Some Subic Pictures

Going for 5, 29 and 34

Polo will be a five month old baby this Saturday, July 21! Wohoooooooo! Yipeeeeeee! I will then be 34 on Sunday, July 22. Wow! I'm old! hahahahahahaha.. My dear wife will be 29 on Monday, July 23. Good for her.. still in her 20's. Last year.

You guess it right. It will be a celebration for the Agustin's! First only celeration of bday's since next year we will no longer have to celebrate Polo's bday by month. The celebration will start on Saturday. It will be for all the July celebrants. Daddy Dante (22 also) and my kuya ( 23 also. I hope he will be able to join us). We will have a big lunch celebration. The following day, Josephine, Polo and I will go to Subic for our regular family Get away adventure. It will be Polo's first out of town!

I can't concentrate. Got to go!

The Principle of Success by Jack Canfield

Last night, I came to a chapter where there is an exercise. Nothing new. The instruction is to write at least 30 things that I want in my life to happen. Career. Finances. Properties. Investments. Relationships. Hobbies. That was easy. Mentally, I imagined how much (at this point of time) salary will make me comfortable or would satisfy me. I imagined that for me, leaving in a clean, modern 3-bedroom condo is something I hope to achieve. Spacious, with Balcony and it should be here in Makati. The best part of it, is that I dont need to pay for it and that while we are staying there we are at the same time already planning for our real home. My eyes were closed and I can smell the fresh scent of our condo, the wide LCD screen TV. Wow. Then, I saw three cars and all of them are Honda's. I went on with my imagination.

While going through the exercises, I felt good at first then it was like I reached a certain peak which made me to slow down. Just like in driving, I drive as fast as 130kph. That is the fastest speed I am comfortable with. Beyond that would make me nervous because maybe I am not sure if my car will be able to handle the speed and I too would be able to react appropriately if there is danger. Anyway. I slowed down and got nervous and it was like the bubbles are starting to burst. Came the thought that maybe I am wanting too much and it is something impossible. Not in this lifetime. Not when the tools I have are not enough to help me dig my treasures.

I started feeling bad so I stopped. I opened my eyes and read more of this book. Lo and behold, there was another instruction which I failed to read. "Do not limit yourself, your list." Just allow yourself to imagine what it is that you really like without "ifs" "but" "only" etc.,

I've been through this exercise before and I am aware that I can freely dream of what I want and yet I always end up maybe bursting my own bubbles. See. There is a transformation to me now and it is due to happen. It will happen this month and the coming months.

Bo's teachings last night also caught my interest. It was about addiction and how come we keep on being addicted into whatever it is. Be it substance, eating, sex, smoking, working too much and other addictions. The bottom line of all this addictions is that there is something that we want to be loved. If you dont know how it feels, you will search for it and turn on to something to substitute that feeling. SIMPLY, BO AFFIRMED THAT GOD LOVES US. It is new every morning. It hit me. Yeah, I can not ignore it because even though I know that God loves me, it was different last night. It was an affirmation, a commitment from God. Only He can fill up what we are endlessly searching for. He is the only one who can make us complete.

Going back to Jack, with this renewed spirit and a guidance from this good book, I know I will be ok. I will go back to my Vision of what a good life means to me. I will not be angry. I will not feel hopeless. I will no longer feel like a victim. Just like in the first reading today. God instructed Moses to rescue His people and Moses really felt inadequate. God said, "Do not be afraid. I will be with You". That for me is pure love.

I excited to make my list.

Books Books Books

I can not help it but I now have several books and some of them I have not managed to finish just yet. Last week, I started a new one. :( BUT I am happy that I have a new one and it caught my interest right away. It's Jack Canfield's, The Success Principles. I have finished chapter one but the book is really thick so good luck to us all mankind. Hey, give justice to the tree!


I have spread my wings and ready to soar. Really? Yeah. Control my own destiny (with God of course) but I shouldn't feel trapped because of someone, somethings, etc etc., Wohoooo hooooo hoooooo... Though, I have just started with my plans and nothing is materializing yet. I know it will come. It will. Once it is here then I will see.

I want to have a mini library. I really have many books and magazine. Where to place them? NOWHERE!! Basta, I will have one in my own house. Gee. We will have a place we can call our home.

Janitor fish, a menace when allowed to breed on their own.

Still about Family

Oh yeah? I do not have a problem Tita! and you?

This is my impression of my Blue teddy

I will be a famous celebrity one day. Just like my dad!

See. I can clap using my feet

Grrrrrrrr... finally my Mom bought me my Teether!


All I can say is that my loyalty belongs to my family first. Top of the pyramid (but not higher thean God). I will go where my God wants me to go keeping my family in mind and I am sure that God would want me to start everything my family. That's my current role or vocation now. A husband and a father. A provider.

There is no such thing as starting all over again unless you finish what you have started. If not, it will follow you where ever you go and so you have to go back again. Life is a process, a long continuous activity. Should not be a vicous cycle. It shouldn't be stagnant either. Life is meant to move.

I decided not too talk or dwell into my current situation. Not here in my work place. I have to divert my attention into something else. Something more creative and inspiring. Something a more mature person would do.. hmmmmmmm.. maybe look for another job? hahahahahahahahaahahaha.. You think so? If you are mature and you are really fed up and tired and starting to feel annoyed and disappointed with a lot things and still so many things to do, making tough decision, expected to perform so and so.. but at the end of the day.. you feel that you are not being treated fairly.. what are you going to do? ha? mature person???

Mature Person (MP): "Marvin.. this is the mature person speaking"

Marvin (M): Ha? Whadda?! Why is your voice like that?So creepy,Man!

MP: Ok ok ok.. that's beside the point. I will modulate.. ehem ehem

M: So, what's the answer to my question the mature one!

MP: The anwers are with you already you do not need to look far

M: Huh? Please not that I am lazy but I am really stressed and too damn tired to think now!

Answer me since you just pop out here and then you are giving this crap?!!

MP: OH! that's why you are not like me yet. Grouchy! impatient.

M: Go on now.

MP: Let me see. Here's how I see it. You are not happy...

M: Yeah, as if i do not know

MP: Are you going to listen or what? You feel like _________________

______________________. _________________________._________
___________________________________________________

MP: Then you should ______________and___________________.

M: Alright then. Thanks and you can go back to your old self. Your tone just got higher than the empire state building.

Something about us

My cousin is here in the Philippines and I became her fulltime driver yesterday. I actually volunteered. You know after our HK experience with the Di Cicco's, Josephine and I would like to be like them. A good host. There you go. Not much opportunities to do it so I grab this one.

I've learned something about the history of my family, Agustin. Ate Imelda is the eldest of all the cousins (for her on both sides). Some parts of the story, I am already familiar with then she just supplied some details. Before the Japanese occupation, The Agustin Family was thriving very well in Apari. They were known and rich people until the Japanese came. The Japs took all my great granfather's properties and sadly they beheaded him. Then came the Americans whose strategy before is still like what they are doing now. Bomb.bomb.bomb and more bombs! I think that leveled all the properties of the Agustins to the ground.

My Grandfather, Paol0 (whom Polo was named after) was a Captain of a ship. Then The Agustin moved to Pasay where my father grew up but a tragedy struck again. There was a big fire that burned down the house. The Agustin then moved to Marikina where I grew up.

Right now, only me and my elder brother carrythe Agustin surname (from the lineage of Capt Paolo). Just the two of us! Wow! and so this means that Polo is actually the only young Agustin around. Not until Kuya fathers a son or Josephine and I are ready to have another little Polo.

Ate Imelda surprised me with her principles and vision for the whole family. She wants us to be successful and not end up to be ordinary people. She wants to bring back the glory days of the Agustins! Ok, Polo go go go go.. we will support you! hahahahahaahaha. :) Pressure. Me, I really want to be successful but not to the point that I will sacrifice my relationship with my family. Hindi na uso yun. Mas challenging yung to be rich and at the same the family is intact and close to each other.

Boracay. Simply the best

It was just last week when I stepped on the powdery whitesand of boracay once again. Just twice in my life (and Josephine had been there several times). The experience is exhilirating still. I can not helped but be in awe. Am I in the Philippines or what? If I become a President of this country, I will make sure that all Filipinos would at have a chance to enjoy this beautiful island. Really. Seriously (borrowed expression from Grey's Anatomy).

It isn't easy to take pictures. It frustrated me when I saw my compositions. You know, balancing everything, knowing your subject/focus. The LIGHT!!!! Thanks to Google's Picasa! The application helped saved some of the composition and give justice to Boracay. I'm not saying these are the best pictures ever but for me I tried my best and they look good and I took them.

How was my "KJness"? Absolutely perfect! It was how I planned it. I controlled my own time and really I only joined people when I feel like doing so and most of the time it was during meal times. Free lunch, dinner and merienda. Why not join? diba? Though, I think I should have spent more time reflecting than taking pictures.

I can not say I didn't get scared during the plane ride. I was when we were on our way to Caticlan and I shouldn't have felt that way because it was a smooth ride but returning home was different! Yeah. Scary. I survived. We survived. Overall the trip to Boracay was all worth it except that I didnt spend it with my family.