All posts by Reah Padla

Dance With My Father Again

Family, Music

I saw this video uploaded by a certain Sharla Talonding on YouTube. Great cover. I don’t know the name of this kid but I was moved to tears reading the lyrics.

I miss my dad. So many new things are happening in my life, as a wife and as a mother. I always wish I could share my experiences with him. I always think about what he and Noah would be doing whenever we’d visit him. I bet he would be showing Noah magic tricks. Or they could be fighting in a cute way just like with Nav.

Back when I was a child
Before life removed all the innocence
My father would lift me high
And dance with my mother and me
And then
Spin me around ’till I fell asleep
Then up the stairs he would carry me
And I knew for sure
I was loved

If I could get another chance
Another walk
Another dance with him
I’d play a song that would never ever end
How I’d love love love
To dance with my father again

When I and my mother
Would disagree
To get my way I would run
From her to him
He’d make me laugh just to comfort me
yeah yeah
Then finally make me do
Just what my mama said
Later that night when I was asleep
He left a dollar under my sheet
Never dreamed that he
Would be gone from me

If I could steal one final glance
When final step
One final dance with him
I’d play a song that would never ever end
Cause I’d love love love to
Dance with my father again

Sometimes I’d listen outside her door
And I’d hear how mama would cry for him
I’d pray for her even more than me
I’d pray for her even more than me

I know I’m praying for much to much
But could you send her
The only man she loved
I know you don’t do it usually
But Dear Lord
She’s dying to dance with my father again

Every night I fall asleep
And this is all I ever dream

God, I miss him.

SM Advantage Rewards Card

E-Governance, Exploring the City, Technology, World Wide Web

sm advantage card

I’m a sucker for rewards cards. I only have a few but I use the SM Advantage Rewards Card most often. I live near an SM Hypermart branch so I do my weekly grocery there. There are a couple of Watson’s in our neighborhood so I thought getting an SM Advantage card would be useful. The cashiers can be annoying too, asking if you have one every time you are at the cashier, so to avoid such question, I got one last year.

I remember having one before but didn’t bother to renew the membership. I only got the permanent card when Noah and I went to SM Centerpoint last week. I received a Welcome letter and the Value Perks discount book which contains, according to SM, ‘endless shopping rewards and benefits‘. Most of the deals are valid until May 31, 2013 so good luck when and where to use them.

I was particularly interested in registering my card number over SMS as indicated in the letter. I like to test such procedure. Haha. Unfortunately, it was not successful. I was told to register the number with my birth month and birth year as my four-digit PIN. I tried to register the same evening so I thought maybe the system still needed to be updated or processed.

I tried the next day, same ‘Invalid PIN’ message. I tried registering online, still the same. I tried SMS registration six times– all failed. I gave up.

This morning, I bravely e-mailed the SM Advantage Customer Service to ask what’s the problem. I gave them my details so they could check the error. After 23 minutes, I got an e-mail response that they have ‘successfully reset my PIN’. Quick response. Wow!

That was impressive. Problem is, my e-mail information was incorrect. SM Advantage Card Rewards System

Instead of [reah.padla] , it was [reah.padilla]. Where did that come from?

I understand that others would have the tendency to commit that mistake when writing my surname but this was supposed to be system-generated, right? Is the database being updated manually? That whoever is e-mailing me simply entered my information right then because I asked. Am I the only one experiencing this?

I edited my e-mail information and finally got an activation link, unfortunately again, it still isn’t working. I sent another e-mail and reported the error . I wrote “seems that you manually entered a wrong e-mail address“.

Does this happen all the time?

And then I got this reply: “We have manually activated your registered account.”

So accounts are manually activated? What’s the point of having a database if SM still needs to ‘manually’ update and activate the accounts?

This isn’t really a big deal for me. It won’t add value to my life but for a group as big as SM, the company should have a nicely setup database. Or at least, have hired the best developers and web guys in the country. Up to this point, I am not sure if this happened to me only but I sure hope the SM Advantage team fixes this.

I realized that local companies still don’t put priority on their websites. I am all for e-governance and I am happy that some government agencies are taking this seriously. Meanwhile, a lot of private companies and firms do not– at least, not yet.

The future of e-commerce is very bright. No doubt about that. I hope local businesses reconsider their strategies.  The digital landscape is also rapidly growing and improving that people and businesses need to keep up with the trends.

I know this is old news but apparently, majority of the Philippines is still behind. Sure, there are thousands of online stores based in the country right now. Thanks to Multiply, Facebook, and now Instagram– admit it, these three social networks, have annoyed contributed  to our social shopping life. But I hate that most of them still do not offer online payment. What’s the point of opening an online store if the customer can’t pay online, that she still has to go outside the comforts of her home to go to a bank, a GCash outlet, or a Western Union branch?

I understand that most of these online stores are small retail businesses that some owners may not have credit cards or have knowledge about PayPal and such. But if they want to target more people, they should at least, consider other payment methods aside from bank transfer.

As for SM, I still love you even if I’ve been told by some people not to support Henry Sy. I am targeting the SM Prestige Loyalty Program but I don’t think I would be able to spend P300,000 all at SM Malls within two years of membership.

I love SM because they still ‘got it all for me’.  🙂

 

[ Mandaluyong Preschool ] School Hunt is Over

Exploring the City, Faith, Family, Promo

Our search for Noah’s school is over. We’re sending him to Kites & Strings Learning Center in Mayflower St., Mandaluyong City. We’ve been looking at pre-schools in Mandaluyong for years but it’s only recently that we decided where to send our 3-year old for Nursery.  There are a lot of pre-schools in our area but most of the really good ones have tuition that start at 90K. We live in Mandaluyong – San Juan and Manila boundary so we have a lot of choices.

Just a 2-minute walk from our house is Jose Rizal University. Five minutes is Don Bosco Mandaluyong and Don Bosco Sta. Mesa Manila. There’s also my alma mater, St. Mary’s Academy of Sta. Ana Manila, but they don’t offer Nursery classes. I’ve always imagined sending him to my old school at least for pre-school but we decided not to send him to a Catholic institution. I have nothing against it but we’re not Catholics, we’re Born-again Christians, and we don’t want him to be confused this early.

We thought of sending him to his dad’s old pre-school, OB Montessori in Greenhills, that or the Manila branch, but I heard tuition is around 80k. There is no way we would pay that price. Josh also went to the International Christian Academy for a year. It’s a good school but it’s in the South. Never mind. Ateneo, where he studied Prep until College, doesn’t offer Nursery classes. So much for those schools.

Five-minutes from our house are some of the best pre-schools in Mandaluyong and San Juan area. They are the ones that I often read about in Mommy forums. Here are some of the pre-schools in Mandaluyong we shortlisted:

Maranatha Christian Academy is a Christian school but it easily got a thumbs-down from my mom-in-law because our churchmate had a very bad experience with that school. Kiddo Academy is a bit far from us but I liked that it’s located inside a condo and parents are allowed to view the school’s CCTV cameras remotely. Kingsleigh is inside a mall so it’s dangerous for me. As for the rest of those in our list, they are very near our house but tuition are very expensive.

And then I remembered Noah’s playschool. He joined the Toddler Classes at Rainbow Room Learning Center in Tivoli Gardens along Coronado St.– where I grew up. Also an expensive school but because it’s near my old house, we thought it’s okay if we enroll him there, after all I’d be visiting my grandmother more often. Last year, tuition was around P55,000 so we expected it would increase a bit this year. Price range is okay for us. Even better because a branch nearer us would be opening at along Martinez St. (formerly Nueve de Febrero St.) although we were pining for the Hulo branch already. I already expressed our intent to enroll Noah with his Teacher Rom and even thought of letting him join the summer programs.

But God had other plans.

We dropped our top choice because our home church…IS finally opening a school. Our church is where Joshua and I met, nurtured our friendship, grew together in love, developed our relationship, and are still serving and attending.  It used to be just a dream for me and the other church members but God, in His goodness, mercy, and grace, are making more impossible things done.

Everything happened so fast. I have no idea how the pastors and the school staff are doing it right now. All I know is that God has given our church a vision and He is now making greater things happen.

My home church, International Charismatic Service, In Christ our Strength, has been greatly blessed, allowing us to open a  school. We’re starting small but with the resources God has been giving us, it seems to be bigger than we’ve imagined and prayed for.

The church office has been transformed to a Pre-school. The area used to be our Sunday School too but now it’s back to being a place where kids can learn more about God and His people. It is perhaps where Joshua and I first met.

It was only last week that I got to visit the school. But prior to checking it out, I already chocked upon seeing the new Children’s Church upstairs. The church office has been moved to the 2nd floor so the children’s room became smaller. I went inside the messy Sunday School alone. I looked around and tears welled up in my eyes. Tables and chairs everywhere but I could spot the beauty in it.

THIS IS IT. I thought. I grew up learning about God here. Joshua and I both discovered our faith in this same room, in this same church… and now, our son Noah will start to learn about this Great God of ours– in this same blessed place.

Last Sunday, we dedicated Kites & Strings Learning Center to God. That was after we dedicated the new church office. Yes! God is good! All these and more, less than a year after we opened the 180 Activity Center.

Kites & Strings Learning Center
Kites & Strings Learning Center

For a while, we even postponed our search because we thought we would be moving. I never really expected that God would end our search this way. It was an answered prayer.

We have more than a month to prepare and pray for this new school. I know in my heart that it was God who is making great things happen in our church.

I am glad that my family– Joshua, Noah, and I– will be part of this new endeavor. We see this as a journey— a journey towards learning– not only for our child but also for us parents heeding to God’s call to train Noah in the way he should go (Proverbs 22:6) and to bring him up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4).

“He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children, that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments; and that they should not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast,   whose spirit was not faithful to God.”
(ESV, Psalm 78:5-8)

 

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Kites and Strings Learning Center

Kites & Strings Learning Center
Ground Floor,  ICS Worship Center
Address : Mayflower St., Greenfield District, Brgy. Highway Hills,
EDSA CENTRAL, Mandaluyong City 1554

Contact Nos : 6321093 ~ 6315265

Courses offered:

NURSERY – 3 to 4 years old
KINDER – 4 to 5 years old

 MAP TO KITES & STRINGS LEARNING CENTER

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Words from Seth Godin

Random
seth godin
I just love this guy.
  • Any time you do work yourself, you’ve chosen not to use the services of someone who’s probably better at it than you are. There might be really good reasons for that choice, but inertia isn’t one of them.
  • The inability to say the thing that will make everything better (because of fear of shifting the status quo) is a project killer.
  • The only reason to venture into the land of the new is to benefit from the leap that comes when you get it right. So leap.
  • Delivering your message in different ways, over time, not only increases retention and impact, but it gives you the chance to describe what you’re doing from several angles.
  • The key is understanding that while the general public can root for you and learn from you, the people you truly care about number in the thousands (or possibly millions) but they’re not everyone. They’re the people who matter to you. And you to them.
  • Promising perfect is actually not nearly as useful as promising what the rules are.
  • Great marketers don’t make stuff. They make meaning.
  • Choose wisely. It’s perhaps the most important decision we make, every day.
  • We cure disagreements by building a bridge of mutual respect first, a bridge that permits education or dialogue or learning. When you burn that bridge, you’ve ensured nothing but conflict.
  • It doesn’t take 135 minutes to make a life, it takes almost a century.
  • Life is actually far better than it is in the movies. And it takes longer.
  • Do work and get paid once. Build an asset and get paid for as long as it lasts.
  • Your choice: intentionally build and nurture your assets, or ignore them in the pursuit of the next thing…
  • The more choices, the more freedom, the more freedom, the harder it is to decide what to do next. If you don’t view that as a good thing, it’s probably worth doing something else instead.
  • Dreams are irresistible, but they will never match reality when it finally appears.
  • What works is significantly more important than what’s new.
  • All too often, the ones who are aggressively seeking the theory of the day don’t have a lot to show for what they did yesterday.
  • That means (surprisingly) that it’s better to have a consistently negative experience than to confront one that’s sometimes negative and sometimes neutral. – Sad but it’s the truth for most people.
  • When you shine a light, both of you can see better.
  • You don’t get to just do the good parts.The very thing you’re seeking only exists because of the whole. We can’t deny the difficult parts, we have no choice but to embrace them.
  • It’s the important, not the urgent, that deserves attention.
  • No, the only way to know what people think is to watch what they do, not what they say. Do they come back for more? Do you cause them to change their behavior? Can you make them smile?

At a Crossroad

Faith, Family

crossroadSometimes I feel we’re at a crossroad. You know those times when you’re just waiting for something challenging or good to happen. We’re not in a deep crisis but husband and I, well…mostly me, are being challenged to the core. I know other people are experiencing worse but it’s making me crazy. Every. Single. Day. Thinking about other people and the burdens they need to carry make my heart cry.

I asked God to help me bear one Fruit of the Holy Spirit this year: PATIENCE. God has been answering by giving me a few tests. He’s sending patients my way too.

I remember the last time I felt this way. My husband just got promoted while I was freed from pain. I asked him why such things are happening, he replied “Maybe it’s for your dad.” True enough, a few weeks later, he has gone home to be with His creator.

I could still remember those last few weeks with him. How God prepared us…how he prepared me for his death. It was a crucial point in my life. Of course, it was a September. Always a special month.

I really could not define my feelings right now. All I know is, God is with me. He is sovereign. And just like the past seasons in my life, He will carry me through. I know in my heart He is about to make something happen.

I only need to wait.
To be patient.
To be obedient still to His word.
To remain faithful.

To LOVE.

As early as now, I’m warning myself: Be ready to be blown away by my Lord.

Taste and see that the LORD is good.
Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!
Psalm 34:8

Update: A few minutes after posting this entry, I heard my husband playing “You’ll Come” from Hillsong’s “This is is Our God” Album on guitar. He has no idea that the song is speaking to me right now.



You’ll Come

I have decided I have resolved
To wait upon you Lord
My rock and redeemer shield and reward
I’ll wait upon you Lord

As surely as the sun will rise
You’ll come to us
As certain as the dawn appears

You’ll come let your glory fall
As you respond to us
Spirit rain flood into our thirsty hearts again

We are not shaken we are not moved
We wait upon you Lord
Our Mighty deliverer my triumph and truth
I’ll wait upon you Lord

Chains be broken
Lives be healed
Eyes be opened
Christ is revealed