Dropped by to say "Hi blog!"

Since my last post,

...two of my siblings graduated from highschool and one from elementary. 

...traveled to Iligan for the Bayani Challenge 2012.

...swam in the breath taking Tinago Falls and had a jump shot photo taken in front of the majestic Maria Chistina falls.

...visited the family for an advance birthday celebration of the June birthday celebrants.

...traveled to Singapore for the Microsoft Innovate4Good. My first out of the country trip. Yipee!

...attended the GK Leaders Conference in Cebu. And wrote my first ever GK1world article.

...grieved for the sudden death of a dear friend.

...mission trips to Dupax del Norte, Pangasinan, Lucena, and Pampanga.

...our baby brother just started school! Happy Ate! :)

...two of the siblings got a college scholarship. Woot!

...fun-est college get together with batchmates here in Manila.

...I turned 24. 

Looking forward to more of God's surprises. Embracing more blessings and more challenges with much faith, hope and love in my heart. Our Giver can never be outdone. Grateful and smiling ear to ear.

Leaving you with Tito Tony's recent quotable quote. A special reminder to each and everyone of us.

Day 15/40: Who Run The World? Girls!

Better late than never. My International Women's Day post. 

"Be the kind of woman who, when your feet hit the floor in the morning, the Devil says 'Oh no, she's up!' 

3 years ago, I came up with  People of My Year list as inspired by Bianca Gonzales. So I decided, "Hey, why not make one for International Women's Day to honor the many inspiring women in my life." I just would like to share to the whole world that women with beauty, brains, and heart still exists in today's times! That my father's ideal woman (sinali pa si Papa! Haha) still exist after all but no one will ever beat my mama's place in his heart. Of course. :) So presenting the TOP 10 Women of my Life (currently):

I so love this photo with Mama. She's so kilig! :)

1. Mildred "Neneng" Balatayo. Mama's definitely the first on my list, who else will it be. Patient, loving,  hardworking, generous, genuine, inspiring, beautiful, faithful, caring. She never runs out of energy and time when it comes to us. Sleeping so late and waking up so early just to attend to our needs. It's not easy to run a home of 8 kids + 1 hubby but she manages to make it look...manageable. Vegetable shakes, gardening, recycling, waste management, practical home and kids tips, financial management? She's definitely the superwoman to run to! And our neighbors and friends would agree to that! Writing this post makes me miss her. Aaaawww. Love you Mang!

With the girls in the family during our Bantayan Island trip.

2. My dear sisters: Annelyn Gem "Lynlyn" Balatayo and Gemelou Jane "Inday" Balatayo. These two are extra special to me. Lynlyn is my cheerleader and energy booster when I needed a push. Inday is a constant reminder that I need to work on my "Ate" duties. How close Lynlyn is to me is how distant Inday is to me. That's why I put an endless effort to keep up and be there for both of them, to Inday most especially despite the distance. I am proud of what both of them have currently achieved. Lynlyn is passionate both in GK and the course that she took up, Environmental Science, and I wish the same thing for Inday as she tries to choose from her top choices of the course that she wants to take next school year. Suitors, well they would definitely need to pass through me (shows muscles!) and I might just be the first "obstacle". Mas scary si Kuya JR. Haha I love them both and I am excited of what the future holds for both of them. 

Nanay with the most "kulit" apo, Matthew.

3. Maura "Odag" Balatayo, Nanay to us. If you are ever "naligaw" in Punta Cruz, Maribojoc, Bohol, ask where this woman lives and you'll always get an answer. She's everyone's Nanay, not only to us, her close family, but to the rest of the barangay. Seriously. She is loved by every person she meets or anyone who visits our home in Bohol. She loves to sing, is loving, loves to speak English (and doesn't like to speak Tagalog. Haha.), remembers all her apos' birthdays very well including the year when we were  born, shares stories about their (hard) life before and how "bahalag saging, basta labing and happy" rings true for the Balatayo family before and yes literally. I especially love when she starts telling us stories of Papa during his childhood days. I would really love her to be present during my wedding day and so my constant prayer for her is to become healthier everyday.

During Team GK's Christmas Party last year.

4. Team GK Marketing: Me, Niki, Ate Jaja R, Ate Jaja O, Tita Lulu, Ate Bobbie, headed by Ate Eena. We have two new kapamilya on board who came in this year, Gia and Kuya Calvin. But sobrang girl power in one team. Girl power who act and do things like men does. Haha. Well, that's how it is when you're in Team GK. But when it's time to doll up, we sure do know how to dress each other up. I am grateful to be part of such passionate, hardworking and inspiring team. Ate Eena knows how to push and inspire and affirm and bring out the best in each of us. We help out each other as best as we can, push each other and be there for one another, work related (which most of the time doesn't feel like work at all) or not. I love it when we go on mission trips together!

Get together last Dec 2010.

5. Bestfriends Michelle "Mishy" Olvido, Felice Suzanne "Chai" Soria, Ricca Zarina "Ryka" Cortes. I love that each of us are set on what we want to do for the rest of our life, well most of it. Mishy wants to be the most and effective teacher, Ryka wants to become the best doctor in her chosen expertise and Chai wants to be the best lawyer all because they want to be an instrument of God's love to those who needs their expertise, brilliance and wisdom the most, the last, the least, and the lost. I am grateful that God brought us together to inspire and look out for each other despite the fact that we get to see each other, at most, thrice to five times a year. I miss our crazy talks about our dreams for the future and our love lives...well, for Mishy and me, more on the crush lives. Haha. And oh, you should head over to Mishy's blog, she's one of my favorite writers, no bias there. You should see... more of like read...it for yourself.

Last dinner with Joyce before she left for Iligan. :( 

6. Roommates May Marie "Ate May" Nogra, Maria Joyce "Bentoa" Bentoy, Melissa "Ate Melai" Llegado. It'll be my second year here in Manila this year and I have found a family in the last 2 years in them, my roommies. Being away from my family in Cebu is easier because I have their company to look forward to at the end of the day. We have been to quite a number of mission trips, adventures, and road trips together and I am truly grateful that we have grown closer despite our differences and own quirks. Bentoa recently moved back to Iligan but we miss her every single day but she promised us that when time and resources permits, she'll be joining us in our future adventures. Singapore na? Haha. I can't wait for us to reunited again in this year's Bayani Challenge in Iligan! Woot!

With the old generation. Joke. Haha. Igsuons with the gorgeous moms and bride to be (at that time) Ate My during her bridal shower.

With the new generation...tapos nakita ko si Tito Benjie...ay, wrong caption. Haha. Focus on the women in this photo na lang para pasok yung (supposedly) "new generation" na caption ko. Haha. Peace Tito Benj! :)

7. Team GK Girls. When you have all these women in one room, the young and young at heart, then you're in for a treat. These women I work with doesn't only have the heart for God and the country but are equally beautiful physically and the smartest too. Get to know them, listen to their stories, learn from from their journey and be blown away by their passion, creativity, genuine hearts and dedication to uplift lives and restore human dignity. Though our work and mission seems heavy and ginormous, we do know how to have fun (look at these photos!) and still fulfill our duties of being a wife, a sister, a mom, a daughter and a friend.

Who's missing? Kaluoy. HAHA. Hi Pearl! I mess you already. :)

8. Sunbeams, my sister Lynlyn with her close highschool friends + Mishy + Pearl. I got to know them  by serving in YFC and GK and from then on our adventures and mission trips together never stopped. These young, energetic and happy bunch sends me all energized and happier and feeling younger whenever I'm with them. I learn a lot from them every time and I am grateful that I have them in my life to constantly keep me grounded and to share life learnings to. I love working with this bunch because I can abuse them in whatever way I want...making birthday decors for my little brothers' birthday, asking them to create cards, or asking them to paint materials for kids in our GK communities and the list just goes on and they never complained, not even once. Secret: just keep them full (Mama's job) and laughing (my job). Haha. But we even hang out with just 50 bucks and we're all good. Haymishu crazies! See you in this year's Bayani Challenge, yes? :)

9. Online Women Inspirations. That I call them. If you've read through most of my blogs, you'll be able to pinpoint why I have this on my list. I have been really, really immersed online because of my work in GK as digital/online marketing person (for almost 2 years now) and I stumbled upon a few women who have made my online job easier, enjoyable, fun and inspiring. The blogs of Heather Mansfield and Beth Kanter are the most helpful in my work, their tips and write-ups help me understand and learn the basics and the complications of being an online marketing person for a non-profit and I gain inspiration from their blogs too! Imagine my fan girl moment when Heather came to Manila last December to give a one-day workshop. I totally flipped! Haha. And I'm still looking forward to the day when I can finally meet Beth Kanter. Another inspiration is Shai Coggins who work at Connecting Up in Australia which provides a venue for non-profits to work and learn from one another. That's a dream that I want to happen here in the Philippines too, a Philippine version of Connecting Up and I hope to get to meet Shai in person too. She's also a content creator in Connecting Up and her personal blog is really helpful too and fun to read! I gained an inspiration from there to start blogging regularly again. The other set of  my online inspirations are these young women who blog about their causes and with that, inspires the young generation to live for a cause too: Anna Oposa, Noreen Bautista and Bianca Gonzalez.

10. The nanays and the Sibol teachers in our GK communities. They never fail to inspire me as always. Life has been very hard and difficult for them and their families but they pressed on, they continue to pray, they continue to hope that they and their children be given a chance at a better life. And when GK came to the picture, they took care of what has been given to them and even sharing despite the little that they have. Whenever I feel stressed out at work, I look back to the memories and experiences I have with the Nanays in the GK communities where I have served and I am back, all inspired to work again. They are an icon of hope, of great joy, of great love and of inspiration. Their smiles and laughter, contagious and their faith, always inspiring. Would want to feel what it is like, visit a GK community now. Contact me. :)

There you have it. The Top 10 Women in my list. This is my way of saying thank you to the women mentioned above for being part of my life, for being my source of joy, beauty and inspiration. What's in your list? Share! :)

Day 13/40: Happy Photos

Happy songs...happy food...happy movies. Well I have my own set of current happy photos too! Parang playlist lang. ;) Yung tipong, I had a crazy and a hectic day...I wanna shout...I wanna panic...I wanna book a flight and fly back home...and then when I see my set of happy photos (usually it lasts a month or a quarter of the year), I instantly am back on track, my mind calms down and I'm back in my happy, bubbly self. Like that! Sharing my current set of happy photos with you! Kyooooot! I heart my family and I miss them terribly! Every single day.

How about you? Do you have a set of happy photos that perks you up or inspires you to start your day right? :)

Day 8/40: The Season is Here!!!

I'm supposed to catch up on some backlogged work tonight but I just can't seem to move on unless I am able to catch up on my backlogged blogposts. Priorities, priorities. Haha. So here goes my first entry for tonight.

7 years ago, GK started another radical "event" that has been on my and my family's calendar for...7 years now too. The Bayani Challenge. What started as a simple call to heroism of going out of your comfort zones and daily routine for 5 days to create homes for those affected by the landslide in St. Bernard, Southern Leyte has become an annual thing. Not only for me and my family but for our fellow volunteers, advocates, missionaries, partners and those who wants to have an extraordinary summer adventure with friends and colleagues. Bayani Challenge is extra special for me because I always get to join with my family. I love out-of-town trips and mission trips with family and friends!

I only got to join 3 out of the 7 because of school. But now, I will get to join as much as I want. No summer classes to mess with my summer plans anymore. Mwahahaha! 

Bayani Challenge 2006 at St. Bernard, So. Leyte. Too bad 3 Balatayos were missing so they have to endure listening to the exciting stories of the little boys. Matt was still the cutest Balatayo back then! :) Unforgettable and the best Bayani Challenge for me.

Bayani Challenge 2007 in Sorsogon with only 3 Balatayos this time but the Paraisong Pambata team were also there minus Anne and Dawn. But another Scihi team joined us as well. Happy and fun and inspiring!

All of my Bayani Challenge adventures are on the top of my list of unforgettable moments in my 23 years of existence. Well, I actually don't have the list right now but I'm pretty sure they'll make it there. Last year's Bayani Challenge was held in Cebu so I was really, really excited because first, it'd be my first Bayani Challenge as a GK fulltime worker, second, it was held in my home province, third, my alma mater, USC, had a team for the first time, fourth, my bestfriends were there with us and fifth, the whole family was there!

Bayani Challenge 2011 in Bantayan Island, Cebu. Balatayos: complete attendance! But we didn't get to have a family picture which I supposedly want because everyone (even Poipoi with Paraisong Pambata and spreading his cute-ness throughout the island) was too busy doing their own thing. Hectic! :)

This year's Bayani Challenge will be held in 5 provinces, in 6 different locations: Cagayan de Oro, Masbate, Iligan, Occidental Mindoro and Negros Oriental (Amlan and Dumaguete). That means six times the inspiration and excitement throughout the Philippines! Though I kinda am scared because I am part of the Secretariat and Online team and this will be quite a nightmare, but I trust that we can pull this off and because God is in control and this is His work, not ours. March is the time of GK's calendar where everyone is cramming, making arrangements, booking flights, team meetings, and registering for the upcoming event and so this is one of the craziest times for Team GK too but one of the most exciting as well.

If you haven't been to any GK activity, this one is a good first GK thing. If you're a GK volunteer and haven't tried this, oh em, are you kidding me??!! You're missing a lot kapatid! Haha. If you're in the state of searching your purpose in life and your soul and your heart's desire, this is a recommended non-silent retreat. Not necessarily will it lead you to become a die hard GK builder, but it'll definitely make you think through your priorities and see what's most important in your life, in one's life. If you're looking for inspiration, then be overwhelmed because you'll be seeing loads of those. If you're looking for love, well you might just find him/her there. Yihee! If you want a summer tan, well, that you will most definitely get. Sunburn pa! Bayani tan we call that. If you're a cynic, well, you have to keep an open mind and open heart when you join this one and allow the spirit to move you. If you're in for an adventure, this will definitely make it to your expectations. Sleeping on tents, waking up early, sleeping late, CR not CR-able (Haha), cooking food, dancing, singing, partying all night with the rest of the GK family and still have all the strength and energy to work and build the next day. Immerse with the locals, listen to the stories of the families, meet new people, share your story, listen to the inspiring talks, wag maging KJ, participate, run, laugh, shout, cry, love and have fun. It's just for 5 days but boy will you have a Bayani Challenge hangover after I tell ya! Other teams still meet up for the whole duration of the summer just to reminisce and deepen the friendship and the commitment. Tell me about it! I have met a lot of good friends from those 3 years of attending.

So head over to the Bayani Challenge webpage, over here, and join us for one heck of a summer of a lifetime! Not yet convinced, this post might help you decide.

I am excited just writing this post and anxious as well as I am quite sure that the Bayani Challenge gmail inbox is flooding right now. Haha. Okay, enough with the anxiety, focus on the goal, to allow more volunteers to experience this extraordinary adventure and share the GK spirit, the GK way. For God and country! Magregister na! :)

Day 4/40: Family

Right after the People Power EDSA celebration (which ended earlier...happy!), we all went straight home to get a much needed rest. It's been two nights in a row where we only had 3 hours of sleep at most because of rehearsals and production meetings. After 7 hours of rest yesterday, I decided to have a Saturday movie night. 

The first movie I watched was The Art of Getting By. It was a movie of a young guy who is about to graduate in highschool but have lost all motivation to live, lost all motivation in life. One thing he realized at the start of the movie was that what use is living life if at the end of it all, you'll die. But he found inspiration to start living and doing his school stuff and pursuing his passion for arts when he saw his mother struggling through life and meeting a girl.

The second movie I watched was the Change Up. It reminded me of the movies 13 going on 30 and 17 again where the the lead stars wished that they lived different lives. So that's what happened in this movie, the married lead star wished he had his bestfriend's single life. The married lead star who was already in his bestfriend's body found himself missing his wife, missing waking up at midnight to feed and change the diapers of his twins and listening to the stories of his daughter. And so at the end, his soul returned to his body and he was back in his crazy, married life. And I love that it was shown how he missed every single moment of it. The common denominator of the 2 movies: family.

Family studio picture. I love!

So I found myself missing my family back home. I visited them (a surprise visit!) one weekend ago. My father turned 50 and before his special day was over, I decided to book a flight home. That was my most expensive MNL-CBU-MNL ticket purchase but no regrets. I spent the whole weekend with them and loved and enjoyed every minute of it. I went to watch the basketball game of my brothers, John and Mark and cheered and took lots of photos! Stage Ate at that. Then attended John's Parents' Recognition in school where Mama, Inday and I get to dance with him and we all went to dinner afterwards with a family friend. The next day, we all went to hear mass at the Sto Nino Church...but we missed Nyn-nyn. She's been very busy lately (every weekend) for  out of town trips because of her school projects which requires them to visit forests, marine sanctuaries, mountains and islands. Fun noh? I love that she's loving (and enjoying every minute of it) the course that she chose. I'm praying and wishing that Arboy and Inday who'll be in college next school year to choose a course that they love or will love too. 

On a family mission trip. During the SAGIP Conference in Cebu.
Fun and everyone was in their GK shirts! 

Top things I miss about my family:

1. Waking up with breakfast ready cooked by Mama dear and waking up to the noise of everyone cramming and getting ready for school.

2. Papa tagging us along to wherever his work is taking him to. This is one of the reasons why we too became passionate about GK and now the environment. He would bring us when he goes on mission trips on weekends and on long breaks. I miss working and serving alongside with him. In the future, I pray I get to serve with all of them again! 

3. Lazying around especially during Sunday mornings when we have no appointments to go to. Just talking, laughing, singing, hugging, asaran, kulitan, sharing stories and just enjoying laying down side by side with each other on our cramped bed...or floor. Haha

4. Serious talks with Papa while Mama listens. We have lots of this every now and then. When we have done a bad thing, collectively or individually, Papa wakes us up either very early in the morning or very late at night and talk to us. When Papa does that, it scares the hell out of us because Papa seldom gets mad so when he does this, he must be very mad and losing his cool. But there are those talks about mission, faith, hope, love that I always love.

5. Kissing the parents goodbye and magmano every morning before I leave for school and every night after I arrive from school or a YFC or GK activity. 

6. Late night talks with the siblings and Mama or Papa telling us to stop the giggling and harutan because we still have school the next day.

7. Kissing everyone during mass and going to mass together. 

8. Praying the rosary together.

9. Going on GK builds and GK activities together. Going on mission trips. Jumping, singing, dancing side by side with the family during worships.

10. Tampuhans. :)

On our way to a family gathering and even in the taxi,
 kulitan pa rin.

Though I never regret to be away from them for the time being, there are always those days like tonight that I wish I was back home in the comforts of the people who loves me for who I am and am not. I couldn't thank God enough for giving and blessing  me with such a beautiful family. As they always say, you never get to appreciate them until you lose them. I know I'm not losing losing them but I don't get to see them everyday as I used to. Makes me appreciate them more. Makes me appreciate and more thankful of the love that they've shown me all these years. I continue to pray that we grow as one family in mission, in love, in hope and in faith. That God will use us to inspire the families that surrounds us as well. I also pray for those kids of broken homes or of those absentee parents. I also pray for those parents with kids have lost their way home, figuratively. I pray for the families in our GK communities that they continue to strive and find the will and the grace to become better for their respective families. I pray for all families that we may be anchored in God, and find ourselves serving the families around us. AMEN. :)

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. :)

What I Learned Today #1: The New "Segment"

This will be my blog's new "segment". As if I had an old one. Haha. Just would want to jot down my day's thoughts, notes and learnings worth sharing and worth remembering years or decades from now. So here I am in my DAY 1 of the WILT Segment. O di ba, may initials pa. Social. Haha

No segments from hereon. I don't blog regularly so it doesn't make sense. :) My learnings for the day below:

• I know my sister would do anything and everything for me...like skipping the first 30 minutes of her laboratory class just to send me an urgent email. Thank you my dearest Nyn-nyn! :)
• Passionate people are everywhere. Each and everyone of us has our passion that we are willing to live and die for. And we excel when we do it because we strive to become better til the better becomes the best. 
• Answered prayers just send you praying more because God has shown you once again of His faithfulness to you, to His plans and to His people.
• This question still left us all hanging:  Is Youtube already classified as a social networking site?
• "If Facebook were a country it would be the world's 3rd largest." - Wikipedia.org: Social Media
• Wikipedia.org is a not-for-profit website and it looks like they need our help to maintain the site. - Message from Wikipedia founder here.
• What secrets? HAHA "What happens in Vegas stays on YouTube, Flickr, Twitter, Facebook…" - Social Mention Article here.
• Hope it'd be the least activity. "Social Media has overtaken porn as the #1 activity on the Web." - Social Mention Article here.
• From WWF: Mark your Calendars: EARTH HOUR 2012 will be at 8:30 p.m., March 31, 2012
• "Masakit maging mahirap." - Mang Nestor Our GK Videos never fail to tear us up and it never fail to remind us that we still have so much to do! 
• Social Media is a PARTY (Plan, Act, Reply, Test, You measure) Taken from Dawn Gartin's twitter profile

That'd be all for today. Hope to be able to list more tomorrow! 

LIFE OF A NATION-BUILDER: The Beginning

Hello everyone! I can't believe I haven't written for months now. I recently came to a conclusion that I can't even write on this blog, so there's no reason for me to maintain a different blog for my GK adventures and misadventures. So I'm moving here all my articles in my other blog. There are only about 3, and just for the sake of a new post. Teehee. :D

10 years ago. A movement was born when a couple of selfless young people and those young at heart decided to go beyond youth evangelization and started building homes for the least then later on communities. They have chosen to leave the comforts of their family and friends out of great and selfless love for their fellowmen who have less and who have been stripped off of their dignity and called them family.

And 10 years ago, when families chose to spend their family day in malls and beaches and resorts, my family chose to spend most of our Sundays in the attention deprived leper community in Eversley, Mandaue City, Cebu.

I was then a first year student but in my young mind, I know that there will always be someone or a family who out there who needs our love and "kalinga". It was my first experience of being exposed to those who have long been forgotten by the society because people are just too scared to just even be in the same room with them. But my papa and the GK team never had second thoughts of having the first ever GK village in that community. Their families have been looked down by our society for years just because a family member has contracted the disease. But the GK family stood by them and embraced them. They're eternally grateful for the love because it made them see their worth and brought back their dignity. Some have missing body parts brought about by the disease (but they're not contagious anymore) yet they chose to help in whatever way they can to "pasa-pasa" sacks of gravel and sand and painted their homes and their neighbor's homes, their chapel and multipurpose. I gained new friends and new families. I learned that loving my family means loving the least, the broken and the lost. I realized that my parents are the most generous and loving people in the world (I am very biased on this, i know, but hey, this is my blogsite) cause even if we have just enough resources for everyday, they still chose to share our blessings to these communities.

From that time on, GK has always been a way of life. Our family's way of life. A lifetime commitment. I will be forever grateful to GK for just bringing us closer together as a family. I see Christ in every GK volunteer and worker I come across. They are living witnesses of the love of God to the broken. GK has taught me to be braver and stronger and love amidst the pain and hurts. And as I continue my journey in this path I chose, I could not help but look back to the humble beginnings of being a GK advocate. I am still overwhelmed by the gift of GK to my family, to the poor, and to our country after all these years. And I promise to document and share every heart-capturing GK trip and inspiring GK story that I'll witness. All for the love of God and country! Yay!

Trivia: GK Sto. Nino, Eversley is one of the first few GK villages that has been constructed across the country. But it was in GK Ermita, Cebu which GK first existed. SIGA, the youth program of GK, was first launched there but the GK village for the residents there was not materialized since the residents refused to be relocated. GK Ermita is the most dangerous place in Cebu and is a den of thieves and serial killers, small time and big time. But the youth were quite welcome for change. It even came to a point that if you're a GK worker, and if you're wearing a GK shirt, Ermita will be the safest place for you. No kidding!

I can vividly remember there was this time that papa brought with him a youth who was shot (but he was actually innocent, he just came to their place because he left something...talk about bad timing, but he was a former thief and drug-user before GK came) because the place where they usually had a pot session was raided. He stayed at our place for a week. It was also the first time that I visited the police station because my papa was helping him work out his papers. GK moment: he was so touched of papa's gesture of having him stay at home for a few days that he actually shed some tears when he left. Personally, at first, I was really hesitant and scared that papa brought him home, a total stranger to us and a former criminal. Who wouldn't be scared? But then, I am just thankful that papa has risen above the norm and welcomed him. I was just touched and moved!

Blast from the past:

Team GK Cebu. Old school!

Major, Major 2010

2010 is the best year of my life. I wanted THAT to be the title of my first post for my year end review. But a very inspiring man thought and wrote about it earlier than I did so I make do with a lame one. See his exceptionally inspiring write-up here. But I promise you, THIS, will be a great post! Well, I'll try. So here it goes...

What makes YEAR 2010 the best one I've ever had in my 22 years of existence? What sets it apart? Well it had some highlights that beat the highlights of the rest of the 21. Know what I'm saying? Read on...(not in any particular order)

1. Turning 18. My sister turned 18 last year and so did the rest of her barkadas. Her highschool barkada had become one of mine since I've spent almost every other weekend with them since they all got involved in GK and YFC. I've seen them grow and bloom for more than 3 years now and I can't imagine my sister's life, and my family's too, without them. So I was present in every one of them, well except when I moved here in Manila for work last April. 

Lynlyn's bestfriend, Totot, turned 18 last January at Crown Regency.

My sister, Princess Lynlyn (in pink), turned 18 last February in VDR's Multipurpose Hall.

My sister's barkada in Deedee's 18th soiree in Waterfront, Lahug.

2. Finished college. And I finally did! Nightmares totally over! Woohoo! I hated that I have to wake up feeling uninspired and uneasy just because school days meant facing scary professors and difficult course subjects. But knowing that I need a diploma to pursue the path I want to take, I don't really have much choice but to keep on going. And having smart and witty thesis mates and batch mates makes school more bearable. It pushed me to fight the urge to just give up and skip classes more often. Teehee. I will never forget the feeling of hearing that I passed all my subjects and finished our incredibly cool thesis which is one of the major, major requirements to walk through that long aisle of our school gym for graduation. See our thesis story here.

With my thesis mates Mayang, Knyl, Me, Twinkle and Jorge  in our thesis defense get-up.

With my supportive parents during my graduation day.

 3. Working full time for GK. My life long dream. True story. When others dream of becoming an engineer, or a doctor or a celebrity, I dreamed of being able to touch and inspire people in a massive way, thus my choice and life long commitment. It was not really difficult for me and I thank God for supportive parents who never asked me for anything in exchange of the years that they took care of me, showered me with love and provided me with good education. I was blessed that I was given the free will to choose the path that I want to take. A path less traveled but I truly love and I know I would be able to give my best. Read about my adventures in the first few months of working for GK which brought me to Subic, Camarines Sur, Tarlac and Laguna.

Our Subic Adventure. Water and Rescue Training.

Our Laguna Adventure. Turning over of new GK homes and ended up that day trekking and riding rafts alternately.

Our CamSur Adventure. We ended up walking the 3 km run. Haha Long story.

 4. The Moving Out. This I have to do after I chose my GK path because I'll be assigned in the main office which is in Mandaluyong. It wasn't difficult than I thought it should be. I just have to keep reminding myself that I'll have long Christmas vacations to be reunited with the family again. The urgency of the work and the "biglaang" decision pulled me out from the comforts of family, friends and the familiar environment of Cebu which allowed me to grow as a person and as a Christian. I am grateful to my GK family for being always there to guide and watch over me as I dock on a new chapter of my life. And not to mention my roommates and my teammates/office mates. Thank you y'all!

My roomies, ate Melai, Joyce and Ate May.

Team GK Marketing (where I belong) and GK Partnerships Group.

5. Ultimate Family Time. I am super happy that in a span of one year, I was able to visit my Mama's hometown, which is in Iloilo, and Papa's, in Bohol, again. Haven't been able to visit Iloilo that much since we moved in Cebu 9 years ago. Our cancelled Palawan trip turned out to be a blessing in disguise (but at that time, I wanted to swim all the way to Puerto Princesa just to attend the Bayani Challenge). I miss living in my grandparents' farm and doing farm chores like feeding the chickens and ducks, sending the carabao and goats to their grazing area, climbing on our siniguelas, mango and santol trees to name a few. So ecstatic to see my Nanay Estelita in Iloilo after almost two years! We also just recently spent our Holidays in Bohol which made us spend time with the Balatayos, see my Nanay Odag whom I miss the most and reconnect with nature.

With Nanay Estelita, my mother's mom, who I haven't seen for 2 years already. It's great to be reunited with the rest of the Laridas.

With Nanay Odag, my father's mom, which we never fail to visit every year since Bohol is a P150.00 boat ride away from Cebu.

6. GK's 7th Anniversary! The culmination of the GK777 campaign last 10/10/10 which gathered about 60,000 people from across the globe. Happy 7th GK! I am very proud to be part of such inspiring movement!

7. Faith Journey. I am officially a member of SFC. Yes, I finally am. Thank you Kuya Fredney for the invitation and for SFC Makati for taking me in and allowing me to grow and deepen my faith slowly, but surely.

...those are the major, major reasons why 2010 will be majorly special and the best. But I wouldn't mind if 2011 could beat that! 2010 has allowed me to grow as I adapt and adjust in the many changes that happened and that will continue to happen. But I am grateful for everyday that I am able to say "thank you" to our Maker for sharing every waking and sleeping moment with me, for just abundantly blessing me. 2010 held lots of surprises, new learnings, many firsts, and a dozen adventures. A year of forgiveness and moving on. A year of taking a leap of faith, making sacrifices and making bold decisions. A year of conquering my fears and pursuing after a dream. A year of creating new and keeping the old relationships beating: meeting new people, having a new family away from home, being in touch with those who drifted apart, and keeping in touch with those who are miles away. Indeed, it was a year full of love, inspiration, hope and faith. And the greatest of all of these is...LOVE.

Happy New Year!

Yesterday was the first day of the Liturgical Year. Happy New Year everyone! So here comes advent. Can't wait! Sooooo excited! 21 days 'til I leave Manila to spend Christmas with the family. Woot! Hope to share more exciting adventures with all of you soon. But for now, aside that I'm counting the days 'til I am reunited with my family again, I am excited about a hundred other things. Will list down what I can remember from the other things though.

1. My first GK Christmas party! My first ever costume party that I will be attending. I've had lots of other invitations before but when I learned that you have to dress-up as some cartoon character, or a Hollywood star, I immediately backed out. Just because I'm KJ(kill-joy) that way and I just hate dressing up! Is that even normal? Haha Now, where do I get a 70's costume? Wigs, anyone?

2. My first SFC Christmas party! The second costume party that I will be attending. Wahaha. It's a Luau naman. So I was thinking of showing up in shorts and a shirt that says "I'm a Beach Bum", a corsage and a flower in between my ears. So is that good to go? Told you I'm not a fan of costume parties. Haha

3. Divisoria!! That place never fails to excite me. The energy, the people, the noise. We went there a few days ago and I was robbed (not literally) with only P20.00 left in my pocket, hungry, tired yet agitated. Left me asking why did I ever want to be a missionary in the first place. Haha. Joke ra na Lord. Some crossroads huh? But, sigh, I just want to bring my whole Cebu gang there. They'll surely looooove it!

4. I was hoping to meet this amazing, online, and inspiring person before December 20 and learn a lot from her! Lord, let our schedules meet. :) Go visit Ate Sky's website.

5. GK Marketing Planning. GK meetings and presentations doesn't fail to excite, inspire and make me proud of being a Filipino and being part of such an amazing and talented crowd. I am always in awe how God orchestrated all these. Bringing in crazy people together, with different backgrounds, faith and beliefs, to help end poverty for 5 million Filipino families anchored on faith, integrity and love, through the culture of caring and sharing. My first GK Marketing Planning too and I am excited where God's wisdom and leading will take us next year. I am definitely throwing away my "that cannot be done" attitude and my mediocrity. For life. Yes to more opportunities on how I can expand my territory and move beyond my borders. Nation-building is not a ME thing but it'd help if each and every one of us can give our best for the least.

I'm listing five for now. Can't wait for Cebu!! I'm gonna squeeze all of my boys really tight, in a giant monster hug. Yay!

DAY 9: Take A Break

I decided to have one today. Going off to Laguna for the weekend to spend some time with the relatives. Lots of happenings here in Manila that I'm going to miss but then again, I think I needed this. Away from the city, the noise, pollution, and online access (but I'm sure to rush in a cafe if the boss calls...hehe). Time to reconnect with myself, lay back, take a break. Spend time with my tito's family and make it up to them for missing two celebrations. two! I feel so bad thinking about it and so I am going to make it up to them.

Preparing for a busy week ahead since GK Expo's coming! I'm anticipating the pressure and the excitement. Yay!

But for now, I'm just gonna go disappear.

*Happy Birthday to the most adorable brother in the world. Dang! I miss them. I am so gonna squeeze them all in a hug when I get back in *** days. Woot! Well, in case someone's reading this. I'm keeping my going back home a secret yet. :D

DAY 7: Countdown

I have never been so excited to go home in the last 22 years of my existence, not until now. Woot! Let the countdown begin!

But happy that I've found a family away from my family - my GK family. 

Soooooo excited to see my boys again. :)

Home is where your heart is. Treasure your HOME.