Metropolitan Composite Fire and Rescue Volunteers Inc.

Metropolitan Composite Fire and Rescue Volunteers Inc. (MCFRVI)

Met with a friend, Dexter, for a movie and on the way home, he asked me to visit this site. He has been a volunteer fire fighter since I can remember. Please do visit the site and if you're interested in volunteering, please don't hesitate to contact them.

Managing a Failed Friendship

I got this from a friend's friend, Anne (cutiebebegurl.multiply.com).

I just made up with a dear friend... I guess we're in Step 5 :)

Step One: Count the Cost
First of all you must determine whether your failed friendship should be repaired. An unhealthy relationship is not worth repairing if it forces you to compromise your principles or overthrow your self-respect. You have the right to ask a friend to change if he/ she is making you feel less cared about, less respected, or even worried. Realizing that a friendship no longer works can be a positive step. Please don't fall into the trap of believing that if you lose a friend you'll never find another. The opposite may be true: you may not make another friend until you sever your association with an unhealthy person. The point is that just as good friendships can boost your sense of belonging, bad friendships can undermine your security and self-worth.

So carefully consider the price you pay for keeping a faltering friendship alive. And if the cost is too high, make a clean break. If you seek closure in a more direct and responsible way by exploring your feelings together, it is likely to pay off (for both of you) in greater openness in your new friendships.

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Step Two: Make Meaningful Contact
If you have decided it's wise to reestablish contact, you need to write a note or call the person to convey one primary message: "Our friendship is valuable to me, and I miss seeing you. Is there any way we can resolve what stands between us?" That's all. In making contact the point is simple, to convey your desire and explore their openness to considering a discussion. At this stage, there is no need to go into airing your grievances or even making elaborate apologies. For now, you are simply calling a peace talk to open up honest discussions about bringing resolution to your relationship.

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Step Three: Forgive as Best You Can
When someone slights you, offends you, or deeply hurts you, the urge to respond in kind is natural. The problem with this urge is that we don't know when to stop, we don't want to balance the scales, we want them tipped in our favor. And once we feel the compensation is satisfactory, our enemy takes his turn at punishing us again. The cycle repeats itself over and over...But...Stop!...here is talk about friendship!...Please, stop and free yourself from a desire to hurt back, put an end to your vindictive spirit and save yourself from further harm. Set your pride aside and try your best to see the situation from the other person's perspective. If you keep this in mind you will be well on your way to practicing forgiveness instead of trying to balance the scales.

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Step Four: Diagnose the Problem
Finding out what went wrong is critically important if we are to learn what caused the problem in the first place—and avoid repeating it..."Everybody's human"...you know...BUT...we want people to be neater than they are, less complicated. We don't want to face the fact that people are partially good and partially bad. But most of life, including our friendships, plays variety of colours. And if you don't accept that, you miss out on a lot of relationships that might have been. Diagnose what’s the problem together and move to the next step. After all, if a friendship can't survive an honest discussion of differences, that may be a sign that the relationship ought to end.

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Step Five: Rebuild Respect
If your friendship is to survive it will ultimately depend on the reviving of respect. "Remove respect from friendship," said Cicero, "and you have taken away the most splendid ornament it possesses." Well...let’s beleive the Roman philosopher...and consider two things how to revive respect for a fallen friend.
You begin by noting your friend's most admirable qualities. Make a list of these qualities of character. The point is not to whitewash your friend's personality. Some friends, for example, are great when you need a ride to pick up your car from the shop, but no help at all when you're in despair over a lost love. Once you know a friendship's limits, it's easier to enjoy it for what it is without feeling let down about what it's not.

Next, you need to own up to your end of the relationship by offering a sincere apology for not being the kind of friend you could have been. Identify specific things you did that contributed to the friendship's failure and confess them to your friend in an apology. Ask for forgiveness...with all your heart sincerely... If you do that, mutual respect is almost certain.

And finally...Some relationships, no matter how hard you try, never recover the joy they once had. But if you feel pain of regret or remorse when you think about a lost friend and do nothing about it, you'll never know what might have been...

Norzagaray, Bulacan

Someone please show/tell me how to get to Norzagaray, Bulacan. There are lots of nice places to go to there and in the nearby barangay, Dona Remedios Trinidad.

This is taken from WOW Philippines: Things to Do and see in Bulacan...

Natural

Mt. Lumot (Dona Remedios Trinidad, Bulacan)

One of DRT’s municipal parks, this mountain offers a wide array of eco-tourism activities like rock climbing, camping, mountain biking, mountain climbing, bushwalking, bird watching or simply enjoying the majestic view and landscape of the Sierra Madre Mountains.

Puning Cave (Dona Remedios Trinidad, Bulacan)

A magnificent and well-preserved cave in Barangay Bayabas, this cave also has a spring running down from a mountain.

Tumutulo Falls (Dona Remedios Trinidad, Bulacan)

Located at Barangay Bayabas, this breathtaking waterfall drops from a height of fifteen meters into an attractive setting of white stones and marble and cascades further into an old stone formation called Simbahan ni Lapud.

Verdivia Falls (Dona Remedios Trinidad, Bulacan)

Located in Barangay Talbak, this splendid waterfall is an ideal venue for group picnics and outings.

Bakas (Norzagaray, Bulacan)

Located on this site are giant limestones at the core of a river, formed like giant footprints. Townspeople claim these were actually the footprints of legendary giant Bernardo Carpio.

Hilltop (Norzagaray, Bulacan)

Also known as the Baguio City of Bulacan, this place mesmerizes tourists with a scenic view of the Sierra Madre Range. It is host to the Angat River Hydroelectric Plant of the National Power Corporation.

Pinagrealan Cave (Norzagaray, Bulacan)

The subterranean network of caverns which extends for more than one kilometer was the site of secret meetings of the Filipino revolutionary forces during the war against Spain in 1896.

Pug-pog River (Norzagaray, Bulacan)

A river with clear water coming directly from the Sierra Madre Mountains

Man-Made

Ipo Dam (Norzagaray, Bulacan)

The place is a water impounding dam made famous by its name synonymous with gallantry, bravery and heroism. It is used as a reservoir for the La Mesa Dam which distributes water to Metro Manila residents. The green virgin forest and sky blue water make Ipo Dam an attractive place to visit.

Lessons Learnt #03

"Happiness"

I met up with a friend for dinner and coffee and for around 5 hours, our discussion revolved around being affected by what others say and think.

People get affected by what others say or think about them - some by the things their closest friends say and some by what the general populace surrounding them think. Personally, I normally don't give a damn about what people say or think about me except if that person is a close and dear friend. Add that to my paranoiac tendencies, my actions oftentimes lean towards trying too hard not to disappoint them yet at the same time make me unhappy.

Earlier today, I made a phone call I knew would get me the unpopular vote but I had to make a stand... I wanted to be happy. I realized that our actions and decisions should not be influenced by what people, friends or not, say or think but rather by what makes you happy. That phone call made me happy... I have no regrets...

"Don't let other people's thoughts hinder you from achieving the happiness you ought to have"

And to my dear friend who gets so affected by what others think, don't let whatever they say about you bring you down because the more it bothers you, the more depressed you get... cheers!!! Hope our next dinner discussion would revolve around happy tales ;)

Here are some quotes I got from www.ThinkExist.com on happiness:

“Don't rely on someone else for your happiness and self worth. Only you can be responsible for that. If you can't love and respect yourself - no one else will be able to make that happen. Accept who you are - completely; the good and the bad - and make changes as YOU see fit - not because you think someone else wants you to be different.”

- Stacey Charter -

“Be happy. It's one way of being wise.”
- Sidonie Gabrielle -

“If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.”
- Albert Einstein -

“Happiness is not the absence of problems but the ability to deal with them.”
- Unknown -

“Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect. It means that you've decided to look beyond the imperfections.”
- Unknown -

“You just have to do your own thing, no matter what anyone says. It's your life.”
- Ethan Embry -

“To forgive is the highest, most beautiful form of love. In return, you will receive untold peace and happiness.”
- Robert Muller -