These Days

“Life is difficult.” This is the famous first line of this book. That might discourage you to read the rest because it seems like a very bleak statement. This dismal start was probably the reason why I couldn ’t sustain this reading this book in several previous attempts. But I decided that this time, I will finish it. So I did. It’s all a matter of willpower. :) The Road Less Traveled is the road to spiritual growth. Few people take this road as they go through life because it’s painful. Painful because life maps are challenged, relationships are changed (sometimes severed), and it takes a lot of serious thinking or self-examination. The fuel that propels people towards spiritual growth is LOVE. Peck defines love as the “will to extend one’s self for the purpose of nurturing one’s own or another’s spiritual growth. Major factors that deter from loving are fear and laziness. It really simplifies the choice: being loving or being lazy, being loving or being fearful. Love is

From Roger Federer's post in FB: "I have some exciting news to share with you: Late last night, in Switzerland, Mirka and I became proud parents of twin girls! We named them Myla Rose and Charlene Riva and they are both healthy and along with their mother, they are doing great. This is the best day of our lives!"

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis I've wanted to read this book for the longest time. Finally, I was able to borrow a copy from Caloy. This is an axposition on what it means to be a Christian by C.S. Lewis, author of the Narnia series. This book covers the basics of Christianity such as faith, charity, hope, pride and many others. What I really imbibed from my first reading is the concept of time and what it means to believe that you have already received what you are praying for. I struggled with this before but given theframework, it has become easier. :) There are more revelations or explanations from this book. It's definitely worthwhile to reread to have a deeper appreciation of the ideas.

Neil reached a major milestone last week. He's one and is now a toddler. We had his checkup last Friday. Current weight is still 10kg but he is now 31 inches tall. This is the first time that he stood on the adult weighing scale alone. He also followed the staff when led to the wall for his height measurement. We received a lot of habilin from his doctor for nutrition, discipline, learning, etc. This is definitely a new season for our family and I'm looking forward to new developmental milestones. He also had his first haircut last Saturday. I was sad and a little emotional seeing his baby hair fall to the floor. The original hair he was born with is no more. :( For me, it was also symbolic of how much he's grown and changed over the past year. We're thankful and blessed that he is growing well - healthy and happy. Thank you, Lord for Neil's first year and for continuing to bless our family abundantly.

- I did not enjoy reading this book. It felt like reading a textbook and had very few personal anecdotes from the ex-Intel president/CEO. - Writing is straightforward, but not revolutionary (like Gladwell) especially if work/used to work for Intel since the concepts won't be new anymore. Intel Outside might appreciate this more. - Still, some ideas are very practical and applicable to non-semicon areas. *Sorry if this is not a very helpful review. I'm just keeping tabs of the books I've read.

*I don't intend this to be a 'professional' review, just keeping track of the books I read this year. A story about obsession. Professor Van Tassel marries Etna Bliss, a woman he loves deeply but who doesn't love him back. She performs her duties as a wife and mother but keeps a big emotional part of her life apart from her husband. She rents a separate place without his knowledge. He finds out eventually, takes offense and frames and acquantance of hers for molesting his daughter. They go their separate ways but not without severe consequences. All he ever really wanted was for her to love him. It never happened.

What am I talking about? Matchy-matchy outfits. :) There have been several times when Richard, Neil and I would wear same-colored tops. I used to purposely avoid doing so but now I just think it's cute. Haha! We don't do it all the time but if the mood strikes, then go! This is us last Sunday. Di lang red tops, all in khaki shorts pa! So fun!

As children, we’re told not to talk to strangers. I would teach Neil the same thing. This is necessary so that kids are not lured by people who may have evil intentions. But even when we are older and are better able to protect ourselves, we still hold on to this mentality of avoiding talking to strangers (not counting short, random exchanges). So, when was the last time you got to know a complete stranger? Me? The other day. I shared a tricycle ride with a lady and she asked me how much the fare was. “P12.” Normally I would stop here and I would just ignore the person for the rest of the trip. But then I continued, “P24 pag mag-isa ka lang.” That started it. She said she was a broker at our subdivision and she just started working again after 2.5 years. Our initial conversation was about the house model, the village, etc. but then turned to more personal topics. The reason she stopped working was that she had to take care of her husband who suffered a stroke, but he died la