7 Quick Takes (Vol. 14)

--- 1 ---

Being one who appreciates some change from time to time, I'm thinking about changing my blog's layout/theme/colors.  Again. Typically whenever this happens, I experiment with a few and end up returning back to this layout as you see it now...

We'll see what happens.  I just want something simplistic yet conveys what I'm going for. Who knows! Maybe this blog will look entirely or subtlety different for Quick Takes Vol. 15!

--- 2 ---

When I read the word, "flugtag", I don't usually think of energy drinks and aerospace. I see that word, and it carries a sort of German connotation that I'm totally unsure of its meaning.  But! Apparently flugtag is an event organized by Red Bull where competitors fly home-built, human-powered machines that have size and weight restrictions, usually from 30 feet up in the air into a lake.

Crazy!

And apparently there's a local one of these coming up this weekend. And now I finally understand what some of my coworkers were talking about when they decided to organize a flugtag team earlier in the year.  I just might go because I find it intriguing and the aerospace nerd in me delights in this idea of aerospace/aeronautical achievement...or failure.

Red Bull gives you wiings!...which also hopefully float. :-x

--- 3 ---

So maybe I taught a class briefly on leadership over the weekend that involved the Harlem Shake. Like, seriously. My main topic for leadership was "nurture your first followers" where I used the Harlem Shake as an example of what's missing from crazy leader to crazy crowd.  Because as you see below, solo to crowd happens instantaneously and that's not really how it works in real life.

Yes, we can learn from the Internets.

--- 4 ---
The iPhone 5S comes out today! I'm still rockin' the iPhone 4, and it's been a loyal piece of gadgetry over the past 3 years, but I think the time has come for an upgrade.  But! I just upgraded to iOS 7, which pretty much breathes fresh air into my iPhone 4. Like, with iOS 7, it feels like a totally new phone.

So why the 5S? Because I'm a tech geek and it's got good enough of guts to make it last a long while. I'm not looking to upgrade again until the 7S anyway =P

Regarding iOS 7...and my life is Catholic for this...but...I'm actually most excited about how you can stuff unlimited apps into folders now. Now I can store all my Catholic apps in one folder!

Very. Big. Deal. Because you know you're Catholic when your shelves don't have room for all your Catholic books and when your iOS folders don't have enough room for all the apps...

--- 5 ---

My dad's birthday was this past Thursday! I bought dinner at an Asian place that my brother suggested, and it was fairly good.

I didn't realize he's closely approaching 60 and that kind of made me do a double-take. Dang, we're gettin' older.

--- 6 ---

Tangent-ing towards talking about time, Fall is usually when I get super busy. There are two times a year that I tend to get super busy: around this time and around April-May. It's been that way since college...and even now post-college.  I kind of feel like everyone decides to do everything around this time. Ok, and maybe around this time football season starts...

But seriously! I have to check my calendar closely just to make sure I'm not triple-booking myself on weekends and even during the week.

However, I've made it easier on myself by removing myself from some things I've been involved with the past few years. I'm wanting to focus on other things at the moment...but...more on that later.

--- 7 ---

And because my World Youth Day and Brazilian experience still lingers, I made sure to take the opportunity to make rice and beans. So for lunch nearly every day that we were there, we hit up one of those pay-by-all-you-can-eat-per-lb sort of places. And that's where I got to taste Brazilian-style rice and beans. I've been meaning to make it since I've been back from Rio De Janeiro, but my schedule has been super unstable and crazy since then. However, I had the opportunity to squeeze in some cooking time this past Sunday and...

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Tasty, tasty.

- JD

Red Bull Flugtag Returns To The Delaware River This Saturday, September 15 As 35 Teams Look To Defy Gravity With Their Human-Powered Flying Machines // Uwishunu

7 Quick Takes (Vol. 13)

--- 1 ---

I had the fortunate opportunity of going to see Audrey Assad in concert at a local Catholic university last weekend. She recently released her newest album, Fortunate Fall, and is touring around the country to promote her new album.

I have to say...I'm a fan! She's got such a pure voice and to hear her sing is always pretty awesome.  She performed her whole album plus a few crowd favorites from previous albums, and she ended the night with Matt Maher's, "Lord I Need You."

Uhhhh. Can't get better than that!

Oh yeah, this isn't my first time seeing her in concert. There was that one time that I got to see her in a private concert in a house, got to meet her, buy her previous two albums, and get them signed.

--- 2 ---

On Monday I took a "So you've never shot a handgun before" class. Groupon can be a dangerous thing, and it has led me down this path of firearms that I've previously ignored, but am now getting into it.  I think my previous skills and appreciation for archery, combined with my aerospace engineering skills, has increased my love of projectiles. And apparently handguns are the next step after Nerf guns. Oh and after airsoft guns too.

Don't worry. I've taken the time to educate myself on safety, Texas' gun laws, and all that jazz. And I have extreme malice towards paper...like so:

Not bad! ...at 3 yards

--- 3 ---

Napping in my car is now a bad habit. 60-mile commute to work, one-way...and carpooling has been a difficult thing as of late.  Therefore, I have mastered the art of the 10-minute nap so that I'm not falling asleep at the wheel...

Travel-sized pillows are a blessing. And once again...Groupon strikes again! ...because a memory foam travel pillow is that much nicer, especially at discounted price. ;-)

--- 4 ---

But all that napping is due to all that overtime-ing. Things have been hectic at work since I've gotten back from Brazil.  Like, mandatory 10 hours of overtime per week for nearly all of August! Pulling a near 12-hour day plus the commute for several weeks has burnt me out, and the only consolation is that glorious 10-minute nap before work in random parking lots.

Though...all that overtime has been nice. But then I severely lack...time. >_>

--- 5 ---

A good way to de-stress from overtime-ing is to laugh. And I literally LAUGHED OUT LOUD for several minutes like a crazy psycho maniac at this video:

So simple! So hilarious-for-some-irrational-reason!

...and I haven't even delved into the variations on this theme of a waffle falling over!

...I could easily overtime on YouTube for the sake of falling waffles...

--- 6 ---

It's always awkward to have a conversation with a dental hygienist. Well, clarification. It's always awkward to have a conversation with a dental hygienist while they are currently cleaning your teeth. But luckily this past week, I didn't really have to maintain any sort of conversation while I felt the picks and pokes and gentle turns of the brush-drill with the instant flow of water out one nozzle and into the other.

Actually, the most intriguing conversation I had with my dental hygienist was just before she lowered the chair.

Chocolate covered bacon...served with cheese.

-Spanish accent- Repite.

Chocolate covered bacon...served with cheese.

But it was a conversation on the start of football season which ultimately led to the greater conversation of football food traditions.

Though the conversation was short. I ...don't have any football food traditions...unless it's me serving concession stand food along with my fellow Filipinos at a Texas A&M home football game. A bucket of popcorn is exciting stuff. But I didn't get a chance to talk about that with my hygienist because I was already under the lamp.

And the whole time...I was very much intrigued at the idea of ruining my cleanly fresh teeth to have but a taste of chocolate covered bacon...served with cheese.

I must save this idea for future reference.

--- 7 ---
Speaking of football, I thoroughly enjoyed watching the Cowboys play last Sunday. Sundays are always busy for me in that I'm usually running around doing stuff for my ministries.  But it was nice to chill after all that was over by going to a fellow volunteer's house to watch the Cowboys play the Giants.

Nevermind that he had a 115" (projector) screen, his couch was comfy, an oversized ottoman was conveniently located near my feet, and a cold adult beverage was served.

And it was glorious!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

- JD

Chocolate covered bacon // Samantha Food Culture, Blogspot

7 Quick Takes (Vol. 12)

--- Preface ---

I must first begin these 7 Quick Takes with a preface.  First of all, I have been away from doing 7 Quick Takes for two months now. I got really busy in July and then World Youth Day happened... 

...August was spent focusing on other things and random blog posts that felt right to do at the moment. But alas, two months later, I realized that "wow! I haven't done 7 Quick Takes in two months!"  So now here we are!

As a fun way to get back into it and to share the awesome moments of my having gone to World Youth Day, I'd like to share my top 7 moments of World Youth Day 2013 in Rio De Janeiro.  

--- 1 ---

Adoration at Copacabana Beach.  This was probably by far the coolest part! I have never seen such dense concentration of human beings occupying the same space, and not only that...but for a Catholic purpose and reason!

It was a challenge to stake out a spot on the beach, but luckily my group go there early enough to enjoy some sandy space.  We were, what I would estimate to be, like 5 or 6 football fields away from the stage or the 2nd to last big screen out of the 25 lined up for the prayer vigil.

I actually didn't catch the start of Adoration because I was caught up in other distractions (and I don't think the big TV screens even showed it starting). But I figured it out once I started seeing people kneeling.

The two things that really stick out to me regarding Adoration with Pope Francis on that beach with 3 million others was the profound silence after Pope Francis asked for some moments of sacred silence. Like, seriously. Mountains bowed down and the seas roared, a helicopter buzzed around, but the beach full of pilgrims was silent. And that really was something.  I talk about it here in my blog post, The Silence of Millions.  The other thing that stood out to me was Matt Maher leading praise and worship during Adoration when he sang, "Lord I Need You."  It was incredibly fitting for the moment since he was singing that song on his knees, and the lyrics expressed everyone's sentiment before the Blessed Sacrament. How often do Christian singers get to sing to Jesus, literally?

--- 2 ---

Close papal encounters of the extra-ordinary kind. Our first day in Rio was the Monday before all the events for World Youth Day happened. Apparently Pope Francis decided to arrive early to speak with political dignitaries and stuff like that. I don't think most people knew he was in town. We didn't know he was in town.

But then...as we were walking back to our hostel that first night...we saw the beginnings of a motorcade pass by. And then lo and behold! IT WAS POPE FRANCIS IN A NON-POPEMOBILE VEHICLE WAVING AT US AS HE PASSED BY!
...and I totally missed it because I didn't make it to the street on time to record it with my camera. But I caught some reaction as well as the World Youth Day Cross and Image of Our Lady pass by.

The next time we encountered Pope Francis was later in the week when he led an Angelus at the cardinal palace.  My group caught wind that he would be there and basically camped out all morning in order to get some pretty awesome front row standing room.

And the last extra-ordinary encounter with Pope Francis was when he was on his way to the prayer vigil. A trip to the porta-potty involved lots of waiting in line. But the fruits of our waiting was not only met with relief but Pope Francis passing by in a motorcade! And YES! I did record it this time!

I would say all these moments were extra-ordinary because they really weren't like...the ordinary ways for everyone to see him. It was all about being in the right place at the right time. ;-)

--- 3 ---

Matt Maher, in concert. Him coming to World Youth Day was a rather last-minute decision/invitation. Even Matt himself posted about him coming like...back in June. Our group leaders purposely tried to figure out when and where he would be for these concerts.

I'm a fan of his music and his hits are a crowd favorite at my parish!

And so, on a dark and rainy Wednesday night after enduring a long bus trip to the venue and enduring a game of "Where's Matt Maher?!" at the venue, we were finally able to enjoy his musical stylings. Up. Close. And. Nearly. Personal. :-O

What was really cool was pretty much being the only English speakers present when he gave that concert that night along with our hostel-mates and neighboring diocese friends.


Yes, I recorded that too.

--- 4 ---

Party in the streets! I can't even begin to tell you how awesome Brazilian people are and much less...how awesome Brazilian Catholics are! They are just so full of joy and fervor! And they were so welcoming to us all!

Our first night (before seeing Pope Francis but after going up to Christ the Redeemer), we found ourselves in a dance party in the streets with a bunch of Brazilians. It involved pretty much any groups of pilgrims that passed by!

Yes, that was recorded as well...

This really helped set the tone of the joy that we would experience throughout the rest of the week in encountering our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ for World Youth Day!

--- 5 ---

Praying and singing with England. There were three groups staying the hostel that we stayed in for World Youth Day: us, our friends from a neighboring diocese from back home, and a group from England.  Our paths would cross every now and then, but I think one of the best highlight moments with them was being able to pray with them, go to Mass with them, and we totally had one night where we just did nothing but praise and worship.

Why yes, I recorded some of that, too!

--- 6 ---

Seeing my people! I don't mean to be stereotypical, but I think it's not too far fetched to think that most Filipinos are Catholic. And so, during my whole time in Rio, I expected to run into a lot of Filipinos. But, that didn't really happen.

And that's why I got really, really, really irrationally excited when I found groups of Filipinos randomly throughout Rio.  There was that one time I saw a small group of Filipinos, but they were from Libya...which that still counted.

But the coolest encounter I had in seeing my fellow Filipinos was that one time we tried to go to Mass, but ended up going to Adoration with a basilica full of Filipinos! YES!!!

I had to take a picture.

--- 7 ---

On top of the mountains! Our first day in Rio (gosh, that was a really epic day...), we went up to see Cristo Redentor, or the Christ the Redeemer statue that overlooks the city of Rio De Janeiro on Corcovado mountain.

It was kind of cloudy up there so you couldn't really fully appreciate the fullness of the statue because of the clouds.  A cool experience we had up there was having the random opportunity to go to Mass in the tiny chapel beneath Jesus' feet.  Our friends from the neighboring diocese conveniently had a priest with them who was willing to celebrate Mass. :-)

A picture because that really did happen.

And on our last full day of being in Rio, our group had the option to go up the Sugar Loaf Mountains or back to Copacabana Beach for some ocean time. I decided to go to Sugar Loaf to get some good pictures. Or something.

Such great views! And we had gotten in line in the middle of the afternoon, but it worked out that we were heading up the mountain right at sunset and dusk so we were able to see some breathtaking views of Rio De Janeiro at night.

Some videos here.

You can check out my #Rio2013 posts by clicking on the label: Rio 2013.  And I kept a blog for my group, and you can find that here: SEAS & St. Thomas Aquinas at WYD '13.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Did any of you go to World Youth Day 2013 and blog about it? I'd love to read/hear about it!

Ad Jesum per Mariam,

- JD

Adoration // Youcat.org

7 Quick Takes (Vol. 11)

--- 1 ---

So last weekend, my parents and bro were in Canada for my mom's sister's wedding.  That pretty much left me at home to fend for myself, which is no biggie. It was just me and my dog.  I took off work last Friday so that I could go to the doctor for a checkup and for my dog to go see the vet for her checkup and annual shots.  I spent most of the weekend away from home because of errands and prior obligations.

--- 2 ---

One of those prior obligations was sitting/standing outside in the Texas heat.  After all our (English) Masses this past weekend, I was outside collecting prayer requests from our parishioners so that my pilgrimage group for World Youth Day can take them and pray for those intentions while we're on our trip in a few weeks.

Despite the heat, it was worth it.  It was really cool to see how grateful most of the people who decided to leave us an intention were.  It's going to be great because there will be plenty of opportunities for us to go pray while we're in Rio.

If you would like to submit a prayer request that you would like me to pray for while I'm there, please feel free to check out my online form that I set up:

--- 3 ---

In addition to my after-Mass heat endurance exercises, I visited nursing homes on Sunday morning for my parish's Ministry to the Sick.  It was a really weird day because a good chunk of the residents I visited were asleep! One of my residents kept falling in and out of sleep which made consuming the Eucharist a little awkward as me and my helper stood their awkwardly. A little bit of water really helped.

But, this is an important ministry even though it can be awkward at times, and I'm gratefully unworthy to be doing it!

--- 4 ---

My dad and bro got back from Canada on Monday.  My brother then moved out of the house into an apartment on Monday.

Haha, so my bro will not be returning to the dorm life for his second year of college.  I got to visit his apartment after work on Monday.  It's pretty decent in a not-so-shady part of town and it's about 10 minutes away from his campus.  I'm not worried.

Despite him moving out, I feel like I've seen him everyday the past few days because there are things he had forgotten.  Yesterday, on the 4th of July, we spent a good chunk of the day with him to buy him some necessary things like food, a bed, and other practicalities.

This is sad.  My grandmother and brother have moved out of the house before me...

--- 5 ---

And my mom returned from Canada on Thursday.  She spent a few extra days spending time with her family and seeing other awesome places in Alberta.  Le gasp, she even crossed the border on a boat! But! Ya know, Montana. Canada.

Please pray for her health's return though! Her feet absolutely do not react well to bug bites of any sort, and she endured several mosquito bites on her right foot.  Right now it is swollen and painful so it makes it difficult for her to walk.  Much appreciated!

--- 6 ---

Someone from my pilgrimage group had asked if there was going to be a blog that we would keep to chronicle our trip.  I decided to look into it and have gotten something together.  For me and this blog, I was definitely planning on posting about my trip here.  But! I may pull double-duty or do some crazy cross-blogging!

More details later.

--- 7 ---
Things got crazy this past week at the Capitol. But you can find other commentary on that elsewhere.  I was browsing through my Twitter feed the other day and saw an interesting tweeted picture...which I decided to comment on while chowing down on a Carl's Jr. salad (not burger...blasphemy, I know) on the 4th of July.

"Supporting women's health is patriotic." Love, PP. No matter what.

Sure, but ... coming from everyone's favorite name brand in all things "women's health"? And seeing the actions of their supporters? I suppose it is patriotic.  o_O Blog post here.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

- JD

7 Quick Takes (Vol. 10)

--- 1 ---

What a crazy week in the political realm!  Perhaps our government decided through an act of congress to make this week a crazy week. Whatever the case, the movements of the government on the big issues are indicative of times when everyone's Internet/social life is filled with exchanges of slogan statusing and passionate opinionating.  Surely some glorious meme-ing as well.

I usually stay out of it.

It's not that I don't have my own opinions to express... But, I just rather not get caught up in the excitement and passion.  People get too emotionally invested or too sensitive about certain issues, and that's fine, but sometimes keeping charity and recognizing the dignity of the person behind the physical or on-screen keyboard is lost, and that's not cool. And also... I'd prefer to take the time to get informed about the issues before expressing something about it.

So, the unfortunate (fortunate?!) consequence of dealing with all this stuff by taking the time to get informed about the issues is that by the time I have a good grasp of what the real issues are, it's usually after the emotions stop running high regarding those issues. In other words, the fad is over on the social medias.  I guess that's why I'm left with dealing with these issues ...offline.  I guess I like it better that way anyway.  I'd rather do something about these issues face-to-face with people.

With that said...

--- 2 ---

...I'm a total jerk to today's culture. In the real life. Simply because I'm leading a group through learning about Blessed Pope John Paul II's Theology of the Body. This.  This is going to help provide the foundation at which to deal with the big issues like abortion and so-called "same sex marriages." Well, at the very least...in a Catholic context.  And things in a Catholic context tend to have a universally applicable vibe once I dig deep enough.

While I'm not going to provide a treatise on the Theology of the Body, other people have.  And that's how we're learning. Because other people have made the Theology of the Body more digestible for the rest of us.  And now I have to lead group discussions on it through the digestible portions offered by others like Christopher West, the Everts, and countless others.

So yes, we need Catholics to teach Catholics how to be Catholic using Catholic things that are Catholic.

Yo dawg, I hear you like teaching Catholics.

--- 3 ---

And speaking about Catholic things...  My parish is currently refreshing all of our Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion through mandatory trainings.

I don't always minister Holy Communion, but when I do...it's EXTRAORDINARY

I'm grateful for this because as an EMHC, it's important that we're all on the same page regarding how we approach our ministry.  Some things aren't liturgically or canonically correct to do such as laity seemingly communicating that they are giving a blessing (with the Eucharist!!!) when this action is only  reserved for ordained priests and deacons.

Not that we had widespread issues as a whole ministry, but we've had enough discrepancies or lack of uniformity to merit this.

By being on the same, correct page, we communicate the proper spirit of our ministry.  And this is a good thing.

Heaven forbid we do our stuff without being properly taught...

--- 4 ---

While on the topic about not being properly taught your own ministry... A group (let me stress that specific collective noun) from one of my beloved organizations on campus at Texas A&M did something rather dumb.

A group of Fish Camp counselors took some pictures at the Bonfire Memorial.  It's a tradition to take counselor pictures on campus. These pictures depicted them taking group and partner pictures at the memorial, standing on the memorial, suggestive poses at the memorial, and other types of pictures.

More on the story here: KBTX - Reported Fish Camp Counselor Pictures.

It's really, really disrespectful to the 12 Aggies that passed away in the Bonfire collapse back in 1999.  Really, really poor judgment on the part of the counselors.

As a former Fish Camp counselor and someone who has really strong, indirect ties to one of the 12, this is definitely appalling.

But! I'm not going to blame the rest of Fish Camp for the poor decisions of a select few.  I know Fish Camp will handle this as best as they can.  Well, they need to because Fish Camp's ministry (or purpose) is to help transition incoming freshmen to the Aggie life, including getting them on the same page because some certain things are not okay to do.  (see, there's a connection to #3).  Counselors, in order that they may communicate the proper ways to be an Aggie, need to exemplify the Aggie Spirit...even when having photographic evidence of fun. Freshmen will see that.

So thank goodness I'm an Aggie Catholic because I'm able to forgive them. But, justice needs to be served.  This short-sighted decision does have consequences.

--- 5 ---

In superficial news, I upgraded to a Keurig. My last coffee maker involved many parts to clean up after brewing, which became a hassle for me and my family.  The convenience of its maintenance is the attractive part of owning a Keurig.  It saves a ton of water during brewing and cleaning.

But! I don't see myself buying a lot of K-Cups.  While really, really convenient, they're also more expensive.  I don't want to raise my daily coffee expenditure more than I have to.

Thus, I'm on a quest for a reusable filter...

--- 6 ---

Summer seems to be a popular time for weddings.  And out the small handful of weddings I've been invited to this year, this weekend's wedding is one that I cannot make.  For one, it's in Canada. Two, I have too much stuff going on back home for me to spend the weekend in Canada.  My aunt is finally getting married and my mom's side of the family is mass gathering in Sasketchewan for it.

In the meantime, I'm holding the fort. With my vicious beast of a Chihuahua.

--- 7 ---

In a letter to Amy Ronald on December 15, 1956, J.R.R. Tolkien said that:

I am a Christian and indeed a Roman Catholic, so that I do not expect 'history' to be anything but a 'long defeat'- though it contains ... some samples or glimpses of final victory.

Something to reflect on.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

- JD

Bonfire Memorial / MSC Hospitality, Zeinert Photography

Philippine & Canadian Flag / Philippine Embassy Ottawa

7 Quick Takes (Vol.9)

--- 1 ---

Something practical I learned from the YouTube is the Japanese art of efficient t-shirt folding.  I somehow came across it the summer before my first semester of college, and it definitely helped in folding my laundry.  I thought this was common knowledge since the video has millions and millions of views, but apparently I was wrong.

Here's the video:

And I say that because volunteering in ministry inevitably results in a myriad of t-shirts.  And perhaps this one time I obtained a t-shirt but couldn't wear it at the time so I folded it.  That inevitably resulted in others noticing how quickly the t-shirt ended up being folded.

Well then, I put my t-shirt folding sensei hat on...and passed on this wisdom.

Lather. Rinse. Repeat.  Because volunteering in ministry, I should reiterate, inevitably results in a lot of t-shirts.  And the crowd is never the same.

It inspired this time attack run on folding a t-shirt (from Facebook):

Grasshoppers learn well.

--- 2 ---

I mentioned in my last Quick Takes about running a retreat.  Again, this retreat was focused on the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary.  These are the Baptism of Christ in the Jordan, the Wedding at Cana, the Proclamation of the Kingdom, the Transfiguration, and the Institution of the Eucharist.  We went through each of the Mysteries from Scripture using Lectio Divina to prayerfully reflect and contemplate what God wants us to know regarding each passage.  What's great about Lectio Divina is being able to really chew on the Word and let it marinate through reflection, response, and rest.  This spiritual exercise is also a good medium for journaling, and I issued our retreaters notebooks to respond to Scripture.

All in all...I'm quite pleased with the retreat.  Actually, I was kind of freaking out because I didn't give myself adequate preparation time and hammering down of concrete details.  Basically, the entire retreat was planned in like...a week's worth of time.  Sure, I had a template to follow from last time I ran one of these, and it was just a matter of plugging in the new elements.

But! Every time I make plans, God laughs.  The retreat didn't really go according to my outlined plan...so I just gave up using my schedule.  Haha.

Although I must say...it was a great retreat.  I think the retreaters definitely got something good out of it.  Surprisingly, two of my young adult chaperones really got something out of it.  But, hey! I'm all for second-hand benefits/fruits when chaperoning a retreat.

Oh, and one thing I love about Catholic retreats?  You will never go hungry! We feed physically...and spiritually!  Friday night was pizza.  Breakfast Saturday morning was an array of regular, strawberry, blueberry, strawberry/blueberry pancakes with sausage. Lunch was make-your-own sandwich with legit deli meat.  Dinner was food from a local Italian restaurant. Mmm.

And oh, Mass had the Eucharist ;-)

--- 3 ---

Because I'm a busy Catholic, my next focus will be for an event next month.  My diocese holds an annual conference for youth in the summer, and last year I had the privilege of helping run a workshop on masculinity and authentic manhood.

I think I'm slated to help out with that same workshop again for this year, but I want to change it up.  I have an idea already...I just need to hash it out (with...#hashtags?!).

Even if I don't end up doing it...at the very least, it'll make for a good blog post. :-)

MAN UP!

--- 4 ---

This week's theme regarding work is: "Don't touch the restroom door handles."  On Wednesday, I happened to notice (more than usual) of other guys NOT washing their hands after using the facilities. Like, straight up from porcelain to door with no lay over at the sink.

Perhaps I'm a little more attentive now who does or does not wash their hands because of Kidd Kraddick's latest cause in promoting hand washing awareness. 

Gross to think about the lacking of washing...but my only consolation is a buildup of immunity. -___-

--- 5 ---

I thought that devoting some time for Total Consecration preparation would be more burdensome than I thought, but it really hasn't. I guess I've somewhat learned to cut out some unnecessary time spent on things, and this leaves enough room to sit down and reflect each night. 

It's going well.  So far I'm in the first twelve days, where the goal is to detoxify oneself from the ways of the world. I'm starting to be more attentive about the things that hold me back.

If you follow my blog directly or me on Twitter, you can immediately see when I post a daily reflection for each day of the Total Consecration preparation.

--- 6 ---

Google Reader is about to die in a few days. When I first heard about this months ago, I'm not gonna lie, I did in fact freak out.

Simply because Google Reader was my primary aggregation method of my growing list of Catholic blogs to follow. So I did spend some time seeking an alternative.  I think the read-a-holics of the Internet also freaked out and I found some useful lists of alternatives.

I tried one and liked it. It's called Feedly. What's nice is...they've made it easy for users to migrate their feeds from Google Reader to Feedly. For a long while, they were just echoing the content found on Google Reader's servers, but in the past week, they've actually migrated over to their own servers.

Annnndddd, now Feedly is web-accessible! No longer just an extension in browser and app!

I like it because it presents feeds in a nice manner and the app is pretty slick.  OH! And my favorite part, now that it has been implemented--it integrates with If This Then That!

Now, I am unstoppable. MWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA.

Not really.

--- 7 ---
And for this weekend, I'm also busy.  Not a retreat this time.  I've been asked to lector at a friend's wedding at my parish.  I am honored! I guess my reading of the Word at Mass is good enough to do so at weddings!

But this wedding is kind of a big deal.  Simply because I know like...a big chunk of the family.  No there will not be 6 concelebrants this time...but the biggest deal of all....is that I'll feel old.  Really old.  I taught the bride how to march with her clarinet like 10 years ago. And here we are. 

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

- JD

7 Quick Takes (Vol. 8)

--- 1 ---

A test of my Filipino skills! ...when it comes to packing.  I have to somehow pack for 1.5 weeks during my trip to Rio De Janeiro in one carry-on or hiking backpack.

The temptation, as a Filipino, is something like this:

Challenge accepted.  Thank goodness I'm a guy.

#DontForgetYourPAHNTEE

--- 2 ---

One of the beautiful things about being Catholic is the ability to really dive deep into Christian spirituality.  I need to further talk about this in a separate blog post since I'm grossly undertalking about it, but I'll be doing the Total Consecration as prescribed by St. Louis Du Montfort for my trip to Rio.  Along with some friends at my parish, I started this past week!

--- 3 ---

This past week we finally set up a pet gate for my dog to be contained in the kitchen. We actually had a ghetto lattice-fence looking thing from my previous dog but...my current Chihuahua seems to have kangaroo powers and easily climbed/jumped over the old pet gate.  This one seems to work a little better, but ...she's tiny enough to pass through 4" spacings...

--- 4 ---

So there was this one time where I got super bored.  Maybe I had a lot of downtime while traveling across the country.  Maybe I had just started my (older) blog.

Maybe I was being a really nerdy Catholic.

Maybe Katy Perry's "Last Friday Night" was the popular song of the day.

Maybe I put the two together.

And the result was this: "Last Sunday Night".

Maybe some people I know are actually filming a music video with my Catholicized lyrics. o_O

--- 5 ---

I'm running a retreat this weekend.  It's focused on reflecting on the life of Christ...particularly His Baptism, the Wedding at Cana, Proclaiming the Kingdom, the Transfiguration, and the Institution of the Eucharist.  AKA, the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary.  We're going through these scenes from the Gospels and prayerfully meditating through those passages to come to a deeper understanding of the Word and to see if there's something that God wants us to know through these particular pieces of Scripture.

Cool stuff yo.

--- 6 ---

Visas. Obtained!

-samba dancing-

--- 7 ---
For what it's worth...the mandatory 10-hour overtime per week is still a mental block to get over.  But! As consolation, my Catholic nerdiness is able to grow because that's more Catholic podcasting time!  I usually catch up on Catholic Answers podcasts (see sidebar)...and this priest, Fr. John Riccardo.  I highly recommend 'em if you're interested!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

- JD

7 Quick Takes (Vol. 7)

--- 1 ---

I simply cannot explain the obsession with narhwals.  I think this is part of their devious plan to take over humanity by storming the world by land, sea, and Internet.  And they have taken over our youth ministry...everywhere I look...narhwal. Narwhal. Narwhal. Narwhal.

By Pokémon standards, they are Uncommon and found in the seas of the Artic...but only on Wednesdays and if the fisherman on Route 3290 calls you letting you know that there are some to be found.

To be honest, I didn't know they even existed til they seemed to have infiltrated our young people's obsessions.  Unicorns are not impressed.

But I hear narwhals taste like bacon...

--- 2 ---

Honestly, I just need to suck it up and not freak out so much that I'm under mandatory 50 hours a week for work.  Oh sure, days are longer but evenings are drastically shorter...but...this is simply a cross I have to bear for the time being while meeting deadlines.  Or not meeting deadlines, but trying real hard.

The only difficult thing about it is my decision to come in to work 30 minutes earlier and stay 30 minutes later.  But I'm too stubborn to get out of bed and to sacrifice after-work time to embrace this change.

And you know what? I'm still grateful to even have this job but...I just wish it wasn't 60 miles away...

--- 3 ---

This past week, I found out that one of the local airshows that I like attending will still be going on.  Which was enough cause-for-a-pause because I wasn't aware that there was any threat to it being cancelled. Turns out that the Blue Angels will not be performing this year.

Budget cuts. :-(

Actually...look at this schedule.

A visual pun.

When I saw that...I found myself in an emotionally driven state of sadness and fiery motivation.  Temperance is a virtue.

--- 4 ---

Wiki-stock photo of a Eucharistic procession

I went to my first Eucharistic procession this past Sunday for the Solemnity of Corpus Christi.  It was awesome!  I had the unique privilege of speaker carrier following the choir right behind Jesus and our monsignor.  Not only was it a speaker...but a speaker on a tripod stand.  Images of the 4th Sorrowful Mystery kept popping into my head along with the 5th Station of the Cross since I had buddies to help me.

I'm not too familiar as to why Eucharistic processions are done but...even without knowing that, simply following our Lord around literally with chant and prayer was a unique and joyful experience.

--- 5 ---

One of the challenges I faced this week is trying to come up with an attendance-taking solution.

But...ya know...beyond the sign-in sheet.  Perhaps I do maintain a database of attendance information and I'm seeking an easy way to transfer sign-in sheet info to something digital.

Much Googling in my near future...since I have not yet arrived at something that I think would be slick.

--- 6 ---

I keep forgetting that having Amazon Prime means that there is a library of movies and TV shows that I can watch without having to piggyback off my bro's Netflix consumption.

Inspired by this quick take's #1...I decided to watch Blue Planet, episode 1, on the seas.  Who knows, maybe a narwhal will be featured.

And it's that much more epic because it's a British guy narrating. Complete with a Classical score to further draw me into the oceanic immersion of life on this blue planet we call home.  God and St. Francis of Assisi are impressed. (as opposed to meme-ingly not impressed)

On a tangent note...I really feel like watching Finding Nemo now...

--- 7 ---
It seems my dog is more hesitant to jump up onto my bed these days.  It also seems that my placing of my recurve bow beside my bed may have something to do with my dog not chillin' on my bed like she normally does.  But! I'm not complaining because she's learning to chill in her crate that is in my room, which she has classically not used.

I'm wanting to get back into shooting my recurve bow so I have it out, strung but unloaded, waiting for an opportune moment to practice.  But free time is so precious this summer...

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

- JD

Narwhals / Narwhal News Network

Bacon Narwhal / Serious Eats

Blue Angel / Destroyxofxworld's Myspace

Eucharistic Procession / Wikimedia Commons

Nemo Meme / We Know Memes

7 Quick Takes (Vol. 6)

--- 1 ---

A friend of mine got married this past weekend.  Yes, it was totally a Catholic wedding.  Yes, it was more than 10 minutes long (umm...it's a Mass...). But! This was not your average Catholic wedding.  No, no, no.  Average Catholic weddings have one priest celebrating the Mass and marriage rite. But this wedding had six (6) priests con-celebrating the Mass! Picture, because it totally did happen!

Okay, 6 priests...2 deacons...1 seminarian serving as an alcolyte...2 altar servers...who's counting?

Now, I've been to a ridiculous Mass with hundreds of priests before...but...for a Catholic wedding...at least, those that I've attended, don't typically have more than one!  But of course this begs the question of why six priests?

Well, my friend is a highly-involved Catholic.  Maybe he's kind of important in the Knights of Columbus across the state of Texas on the collegiate level. Maybe he works for my diocese. Maybe he's grown to know the pastors of his college parishes. Maybe his (now) wife has a priest for an uncle... Supposedly Bishop Vann was invited to this wedding but he's kind of busy right now.

Anyway, it was a beautiful wedding!  For the sake of brevity...here are some other fun facts:

• The bride's oldest sister is actually a friend of mine from college, and she's discerning entering the religious community, the Apostles of the Interior Life in Italy (who have some religious sisters in-residence at St. Mary's in College Station, TX)
• I left home later than intended and arrived 10 minutes before Mass started (whew!), and I was totally concerned with arriving just as the bride walked down the aisle
• Because I arrived not-early, I had to sit off to the side...which apparently was Non-Catholic Nation because Communion got awkward...no one stood from their pew to get in line >_>
• Totally met a coworker that I've seen around at work but officially met him at the wedding! ...because he was an usher.
• Reception was great! Good cocktails and finger foods! Great dinner! Awesome dancing!...but I had to leave early to take care of stuff at home

And, this was the first of several Catholic weddings I'll be attending this year. :-)

--- 2 ---

This past Wednesday was my parents' 31st wedding anniversary!

We celebrated by going out to dinner at a Mexican restaurant.

Mmm...31 years...that's pretty good! I'm grateful that my parents have been a pretty awesome example of what it means to be married in terms of necessary sacrifices made for the good of each other and for the good of my bro and myself.

And in today's American society...31 years...that's commendable!

-raises glass-  Here's to many more years of joyful marriage for my parents!

--- 3 ---

I feel like a Carmelite.  This past Sunday, we had a group investiture of the Confraternity of the Brown Scapular.  In English, we had a priest induct us into a group of non-Carmelites who, now being part of the Confraternity, can share in the promises the Carmelites received from Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, where Mary appeared to St. Simon Stock and gave him the brown scapular along with a promise to those who are devoted to the brown scapular.  You can read more about all that here.

I've actually worn a brown scapular since high school...but I didn't really fully understand it until I was properly taught about it in the past year or two.  And actually, I got invested into the Confraternity in that past year or two.  This group investiture was for all the youth in the religious education program that I volunteer for and so I...just...renewed my devotion and refreshed my understanding thanks to the priest's explanation.

--- 4 ---

But wait, there's more! The priest who invested us for the brown scapular also blessed our green scapulars, which we also handed out.

Yes, he even explained the green scapular which has a different devotion for a different purpose.  You can read more about that here.

I had three green scapulars with me and got them all blessed at this time.  I do plan on getting rid of them ;-).

--- 5 ---

In a bit of sad news, Reveille VII passed away on Thursday.  Texas A&M's mascot is a purebred American Collie.  There's a story and tradition about how a dog came to be A&M's mascot.  Reveille VII was the mascot most of my time during college.  I've had photo ops with her...and I'll definitely miss her.

Freshman year

Though she was ill-tempered at times...she thankfully never bit me or barked at me.  I'm curious to know when her funeral is because...I dunno, only Texas A&M would give a dog who outranks every. single. member. of. the. Corps of Cadets a full military burial.  And the graves silently watch the scoreboard at Kyle Field.

RIP Reveille VII.

TAMU Times story on her passing here.

--- 6 ---

In other sad passing away news...one of my parents' good friends from the Philippines passed away the other morning.  Thankfully, my family and their friends had opportunities to go visit him in the past few months before he passed away.

As she was preparing her breakfast, my mom asked me a curious question on my way out of the house to go to work.  She asked, "did you hear the TV in the living room turn on at 3:30AM this morning?"  I was like...uhhhmmmmm...errr....no. Asleep.  Then she proceeded to tell me about Tito Gil passing away and my parents found out via a phone call that he had passed at way at 4:30AM. Eastern time. Which is ...3:30AM Central time.

Apparently the TV in the living room had turned itself on with the volume fully up at about that time.  My parents investigated, turned off the TV, and my mom couldn't fall back asleep.  Then they received a phone call from a friend regarding Tito Gil, and that's when they found out about his passing.

I cannot declare this coincidental out of randomness simply because that TV has not had a history of turning itself on.

This strange occurrence reminded me of the other strange and similar occurrences when my grandparents (dad's side) passed away.  Because the same exact sort of thing happened when grandfather passed away, and it was an old alarm clock radio that somehow turned itself on.  Then there was the repeated random turning on of our Bose sound system radio after my grandmother passed away.

Gosh, I guess my family seems to attract haunted electronics whenever someone close to us passes away.

Am I freaked out? Nah. It's kind of comforting, really.  It almost affirms that there is something after death.  I'm grateful to be Catholic because it puts all that in context.

Pray for the repose of Gil Gutierrez's soul. May the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace.

--- 7 ---

CONFIRMATION! We just had our Confirmation Mass at my parish, and it was beautiful! I think we had about ~100+ receive the Sacrament of Confirmation, thus completing baptismal grace by the laying of hands and anointing with oil by our pastor.  As a Confirmation teacher, this was definitely a big day, and I'm so proud of them!  Now I pray that they'll continue to live out their Catholic faith and not treat Confirmation as a sort of graduation!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

- JD

Reveille VII / TAMU Times

7 Quick Takes (Vol. 5)

--- 1 ---

What a crazy week of intense weather!  Us North Texans and Oklahomans have not been so fortunate in dealing with the barrage of tornados recently.  A week ago, Granbury was ravaged by a tornado and that really worried me since it is not that big of a town, but I know some fellow Catholics who are from that town through diocesan events.  Thankfully, they're okay.  A few days ago, tornados ripped through central Oklahoma along with intense severe weather, and...the devastation got super real for me watching videos uploaded the day of the tornado that ripped through Moore, OK.  It is really sad to see all the destruction, but the positive stories that are a result of this tragedy are truly remarkable.  It's really awesome to hear about the teachers who did everything they could to keep their kids safe at the elementary school.  And then there was that interview of a woman talking about her lost dog when all of a sudden, the dog emerges!

St. Francis (like, of Assisi)...that clever ol' chap...

While I was fortunate enough to not have to deal with these crazy weather events at home, I was really concerned about work.  Simply because, my work is pretty much at the Texas/Oklahoma border.  Why would a commercial airline seat company be so far away in the middle of nearly nowhere...I'm not sure... But...it's so close to Oklahoma and they don't seem to get a break when it comes to tornado season...

Luckily, we do have flotation devices scattered throughout the plant.

--- 2 ---

Let's do take some time in prayer for the victims and families of those affected by the tornado in Moore.  It'll take time to recover, and it will not be easy.

Pope Francis invites us to join him in his prayers (via Twitter), as well:

I am close to the families of all who died in the Oklahoma tornado, especially those who lost young children. Join me in praying for them.
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) May 21, 2013

I know many organizations on the ground helping with the recovery efforts.  Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City is one of the many organizations receiving donations (all kinds) to help victims in the long haul. And it turns out my work is going to match employee donations up to $10,000 so that's pretty cool.

--- 3 ---

On a happier note, I went to my high school's jazz concert on Tuesday night.  I was in the jazz band my senior year of high school and ever since, I've grown to really love and appreciate jazz music. My brother was in jazz band in high school as well, and he's pursuing jazz performance on saxophone at the University of North Texas, which is basically known to have a really awesome jazz/music program...and he also went to this jazz concert because he helped with a rehearsal or two in addition to helping some of the jazz band members prepare through private lessons.

--- 4 ---
Speaking to my brother's friends and former bandmates, I started remembering my college years again.  They asked me questions, and much like Radio Shack, I had answers.  Strangely, I ended up in a group of new Fightin' Texas Aggies who are starting this fall! WHOOP!

But I realized in my thinking of my college years that...wow, I went through a lot.  And my Catholic faith definitely played a role in my college experience and so I ought to share that via my blog at some point.  Stay tuned!

--- 5 ---

I'm sooooo stoked for my trip to Brazil this July! Maybe I did start obtaining items that should help with the trip like...last July...but...now that we're getting closer, I'm starting to take the packing list a little more seriously.  This has opened up a world of camping supplies (or the convenience of camping-caliber supplies) previously unknown to me.

I also started shopping around for small Texas giveaways to exchange with people around the world because apparently that's like, a thing to do.  Unfortunately, I don't really know of any Texas-centric stores other than at the mall.  I actually kind of dreaded going to the mall because traffic around the nearest one is terrible due to highway construction and ... malls are crowded...

Doing all the paperwork or obtaining of paperwork for my visa application was a bit of a hassle because I've never gotten something notarized at the bank before.  And yes, I did make newb mistakes like not actually bringing the necessary documents to be notarized.  Haha oh well, but...in the end, I succeeded! The trials are worth it!

Future blog posts on this, for sure!

--- 6 ---

Grandma is gone and now my family has to get used to doing the simple things.  These things include but are not limited to cooking every meal, folding laundry, yelling at my dog in Tagalog, opening and closing blinds daily, and keeping up with Filipino soap operas (which my mom pretty much has that covered since she also queen of the DVR).

It was funny last weekend because my mom escorted my grandmother to Canada and so that left my dad, my bro, and myself to fend for ourselves in terms of meals.  Yeah, we ended up dining out for breakfast and lunch last Saturday...and I ended up cooking Hamburger Helper for the first time in my life for dinner. Milestone moments in life, I know.

It was good! And browning ground beef is pretty exciting!

--- 7 ---
The familiar awkward question was asked of me at the jazz concert that I mentioned in --3--.  A band parent I have befriended asked me how I was doing since it had been a while.  My tired answer to the question is that I'm doing well and ...busy.  So, naturally that led her to ask what do I do besides work.  And  I told her that I volunteer up at my church a lot.  I would expect the next question to dig deeper as to exactly what I do in terms of volunteering up at my church...but no.

Her next question was..."have you met a nice girl at your church?"  Ah yes, the question regarding my relationship status.  I told her that no, I haven't yet... with the assumption that she really meant "are you currently in a dating relationship with a nice girl at your church?"  There are a lot of nice girls who go to my church, but I'm not currently dating.

If only she was Catholic...then I think it would make more sense for her to know that...

ONE DOES NOT SIMPLY BE A SINGLE CATHOLIC
AND NOT CONSIDER ALL THE OPTIONS

I don't talk about my vocational journey on this blog enough (at all?), but I think I want to highlight others' first. More to come regarding that since...I found out in the past two weeks that FOUR of my Catholic friends are going to enter religious communities or seminary soon!

Dem takes are quick!
- JD

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Hamburger Helper Beef Stroganoff / Betty Crocker