Wordless Wednesday: Alone in the moonlight

Thanks to Engr. Elbert M. Malonzo for this picture!

My very close encounter with pick pockets

While I am writing this post, I still can't believe what I did this morning. I am still shivering whenever I think of it.

Two of my nieces stayed with me for the weekend and agreed to go back home when I went to work this morning. So, we took a public transport and alighted at our destination altogether. It was 7:30 in the morning and we were walking side by side with each other. I was holding my younger niece on my left hand while the older is on my right. She had her shoulder bag on her left shoulder. As we were walking on that busy street (Shoe Avenue in Barangay Sto. Niño), I noticed two men walking very closely behind my older niece. I know these men to be pick pockets since I have long been observing them whenever I wait for a jeepney in the afternoon. So, I have kept calm, stayed walking, hoping that they would just leave since I don't think my niece got anything valuable on her bag except dirty clothes. But while I kept on walking, I am trying to look at my right to see if they're still there. And at that moment that I really turned my head to look, I caught the older pick pocket about to open my niece's bag pocket! I was so shocked, I don't know what to do and apparently what I did was to tell these bad guys in the vernacular, "kilala ko kayo" (I know who you are). I kept repeating that same line with the guy I caught and I noticed the other bad guy went to my left side and told him the same line. I guess they were intimidated and just left. They did not run, they just walked away calmly.

It was only when they left that I noticed my niece's mobile phone was on that pocket and that was what enticed those pick pockets to follow us. I was so nervous and still shivering when I came to my office. I will never forget this experience.

Just a few tips for you, guys:
1) never put any of your valuables on your bag's front and side pockets
2) always carry your bag in front of you, where you can always see it
3) be aware of the people around you wherever you are

My first tour guiding experience

The Tourism Office had long been requesting me to be a tour guide since a lot of students, local government officials and non-government agencies are visiting the City and they are understaffed.

Two days ago, I was again called by a staff of the Tourism Office and asked me if I'm available since there are 120 students from a private school who requested for a City Hall tour to study about the local government's functions. I told her I'll have to see if I'm available and that I'll call again but actually there's another reason, aside from my busy schedule, that I've been trying to say No to their request... it's because I'm quite nervous and I don't really know if I can handle a tour guiding assignment.

But yesterday, I already said yes, I'm available. So, last night when I was in bed, I had been rehearsing in my mind what I'm going to say to them. I have already memorized my opening statement and some of the things that I'm going to say about the different offices they are going to visit. I slept on it and woke up early this morning, still a bit nervous but I told myself I have to do this and if I'm not going to do it now, when will I ever have the courage to do it.

So I went to the City Hall of Marikina 30 minutes before the visitors arrived so that I can prepare myself a little bit and talk to the other tour guides since they are more experienced than I am. When the visitors came, I was still nervous and when I said my first line I'm still nervous. But I had to compose myself, I had to be brave and so I guess it was on my fourth or fifth line that I tried to relax a bit and tried to act normally.

The tour went on for a little more than two hours and my final statement went out normally and I'm glad.

Thank God for my friends

It had been a very trying and quite depressing weekend for me. There were a lot of things to think about, a lot of things that kept bothering me for a few days now and made me always cry. I know I'm not supposed to be a weakling like this but there are times that I just can't help it. There was even a time that I just wished I could die that very moment but I know it is a sin and I shouldn't even have thought about it.

Right at this very moment my life seems to be on hold. I am being observed by my doctor and it will take some time and some more tests before she could finally tell me what I am undergoing at the moment.

I just want to thank my friends through this post, who kept on praying for me, who kept on asking me how I am, who kept on telling me that I should be strong and trust God. I also thank my sister... my ate Weng who, despite having a lot of problems of her own, kept supporting me and loving me. I am so grateful for having all of you in my life. Thank you so much for your support and prayers.

I am trying to hold on, I have trusted God to give me strength to accept what is about to come but I am still praying that He will give me what I desire most.

Visiting my doctor... after two years

Since I was a child, I'm never fond of going to a doctor... I can still recall the shots that made me cry when I was small but became bearable when I was a bit older.

Just this morning, me and my good friend went to the doctor, a gynecologist actually, because I wasn't feeling good and I thought it's about time I visit a doctor since it was more than two years since I last visited her. I went there because usually my menstrual cycle was always normal... until now. I was so nervous... but then my doctor just told me "you need to have an ultrasound and then we'll talk afterward". I was really nervous and my knees really wobbled when I went out of the doctor's office. I don't know what to think of, I don't know if I'm sick with something really bad... until now I still don't know. I'll be back to see my doctor later after work and I'll have her interpret the result of my ultrasound. For now, I can do nothing but pray that I'm not sick.