A little video we took of my little Isabella playing a little game she invented with her mom called, “Opposite”… The game is simple:  Just say something negative to each other and then say, “Opposite”, at the end… hahaha… well, it’s cuter than it sounds… just watch, you see what I mean.  LOL!

Well, I know I should’ve posted this update a few days earlier but work and chores have prevented me to do so… so, only now am I able to update my blog. I feel kinda bad not being able to update and post articles as often as I want lately but I guess that’s just how it is… for now.

So, last Thursday, Boy Abunda came over to record a few voice overs for a radio ad that’ll be aired probably this week. I am not allowed to mention the product yet but for those thinking that it might be Argentina Corned Beef… it isn’t.

My little girl, Isabella, stayed up late knowing that Boy would be coming over… she kept on doing the rounds… coming in and going out of the studio pretending to look busy though she was well aware that it was way past her bedtime. I even noticed her shiny lips when she sat beside me by the workstation. I even asked her, “Huy… gabing-gabi na…! Naka-lipstick ka ba?!” She replied, “Lipgloss!” I answered back, “Eh bakit ka naka-lipgloss pa?”… “Eh, kasi dry ang lips ko kanina pa.”, she said. But actually I felt she wanted to look pretty when our visitor arrived so she wanted to be all made up.

So, Boy arrived and stayed for about an hour and a half. We finished our recording with no snags and wrapped up soon after. I had a few shots taken and of course, my little girl had her own pic taken as well. So as promised, below are some pics from that night…

I recently signed up to participate in our Community’s friendly basketball game competition and Game 1 was held at last Sunday.  I was part of the Gold Team and we were scheduled to play against the Green Team.

I figured I could use a little more cardio other than what I was already getting at my gym… it’ll help hasten my weight loss program (Oh, I’m already down to 150 LBS).

My wife and kids came along and watched the festivities… they had lots of fun as well!  I could hear them shouting and screaming everytime I held the ball or made a score.  “Iba na ang may pala!”  Hahaha!

At the end of the day, Gold Team (my team!) won by 11 points… a convincing win!  We are scheduled to challenge the White Team next week (I think…).

Some fun images were taken during the event by my wife which you could view below.  As you can see, we obviously didn’t have any official uniform yet since due to the short time given… but we’ll have real uniforms for our next game and I’ll be sure to post new images here as well.

Nice game, guys!

It’s been a while since I last posted… give or take a few days.  2 nights ago, my little boy got into an accident at home while I was away taking my wife to work.

Apparently, he was taking a bath and he stooped down to soap his feet.  What he didn’t realize was that he was too close to the wall and the soap dish’s water drain (a little pointed spout) was just above him.  This wasn’t the type of soap holder that’s usually seen with 2 suction caps sticking to the wall.  This one was ceramic and installed “into” the wall.

After soaping up his legs and feet, he stood up… so quick that he didn’t realize how close he was to the pointed object.  BUMP!!!  Right on the top of his noggin!

And as with all head cuts, these usually tend to be very bloody.  So, with all the water from his hair that came from the shower together with the gush of blood from his injury, it flowed all over his face… and down his body.

According to my dad (who was at my place and saw the incident), my little girl was freaking out and crying… scared and filled with concern that her big brother’s condition might get worse.  So, they immediately applied first aid, they cut the hair around the affected area and placed medication for the wound.  They called me up as well as my wife via cellphone… I was on my way home then and my misis just arrived at work.

I rushed home and checked if everything was ok… the situation was handled competently and my little boy was already getting ready for bed.  A few minutes after I arrived, I got a text message from my wife informing me that she was told  (ordered, actually) to head back home due to what had just happened.

Next day we took our kid to the hospital to have his wound cleaned properly and for a routine checkup just so we know that “we’re in the clear” with regards to complications that may arise due to the sensitive area wherein my boy had been hit.

He underwent a “skull series” to make sure there were no fractures (Thank, God!).

I just hope it doesn’t happen again… although we know that accidents ARE indeed accidents.  They occur unexpectedly.  But to the best of our abilities, we can somehow minimize the probabilities by taking all necessary precautions and preparations.

I recently guested on QTV’s, “The Sweet Life” which is hosted by Lucy Torres-Gomez.  And if you were paying attention to my blog a few weeks back, you’d know that this is already my second appearance on that particular show.  The first one was when I came out with my little daughter and, frankly, she had most of the exposure then.  Haha!

This time around, I was invited to be part of German “Kuya Germs” Moreno’s surprise birthday celebration.  Kuya Germs’ 75th birthday is still on October, but the program was doing a series of advanced tapings and the “tribute” was one of them.

I was asked to bring a card for Kuya Germs, but I thought a birthday card too simple… too… ummm… common.  So, I decided to give him a personalized CD of all my recent compositions with a birthday message written on the side of the disc.  Why a disc filled with compositions, you ask?  Well, mainly because I never really would’ve realized my interest in music long ago had it not been for his show that I was a regular of:  “That’s Entertainment”.

That was where I actually honed my talent as a musician… I even, for a time, became a musical arranger for his weekly Sunday television program, “GMA Supershow”.

Anyways, I was called in on stage to surprise him and to share with televiewers some good memories I’ve had of Kuya Germs.

So, I went in… exchanged pleasantries and went on to present my “token”.  Before I handed the gift, I explained on-air why I opted to bring that particular present.  Then I continued to read the small message out loud in front of him (the text was small and considering his age, I was afraid to strain his eyes…)

The message read:

Kuya Germs, maraming salamat sa lahat ng tulong at aral na ibinahagi ninyo sa akin.  Kung ano ako ngayon… kung ano ang aking naabot… at kung ano pa ang aking mararating… malaking bahagi nito ay dahil sa inyo.

Mahal ko po kayo.

Maligayang Kaarawan po.

- Chuckie Dreyfus

And as I looked up at him to hand it over, he took it and wanted to speak to the mic… but he couldn’t.  His eyes were welling up.  He tried to speak but got choked up… he stopped and looked down… sobbing… silent.  I thought we were gonna cut.  But we continued to roll… silence all around… only his sniffing could be heard.

Then, short of breath… he spoke.  He told everyone how much he was proud of me… he gripped my hand so tight and still continued to choke up in tears.  I didn’t actually think I’d make that kind of an impact on him during that taping.  I had never made him cry like “that”… I mean, by myself… yet I did.

I cannot fully put into words how I truly felt during those minutes… But as much as I knew that the show’s episode was done for him… to pay tribute to his accomplishments in the industry… a celebration of his life… and in recognition of his importance in showbusiness… during that particular moment, it was I who felt important… and that everything I have achieved was all that mattered to him.

Happy birthday, Kuya Germs.

Thank you for everything… God bless you always…

I saw this handy and gorgeous looking Bible a week and a half ago over the net at this site but unfortunately (for me), the item is only available online and abroad.  It’s a Catholic Holy Bible (New American Bible) with Black Bonded Leather.  And it’s quite affordable with a price of $39.95.

It’s the only New American Bible in that size with the Words of Christ in Red.

Problem is… there aren’t any sold in the Philippines.

I’ve always wanted an item like this… not the typical hard-bound bibles they sell everywhere.  I’ve seen some sold at “Hobbes & Landes” and “Power Books” but all I found were NIV versions.  Sigh…!

It’d be nice to carry something like this during bible study and prayer meetings.  Oh well… probably next time.

Anyone care to send me one?  LOL! 

So many things have happened the past few days that I didn’t really get the chance to update my blog… funny!  So, let me enumerate the more notable events which happened just recently.

1. Tooth Begone!
   I recently (about a week ago) had my molar extracted!  It’s been a long and dreary battle with my tooth and finally, I decided to just have the dentist yank it out.  Anyone who has ever experienced a really bad toothache can relate.  You can’t work, can’t talk, practically cannot concentrate on anything at all!  Not to mention the bad mood that you’re in throughout the day.
   But that doesn’t mean I’m pain-free already.  The tooth that was pulled out was a BIG one!  So, I’m still kinda recovering from it… and I’m still taking pain killers (though not as frequent as the first few days after the extraction).  Couldn’t eat right… oh, and I was adviced by my dentist not to engage in any strenuous activities for 3 days!  There goes my weightlifting routine for the week… bummer!  So was “sexy time”!  LOL!
2. Under the Weather
   Apparently, this whole tooth extraction thingy has caused me to feel under the weather… and the cold sore just beside my swelling gum ain’t helping at all!  More pain relievers!  Dammit!
3. WordPress Pinoys
   My baby project which has taken off quite successfully!  I’ve been busy creating a virtual home for all Pinoy WordPressers (WordPress.Com and WordPress.Org)… I’m very grateful that the vast majority of WordPress Pinoy Bloggers have joined the group.  Lots of events, projects and ideas will come out of this newly formed community.  Some of ‘em are already in the works… just you wait for it!
   In a span of merely 4 days, we’ve grown to an impressive 84 members already!  Our members are just as enthusiastic about this group as I am!  I’m pretty sure there are more Filipino WordPressers out there who haven’t heard of our community but slowly and surely we will gather each and every one of ‘em.  Hopefully we can eventually hold WordPress-sanctioned events here in the Philippines… that would be cool, huh?!  In fact, I was able to talk to Matt (Mullenweg) of WordPress/Automattic and he thought that the community and the official events the group plans to engage in are very good ideas.  So, if you’re a Pinoy with a WordPress blog… join your new home on the net… meet the rest of the wacky bunch at WordPress Pinoys!

   Oh and by the way… for those who aren’t aware… WordPress Pinoys used to be located at Google Groups but due to the sudden upsurge of memberships, tracking conversations and discussions within the group became a tedious and sometimes impossible task.  So, we finally put up our own forum located here.  Discussion threads and the exchanging of ideas are much easier to monitor now.  And everyone seems to be happy with it (Whew!).  I’ve wanted so badly for the transition from one site to the other to be a smooth one that I practically didn’t have time to maintain my own blog!  Haha… But we have very competent and responsible moderators over there already so I can go back to my regular blogging habit.  Did anyone miss my articles?  Anyone at all?  Hehe.  Anyhow, everyone who was (and still is) a member of the “WordPress Pinoys” Google Group is now a member of this new incarnation.  So, SALI NA!

So I guess that’s it!  More articles very soon… Hope everyone missed me!  You guys did miss me, right?  Right?! 

Boy am I lucky to have a wifey that loves to cook and make different kinds of dishes… and is damn good at it! She just prepared a whole container of LIVER PATE for me which, in my honest opinion, is way way better than those sold at Santies or Almon Marina or any other delicatessen shop you could think of.

Yum! Pate on my left… whole wheat Crostini on my right… iced tea (light, mind you!) and late night television to keep me company… doesn’t get any better than this! Unless the wifey’s beside me… and “sexy time” comes next! LOL!

But not soon after eating…! (Baka magka-appendicitis eh!) Hahaha!

A lot of crossroads have been presented before me the past few weeks… paths to take and decisions to make.  They say that the true impact of a decision is not felt right away but over the long haul… and by the time you realize it, you cannot undo what has been decided… nor can you simply rewind and repeat events.

But I believe, with proper guidance, inner peace and spiritual balance… you CAN make the correct choices and you CAN mend past mistakes.  Notice how I mentioned “correct choices” instead of “right choices”?  That’s because not everything that is RIGHT is necessarily CORRECT.  What IS correct doesn’t have to be what is favorable to you… nor should it be to your approval.

So goes my story… and again, I am confronted by challenges and obstacles of which my decisions play a crucial part of what’s to become of me and my family’s future.

Through deep meditation and intense spiritual guidance… I have come to my decisions with an open heart, knowing that what I am supposed to do… what I am guided to do… is the will of God… and that His will should be above all other desires and needs.

I am blessed to have had the continuous and constant spiritual counseling which I never knew I craved for till now.  And though I know that trials and tribulations don’t go away in a blink of an eye, everything feels lighter now… as if I am not alone anymore… as if someone has shared my load and lifted me up.

Prayer has also been incorporated into my daily routine… something I should’ve done more frequently in the past.

I am facing a new path… I am taking it… because I know deep inside that I am making the correct decision and that this decision will help correct all the other wrong choices I’ve made in the past… slowly.

I may not be understood by all… especially by those affected by my decisions and likewise by individuals who don’t share the same faith as I do… but I don’t expect them to.  I just trust that once everything is done according to His will, all that was once crooked will be made straight.