Surprises

God really loves to surprise me! Look what I’ve got in the mail…

My FPGEC Certificate!!!

God always has the perfect timing for everything. When I got my FPGEE approval letter, the entire house was soaked in leak. Now, there’s some kind of trouble going on in the household and my aunt and uncle always heat up in an argument, and my uncle kinda blames me for it (well, he blames everyone he sees), but no matter what he says to me, it’s not gonna change the way I feel today.

My day’s already happy. Thanks to the FPGEC.

To God be the glory.

Lucky

I didn’t study the whole week and that sucks because I just made a review schedule 10 days ago. If only I had obediently followed my schedule, I would’ve been done with two books by now; but so far, I’ve only been done with two very short chapters. FAIL.

What I did instead the whole week was devote my time and energy to job hunting and worrying about my FPGEE application. Saturday last week, I received a letter from NABP, saying they already received and reviewed my application materials and found out I still lacked one thing: my General Evaluation Report from ECE. So they wouldn’t proceed with my application process until they’ve received that ECE Report which should be forwarded to them by ECE itself.

When I checked my ECE status online, it said it might take them 5 whole weeks to finish my evaluation report. So that would mean, I would have to wait for 5 more weeks before NABP could proceed with my application process, and the chances of me not being able to sit for the FPGEE on September would be pretty high.

Wednesday this week, I called ECE and inquired about their rush service. After listening to the customer service representative’s brief explanation, I gave them my credit card number and billing address so I could avail of the 5-business-day rush service for a whopping $75, almost equivalent to the cost of the evaluation report itself ($85)! Anyway, there would be less worry on my part, since I would no longer have to wait for 5 weeks but only for 5 business days.

Thursday night, I received an e-mail from ECE, saying, “We completed and mailed your evaluation report today, July 8, 2010 to your home address. An official copy of your evaluation report was also mailed to the NABP via Federal Express (FedEx),” Whoa! That wasss fassst! OMG, that was really fast! It’s only been 1 day, as opposed to their 5-business-day promise! I would only have to wait for next week to receive my copy of the report (because they only sent my report via regular mail). ECE is really fast and amazing!

Fast forward to this day (Saturday): I came home after talking with the pharmacist at Rite Aid, who said she would keep my resume and contact me as soon as they already need my help. Tired and a bit exhausted, I took a nap, and when I woke up, I found there sitting at the foot of my bed, my General Evaluation Report from ECE.

Gosh, ECE is really fast. And amazing!

Now, I realize that while I have been wasting my time and energy worrying about petty things this week, God has always been with me, still doing His job (guiding me while I ride the bus alone, protecting me during the wild protest for Oscar Grant, keeping my ECE package safe, giving me courage while talking with the store manager, etc.).

Therefore, like God, I should do my job too, and that is to make the most of everything that I’ve been given. I won’t ever waste any opportunity.

***

P.S. The pharmacist at Rite Aid advised me to take the PharmTech exam, so maybe I’ll schedule for a test appointment this week. Good luck to me.

P.P.S. I can’t think of a title; hence, “Lucky.”

Forty Days: Day 18

Thanks to F.T Island, I want to play my guitar again.

When I was in highschool, in order to excuse myself from the Citizenship Advancement Training (CAT), I joined the school band. I can still remember my audition day: I played “Que Sera Sera” (the only piece I could play well) on keyboard. Though I was having some trouble with my left hand, I was doing well with my right hand, so the conductor accepted me. From that day onwards, I was a member of the school band.

I was one of the keyboardists. There were three of us. I was never good so I decided to enroll in piano lessons until I could play well enough to catch up with the other two. Day by day, I improved.

Before, I was never really interested in piano. Actually I was never really interested in anything at all until I joined the band. Because I was one of the keyboardists, I was always positioned at the back, together with the basses and the drums. So every time we played together, I always had a great view of the rest of the band playing their instruments in front of me. Just watching them from behind was already sooo inspiring! Seeing them play made me want to play their instruments too! It felt so great to find myself in a musical atmosphere filled with musical people who happened to be of the same age as me. Some were even younger.

Thanks to the band, I finally had something to do during summer breaks. The summer after highschool, my Mom bought me a violin and enrolled me in violin lessons. Two summers after that, I got a guitar from Cebu and enrolled myself in guitar lessons. Through self-practice, I also got better at piano.

Although I already have three instruments at home, my first love will always be piano, because that’s what I play best. Also, because of our busy schedule in college, and because I was rarely at home, I hardly ever saw my guitar and violin, and gradually lost interest in them. Good thing, there was a piano in our dormitory, so I still got to play during lunch breaks and weekends.

Because my guitar and violin were no longer that significant to me (now they’re just sitting at a small corner in our home), I even got to the point of selling them. A lot of persons contacted me for the violin but I changed my mind in the last minute, and luckily no one bought my guitar.

When I saw F.T Island performing on “Showtime” yesterday, I was amazed by their music, because it’s very rare nowadays to see a boyband like that. I mean, they’re like a true “band” with musical instruments and all. Other groups out there only sing and dance and already call themselves a band, which is not what it’s supposed to be.

Thanks to F.T Island, I want to play my guitar again.

Thank you, I’m sorry.

God definitely knows that I never meant to hurt them. But I was really honest when I said I was already full and couldn’t eat anymore the food they brought home for me.

To the both of you: If I hurt your feelings in any way, I’m so sorry. I never meant to. Please keep in mind that I’ll always be twice as hurt to see you hurt because of me. I really appreciate your effort to bring me food but I failed to show it. Thank you and I’m sorry.

Today

…is the thirtieth day since The Silent Spectator started this blog. Some goals were fulfilled, most of them not. At least, I was able to start reading the Bible, the Book of Revelations, to be specific, and I finished John Beckett’s “Next Step: A 30-Day Guide for New Believers.” I never missed a single day. Now, that’s an achievement. (If you are a new believer, visit this site: http://www.gmo1and1.com/gmo/biblestudies/next_steps).

I didn’t learn much how to cook, or memorize all parts of the human body, or learn to play “Unchained Melody” on piano, but I did pray the Rosary every night until this day together with my family. I was also able to know Dr. House and got hooked on his TV show and learned many amazing medical facts. By watching that show, I also realized that since childhood, I  have always wanted to become a doctor, a good Christian doctor, and now I’m all determined to make it happen.

Today, I would like to thank my mom, or rather, I would like to thank God for giving me such a perfect mom. She’s the best mom a kid could ever have. If I were given a new life and a chance to pick a new mom, I would definitely and undoubtedly choose her again. She’s my best friend. I love her very much! ♥

I would also like to thank God for giving me a wonderful brother who loves me and cares for me even though I’m not so nice to him sometimes. (Sorry, God, for those times. May You grant me more patience and love for my one and only brother. Amen.)

Most of all, I would like to thank God for life itself. Life is a very precious gift that can only be given once. I’m asking God to help me become a better person each day so that my life would not be a waste. As the saying goes, “Live life to the fullest.”

(Thank You, God, for the 21 years. I really am thankful for them. Whatever sins or mistakes I’ve done in those years, please give me the strength to not repeat any of them again. I love You, God, and I need You. Please come into my life. Amen.)

Happy birthday to me.

Surest

From the House episode I watched tonight [which was "DNR"], I can deduce that even Dr. House (as great as he is) is not capable of curing ALS, and that even if there really were a real Dr. House here in our place 4 years ago, he still wouldn’t be able to cure my dad. That is, if ALS was really what my dad got. Well, for now, there’s no way to know. But when my time comes, I’ll ask God Himself. I’m sure He could give me the surest of sure answer.

I haven’t read, not even opened, the Bible since last Sunday. That is very sad.

Day 4

Tonight, The Silent Spectator talks about the Bible.

In one of my previous posts, I mentioned that I signed up for John Beckett’s 30-day newsletter “Next Steps” for new believers. Well, it’s my 4th day today and I’m proud to say that I’m making progress.

So, how am I doing on Day 4?

John Beckett’s topic for today is no other than the Bible. In the same previous post, I also mentioned my deep desire to read the Bible. Lucky me, John Beckett gave me a headstart.

I know several people who have already read the Bible. As in the WHOLE Bible! And they take genuine pleasure reading it. Take note that I used the present tense (“take” instead of “took”) because from the moment they finished the Bible, they never stopped. They still read it until now. They’re reading it over and over again.

Sometimes I wonder, “How do they do that?” I think it would cost someone a lot of energy and effort to do that. I also would love to read the whole Bible, it’s a goal of mine actually, but I couldn’t even start! Even the thought of how long the book of Genesis may be drains the energy out of me.

But now I realize one thing, that I’m all wrong about this energy and effort and stuff. I don’t need them. What I need is inspiration! And how do I get inspiration? By communicating with God! Well, that is very easy, because God is everywhere.

Another thing, why lose interest in doing something when you haven’t even started doing it? If the beginning doesn’t appeal to you, why not start in the middle? I mean, if I couldn’t start with Genesis, why not start with the Gospels? The Bible is not a chronological book. It is actually a collection of many books which can stand independent of one another. So I don’t really have to read it from start to finish. I can start with the Gospels, and then St. Paul’s Epistles, and then Genesis, and still I can finish the whole Bible, having read all the books though not in order.

Moreover, I don’t have to read the whole book at once. I can read like 1 chapter in the morning and then another in the afternoon, and then some verses on the next day, and so on.  I don’t have to force myself. I should have a genuine longing for reading it. And where do I get that genuine longing? From God of course. He’s the Source of all good things.

After clicking the “Publish” button, I’m heading toward my shelf to pull out my Bible. From now on, I’m treating it like a friend, just like John Beckett said.