Merry Christmas 2016

A very Merry Christmas to all Christians around the world who are celebrating the birth of our Christ Jesus on this day.  It is not just a celebration of  gift giving and merriment but to celebrate the love, joy, peace, and goodwill to all mankind which are the teachings of Jesus Christ.  To all Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) who are not with their family and love ones on this day, my felicitations and wishes of a joyful Christmas.  I know the pain of being alone during this time, for I am also celebrating this special day without my family.  But let us not be sad, for someday we will also be with our family during Christmas in the coming years to come, in God's time. 
 

I thank God for this beautiful morning!  Merry Christmas to all!

Morning Walk

My Playground

This is a place where my dreams comes true.  A playground where my childhood dreams are made to be realized. A place where I can free my mind, where I can play from dawn to dusk. My playground.

Stephen King

I missed reading pocket books.  During my high school and college years when internet was not yet introduced, hehehe, I usually spend my idle and break time going to the library and read lots of pocket books that are available on the book shelves. Stephen King novels are one of my favorite books I read during that time.  Novels of Stephen King are also made into movies such as my favorite "Misery", "Carrie", "The Dark Half", "Pet Sematary", "Salem's Lot", "Christine", and many more.  Until now, Stephen King never disappoints me.  I enjoyed his contemporary horror and suspense stories. When I went to Jarir Bookstore two days ago,  I tried to check if there are still available pocket books of Stephen King.  I was surprised that the book of "Dolores Claiborne" and "From A Buick 8", are there on the shelves.  And it is available on a discount price that's why I bought it immediately without a second thought. For a change, I will concentrate reading these two books during my spare time.  Now I had a chance to relax my mind without thinking my stressful work at the office.

Silence and Loneliness Becomes One

Night time falls.  Silence and loneliness becomes one again.

19 Years

Today, October 8, 2016, I'm celebrating my 19 years with my present company. I am thanking God for his guidance on reaching this milestone in my career.  Inspite of all the challenges and hardships that I've encountered in my work, I was able to hurdle all of this but without the emotional and physical pain.  I assumed that this year is more challenging, and pressure mounts so high because of the sudden organizational changes of our company.  I had tried my best to be more dedicated to my work and I'm keeping my fingers cross that I can survive and cope with the demands of my work.

Happy Saudi National Day at Lulu Hypermarket

Yesterday was the celebration of National Day of Saudi Arabia (September 23).  Lulu Hypermarket at Al-Khobar celebrated the occasion with the display of some artifacts and national costumes of the Kingdom.  I would like to thank Saudi Arabia for the continuing support to the expatriate community particularly for the Filipino OFWs.  I believe Saudi Arabia is one of the safest country in the world.  Thank you Saudi Arabia for giving us the opportunity to work and live in your peaceful country.  Using my iPhone 6s Plus camera here are some of the photos I took at the display of the 1st Floor, Lulu Hypermarket.

 

Random Pictures - Al Khobar City at Night

Shawarma

Last Friday night, I got a chance to go out and went to my favorite Shawarma restaurant in Al-Khobar.  Shawarma is a favorite fast food sandwich meat preparation of expats especially Filipinos here in Saudi Arabia. It is  eaten and made up into a sandwich wrap with pita or Arabic bread together with vegetables, tomato, onions and French fries.

 

Shawarma as roll-up sandwich

Walk Alone

Black Forest Cake

It's been a long time I was not able to eat one of my favorite cake.  As I was having my grocery at Lulu Hypermarket this afternoon, I went to the bread and cake section of the hypermarket and check if there is available Black Forest cake in the area.  I' am glad that there are still three pieces of the cake and I immediately took one of them.  After my dinner, I enjoyed eating this delicious and yummy cake. Once in a while, treat ourselves the food and delicacies we love to eat.  

Hiling

Dami kong hugot sa kantang ito.  Very emotional, nakaka-relate ako, level-up sa kalungkutan ang mga lyrics. Maraming salamat sa iyo Mark Carpio sa awitin mong ito.  Ginising mong muli ang buhay kong matagal ng tahimik at puno ng kalungkutan. 

Hiling

(By Mark Carpio)

Ito ay isang dalangin
Huwag sanang ipagkait
Matagpuan na ang hanap
Na pangarap...
Na pangarap...

Kasalanan nga bang umibig?
Parusang lungkot ang hatid
Lamig ng hangin ang yakap
Tuwing gabi...
Tuwing gabi...

Pilit mang itago
Hindi kayang maglaho
Ang mga katanungang tulad ng...

Bakit parang sa'kin lamang may galit
Ang madayang tadhanang 'di namamansin
Wala na bang karapatan
Na pagbigyan ang hiling?

Lumilipad ang aking isip
Bigla na lang napapailing
Wala na ngang mapagtuunan
Ng pansin...
Ng pansin...

Pilit mang itago
Hindi kayang maglaho
Ang mga katanungang tulad ng...
Tulad ng...

Bakit parang sa'kin lamang may galit
Ang madayang tadhanang 'di namamansin
Wala na bang karapatan
Na pagbigyan ang hiling?

Nakahanda ang puso
Kahit pa ako ay maskatan

Kung sino man para sa'kin
Hindi ko sasayangin
Madayang tadhana iyong pansinin
Wala na bang karapatan
Na pagbigyan ang hiling?

Kung sino man para sa'kin kahit magalit
Oh madayang tadhana iyong pansinin
Wala na bang karapatan
Na pagbigyan ang hiling?

Hanggang Kailan?

Hanggang kailan ako mag-iisa?

Sa bansang aking kinakasama. 

 Kalungkutan sa dapithapon.

Di alam kung saan paroroon.

Tootie

Today is the first birthday of my little Tootie!  Yes, this small Shih Tzu puppy is the darling of our family because of his personality and temperament that is affectionate, loyal, alert, and outgoing. On his special day today, my sister and nephew bring him to a pet shop for grooming and he really looks cute and handsome with his appearance.  Caring for Shih Tzu puppy is a stress reliever. I miss Tootie so much especially when I hug him and then he will start to kiss me on my face.  Happy birthday my Tootie!

True Happiness

"True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future, not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears but to rest satisfied with what we have, which is sufficient, for he that is so wants nothing.  The greatest blessings of mankind are within us and within our reach.  A wise man is content with his lot, whatever it may be, without wishing for what he has not." - Seneca

Popeyes Mashed Potatoe and Fried Chicken

Yesterday was my day-off from work.  After waking up 10:00 am in the morning I quickly prepare my breakfast and settled to do my laundry.  Since it's Ramadan and most of the shops and stores are closed in the daytime, I had to stay in my room, just browse the internet and watch movies.  Besides the scorching heat of the sun will totally drain your energy if you decided to go out of your comfort zone.  It is really very very hot during the summer season in Saudi Arabia.  During the night, I decided to have a walk and do some window shopping. Evening temperature is also very hot and I sweat a lot during my walk (my other way of exercise).  I decided to drop by at Popeyes to buy my favorite mashed potatoe and fried chicken. I was supposed to dine in but the place was already full of people so I decided to take out my order. Since I'm already exhausted and tired, I took a limousine ride from Corniche up to our place.  It was just a relief and I enjoyed my dinner with my favorite mashed potatoe and fried chicken, together with that cold and refreshing Barbican malt beverage.

 Popeyes Fried Chicken with Flaky Buttermilk Biscuit

My favorite Mashed Potatoe 

God Is Love

Nike Zoom Pegasus 32

Got this new Nike Zoom Pegasus 32 as my running shoes. Actually I bought this last month but I'm having second thoughts to use it, hehehe.  It's because of the expensive price of the shoes. I just want to display it where it is located at the corner of my room. Anyway, my Nike Air shoes is still usable and wearable, so I will use it until I finally decided to wear the Nike Zoom Pegasus.  Or maybe I will just give this to my son as a gift who has the same size as I am.

Ramadan Kareem

Today is the first day of the holy month of Ramadan.  Ramadan Kareem is the glorious month of Ramadan.  It is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and it is the time our fellow Muslim brothers and sisters who have reach puberty observe fasting from sunrise to sunset.  Muslims do not eat, smoke, drink, and perform sexual intercourse during the daylight hours. This is to purify themselves and focus their time in reading the Holy Quran. I work here as OFW in Saudi Arabia and I do respect the values and good teachings of fasting during Ramadan.  As a non-muslim, I follow not to eat and drink in public places so as not to hurt the feelings of our Muslim brothers, and to respect the spirit of Holy Ramadan. 

(Image courtesy of freepik.com)

Oolong Tea

It is normal for all OFWs to bring some "pasalubong" to our colleagues.  My officemate just came from vacation and gave one box of Oolong tea. I was curious about this tea because this is the first time I heard about this tea, especially the name.  I'm only familiar with green tea, black tea, yellow tea, and white tea.  So I searched in google and found out that this tea is the combination of green tea and black tea. Therefore the health benefits are doubled because the combined qualities of green and black tea.

According to health experts Oolong tea is used to sharpen thinking skills and improve mental alertness, reduces obesity and stress. It is also used to prevent cancer, osteoporosis, heart disease, protects against tooth decay and functions as an antioxidant.  But there are also negative effects of drinking oolong tea.  It should be consumed in moderation because oolong tea has a very high content of caffeine.  I will try to drink oolong tea and check if there will be some effects to my health.

Beaded Bracelet

Bought this beaded bracelet at Robinsons Galleria during my vacation (two months ago) as an added layer of personalization.  Since wearing it as my everyday accessory, it became a lucky charm bracelet to me. Things are getting positive regarding my financial and personal state.

Lenovo Vibe P1

I bought a new smartphone to replace my old Samsung Galaxy S5. My officemate wants to buy the S5 so I decided to buy the mid-range Lenovo Vibe P1. After using it for 5 days, Vibe P1 never disappoints me especially the mammoth 5000mAh battery.  It takes me 3 days of using it before I charged it. The Lenovo Vibe P1 has a 13MP rear and 5MP front facing camera, with a 32 GB built-in, 2 GB RAM, there is also a miscroSD card slot, which you can put up to 128 GB dedicated card slot. It has a resolution of 1080 x 1920 px with finger print sensor, and a 5.5 inches IPS-LCD capacitive touchscreen display.  The only con about this smartphone is that the display is not that brilliant unlike the super AMOLED display of Samsung smartphones.  However, the sound is dynamic with a very low distortion and noise, the operating system is the much touted Android OS version 5.1 Lollipop. Well, what do you expect on a mid-range smartphone.  The important thing is you are satisfied using it.

 

New Notebook - ASUS X556U Intel Core i5

As part of my yearly gift to myself (company has just released our yearly bonus), I decided to buy a new laptop for my personal use.  This time I choose ASUS X series notebook.  Before I bought this brand, I asked several IT experts from our company which brand is the best in the market today.  Two of our programmers from IT department recommended ASUS because of its quality and service. Aside from this, ASUS X series is a fast laptop with all the latest technology.  I was not disappointed after two days of using it, my unit is absolutely fast especially when I'm browsing the internet. The sound is incredibly realistic with its Sonic Master sound.  Memory is 4GB RAM and the HDD is 500GB with Intel Core i5, and Windows 10 as its operating system. I choose the red color and bought also a wireless red mouse to compliment the unit. I believed ASUS is now making its strong presence felt in the competition of the best notebook in the market today.  Two thumbs up!

ASUS X556U

I love the red color

In Search of Incredible

Good Friday

Today is Good Friday.  It is the commemoration of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at the Calvary. This holiday during the Holy Week is important for most Christians around the world and is observe with solemnity.  The Roman Catholic church treats Good Friday as the day of fast wherein only one full meal is required and abstaining of eating meat.  We should remember that Jesus Christ sacrificed his life to achieved atonement (forgiving our sins).  Let us commemorate Good Friday by way of prayers and praying for the forgiveness of our sins.

Sojourn At Kamay Ni Hesus Shrine

This is my 3rd visit at Kamay ni Hesus Shrine at Lucban, Quezon last March 03, 2016.  This time its a solo trip so I bring my selfie stick to take some photo session by myself and my Nikon D5100 digital camera.  I am delighted that every time I went to the shrine, there was a drizzle (light shower of rain) at the vicinity. I always believe that Jesus is always guiding me whenever I went here to visit the church because it will give me the comfort to stay here without experiencing the blazing heat of the sun especially when you started climbing the more than 250 steps going to the 50 foot statue of the Ascending Christ. This place is so special to my heart because you can find solace and peace of mind whenever you reach the top. There is unexplainable feeling after you spend sometime at the top of the shrine where you can see below the vast greenery of the place and overlooking the town of Lucban.  I had noticed that there are some development and changes that was added at Kamay ni Hesus shrine area.  At the right side of the entrance, you will noticed that they constructed a miniature mountain with waterfalls, and statutes of Jesus Christ and Mary, including the Last Supper, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the baptism of Jesus by John, and other religious murals. Aside from the statutes, you will be delighted to see different species of flora around the area. It is worth remembering to visit again the shrine and truly a rewarding experience. This time I took more than 100 photos of the area but I will only post some which are worth sharing for.