, believe it or not, some of the closest friends I currently have are those I met online. We hang out regularly, such as eat out. (I'm sure I mentioned this one already.) Or like I said earlier, some play to enter a different world, a world where imagination has no boundaries. Or some play simply to escape. Sometimes reality can get tough and stressful, so we play to escape from these difficult times. I can go on and on, but you definitely have a good idea to where I am getting at. Simply put, video games may seem like something of no purpose or no use to the eyes of many, however, in the eyes of the person playing, it's a totally different thing. 

Below is a link that may reinforce the paragraph I wrote. Some may find this boring, but this video has a deep meaning. (Note: I did not go through what is seen in the video.)

---> "Escape"

So if ever there are people out there reading this by any chance, always remember that many of us have our reasons to why we play...just like how each individual in this world have a reason to why they go to school or why they work.

"Gaming gives me a chance to just let go, blow somebody up and fight somebody from another dimension. It's all escapism." - Wayne Brady

New Game Plus (Real Life)

For those who do not know, New Game Plus is pretty common in the world of video games. This term is used when you have finished a game, then you are given the chance to start a new game from the beginning. Depending on the developer, different content may be in the game as you replay it. The reason I added "Real Life" in the title of my post is because it feels like my life is starting afresh. If you read some of my older post, you probably know that I have gone through many different chapters of my life, especially those that are related to school and work. Well! I just graduated from LaSalle College a couple of months ago, and I started my training at my new workplace in a company called Sunwing. So I figured New Game Plus (Real Life) would be perfect as a title for this blog post. 

(Below you will see a couple of pictures. Left side is the small gathering we had a couple of months after graduation. On the right was the last picture taken in class, unfortunately, only a few of us were able to attend for this picture.)

A couple of weeks ago I applied to a few places. I applied at Air Canada, got a call, but unfortunately they did not call again. A couple of days later, I applied at Sunwing and then got a call for an interview not long after. Special thank you to Jeff for driving me to the hotel where my interview took place. I went through two people for the interview which led to a good sign because Jeff told me some people left right after the first interview. The week after, I got a call from Sunwing, and guess what, I was given a six month contract! I really believe God has everything planned for me and I am sure this is one of them. 

Last Monday, my training began. I was so afraid that I might be the only one and that I would be very confused and lost. Little did I know that there were many others like me. In fact we are about 18, so I felt somewhat better. The company is growing, and growing fast, which is why many were actually hired. Bit by bit, things are shaping up. The first week went so much better than I expected. The people were nice, and so were my new co-workers, that made me feel at ease. Though I think I need to lighten up a bit. I feel that I am a bit too timid, tense and silent, that sometimes I wonder if they think that I am a snob. I guess that's just how I am with a new environment *sigh* Not much I can do for now, but we shall wait and see what happens. Hopefully as the day go by, I'll be able to open up, be a comfortable co-worker for the others and just be myself. Yeah, I am someone who worries a lot. =P

(YEAH!!!!)

Anyways, what matters is that things are going well so far, and I hope that the rest of my training will go smoothly. When that is done, the real stuff begins, and I hope that goes just as great and even better. With God by my side and all my loved ones by my side, I shall persevere!

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." - Winston Churchill

The Philippines 2012 - Final Week

August 1st, it's my mother's birthday. A few relatives came by to celebrate. There was some food prepared, however since we didn't really set up a party-like event, we just had food that are normally prepared for birthdays, in this case Pansit (I think you can call it noodles in english). Coincidentally, some close family friends from Montreal passed by to say hello from wherever they came from, so we told them to stay for a bit and eat. It would of been awesome if I had the chance to spend a lot of our time with them during this vacation, unfortunately our schedules did not really match. 

(Mom's Birthday Cake)

 Friday we went to do a little bit of shopping. I gotta thank my kuya Gomer (Kuya is what you normally call an older brother, you do not need to be blood related, it is very common in Asia) who drove us practically anywhere we wanted to go throughout our stay in the Philippines.

Sunday we had a sudden "get together" with my relatives from my mother's side and all ate breakfast at McDonald's. Apparently, the reasoning for this is because it was my aunt's birthday who lives in Spain, so the plan was to celebrate while they are celebrating too as if we are having the occasion together. We were suppose to eat at Jolibee but the second floor was in construction, so there was no space for us there. Heck, we pretty much filled out the whole second floor. Right after this, since it was our last week, as a family we also decided to visit my late grandparents, from my mother's side, for the last time. In the afternoon, my cousins accompanied me and my brother to a couple of shopping malls to do some final purchases since we were going to leave in three days.

(Rice and Chicken at McDonald's)

The day has come, the day we part. I felt fine, until the moment I had to say my goodbyes. I did not expect my heart to beat this way, I was feeling very emotional. Tears did not drop, but my heart did. Seeing my little cousins suddenly speechless and just immobile got me very emotional and broken deep down. (The picture does not really show the whole family, but those in the picture are those who were able to send us off on our last moments in front of our "Home" and stay in the Philippines.)

I have mixed emotions. I knew this was going to happen. Before coming in the Philippines, I was not very excited. Nearing the end time I have in The Philippines, I was somewhat excited that I would be returning to Montreal, but in the same time really sad that I was leaving. I actually felt "at home". Back then, when Iused to visit this country, it just felt more like a vacation, but this time, it felt more than that, as if I lived there or can get used to living there. It's hard to explain. I do not know if it's because we have our own house now, but I simply felt at home.

We arrived safely in Montreal. I felt fine, until my first night came. I suddenly had this rush of mixed emotions. Similar to those I had right before parting. But this is life. No matter how far apart we are from each other or the many years it may take for all of us to reunite, they will always be close by. It's funny how I did not really want to visit about a month ago. But I am sure God had his reasons. We learn and realize new things as the day go by, and I am glad I ended up going back there. I made new memories I will not forget. I definitely miss them, and I cannot wait until the day we meet again.

"Every parting gives a foretaste of death, every reunion a hint of the resurrection." - Arthur Schopenhauer