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We find God in the most unexpected places and there are just so many things that we could actually do to connect with Him as we continuously seek for Him in our lives.

Having a deep personal relationship with Him is one. Having people to guide you as you walk with Him is another. He uses people everyday and one is even more blessed if you get to find Him on your workplaces. I am blessed to be one of those.

Who would have thought. I came to this company to seek higher knowledge in the field (civil engineering) that I am in. But as it turned out, it even became a way to ignite the desire that has already been there for so long. And that is to get to know the Lord and His will for me; even lend me His daughters (my colleagues) to guide me along the way.

Recently we had this activity on our care group where we have answered a Spiritual Gift questionnaire. It is quite simple, to be honest. You just have to fill them up with the most honest answers and then tally them and see where it would lead. But the results gave so much joy that the hearts could not contain it. It reminded me how much He love me that He gave me such wonderful spiritual gifts that I may have possessed long ago but never really put into good use, some I am not even aware that I have but is evidently showing, as per the people that I have encountered previously.

The top three that I got (due to a triple tie on the 2nd spot, I am to share 5) are: (1) FAITH, (2) MERCY, EXHORTATION, APOSTLESHIP and (3) EVANGELISM.

Oh how great is our Lord! It felt like He is calling me and wanting to use me in spreading His Love and His Words.

"I knew it. Your faith, ja. It's more than the ordinary."

"...Mercy is innate in you."

I am teary-eyed while reading my good friend/spiritual journey buddy when I shared to her about this piece of news.

Do I really possess such gifts? Is it really in me? Am I worthy of all of this, Lord?

As my mind is being filled with so many questions it has dawned on me that I am already saved by His grace. I have claimed it long ago and yet why am I still doubting? Contradicting thoughts that lead me to the realisation that instead of questioning, I have to accept everything as it is. Give thanks to Him and glorify Him even more. And accept the challenge of leading not only my life but lead others as well into Him. The triple tie on the second spot constitute to only one thing. Even the third one is a part of that one big challenge. Through the said activity, I felt Him speaking to me. "Use your unwavering faith and mercy in exhorting people to know my Word, to live choosing Jesus as the center of their lives and be closer to Me."

I am excited. So stoked for all Your plans in Me. Thy will be done, oh Lord. Thy will be done.

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I was randomly Google-ing my daily Kim Soo Hyun fix one day when I came about this 대박 site which features some real good (however biased) K-Drama reviews. Of course, it has sparked up my interest and so I checked/read a few and it was so nice it has inspired me to blog this.

Knowing how I don't really do series a lot (I am a bummer, as I may have previously mentioned in my old posts) this is something that I don't usually do. To be honest, the last K-drama that I did like the most and was able to watch the most if not all the episodes was Full House with Rain and Song Hye Kyo on the lead and that felt like ages ago. Hahaha. I did watch Tree in Heaven and Snow White, Sweet Love because of Lee Wan, who's prior to knowing Kim Soo Hyun, is my long time bias. You see, I did not know a lot of Korean actors back then and it's not that i knew a lot of them now; I am not even aware of Lee Wan's current whereabouts. Not that we are related and that I should know lol but in another universe we are together in the past and now...and now.. i do not even know. (delusional. Ha. I'm just kidding.)

What I am trying to say is that I am not into mainstream actors/shows that much (and Kim Soo Hyun is huge and practically well-known anywhere now). Lee Wan is a good actor (at least in my eyes) but he is, sadly, not on a superstar status in Korea, which is for me, selfishly is a good thing because there is lesser competition with other fangirls (Hahaha my logical self is on a vacation, bear with me). I only watch K-dramas (the dubbed ones) on TV when it is on. I don't even bother to stay up late to watch Jang Geum, Jumong, and the likes no matter how great they are, as my friends would tell me. Most K-dramas are on the late primetime slot usually, is why. If it's in the afternoon I am either in school back then or in present time, working my arse out in the office so there is really not much of a chance to watch. The truth is, that is me to every TV series (not only K-dramas) in general.

It is not until My Love From The Star that I did bother to have the episodes downloaded so I can watch it whenever I feel the need to (read: miss my alien oppa). If you have endured reading this post up to this point, you can totally say that I am hooked with the awesomeness that is Kim Soo Hyun.

I have missed their runs for quite several times in the past and I vowed to see them if they would ever come back. The lords of the witches and wizards may have heard my pleas and so this year, no dark forces can stop me from seeing Potted Potter as they hit Manila by storm again from September 30 to October 5. I am also blessed to have Jov for taking charge of securing our tickets early on. It was not easy, or so I was told, because tickets are mostly sold out but she managed to get us our desired seats (within our budget, of course) on the October 5th, penultimate run, much to our convenience.

Potted Potter, to those Muggles who may not have heard of it yet, is this theatrical production in London which gives its audiences an unauthorized Harry Potter experience via a parody of the seven books in approximately 70 minutes. Being a Potter fan, it is not one to be missed and is probably the closest to A Very Potter Musical (of Starkid Productions which starred Darren Criss as Harry freaking Potter, that I truly loved) that I could get to watch in the flesh. It is not a musical in a sense, but as I have found out, there is a really rad musical number in there and the actors, James Percy and Ben Stratton are equally awesome as well.

WHAT TO LOVE

The improvisations (as how it may be called in the theater world) and adlibs depending on the places that they have been performing to be able to relate to the fans/audiences more are very commendable. What to expect in Potted Potter Manila? Well, the walis tambo (Tagalog word for broom) for Quidditch is funny, especially saying it with their British accents that I really like. And Dobby dying after singing My Way (I'm not surr if everybody get the pun but I sure did. Ha.)

I love how the play is interactive, giving the audience a chance to not just experience the play but actually be in the play itself. Notable for this penultimate run is this cool, blonde kid (of whom Ben has constantly referred to as Draco Malfoy) and the sweet girl as Seekers for Slytherin and Gryffindor respectively.

"Then why are you working with him?"

"Because we couldn't get Darren Criss!"

The two actors totally complimented each other. Every banter, every character, every scene. One would wonder how are they going to pull it off? Portraying all of the major characters when there is just the two of them? That alone, to me, is magic.

"You sounded like a Scottish Shrek, Ben."

"Donkey!"

The Golden Snitch = Bob The Builder on a nightout. But he sure is too adorable.

If there are some lows, I could only think of two things: the teaching/teachers reference and the mocking (kind of) of the Hufflepuff House.

Admittedly, they were not aware of how teaching is one of the most noble professions, at least to the Filipinos and I totally admire them for pointing out right then their lack of research regarding that one and for apologizing of sorts.

"We'll send you straight to Hufflepuff!" Like it is the worse House one would ever been. Although generally they are noted as the non-special ones, but they are trustworthy and nice, and hey, they are gems and Jo Rowling's favourite House. It should not be a big deal, I know, it's just a joke but I just felt like pointing that out.

All in all, it is but fitting for me to have witnessed a theatrical act of the Potter nature for the first time, just as the first film that I have seen in 3D is a Harry Potter film. Such milestones, eh? I loved all of it, really. It was a play full of laughs, and nostagia like reading the books firing up the fangirl slash booknerd in you all over again. Congratulations to all of the actors and staff! Sure it was memorable and one for the books. I hope to see them in Manila again some time.

Just posting a quick update since I haven't really been on in here a lot. Also, I am trying out this Android app for posting blogs and this is like a trial post. Haha.

BUSY AND NOT BUSY
I have been busy and not busy in the past few days/months, if that even make sense.

I guess I have been actively participating now, in Charlie's (from The Perks of Being a Wallflower) words. My mother project is almost wrapping things up and our schedule is not as tight as it was a few months back. We could even go kill time and hang at the malls (in my case, bookstores) after work since we can head out early (7pm). We could dine in and try on different restaurants and cafes although it also mean more of the money coming out than in lol but we all deserve a treat for working so *ehem* hard. It is, in my opinion, a healthy kind of overtime because it gives us more time for ourselves, hence, work-life-balance. I am beyond grateful as well to have a great working environment. They are all business when the situation require them to and yet they know when to take things lightly and most of all, have fun. Spending time with them mean lesser time to go online, compose stuff, draw/sketch, and read, but it also mean creating wonderful memories that not a single material/virtual thing on Earth could beat. Or maybe I am just plain lazy. Or both.

I am also, unfortunately, a bit out of the weather for weeks now. Pray for me that this is not something really serious and hope to get better come Bazooka Rocks 3 (August 31st). It will be hard to mosh around coughing, yeah? I really cannot wait to get better.

Since I have found this app of which I can use offline to finalise my drafts, it may also mean that I could post in here more. Not gonna promise anything, though. But it would be nice to be able to write again, no matter how short and random.

See you around!

PS: I have been into Instagram lately, might as well follow me there? It's aprilskelter. Thanks! :-)

That is one of the lines from one of my favourite Anberlin songs ever.

Was I bummed to have missed their farewell Manila show last night? Totally.

Is it possible to acquire PCD (Post Concert Disorder) even when you were not able to go to that particular concert? Heck yes.

To those who may not have known, Anberlin is having their final tour before the band calls it quit. A mutual decision of ending a great era of musical journey and venture into different endeavors apparently separately. I have seen them once at Bazooka Rocks 2 last year and I maybe have gotten lucky even for I was also given a chance to meet (and greet) them. Being so bad ass and hands down talented, one can only assume how intimidating it is to get to talk to them face to face but heck no, I swear they are all genuinely nice persons, giving each fan on the line a hug and heartily talking to them about their humbling stay in the country. I maybe still in denial with the fact that they may never play together again in Manila, or anywhere else for that matter. But I am so grateful to have witnessed and grown to love the music that they have shared, the talent and passion that they have offered to the world.

Long live, Anberlin!

Thank you for the music!

Credits to the awesome person who has uploaded this video on Youtube. What a tearjerker gem. I cry. I thank you.

"Is it over now, hey? Is it over now?" x

Bands' member lineup change is not really a new thing; it actually
happens all the time. Even with the almost perfect lineup of The
Beatles, there was also a point of whether or not to replace Pete Best
(who was then known and admittedly was the most famous among fangirls
of their era, among the other members) as their drummer. Of which they
actually did by the name of Ringo Starr. Some did not like it, some
hated Ringo for it, some stayed and supported until the Beatlemania
came to life and the rest as they say is history.

It is not the first time for The Cab, either. They have been into a
couple of member changes due to different reasons, the pursuit of
other career, be it still on the musical and/or other endeavors.

And then there was Alex T. Marshall.

I did not see it coming. Nor would have I expected that he, of all
people, would depart from the band that I came to love. I would not
have been so surprised if Joey or Dave did. Don't get me wrong,
though, it is not that they were not into the band as much as singer
or Marshall was but there's just a lot that's going on with Joey and
Dave that inasmuch as it is evident how they love to perform, they
have other stuff to divert their energies with. Joey for one, is into
arts, he even has an online shop for his artworks, doesn't he? But
Alexander and Alex? They could never do anything wrong when together.
They were like the original members (although apparently Alex Marshall
filled in around late 2000's. Was it 2008 or 2009?) and they would
never part ways. They are the perfect jam.

Or so I thought.

There has been speculations prior to singer's bomb drop (when he
tweeted about the album tagging Joey and Dave minus Marshall) and
Marshall's parting statement via the band's official Facebook page but
I was not able to put the pieces altogether until the day of the
Manila meetup for the annual The Cab Day celebration, when I came to
the girls and they were all like, "Did you know about Marshall?" "Have
you heard of the news about Marshall?" while in my mind I was
like..."What about Marshall?" I really have no idea and I still don't
want to believe it even after them letting me read the actual
statement that he has posted. What the heck has just happened? For the
first time in weeks, I was speechless.

I blame my social media diet, though not entirely for not being able
to keep track of the happenings within the band. But right then I
realised (1) Singer and Marshall have not exchanged tweets / talked
publicly in the longest while. I cannot even remember if Marsh was
able to greet singer on his birthday when last year they were both
having a blast at the parties; (2) no album update from Marsh when
singer would usually post song lyrics and teasers. (3) as the album/EP
release came near, and The Cab would post video teasers for the
upcoming album. But Marshall is MIA.

Maybe a lot of things has really changed. Different perspectives are
being considered and we all want to embark into something where we
could improve ourselves and pursue whatever that would make us live a
happier and satisfying lives.

I don't know what has made them drift apart, but I do hope that there
would not be any bad blood between the two of them, if there is one.
The friendship, brotherhood that they had is too precious should never
be put into waste. Which in a way has reminded me, in life we may get
to unconsciously hurt people, we may disappoint them, but in the end
we love and understand them beyond anything.

To The Cab, I know how hard you have worked for this day to come: when
the world is finally seeing all your efforts, that the world is
finally getting exposed to your natural talent. And we are going to be
with you, always, along the way. You make every bucks so worth it.
You've been given the power to inspire by doing what you loved the
most (to perform and create good music) and I'm forever thankful that
you are using the power well. I want to give you the warmest of hugs
if you ever (yes you will) get to tour in Manila again. I wish you all
the success.

And to Alex Marshall, it sucks that I wasn't able to experience your
best hugs at the meet and greet *lol* and I am yet to thank you
personally for the good things that you've given me, (inspiration,
love through your passion to your craft) but I'm wishing you well. You
are one gorge and talented guy. I truly believe that whatever future
plans that you have in mind, they will all be successful. You always
have my support. Always. Steadfastly. Endlessly.

With all my love, April

I can only name a few Korean soaps that I've seen from the first to
the last ep mainly because I am too lazy to sit down and stare at the
TV or the laptop for hours. I prefer movies over TV series most of the
time. And honestly, I would rather read a book and/or communicate with
my beloved family/friends thru SMS or the social media. I am such a
bum.

I can only name a few Korean stars/popstars because to be honest, I
could not get myself into liking people who cannot express themselves
clearly using the English language. Sorry for being so harsh but I'm
just being honest. I maybe a bit Western-ish. I'm not saying that they
aren't likeable. They are. But to each their own. I have my
preferences and I respect yours so respect mine.
But still you got to admire their acting talent and the entertainment
that they can bring to each of their fans. I like Lee Wan and Song
Seung Hun to name a few actors. I cried seeing First Love (I'm not
quite sure if this is the title lol but it is) an ensemble film about
all the kinds of love (somewhat a Korean's take on Love Actually slash
Valentine's Day sort of thing but is way way better you guys should go
see it!). Miracle in Cell No.7 tugged strings in my heart. That film
is so beautiful. I know 2NE1 because Sandy is there. Come on, who
doesn't know Sandara Park, right? I love her. I've heard of BigBang,
SuJu, U-Kiss, Infinite, CNBlue... I have even seen 2PM live once. Oh,
and I like Nickhun. I've seen him in the flesh twice. He's so
charming.

And recently, I got hooked to this very light and fun soap called My
Love From The Star.
Blame Kim Soo Hyun's handsome face, sexy abs and charm and acting prowess.
Blame Jun Ji Hyun's comedic timing and beauty.
Blame the basic plot of a human falling in love with an alien with
lots of interesting subplot, teleporting and bickering that is very
easy to love.

Even my grandmother watches this show everyday. And because it has a
rerun every Sunday, it became one of our bonding moments because she
would usually remind me to turn on the TV so we could watch it
together.
"Matteo Do (Do Min Joon) na," she would tell me.
She even knows what's going to happen next (because she's seen it
daily) and it amuses me every single time when I would teasingly ask
her what's going to happen next (because I am at work and I apparently
have missed the weekday runs.)
"Magkikita ba sila?" "Nasan si Matteo?"
"Bakit nasa ospital si Steffi (Song Yi)?"

I downloaded some of the bloopers video on Youtube and I may have
fallen in love with the characters and the actors even more. They
seemed to be having fun and enjoying every takes. They bring out the
best in each other, and I guess that explained why the acting seemed
so natural. Not to mention they sizzle on-screen, too. The chemistry
of those two is just....too... It's like a match made in heaven.

I learned from friends that Soo Hyun can sing (oh right, Do Min
Joon-shi has a scene where Cheon Song Yi has asked him to sing for
her) so I checked his song off the official soundtrack and well....it
was..nice. I think. Heh. (I know lol. He may not be the best singer
but the boy can sing.)

What's even make me like the show more is the constant reference of Do
Min Joon to this children's book by Kate diCamillo entitled "The
Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane" all throughout the show (because
he can relate to the main character from the book, Edward the rabbit
made from china). I have recently read it and I believe that it is one
of the nicest that's ever written out there. I could not thank the
show enough for introducing me to this precious literary gem.

Then there are the scandals (contract/endorsement related stuff) these
two main Hallyu superstars are facing. I feel sad for them for all the
hating that's coming from some people, but that is how it is. A day
would come and you'd realise you cannot have all the love. People are
going to judge. People are going to hate. People can be daft. People
would say pointless things. People will believe what they want to
believe. People will overlook and forget all the great things just
because of one decision that they'd say against their conventional
wisdom and thinking they know everything but clearly they knew nothing
about. They would just assume. Extreme perverseness that seemed like
one of human's tendencies. But unknown to them, they are just making
Soo Hyun and Ji Hyun even stronger, and loved by those who understands
and is open-minded enough to see both sides of the situation at hand.
And until the issue is settled, they would just end up vexing no one
but themselves.

As for me, I like Kim Soo Hyun and Jun Ji Hyun. And despite
everything, I think this appreciation would last for long.
Excuse me as I go read the book again. =)

"The heart breaks and breaks and lives by breaking.
It is necessary to go through dark and deeper dark and not to turn."
- an epigraph from "The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane"

AN INTRO

Well, hello there, you lovely! Here's me being at my most random. If I am not dealing with structural designs and engineering/estimating stuff, I probably am just creepin' somewhere... spreading The Word in my own little ways and/or appreciating the little things (basically cats, music and books). Also, I write about them sometimes. If you aren't the reading type and you wish to talk longer or if you've got suggestions and such, chatty type can always reach me here. Otherwise, welcome to my online home!