my happiness menu - Part 2

The past weeks have been hectic. I was quite occupied doing what was on my happiness menu. Here are some of what I have done lately.


DO GOOD, FEEL GOOD!
1. Sign up to be an organ donor and remember to tell your family.
 I don't know how to go about this, so instead I made care packages that i plan to give to an orphanage. Resurrecting old paper bags that will hold some basic toiletries, I was able to assemble about 12 sets for donation.

 2. Give $25 or more to a worthy cause.
 I don't have a lot of money but as the GK ideal goes, "No one is too poor that he cannot share; no one is too rich that he cannot care."  A couple of weeks ago, UNICEF was at the SM Mall campaigning for donors who want to share their blessings with the less fortunate children in North Cotabato. At first, I was hesitant to commit, but finally I bit the bullet and became a Champion for Children. On how to become one, too, click  here. You can also donate online, one-time or monthly.

  And you know that screen that asks you to donate to WWF when you withdraw from BDO ATMs?  i finally clicked "Donate P5.00" instead of the "Donate Later" button. It felt good, and still feels like the best P5 i ever spent. Try it! :)

 3. Sign up to volunteer or participate in an organization.
  Being involved in our Church as one of the lectors in the past year has made me want to serve more, so I voluntarily promote our chaplaincy, Our Lady Of Compassion Chaplaincy. 

This Thursday, September 15, will be Our Lady's feast and there will be a mass at 6PM. I helped out by making some candles to be given to sponsors as souvenirs. The candles will be lit during offertory and placed at Our Lady's feet.

Volunteering sure is fun, isn't it?

my happiness menu - Part 1

 I have been feeling a bit blue for a while and sought some positive articles that could help lift my spirits up. Got this Happiness Menu from Shine.com a couple of months back. I read through the list and thought, "Well, that's doable!...I can do these!" ( hip-hip-hurray! How's that for POSITIVE?)

So, here's what i have done so far that made me look and feel much, much happier!

FRIENDS: 
1. Call or email one of your closest friends.
  Breaking up with a friend was difficult for me. But over a year ago, i felt I had to do it...for my sanity and to keep my stress levels down. True friendships, however, can survive anything. It has a way of coming back to you like a boomerang. And so, I guess we're both happier with our newly-revived friendship. We're appreciating each other more and peace has been restored.


2. Call or email 3 friends to whom you haven't spoken in a while. 
 Actually, it was they who called me. Nevertheless, we spoke and it felt good re-connecting. It was my birthday, and they surprised me with an out-of-nowhere birthday call and greetings. It must have been a couple of years since we've last spoken, like real talk and catch up. Though we all live in the same city, all of my closest friends from college have married and had little mini-me's. 


3. Track down an old friend who has drifted out of your life.
 For the longest time, i have been wondering where my neighbor and High School friend, Jorge, as she liked to call herself, was now. We used to be friends in the now defunct Friendster social network. I have searched for her in Facebook, spending hours looking at common friends' Friends List. I tried using her mother's maiden name, still nothing. As a last ditched attempt, last week, I asked her aunt (my neighbor) if she had any news. I was glad to hear that she is well and working abroad. And just now, I remembered to Google her. Hope she accepts my LinkedIn invite *crossed fingers*


FUN:
1. Add a fun thing to your calendar.
 Fun should be easy, right? Wrong! it took me a while to think of something fun, that's how far gone I was in my blue-ness :) Then I realized something! I was always doing what is fun for me...TRAVELING SOLO and WINDOWSHOPPING! So for this "task", I got some help from Mabuhay, PAL's Travel Magazine that listed New York Times' 41 Places To Go In 2011. For my calendar, I've inked in No. 23 as my 2011 Go To Place this late October.

 Looking forward to checking out Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa and visit with friends in Singapore.


2. Better, add a fun thing to your calendar that involves other people.
 Now that i've started thinking of fun, it's getting easier! and dare I say, addicting? :D  Going to a concert hasn't really been in my Top List since...since forever!!! I've only been to a couple of concerts in my life, so I decided, "What the heck! It's time for me to go again!"... Will be going to the Color Me Badd and All-4-One back-to-back concert with friends this September. Sound like fun? You betcha! 

3. Best, add a fun thing to your calendar that involves other people doing something outside.
 And what's more "outside" than the beach? 

There's a catch, however. The nearest clean and swim-worthy beach from our place is out-of-town. No problem-O!...we'll go for a long drive, and visit a friend in Old Sagay (about 2 hours' drive). And while there, we'll hit up Museo sang Bata sa Negros, an interactive children's museum (second in the Philippines). 


I'm excited, and definitely happy :)

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Do you have your own menu for happiness?