Been Gone

I've been MIA for quite some and a lot of things have taken place in between. I need to get my mojo back on a few things in my life - writing (or pseudowriting, as I like to call it), exercise, and interior life - but I'm still grateful for the gap in between because it has allowed me to see other things and learn more about life. Now, back in business is the game and a new dawn has risen. :-)

Why I Will Most Likely Attempt Again to Read Lord of the Rings This 2013

Who has read all books from the Lord of the Rings series? 
Who has sat through all movie adaptations of it?
Who has actually watched/read all movies/books from the series in one sitting? 

I wish I did but I haven't even gotten past the first 5 pages of The Hobbit! I know that Lord of the Rings series is a classic in itself; not to mention that there are many Christian themes in the stories. I just wish sometimes that Tolkien wasn't so good with words. In other words, na-nosebleed lang naman ako ng bongga!

The first time I tried reading the series is way back in high school but I got frustrated at the first two pages. I closed the book and quietly put it back in the shelf. My interest was rekindled when I got into college and movie adaptations came out. To my dismay, frustration set in after the fifth page and I've never taken it out of the shelf from then on.

LOL at this meme!

Finishing the series (both books and movies) remain to be in my bucket list, though. Never say never, as Bieber sings. LOL. I will, once again, attempt to the finish the series this year. Ok fine, read one book from the series this year and that is being realistic. ;)

This renewed interest came after listening to a podcast of Peter Kreeft's lecture on '10 Insights on Evil from Lord of the Rings' at the MacLaurin Institute. This was delivered ten years ago but still hold to be true. From the description, this lecture 'calls attention to Tolkien's great words reminding us about forgotten wisdom on evil'. And indeed, there are many great insights to be picked up and reflected on Kreeft's talk. Here are his 10 insights. I won't include further descriptions anymore as he just said it all.

1. We are at war, not at peace. Evil is real.
2. Evil is very big. In fact, immortal.
3. Knowing the difference between good and evil is very easy and clear.
4. Knowledge is not always a good.
5. What defeats evil is evil itself.
6. Evil works for good.
7. Sacrifice, 
8. Humility
9. Friendship
10. Words (7-10 as the four most powerful weapons against evil)

I highly recommend that you listen to Peter Kreeft's lecture. You may check it out here: http://www.peterkreeft.com/audio/04_insights-into-evil.htm. He has several other lectures that sound very interesting. I'll be checking one out again this month. He has also written a book on the series, The Philosophy of Tolkien, so Tolkien fans out there may want to take a look at it too.

That's it, pansit! Have a blessed week ahead of you.☆

Glaminar Makeup Workshop Pegs

"Make me up before you go-go...nananananana.." Chos. Excited much naman sa makeup workshop bukas, hihi! The participants have been asked to bring pegs for 3 makeup look: no makeup, daytime and smokey eyes. And because this is a personal makeup workshop, I especially picked looks that I would be able to wear. Hindi ko pa keri ang avant-garde makeup and everything else na arty-fartsy and high-fashion, hehe.

Sharing with you my pegs for tomorrow's workshop. I just compiled a bunch of photos I found online. I think by now you can tell that I'm a big fan of clean looks. Hehe. 

So there, wish ko lang mapangatawanan ko ang mga peg ko bukas.

Last na, I came across this while browsing for pegs and I was literally stunned for around 10 seconds.

I'm a total fangirl of Blair Waldorf though I lost appreciation already for the Gossip Girl series dahil wiz ko na type ang mga nagaganap sa kuwento. Ganda lang ng dress diba? :) Parang pwedeng wedding dress; with matching paandar na headpiece, lakas lang maka-Kate Middleton ng look.

So much for my babbling. Til the next.☆

Jenspiration: Lessons for the Week on Anger and Magnanimity

Some emotional events have happened this week. I can blame it on my period and a bajillion other things but that doesn't really help solve anything. Haha. 

Someone wrote before that certain things/mistakes keep happening in life because we never learn the things/virtues that we ought to learn and practice. Hmmm, the author may actually have a point there. Good or bad, I know that there are lessons to be picked up in this week's events (the week is not over yet but I hope there won't be any more emotionally charged events!) and so here's my poor attempt to write down the lessons and hopefully learn from them. 

I would say hit 'like' if you can relate but we're not in Facebook (even though I wrote down a shorter version in Facebook just 5 minutes ago) so how about you say a short prayer after reading through and agreeing even with just one little thing I wrote down? :)

1. If you have nothing good to say, keep quiet.  

It will be a monstrous struggle inside to contain all the negative things you want to say but it'll be worth it. Just think that 10 years from now, when your speech is more refined and your disposition way calmer, no angry words (that came out of your mouth in the past) will haunt you.

Long Weekend Diaries: Part 2

Random fact about me: I'm a mood writer. When my mood's off, I usually can't write substantially. Much less, properly.

I really wanted to write extensively for Part 2 of my Long Weekend Diaries but I just feel so out of my element. Will post photos, instead. This post is dedicated to one person I really miss.

Real Love vs. Imitation Love

Text-heavy post. But I reckon it's worth the read. Especially for those who seek real love.

Last Saturday, my friends and I trooped over to World Trade Center for Real Love Revolution II, an afternoon of talks by Youth Ministry veteran Chris Stefanick and America's Next Top Model finalist Leah Darrow. The first installment of this was held in SMX  last year where we heard Jason Evert speak. We were all blown away with his talk and were, thus, all excited for the second part of Real Love Revolution! :)

Just a short note on the Real Love Revolution (from their Facebook page):

"Real Love Revolution is a movement by young people who have come to a clear realization that not everything the world labels as love is love in its real sense. Seeing that choosing to subscribe to a false version of love can be destructive, these young people have decided to work at spreading the true meaning of love by putting up events that not only help enlighten the minds of the youth but also aid them in appreciating and in celebrating genuine love, with all its joys and pains. In partnership with I Am S.T.R.O.N.G., RLR is now celebrating its fifth year carrying the constant tagline and challenge,"i Keep Love Real"."

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="491"] A truly awww-worthy photo of Chris with his baby[/caption]

What I appreciate about this year's Revolution is that there are two speakers who got to address both the male and female crowd. I'm sure the guys learned not just a thing or two but a whole lot from Chris, who is also a father to three girls, on how to be a real man. And the girls certainly oohh-ed and aahh-ed over how pretty Leah is (I know because I was fangirling), who, by the way, effectively channels modesty in her own demeanor.

The talks were awesome - the content was right on and the speakers were moving but never preachy. I was so tempted to bring out my notepad and pen and take down notes during the whole talk. :P I'm so awed with both Chris and Leah that I find myself typing up this post and sharing with you tidbits from that afternoon's talks.

Long Weekend Diaries 2: MOA and Corregidor

Getting Tagged: 5 Random Facts

What's up, people of the universe? ;) I'm trying to be more diligent with my blog posts (hehe!) so as to, well, share (not bore!) with you tidbits of the Curious Cat's blessed life. Here we go with the 5 Random Facts tag; shout out to fellow blogger Michelle of All About Being Glam! :) Follow her blog, she's really nice and her posts always inspire me!

**Special note: She's having a huge birthday giveaway as she turns 19 this month! Head on over to this link to join; lots of nice stuff await! :)

5 Random Things about the Curious Cat

 

1. The Ever-Nervous Adventure Seeker

In my mind, I play myself out to be a Dora the Explorer type minus the purple backpack and China doll bangs. Can I say that I delude myself that I'm an adventurous person? Sometimes, haha. And it frequently ends in bouts of nervousness.

Case in point:

Bohol 2012 - Crossing the Hanging Bridge

I was so game to cross the bridge and was even encouraging a friend of mine who had a fear of heights and was understandably nervous about the whole thing to go for it. The chicken that I am, I gulped when I saw the river under the bridge and came face to face with the bridge itself. In the end, I was so slow in walking that I had to be overtaken. Haha!

Corregidor 2012 - Bumpy Boat Ride

I guess the waves weren't so very cooperative that day and I got seasick after my first 10 minutes in the boat. :)) I was so enthusiastic about the whole thing and so optimistic that I wouldn't get sick when J warned me about the possibly bumpy ride. So yeah, that's why I became a regular office worker and not a maritime person. Hehe. :D

Sagada 2012 - Caving and Spelunking

There had been a lot of warnings about the whole caving and spelunking thing to be difficult and of course I had to pay no heed to all of it. My headstrong self still wanted to prove everyone wrong. I guess it's quite obvious how it all ended - not even halfway through the cave, our guide told us that the girls in the group cannot proceed with the tour as we were not 'physically prepared' for it. Too bad, I still plan to come back sometime in the future and explore the whole cave! :D (never say die, they say, haha)

Some more random things about the Curious Cat!

Because He is a God of Beauty.

My post today is very personal to me. It's part of my battle with insecurity. Believe it or not, I have battled with insecurity since my teenage years. I had really low days in the past and it resulted in not very good choices.

But our God is a God of love, mercy and forgiveness. Despite my wrong choices and bad decisions in the past, His love has never ceased for me.

There are days when I pray, "God, please take away these negative feelings from me!" Something happened today which brought back the ugly emotions but I'm very thankful for it. Perhaps, it is my blessing in disguise for the day.

I prayed for the feelings to go away. I didn't want to go back to how I was before. The merciful and loving Father never fails and below is a product of my inspiration during my prayer time.

I wish to share and dedicate this to each and every girl out thete who ever thought they weren't beautiful enough or that their life wasn't just worth living.

Almost summer.

One more week until March ends and April kicks in. Another quarter has ended by then. How fast time flies!

I've never really been a big fan of summer since my family wasn't really the traveling type. We would usually spend summer just here in Manila since both my parents are working and weekends are reserved for catching up with house chores. But for some reason, I'm kind of excited for summer this year. :) Blame it on the financial independence, it means I can travel more now without the parents' financial support, hehe. And blame it on the awesome summer I had last year (Dagupan and Naga!). ;)

To hype up the incoming summer season (who cares if it rains?), I even re-skinned my phone so that it gives off a summer vibe. I actually wish I can paint my case yellow, haha!

I got this free wallpaper online (uh-oh forgot the site, I'm sorry!) and just stuck it everywhere on my phone (yes, even on the keyboard!). Just wanted to share some screenshots of the lockscreen, home screen and keyboard with you. Hoping you'd be excited for summer too, lol. :D



This year's summer seems full of ministry activities. We'll be having a Youth Encounter in Tagaytay on April and a Leadership Camp on May (uhh, where's this going to be again?) besides the other activities and meetings in between. I'm actually hoping that J and I can go to Corregidor sometime in May and my fingers are crossed that he can come with us to Bohol in July.

So, what are your summer plans? Do share! :)