Life is like Grammar

Interesting.

And frustrating.

But necessary.

Every "rule" isn't really a "rule" because it sometimes has more exceptions than it had "rule" in the first place.

See, with commas, there are very specific instances in which you should use them. In lists, for example:

"I enjoy eating curry, sleeping in, and petting dogs."

But that only applies if I didn't present it with "I enjoy these three things in particular..."

Had I begun it that way I would have to use a SEMICOLON. Or maybe a colon. Frankly, I don't feel like pulling out the book to check.

It's like how you don't use your fingers to eat UNLESS you're presented with chicken wings and/or pizza. UNLESS you're in the company of someone who eats their pizza with a fork. Then you may want to consider doing so, as well, so as to avoid potential embarrassment.

And what about "'i' before 'e' except after 'c'?"

It works with most things like "receive" or "friend."

But what about "seizure" or "species," huh?

Maybe that's the same as when mostly you're supposed to wear clothes that look, I dunno, fresh and clean and new. But sometimes it's okay to buy jeans that already have holes in them?

And then there are the homonyms. "Affect" is to influence and "effect" is to implement. "Stationary" is not moving, whereas "stationery" refers to paper.

Mostly I think that's like how people with names like "Chelsea" or "Amber Lee" were likely born in the Mid-west to East-coast region, whereas people named "Chyelsiee" or "Embur Leigh" were likely born in Utah Valley.

And then there are the grammar-element personality-types. I know you know some.

Dash-people: always putting in their aside comments and silly puns.

"I told her I'd be there - but really I'd rather jump off a cliff! HAHA!"

Hyphen-people: long-winded folk who need a good excuse for a run-on sentence life.

"My brother's-best-friend's-ex's-mom's-favorite-baby-sitter is MY best-friend's-cousin's-cousin and I just found out that her favorite thing is under-water-basket-weaving and orange-mochan-frappachinos!"

Parentheses-people: Unobtrusive individuals who have their own thoughts, but you never really know it.

"Here's that report you asked me to do (even though it's not part of my job description) and I really need your signature on those forms I gave you (two weeks ago) and thanks for the chocolate birthday cake (even though I'm allergic...)"

Ellipsis-people: Melodramatic in nature. They leave you always wondering what they're REALLY thinking.

"You're wearing THAT?"

"What's wrong with this?"

"Oh....nothing...it's just...well...never mind..."

Is it not all the most true?

And amusing?

Oh grammar.

I guess I'd better get back to studying you, now.

to catch a butterfly.

happiness is like a butterfly:

the more you chase it, the more it will elude you,

but if you turn your attention to other things it will come

and sit softly on your shoulder....

- thoreau

says the status at my twitter. a direct message, from my dearest friend. Thanks for the encouragement. the words typed in there, they didn't seem long to me anymore. it was heartfelt.

inside me, there was a subtle, silent confidence. but even more to it, there was self doubt; as contradictive as it sounds. right now, instead of pushing hard to change who i am, i decided to take a slight step back. to absorb all that is around me. just by opening my mind, i was able to experience the difference.
now, i am preparing to open my heart, to believe that i can. even more sincerely this time. now, are you with me?

A change, for a start

yes. i finally changed the blogskin. this time, i'm satisfied. for now, anyway. let's just say that it's a new beginning to a mediocre ending..... :)

will pen down more soon.
till then :)

God's Artistry

(click on image to enlarge for better view)

This is a picture taken by a friend who is vacationing in Hawaii.

It's so incredible, it's almost unbelievable.

Just remember, the God who made this.... cares for you.

A Manic Monday!

Thank God, He is still beside me to guide and remember all the lessons that our teacher had discussed to us a few days ago, (sigh).

I have two Math subjects, they are College Algebra and Calculus. The subjects for today's exam are MAPEH, ENGLISH, and CALCULUS!

Speaking of Calculus, I had a mistake of what subject to review yesterday. I was thinking that it will be Algebra today so I reviewed it. Not remembering that it's suppose to be Calculus. Gosh! I started to panic that I might not remember everything that was tackled, and I haven't memorized parabola yet, which is the hardest part of the exam. But I didn't lose hope. I know I can still answer the items with all my stock knowledge. And Fortunately, praise the Lord, I was able to, (sigh).

I wasn't that stupid at all :)

give, and you'll get even more. really

i know what i am suppose to do within this 5 years time. work hard. work with the heart of giving and sharing.

work with the sole purpose of achieving my dreams. i saw my possibilities, i believe that i could, and now, i just need

to do even more to get even faster results.

i hear often, with what i'm doing, "it's a great idea. but it's difficult. it's not for me".

but the irony? they don't even have the slightest idea of what i'm actually doing, day-to-day basis.

it's a matter of choice, really. when you are placed in a position to choose, people will always opt for the comfort zone.

but when u're actually working for your employer, would you dare to disobey his orders? however difficult of a task it may be? answer, NO. people would normally just suck it up and do it anyway.

so the key point here is, difficult is not the problem. the mindset is.
we choose to think it's hard, that's why we fail.
we keep thinking of an alternative way out, that's why we can't focus.

these are mind games that we're playing with, if you do not already realised.

and so, i've been sitting and thinking about my dreams one day. it's always a little different each time. a little more..

keep thou, my feet

There are things, decisions, of other people that I do not understand. They are the type of things that make the inside of my chest feel hollow. They cause a dull, aching feeling when I breathe deep. It’s a feeling I’ve been acquainted with before. If left alone, it burrows deeper into the soul—penetrating confidence and challenging faith… a dangerous place to be.

This time, I asked God to fill up that hollow space with His love. I asked Him to turn the ache into something beautiful. And when I finally woke up this morning, these words were in my mind above all others:

keep thou, my feet.

i do not ask to see the distant scene…

one step enough for me.

Imma be

I'd really love to blog.. =(
But with all the homework and tests and PERSONAL STATEMENT piling up.. I just can't find the time to...
Have got so much to update bout.. All I need is more time..

September 18, 2010 (Saturday)

I had my entrance Examination in Ateneo de Manila University today. It was kinda easy and hard. There were at least 20,000 examinees who took the exam this day, and there will be more tomorrow. It was so traffic before you reach home, and I was able to eat my lunch around 2pm. I'm so exhausted and tired, and it made everything worse when the sun was extremely high while I'm stucked in traffic. I got home so brain dead and I have to rest, but I can't please my body to, but my mind was so tired that if it has eyes it would cry out of madness. Then I decided to open the computer and start blogging again. By the way I have to start reviewing again for my exams this coming Monday up to Wednesday in school, but I feel tired so maybe I should start tomorrow.

September 19, 2010 (Sunday)

I think there will be a problem in studying. I haven't memorized parabola yet. In the morning I have to clean the house because dad is arriving. maybe by afternoon I'll have that little chance to study. At night we'll going to pick up dad at the airport by 9:30 PM. He had mentioned that he wanted to have dinner at the restaurant, so let's say we'll be staying there for an hour . That counts as 10:30 PM. He also wanted to visit duty free and buy something there. Let's say another one hour, so it's 11:30 PM. It takes two hours to arrive home. Oh gosh! It's my examination day that day! I'll have a short sleep. I have to wake up by 5 AM. I hope I can prepare well.

September 20-22, 2010 (Monday to Wednesday)

Goodluck to me! It's my examination day. I hope I can cope up with the first day.

September 23-25, 2010 (Thursday to Saturday)

It will be our Intramural! At last, I don't have to study for those days. We'll be playing all day long. Oh, and on 25, the championship day, It's going to be our cheering competition. I hope we win!

September 29, 2010 (Wednesday)

Oh no! Another examination again! It will be our NCAE (National Career Assessment Exam). When will I have my full rest? Tambak na ako ng aktibidad!

Oh well, the rest of the day will be in a regular schedule Not until I reach October 2 for myexamination in Miriam College.

That's how you define a responsible student :)

P.S. Dad will be staying here for a month. Love him.

Until I post another one again,

Erica

LIFE: Spilled-Out

Recently, I had reason for some introspective pondering of my life.

My life is an explosion; loud and noisy, spilling-out, messy, overflowing. Not for me are the neat and tidy compartmentalized segments of life, carefully not touching, easily moved out of the way until their proper time to be displayed.

My activities spill over into my family time, my school work , church work, my family crosses lines with my activities and church until it's all blended and interwoven into one vivid, exciting, abundant life.

What does your life look like?

The Advantages of Being Narrow-minded

If you are a Christian, a genuine follower of Christ who believes in the Bible and all it teaches, be prepared. You are ... narrow-minded. Yes, you. You're not a "free thinker" (defined, oddly, as "one who doubts or denies religious dogma"). By aligning yourself with all that stuff you stand in opposition to all sorts of stuff like "free love" and science and ... well, all sorts of stuff. You, you ... you narrow-minded bigot! Of course, the label is common, but the truth is far from it. Consider a couple of examples.

The Bible teaches that sex was created by God for a man and woman who are married. "Oh, now that's narrow-minded." It is only for the man and woman who are married, and it is primarily for the purpose of reproduction. "See? Prude! Puritan! Victorian!" And so, if we concur with the biblical perspective, we are the ones who are "narrow". The "open minded" among us see sex as entertainment. No limits. No "primary purpose" except personal pleasure. Now that's broad thinking, see? Of course, I'd have to answer with "No". The biblical perspective on sex holds it in much higher regard than the standard view of today. It is physical, sure, but it is much, much more. It is emotional (which is being more and more disregarded today) and, beyond that, spiritual. It is the mystical union of man and woman. The two become one in much more than a merely physical sense. It is an actual joining beyond the simple connection of bodies or senses. All of that is far outside the perspective of the modern "free thinker". It cannot be. The Bible isabundantly clear that sex is pleasurable. You can't read the Song of Solomon without coming to that clear conclusion. Solomon quite wisely counseled young husbands regarding their wives, "Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight" (Prov 5:18-19). The high view, then, that the Bible holds for sexual relations certainly includes the "free thinker" concept that it's pleasurable and good. So, if the "narrow" view includes a high regard for sex as well as a genuine appreciation for its pleasure, but the "open" view only allows for pleasure, which is the broader view?

How about the "science versus faith" controversy? If you are a follower of the Bible, you will certainly end up on the "bad" side of that fight. You are narrow-minded if you think that "God created the Earth" and all that nonsense. The "open-minded" folk know that there is no god. Stephen Hawking assured us of what atheistic science has claimed all along -- that science (with a prerequisite commitment to pure physicalism) doesn't need God anymore because science has all the answers. Now that is "free thinking". Or ... is it? You see, we who claim that God created all that is are the only ones with the answer to the question, "How can there be something from nothing?" We're the only ones with a rational explanation of the vast data encoded in DNA. We are the only ones with answers to the origins of life. Further, because we are committed to "God created" does not mean that we cannot appreciate science. It was, after all, the perspective that God created everything and, being a rational being, would likely have made the universe rational that started modern scientific inquiry. No, believing in a Divine Being encouragesthe enjoyment of "thinking God's thoughts after Him" -- of scientific studies. So we have one side that denies any possibility of the supernatural and the other side which embraces both the supernatural and the natural. So ... why is it that the side with only the natural is labeled "free thinking" while the side that embraces both is "narrow-minded"?

It's an interesting thought exercise. The more you meander down this road of biblical versus worldly thinking, the more evident it becomes that biblical thinking is much broader than worldly thinking. It seems like those who are "open-minded" let their brains leak out or something. I'll take the "narrow-minded" label any day if it means I can see more broadly than the "open-minded". Of course, we're going to have to work on definitions -- again -- aren't we?