A 9/11 Birthday Thank-You

A birthday is a day spent in reflection and celebration for the blessings of the past year. But it takes a little bittersweet significance when that day happens to be 9/11. It has been fourteen years since that fateful day when the towers crashed.

September 11, 2001 started as just an ordinary day; clear, blue skies on a mild summer day in the normal hustle and bustle of New York City. Just an ordinary day suddenly pushed into the annals of history as the day when the world stood still and New York City went dark. Every year thereafter, Americans pause in somber remembrance for the countless people who lost their lives for a senseless tragedy.

In years to come, I still hope that the 9/11 reminiscences will always be treated with respect, dignity, and appreciation, not only for those we lost but also for those who continue to survive. We shall not forget.

So, I have kept quiet all these years, always feeling the reluctance to claim attention when everybody else mourns. In my middle age years, I do not need a boisterous celebration. I just do not want to apologize for having a 9/11 birthday, just like when a medical receptionist muttered an apology when I gave her my birthdate.

I am spending my 9/11 birthday with family. This is all I need. There is so much to be thankful for. My heart is full of grateful appreciation for the Facebook page filled with greetings and private messages. Life is good because I have Christ in my life. I have family and friends who keep me going through the years.

Fourteen years after a near-miss with tragedy, I am grateful for the chance to enjoy life as God sees fit for me, to pay it forward. There must be a good reason why I didn't board that E train on the way to a planned trip to the Twin Towers that day. I am thankful for all of you. God gave me you.




God gave me you to show me what's real
There's more to life than just how I feel
And all that I'm worth is right before my eyes
And all that I live for though I didn't know why
Now I do, 'cause God gave me you






2011 birthday post

#911birthday

Let the Men Sing

After several hours of mind-numbing review of statistics for DNP school, I suddenly felt the need for music therapy. I wanted music that relaxes, calms the nerves, and soothes the soul. As I started to look at the Adele songs, I heard the sexy baritone voice of Barry White coming from the TV. Enough of the estrogen-fueled music of my past writings. It’s the boys’ turn to strut their stuff. Let the men sing (or play).


Jason Mraz- American singer-songwriter





Pharell- American singer-songwriter and rapper




Michael Buble- Canadian singer, songwriter




Ed Sheeran-English singer-songwriter and musician




Ronan Keating- Irish musician who used to be the lead singer for the group Boyzone.




Bruno Mars- American singer, born and raised in Hawaii with a Filipino mother




Eagles- American rock band in the 70's




Barry White- American composer and singer-songwriter known for his distinctive bass-baritone voice




Jose Mari Chan- Chinese Filipino singer and prolific songwriter




Rey Valera- Filipino singer and songwriter. His songs were used as movie scores and in tv serials.




Nonoy Zuniga- Filipino singer




Israel "IZ" Kamakawiwoʻole- Hawaiian musician and entertainer, named as the "The Voice of Hawaii"




Louie Armstrong- nicknamed Satchmo, was an American jazz trumpeter, singer, and one of the pivotal and most influential figures in jazz music.




Richard Clayderman- French pianist

Kids Got Talent, Part 2

She’s too heavenly, and a joy to watch. She’s Heavenly Joy. She’s a young kid whose cuteness, pertness, and tap-dancing skills invite comparison to Shirley Temple. However, she’d rather have Jesus in her. And she’s only five years-old. Her musically-talented parents are so proud.




Heavenly Joy singing Impossible Dream. Wow!





Solomia singing “Time to Say Goodbye”.




Nathan Bautista, young rocker, “Don’t Stop Believing”




Aldrich Talonding and James Bucong, “Dance with my Father”. This was taken about 2 years ago before young Aldrich lost his father to cancer. He and his cousin went on to appear in the tv show Ellen.




Cydel Gabutero singing Power of Love





Martin Cruz, 3 y/o drummer





Kids are inspiring too. Daniel Cabrera, a nine-year old boy, was seen studying out in the street under a McDonald's lamp. Talk about persistence, something that is lacking in kids who are more privileged.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/philippines/11730467/Filipino-boy-receives-scholarship-after-photograph-of-him-studying-on-the-street-goes-viral.html

Part 1- http://jcerrudocreations.blogspot.com/2014_08_01_archive.html

Can You Lip Sync?

The music of Meghan Trainor’s “All about that Bass” filled the room. I quickly turned down the volume lest my family hear me practicing. I lip-synced to this music that is anti-stick figure, anti-Barbie. It is a song that celebrates most of our imperfections. The mirror reflected back a poor attempt at pantomime. The image looked like those movie scenes with the dubbing gone bad; something like English dubbed over Tagalog words.

I switched to Taylor Swift’s “Shake it Off”. I was hoping I can keep up with the lyrics “and the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate…”. That was easy enough but soon my tongue tripped on the words. Darn. Even a male cop performed better than me. The viral video of that Dover cop head-bobbing, shimmying and singing along to a twenty-something female was entertaining. Should be doable, right? But I must admit the truth. I cannot sing, I cannot even lip-sync.

Just to clarify, I have no intention of posting anything on YouTube. No way would I do that now. It would have been fun twenty years ago when I was sillier, more adventurous and less proper. In my younger years, I did not care about haters. It was fortuitous that there was no You tube then. Now, it would be professional suicide and my son would probably disown me, LOL.

Lip-syncing is an art. Not everyone can pull it off. There are a few ordinary people who are just plain amazing when they channel their inner Taylor or Meghan. They get the rhythm and the words right and they make us suspend our disbelief. Then there are some epic fails. Just watch those countless videos of failed lip-syncs by some wanna-bees. Even professional singers embarrass themselves when they could not sing along believably to their own canned music.

Here are some of my favorite lip-sync moments:




Remember this from 2005? “BackDorm Boys” - Two Chinese boys lipsynced to the Backstreet Boys “I want it that way”.




Rhian Ramos with Moymoy Palaboy



Famous people love to do battles on who can move their lips along and entertain us mere mortals.




So, I would like to assure my family and friends that I am not serious in uploading anything anywhere. It is just fun to sing along to Nicki Minaj while driving through Belt Parkway. It is liberating to pretend that we can sing. But maybe some of my friends would try. Maybe Tet can do Arianna and Erwin can surprise us with his Katy Perry impersonation. I just wonder, if a cop can do it, so can a nurse.

A Bucket Full of Thanks

The end of the year calls for self-reflection. It’s time to check my two buckets.

My Bucket of Thanks for 2014 reminds me of how lucky I am. With God’s loving mercy, I have triumphed over the challenges in my life. All I have to do is to reach inside the simple little bucket of blessings. Some of those blessings were unexpected gifts from above; some dreams came true due to hard work and sometimes luck. In this last day of 2014, my bucket of thanks gives me hope for the future.

Thank you to my family for your unconditional love. Thank you for my mom, my sister Bheng, my brothers and their wives, my nieces and nephew, and my extended family. I was not able to come home to the family reunion when my sister Bheng went home to the Philippines last July 2014. I lived vicariously in nostalgic remembrance at all the pictures of my mom, brothers and their families, my aunts and cousins with their Hawaiian-themed reunion.

Thank you for my son Jordan for making me a proud mom. He had spared me from any major drama as a teenager. This year, he graduated from college with a double degree and cumlaude honors. He finally entered the work world at Rockefeller University. He is my own little Bill Nye, my own research scientist, but definitely handsomer and funnier.

Thank you that our dog Boomer can resume waiting by the window for our return home. He gave us a bit of a scare when he went missing overnight, lured by an open backyard gate. Thank you for the good Samaritan who dropped him off at a shelter.

Thank you for the privilege to witness the Centennial celebration of the Church of Christ (Iglesia ni Cristo). The magnificence and grandeur of the church was manifested for all to see. The INC had established magnificent houses of worship in more than 100 countries all over the world.

Thank you for the chance to start on a new journey as a student in the Doctor of Nursing Practice in Educational Leadership program. The trip to Colorado was the start for the 2-year challenge. I am thankful that I have a wonderful cohort of friends to share the pains and joys before we don our fancy robes.


Thank you for my friends, far and near. They make me laugh and make me feel special. I have been blessed with special friends who helped me with the difficult times. I can only give back by paying their kindness forward.


Thank you for my work that keeps me busy and keeps me thinking of new ways to educate. I am much more energized with learning everyday. Thank God for the little reminders from the head hunters that I have so much more to offer. Sometimes, even the most self-assured needs validation for a job well-done, even if there is no urgency to jump ship in the near future (yet).

Thank you to those who have read my book "Nursing Vignettes" . It is a labor of love, a “someday dream-come true”. I love how some friends tease me about the almost-love stories in my book. I wonder why my male friends seem to take special interest with Dr. L and the soda we shared. I have a feeling that there is a great market out there for men who love romances.

My Bucket-to-do list for 2015 is for my ‘someday dreams”. There are still many places to go to, people to see, experiences to savor, and goals to achieve. It is a dynamic list of dreams, of exciting endless possibilities. Some dreams are recycled to motivate me to persevere against all odds. As we look forward to 2015, I resolve to appreciate the blessings that come my way.



Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has many; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.
- (Charles Dickens, English novelist, 1812-1870)

Kids Have Talent

Lyca Gairanod



In the blind audition of Voice Kids Philippines, a diminutive nine-year old girl from Cavite, Philippines confidently belted out her own version of pop rock group Aegis’song “Halik”. It was her voice, just six words into the song, that made her coach Sarah Guillermo turn her chair. It was her voice that brought the audience to their feet and propelled her video to become a viral hit.

The raw power and richness of her voice and her gutsy performance impressed me, but what captured my heart was that impish little smile and the twinkle in her eyes when she saw the audience’s response. She had me at the first growl.

Lea Salonga was so moved by her that she later drew comparison to Lyca’s story with Nora Aunor, the Filipino superstar who triumphed from her humble beginnings. Nora's train stations versus Lyca's junk shops.

Lyca had great competition, but at the end, after garnering the audience vote in all three categories in the final show, she was declared the first ever grand champion. The "madlang people" had spoken. Singing alongside Aegis, she held her own, rocked the stage, got a standing ovation from the audience and the coaches, and ensured her victory.

Her back story transfixed the audience; her father is a fisherman, and to help support the family, Lyca joined her mother and other siblings to scavenge for junk. This is a story of hope and resilience, but somehow, those who were unhappy with her win are trying to discredit this child, citing “sympathy votes”.

Sympathy can only bring you so far, it cannot win a title. Lyca triumphed despite/in spite the sob story because she is talented; it's not because of civic duty nor a moral responsibility.

The Iraqi teen who was deformed in the war and was adopted by an Australian woman did not win X-Factor Australia. The orphaned girl, the single mother who worked overseas, the mentally challenged teen, the bullied boy, the extremely shy man and the social outcast did not win their contests. Juan Karlos, another Voice Kids Philippines contestant, got his place as a runner-up because of his talent and charm, not because he lost his mother at a young age.

Lyca, with her untrained voice, is a “diamond in the rough”. There was so much more nuance in her voice, so much more untapped potential that it is so exciting what the future will hold for her. With proper musical training and professional guidance, she will achieve even greater triumphs.

She is a modern Cinderella, and we, her supporters, are her fairy godmothers.



Darren Espanto



This eleven-year old from Canada, if he won, would be also deserving of the title. His talent is immense that it really doesn’t need official confirmation to be declared a winner in his own right. He is not just a young Jed Madela, not just a young Martin Nievera. Darren Espanto is ready for stage, for his own path to glory.



Here are other amazingly talented kids.


Amira Willighagen, 9 y/o from "Holland's Got Talent"




Angelina Jordan, 7 y/o from Norway’s Got Talent 2014




Sam Santiago a Filipino American from Irvine, California. He had appeared in the Maury Show - Most Talented Kids 2013


http://www.samsantiagomusic.com/




P.S. This. Is. Not. Talent. but it is soooo much fun to watch.
I was compelled to put this together after being subjected to a horrible display of non-talent as seen below. Although I must admit that the Ken Lee version is one of the most hilarious and extremely entertaining auditions I have ever seen. This is a guaranteed belly laugh.

The Centennial

It gives me special joy to proclaim my faith for all the world to hear. After all, it has been 100 years since the Iglesia ni Cristo, or Church of Christ, was founded in the Philippines. From its humble beginnings, the Church has risen in stature and size. Today, on our Centennial celebration, the INC has established magnificent houses of worship in more than 100 countries all over the world.

On July 27, 1914, Bro. Felix Manalo registered the Iglesia ni Cristo in the Philippines and, with his ministers, propagated the gospel and brought the church to its glory and splendor. One hundred years later, on July 27, 2014, the Church held its centennial celebration in the much-acclaimed Philippine Arena. The 55,000-seater edifice was hailed as the largest domed indoor arena in the world. It is a proud testament to the incredible growth of the church in these last days and serves as God's benevolent nod to the dedication of the members.

On the other side of the world, the wondrous excitement of the brethren who attended the activities in Ciudad de Victoria was thankfully captured via internet link-up. The live-streaming of the worship service was seen all over the world, with brethren wishing they were inside the Philippine Arena.

The most special moment for me was when Bro. Eduardo V. Manalo raised his hands to exhort the members to continue the fight and persevere against all odds. It was just what I needed to fortify me during moments of weakness and sadness. That was a defining moment that will stay in my heart forever. The message was clear... the rousing prayer was inspiring.

I remembered my friend Norma, who stayed patient with my insolent questions as I grappled with a tumultuous shift in my long-held beliefs. She paved the way in 1979, when I could no longer ignore the truth.

I thought of my brothers Cesar and Allan, who were my persecutors, and then, when they were called into the fold, they turned out to be even more devoted than me.

All the stories of faith around me filled me with pride. The OFWs who stayed strong through the pangs of loneliness were one in faith with the poor brethren in the slums of Manila. The hundred-strong choir members were united in thoughts with the surviving brethren of typhoon Yolanda. The elder members of the Church shared their joy with the youngest believers.

As the brothers and sisters raised their miniature flags from around the world, we greeted one another with “Happy Centennial.” The sea of humanity roared in exultation.

I am in unity with my brethren all over the world. One God. One Church. One faith.

Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.
- King James Bible "Authorized Version," Cambridge Edition



http://incmedia.org/content/