I MISS

It's been ages since I visited this blog account. Much has been going on lately and I barely have time to write. I got my hands full with responsibilities that I could not sit down and take time to just express my thoughts into writing.

At this point in time, our house is silent. This type of silence is deafening. As a result, I am feeling a bit blue because I remember so many people and so many things that I miss right now.

I MISS............

.........the beach and swimming.
- I loooove the water. Swimming makes me feel carefree and relaxed. Whether I'm at the pool or the beach, I never miss the chance to take a dip.

.........riding jeepneys.
- It's been months since I rode a jeepney. When I started driving, I never got the chance to ride one of the Philippine's unique mode of transportation. Believe me, there are times and situations wherein you wished that you were riding a jeepney rather than driving. When you bring a car, you have to pay for the fuel, look for a parking space, and sometimes pay for the parking fee. As compared to jeepneys, all you need to do is pay like P7.00 and you are set to go to your destination without worrying about other things.

.........watching movies.
- I am a movie fan, seriously. Whether it is shown at movie houses or on HBO, even on a pirated DVD (sorry OMB), I watch it. I love romcoms, thriller/suspense, action/comedy, fantasy, scifi but please, NO HORROR MOVIES. Now, I'm set to watch the movie "GROWNUPS" by myself at our living room.

.........partying.
- The loud noise and laughing with friends are the things I miss the most. Now I am stuck at home, set to watch a movie with my bag of chips, alone. Some of my friends are busy or just not physically present. This is just saddening.

..........working out.
 - Hip hop abs used to be my bestfriend, but now I barely see the bald dude on the screen of my computer. I used to work out every 5pm but then I chose to work for 2 part time jobs and earn money. Now I sit here as I continue to build more flabs than abs. sigh.

........travelling.
 - If I still had my visa, I should have been enjoying the time of my life at the land of make believe. Due to uncontrollable circumstances, it was denied for renewal and I'm stuck here trying to imagine theme parks, shopping outlets and caucasian males. haha.

........writing.
 - I used to blog a lot but I am taking care of a lot of things that I barely have time for myself. I run errands, drive for my mom, go on duty, work part time and much more. Writing is one way for me to just express whatever is in me. Now that things piled up, I could not resist but write. This is my outlet and I thank God that I have such blog account to make this possible.


There are just a lot of things that I miss doing. Though this doesn't mean I'm complaining of my life right now. Actually, my life is doing great..let me make that awesome. I'm working, undergoing a training, earning..basically living semi-independently like what a young adult should do.

I am blessed to have this kind of life. I hope I could find the time to do all the things I MISS.

Have a great weekend :)

-jeck-

VROOM VROOM POW

Sweaty palms. Shivering knees. Scared. Clueless.

That's what I felt when I first set my hands on the wheel. The feeling was inexplicable. It's like I wanted to puke and pee at the same time (pardon my French). The minute I agreed to enroll myself in a driving school, I knew that there was no turning back.

Everyone in my family knows how to drive, well, except for my little brother. He only knows how to turn on the car engine and he's pretty proud about that. I would not laugh about that little sense of accomplishment because that's how I started. Before, every morning he lets me turn the car engine and the aircon because he explained to me that cars should be warmed up for at least 15 minutes specially if it's run by Diesel. 

Around summertime of year 2008, I enrolled for a 1 week driving course at APO Driving School. My dad had to pay around P2,500 and that's good for 5 hours driving with 5 lectures scheduled every Saturday morning. On my first day, I drove a Honda Jazz. It's cute and just about the same size that I practiced on before enrolling. The first thing that the instructor told me was that if I already know how to drive. I simply answered him that I do drive but just around our neighborhood. So he told me drive to Ma-a Road. We stayed for a couple of minutes at the side of the road beside NCCC Mall and he was giving me lectures about the gears, mirrors, etc. And guess what, after 10-15 minutes, he told me to drive all the way and we reached the Diversion Road (a highway). I got really nervous that I wanted my 1 hour to end fast. Day 2 was different because I got a little confident after driving on the highway during the first day. And so the 5 days went on safely and smoothly.

During my review classes (2009), I practiced driving to my review center with my sister. But then she had to take the car back to the house after. They didn't really let me bring the car myself. In the first place, I do not know how to park. LOL. It just went on like that. It was only this year that I started to bring the car alone. I was still not good at parking and my speed limit was 30 km/h. Sloooooow. Tell me about it. Tsk. After so many hours and days of practicing, they let me drive our Toyota from our house to my dad's office. It was only a 10 minute drive but my nerves were acting crazy. Thank God I arrived in one piece. haha.

Our 1993 Toyota Corolla. It went through a lot of bumps and grinds but still running. :)

This is also the car that I drive around for errands and laag.

From then on, I can drive anywhere, as long as I have someone with me who knows the streets well. I've been living here in Davao for 21 years but I suck at directions, believe me. I felt proud for the fact that my parents trust me with our car. It is such a big responsibility to take on but I did it..well, still doing it. I also get a bit intimidated because my parents and all my sisters know how to drive. I am the kind of person that doesn't want to be left alone. haha. So that did kind of pushed me to really learn. 

Now, I can drive any of our 3 cars and yes, manually operated. I would love to drive automatic since it would feel like driving a bump car (minus the bumping thing). Step on go and stop. Driving with a stick is a bit complicated and you really have to be alert to shift gear, or step on the brakes, etc. Well, I got used to it.

Our Kia Avella. It is our 'practice' car. But since it was repainted and all, I now have to be extra careful.

It was only during this month that my dad really allowed me to be behind the wheels of our family car. He has no choice but to let me since my sister who officially drives it is already in abroad. I will never forget his face when I first told him I'd drive it by myself to pick up my mom. He was hesitant but again, he had no choice. hihi. To be honest, I was afraid. That car was extra special to my dad because it's his favorite. I hid my fear and acted confident so he would trust me. 

Just this week, my luck with cars went really low. Last Monday, July 19, I accidentally bumped our car's rear to a little tree. The tree was really short and I didn't see it (or wasn't I looking??). So as a result, it damaged the bumper. Boo.

Daddy's Car. 

Jessica's Signature on Dad's Car. hahaha. Stupid Tree. 

Then July 23, last Friday, a car hit the rear of the Toyota car. It was an accident and of course, it was not my fault. I guess he just didn't 'see' my car. I don't know with that guy. All I know is that it's his fault. But I can't help but cry on that day. I felt embarrassed to have committed two minor car accidents in less than a week. A first in the family. Tsk. 

This car went through a lot. If you see the whole back of this car, it has so many scratches. 

But I would love to call it as 'beauty marks' and here's the latest addition. :)

Well, with what I went through over the week, I'm just thankful that I'm still in one piece. Nothing really major happened and I am not asking for one. Oh please, Dear God, no. My loving parents still let me drive. I am just hoping that this would be the last of this experience. 

I still want to drive and go 

VROOOOM VROOOM 

but please, NO MORE POW.

My sister told me that in abroad, you'll be able to identify if the car is owned by a Filipino 

because of the hanging rosary on the back view mirror. 

"Almighty God, Please Keep Us Safe Always".

DRIVE SAFELY!

-jeck-

IT'S OFFICIAL

It has been awhile since I blogged. So many things were happening lately, that I was not able to just sit down and blog about anything or everything. Now I'm back and I have a few things to say about the happenings between the month of June and July. :)

IT'S OFFICIAL......Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III has been declared as the 15th President of the Republic of the Philippines last June 30, 2010. Honestly, I was not able to witness the inaguration since I left at around 10:30 am to watch Eclipse. (Sorry Motherland! hihi) I should have witnessed a historical event through the plasma screen but I opted to watch a blockbuster at the cinema. Shame on a pure blooded Filipino like me! haha. But I wasn't griping all day because I know for a fact that I was not alone. I was with a couple of friends and there were a lot of people on the movie houses on that day too. I guess they missed the ceremony unless they have this ultra high-tech cellphone with a television. haha. I am proud to have voted Mr. P. Noy. Go Yellow Army!

*Thumbs up to Mr. P. Noy :)

IT'S OFFICIAL......Mr. D and me got back together. Yey! It happened spontaneously last July 9. While we were dining and talking at Coco's, I suddenly told him YES! :) That's the word he waited for 3 months. That was a very busy day for me..doing all the errands all day and driving from North to South, from East to West (with a little exaggeration right there. haha). I realized that all the way, he's really there beside me, like literally. He was sitting at the passenger's seat while I drove back and forth. Oh how I wish he would get a license so that we could take turns. :)

*Notice how our hands and the space below form a heart shape?
Unintentional. :)

IT'S OFFICIAL......I'm employed! Congratulations to me. :) Though it's not a job related to my profession, it is very much connected to my passion, which is writing. The salary is just okay. It's not that I can shop for all the clothes that I want in the world, but hey, it's still a decent job and I'm GOING TO GET PAID. (That's in future tense because I still didn't receive my first salary. LOL)

*Those are pretty nails. But it's not mine. 

IT'S OFFICIAL.....My dad's letting me drive our family car! Yahoo! When my sister, Ate Hanna was still here, she was the only one SUPER trusted by my dad to drive that big car. He was also okay with my eldest sis driving it but NOT ME. He still didn't have that much confidence in me, although I have tons myself. (hehe). Since my sis went abroad, he has no other choice but to let me drive it. So there you go daddy yo, live with the reality that I'm driving your precious car. Don''t worry, I'll take care of it..that's a promise. :)

*For the record, that is NOT OUR CAR. Our license plate starts with the letter

 L since I'm from Davao. I just grabbed this from google. :)

As I told you, so many things were happening lately and I am super thankful that most of it brought positive vibes. Keep it coming....

Thank you Lord! :)

-jeck-

PARTY OF FIVE

What used to be a PARTY OF SEVEN is 
now a PARTY OF FIVE.

SARONA FAMILY @ Chicago, USA

This was our last family picture taken during our last trip (as a family) to USA, year 2005. During this time, my sister was already residing at Arizona and we just came over the summer for a visit. 

Yes oh yes, we are a big family. It was not usual abroad to have a brood of seven. During our first US Visa application, I could still remember the bald guy with glasses ,who was set to interview us, tell my mom that we can already be a basketball team. And minutes after, we got ourselves a multiple entry to the land where dreams are made of. :)

Having a lot of members in the family is loads of fun! Imagine the chaos my parents had to go through every single day! hahaha. But seriously, we were all diligent daughters and son. Petty fights would arise here and there. Competition or jealousy was also hard to ward off because as kids, we all try to get attention and recognition from our doting parents. But as we matured, we took diverse paths. My second eldest sister, Ate Jeni is now a successful nurse at California, living with her husband, Edward. My eldest sister also went abroad for work but she's back here living with us, and is now a lucrative CPA, Lawyer. So we were a party of six. 

However, just today, my third and closest sister, Ate Johanna left for The Land Down Under. She is bound to depart around 10:45pm tonight with my mother dear. Call me emotional, but I already miss her. We have this love-hate relationship (but she prefers a hate-hate relationship. haha). Now, she's set to live independently to a place where everything around her is unfamiliar, the place, culture, food, etc. Good thing my mom will stay for her for 14 days to help her adjust to the situation. We have no close family, relative or friend at Melbourne. Although we know some people who live 45 minutes away. 

Anyway, I now have to adjust to this new setup at home. Sleeping alone (me and my sister share the same room ever since. :(..boo), driving for myself, waiting for just 4 people to come home and many more. It won't be the same but I'm aware of the fact that we'll get through this. Just some minor adjustments and we'll do good. 

Now, it's just me, my brother JJ, my sis Jazzie, Mom and Dad.

Just a PARTY OF FIVE.

*I know we will be complete again in the future! WEEEE. hehe. Looking forward! :)

-jessica-

CROSSROAD

LEFT. RIGHT. FORWARD. REVERSE.

It seems that I'm stuck at life's crossroads. For days I have been pondering where my life should be headed, but up to now, I am still baffled, undecided, and stagnant. At this point in time, no resolution arose from this dilemma. 

Instead of bickering these rubbish thoughts, I should have acted upon it. Dreams are just dreams unless you do something about it, but I can only take the apposite steps if I HAVE THE HEART TO DO IT. 

So I ask myself, what does my heart really say? Should I go left? right? forward? or reverse? Progression of my actions needs crucial assessment for each step taken would result to significant outcomes. I am troubled to make a decision. How long should I be jammed in this inexplicable dread? 

I NEED TO ACT NOW.

Or else, I might be stuck at the crossroad.

Sigh.

-jeck-

THE PLANNER

Movie Date. Beach Outing. Thanksgiving. Reunion. 

NAME IT, I PLAN IT. 

Ever since I was in High School, my name was associated with the word "ORGANIZING". I cannot recall who or what started this but it just did. Possibly, it is due to the fact that when get togethers or parties are planned by the class or the group, I actively involve myself by voicing out suggestions and opinions, hence, I end up planning for the group. I am still befuddled whether this is a positive or a negative thing for me. 

Scheduling a simple get together can be easy if the people invited have flexible schedules. But if it's the opposite, planning a lunch date could take you weeks for it to push through. Some might even have last minute cancellations, and that's a pretty heartbreaking fact. Instead of 10 people coming, you end up being a trio. Tsk.

Frankly, I love doing this. It makes me feel like a nifty member of the group. In the view of the fact that I currently possess three cellphone numbers from three major networks, it makes it easy for me to contact my friends no matter what. I believe this is the fact why most of our group plans succeed because I can contact anybody regardless of load and cellular network. Haha. 

On the other hand, it is tiring to compose a lengthy message including all the details regarding the activity and send it to the group, then by the end of the day, you get only 3 replies out of ten. Ouch! It really doesn't matter if you can go or not, regardless of your reason, but an immediate feedback is VERY MUCH APPRECIATED. It is helpful to know the consensus of the group whether or not the plan should be pushed through. Spell C-O-O-P-E-R-A-T-I-O-N. 

No one forced me to do any of this (but let's face the fact that people do ask me to plan for the group). I could have easily said NO and that I just don't have the time (or effort) to do so. The truth is, I can't say no because I love hanging out with my friends. Whenever an opportunity comes for a get together, I plan it ASAP. I don't do it alone. I can't. Good friends help me do it. But only those who help me end up going. That's a SAD SAD FACT. I know and I should not blame myself if only a few people could go because I know that I extended all my efforts to contact you, even calling you one-by-one. I do blame myself at times, re-evaluating the situation, I ask myself, where did I go wrong? I also think that there are times that people are too busy because of their careers, DON'T GET ME WRONG, I COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND THAT. It's the opposite that I JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND. 

As for now, I'm giving myself a rest. People, I do get tired, you know. Tsk. It's your time to shine my friends. Haha. If you're planning something, let me know, I'll see if I can come. 

*JUST LETTING OUT MY FRUSTRATION. :|

-jeck-

UNSPOKEN HEROES

The 2010 Philippine Elections has ended. People are now anxiously waiting for the official declaration of results. Though unofficial results have been spreading like wildfire through the news and worldwide web of leading politicians in their respective positions, nothing is OFFICIAL unless the COMELEC or whatever government organization proclaims the WINNERS. At this moment, I would not be talking about the possible winners, who I rooted for, and those that I did not vote. I will be giving honor to the people behind the elections, and these are THE VOTERS.

I am proud to say that I have participated in our country's first ever automated polls. It may not have gone smoothly as everyone expected but just minor glitches here and there. Some places have declared 'failure of elections' but in majority, it turned out pretty well. THANK YOU LORD!

This blog is dedicated to the UNSPOKEN HEROES of our country.

- The voters who braved the scorching heat of the sun just to queue and claim their priority numbers.

- Those who complained about how long the waiting time is but still waited outside their precincts.

 - The people who embraced the new system of voting and participated in OUR COUNTRY'S FIRST EVER AUTOMATED POLLS. 

- People who chose their candidates simply because they believed in HIM/HER and what HE/SHE stood up for. No strings attached.

 - The ones who are responsible enough to practice their RIGHT TO VOTE.

- The ones who believed that their ONE VOTE could help make a difference.

I AM PROUD OF EVERYONE WHO WENT OUT TO VOTE.

According to the news, there were only around 15% of the registered voters who did not participate in the elections. How I wished it was 0% but still, 85% is not a bad figure at all.

TO THE REGISTERED VOTERS who extended their efforts to do all those things mentioned above, THANK YOU.

Now, whoever wins the elections, LET US ALL SUPPORT HIM/HER. He/she may not be your favorable candidate, but the majority have spoken.

Let us be united to welcome a BETTER COUNTRY. A BETTER PHILIPPINES.

GOD BLESS PILIPINAS.

-jeck-