Only Awesome Things Can Happen To You When You're Always Grateful

I am thankful …

The laughters that I have cried-

For they always pour; can’t ever hide.

The tears that I allow-

For they always flow; free of sorrow.

The blessings that I have –

For they always cleanse; they came with love.

The sunshine that I hug –

For they always burst; they warm like fog.

The triumphs that I gain-

For they always scar; can’t ever feign.

The hurdles that I fought-

For they challenge; made me taut.

All these and more, I am grateful;

Somehow, the days made me half whole…

Photo from: http://www.caramelpotatoes.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Grateful-Heart-wm.jpg

Trouble App in the Palace (Fairy Tales Part III)

Fact: Snow White hates Apple.
Fact: Cinderella loves Pumpkins.
Fact: Snow White is a very competitive skank.
Fact: Cinderella is just one plain nasty psycho.

ACT 4, SCENE 1

One lazy humid afternoon, in the purple-ish den of the White's palace, Snowee and friend Cindee are busy browsing Gadget Geek Mag.

Cindee: So yesterday I bought iPhone 9S and I'm like, gawd, is this cheap or what?

Snowee: [In complete shock] You bought iPhone 9S?!!! I just barely learned how to use the stalker app in my 4G and there's 9S already?


Cindee: Hello. Where have you been?

Snowee: Excuse me. I gotta call Dad!

Cindee: You can use my phone.

Snowee: No. Thank you. I have my own  phone.

Cindee: Fine.[Slightly raises her eyebrow at Snow's sudden change of demeanor, whispers to self] I am not sure I'm liking the way Snow glances over. It's like she's possessed. She's got this crazy psycho Linda Blair's eyes. Uh-oh. I have to go.

[Cindee tiptoes out of the door, but Snowee catches her.]

Snowee: Cindee! Where are you going? I thought we're hanging out?!!

Cindee: Home. I need to feed my pet dragons! Yay!

Snowee: Would you like to  join us for dinner tomorrow?

Cindee: Yeah. Sure. [Smiling creepily as she enjoys this monologue in her head: What the hell? One moment she was this close to murdering me for having an iPhone 10, which is really not my fault that her dad is such a miser. Now she's all about dinner dinner? Hmm...]

Snowee: [Smiles broadly inadvertently showing her purple-ish gums] Guess who's coming for dinner?

Cindee: [I know it. Something is off] Ehrmm... Prince Charles?

Snowee: Helloooo! He's engaged!

Cindee: Ehrrmm... President Obama?

Snowee: Helloooo!!! And talk about change the whole night?! Nope! Nope!

Cindee: Okay, tell me. Who?!

Snowee: Steve!

Cindee: Steve Perry?!!!

Snowee: Steve Perry who?

Cindee: Never mind. Steve who?

Snowee: [Stutters] Steve...you know... th-th...the CEO of... you... know... the creator of you know... uhhhh-Apple...?

Cindee: [Laughs her booger out] Ho ho ho ho ! Steve Jobs! Girl, you gotta  be kidding me! All right. If you so require my presence tomorrow then I shall be here.

[Cindee glides gaily out of the scene.]

Snowee: [Furiously talks to herself, imitating Cindee's squeaky voice] If you so require my presence tomorrow. B*tch.  B*tch. B*tch. She didn't even flinch? She wasn't impressed at all? Who invites Steve over for a casual dinner? Doh?!! Who the b*tch she thinks she is?

Snowee stomps crazily out of the scene...






To be continued...



2011© mj

This blog was created 3 years ago. First posted in Multiply. So much has happened since then. 

All I Really Need to Know I Learned While Growing Up

Live a balanced life - learn some 
and think some and draw and 
paint and sing and dance and 

play and work every day some.

~Robert Fulghum

In a few months from now I will be another year older... but wiser. So far,  here are some of the things I learned:

1. You can't please everyone.
 
Of course. You were NOT born to please anyone in the first place. Those things your parents said when you were young, like, you have to be nice and sweet when the relatives come over? Those are just for the sake of having good manners (so that parents wouldn't look bad). 

You don't really have to be nice all the time. You don't really have to agree with everyone. You are free to stand up and say NO or smack people on the head if they deserve it. 

Baby Denise has so much wisdom.

The only person you should please is your boss, who pays your salary. Not up to pleasing the boss? Leave. Find another job. Chances are, with the new job, you still need to please the new boss. Well, you can always leave again. And again. And again. Yeah. Keep doing that until you realize it's better to be your own boss. But then again when you're the boss, you have to please the clients...You see, it's a vicious cycle my friend.

2. Never expect anything in return.

You help. Good. Happy for you. Good karma and blessings to pour your way everyday. But expecting people to do the same and feeling disappointed if they don't? Really? It's that how you want it? Suck it up. You helped. Period. If they pay you back in return, good for them, good for you. If not, charge it to experience. At least, good karma and blessings will still pour your way everyday.

3. Regret always comes in the end. 
 
You done things. You decided to. No one forced you. And now you're regretting everything? Really? What for? Grow up. Suck it up. That's life. 

The choice was yours and yours alone. Did anyone point a .45 to your head? Chances are, you did those things because you want to. What's the whole point of pointing fingers, blaming others, regretting what could've been, should've been, would've been...?

4. Don't expect too much from people.    

This is like #2, but I want to make a point here, so listen. You are bound to disappoint yourself if you expect too much from others. People screw up. It's their nature. Our nature. We're humans. We're weak. We're not gods and goddesses from Mt. Olympus. (Hey, even gods are weak. Look at Zeus! He has kids with different mortals).

Get over it. Forgive. Forget. Move on.

5. Life is a stage and we're all actors.

Shakespeare forgot to mention that other than being actors, we're also the choreographer, director and scriptwriter of our lives. We don't like the script, we rewrite. We don't like the way things are going, we change plot. It's as simple as like that. You direct your life. Not other people. Stop the blame. Stop the hating. Sure, the next girl sitting beside you has a really bad hair. You can always switch seats or you can look the other way. You have choices. You can also push her out of the bus if you want.  Life is what we make it. It's all about making choices.

Aren't babies the luckiest creatures on earth? 

They don't know anything about choices...

Sigh. Why did we ever grow up and get old?

 

The Year That Was...

So, this is Christmas

And what have you done?

Another year over

And a new one just begun

~ John Lennon

A lot of people on FB and Instagram have this picture collage of their most memorable moments of 2013. I couldn't make any. I have lots of photos taken, sure, but there is so much that I don't know how to put them all together.

The photo's not awesome, but the write-up is good. I think. 

Other than pictures, I have in my head a compilation of everything great that happened in 2013. I am not going to bore you with the details, just know that 2013 has been awesome.

OK. Fine, here they are:

January: What did I do in January? I can't remember!

February: I can't remember again! 

March: I was featured in Hotjobs. Centerfold, baby! 

With pretty pressies from friends

April: Oh my birthday! I didn't do anything fab! We had this company contest and I didn't win. Oh well... 

May: Summer is almost over and I haven't seen the ocean for some time and was planning to go, but work got in the way.

June: I didn't get married. And some people that I really like left the company. Sad. 

July: My team is finally back in one shift. We were split into day and evening shifts in August 2012. The horror of commuting home at 2 am! OMG! So happy! Woot! Woot!

August: Son got sick. Almost dengue, but thank God he got better. I spent 4 days in the hospital with him. Scariest days of my life.

September: Went by so fast, I didn't even notice.

The Truelogic Awesome Peeps

October: Company outing and Halloween party, Mamu's birthday, and the visit to Angela!

November: What did I do last November? November rain is what happened. Yolanda. Devastated lives. Our relatives including. Good thing that nothing really bad happened to my mom's siblings and their families. God is good!

December: Got awarded with a fab set of purse and wallet and a trophy that says I'm a Game Changer. How cool is that? Then, Papu's birthday celebration and the Hobbit movie. Met up with good college friends and their loved ones. And the holidays came and went just like that.

Here with Denis Ayeng (One of my mentors! Yay)

I have no new year's resolution. I resolved years ago not to make one because I always end up not following them anyway. A complete waste of time if I may say. Writing your new year's resolution doesn't happen overnight. Hello. It takes time and effort and will power.

I am not good with will power. In fact, I don't have one. I'm a spontaneous person.

My team in Oyster Bar. 12.20.2013 with our CEO

I will continue my fairy tale saga and sell the plot to SNL or whoever is interested. Who knows, I might even find someone filthy rich to marry me.

We don't know what the future holds.

Mandela, Walker, Et. Al

“Your time may come. Do not be too sad, Sam. You cannot be always torn in two. You will have to be one and whole, for many years. You have so much to enjoy and to be, and to do.” 
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King

Paul Walker passed away too soon last November 23. Last night, December 5th, Mr. Mandela, the champion of anti-apartheid in Africa met  his Maker. 


I'm sad. Really sad. 

And recently I got papers from my esteemed Rockstar writers that they are quitting. 

I'm sad. Really sad. 

What's with the leaving? I understand, but I don't understand. Good people die young. Good employees go. I hate to see them leave, but I have no choice but to move on. Life is really like that. 

People come. People go. And one day, we will all go. 

I'm sad. Really sad.