A PARADoXiCaL LiFE

The Challenge…

2009-04-03T21:32:00.001+08:00

This is just one of the many challenges that I have decided to take to make our December 2009 wedding a success.

Don’t get me wrong though, I am not saying that one needs to be thin to be beautiful. I’ve always believed, despite the many detractors, that I am beautiful ;-). However, after seeing some pictures in our first prenuptial shoot, I had the urge to do something.

Realizing how huge your man-boobs can really change once perspective.

Aside from that, is the realization that I am not getting any younger and my body simply cannot carry my weight. I have a hard time playing full-time basketball, that is playing with intensity in both offense and defense, and always have an aching back after a night of badminton.

The goal is to lose at least 30 lbs by November. Do y’all think that’s doable?

Decommissioning my Friendster blog...

2008-10-06T16:04:00.001+08:00

Recently, Friendster upgraded their blog service to use the WordPress platform. I guess this was one of their efforts to win back users who have since gone off to other networks in search for better functionality and more user-friendly user interfaces.

Unfortunately, this only made it easier for me to export my files out of their system and into my WordPress account on http://ryansalvanera.wordpress.com

So now, I am officially decommissioning my first-ever blog...

The Early Bird Catches The Early Plane

2008-10-06T14:30:00.001+08:00

Last Friday, our female co-workers requested that we accompany them to the airport for their trip the following day. Although we are usually gentlemen *ahem* we were a little reluctant because their flight was at around seven in the morning. This meant that we had to be at the airport at around five... and it is almost close to impossible for my two housemates to wake up that early on a weekend. Still, our gentlemen instincts took over and we ended up saying "Yes"

At first, they wanted us to pick them up at five but, being the pessimistic guy, I told them that we need to be there a little earlier in case "something crazy" comes up. It took us awhile to get their stuff loaded into our cars. Boy, did they go on some shopping sprees... As we were leaving, I motioned for them to go ahead of us since they still have to return the rental car.

I drove around the airport thrice before I asked Franz (who was in his sleeping clothes) to get out and start looking for them... and I still had to drive two more times before I finally saw them. Apparently, there were some issues with the paperwork of the car rental. I dropped off their luggage and asked my housemates to accompany the ladies to their respective airline counters (since they had different routes) and that I would go around one more time.

Three more rounds and still no sign of my housemates. I knew something was up. Finally, I saw them... but still with one of our ladies. At first I thought that her flight was canceled but apparently, she had some issues with her luggage (thanks to those shopping sprees I bet). The airline was asking her to pay a whooping $600 for excess weight. Whoa! I pulled up the car but since this was a no stop zone, we just starting grabbing things out of her luggage and throwing them into the trunk.

This time, I told them that I'd give them a good fifteen minutes before I circle back. I found myself a gas station and grabbed a bottle of Starbucks Mocha because I was just so sleepy. I picked them up, who had a couple more items in their hands (from the luggage), and we finally left the airport at almost seven.

All I can say is, good thing we decided to shave off those couple of minutes... Whew!

Note: Apologies for the corny title. =P

Adidas King of the Road Marathon at GK Expo '08

2008-09-19T20:12:00.001+08:00

Got this from Gia:

Adidas King of the Road
Oct. 11, 2008 - Saturday
GK Expo Grounds - Fort Bonifacio

Race starts at 5:30AM
28th Street in front of Honda

Hug A Developer

2008-09-04T02:19:00.000+08:00

I have since moved out of Software Development but I certainly had my share of these pains...

Thanks to Jojo and Rico for the link.

Name That Code!

2008-08-13T17:46:00.000+08:00

Only 58% :( Then again, I guess this proves that I am not a geek!!! =D

Thanks to Jeremy for the link...

Where the hell is Math?

2008-06-25T10:22:00.000+08:00

I got this from RD. Interesting video...

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

Lesson From Narnia

2008-06-06T00:17:00.001+08:00

I watched The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian with a couple of officemates today (free movie nights!!!).

It was a big confusing at first since I did not watch the first movie. Luckily, the plot became clearer as the movie went on. Thanks to my seat mate, Ej, for filling me in on some of the details.

*Warning: Minor spoiler*

What stuck to my mind was this conversation?

C: "I do not think I am ready [to become King of Narnia]"
A: "It's for that reason, I know you are."

Very simple yet very profound... and the funny thing was that I was just talking about this very idea/philosophy with a good friend of mine.

I hope that I will also have this philosophy and that I do not become influenced by the "instant-gratification" trend common in today's generation.

PDL Update

2008-05-03T22:04:00.001+08:00

As always, my busy schedule caused me to forget about blogging. Fortunately, it did not cause me to miss the PDL sessions.

I do not want to go into details but there were some realizations that I just want to share...

I was/am really down in my spiritual life. Ever since I went to the US last year, I've found it harder to let go and let God. There was something about living there that makes one feel that everything is within reach and one starts to make up the idea that we do not need Him
The craziness that happened to our community (CFC, FLL...) affected me a lot. So much so that I was still nurturing some ill feelings towards fellow members whom I felt left us.

At least now that I've brought this out in the open... I can start taking actions to fix 'em.

God bless!

PDL Journey has began

2008-04-10T00:15:00.001+08:00

First of all, thanks to Lei for letting me have her PDL book. =)

Unfortunately, I missed one day so I will need to read two chapters in one day contrary to what is recommended by the author.

Day 1 simply reiterated that "It all starts with God." Now, this idea has been with me for the longest time. It was the same teaching that we passed on in Singles For Christ and even way back when we were in Youth For Christ. First day always talked about God's Love and his plan for us.

Given this, it would be natural to expect that it would be a breeze for me to accept the teaching. Unfortunately, I realized that this time around I had more questions. There were things that I accepted before, maybe even blindly, that were not so easy to accept. Although this worries me, I decided to continue on this journey and see where it leads me. I hope that He will help me find a way to overcome my doubts and lead me back to him.

God bless!

For those interested to try out this journey, please feel free to get in touch with me...

PDL journey delayed

2008-04-09T01:07:00.001+08:00

Unfortunately, I was not able to start with my PDL journey today. (Sorry, accountability partner Nicky.) I had thought I had my book boxed up somewhere but apparently, I was wrong =p

Luckily for me, my teammate Lei has a copy so I asked her if I could borrow it for awhile. She was not really into the book so she gladly let me borrowed it.

Anyway, I guess I will start my starting over tomorrow.

...

I know, I know... the image is so geeky! :p

Purpose Driven Life

2008-04-08T01:36:00.001+08:00

Earlier we had the orientation for a workshop that we will have for the next seven Mondays. As expected, it will be based on Rick Warren's best-seller, The Purpose Driven Life.

Nicky has actually been trying to convince me for the longest time to join him in this since he took part in the workshop last year. Of course, I always had the craziest excuses to avoid it. Anyway, to make a long story short, I started to feel spiritually drained and, after a chat session, Nicky initiated another workshop and invited people from the old SFC chapter.

The orientation went pretty well although it did get a little intense (at least for me) because the topic being discussed was something that has been bothering me for awhile... the EAST A1E chapter, our chapter.

I miss the good ol' days when we had a good vibrant chapter. The time when we actually trusted each other with our deepest secrets because we trusted and cared for another.

Anyway, I think I have finally come to the realization tonight that those days are over and there's just no way to go back. A lot of the leaders and members have left and it's now up to the few of us. We either quit on the chapter too or find a way to start over again.

I choose to start over again.

58 hours and counting...

2008-03-31T01:08:00.001+08:00

Yup, that's how long I have not been feeling well...

It started around 3pm last Friday so I decided to leave work early and head straight home. Since then, I did not leave our place until around 10pm earlier when I went down for a massage.

I don't know about everyone else but I just don't like this feeling at all. My body clock is all messed up again because I've been sleeping a lot and I cannot seem to concentrate on any task... I even find it hard to finish a PSP game.

Oh man, I just wish I'd feel a little better when I wake up later so I can at least go to work and actually get something done there. Also, I really want to attend the fellowship with my SFC family.

Testing Multiply's cross-posting feature from Blogger

2008-03-30T20:13:00.001+08:00

I have been using Windows Live Writer to author my blog posts ever since it got out of beta.

Unfortunately, it is not supported by multiply.com and manually cross-posting was such an annoyance so I decided to "revive" my blogspot and use the cross-posting feature instead.

This is just a test post to see if the feature works correctly.

Testing image upload as well...

Good bye, blogger!

2006-07-30T14:49:00.000+08:00

I have finally decided to move to a new blogging home. This will be my last post on blogger/blogspot. Please wait for a few seconds and you will be re-directed to my new home. If not, click on this link instead...

http://ryansalvanera.wordpress.com

Sorry, tabulas friends... :-)

moving soon...

2006-07-26T14:09:00.000+08:00

I will be moving this blog to another hosting site soon...

I am still deciding between a couple of options but I should come up with a decision by next week. As if anyone checks this regularly =P

By the way, given these choices, which would you pick and why?

www.i.ph
www.tabulas.com
www.wordpress.com
www.blogger.com
any other suggestions?

Also, for all you blog hoppers out there, you might want to check out Newsgator or Bloglines. These are really good to keep you updated on all the blogs that you monitor. Enjoy!

Global Leaders Conference

2006-07-11T23:40:00.000+08:00

I attended the Global Leaders Conference two weeks ago. I must say that in all the conferences that I have been to in this community (YFC and SFC), this was one of the most powerful and inspiring event that I've been to.

The speakers were able to drive their point but what really got to me where the sharers. The sharers were so empowered that they shared the most intimate details of their lives to the crowd of 700. Details which most of us would choose to keep to ourselves, or maybe simply choose confide to a chosen few. But the sharers were bold enough knowing that this is what everyone needed to hear.

Here are a few lessons and insights which I got from them:

Evil continues to spread. Satan is real. The war is real

We experienced this first hand on our way to the GLF.
First, Hannah and Kaye had to work overtime for their projects. Thank goodness Len came to the rescue so we found someone to write with.
Next, Len had a minor accident on the way to Pasong Tamo where we were supposed to meet.
Finally, we witnessed a man get thrown off his bike while we were on the way to the venue.
All this was meant to keep us or scare us away from the GLF.

We can never just stay HERE. Whether we like it or not, our destiny is to go out there & fight.

We have to go out of our comfort zones.
We have to continue learning and growing in our faith.

We are not too poor to give.

The poorest of the poor can still give. I believe this was said by one of the sisters from Africa.

The sharing by a sister from Canada showed the real evil of pre-marital sex

How abortion was so rampant
How it was a simple service.. a service to eliminate life
How I wish these kinds of sharings would also be available to YFC so that there eyes may also be opened to the culture of death that is spreading.

Again, these are just a few of what I took home from the conference. There were more eye-openers but explaining them here might just lead to more confusion to those who did not attend, especially about the talk on spiritual deepening. So for those who didn't make it, try to be there next time.. =)

By the way, here are some pictures from the event.

SAGIP July birthday celebrants

2006-07-11T23:08:00.000+08:00

I just checked out the other Ryan's blog and realized that I haven't posted the pictures I took last Saturday during the SAGIP Party for July Birthday celebrants. Anyway, I won't talk about the event anymore since Ryan talked about this in his blog already. Instead, I'll just give the link to the pictures. Check them out here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/ryan.salvanera/20060708SAGIPJulyParty

===
Oh yeah, it was the first time that I was able to attend a full SAGIP session and I just want to honour all the facilitators. I don't think I'll ever develop the patience that they showed towards the SAGIP kids.

Failure as a leader

2006-07-02T23:59:00.000+08:00

No! This is not about the CLP that I wrote about the last time around. Read on...

===

Time and time again, I have been praised by parents & CFCs. They say that I am a good speaker and most importantly a good leader.

Such praises are really heart-warming but, as I suddenly reflected today, I came to realize that they are way off-target. I came to realize that all that I did as a YFC leader in the past were... well, part of the past. They no longer mattered.

What matters now is how my leadership then have molded our member's future..

And in this area, I have been a real FAILURE. Look at the YFCs that I used to lead.. Where are they now? Are they still in YFC? Have they crossovered? Honestly, I don't know where most of them have gone.

I just hope that someday, my failures as a leader may be overcome by the Lord's grace & mercy.

May God be praised..

===

Update: Thank you for those who wrote comments (and sent me messages offline). In retrospect, I now believe that this was an attack by the enemy during my low moment. He probably tried to make me feel that I was incompetent to stop me from continuing my work, my mission. Again, thank you for egging me on. God bless!

What's up w/ Praise & Fashion?

2006-07-01T23:59:00.000+08:00

If you are not from the CFC community then you have probably never heard of this. To summarize, Praise & Fashion is supposedly one way to praise our Lord. It was supposed to showcase the lifestyle w/c the community promotes.

I say supposedly b'coz, as the title might have given away, I do not agree w/ it. Ever since it started back in the YFC days, I have had nothing good to say about it. I have hurled questions on this matter but no answers have fully satisfied my inquiry so my opinion of it has not changed through the years.

For me, it does nothing worthwhile for the community. I say give us more sessions, more talks & more workshops; but please don't make me sit there & watch this nonsense.

Don't get me wrong though. Just because I am bashing an activity of SFC does not mean I will quit being active in the community. Of course not! I may not agree w/ the activities of my community & ministry but I will remain faithful to my God.

May God be praised!!!

Text Me Not #1

2006-06-30T23:59:00.000+08:00

I recently received a text message that went something like this:

2 w0rds dAt gUy nd gUrL d0nt wAnt 2 hir nd afrAid of: 4 a gUrL,"its ovEr.."4 a guy,"im dELayEd.."ühahah!Tama db?=p

Sure, people would argue that it is just a forwarded message, a joke which should not be taken seriously. However, I believe that such statements should be worthy of a second look.

4 a gUrL,"its ovEr.."
Why? If the guy does not want him, then to hell with him. It should be a mutual thing, it should also be just as scary for the guy to hear these words. If not, then there was something wrong in their relationship in the first place. Unfortunately though, this is some truth in this. A lot of girls I know become so dependent on their boyfriends that it becomes so hard for them to move on.

4 a guy,"im dELayEd.."
Funny? Not really? If you meant it when you said "I love you" before you had pre-marital sex (I assume that most married couples would be glad to have a baby), then you should not be afraid of the results of your actions. If a girl is stupid enough to have pre-marital sex with someone, at least make sure that he is responsible enough. Here's a suggestion, go ahead and tell that boyfriend of yours that you are delayed. If he runs out, then at least you found out early on that it was all BS. If he stays, you were still stupid to have sex with him in the first place, but at least you were lucky enough to find a responsible man.

Bato-bato sa langit, ang tamaan wag magagalit..

Back to playing the game I first loved

2006-06-27T17:39:00.000+08:00

Nope, not basketball. As much as I am addicted (that's what my GG calls it) to basketball, it is not the first game that I fell in love with. My first "real" sport was tennis. I started young, hitting, or trying at least, balls at the UP tennis courts with my sisters friends.

When we moved to Jakarta, I became more into it. My dad hired a personal instructor to teach my bro and myself. That didn't help much though since he was not really a professional. But since I was so into it, I bought books and magazines about tennis, and spent countless hours hitting the ball against our garage wall. Something that my mom did not really appreciate =P

My dad was a constant winner in monthly FILCOMIN (Filipino Community in Indonesia) tennis tournaments. When Kuya and I first joined, another Salvanera entered the medal tally. Unfortunately, it wasn't me. Kuya won in our first tournament we joined while I ended up without a trophy. What made it worst was that there were only six of us in that division so I ended up as the butt of all my brother's jokes. And if you know my brother, he can really get under your skin. =) Peace, bro!

Anyway, call me a sore loser but I stopped joining those tournaments for more than half a year. I did not stop playing though. I continued hitting the balls in our garage, reading all those books and magazines, and playing against some friends.

After a while, I decided to join the tournaments again and showed significant improvement. I won numerous medals and trophies, even bagging the MVP trophy for the year 1993, just before I finished high school. When I entered the university, I was still very much into tennis. I even joined the varsity team but, somewhere along the way, the excitement I got from the game was lost. Maybe it died down when dad passed away, maybe it was because more people were into basketball or maybe I just burned out. In any case, I'm back.

I may not have the same stroke or same volleys as before, but the important thing is I enjoyed myself on the court. In the end, that's all that matters. Of course, winning is always a bonus.

On a sad note, one of my favourite tennis players will be retiring soon. Andre Agassi has decided to say goodbye to the game (at least professionally) after 22 years.

Goodbye, Andre! Thanks for the wonderful memories!

The Eagle will not fly without the poor

2006-06-27T10:21:00.000+08:00

I got this link from TA's blog entry: Man for Others

The Eagle will not fly without the poor

(Address delivered by Antonio P. Meloto, executive director of Gawad Kalinga, a nationwide rehabilitation program for communities, during the commencement exercises for the Ateneo’s School of Humanities and School of Social Sciences on March 25, 2006, in Loyola Heights, Quezon City.)

Why Blog?

2006-06-26T22:47:00.000+08:00

Actually, I don't have an idea why I keep this blog. I figured that it was a good way to keep my friends (who are scattered all over the world) updated about my life. But, come to think of it, I don't really think many of them are even aware that this exists.

Hmmm... Maybe, just maybe, this blog was inspired by one of my favourite TV shows when I was a kid: Doogie Howser, MD. I know, I am trying to be psychological about it but, hey, this is my blog so just play along...

The teenage genius Doogie Howser, portrayed by Neil Patrick Harris, kept a digital journal on his computer which he updated at the end of each episode and I was always fascinated with that. (Nope, it was not an online journal. Back then, the Internet was unknown to the public yet. No jokes about my age!) Since then I've kept numerous journals which I've kept in my own secret place ;-) No, I will not share these journals here. The details in it are not for public consumption. Hehe..

Coach Ryan

2006-06-25T22:39:00.000+08:00

I created this post a few weeks before we had our first lost in two years. I guess losing was not that far off from happening after all. The good thing about it though was that I was right. Losing certainly brought out their character as a team.

Again, Congratulations to Team Enema!

This is the second coaching stint for me. For two straight years, I have been asked by Team Enema to coach them. Last year, they were 11-0, sweeping all the games from eliminations to the semis up to the finals. This year, despite a change in lineup, they are well on their way to yet another sweep.

Most people would think that this wonderful record is the reason why I stayed on as caoch. Truth be told, if I had a choice, I would want this team to lose a game. Why? Because that would be the best way to teach them what I wanted to teach them in the first place. You see, basketball is not simply a game to me, basketball thought me discipline and this is what I aspire to give to these kids.

Losing would have thought this team so much more than winning but since I cannot ask them to lose intentionally, I try to do the next best thing. I try to teach them while winning. Fouling hard is allowed, but cheap shots will not be tolerated. Complaining to the refs are ok, but getting T's will keep you in the bench (starter or not) even in the final minutes. Trash talking is ok but, after the game, I expect everyone to share hands and be real sportsmen.

For me, one can have that killer instinct, going for a 103-48 blowout, without being arrogant about it. I'd love to lose a game just to teach these kinds to be gracious in defeat.. but since that is far from happening, I'll just continue to teach them to be humble winners.

SFC Basketball [Update]

2006-06-21T16:48:00.000+08:00

Just to update everyone, we lost in the championship game last Sunday. It was a really frustrating game for us. Nobody (apart from Brian) had a good game. Our passes were easily read and intercepted by the opponent. Easy shots were missed. There were some missed calls by the referee but I have to admit that it did not really affect our game. Diana was right, we deserved that ass-whoopin'. We simply did not play our game...

Of course, it was not all that bad. I really thank our loyal fanatics who continued to cheer (although they sometimes got mad at us) despite our lousy game.

Also, congratulations to the 3-Point King, BJ, and Freethrow Queen, Diana!

Updates.. Updates..

2006-06-17T00:39:00.000+08:00

It's been an eternity since my last post! Oh well, what's new, right? The bad thing about it is that I did have lots of stories to tell but I've just been so busy lately that I never had the time to write them down here. I try to avoid blogging at work and I usually just doze off when I get home. Weekends were never an option either since my schedule was always full... I guess I did not follow my own Blogging 101 tip.

Anyway, here's a summary of what went on during the last couple of weeks. I decided to write in bullet points to make it easier. Click on the sub-headings to view pictures on Multiply.

Teambuilding @ Villa Escudero - 20060610
:: Airline Operations and Recovery team went to Villa Escudero with Russel (from Austin) and Alma (from Auckland)
:: Traffic sucked so we got there just in time for lunch, which was the only thing I had time for.
:: I did not get to spend much time with the rest of the team because I had to rush back to Cainta to coach Enema.

VEEH Summer Basketball 2006

RubySoHo Basketball

Back-to-back champions in the Senior division

Did not play in all the games (was even benched at times) but I did play considerable minutes in the crucial games

Had to wear goggles because of an my eye's allergic reaction to contact lens solution

None of my teammates were chosen to be part of the subdivision's All Star team that played against the (ex) PBA All Stars. Ain't that supposed to be for the champs?

Enema Basketball

Back-to-back champions in the Junior division
Realization: Coaching is more stressful than playing
Lost first game in two years! It was a shame but, at the same time, it was something that the team needed. It tested the team's character, and they passed with flying colours.

CB Basketball
:: First time to play in an SFC Inter-Chapter Basketball tournament. I was in the OZ mission trip last time.
:: Breezed through the first game but had some difficulties in the second game.
:: Will be in the finals tomorrow against Taytay. They have a pretty big and tough team so let's see what happens.

Nana in Manila (Sorry! No pictures yet!)
:: This is Nana's second time in Manila since I got here.
:: We only got to hang out twice but, as always, we had a blast.
:: It was fun seeing Hazel and Fredo again.
:: Alaine met this Jakarta bunch for the first time (she's only met Cal, Franz and Aldo), and she totally loved them. Her grandma was also very fond of them.

Izar in Manila (Sorry! No pictures yet!)
:: Izar's first of a series of business trips to Manila
:: It was great to hangout with her again. She's still as wacky as before, and she's one of the most down-to-earth girl I know
:: Alaine totally loved Izar as well. She especially loves her crazy antics like "Why not coconut?"

CLP Graduation and "Outing"
:: The CLP is finally over and we have four new graduates.
:: The graduation ceremony was supposed to be done together with the Chapter Outing last Saturday. Unfortunately, the outing to Loreland resort did not push through because of the thunderstorm causing some major traffic
:: I had to walk from Village East to Junction so that I could get a ride to the Gonzales' place (where the event finally pushed through)
:: I slept outside their gate for awhile since they were still stuck in traffic

Till the next update!!!

Banana Boat Pictures

2006-05-22T17:26:00.000+08:00

These are not really something I should be proud of.. but since I want my friends to have a good laugh, here you go: http://www.flickr.com/photos/71219990@N00/sets/72057594141876513/

Missing the simple things in life

2006-05-19T08:31:00.000+08:00

I just realized that my posts about the ongoing CLP have mostly been negative stuffs. I guess that's what happens when I get so pressured by the many pressing things and activities that I am in. I tend to rant about the smallest misfortunes and forget about the blessings that I have been receiving.

Come to think of it, I have had some huge blessings to be thankful for. My wonderful family who supported my mission trip to Aussie (which I have not yet written about). Well, they really support me in anything that I get into. Then there's my new job. It was a timely change in environment which I really needed.

But what I really want to talk about are the little things that have been keeping me afloat despite all the craziness that's been happening in the CLP, and in my other commitments.

I am thankful for

my girlfriend, Alaine, who has been the recipient of many of my complaints yet she continues to be very encouraging. Despite my grumpiness she maintains a positive attitude and keeps me going.
my partner in the CLP, Dianne, who continues to be very supportive and patient with me when I get all grumpy.
my chaptermates who always have some needed words of wisdom for me.
those who took on the roles of DGL.
those who helped me find replacements for the speakers.
for so many more "little" blessings that I have been given.

I know that I'll continue to encounter some bad times, and I might rant about them here, but I also know that despite these, there are far more blessings to be thankful for. I hope I can rave about them more than I rant though. Hmmm... kinda like the dilemma about praying only when we have problems, but that's a whole new topic =)

Who ever said serving in SFC will make life easier?

2006-05-15T14:59:00.000+08:00

Nobody!!! It's a good thing too because that person would have an earful of my frustrations right now.

Things have not been going smoothly at all.

Low number of participants.
Speakers pulling out at the last minute.
DGLs getting too busy.
ADGLs not wanting to take over.

I am just so dissapointed right now. Sure, the ADGLs are not really required to take over but it just makes me wonder whatever happened to being mission-ready. I knew I was not ready for this team leader position but I forced myself to step up to the challenge because this is what SFC is all about. Going beyond yourself to be of service to Him and to others.

There are other things that are frustrating me, but then again I have been pretty touchy lately. I've been spreading myself too thin lately (sorry for the term, I know "thin" it does not really apply well to me) and it's been causing some slight breakdowns =P

Blogging 101: Lesson #1

2006-05-11T01:14:00.000+08:00

This is not something I read from an article but simply based on my experience as a neophyte writer.

Lesson #1 : When an idea pops-up, write it down ASAP! Be it a draft or a simple outline or else the idea might be lost forever.

1st Company Outing

2006-04-26T02:27:00.000+08:00

The recent company outing was nothing compared to last year's when the whole company flocked the shores of Boracay. Still, it was good enough for me since it was my first time in Puerto Galera. I know, I know.. pathetic, huh!!!

In my opinion, the outing was not as well organized as I would have liked. The dining area did not have enough cover for everyone so some people had to eat their meals under the sun. Talk about a hot meal. The there was the over-extended presentations by the resort staff. Ok, they had really good dancers and some talented bartenders but it was not spectacular. If they were celebrities, it would have been ok but since they were not, we were more excited to see our officemates jamming and dancing away. And, oh, a fuse blew up causing further delay. Grrr...

With all these mishaps and more, one could not imagine that I would actually end up having a great time, but I really did. Somehow I managed to have a good time. Thanks to the following:

The banana boat ride, after which nobody wanted to ride with me again. (I will be uploading pix on this soon)
A teammate who became an instant superstar thanks to his drunken master moves.
Simply hanging out with the teammates

I have posted the pictures I took on my site. Check them out!
Note: If the slideshow does not run, please place the cursor on your browser's address bar and press TAB until a message displays on the upper-left instructing you to press SPACEBAR or ENTER.

Problems with my BlogSpot

2006-04-19T17:15:00.000+08:00

My friend cnbgirl told me that she could not leave comments on my blog.

Upon further investigation (naks!), I found out that the problem occurs when my personalized domain name ( http://ryansalvaneraonline.ph ) is used.

If you want to leave a comment, please make sure you use this URL: http://ryansalvanera.blogspot.com

CLP woes

2006-04-08T13:01:00.000+08:00

One of the things that really downed my spirits in my service was because of the recent setbacks we faced in the CLP. I'm not sure if I mentioned this before but I am currently the Team Leader in the Christian Life Program for our chapter. We only have 4 participants but I am nonetheless optimistic because they have shown a very high interest for the community.

Recently though, two speakers informed me that they have problems with the schedule, one will be going to Cagayan for a training at work while the other is going to Mindanao. I just felt like such a failure as a leader. I know that I have no control over it but somehow I just felt bad. Now, I will be forced to take on the next talk since finding a replacement will be close to impossible. I can't take on the other talk because I too will be out of town on that day for a summer outing at my new work.

Yet, I still found a blessing from Him despite this setback. That talk that I am "forced" to deliver is Talk 6 - Loving Your Neighbour. It is a blessing because this is a topic that I have really wanted to do for the longest time. If you know me, you would know that LOVE is one of my favourite topics, and you will know why I was called Dr. Love-less before. :)

Thank you, Lord for allowing me to see the blessings instead of focusing on the problems.

To be a servant or to be successful?

2006-04-07T23:30:00.000+08:00

I was having a serious dilemna about my service in our community, Singles For Christ. There are times that I get this feeling that the success in my career is being held back by my service.

Lately however, I realized that I was not being held back by anything or anyone other than myself. I have all the potential to become successful but I have chosen not to use them. Yes, I might come off as an egoistical know-it-all with this statement but this does not just come from me but from other people as well. Of course, it is expected from my family but my former supervisor swears that I have the potential to go places. Those that I have served with in YFC, SFC and Rotaract believes in me as well. Not to mention the numerous colleagues that I have worked with over the years who always have a high regard for me.

And just like the realization that I was the one holding myself back, I now realize that all that potential will not do me any good. Just like what my brother said, potential is overrated, it won't get you anywhere. It is how you make use of that potential. In the same way, we all have a calling, it is up to us what we want to do with that call.

I just hope that it is not too late for me to utilize this potential, this gift that God has given me. I know now that I choose what I want from my life. I am in control. I choose to be both. I choose to be a successful servant.

I am such a lucky guy...

2006-04-05T14:25:00.000+08:00

I was being an O.C. the other day, cleaning up the files and organizing the folders on my laptop when I came upon a file which is a couple of months old. The movie was created by my girlfriend for our one year anniversary. What makes it special is that she has never used Windows Movie Maker before and she is not really a techie like myself but she took the effort because she wanted to surprise me.

And surprise me she did. She told me that it was a CVC report she was preparing for her office and that she wanted my opinion.

Teenagers, lovers and stairs..

2006-04-05T10:38:00.000+08:00

A couple of months ago someone posted a comment on about how teenagers loved hanging out near stairs. I agreed w/o question.

While walking around a mall the other, I noticed another "kind" that has the same habit... lovers. Here's proof to that:
People, if you need to have a private conversation, please go to a restaurant.. If you don't have enough cash, Jollibee or McDo will do. If you're totally out of it, take a walk somewhere.. But please stay away from the stairs.

=====
Note: I've actually stayed by the stairs w/ my girlfriend before... when the cinema was full.Ü

Moments of Love

2006-04-03T15:20:00.000+08:00

Yup, I actually watched that cheesy movie "Moments of Love" last Sat. And yes, I did enjoy it a bit. The storyline was pretty predictable but there were some good funny lines.

What irritated me were the people sitting behind us who don't seem to know the meaning of whisper. Aargh!!! So you know the next scene, WHO CARES.. I wanted to shut them up, but my GG wouldn't let me. I guess they're too old to learn new tricks anyway. Sorry.. just ranting!!!

By the way, I tried to search "Moments of Love movie" on the net and there's actually a porn movie of the same title. Hehe

Switching Jobs (Ano Tingin Mo Sa Team8 Mo?)

2006-03-24T13:26:00.000+08:00

Yesterday I attended my very first meeting with our team. It's no big deal really since I've had lots of opportunities to be with the team anyway.

Two weeks into the team, we had the "Team Retreat", although it was more of a teambuilding really. Then, there's the badminton and the basketball games. Of course, there's the usual merienda session with them, and just last friday we had a mini despidida for one of our teammates who will be moving on to another team within the company.

Anyway, the fun thing about this first meeting was the continuation of an activity from Baguio called "Ano Tingin Mo Sa Team8 Mo?" Here, we were asked to evaluate our teammates by rating them against these criterias:

Humble	vs.	Hambog
Shy	vs.	Kapal-Muks
Knowledgeable	vs.	Nagmamarunong
Approachable	vs.	Isnabero
Funny	vs.	Korny

Back in Baguio, our manager wanted honesty to be prevailent so we used codenames. Under these dosguises, we would be daring enough to really say how we felt about each other. Now, he wanted to promote open communication. Uh oh... We were to go around in circles and telling each other why we rated them that way. Yikes! It was a good thing none of them made a bad impression on me so I didn't rate them poorly.

As far as their rating on me, I wouldn't say that it was accurate but it was ok, I guess. I wouldn't know how to rate myself either. :) It was more or less consistent though. Everyone's rating were towards being Humble, Knowledgeable, Approachable and Funny. There was only one that went against the flow, so to speak. One actually said I was shy while everyone else tells me that I'm kapal-muks (in a positive way, or so they say).

Anyway, I still have lots of adjustments to make. For now, all I can say is that this team has yet to know me. They have only just began to see the tip of the iceberg.

No Worries, Mate!!!

2006-03-17T13:12:00.000+08:00

I had heaps of fun last October when I went on my first mission trip out of the country. I am no stranger to mission trips, as I have been on two such activities during my YFC days when we went to Zambales and Burias Island to spread the word about our community, but this was certainly something new for me. I was actually going to fly off to another country, meet new people from a different culture and spread the word with a team that I have barely gotten to know. I was really excited!!!

That excitement suddenly turned to anxiety when, a week before the trip, I was asked to lead one-half of the mission team. It turned out that we had booked separate flights, one half going to Melbourne while the other (that's us) would be flying to Sydney. Back then, I really don't know why I was chosen to lead that team, apart from the fact that I was the one who gave all these suggestions and kept blabbing. I gotta learn to shut my trap! :-) Everyone in that team was far more experienced than myself. Then again, who was I to say no to a blessing.

I do not want to get into each detail since it was such a full trip that one single blog entry would not do justice to it. Looking back, it was amazing how God worked during the whole trip. The team leader of the whole OZ team told us during our pre-mission training that we should prepare ourselves yet be flexible enough to God's call because He is still in control. True enough, He led the way all throughout the trip.

He found a way for a mission team (that's us!) to reach Canberra on a weekend because that's when the SFC members are free. He made us go back to Sydney, even if we wanted to visit Melbourne, because we had a job to do their. We were to bring back the excitement into SFC Sydney and prepare them for the teachings that the second team was to bring.

We were sad that we had to leave Sydney because everyone there were so good to us, but still we are happy because we know that we had accomplished the mission that God wanted us to do.

To end this post, I would just like to thank some very special people who made our stay a truly memorable one. My hats off to Ian, Tristan, Jorge, Coy and Che. We will see each other some day. I love you all..

I'm coming out..

2006-03-13T10:41:00.000+08:00

I swear I am not talking about myself. I am referring to Rustom Padilla's claims in Pinoy Big Brother.

For those not familiar with the local showbiz scenario, Mr. Padilla was a matinee idol back in the 90's. A member of the Padilla clan (with the Bad Boy of Philippine cinema, Robin, as the most prominent among them), Rustom was once envied by many Filipinos because of his marriage to the beautiful Carmina Villaruel.

Anyway, that's enough about him, you can just do a search on him through google or msn. What I am more interested was his admission that he was indeed homosexual, a question that has been in the minds of many viewers even before his participation in the show. I have to admit that it was a courageous act. A lot of homosexuals remain in the closet because of fear and security. And for those who gather enough guts to do so don't really do it on a 24-hour show.

Yet, one thing bothers me about this revealation. The perfect timing.. Just when he was nominated for eviction from the house. It didn't stop there, the next day the famous brother I mentioned earlier visited them on the show! Perfect timing.. Just perfect!

Note: I wrote this entry as soon as Rustom made his statement but misplaced the file :-P

LoNG OVERDuE SeRiES

2006-03-09T15:15:00.000+08:00

A lot of memorable events have happened in my life these last few months. Unfortunately, I have not had the time to really write about them. So, I will begin a serious of long overdue posts which will include (but not limited to.. I sound like some freakin' legal document..) the following (in no specific order):

SFC Int'l Leaders Conference (ILC) in Bauio
Switching Jobs
Solvers Team Retreat in Baguio
Aussie Mission Trip
Happy Home Alone New Year

Please bear with me as I start to dwell on the past..

Note: No pictures for now.. I will include them in each part of the series.

Speaker @ PLM

2006-03-06T15:04:00.000+08:00

This is long overdue since the event took place more than two months ago. To be exact, it was held last Nov 24, 2005 at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Muntinlupa.

Originally, they had asked my co-speaker, Mr. Rey Mendoza, to talk about Web Usability since this was his field of expertise. Prior to this, he already had speaking engagements at other institutions like University of the Philippines and De La Salle University. However, they needed some other topics to fill up the time slot for the symposium so they asked him to find another speaker. Guess who he found?

To be honest, I was pretty scared when he asked me to do this because this was something new for me. I've been asked to give talks before but this was a different crowd for me. I am used to giving talks in our community, but not to hundreds of strangers who might have been forced by their professors to attend. How do I keep them interested? How do I liven things up?

In the end, I accepted because I was not one to back out from a challenge. Instead of the fear, I chose to look at the opportunity of what was being offered. At some point in my career life, I am sure that I will have to do some sort of public speaking. This would be a perfect practice ground. At least if I mess up now, nothing major is at risk as compared to, say, making a sales pitch. At least I can learn from this experience and improve on my weaknesses in the process.

All in all, based on the reaction of the students and the faculty, I believe the event turned out well. For those who are interested, you may download my Career Opportunities in I.T. presentation here.

Here are some more pictures during the event.

The Organizers

The Speakers

Despidida Video

2006-03-06T14:36:00.000+08:00

I was feeling a little melancholic last week so I decided to go through the video that my former officemates made for me (the picture was the intro of the video). I just realized that I missed a lot of the messages that they gave me. I guess during that moment, my mind was wandering about the uncertainties of the future that I did not bother on the words but simply enjoyed the feeling that they actually time out to prepare a video for me.

It was the first time that they did this for a colleague who resigned, though this is probably because the technology and the gadgets were not available before. Still, it's heart-warming to know that people do care..

By the way, here's one message that really touched and inspired me:
"pero alam mo, hindi ikaw yung typical atenean na nai-stereotype ng karamihan ng mga tagaritong lasalista.. I guess much of it came from your involvement in SFC, sana dumating rin yung araw na mag-shift ka to Couples For Christ."

Forget the part about being CFC. Let's just talk about what he said about how being part of my community helped me become a better person. What made it more surprising was that it came from one of the supervisors who hardly talked about these things with me. It just feels good..

The First Post..

2006-02-28T17:17:00.000+08:00

Friendster is banned at my new office, so I decided to open up a new blog account instead. I have never been a regular poster though but lately, I have had so many thoughts and ideas and I simply need a venue where I can let them all out.

What will be the major issues I will tackle here? Actually, just about anything that comes to my mind. After all, this is my blog. There will be times that I will write about some love problems that a friend has or maybe discuss a sporting event. I might decide to make fun of someone and blog about it here. Actually, I am playing a practical joke on someone as of this writing but I will leave out the details for my next posts. Besides, I'm not yet done with the practical joke.. I could also become serious and start discussing some political issues or talk about my work.

Anyway, I'll leave it at that for now. If you have comments, feel free to write them down. I will try my best to accept all of them including the criticisms. Of course, I might have to censor some of them in case my nephews and nieces surf through my blog by mistake.