Listening to: Everlasting by SONICFLOOd

I have four more days before the end of my tenure with my current employers. On Monday, I report to work at the Robinson’s Equitable Bank Tower. I would say, God is good, life is good, and I am extraordinarily superblessed, save for one thing.

I am not well. *hack hack*

I woke up this morning with a painful throat, and I think I’ve scratched it, because there some red flecks in my phlegm that I assume from the iron taste in my mouth is probably blood.

Matthew 6 tells me that I needn’t worry, and truth be told, I’m not. I’m more concerned about being well for my first day at work. It doesn’t make for much of an impression if I walk in there sick. Lord, I claim healing in the name of Your Son, Jesus.

Say a little prayer for me, won’t y’all? Thanks.

Veggie Tales is now airing on NBC.

Controversy may be in the works, though, for Bob the Tomato, Larry the Cucumber, and the rest of the Veggie Tales gang, apparently, as a liberal Christian group protested NBC’s cuts of the animated shorts, known for its strong Christian views.

Since NBC started showing 30-minute episodes of the talking vegetables on Saturday mornings, it has clipped key portions of each episode out, specifically the tag lines near the end (Remember, kids, God made you special and He loves you very much).

From my perspective, I tend to agree with the liberals on this. VeggieTales creator Phil Vischer’s quandary, as he so eloquently puts it on his blog, lies in whether one sees it as a compromise of his vision, or as a way to reach out to a greater market (who would subsequently buy the videos and receive the message in full).

As a father of a child who likes VeggieTales, I tend to see the opportunity provided by NBC as VeggieTales‘ equivalent of Paul’s being “all things to all people.” VeggieTales can reach out to a whole new market, and the story - the values of the gospel - is still there. Is a watered-down gospel a less effective gospel? I don’t think so. I think I can trust the Holy Spirit to do its job and work in the hearts of the children who watch the show.

I’d much rather give people a taste of VeggieTales and have them enjoy what they can about the cartoon, thereby whetting their appetite for the values that a Christian life that one can live as taught by the cartoon, and perhaps someday, the gospel. VeggieTales never actually preached the Good News anyway; it simply helped children liveTHElife.

Of course, the flip side of all of this is that one can see it as an elaborate ploy to get people to actually buy the videos and make Big Idea/Creative Media a ton of money. By my standards, FINE BY ME. I like Big Idea, I like how Nathan likes VeggieTales, and I want VeggieTales to continue. That means churning out my hard-earned peso to purchase their VCDs and DVDs, buying cassettes and merchandise. Call me a drone - but I’d much rather plunk my money down and purchase videos of VeggieTales and the Superbook/Flying House gang than the other options available at my local video store.

As far as I’m concerned, getting the show to air on NBC on Saturday mornings is a victory for Christianity in itself, and removing “God made you special and He loves you very much” should not affect the way we view the show. At the end of the day, It is not the responsibility of a TV show to preach the gospel, nor is it the responsibility of a cartoon to teach a child how to live in a righteous manner. It is first and foremost the job of a child’s parents to raise a child so that child becomes a good, contributing member of society. When the time comes for Christ’s message to be heard by the child, whether it be the child’s parents, or a friend, or a stranger, it shall be that child’s option - free will! - to choose salvation or not. That decision, however, is not VeggieTales’ responsibility nor decision to make.

Listening to: Hold Fast by MercyMe

So here I am at the office, organizing my files, writing some material (hey, work still comes in), and getting myself ready basically to leave one year and a month of work for a new job. Uncharted territory. Unexplored terrain.

Another meme from Arybba.

1. How often do you blog? At least thrice a week.

2. Online Alias: ganns | superblessed

3. Have you ever stood up for someone you hardly knew? Relatively often.

4. What do you do most often when you are bored? I write songs. I read. Thing is, I’m hardly ever bored - having a three-year-old, you actually appreciate the time when you have nothing to do.

5. When bathing, which do you wash first? My hair.

6. Have you ever been awake for 48 hours straight? I think so - once in sophomore year, when I was part of the COMELEC counting student council results.

7. What color looks best on you? I think I look good in red, dark blue, and black.

8. What’s your favorite alcoholic drink? I don’t drink.

9. Do you believe in heaven and hell as a real place that each of us will go to after death? Absolutely.

10. Do you find that you have more online friends than offline friends? No, but my circle of friends online is certainly easier to keep in touch with than my friends offline.

11. What was your favorite subject in school? Creative Writing and Environmental Science

12. Are you a perfectionist? More often than not.

13. Do you spend more than you can afford? Oi vey. Thank God I married Cathy.

14. Is it better to have loved and lost than never to have loved before? Absolutely.

15. Do you consider yourself creative? I’d love to be more so.

16. Do you give yourself the credit you deserve? Oi vey, sometimes, too much.

17. Do you donate time or money to charities? Not enough.

18. Have you recently done something that you’ve criticized others for doing? I try not to criticize anymore. So far, so good.

19. What’s on your mind right now? Today is September 20. Less than two weeks to go before I start my new job!

20. Say one nice thing about the person who tagged you and the five people that you are going to tag.

The “tagger”: I love Arybba. She’s terribly funny, wonderfully loopy, and a terrific pal. I visit her blog regularly.
I tag:

anj. Woman with a great sense of humor and a heart of gold.

ariel. Creative cartoonist with a passion for Christ.

arthur. Complete opposite of me: he is tall, dark, and handsome.

toni. Purehearted writer and friend. One of my best online friends.

vida. Wears her heart on her sleeve, her honesty is refreshing.

So Cathy and I stayed at the Fleuris Hotel in Palawan, one of the three most respected hotels in Palawan, and certainly one of the coziest hotels in Palawan. Our arrival at this comfortable hotel in Palawan was only the beginning, thanks to this Palawan hotel’s friendly airport transfers (thanks, Joel!).

We started our Puerto Princesa adventure with airport transfers from the Fleuris Hotel in Palawan. Here is Cathy all set for the ride!

Here I am ready for the trip to the Fleuris Hotel in Palawan!

The rotonda of the Fleuris Hotel in Palawan. Behind me is their swimming pool. The red and yellow flap on the upper right hand corner is the edge of a giant umbrella this Palawan hotel was setting up in celebration of their 7th year anniversary.

The coffee shop at the Fleuris Hotel in Palawan. It was cool, definitely cozy, and very comfortable. The first day, I ordered their Squid Lagoon - absolutely fantastic, the softest squid in the most delicious tomato sauce. Mmmmm.

Behind me is the dining table and receiving area of our suite at the Fleuris Hotel in Palawan. Wanted to do a picture like Pam.

A cozy nook in our suite at the Fleuris Hotel in Palawan. Perfect for book reading, conversation with others at the dining table, or reflection.

This column separated the sleeping area from the other areas of our Palawan hotel suite. It was really comfortable at the Fleuris Hotel, I kid you not.

The King bed at our suite in this Palawan hotel was wonderfully comfortable.

A shot of the receiving area and dining area at our suite at this Palawan hotel.

The staff at the Fleuris hotel in Palawan was so warm and accommodating. Bench, in particular, was very polite and treated us with so much respect and candor. Both Cathy and I were very happy with the service, the accommodations, and oi vey, the location! This hotel in Palawan is only five minutes away from Rizal Avenue, the heart of Puerto Princesa, and accessible to Jollibee, Chowking, Shakey’s, and NCCC, the city’s major supermarket.

We’d go back in a heartbeat, and definitely, we’d stay at the Fleuris hotel in Palawan!

Click here to read more about our trip, and click here to see the full batch of photos!

Listening to: Somehow You Are by Avalon

We returned last Saturday from Palawan. We stayed for three days and two nights at the Hotel Fleuris, a beautiful hotel in Palawan, and visited so many places. I’ll upload photos and the blow-by-blow at The Deens Online.

Meanwhile, why not visit LIVEtheLIVE’s exclusive Jaime Jamgochian email interview?

How’ve you guys been?

Listening to: My Wish by Rascal Flatts

So I’m back from a one-day hiatus to file my papers for a duplication of license plates since my original set was stolen. Suffice it to say that, well, government has improved, but only in baby steps.

My day started out at around 830AM by getting a Community Tax Certificate at the local barangay hall. This didn’t take long, although declaring my real income (as opposed to most people’s declaring a false, lower salary) in September 2006 as opposed to early 2006, resulted in a disproportionate amount of money paid over to the government.

I then drove to the Land Transportation Office (LTO)’s main office and parked inside at around 9AM. I then secured myself an affidavit of loss at a notary public near the LTO offices. Since the car was in Cathy’s name, the affidavit was in her name, but with mine as representative. Cost: Php150.

After that, I returned to the LTO main office, where I was sent on a tour of their offices in search of this signature and that signature. I respected the process, though, and saw why we had to do what we had to do (Smoke Belching unit on the 3rd floor of the building, to see if my license plate was confiscated for smoke belching; Plate Retention Unit to see if my license plate was confiscated for some other offense, like illegal parking).

After all the papers were processed, at around 10AM (Cost Php98.00), I thought I was done, but it turns out that I needed Cathy’s signature on the affidavit of loss. I had to drive back home to secure her signature. Oi vey. Got back to the LTO by 1130AM in time for the gentleman at window 19 to approve it and send me to the LTO Manila East branch in Sta. Mesa to begin processing of the license plate duplication because that’s where Toyota got my license plates made in the first place. From East Avenue to Sta. Mesa. You can imagine.

I drove through at Burger King (terrible meal, blech) and arrived at the LTO Manila East branch at around 120PM, after 50 minutes of searching for the office (two jeepney drivers and one MMDA cop had no idea). When I stepped inside to file my papers, I was told I was missing one step - a Motor Vehicle Inspection Report - that had to be done at the LTO Main Office - along East Avenue. Where I just came from. After a mild rant (I made it a point not to lose my temper at any point during the process), I had to do what I had to do.

So I drove back to the LTO Main Office and waited my turn for the MVIS processing and for a licensed gentleman to stencil my car (Tip Php30). The MVIS processing had me done by 345PM. Rushing back to the LTO Manila East branch, I arrived at around 430PM and submitted my papers. I paid the cost of duplicate licenses and miscellaneous fees (Cost Php460), then waited an hour (photocopied some papers for file, total cost Php30. I had my papers ready by 545PM.

Total cost of doing everything, not including CTC, lunch and gasoline: Php770. Now you know.

Listening to: Dead Man (Carry Me) by Jars of Clay

Last Saturday night, my license plate was stolen. XEX-341.Not license plates, just one.This isn’t the first time I’ve been a victim of a crime involving my car. A year ago, my side mirrors were stolen, ripped off my car by some uncaring thief (are there caring thieves?). A driver once chipped off the edge of my bumper - the proverbial hit-and-run.

More than anything, I’m not angry nor upset. I’m just disappointed and saddened immensely by it all. That people have to rob you of your own property for their own selfish gain (I can’t fathom what would happen if my plate was used in some car thief scheme!). That people are so poor and have lost so much hope in God, in the nation, in themselves, that their only option is steal from someone else just to meet their daily needs.

I pray that the filing goes smoothly, and that whoever took my plates realizes what he did was wrong, wrong, wrong. Lord, send someone to him and bring him to You. His life can still be turned around.