I am evolving

Like any other technology, my blog is evolving.. I have chosen wordpress to rule grasya.com so hope that those who are following me can go visit it for the latest happenings in my life.

Life's Surprises

First of all, thank you soooooOOoo much to all the people who one way or another expressed their support and encouraged me to go to the "mountains" despite all percieved odds.

I'm reaping a good karma now. REALLY.

And I hope, the good thought you have given me will come back to you one way or another... so we create ripple effects of good thoughts... thus creating ripple effects of goodness to humanity.

So speaking of life's surprises... this is what is happening lately.

- so I thought, Chiang Mai is in the mountains.. well, it is indeed 13 hours away from Bangkok, Thailand.. and the area has mountains... but it really is a beautiful serene city. It has got a tropical climate so it is like my beautiful Philippines


- so I thought I'll be like really poor... but apparently im housed in a good hotel with very good friends from all over (the globe). I mean, im ready to be shipped in anywhere coz Im a volunteer... but this is really good karma.. I LOVE YOU LORD.

- and I thought, I'll just be with so~ so~ friends... but my roomie is a Magna Cum Laude Lawyer... WAAAAAHHH!!!! Im forced to be a good girl... :D


but wait... I'm a good girl.... ^_^




so there goes life's surprises..... sort of overwhelming to me at the moment, it will take time for me to have everything sync in... but yeah, im liking it.

and i hope everyone is enjoying life at the moment... life is short... praying that everyone is living it well...

VSO Fundraising

Ten more days and im bound for thailand-burma border... Nuninuninuninuuuu @_@

But before anything else, i am required to fundraise.

Please donate to VSO Bahaginan here

or at Paypal

Then let me know once you've donated coz Im tracking them down and so I send the list to St Peter.... :D nah... so I can do some kindness back in return.. ^_^

The wallflower is evolving..

Speaking of living life to the fullest... this is what has been happening lately..

1. Was featured in the Inquirer newspaper... sorry wasnt able to tell this story before ^_^

well not really featured but its nice to know your name is mentioned in a newspaper hehehe

2. Travelled bits of Luzon and Visayas with a fil-american soldier who has been to Afghanistan and is now based in Korea... the book Kite Runner comes to life when he talks about stories in that country... and its nice that he gets to visit the huge family clan.. im a proud Tita.. and am honored to be Arbie's babysitter errr bodyguard errrr travel buddy :D

3. Tried to argue with, bully and punch that same soldier... damn that was a soft punch coz u still laughed Arbie tsk tsk.. His american-brain sort of irritates my nerves and im sure he gets irritated too so its quits!! BLEH!!!! Despite that, me and the whole family clan still loves him though.. ^_^ Thanks for making the family tree... Arbie is a gem of a nephew i must say..

4. Since I started travelling, Ive slept in 7 different houses including a 400 year old convent church in Bolinao, Pangasinan... thank you Father Georg for all the great love... I will sure do miss you once you get back to Italy but I know I have to pass the great love forward.. trying to love everybody in the present moment.

trivia: the wooden floor of the convent was made from coffins.. but there was no moo moo thanks to my closed 3rd eye ^_^

check out the site made by the german volunteer Zach here


5. Never have been so broke yet never have been so happy... darn ang babaw ko ha. i must need to balance my crazy head to not learn to be so happy when broke.

6. Looking forward to the VSO photo exhibit at UP Diliman.. this should be awesome (with a competitive tone).. kaso wala na ako dito sa August XD

7. So Im wrapping up this carefree life to look forward to Thailand.. where ill go back to staring at the computer but on a more serious matter.. more to follow...^_^

Im going thru changes

Fool of Grace no more.. well im still foolish as far as thinking out of the cube is concerned... but I think i have outgrown the title..

Years ago, around 2001, I had this newbie website.. and it has now transformed into a blog.. and im sure, soon, it will transform into another valuable thing.. Watch out for it ;)

Meanwhile, i googled fool of grace and have found this a flattery..

Tapos nag wide-eyed ako ng isang second dito.. weird lang..

Filipino Culture

Recently, i got hooked up watching videos of ilikegrass.. they are Filipinos (or with Pinoy blood) living abroad (in Canada) and they created some videos to show bits of Filipino culture to their non Filipino friends.

Although some might be offended.. but i really think it is funny ^_^...

besides, some of them are true but was just presented in a lighter way so we can laugh and have a good time ^_^. Check out the video: How to act Around Filipinos

Pikon talo ha... Have fun ^_^

Sign Language

One of the most memorable moments I had in Bohol was to hang out with my twin cousins in the buzz cafe at ICM, while viewing youtube.. apparently the medium we both can relate to..

i know little sign language so we try to communicate using pen and paper... or do gestures like thumbs up, down, middle.. or the gun shot gesture for a boring video ^_^


I highly recommend the videos we both have watched that made a strong impact on me.. hopefully, it raised awareness on you too..

Maria Paz Jordan - Deaf Filipino

Concrete Angel in Sign language

Ana Arce, Deaf Magna Cum Laude

Code is Poetry

The title of this post was taken from the Wordcamp Philippines website

I drooled for a few seconds then posted this new post. Nothing really spectacular, just was amazed by the title. ^_^

Steve Jobs commencement address quotes

Funny that a non college graduate is now one of the most influential person today according to Time Magazine..

I'm talking about Steve Jobs.. one that changed the meaning of Apple.

I'm not really against formal education nor anti intellectual since I earned my masters (tuition fRee harhar) and was deans lister during my college days (damn my profs actually believed i was smart tsk tsk)..

Its just that life has this weird ways of imparting wisdom.

Life really is ironic.

You can view Steve Jobs' commencement address speech that strucked me and made me ponder over and over again here

Favorite quote from the video:

" it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life"

" You’ve got to find what you love... The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it"

"Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart."

"Stay hungry. Stay foolish."

Culture and Travel

I realized I am like my mom in a way.

My mom has itchy feet when she was younger. She has lived and traveled to Pangasinan, Iloilo, Zamboanga and Laguna.. so she knows different dialects that sort of delight visitors in our house because they converse in the native dialect.

I find this interesting..

LIke connecting to other human beings, wanting to know their culture and tradition.. and making friends with them (and so I can go travel to places without fear because Im with a local ^_^)


As I travel the Philippines and know bits of culture of every region.. I stay amazed..

Since Im in the visayas, I was made aware that when I speak tagalog, people here will find it weird... just like when visayans talk when they are in Manila or anywhere in a Tagalog speaking place...

Sometimes I think... gantihan ba ito? Or do we have our own racial discrimination?

Hopefully not.. People's culture and perspectives are just different.. we just need to learn how to respect each other... and in the end, make friends ^_^

I guess that is one step of building unity.. besides this nation is divided by islands already.. hope the division will not extend to our hearts.

Social Clock

Im currently in Bohol.. for the Nth time. ^_^

I first visited this place last 2002 when I trained the staff of the Municipal Trial Court for their computer literacy program.. just because my cousin is a judge.. talk about influence.. tsk tsk

And then i went back to travel with friends (and train my cousin's staff or be the temporary yaya for my sweet pamangkins on the side. ^_^)

Every now and then, while Im with relatives, hindi maiiwasan ang irritating question - "why am i not married yet.." then i say to myself - "damn social clock".

And then I tell stories about my travels and adventures and then they ask again, "its good that you get to travel around".. and then i say, "that's because im single!"

arrgghh sino ba ang nag imbento ng social clock, sasakalin ko ng bonggang bongga.

Life is a simple blessing

In preparation for my placement in the land where the red shirts are.. I try to go into musings which I most often do in this hiatus state of my life ^_^.. most of them barring myself from complains whoop! ^_^

I'm about to complain on the hot weather.. but then I read an email from my friend in Kolkata that the weather there is 39-40 degrees... and in Thailand its around 38-41.. so Im still lucky I live in this country.

I'm about to complain on boredom... but then I realize I have the luxury of time that I have been longing for since I left the corporate.. and I have lots of time to exercise my creative brain that has gone passive since my analytic brain always get to work out.

I'm about to complain on people spending company time bashing other people (and they get away with it) instead of being productive thinking of ways to improve their own freaking lives.. but then i realize i should be a good example... so enough bashing your thoughts grasya.

I'm about to complain of not being rich like the King of Orcha... but I say to myself I will have my time harhar.

And then I also realize I'm free to roam the earth without worrying about hiring bodyguards or being kidnapped... otherwise mga kawawang kidnappers tsk tsk.

I'm about to complain about this and that... but I realize I have enough loving friends and extended family... so let me review the Maslow Hierarchy of Needs and see where I am at the moment... hrrmm....

A glimpse of hope

Congrats to the new President of the Philippines...

A great salute to the other candidates who despite not winning, still showed support just to make the future of this country better. Now there goes a glimpse of hope. ^_^

Meanwhile, I am fundraising for VSO Bahaginan. For as little as 500 pesos, you will be supporting the volunteers who are sent to far flung places to share their skills and knowledge to fellow earth citizens..

Please let me know once you have donated so I can track down the effectivity of my campaign.

May the dreams of a better and fairer society become a reality..

Wallflower Poetry

So Im seizing my free days just like any Carpe diem moments... and I have managed to dig into my old files and read old diaries and poetry..

Please see them here

Recent travels of the wallflower

I was in Tagaytay and then went to Sagada recently..

Caleruega in Tagaytay was a very beautiful place.. the perfect place for the wedding of my high school barkada.. It also became a high school mini reunion.. so glad to have catch up with my gals.. although that all girl school brought me not so wonderful memories thanks to alta de sosyedad hypocrites but well... i survived... harhar.

Sagada for 4 days at less than 5000 pesos was a value for the buck I highly recommend it. You can view this site as reference -> http://www.visitsagada.com/

We only hired a tour guide when we went down the caves but our adventurous hearts went alone trekking the mountains to see water falls and hanging coffins.. Good thing ate Mona Cadiz knows Ilocano, rapport with the locals was easy.

Kung may powers lang ako, Ill suggest na mag take up ng at least one local dialect ang mga kabataang Pilipino.. its a way for us to build rapport with our fellow Pinoys.. saka para hindi rin tayo basta basta mabenta when we're in a distant place in the Phils.

I was trying to capture my mood so I can write a decent post but the piano songs being played on the background is so sweet.. parang gusto ko na lang mag emote hahahaha! ^_^ Ang galing galing talaga ni Evoy Estrada ^_^..

Golly, mamaya na ang mga serious na bagay.. mag eemote muna ako.

I am busy

I am busy

- busy cleaning our house
- busy spending quality time with mum when im in Laguna.. and eating her cooking experiments, noodles with okra anyone? ^_^
- busy planning travels.. this should be a good guide
- busy looking for free wifi's and eyeing cute guys in the coffee shops
- busy conceptualizing business ideas and monitoring existing ones
- busy researching on CMS website creation, any recommendation what to use?
- busy dreaming (and sleeping)
- busy establishing genuine relationships with friends
- busy watching out my budget.. i lived like a girlscout before in Kolkata, living like a girlscout in my country should not be a problem (except that prices in Manila are really higher compare to Kolkata... argghh)
- busy reading and re-reading all intresting materials that i can get my hands on.. including very old reader's digest magazines... entreprenuer magazine is a good one
- busy trying to live a quality life and busy being me

So.. how busy are you? Are you busy living a quality life too?

Wallflower at Large

I bare my scars as if they were medals. I know freedom has a high price, as high as that of slavery; the only difference is that you pay with pleasure and a smile, even when that smile is dimmed by tears - Paolo Coelho


Awww such melancholic thoughts..

On the other hand, everything seems to be alright.

Spent one sleepless night trying to get tickets to Moriones for our planned travel last Holy Week but after all the eyebugs and lining up along with the sweaty Kuya's until 9AM, we gave up the crap and head home to Laguna instead. But travel to Pagsanjan Falls was not bad after all.. P1200 per person fee to see it was a ripped off considering that I saw the Taj Mahal at a lesser price in ruppees BOO!!

Then we head to the underground cemetery in Nagcarlan which was closed because it was well a holiday.. besides its a holy week! give the cemetery a break.

And then I went to see Father Georg at nagbuhos ako ng sama ng loob ng bonggang bongga.

The priest knows the Philippines more than me... makes me think that Im a foreigner in my own country... *sigh*

Ang gastos kasi mag travel sa Pinas... sino ba un may close dito sa Senado?? Pde ba mag pass ng bill about cheap entrances to locals as compare to foreigner fee? Ganun kasi ang India... dapat ganun din tayo davah?

Extra Challenge Part 2

Major happenings:

- Rakhi Sarkar, VSO India director went to the Phils to hang out with Pinoy volunteers and we try to reminisce moments while i snooze beside her in the car.. sorry Rakhi effects of night shift but will surely bring that lively mode when our paths cross again in this small world

- Notice this plain blog needs pretty bling blings... hrrmmm i will change this dress right after my travels harhar

- Featured on VSO Bahaginan's annual report... geesshh the hunk photographer was good I look pretty human.. and my mum was real proud she finally gave me the go signal to go to the path where I'm happy

- And the path leads me to quit my job at the moment. ok, i foresee pillows will be thrown on me at facebook.. I love my job but, there is more to life than chasing out every ordinary high


so I go have my extra challenge part two!! Bring it on!!!! ^_^

Musings of a Wallflower

This past couple of months, my role as a wallflower has become a self fulfilling prophecy. It has been interesting though.. that while you just sit and observe other people around you.. you begin to notice behaviors and draw conclusions on their lives.. thus dramas/comedies/tragedies are created in my mind...

but then i should not be stereotyping anyone...

oh well.. such is life ^_^... i should not be sitting my ass longer for adventure lurks in the depths of my system.

hhrrrmmm we'll see, im sure next months should be exciting. and if there's none, ill create one! harhar. >:D

Thank you 2009

well.. the highlights of my life last year are as follows:

- Travelled most parts of India, too bad i wasnt there for too long but hey, the Philippines needs some local admirer also. Speaking of which, how lovely to travel in Isabela, Tagaytay, Rizal, Iloilo and Antique is.. they're not tourist spots but they are a traveller's haven i must say ^_^

- at work, i had 5 different roles in 5 different teams/clients in just one year!! hate the learning curve really... but then it makes you feel humble that even if i had 12 friggin working years of experience, there are still lots and lots to learn

- met the humblest human beings... the King of orcha just wears simple jeans .. dr. Samir Chaudhuri, despite winning awards in the US and India is just like another father figure.. and many many people reaching out for the sake of bringing fairness into the world...

- Looked deep into blue and green eyes and marvel at God's beautiful creations. Such lovely and handsome people.. why did i forego all these? Well... maybe the Lord says its not yet time. ok fine watever.

- was published in 4 different articles... one from a vietnamese newspaper, one from VSO India, one from an article written by Feneke Van Hasselt and one at my work... then there is still another one upcoming ;)


so... despite challenges.... in the end, i look back and say life is still beautiful. ^_^ Thank you Lord, all these is for your Glory.