beautifulandhappy.com

I am getting burnt out preparing exams and at the same time doing my lecture materials. For this semester, I am teaching 6 subjects - chemistry (for 2 sections), business calculus, environmental science, college algebra, discrete mathematics and NSTP (my only breather subject). We were required to submit last week our examination papers for next week’s Prelim Exams, but until today, I only finished 2 subjects - 4 more to go .

I am loving my new teaching career, but sometimes it’s exhausting - my pile of exam papers to check are getting higher! (Plus teaching fulltime disturb my BLOGGING CAREER - LOLS! ). Anyways, I’ve been sitting here in front of my laptop, trying to finish my other exam papers, but I can’t - mental block? So I checked out youtube for some nice videos and here is what I found.

This is a very nice video to refresh a tired soul - I hope I could finish all my test papers after posting this blog! HEHE. So if you are exhausted like me and needs a fresh start on anything you are doing, or too stressed out dealing with all the storms you’ve been battling in your life, pause a moment and watch this video.  For sure, it will calm you down - like its effect on me.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL, DEAR FRIENDS!

According to Blog World Expo, there are around 120,000 blogs created everyday. Whew! Meaning, in just around ten days, there are 1.2 million weblogs created! Evidently, this phenomenon is a BLOG EXPLOSION! There are free hosted blogs, like from blogspot and wordpress.com, however, when I created beautifulandhappy almost a year ago (YEY!), I opted to have a paid webhost.

When I was looking for a webhost that time, the only thing I considered is the cost of the hosting plan. I didn’t even checked out the bandwidth or traffic and space available for each plan. After 6 months, I changed to a new host but this time I did my research. That’s the number 1 lesson I learned - check out a webhost review first before getting a web hosting plan.

One review site I strongly recommend is webhostinggeeks.com. They have an independent review of the top 10 web hosting providers in 2008 where they ranked hosting packages according to the best value and price. Not only that, they also have other webmaster resources to make it easier for bloggers even for the novice.

So whether you’re a new blogger or have an existing blog and looking for a new web host, webhostinggeeks.com is the site to check out.

Last Sunday, millions of Filipinos were glued on their TV sets to watch the boxing fight between our dear Manny Pacquiao and David Diaz. Manny, of course, made the country proud again and for at least few hours, we forgot the tragedy brought along by the typhoon Frank.

I really waited for his game, and since the start of the first round, the mismatch between Manny and David was evident. With his speed and mighty punches, Pacquiao KOed Diaz in the ninth round and he become the new World Boxing Council lightweight champion. Not just that, Pacquiao also made history as the first Asian to win world titles in four different weight classes, and the first Filipino to become a lightweight champion! WOW!

However, aside from the power he showed on the ring, I also witnessed his faith. When he went up the ring, he immediately prayed on his corner. He was also wearing a rosary, which of course was taken off during the fight. And when he knocked out Diaz, he again, went to the ring corner and silently prayed and thanked the Lord for his victory. More than the goose bumps I had when our Lupang Hinirang was sang beautifully by a young and pretty Nicole Angela, I was teary-eyed when Pacquiao was declared the winner. Again, it dawned on me the paradox that life is like a boxing match.  What he said during the post-fight interview hit me: “Walang imposible sa Panginoon, kaya magtiwala po tayong lahat.”

You see, I’ve been through a lot of storms lately, both figuratively and literally.  Similarly, many Filipino families are still in mourning because of the tragic loss of hundreds of lives because of the typhoon Frank.  Thank God for Pacquiao, He gave us enough inspiration to be strong during these stormy times - to always have grace under pressure.  More so, thanks Pacman for making the country proud again! Keep it up!

To my dear blog friends, I am again moderating the comments for this blog. So if you don’t see your comment after you submitted it, it will surely appear after I approve each of them. Sorry for such hassle, but yesterday, somebody posted a comment on this blog (I already unapproved it) and used my nickname (maline) to log and even my email address to post this comment on my earlier blog Look of the year:

Couldn’t believe you even thought of joining….i dont have a second thought that you even won’t go thru the initial screening…u need to consult a “dental”surgeon” and get teeth implants…u damn need a complete overhaul first… u might wanna use the money you got from the tax office in Australia which you forged, pretended that you worked as a houskeeper, and thus gave your identity to someone else…if they found out about this….that’s it! There goes your dream of a nice future! Be careful! Is this the kind of person who believes in God? Don’t think so.

In reply to this comment, I am posting an open letter to this impostor friend, who have tried to use my name, hacked my emails and friendster account, tried to ruin my family by maligning me to my husband, sending me bitter and sarcastic sms, and always giving me prank calls. I am posting this open letter so my real blog friends will be warned, just in case this somebody use my identity again. So here it goes:

Dear “Friend”,

I am writing you today, and I hope you could read this letter, and hopefully set everything straight. I am writing now in bullet form just to show you the differences in our writing style and paragraph compositions (foremost, i don’t use ellipsis in my sentences). Anyway, here is my message to you my dear friend:

1. I would like to thank you, that in those numerous times that you harassed me in different media - sms, calls, emails, friendster, and now my own blog - my faith strengthens the more. After each harassment, I silently utter a prayer for you that all the hatred in your heart stop. I admit I got irked when I learned you sent malicious messages by hacking my emails and when I started receiving those nasty messages from you. I am only human, so I naturally got upset of course. But not anymore - gosh, it’s almost two years now that you are pestering me - I am so used to it that I am not affected anymore. In the first place, God has given me this trouble (and you!) because He knows my capacity and I can handle this.
2. You try to threatened me before in your texts about the things you claim that I don’t know about my husband. You said when I know everything, I will surely cry a river and I will be miserable. My dear, you don’t have to threaten me because I might already know the things that you are trying to hide. A marriage, or any relationship, is not always a bed of roses. There will always be problems and challenges - these are all the spices of life. But staying in our marriage is our decision - despite all the challenges we face. You don’t have any right to dictate us what to do or what we should feel. I always believe that God put us together, and we have been through many trials before. Love is patient and kind, I just hope you find that kind of love in your heart.
3. You said I am not strong enough. Then, you don’t really know me and I am sure you don’t. God is my strength and I know myself better, and like what I replied to you before, your opinion doesn’t matter to me. There are lots of life challenges that i already went through before, but always God has been my refuge - ALWAYS!
4. Yes, I admit, I have a terrible set of teeth , even if I had braces years back. But it’s not the set of teeth that defiles a person, but what is going out of his/her lips. And you are right, I need an overhaul. I hope someday I could have one - better yet, I wish of getting a make over from The Swan or Extreme Makeover. That would be cool but still, despite these flaws, I believe that I am beautiful! In the eyes of God, everyone is beautiful! Nobody is perfect, and for sure you are not, too, and you have insecurities and imperfections yourself.
5. I never pretended to be a housekeeper because I really worked as a housekeeper in Australia while finishing my Masteral course! I am not ashamed of it because that’s a decent job and I don’t have to prove to you anything, including my capabilities and worth as a person. All the other false accusations you told me via sms, I just hope after you sent them, you are happy. I pity you, because for two years, you are holding grudge against me for reasons I don’t know. I hope every time you try ruining my reputation, you are happy and you have your peace of mind.
6. You said, hide and seek, because you don’t want to tell me who you really are. This is only your game and I am not into this game. You may continue hiding, and I am not actually looking for you, because I know, in the right time, everything - everyone- will be revealed and everything will end. But I am sure, that right now God knows what you are doing, God knows what you are thinking, God knows what you are planning to do next against me and my family, and God knows who you really are. I am contented with that so you are the only one playing your silly hide and seek game - that’s cowardice of hiding.
7. I know you are trying to jeopardize all our plans in coming back to Australia. That’s alright. I have a strong belief in God’s better plans for our family - this is enough assurance for me and Albert. So if an Australian dream is not for us, be it. Surely, God will put everything and everyone in their proper places, in His own right time! For sure, if God closes a door, He will surely open lots of windows! Yet, we are still thankful that we’re given the opportunity to experience the life Downunder.
8. I know after you read this blog, you will do everything to get even, and most likely, I will get sms tirades from you again and pester me with calls - I might even get another death wish from you. I just hope when you call me again, please answer so I could hear your beautiful voice. But in spite of all of these, I will continuously pray for you that you will be happy with your life even at my expense. God has the full control of everything - that’s enough for me.
9. So for all the nasty things that you said against me and for all the wrong judgments you told about me, I just continuously pray for you because in the end, it will only be God who will judge us all. He knows the truth and He knows me more than anybody else.
   
10. Finally, let me thank you because every time I receive your cynical sms messages, answer your prank calls, or even find out the other negative things you brilliantly set up against me, I realize how lucky I am because God is testing my faith and resilience. Again, THANK YOU! Because every time you mock me in your messages, I get to assess how blessed is my life and how strong I am spiritually. And I never thought I could be this patient and forgiving - that despite all the things you have done to me, I am not harboring hatred for you. You have become an instrument to test me. So I just wish you find true happiness and peace of mind.

God bless to you and all your loved ones, and I hope they (and you, too) won’t experience this similar adversity.

Sincerely,

Maline (the real malinesky - beautiful and happy!)