Category: Featured

Better With You

I want frappe.
I want macchiato.
But ginger tea
is better with you.

I want Mac and Cheese.
I want Pesto.
But pancit canton
is better with you.

I want sorbet.
I want gelato.
But ice scramble
is better with you.

I want PS5.
I want Nintendo.
But Truth and Consequence
is better with you.*

I want Ruffles.
I want Doritos.
But Piattos
is better with you.

I want Greenbelt.
I want Solenad.
But Shopee and Lazada
is better with you.

I want Bali.
I want Morocco.
But Silang, Cavite
is better with you.

* c/o Vinz

Before You Sleep

Before you sleep
I can recommend
These suggestions
On how your day will end

Before you sleep
Would you prefer
A luxurious massage
A soft skin to pet and pamper

Before you sleep
What will it be
Listening to love in poetry
Or rhymes in a symphony

Before you sleep
Perhaps a movie
Of romance or comedy
Chips will be ready

Before you sleep
Will you fancy a dance
We’ll make up the steps
I’ll take that chance

Before you sleep
You can choose
My arms wrapped around you
Or my hands on the loose

Before you sleep
My last offer is a kiss
For only five minutes
That’s a promise

Before you sleep
The lights are now dim
Make a choice
Even in a whim

Before you sleep
Before you sleep
Before
I
slee
Zzzz…

My Rule of 72

I made a new rule. I should be within 72 kilos.

My ideal weight is between 60-76 kilos but I feel good at 72 kilos right now. I don’t feel too bloated. I don’t look too thin. Just right.

With this rule, it is easy for me assess if I should eat less, or I can have a cheat day. I can quickly decide if I need more exercise, or I can skip a day at the gym.

If I weigh myself in the morning, and I am 73 kilos or more, I will be active for the day. I will have a fill of greens on my plate and eat lesser carbs and sugar.

But if my weight is 71.9 and below, it’s a good time to have a cheat day as a reward for myself.

The goal is to stay between 72.0 and 72.9 kilos.

I might stay on this weight for a while. But I will try to go lower. Maybe make it a Rule of 71 and or a Rule of 70.

I remember being 69 kilos and many find me too skinny already. The Rule of 69 will probably be for something else.

Love: A Heavenly Definition

Pastor Randy Skeete gave a sermon about Love during our annual Christian Couples Circle retreat.

The Love that is portrayed in the movies, soap operas, books, songs and other medium is totally different from the Love that was designed and “Made in Heaven”. Love should be offer-centered, just as Christ offered himself to us.

Here are three main points from the sermon that I wish to share. I hope it enlightens you as much as it has enlightened me.

John 3:16 – Love is giving the best and everything you have to your spouse.

A powerful verse about how God loves us sets an example on how we are to love our spouse: Love Gives! And we should give the best that we can and everything that we have. Love does not hold back.

John 15:12 – Love is a command.

The verse is simple: God commands us to love one another as He had loved us. Love, therefore, is a command. Love is not a feeling. This means that we should Love regardless of what we feel. We are to love our spouses even if we feel angry, sad, or hurt.

1 Corinthians 13:1-3 – Love is the Greatest

This chapter is famous for verses 4-7. Love is patient, Love is kind… and so forth. But the first three chapters gives us another important message. Paul says that without Love everything else is meaningless. We can be living with our spouse in a beautiful house, go to dinner dates, travel to exotic places, but if it was done without Love, it is for nothing. In everything, Love is the context.

Finally, these verses mean that You don’t Love a person for what the person can do for you. Instead, Love by giving yourself for the benefit of others.

The Love Equation

As an engineer, I define love as this:

Love is inversely proportional to expectation.

Meaning, the more expectations you have, the less love you feel. The less expectations you have, the more love you feel.

Let me explain by stating the examples.

During courtship, our expectations are usually low. We don’t expect a text message. We don’t expect a letter. We don’t expect the intentional glance. We don’t expect the gifts. But when these expectations happen, we get knocked off our feet. This is where we think we are most loved.

After courtship, the expectations start to increase. We expect regular calls. We expect gifts in every occasions. We expect full attention. When these expectations happen, then that’s good. But when the expectation fails to happen, we feel unloved. Conflict begins.

In marriage, the expectations are at its highest. It should be happily ever after, right? We expect complete devotion. We expect total understanding. We expect infinite intimacy. When these expectations happen, then that’s good. But when the expectation fails to happen, we feel betrayed. We no longer feel love.

Thus, it is simple to rediscover love.
Lower the expectations.
You will find love again in the smaller things.

Love is not enough

Relationships based only on Love can easily crumble.

Love is feeble.
Even after Love was earned, it can quickly fade for trivial reasons.
Respect, once earned, lasts longer.

Death separate lovers.
But in Death, Respect is manisfested.

Thus, when Love fades, let Respect remain.
Only then can the relationship survive to give Love another chance.

PSEI Stock Trading in 2019

I am back at being active with stock trading at the Philippine Stock Exchange. I have a trading acccount for more than 5 years and I made several hits and misses.

I have big regrets with the misses. In 2017, my portfolio was doing very well. However, I missed to sell them when the stock market went bottom early in 2018. So I was back to zero earnings when 2019 started.

This year, I decided to be more active in the stock market.

I am reading 2 good books for beginners. One is about short term trading and the other is about day trading.

So far, I think I know how to pick good stocks. My biggest weakness is how to make a profit before the stock crashes down.

The two books provided me with new tricks. I made new mistakes also. But those are just helping me learn how to trade better.

The rewards these past weeks have been very small. I hate to admit that what I am earning in the stock market is too small for the amount of time I am spending on it.

I wonder how others manage to earn several thousands in just one day.

Small wins, says the author. If done regularly, it will sum up to something big.

Gab at 8

Gab at KL Petronas Twin Towers

Gab is now 8 years old !!! What?!?! This has been a level-up year. It has been an exciting year while learning new things with Gab.

He insists he is no longer a baby. I agree he has grown a lot and has shown maturity. But sorry baby Gab, you are still our baby.

Here’s Gab at 8.

  • Gab weighs 20 kilos. He compares it with the allowable baggage for commercial flights.
  • Gab is 122 cm tall. He complains that his pants are now shorts. We have been buying new ones every year. He outgrows them quite fast lately.

Gab knows…

  • How to play the guitar. He plays it surprisingly well that we continued his guitar lessons with Teacher JM. If he keeps practicing daily, he will just get better and better.
  • How to swim. Not yet with the proper strokes but he can stay longer in the water now. He can glide and paddle for short distances. We will need another swim class to learn water safety.
  • Grade 3 Math. And it’s not the Grade 3 math I had when I was in Grade 3. Singapore Primary 3 can be tough to handle. It was challenging to teach Gab long multiplication and long division methods. But I’m glad we were able to get good marks in our IXL account.

Gab loves…

  • Cars! What else could be first on Gab’s list. It has been extra special lately that he was able to ride in a Maserati Granturismo! But the Nissan GT-R is his favorite. He said he will save for it so he can own one by 2032.
  • Travel. He looks forward to our next destination. This year we have plans for Taiwan again, then Bali and Singapore. He looks forward to our holidays again in Bacolod.
  • To walk. He tries to get more than 6,000 steps daily. If he can walk back home, he prefers to walk with a snack break in a park.
  • Staycations. He likes staying overnight at hotel rooms. He sleeps with whoever is in Manila and stays in a hotel. If there’s a pool, that is a big plus.
  • Astronomical Events. He can still recognize some constellations. He already watched a meteor shower and a lunar eclipse. Soon, he will watch a solar eclipse too.
  • Yoshi, Toad, Noddy, George, Carey… Those are characters from Mario and names of his stuffed toys. He brings one or two of his toys when we travel.

Gab hates…

  • Hello Kitty. I tease him a lot about Hello Kitty so he hates her. He doesn’t want to own anything with a Hello Kitty on it. But I kept Hello Kitty stickers to give Gab if he misbehaves. Hehehe…
  • Movies and TV shows. He prefers the short documentaries only or mini series. Movies makes him cry.

Gab’s favorite pastime.

  • Draw. He can draw all day about cars and maps.
  • Driving. He sits on a bed and pretends to be a driver of a taxi or bus. He will drive at 180 kph.
  • “Like Daddy”. He wears what I wear. He eats what I eat. He likes what I like.
  • Call Shaun. They have a video call whenever they are both awake. Gab is excited to meet Shaun personally on December.

Happy Birthday Gab.

Read other posts about Gab.