beautifulandhappy.com

Yep, that’s my number.  I am number 444 on the million blog list!  It is said there’s over 70,000,000 blogs out there, so there’s an experiment to list down 1,000,000 blogs and see how it takes to make 1M.  Hmm, the list started April 10, and now, it’s April 17 (Manila time) so basically the experiment is up for about a week now.  Less than a month? 3 months? 6 or 12 months? Or more than a year?

Ok, let’s make this experiment happen and be listed on the million blog list. Ei, go there now!

“Get listed at www.millionbloglist.com”

The old adage says that eyes are the windows to our souls. Through the eyes, we see if a person is happy or sad, afraid or excited - we see many (if not all) emotions through the eyes. Plus, I think our eyes is also our windows to the world. Using our eyes, we get to appreciate and marvel on the beautiful things God has created. We also see those not-so-beautiful things around us - eye sores - if you wanna call them. God is really a genius for giving us two sets of beautiful eyes to see what’s good and not.

Having said that, it is very important to take care of our eyes. Back in high school, I wore glasses to correct my astigmatism. However, I just noticed that it’s true that as we age, our eyesight also changes. Before, I could read clearly even if a word or signage is about 10 meters away. Now, my vision is a bit blurred. No wonder many people wear eyeglasses as they grow older. I think I need to see an opthalmologit soon to check on my eyes before my vision gets worst. (more…)

My love affair with chemistry started in high school. I belonged to a special science high class where the syllabus on sciences (obviously) and math were advanced compared to the regular sections. Anyways, I am not the geeky student back then, I wasn’t even on the honors. But I love chemistry so much during our third year, so the notebook I used is more special than the ordinary notebooks I used. Notes back then were checked by teachers, so with my other lectures I usually borrow the notebooks of Chix to complete my notes. But not with my chemistry subject. I always make sure my lectures are complete. I love it. I even used my chemistry lectures in highschool when I studied chemistry in college. I even got upset when my boardmate lost my chem notebook, sigh.

Maybe that’s the reason I took up chemical engineering in college. I love one of the most dreaded subjects - chemistry. And now, being a new professor, I am currently teaching chemistry! So my previously thwarted love affair with chemistry now continues - and hopefully I could spread that love to my students.

The other day, I received an email from my best pal Chix who is now based in the US. We usually communicate via email almost every other day to catch up and our messages would usually be perky like the usual long chats we had before. We are even planning a trip this June in time for her vacation to the Philippines. However, last weekend’s email is a bit different coz I received an email from her that’s short and sad: her sister-in-law, Ate Chel, who was only in her late 30s just passed away in the US due to lupus and left behind her young family. I am taking this opportunity to offer my condolences to the whole family. When I read her email, I immediately remembered another friend from high school, Gilbert, who would have celebrated his 33rd birthday last April 9. However, his life was cut short by an accident in Dubai last June.

Life is really too short. We won’t know when we will breath our last, so I think we need to show all our loved ones our love and appreciation as much as we can until we have our time here on earth. Life is really uncertain so sometimes it’s really practical to get a life or health insurance like Kaiser health plan coverage. Quality health plan is not only available for an individual but also for the whole family, or even for businesses.

I hope here in the Philippines, we can also avail of quality yet affordable healthcare plan like that of Kaiser health plan coverage in the US, where application is easy as 1-2-3. With the rising prices of everyday commodities, we sometimes take for granted the health insurance of the family, which is equally important because we won’t know when sickness will come nor an accident will happen.

“THIS TOO SHALL PASS”

I first encountered these lines when I watched ‘My Bestfriend’s Wedding” starring Julia Roberts and Cameron Diaz. I love the movie and I think I watched it more than 3x, but aside from being funny, I think one of the highlights of the film was when a bellman told those words to a very disraught Julianne (Julia) who was sitting on the hotel aisle.

Those words hit me, so after watching that movie, it has become one of my mantras when I am having some problems or I feel as if I am so burdened with life’s problems. Those 4 simple words never fail me to give the assurance that all heartaches, problems, anxieties and troubles will all soon fade - they will all pass - for sure.

In my last Wordless Sunday photo, I used that phrase (or a sentence?) again. And it was followed by - Now Would Be Good. The combination of those phrases were perfect as if saying, “if your having troubles today, don’t worry those will pass for sure. Everything will be ok.”

So I went photo and poem hunt again, and found these beautiful pieces which I want to share with you all. If you’re feeling down, cheer up! This Too Shall Pass!

This Too Shall Pass

If I can endure for this minute
Whatever is happening to me,
No matter how heavy my heart is
Or how dark the moment may be-

If I can remain calm and quiet
With all the world crashing about me,
Secure in the knowledge God loves me
When everyone else seems to doubt me-

If I can but keep on believing
What I know in my heart to be true,
That darkness will fade with the morning
And that this will pass away, too-

Then nothing in life can defeat me
For as long as this knowledge remains
I can suffer whatever is happening
For I know God will break all of the chains

That are binding me tight in the darkness
And trying to fill me with fear-
For there is no night without dawning
And I know that my morning is near.

…Helen Steiner Rice