Effective today, I will write down AT LEAST five (5) things I am grateful for everyday. I am a firm believer of the fact that expressing gratitude is a key ingredient to happiness. In hindsight, I should've probably started this gratitude journal a long time ago. But no mater, the key thing is that I have started. For this first entry, I will include events/things that happened during the past several days. But moving forward, I would probably need to restrict it to the last 24 hours, since I am to do this daily.
So, here we go!
Things I am grateful for today:
1. Choir practice/birthday celebration last night - this was held at my sister's house. And she prepared carbonara, plus a barbecue glazed type pork. A choir mate brought cake, and even my sister baked yellow cake (the one you bake using an even toaster). Music, laughter, friendship, good food plus a shared faith make for a great night. :-)
2. Catch-up over brunch and water spa - Kat, a dear friend of mine (we go back 10 years, imagine that!), and I finally met at Pasig on Thursday for our regular Ace Water Spa activity after several months of absence. She treated me to brunch at this breakfast joint in Barangay Kapitolyo before we went to the pool. What's great about our spa time is we get to unwind and update each other with what's going on with our lives. She told me about this start-up company she's currently involved with, and that she might tap me to help with the online ordering system and distribution. Meanwhile, I referred a consultant to her for her own start-up company. It's amazing! More than just referring business contacts/opportunities to each other, we have shared a lot of happy memories over the past several years. We have similar challenges too, especially when it comes to familial relations, but let's not go there. Hehehe. I can't wait until our next spa date!
3. Running at the UP Academic Oval - running = happiness. And the fact that I was able to do that this week in my alma mater makes it even more fun. Running in UP is great because even if you run solo, you get to be with a lot of runners. From the occasional jogger to the hardcore long-distance marathoner, they're all there! I love the whole atmosphere of UP Diliman. The huge buildings, the equally huge trees, the students, the jeepneys - it all adds to a unique campus experience. I was able to complete three and a half rounds that night - 7.87 km if I'm not mistaken. I hope I get to do that more regularly. But given that UP is sooo far away from home, realistically it is not feasible. Good thing there's Manila Memorial Park.
4. Badminton and lunch with Dinah and friends - Dinah, a good friend of mine whom I met while we were students at Instituto Cervantes, asked to play badminton on Tuesday, October 15, with her French friend Marc Antoine (who's here on holiday) and Echo, a friend if Dinah's whom I first met while watching at a foreign film festival. So the four of us trooped to Wings and Shuttle, a badminton center beside Toyota Alabang. After playing for around an hour and a half, we had lunch at Jang Ga Nae, the Korean restaurant inside BF Homes which Dinah' s mom manages. They surprised me with a blueberry birthday cake, complete with candles and its own plastic knife! What a great way to spend our holiday. :-)
5. My birthday - so when was my birthday, exactly? It was on October 14. I share the same birthday with my Mom, two org-mates of mine from college, plus a local celebrity (guess who?), among others. LOL! So what did I do during my birthday? Nothing fancy, really. Just heard Mass in the morning, then in the afternoon I went to the gym. I had dinner at a Hainanese restaurant inside BF Homes afterwards. Due to my current employment situation (or lack thereof, should I say), I am unable to take my friends and/or family out for dinner, which is what I usually do on my birthday. But I'm sure they understand. :-)
I am really blessed to have great friends. I know that things can only go uphill from here. Thank you, JC, for blessing me with another year!
So, here we go!
Things I am grateful for today:
1. Choir practice/birthday celebration last night - this was held at my sister's house. And she prepared carbonara, plus a barbecue glazed type pork. A choir mate brought cake, and even my sister baked yellow cake (the one you bake using an even toaster). Music, laughter, friendship, good food plus a shared faith make for a great night. :-)
2. Catch-up over brunch and water spa - Kat, a dear friend of mine (we go back 10 years, imagine that!), and I finally met at Pasig on Thursday for our regular Ace Water Spa activity after several months of absence. She treated me to brunch at this breakfast joint in Barangay Kapitolyo before we went to the pool. What's great about our spa time is we get to unwind and update each other with what's going on with our lives. She told me about this start-up company she's currently involved with, and that she might tap me to help with the online ordering system and distribution. Meanwhile, I referred a consultant to her for her own start-up company. It's amazing! More than just referring business contacts/opportunities to each other, we have shared a lot of happy memories over the past several years. We have similar challenges too, especially when it comes to familial relations, but let's not go there. Hehehe. I can't wait until our next spa date!
3. Running at the UP Academic Oval - running = happiness. And the fact that I was able to do that this week in my alma mater makes it even more fun. Running in UP is great because even if you run solo, you get to be with a lot of runners. From the occasional jogger to the hardcore long-distance marathoner, they're all there! I love the whole atmosphere of UP Diliman. The huge buildings, the equally huge trees, the students, the jeepneys - it all adds to a unique campus experience. I was able to complete three and a half rounds that night - 7.87 km if I'm not mistaken. I hope I get to do that more regularly. But given that UP is sooo far away from home, realistically it is not feasible. Good thing there's Manila Memorial Park.
4. Badminton and lunch with Dinah and friends - Dinah, a good friend of mine whom I met while we were students at Instituto Cervantes, asked to play badminton on Tuesday, October 15, with her French friend Marc Antoine (who's here on holiday) and Echo, a friend if Dinah's whom I first met while watching at a foreign film festival. So the four of us trooped to Wings and Shuttle, a badminton center beside Toyota Alabang. After playing for around an hour and a half, we had lunch at Jang Ga Nae, the Korean restaurant inside BF Homes which Dinah' s mom manages. They surprised me with a blueberry birthday cake, complete with candles and its own plastic knife! What a great way to spend our holiday. :-)
5. My birthday - so when was my birthday, exactly? It was on October 14. I share the same birthday with my Mom, two org-mates of mine from college, plus a local celebrity (guess who?), among others. LOL! So what did I do during my birthday? Nothing fancy, really. Just heard Mass in the morning, then in the afternoon I went to the gym. I had dinner at a Hainanese restaurant inside BF Homes afterwards. Due to my current employment situation (or lack thereof, should I say), I am unable to take my friends and/or family out for dinner, which is what I usually do on my birthday. But I'm sure they understand. :-)
I am really blessed to have great friends. I know that things can only go uphill from here. Thank you, JC, for blessing me with another year!
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