// thoughts

Arvin and I were just talking and remembering the past when we were kids and all the toys and thing we'd do back then!

How we miss all those toys and those times where sky's the limit on what we could do. Just get together and play and do whatever you wanted to do in our own little worlds.

Matchbox Cars
Remember matchbox cars and how we'd crash them into each other! Or how we would make them DRIFT because it looked so cool. Then they came out with those matchbox cars that had the caps in it so when you crash them into each other smoke and that small "bang" goes off, how awesome is that. Every weekend I would get one new car - go to the mall with my parents and were in KayB toys. Would ask my mom if she could buy me a toy and she'd tell me only $1.00 and I'd go run to the matchbox rack and pick out a new car for me to drive...if only they had an audi a4 back in the day!

GI Joes
No I'm not talking about the crappy life size, 30 foot dolls they have now! I'm talking about the plastic, movable, 3 inch toys! Straight from the show with all the accessories and the vehicles. Oh man, the wars between Cobra and GI Joe were on a daily basis! GI Joe had their base made out of a red/white/blue shoe box that I had - all that was needed was to cut out holes for a door, a few windows and stick a couple of guns on it, draw on it if you want and GI Joe had a home to defend! My favorite of GI Joes were Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow - only had Snake Eyes but never got Storm Shadow. I loved the ones that had accessories! One of them had a rope where it had a grappling hook at the end and I would make him slide from the TV to my bed. O o O o ! The vehicles! The best one I had was the F-16 jet that Ace had. Santa gave that to me for Christmas once and it was the most awesomeness gift ever! That thing was huge and whenever I just wanted to end the fight with Cobra, I'd call in Ace and make him land his jet right on top of the enemies! There was even this one time where I skinned the head of the Baranes (spelling?) and left her bald! YOoooo JoE!!!!

Parachute Men
These where cheap little toys of plastic men with plastic parachutes, but there were off the hook! You just throw them up in the air and then watch them come down slowly as a real parachuter would. For some strange reason I happened to always, always lose them! Sometimes Mr. Parachute Man would make his way to GI Joe headquarters to try and save the day.

Motorcycles with the stick
Have no clue what they were called but it was a plastic motor cycle and when you pulled this stick that was lodged in the back tire, it would just speed off! Those were just amazing, simple toys but awesome toys. These I would always lose as well!

Marbles
My sister from Philippines had sent me a whole buncha marbles and I played with them a few times. After watching Duck Tales with the episode that had the "Great Masher" in it, I had to go find one! So during a field trip in school, in the gift shop of where ever it was we went, I found one! I got it and it was over. Played marbles with my friends and I kicked their butt! They couldn't hang with the Great Masher! But then they didn't want to play anymore because they would never win.

Ahhh so many toys but these were just a few off the top of my head, how fun it was to play with the simple toys of yesterday. We didn't need a computer, we didn't even need electricity! We used our imaginations, we used our hands, we would make these plastic toys come to life. I wish I would kept all these toys...

+ mon

Man once you say that you know you're old! I was just on the subway and thinking about how Christmas used to be when I was a kid - it was freakin' awesome!

We'd be in our apartment, sometimes relatives, friends and neighbors come over and I'd hang out with my friends and play with them. Remember that word - play.

"Hey watcha doing today?" "I'm playing..."
"Come over to my house and we'll play..."

Ahhhh sooooo innocent and not a care in the world back then. We'd sit there for hours eating and playing Sega, Nintendo, with our GI Joes, Transformers, Lego, Lincoln Logs, draw something, or just play some made up game that came off the top of our heads.

Then we'd count the minutes until midnight to open our gifts! Usually I'd ask for a video game or a video came console every year. It started out with Atari 7800, then Sega Master System, then Sega Genesis. I would get games for Christmas and play them until there was no tomorrow. I even remember a few times where I would open my gift, since I already knew what it was and asked permission to open it, and play it a few times then put it back in it's wrapper so I have something to "open" on Christmas. After I would open it, I'd just sit there for hours and hours just playing!

It was the best when I was younger, no school for a week or two and I'd just be playing that whole time, either with my new video game or with my friends. Then I'd go to sleep and when I wake up Santa left me a gift that I've been asking for or a totally other gift which made Christmas morning even better.

Ahhhh how great it was to be a kid! Now it's about the shopping, eating, drinking and worrying about last minute gifts that I haven't bought yet. Fun times but I so wish I were a kid again, no worries, no cares, just playing.

+ mon

1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.

8. Same for pies. Apple. Pumpkin. Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or, if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards.

10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Reread tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner.

hAhHAhHAhA great stuff!

+ mon

Man I remember when I used to goto school and we had those loooooooong vacations! Those were the best ever! I envy those of you who go to school (sometimes)...ahhh especially High School! I loved High School, College was crap

You guys are at home right now, just waking up, watching tv, eating, on the pc in your pajamas or pang bahay and just chillaxin! I wanna do that, damn I'm falling asleep here at work.

+ mon

Ahhh after a busy weekend and all the eating, drinking and having fun with your family and friends, when Monday comes around it sucks!

I can't stand waking up on Monday mornings...I'm so tired, so exhausted, especially after Christmas weekend! Just like Garfield says "I hate Mondays."

Or I guess I just hate waking up in the morning

+ mon

Hope everyone is having a great Christmas! A great time to spend with family and friends, eat, drink, eat, eat and eat some more MmmMmm I'm getting hungry. After all the gift opening and all the liquor, the food, the desserts, and whatever else you can associate with Christmas, don't forget to put Christ in it too.

This is His birthday so let's celebrate and wish Him a very very happy birthday! This is a time to let Him back into our hearts. Smile and be happy for the Savior is born!

Take care and hope everyone is enjoying their Christmas

Merry Merry Christmas!!!

+ mon

Eating ice cream and a warm slice of apple pie is always good! But when you don't eat breakfast and don't have anything in your stomach, then decide to eat apple pie a la mode....bad idea.

Just did it and well it's not sitting too well right now. Let's just hope my stomach calms down a bit.

You have been warned. Do not eat apple pie a la mode in the morning when you have nothing in your stomach at all!

+ mon

Ahhh the joy of Metrocards and buying them each daily, weekly, monthly to get to work and school. From my years of commuting here in the great old NyC there's one thing that I realize about Metrocards.

Seeing Metrocards on the floor at the subway stations means absolutely nothing, as people just throw their used and zero balance cards on the floor.

But if you see a Metrocard anywhere other than a subway station, pick it up! Chances are it fell out of someone's pocket and is loaded with money and rides!

For the second time in three months I have done just that. Yesterday I was in church and saw a Metrocard on the floor, I picked it up knowing that it had some sorta rides left on it (it was at least going to save me $2.00). So I got it and tried it out this morning and it's a 30 day metro card that someone just bought yesterday! Wo O o O ohoOo O o !

Back in October, the same thing happened. I found a Metrocard on the floor in the hallway of my office and picked it up. Found out that it was a unlimited card for a month! Sweet deal!

Ok that's it, just thought I'd share that - so if you see a Metrocard on the floor and it's not in the subway stations, pick it up!

+ mon

Went to Simbang Gabe last night at the Philippine Consulate on 5th ave with some friends last night. This was my second time going, the last time I went was on Friday and there was this Monsenior there that was doing the mass. He was freakin' hilarious! The stuff he was saying, the things going on were just too funny.

So last night, I was hoping it would be him again - low and behold it was him! He greeted me right before the mass since he remembered me from the other mass I attended. During mass from Friday he was just saying all this funny stuff and was very "entertaining." So I was expecting the same thing and wasn't expecting much "substance" from what he was going to say, but rather just a good laugh.

But I was wrong, I learned a lot of things last night from the little that he said. One of our youth has an awesome name! Some of you know him as Em, and his full name is Emmanuel. The meaning of Emmanuel is God is present. How awesome is that name?!

Well here are a few other things that I learned last night and had a chance to reflect on from Monsenior.

-in Christmas put back Jesus, say Merry Christmas and don't leave out Christ
He was saying here that during Christmas time, even when we know some person celebrates Christmas we'll say "Happy Holidays" and forget that the real meaning of this time of year. We're preparing for Christs birth, His entrance into the world! So when we go around greeting people, tell them "Merry Christmas."

-let Him in our lives so we won't be afraid
This is something that I know is true. Those days of not trusting Him fully and being apprehensive of listening to what He wanted to do and I'd just do what I wanted to do was the time in my life when I was scared of things, scared of anything and everything happening. But if we open ourselves up entirely to Him, with no hesitation, no holding back, we will see the wonder of His power. We won't be afraid anymore because what's there to be scared of when we know that He is on our side? We won't need to worry about the worldy things, we won't need to worry about the problems in our lives, just as long as we let Him guide us, let Him be with us, let Him. Like one of the things I quoted in another post I made - Let go and let God.

-freewill was given to us so we can choose to love Him or not, we can say no
This was one most touching things I've heard. I don't know why but this one hit me. He said that the reason we were given free will was so that we can choose what we do, say yes or no - even to Him. We can say "no" to Him, it's up to us. God wants us to love Him, but with free will it's our choice. Love is never forced, love is given voluntarily by that person.

-if there is no God then there is gluttony, averice, lust, greed, and all the other sins because we become our own Gods
This one is sooooo true! If we don't believe in Him, if we don't let God into our lives, everything is about me. I remember those times when I would just question God all the time and just forget about Him. Those were the times I would just think soley of myself - fight with my friends, family and whomever because I was selfish and just wanted things to happen for me.

These are just my opinions about the things he said, this is my analysis. Great mass last night and great lessons learned

Fun times for all!

+ mon

Ok I guess I am going to bring out some of my problems here for all to see. Sorry if it brings you down or whatever but you have the choice of reading it or not...

I don't get this...I really don't. If you buy somebody something as a gift for their birthday, Christmas or whatever occassion it is, they are supposed to accept it right since it came from you and it was something you thought about getting them?

Whenever I buy something for certain people in my life they seem to "not like" it or "not need" it and they want to return it and get something else. Every single time, I guess next time I'm just going to give them money instead of taking the time to think of a gift and then them returning it anyways.

Should I be upset? Should I be hurt? I really don't understand, it's every single time, but when someone else gets them something they love it, it's the greatest thing to them in the world at that moment in time. But when they open my gift, "they don't need it," or "I should have gotten something else instead."

Makes no freakin' sense to me. Christmas Spirit = -10 This is soooooooo ghetto. That's another way of me saying that this sucks.

edit : ok I've calmed down a bit from being "hurt" and had returned the gift, I figure I'm just going to give cash but do it in a creative way (haven't figured that one out yet). Lesson learned - you can't change the people around you, but you can always change yourself.

I remember hearing that from one of the councils in Kali. They said that if you are having problems with someone, don't expect that person to change for you but rather take the first step and change something that you are in control of, you. Change something so that the problem will be resolved, humble yourself.

+ mon

I haven't eaten breakfast in forever, I think ever since the retreat. Usually I'm fine and I can wait til lunch to eat, but sometimes if I take a bite of something before I get really hungry!

My firm gives out apple pies for the holidays to all the employees so I got mine this morning. I wanted to taste it so I just had a few crumbs of it and now I'm starving!

MmmMmM apple pie a la mode sounds sooo good right now! That's applie pie with a scoop of ice cream

+ mon

It's funny how I spoke at an Ultreya about Christmas a few weeks ago, but I really ain't feeling the whole "holiday cheer." Why? I have noooo clue?

Maybe I just have a lot on my mind or things are just buggin' me to the point of where I can't get into the mood.

Take yesterday for instance, my parents tell me to go out and buy a Christmas Tree. Last time I bought one, I bought a nice one and it was about 7ft or a little bigger (it still fit in the house, it's abour 8.5ft to the floor to the ceiling. So I bought it and when I get home with the tree they were all pissed of because it was "too big."

So yesterday we went out to go buy a tree, it was just me and Dudoy. I told Dudoy that he was going to pick it out because I don't want them to go off on how the tree is too big.

To be continued (back to work)...

Ok forget this post, I don't want to bring anyone down so this post will be stopped here

+ mon

Just some thoughts off the top of my head that don't have enough information to make a new posting about it.

> On the way to the airport last night to drop off the rental vans, Russel and I spun out in the snow! It was awesome, no one was hurt and no cars were damaged

> Let it snow! Yay the second snow of the season in NyC! Not much but enough to give things a little coating

> It's sooooo cold today! I don't know the temperature but it's brick outside (yeah I said "brick," now I'm ghetto)

> Go get an Ogo (read my view down there)

> My facial hair is starting to grow on me (get it! "grow" on me!). I'm not going to shave it anytime soon, I think I'm going to let it grow forever, just the one on my chin

> Why is everyone playing WoW!? They stopped playing CS because of stupid WoW!

> My hands smell like taco since I just had some for lunch

> My room was freezing this morning, so I covered my window with plastic!

> Dammit! My favorite Torrent sites are dead! Freakin' MPAA and RIAA, buncha jerks! Now I must find another place to call home

That's all for now, just random thoughts bouncing around in my head. There's a lot of room for it to go around up there.

+ mon

I look at my paystub and see how much I've made from January...where did it all go!? Holy effing cow!? I have no clue what I spent the money on~!

I know a lot of it went on food and BNP stuff but what happened to the rest!? Shopping? Transportation expense? Man o man, I hate seeing this money I made on my paystub and having no clue where it all went.

Starting 2005, I'm going to be tracking every nickel and dime that I spend! I said that last year but never did it, so this time I'm going to do it forreal. Gotta find out what I'm buying and spending all my cash on.

+ mon

After one of my friends (hi Jessica! ) got the Ogo and was IMing me through it I was curious as to what it was. I did some research and found it on the cingular site for $99 with a $30 rebate, bringing the price down to $69 (that magic number again! 68+1).

I was reluctant to buy it because of the price of the device, Jessica had gotten it for only $50 from a special promotion they were doing. So I waited and the next day the promotion was back on, $50 for the Ogo and a limited edition case.

I ordered it that night and I received the Ogo two days later (free shipping).

Don't know what an Ogo is? Let me explain what it is and what the pros and cons are of this device.

Basically the Ogo is a mobile device that can text, email and instant message. The text is just the same as with a regular phone (sms), the email is pretty much any email out there, and it also supposed POP email, the instant messaging is from AOL, Yahoo, or MSN. You can get one or all three if you want. The base price per month is $17.99 which comes with one instant messaging service. So you can have either AOL, Yahoo or MSN. If you want to have two instant messaging services, for example, MSN and AOL then the price goes up by $3 and if you want all three messaging services it'll go up another $3. I don't see the need for more than one instant messaging service, so I assume majority of people will be getting the $17 plan.

One of the great things about the Ogo is that there is no contract! It's a month to month basis. There is a $19.99 activation fee that you pay when you first activate the device.

After powering it up and the activation was simple, you just need a credit card to charge the monthly fee and activation fee and you're good to go. The message on the screen said that it could take a few hours to set it up but it was done pretty quickly. Once your Ogo is active, they give you the phone number that is associated with it. Then you setup your messaging and email - it's very simple.

So again, this device can text, instant message and email. There is no web broswer, calendar, calculator, phone or any other of those functions with this device (yet).

Pros: Very cheap at $50 Unlimited text, email, im for $17.99 Comes with free case ($10 value) Very easy to setup Keyboard is very good Stylish POP email Free overnight shipping Not too bulky Nice colored screen Very sturdy (I think I can drop this and it'll be alright)

Cons: No web browser No calendar or calculator AIM Buddy List limited to 80

Final Analysis: This is a very good device is you are just into texting, messaging and email. If you are looking for a phone and/or web browsing then this isn't for you. With possible firmware updates in the future some missing features might be available but time will tell. For $17.99 and a pricetag of $50 (special promotion price) this is a very good product. How annoying is it to text, im and email through our cell phones? Very! So here's the solution if you're willing to put up that extra $17.99 a month, I'm removing the internet and text feature on my cell phone to balance out the difference. I really like the POP email as I can always check my email and read it on the go - I can do that on my phone now but it's a hassle. Texting is a lot easier than on the phone now, and I can mass text through the Ogo instead of going through the sprint website for my cell phone.

Compared to the sidekicks functions (web browser and phone) it's a good competitor. The sidekick is around $200 and the plans are $30 without any minutes for the phone ($0.20 each minute used) and $60 with 600 minutes and unlimited text, email and web for each plan.

In comparison to the sidekick's plan and functionality, the Ogo is half the price planwise and about 1/4 the price of the device itself. Of course we have to keep in mind that the Ogo can't get on the web and isn't a phone, is double the price plan and paying another $150+ for the device worth it? You be the judge - for me, I say no.

Bottomline is that you can't go wrong with the Ogo, as it doesn't have a contract and you go from month to month. So give it a try for a month and if you don't like it then just stop paying and sell the device.

This is my Ogo number so if you want to text me hit me up at 917-753-7637. You can't call me on that remember it's not a phone, yet. So email me (simon@raymundo.us), text me or IM me...the Ogo is always on.

+ mon

Whoever comments on this post will get $10~! Go comment, hurry this is only going to last 24 hours!

+ mon

"Humility isn't actually humility unless you're good enough at something to be humble."

+ mon

I took a little nap this evening and when I woke up there wasn't much to do. Usually I play CS but there wasn't too many people online playing. I would watch a movie that I just dLed but I saw all the new movies already.

So I decided to watch the older episodes of Joan of Arcadia. I watched the first episode first - in this episode God reveils Himself to Joan and she's still trying to figure out if it's true or not. So during one of her conversations with Him, she says "let's say you're God...ok well let's see a miracle." So they are walking along and God says "ok, how bout that..." and points to a tree that they are passing.

We do this a lot, always asking God to show us a miracle, show us something so we can believe in Him. Look all around you, there are miracles everywhere. The people you are walking by, the trees, the sky, the birds, the snow, the rain, the sun - all that was made by Him.

All we need to do is open our eyes, open our hearts and see the beauty that God has put into everything. Even though I live here in NyC and you see sin every which way you turn, I also see the goodness, I see His everyday miracles. Open yourself to Him, open yourself to what He gives you and you'll be a happier person.

I'll end this with one of those everyday miracles that a good friend shared to me about. Have you ever looked up at the sky when it was cloudy, or there was a cloud covering the sun? Then you see the ray light breaking through the clouds and streaming down to the ground. She called that God Light.

+ mon

This is a song that I've been listening to over and over again. Just listen to the song and go along with the lyrics. You can figure out what it means and this goes out to all the people who have been having problems (you know who you are ).

I played the fool today
and I can see us vanishing into the crowd
longing for home again,
but home is a feeling I've buried in you

but home is a feeling I've buried in you
that I've buried in you

download the song

+ mon

Took the day off today to clear my head and just reorganize my thoughts, my heart and everything else. Rough day yesterday...gonna be rough for a little while, but I'll manage. Been running around doing a lot today, thought it was going to be a day where I could just chill to clear myself and get a few things that I've been neglecting done but nOoOoooooO! Had to take my mom and aunt from kali shopping!

Well I'm home and I'm doing one of the jobs I've been putting off (fixing someone's PC), and after this I have to update the website for work. Man so tired, so exhausted physically, mentally, emotionally...

This is so not a day off!

+ mon

You never know how people are going to surprise you. I've been around the BNP a while now and have seen my share of youth come and go. Some go for reasons that are very valid, and some go and leave something they found to be life changing for the smallest of reasons.

A lot of the times you will hear people tell you not to go to BNP because of the people but rather go there for God. Of course it's all for God, but on the surface it's because of our friends, family, boyfriends, girlfriends or whomever you know that's already there. Sometimes people don't understand why they say not to go for the people, but it's with good reason. If you go to BNP activities for the people, then a very simple and small negative thing from one person can make you stop going.

Someone talking crap, something you heard someone say, or something that might have been taken out of context or the wrong way could lead to feelings being hurt, and eventually you not attending the BNP anymore. Who's the one that's losing out? The one who's still active? Or you, who stopped going because of the smallest thing?

When I was in Cali, I remember this was also a problem over there and one of the councils (I think it was Kuya Willie) said something that I will always remember and want to share with you guys.

*Next time you guys are about to tell something to someone else, just think of these questions. Is it the truth? Is it loving? Is it necessary? If you did not answer yes to all three, then you don't need to be telling that person whatever it is*

Say for example Gerard told Arvin something about me. Arvin told Gerard that I lie about everything I say, I was gay and that I talk crap about everyone. Now Gerard is chillin' with Mark and wants to tell Mark what Arvin just told him! Of course, it's natural to do that! So now Gerard has the choice of whether he's going to tell Mark everything he just heard from Arvin or he can just let it all go. Now Gerard has heard the sharing that I just said up there about the three questions...so he asks himself...is it the truth - he doesn't know? He just heard it from Arvin, he'd have to ask me to make sure it was the truth. Now he asks himself the second question...is it loving - nope it's not, if he spread the rumors that he's heard, it's going to ruin a lot of people's opinions about me and might ruin other things in my life. So now Gerard asks himself the last question...is it necessary - again the answer to this is no. Telling Mark about the things he's heard from Arvin isn't something he would have to do. So he doesn't say anything because he didn't answer yes to all those questions, he didn't even answer yes to one of them.

It's really simple...when you hear a rumor or something about someone just keep it to yourself! Why do we always feel the need to tell someone else when we find out something juicy about a person? Why do we always believe it!? Is it because so and so said so? Or because we want to coverup our own flaws by making someone else "lower than us."

So next time you hear someone tell you..."hey did you hear about [place name here]? I heard that they [fill in rumor here]!" - ask yourself Is it the truth? Is it loving? It is necessary? If the answer to any of the three questions is not an absolute yes, then don't even say anything about what you heard - practice some self control and some humility by keeping your mouth shut.

This is just something that I learned when I was talking to some of the youth today, we could really all be the best of friends if we practiced those three questions. And regardless of the reason anyone goes to BNP functions, just keep going. Sooner or later people will see what it's all about, people will see the real meaning, the real reason we all still go today - people will see the love, people will see God.

Ask yourself those three questions before spreading something you've heard...

+ mon

I remember a few years ago, I was hardcore into praying. I would just pray and pray and pray! Fifteen mysteries, pito pito, whatever it was I was doing it every possible time I could during the entire day. Why'd I do this? I really don't know it was just something that I wanted to do, I felt that love for Him soOooO much that I couldn't hold back and I just wanted to talk to Him every waking hour!

Even now I talk to Him whenever I have a spare moment, I say "hi," or just tell Him about my day. When I pray I don't just ask for something or do it with the intention of receiving something afterwards - of course we all have our times when we all do that. But some people don't realize the power of prayer.

Earlier this year we went to this Catholic church in the Bronx - St. Francis of Cabrini. The story of that church was it was started by a lady who came from Europe, her first name I don't remember but her last name was Cabrini. She's the patron saint of Immigrants. There was this whole story behind how she got the church started there in the Bronx (but I can't remember it right now), and her body which is still preserved is under the altar in the main church.

Part of the story was there was a bench that was on that ground before the church was built, and this is where she would go to pray. When the church was built, they had built the church around the bench, so it's still there in it's position as she prayed on it before. When we were there, the person who showed us around told us that if we go there and pray for something, we will receive it.

One of the youth here went there a week before the retreat. He went there for confession and there he sat on the bench and prayed for two things - to have a lot of candidates at this retreat and for him to get a job before Christmas started. He's been looking for a job for a while, but he just hasn't had much luck - he's constantly sent out his resume to every place possible but nothing would work out or people wouldn't call back.

So his first request was granted, with a retreat of 68 + 1. Then he called me up last week and explained the whole story to me again, well he got a job! Someone called him out of nowhere and asked him when he could start! So he's going to start working tomorrow! Second request granted!

I'm not saying to go to the Bronx or some other place to go wish for something that's known to have wishes come true, but it just shows you how much power there is in prayer and in faith. Trusting in Him and going to God when you need Him, putting your life in His hands and just giving yourself to Him - He will take care of the rest.

Just let yourself go, don't hold back and don't let things slow you down anymore. Talk to Him when you can, He's just there waiting for you. Let go and let God

+ mon

Yesterday afternoon we went to the FASHI Christmas party and it was just spectacular! I thought it was going to be another one of those parties where you just eat and dance, line dance and exchange gifts. But it was more of a "show."

It was held at the Museum in Flushing Meadow Park. It was just incredible seeing all these "kids" performing traditional Filipino dances and rockin' the old school Filipino gear! I thought I was good to go regarding our culture, but after seeing the presentation tonight, it really opened my eyes to a whole new world of Filipinoness!

The things I knew about our culture were pretty much the tinikling dance, the candle dance and arnis. That was pretty much it! Yesterday I learned that we have our own alphabet! Man I don't know if I'll be able to learn that anytime soon, but now I know it exists. I also know what the Parol means and how it all started.

Seeing all the people into their heritage, into their culture and the traditions was just great to see. A lot of people forget who they are, or where they come from. I remember asking one of the youth before "are you filipino..." and they answered me "no I'm american..." but his parents are Filipino! He was born here and with the culture and the way he was brought up, he sorta lost that "Filipinoness" but hopefully it's coming back to him slowly

I got to see what Ted does and it's really inspiring to see the younger generation being cared for by a great individual and by a great organization. Leaving kids out there to the world today without any guidance and knowledge of where they come from will lead to a future that is Filipinoless. Great job Ted on all your hard work with the FASHI youth and being their leader.

We topped the night off with an after party at Kassandra's house - OMG this place was huge. What a great house! It even had it's own parking lot, no joke! Man I ate so much again there and at the FASHI party! Karaoke, drums, skatin', just hanging out with the FASHI Youth was great, it reminded me of how it was to be a kid again (damn I miss those days). Thanks Kassandra for inviting us! We had a freakin' great time! hAHAHhahAhHA Henry on that exercise machine - OMG hAhAHHA!

I gotta see your guys pics from last night hook a brotha up!

Great job to all those involved with FASHI and with setting up the party yesterday. Thank you Kassandra for bringing us to her house and sharing the fun and the food!!

Pictures available at my gallery

+ mon

Well the day finally came! Last Friday (December 10th) my brother and Rachael got married! Wo O O ho O o! They have been going out for a while now and I thought they would never get married, but it all went down on Friday.

When we would hang out and my brother would introduce Rachael to people, he would introduce her as his wife, this time it's the real deal.

The wedding ceremony and the reception was beautiful I got teary eyed a few times just seeing them together and hearing them say their vows to one another. You could really see it in their eyes that they were saying all the words with so much feeling and so much love.

Welcome to the family Rachael (officially), even though you have already been a part of us from way back

Pictures available at the gallery.

CONGRATULATIONS! MR. AND MRS. RAYMUNDO!

+ mon

Man I really don't like papercuts! They don't hurt that much until it "opens" up but it's all itchy right after you get it. I just got three on the same finger and I want to scratch it! SoOoooo itchy! It's almost at the joint of my finger, so when I bend my finger it opens up and hurts like a mofo!

+ mon

HOLY DAY OF OBLIGATION - IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

If you're Catholic you're supposed to be going to church for Mass today! Today is the feastday of when Mary was conceived without sin.

I always go to church at St. Pat's for lunch and today was crazy! I got to the front of the church and there was a huge line, huge. One of the ushers was outside telling people that only those for mass could come in the church today - that's a good thing because the tourists are so annoying with their pictures and talking and all that, it distrupts the solemnity of the church.

So I get inside and wow, there were sooooooo many people! The 12:30pm mass usually ends before 1:00pm but it went on until 1:20pm because there were a lot of people getting communion still! The church was packed! Like seriously packed! It was really good to see the church filled to the brim today, it was standing room only and you could just feel Him there with us.

Just thought I'd share that with you guys now don't forget to go to church today!

+ mon

Short and sweet - no more budget meal for me, I've had it for two days and it seems that I have had the runs for two freakin' days! Gotta get some real food from now on...

Ppprrrrrtttt! (_|_) OoO o O o O o

+ mon

Well the night started out with me having to work a little bit late. I got out at 7pm and then went home - I was supposed to give Dudoy, Diday, Jon and Shing a ride to Ultreya (we were going to be just a little bit late).

So I'm walking up my block and I see four people standing in front of my house. I ask them where they are going and how they are getting there, they say to Ultreya and me. Diday didn't tell me that Miguel and Jason were going! Ok so there's still room in the car, we can all just squeeze in.

I go and change, eat really quick and head downstairs with the video cam and the digi cam because we were planning on video taping everyone saying Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to Ate, a video card. And we were going to take some pictures of the youth. So I'm driving up my block and the kids say that Ken Ken is going! Went back around the block and picked him up - ok so in the car now, Diday is in the front seat and Miguel, Jason, Dudoy, Ken are in the back seat of the car. I'm pretty much full.

But I still have to pick up Jon and Shing! I get there we had to figure out how everyone else was going to fit! [flashback] during one Vigil we fit about 8 or 9 people in my car. So what ended up happening was Shing and Jon sat in the front seat, and the rest were in the back (five in the back). It was a pretty uncomfortable ride the whole way for everyone, except me - the kids in the back were having a great ol' time, laughing and tickling each other.

So we get to Ultreya at 8:50pm already, the Ultreya started at 8:00pm. I find parking by the Funeral Home and just use the "Clergy" tag that we have I walk in and I see the NJ girls in the front singing! I was like whoa, this is kewl. So I get up there and start video taping them (click me for the video!). They sang really good! You'll hear them in the video, and dang! Grace got a monster voice, she's o-some!

Ultreya went well, go to the gallery for some pics from the Ultreya, nothing fancy this time, didn't have much time to take the shots and didn't have a lot of time after we got there all late. Some of the youth afterwards had to wait for rides and whatever else so we here just waiting around a bit and "talking." Didn't get to leave the Ultreya place until 10:30pm and had to take some people home. Got home about 11:45pm - but all in all the last Ultreya of the year went out with a "bang."

One thing that I learned during this Ultreya night was that pride can be a horrible thing and it can mess things up. Sometimes people have to back down and let their pride just go as low as possible, humbling yourself is a lot better than being to proud about certain things. Admit their faults, admit their wrongs, and just say sorry, or just hug. Remember that everyone is B.A.S.I.C. - if you guys don't know what that means, give credit to the man who came up with that back in the 90's during an Ultreya in NJ - Michael Perez. And it means Brothers and Sisters in Christ. That's what we all are! So regardless of the beef, regardless of whatever happened in the past, let that sh*t go - no need to be carrying that sh*t around, for whatever reason.

Don't stress over the smallest things, the way I handle things is that if it isn't killing me or hasn't killed me then I don't have to stress about it.

Remember we're all one fam here, drop all the bullsh*t and let's do this together! BNP B.A.S.I.C.

+ mon

I'm bored here at work so I made some hot cocoa in the kitchen. They have those swiss miss things, and I just put one in the cup and put some hot water - good stuff. Then some of the cocoa was clumping up on the top, I still drank it without mixing that part in and MmmmmM really good stuff.

Now the "topper!" You know how muffins have those crunchy things on the top, well get another package of swiss miss and drizzle it on the top of your hot cocoa until you get the desired results, the bigger the clumps the better for me! Adds extra taste to the regular hot cocoa!

MmmMm OH! Here's a giant clump! Wo O ho o O!

+ mon

edit : or! you can put two or three packs together an bam! what a great drink! it's kinda thick but it's really good...MmMmm chocolate - it tastes like a milkshake! Or you can add the second package in when it's not hot anymore and mix it in, this will form automatic clumps at the top!

Ok whoever wants to get me a pair of these will be awesome in my book! Seeing as how I want to start DJing again, I saw these a while back but now they are out on the market. The reviews have been mixed but am going to the store to try it out for myself.

I want these!

Two of them! Man I never thought I'd DJ with CD's but with these...oh boy! Who wants to hook a brotha up!?

+ mon

Wo hO o O! I'm broke again because I didn't get my card yet, still waiting. So I have a whopping $3! I was soooo hungry but I just found a great budget meal that fills you and tastes good at the same time.

I went back to the place where I bought the chinese buffalo wings from and this time I got one eggroll and wonton soup. Each were $1 so it came out to $2.

Everytime I go there I ask them for dumpling sauce, so what I did was pour the dumpling sauce into the soup and instead of just regular wonton soup it now became hot and sour wonton soup! Yes I'm berry innobatib!

Good stuff and fills you right up...I think I'll be getting this meal daily now, it'll cut my food costs in half!

Wo o ho o ! O-some! $2 meals each day, hot and sour wonton soup and one eggroll. Good to G-O!

+ mon

edit : ok now my stomach hurts, but i don't think it was because of the food, I think I ate too fast!

Just something that I have observed in the past week - the spiritual high off the retreat is slowly wearing off. I don't know if it's for everyone but for me, I'm slowly feeling it calming down a bit. Calm is good, but sometimes we lose the entire "high" because when things calm down a bit, we get sidetracked, we get distracted by other things around us.

Maybe you guys are feeling it to? It's not a bad thing that it's going down, it's one of the nature things that happens here in the BNP - we have a big event, a retreat, an event in Cali and then after a little while, it starts to subside and we go back to our "normal" routine. The only time that it's bad is that you forget what you have experienced, you forget that special feeling you felt during the retreat, during the activity, during that part of your life and you go back to your old life as nothing ever happened.

For example - we go to the retreat, and during the retreat we experience something "life changing." Now we go home and are so "high" with grace that we say all these little "promises" to God or just to yourself that you won't do drugs anymore, drink or get drunk anymore. You're doing great, but after a while you start to level out and that initial "high" isn't as far up there as it once was, and you don't know how to get it back there. Then you turn to your old ways and start drinking, doing drugs again and forget that whole weekend, forget that whole "life changing" event.

Even if you fall, even if you feel that grace decrease, you can always get back up! No matter how hard you fall, there will be people to pick you up now - the servers, your fellow graduates, and most of all God. Don't go beating yourself up about whatever sin you have commited, or something that didn't want to go back to, get back up and show your strength, show your perseverance, show your love for God.

Whatever you guys are going through, trials, test, or anything that might bring you down - pray, fight it, and go back to that weekend you spent with God. Go back to that time when you made those promises to Him, go back to the moment when you felt Him so strongly in your heart, go back to Him.

That "spiritual high" will come back, if you have any suggestions on how to keep it or get it back, feel free to tell us! We're here for you guys, both old and new grad alike! Remember that even if that "high" is not as high anymore, you still have that grace within you.

Grace is the constant state of being in love. If you fall get right back up and keep fighting. Fire it up!

+ mon

Hmmm something was seriously wrong yesterday at the Christmas party!? Let me tell you how we did it back in the day...

When there was a BNP Party and we DJ'd or whomever DJ'd put on some reggae or hip-hop/r&b we would all get up and dance! Then we'd get in trouble by the adults for either putting the music on in the first place (we DJ'd) or we'd get in trouble because we were getting our freak on! We'd stop but then if that kinda music played again we would dance (no more freakin' but just straight dance!).

Yesterday at the Christmas Party?! WTF was going on!? We rocked the line dancing and the old people disco music and everyone dance, including the youth. But when we rocked the reggae, hip-hop/r&b you guys just sat in your chairs and bobbed your heads! People would come up to us and request some hip-hop or reggae, but then you guys wouldn't dance to it! But when we threw line dance up there, you got down and dirty! Holy cow! 43 is a buncha line dancers?! No hip-hop dancers or people who can swing with the reggae?!

That just totally weirded me out and was my whole focus during the party! Would anyone like to comment on that? I just want to know why you guys request certain music and then you don't dance to it, or we put up music we know you like and have danced to (at the retreat) but didn't dance to it at the Christmas party? Blows my mind!

+ mon

I'll post about the party later, but until then - here are some pics!

www.raymundo.us/gallery

+ mon

HeyLo all~!

Just a heads up - this post isn't aimed at any one person, or any group of individuals. This is just something that must be said as it has happened in the past with other grads (both new and old) and we don't want you guys to end up in any trouble or lost whatever you gained during your weekend.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Please do not announce any activities that are not confirmed with the adults or youth officers as BNP. Meaning, don't tell everyone that there will be a "BNP Meeting," "BNP Party," "BNP Bowling," "BNP hangout," "BNP [fill in the blank]" - basically just don't label things as BNP without confirmation from adults or youth officers.

The reason we ask grads not to do this is because the parents and other people might take BNP as something different than what it truly is.

Take for example, you have a party, and you tell everyone that it's a BNP Party. You invite all the people from your retreat and friends or whatever - liquor is served and whatever else. Whatever happens at that party will now be labeled as "BNP." "Oh so that's what happens at a BNP party," "so that's what BNP teaches our kids," "BNP encourages drinking, partying, [fill in the blank]."

This has happened in the past where some grads would call everyone telling them that there's a BNP party and things happened at the party - the parents found out and they where not allowed to go to BNP activities anymore and they lost whatever they gained from the retreat.

Another thing is using BNP as an excuse to go out. Please do not do this - telling your parents you're going to Vigil or Ultreya and you go out and do something else. This will cause a lot of trouble, not only for you but for the BNP as well.

You guys know what BNP is about - it's about love, it's about God. It's not about drinking or partying - yeah we can party too but that's not what our goal is. I have come to learn that wherever I go, I carry the name of the BNP and most importantly, Mahal Na Ingkong with me. We always talk about what we represent, well this is the same thing.

We are representin' BNP, we are representin' God - so go out there and do your thang, but keep God in whatever it is you do.

I don't mean to sound like a strict old person, I'm just trying to let you guys know what we've been through in the past. We went throught the party, drinking, drugs, gambling, gangs, clubbin', girls, guys stage. We've seen things go from a little fun, to the worst situation you could ever imagine!

If you wanna know what happened in the past, or stuff we've been through, just ask. We know how to have fun, so don't think we're all just praying and goodie goodies. I was a bartender when I was in California, I'm a DJ, we've all been around and know what's up.

Just keep it good, clean fun. I'm not strict! I'm really nice! Really I am!

+ mon

//bump movie links added to the bottom

We had our practice last night for the presentation we are supposed to do for the Christmas Party at Anne's house. Hmmm who was there - Anne, JC, Mark, Marvin, Dudoy, Diday, Richard, Emil, Josh, Emilie, Arvin and me.

Mark was teaching the dance to everyone, it was very you got servedish. Pretty kewl dance but I couldn't do it, I'm way past my prime and I can't move into those positions anymore, might break something.

Arvin and I are the background dancers! Yeah we got our shiz down, shake that arse! G suggested that we do a NJ & NY battle presentation, like a you got served type thing - sounds interesting, what do you guys think?

Oh yeah I played photographer last night since I ain't dancing!

www.raymundo.us/gallery

For all those people who complained about the set of bowling pics here's a gallery and you can do a slide show and all that crap! You guys better enjoy, I was up til 3am doing that!

+ mon

edit: oh yeah we had our very own mister saturday night fever! do you know who that is?! it's brader Emil! Damn this boy can dance, I think he practices all the time or something, I predict that he will be the next "di" (dance instructor)

edit two: here are some movies from practice
movie one ||movie two ||movie three || movie four || movie five

Holy freakin' cow! Just got back from lunch and I went to this chinese place that I get my food from sometimes. I wanted something different so I order #20 - buffalo wings with fried rice and egg roll.

I was expecting the regular buffalo wings, like hooters, or whatever other place serves them. So I see the guy get the regular chicken wings and then he pours...pours this chilli hot sauce all over the chicken wings.

I thought to myself, ok I can handle that chilli sauce no problem! Get back to my desk, eat the chicken - first bite is fine, taste good and the "hotness" isn't too bad. Take another bite and it was all over from there! It was a regular bite, I didn't bite into the seed of the paper (that's later), but apparently the first bite was to draw me in!

So I'm eating, or trying to, trying to eat the rice at the same time as the chicken to sooth the hotness, also the eggroll to try to make it just a little tolerable. Poured soy sauce as usual, that was my last resort aside from drinking half a cup of water with every spoon full! It kept getting hotter and hotter! The rice was even hot because of the sauce! The only thing untouched was the egg roll which I thought would help, but didn't!

Ok now the bad part - so I'm eating, and my eyes are tearing and my nose is dripping and I can barely chew the food, I had to just swallow it straight! Then I bite into a seed of the chilli/pepper! OMG! It was all over...soooo freakin' over! Tears just came gushing out of my eyes, nose dripping every whichway! I couldn't control it!

Coworker comes in asking if I'm still sick and I try to explain to him what just happened with a mouth that is 75% numb!

I barely ate any of the freakin' food! I ate all the wings, but the rice was just wasted because it was drenched in the sauce!

So caution when eating Chinese Buffalo Wings! Don't know what they put in them, but...yeah you know my story.

btw it's still burning until now! 30+ minutes and going.

+ mon

...you eat lunch then you notice your shirt buttons around the stomach area clinging to each other for dear life

...you can't bend all the way down because some foreign object (your stomach) is in the way

...you eat a whole meal at 2 in the morning

...you have to take a deep breath to get your pants buttoned

...you have plates in your room from two nights ago

...you have white castle and cup o noodles boxes in your trash can in your room

...you try to suck it in, but it looks exactly the same as if you just let it go

...you try to roll over while sleeping but can't because your stomach acts as a kickstand

...your shirts seemed to have "shrunk" in the laundry

...your "muscle" shirts have now become your worst enemy

...your "muscle" shirts no longer show the muscle but show the rolls of fat

...you wear an extra layer of clothing to try to coverup the fatness

...you get out of bed and you're out of breath

...you can rest a coke can on the top of your stomach

...you don't even want to check how much you weigh on the scale

...your fingers hit two keys at a time on the keyboard instead of one

...you can't dial someone's phone number on your phone since your fingers are too fat

...you post how you know you're fat on your blog and it's all based on the past few days of your life!

Geeze I'm freakin' fat! Ok serious diet time, gotta stop doing the things I mentioned up there. Damn food my number one enemy right now!

+ mon

SoOoOoo happy to see that a lot of the new grads are still up there! Regardless of why they go to the activities right now, it's just good to see that there's still a good amount of them that are still active!

Last night at the Ultreya there were 32+ youth!

Some might be there for the girls/guys, some might be there for the food or just to chill. But whatever the reason, sooner or later they will be there for Him (if they aren't already).

That's how I first started, I used to go because my friends were there and we just used to play around and chillax but after sometime I was able to do one out of three of the Purpose of Life.

I learned to know Him. Now I have to learn how to love Him fully and then I will be able to serve Him with no hesitation!

Let that fire burn class number 43! Set it off!

+ mon

LoL! Someone has joined the blogging community! Welcome Arvin! The "free dj" has finally setup his blog and is on his way to blog away!

www.dragongstar.com/thoughts

Go there and harass...errr comment and read his stuff! Wo O ho o O o another blog to read while working the day away hAhAhhA

+ mon

Did anyone else notice this last night during Ultreya or was it just me that thought it was all "tore up?" From the start of the Ultreya it just wasn't off to the right foot.

The rally song (from the CD) was fine but everyone seemed to be dead when we were singing it! We tried to liven it up a bit but we were limited since we couldn't make the tempo go faster - we tried but went it ended up going off beat!

The speakers - Shing and I...well yeah we did our thang! But our talks were about 2 minutes each, so short!

Man the presentation - I read the script and I really liked it. But everyone kept on laughing! Comeon guys - forreal focus!

I think taning got to a lot of us last night, made us mess up in a lot of the things we did last night. Let's regroup and get our shiz together!

You guys know we're not all serious and prayers all the time. But there is a time for everything, last night is supposed to be a spiritual banquet so we really need to focus ourselves and not let things distract us. We'll have our fun - bowling, parties, whatever else we're going to plan for you guys!

Damn I sound like a freakin' adult! Ahhhhhhh! But forreals we gotta keep things straight when it comes to Ultreya and Vigil or whatever activities we have that aren't to chillax - we will have our chillax moments, trust me, we will! The youth know how to have fun

+ mon

Dang, what's up with the weather today!? So freakin' windy and rainy! I'm on the 31st floor of a building and I can see the rain going sideways, my window is shaking because of the wind blowing so hard!

Kinda scurry!

+ mon