My Simple Life

Does life begins at 40s?

I dont know how many readers will react on my title and or does the statement applies to you? If yes, bear with me and if you have time, please share your thoughts about it.

    To be exact, two years ago I reached 40. Honestly, at first I was scared for being branded as “matanda” (old) and thinking that I cant do things anymore that the younger ones do.  More than that, Im also doubting of my life that lies ahead of me! The good thing is, reaching the age of 40, it provided me the courage to face the future with head’s up and with a heart of hope. Being 40 is full of life and excitement!

    Dec 14 was the day when my parents celebrated life for the third time of their marriage. They were happy to see me with open arms and through the years they were there to witness how I embraced life to the fullest. Until now, even they are far away, Im sure they are smiling - realising  how I survived and became an ‘optimistic’ Archer!

Through the years, I always embrace life with optimisation. Yes, I have dreams to conquer but most of them are still hanging around on my head. No, I dont have regrets of the bad things that surround me, but instead I face them with the guidance and the mantle of love of our Almighty God.

    As I always share to friends and even strangers that “things happened because of a reason”.  Sometimes we think that life is unfair - why there are kind people that suffer and the bad guys dont. Well, for the kind people - they have to be strong and have the perseverance to change things for the better and look for the brighter side of the situation; while for the bad guys - they will wait and one day they will face the consequences and of course providing them the opportunity to change. 

I dont want to write a long journal on my birthday, instead you as my reader has the chance to share your thoughts of being happy and fulfilled of what you have gone through in the world of living. Regardless of your age, I believe that you have something good to share to others, and most especially to me in my special day!

    Living is believing that every thing is possible!

Celebrating Life – the life of Princess Diana

Few minutes ago I just finished watching on TV the longest ever concert (6 hours non-stop) I have ever seen in my entire life. I love to watch concerts and live entertainments but this concert for Diana is different in the sense that it is a celebration of her 46 birthday after she passed away ten years ago.

This is a gift from her loving sons, Princes William and Harry. It is a celebration for this special person who happened to touched different people specially the poor and the children.

The program started at 430pm and ended at 1030pm at the newest stadium, Wembley (England). During the program, there were video clips of people that Princess Diana supported on a very special way which were really touchy and inspiring that this beautiful lady captured the hearts of the people. Honestly, I am very sentimental person and watching these testimonies, I always have teary eyes.

Some of the highlights of the event which I really liked are as follows:

watching William and Harry opened the program introduced Duran Duran; the reggae number of Lily Allen which was really lively; the boys band, Take That that still the favourites of the British people; the rendition of P Diddy with the song, Missing You; the undying song of Rod Stewart, Sailing; the Swan lake production from the National Ballet company; songs from the musical productions of Andrew Lloyd Weber - the Phantom of Opera, Les Miserables, Jesus Christ Superstar, Cats, and the latest revival of Joseph and his Technicolor coat; the photographs of Diana and her children especially the candid shots during their family outings; and finally the tribute video for Diana showing she was very young and it was funny to watch them.

Finally watching again the two princes during the finale, I can say that Diana has the look of William and the stare of Harry.

Indeed, the Princess of Wales touched our lives in a simple way. She showed the world that everyone can make a difference regardless of what status we have in the society. Despite of her untimely tragic death, still she will be remembered for her generosity, humbleness, kindness, simplicity and most of all her love for the children. She will be missed and be loved forever!

This is the link for more details of the concert and performers.

http://www.concertfordiana.com/home/index.aspx

towards REGENERATING my LIFE in 2007

For the past 40 years of my existence, I did not train myself to have an annual list of New Year’s resolution. I don’t know why I was not expressive enough to come-up my own ‘pledge’ to do better things for the new year and do something ‘new’ that will improve my personality and outlook in life. Fortunately, even without this list, I could proudly say that I am happy and contented for what I have achieved in the past years.

As the saying goes, ‘Life begins at 40!’ So, literally I embarked the journey of life last year and rephrased that saying… ‘There’s better life after 40’. To maintain a simple life in a big family of 10 is not easy. Fortunately, I am successfully enough to have an ordinary living through the love and care of my parents which they raised me and my siblings to be responsible human beings.

REDISCOVERING my own self for 2007 is an initial step to ‘renew’ the invaluable bits and pieces that I have started last year which I grouped into four (4) facets of my human existence as discussed below. Not to forget them, I came up with an acronym: ‘Spimenemophy’ – which constitutes the first 3 letters from SPIritually, MENtally, EMOtionally, and PHYsically and this is a continuing process in the years to come.


***SPIRITUALLY. This is rediscovering my faith and beliefs in God – allowing myself to renew/revive my relationship with the Creator. Frankly, I am not a religious person, but I truly believe that everything that we have now is a gift from God and a way of acknowledging is to return it back to Him by community service. It is a daily struggle to sustain my faith but having a community that I could cling to is much a comfort. With my small prayer group in the university, it is an effective channel for me to bond/unite with others having the same spiritual need and at the same time to reach out with other students. I am not exempted to question our human existence - why there are pain, suffering, war, poverty, discrimination and inequality in the society nowadays. Despite these bad conditions, I am very optimistic that these difficulties and struggles are temporary, and whatever little improvement we have contributed in the present time is not in futile for the generation to come.

HAVING THIS, I THINK IT IS EASIER FOR ME TO ACHIEVE THE REST IN ‘REGENERATING’ MY MENTAL, EMOTIONAL AND PHYSICAL WELL BEING.


***MENTALLY. This is also a challenging undertaking to achieve by not allowing myself to feel idle, bore and lazy for the whole year. I am quite lucky to have the opportunity to go back to the university and do further research in the field of real estate development. I don’t have any plan before to pursue further studies after I completed my research program in Environmental Engineering in Australia back in 2004. But with the current demand for people who got higher graduate degree programs is attractive, I took the challenge in investing my time and talents to be more competitive professional two years from now.

Being a full time researcher, I need to have more patience and perseverance to be able to meet my deadlines with my supervisors. Honestly, I am currently engaged with a piece of research that I have little knowledge/background and applying a methodology which I have not done it before or no any idea at all. Well, I think that is a valid reason why I want to go back to school after working for almost 17 years. My ultimate goal at the later part of the year as the results of my research is to submit journal and conference papers and to be recognised my contribution in the body of knowledge.

Inspiration is the key factor in regenerating my mental abilities through my hobbies and extra job. Firstly by having the resources to acquire reading materials such as books and magazines are providing me the venue to sharpen my memory, comprehension; to think analytically, and to learn new skills and at the same to improve my writing skills. Secondly, being a member of Dooyoo, it is an effective way to express myself and share my experiences to others thru my reviews. I do hope that I could maintain the frequency reading of 1-2 books per month, and the time to post at least 1 review per week. To date, I can manage to post in the site an average of 5 reviews a month which is equivalent to 1 review per week! It is also my wish to increase my readership and ratings/comments to the rest of the members. So far, my rating speed is only 5-6 reviews per day in the span of 6 months membership (quite low). But believe it or not, my rating speed is higher than some of the respected senior members of Dooyoo (since 2000) which they have an average rating speed of approximately 4 per day.

Thirdly, prior to my registration with Dooyoo, I already created my personal blogs and keep a record of my thoughts (in my poems), insights, and invaluable experiences. Getting feedbacks/testimonials are the main motivations for me to maintain these journals and having new posts in the few months to come could somehow inspire more people to read them. Fourthly, I am still looking forward to getting more interesting photographs during my travels which offer me the chance to be ‘creative’ and to see things differently which is evident through the images taken from my digital camera. It is my ultimate goal this year to visit some exciting places in Europe and Africa. I will try to work it out during the school holiday period to prepare the necessary documents in securing ‘Shingen’ multiple entry visas.

Lastly but not the least is my part time teaching job at the university which gives me additional income. And I am looking forward to be offered extra hours as research demonstrators/tutors to keep my mind working and inspiring more young people to be responsible future engineers/managers.


***EMOTIONALLY. Honestly, I don’t have any difficulty in dealing with people. But I think it goes back to ‘moderation’ by not allowing myself to dwell too much with ‘socialising’ and other extra-curricular activities that will affect my focus in my research. Sometimes, it is tempting to accept invitation from friends to have parties at night or even weekend escapades. Sometimes I can handle those offers but I can not resist saying ‘no, thank you’. I am a very friendly person and I will always go out from my comfort zone to mingle with different people in my workplace or even outside my university circle. It also my nature to dwell on things that you need ‘emotional’ back-up like helping other students in their research, or a colleague that need a hand in searching for valuable reference materials in the library or in the internet. With my little contribution in the prayer group is also helps me feel the sense of ‘belongingness’ and fulfilment to take part in the spiritual growth of every member.

Having access to internet and other telecommunications, this year is quite a busy year in responding email and text messages from abroad especially from my family and friends back home, not to mention my correspondence with people who are valuable in my case study areas for my research.

***PHYSICALLY. This involves maintaining healthy and stress-free living. I am not an athletic person, but I maintain a simple healthy habit for the past years. There are four major things that I do to sustain my energy and stamina: walking, swimming and playing badminton, and having a balanced diet. Last year, I could probably maintain a once a week swimming, but this time I intend to do it at least twice a week especially during summer time. My main health problems are: I am quite receptive to colds due to the rapid change in weather, and my occasional stomach pain due to hyper acidity. I think it is only a matter of reminding me to drink plenty of water and fruit juices, and less of spicy foods (which is difficult to resist). I do hope that this year will offer more possibilities of doing mountain climbing and walking which also allow me to socialise with the rest of the members of community (church). Playing badminton is a little bit conditional in the sense that it is dependent to school terms, and it also falls on Tuesdays where I have the chance to avail the ‘crazy Tuesdays’ discounted movie offer (half price). Nevertheless, I will ensure that I will get sufficient rest and relaxation for the rest of the year (not much as the ‘pig’ does).


***OUTLOOK FOR THE YEAR OF THE PIG (RED)***
I do hope that being a Sagittarian and born in the year of Snake, this year will bring prosperity for my university research and spiritual being. I do believe that any person who has a strong determination to achieve something, at the end of the day he/she will be able to accomplished them with flying colours.

Based from the Chinese zodiac calendar, I will be lucky for this year for having a ‘fire’ element which does compatible for this year’s elements: water and wood. And at the same time, it is a ‘red’ pig so it is also related to the ‘fire’ element.

Regenerating spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically is not simple but it is achievable having a mind, heart and body that capable of doing little things differently for not only his/her own happiness/fulfilment but for the betterment of the community that he/she belong as a whole.

Finding your True Talents thru Tickle.com

I AM DELIGHTED TO KNOW that my personal career talents are: SPATIAL AND NUMERICAL ABILITIES after I did the Tickle.com (http://ww.tickle.com or www.tickle.com/tests ) on-line tests. 

My first test with Tickle was an IQ test which I did very well having a score of 117. Luckily, I was able to get the results and a certificate 'free of charge'!

For the past 40 years of my existence, I dont have any idea on how to verify my abilities and skills, and for me to improve them. In other words, I dont have a concrete evidence/proof (from a third party) that will show that Im capable of doing things. What I know is that I can do anything in any circumstances... some people will always say to me... "Jack of all trades".

But having the Tickle test, I could really identify what are my strenghts that really help me to survive and enjoy living; and my weaknesses that I need to focus -  making them my future assets. Everyone wants to be perfect but it is impossible to do that... Some people did it very hard, but none of them succeed...

If you are interested to check your abilities, please have time to take the test.  http://web.tickle.com/tests/talent/index_main.jsp  or http://web.tickle.com/tests/talent/result.jsp?where=result&test=talentogt

It is not easy but it is worth doing it. If you want that the results will truly reflect yourself - who you are, then make an effort to sit down, relax, concentrate, have a pen and paper, and go... Good luck!

BRIEFLY, my test results explained below:

Your primary talent
Rey, your primary career talent is Spatial Ability. The ability to visualize objects in three-dimensional space can give you an unusual view of the world. You appear to understand how figures can be manipulated and take on new forms. Because of this talent, you can probably imagine new designs easily, including anything from floor plans to page layouts — and even 3D product prototypes. People like you are usually aces when it comes to putting together assemble-it-yourself furniture or other household items — whether the items arrive with instructions or not.

Your rare talent can make you less likely than most people to be content with the same old thing. As a result, in your work life you might enjoy focusing on visual innovation and proposing new ideas. Your ability to conceptualize objects in their completed form can make you a natural designer or engineer. Your spatial skills can also help you understand the finer points of how things work. Typically, new computer programs or specialized office equipment are no sweat to you. In a world where technology changes so rapidly, you may also find yourself rewarded for your ability to adapt.

Your secondary talent
Your secondary career talent is Numerical Ability. Whether you like them or not, you're especially good with numbers. Most people who share your skills like the logic and consistency that numbers represent or appreciate that most numeric problems have cut-and-dried solutions. Your test results indicate that you're not only good at calculations but also likely to understand how to use numbers to your advantage in life.

You're the type of person who is wired to manage personal finances with ease. As a result, balancing your checkbook probably isn't an all-day affair like it can be for some people. You're also not typically one to be taken advantage of by wily salespeople offering you not-to-be-missed opportunities. Chances are that you'd be able to run the numbers on whatever nonsense they're trying to sell you much faster than they could get you to sign on the dotted line. While other people's heads might still be spinning, your talent could allow you to calmly see what the best deal really is. In this way, people who are skilled with numbers are rarely anyone's fool.

In the work world, your numeric skill can be a benefit in a variety of ways. You might find that you're a whiz at data analysis or talented at looking at your business' budgets and profit-and-loss statements. Because numbers are at the heart of almost every business enterprise, your understanding of them can make you a valuable commodity. You see numbers as patterns and are able to apply your pattern-recognition abilities in other aspects of your life.

Sustaining my relationship with JESUS

This month is quite a memorable moment of my life. Why? This is the month when I left the Philippine last year to continue my quest for higher learning in Northern Ireland. For the past months, I was able to cope up with the weather, the Irish accent and most of all the demand for my time in my daily university works as a research student. I visited a lot of places not only around the country but also the rest of the UK and the Republic of Ireland, including my 4 weeks vacation in the US. I feel that it seems everything is fine and ok. But then, I realized today that I was wrong! I missed something which is the essence of everything – having a continuous and active relationship with Jesus. Yes, I go to Sunday mass and that’s it! I don’t have any interaction with other people within the community, except for Pinoys that I met after the service and visit them during parties. Ironically, I don’t have spiritual undertakings with the community which somehow strengthen my relationship with Jesus and see Him alive through other people’s lives. Jesus knows that I longed for a community, a community where I could involve myself spiritually and socially as well. My visit to the US last July (till August) was the answer to keeping the fire burning in my heart towards reviving and sustaining my relationship with Him. My beautiful cousin for almost 7 years that I haven’t seen her was instrumental to start my desire to reach out with other people. Surprisingly, she is not the cousin that I met before when we were in college. She is now a working mom with 2 healthy kids and a very kind husband. And most of all, she is very generous person who wants to share her blessings to her loved ones, including myself! Having that, she is blessed with everything for a comfortable life in California. And the funny thing is, we have in common – we love shopping!One day during our shopping escapade, she asked me where I want to go and I told her that I want to buy new pocket books. So we went (together with the kids) to a mall with a books section. I got two books written by my favorite author and I was surprised that she handed to me a copy of “Daily Inspiration for the Purpose Driven Life” written by Rick Warren. It is a best seller book released 3 years ago which become an inspiration for people who read this. Before I left the US last month, my cousin requested me to read this, by not only myself but with other people (2 or more) in 40 consecutive days! I attempted to read the few pages of the book, but I decided to follow what my cousin’s advice. I am back to Jordanstown (Belfast) and start for my second year in the university. This month is also a memorable time of my student life after I successfully passed the confirmation of my PhD and secured my future years of my research studies. And before the month ends, I think my cousin’s wish for me to read the book come true! Today I was able to attend a Christian group at the university and experienced the presence of God in the young people, and heard His voice saying, “feel at home”…Happily, I joined the community in praising, praying and singing … reminiscing my AIT days when I started my journey with Him. Meeting with young minds and hearts is somewhat an encouraging moment for me to start again my spiritual journey with the Lord. The Christian Union (or C U) at the Uni of Ulster (Jordanstown) through the students that I met today (Andrew, Stephanie, Andrew C, Cath, Lynda and many others) will serve my Christian community for the next few years of my stay in the university. Having the vision of the community, I will be able to GROW in the love of Jesus, be UNITED in God with the rest of the members, and to REACH OUT with other Christians, not only in the university but in Northern Ireland as a whole. A simple poem to reminds me of my journey with Jesus...

MY JOURNEY ...

Yesterday..

I don’t know where did I start

But sure, I’m going somewhere

A place where everyone’s wish to go

Determined myself to reach that far

To dream and explore –

Of what my heart’s desire!

           Today...

It seems every struggle is endless

Full of challenges along the race called – LIFE!

No matter what my mind dictates

Truly indeed a destiny to survive

            Tomorrow …

It seems I don’t know where to stop

It feels like a never-ending journey of soul searching

As a matter of choice of going anywhere

A choice that nobody’s can change

But it is all right – I can make it

to the journey of LIVING!

The True Essence of Living

This poetic piece was written while I was waiting for a friend who happened to be a priest. McDonald store was the location and I drafted the poem using the tissue papers(napkin) served after buying a meal. So, while waiting for about half an hour for my friend to come, I was able to finish this simple and free verse poem - Existence. I was inspired to write this while thinking of my friend who is serving God forever. With his devotion to our Creator, I was reminded of how we lived our life on earth for the past years and years to come, and searching the true meaning of living!

Existence...

We always question every sad moment in our lives, but we never ask why happy moment exists.

We always see other people's weaknesses, but we ignore everyone's strengths.

We always doubt our own capabilities, and never believe in one's potential.

We always see failure, a threat to our undertaking, but not using it an opportunity to succeed.

We always complain why there's pain and suffering, instead of enduring it for victory and happiness.

We always search the true meaning of human existence, without finding the true essence of God's holiness.

My Intelligence Quotient(IQ) Test

For the very first time to take an IQ test on line is quite exciting. The test is quite similar to the exam given by companies for hiring staff. The only difference is that the on-line test gives your IQ level  and compare it to other people who took the test. The on-line IQ test offered by www.tickle.com/tests provides the most thorough and scientifically accurate IQ test on the web - it's free, private and developed by PhDs. According to tickle that there's more to intelligence than a single number, a single score or a single label. Tickle uses four distinguishable Intelligence Scales, namely: mathematical intelligence, visual-spatial intelligence, linguistic intelligence, and logic intelligence. By analysing the individual scores on those four dimensions, Tickle is able to look beyond the raw IQ score into how you process information and thereby determine individual intellectual type.

Im quite fortunate to get my IQ report free of charge., otherwise I have to purchase it from Tickle. I got it free because I was the top-scorer (maybe on the day I took the exam, I dont know) having a score of 117. Most of the people are between 70 and 130.

According to the result, my intellectual type is a Visual Mathematican. It means that I have a strong ability to process visual-spatial and mathematical information, including my strength in logic. Specifically, my mathematical intellgence scale is 80% which means that my score is higher than 70-80% of people who took the test and 20-30% scored higher than me. My visual-spatial intelligence is 100%;  linguistic intelligence is 30% (which is my weak point) and logical intelligence of 80%. This is really a good yardstick to help me improve my talents.

Tickle also provides other tests concerning career, family, relationship, education and lifestyle. I encourage everyone to visit the site and take some of the tests you like. Good luck and enjoy!

40 Rules of My Simple Life

Reading the book of the British writer, Richard Templar entitled 'The Rules of Life' (2006) inspired me to write my own rules - a very personal code  of my 40 years of living. This is not something to prescribe and preach to my readers but rather sharing my thoughts on how i survive and making (still on-going) my life better, happier and more fulfilling and rewarding. This is also a reminder for me to be more focused of what Im want in life, to monitor my personal progress and something to live up to. Hopefully, I will add one rule every year just to show that Im alive and survive another year. Accordingly I will be able to post a discussion for each rule how it applies to me or maybe to you as well. In summary, I personally encourage you to find out what behind the 'first letter' of each rule tells you after ticking-out the rest of the first letters from the 40 rules.

Rule 1: T-hank God for everything; Rule 2: H-ome is the beginning of everything; Rule 3: E-mbrace life with open heart and mind; Rule 4: R-ead, (w)rite, and recite (3Rs); Rule 5: U-se your potentials; Rule 6: L-ove your parents and grandparents; Rule 7: E-xplore and be adventorous; Rule 8: S-ing a song, have a beat to dance and cook a meal; Rule 9: O-bserve, learn and remember; Rule 10: F-riendship saves life;

Rule 11: M-otivation comes first, then commitment; Rule 12: Y-esterday is the past, today is now; Rule 13: S-uccess is temporal, savour it with gusto; Rule 14: I-mperfection always need a room for improvement; Rule 15: M-arriage is a choice not compulsory (not for everyone); Rule 16: P-ray and have time to listen to Him; Rule 17: L-ove your friends and neighbors; Rule 18: E-ducation is pricelss; Rule 19: L-earn to accept criticism and defeat; Rule 20: I-nnovation comes freom imitation;

Rule 21: F-ailure exists with success, Rule 22: E-njoy your work and have time to play; Rule 23: T-raveling makes life refreshing; Rule 24: H-obbies do not have rules; Rule 25: I-nitiate rather than wait; Rule 26: N-ever underestimate yourself; Rule 27: K-eep a healthy mind and body; Rule 28: P-raise and reward yourself; Rule 29: O-bey your conscience;

Rule 30: S-hare a smile; Rule 31: I-nvite a good conversation with strangers; Rule 32: T-ake a risk and feel the difference; Rule 33: I-gnorance leads to discovery; Rule 34: V-oice-out if you need help; Rule 35: E-verything has reasons; Rule 36: Y-outhful attitude brings life back to life; Rule 37: O-uch, it hurts; Rule 38: U-niversity (school) treats as our second home; Rule 39: N-ever give-up, move on; and Rule 40: G-od is in-charge, enjoy the ride.