by witsandnuts on July 7, 2010
(Yiheee, I played with the pigs! It took me days to remember how it happened.)
I recently stumbled upon a random envelope in one of my rarely used bags. I suspect that I put in it (last minute) some of the treasured and trivial stuff while I was packing for my first trip to the UAE years ago. I am proud to share that I am one of those who lazily do the unpacking, but I am tight when it comes to holding too many stuff. Afraid that I might trash something insignificant at the moment, but is going to be someday.
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by witsandnuts on April 9, 2010
(The fresh water is coming from the mountains. It is refreshingly cold.)
My cousin’s wedding prompted a random reunion and outing. Prior to that, our last family outing was in Club Manila East. But since this year was extra special, as we were reunited with relatives based abroad whom we have not seen from five to eight years, we chose a place which is and will forever be important and memorable to us. We did not even think of the fancy resorts in Laguna and nearby provinces.
[keep reading…]
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by witsandnuts on April 4, 2010
I am back in Abu Dhabi last night and now catching up on lots of work and non-work stuff (the over 1000 unread feeds in my google reader included). By the way, I went to the Philippines for a week for my younger cousin’s wedding. He, his parents, and the bride are based in Italy and went home for the church wedding. I didn’t see them for almost 8 years and we were reunited on the wedding day itself. Onwards, we had a family outing and random gatherings. I am also thankful that my stay coincided with the Holy Week.
It was indeed a very short, but well-savored and worth remembering vacation.
Happy Easter, everyone!
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by witsandnuts on February 21, 2010
My weekend was full packed. Half of it was mainly devoted to mentoring students. It’s satisfying when you are able to find a means to make a difficult and really intimidating subject appears sort of easy. I was happy to have seen those enlightened faces. Call it coincidence. But that day, my dose of GodWhispers read like this:
Dear Jo,
Do your due diligence. I have given you a brilliant mind. Use it. I have also given brilliant mind to others – so use their minds as well. Seek out mentors and teachers and wise guides in this journey. I have littered your world with many of them.
Your Light,
God
PS. Mentor others, too, Jo. I will send you students.
Coincidence, eh? God is always on time. And I was given a bonus. I got (another) care package from my family/relatives: Choc Nut, curly tops, flat tops, wiggle mallows, banana chips, anchovies, boy bawang, Cloud 9, and more (not in the photo). I felt I was energized 5 times! See, I’m easy to please. Just give me food. Hahaha. I mean, the right kind of edibles. 
And it didn’t end there. It’s amazing how they could have read my mind. No one knew that I was planning to buy Twisted 8 and 1/2 this March and I got it as a gift, heehee. While going to Sagada is still impossible at this point, my closest cousin is passing over traces of it through this sling (and she gave me a traveling bag in 2008, with the same color/material, too). And the Flip Mino HD (it can videocord for continuous 60 minutes, oddly it’s not yet available in the UAE) contains a number of captured moments of them. As I watched, I was grinning and crying (because it made me miss them) at the same time.
That day was priceless.
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by witsandnuts on January 7, 2010
Because it is still January, everyone seems serious to lose weight.
I was checking the photo archives from my phone and saw this one which I took last year. Always, after the New Year, I am very motivated to trim weight or at least eat healthily. But I know that it is just to psychologically compensate for all the pigging out that I did the preceding year. But come March, I would be making excuses again. And again. Until it is December already. I remember when we enrolled for a fitness program in a gym when I was still based in Makati, the consultants were saying that consistently there is an influx of enrollees during the first quarter of the year. The same way that there is a federation of ningas cogon gym-goers.
However, there is a tried and tested motivator for me. That is when I am taking part of a wedding. I remember I worked out to death in early part of 2008 for two weddings. Incidentally, I must eat healthily again to prep up for a very important occasion/celebration this year. A younger cousin (whom I have not seen for at least 8 years) is flying to the Philippines with his wife and parents to have a church wedding. Everyone back home is doing the necessary preps, except me. I need to catch up before the big day. Yes, I will be there for a week sometime in March for the wedding. Wow, another whirlwind trip for me.
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i can still be updated about your goings-on 
On 24th of August, this is how the UAE reporters put it.
We CAN always rebuild
Pasalubong from Malaysia
Bukit Bintang
Mini Malaysia
