Happy Song: Sway to the Rhythm of Love

This week's happy song: "Sway to the Rhythm of Love" originally by Plain White T's but my happy song version is sung by a Youtube Sensation, Clara Chung. Her giddy-ness is contagious!

My head is stuck in the clouds
She begs me to come down
Says "Boy quit foolin' around"
I told her "I love the view from up here
Warm sun and wind in my ear
We'll watch the world from above
As it turns to the rhythm of love"

We may only have tonight
But till the morning sun you're mine all mine
Play the Music low and swing to the rhythm of love

My heart beats like a drum
A guitar string to the strum
A beautiful song should be sung
She's got blue eyes deep like the sea
That roll back when she's laughing at me
She rises up like the tide
The moment her lips meet mine

We may only have tonight
But till the morning sun you're mine all mine
Play the Music low and swing to the rhythm of love

When the moon is low
We can dance in slow motion
And all your tears will subside
All your tears will dry

Ba-ba ba-ba ba-ba ba-ba ba-ba ba-ba
Da da-da dum Da da-da dum
ba-ba ba-ba ba-ba ba-ba ba-ba ba-ba
Da da-da dum Da da-da dum

And long after I've gone
You'll still be humming along
And I will keep you in my mind
The way you make love so fine

We may only have tonight
But till the morning sun you're mine all mine
Play the music low and swing to the rhythm of love
Ohhhhhh
Play the music low and swing to the rhythm of love
Yeah swing to the rhythm of love

Post-Its

I have a subtle obsession with anything and everything sold in bookstores or in school supplies stores, including post-its. I usually find myself buying things that I don't even need especially when I stop by, even for just a few minutes, in National Bookstore and my recent NBS purchase were post-its...and colorful pens. And when I discovered the blog Things We Forget, which leaves sticky notes (using post-its) in random places to share short quotes of inspiration and life tips, I was attracted to the idea and I would find myself visiting this blog from time to time. It's simple yet very catchy. I love! A brilliant way of sharing positivity.  I dream myself of stumbling across one. I'll let you know. :) Below are just some of the sticky notes that perked me up today:

Pretty cool eh? :)

I Must

I must push myself to do more, to become better, to give more, to love more.

Must start writing again. I must. I can't bring myself to write more than a paragraph at this time.

Maybe because it's a lazy Saturday afternoon.

Social Media for Social Good by Heather Mansfield

GK was lucky (or should I say blessed) to have Microsoft now part of the GK family and us a part of theirs. Aside from the Microsoft grant that GK received, we also get to participate in a Social Media for Social Good workshop that they organized for their adopted non-profits, which includes us. And hopefully they'll continue to include us in their future workshops too. Thank you Microsoft!

With Heather Mansfield. I finally get to meet her in person. Fan mode here. :) It was an honor and a great privilege listening  and learning a lot from her! 

Guess who's in your line of sight when the elevator door opens: our dear Executive Director, Kuya Luis.

Last Dec 15, 2011, The Social Media for Social Good workshop was held in Microsoft's office in Makati City and we were invited to join the said workshop. And guess who the speaker was? It's Heather Mansfield! I do agree with the description given to her when she was introduced, a Non-profit Social Media Marketing Rockstah! She definitely is, because I've been following her blog since I started to realize and see the big role of social media to spread the inspiration and stories of hope of GK online. I love the simplicity and the tips and best practices of other non-profits that she always writes about and support. Very articulate and comprehensive for a newbie in the social media marketing world like me. She inspires me! And I dream to be able to write and share my journey as GK's digital/online marketing coordinator just so I can inspire more people and groups particularly non-profit organizations that even if we're short on financial resources to spend for our marketing, it won't stop us to spread our cause, our stories, our inspiration, so we can be heard, and reach and inspire more people. And there's no better way, and cheaper way to do that but to utilize online tools: websites, blogs and social networking sites.

Some points that I took with me after listening to her which are definitely worth pondering:

• Gone are the days that you are the only one broadcasting and controlling the message, the traditional communication. That's why social media is such an "in" thing these days because it gives the consumers, the donors, the volunteers, the partners the opportunity to share their side of the story. Of course they want to be heard. And that's definitely a plus point for you too because it will surely help you tell your story since you get to know what appeals to them, what will move them and inspire them the most so they'd want to volunteer and be involved in your cause. 
• Age range of people in the social media: 25-34 yrs old (coming of age => age range of donors). I was actually amazed by this trivia. It's not only the tweens and teens that rule the world wide web these days and it's a good news for non-profit like us. 
• Spin a story in a positive way. A photo or a video is the best way to tell a story. A picture is worth a thousand words.
• Follow/Like/Subscribe to large nonprofits similar to yours in mission and programs and watch/mimic them. They usually hire digital consultants and for those of you who can’t and doesn't have enough resources to hire one (like us!), you can learn from them, and you get to save from hiring one. Ha! (On my next post, I will be giving examples of non-profits that you can closely watch and mimic based from our workshop, or better yet, head over to Heather's blog).
• "You get out of social media what you put into it! There’s no such thing as overnight success on the Social Web." True story.

So stay tuned for my next posts. You might learn something new and interesting that could help you and maybe even convince you to try, see the relevance and importance and explore online tools to help you with your current dilemma on how to come up with practical yet efficient marketing strategies. Until the next post!

Epic 2011

My first post of the year! Woot! I hope to finish this post in one sitting but boy this is gonna be quite tedious. Imagine compressing your one epic year in one post. I see too much mediocrity here. Listing all the fun and inspiring experiences and encounters that I so wanted to write about but was too lazy or too distracted or too busy. Excuses, excuses I know. But then again, allow me to run you down of the many (and I feel major) things/happenings in my 2011 that made me sum it up to one word: EPIC! This is just a rundown. Not only am I planning but wants to execute it, and write more about the adventures that have the asterisk after them below. And with more photos. But for now, allow me to share with you a glimpse of my 2011.

JANUARY

• We get to spend our December 2010 Christmas and January 2011 New Year in Punta Cruz, Maribojoc, Bohol with Nanay and the rest of the Balatayos.
• Attended Liveloud Concert, a worship concert organized by Youth for Christ.  Because I missed long praise fests with full band and my YFC Kuyas and Ates, I decided to come over. 'Twas fun! 

YFC Liveloud Concert. Photos by Jeremiah Toledo.

Christmas and New Year with the relatives and extended families in Bohol. 

FEBRUARY

• SFC Icon in Camarines Sur

MARCH

• GK Kalinga sa Bayan in Calauan, Laguna. My tweets below of the experience. Thanks to twitter I am able to document my GK adventures when I'm too lazy to blog. Hihi Which I know shouldn't been the case because it defeats the purpose of my reason to blog: to be able to share and inspire readers of the different human and love stories I get to encounter in my every GK adventure.
• Today was moving and inspiring and we met one cool priest who's into guns, pets, motorcycles and seriously helping the poor.
• "Hindi ko nga alam kung paano kami papatahanin bukas sa pag-iyak" - Tito Ompong on their last day of their 2-mo everyday feeding program 
• Kung pwede lang isa-isahin yung mga kuwento nila at ibahagi sa buong mundo. Kung may walking dictionary, sila ang walking Bible. *saludo* 

APRIL

• GK Bayani Challenge 2011* in Bantayan Island, Cebu with family and friends! Fun, inspiring, and definitely filled with love! 

Mission trip and a vacation (for a day) with the whole family!

Let the GK Bayani Challenge 2011 begin!

• Holy Week with the Oquinenas
• Talaba,tahong,kinilaw na isda,sinugba na isda,shrimps,leche flan,mais con yelo.Thank you for the sumptuous lunch,titos & titas of GK Cavite! 
• Trying out Banapple. Banoffee cake. Oreo brownie cake. Coffee toffee cake. Yum!

MAY

• GK Leaders Conference in University of Makati and Batangas. My second mission trip with everyone from Team GK Marketing! One of the craziest time of my 2011. 
• This was also the time of the year that GK1world's traffic shot up. Thanks to Manny Pacquiao, Charice Pempengco, Jasmine Villegas and Taboo of Black Eyed Peas. All of the news were released all in one day and with Tito Tony accepting the Nikkei Award in Japan, that was one great and blessed day which (turned into a week) in the life of GK. See tweets below. 
• It's good news Thurs Pacman signs up 2 b GK champion, Charice & Jasmine sing "One Voice" for GK, TM wins Nikkei Asia Prize!!
• TabBep: My song is a Latino / Filipino world anthem to show our unity within brown pea-ple and it's gonna be the anthem for #Gawad Kalinga
• We were absolutely thrilled when we saw the GK flag being waved in Manny's fight! See that?

JUNE: My birth month!

• Was able to book a PISO flight so I was able to spend 5 days back in Cebu with family and friends. A gift that I absolutely love. And thank you for the midnight surprise roommies! My personal wish for myself tweeted by me during my birthday below. I don't think I wasn't able to do all. Haha
• My 23rd year's resolution: must organize. must systematize. read, listen, learn, absorb, write, do. love more. travel more. laugh more.

It's a triple birthday celebration! Happy Birthday to me, Matt and Mark! :)

• Sagip Conference with Team GK Cebu
• Started my Digital Mentoring class and I was really excited and looking forward to it. It's been more than a year that I realized that I wanted to learn website and social media marketing and those related to digital marketing to be able to become the best for my job in GK and to share my knowledge and experiences along the way. I am grateful for all the opportunities of growing in that aspect that God has blessed me with. Hopefully more learning and sharing opportunities will come my way this 2012.

JULY

• Our fellow GK workers decided to take us around old Manila: Binondo-Quiapo-Intramuros. I enjoyed every moment of it. I don't mind the walking at all. I would've wanted to visit that place again so I can elaborate my experience. History never fails to interest me!

What we saw when we went around Binondo and Quiapo. I want another tour because I can't remember even one place that we've dropped stopped by because I didn't take down any notes and blogged about it right away. Or maybe because they're in Chinese names. Hihi

Intramuros. Been here twice. I love its old, Spanish feel with the preserved, cobbled streets. But I still want to take the Intramuros tour with Carlos Celdran.

• Andrew Lloyd Webber Concert. Thanks to the cast who got in touch with us for a GK Tour, we got free tickets! Woot!
• GK mission trip in Mindoro with Ate Bai's ACT.
• GK Dupax mission trip for the SIGA Barkadahan Camp. I miss youth camps! I miss serving the young! What makes this trip more inspiring is we were with the SIGA coordinators from Las Pinas who were once SIGAs in their respective GK communities. It's inspiring to see them all empowered and sharing their stories and having fun with the youth in our GK communities in Dupax del Norte. 

Fun SIGA Barkadahan Camp. I want to serve more camps with these young(er-than-me) people! 

AUGUST

• Princess Diaries with SFC CC1B chaptermates. :)
• I love the talks, sharings and the revelations. :) I love the cooking session and the yoga-like exercise. Thanks Ate @teacher_tintin ! :) 
• Had an inspiring weekend. We are daughters of a great King. We are captivating. We are princesses. We are His beloved. 
• Tagaytay with the roommates for the long weekend. 
• Tagaytay. Highlights: short trekking in Picnic Grove, waking up to a breathtaking view, ukay-ukay. 

Tagaytay for the long weekend and looks like someone's got the rock and roll sign...rock and rollin'. Cutie RB! 

SEPTEMBER

• The Igsuons decided to splurge on a budget trip to Puerto Princesa, Palawan that most definitely deserve a separate post. Two thumbs up!
• We'll go firefly and dolphin watching, cave spelunking, wildlife trekking, diving, swimming and see the Underground River when I bring my family the next time around. 
• I was in awe the whole time. God's majesty and magnificence and awesomeness truly reflects His creations. Breathtaking as always.

• GK Headquarters moved to a new location. Thank you Tito Gerry Choa of Profriends.
• Showtime experience with Joyce and Kervin! They are as fun live as they are fun on TV. Total riot!
• Our last SFC household fellowship. Both of my household heads are moving to another chapter in their lives, one for marriage, the other for career. Sigh. I hate goodbyes. But that was definitely one awesome night.

OCTOBER

• GK Expo
• GK Hope Ball
• Isabela bound with Tito Bien to check the GK villages in Kuya Dan's area and bring relief goods to our GK families affected by Typhoon Pedring.
• GK Global Summit in Sydney, Australia. Wasn't able to actually attend the event but I feel like it. Been following updates all weekend through.
• Taboo visited a GK village in Taguig after their BEP concert and he's coming back!
• GK TGIF

NOVEMBER

• HOME for All Soul's Day and All Saint's Day and to spend family time.
• Explored Lilim with the Igsuons, the del Rosarios and new found friends. Thanks Ate Cha and Tito Oscar for sharing your paradise with us!

Can't wait for the Part 2 of this Lilim Adventure. I wanna take photos!!!

• My first Human Heart Nature Summit held in GK Enchanted Farm.

DECEMBER

• GK Planner 2012 is here! You want one? We still have them! :)
• Dinner with Saihai MMV. Three consecutive days with them drove me nuts. Aaaarrrgghhhh. Hahaha
• Social Media Conference with a social media nonprofit blogger that I really look up to, Heather Mansfield. 
• GK Operation Walang Iwanan in Cagayan de Oro, Dumaguete and Iligan. It was a devastating tragedy that cost the lives of hundreds of Filipinos but it again brought us together as one nation. And Team GK was there as always, on call. Everyone was busy in the relief centers, in ground zero despite the holidays. They all made me proud to be part of Team GK! A thought: I should learn and discipline to write my GK stories right there and then as to not let the inspiration "escape" me. I can do better than this.
• And...Cebu and Bohol for the holidays with the family. :)

There you have it, my EPIC 2011. It was a year of more self-discovery, more travel, more mission, more quality time with the family and friends, of goodbyes, of learning more, particularly for my work as GK's online marketing person, of meeting new people, of more inspiration and growing in faith, hope and love.

I would want to blog more this 2012 so I can give justice to the inspirations that I get to encounter in every mission, every adventure, every story of hope, faith and love that inspires me in one way or another. All I know is I continue to pray that God will use me powerfully and send me the right people and inspiration to bring me to a place where I am able to fully utilize my potential for His greater glory, to reflect His glory. Because that's the very reason of why I decided to tread this path in the first place. :)