Daydreamer

It was one of those late afternoon naps,
When the silence is deafening,
And the soap opera from the neighbor’s radio is echoing,
When the clammy wind blows over the wall,
That I would lay myself on the hard wood.
Staring at the holes on the ceiling where the summer heat showed its luster,
And I would build the castle of my youthful imagination,
As I walk silently in a splendid garden,
Where the roses and leaves sway to the music of the blowing wind,
And the trees dancing to the tune of the heavenly lullaby,
Giving my heart a hope, a sense of purpose in an endless surprise.

Ah, anything will be possible!
If others can, I can do it too.
I will never stop looking for that path,
It is mine to seize and to take.
Like a little winged seed sown in my abundant heart,
I gently renew the promise once again before I closed my eyes.

I awoke from my mother’s shriek,
Feeling better, refreshed.
Seeing the innocence on my baby brother’s eyes,
Gives me a zest and faith beyond compare
As I tenderly carried him to my young arms again.

I looked at life so differently,
I let my free spirit softly touch my enchanted paradise,
For no one knows the treasures I buried within.
I could hardly wait to grow up and explore the world,
To find the biggest mysteries in life.

I will not fear,
I will not stop looking for that dazzling, guiding star up above.
Perhaps though daydream is sweeter,
It is for the idle souls.
Yet it is one of those late afternoon naps that I find comfort and strength.
Now I would know too much.
And it matters no more when blessings and tears are cherished.

Keeping Up

The house is pretty messy and it’s been going on for weeks now. I didn’t realize how much we’re deprived from the comforts of our own house. We’ve been sleeping in the bedroom (downstairs) since they’re tearing the fireplace. The bathroom is still a week more to go. My husband is tempted to go ahead and do the stairways. It would be nice to replace the stairways with wrought iron. Rosa was a little pissy last Friday cleaning. She suggested we might as well do the kitchen to have all the mess gets over with. Poor Rosa. The whole thing is pretty painful.

I did some more floral arrangements in the garage last weekend. We’re supposed to go for a bike ride but it’s hard to leave the boys working inside the house. Ah, it would be nice to have all the things back to normal.

Anyway, here are some of my creations. I did saved money creating my own instead of buying off the rack but it’s not as good though. Well, it’s the sports that count and I love doing it.

Okay, awards have been pouring here lately. First is from Jackie of “Simply Shinade”. To be awarded “Queen of Blogs” is quiet an honor.

Another award- Smart Blogger is from Willa of “Smart Mommy”.

It’s really nice be part of this prestigious awards. I know I’m still struggling with my writings (wished I had a Mass Communications degree instead of Electronics Communications, lol!). Obviously, that didn’t prevent me from keeping the juice flowing. Life is short. It would be nice to be heard and to listen as well not only to my own struggles and be part of this world called life. Thanks Jackie and Willa. I'm so glad I've found your blogs:)

Question Everything

Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it.
Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many.
Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books.
Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders.
Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations.
But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.

---The BUDDHA

Spring Fever

I find working in the garden visually inspiring. It’s like creating living art. I’m glad my husband is the same. We both have green thumb. The first month that I arrived here- gardening was my outlet. Jim had a spacious backyard but doesn’t get enough sunlight. It’s too bad we can’t plant roses; nevertheless, we managed to plant some more daisies. They grew so healthy and beautiful until the bunnies ate it and eventually died. Ah, it was so discouraging. We don’t know what else to do and so we just asked the gardener to pull the weeds and until now some part of the backyard is empty.

Well, spring is here once again! It’s a great feeling to shudder as the naked earth is warmth with the sunny breeze. Who can resist admiring endlessly, all the green grass and gusting, beautiful trees?

It’s time to shop for more flowers to plant in the yards. Hmm, maybe we’ll pick something that the bunnies can’t eat. Oh, what a wonderful feeling to be part of the nature’s rebirth!

Yes, Ma'am!

“Who wants to buy adobo for me in the market?” “I, Ma’am!” shouted almost everybody in the class.

Wow! I can’t believe it. “You know, the teacher gives an extra 10 points if you do whatever she tells you to do”, my seatmate whispered to me. I just smiled. Whatever. I don’t need extra points.

Most of my teachers in grade school and even high school don’t like me. They said I’m so snobbish. I agree. I don’t go to the faculty department and talk to the teachers.

I hate it when a teacher will call one of the students to do something for her. One of my teachers would ask my classmate to comb her hair during lunch breaks just so she can have a priceless nap. I don’t like watching my teacher falling asleep on her table listening to the soap opera on the radio while I was so busy copying the whole chapter of the book on the black board. Darn! I really hate that. But what can I do? I’m just one of her students. I have a good handwriting and so all my classmates would always vote for me to be the secretary of the class. And guess what? A secretary’s job is to write and write on the black board. That means when the teacher is very lazy, she can just tell me to copy the whole chapter on the board. Bam! The class had something to do. At the end of the class, she will check all the notebooks and she would just tell me I get extra points. My hands and arms are all so sore from standing to kneeling while writing on the board. Sometimes it could go for hours and then I have to swap with another classmate until the school bell would ring. Ah, it’s so ridiculous. The only school chore that I remembered I really liked was the part when teachers would assign the better students to teach the slow-learner classmates on how to read. That part just makes sense to me.

There is this particular teacher that is very distinctive to me. She goes to school an hour before the time and had all the room so tidy. She maintains a very disciplined lifestyle. She doesn’t associate with some other teachers who loved to gather so early in the morning for some juicy gossips for the day. I think that was the reason why I liked her. Most importantly, she treated all her students squarely, no bias. I felt like I can compete because I’m not being judged by our society’s standards- poor, uninfluential family. She was one of those I look up to while growing up. It’s funny that I had retained a lot of the life’s lessons she had taught us and even the tiniest detail. I always remember all those simple tips she had shared. I finished that year as her first honor and she was so proud of me. She even wished me luck for my upcoming endeavors. At that moment, I told myself I’m not going to let her down.

Meme Tuesday

I don’t usually play along with tags and grab some awards. The last time, I did it…I screwed up. Shame on me, lol! I had the names and website interchanged. But, socializing is part of a blogger’s life, right? I’d love to return the favors, of course! And so, every once in a while I do it (accumulated tags/awards).

I was few minutes late to post this whole stuff yesterday. My friends invited me for a “Twilight” movie at Faye’s house. I missed that movie. I mean, it’s not that I intentionally did but my husband’s not coming with me. It’s a chick flick movie, you know. I invited my friends but they thought it’s for kids too. I was just amused to find out later on that both of them had watched it twice on OnDemand and Faye had even read the sequel. Hmmm, just when I forgot about it. It’s a cute movie and guess what? We already planned to watch the “New Moon” by November. We’re just a bunch of kids, lol!

Okay, back to tagging. First, is the “Let’s-Be-Friends” tag from Simply Shinade aka Jackie. Her blog shares a lot of optimism and serenity as you read and look all through her photography. She and her husband lived in a vast, peaceful area full of wonderful creations and amazing views. Thanks, Jackie. The award thus says;

"These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

As much as I wanted to pass this award to 8 bloggers, I think it’s better to just invite them to grab this award or whoever wants to grab it...makes it easier for you and me:)

Secondly, is the "Premio Dardos Award" from another brilliant and fearless blogger, Lainy aka Scotty’sPrincess from “Our Journey to Forever”. It’s a blog about her journey of love and courtship and obviously she’s the princess to her beloved “Scott”. She’s one of those bloggers that stands out because she simply knows how to socialize and be with herself. Her posts are one of those long, but cute, catchy and intelligent writings.

Thanks, Lainy for this award. It is very distinctive and well, flattering too:

“The Premio Dardos Award is given for recognition of cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values transmitted in the form of creative and original writing. These stamps were created with the intention of promoting fraternization between bloggers, a way of showing affection and gratitude for work that adds value to the Web.”

Lastly, is a tag from Willa of Smart Mommy which comes with very simple rules.
1. Take your latest picture.
2. Take your picture as natural as possible.
3. Post your picture on your blog.
4. Post the rules.
5. Tag 10 people to do the same as above.

I guess it's not really that simple, hehehe. I forgot to bring my camera's USB (got an excuse, eh?). I'm so sorry guys if I don't tag some other bloggers, I'll pass on that one. I'll do it next time when I get the chance. Thanks for remembering me though:)

Okay, back to work for me:)

Thankful Monday

My weekend went by so quickly, again. I have been thinking of something for a hobby or something to work on every weekend. I was even thinking about enrolling in craft lessons but considering all the expenses, I felt like it’s too much.

You know, when my husband had that dating business before he was kind of confused with most of the Filipinas about what their hobbies are. All have the same answers which is cleaning, reading pocketbooks, dancing, singing and cleaning. Now, I realized our hobbies aren’t that bad at all. At least, we don’t spend money and there’s nothing to spend, lol!

Anyway, I dragged my husband around last Friday night looking for some bathroom accessories. Unluckily, I didn’t find what I’m looking for. On Saturday, we went to this high-end gardens and landscaping place in Newport Beach. A very impressive place! All the flowers and even the pine trees are perfectly trimmed! They have little boutiques full of fresh flowers beautifully scattered all over.

It’s really beautiful and so are the prices, lol! It’s where rich people shops, I guess and so it doesn’t matter. There are few accents that I really liked but the prices are unreasonable. I ended up buying orchids, moss and pot. It was around 70 bucks plus, I have yet to assemble it. At least, I had the pleasure of doing things and I love the result:
It’s perfect in the bathroom (guest’s room). Now that I had leftover moss, I was thinking of doing some more flower arrangements for the kitchen, for the other 2 bathrooms and maybe for the bedroom too. Hmm, it might look boring having all the unreal flowers everywhere in the house.

Quiet Flame

No matter how ruined man and his world may seem to be, and no matter how terrible man’s despair may become, as long as he continues to be a man his very humanity continues to tell him that life has a meaning. That, indeed, is one reason why man tends to rebel against himself. If he could without effort see what the meaning of life is, and if he could fulfill his ultimate purpose without trouble, he would never question the fact that life is well worth living. Or if he saw at once that life had no purpose and no meaning, the question would never arise. In either case, man would not be capable of finding himself so much of a problem.

Our life, as individual persons and as members of a perplexed and struggling race, provokes us with the evidence that it must have meaning. Part of the meaning still escapes us. Yet our purpose in life is to discover this meaning, and live according to it. We have, therefore, something to live for. The process of living, of growing up, and becoming a person, is precisely the gradually increasing awareness of what that something is. This is a difficult task, for many reasons.

Every other man is a piece of myself, for I am a part and a member of mankind. Every Christian is part of my own body, because we are members of Christ. What I do is also done for them and with them and by them. What they do is done in me and by me and for me. But each one of us remains responsible for his own share in the life of the whole body. Charity cannot be what it is supposed to be as long as I do not see that my life represents my own allotment in the life of a whole supernatural organism to which I belong. Only when this truth is absolutely central do other doctrines fit into their proper context. Solitude, humility, self-denial, action and contemplation, the sacraments, the monastic life, the family, war and peace—none of these make sense except in relation to the central reality which is God’s love living and acting in those whom He has incorporated in His Christ. Nothing at all makes sense, unless we admit, with John Donne, that “No man is an island, entire of itself every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.”

---Thomas Merton "No Man Is an Island"

He's My Brother

“You take care of your younger brother. Don’t let him cry so loud. We don’t have enough money for the surgery,” my Mother reminded me once again before she goes to work.

He was born with hernia. It became apparent when he was few week-old.

One morning, he never stopped crying. I panicked. I tried so hard to entertain him and stop him from crying. My Mother is still at the office. She will be home in 2 hours. Maybe he will stop crying by then. It was the first time I saw him cried that hard. I was nervous seeing the reddish contents bulging out on his lower torso. He was only 4 months. At that very moment, I thought he really needs the surgery. He’s in pain.

My Mom arrived after 30 minutes. I let my younger sister go to her office and report the sad news. We rushed him to the hospital. My Mom was crying. I know he’s in deep pain. I was so terrified to lose my baby brother.

“Shhh…don’t cry now. You’ll be fine. The Doctors will help you,” my Mother gave him a reassuring smile. As if he understood, he stopped crying. He behaved as what my Mother told him like a grown up. We were all so impressed of him. He’s only 4 month-old!

The surgery came out very successful and most importantly, it was free. The well-respected surgeons happened to visit the hospital in the island for charitable works. Fortunately, my Mom had her Medicare cover all the other expenses.

He grew up to be a responsible, smart kid. One time, he came home fuming and looking for knives. “I’m going to kill all of you!” he screamed. We were so shocked. Who are your enemies? We almost shouted in chorus.

“It’s your fault Ma” he exclaimed. “You kept telling me not to play so hard ever since I was a kid. It’s not good to my health. Now that I don’t engage myself to outdoor sports, you’re all calling me gay!” he continued on.

Ah, you just don’t know how bad we felt at that time. My Mother can’t even recall those words and didn’t realize he took it so seriously.

Well, my brothers are baby no more. It’s a good feeling to see them grow and define their own selves. They’re all in college now. His brothers (older & younger) would love to call him their “baby-sitter”, lol! He’s not like them who would invite friends for a drinking session while watching basketball on TV. He helped them with their school projects. I trusted him the money for all their expenses. I don’t even smell any sibling rivalry between them. Basically, he gained some respect for being so responsible.

How time flies! Here they are 10 years ago.
And now, they're way bigger than me, hehehe... Do I sound like a Mom? haha!

I'm Feeling Lucky Today!

I have read a very striking life story today from a brave lady. Thank you so much, Jackie for sharing the pieces of yourself so candidly. I’m very humbled. May your tribe be blessed forever! You can check it out (The Painted Veil) yourself if you have by chance a time to spare. It’s a story of struggle and triumph and it’s worth your time.

I realized that the best thing to move on so freely is to share your life and your story. We all have a story to share, pieces of ourselves that reflects who we are today and yet it’s deeply defined by our past. I remembered being very inquisitive as a kid (well, until now). I don’t stop looking, observing, learning and living. I gave up the notion that “Life is Not Fair” long time ago and it will never be. Instead, I started making peace with myself, being contented of what I’m given and do whatever I can in harmony to my own limitations and strengths. Above all, I trust God and I see His light in the real world on all His creations, on all people and things that I come to live with in my every day existence :)

Anyway, the worker handed me a green box this morning. He said it was outside the porch. I don’t usually go through the front door and so I missed my St. Patrick’s package from IZEA. Yey! That’s very sweet of them and I can't help but share my joy with you guys.

Inside were St. Patrick’s Day shirt, some fun green swag, Blu Frog Energy Drink (energy drink loaded with Vitamins). Yes, I’m feeling lucky!

If you're not familiar with IZEA, check it out here. I had earned 2 grand from writing reviews:) Sound familiar? In a way, they had helped me save some money to buy some canned goods and rice to send to the Philippines.

The Danger of Living in The Past

Most people live in the past. When you find yourself alone, you inevitably revisit the past. Recalling things that will help us in the Present Moment is fine. For instance, the alcoholic who recalls the fact that he can’t have even one drink is necessary and helpful. It is the reliving of the past, the endless rehashing to the point where it affects your soul that is dangerous.

Part of repentance is to remember your past sins and give your love to Jesus. But most people live in their past, in sin, guilt, remorse, resentment. They see every tiny detail related to those past events. They are actually living in that moment, and it’s wrong. Because the moment you have now, this Present Moment, is all you have. You don’t have the next moment, and the past is gone forever. But we keep bringing it back- “someone offended me,” “someone said something” -and we keep reliving it in our minds over and over and over. You are then living in a moment that is gone, a fantasy.

This happens with glory too. You reinvision past successes in your life, past beauty. And you live in it so frequently that it becomes a reality for you—all the compliments, all the adulation. You are misusing a beautiful faculty, and it will warp your whole personality.

On the other hand, if you are living in a distasteful situation that happened last week or last month and someone comes to you needing your patience or charity you’re going to strike out at them with impatience and anger, even though they did nothing. You’re not at home in the Present Moment. It paralyzes you, because you are not attuned to God and His love in this Present Moment.
---Little Book of Life's Lessons and Everyday Spirituality (Mother Angelica)

Weekender

Finally, I was able to move my desk on the other room. My husband kept convincing me about it. I wasn’t so sure about the idea. My old home office is near the bedroom and it’s more relaxing for me to read in the bed while my music (piano) is on and I can hear it clear, hehe…

I’m glad we picked the right color. Well, it’s painted with my favorite color (see, I drive a green bug too). I did some decorations and it looked so feminine and so trendy. My husband did all the fabric for my cabinet to look a little more interesting. The painting (given by our next door neighbor) looked so great on the wall too!
It is so cool! I just loved it. I’m so looking forward to doing my scrap booking next week. Lu will give a whole lot of freebies (she worked for her Mom who owns the company-(Me&MyBigIdeas). Definitely a cozy place to work with my blog, scrapbook and read books. I had bought a few books last weekend.

Oh did I tell you that my Momma Guppy gave birth to 30 kids the other weekend? Yes, it’s very interesting. I’m not sure what will happen to my 8-gallon tank when they get bigger though.

7 Things People Don't Know About Me

I was tagged by Debbie from Heart Choices. I am often on her blog because it has a different meat- very hearty and very sincere. I loved reading all her stories which are very genuine and had provided me with a different outlook. There’s always a heartfelt camaraderie, a true sense of living in a Christian way on her posts which is very inspiring. I admired her strength and I’m sure her presence is such a great gift to her community. She’s a kind of friend you always want to have :)

So, here’s the rule:

1. I have to link to the person who tagged me and that was Debbie.

2. I have to share 7 things about me that you may not know.

3. I need to tag 7 people in my post and link to them.

4. I need to let them know they've been tagged.

I loved writing ever since I was in grade school. It always starts with “Dear God”. No one in my friends (in grade school) whom I know can relate to my struggles deep within. I started writing to God instead. It was my cheap psychotherapy (sorta). I’m most normal like any other kids my age when I’m at school but I felt like I grew older.

I know a lot about poverty. My Mother had a hard life ever since she was born. I’m her “shock absorber” and she had planted a stronger heart in me. It may sound so bad for her to let me take care of her dreams for her own family but I took it as my inspiration anyway.

I became a Mom as early as 7. I help took care 3 of my younger brothers. I had a great time playing with some other kids but it was always limited or I always get spanked because I was irresponsible at times leaving my baby brothers in the room while I was playing outside the house. I remembered smelling so stinky coz they peed on my shirts (no diapers for them) and I don’t want to change my clothes coz I was into the games so much. And yes, I’m putting them all through college now. My husband would say it’s admirable but I take it as a big sacrifice to break the chain- coming from poor families was a great challenge. I never took any opportunity for granted and not taking advantage on it.

I’m a shy person but gets really talkative once I get comfortable with. I’m picky with friends too. My bad. I felt like there’s no point of the friendship if there’s no common ground or connections at all.

I always love listening to good speeches and reading books hoping I can get a grain of wisdom.

I have dreamed of becoming a nun but was discouraged when a friend told me about her bad experiences in the convent being a novice, “it felt like hell living there where your superiors were shouting at you like devils” she said. I was completely shocked at that but I never judged any congregations- I understand we are all humans. Well, I can still make a lot of things even I’m married.

I’m hoping to sponsor kids to get a degree in college in the coming years. And that’s what I’m hoping to be remembered. I don’t want to have a kid anymore. I felt like I had enough and I don’t want to go back to those times where the baby-sitting and responsibilities were just too overwhelming. But I’m not completely closing doors although deep inside my heart- I’m still not prepared and the thought itself still scare me. There are lots of kids in this world to call my own:)

Now, I'm passing this tag to 7 great bloggers I would like to know more:

Jackie- The Painted Veil

Mel - Random Thoughts

JT Locke- The Frugal Housewife

Sherrose- Life Over the Edge

Willa- FickleMinded- A Life That is Less Ordinary

Duni - Lovely Purses

JR- GrandMasterson

Awards Galore

I love reading blogs during my breaks. There's always a great lesson learning from other people's lives. I love reading different kinds of blogs from personal, techie, spiritual to humor. There are quiet a few of my favorite bloggers.

Anyway, I would like to thank my blogger friends for these awards. Thanks Duni from Lovely Purses for this award:)

Thanks to Sherrose of "Life Over The Edge" for this award. She wrote some moving review too that quote: Shawie, at A Grateful Heart –shares some very beautiful and uplifting messages about experiencing life with a grateful heart. Just reading her blog makes you feel more peaceful and uplifted!

More award from JT Locke of "The Frugal Housewife". Thank you so very much guys:)

I'm writing to remind myself and to keep a journal and if somehow you were touched by some of my posts then that's very wonderful! Thank you for the continued support:)

Why Did I Get Married?

I am part of this group in high school called “Hijas de Maria” meaning “Daughters of Mary”. The group functions as a church choir for most masses. One of our obligations is to attend mass on Saturdays in honor of the Virgin Mary. In the Philippines, church weddings are always held on Saturdays. Being so young and naïve, I was so excited to have attended a wedding for the first time. Eventually, the group became choirs for weddings- sometimes we’re paid, sometimes not.

And for quiet too many weddings that I had witnessed (by default); the message of the priest is always the same. I even memorized his lines, lol! It always starts with “One plus One Equals Three. Husband, Wife and God. I was so fascinated by those lines. It seemed so simple and romantic. However, as I grow older and now being married, I understand that it is the separateness that enriches the union. Although my being very independent would surface every once in a while specially if we have misunderstandings. My husband objects that “independent mode” I wear when I should show more vulnerability. Oh well, why did I get married in the first place? Okay, that’s a movie (nice movie- I just watched last Saturday).

Anyway, this article from the book “The Road Less Traveled” is such a good read:

A common and traditionally masculine marital problem is created by the husband who, once he is married, devotes all his energies to climbing mountains and none to tending to his marriage, or base camp, expecting it to be there in perfect order whenever he chooses to return to it for rest and recreation without his assuming any responsibility for its maintenance. Sooner or later this “capitalist” approach to the problem fails and he returns to find his untended base camp a shambles, his neglected wife having been hospitalized for a nervous breakdown, having run off with another man, or in some other way having renounced her job as camp caretaker. An equally common and traditionally feminine marital problem is created by the wife who, once she is married, feels that the goal of her life has been achieved. To her the base camp is the peak. She cannot understand or empathize with her husband’s need for achievements and experiences beyond the marriage and reacts to them with jealousy and never- ending demands that he devote increasingly more energy to the home. Like other “communist” resolutions of the problem, this one creates a relationship that is suffocating and stultifying, from which the husband, feeling trapped and limited, may likely flee in a moment of “midlife crisis.”

The women’s liberation movement has been helpful in pointing the way to what is obviously the only ideal resolution: marriage as a truly cooperative institution, requiring great mutual contributions and care, time and energy, but existing for the primary purpose of nurturing each of the participants for individual journeys toward his or her own individual of spiritual growth. Male and female both must tend the hearth and both must venture forth.

The Seed

A successful business man was growing old and knew it was time to choose a successor to take over the business.Instead of choosing one of his directors or his children, he decided to do something different. He called all the young executives in his company together.

He said, "It is time for me to step down and choose the next CEO. I have decided to choose one of you." The young executives were shocked, but the boss continued. "I am going to give each one of you a SEED today - one very special SEED. I want you to plant the seed, water it, and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from the seed I have given you. I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next CEO."

One man, named Jim, was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly, told his wife the story. She helped him get a pot, soil and compost and he planted the seed.

Everyday, he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other executives began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow. Jim kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew. Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by, still nothing. By now, others were talking about their plants, but Jim didn't have a plant and he felt like a failure.

Six months went by - still nothing in Jim's pot. He just knew he had killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Jim didn't say anything to his colleagues, however. He just kept watering and fertilizing the soil - He so wanted the seed to grow.

A year finally went by and all the young executives of the company brought their plants to the CEO for inspection. Jim told his wife that he wasn't going to take an empty pot. But she asked him to be honest about what happened. Jim felt sick at his stomach, it was going to be the most embarrassing moment of his life, but he knew his wife was right. He took his empty pot to the board room. When Jim arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other executives. They were beautiful -- in all shapes and sizes. Jim put his empty pot on the floor and many of his colleagues laughed, a few felt sorry for him!

When the CEO arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted his young executives. Jim just tried to hide in the back. "My, what great plants, trees, and flowers you have grown," said the CEO. "Today one of you will be appointed the next CEO!" All of a sudden, the CEO spotted Jim at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered the financial director to bring him to the front. Jim was terrified. He thought, "The CEO knows I'm a failure! Maybe he will have me fired!"

When Jim got to the front, the CEO asked him what had happened to his Seed, Jim told him the story.

The CEO asked everyone to sit down except Jim. He looked at Jim, and then announced to the young executives, "Behold your next Chief Executive! His name is Jim!"

Jim couldn't believe it. Jim couldn't even grow his seed. How could he be the new CEO the others said?

Then the CEO said, "One year ago today, I gave everyone in this room a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today.

But, I gave you all boiled seeds; they were dead - it was not possible for them to grow. All of you, except Jim, have brought me trees and plants and flowers.

When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Jim was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new Chief Executive!"

Chilly Weekend

It was a very nice weather for the weekend. I spent most of the time at the beach although it’s still a little bit chilly. Here comes the spring! True, it was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.

The house is still messy. The contractor said it’s going to take 3-4 weeks to finish the bathroom. Oh my! It would be nice though to have a steam shower by then, so exciting!