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....

Well, well, whadaya know, my boss is out for the day again. I'm declaring today as a work holiday. For one, I actually accomplished a lot yesterday my boss was surprised I left him 43 new approvables, hahahaha. He suddenly had 100+ and mine went down to 18. hehehe....

i was also finished with my logistics paper and also helped ara with the formatting so all she has to do is put in her part. i'm missing class again tonight which doesn't matter that much anyway. i'm going home to do the laundry instead. also emailed our paper in HRM to our professor for her comments, I suppose its only then that I can finalize the powerpoint. Tomorrow I'll be in UP the whole day, we have to work on our marketing research paper. whew.

luckily, this week there's been a temporary rest on the movies we watch at home. Hubby is still complaining about the PC, but he plays on it anyway, so i get to sleep earlier, I usually try to study and then fall asleep. He wakes me up when he comes to bed (sometimes at 1am, last night at 11pm) so we can cuddle *wink*. So in the morning I wake up fresh and he wakes up tired. hahahahaha....

last night though, I couldn'y help but feel touched. When I was reviewing my notes I was using the iPod to take out the noise from the PC he was playing (though I must have heard the songs here sooo many times), and when I got sleepy i put away my notes but kept on listening to music. When he was about to go to bed he took away the ipod and put it aside. I dunno, its the random act of making sure I don't destroy the thing I guess, but I feel touched just the same. Some days I still realize how fortunate we are to have gone this far into the relationship and to be married and to be sharing a life together.

oh! and before I forget! I was able to cook 3 dishes this week and it makes me feel sooo proud! Wednesday I cooked giniling na baboy (the one with the potatoes and carrots) and I also prepared some tapa (recipe care of Maya Kitchen cookbook No. 1). Tabs liked both. I'm actually more proud of the tapa because buying that is too expensive when its already marinated. I think I did quite well. Then yesterday, out of tabs' request, I made menudo. This time I made it from scratch, almost. the meat seller sliced the pork and liver already so that's one less thing to do, but I was able to do the dish without using the recipe sauce I used to put in, this time its just salt, pepper, soy sauce and tomatoes. natural. and my hubby liked it! makes me feel so proud!!!! i suppose during the summer I could try out more complex dishes, but that'll take a lot more guts i guess. hehehe... and not to mention expense. :-)

busy as a bee

things are getting really, really hectic these days, at school, at home, at work. I've so many things to do that is sometimes becomes tiresome just listing them down. Drat. But then, i look at my blog and I realize how much I want to redo its layout again. Problem is that I don't have good-enough-after-wedding pics. Most of my nicer pics were taken during the wedding that I think I'll have a hard time meeting up to those standards. huhuhu.... add to the fact that I don't really have time to re-do my blog, with the load of schoolwork I have to do. And I mean loads. There's a paper for two classes, one due in april 6 and another due this thursday. I found out I have a finals exam this saturday, which will take out another day in the calendar we have for the paper that's due that april 6. Another finals in April 6, which is scary because I don't know ANYTHING there.... and yet another finals april 10. The good news is that I'll be on vacation after that, and that's only 4 more subjects (2x a week for the next sem!). I'm almost done!!! Wooohoohoo.

i don't think i wrote it down, but i had another interview with company X last friday, and it finished at around 7pm already. This morning they called again and scheduled me for pre-employement medical exam, that's like 80% chance of getting the job, and they will send me the Salary Analysis form, which is another 10% to my 80% chance. I might get the job offer this week(if the tests will be finished by this week). What bothers me is that now I feel rather sad about the situation. Yes. I'd like to move out to a better company with better benefits and better compensation. But it saddens me soooo much to realize that I'd be leaving something so important to me behind: the friends I've made in the office. Well, there are actually 2 sets. The ones from E-procurement I'll miss because they're the ones I enjoyed being with for some time, and I still enjoy the times we had together -- 2 outings, several dinners, lots of laughter. The next set are my officemates in the beer division logistics. They're an older bunch, but nevertheless they were like home. You can discuss with them anything and everything, they give lots of good advice, they are supportive. They're like mothers and friends rolled into one. It really saddens me to go. But on one hand, I need to move on for my career. I really do. But deep inside, its killing me to have to say goodbye to these groups who've been so much a part of my life. And I learn that's its really hard to let go with something you've already learned to love.

tomorrow i turn 20-ish.... its been one roller coaster ride the past year, that i find this event in my life to be one for the books, or in this case, one for the blog. the past year has just been full of adventure, new things learned, new lessons, new life. i can never be grateful enough to HIM who has given me this much in my life. For the past year, I've been closest to my family the most, they have offered me support in the decisions I made, and in the new life I was to enter into. My fiance, now my husband, has been the most wonderful, most supportive man. i never thought I could be this happy. I actually thought that what we had for the past 9 years couldn't be better, but golly, it was. Nothing like the past years we shared could compare to the joy of seeing the one you love most wake up to your voice in the morning. Nothing could be happier that lying next to him at night, nothing could spell contentment more than just watching him go about his ways. and nothing could inspire me more than the thought that this man will be the father of my kids and that we will raise them up the way our parents raised us up.
i know, i'm full of mush today. but hey, its my birthday and i'm allowed to think about the past year, before i turn the page and look forward to the future.
i know the people who mean the most to me don't usually read my blog, but this post is still dedicated to then, and in particular, i'd like to thank these people who have made my life the best there can be:
- my parents, who remain supportive and loving. before i got married i love you's were better left to greeting cards and special occassions, and kisses were given when vacations were due. but when i got married, i realized just how much i love them and how, in the years that i've grown up, they have done nothing else but support me, and give me their unending love. we may not have the best of everything, but for me i have the best parents God could ever give to his children, and I'm thankful for that. Now that i'm all grown up and married, i'd say i love you to them on the phone, and kiss them goodbye when we meet.
- to my family, sisters, nieces, nephew, in-laws, when i thought i could handle everything else on my own, there they were offering me support and much needed help. i probably don't say to them how much i love them, but i do, and they're the world's best treasures.
- to my husband, we practically grew up together and we shared so much - pain, happiness, anger, adventure. when we got married i felt i was leaving a life behind to be with a man i knew and loved with all my heart, and that i was giving up myself to serve this man, not because i had to, but because i wanted to. but now i find that it's not about who does what for whom, its not about who gets more out of the marriage or who does what. happiness is really not in being loved, but in loving and admiring each other for what they are, not just their good sides, but even their bad, hidden habits. everyday when i thank God I would always thank Him for you, for my family, and for my life.
- to my friends. i wouldn't say i've had so many friends in my lifetime. in highschool i only have 5 or 6 closest friends, in college a few more, in MBA a few others. but these friends are the ones who have made a difference in my life. but they've been a real source of joy and friendship and companionship. and i love you all.
- to anyone reading this blog, thanks for your time.

this weekend is sooo cool!!! pardon me that i haven't been able to blog at all, but that's sure to change soon enough because..... tadaaan!!! we have broadband connection!!! they (globe) installed it Saturday, and it was immediately activated too! so now we have a really good internet connection, and tabs himself is soo happy he can already use the PC. what's more, we re-installed Windows last night because my PC was really sooo slow, even though its specs were high enough. So what we did was to reinstall it and now it really improved! tabs could even play DOTA already. But of course there's more! as a birthday gift, tabs bought me an 80GB harddrive and 512MB of RAM! Yehey!!! Now i can download the movies I want. whew!!!! tv series downloads, here i come!

---> sidenote: its 2 days till my birthday!