I was out with friends (Fonzi, Hope, Glenn, Sharon, and Paul) last Friday to check out this first class "perya" near a mall here in the city where I live. We took the time to bond together especially that we're about to face a busy week ahead of us, loaded with work.

It's amazing to note that the experience was one of the craziest and funniest ever. I've got first row seats in witnessing how respectable and well-behaved people could, in an instant, lose poise and bearing (LMAO). :)

But before we even get there let me start off with showing you the talents of Blues in capturing blog worthy pictures (with me throwing in my adobe antiques) below:

This cranky Ferry's Wheel which is adorned with lights was about 3 to 4 stories tall. I was reminded of my childhood days when I took my first ride on this contraption in a barrio fiesta.

I have mixed emotions about this, though this looks like harmless in some ways, still I cant help but wonder about what's this little boy's take on what's happening around him, as he sees flying 10 peso coins and a 20 peso bill in front of him.

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I keep on wondering, what on earth hit them? Paul, Sharon, Hope and Glenn all seemed convinced that they are having a near death experience while I was so busy thinking of happy thoughts

Looking at their "I-don't-care-about-you-but-I-will-scream-me-heart-out" fit.

I was trying to catch them off guard, while at their worst-ever look. By their screams, I was pretty sure that Freddie Krueger was about to skin them alive while Sharon got the look of constipation printed all over her face, or was she trying to hit a high note?

Sharon, at the beginning of the ride. The air blowing on her hair was just really from a nearby electric fan and the fake screams around her added to her sold-out feeling that it is the end of the world.

I had the opportunity to rob elbows with the illustrious yet illusive local celebrity (ahem!) Miss Joan in an exclusive restaurant to celebrate her 29th birthday.

I had been friends with Joan since 2006. Since then we grew closer, became more than friends, even to the extent that I've proposed marriage to her only to find out that I was never her type (lol).

I would like to take this chance to talk about this dear friend of mine. I've always had the highest respect for Joan, I've compared her to a diamond that shines even under extreme pressure. Hence I've only seen her all the more composed and elegant even in the face of utmost stress. She carries herself with a kind of class that befits her personality.

Joan is known for her humanitarian acts. I have seen her in her best philanthropic social work with the aim of annihilating poverty and hunger, plus not to mention bringing in world peace. Joan is compassionate, reasonably modest and extravagantly generous. I should know because I have been one of those whom she had given extravagantly both materially and emotionally (hmmm). She has listened to me ones or twice in the past about my ordeal of which would have been impossible for me to go through without her wisdom (ow?).

I love Joan so much that I would have had mistaken her as my great, great grandmother (joke lang jo). Kidding aside, Jo I just want to tell you that God has blessed me with a good friend and that is you. Hope you'll never change and I pray that you'll be all the more successful, happy and closer to the Lord Jesus Christ. Happy Birthday Jo... :)

A quiet afternoon, supposedly. Relaxing from a week full of deadlines, reports and stress. My job can be unpredictable at times, but I am grateful for such a blessing. I sometimes get overwhelmed with what life throws at me, I acknowledge that, but it is not a measure of life itself. What I have in this world is temporary, what I am really aiming for is that eternal life that was promised to me.

It's awesome to know that life has a purpose for me. It has been a complete turnaround. I ones thought that better days are too far off, I even thought mine was over. But I was dead wrong. He proved to me that I am wrong. Life cant really be fully lived without you knowing your purpose. There's a whole lot of books that tells you how to live life and a lot more about what it really means to be happy. But, does that book really tell you about what it means to be happy and how and for whom should you live your life for? Happiness is certainly not measured with big houses and cars and branded clothes or how many friends or lovers you have. True happiness is when at the end of the day, as you climb your bed, you won't feel lonely.

It is good to know that we have people around us that will share our burdens. These are the people where we can draw our strength from. It's good to have a best friend who tirelessly listens to your rants but when we all go part ways and retreat back to the comfort of our beds we face our trials alone, whether we like it or not. We are created to be social and thus we need someone in our life to be happy. Someone that will inspire us or push us to the limits of our character. Someone that will keep us sane when we could no longer afford to. If people wont agree to this then why do we have friends in the first place if we really would like to push for the idea that one can be happy in permanent solitude? But is it really enough? Do we live our life for our friends and lovers alone?

I keep a lot of circles of friends. But I chose whom I would be confiding my secrets to and who has a sound mind for an advice. But my happiness right now is not really bound towards earthly friends which the Almighty Father has blessed me with. One thing I realized is knowing where my life is centered. If the center of my life is my career then it is not a strong foundation at all, because when for whatever reason I will lose my job, my life, which is founded on it would come crashing down as well. My job is important to me but it is not my all.

I have to build my life around a firm foundation, a foundation that cannot be shaken. When my life went crashing down, I thought I'm done and over with. I thought things will be difficult but all these things were nothing but a product of my worries, I just worry a lot. To shed a tear and worry about something in your life is a disservice to yourself because you have just robbed yourself an opportunity to bounce back.

So, how was I able to bounce back in no time? First I have to go back to that foundation I was talking about. If I can find a strong foundation, to which I can build my life on then I will be able to know the purpose of my life. I have other options around me and was sorting things out and realized that everything in this world will not last. Marriages don't last because of death, careers, friends come and go, hobbies loses its meaning over time. So how will I find a firm foundation on which I can build my life on? The answer is JESUS. Jesus wont pass away unlike the earthly things that we have around us. He has been, is and always will be as he had promised in the scriptures.

My life changed drastically. At the end of the day when I climb my bed I no longer feel that emptiness and loneliness that I would feel before. I started picking up the pace and I no longer see myself sulking over things which just weighs me down, in fact I can think of the past experiences I had and never shed a tear anymore because I found the perfect solution to it, the past is past and there is nothing I can do about it but I can certainly do something about the future. So how did Jesus changed my life by the way?

To answer that, let me start by saying, a Christian life is not a boring life. Nope, not at all. You can be a follower of Christ and never have to worry about the mundane, but it takes a lot of hard work of which you wont be able to do alone, and you wont be alone because CHRIST lives inside of you ones you invite Him in. He then becomes your foundation and the center of your life, hence you will never be alone.

Christ died for everyone of us. You and me, all of the people around the world. We are blessed with the abundant grace of the Almighty Father, that it only takes faith for us to be partakers of it, and that faith is to believe in Christ with all our heart that he died on the cross for our sins.

When you accept Christ as your personal savior, things wont change in an instant because Christ's purpose is to let you change in time. Consider this, if you give up a bad habit in an instant, there would be consequences that you would have to suffer. And more often than not the result is short lived and you will soon find yourself going back to the same habit. For instance, usually tomatoes are harvested while they are still green (not ripe) to avoid bruising when shipped. The suppliers will then spray Carbon Dioxide to it so that in an instant the tomatoes will ripen. The CO2 is not bad at all, but tomatoes who are ripened in haste will not even measure up to the taste of the tomatoes that were allowed to ripen in time. Christ is never in a hurry because He knows best time for you, but He has never been late, not a single second. Christ is interested in changing your character and not your personality.

He hates your sins but not you. Does this mean that we wont commit a sin anymore? Not really, given a chance we can commit a sin. But, Christ's conviction will be with us through the Holy Spirit which will reside in you ones you Have accepted Him as your personal savior. Therefore, it is clearer for you to distinguish what makes you commit a sin and how to handle temptations. The choice now lies in you, but definitely the Holy Spirit will guide you through when temptations arise. Remember, he will not allow things to happen to you if it is too much for you to handle.

Our real purpose in Life is to live for the one who created us. Whether we like it or not one day we would have to give a detailed account of our life ones it is over. Stop searching for something that will only give you temporal happiness, set your eyes on Jesus and soon you will stop seeing your fears, loneliness and sadness.