Today was my first working day of 2009 and I was greeted with a couple of pleasant surprises throughout the day. First, when I was on my way to lunch, I chanced on the local television station doing some drama filming at the mall where I was at.

Then when I got back to the office, I found a 50 cent coin underneath my chair. Since it didn’t belong to anyone (or so they claimed), they told me to keep it as a New Year’s gift.

While chatting with some current and ex-colleagues on MSN, one of them revealed that he’ll be expecting a baby girl (his 2nd child) soon. Highly “productive” guy, this one.

After work, while I was walking to the nearby hawker centre to get some dinner, I bumped the “baby sister” of our development team and her boyfriend. Hmm.. not bad.. They really look good together!

And as I was wandering around the hawker centre, thinking of what to get, I (quite literally) bumped into an ex-classmate of mine. Seems that she works nearby too. Cool!

Although today has its fair share of downs, I am truly thankful to God for providing me with so many pleasant little surprises to keep my spirits up through the day. It sure feels like the after the rain. Deo gratias!

Tags: life, musings, Personal

3 cheers for the first “Podcast Review” post of 2009, particularly after a little hiatus. In case you’re wondering, I’m still listening to a heap of podcasts everyday most of which have been mentioned on this blog before. I have added a couple of new podcasts to my subscription, but I’ve yet to find time to compile them into themed review “episodes“. However, I simply had to do this quick little plug for a brand new podcast which I’ve just subscribed to. In fact, it’s SO new, that I’ve not listened to it yet. But I still highly recommend this simply because I’m assured of the quality of the content of this podcast, and I’m sure my Catholic friends out there will share my sentiments. Why am I so sure? BECAUSE, it’s recommended by well-known Catholic apologist Patrick Madrid on his blog. In fact, the first episode features Patrick himself.

The podcast that I’m speaking of is the brand new Fullness of Truth podcast (rss), produced by the Fullness of Truth Catholic Evangelization Ministries.

Fullness of Truth™ is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation and lay Catholic apostolate dedicated to facilitating the “New Springtime of Evangelization” that Pope John Paul II initiated, called, and prayed for. Through our regional family conferences and local parish-based events, featuring the very best Catholic evangelists, and through the offering of faith-building resources at our Book & Gift stores, we humbly, yet confidently invoke and assist the Holy Spirit in planting the seeds of this “New Evangelization”.

As I’ve mentioned, the debut episode of the podcast features a talk by Patrick Madrid titled “Why Be Catholic?” Definitely worth the listen!

Oh, and since I’ve just started listening to this as I’m typing this, I just discovered ANOTHER great reason to subscribe to this podcast. It’s hosted by another friend of mine, Joe McClane, a.k.a The Catholic Hack! There, yet MORE gaurantee that you WILL enjoy this podcast!

This is the first time I’m doing a review on a single podcast rather than a theme containing a handful of podcasts. I hope you’ll enjoy this format just the same. If the feedback is good, I might consider doing future reviews in this format too.

For links to this and other fine podcasts, please check out my Podcasts page as well.

Tags: apologetics, Catholic, evangelization, Podcasts, Reviews

I realized I’ve slacked in posting, but it IS the festive season, so please forgive my laziness. Meanwhile, for the first post of the new year, here’s a classic which you’ll enjoy.

Tags: Announcements, Personal, videos, youtube