A Christmas Rant

I do not understand men.

Just when you think you’ve finally figured them out a little, a man goes and does something totally unpredictable.

Merry Christmas to all!

From my family to yours,

a BLESSED and MEANINGFUL Christmas to you!

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
John 10:10

2nd Avenue is my favorite street

Was in a meeting this morning with the great people from Solar Entertainment about possible tie-ups for the coming year and I told them how much I adore 2nd Avenue.

I LOVE 2nd Avenue. Let me enumerate the reasons:

1. Jeopardy: I am a trivia junkie. I think it’s the input theme showing here. I love learning about new things and I get supreme satisfaction when I correctly say “Who is John Quincy Adams?” even faster than the contestants.

2. The Insider: I love entertainment shows, especially un-trashy ones. The Insider and Entertainment Tonight happen to be my favorites. However, I am going to say that I am quite fascinated with TMZ.

3. The Ellen Degeneres Show: She is smart, quick, funny, and entertaining. No pathetic moments here. Just good, light fun. Just the way I like it. I do still enjoy Oprah when the topic is good but with Ellen, it doesn’t matter who’s on the show, I’m sure to enjoy any episode with Ellen in it.

4. The Today Show: If I were to live in the US and I had the chance to work in television, I would want to work in The Today Show. This is my favorite morning show. Love it.

I have yet to get the chance to watch Mad Men but it seems very interesting and it’s also airing in 2nd Avenue. So are Saving Grace, Nip/Tuck, Lipstick Jungle, House, and Top Chef 3.

2nd Avenue can now be seen on Sky Channel 19, Destiny Channel 31, Dream Channel 36 and Cable link Channel 46.

Daddy is Santa??!

I was always creeped out by the Christmas song “I Saw Mama Kissing Santa Clause.” Santa is supposed to be St. Nicholas and a saint does not go around kissing someone else’s wife!

As I was searching for bloggers I can send free magazines to, I came upon this blog. I can’t believe it was Daddy kissing Mommy after all!

Please don’t tell me you guys knew all along that Santa was Daddy!

Pumped up about Women's Health Philippines

I am so excited about the magazine we’re launching next year - WOMEN’S HEALTH!

I was always a fan of the magazine SHAPE, but ever since I started reading our local Men’s Health, I’ve looked forward to the coming of our own local Women’s Health. Men’s Health is chock-full of health and fitness tips, which I love to read. So I’m sure I will love Women’s Health even more because now the tips are going to be specifically for women.

Hmm.. I wonder who they’ll get as the first WH Philippines cover girl… Any suggestions?

My Twilight Date

I took my 12-year old sister to see Twilight today.

As I watched her get all giddy upon seeing Edward Cullen on the big screen, I can’t help but feel a little fear that my baby girl is growing up so fast, too fast.

She already has her period, cannot be told what to wear, and now has to face the complications of trying to belong in school.

I remember I had problems with some girls in school when I was her age, but I don’t think it’s as bad as what she’s having to experience now — some girl calling her a b*tch, telling her that nobody likes her. Some psycho kid who pretends someone “hacked” into her YM account and that she’s not really the one YM-ing my sister all these awful things.

I know I’m not supposed to get involved but I want to wring the psycho girl’s neck.

How can they already be like this at 12?

All I can do is pray — pray that the Lord will keep my sister, that He would teach her how to be secure in Him. That and be here for her, no matter what. Go out on dates with her. Tell her that she’s beautiful. Listen to everything she has to say. Validate. Love. Pray.

Thirty and Thriving

I turned thirty last week.

My birthday week was wonderful, the best I've had so far. To all of you who made my day really special, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

So how does it feel to be 30?

AWESOME.

I know there's nothing that really changes when you reach the big 3-0 but I feel like some changes have happened inside of me.

For one, I have to admit that I feel less awkward. I really feel like I had a puberty extension when I was in my late 20s. I was breaking out, I was having all kinds of mood swings. I was also somewhat clumsy and well, just awkward. Now, my skin has cleared up significantly, I am not as on the edge as I would usually be when faced with certain situations, and I don't feel so awkward anymore.

There are other changes, but I can't really say much about them right now. But I'll blog about them soon enough.

I never thought I'd say this but being thirty rocks! :-)

Discovering my talents through Strengths Finder 2.0

I finally got a copy of the book Strengths Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath last Thursday. For those of you not familiar with this book, it's the improved version of another bestseller entitled Now Discover Your Strengths. These books, as the titles imply, help you find out what your top strengths are and explain how you can work at improving those strengths. Instead of trying to become better at what you're weak at and end up just being mediocre at those things, the books explain that we should put all of our time and effort in becoming better at what we're naturally good.

Makes a lot of sense, of course. But I was surprised to find out after taking the test that I was off base all along. How frustrating that I didn't even know what my top talents were.

But now that I know what they are, I can at least try to work on becoming better in these areas.

Here are my top five talent themes:

1 Strategic: The strengths discovery report says, "Instinctively, you automatically generate numerous ways to enhance, upgrade, revise, correct, or revamp a process, action plan, or itinerary. Your suggestions often influence how a project will unfold in the coming months, years, or decades. You tend to find fault with your own and even other people's talents, skills, and/or knowledge. Fixing people or things ranks high on your favorite activities. Because of your strengths, you pay close attention to what is going on around you. You listen. You quiz people. You read. You probably take notes on key points. As you accumulate lots of information, you disregard what is unrelated, and pay heed to what is really important. The more you reflect on what you know, the more problems begin to reveal themselves, and eventually solutions start taking shape in your mind. Finally, given the situation, you select the best plan from your list of options. Driven by your talents, you generate ideas quickly. You draw clever linkages between facts, events, people, problems, or solutions. You present others with numerous options at a pace some find dizzying. Your innovative thinking tends to foster ongoing dialogue between and among the group's participants. By nature, you are a self-reliant person who needs time alone to think and work. You generate innovative ideas and propose systematic programs of action. You likely identify recurring configurations in the behavior of people, the functioning of processes, or the emergence of potential problems. It’s very likely that you can design innovative plans. You probably raise issues and identify recurring obstacles as you generate tactical options. Problems and possible solutions become apparent to you. Once you outline action steps, you quickly execute them one by one. You refuse to waste time questioning your ideas after everything has been set into motion. "

2 Activator: The strengths discovery report says, "'By nature, you are very decisive about implementing upgrades or making enhancements. You probably realize that great ideas without action are totally meaningless. You occasionally become frustrated with individuals who lack the gumption -- that is, boldness -- to transform their original thoughts into tangible results. Because of your strengths, you derive much joy from starting new projects, jobs, or courses of study. Before moving ahead, you automatically think about the things you need to upgrade, perfect, or do better. Instinctively, you step forward to take charge of start-up projects, processes, procedures, or initiatives. This is most apt to occur when you know your talent, skill, and/or knowledge perfectly match the task at hand. You carefully select the endeavors you are willing to spearhead. When you lack the expertise required for success, you wisely let someone else assume the leadership role. Chances are good that you rarely avoid telling people about yourself, your experiences, or even your shortcomings. You reflect on what you should do better, more completely, or more perfectly. You are comfortable admitting all sorts of things about yourself. Driven by your talents, you commonly influence people to produce results, sign up to work on projects, or rally around causes. When you take time to know them as individuals, many people are willing to move into action at your prompting. They are apt to realize you appreciate their special qualities, talents, interests, or experiences. "

3Connectedness: The strengths discovery report says, "Chances are good that you sense every event is somehow the consequence of a series of actions, reactions, or lack of actions. You can accept that which cannot be fully explained using logic. You say there are no accidents. You are confident that things are linked together for a purpose that may or may not be revealed to you. Driven by your talents, you have no doubts about being linked in some way with everything in the universe. This includes all creation and all humankind. Instinctively, you consider people more important than things. The value you place on humankind guides your decision-making. It also influences what you say and do as well as what you choose not to say and do. It’s very likely that you rely on your awareness of others' feelings, thoughts, and needs to guide you into and through partnerships. You consider various ways to initiate, nurture, and sustain the linkages between individuals and groups. You bring people together. You help them discover reasons to cooperate and support one another. By nature, you sometimes sense a special bond with certain individuals regardless of whether you have met them. Perhaps time or distance does not prevent you from feeling closely linked to specific people or the lives they lead."

4Relator: The strengths discovery report says, "Chances are good that you typically do your best work when you can bring your expertise to an enterprise. You prefer activities that keep you busy from start to finish. By nature, you routinely make the complicated very easy to understand. You are attracted to the basics of an idea, process, regulation, theory, or program. While you know every intricate piece of information, you place a higher value on identifying key points than on collecting too many details. It’s very likely that you embody the adage: "If you want to get something done, ask a busy person." You deliver peak performances when you can tackle a task. You experience tremendous satisfaction each time you accomplish something. You probably like being held accountable for your actions and words. Driven by your talents, you describe reading as a pleasure, not a chore. Generally you gain insights and acquire information whether you prefer fiction or nonfiction writing. You are likely to pull together ideas from printed materials or Internet sites. Typically you can talk about complicated topics or situations by highlighting only the basic points. Usually people can grasp what you are saying the first time because you refrain from burdening them with every detail you know. Instinctively, you are frequently sought out by people whom you have gotten to know on an personal basis. They come back to you again and again because they trust your judgment. Many of them realize you tailor your words of wisdom to fit their unique needs, strengths, limitations, goals, or personalities.

5Empathy: The strengths discovery report says, "Driven by your talents, you recall that as a child you were very attuned to the moods, feelings, expectations, and values of your elders. Your awareness of what these authority figures were thinking and feeling undoubtedly helped you govern what you said and did. Chances are good that you demonstrate a natural fondness for human beings. As a result, many individuals are attracted to you. They sense you really understand what they are feeling, thinking, or experiencing at the moment. People usually appreciate your willingness not to discount or belittle their emotions, ideas, or reactions to events. By nature, you know how to brighten others' lives when you sense they are feeling low or despondent. You probably have a hard time ending a conversation or a visit when the other person is still sad, grieving, or anxious. It’s very likely that you affirm others for who they are. You celebrate their unique gifts. Your encouraging words inspire and embolden people to be their real and true selves. Instinctively, you bring a keen awareness about human behavior to the classroom, laboratory, seminar, playing field, or tutoring session. You spontaneously tune in to what individuals are thinking and feeling minute by minute. These insights are likely to make you a better educator."

The book and report also have an action plan guide to help me strengthen these talent themes. It's so weird because I never got to really think about what I was good at before. I never took the time to sit down and process these things. All that was obvious to me were what I was really bad at and fixing them, which only proves that I have natural Strategic tendencies.

Anyway, I highly recommend that you get a copy of the book so you can find out your strengths, too. And I would love to know what they are. By the way, please do not buy a used copy of this book as it contains a unique code that you need to be able to take the online test. If you buy a used book, chances are the previous person has already used the code to take the test. So you'll just end up having to buy a brand-new copy of the book.

Some things about me

FAVORITES, FAVORITES and More FAVORITES..

• Coffee.. Toffee Nut Latte, which Starbucks has only during the holiday season and Coffee Jelly, also from Starbucks
• Color.. purple, pink, blue, black, olive green, and white
  
• Chocolate.. Twix (and they don't sell them here anymore), Butterfinger, and anything Hazelnut
  
• Lutong bahay.. Adobo, papaitan, dinuguan, tinapa, and tilapya
  
• Others under the "Food" category.. Oysters, cheese, KFC, Baked Ziti with white sauce and white pizza from Sbarro, Stuffed crust pizza from Pizza Hut, Yellow Cab Shrimp and garlic pizza, Gerry's sisig, UP Isaw, (Ateneo) Manang's Inihaw and Pork Chop
  
• Music.. Praise and Worship songs, contemporary Christian, Pop, and R&B
  
• Sports.. Basketball, tennis, swimming
  
• Movie.. Kramer vs. Kramer, Shawshank Redemption, One More Chance (the best!), My Best Friend's Wedding, Serendipity, Just Like Heaven, Pretty Woman
  
• Song.. Right now, The Man Who Can't Be Moved by The Script and Ms. Independent Remix by Jamie Fox and Ne-Yo
• Flowers.. Long-stemmed roses
  
• Perfume.. Still by JLo
  
• Expression.. OMG
  

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU'VE GOT THE BLUES?

• Pray
  
• Listen to Senti Songs
  
• Read
• Sleep
  
• Watch 'How I Met Your Mother'
  

WHAT DO YOU PREFER?

• Music or Sports? MUSIC
• The Beach or The Mountains? The BEACH.
• Rainy days or Sunny days? SUNNY DAYS.
• Victoria's Secret or Bath and Body Works? BATH AND BODY WORKS.
• Movie or Book? BOOK
• Fruits or Vegetables? FRUITS
• Read or Write? READ
• Leader or Follower? LEADER
• Listen or Speak? LISTEN (but I know I speak a lot, too)
  
• Slippers or Rubber shoes? SLIPPERS
  
• Milk Chocolate, dark chocolate or White chocolate? MILK CHOCOLATE
  
• TV or radio? TV

SShh.. NOT MANY PEOPLE KNOW THESE THINGS ABOUT ME..

• I'm scared of heights. I have this recurring dream that I'm on an elevator that's out of control, going up and down really fast. Some nights the elevator is even made of glass so I can see how high the drop's going to be.
  
• There are days when I'm really really shy. I sometimes get really nervous calling someone I haven't met before.
• I used to sing well. I just don't know what happened. Hindi ito joke.
  
• I used to have crooked teeth. I also used to be so conscious because of it that I refused to show my teeth in pictures, which explains why in my grade school grad pic, I had a weird smirk on my face. (pinipilit kasi nila ako to smile more but I refused to open my mouth)
• I have a secret dream to be OC.
• I hate the color red.
  

Fall Into Reading 2008 - my list

Since we have no fall season in the Philippines, I totally forgot to check in on this reading challenge that I join twice a year (every fall and every spring). The reading challenge is called Fall Into Reading and it's hosted by Katrina over at Callapidder Days.

I'm very late and am the 265th reader to register. But better late than never, right?

Here is my list of books for the Fall reading challenge:

1.Thanks for the Memories by Cecelia Ahern
Ahern is my hands-down favorite chick lit author. I'm in chapter 7 already. Started a bit slow. But so far, so good.

2. Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver
I started reading this book two years ago. Never got beyond the first chapter. It's not that it isn't good because it's been really good so far. I just get distracted by the new books I keep buying. Planning to finally finish it this time.

3. Guerrilla P.R. 2.0 by Michael Levine
This one I'm reading for work. Interesting ideas. Have to finish this to help me plan for the annual planning session our group will be having in November.

4. Winning with People by John Maxwell
I love reading John Maxwell. I always learn something new from him even though it seems like the principles are pretty much the same in all his books.

5. Epic by John Eldredge
A small book with a big story. This should be a fast read. I'm excited because reviews have been good.

6. In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day by Mark Batterson
GREAT book! I'm down to the last few chapters. A must-read for everyone. Especially for those who often get intimidated by people and situations.

7. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
I've heard a lot of good reviews so I'm excited to read it finally. Oh and I picked my copy up in a second-hand book store for P75! Cheap!

8. My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
My best friend says this is the best one by Picoult. Made her cry. So I'm pretty sure it'll make me cry, too.

There it is.



Eight books in eight weeks. That's doable, right?