Hiding My Heart Away

This is how the story went
I met someone by accident
Who blew me away
Blew me away
And it was in the darkest of my days
When you took my sorrow and you took my pain
And buried them away, buried them away

I wish I could lay down beside you
When the day is done
And wake up to your face against the morning sun
But like everything I've ever known
You disappear one day
So I'll spend my whole life hiding my heart away

Dropped you off at the train station
Put a kiss on top of your head
Watched you wave
And watched you wave
Then I went on home to my skyscrapers
And neon lights and waiting papers
That I call home
I call that home

I wish I could lay down beside you
When the day is done
And wake up to your face against the morning sun
But like everything I've ever known
You disappear one day
So I'll spend my whole life hiding my heart away
Away, yeah

Woke up feeling heavy hearted
I'm going back to where I started
The morning rain
The morning rain
And though I wish that you were here
On that same old road that brought me here
It's calling me home
It's calling me home

I wish I could lay down beside you
When the day is done
And wake up to your face against the morning sun
But like everything I've ever known
You disappear one day
So I'll spend my whole life hiding my heart away

I can spend my whole life hiding my heart away

Taking The First Step Makes All The Difference

One of my best guy buddy Ferdinand Gabriel (or Gabby to his friends / Ferdie to me) has always wanted to study MBA (Masters in Business Administration) for as long as I have known him I know that it has been his desire but he just couldn't seem to bring himself to do it. For months he has been pondering on the idea of taking it but due to circumstances he keeps putting it off. 

In life in order to grow it is paramount that we surround ourselves with positive, driven and passionate people for their influence and behaviour will eventually rub off on us and I guess one of the reasons why God allowed Gab and I to reconnect again because as friends we influence each other positively. 

Just yesterday, October 2 he finally did the first step in fulfilling one of his life's goals. I went to Ateneo Professional School with him as he submitted his requirements and registered for the entrance test. One of Gab's greatest trait is his passion to learn unceasingly and even though at times he needs to go through life's detours he keeps on and pushes through til he achieves his goals by clinging to his faith in God and being resilient regardless the situation. 

According to Les Brown we should never stop improving ourselves and work hard on investing for our self development for only then can we only be fulfilled not only by achieving our life's goals but also evolving into someone great because God created us all to be great. For there is greatness in all of us we just need to harness it so we can make a difference in this world and inspire others to do the same.

I am extremely proud of him for he is courageous to take the first step towards achieving one of his life's goals and in life that's just what matters, taking the first step and keeping on it. Sometimes we have to stop putting off our dreams aside and start working on it while we still can for we never know what tomorrow brings.

Ferdinand Gabriel 

I Couldn't Ask For More

Thank you my Lord Jesus, for making me see another year and for the gift of life. Thank you for all the people who remembered me today my friends, relatives, and love ones by sending greetings, messages and good wishes. Thank you for all the experience of this past year; for times of success which will always be happy memories, for times of failure which reminded me of my own weakness and of my need for you. Thank you for the times of joy and sunshiny days, for the sad and cloudy ones; for the calm afternoons and the dark nights; for the love and for all beautiful and sweet things; for the loneliness, for the worries, for the fears, for the difficulties and the tears; and for everything that brought me closer to You. Forgive me for the hours I wasted, for the chances I failed to take and for the opportunities I missed this past year. Help me in the days ahead to make this the best year yet, and through it to bring GLORY TO YOU, happiness and pride to my friends and loved ones, and joy to me. 

Thanks to all my friends and loved ones; who are always there for me, understand me and remain with me. Thank you so much for making my day with your adorable wishes. You are truly amazing; there is nothing good like being remembered on ones' big day. Each wish really meant a lot to me and absolutely made my day; it will keep me strong and passionate and courageous. Thank you to those who have motivated me and pushed me to greater heights. All of You have been a source of inspiration to me in one way or the other. Thanks to all the people who have helped me build my personality, I am what I am because of you. Thank You for making me feel absolutely loved and important! I'm not the measure of what I have done but more of who I am and those who I have surrounded myself with, which you are all.

How Forgiving My Ex Boyfriend Liberated Me

As the third quarter of this year draws to a close at long last I came to terms with being civil (if not close friends) with Aris. We broke up three years ago for the reason being that he lied to me. For two years, he tried reaching out to me but to no avail. At the time I was cross with him  and just couldn't bring myself to accept his apology and bestow my forgiveness. In my head I thought how can I easily give my forgiveness towards someone who has caused me pain and deceived me through his web of lies.  Him and I never had closure since I just stopped talking to him while there were things still left unsaid.

Fastforward to this year, for some apparent reason I took the initiative to speak with him again. In the beginning it was  awkward on my part because he was still wooing me, trying his luck with me again. After days of back and forth texting and facebook messaging, something amazing happened...

For the first time in a long time I was able to tell him everything that I have been harboring for years. I told him why I kept my distance, what I felt when he broke my heart and after airing all the spiteful feelings that he caused me I finally gave him my forgiveness.

And as soon as I said that a sudden calmness envelopes me and stilled my heart, it was liberating. It was like a certain weight just got lifted off my back. The hatred that was weighing me down vanished in an instant, like it was taken away from me. It takes God's grace, maturitiy and a whole lot of time to get to the point where I could get to terms with what happened and say I was okay with it. That even if I have moved on from him already, I still need to make a choice to forgive him and show compassion.

For it is better to be compasstionate than to be bitter your whole life.

Aris

Who He Is To Me

Since it's Mark Lee's birthday tomorrow (August 2), I will take this opportunity to share to everyone how he has touched my life. I've known him since 2008 back when he used to wear hawaiian shirts to school. As a person, Mark is optimistic, honest, decisive, committed, kind-hearted and a giver, he would graciously organize outreach program that is why when he became student council President in Ateneo Graduate School of Business from (2010-2011) we, his friends knew he was right where he should be. 

As a brother and son, Mark is responsible and respectful to his family. As a friend, he is the glue that brings our group together, aside from consistent hangouts on weekends, he makes it a point that the group is complete during special occasions. 

Mark is loyal, trustworthy, dependable and reliable. He is someone I can tell my deepest secrets to, struggles, insecurities without judgement and hesitation, he is always there. He is the person that if I get into trouble, I know I could call him any time of the day because he never cease to lend a helping hand. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Chief! Thank you for being a blessing to me and I pray for long life for you so you can touch more lives and make a difference to others as you have made in mine. Love you! 

My Great Perhaps

Dealing with disappointment is one of the toughest situations I have to overcome. The anxiety that comes with it is too intense that it seems unbearable at the moment.

May it be rejection, failed desire or a broken dream that caused the disappointment call it what you want the effect is still a broken heart.

For a long time I've been hang up on someone I thought was good for me. I made a fantasy of him in my head to the point that I put him in a pedestal. Every guy I met and dated after him, has to have at least his qualities.

Not every person is the same but there was something with Gabe that was so mesmerizing or addicting that I just have to have it so I made him the benchmark of each guy I met.

Even if I was the one who broke up with him, it was me who still seek him for eight years. Subconsciously, I wanted to rekindle what we had back then that he is still the same person I once knew.

Before I got here, I was full of hope that once I found him my life will be beautiful again because with him regardless of the circumstances life is always sunshine and rainbows. With him I wasn't lost but home.

People change, that I'd never anticipated or I was too in denial because I was too captivated by the fantasy I made of him in my head.

Inevitably, after finding him the opposite happened. You could imagine how crushed my world was. I was more lost and more broken hearted than ever. I didn't know better.

He was my great perhaps. I went seeking for him to find my way out of my labyrinth but turns out, I am more stuck now than I was before.

Labyrinth

Who would have known how bittersweet this would taste?

You know the saying be careful what you wish for, you just might get it?... 

If I knew then what I know now then I would have wasted years hoping that I find it.

Regrets and mistakes they are memories made. Should I regret? I am still looking for the answer. 

What wrecks me is the reality that I hoped for nothing.

Hope is what made me believe that somewhere out the horizon, is something bright to look forward to.

Moving forward, I am in the long process of picking up what is left of the shattered hope and go on to conquer life one battle at a time.

One day I hope against hope that I find my way out of my labyrinth. 

Cold Turkey

It's been more than eight months now since I quit smoking. For years I have struggled to quit the bad habit but I never seem to follow through my attempt to do so, eventually I end up giving in to the urge. However, this year after having read the book "The Power of Habit" I was able to overcome that struggle and finally, I did it! I know my dad is proud of my little achievement. 

Happy Birthday, Itel!

I wouldn't have made it through MBA without you, as I was going through my albums in facebook, I was smiling as I reminisce because most of the albums - each event that is meaningful to me I was with you. We were classmates and group mates in almost all of my subjects, we shared the struggles of each group presentation, I remember our group name in Metres was Arvin's Angels. Good Times! Thank you for being an amazing friend and I look forward to more years of friendship filled with love, laughter, and great memories. Happy Birthday Itel Gahol. Love you, doll! ♥

Heaven Sent

I don't know what's with my best friend but she seems to know when I am in dire need of her. As I hurdle one of the most difficult physical challenge of my life, she is not beside me physically because we are miles apart from each other however she sends me a random message in facebook that just brought tears to my eyes as I read it.

Her message:

Keiz Caballero

"bes, now lang ako nakacheck ng fb after almost 2 weeks..and then i saw what happened to you..how are you na? i feel bad i couldnt be there for you. ill be there oct 24-27..ill definitely see you by then.. please please take care. love you..mwah"

Allergy and Histamines - What they are…What they cause

Re post from Nutri-Living Blog and About.com/Allergy

Histamine is found in plant and animal tissue and is released from mast cells as part of an allergic reaction in humans. Release of histamine stimulates gastric secretion and causes dilation of capillaries, constriction of bronchial smooth muscle, and decreases blood pressure.

Histamines are released from mast cells as an allergic response to abnormal proteins found in the blood. The mast cells are found in connective tissue that contains numerous basophilic granules and releases substances such as heparin and histamine in response to injury or inflammation of body tissues.

Mast Cell

Understanding Mast Cells and Immunity

Immune cells communicate by releasing chemicals messages or mediators. These chemicals carry messages from one cell group to another and invoke the most powerful of whole-body defense responses, which cause many of our symptoms. When you develop bacterial or viral infections, immune mediators produce fever, headache, generalized aching, fatigue, weakness and clouded consciousness.

The general impact of these chemical messages is to amplify a small triggering event into a large inflammatory response. We used to call this the “Philadelphia Effect” after Philadelphia police burned down several city blocks by using a smoke bomb to flush out some alleged terrorists from one apartment. If planet Earth is thought of as an organism, you can make interesting analogies with immune events.

Hypersensitivity attacks are similar. A person may be doing all sorts of terrible things to his/her body over many years until one day, apparently out-of-the-blue; he/she drops dead of anaphylaxis or a heart attack. If a reactive body, or country, makes it through the initial blaze, a chronic inflammatory state may set-in. This is the cell-mediated immune response. We can now compare the smoldering tissue destruction of diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis or lupus with oil spills, oil-well fires, socio-economic disruption and other environmental devastation, following the Gulf War for example as prolonged and destructive, just as we describe immune activity often as autoimmune disease.

How severe can histamine reactions be?

It has recently been discovered that histamines may play a much larger roll in human disease than once thought. In the past, histamine production was blamed on some very common allergic reactions such as hay fever, bee sting reactions, and anaphylactic shock.

In recent studies, histamine involvement in chronic inflammatory and degenerative diseases such as Lupus, Arthritis, Gulf War Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, Leaky Gut Syndrome, and some skin disorders like Psoriasis and obscure Rashes, has come to light as causes of chronic inflammatory responses to abnormal proteins in the blood of chronically ill patients!

What is an Allergy?

The topic of allergies has become routine in our lives, and certainly most everyone has an idea of what an allergy is. Allergies are so common a subject in fact, it seems acceptable to discuss your allergies at a cocktail party with strangers.

An allergy is an abnormal reaction by a person's immune system against a normally harmless substance. A person without allergies would have no reaction to this substance, but when a person who is allergic encounters the trigger, the body reacts by releasing chemicals which cause allergy symptoms. However, just because there is a cause and effect between exposure to a substance and the development of symptoms does not always mean that a person is allergic to that substance. For example, medications have known and expected side effects; a person experiencing one of these side effects is not necessarily allergic to that medication.

What is Happening During an Allergic Reaction?

During an allergic process, the substance responsible for causing the allergy, or allergen, binds to allergic antibodies present on allergic cells in a person's body, including mast cells and basophils. These cells then release chemicals such as histamine and leukotrienes, resulting in allergic symptoms.

Watch a video demonstrating the allergic response.

How do Allergies Start?

The allergic person can make allergic antibodies, or IgE, against a variety of allergens, including pollens, molds, animal danders, dust mites, foods, venoms and medications. This occurs through a process called sensitization, where a person’s immune system is exposed to enough of the allergen to make the body produce allergic antibodies to that substance.

With later exposures, that same allergen binds to its corresponding IgE on allergic cells, and the body reacts with symptoms of allergies. Allergic symptoms can vary somewhat with the type of allergen and route of exposure (airborne pollen exposure may cause different symptoms than eating a food to which you are allergic).

Learn how to avoid allergic triggers and avoid specific food allergens.

When and Why do People Develop Allergies?

It is unknown why some people develop allergies and some don’t. Allergies seem to run in families, and in some cases family members can share allergies to specific foods or medications. It appears that the allergic response was once meant to protect the body against parasitic infections, although now seems to be an abnormal response to non-infectious triggers.

Allergies can occur at any time during our lives, but are more common to occur during childhood or young adulthood.

Next: Find out what symptoms indicate that you may have allergies.

I Can Get By with A Little Help From My Dolls

In life rare do we find genuine friends who truly cares for us. A midst distance you know you can always count on your friends. ♥ 

Surprise Call

Sabrina my best friend in Graduate School has been with me as I weathered every event in my life and for the past four years, she has constantly been my confidant. I wouldn't be as strong as I am now if it weren't for her. Thank you Sabby for calling tonight to check on me =) 

My Little Superman - Kalel Christian Florentino

Kalel Christian is my little bundle of joy. I am blessed and grateful to my brother and sister-in-law for raising an adorable baby.

There Is Still Such A Thing As Genuine Love

The couple who made me believe in LOVE again ♥