The week that was 11/9 ~ 11/15

Looking back at the week that passed, there's a lot that immediately comes to mind ...

-- Chey returned to school after missing two days from what I think may have been the swine flu (she had temps of 103+ for 2.5 days straight and was achy, had cold symptoms and was very lethargic). Surprisingly no one else got sick, including me who had the most contact with her. Missing school when you've got all honors classes is no fun. She spent a lot of days staying an hour extra after school to make up stuff she missed. But the way she busted her butt all week made me realize that my lil girl really does care about her grades and that makes me really proud mama*

-- I pulled a muscle in my right shoulder from the work-related stress of producing two packages that I really wanted to kick ass (the election ballot package and retail merchandising class piece, which by the way both ended up being pretty damn sweet!). So I piled on the Ben Gay for two days and felt really, really, really ... old. And smelled really, really, really ... old, like how my Grandpa used to smell :) But in all honesty, I kinda like it, lol.

-- I realized that my self-made lumpia business has been pretty doing pretty well so far and while I feel like I'm rolling at least once a week, I do enjoy it and love knowing that Grandma's recipe is so well received! Now I need to get cracking and advertise to really get my business out there, especially with the holidays coming.

-- Knott's fried chicken is quite delightful, but their freshly baked biscuits with boysenberry jam are painfully addicting!!! In this same train of thought, why does everything that taste so good always gotta be bad for you?

-- My teams aren't doing too well right now :(  USC got shellacked by Stanford (a team that has a damn tree running around the sidelines and a ridiculously talented tailback who looks like a future used car salesman), leaving them at a 3-loss season so far, which is unheard of in the Pete Carroll era. I guess we really are "rebuilding" and it sucks! Meanwhile, the Lakers lost two straight, looking horrible against the Nuggets and Rockets -- both of whom they will likely have to face in the playoffs, but hey Gasol's still out and it's November so I'm not really worried.

-- Manny Pacquaio is the truth. He pretty much blasted Miguel Cotto and left no doubt that he is one of boxing's all time greats, winning a seventh world title in his seventh weight class. This little man of the grandest stature made history in the sport, and like he said "more importantly a Filipino did it." Never in the modern history of our people has someone so greatly unified a country with such pride and joy. The Philippines stops when Pacquiao is fighting. The nation's congress goes on holiday when he's got a match because most of the representatives are at the fight. Crime goes down when he's in the ring -- even the rebels and terrorists stop to watch. He is the most interesting Filipino in the world :) XX

But perhaps what is so honorable to me is that regardless of what he has accomplished, he stays humble and always gives grace to God. Pacquiao is a God fearing man, whom you will always see praying before and after a fight. And though he's made his share of riches, he has and continues to help Filipinos in need. Beggars line up at his PI home daily, asking for help for which he does oblige. During the deadly typhoons that struck the islands, Pacquiao was there to help oft to the dismay of his trainer Roach who believed it was distracting him from training for the Cotto fight. He is not just a boxer looking to make millions, rather he is a man who also looks to help those in need and a man who revels in the opportunity to unify a nation. And while his fighting style is always worth the price of admission, I admire him most because he understands that being an accomplished man also means being a man who has the power to positively impact and inspire good people.

He makes me even prouder to be Filipino :)

Much like PI, we stop to watch the pride of the people!

-- During Saturday evening mass, which I lectored at, the priests of our parish made an announcement at the end of the mass that filled me with sadness. As I tried to hold back my tears, the rest of the 800+ parishioners present were also overcome with a deafening silence that blanketed the swell of their heavy hearts ... Because I am still trying to figure out my emotions about what I heard and a mere paragraph would not do my reflections justice, I plan to continue this thought tomorrow ...

Until then ... Good Night to the week that was. Sweet dreams to today and tomorrow.