real talk with notahickie.

Ephemeral Madness.

Jillian — Tue, 22 May 2012 19:44:28 +0000

Welcome to 26, Jillian.

It’s a new start. A new start is a good thing. A new start is a good thing.

“Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.” (Isaiah 43:18, 19 KJV)

A new start is a good thing.

How To: Be The Bigger Person

Jillian — Sat, 19 May 2012 00:01:55 +0000

Psalm 37

Of David.

¹Do not fret because of those who are evil
or be envious of those who do wrong;
²for like the grass they will soon wither,
like green plants they will soon die away.

³Trust in the Lord and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
⁴Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

⁵Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him and he will do this:
⁶He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
your vindication like the noonday sun.

⁷Be still before the Lord
and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.

⁸Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
do not fret —it leads only to evil.

⁹For those who are evil will be destroyed,
but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.

¹⁰A little while, and the wicked will be no more;
though you look for them, they will not be found.
¹¹But the meek will inherit the land
and enjoy peace and prosperity.

¹²The wicked plot against the righteous

and gnash their teeth at them;
¹³but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
for he knows their day is coming.

¹⁴The wicked draw the sword
and bend the bow
to bring down the poor and needy,
to slay those whose ways are upright.
¹⁵But their swords will pierce their own hearts,
and their bows will be broken.

¹⁶Better the little that the righteous have
than the wealth of many wicked;
¹⁷for the power of the wicked will be broken,
but the Lord upholds the righteous.

¹⁸The blameless spend their days under the Lord’s care,
and their inheritance will endure forever.
¹⁹In times of disaster they will not wither;
in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.

²⁰But the wicked will perish:
Though the Lord’s enemies are like the flowers of the field,
they will be consumed, they will go up in smoke.

²¹The wicked borrow and do not repay,
but the righteous give generously;
²²those the Lord blesses will inherit the land,
but those he curses will be destroyed.

²³The Lord makes firm the steps
of the one who delights in him;
²⁴though he may stumble, he will not fall,
for the Lord upholds him with his hand.

²⁵I was young and now I am old,
yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken
or their children begging bread.
²⁶They are always generous and lend freely;
their children will be a blessing.^[b]

²⁷Turn from evil and do good;
then you will dwell in the land forever.
²⁸For the Lord loves the just
and will not forsake his faithful ones.

Wrongdoers will be completely destroyed^[c];
the offspring of the wicked will perish.
²⁹The righteous will inherit the land
and dwell in it forever.

³⁰The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom,
and their tongues speak what is just.
³¹The law of their God is in their hearts;
their feet do not slip.

³²The wicked lie in wait for the righteous,
intent on putting them to death;
³³but the Lord will not leave them in the power of the wicked
or let them be condemned when brought to trial.

³⁴Hope in the Lord
and keep his way.
He will exalt you to inherit the land;
when the wicked are destroyed, you will see it.

³⁵I have seen a wicked and ruthless man
flourishing like a luxuriant native tree,
³⁶but he soon passed away and was no more;
though I looked for him, he could not be found.

³⁷Consider the blameless, observe the upright;
a future awaits those who seek peace.^[d]
³⁸But all sinners will be destroyed;
there will be no future^[e] for the wicked.

³⁹The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord;
he is their stronghold in time of trouble.
⁴⁰The Lord helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.

Failure

Jillian — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 02:05:18 +0000

…is the most effective teacher.

Consider me schooled.

Inspiration

Jillian — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 01:20:04 +0000

“I feel like you possess a golden egg. Like it’s inside of you waiting to hatch. You’re not meant for a normal life like the rest of us. Something amazing is about to happen.” (My best friend, Sara)

Dia del Carino (a.k.a. Why Kelly Kim Needs To Watch It)

Jillian — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 07:23:14 +0000

Catching up on emails in my personal account (I’ve made sure to keep up with work emails, thankyouverymuch) and saw this in my Gmail.

My eyes were *thisclose* to popping out of their sockets when I saw the subject line. Thoughts raced in my head, all along the lines of “who the eff has the audacity to tell me I can get engaged on Valentines Day?!”

Once I got the gist that all poor Kelly Kim wanted to tell me was that I could digitally “engage” (way to kill a buzz word in a whole new way, Kelly), I no longer wanted to curse her on behalf of the Lonely Hearts Club. But if there was ever a reason for better subscriber demographics- especially on user marital status and how they feel about said status- this is the one.

And Kelly, if you must know: I had a wonderful time “engaging” in the Guatemalan celebration of Dia del Carino, or Day of Caring, this February 14th. This year, I chose to fulfill two objectives:

1. Celebrate all of the meaningful relationships in my life, all those who have impacted my life positively without judgment, bias or condition. I thank God for each and every one of you.

2. Learn to find contentment in my single status, knowing Happiness is a choice. Life is a celebration, and there are amazing sights to see, wonderful people to meet, breathtaking experiences to be had and blissful joys to encounter… por mí mismo.

And that, my friends, is what I have decided makes it fun

Buenas noches de Guatemala!

A Valentine From My Best Friend

Jillian — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 14:52:47 +0000

Was waiting for my flight to Guatemala City to board and I hit an emotional low point. Not proud of it but an airport terminal can be one of the loneliest places imaginable on Valentines Day.

Then, I got the sweetest “cheer me up” from my bestie.

God bless her.

BroTips of the Day

Jillian — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 01:07:00 +0000

Courtesy of John Varghese:

And then… there is my fave:

Happy Monday, kids.

ONE MORE WEEK!

Jillian — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 15:17:04 +0000

Join us this Christmas season as the Metropolitan SDA Church Youth and Young Adults present a compelling story about family, brotherhood and relying on God during our darkest hours. You won’t want to miss this period piece with a message that transcends all eras!

Admission is $5. Tickets can be purchased ahead of time by contacting us via email (jillianfortin@gmail.com) or text/phone (713.594.1707). Presale tickets are guaranteed premium seating. Tickets are also available at the door.

All attendees are invited to a fundraiser dinner following the performance. Plates are available for a donation of your choice.

We thank you all for your continued support of the Metropolitan SDA Church Youth and Young Adults. All proceeds of the performance will benefit the Metropolitan SDA Church Youth Pavilion Fund.

Thank you and God bless!

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
CAST & CREW:
Joanna Fortin • Ely Don Lagazo • Maria Paguinto • Mervyn Baysa • John Paguinto • Michelle DeGracia • Edwin Morales • JJ Tungpalan • Sydney Rhodes • Leslie Rosete • Melissa Sandoval • Hannah Docdocil • Ashitaka Porter • Raymond Maquio • Lauren Morales • Alexis Tristan • Jordan Rhodes • And More!
Written and Directed by Jillian Fortin
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

If you’d like to support us by purchasing a “Buddy Blessing” in our Souvenir Bulletin, please follow this link. $20 for a full page and $10 for half a page. Thanks for your continued support!

A Soundtrack for Crazy

Jillian — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 22:16:01 +0000

Any other year, I’d typically have Christmas music streaming out of my nose and ears.

This year is a bit different. This year, I’ve got crazy* all around me. (*see also: insanity, mayhem)

I found myself taking comfort from this song as a mother’s lullaby might console a newborn baby (because God knows I’ve been wanting to weep like one).

And then I decided. This is all I want for Christmas.

When you try your best, but you don’t succeed
When you get what you want, but not what you need
When you feel so tired, but you can’t sleep
Stuck in reverse

And the tears come streaming down your face
When you lose something you can’t replace
When you love someone, but it goes to waste
Could it be worse?

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

And high up above or down below
When you’re too in love to let it go
But if you never try you’ll never know
Just what you’re worth

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

Tears stream down on your face
When you lose something you cannot replace
Tears stream down on your face
And I…

Tears stream down on your face
I promise you I will learn from my mistakes
Tears stream down on your face
And I…

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

Conversations with My I.T. Guy

Jillian — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 01:30:05 +0000

Pulled this off his Facebook profile picture album. No joke. (He used to be a model).

“But what if you’re on Mars?”

“You’re always on Mars.”

“Not all the time. Sometimes, I’m on Uranus.”

I swear I’m not a Nazi