2012 is already here and I am excited for the new year.  I had a great 2011, there were a lot of challenges and hardships encountered during that year, but all in all it was a great year for me and my family.

So,f or my first blog if 2012, I wanna share this article to all of you guys… It is a great read.  I found it from my FB feeds when one of my friends shared this.  Anyway, I am sharing this now to all of you.  Read and enjoy

[ credits for this article goes to: www.marcandangel.com ]

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30 Things to Stop Doing to Yourself

When you stop chasing the wrong things you give the right things a chance to catch you.

As Maria Robinson once said, “Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.”  Nothing could be closer to the truth.  But before you can begin this process of transformation you have to stop doing the things that have been holding you back.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

1. Stop spending time with the wrong people. – Life is too short to spend time with people who suck the happiness out of you.  If someone wants you in their life, they’ll make room for you.  You shouldn’t have to fight for a spot.  Never, ever insist yourself to someone who continuously overlooks your worth.  And remember, it’s not the people that stand by your side when you’re at your best, but the ones who stand beside you when you’re at your worst that are your true friends.
2. Stop running from your problems. – Face them head on.  No, it won’t be easy.  There is no person in the world capable of flawlessly handling every punch thrown at them.  We aren’t supposed to be able to instantly solve problems.  That’s not how we’re made.  In fact, we’re made to get upset, sad, hurt, stumble and fall.  Because that’s the whole purpose of living – to face problems, learn, adapt, and solve them over the course of time.  This is what ultimately molds us into the person we become.
3. Stop lying to yourself. – You can lie to anyone else in the world, but you can’t lie to yourself.  Our lives improve only when we take chances, and the first and most difficult chance we can take is to be honest with ourselves.  Read The Road Less Traveled.
4. Stop putting your own needs on the back burner. – The most painful thing is losing yourself in the process of loving someone too much, and forgetting that you are special too.  Yes, help others; but help yourself too.  If there was ever a moment to follow your passion and do something that matters to you, that moment is now.
5. Stop trying to be someone you’re not. – One of the greatest challenges in life is being yourself in a world that’s trying to make you likeeveryone else.  Someone will always be prettier, someone will always be smarter, someone will always be younger, but they will never be you.  Don’t change so people will like you.  Be yourself and the right people will love the real you.
6. Stop trying to hold onto the past. – You can’t start the next chapter of your life if you keep re-reading your last one.
7. Stop being scared to make a mistake. – Doing something and getting it wrong is at least ten times more productive than doing nothing.  Every success has a trail of failures behind it, and every failure is leading towards success.  You end up regretting the things you did NOT do far more than the things you did.
8. Stop berating yourself for old mistakes. – We may love the wrong person and cry about the wrong things, but no matter how things go wrong, one thing is for sure, mistakes help us find the person and things that are right for us.  We all make mistakes, have struggles, and even regret things in our past.  But you are not your mistakes, you are not your struggles, and you are here NOW with the power to shape your day and your future.  Every single thing that has ever happened in your life is preparing you for a moment that is yet to come.
9. Stop trying to buy happiness. – Many of the things we desire are expensive.  But the truth is, the things that really satisfy us are totally free – love, laughter and working on our passions.
10. Stop exclusively looking to others for happiness. – If you’re not happy with who you are on the inside, you won’t be happy in a long-term relationship with anyone else either.  You have to create stability in your own life first before you can share it with someone else.  Read Stumbling on Happiness.
11. Stop being idle. – Don’t think too much or you’ll create a problem that wasn’t even there in the first place.  Evaluate situations and take decisive action.  You cannot change what you refuse to confront.  Making progress involves risk.  Period!  You can’t make it to second base with your foot on first.
12. Stop thinking you’re not ready. – Nobody ever feels 100% ready when an opportunity arises.  Because most great opportunities in life force us to grow beyond our comfort zones, which means we won’t feel totally comfortable at first.
13. Stop getting involved in relationships for the wrong reasons. – Relationships must be chosen wisely.  It’s better to be alone than to be in bad company.  There’s no need to rush.  If something is meant to be, it will happen – in the right time, with the right person, and for the best reason. Fall in love when you’re ready, not when you’re lonely.
14. Stop rejecting new relationships just because old ones didn’t work. – In life you’ll realize that there is a purpose for everyone you meet.  Some will test you, some will use you and some will teach you.  But most importantly, some will bring out the best in you.
15. Stop trying to compete against everyone else. – Don’t worry about what others doing better than you.  Concentrate on beating your own records every day.  Success is a battle between YOU and YOURSELF only.
16. Stop being jealous of others. – Jealousy is the art of counting someone else’s blessings instead of your own.  Ask yourself this:  “What’s something I have that everyone wants?”
17. Stop complaining and feeling sorry for yourself. – Life’s curveballs are thrown for a reason – to shift your path in a direction that is meant for you.  You may not see or understand everything the moment it happens, and it may be tough.  But reflect back on those negative curveballs thrown at you in the past.  You’ll often see that eventually they led you to a better place, person, state of mind, or situation.  So smile!  Let everyone know that today you are a lot stronger than you were yesterday, and you will be.
18. Stop holding grudges. – Don’t live your life with hate in your heart.  You will end up hurting yourself more than the people you hate.  Forgiveness is not saying, “What you did to me is okay.”  It is saying, “I’m not going to let what you did to me ruin my happiness forever.”  Forgiveness is the answer… let go, find peace, liberate yourself!  And remember, forgiveness is not just for other people, it’s for you too.  If you must, forgive yourself, move on and try to do better next time.
19. Stop letting others bring you down to their level. – Refuse to lower your standards to accommodate those who refuse to raise theirs.
20. Stop wasting time explaining yourself to others. – Your friends don’t need it and your enemies won’t believe it anyway.  Just do what you know in your heart is right.
21. Stop doing the same things over and over without taking a break. – The time to take a deep breath is when you don’t have time for it.  If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting.  Sometimes you need to distance yourself to see things clearly.
22. Stop overlooking the beauty of small moments. – Enjoy the little things, because one day you may look back and discover they were the big things.  The best portion of your life will be the small, nameless moments you spend smiling with someone who matters to you.
23. Stop trying to make things perfect. – The real world doesn’t reward perfectionists, it rewards people who get things done.  Read Getting Things Done.
24. Stop following the path of least resistance. – Life is not easy, especially when you plan on achieving something worthwhile.  Don’t take the easy way out.  Do something extraordinary.
25. Stop acting like everything is fine if it isn’t. – It’s okay to fall apart for a little while.  You don’t always have to pretend to be strong, and there is no need to constantly prove that everything is going well.  You shouldn’t be concerned with what other people are thinking either – cry if you need to – it’s healthy to shed your tears.  The sooner you do, the sooner you will be able to smile again.
26. Stop blaming others for your troubles. – The extent to which you can achieve your dreams depends on the extent to which you take responsibility for your life.  When you blame others for what you’re going through, you deny responsibility – you give others power over that part of your life.
27. Stop trying to be everything to everyone. – Doing so is impossible, and trying will only burn you out.  But making one person smile CAN change the world.  Maybe not the whole world, but their world.  So narrow your focus.
28. Stop worrying so much. – Worry will not strip tomorrow of its burdens, it will strip today of its joy.  One way to check if something is worth mulling over is to ask yourself this question: “Will this matter in one year’s time?  Three years?  Five years?”  If not, then it’s not worth worrying about.
29. Stop focusing on what you don’t want to happen. – Focus on what you do want to happen.  Positive thinking is at the forefront of every great success story.  If you awake every morning with the thought that something wonderful will happen in your life today, and you pay close attention, you’ll often find that you’re right.
30. Stop being ungrateful. – No matter how good or bad you have it, wake up each day thankful for your life.  Someone somewhere else is desperately fighting for theirs.  Instead of thinking about what you’re missing, try thinking about what you have that everyone else is missing.

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Again, credits for this article goes to: www.marcandangel.com

you can read the article from the original site here.

Yesterday, a couple of my old elementary classmates informed me via Facebook that one of our batch mate just passed away.  I was so shocked with the news, it took a while for the info to sink in.  Even now after 24 hours have passed, its still quite hard to believe that it really happened.  In just one brief moment, someone I have known for more than 20 years, has left the world and joined our creator.

Rest in peace, Rosman “PJ” Sampulna… my friend.  We all know that you are now in a better place.  You are now back in Allah’s arms… In behalf of our family, and as a fellow batch mate from ETD ’93, we offer our condolences to the Sampulna family.

inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi rajiun

taken last December 2010... ETD 93 reunion... RIP PJ

As I have stated in my previous post (here),  reboots and sequels has become the current trend in the Movies and TV industry.  So, now here is my take on the reboot of one of my favorite 80′s cartoon series, The Thundercats.

Current Plot:

For years, the Thunderians have lived peacefully and thrived in the kingdom of Thundera. However, one night the kingdom was attacked by an army of mutant lizards, led by the evil sorcerer Mumm-ra.  A small band of Thunderians survived and flees Thundera, led by the young heir to the throne Lion-O who wields the powerful Sword of Omens.  These survivors now journey third Earth in search for the Book of Omens, a powerful artifact which contains knowledge on how to defeat Mumm-ra.

Thoughts:

So… Before anything else, I love the new character design.  Not that there was anything wrong with the old one but the new design is appealing especially to the kids these days, and to some of the oldies too.  I am not only referring to the main characters, but to the side characters as well as the villains.  The drawing on is more detailed compared to the old one, of course, plus it just looks great.

Thundercats official poster

Character designs for some of the characters

As for the new story line… I like this new story flow compared to the old one.  The side stories, plus how the events unfolded, including character development is much more better compared to the previous show.  Although, it is still a bit too early to tell.  I am still a fan of the old series.  As for the new one, I still am not sure but based on the episodes released as of the moment… so far, so good.

Rating: 4 out of 5

To my wife… The years we have spent together have been truly wonderful.  I hope to spend more time with you and build my future around you and our son.  I love you.  Happy Anniversary!

A successful married life requires falling in love many times, but always with the same person.

Knowing you will be with me in all my tomorrows, makes my today so wonderful.

The cartoon industry was not spared as well.  This year, we have two classic 80′s cartoons that have also succumb to this trend, Voltron Force and Thundercats.  There have been other’s but I just gonna talk about these two, since they are the only ones I watched.  I will be posting a separate blog article for Thundercats.

Let’s start with Voltron Force by Nicktoons.

Current Plot:

At the end of the old series, Voltron destroys Doom Castle and kills Lotor along with it.  As such, when they return to Earth, they were celebrated as heroes.  However, due to the actions of Sky Marshall Wade, a corrupt official in the Galaxy Alliance, an accident occurred wit the Lions resulting to a city being destroyed.  Voltron was then ostracized, the group disbanded and the Lions locked up.  But with the help of three Alliance cadets, they were able to free the Lions and reunite the whole team.

Thoughts:

 Personally, from someone who has watched the whole  1980′s series, I’d say it is fairly good.  The animation is  great,  plus the new character and Lion designs are all well  made.  What I don’t like is how they animated the Lions,  plus the  battle scenes.  Although, it is a big improvement  compared to  previous series.  The introduction of the new  characters in  this series provides a great twist for the series.  The character development and their side stories are also well written.

Another good thing about this series is Voltron’s new ability.  in the previous series, only the Black Lion has the ability to become the head whenever all five Lions merges as Voltron.  But now, they introduced this new ability that allows all the Lions, not just the Black Lion, to become Voltron’s head.  Of course, Voltron’s finishing move also changes depending on which Lion becomes the head.

For the kids, this would surely be a hit.  This will be the Voltron story for their generation.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Last August 27, 2011, our company launched one of activities called Smarter Youth Program, which is still a part of IBM’s Centennial Celebration.  This event is an outreach program whose main objective is to teach or educate children with the use of computers.  The event started last May 2011 and since then, our company has continued its service with the children.  We have adopted a community in Tubod, Toledo City where we conduct this event on a monthly basis.

To be honest, I wanted to join this event ever since it started but I always had something to do on the days it was held.  Luckily, I was able to attend last month.

Anyway, there were about 40 IBMers this time and around that much kids as well.  We separated the kids into several groups and taught them some cool stuff about computers.  For the kids around 3 yrs old up to 9 yrs old, we had them play around an interactive program that teaches them to recognize color, shapes and pictures.  We had them do some hands-on experience and it was fun to watch them.  For the kids above 9 yrs old and teens, we had a class for them that showed some of the cool things to can do with computers like for instance in the gaming industry.  Snacks were also provided for the kids.

It was a great activity and everyone had so much fun.  Even though it was tiring, seeing the kids enjoy the day was really great.  I hope I can join again next month.

Here are some pics from the event:

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Life is Like a Cup of Coffee

Spiritual Story by Unknown (from here)

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversations soon turned into complains about work and life.

Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups – porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite – telling them to help themselves to the coffee.

When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: “If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups have been taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones.  While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.

Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee.  In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink.  What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups… And then you began eyeing each other;s cups.

Now consider this: Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups.  They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of life we live.

Sometimes, by concentrating only in the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee.  Savor the coffee, not the cups!  The happiest people don;t have the best of everything.  They just make the best of everything.  Live simply.  Love generously.  Care deeply.  Speak kindly.”

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Hope you guys loved the story as much as I have.  Again, I did not write this story ( as much as I want to take credit for it ), but the credit goes to the author of this story, albeit we don’t know who he is.  Also, credit goes to http://www.spiritual-short-stories.com and also to my old classmate, Harold Lu, for sharing this story with us.

 Just to give you a brief background, The Legend of Korra takes place 70 years after the end of the The Last Airbender story arc.  Korra, the new Avatar after Aang, is a rebellious water bender from the Southern water tribe, the same tribe that Katara and Sokka was from (The Last Airbender characters.).  Anyway, for more details regarding Korra and the new cartoon series, please click here.

Anyway, here’s the trailer… Enjoy! (Also, a pic of Korra)

From what they told us, Kurt has cancer of the bones.  And his brother has always been there to support him.  And despite everything that they have been through, you can see in their faces that they haven’t given up hope.  I really hope that they win this competition.  I am rooting for them.

Here is a video of their audition for the talent show, Pilipinas Got Talent.