online goth dating

Online dating is already common these days, and its not uncommon either to learn of online affairs that lead to the altar. I personally consider it fate, that a couple can end up with each other after a long-distance affair. It takes a lot of trust to make something work out from nothing, right? Would you believe there is also an internet side that has real gothic personals where real gothic members are looking to meet other like-minded goth friends? Goth dating for people into the goth scene has never been easier, and it seems fun, of course, for gothic minded people. Interesting, eh. Goth singles can look for their special goth someone in this site, and they can end up happily ever after.

last 5 working days

time flies so fast, before I know it, my maternity leave is over in about a week's time. hay. did i get some rest? well, some, the time's i didn't, i know it was well-spent with my daughter. did i get to do everything I should have done? Well, NO. There were a ton of stuff I wanted to be able to do while I was on leave, be it personal stuff, having to go to places for some documents (transcript, PRC ID, Driver's license, NSO, etc.), but when my yaya left just as jessica turned a month old, well, I sorta lost the drive to do those things because I needed to stay at home. But I can truly say I spent as much time as I possibly could with my baby, so no regrets there as well. One thing I'm proud of, though, was being able to cook up new dishes, I didn't have time or the energy before to do them. Makes me feel like an accomplished mom. haha. i was able to cook lumpiang ubod, baked macaroni (which garnered a lot of good compliments, btw), polvoron (i stumbled on the first batch i made but the second one was good na!), mocha ref cake (ok lang, but nakakasawa), and finally, blueberry cheesecake. I always loved the BB cheesecake of Red Ribbon (because it tastes good and is cheap too). In fairness to my cheesecake, it tastes good, just like Red Ribbons'. The only difference is that I had a hard time topping the blueberry on the cake so it appeared like a blueberry cheesecake pie of sorts, hahaha, or you can call it blueberry cheesecake swirl (because the cheesecake went above the blueberry. waaah! its ok though, because it tastes good! I made it on Monday and by Wednesday evening we finished the whole cake, the three of us at home! hehehehe.... :-)
hay, if i had more time and budget I'd surely love to test a few more dishes, and learn to bake!!!! hmmm... someday... someday.

i'm now a postie

i finally got my blog approved for Payperpost after 5 days or so. Been checking every so often because i already finished the 20 posts requirement last week. Just got the email today and I'm happy I finally got approved. See, I need to work on some extra income and since I like to write anyways, then one good part-time work is to get paid to blog. A lot of the blogs I visit now are also PPP posties, and its good to know there is a community of posters right here. Anyways, blogging is good therapy, so why not earn from it at the same time. Well, I was almost good at it with my previous WP blog, which is not archived, I guess. Howell, that's some dollars already lost, but then its ok, I at least learned my lesson already. teehee.... I guess blogger isn't so stringent about sponsored posts, which is a good thing. When I'm earning enough I'll be working on a new blog, just for me, to increase further my income. hope it'll help at least with some of my personal expenses, and some internet shopping as well! teehee!!!! seriously, I'm hoping this new hobby/part-time job will work out, tried applying for some online work earlier this year, but it appeared to be too tedious and time consuming, something I'm not ready to rack my brains out what with my baby and my day job. :-) Congrats to me, I'm now a postie!!!!

jessica's baptism kwento & suppliers rating na rin

Finally! Last Sunday, August 5, Jessica had her baptism at the Edsa Shrine. Its nice to have a simple celebration witnessed by our family and closest friends. I never dreamed of a grand celebration for the baptism, I really wanted it to be an intimate celebration witnessed only by the people closest to us, the ones who really, really care for our daughter and our family. We didn't have the budget for a big celebration only since we're just yet recovering from a difficult start of the year. Anyway, we'll be inviting the rest of the people na lang on Jessica's first birthday.

The day started out fine, the baptism was scheduled for 3:30 pm so in the morning we were free to do things pa at home. A week before I attended the seminar/sharing that was required for the baptism, a good way to remember the Catholic concepts that we sometimes forget as we grow old. hehe....

Anyway, Saturday night, we got a call from Mark, the guy from the Parish office, confirming the schedule. I asked whether its ok to have a cream/ off-white colored garment but it was disapproved. hay. had no choice but to buy Jessica something else.


And so we left home before 2 since we needed to buy her a white skirt. I got a white blouse for Jessica as a parting gift from my boss before my maternity leave so just wanted to buy a white skirt. I didn't really want to buy those white gowns because she won't be able to use it. Sayang lang after. luckily after a bit of panicking, we were able to get a white skirt from Gingersnaps. It was too large for her so mukhang gown na rin. hahaha.... it was size 24 pa, she can still use it a few months from now. I just bought nappy clips para sumikip sya. hahaha... di naman halata sa pics noh!

So ok, the ceremony was really a nice and intimate one. There were only 3 kids to be baptized so di ganun kadaming tao. The priest was also nice and made some important reminders in bringing up the child in our faith. Nice. The ceremony ended around 4:15, most of the godparents were there: Charles, Jordan (Tabs' best friends) and Noge (Tabs brother), Grimi, Fran and Helen (My MBA best friends), and Marione (my HS bestfriend). Jeff (HS bestfriend) was not able to attend the ceremony since he was coming from Davao pa, while Francis (Tabs' HS friend) is in the hospital naman and wasn't discharged yet. Irene (Tabs sister) naman is in London already.

The reception was simple lang, we just ordered some food na by platter na lang instead of the initial plan to order per head (like the bunch of lunch meals) since I wanted the guests to be free to eat what they like. There was these family bundle meal ata yun, with one platter of spaghetti, one family size pizza, one family chicken (5-pc) and one pitcher iced tea. Since some of the invited guests didn't attend, there was a lot of food and we had a lot pa to take home. The staff of Shakeys were also very nice and easy to talk to. Overall I really believe we saved a lot and the guests seemed full naman.
I also gave out small tokens for the guests, I bought some round chocolates from Chocolate Lovers and then I made sticker labels na lang, its really cute. di ko pa pala nakunan ng pic. hmmm.

Jessica seemed to have fun naman looking at mommy opening up her gifts. hahaha... she was really staring e, she had a lot of gifts, nakakatuwa. next year sya na magbubukas ng gifts e. hehehehe....

My ratings:
Edsa Shrine: 10/10 - They are nice, easy to talk to, and I believe the ceremony was really solemn and intimate.
Shakeys Robinsons Galleria: 9/10 - They forgot to put the tarp banner because we were a bit early. Other than that, service was ok. Food was also ok.
Giveaways: 10/10 syempre DIY yun e!

scrapbooking?

I just finished organizing the pics of Jessica by her age. Something I should have done ages ago. And I'm kinda hoping I'd be able to start digiscrapping her very soon. Something I doubt I can start while I'm on leave, because I'm kinda lazy most of the time! hahahaha....
Howell, at least organizing her pics is a start. been meaning to start some photo albums but with so many pics, its so hard to choose. The one's I have printed, I haven't even pasted anywhere. geez.... lazy, lazy and lazy....

On the other hand, I was able to extract a channel 2 network from the tv in the sala, which made my housekeeper/yaya very happy. hehe.... that's the problem here in our area, without cable, channel 2's signal is too weak. and since I think its too premature to install cable when no one else is going to use it, well, we're practically forced to be Kapuso viewers. Now that channel 2 works, even if the picture quality isn't so good, my housekeeper can watch her favorite Kapamilya shows, specially Wowowee and those telenovelas at night.

somethings wrong with this blog

my postings aren't getting posted. so I guess something is amiss. huh!
i'm testing my yaya right now, she'll be with the baby the whole day, hubby has been insisting I do that already so the yaya can grasp the full extent of her responsibility when I get back to work.
hay, which makes me miss my little girl.... because I'll be back to work so soon, masarap sana to have her while I'm still at home.
hay....

4 days to go

4 Days to go till Jessica's baptism. This morning I already issued the reminder text to all my friends who I've invited, well, most of them naman confirmed, its only the older ones that we needed to invite. But the guestlist naman is quite safe pa at 40 pax, can go as high as 50pax naman, if need be I can just order an extra pizza or something for the guests. That's the good thing about having the food na lang by table. I do hope all is well. Hay. Excited na rin ako, everyone will see our little girl na ulit. Nga lang, everyone will probably say, bakit ang itim??? hahaha....

august already.... 16 days till I get back to work. huhuhu....

looking up career opportunities

true to my previous post, and perhaps driven by my constant lack of money because of so many bills and credit card debt, I've started applying to managerial jobs, some in my line of work, others just to test the waters. Not that I truly, truly hate my current company, I don't, I still love my friends there and I do enjoy the benefits. Its more because I find myself looking forward to where I'd see myself in the next couple of years, and the answer is, if I stay there, I'd probably be in the same supervisory position anyways. I'd be 30 yrs old in two years, and by then, I should really be in a managerial position. Otherwise my MBA degree wouldn't have paid off, diba?

so, I've updated my CV, started again my Jobstreet account, and hope I receive some interview offers soon. I've yet to look towards how I can pay back the car if ever I decide to move out, but that's not the biggest concern anyway. If I earn twice or more of what I currently earn then it would be easier to pay it anyway. I love that car, so even if I'll ask for a car where I'll work next, I'd still want to keep our Grandy (short for Grandeur).

Hay, I do hope I can get some interviews before I set of to work.... I can't take any leaves na kasi once I get back to the office. hehe.

Career change?

How does one go about a career change? For the past 6 years, I've work in procurement/purchasing. I finished my MBA. And now I've finally decided na I have very limited growth if I stay pa in purchasing. The opportunities are limited already. I've already been to the two biggest food businesses. worked up my knowledge in those two companies, if i'm to take on a managerial post in purchasing, it will most likely be in a smaller company. hence, my dilemma.
I'm hoping my MBA can help me with my career change plans. Right now I'm looking at sales or marketing as my next best alternatives.

2 months and two weeks old

yup, she's getting older and cuter everyday. and whenever i look at her age, it gets back to me just how soon I'd be going back to work. haaay.... will be back to work in two weeks na lang. I'd like to think, though, that I was able to give her naman my full attention for the past 3 months. There were things I though I'd be able to do while on leave but I was unable to do because I spent my time with jessica. No regrets there. I'm very happy that I was on leave for 3 months. I'd probably be missing a few of her other milestones, but then again we can't afford to be a one-income family at this point.
This morning I decided to fit her into some of the clothes that are yet unused so I can check whether she can use some of the clothes already. One is the gift of my former boss in Nestle, a blouse and pants pair from Gingersnaps. Isn't it cute?



The other one is a onesie I bought when I was still pregnant, hence I never realized that onesies were kinda useless in a tropical country like ours, esp if its long sleeved and covered the whole body. I didn't fit it till now, and I'm glad I did because it fits her just fine now. A few more weeks and it'd probably be useless already.


Hay, she grows up too fast....
Am also excited na for her baptism this coming sunday. give-aways are done na, so is the candle. I decided to settle for the off-white dress I bought since sayang naman if i still buy a white one for the symbolism. The candle I just bought a big one and put ribbons and the teddy bling-bling on it. Will post the pics tom siguro. I plan to light the candle every birthday nya so we can give thanks. :-)

baptism dress rehearsal

the stage mom in me can't help but play dress-up with Jessica, especially now that her baptism is drawing near. Look at her, isn't she such an angel?

Jessica's ride

Hubby's dad is back in the Philippines. Came home last monday. Hubby and I have been joking that jessica should say "stroller" when he comes to visit. We've been wanting to buy her one but we're waiting for someone to give it as a gift or something... Well, when his parents came last monday they gave her $100. Hubby and I decided to buy a stroller with the money, its something she can use naman e.
Goody, she likes it. See, my little girl likes staying outdoors. Sometimes when she cries a lot the only solution is to take her outside the house so she can see a different view. That usually makes her stop crying. The stroller saves us a half-hour or so of not carrying her. And now she can sleep in it too so its all good so far. I'm really hoping to get our money's worth with it, because I always read that some parents say they regret having a stroller because its bulky and it wasn't used. Well, I hope I won't say that, although its partly the reason why I don't want to buy an expensive one. The one we bought, baby1st, is ok. It has the basic functions anyway: reclining backrest, food table, reversible handlebars, seatbelts.... hehehe... its simple but useful for us so I'm quite happy with the buy.
This afternoon I took her out on the street and she seemed to have enjoyed the walk (well, for her its ride).

Patience

Been meaning to blog with this title for weeks now. Its always been in my head, but I haven't had the inspiration to really blog about it.
Every time my daughter, Jessica, cries and nothing seems to appease her, and I'm not feeling mad or irritated at all, I realize just how much motherhood has changed me. Apart from the time when I was in postpartum depression, I've realized that being a mom changes even the hardest attitudes to change. For me, its patience. See, I'm a self-confessed impatient person. I always, always want things fast, decisions made fast, I work fast. In other words, I'm a fast paced person. Aside from that, I want others to act in the same tune. I hate it when things are done slowly, when decisions take a long time to make.
Being a mom changed me in a way I think is best for me. I never realized that I can have an endless amount of patience when dealing with the needs of my daughter. Now, its okay when she cries hard when she's trying to sleep but can't quite catch it yet. I can hold her for hours, or talk to her about nothing and everything. I used to live my life trying to do too many things at the same time. She changed that. Now I can spend some days relaxing, (though I don't sleep still) and not feel guilty of the things I didn't do. My maternity leave also gave me opportunities to be a wife to my husband again, something I rarely did since I got pregnant. It makes me feel good that I can again attend to his needs.
Has motherhood changed me? Yes it did, but in most aspects, for the better.

Before I gave birth i wasn't really the type that takes a lot of pictures. Sure, I love good pics, and I've had my share of great pics, especially those taken from the prenups and the weddings, and pics of our trips together (me and hubby). I have pics grabbed from friends whenever there are special occasions. Graduation pictures I paid for (of course). When I was 9 months preggy, though, I bought a digicam because I was thinking that I wanted to record Jessica's moments. True enough, its been very useful, taking pictures of her almost everyday. I realize I also wanted to pose with her. hehehe... more to see who she looks like as she grows older. hehehe...

At 2 months and 5 days old, this is Jessica:

And this is Jessica with her daddy:


So, does she look like her dad?

4:32

awake... at 4:32am... waiting for jessica to fall into deep sleep so i can put her down.... haaay.... no complaints though.... i love watching her sleep din e.

20 posts

ever since my wordpress site has closed down i haven't really blogged as much as i'd like. been wanting to start blogging for pay already but I need to make 20 posts pa pala. howell. have to work on that first, as I only have 8. hehe...

anyways, things are doing better at home and i feel less stressed. i can now leave the house more often with the yaya already here. buti naman talaga. right now i can still feel the stress from the past month, something that i hope would go away when i get myself a massage next week. sana... sana...

and now that i get the chance to leave the house, i get to test how much time i can spend time away from my baby. just thinking about being gone for the whole day makes me so sad. its as if i still can't take it. especially now that she's a bit more interactive. she can now make sounds as if talking to me and smile and shout. of course no one understands what it means but then again its so nice to be talking to her just the same. hay....

also i'm slowly finding out that my yaya is a bit on the chismosa side pala.... well, she does tell me naman where she's been, but i guess it comes with the curiosity of the new environment, because when i introduced her this morning to the yaya of my friend here in the apartment, and then left for a while with hubby to have the car repaired, she made friends with the yaya pala and went there with jessica. i just hope she stays within the apartment compound lang.

like i said, hubby and i had the car repaired. funny because its our first time to bring the car to a shop. hubby panicked kasi whenever we pass humps on the road there's this clanking sound of metal. me, i think its just something "sumasayad", while hubby and his brother is soo panicking na. especially his brother. geez. turns out its just some sort of muffler bracket that's sira already. so we had them replaced already, cost us 300bucks. and hubby withdrew pa 5000. bwahahahaha.... so funny tlaga.

will go to the office (actually lunch at rockwell with officemates pala) for michelle's despedida. hay. will miss that girl!

less stressed

with the coming of our yaya, Marites, I'm hoping I'd be having less stressed these days. So far so good. They are not up to (my) speed when it comes to housework, pero aren't we all unsatisfied at some point? Syempre we can't impose too much on them, di sila kasing palaisip kesa sa tin. and they definitely don't have that sense of time that we people in the metro have.

I am thankful of having her though, so fas she's been good with Jessica and that matters the most. So long as she's honest, does her share of the housework, and more importantly takes good care of my daughter, then that's fine with me.

finally

after exactly a month with no yaya, we now have one. its really a big relief for me, everyday, i feel my energy level is going down with each passing day. yeah, i get more things done lately than i did before and i still manage to be a doting, loving mom to jessica, but other things get ignored. i constantly feel sleepy and then my husband is always feeling left out. and he is a bit jealous that i have no time and energy for him. and i constantly have lower back pains, which i promise myself a spa treatment and at least 30 minutes in a hot sauna to relieve me of all the "lamig", which i am feeling constantly in my arms and back. so yes.... the yaya/housekeeper is a relief. i am hoping that jessica will take to her though, so far all is well.
i left jessica to her this morning because i need to go out lunchtime and i need to see that she can at least handle it. and everything seems fine. she's yet to get jessica's moodswings though, my baby gets all suplada when she's sleepy, she only wants to be held upright so she can see things. she wants to stay outside sometimes, well, at least just outside the front door.
jessica celebrated her 2nd month yesterday. i just cooked some fettucine carbonara (for long life). she's grown so much healthier now and i'm happy for that. seems the milk makes her grow big. teehee... she has some habits now and some are good, some are bad. she's awake longer during the day. at night its alternating between so-good-doesn't-cry-at-all and tantrums when she can't fall asleep easily. hubby is actually claiming that's he's awake whenever we are. yeah, right! LOL
makes me kinda sad though, when i realize we only have a month left till i'm due back to the office. and then my days will be spent again working, and i'll miss my little girl and all the milestones she would have whilst i'm working.... that makes me sad. very sad.... haaay... but of course it comes with the realization that i am not ready to give up my career (whatever it is right now...) and my independence, well, not really financial independence, but knowing i have worth professionally.
howell... seems i can now post more frequently since i get some spare time for me now. and i 'm yet to spend it on sleep!
am leaving you with some 2-month old pics of jessica. hope you like it!

relaxing in her sling-turned-duyan (look at the pata!)

bonding moments with mommy

baby's first fever

my poor baby. jessica's been having tantrums the whole day. we came home from the clinic in UST after giving her vaccine shots for DPT and HiB and we kinda anticipated already that she'll be having fevers. Bought calpol already. Ayun na nga, she wasn't feeling well the whole day probably because of the pain in her thighs. Then come late afternoon her temp was up already. she cries differently pala when she's not feeling well. kakaawa. If only you can get na lang her pain so she'll be ok. Hope she feels better na by tonight....

financial woes

a few days ago there was this news article on the cost of living of Filipinos. It said there that a Filipino family of five members can be sustained with a monthly income of Php 8,200+. That includes food and the other basic needs. To that I can only say, good luck doing that. I mean, even if the family is just surviving on basic needs, its nearly impossible to live with that income in a month especially with children around.

Just a while ago, I called up the clinic of Jessica's pedia to inquire on how much the vaccine for DPT/P/HIB will cost. It turns out it was a whopping 2,900! My gosh!!!! It made me think twice again on shifting Jessica's pedia to another. My MIL was mentioning this well-baby clinic in UST and frankly, I'm quite convinced that we go there instead. The vaccines there are supposed to be free. Thing is, while we can come up with the money for her vaccines tomorrow, i'm thinking these next months it would be harder and harder to come out with that budget, e vaccines are scheduled every month.

We still haven't fully recovered from our financial burdens these past few months, with hubby not getting any salary from the business they started (since January), we've had an accumulation of credit card payables the past few months. Suffice it to say that right now, I am sooo very highly leveraged. It's going to take some time to pay off, and I haven't quite made out another payment plan for it for the next few months, last i did it in January, hoping to pay off all my debts in 2 years, well, it got worse because of our situation. haaayyy... Admittedly, the past few months there were really a lot of things going that required cash: car insurance (comprehensive), my final semesters' tuition fees, baby stuff, graduation, and then my hospital bill. Its been really rough. Hubby is now paying off his own payables from his mom and sister, so the next few months he'll have some extra for himself at least, while me, am not expecting any extras at all, I have to many credit card bills to pay, and it's going to be a while before I can pay it off. Howell...

Which reminds me, Jessica's baptism is coming up in a few weeks, and I do intend for it to be a meaningful celebration. Not grand, since I'm only inviting a couple of really close friends who are going to be Jessica's godparents, closest family, and some of our godparents in the wedding. And its going to be a simple celebration too, just the ceremony at Edsa Shrine and merienda at shakeys galleria. Like I said, simple does it.

long delayed post

been meaning to blog for so many days now. but whenever i'm just about ready to do so, something comes up, like a new chore or the baby calling, or some other reason. like yesterday just when i was about to blog, the internet connection was gone, because of the landline was repaired. stupid bundle, if you ask me.

so now i'm hoping i can finish this post without any more distractions... :-)

anyways, to update. well, there are so many updates I don't quite know where to start.

first, the HOUSEKEEPER....
i don't remember if i posted here that the nanny we got for jessica left us after three weeks. she said she wanted to join her cousins in this laundry shop where they work. and since i can't stop her anyway, i let her go. this is not my fourth week alone without the nanny. Its hard, though the bonding with jessica is more than what I had expected. I feel I really used my maternity leave wisely to have spent this much time with her. Its only the stress sometimes of still having to do the housework, and I end up so tired by nighttime, though lately i've also been able to adjust, i guess. but now, we really need to have that nanny, since its just over a month till I get back to work and I need for the nanny to be used to jessica, otherwise we'll have a problem. See, my daughter does not look kindly at everyone. she sometimes wants someone in particular to hold her: namely, me or her dad. I need the one month left to work up an attachment to my daughter and the nanny. So i'm really hoping, by next week, she (nanny) will be with us already.

second, JESSICA...
Well, she's grown quite healthy already. though i'm not exclusively bfeeding her I make sure I still get some milk for her, at least to work up her antibodies a bit. it still puzzles me though that sometimes she wakes up with a cold-like sound, though by midday its gone. she won't also sleep without the A/C since its too hot for her... will ask about this on the next pedia visit. Anyways, here's some itsy bitsy trivia on her now:

- she's learning the art of Tantrums... yikes! sometimes she gets all cranky and cries and cries and cries with her super loud voice. I call it the Tiyanak mode, since her voice is soooo LOUD sometimes it can scare you (like is she sick, feeling pain, or something) with the way she cries.after she settles down though, she just sleeps.
- she's already starting to see.... she can follow a person with her eyes. I don't think she can focus that much yet, but she does know how to follow me with her eyes. can't wait till i'm much more sure that she can already see.
- she already smiles. though its still one in a few hours, seeing her smile can take out all the stress i have in me....
- We now spend less on nappy's and baby wipes. Ever since she got through the phase of using like 15 nappies in a day, its been a breather for us financially. she used to use up so much diapers and baby wipes with all her poop (like 4-5 times a day), but its now normalized to only about 2-3 times. and the baby wipes we can use around 1 in a week now, whereas before we use up 2-3 packs in a week. whew. milk consumption has gone up though, with a 900-g can being used up in a 6 days. good thing that one is free.

Just this morning I had to run out for 5 minutes and left her at home (bad mommy)... because I got a call from hubby that the caravan (the ones usually pulled by a carabao) was nearby and I might get a "duyan" there. so i ran out (but ran back immediately after too). I got her a "duyan" already, the one made from rope (quite sosy if you ask me) for 500 pesos (from 560...) its nice though its quite expensive, but the rattan ones were quite crude and I keep thinking she could get scratches there. Also got her a "Banig" for the crib, for 60 pesos.

Ok... what else. Oh, am already working on her upcoming baptism on August 5. So far, the venue for the reception and the ceremony are reserved, already have her outfit, and the guestlist is on the works. I just need to work on the souvenirs if ever I'd still have any. here's her invite, which is just DIY. its better to have it like this though since I can just email it to those I won't be able to give a hard copy to.

everyone's saying she's soo cute here. hehehe... complete with headband to. she is too cute to be true, right??? :-)

oki, guess this is all for now, hope I can get around to making more posts in the coming days.

motherhood kwento

oops. haven't visited for a while, not that busy as in not so many house chores BUT the baby takes up quite a lot of time. there are quite a number of days when she wants to be carried a lot. and i mean a lot. like hours at a time. today she's pretty quiet though. hehe... and look at how much she's grown already!

pretty jessica

my bad mood face

isn't she cute in her matching headband? hehehe...
still no yaya though, and believe me its really hard having to handle both the household chores and the baby at the same time. Kinda hoping we get a housekeeper soon, of course I need some time also to get to know her and how she handles the baby. hay....

Seat Cushions with Style

When my husband and I moved to our apartment, we immediately bought a sofa for our living room. Unfortunately, the style we chose only had lime green fabric, the type that accumulates dirt over time. To prevent this we kept the plastic wrapping intact, and instead put a blanket and bedsheet as seat covers. I resolved to call a shop that personalizes seat cushions and cushion covers. That was 2.5 years ago and I still haven’t had the time to call. Not that I find the bedsheet and the blanket stylish enough for the sofa, but time constraits with work and other activities have prevented me from making that phonecall so someone will visit me at home to take the measurements.

Seat cushions are a great way of adding variety to your home. What more, it reflects your personality. Sunbrella Seat Cushions offers a wide range of styles for chair cushions, chaise lounge cushions, seat cushions, bench pads, ottoman cushions and throw pillows or create your own custom shaped cushions using their new Cushion Designer customization system. Simply follow the steps on the website and you'll be on your way to creating custom made cushions in the Sunbrella furniture fabric of your choice! Why not get yourself a matching patio umbrella or market umbrella? Your neighbors would certainly be envious of your stylish outdoor furniture.

Beach house dreams

A lot of Filipinos want to go to the US to work (and hopefully to live there). Personally I would only want to go to the United States for a vacation. And while I’m there, I also want to check out Mexico. Now, supposing I had a lot of extra cash (like when I win the lottery, perhaps?), then I’d be more than willing to invest in Baja Real Estate even if I don’t live there. I dunno if I’m allowed to buy any property there, but nevertheless, I’d really like to own a place there. What I’d really love, though, is to have a beach house. Yup, a beach house of my dreams. I get to watch those in the movies and I would like to experience always having a breeze whenever I walk in the beach, and the sound of the ocean to lull me to sleep at night. A romantic dinner by the beach with my husband every once in a while to rekindle romance. Taking a walk with the kids in the sand, and watching them make sandcastles while I sit under the sun with a good novel in hand. Hmmm… it may be too far-fetched right now, but who knows! I may just end up fulfilling these dreams (hopefully by the time I turn 50!).

leaving my WP blog

ok, so I'm bad. I don't listen to those Terms of Service Stuff. I checked my blog this morning and found out it has been suspended for violation of the Terms of Service. Okie.... guilty as charged since I enrolled the blog in PayperPost and ReviewMe. Just when I was starting to earn.... Grrr... And right now I have no way of retrieving my previous posts. And now, before I can enroll in Payperpost, I'd have to have some 20 posts. Double drat. No I have to work double-time in posting. Add to that, I'm still not fully satisfied with the look of this blog. Hayyy... so sad. I guess I really need to work on this today. Like, make some 20 posts today so I can enrol the blog already. I badly, badly need some extra money, you see.
Ooops, my bad.... so, welcome BACK to my new blog (still under construction though).

My Birthing Kwento (Imported Post)

Ok, so call me cheating, but this is a very, very important post, and so I definitely will re-post this into any blog I come into....

my birthing kwento

at last…. my delayed birthing kwento

Wednesday, May 16 - had my check-up with the OB. Since hubby was at work I had to commute to the hospital, which is ok with me since I needed the walk anyway. Arrived there around 11, went for a check-up, ultrasound and NST (non-stress test) for the baby. OB tells me that I might not give birth pa that week — imagine how disappointed I was! Decided to go and walk some more… had lunch at Wendy’s Boni and decided to use the MRT stairs to cross over to Robinson’s Pioneer — not so desperate to give birth, eh??? Went around Robinsons and bought groceries, but decided to take the cab going back home because I was tired already.

Wednesday, May 16, pm - felt like I had diarrhea…. uh-oh…. didn’t think it was a big deal though, might have been something I ate anyway.

Thursday, 1:30 am - woke up feeling contractions, started to record them when I realized they came repetitively. It started at around 8 minutes apart.

2:30 am - finally woke up hubby to tell him I was feeling contractions already, but I didn’t tell him to panic just yet. He went back to sleep…. hehe

4:00 am - told hubby it was probably time to go to the hospital. I took a bath already (I didn’t know when I’d take my next bath…) and generally took my time. woke up hubby at 4:30 so he can get ready.

5:30 am - arrived at Lourdes Hospital ER, they told us to go directly to the Delivery Room at the third floor, I was still strong, the contractions were still at 5mins apart and wasn’t so painful, besides there was a lot of time to recover in between contractions. The residents checked my stats and did an IE, I was 1 cm still but with the contractions they called my OB, Dra. Datu. Since I was term already, she already advised the residents to admit me. They asked hubby to get a room already and gave him my clothes (I was asked to wear a hospital gown na) while I was sent to the Labor room. My OB arrived around 7 am, did another IE and checked my contractions, and asked that I be given buscopan for the cervix.

9:00 am - OB did another IE, I was 2cm, contractions still at 5min apart, pain was still bearable. I was bored….

11 am - I was given an IV already, and a little later the OB burst my water bag. At first there was no pain, but later on I started feeling the contraction come at 3 minutes apart. By this time I was already given another dose of painkillers so I felt so groggy already. But the pain really progressed and by 4pm I was already squirming in pain

4pm - I was wheeled into the Delivery Room and given an epidural. Because of the painkillers I was still so groggy but they won’t let me sleep. After that they started to teach me how to push. A few pushes later, when the OB can feel the head already, they were all over me and asking me to push harder. They asked 2 interns to push my tummy to help the baby out. That was the bulk of the pain since I couldn’t breathe!!!! I was ok from the hips down but the pain of the additional push was so much because there was no painkiller there!!! I stopped being demure already and gave out sounds when I pushed…. Like I said, because the pain of the additional push was much more than the pain of getting the baby out.

4:33 pm - After so many pushes, the baby was out. I wasn’t able to hold her but I was still able to hear her cry. The OB asked me to sleep already, and I guess I did, because next thing I know I was already in the recovery room.

7:00pm - I was wheeled to our room. After they left me and when I saw hubby, I started to cry. Despite all the pain of the labor I didn’t cry through the ordeal, but when I saw my husband, I couldn’t help it. My parents, my sister and my nephew and niece came awhile later. They didn’t get to see the baby because the viewing time was only 6-7pm. They left around 9pm. Around 11pm, my high school friends, Jeff and Marione and Ken came to visit. Apparently they were still planning a baby shower but it came quite late. :-p

We didn’t get to room-in the baby until Friday afternoon. But it was really worth the wait. Hubby was already so mad because he couldn’t see the baby. My in-laws came also on Friday as well as my other sisters on Friday night. Saturday the OB already gave the discharge orders, so did the pedia. We were able to leave the hospital around 1pm.

If you ask me, it was so worth it, and the normal delivery was great because I’m now ablke to move around. And taking care of the baby is such a sweet task. Its really true, there’s such a thing as mother’s instinct. I never took care of a baby before, but taking care of Jessica now made me realize all it takes is confidence, and lots and lots of love.

Funny

Funny when I think about the fact that lunchtime yesterday I blogged in the office about workload mellowing down a bit, only to go home at almost 8pm yesterday from the office and then taking home work besides. huh. so much for hoping. oh well. i therefore conclude that I do work efficiently. It is just that work comes faster than it goes. For every 3-4 transactions that I get to pull out and finish, there comes 5-6 more, and so the cycle goes. Oh well, hopefully next week things will be better, and besides I'm committing to being a good student from now on. No more absences. Swear!

TGIF

Things have mellowed down a bit (testimony of it being that I am now writing on my blog at 1 pm). There are a lot of stuff I need to be doing as well for other projects, and this afternoon I'll deal with that. I'm lagging a up when it comes to acads, but this weekend I intend to spend time with my books while hubby will be working the whole day. That, and I wanna iron our clothes for a change. Hubby is complaining that he doen't like the smell of the clothes (most especially the whites) when he wears them, and I'm yet to find out what is wrong. So i intend to do the ironing tomorrow night because I usually use Downy when I iron to sprinkle so its easier to iron.

Anyways, just a sidestory. Last night we had a despedida for Cathy, one of my e-proc barkada. So nice that we got together (all of us) for dinner. Will post the pics soon, but I wanted to blog about is because I feel happy and sad about seeing them. Happy because I haven't seen them i a while and its always such fun to be with them. Sad because with Cathy leaving, that would be the two of us gone and well, admittedly, we are moving on. We're growing up and chasing our dreams. I know I have. My last two years in SMC gave me the chance to pursue masters, but it also made me grow up and chase my dreams, which is also why I left. I know its for the best. In a few years time I'd have a family, and everything I'm doing now is really for them.

Oh, and last night when I got home hubby was so sad and serious, unlike his usual, makulit mood. I got really worried that he's making "tampo" over my being so busy these days. He didn't even want to watch a movie, even when I brought home The Matrix series and LOTR. Turns out he was just tired since he was also exercising. Oh well. I did promise to myself that I'd make it up to him after the midterms and the busy weeks ahead. And I'll do that, promise.

Its so nice to be blogging again. :-)

sequel to the busy blues

like i said in my previous post, i'm expecting way a lot of work this week. and as it turned out, it was worse than i had imagined. haaaah! instead of taking the work of 1 of my colleagues only, guess what -- yup, i got more than that.
tuesday morning my boss approached me, saying that i'll be taking over temporarily the work of another colleague, next week, when she attends a one-week induction program for new hires (i went ahead of her, remember?, since I specifically said I wanted to attend the induction first). Knowing the other colleague (the one who is really leaving for another section of the department) will be around next week, I said ok. After lunch though, the colleague of mine who is going to the induction next week, got the flu and had to take a leave the following day to rest. So what happened was that we advanced her turnover and now, since the other colleague i mentioned will be out Wednesday to Friday this week., I'm handling 3 responsibilities. yay!!!!
i tell you, its so hard trying to fill in for 3 shoes. Why you say? Because our individual days are usually full, so I will have to do three days-worth of work into one day...
on one hand though, I do think the added responsibility was an indication, at the very least, of how my boss is satisfied with the way I work, otherwise she wouldn't have trusted me with that much responsibility so soon, right. I guess I just realize that this is actually a great way of showing the people around us that yes, I'm good at what I do. :-)
but then again, pardon me for releasing my exhaustion on this blog and treating it as a shock absorber. After all, this is my blog, so I have every right to blabber here. bwahahahaha!

Weekday blues

huh... what i very busy monday. and i foresee another very busy week ahead of me. I'm set to get some part of the workload that my colleague is leaving behind becauze she'll be moving to another section of the department. part of the workload will temporarily be transferred to me, and turnover will start tomorrow, which means that added to the weekly load I have, there's more to come. huh.... and next week is midterms already. geez.... this promises to be a really rough month and a half. its a good thing i have the time to blog now... hehehe... at least this is the time to gain back some energy and let go of my stress... haaaayyyy....

just to clear my head, at least till i sleep tonight, here are my deliverables for the week:

1. Finish final template for caps bidding (work).
2. Read chapters 1-10 of Intl Business Book: Midterms July 18, 2006
3. Read URACO Case
4. Read Barrings Bank Case
5. Read at least one Strat Man Article
   
6. Bring clothes to laundry for pressing

There are a hundred and one more things I need to do, but right now i'm much too tired to list them all down. Hay.... and its only monday! Can't we have longer weekends please????

walang magawa

hehehe.... we're a couple sooo addict to the PC. imagine spending a whole afternoon together -- but not quite. with the dsl now connected to the desktop pc and the laptop connected via LAN to the PC, we are now two people together in one room and not talking! bwahahhaha!!! grabe so much for techies talaga ito. si tabs naglalaro ng Frozen throne. Ever syempre, whenever we're at home e yun lang naman libangan nya - at manood ng DVD, which we ran out of -- mostly napanood na at di pa inuulit ulit. hehe... me naman, finished my part of the paper already for international business. at gustuhin ko naman na maging dakilang inday at magplantsa e tinatamad naman ako... malamang dadalhin ko na lang to sa laundry. bwahahaha....

ang saya-saya since naikabit namin both the PC and the laptop to the dsl. its fun kasi i don't have to bore myself with other things while tabs is playing - kasi naman pag ako nanood ng DVD at busy sya maglaro, magtatampo.... :-P medyo napapadalas tuloy and kaka-check sa friendster. naggawa na rin tuloy ako ng testimonials. la lang. trip ko lang.

now i'm slightly finished with my part in the paper, my reaction paper for tomorrow, and so tinatamad ako mag-aral na naman. shucks.... midterms pa naman next week.... ahuhuhu....

anyhoo... been visiting other blogs as well, and reading N@W's recent posts on having a second child. Syempre wala pa nga kami ni isa, pero I've asked tabs his POV on the matter - and its a definite YES for it. simple lang naman sagot nya, medyo brutal nga lang: "Eh kung matanda na kayo, tapos mamatay 1 anak, e di wala na!".... Medyo barbaric anoh? But really very true din. Kasi if you think about it, ang hirap ng only child. A lot of the answers I read from the sharing are positive naman for having kids, and one that strikes me is that they say that God will provide. So true.

which makes me want to have kids already!!!!! waaaah!!!! its 5 months or so na lang till we finally allow ourselves to get pregnant, coz its the time i don't have to travel na to school until the comprehensive exams. but whenever i look at blogs of people who more or less got married the same time I did, gosh, inggit ako when i read that they're pregnant already! and same thing when I see little babies. I know naman that we have the right reasons for delaying it a few more months, and I really do think that it's also good that we have had the time to adjust to our married life na before we have kids. thankfully, ok naman na kame, the part few months I guess we've already learned to adjust to our lives together, and thankfully wala ng mga huge fights over petty matters. as in. we've learned to laugh at ourselves even over our misunderstandings. tabs, i know also wants to have a baby already. me din -- On November I'll stop taking OC to allow my body to adjust so it can start producing eggs already, hopefully by January we can get pregnant na (fingers crossed!).

MBA

Roughly 2 and a half years ago, I set my mind on pursuing my post-graduate degree. For me it was the best time to start it, after all, I was 25: young and still single. It would be something for me. And besides, at that time my workload in the office wasn't heavy, i could easily leave the office after exactly 9 hours of work.
I first took application forms from Ateneo Graduate School of Business. After all, they only required a minimum of 1 year work experience (I had more than 2 years, shy of 3 years by only a few months). Then, on the day I came back to UP to get my recommendation forms from my former college, I happened to pass through the UP Business Administration Bldg. and asked my self if I should dare ask for a form. And I did. I then took my chances, took the admission exams and passed - for the full time program. Of course I couldn't give up work, so I appealed to the good graces of the UP MBA Program Director to allow me into the part-time program.. to which he agreed after seeing my credentials. Took the summer classes, after which I passed the final qualifying exams which officially made me part of the program.
The first year had been rough, there were assignments all the time, case studies, lectures over stuff I didn't have any background with (Accounting) and subjects my brain refused to take in (Economics). There were classes Monday to Friday except Wednesdays. And Saturdays we usually had to meet with groupmates to do casework or projects. Looking back, the first year was definitely the toughest of them all.
It was also financially-challenging. When I started, I had to plot all my bonuses well into the future as tuition fees. I quietly resigned myself to the fact that, for the next 3 years of my life, I would have no bonus to spend for myself. Till now, whenever its enrolment period, I get silently depressed.
But more than the financial burden and the lack of quality time for myself, the program was nothing like I'd ever imagined post-grad school to be. true, there were days when you don't feel like going to class, days when you come to class and not listen. But more than that, the learnings are so much more. I learned about stuff I would not have understood had I stuck to my bachelors degree. In Engineering they taught us all about theories, plant design, math, etc. But in MBA they teach us Accounting, Management control, Human Resource Management, Strategy. All the stuff incorporated into real life experiences of the Professors and the students/professionals themselves. Every bit of it (except for some subjects, which I repeat, will always be Greek to me!) was worth learning, and worth paying for with my bonuses.
Finally, and I think, as important as the previous paragraph, was the fact that I gained more friends. These are friends I knew I'd always cherish, just as much as high school or college friends. Every once in a while we'd go out for dinner, and these dinners were truly heartwarming. These guys are some of the wittiest, cleverest people one would hope to meet, and I'm happy they came into my life. MBA would never be the same without these guys.
Now that I'm a few months shy of getting my degree (one and a half sems plus comprehensive exams, to be exact), I'd look forward to the days when I can go home straight after work, or go malling perhaps. And spend my bonuses on clothes and shoes, or techie gadgets, or save it for the future. But I'd also be sad, knowing I won't see my friends as often.

hayyy... feeling senti lang, this early I feel like I'm really gonna miss my friends. ...
sooo weird to feel senti over something I'll feel in the future. hehehe....

till next post. hopefully I can post more often.... duhhhh....

all things hectic

I miss blogging (so, so much!!!). before i transferred to another workplace, I had lots of time in the office. I could do a lot of things at work and end up with time in my hands at night. now, work hours are reserved (with excess, i might add) for work, and i rarely have time for myself. of course, home also needs a lot of attention, and admittedly, i've been amiss of some responsibilities at the homefront as well. For instance, i haven't waxed the floor since I can remember. I still do laundry at home (and usually more often than once a week) but i don't do the pressing anymore because it tires me too much, and hubby wholeheartedly agrees that i shouldn't be doing that anymore. Plus, I very rarely cook nowadays, because when I get home I'm too tired. waaaah!!!! i guess i need to get more adjusted to work and school and home... more pa! ooooh.... one and a half sems to go and MBA is over!!!! sad to miss old friends of course, but I'm very happy to finally be able to have a NORMAL family. and also to start planning for the baby!

On to more news. Last weekend tabs and I finally went to Davao, our much awaited second honeymoon! this was a pre-planned trip we had way back March when Cebu Pacific had this Php 10 fair ongoing, and we were lucky enough to get rountrip tickets to Davao for only 4000 (for the two of us already). It was also fortunate that I got a small bonus from the office that allowed me to book our hotel there, the Grand Regal Hotel. It was at 2600 but I got company rates so its only for Php 2115 a night, and the rooms were pretty grand (yes we were happy with the room, with its king-sized, really comfortable bed).

I will post pics and kwento of davao soon, and I also hope "soon" I can finish my blog postings in one sitting so my trail of thoughts don't go away!!!!

thanks pala to all those who dropped by!

i'm back

after a really, really long hibernation from the blogging world, here i am: ALIVE!!!! ahahahaha.... so many things to blog about, but i haven't had that much time or energy, or spirit, to blog. now its a great time, i'm in front of the tv, blogging, watching Speed 2, missing my husband who's in the hospital waiting for his mom who just had an operation. more on that later...

first: work. work is ok. while i have not really made so many buddies of my officemates, work-wise i think i've adjusted well enough. i'm ok with my clients, and also ok with my suppliers. so i guess i'm doing well. and its been quite fun too. fulfilling in a sense, because while i don't have any time to deal with schoolwork in the office, well, i get to have the time to do it at home. i've not been too much of a housewife though, but I know hubby will understand.

speaking of which, i'm currently making this entry in our new laptop!!! yipeeee!!!!! finally convinced myself and hubby that we need a laptop, for school and whenever we both need to use it. and we both think it was a really good buy. we bought an Asus A6R, one of the newest models, with a Celeron 1.73Ghz processor, 256MB MB, 533MHz DDR2, 60GB harddrive space. IT also has a large, 15" monitor which makes it fun to use. Well, it is pretty heavy but then, I do go for functionality, as always, so at it is, I'm very,very happy with the purchase.

on the homefront, we have a vacation (cum second honeymoon) in davao coming up this weekend. and i'm sooo happy and excited. its not something we get to do too often, to have a vacation all by ourselves. still need to do the itinerary though.

hmmm... that's all for now. next time i blog i'll be posting some pics of our davao trip.
thanks for dropping by!!!!

moving on

tomorrow i officially start work. i've been throught the induction last week and that was 5 days of purely non-work, classroom type activities. tomorrow i'll start working with my department, with my new colleagues, new boss, new work area. it's time to move on.
the saddest part is really the fact that i'll be missing the people who've made my work so muh happier the past few years. I'll miss them so terribly. Yes, I'm in a better company with a better job, but nothing can replace the fact that the people I've worked with the past few years were the probably the best set of officemates one can hope to have. And I will always remember them as such. I'll miss them terribly. but i know its time to move on. For the first time in 3 years again I'd be alone in a new world, new crowd, new environment, new set of rules, but hopefully, with a better future ahead of me too.

brain drain

today was my first day of work at my new company. fortunately or UNfortunately, i'm on a 5-day induction program for new hires. the fortunate thing about it is that i have a 5-day transition before being exposed to the day-to-day work i'll be doing again for eternity. the UNfortunate news was, LESSON NO. 1: If they pay you a lot expect to get what its worth. why so? because, for my first day of work, we (me and fellow new hires) get to sit from 8am till 6:30 pm! Like what!!!! Its a real brain drain, by the time it got to the last topic I was chatting with the new hire beside me. You just can't cram it anymore in you brain if you have to listen that long.
not so much complaining of course. I have come to accept that I might probably really be overworked in this next chapter of my life. no, actually i shouldn't say overworked. I should say: STRESSED. I know for sure that the amount they will be paying me at this job will be well worth for them in terms of what they pay me. add to that, my friend/colleague who got there first tells me the past few months of his stay there has been short of hell, because of the pressure and the workload.
being in my work for quite some time tackling different areas and working with different companies, I would say I've learned quite a lot already with regards to company culture. For one, I know that multinationals who pay higher demands more from their employees, like what happened in my previous work. and being with the company I've been to for the past almost 3 years, I've learned to be relaxed with what I do. There've been very few hectic periods for me, and very little reasons to stay longer than the standard working hours. Not to brag of course, but I know that I do my job well. I manage my tasks well and I know the ins and outs of what I do.
then comes a new environment with new people to work with new challenges to overcome. I feel excited, but at the same time, I feel some anxiety over expectations. I want to build my career in this company, I know I should bear this in mind. because I will conquer this.
of course, first I have to get through 4 more days of being a sitting duck in a room.

Abra de Ilog Experience (really long read).

just came from a weekend getaway that's really one of a kind. my friends from San Miguel, the first group I was in actually, went to an island vacation in Abra de Ilog, Mindoro Occidental. It was a great adventure, mainly because it wasn't the typical beach outing with lots of people and expensive cottages. This was a secluded resort with no electricity and with a beach just 10meters away from the house. Just so I could document if myself, here goes our two-day adventure narrative:

Day 1: Saturday, April 29

-Met up with the group exactly 2am in Tritran, Kamuning. Funny, because several of our friends arrived there and already got us seats while me, Tabs and Cathy were still on the taxi to the bus station. So we were kinda scared that the bus will leave. We got there in time and the whole group was there before the bus left. Only, right in the middle of edsa, and specifically in BONI Ave, the driver picked up 2 passengers, which apparently had made arrangements to be picked up there. Imagine the odds! We could have just taken a tricycle to Boni Ave and saved ourselves a 100 bucks plus travel time had we known that was possible. After the bus left, got a text msg from the resort owner, Johnny, that the boat is at 4am instead of the initial 6am plan. After that it'll probably be by 12noon. Whaaat?!!!! Its a good thing we traveled early lest we miss half a day of our vacation.
-We arrived in Batangas Pier exactly at 4am, just a 1.5-hour ride from Manila. Whew. Talk about good luck. Well, ran out for me. I was in charge of bringing the knife we'd be using in the resort since we weren't sure what stuff we could borrow and couldn't, only to find out there's a newly installed xray machine just like the ones in airport terminals. I wasn't scared of the kitchen knife though, was scared that I'd have to give up my 12-year old swiss knife. Good thing the guard just asked me to surrender what was in my bag and didn't search it himself.
-The boat left the pier at 5am, a rather uneventful, although quite a new experience. The boat was a RORO. and even though it seemed that the boat wasn't moving, it actually was quite fast. We got to Abra de Ilog around 7:30. There were 2 tricycles waiting for us there, which took us to the resort. Take note though, the tricycle ride costs 60pesos. so just imagine how far the place is! We got to the resort around 8am. Time for a swim!

After the short stint at the beach, had a little nap while waiting for lunch. We ate around 1pm. Lunch was rice, chicken and pork adobo, atsara, and a rather large native fish called tapas, which was really delicious. Meaty, if I may say so. Yumm! After lunch, time to swim again! We walked to the first waterfalls in the area. Not too small, but the water was so cool and clear and refreshing. Sarap mag-swim!
Heres a pic of us at the falls.

The little mermaid, and a little to her right, Prince Charming!

After swimming we went back for a little siesta time. At around 4:30 we got out again to walk the nearby beach. Twas a long stretch of a beach, and when we reached the big rocks our guide was asking us if we wanted to see the bigger waterfalls. Just when we started to climb up, I realized it was a cliff, with a really thin piece of dirt to step on, and was scared for life. waaaah!!!!! There was no one at my back (they were too slow. huh.) to pull me back, and hanging on to dear life, i move ahead. this is one experience I would never forget. I've never been the outdoor type, and falling down a cliff at age 27 wasn't my ideal way to die. I've always thought the most gruesome way I'd most probably meet my death is if I'd be hit by a bus or a car crossing the street. (knock, knock). Anyway, we got through that and after another long, long walk, the three of us (the guide, our friend Karen, and me -- the others fell back after i shouted that its too dangerous!) reached the bigger waterfalls, and we were awed by the beauty and serenity of the place. It was really nature at its best. We had to head back though, since it was getting quite dark and we left the others by the beach.

After getting back at the resort, dinner was prepared and we had a meal of inihaw na liempo and bangus plus pakwan for dinner. Yummy again! We had a bonfire after with marshmallows as treat. hehehe.... slept soon after because we were all tired. :-)

Sunday, April 30 -

We woke up bright and early to a breakfast of coffee, rice, hotdogs and tinapa. Sarap!

We decided to while away some time while waiting for the boat ride at 11am since we were scheduled to go to White Beach in puerto galera. Meet some people, if I may say. Only we were aware that the waves that day were not quite calm. We played some cards while waiting. Ate some indian mangoes and prawn crackers. :-)

By 10am there were absolutely no signs of the waves calming down. We decided to go back to the small falls for a swim again. Did i tell you there were small fishes there? we amuse ourselves by feeding them pringles and then trying to catch them. somehow they still manage to figure us out. :-) When we got back the wave were still as un-calm as before so we decided to forego totally the outing. the trip would take an hour and absolutely unsettling to travel in that condition of the sea. We instead decided to just go to the other falls (the one I went to the other day) via the road and not through the beach.

Hi-ho! Hi-ho!

Finally! After many scary ledges and cliffs or a rather dangerous nature, here's the view!

Breathtaking, huh! Its more beautiful when you're really there. Two of the group's brave souls swam in, but we mortals had to sit back and rest since we didn't know how to swim and the bottom was so uneven we were sure we'd drown. We just wished we had a rubber tire or an inflatable so we'd be able to swim around. huhuhu...

We took the beach route on the way back, minus the dangerous cliff. Here's a view of the nice rocks by the beach. If its only possible to take some rocks home!

when we got home we were soooo tired from the long walk (back and forth). had dinner and a little bit more of bonfire before calling it a night.

hubby and me. :-)

Monday, May 1: Time to leave.

It was time to head back to Manila. We had a light breakfast and then left to catch the 8am boat ride back to batangas pier.

the girls!

on our way home...

overall, it was a new experience. so memorable. Saya-saya. Kasya pa sa budget. And more time to bond with hubby. :-) Sana maulit pa. :-D

changes in my life

at age 27 one realizes that its time to think of your future plans more seriously. Gone are the days when we say, "at age x, i should be doing this". We look back at the things we haven't been able to do and make it a point to say that next year, I'll be doing this and that.
And so with my career. After my 2 and half year stint here in my current employer, I realize my career was going nowhere. Not that I'm bragging but I do feel that I deserve more. I graduated from the best high school and university in the Philippines, and yet after 4 and a half years of experience, I'm a rank-and-file employee spending so much more than she earns. I had to wait for the bond of my employment contract to lapse though, and the timing was just right. In January I had my friend send out my resume to this big(ger) company and waited. February they gave me a call. 3 months, 3 interviews, 1 exam, 1 medical test and my new job was for the taking. And I'm finally, after so many years (since my first job, actually) proud again at my accomplishment.
Yup, so I'm moving out of my job, finally got the job offer on monday, and immediately after I tendered my resignation. All in good faith, really. I'll be doing the same job at a new environment, and though there are some recent "not so good news" lately I think I should be able to adjust soon. Of course not after a few sad moments missing my officemates here who have been so much a part of my life, they've been so happy for me ever since I can remember. :-) Anyways, hopefully, this will be a start of the new era of ME.
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On the home front, not much to tell except that I'm really happy there are no "big" issues. We don't really fight, we have a lot of fun times, and its generally the "dream life" I've longed for. I don't think blogging about the death (murder/parricide) of cockroaches would make a good story, so I'll leave it at that. On a scale of 1 to 10, my married life is definitely a 100!!!
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While the holy week holidays were spent with my in-laws, this Sunday had us out of the house and into a family gathering for my side of the clan. Tabs of course was there, the first gathering outside of home he spent with us, and its good that he seems to be adjusting well too. We went to Luntiang Paraiso in Guiguinto, Bulacan and spent the day eating, sleeping, dipping in the pool, and generally chatting with my family. I have to admit, I really miss being with my family. Everything seems different when you move out, fun, but different. I still find it easy to carry on conversations with everyone, but when it comes to goodbyes, its still pretty sad. Anyways, its nice to have spent the day with my sisters and parents and the kids. It gets me to thinking though, if my babies will ever get to be as close to my nieces and nephews as they are to each other now...
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Oh well, till my next post! still have so more stories to tell, but hopefully i'll be able to blog about it soon.

good news

i received some good news today. its about the job application i'm eyeing. it seemed too good to be true but i suppose it is. its not 100% yet but so far its there for the taking. i got some inside news from my friend that some people there already know its me who's gonna get the job. isn't that good news? I still have to work on the last leg of the medical thing, but I'm confident I can clear that up soon. I'll probably just take a test Sunday or Monday to check how I'm doing and if its good, I'll send over the results to Company N. I just have to stick to the lots of fluid and the medication I'm taking.
I really am thankful for the good news. I just realized though, right about now, that I shouldn't be in too much rush anymore that I'm at least assured of the post. I'd wait for the formal job offer of course, but so far, my worst fears are over. :-p Thanks, God.
I'm also glad that despite the little spats I have with hubby, there are still lots of moments of fun. This morning we were teasing each other about our weight problems (mine being concentrated on my chin and his on his waist), and I find it funny that now we can tease each other without seriously getting on each others nerves. The little arguments we have are also more easily discussed. Its a blessing I have a husband who believes in me and in my abilities and is able to understand what I'm going through. Its not so easy being in a career swing sometimes. I'm in a rut in my current job, not finding anything to do, primarily because I did a good job at it and left myself nothing to do. hmph. now I'm surfing the net, answering calls and chatting with officemates. I'm as unproductive as ever! I guess I'm already resting because next month I'm gonna be busy already when I leave my job. Its so much busier at Company N. I call it new challenges. :-)

nice things

one of the nicer things about being newlywed is when you hear your husband gushing over the small things in your life. last night when he got home and saw me frying tilapia, he said he liked what would be our dinner. The meal was rice, tilapia and ginisang pechay. I appreciate that he appreciates my cooking. and lately i find out that its easier and cheaper and more appreciated if i cook the food from scratch rather than to rely on the mixes that come in supermarkets.
and last night in bed before we drifted off to sleep, my husband told me that he finds the tapa delicious and that he wanted to have that for his lunch the following day. Of course I'm thrilled. The tapa was a new discovery of mine. Got the recipe of the marinade off the cookbook and voila! he liked it. so that's what i cooked for him for his lunch (we both bring lunch to the office as much as possible, its cheaper and healthier too). This afternoon he texted me again that it was really delicious. Awwww.... he rarely compliments, which is why I appreciate that he does that once in a while.
I'm getting pimples. drat. i think its hormones+summer heat+stress. I have two more exams (one today and another on Monday) before I can call it a sem (end of sem, that is). After that its only 2 more subjects and then I'm done with my MBA. Time flies so fast. Last I remember I got married, then christmas, then new years, then valentines, then my birthday and now its almost holy week. after the summer days are over its another two trimesters to go. We are also considering making a baby but I figure, deep inside, that while I want to have a baby already, I also want to become financially stable by myself. Right now I'm depending too much on my husband despite having my own work. And I think that's not good. Like my officemates and I were discussing, its important for a woman (and a wife) to have her own savings as well, just to ensure that whatever happens, she can live on her own. That's good food for thought. I'll have to start planning for my life too. but that said, it means FIND YOURSELF A NEW JOB or FIND ANOTHER JOB. Now that's a challenge. And something to think about during the summer break (from school).

Every once in a while we look back at years passed, not to really dwell on what we did or did not do, but really just to benchmark on what are plans were and if we ever actually got there. I'm guilty of doing that all the time. Well, not on all the things in my life, I'm particularly like this when it comes to my career. Why? Because my career represents my own dreams and aspirations. Its something I decide for with myself almost all the time. Hmmm... I actually decide for myself in most aspects of my life anyway, but then again, my career represents a part of me that I did for myself. And its a part of me I'm particularly proud of.
Sadly, while I feel that I have had a good career behind me, the NOW of my career is really not something I look forward to everyday. Not that I don't enjoy what I do, but more because I feel that I am not reaping the fruits of my career for too long a time now. Yes, I enjoy being in Purchasing, its a fun job for me and something I know I'm particularly good at. But the downside of it is that I'm in a good company (lots of people think so, at least), but with a VERY LITTLE chance of moving up ANYTIME SOON.... and that for me, is the saddest, most demotivating thing that can happen to a person's career. And that to me, means: MOVE ON. Of course, it comes with sadnes that when I do decide to move on I'd be leaving officemates who were a part of my life for the past two years, and officemates I've grown to love as a family. I guess my work environment, if we define it as the people in my department and not including any prospects of career growth and dimunition of benefits, is really homey and worth staying for. If I were a typical human being who is not easily downed by sloooow career growth, I might have considered staying. But I'm not. Even my officemates think that I deserve more.
Hay.... it really gets me down these days - this career-financial worry thing. I could only hope there are better days ahead of me....