If you ever thought of getting your NBI Clearance, I recommend you go to NBI Tagum. Why? First, it's faster to process the clearance there. And second, it's really faster. Hahaha.

I know it's quite weird that someone from Davao would go all the way to another city for that but I guarantee you, it's worth traveling for.

Who among you experienced waking up early in the morning (like about 4am) to go and line up at NBI in JP Laurel Avenue? Lining up and waiting for hours and hours just for you have the clearance. Long hours of waiting, warm weather, crowded waiting area...

I tell you. You wake up at 8am, take a Metro Shuttle coaster at Abreeza terminal (P120 regular fare, P100 discounted).  Travel time is 1-1.5 hours.

Metro Shuttle Tickets (got the students' price on the way back. haha)

The NBI office is just along the National Highway so you could just tell the driver. When you get there, just follow the steps:

Step 1: Present 1 valid ID for you to get a form, fill it out and have it validated back at Step 1. The person in-charge will give you a priority number to be called in Step 2.

Step 2: Cashier. You will pay the same amount you pay here in Davao. The only thing I can recall is for Local Employment P105, travel abroad and for visa is P115. After paying, wait for your name to be called for Step 3.

Step 3: Validate the information you wrote in your form, This is to ensure that they were able to encode your information with the correct spelling and details.

Step 4: Biometrics. The person in-charge will ask for your fingerprints for their record. I like their method now since it's not the messy type compared to the stick-your-finger-in-the-stamp pad method.

Step 5: Picture taking. It's the same web cam thing where you will remove your eye wear, look at the camera and you are not allowed to smile. Haha. Wacky pose not allowed.

Releasing-- your most awaited part! Tadaaa! Then you're good to go. I finished everything for about 10-15 mins.

Here is it! :)

It may be away from Davao but I would rather travel a couple of kilometers to Tagum than to wake up so early and line up at the Davao office. The travel time you have is much lesser compared to your waiting time. Less hassle and saves your energy.

Hope this helps :)

The Missing Piece tells the story of a circle that was missing a piece. A large triangular wedge had been cut out of it. The circle wanted to be whole with nothing missing, so it went around looking for its missing piece. But because it was incomplete and therefore could roll only very slowly, it admired the flowers along the way. It chatted with worms. It enjoyed the sunshine. It found lots of different pieces, but none of them fit. So it left them all by the side of the road and kept on searching. Then one day the circle found a piece that fit perfectly. It was so happy. Now it could be whole, with nothing missing. It incorporated the missing piece into itself and began to roll. Now that it was a perfect circle, it could roll very fast, too fast to notice the flowers or talk to the worms. When it realized how different the world seemed when it rolled so quickly, it stopped, left its found piece by the side of the road and rolled slowly away. The lesson of the story was that in some strange sense we are more WHOLE when we are missing something. The man who has everything is in some ways a poor man. He will never know what it feels like to yearn, to hope, to nourish his soul with the dream of something better. He will never know the experience of having someone who loves him give him something he has always wanted and never had. There is a wholeness about the person who has come to terms with his limitations, who has been brave enough to let go of his unrealistic dreams and not feel like a failure for doing so. There is a wholeness about the man or woman who has learned that he or she is strong enough to go through a tragedy and survive, who can lose someone and still feel like a complete person. When we accept that imperfection is part of being human, and when we can continue rolling through life and appreciating it, we will have achieved a wholeness that others can only aspire to. That, I believe, is what God asks of us - not "Be perfect," not "Don't ever make a mistake," but "Be whole." And at the end, if we are brave enough to love, strong enough to forgive, generous enough to rejoice in another's happiness, and wise enough to know there is enough love to go around for us all, then we can achieve a fulfillment that no other living creature will ever know.

Got this message via email and it struck me. Everyone of us wants to be perfect. Everyone of us wants to have all the things that we dream of, all the things that we desire to have. But human as we are, we are never satisfied. All the more, if we ever get everything we ever wanted, what more is left for us to have. Will we ever get to aim for anything else? I don't think so.

It is indeed true that God never asked us to be perfect nor to not do anything wrong. He just asks of us that we, as imperfect ones, be the people that are always willing to follow His commandments, have faith in Him, walk in His ways, preach His word --- just BE WHOLE. Because with God in our lives, everything is more than enough. :)

When You FALL IN LOVE 
(Debunking the Myths That Are Driving You Crazy) 
By: Bo Sanchez 

This article isn't for teenagers only.

Falling in love happens to the young and the not-so-young. (Did you see 42-year-old Tom Cruise jump up and down Oprah's couch because of Katie?)
It happens to everyone. Fat, thin, tall, short, intelligent, uneducated, holy, not so holy, dark, transparent, yellow, green... it doesn't really matter.
All of us fall in love.
And we get stuck in myths that drive us absolutely crazy.
My goal is to debunk these myths and convince you not to believe in them.
Let's begin....... ... 


MYTH 1: LOVE WILL CONQUER ALL 

Let me qualify.
This is such a tricky myth. Because love ----- as defined by the Bible ------ will conquer all. But love ------ as defined by glazed-eyed lovers ----- will not.

If you believe in this myth, you might do the following:

You overlook major obstacles in your relationship. 

Everyone you know is wondering why you chose that creature from outer space as your boyfriend. Your bestfriends are telling you to get rid of him. Your family is telling you to throw him out of a running vehicle. Aling Rosa of the sari-sari store across the street is telling you to lace his drink with poison.
But you won't --------- because you're in love. That's why there are songs entitled, "you and me against the world"
Your bestbuds comment, 'but he's been jobless for the past three years!"
And you say, "He's free-spirited. He feels boxed in when he's in the office. '(in other words, he's undisciplined, lazy bum.)
Your officemates say, 'He flirts with other women constantly!' and you say, 'No, he's just friendly.' (in other words, he's a pervert)
Your cousins say, 'He's taking drugs, He's got needle marks all over his arm. And you say, 'No, he's into cross stitching.' 

You overstay in toxic relationships, believing that your love will change him. 

The wedding doesn't transform anyone.
Even if three Popes officiate the wedding. 
The person you'll march with into the church will be the same person you'll march with out of the church. He doesn't change one bit.
In fact, the marriage makes the hidden more obvious.
If he was selfish before he got married, he will be even more selfish after the wedding. If he was hypercritical before he got married, he'll even be more vile and prolific with his criticisms after wedding. 
Here's the truth : You need more than feelings of love to make a relationship work. You need mature character, total commitment and a minimum level of compatibility. 
Especially compatibility in the area of values and mission in life. I hear people say, 'We're compatible. Our names begin with the same letter J. My name is Julie and his name is Julio. We're both born in July."
Wow. That's so deep, I want to cry. 

MYTH 2 : WHEN IT"S TRUE LOVE YOU WILL KNOW THE MOMENT YOU MEET THE OTHER PERSON 
I'm sure you've had this experience before.
You are in a crowded room. You're surrounded by boring, noisy chatter when, suddenly, this gorgeous guy enters the door.
Your eyes meet. 
Instantly, time stands still. The universe grinds to a halt. Except for this attractive man in front of you, everything in your vision becomes a giant blur. The hubbub of the crowd becomes a soft muffle and, from out of nowhere, you here gentle violin music from the background.
One week later, he's your boyfriend. 
A few weeks later, you discover that your boyfriend's a pathological liar, buried in credit card debt, borrows money from all his girlfriends (you're his eight in six months).
Your mind says, 'Dump him' 
Your heart says, 'But it was love at first sight!'
Here are the consequences ... 

You become so focused on the magical first moment, you become blind to the dark side of the relationship.
Six out of seven days, you're fighting with your boyfriend. 
But you can't give him up because you met each other in such a magical moment. Your car keys fell and he picked it up, and then your eyes met, you smelled his deodorant, and you dropped your keys again ......How can you not be meant for each other?

You become a love-at-first- sight junkie that you could miss out on the 'real thing'.
One intelligent woman told me, 'Bo, there's this guy who's courting me. He's okay. He's kind, he's responsible, he has a good job.......'
"I could hear a 'but' coming ," I said. 
'but there are no sparks!" she bit her lip.
"No violin music playing in the background huh" 
"none. When I see him, the background music I hear is lululalu-lalulalula lei..." 
"listen. You don't need a magical first moment to meet our potential husband. The important things are mature character, financial responsibility, ability for commitment, compatible mission and values..."
I actually met this girl again on her wedding, and before she marched down the aisle, she whispered to me, "Do you hear the violin music, Bo? It's loud and clear."
It doesn't have to be love at first sight.
In fact, marriages with the least adjustments are those between friends who've known each other for years before they realize that they're good marriage material.
What is love at first sight? 
Many times, it's lust at first sight. Or infatuation at first sight.
Don't give it too much weight. 
Here's the truth: it takes a moment to experience infatuation but true love takes a lifetime. 


MYTH 3 : IF IT IS TRUE LOVE YOU WILL FEEL THIS WAY FOR EACH OTHER FOREVER 
No, you won't. Here are the consequences for believing this myth :

You panic when the feelings wane, and wonder whether the marriage is over and whether you really loved one another in the first place.
Imagine the night of your honeymoon.
Your new bride is sleeping. The cotton curtains are gently swaying in the cool breeze. You gaze at her lovely face. You study her soft cheeks. Her long eyelashes. Her beautiful nose, her parted red lips.
And all of a sudden, she snores. 
"Ngggggggooork" 
How do you react? Because it's your honeymoon, you say, 'How cute.' 
Six months down the road, the same scene transpires. Your wife is sleeping. And the same cotton curtains are gently swaying in the cool breeze.
And you hear her snore. 
"Ngggggoork." 
What do you say?
"Ssssssheeeesh, Honey! You sound like a boat!'
What has happened? The feelings have gone. Let me say this: 'That's normal. It happens to everyone. But it doesn't mean your love is gone so don't panic!
You can make a decision to love the snoring boat.

You start blaming your partner for the loss of love 
This is nutty. 
But many people do it: when we don't feel in love, we think it's the fault of the other person. And so we fight him.
Again, we fall out of love because we're human beings.
It's nobody's fault. 
The moment you fall out of love , the real work begins .
Let me explain. 
This is the most important point I'm going to make. (I got this from Scott Peck in his bestseller book, The Road Less traveled)

Falling in love isn't love
Here's why. When you fall in love..... 
a. No decision is required. Falling in love just happens.
b. No effort is required. Falling in love is like.... Well, falling. 
c. No hard work is required. Falling in love is being bitten by the love bug.

On the other hand, true love requires all three : Decision, effort and lots of hard work. In the Bible, love is a command. You make it happen.
Sure true love can only happen after you've fallen out of love.
When you begin choosing to love, even if you don't feel like doing it ---- that's true love.

Disclaimer: This is quite a delayed post due to super busy schedule. You know.

News about Typhoon Pablo was all over the 3rd day of December. It was those days that I have been busy as well so I have not really heard thorough details about what had happened. All I knew was that the storm was so bad and a lot were affected mainly in Davao del Norte and Compostela Valley.

Like a normal person, I felt sad and devastated for those people that were affected. But unlike others, I preferred to stay away from the news showing scenes of how bad the situation is at the affected places. It's depressing to hear and see. I know how bad it was and I don't need proof to believe. A lot of people gone missing, a lot died. What more should I hear and see?

 But through the struggles of our fellowmen, responsible citizens were found to be flourishing all over, taking initiative to send off relief goods, clothing, water and medicines. Like always, Filipinos never leave each other behind.

I've seen my pictures and posts of my friends getting involved in the same kind and I feel happy for them. Happy that they could help and happy that they have time.

I am in the process of adjusting in my new job and honestly, I spend most of my time sleeping. Too bad. Nevertheless, I know the simplest thing that I could do is to check on my closet and learn to let go of things that remained there for a couple of years already and never/seldom get used.

There are those clothes that you don't get to use but you don't want to give away. Maybe it has such sentimental value or maybe you just like the design or whatever. But the thought of giving it away this time made me smile and think that there are people who are in need of clothing this time and I have a more than enough inside my closet.

As I was deciding which clothes to give out, I came across these:

This is one of my Spongebob shirt collection. I am not quite sure how many years I had this already but it surely is one of my favorites. I realized that since I am a small sized person, a kid could have this and hopefully like it the way I do. I was able to let go 2 of my Spongebob shirts.


Grade 3 shirt. Haha. I know, I know. It's been so long since I was in Grade 3 but what can I do? Shirt still fits me perfectly. Don't judge. I believe the shirt was just too big for me way back 1999, I think. I can even remember having been assigned to explain the logos there. But don't ask me now. I don't remember a thing. 

Sometimes I wonder why people are the way they are. That thought includes me, of course.

People want certain specific things. People want to get them. Yet why is it when we have a slight bite of it, all we could ever want is to have more than what we have now or what we had so far.

I often sit and think of what I want to have in my life, what I've always want to happen and those that I'd be so grateful and ecstatic to be part of. I have so much in my mind that sometimes it's frustrating to think of a lot yet only a few of them can be part of what reality really is. No, I'm not being the pessimistic person here. In fact, I have always been the think-positive-everything-will-work-out-well person, if you must know. But there are just those times when I know I've been hoping for too much and getting less of what I've hoped for.

During particular times, I become so happy easily that I feel so shallow, dense, or whatever you want to call it. But there comes a point when I want things badly and I know I can never get it. It's just a little depressing.

There are moments when you wanted more that what is offered but you know you can only have enough, you can only have what is there for you to take. It's ironic when you kept wishing you can exceed your expectations when you know you could only expect as much as what is given for you to embrace and live for at the moment. Come to think of it.

I have often wandered around every corner of my crazy mind and I have imagine a lot of beautiful things to happen and share. I have so much if only I have the chance to do so. Sometimes I wish everything will just work out well and things will go with the flow just like what I wanted things to be. But things will never work the way I imagine things to be. Nothing could be as perfect as the things I have in my mind.

If I had the best in life, then there will be no time for me to look up to God and ask for blessings. If I had the perfect friends, there will be no time for me to understand and adapt the different personalities. If I had the perfect story, life could be so boring and eventually turn meaningless that I would have no time to dream big and aim high. See, life is just as perfect as it could be.

Life is funny. It just makes me smile. It makes me think and cry and laugh after a while. However, the life I have just makes me keep going. It's just the way it is. And I know I love it. 

Things happen. A lot of things happen, actually. And in most occasion, we just wake up and ask ourselves, "How did this happen?" or "How did I get here?". Yes, it's a funny scene when your face looks so surprised and you kept wondering. Now, I start to wonder.

One day, it was fine. Next thing I found out, it isn't anymore and God knows when it will be. 

Taking you to a bigger picture. We do things, we feel, we respond. But how will we ever know if we would respond the right way. We have choices. But unfortunately, we don't always pick the better choice. And how will we ever be able to determine which is which? You will never. You just have to take the risk to grab one option over the other and who knows what will happen next? 

I have gone around in circles yet kept finding myself back in the same spot. I don't know why but it feels like home there. It's just that sometimes, home doesn't seem to welcome you home anymore. Then, you feel orphaned.

Things happen. You just have to hang on there and wait for the better days to come. Because surely, they will. One day. Someday.