Highlights of the Week – Things to Be Thankful For…..

There are so many different things that go on in our lives that we aren’t able to fully grasp and appreciate everything that happens to us. Most of us are very busy and pre-occupied with either our school work, extra-curricular activities, work and other obligations that we tend to disregard all these little things in life.

When I started this blog, I mentioned how I want to turn all those ephemeral and fleeting moments into lasting memories by writing about each and everyone of them but I’ve come to realize that it is very hard to detail and talk about each and every moment that flies by during each and everyday. This is because of all the other commitments and activities I have added to my everyday school work. This really got me thinking as to how I can still crystalize all the awe-inspiring moments that happen each and everyday despite those busy days where I just don’t have time to write a blogpost.

Just this week, my older sister mentioned this very innovative organization in her school, HKUST that delivers something called, the One Minute News, every week. This One Minute News segment caters to the very busy and occupied students of HKUST who don’t have time to catch up with recent happenings and news headlines. This One Minute News summarizes and highlights all the important headlines and happenings that the very busy students may have missed all in one minute.

This idea led me to start this segment of mine called, Highlights of the Week – Little Things to be Thankful for to help me recall and remember all the highlights both big and small that I may have forgotten and under appreciated because of the nature of life and how fast everything occurs. In my journey to becoming a happier person and living life to the fullest, I find looking back and being thankful for everything that happens to you, may it be something life changing or even heart wrenching or just an ordinary incident, very essential in growing as a person and keeping a positive outlook in life for like they say, YOLO, you only live once!

So during this past week, Feb 18 – Feb 23, these are the memorable moments that I am thankful for

1. Finalization and Submission of our Filipino Short Movie titled, “Anong Gagawin Mo?” (or in english, “What Would You Do?”) – This is one of the projects that I really poured a lot of effort into and it feels really fulfilling and gratifying to see the finish product. Hard work never gets old, especially when it pays off in the end. I am really happy that our movie was chosen by our Filipino teacher to be the one to represent our class in our film festival especially after all the saturdays and holidays me and my group mates spent preparing, creating and filming this production. Working on this project is definitely one of the more memorable moments of my Junior Year!

2. Accidentally dropping my phone to the ground (which led to the screen getting shattered) – Thankfully though, I was able to get it repaired, and it looks good as new. The feeling of anxiety that I got when I saw what happened to my phone which is one of my more valuable possessions and is something I use each and every day, was really nerve racking. I truly learned my lesson and this time, I’m gonna make sure that my phone is protected and ready just in case another accident, where I end up dropping my phone occurs (off to buy my otter box!).

3. Farewell speech of Father Go – Our School Director, Father Johnny Go’s Farewell Speech during our last general assembly for the year was one of the most heart warming and inspirational speeches I’ve ever heard from Father. Father Go never fails to move people whenever he speaks, his homilies, speeches and talks will be missed! I was truly fortunate that I was awarded a Chinese Writing Award during this last general assembly for I was able to shake Father Go’s hand one last time.

4. Last Mentoring Period for my Junior Year – How time flies by; it seemed just like yesterday when Junior Year just started and I was joining a whole new class with a completely different set of classmates in 3A. Looking back, despite all of the challenges, quandaries, setbacks and all, it was one no doubt one helluva of a crazy year indeed and I wouldn’t have it any other way!

5. Fountain International School Science Fair – Attending this science fair was one crazy experience. Witnessing innovative and creative minds of talented individuals ranging from all ages was a truly breathtaking experience. Add to the fact that I was able to meet new people and gain new friends was the icing on the cake. To top it all off, I also got to meet my “former” and “favorite” turkish math teacher.

Looking back at these highlights, I can say that I am truly blessed to be living such a fortunate life filled with so many awe-inspiring moments and adventures. I am truly thankful for everything that happened to me during the past week and hopefully, the coming weeks will be just as awesome or even better.

-DOitChoco

PS. I will try my best to make separate blog posts and expound on some if not all of these highlights for there were a thousand different things I learned from every second of these moments.

Kaiser – My Multi-Talented Best Friend (My response to the Daily Prompt: Call Me Maybe)

This is my blogpost in response to the daily prompt: http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/02/05/daily-prompt-phone/

I was never really a fan of smartphones or all those fancy phones. To tell you the truth, it was just around 5 months ago when I finally replaced my ancient stone-aged phone with an Iphone and the rest is history. There were actually several reasons that really pushed me to stop being a hipster with an artifact of a phone, and succumb to modern day technology.

Prior to my realization that I needed a new phone, I was a strong believer in the fact that phone’s are just for texting and calling and the occasional “snake” game if you still remember that pretty addictive game in old school phones. Every time my dad would offer to get me a better looking phone and a smarter phone, I’d refuse and say that I didn’t need or so I thought. The day my view on this issue changed was the day I started breaking out of my shell and socializing with others more often. I realized the importance of an efficient and powerful smart phone during this day and age in staying connected and in touch with the rest of the world.

Only the strong survive and one must truly take every advantage and learn how to adapt with time. Modern day technology has brought us such a powerful tool and gadget that we might as well utilize and take advantage of. Because of this, I quickly told my dad my new perspective in life and he quickly obliged to get me a new phone. Since he actually just got an Iphone 4s but heard that an Iphone 5 was coming out in a few months, he decided to give me his one month old Iphone 4s, and it quickly became my new best friend that I never fail to check on each and everyday.

KAISER!

I guess it would be just right to finally baptize my phone and give him a name. This may sound a bit crazy and absurd, but why not. So of the top of my head, I name him, KAISER! Pretty bad-ass? Well, it’s just right for my side kick who almost never leaves my side. During my ups and downs and whenever I seem to need anything, my incredibly smart and multi-talented friend comes to the rescue. From text messaging and making phone calls to checking out the latest news and keeping up to date not only with sporting highlights but also with what has been going on with my friends’ lives. And then during the times I need some cheering up or some moments of relaxation or reflection, Kaiser is right there with soothing music that never fails to calm my nerves and make me walk on cloud nine. Aside from a thousand other skills of Kaiser, what I like most about him is his ability to capture ephemeral moments and help me look back at them. He truly is a jack of all trades.

Life may have been just fine before with my ancient nokia phone, but I wouldn’t want to go back to those days, for life is so much more convenient and productive with Kaiser. Although, Kaiser sometimes turns into a distraction and has gotten me 6 hours of detention already (the full story of how I got and spent the 6 hours of detention is seen here: https://doitchoco.wordpress.com/2013/01/26/my-sot-experience-how-somethings-arent-as-bad-as-they-seem/), I still love him to death for he has helped me in so many different ways already and I know that I’m only scratching the surface. As I get to know and understand Kaiser better, I will be able to unleash a thousand more of his talents and capabilities. We truly are best friends, for we help bring out the best in each other.

-DOitChoco