Sunday is Family Day

Day 30 of 100 Happy Days

My father was invited to speak at a church in Cavite, a province three hours south of where we live. The nice thing about these speaking invitations is the opportunity to experience a different liturgy/worship service. This church had a big tambourine dance team! It was so fun to watch these young girls dance. There needs to be more dancing in church. :)

After the church service, we went to Tagaytay City (an hour away from Cavite) and introduced my nephew to the Taal Volcano. We had an early dinner at this place with a great view of the lake. :)

University of the Philippines

Day 29 of 100 Happy Days

Today, I met up with two friends who are also from UP Diliman. We are from different colleges so we didn't actually meet IN UP. We became friends because we all volunteered for this organization when we were already out of university.

It was fun to go back to UP and do very UP things (like eat isaw), things we never really actually got to do together when we were in UP getting our degrees. The conversations made me so happy. I love catching up with these friends. It's amazing how paths can converge, diverge, and converge again only to find out that you have all changed and yet you are still great friends.

I am so blessed to have had these two friends journey with me in my discovery of what it means to be a follower of Jesus as we are engaged in "secular"jobs in media, research, community work, etc. The conversations are so honest, rich, and life-giving. It is also a great privilege to be able to journey with each other in the ups and downs of our personal lives. :)

I don't have pictures of the food so I'm borrowing a picture from this blog. No picture with friends either. We were so busy catching up we forgot to take pictures. Haha.

Manila-Bound!

Day 28 of 100 Happy Days

One week with the family!

Family (and friends) is the only reason I like going to Manila. I love going home to my parents because I get to be a daughter again. I get to, for a time, have other people take care of me. Thank God for parents and brothers. :D

Throwback Thursday

Day 27 of 100 Happy Days

I was going through old pictures because I needed a few for this book we are publishing. I found pictures from my 2007 Thailand trip with some of my closest friends. Remembering where we have been, where we are now, and where we are going put a smile to my face and lifted my spirits today. :)

Girl on My Right is now married with a four-month old baby girl. Girl on My Lap is in China getting a masters degree and might be going to Brunei after that to teach in university. I am now in Davao, working for a community and leadership development organization where I get to design programs for indigenous communities. I am so blessed that God has allowed our paths to cross and that though we are on different roads now, we are still privileged to journey with each other. :)

On a bus from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. Summer 2007

Burger Burger Burger!!!

Day 26 of 100 Happy Days

There used to be a McDonald's ad campaign in the Philippines where even the smallest thing can be celebrated by buying cheeseburgers--from a new outfit to finally snagging a seat in a crowded bus/train. So it's a very Pinoy joke to say "burger, burger, burger!" when a person does well and wants to be rewarded.

We have been joking about how The Boss cannot understand references to Philippine pop culture, like the famous McDonald's ad campaign. For the very obvious reason that The Boss is not Filipino and, although living in the Philippines, is not really "masa." But we really wanted to celebrate the publishing of our first Conversations on Faith and IP Culture book! I personally wanted to have a staff lunch since April will be a very busy month. We'll hardly be able to sit together and catch up in April because we're all doing field work and a lots of traveling.

So today, we got burgers. :)

I am celebrating...

Day 25 of 100 Happy Days

Tuesdays for us are staff meeting days and since this is the first Tuesday that The Boss is back from traveling from New Zealand and Australia after being gone for three weeks, it was a long catch up. It was fun to listen to people's stories. We completed the sentences: I am celebrating... and I am journeying...

It's nice to hear how the other staff are doing and what they are currently thankful for and celebrating in their lives as well as areas they are still in the process of working out. It gives us space to be human and develops relationship and a deeper understanding of each other's contexts.

I like "leading" these more relational conversations. Those who know me well know that I am not the type to initiate. Oh INFJ self! :) But I like to have a "structure" or "framework" in place where relationship building can happen (it's less stressful on my INFJ non-initiator self).

Today, I am celebrating the impending end of the work week (I am really looking forward to getting this book published) and going on vacation with my family! :D

And The Boss brought back cookies and chocolates so we had stuff to munch on while people shared. :) These are pictures I got from the internet because taking pictures of food isn't really my thing. Haha. But these are really the brands The Boss got saying they're "the best" in Australia. Haha.

When the Exec Director Directs

Day 24 of 100 Happy Days

The amount of work that gets done when The Boss is around is just phenomenal. Things get discussed, decisions are made, plans are put in place, ideas are heard-evaluated-affirmed/scrapped. Right then and there. Oh! Happy day!

No picture. Because who uploads pictures of their boss in their blogs?