Clutter.

It's only beginning to dawn on me that tomorrow, another year is ending. Another decade is ending. For some reason, the fact that 2010 is ending tomorrow is sending me into a state of panic. I want nothing more than to begin 2011 in an orderly, relaxed manner. Of course, this isn't the case at all.

My room is extremely cluttered--more cluttered than it has ever been in my 26 years of existence. Opened Christmas gifts have not yet been put away, recently purchased books are still in their plastic bags, rather intimidating stacks of *important* magazines are waiting to be read... things are everywhere.

Unfortunately, my closet is in a similar state of chaos. Worse, even. It's actually pretty painful to look at. Wrinkled clothes have been tossed back inside. I have also just recently admitted to myself that my closet is extremely full... of clothes that I will never wear. I have way too many pieces of clothing that belong in a "wishful thinking" category. I will never fit into these clothes and I really should begin accepting that. If I picked out the clothes I actually liked and fit into, I wouldn't need a closet. I'd probably fill a plastic bag.

There are random things that are driving me nuts, as well. Hundreds of text messages are eagerly waiting to be deleted, therefore making my phone painfully slow. The television remote control batteries need changing; they've actually needed changing for more than a month. Even my Gmail inbox is due for some sorting through. I have used up more than 85% of my inbox capacity. How in the world did that happen?! I've also been wanting to change my blog layout for the past few weeks. My current layout is another thing I find messy, and it hasn't quite been inspiring me to write. I just haven't gotten around to searching for new templates. Sigh.

I honestly don't think any of that mess is going to disappear tomorrow. Maybe everything will be spic and span by January 1.... or 2.. or 3. Maybe I'll be done cleaning by mid-January. One thing is for sure--decluttering is my priority for the first few days of the year.

Admitting I need to declutter is the first step. Good job, Kris! Everything else should be easy... right?

Same Kind of Different As Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore (with Lyn Vincent)

Same Kind of Different As Me is a powerful and enlightening book that touches on racism, poverty, faith, justice, healing and love. It tells the stories of Ron and Denver—two very different people leading very different lives. Thanks to Debbie, Ron’s altruistic wife, the two stories intertwine and the lives of both Ron and Denver are changed forever.

The book initially seemed like an easy read—something light that I could breeze through in just a few sittings. However, as I became more and more involved into the stories of Ron and Denver, I found there was an intensity I was not at all expecting. The two main characters told their stories in very distinct manners—but both were very real and incredibly raw. By the latter half of the book, I found myself rejoicing for the two men when they experienced triumphs, and I felt for them when they were hurting.

Same Kind of Different As Me is an inspiring book that reminds us that we can move mountains with a little bit of faith—faith in others and faith in God.

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I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of BookSneeze, a book review bloggers program. Find out more at BookSneeze.com! :)

Meaning.

Fears.

There are many things I have yet to learn to do: Cook. Swim. Kill a cockroach. One thing I really need to learn to do, however, is drive.

No, this has nothing to do with the fact that when I was a very young kid, I made a promissory note to my sisters that said:

1. I would never learn to drive.

2. I would name my child Booger.

Not knowing how to drive has been a constant thorn in my side. Every few days/weeks, someone I know will ask me how come I don't drive. I don't really know what to say anymore. When family asks me this question, I get all defensive and just end up getting annoyed or mad. When friends ask me at times, I just say "Yeah, I really should learn."

Every time I ask a friend to pass for me or take me home, I am somewhat embarrassed. At times, I want to go somewhere but have no one to go with or no way to get there--so I don't end up going at all. Other times, I want to be on time for a certain thing, but find myself at the mercy of the person picking me up. I feel frustrated and helpless, but unfortunately, I really don't think I'm ready to learn. :(

The Boy Who Changed the World by Andy Andrews.

The Boy Who Changed the World is a book based on The Butterfly Effect. This children's book aims to teach the younger generation that everything they do matters and that they too, can change the world.

I decided to read this book because I could pass it on to my niece and nephew afterwards. The illustrations throughout the book were nice, and my expectations grew. However, I found myself feeling puzzled by the time I put it down. Was this really a children's book? There were a lot of big words being thrown around. The concept was also rather confusing--I don't know if a young child would appreciate a story that had a timeline moving back in time.

Would I recommend it to others? Yes, I would--but maybe not to to children. I don't think they wouldn't understand it anyway! :P

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I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of BookSneeze, a book review bloggers program. Find out more at BookSneeze.com! :)

Random.

Incredible things happen when you least expect it. It's been an amazingly eventful few weeks. I want to tell you all about it. I really do. Not today, though.

:)

I am on top of the world right now. :)

Ready to be Surprised.

There were many other blogs before TMIWU came into existence--and honestly, I've never posted a single entry on religion. In fact, I don't think there are even any entries with the slightest hint of a religious tone to it. I consider myself a rather devout Catholic. I just never wanted to blog about it--until today.

This week, I was asked to make a decision. It wasn't career-oriented or life threatening or anything like that. To me, however, it was an important decision. I searched high and low for signs from above. I was hoping for an obvious "yes" or "no" to fall from the sky. Unfortunately, no signs fell from the sky. I still had to make my decision, with or without signs. Eventually, it was one that I said yes to.

Then something amazing happened. Right after I said yes, a verse from Philippians 4:13 IMMEDIATELY came to mind. You must know that Bible verses do NOT come naturally to me. Ever. At that time, I wasn't even 100% sure it was a Bible verse. Either way, it fit.

"I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength."

Why You Say It by Webb Garrison.

I love words. When I came across an opportunity to get myself a copy of Why You Say It, I immediately took advantage of it. It helped that I was extremely attracted to the cover art.

The basic premise of this book is that behind every word or phrase, there is a story. This book shares origins of various words and phrases, dividing them into sections such as “Names and Games” and “Money, Business and Commerce.”

Now, the question is—did I like this book? To a certain extent, I did. There were facts I found so interesting that I found myself sharing some with family members over dinner.

My gripe about this book is that many words and phrases are not used in everyday conversations like the title denotes. In fact, there were quite a number of entries that I have never and probably will never encounter in my life.

Why You Say It is not a book that you should read from cover to cover. It is interesting and informative, but is more ideal as reference material or for quick reads.

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I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of BookSneeze, a book review bloggers program. Find out more at BookSneeze.com! :)

Abridged.

I missed blogging for the month of June by a day--by two days if we're going to be technical. Trust me, this makes me unbelievably frustrated. Moving on.

For the past 40 days, I have traveled to three different countries with my parents. It was 40 days of family and food. It was 37 nights of sleeping on either a sofa or an air bed (we stayed at a hotel for three nights). It was a vacation that strengthened ties that needed strengthening, and made room for new ones. It was a vacation full of laughs, reminiscing, and walking until our most comfortable shoes were no longer comfortable.

There are many stories to be told, and maybe one day, I'll tell you about them. Maybe I won't.

I am forever going to be grateful to my parents for funding this trip. I have been given a rare opportunity to visit my loved ones abroad, and I know that I won't be able to afford it myself for quite some time. Although I appreciate the new sights that I saw along the way--I am most thankful for the simple fact that I was able to travel with my parents. I can honestly say that I've gotten to know them (and myself, actually) a lot more over the past few weeks. I love them even more now, if that's even possible.

Of course, I am extremely happy to be home, safe and sound. At the end of the day, there's nowhere else I'd rather be. :)

Lapse.

It's been more than a month since my last post. Considering I'm pretty talkative, I actually feel like I have nothing to say.

Maybe it's because I talk too much and have nothing left to write down? Maybe it's because the things I do want to talk about, I'd rather not put out in cyberspace? Maybe it's because I've just been too lazy to post? Yeah, that's probably it.

I find it so sad to see how boring my blog has become. My previous blogs were full of the most random posts! I would constantly obsess over whoever was eliminated in Amazing Race or share my findings on whether couples formed on reality shows were still together after the season ended. I would jot down my to-do list for school. I would copy/paste lyrics of my current favorite song. I would even post the lamest attempts at *eep* poetry.

Up to this day, I enjoy going back to my old blogs to see what I used to write about. I especially like to see what I was doing many years ago at the same time of the year. What I find usually amuses me and makes me cringe at the same time. But hey, it's nice to see I've matured. I've also learned to proofread what I write before publishing it. Thank goodness.

However, I've got to give myself credit--I used to post a lot.

It actually drives me nuts when I see that in this blog, I average only one post a month. I admit that sometimes, it gets to the point that I force myself to post something. Anything. I need to have at least one entry for the month. Anything less than that will make me feel like my blog is terribly outdated... which will make me even lazier to update it.

So, here is yet another post on absolutely nothing. This post isn't about anything intellectual. It isn't informative. It isn't even entertaining. It is a desperate attempt at making my blog more active. It is simply a post to give me peace of mind for the month of May.

Thankful.

Now, I know that we're celebrating Easter today and not Thanksgiving. However, I couldn't let my day end without writing about how mighty thankful I'm feeling.

I have been amazed (and slightly amused) at how constantly I am given opportunities--no matter how small these opportunities may be. Lately, instead of feeling fearful about the future, I find myself feeling hopeful and excited about whatever may be in store for me.

For some reason, my heart is full. Full to the brim. Overflowing, even. I know that great things are coming my way. In the larger scheme of things, I know I have not been forgotten.

Grammar (Girl) Fanatic

I love words. I don't consider myself an expert in grammar at all (not by a long shot!), but that doesn't mean I can't love it. I hate it when people use the word "stuffs" or invite me to a drink at "Starbuck's."

Many years ago, I began listening to a podcast by GrammarGirl. She hosts a regular show on "Quick and Dirty Tips on Grammar." This girl is seriously intelligent, sarcastic, and funny at the same time.

A few weeks ago, I was browsing around Fully Booked and was DELIGHTED to find a book called "Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing." Obviously, I left the bookstore with a new book in my arms. Ahhh, sheer joy.

I read the book whenever I could. Of course, I had to deal with a lot of weird looks from my dad regarding my idea of fun and light reading.

Somewhere near the end of the book, Mignon Fogarty (her real name) mentioned that she had a Twitter account. I browsed through her tweets and found that she was attending a writing seminar in Pasadena that weekend.

Wait a minute! My brother was attending a writing seminar--in Pasadena!

This is a story of how, thanks to my wonderful brother, I now have my very first autograph. Apparently, they were seatmates. I am officially a fangirl.

Battle Studies.

When John Mayer's Room for Squares came out in 2001, I was an instant fan.

Ever since I fell in love with his first album, I've hoped and prayed that he would come to the Philippines. I knew it was a long shot. I didn't care. I knew that eventually, he would run out of big countries to tour. He'd have to come here... right?

The ticket prices are not exactly friendly on the pocket, but... it's John Mayer. I don't need to watch from the VIP section (although that would be really nice!)... I just need to watch.

Tomorrow, I will count my coins. I will clean out my closet and see what I can sell. I will call Channel V and ask how much the early bird rate is. I will make JV promise that he will watch with me.

I will watch John Mayer. I will watch John Mayer. I will watch John Mayer.

Vocabulary #1.

re·sil·ience  [ri-zil-yuhns, -zil-ee-uhns]

· ability to recover readily from illness, depression, adversity, or the like; buoyancy.

They say that Filipinos are resilient people. Whether we face the wrath of nature or disastrous family feuds, we immediately smile, pick ourselves up, and move on.

Thank goodness my belongings are resilient, too.

The Nokia

I swear, my phone is dying on me. However, no one will believe me anymore--because I've been saying this for at least two years now.

At first, the problems were simple. I couldn't call. It was nothing that repeatedly restarting the phone couldn't solve.

Then, my phone decided that it wanted to die every single time I got a phone call longer than two minutes. The solution was a no-brainer: Get a new battery.

For a brief period of time, there was a phase wherein I thought I had sent a text message, only to find the message in my Draft folder hours later. No wonder no one would reply to my text messages--no one ever received them. I don't know how this particular problem fixed itself, but thank goodness it hasn't happened in a while.

One afternoon about two months ago, an annoyingly loud beeping sound came from my phone. I checked to see what was wrong, and I saw an extremely threatening GENERAL SYSTEM ERROR message repeatedly flashing on the screen. After taking the battery out and putting it back in a number of times, the phone finally worked again--contacts, messages and photos all still intact.

Since then, I have only been encountering minor problems, such as the phone's memory card not reading properly. It's no biggie. Restarting the phone or taking out the battery always seems to solve the problem.

Maybe my phone knows that I have no money to replace it? In a way, my Nokia seems to be doing its own version of The Boy Who Cried Wolf, except the wolf doesn't ever seem to arrive. Phew.

Considering that I've had my phone since 2007, and that I've dropped it at least a thousand times, I'm not surprised that it's acted the way it has--but still. I'd rather it not die just yet.

The Nike

Now, the life of my rubber shoes is nowhere as long or as dramatic as my previous story... but my shoes deserve just as much credit for their wonderfully long and persistent life.

I don't remember the year I got my rubber shoes, but I'm pretty sure that they've been hitting the pavement for at least four years. No, err, not exactly regularly--but just the same, it's been a pretty long time.

Lately, I've decided to use my shoes again. However, it seems that they don't want to be used anymore.

My shoes have finally decided to cry out for help. Their cries are now getting so loud, that both the left and the right shoes have ever-so-slightly opened their mouths in despair. There they go, flapping their mouths open and close, gasping desperately for air with every step I take.

This brings me to my second vocabulary word for the day:

Super glue 

–noun

Trademark. a brand of glue, containing a cyanoacrylate adhesive, that is quick-drying and strong.

Facing Your Giants by Max Lucado.

Everyday, we are troubled by our pursuits to find the perfect job, to be in a relationship, to make more money... the list goes on. We all have our personal struggles, and these struggles consume us. These are our giants. We know what they are, but what we don’t know is how to face these giants and look them in the eye.

In Facing Your Giants, Max Lucado connects King David's journey with our everyday battles. David’s story is composed of so much more than how he defeated Goliath. David made many mistakes, and his relationship with the Lord was far from perfect. Like David, we need to be reminded that with God's help, we can conquer anything—even if we "aren't the strongest, the smartest, the best equipped, or the holiest."

Facing Your Giants is the first Max Lucado book I’ve ever read, and to be honest, reading through the many Bible verses took some getting used to. However, the book was well worth my time. I had very little knowledge of David before reading this book, and I very much appreciated how Lucado shows us that David was so… human.

This book is perfect for people who, like me, occasionally need to be reminded:

"Focus on giants—you stumble.

Focus on God—your giants tumble."

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I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of BookSneeze, a book review bloggers program. Find out more at BookSneeze.com! :)

The Winner.

A few months ago, I posted an entry on the almighty TEMPUR pillow versus Home Shopping Network's similar yet inexpensive AIRMAX pillow.

We have a winner, ladies and gentlemen.

For Christmas, JV and I finally decided to splurge and get each other a Tempur pillow. One Saturday, we headed to Bonifacio High Street with a mission.

About an hour later, we happily skipped (fine, I skipped) to the car with our huge Tempur boxes in hand. Yes, we were aware that our bank accounts were much emptier. On the other hand, we knew that the promise of peaceful and restful nights awaited us.

Two nights later, my mom borrowed my pillow. Guess what she asked my dad to get her for Christmas?

It's been about a month and a half, and I must say--I'm really happy with my pillow. My spine is happy. My neck is happy. I'm happy. I haven't had a single nightmare since I got the Tempur. On some days, I find myself laughing when I wake up.

I've been sleeping better. My dreams have been better. Life is better.

*Some descriptions may be a wee bit exaggerated*

Excess.

I can be excessively hyper.

Sometimes, I can be so excessively hyper that I annoy even myself.

If I were another person, I wouldn't even listen to me.

That can't be good, can it?

February.

I don't know why, but I'm suddenly bursting with optimism.

It's pretty strange how I'm more optimistic now compared to the start of the year--which is when people are most enthusiastic about changing their lives and starting over.

January is over, but the rest of the year isn't. I KNOW it's going to be a great year.

Memory Lane / Wenk-ism #1.

I was just reading through an old blog of mine, and I realized that yeeeeeeaaaaars later, I am exactly the same person. I'm in the same boat as I was in five or six years ago.

It's so weird.

Yes, I still watch a truckload of Reality TV (and I'm still as greatly affected by the final outcome of shows as I was back then), and I still love revel bars. But it's more than that. Aside from liking the same things, it freaks me out that I wrote / said things that I would still write / say to this day... in pretty much the same way. (Well, isn't that obvious!? I'm still the same person, right?!)

My rants and my frustrations back then were pretty much the same things I rant about at present. I wrote constantly about my insecurities, and not being good enough for even myself. I wrote about how much I wished I could write about everything, but could not seem to write about anything that mattered.

However, after reading through a bunch of old blog posts, I found myself feeling envious of how freely I could express what I was feeling back then. I didn't care about the amount of personal information I was releasing on the World Wide Web, and I obviously didn't care if I sounded like a bubbly, sugar high kid in one blog post, and a psychotic, emotionally unstable weirdo in the next. Oh. And I obviously never heard of proofreading back then. *blush*

The thing is, I've been blogging for YEARS. No, I couldn't quite convince myself to blog daily--not even weekly (and I still can't). But, I've blogged enough to get quite a lot of thoughts and raw emotions written down.

And because this is my blog, and you can't do anything about it, I'd like to revive some of the things I said. Not because they were particularly clever or funny (although some of the things I said really were quite clever / funny...) but because they're still pretty much what I would say now.

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October 29, 2004

i love being able to rant and express whatever thoughts rattle and bounce around in my mind. i love hearing the clickety-clack of the keyboard as my fingers on the keyboard try to match the speed of the words in my head.

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Twenty-six.

I could never really stick to New Year's Resolutions. I also never really saw the logic behind posting them online for the world to see (although I'm pretty sure I did that in past blogs). Come to think of it, there IS more pressure to stick to them, because everyone knows what they are :P

This year, I am determined to:

Clean my room.

Be more productive.

Save.

Dress more like an adult.

Act like one, too.

Read more books.

Save.

Write more.

Travel more.

Have some "me time".

Exercise.

Save.

De-clutter.

Save.

So there you go: my goals for the year (and these are all goals I really should keep for the rest of my life). Now to stick to them.

Pressing the Rewind Button.

There's no better time to be thankful for your blessings then on the last day of the year. 2009 was a tough year, but there are sooooooooo many things to be thankful for. I will not name ALL my blessings one by one, but I'll sum it up to the best of my ability:

I am thankful for my family. Although this is the first holiday season my family is not geographically complete, I am glad that distance does not stop my family from being a family. We laugh, we talk, and we laugh some more. I am also thankful for today's technology, which allows us to stay in touch, whether we are meters or miles apart. I am blessed to be part of this family, and at the end of the day, there is nowhere else I'd rather be but home.

I am thankful for my niece and nephew. Yes, they are technically part of the family, and I have already expressed how thankful I am to have them--but these two little runts are always the highlight of my day. I am fascinated by how much they can change on a daily basis, how quickly they learn new tricks, and what amazing people they are already turning out to be at such young ages. Because of these two babies, I am more appreciative of life and its wonders :)

I am thankful for friends. As you get older, you gain some friends, but you also fall out of touch with the others. 2009 was pretty much a year of renewing and solidifying old friendships. Yay for that! :)

I am thankful for lessons learned in 2009. I've made some drastic life choices, and I do not regret them. I believe that I am in more tune with myself than I have ever been--and this is something I truly consider an accomplishment.

I am thankful that I have had time to read more books (which I have really missed doing), and that although I am no longer employed full time, I can still afford to purchase these books--and have the occasional salmon sashimi!

And last but definitely not the least, I am thankful for another year with JV. I am even more thankful, because I KNOW that there are many, many, many more years with JV to come :)

Bring it on, 2010!

Happy new year! :)