Why I Became An Instant Randy Couture Fan

If you know Randy Couture, I am pretty sure that you know exactly where I met him. I really do not understand the concept of hurting each other to entertain people or to compete for a title. Men in my life told me that its their nature. I still don't buy that reason. 

via Randy "The Natural" Couture FB page

When I chose Balls cable channel for the sake of my dad's afternoon leisure, Randy Couture happened to be on the screen. He was being introduced as the first fighter to hold two UFC championship titles in both heavyweight and light heavyweight divisions. It was a replay championship battle, UFC 68, with Tim Sylvia as his opponent.

I didn’t plan on watching but Randy Couture’s name intrigued me so much. My 10 year old nephew loves him together with at least a couple men in my life. I thought, “Hmm, let me see how this Randy Couture fights and how he earned the reputation of a legendary man in the Octagon world of UFC.

Tim Sylvia was intimidating with his 6’8” height. I personally thought that his reach and weight could destroy every bone of the UFC’s Captain America. When the fight started, I was immediately mistaken. Every punch of The Natural made my head veer away. I began to realize that I even hold my breath every time they attempt on submission.

via Randy Couture Official Site

It was the only time that I learned about having 5 rounds on a championship match. Defending his heavyweight title, Tim Sylvia showed disappointment as the first couple of rounds went by with a 9-10 Eddie Bravo Scoring in favor of Captain America. Randy Couture was 43 at that time as far as I could remember, and I couldn't imagine his determination to win the title as a remarkable come-back from retirement. Randy Couture won by unanimous decision that March 3, 2007 in Columbus, Ohio. 

via Randy Couture Official Site

The match was absolutely enthralling that it looked like a UFC version of the National Geographic Channel’s fighting king cobras episode. Joe Rogan told Randy Couture on his post-match quick interview that he is a fan and that he is speechless. The Natural’s humorous first line cracked a laugh on my throat “Not bad for an old man!” Mentioning who he wished to dedicate his victory to, I officially became an instant Randy Couture fan. He said “I want to dedicate this fight tonight to two people. Jesus Christ who died for our sins and the American G.I. who steps up and dies for our freedom on a daily basis.”

Sweet Says… We can never really judge a person’s faith by their profession. I may never fully understand men’s point of view when it comes to their choice of sports specifically boxing or whatever they do on the UFC Octagon, but I must say that I respect them more now. My admiration to people with strong faith simply reminds me of His Power to bless us all because we are His children.

How an Executive Optical Marketing Strategy became a Divine Intervention

Executive Optical did a marvelous marketing strategy, which I immediately acknowledged the moment I received my special freebie. 

During last year's shopping spree for Christmas, I went to National Bookstore to buy two copies of Our Daily Bread as my gift to some of the most important person in my life. For those who haven't seen it, it is a small book containing bible verses and short stories compiled for your daily usage throughout the year. 

It wasn't really expensive but I did not buy a copy for myself. I sort of just intended to borrow it from my gift's recipient. (ha! ha!) Then last January, I went to Executive Optical to buy me a new pair of eyeglasses so I can reimburse it before I resign. Upon paying for my purchase, the lady from EO handed me my freebie. I was ecstatic to receive a copy of Our Daily Bread! 

Executive Optical freebie: Our Daily Bread

In it are extra pages of Executive Optical ads on every month. It didn't bother me at all and I really thought it was fantastic! Why? Well, I got a great deal with my optics and got a freebie which I really liked to buy but never did. For me, getting something for free is totally a blessing. I honestly felt that God was telling me "That day you bought copies of this to give to others; I really wanted you to buy it for yourself because I want to talk to you. So when you didn't buy it, I made a way for it to be brought to you." 

God saves us, everyday. 

Right that moment, I knew God saved me. He blessed me with a free book. He blessed me by letting me save money because I do not have to buy my own copy. He blessed me with another means of a daily conversation with Him. I knew I started the year right. Every morning when I wake up, I would pray and then read my daily dose of Our Daily Bread. Every day I feel blessed. And just this morning, He answered one of my prayers.

You see, I have been experiencing some anxiety attacks every now and then. I think everyone who doesn't have clarity in their mind would agree that we feel anxious in not knowing what tomorrow will bring. When I read Our Daily Bread today, I knew God was talking to me. He reminded me of what I asked Him yesterday when I prayed a novena to St. Jude Thaddeus. That Executive Optical freebie is His way to tell me a quote from Gandhi "I know of your capacity to do great things, but I have yet to discover your capacity to do little things."

Sweet Says... Pow! The corners of my lips are up. I am reminded one more time of His plans for me. I am sure He has more plans for us. So why worry? I just need to work on the little things to prepare myself for the big things. God bless you, Executive Optical!

Valentines Day: Reminiscing Love Stories

I was not a fan of Valentine’s Day. The occasion was never a big deal but I've tried to exert effort in giving my parents some greeting cards, flowers, and gifts during my elementary years. But just this morning, while my mom was tuned in to DWWW 774 AM, I realized how people love to reminisce and talk about how their love stories started.

DWWW 774 AM interviewed couples who have been married for a long time. I particularly liked the story of Jun Catan Jr and Nancy Russell-Catan, who owned MAPECON, a company who offers the best solution to pest problems. They are now on their golden anniversary and have repeatedly claimed that it is God’s will that lead them to each other. Their differences in culture and religion did not hinder in the success of their relationship. They even joined forces to build their pest control company, MAPECON, which continuously grows into an endeavor blessed by God. Their practice of Christian principles and ethics in business made it possible to gain 42 years of experience with 38 award winning patents and 100% indigenous Filipino products that aids to create a pest-free environment.

More guests revealed their inspiring love stories. Some on their 40^th year, some widowed, but all was moving just like watching Hollywood films or reading romance novels. Writing love letters, mixed marriages, strict parents, and even stowing away, were factors of these love stories.

Mom and Dad: Those Were The Days - "An Antipolo Date"

Reminiscing different love stories, specifically my parents’ version made me smile this morning. I remembered how mom met dad on a relative’s wake. I recalled how dad wooed mom after her shifts, how he was so attracted with her long black hair, and how I pictured the way dad looked like while wearing his bell-bottom jeans matched with a fitted shirt, its sleeves curled up to show the mighty biceps. Mom has a lot of stories to tell. You can expect a mixture of an awfully touching youth, exciting teenage years, struggling middle age era, and now a challenging yet hopeful winter phase.

It was mysteriously hilarious that my mom just nagged at my dad about why she never got flowers then the next minute she would sing him "You're the best thing that ever happened to me" But with all the heartaches, intrigues, and hardships, mom and dad’s marriage is still one of the best love stories I have heard.

Although DWWW 774 AM focused on long-term marriages, Valentine’s Day is not just for couples but to everyone who knows how to love.

Sweet Says… With all these love stories relayed over DWWW 774 AM, I must admit that I got inspired this Valentine’s Day. I realized, as cliché as it may seem, that it is an occasion to celebrate something very obvious but seldom affirmed, “Love”, and what we can do to make our relationships stronger. 

A Thing You Will Never Regret

I retweeted Positively Positive's quote from Zig Ziglar a moment ago and decided to blog about it. He said "Remember, you can earn more money, but when time is spent it is gone forever." Now that is something I deeply considered for a moment and then asked myself, "Do I spend my time wisely?"

I think I remember a line from a movie or was it from a song I heard or a book I read, I can't recall, but it says "Time is the highest form of  wealth"

Sure I have spent a lot of time watching my favorite TV shows, read magazines some of them about travel, home renovation and celebrities, dwell into sports or hobbies, go to the mall, even slept the whole day. The thing is, did you do all those with your loved ones?

If you watched TV with your partner and converse spontaneously about it, that's great! 

If you read magazines and planned to travel with your parents, or a make-over and a spa with your daughter, or a bedtime story to your son, then that's awesome!

If you played sports with your kids or create a hobby together, that's fantastic!

You just spent quality time with the people who mattered to you, and that's what really matters.

With the 24 hours a day that you have, how well did you distribute it on different aspects of your life? Did you spend half of it working? A quarter of it to parties or lunch /dinner-dates? A couple of it to sleep? The rest to travel back and forth to your house? At the end of the day, were you able to play with your kids  discover their new experiences and interests, or simply kiss them goodnight?

There are a lot of inspiring stories around us. There are also those that regret not having spent more time with their families when they are still together or even alive. How about creating your own story? A version where you read a blog about a thing you will never regret then decide to focus on your time management and live your life fully by spending your time wisely.

Sweet Says... When you do your best to share your time with someone especially your family, it feels warm inside. You sense the completeness of your being. When you spent a quality moment with someone that needs you, they appreciate it and cherish it forever. Your time is your best contribution to the world, because it helps to enhance someone's upbringing. When you give time to your parents, to your spouse, to your friends, to strangers, but most especially to your kids, their world is more colorful and worth living in. Spending your time wisely is a thing you will never regret investing.

 

CARA Cares: Compassion And Responsibility for Animals' Adopt A Cat Event

Animal lovers or simply pet owners would strongly support events that promote animal welfare. They know the importance of being a responsible pet owner and that the impact of being a good example will influence other people to nurture their pets more.

In the year 2000, a group of dedicated animal lovers formed CARA, Compassion And Responsibility for Animals. CARA is a non-profit and non-government organization determined to help the condition of animals in the Philippines. CARA is  entirely managed by volunteers who advocate animal welfare. 

One of CARA's rescued dogs

Their missions are 1) to educate the public on animal welfare, 2) promote compassion for animals and responsible pet ownership, 3) address animal cruelty and abuse, and 4) effectively control street animal overpopulation. 

If your heart desires to help and rescue some animals, here is a very big chance for you to do so.

CARA: Adopt A Cat Event

On February 25, 2012, CARA Welfare Philippines will be conducting an Adopt A Cat event sponsored by Greenbelt and Ayala Center. They have over 300 cats and dogs for adoption from 3PM to 8PM. 

A lot of people are asking why a payment is required. According to Pat Sevilla, a Facebook user who tried to explain its rationale, "The payment is for keeping the animal, in addition they (the animals) are already spayed/neutered, de-wormed, trained, rehabilitated and all those things to make re-homing easier compared to getting ones from the street or buying from the pet shop. Paying also ensures that those who are adopting the animal can actually afford to take care of it, plus it also serves as donation so the shelter can provide the needs of future animals going in. It's not that huge of a fee, especially if it's meant for the shelter to continue their work."

CARA is located at 2365 Singalong Street Malate Manila, Philippines

Sweet Says... Who says that only the poor people needs help? The animals around us need a voice. CARA is doing a noble job of fulfilling their goal to speak for those who don't have a voice. CARA president Nancy Cu-Unijeng together with her team dedicate their lives to animal welfare. If more people join forces to assist these kinds of events, their missions will continue to be accomplished and the act of love for animals will spread even wider. So who's joining to hear those "meows" and "arfs" on the 25th?

Think Green Innovation: Recycle Your Light Bulb

Innovation is something every people could do but most chose not to because of, well, different reasons or alibis. We are all born creative. It just so happened that there are people who are more adventurous when it comes to innovating stuff. They are more interested in spending their time for art's sake. 

What's interesting is, aside from being artistic, people especially those who are concerned with the current state of our environment, try to exert effort to think outside the box and contribute in fighting global warming in their own little ways. They simply "think green".

Here is a creative example of fighting global warming:

by HannahBe4 via Piccsy

Stunning isn't it? 

People who think green use energy-efficient light bulbs, or what we famously know as CFL short for Compact Florescent Light bulb. It lasts typically for 5 years. That means are not to change it very often. Aside from aiding with a lower energy bill, the mercury content is on its base, giving a lower health risk when cleaning it.

Sweet Says... I'm sure gonna try this at home. Would you?

To know more how you can recycle your light bulbs, click here.

Sometimes the ONLY thing you need is...

Brendon Burchard (Photo credit: Ralph Zuranski)

It was my third day in a row to use my stepmaster equipment, Navigator Sports, and it was also the day when I watched Brendon Burchard's second video entitled "Homepage ATM" from the Experts Academy site. Yes, I was multi-tasking. What's wrong with doing cardio while listening to an online video? Anyway, Brendon is the founder of Experts Academy and author of the #1 New York Times bestselling The Millionaire Messenger. 

I encountered Brendon a few weeks ago, thanks to an email sent by my mentor, Jomar Hilario. Brendon who is also Jomar’s mentor made a huge impact on thousands of people’s lives including mine.

(So Brendon, if you’re reading this, you don’t need to ask yourself “Did I matter?” because you absolutely did!)

Brendon made numerous piquant points when it comes to different aspects of life. The concept was overwhelming that it will make you dig deeper to your core. From that video, Brendon challenged us to PLAY BIG.

Of all the things he said, “Play big!” marked the most.

Why?

The answer is because I have a lot of big dreams. In order to achieve it, I will have to play big!

A "Play Big!" reminder on my mirror

A lot of us will say “I want this”, “I want that”, “I’ll buy this, “I wish I have that” but never really exerted effort to actually have it. Maybe because we are so used to just receiving small things. We sometimes neglect the thought that we deserve the best. We do! After all, we are God’s best creation. The only thing we need to do is PLAN, then ACT.

Oh yes, we know that already, but sometimes the only thing you need is a REMINDER, because we keep forgetting our dreams. We keep getting stuck in a rut of our daily routine.

Be reminded that we can do it. Through God’s grace, we can. He will provide us everything we need. Just be open with His reminders. Who knows? That sticky note from your seatmate’s desk may say something like “God is with us”, a reminder to stay strong and have faith. That music played in the coffee shop where you’re reading your book at may be a song of praise, a reminder to be patient for He will answer our prayers. Just look around.

Sweet Says…  I am committing myself to PLAY BIG! You can too! Sometimes, the only thing you need is a reminder or a little inspiration to keep rolling.

What do you like most about your life?

Why was it that when I am away from the computer or no pen and paper in hand, a lot of stories keep bugging my head and blast it with ideas to write about. Stories that are worth sharing and spending your time telling others with. Now my mind ended up blocked. I don’t know which way to start or which word to write first. Fortunately, Positively Positive, one of the websites that I subscribed with from Facebook, posted a mind-boggling question. “What do you like most about your life?” Before I came up with my answer, I looked at some of the “so far” 2,001 comments. I wanted to know if someone would have a similar answer with me.

Here are what they have to say:

 

“Being Alive.” – Regina Clifton-Bailey

“That I finally found God.” – Thia West

“Being a mother. Period.” – Irene Day

“Being part of new days & smiling.” – Shenatta Weathers

“Sometimes, I get to help people from dying.” – Tim Johnson

“The good stuff outweighs the bad stuff.” – Joanna Barrett

“My family.” – Anna Gianelli Baltazar

“My freedom.” – Lelia Pray Newlan Carlson

“Just being able to experience happiness.” – Shruthi Venugopal

“Peace in my soul!” – Peggy Kinser

“That I get to be part of it.” – Chelsea Miers

“The people in it.” – Ashley Kays Moore

“I’m alive because GOD saved me!” – Robert Craven

“The endless possibilities.” – Diane Clement

“I get to be the star!” – Allison Hartke Nahoopii

“That I belong to the Lord.” – Mona Hardy 

TGY Chapel Podium 4 RCBC Plaza Makati

Sweet Says… I am so happy to know that a lot of people are still appreciative of the blessings that come to them. I am mostly overwhelmed with people who gave any of the three most common answers: God, Life, and Family. Now, asking myself “What do you like most about your life?” I certainly want to answer similarly with the rest but would just like to add "That I am forgiven by our Savior and that He gave us the gift of freewill".