PROJECT 52 on 2010

For 2010, I plan to work on a project which I shall call Project 52! So what’s with 52? Well, there are 52 weeks in a year. Through this project, I intend to share to you the highlight(s) of my 52 weeks for this year. I just pray that I may be committed to finish this project.

In case I fail? Uhmm… I don’t want to think about it.

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PROJECT 01

Under my checklist for this week are the following: Oral exam, Praxis Group work, Philo Long Test, Thesis Data Gathering, AEA YES report preparation, Kythe Week bags and Jan23 preparation. What made this week unbelievably tiring and difficult for me is that I have to be always attentive and alert so that I could finish everything on time. Now that was the challenge! How could I be attentive if my mind is filled with so many questions and things?!?

Ending results: (1) My body clock is suddenly distorted. I sleep at 3 and automatically wake up at 7am (even if class starts at 12). (2) My stomach rejects to eat more than half of my regular intake. Or else... (3) Puffy eyes. Boo!

But what the heck,I'm still alive and almost done with my checklist. Yey!!!

To my family who’s always on call whenever I’m alone at home and need them, thank you for all the small talks about big matters that we had. I learned a lot from you.

To my two best girl pals, thank you for keeping me sane. You're simply the best. I don’t want to lose you. (PS. Oo na, you like each other. Kayo na ang friends.)

To you(many people), thank you for being there for me.You guys bring tears to my eyes.

To you(single person), do I really deserve to be your friend? Sana nga. Thank you for just wanting to take care of me. You make me smile.

To You, thank You for making me feel loved through these people. Please continue making miracles in their lives. You truly never fail me.

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PHOTO OF THE WEEK

I shall miss you Massoud. Visit us again on July!

PS. Stop putting things inside your mouth and don't forget to give Z a bath.

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We will rock January 23, 2010.

I’m blessed to have my family. Yes, my family’s imperfect (as seen in our unsynchronized dance steps) but still is the best for me.

Dancing shoes on~Rica Gran

Early Christmas Gifts

God knows how stressed I am for the past few weeks. I don't seem to get enough time for my own family and even for myself. Not that I'm complaining about school work (I've already learned how to love and appreciate my studies), i just want a BREAK from this nerve-racking routine. It's as if after submitting a requirement for school, my brain automatically shuts down for the next 24 hours, which is not good!
But the Lord never fails to surprise me with great things and I am more than blessed for all the early Christmas gifts he gave me.
1. A Grade of C in chapter 2 of our thesis
- It was quite a relief to know that everyone in our class got a C. Why did Mr. Venida gave us a C? For him, C means "Continue working". So technically, he didn't give us a grade. Thank God, it wasn't an F.
2. Pia and Kirae
- Pia texted me out of the blue if I was doing anything. Since I didn't want to do anything productive that night I called her immediately. Our chat lasted for more than an hour. I won't tell the details of our conversation, but I surely miss her. Thank you for bearing with me. You know that you can count on me as well. Love you Pi!
- Kirae's YM avatar is a pic of us taken during LTAB of YE 20. Another person whom I miss big time. I shall see you soon girlfriend. Love you Kirae! This one's for you.


3. Kythe
-Kythe means healing through simple sharing and togetherness. It's true that every moment spent with these kids can actually make them happy and feel alive. But personally, I cannot deny the fact that these kids have helped me more than I helping them. They're smiles and innocence makes me want to be a kid again. They remind me to concentrate on what is good and nice about life and to stop being pessimistic. I love them. I love being with kids. They make me want to shift into a different career path. Can you imagine me teaching toddlers?

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Photo of the Week

Sleeping Chinggay during Kythe-Ateneo's Make a Splash at Manila Ocean Park last August 2009.
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4. Immersion = Memorable Vacation
- I never thought that I would actually love to live near the sea. Unisan, I shall return. I'll make a separate entry for this.

Season's greetings ~ Rica

Up, up and away!

With Angelo and sleepy Eli

Ate Ollie and Kuya JB's son, Eli, celebrated his first birthday yesterday at Royal Palm Residences clubhouse. The theme of the party was UP! Eli was super cute in his Russel outfit. The whole venue was prettily decorated and the whole party was well organized. The emcee/magician/puppet master was pretty good as well. He sure knows how to get the attention of the audience (both kids and adults). Click this to see the pictures from the party.

A huge poster of Eli greeted the visitors at the entrance.

The stage had a replica of the old man's house with floating balloons. The house is about 3 feet tall. Lolo made this for Eli.

A miniature replica of the house for the table centerpiece.

And for the loot bags/giveaways, each kid got to take home a backpack with goodies inside.

One Big Happy family!

The cutest first birthday party I have attended so far!!! I love you Eli. *gigil*

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Photo of the Week:

Funny Face with Angelo.

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Wants-to-be-a-kid-again ~ Rica Gran

Is God a Killjoy?

Is God a killjoy?

I've been asking the same question ever since. Pondering whether my actions are of God's will or I'm just thinking of myself. So if you're having the same dilemma and you want to be enlightened, go grab a copy of this month's Kerygma magazine. It's available in all leading bookstores. Read and Be blessed!

Adrian and I are on the cover.

I'm super happy that I get to share this experience with one of close friends in community. Adrian is a good friend of mine and a very reliable co-head in the Liturgical Ministry. During the photoshoot, I was really anxious yet he would just smile and laugh with(at) me every time I did something silly. The whole mood inside the studio was simply light.

This will also be my Photo of the Week (or maybe month. :P).

Personal Message:

Adrian - Thank you for bearing with me, partner. I miss the good old days, but I'm really happy that God is using you mightily now in your new ministry.




Blessed ~ Rica Gran

My Last EvSem

AEA Evsem 2009

Last weekend, I officially had my last Evaluation Seminar in my college years. How time flies so fast that I can still recall our Planning Seminar last summer. Not to mention the dreadful thing they did to Perfect. Though some were not able to attend, I still enjoyed this crazy weekend with the AEAmazing execom.

We had difficulties planning for our EvSem. Karen, Ari and I were all going gaga about the venue, transpo, food, and waiver forms. Even the night before Evsem, we were still doing last minute planning. I also had to stay up late to work on my presentation for the next day. Talk about cramming.

First day of EvSem went well. We stayed at Carrillo Garden Resort. I love the place and the cottage where we stayed except for the fact that we all had to share 1 bathroom. The owner was also sweet enough to lend to us one of their function rooms for free. For 3 hours, we evaluated all the projects for the first semester. Tiring? Definitely! But going through the process was worth it. By doing so, I think we were able to pin down all the strengths and weaknesses of each project. I was also able to show them my team's girly presentation. Hindi nga lang masyado pinansin, at least my deputies liked it. We also had our Execom Evaluation. Words of encouragement, praise and some expectations flowed during the whole discussion. Compared to last year's EvSem, this time we were really able to realize a lot about our org, projects and ourselves.

Me together with my deputies presenting project evals. Chuck discussing External's department. Kris' catching-the-flying-cereal-using-his-mouth stunt. Julius, Meryl, Precious and Karen during one of the GDs.

Second day - Half of the day was set for planning and presentations of our second sem projects. I'm impressed with the Gant Chart which Karen introduced to us. Afterwards was free time!!! Most of us enjoyed the pool, freezing air breeze (with thick fog) and alcohol. While the others preferred to stay in the cottage and watch 500 days of summer, do some girl talk and sleep.

Kris and I (with the rest of the top 9) discussing the budget for the whole Evsem. Girls' prank on Ari. Everyone enjoying the last night at the pool area. Last pic before going home.

We left the place at around 11:30 am last Sunday and had our lunch at Mcdo. Budget, 150pesos per person. Thank you, Jeanne for the MCDO gift certificates. Hurray for 2-hour drive back to Manila. I'm super happy we got back earlier than I expected. I really hate long travels, they never fail to make me dizzy after.

That weekend was both work and play for me. I felt like I was the "adult supervisor" that time. I took charge of the finances while Ari wasn't around. First day, we had Andok's chicken.for dinner. I was accompanied by Migz and Ken that night. It was my first time in the bayan so I really didn't know where to go. I have to thank my parents for making me eat in carinderias. When Andok's only had 11 order of rice, I had to look for a carinderia so that I can get enough rice for everyone. Second day, since everyone was busy planning, Ari and I went out to buy lunch and dinner. We still bought Andok's chicken for lunch then ordered barbeque for dinner. I had the chance to bond with Ari for an hour while waiting for the barbeque, rice and pictures. Even though he was sabog, he still made sense when we were talking. Last day, when I needed to turn over everything to Ari, I thought I lost 600php. Then after re-computing, lost was down to 300. And then after re-computing again, no lost incurred. God knows how scared I was when I thought I lost 600. Now, I know how it feels to handle a huge amount of money - such big responsibility.

After all the stress, finally I got to rest at home. Angelo even paid me a visit that Sunday after driving all the way from Punta Fuego. He brought me 3 sunflowers and fruits. He really knows how to make me smile.

Personal Messages
AEA Execom:

Guys! You were all AEAmazing. One more sem! kayang kaya ito. I love you all.

For everyone: I hope your weekend wasn't as crazy as mine. And if it was, I know you were able to handle things well.

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PHOTO OF THE WEEK

If you noticed, aside from my usual blog, I have another project for my little library. On my sidebar, I included my project, PHOTO OF THE WEEK. Here, I shall share to you my favorite pictures both old and recent. I'm certainly excited to update this every week. :D

For my first photo, it's a stolen pic of me and my dad taken during my 18th birthday celebration. I guess I really am a daddy's girl. (Actually, I'm both mama and papa's girl. :P) I was teary-eyed after our dance. I love you, papa.

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Tata ~ Rica Gran