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Coming Home (a year later)

2010-10-03T22:58:00.000+08:00

Wow. Talk about a waste of space. It's been a WHOLE YEAR since my last post here? Tsk. I just think about the time I spent customizing this template and I get disappointed that I don't blog here often enough.

Oh well. Guess what? I still don't drive!

And since the last post, I've launched two new blogs: The Newbie Photographer, and Between the Covers. Unlike all my previous blogs, these two are more targeted in the sense that they have themes. The first one, obviously, is for newbie photographers. The second, is where my book reviews are at. However, I did share my DC Ranch Scottsdale fantasy on Between the Covers recently too. Hehe.

So what have you been up to?

Driver's Ed

2009-09-25T23:10:00.002+08:00

I talked about getting my own car in my previous car. As it turns out, I need not shell out any money for that. Well okay, I'm not technically getting my own car, but it seems that I will have one at my disposal should I need it.

My dad got himself a bigger car (an SUV), but he decided not to sell the sedan. So I am planning to take driving lessons so I can drive. I don't plan on taking it out everyday, even when I finally learn to drive. Probably just to work occasionally, or when I'm really comfortable in my driving skills, to drive for the weekend or something.

But I gotta learn how to drive first, and that's one big challenge.

And it costs money too. I can't count on my brother to teach me, he has no patience with me. We tried that once and he gave up! haha :)

My Own Car

2009-09-17T04:55:00.002+08:00

I wonder when will this happen? When will I ever get my very own car?

Last week on Executive Class, a TV show on ANC, they featured the Toyota Hybrid Prius among other high end cars. My dad and I watched closely and he started talking about how the Prius would be perfect for me. Yes, I agree. Until we heard the price tag - 2M pesos. No way.

One would think that being eco-friendly, such cars like the Hybrid Prius should be more affordable. Unfortunately, the car importers don't get any tax incentive for bringing in cars like these so it's very very expensive.

Then we talked about other small cars that may fit my budget more. Still, I don't think I can afford a car with my lifestyle. I'd have to do a lot of scrimping to make the monthly payments. Hehe.

Lately, my brother and my dad have been discussing getting another second hand car. This time they're interested in finding an SUV/AUV. I don't know if they will actually get one, but it won't be a third car so that their current used cars would go to me (like I'm next in line, haha). I think it will be bought to replace one of theirs, and then they'd sell one of the Toyotas.

So, no hand-me-down car for poor old me. Haha!

Setting up new blog?

2009-09-17T03:37:00.005+08:00

I am thinking of building another blog (I know, don't I have enough). But I really feel strongly about setting up two additional blogs. Those two would be niche blogs, as in I will only be speaking of something specific rather than the mixed bag I have in my other sites.

Before I set them up though, I must consider a couple of things. Do I self host them? If so, I need to check out good webhosting plans and also decide if I'd sign up for a new one, or just add on to the existing one I have for my other sites. I'm even thinking of setting it up in Blogger and just signing up for a domain name.

There are really a lot of things to consider before setting up a blog or a website and deciding on webhosting is definitely one of the most important steps, next to picking out domain names.

Nothing to say and a Freebie find

2009-06-27T18:07:00.003+08:00

I haven't posted to my main blog for two days. So what right? Well, I normally always have something to say and I rarely hesitate to say it. On other days I have photos that I'm aching to show. These past two days though...

It's not that there's a lack of things to discuss. There's MJ's and Farrah's passing. There's the first H1N1 death in the Philippines. There's definitely a lot more worthy news, then there's also personal stuff I can talk about (it is a personal blog after all).

Ahhh...

Anyway... I started browsing through some of my favorite digiscrap blogs and from KimB's I got a link to this beautiful freebie minikit made by one of her friends:

It's from LouCee creations, and you grab the freebie kit at her blog.

It's lovely isn't it?

Billiards hangout

2009-06-23T17:33:00.005+08:00

Earlier this month, while at SM North's The Block, we saw the world pool championships for women. Little did we know that a Pinay will be winning that tournament, besting billiard athletes from the world over.

To be honest, I could care less for the event - I am not a billiards fan. But only because I don't know how to play billiards. I remember one time hanging out with Alfred at his old barkada hangout right beside Adamson and they were playing billiards. All I could remember is the smoke and the heat inside the place. Unfortunately. Haha.

Oh but of course I was the ever supportive girlfriend watching at the sidelines. :)

Recently, I read a blog post linking to this online venue for multiplayer games,8c1.net.http://www.8c1.net. It's a virtual hangout to play billiards with friends. Why not? :)

Project 365 Themed Kits

2009-05-18T20:28:00.004+08:00

So I posted about the Project 365 Themed Kits available in the DigiscrapAddicts So you think you can design? contest over at my other blog.

Today though, as I was downloading away, I saw Monica's entry and it is such a wonderful freebie! P365 stuff in ten languages! Definitely there's gotta be something there for everybody!

Go to the forum (register if you're not yet a member) and download it here!

LIke I need more books

2009-05-14T05:01:00.002+08:00

I know I've still got piles of unread books but there's just more that I'm interested in getting:

Showing up For Life by Bill Gates, Sr.
The Little Black Book of Style by Nina Garcia (who would ever thought I'd be interested in this one, huh?)
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (the audio version isn't working for me even if I love listening to her voice)

I guess I'd better get on to reading the ones I have so I don't feel so guilty getting new ones...

Heavy traffic

2009-05-12T12:45:00.003+08:00

No one wants heavy traffic on the streets, specially not when you're running late for an appointment or for work. But all website and blog owners work to some extent just to get heavy traffic to their sites.

I used to not bother, and I think that when I wasn't making any reall effort, my second blog flourished and earned page rank without me even knowing. But because I wanted to earn more online, creating traffic became important.

I've joined a couple of communities with the hopes of increasing visitors to my site, while I refused (until very recently) to spend any money on advertising. But lately, I've seen how advertising really can up your earning potential and that there's always a package that suits your needs. There are many online marketing services out there, you just need to do your homework.

There are different ways of advertising too. You can just post links on forums and other sites, you could serve ads too. One thing I haven't really tried is SEO marketing. I think that requires some expertise and though I'm familiar with it, I don't think my blogs have a dedicated niche that I can take advantage of SEO.

Photo Sharing

2009-05-07T17:23:00.002+08:00

At work, the new Friendster is not Facebook but Windows Live. It's become an addiction for many of our agents because it's accessible through the corporate firewall.

I've recently posted my so-called self portraits and added a link to a slideshow from a blog post I did the other day. The slide show feature is amazing! Some time ago, I made a decision to upload photos in Multiply, but I've found that uploading is so much easier in Windows Live.

I posted another set of random photos, some taken by me, others by the boyfriend. Officemates also take credit for some of the beautiful ones. My Maxine has been held by so many hands in her first week, she's made so many people smile, both in front and behind the lens.

The Nanny Diaries

2009-04-28T17:37:00.004+08:00

Did you see the movie version? I did and I enjoyed watching it. Now I'm reading the book. Yes, isn't it amazing, I'm reading an actual book again. Haha :)

Funny, I don't remember Alicia Keys in the movie. Nyahaha.

Could not wait

2009-04-27T11:38:00.002+08:00

My dream might just get to be fulfilled today... Referring to this one, of course.

Maybe I can't wait a few weeks after all.

Nikon dreams

2009-04-20T16:47:00.002+08:00

I called Columbia, Nikon's authorized dealer in the country. The D5000 isn't expected to arrive in the country until the last week of May, or the first week of June. And they don't have info on the prize yet.

Their D80 kit costs too much for me. :(

So do I buy a brand new D60 kit somewhere else, or do I wait for the D5000 though I don't know how much it's going to cost me?

Nice chair!

2009-04-14T14:54:00.005+08:00

I'm trying to finish my part for the documentation of the proceedings of the Youth Camp I attended last week. I'm making progress, but I find my mind drifting elsewhere. I guess that's entirely my fault because I have so many other windows open - temptation each and every one of them! :)

I was looking through the photos I took of that weekend because I wanted to showcase the chairs at the dining hall of Forest Club. They were quite comfortable, yet very simple. Made of hard wood, I think. Rustic, western furniture that can withstand time.

With all the photos I took, I couldn't find a good one that includes one of those chairs! But here's one I found on the 'Net that is a close enough match:

This one has a high back while the one I'm looking for doesn't. But I think the overall feel would be the same. Cool. I mean wood normally lets you feel cool in a warm sunny day right? That's what such a chair means to me at least :) And the grooved seat is guaranteed to make you feel comfortable.

Youth Camp photos, posted!

2009-04-14T10:48:00.003+08:00

I posted a bunch of photos from the previous weekend over at Where the Moon Shines, and also on Facebook.

Yeah, can you believe it? I succumbed to all those FB invites after all. All the requests and stuff can get overwhelming though. Ugh.

Credit Card Deals

2009-04-08T16:04:00.002+08:00

I received this brochure in the mail today - showing me the discounts available for hotels across the country if I use my credit card this summer. These promos are awesome and total buck busters, but one has got to be careful too. Having discounts doesn't mean you should use your card incessantly, you still have to consider how much you'll be able to pay on your next due date.

Personally, I think I signed up with a good credit card company but I know many out there who are starting to think that signing up for their cards was a bad deal. These are people who rushed the signup, not really pausing to think the pros and cons of having a credit card, or not comparing the different rates and perks offered by different companies.

In my previous job, we would sometimes pay bills or buy supplies using my boss' personal credit card. At the time, we didn't even know that we could have signed up for a business credit card. Seriously, apparently you could get cash backs or deals for using one. You just have to find the right card that offers such.

Often enough, you will see promotions everywhere about discounts and freebies for credit card users; since the cost of gasoline started to go high, we've seen credit card companies tying up with gas companies to offer rebate options/cash back promos. One time, while my brother was driving me around, I had asked him if his card was eligible for such offers. Apparently, he has to have his current card converted to a gasoline card so he could benefit from the rebates. I think he should go ahead and do it, everytime he'd gas up, he can drop his cash on a jar in his car and when it's time to pay his card bill, he can get money from the cash jar to pay it off. That way, it's still like paying cash for the gasoline while enjoying the rebates that the credit card offers.

Well that's just an idea.

The point is, you not only have to be a responsible credit card owner, but the responsibility starts when you choose the right one for you.

My Digiscrapping Links

2009-03-23T18:43:00.003+08:00

My digital scrapbooking links have not been updated for the longest time because the service I used to host and feed them to the blog was having a huge system issue. They finally fixed it, but I'm not totally happy about it.

So while I update the links and remove inactive blogs, I also rebuilt an entirely independent list over at http://verabear.net/digital-scrapbooking-links/ The links that are on my sidebar here though, will remain hosted by Blogrolling.

It took me a lot of time to build that list of digiscrapping blogs I loved to visit, mostly for their freebies. Blogrolling was great and did the job for me at the time, but now, not so sure.

Do you have favorite digiscrapping links you'd like to share?

Visit my Digitalmemories.verabear.net

2009-02-17T17:04:00.002+08:00

Going Ga-Ga over Themes!

2009-02-11T05:54:00.002+08:00

I spent hours browsing Wordpress themes again, trying to find a template for my site that I can customize further. I tell ya, that can be so addicting!

Seriously, there are just so many cool designs out there but it's not like I'm just looking for a design to plop over the last one I had. I'm looking for a design that I can do-over and own. Completely own.

Anyway, I'm almost tempted to use one of the beauties I've found, even temporarily, but I'm thinking that doing so would just make me lazy in making any customization, you know what I mean? Oh what the heck, maybe I'll just give them a try. Hehe.

Domain taken

2009-02-10T06:40:00.001+08:00

Bummer.

I was planning to put up new blog, but as it turns out, the domain was already taken. So maybe I'll setup a free one instead with either WP or Blogger again.

I really wanted that domain. :(

Site downtime - my fault this time

2009-01-19T17:06:00.003+08:00

If you were trying to visit my verabear.net and found an error page or something, please do not blame Philhosting. This time, it isn't their fault but mine. I've decided to move my blog to a new server, but the new DNS propagated sooner than I could setup over there, hence the site not rendering.

Yep, totally my fault. I'm working on getting it restored REALLY soon. Fingers crossed.

THanks for having me in your thoughts!

Recovering lost posts

2009-01-11T19:21:00.004+08:00

I've decided to give up on Philhosting. I will keep the cheap hosting package indefinitely. I probably won't be setting up verabear.net yet on my new Dreamhost account, I'll need time to think things through properly.

What's getting to me is that I still haven't recovered all the posts I've written from December 7th to around the 28th. I got some from Google's cache, but not everything's showing there anymore. There are blurbs at Technorati, but that only shows the partial posts. Checking my feeds came to me only a few hours ago, and by then it was too late! The feeds have also updated to what's currently available on the server. The lost posts are gone from Feedburner too. Sadly, I don't think that I actually have subscribers whom I can ask to check if they received my posts in their mails. :( I really should have thought about backing up through the feeds as soon as the problem started.

I guess I've learned an important lesson in everything that's happened here. A lesson that I thought I already learned when I lost my first blog a long time ago, that is to have a backup for my posts. I wonder if Windows Live Writer has that functionality, you know, for each post you publish through it?

Anyway, if anyone has any idea what I else I can do to recover the posts I lost, please let me know. I would be very greatful.

I've actually got ideas for several posts, and I've also got photos to put up for Project 365. But this issue with Philhosting has got me so out of the loop that I can't even just move along right away, you know? Argh.

Thank you for nothing, Philhosting

2009-01-10T15:50:00.002+08:00

No real fix in sight.

I do not think Philhosting will ever shape up. Apparently, I wasn't the only one having problems. I read from one blogger that her database was reverted to a December 6 backup, more or less the same time as mine was reverted to.

And support has not emailed me back.

This has truly caused me undue stress.

Our first fun weekend of 2009

2009-01-08T16:51:00.006+08:00

Note: Long post ahead. Rather than dwell on the fact that my site is still down and I have been asked to disable my redirect before they can fix it, I'll just talk about the weekend I just had.

It feels like I just had a long weekend. On Tuesday evening, Alfred and I went to Greenhills, believing that it was the last day for their Night Market, as posted on their website (okay, this is really embarrassing because I just checked out the link now, and we actually looked at an archived page, and the dates were for last year's nightmarket!). When we got there at 8pm, the regular shops were already closing and the parking lot where the night market stood in December, was already cleared out.

We just decided to have dinner because I hadn't even had lunch. Our final choice was a filling meal at Max's. After the sumptuous meal, we checked out the section of Greenhills that was still open at that hour: the Promenade. We checked out Gourdo's and I admired all the baking and cake decorating stuff they had there. The only thing I picked up to take home though, was an oven thermometer.

We spent some time at Fully Booked too. There were so many interesting titles, but I restrained myself from making any purchase, there are still several books left on my to-be-read pile from months ago, plus books I got in November and December. I also figured I'd checkout my favorite second-hand bookshop before I buy never-been-owned books.

We were supposed to head home after leaving Fully Booked, in fact, we were already on our way down the escalator. Then I remembered that Iskul Bukol's LFS was supposed to start 10:35, and that was a little more than just 5 minutes away. The boyfriend is a big TVJ fan (hehe) and he really wanted to see it, so I asked him why not go see it now? We sure weren't sleepy yet anyway.

It wasn't as funny a movie as I expected it would be. But it wasn't too bad either. There were inconsistencies too. Like the kid being able to speak Tagalog. I mean, by the time they were looking for the Peseta, the kid was already talking comfortably in Tagalog, but when they first found him in the hotel room, he couldn't understand Vic.

Anyway, after the movie, we braced ourselves for a difficult time finding a cab. Good thing was, there were several taxis lined up near the Music Museum entrance. Since it was already midnight, it was a nice quick ride home.

Before leaving for Greenhills the other night, I took this photo of Esban, for my Project 365 Day 6 post:

That's Esban showing me what they did with this makeshift rooftop I took home with me from work the other day. It's a rooftop we used for bay decoration for Christmas. I took it home because they would be thrown out anyway. And what a waste that would be. Just as I predicted, the kids loved it! Since there were three more of this in the office, I took them home too so each of them would have one to play with.

The next day was almost spent just sleeping. But we didn't even let the rains stop us. We went to Quiapo to have Frankie's lens fixed (finally!), and to check out some iPhone clones. Alfred got Mang Romy to put in the missing screw on his PDA too.

We had a nice walk (eventhough it was drizzling, and it was muddy) from Hidalgo to Raon, to Isetann. Then after walking around and having a snack of shrimp and pork siomai, plus two pieces each of mini bibingka from Bibingkinitan, we took a motorized pedicab from Isetann back to Hidalgo. Because it had been raining, it wasn't hot at all, and you couldn't smell pollution. Yes, you could smell the common street smells of Quiapo, but it wasn't really all that bad.

As in our previous visits to Quiapo, we went into the church to pray a bit. We were surprised that there were a lot of people, because we knew that the feast of the Nazarene wasn't until Friday, the 9th. As it happens, there are pre-event programs ongoing already.

Because there was already a crowd at the back of the Church. The image of the Black Nazarene was being returned to it's storage after what I assumed was a short parade/program at the plaza. Everywhere you look, there were devotees waving their handkerchiefs, and cloths

that bear an image of Christ, and some prayers. I'll share those photos too, but first up, here's the photo I took from when were at Plaza Miranda, right in front of Quiapo Church (click the photo for a larger view):

Thankfully, it was a cloudy and rainy day. Had it not been so, I'm sure I would've developed a migraine because of the heat and the crowd. Hidalgo street wasn't as crowded as in our previous visits. Seems like they cleaned out the road for the event, there wasn't as many vendors out as there used to be.

From Hidalgo, we took another motorized pedicab to the 168 Mall. We ended up buying new curtains for the room (love it!), plus curtains for my brother's room too. Alfred already put them up, and they look wonderful! I also got three pairs of jean for 730 pesos (less than 20 dollars!), while Alfred got himself a pair of shorts. We also ended up buying a few DVDs of movies and TV series.

I expected a difficult time hailing a cab home, but it wasn't too bad. Traffic wasn't very cooperative though. I ended up sleeping on the way and waking up with a headache. But even that didn't ruin my day. We ended the day by watching a movie when everyone was already asleep. It was a local movie starring Toni Gonzaga and Vhong Navarro - My only you. Rock n' Roll! :)

Oh well, why couldn't we just have regular days like these all the time? ;)

The case of the Alabang Boys (who really aren't boys anymore)

2009-01-07T12:52:00.002+08:00

I've been telling my brother to switch channels - listening in to the Congressional Hearing is really frustrating me. It's like watching a telenovela, so much drama!

I don't mean to have my non-Filipino readers at a loss as to what this Alabang Boys case is all about, but I don't want to narrate the entire story here. You can checkout some of the links from this search result: http://results.myhpf.co.uk/framedresults.asp?Keyword=alabang+boys+case

Department of Justice officials, specifically the fiscals/state prosecutors, are taking heat for releasing a Resolution just before Christmas, which was in effect dismissing the case. As it appears in the hearing, the tone and language of the resolution was as if it was taking as fact, and siding with, the position of their respondents. In fact, the resolution looks like a case agains the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency. Err?

There a number of irregularities with this case, and I am in no mind to list them all. But had I been sitting in that hearing, here are some questions I would have asked:

Since Atty. Verano (representing the respondents) claims that he had no prior discussion with Usec. Blancaflor regarding the case, why did he have the Order sent through his office? He had his office messenger bring the document to Blancaflor's office, why not just messenger it straight to the office of the Department Secretary?
Claiming that he did not want anything to do with the document, why did Blancaflor allow his secretary to take the document to the office of the Secretary of Justice? Would it not be construed that he is endorsing the document? Shouldn't he have just outrightly refused to do anything in behalf of his fraternity brother?
Why did the office of the chief state prosecutor release the resolution to the public, without clearing it with the DOJ secretary, given that they have a memo circular mandating a review of all cases of this nature that are for dismissal?
In Fiscal Rasado's case, why didn't he inhibit himself from reviewing the case, when he already knew that the defense lawyer was his law school professor? He is in charge of looking into the merits of the case and recommend it for filing, or for dismissal. At that stage in the case, he was like a judge who must assume impartiality. Although if I was in his place, I wouldn't personally be affected if my college professors were part of a case where I need to make an important discernment, I would think it would still be the better thing to do, in the interest of fairness to both parties, to request that the case be assigned to a different fiscal. KWIM?
Shouldn't be the DOJ be working in partnership with the PDEA? Shouldn't they be actually helping PDEA build solid, air-tight cases about drug pushers/traffickers? They should be represented in the PDEA team! It appears that they have no measures for coordination here. PDEA does its job, and then DOJ may or may not let the case reach the courts? How does that help the campaign against drugs?

Project 365 - Day 5

2009-01-07T01:20:00.007+08:00

Update on Verabear.net

The site is still unavailable. I received an email from support, get this: asking what link was showing the error. Uh hello? Didn't I send a screenshot? Doesn't it show the URL? And to think that he was the same person who emailed back when I encountered this issue before. Shouldn't he already know what to do about it? Ugh.

Rant over.

Project 365 - Day 5

A few days before saying goodbye to 2008, I found a link from Hummie's World to this cool blog where I found a link to a very very cute desk calendar. I followed the links and downloaded the file.

It took until the morning of the fifth for me to print out a sample. Icut out the printouts as directed, and then set them up like so. Isn't it just the cutest? I had suggested to my mom that she can give some of these away to her officemates so I printed and cut out four sets of these! She actually requested more but I ran out of gsm 220 paper. I really like how it turned out and if I just had space for it on my office desk, I would totally plant one there.

I printed these out on my Canon Pixma printer. It's amazing how the colored cartridge has shown the prompt for low ink for months but I am still able to get good quality color prints. The colored ink I purchased just before Christmas still sits here unopened. I am not complaining, of course. It's amazing.

I have a day 6 photo, but am too lazy to continue posting. I'd also have to delay sharing Esban's photos. I didn't get much sleep this morning/afternoon because we were tuned in to the Congressional hearing on the case of the Alabang Boys. I've got some thoughts on that issue that I'd like to share too. I'll try tomorrow. Tonight, I sleep. :)

Project 365 - Day 4

2009-01-04T21:00:00.004+08:00

I took this photo before going to bed this morning. It's been extra cold these past two days, and though Zune doesn't seem to be complaining, I figured he'd appreciate a blanket. I covered him with this towel and he didn't try taking it off or anything!

Esban also took photos today, and I'm thinking of having him start his own Project 365. I can setup a blog for him, and post the photos myself, along with whatever he wants to say. I don't have time to post them up right now, but he took great shots of dad's toy cars. I promise to put them up tomorrow.

Goodbye 2008

2009-01-04T16:11:00.004+08:00

Yesterday, before I even posted my Project 365 photos, I sat down and prepared to write an ode to 2008, a thank you post really, just like the one I did for 2007. I don't know why, but nothing came out. I'm sure it isn't because there's nothing to be thankful for the past year. Really, there are so many things I can't even begin to count them...

I had the grandest time in Bohol in September. This was only the second time that Alfred and I had been away on our own. It was a super fun and a real vacation. We almost wished it not to end.

At work, I was thankful for the chance to move back to my email support family in March and it was the smoothest transition ever. I had the most relaxing eight months of my work life! Truth be told, being there was bliss. I thought it would never end. But it did.

Moving to the console family in November, I had mixed emotions. Mostly, it's been marked by unwarranted stress. Partly because I wasn't sure what I was getting into, and also because I had no proficiency of the support to boast of. I knew it would be an uphill climb - it still is. It is challenging but I am hanging on. Thank you for the challenge.

My family is well and healthy, no one has had any serious illness. One of my cousins had an operation to remove cysts from her ovary, but all's been cleared. I am especially thankful that my grandpa is still going strong. My nieces and nephews common kids sickness throughout the year, but they've all mostly been well too. Everyone's still in school, and that will always be considered a blessing.

This year, my dad has decided to finally put our rusty treadmill to regular use. In fact, they had even bought a stationary bike and a Nautilus machine to round off their daily fitness regimen. Cheers to health and fitness for the entire family!

I had purchased a domain and a hosting package and things were going smoothly until this recent glitch. Still, I am thankful for the venue to express myself, and earn a little more money on the side. I also want to thank everyone I've met through my blogs. And the many personalities I've met through their blogs.

There are so many more things to be thankful for the past year, and I can only look forward to what 2009 is sure to bring. To everyone who comes through here, I wish you a prosperous new year!

Project 365 - Day 3

2009-01-04T00:18:00.003+08:00

Photo number three is that of our new Canon scanner. Mom and Dad bought it yesterday so we could scan our old family photos. I've already set it up, and will probably start using it tonight.

Day 2 - Project365

2009-01-04T00:01:00.003+08:00

These are Zune's vet vaccination/deworming records. In my excitement to pick him up and take him home yesterday, I forgot to bring the blue one with me (the original which I even got from the breeder). So the doctor we went to gave me a new booklet.

Project 365 - Day 1

2009-01-03T23:42:00.005+08:00

I have decided to jump in and do my own Project 365: A Photo for Each Day. Who knows, this might even spark 365 layouts for this year. Or not. :)

Here's my first photo, taken January 1st:

Those are hoops that are part of a set, the missing part is the pole. It's a toy that teaches kids to aim accurately. These hoops gave us hours of fun during our Christmas and New Year's Eve celebrations. We made a contest out of how many hoops we can successfully land on the pole. I think that the most one person got that night was five out of eight. Everyone enjoyed playing - the kids did well, and the adults had fun too!

Because I was game master at Christmas, I didn't really get to try this out. Come New Year's Day, I seized the chance to try my hand at it. I didn't do to well, haha! Just one out of eight!

That's what really makes our Christmases and New Years fun, just hanging out with each other and playing all sorts of games for the kids. I don't remember when this started; we used to just eat, open gifts, and do our own thing. But this new tradition is way more fun of course.

I heard that they played a new game on New Year's Eve. It was something that 8 year-old Adam came up with, using something that he got for Christmas. I don't know what it was, I'll ask around and find pictures.

Alfred's home!

2009-01-03T12:21:00.004+08:00

*If you arrived here expecting ::where the moon shines::, you have been redirected to my Blogger blog temporarily. My site is experiencing server issues and my host, unfortunately, is out for the holidays. :(

Last night, as I was getting ready for work, I looked at my pink polo shirt and immediately wished that Alfred won't be wearing his pink polo shirt to work too. We would look so silly! To be honest though, I secretly wished he would too. Because, wouldn't it be sweet? Haha!

Anyway, I went straight to the clinic as soon as arrived at the office. You see, coming back from the vet's yesterday, my eyes were so irritated and they were soooo itchy, and there was stabbing pain all over. I lay down covered my eyes and wished it would go away. The pain went away but my eyes were still very watery and quite itchy. When I woke up last night, my eyes were covered with extra layers of muta - or morning stars as they are sometimes called too - on my eyes. My eyes were also itchy, and the lids were feeling quite hot. I knew then this wasn't a simple eye irritation.

The doc sent me home to avoid spreading pink eye around. I wasn't sure if I welcomed the extra day off or not. You see it's the last day of the fiscal week (Friday) and I have uploads due. It's crunch time for me. I also had agents scheduled for coaching last night.

Anyway, go home I must. I still stayed in the office until 1AM though, prepping stuff to take home with me so I could work a bit from here (technically I shouldn't because staring at a computer monitor will tire out my eyes). I also had to talk to one my agents who rendered his resignation :(

Back to Alfred. Since the clinic was on Alfred's floor (and very near my old beloved station), I passed by him before going down to our floor. And there he was wearing his pink polo shirt! Haha.

I saw him again just before I went home, and now he's here snoring away. I don't think I'll be letting him go home to his parents anytime soon. I think he wouldn't want to either. Not for my sake though, but for Zune. He's bent on disinfecting the entire compound, if he can, just to be sure that the parvo virus is killed. I'm afraid about the outside though. The street is littered with dog feces and last night when I came back from work, there were three neighborhood dogs scavenging for food in our trash bins! I'm not sure if they are strays or if they do have owners, but more than the inconvenience they cause us, what if they pick up the virus too? What if they're the ones spreading it around? Oh well.

Pray for Zune -- UPDATE!

2009-01-02T13:15:00.003+08:00

The little puppy with Zune on his picture on the previous post is named Sharpay. We lost her yesterday. Sharpay is Zune's puppy girlfriend and Esban's and Dalnes' pet. It was suspected that she died of the Parvo virus. According to the vet they saw on New Year's Eve, he has seen to five other dogs who died of it just this past week.

Because we want to be safe, we took Zune to the vet this morning. His regular vet isn't available, the clinic is closed for the holidays. So we took him to another animal hospital nearby. The doc checked his temperature and he is apparently running a fever. We left him there for further tests and observations.

We all pray that he is well, and that we can take him home this afternoon.

Please pray for him too. My family would be very thankful for your prayers :)

**UPDATE**

We just got back from the vet's - Zune tested negative for Parvo! Thank God! :) He's fever has died down too - that may have just been psychological after all.

He does have worms though so the doc went ahead and dewormed him. He also recommended that I give more multivitamins than we are already giving him daily. Plus cod liver oil for his coat. The woman there this morning is apparently from PAWS, and she was giving me tips too. She recommends that I add in malunggay leaves and virgin coconut oil to Zune's food.

I am so relieved! Thank you so much TRACY for the well wishes, I knew I could count on you :)

Now I can sleep. I still have work tonight.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T13:49:00.003+08:00

Sadly, New Year's in the office was just like any other work day. My agents and I looked out the window at the stroke of midnight, watching all the fireworks light up the sky. I looked at the direction of our home, and picked the fireworks that I thought were the ones they had lit up - my Dad SMSd me to say that they were firing them already.

I had planned to leave the office by 7am on the dot. No go. I left about an hour and a half later. I found my cousins Freedah and Candy still up and singing. They've always been my buddies for all nighters. So I didn't totally miss out on videoke - I had breakfast, changed clothes, and ran down to sing with the rest of them until an hour or so ago. :)

Alfred's still in Bicol, probably flat out from drinking too much. Last night he mentioned trying to hitch a ride with his cousins who'll be heading home today. If he doesn't fit in their car/s, he'll ride with his brothers tomorrow. I really do miss him.

I disabled my blog's redirect earlier, just to check if it was finally working. Just in case, I thought. But no. Everyone at the web host are really on holidays, such lousy customer service. I wonder if I'm the only Philhosting client whose having these problems? The thing is, I can access my Cpanel, but nothing for my Wordpress is accessible.

As a result, I've had to contact Entrecard support and they'll be disabling my EC. I had advertisers lined for the next couple of days, EC will manually return the credits they've paid to me. :(

Oh well, I am falling asleep on the keyboards already, better get on and have some sleep.

Happy New Year everyone! Be safe and be blessed!

Another random post before the year closes...

2008-12-31T11:49:00.008+08:00

After taking a shower this morning, I went ahead and tried to use mom's hair dryer and see if drying my hair would prevent it from curling up and have more of a finished, salon look.

It wasn't effective. Either my hair is just so stubborn or I totally don't know how to blow dry my hair! It's probably the latter.

I had no intentions to go out this morning, in fact, I just donned another sun dress (also read nightgown :) ) after showering. I just wanted to time how long blow drying my short hair would take, so I know what to expect if I were to do it before work. So scrap that idea. It won't really do anything different.

I will test how long it would take to iron my hair tonight. That shouldn't take longer than the blowdry did - under 10 minutes.

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It's probably not a good idea to have this next photo in the same post that I show off my short hair, but what the heck. Haha!

The piggy on the left is a cellphone holder - the only Christmas present I received on the 24th. Esban gave it to me. The piggy on the left, with a purple snout, is a wrist rest that one can use for the hand holding your mouse when you're on your computer. I got one like it, a blue bear, last Christmas from Nonoy (my boss). This one I bought for myself for use here at home. I brought home the blue bear a few weeks ago because I wanted to use one at home. Now I can bring blue bear back to work with me.

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Rather than just becoming hung up on the fact that my blog is down, I've been bloghopping through EC and also through my Digital Scrapbooking links (which reminds me, Blogrolling still doesn't seem to be 100% back up). There are so many wonderful freebies out there and I know missed so much more in the month or two that I've been laying low on the scrapbooking stuff.

I started downloading some freebie kits from BooLand Designs and my favorite Vicki Parker. And then I suddenly realized I still haven't gotten myself an online backup solution. So now I'm in the process of downloading Carbonite. I'll be using their free trial. If it works efficiently, I'll go ahead and purchase a year's subscription.

I first heard of Carbonite from Ro of Scrap Girls, through their newsletters. It sounded like a good idea, plus it would take out the effort from having to manually back up every once in a while - what if you forget? And I always forget.

Plus I always have computer problems every couple of months (though I hope it takes another 6 months before I have any issues again) and it takes time to back up, format, and then restore files. That has caused my files to be more disorganized every time we have to do it. With Carbonite, restoring files might just be a little more simple. Hopefully.

I hope my Internet connection supports this automatic back up well. We'll see how it goes.

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Here's another photo I'd like to share, taken a week or so back. My Zune, with his girlfriend Sharpay:

This was a rare shot because they're usually at each other whenever they're together. Or Sharpay will be eating off Zune's bowl! Haha. I think Esban took this shot - he's way better at shots like these than I am.

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Mom did a lot of cleaning in the past 24 hours and she unearthed some of the photos we've had lying around here. This has prompted my dad to go over our old pictures and take them off the albums to be scanned at a later time. He intends to put them on picture frames too. So 2009 will probably start off with me posting photos from years ago.

You're not lost...

2008-12-31T09:16:00.002+08:00

Well hello there! I had my http://verabear.net redirect to this blog for the time being. My Wordpress site is down due to a database error on the server side. And since I found out that my hosting service is on holidays until the 5th, I figured I'd post here or at Bravejournal, and redirect my site's hits here too.

I don't want this post to be about how I hate Philhosting right now, that's what I already did in this post.

So what's up for the last day of the year 2008? Not much for me. I'd probably sit in front of my PC until it's time to sleep again. I had one day off (last night) and I'm due back at work tonight. Uhm-hmm, just when everyone would be enveloped in smoke, watching all the fireworks, and singing the Auld Lang Syne come midnight tonight, I'll be at the office. The next off I'm getting, isn't until Saturday. Argh.

But spending New Year's Eve in the office shouldn't be all that bad right? I mean, we'd be on the 6th floor and that should be a good vantage point to see fireworks from different parts of the city. We could probably even try and get to the rooftop, for an even better view.

I guess the only negative thing about having to be at work tonight is that this will be the first time ever that I wouldn't be spending New Year's at home, with all of my family around me. I did request to have tonight off (and originally, my offs are supposed to be tue-wed nights) but they decided to have half of us off on Christmas and I got that. Christmases are fun of course, but welcoming the New Year has just been more fun, you know?

I wonder how the kids are going to be celebrating tonight? Ton's around to facilitate the games anyway. Hay, no more all night videoke singing from me. At least they'll be relieved I'm not around to hog the mics all night long. Haha :)

Blog Make Over Biz

2008-12-28T14:36:00.004+08:00

Hello! First off, if you are reading this, thank you for visiting! This blog has been stagnant for months but sitemeter still reports some traffic, so I thank anyone and everyone who still swing by to check for updates.

I came back to post here because I was surfing through blogs and found several blog make over sites. I remember the joy I had in fixing up this layout for blogger and I figured, why not offer my services to anyone who may be interested?

I may have to think of this more in the coming weeks, but I also just wanted to throw the idea out there, you know?

So if you want this type of layout, with a different set of background and graphics, leave me a message and I'll get back to you. I promise I'll figure out pricing that will be lower than the standard services you'll get elsewhere, or at least competitive.

I've also tinkered with Multiply template some time ago. If you're on Multiply and are looking for a change in scenery, do checkout my page and let me know if you want a makeover with a similar template.

For now, this layout and my current Multiply template are the only ones I can offer because I don't really have CSS training to have a free hand at building layouts from scratch. I'll work on expanding my portfolio later on. Hehe :)

**Edit** Why not add my Bravejournal into the mix too? Check it out as well and I can help you redesign yours as well. :)

New blog: http://verabear.net

2008-08-19T20:58:00.003+08:00

Earlier today I pulbished my new blog http://verabear.net/

I have decided to use that as my everyday blog and I hope you'd come over and visit me there too. Soon I will hide my posts here, but keep links to my archives/categories, which are all hosted on my new blog too.

It is still a work in progress, and I am using a pre-made free template rather than one I had hoped to have designed on my own.

See you there!

FitRight = Green tea extracts + L Carnitine + Ampalaya extracts

2008-08-18T04:16:00.004+08:00

My friend Raech introduced me to this product, FitRight, that her mom is selling. It's supposed to aid weight loss. I got a box (which I haven't paid for) of 60 capsules, to be consumed twice daily before meals.

I took it for about four days, stopping for the past two because I've been having migraine headaches. I'm sure it was not the food supplement that caused the migraines, but I stopped taking them nonetheless. I also wanted to research on what these three naturally occurring substances could really do to my body. No matter what I learn though, I'm pretty sure I'd be popping those again.

Green Tea extracts
The Chinese have been drinking tea for centuries and it has been said that tea can remedy many ills, as well as prevent others. There are claims that Green Tea can help cure/prevent cancer, and there is also interest now in how Green Tea can be helpful in AIDS research.

I also remember that Body Shop has a product line with green tea as the main/active ingredient. Of course drinking it may not have the same effect as applying it on your skin.

The Wikipedia article also mentioned lab tests that showed positive results for preventing rheumatoid arthritis with regular intake of green tea. That's one good reason for my mom to drink up on green tea I guess.

Specific to weight loss, here's what I read:

In a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial done by Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, 240 adults were given either theaflavin-enriched green tea extract in form of 375mg capsule daily or a placebo. After 12 weeks, patients in the tea extract group had significantly less low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and total cholesterol (16.4% and 11.3% lower than baseline, p<0.01)> A study published in the January, 2005 edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition concluded "Daily consumption of tea containing 690 mg catechins for 12 wk reduced body fat, which suggests that the ingestion of catechins might be useful in the prevention and improvement of lifestyle-related diseases, mainly obesity

It seems that Green Tea extracts may aid the body in burning/oxidizing fat.

L-Carnitine
Filipinos are very familiar to this by now, thanks to Fit &Right, and Juday's Fitrum. Those two products are being marketed as weight-loss products and they use L-Carnitine as the main ingredient that makes them effective.

Apparently, there is no scientific proof to these claims. I guess, there's no published/accepted study yet that proves that it's the L-carnitine that directly causes the weight loss. What it really does though, is help the body convert fatty acids to usable energy.

I guess with L-carnitine pumped into your body, one's energy could be boosted enough to go through a regimen of exercises.

Amapalaya
Food supplements rich in Amapalaya have been around in the Philippines longer than L-Carnitine. Usually though, the target market for those products are diabetics and their families who may have the predisposition for the condition too.

It is most noted for its role in lowering blood sugar levels.

I didn't find (or I probably didn't look hard enough) any article showing Ampalaya's role in weight loss though.

I guess I can't go wrong with these three ingredients active in one capsule. Even if I don't lose weight in the end, at least I won't have high blood sugar and energized. I'll be at less risk for heart conditions too.

Still, I do hope it helps me shed off weight.

Scrapbook Saturday #5 : August Girls

2008-08-16T18:16:00.004+08:00

(I am cheating again because I changed the post date so it would reflect as if I'm really posting on a Saturday. Shh.)

For a change, I'm scrapping pages for an actual album, albeit a very small one. Hehe. All the pages I've scrapped so far stand alone and don't actually belong to a set. I guess the movie themed pages will end up in one album in the future, but it's the first of its kind so far.

On Wednesday, Alfred and I went out to see The Mummy 3 at Greenhills. Walking around after the movie, I spied these faux leather card holder with plastic inserts. Perfect for a mini album that a girl can carry around in her purse! Too bad there were only two of them left, for a hundred pesos each. I won't post a picture yet, I'll reveal once the album has been put together. :)

So what's going in the album? Pages of my most recent Trinoma adventure with the girls of course! I hope to find more of those card holders so I can make copies for all the seven of us (yes, Pauie and Lanie included).

Here's what I've done so far. This first page isn't even finished yet, I'm still going to add the title.

Don't forget to visit other Scrapbook Saturday participants, starting with Dette.

Online ventures and Dream Day Wedding

2008-08-13T02:53:00.003+08:00

Over the weekend, I landed on a blog that got me interested in a new online venture. Now, I don't think I will earn big big bucks from this, but who knows. I don't see myself losing anything anway. Have you heard of Pay to Click sites?

From what I've read so far, you register with them at no cost, and they give you links to click on. The links land you on different kinds of pages, or it could just be the same company's site, but different pages, but there are ads on the site or above it. You wait 30 seconds before you can move on to the next link. One ad viewed could earn you USD0.01. That's not a lot, but if you spend your time online a lot, like I do. It will add up. You also earn from ad views that your referrals make. To get more referrals, you can BUY referrals from the site too. Anyhoo, checkout these links if you want to learn more:

EarnMyBux
CashMyBux
MakeMyBux
ClickMyBux

All these four links are under one network, do sign up for each of them if you want to. You can use the same username/password combination but you'd have to register in each site. Don't forget verabear for the referrer. If you're scared about being scammed, I suggest you don't invest money right away. Get a feel for it first.

There's a dynamic forum there and you can read up on what the members are talking about, including the proof of payments. The members usually have banners for other PTC sites they are part of, that should direct you to even more sites information and/or opportunities to earn from surfing.

Last night too, I had my first taste of the game Dream Day Wedding. I actually enjoy it. I first tried the sequel Dream Day Wedding in Manhattan (or something like that) and I liked the graphics, specially the flower shop! I have the full version now of the first game, the one for Jenny's wedding. I don't know if I'll get the Manhattan one, but I hope I'd get that one too.

First Computerized Gov't Elections in the Philippines

2008-08-12T00:12:00.001+08:00

The first ever fully automated/computerized elections in the country was held successfully today. It is sad that there are no news stories about it posted on the Internet even as of this writing (midnight of the day after).

There were news stories and features on the television, but I would have loved to read about them before posting any info here.

Seems that the election is overshadowed by other events in the region - the armed conflict in North Cotabato which have displaced hundreds of thousands of residents both Christian and Muslim; and the controversy of the Memorandum of Agreement that the Peace Panel was negotiating and was supposed to have signed.

All these issues in the South has got me to thinking of the ex-MILF commanders-turned-Peace Advocates that we worked with in my old job. I wonder how they are now, and how all these things have affected the work that they have devoted their lives to in recent years?

The conflict really is deeply rooted, and involves so many stakeholders. One document surely won't magically resolve everything in one day.

Girls Day Out - Iskra has an eye for photos

2008-08-10T23:59:00.004+08:00

It was just like any other day after classes - we'd head to the mall and look around, or visit National Bookstore. And stuff our tummies full (with food, of course).

Yup, it was just like the old times. If only Iskra wasn't in tow.

I had a grand time catching up with girlfriends. In truth, this is the most fun get-together we've had in recent years. For me, at least.

Arianne isn't in the picture above. We've got better group pictures from her camera, and Mayeen's too. Can't wait to get those. I see several scrap pages coming up from the bazillion photos we (specially Iskra) took. I let 4=year old Iskra try out my camera and she had fun taking pictures. There were funny ones, but most really turned out beautifully. Looks like next week's SS will be one with an actual layout :)

No Layout - Scrapbook Saturday - for the newbie digiscrapper

2008-08-09T23:59:00.001+08:00

No layout for Scrapbook Saturday this week. I had it in my mind to feature some digiscrapping celebrity (not that I am close to any one of them) or to post something that will really help out those who are new to digital scrapbooking. I didn't have time for proper research though so I'm ending up with nothing. But please do visit the SS Headquarters, starting with Dette, and visit other SS participants.

I ran a search for verabear and digital scrapbooking and one of the results led me to my journal archives. This post actually was written when I first found Susan of Raspberry Road. Though Shabby Princess was the first ever designer I downloaded a freebie from, it was actually Susan's kit that I first used for an actual layout (the one I shared on the first Scrapbook Saturday).

Now, Susan sells her designs on her blog but she still continues to give full kit freebies to her loyal blog readers. And I still go there to visit. Believe it or not, I don't just go for the freebies, I actually go to oogle over the beautiful designs and layout created by others.

Over on my sidebar is a very long Digiscrapping blogroll. Yesterday I thought that since Maria of Digifree does a very good job in her automated process of posting freebies from other blogs; and Ikeagoddess also has huge helpings of yummy freebie previews she's collected, I don't really need my own blogroll just to get my own fill of freebie kits. But I realized that I'm not just doing it for the freebies now. I actually visit their blogs to read their posts! I also enjoy and take inspiration from layouts that are posted in those blogs.

There are plenty of sites offering tutorials (free or otherwise) to get you along in creating your very first layout. I think that this freebie from Scrap Girls is one of those things that really gave me the nudge to get started. They also have a huge freebie kit for download that can very well be the newbie digiscrapper's tool kit.

On a different note, I am looking forward to a packed weekend.
Sunday afternoon I'll be seeing girlfriends.
Monday, Alfred and I will be going out to see a movie.
In both days, I will be making truffles like crazy because I haven't made any in the past two weeks. I've offered a special discounted price to my ever loyal fans.

I'm not sure if I'll be able to squeeze in time for bag organizer project. I really want to do that as soon as possible.

Saturday just flew right by me! I was looking forward to getting home earlier than usual for a Saturday but we were slapped with unplanned outages starting at 5PM and I had to be the one in charge at the time it happened. Hehe. It was a fun day at work though, surprisingly.

Anyways, a happy weekend to everyone!

Diverse interests

2008-08-09T03:07:00.004+08:00

This seems to be a week of discoveries.

My colleague, who runs Pasaway.org and Pinoy Downloads, introduced me to a service that allows me to earn money (in British Pounds) just by using my alloted homepage as my default search engine. Granted, you'll have to search many many times before you really see money pour in, but you don't lose anything either. Check it out my homepage or sign up as my friend, here.

I also learned of of Xylia, and met the Sore Thumbs gang at the start of this week.

Through Blog Explosion, I had also browsed through interesting blogs that I've bookmarked and will visit again soon.

I also got freaked out and have had lots of laughs this week, courtesy of Peter.

There are new additions to my Digiscrapping Blogroll as I visited designers and admired they work for the first time. Sorry, I can't link them in this post because I didn't keep track of the newest links.

But I've also realized, through the many new things I found interesting this week, is that I am interested in many things. This is good. But it also has a negative side. I find that my mind is scattered - I have so many concerns throughout the day, so much that I want to spend my time on. I want to read and finish the book I picked up last week. I want to organize my digi stash and make layouts. I want to blog. I want to learn to make Wordpress themes from scratch. I want to earn money online.

My baking/truffle-making isn't even on that list yet. And then there's still the official work that I have to do.

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Have you seen pictures of the 2008 Beijing Olympics? I didn't see the Opening Ceremony (I'll look for reruns during the weekend) but I have been browsing this gallery. I am awed by the colors, the pageantry and the spectacle of it all. I know there is politics associated with China hosting the Olympics this year, but that aside, it would have been something to be a performer in any one of those numbers!

Xylia Tales

2008-08-07T02:22:00.003+08:00

In the other day's post I mentioned my Web Comics finds. I have finished digging through the archives of Xylia, and will now be eagerly awaiting the updates every week.

The story is interesting, and the art is beautiful.

On a different note... at work today I was thinking about the training post. If the posting was for QC, I'd pounce on it. I know I really want to be facilitator. Oh well.

Training girl

2008-08-06T00:43:00.003+08:00

Today I had been in a training class, and it reminded me again how much I miss that environment. It was a Problem Solving class that I enlisted some of my team for and decided to attend as well. I had fun, and I had insights too. The most important thing is that I believe they picked up something from it.

So that was about half of my day in the office, the rest, well, was just normal like any other day. I signed up for several classes (like six?) this month because, as I told Papi Boden (my boss), I need something to exercise my brain. I guess I'm looking for something to jumpstart the bubbliness in me. I think it will actually work.

On my way out, I saw the posting for internal job openings on the HR board. There's an opening for a Training Supervisor! Is this what I'm waiting for? The other thing at work that I was kinda counting on did not fall through and I've lost interest, in any case. I've been thinking, since my boss asked about it last week, what it is that I want next. Do I stay in operations and aim for a Senior TM post? Or do I go back to Training? Talk about timing!

The catch is, the post will be for another site, in another city that's about an hour or so from here. I've never worked or studied that far away from home. It's going to be a big decision. Of course, I'm not even sure if I'll get the job but I have to think about these things too before I even submit an application, right?

First there was the ECPAT activity that reminded me of what I used to do (facilitate workshops and trainings) and then there's this. This really seems to be my calling - to be facilitating learning.

I've got lots of time before the deadline (on the 12th). I pray for guidance in making the right decision.

Comic book finds

2008-08-05T05:11:00.002+08:00

Clicking through Project Wonderful ads (I carry those too, please check them out if you're so inclined) has led me to wonderful discoveries tonight. I am now reading Comics online!

The first one that caught my fancy is Xylia Tales. The graphics are really awesome. I clicked on the Archives link and read from when it all began. I've only reached the beginning of Chapter 2, so far. I've got plenty of pages more to go.

They also just updated their website (as in just now) and now I see that the author/artist has a second story up. That should be interesting too. Maybe when I have some earnings from my ads I'll donate to the site, I do want to see more from them!

The second comic I started reading (at the same time, I go back and forth between the two) is Sore Thumbs. While Xylia is high fantasy, Sore Thumbs, for me, is satirical. One has to have an open mind to be able to appreciate it. I've gone back to the first issue which dates back to 2004!

Anyway, these artists are awesome and they publish their work on the web for free. Counting on donations and income from ads, I guess. I bet Alfred would be interested in these as well. I can't wait to tell him.

When I was a little girl, my dad would buy me local comic books when he goes to the market. Both he and my mom really encouraged me to read, and comics was among the varied materials I got. What made it more meaningful for me was how he would tell me stories of him sneaking comics when he was a kid. His father didn't approve of them and thought they were good for nothing. He would save his school money though, buy comics, and hideout under the house just to read. I felt like I was privileged because I could read them openly. Of course I understood too that maybe not all comics are fit for young minds.

Anyway, I stopped reading local comics a long time ago, except the dailies published in the broadsheets. I'd be delighted to see the comics of old published on the web too - along with the younger artists.

Zune and the Wet Outdoors

2008-08-04T06:26:00.004+08:00

This is our current desktop background, a photo of a clean Zune looking out from his doggie door:

The desktop template is courtesy of Jennilyn Designs, using her collab kit with Misty Cato.

I had tried to take Zune out for his morning walk just a couple of minutes ago. I say tried because I didn't really succeed. You see, our little Zune has a thing about wet pavement - he doesn't want to walk on them.

No matter how excited he is to actually go out, once the door is opened and he sees water - he would get to a dead stop.

It had been raining last night and the road is still wet. Today, I carried him down our front steps upto a dry spot. He walked a little, and then stopped to pee next to a parked car. He peed a lot. Then he walked about five paces and then stopped. And then didn't budge again, no matter how much coaxing I did. I had to carry him back in!

Then he refused to walk the rest of the way home from the gate to our door. I guess he could see the puddles in front of my cousin's door. I carried him again up our steps where he refused to walk the two paces to get inside the house. There were puddles of water right outside our door, you see. It took a lot of willpower, but I got him to come in on his own.

Now, he's running back and forth inside the house.

One for the Font Addicts!

2008-08-04T02:14:00.002+08:00

I was bloghopping and freebie hunting and came across this video from Beth Nixon:

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

I still haven't found a way to organize the many fonts I've amassed. Haven't even re-installed any of them since my PC was fixed. This video sure reminded me that I needed to work on that too.

Scrapbook Saturday - #3: Journey

2008-08-02T05:20:00.010+08:00

Here I am, posting my first on-time Scrapbook Saturday. Woohoo! (Click on the button to go to the SS Headquarters)

I mentioned in yesterday's post that this was going to be different from my previous entries. This is the first time I am ever scrapping a layout inspired by a movie that Alfred and I went to see. (Click the image to read the journalling)

Wish I had thought about doing this a long time ago. If I had, I'd have a huge album filled with movie layouts from those we went to on our first year dating. I just hope that this is something that I'd be able to continue doing - scrapping what each movie meant to me, or whatever it had me thinking, or feeling. Or who I saw it with.

I hope you liked it. Please do visit other SS participants, okay? :)

Layout credits:
Background paper from Dastash by Melissa Bennett
Alpha - Walking on Sunshine - Sunshine Studio Scraps
Journaling block from Flergs
Element from Fran's Boreal kit
Frame by Tracy
Paper from Tracy King's Sun Girls minikit

It was bound to get better right?

2008-08-01T01:50:00.006+08:00

My Thursday didn't start out all too well - woke up at 4am with a mild headache that progressed to a migraine. I couldn't go back to sleep no matter how many times I changed from one sofa to another and then to my own bed. I twisted and turned, used a massager, closed my eyes, relaxed and tried to meditate. After three more hours of interrupted sleep and a lot of pain, I gave in to the call of the meds. It took an hour or two before I was pain-free - but far from comfortable, I could still feel it lurking.

I had given in and called Alfred too after 2 days of not talking. I was left alone at home by then, and I don't do alone too well when I'm sick. I didn't have to ask, he volunteered to come over and he even brought food - chicken curry that his mom cooked. What an angel!

And though I still wasn't feeling a hundred percent this afternoon, I went back to work and spread the virus. Uhm-hmm, me and my runny nose were back in the office, and this time we actually spent the whole nine hours there, versus the previous day's six.

So it wasn't a bad day after all. Really, it's not how it started, but how it ends.

On another note, seems that for this Scrapbook Saturday, I will actually be posting on time and with a new layout at that. I started working on a layout the other day and I just have some finishing touches and journalling to add to it. It'll be very different from the two layouts I've already posted.

Anyway, I'm off to do some reading about Joomla because I'm thinking of using it for future projects.

At home on the 29th

2008-07-29T22:16:00.002+08:00

It's the 29th. A workday. I am here at home though.

Last month, I had planned to take a one-day leave for July the 29th to see Daughtry live in concert at Eastwood City. They are here for a one-night show for their Filipino fans.

And I missed/am missing it.

Alfred wasn't interested in seeing the band. He wasn't really into American Idol so he isn't a fan of AI graduates. He did see Daughtry several times when he was on the show. He referred to the rocker as Vin Diesel's brother even then. I didn't go about asking other friends if anyone was interested in seeing the concert. So here I am, trying not to think about it anymore. Nice try, huh?

So why am I home on a work night then? I'm sick.

Seriously, how much icky mucus can there be? Bleh.

Tuned in to Kids

2008-07-28T01:49:00.004+08:00

Sunday night turned out to be kids' night. No, the kids weren't around here. Rather, we spent almost the entire evening watching kids on TV.

First up: Pinoy Dream Academy's Little Dreamers.

By golly, those kids have got oodles of talent. Really. I love watching them and I truly believe there is more talent in them than their teen/adult scholar counterparts.

Cristina was named this week's Outstanding Little Dreamer, and she deserves the award. She's always very energetic in her performances. You could check out a video of her performance here. Hers was the last number in the video in that post. Check out the Archives for performances of the other little dreamers. You will be WOWed by their talents.

Later in the evening, ABS-CBN had a feature story on the two faces of malnutrition in the Philippines. On the one hand, there's the more common scene of skin and bones children who, because of poverty, and/or neglect, do not eat enough. On the other, obese children who give off a false front of being healthy but are actually are at high risk for heart disease and diabetes.

The Health and Social Welfare bureaus have programs to address the growing problem, but I know they are barely scratching the surface. Development groups and NGOs are also there with their own feeding programs and health programs for moms and their children. But how can we really save more children from dying of hunger or obesity?

With the food crisis hanging over the air, many of this kids are even more compromised than ever. But really, it's not just the poor who can't afford the enough healthy food for the entire family who's in danger. In fact, I have a nephew who the doctor said was malnourished. It is sad. He has an enormous appetite and I've never really seen him be picky with his food. But I guess he's not eating healthy.

And the overweight/over-indulged kids featured in the story have become too big for their age because their diets weren't carefully planned by the adults caring for them. So it's not just money needed to ensure that kids are healthy and grow up to become adults themselves.

It wasn't mentioned anywhere in the feature, but this got me to thinking about how the pending law on Reproductive Health is being vehemently opposed by the Catholic Church here. I mean really, I am all for educating parents-to-be before they bring more children in the world, that's a long term solution. But we've come to a desperate point already and government has the responsibility to at least make available various options to allow couples to choose the best family planning method for themselves. I just don't see what's so wrong about that. I don't think the law endorses abortion, does it? I mean, c'mon!

Scrapbook Saturday 2 - Anliza's boys: Adam and Daddy Rolly

2008-07-26T19:51:00.005+08:00

Here you go. Scrapbook Saturday #2:

I did this page shortly after Adam's birth. He's much bigger and lots more cuter these days, as I hear :)

Full credits are found here.

Don't forget to visit other participants to

Cheese Pie memories

2008-07-26T04:16:00.003+08:00

When I left the office 20 minutes ago, I was not feeling well. Logic dictates that I go straight to bed upon getting home. Here I am, clicking away instead.

I just can't stay away from my computer. I am drawn to it. And maybe it's all mental, but I feel better already. No joke.

Anyhoo. My dad's job takes him to Mindanao several times a month. He came home today from a three-day trip. He brought home yummy cheese bread sticks. Hmm, I can still smell them in my mind. They're very similar to the cheese pies that the old SATS Women's Cooperative Canteen served when I was a young girl. I can't ever find those pies anywhere else in the Metro, but I did find them in Bohol when we were there last. These 'stick' version came from Cagayan de Oro.

This cheese pie isn't a pie that has crust and filling. It's more like a cheese pizza pie. Haha. It's all cheese bread. I am not good at describing food in English. Basta, paper-plate sized sya, and you divide it like you do any other pizza. The smell is heavenly. Okay, the taste probably won't take you to cloud nine and it's not super special, but it's one that I love. I'm not sure if it's really the cheese pie, or the memories it brings back.

The thing is, anything that reminds me of the old Canteen automatically triggers memories of my Aunt Leesah too. She worked there as a cashier. In the rare times that she would let me go out at night when I was a kid, that's where we'd usually head to just for an evening snack. I still miss her. Hey Auntie, if you have Internet in Heaven, send me an e-card! I turned a year older again!

Back to the Canteen. Each Coop member had a tab in the canteen and since all of the adult women in our family (along with most, if not all, adult females in the community) were members of the Coop, we could get anything with just a signature. Of course the cashiers knew all the kids' parents too, so no one could really overcharge or eat on someone else's tab. We called it, palista. Signalling the cashier to just add it to our mothers' tab. There were even forms printed for that and we'd have to sign every time we got anything from the Canteen.

Aside from Cheese Pie, I always loved eating Guinataang Halo-halo. In fact, if it was available, they'd reserve one serving of the merienda dish just for me after I complained one time when they sold out everything before I arrived one afternoon. Hay, how can I describe ginataang bilo-bilo?

The Canteen closed down, reopened under new management, and closed again. Now, a cousin of mine rents the space and runs her own canteen. But it doesn't give me quite the same homey feeling that it used to. It hasn't been the Canteen I grew up in, not for a long time.

I don't think that it was the change in management, or the change in cooks and other faces, that made the difference. Rather it's the community itself that has changed in my eyes, and in my heart too. To be honest, nothing there really feels like home anymore. And I am sad to acknowledge that I feel this way.

Every person has to belong somewhere. Aside from my family, I thought the SATS community was where I belonged, where we all belonged. I consider it my hometown. But I just haven't felt that way lately.

Oh well.

Birthday thoughts

2008-07-23T01:57:00.004+08:00

What was on my mind on my 27th birthday?

> I want a new phone. My old one is falling apart. (I did get a new one! Read about it here.)
> We should have sold my iPaq PDA when we had the chance to break even.
> Brendan Frasier has the body of a hottie!
> Science can be fun!
> My nephews and nieces make life sweeter.
> What is the deal with the Reproductive Health Bill? Let's give the people at least a chance to make their own informed choices!
> I just have to use my PDA again, so at least it wouldn't have been money wasted (refer to second thought).
> I should scrap about my phone(s).
> I really prefer Red Velvet Cake today :(

There were other things, for sure, but these are what I can still remember.

Oh well, tomorrow's another workday (actually, it's later).

Lung Center Sunday Market

2008-07-21T14:14:00.003+08:00

My boss is really nice. He lets me come in for a later shift on Fridays and Saturdays. I take advantage of this for when I want to do other stuff during the day, so I'd come in at around 6PM. Since Alfred now comes in at night, there were some Saturdays when I actually stayed at work until his shift ended at 5AM on Sunday. This weekend was one of those days.

We left the office a few minutes after 6AM (Alfred also had to render overtime), and I suggested we visit the Lung Center Sunday Market. My parents had been there two weeks ago and picked up the new members of our family. The Market was also featured in Yummy mag's May issue. Off we went.

I got a pink leatherette apron that was really designed for when you wash the dishes. So I do use it now when I do that, and I'll be using it too when I make truffles and when I finally go back to baking. I thought it would be hot to wear, but it hasn't been. The material actually feels lightweight.

We had breakfast at one of the stalls - Bicol Express and Beef Caldereta. In my opinion, it needed more salt to taste, but it was just right for Alfred. It was filling though, and did not cost us much. We also brought home prawns that my dad cooked for Sunday lunch!

I will definitely keep the camera in my bag at all times, I missed photo opps that day for not doing so! There are pictures in this post though.

We'll be there again next Sunday - this time armed with a market list for what we really need for our food experiments the following week. Going there is a good reason to walk around too - something we should do more often!

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog!

2008-07-21T03:47:00.004+08:00

Have you seen DrHorrible's Sing-Along Blog?

It's hilarious!

Go. Watch. Laugh.

Seriously. The people behind this are genius! Haha

EDITED 7/27

I went back to watch Dr.Horrible one more time but found the videos to be gone! It seems like it's now only available in iTunes. :(

This is what's left:

Teaser from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog on Vimeo.

Yet another EDIT:

Okay, so read the master plan behind Dr.Horrible here. Amazing.

Scrapbook Saturday 1 - The best friend ever!

2008-07-20T22:24:00.005+08:00

Okay, so it is Sunday already but who cares? Haha. My PC was just fixed this afternoon so I am late in posting my first ever Scrapbook Saturday!

For this first week of SS, I've chosen to show everyone my very first scrapped page. I made this page from my bestfriend's Friendster photos as a birthday present.

For a larger view, and the credits, click on the image. You'll also see the letter that I wrote for JoArni at the time. Then don't forget to look at the layouts by other SS participants, starting with Dette, of course.

Tracy, if you're reading this, join us at Scrapbook Saturday :)

Lobo!

2008-07-18T01:31:00.004+08:00

For my birthday present (actual birthday on the 22nd), Alfred is getting me DVDs of Lobo, a local TV series. He got me the first volume (4 hours worth) last week but I only started watching it on Wednesday. I've already seen some of it when it was shown on TV, but some of the scenes still move me. This series is definitely one of my favorites. Here's a preview:

Because of my work schedule I was not able to watch the series regularly. Hence the DVDs.

I wonder if ABS-CBN will ever consider releasing older teleseryes on DVD? I'd definitely be interested in the one where John Lloyd and Bea's loveteam was born - what was the title of that series? Found it: Kay Tagal Kang Hinintay. I think it was this series that got me really hooked on Pinoy telenovelas on Primetime TV. This was also the series that brought Lorna Tolentino's TV career back to life. I loved her in this series.

Downtime

2008-07-17T00:32:00.002+08:00

My PC is down. It's a sad day.

It's been sick for a while now, we've just really been stretching it to its limits. I guess that today, it just finally gave out.

And boyfriend and I had a fight and it was indirectly a factor to it. Haha.

I am using Alfred's laptop just to get my daily dose of blogging and whatever browsing I could think of. He said that he really left his laptop here so I could use it tonight. We are currently messaging each other about what he can try tomorrow to fix the PC, or if we should just wait til we get the new parts to completely overhaul it.

oDesk - work at home opportunities

2008-07-15T13:11:00.003+08:00

Thanks to my colleague Liza, I've signed up for oDesk - an online community that brings together freelance professionals with clients who are looking to outsource jobs. I haven't actually applied for any jobs yet because you need to take a test before you can be eligible for any. Prior to taking the test, I'm reading up on what it really means to be working with oDesk.

It all seems legit and the job postings range from data entry ones to more complex web design and database maintenance. There are a lot of blog writing opportunities there too. Technical writers would find a lot of opportunities from oDesk.

I have a job that pays well, why am I turning online for more? I want to save up for more things and most importantly, we're preparing to get married next year. Any extra income would be so welcome.

Plus, I spend HOURS online everyday anyway. Might as well channel that to something really productive. :)

Eiga Sai '08 - A Stranger of Mine

2008-07-13T00:46:00.004+08:00

I saw a Japanese movie last night, for free.

My best friend Jo asked me if I'd be interested to go to the Japan Film Festival ongoing at the Shangri-la Mall. Aside from my interest in seeing a good movie, I wouldn't pass up on a chance to hang out with her, of course I accepted. For more details on Eiga Sai 2008, read this.

I guess it was a blessing that I had to cover for Debbie at work on Saturday morning. It allowed to get off way earlier than usual.

A Stranger of Mine was scheduled for the last full show and that's what we saw. Jo had to fall in line, two hours before the movie started just to get us tickets. I almost didn't get to watch! After chatting over dinner for over an hour, we stopped by the john before queuing for the theater. When we came out, I checked my pocket and found my ticket to be gone! I was quite sure it fell somewhere in the comfort room so we went back for it. The ladies' room sure filled up fast when we got back 2 minutes later, and there was no sign of a ticket lying on the floor. Good thing the cleaning lady remembered it and then she and Jo fished it out of the trash bin. Good thing it wasn't one where you'd find spoiled tissue or what not. And the ticket escaped any kind of spoilage!

It was a fun movie to watch! The director did very well in piecing together the events of the night. I think the whole story transpired in just about three hours but it was shown in different perspectives. They were very effective too, and the attention to detail was awesome! The twist at the end was unexpected too, I didn't see it coming.

The funniest part, I think, is the part about the yakuza boss who didn't actually have any money! Image is indeed everything. Haha.

Alfred would have enjoyed the movie and I can't wait to find the schedule for the UP Film Institute screenings so he'd get the chance to see it too.

Now, more about the story. Sorry for the spoilers. This is also going to be a long post. :)

It started with Maki, who was shown to be leaving an apartment with her luggage. She pawned her engagement ring for a measly 3,500 yen. She finds herself in a restaurant, blaming herself for being in that situation after depending on others for her happiness. She vowed not to be that way from then on. At the end of the first segment, she was invited over by a stranger to dine with him - food tastes better when shared with others.

The next part showed Miyata, an office worker, staring at a woman's picture on his desktop. His co-worker was imposing on him to lend his apartment for his date the following morning. Though very reluctant, he did draw him a map eventually. He went home to his big apartment and got a phone call right away from his friend Kanda who was whispering. He invited Miyata out to dinner; news about Ayumi (his ex) was what convinced him it made him rush out, literally. They met at this restaurant. Kanda was very concerned about his friend who was still hanging onto his ex-girlfriend's shadow. He was convincing him to go out on dates, saying that timing is everything and he should have asked for the girl's phone number if he has any interest in her. It was Kanda who then invited Maki over to their table. Kanda eventually left the two to themselves.

After dinner and on their way out, Miyata found out that Maki had nowhere to go so he invited her to stay at his apartment. After much convincing, she agreed. They hopped on Miyata's bike, with Maki insisting on driving. They almost got hit by the handyman's truck! So of course, they walked the rest of the way home. Maki was supposed to stay in Ayumi's old bedroom, where all her stuff were still stored. It was the guy's turn to tell his sad story. It was funny how, to show her empathy, Maki hugged Miyata. It really surprised the latter. While Miyata was running her a bath, someone came to the door. Who else but Ayumi coming to get her stuff.

Maki really gave it to her at that point, telling her how selfish she was to leave Miyata and then come back for her stuff just like that. She then took off. Miyata told the ex to get what she needed and then he'll be throwing out the rest. He ran after Maki; he ran after her even after she hopped on a cab - that was a long way to run. He eventually intersected the cab, all he wanted was to ask for Maki's phone number! He said that he may never see her again so she has to give him his number.

The next segment is where it all started to come together. Kanda found a lady waiting at his door. It was Ayumi asking for his help to get her Passport from the apartment. Kanda was reluctant and told her how he knew everything about her - she was a con artist who had already gotten millions of yen from her old boyfriends. She left Miyata when he spent all of his savings buying the big apartment. Her latest victim happened to be a Yakuza boss and she took a brief case full of money with her in her escape!

Kanda refused to meddle with Yakuza and didn't want to help her at first. Eventually, he asked for a million in exchange for his help. He made Ayumi promise to give back the money. When she agreed, he took her to Miyata's apartment. While there, Miyata arrived. You'd know exactly when it happened because in Miyata's segment, he closed one of the doors on the hallway - it was the bathroom door where Kanda was actually peeing! It was from there that the call was made earlier mentioned and it was the reason why he was whispering! He actually held his pee until after Miyata rushed out to meet him.

From the apartment, Kanda dressed up as a delivery person and took the briefcase of money to the Yakuza boss' office. After that, Ayumi gave him his payment in exchange for the Passport and they parted ways. That was the only time he went to the restaurant to see Miyata. All he told him was that he met Ayumi and found out that she was getting married. He didn't tell him the truth. They showed the scene again when Kanda asked Maki over to join them. Then he got up to go to the john because he saw the Yakuza guys come in to the restaurant. They took him with them. So he didn't intentionally leave the two together after all. The Yakuza stripped him of his clothes before reporting to their big boss. He was then taken to the office where the boss talked to him - and Ayumi was there too. It turns out that the briefcase he brought over did not have money, but lingerie, and his PI card was in it. Ayumi really intended for the Yakuza to go after Kanda. The boss took Kanda's money but let him go. His condition was he would be using Kanda's PI services for free when he needed it. He found Kanda's folio about his investigation into Ayumi's life. So where was the money? The next morning, Kanda went to see Miyata. He found out that Miyata had thrown out the rest of the boxes, and the garbage truck had already come by to get it. MIyata happily reported though that he got Maki's phone number. He tried calling during breakfast, but found out that he had been given the wrong number.

There was also a segment focusing on the Yakuza boss. He was shown in his office with the handyman, they had cut bundles of paper and pasted real money on the top and bottom of the bundles until they appeared like bundles of real money. Everytime someone knocked on the door to see him, he would take the fake money from the safe so that the person would see him stacking the money onto the safe when they came in. Image. This was what Ayumi saw the first time she came in to her boyfriend's office. As they went out to the car, Ayumi excused herself saying she needed to use the ladies' room to freshen up. The new Yakuza was left to wait for the girl. The next scene showed the boss back and Ayumi to be missing. The boss went over to his safe and true enough, the fake money was gone! The new person said sorry and was kneeling for forgiveness. The head guard immediately went into action to look for the missing girl/money. The boss looked as if he wanted to stop them, but thought better of it. After some time, Kanda came over to drop off the briefcase. Only the boss was in his office to look at the contents - lingerie and the card. He received a call sometime after, it was the girl saying that the PI forced her to take the money and then took it from her. She told him where he was and that's how the Yakuza men got Kanda.

The Yakuza boss went to Kanda's place. He asked the handyman to pick the lock. That was the same handyman that almost hit Miyata and Maki earlier in the movie! That's where the Yakuza boss found out about Ayumi. He was puzzled why she didn't take anything from Miyata, so he headed over to the apartment. While he was there, he found the money in the box of Ayumi's stuff but Miyata and Maki arrived so he hid under the bed. It was funny how the earlier scene between the two was now being shown, but only through the two's footwork. The awkwardness felt when Maki suddenly hugged Miyata, was also portrayed by their feet! Do you remember what happened next? Ayumi came!

After Maki left and Miyata ran after her, Ayumi went into the room to retrieve the money. She found the boss then they headed back to the office to meet with Kanda. In the car, the boss let her know that he knew all about her and proposed to be partners in crime.

We thought that the movie was ending right then. But the credits rolled back, then Maki was back on the scene. She had found the money in the box of lingerie. Knowing it was Ayumi's, she took it. The taxi driver was the one who gave her the pen and paper to write her number on. Later on, he said that that Miyata seemed like a nice guy, he would do everything to make you happy, he said. Ayumi was alone again, back at the fountain where she found herself at the beginning of the film. She had decided she didn't want to be alone again.

She went back to the apartment, ready to give back the fake money. At the door, Miyata's co-worker also came by. That was the end. Yet another stranger in the mix.

New Look!

2008-07-10T06:38:00.003+08:00

Don't you just love my bloggy's new look? I know I do! I am beautiful! Er, I mean, my blog's beautiful!

I've been playing around with the template for the past two days until I was happy with what I saw. I dressed up using papers from Michelle Bennett's Safari kit, with the ribbon trim from her Trimmed pack. Both packs were included in the grab bag I purchased last month.

One thing that's not okay is that my Digiscrap links have grown too long but I can't bring myself to show just a few links at a time. I was thinking of just placing a link to the blogroll but I'll think about it more before I make changes again.

Y'all will let me know what you think right? Please do.

Testing Windows Live Writer with Blogger - my 100th post

2008-07-08T08:05:00.005+08:00

Interesting. I had always thought that Windows Live Writer only worked for Spaces. So now I know that I'm wrong. This is a test post to see if this nifty tool would work well not just with the Blogger platform, but with my blog template specifically.

Edit.

Nice. It worked very smoothly. The only thing is, I'd have to remember my Labels because the tags won't show here auto-complete like it does with Blogger. ~~Minor inconvenience.~~ I was wrong again. It is inconvenient after all. If you just added Tags using the Insert Tags option in Writer, it would not use the Labels/Categories native to Blogger. Bummer!

EDIT!!!

O-M-G! I just had to come back and edit my post. It's my 100th post on Blogger!!! And I feel bad that it wasn't about something really significant, know what I mean?

100 posts. That means 98 posts since January of this year which was the time I decided to move in and use this platform. As it turns out, I didn't really stop blogging over at my Bravejournal, but this has been my main stop since the beginning of this year.

I am working on my new layout and I'd hopefully be using that by the time my 101st post goes live. Wish me luck. :)

Singing birds in the background

2008-07-07T11:42:00.005+08:00

Mom and Dad went to the Lung Center Sunday Market yesterday and came home with 2 pairs of birds. They are cute little ones but they forgot to ask what kind of birds these are. Alfred says they're society finches but he's not sure.

They sure are playful and very chirpy! Watch them flying about and listen to their singing for yourself. Here's a video I took just now:

Yesterday, Zune appeared like he was very welcoming and enjoyed just watching them. When we finally hung the cage where he can't really see the birds, he kept jumping/reaching up. This morning my dad moved the cage, then I think Zune decided he didn't want them around. He kept barking at the cage! Stop terrorizing the small 'uns honey!

Visiting San Benissa

2008-07-06T17:04:00.003+08:00

I'm not sure why I didn't take pictures. The camera was sitting in my bag the whole time.

My parents and I, and then later my brother and his girlfriend, went to San Benissa Garden Villas for the orientation for condo owners in the new community. It's the property that I am now proud owner of. Oh okay, it isn't fully mine but I am paying for it. My brother and I own a unit each and we both took out loans for it that we pay for monthly.

The units have been ready for months, we just haven't had the chance to take care of it. We will either live in it, or rent it out. Either way, we would need to fix it up. My bro, who is far more thrifty than I am, can afford to spruce it up. I can't.

I've found one reason not to move in myself: no dogs allowed. What?!

They said that they would allow visits, but the dog has to be carried to the unit and can stay for long. If we took Zune there and walked him through the streets for his daily walks - they would have us reported. Tsk. Dad says they'll just bring Zune to us from time to time, and we could also visit him here. No. I don't think so.

Return to Divisoria - Thursday Thirteen - #12

2008-07-03T00:08:00.002+08:00

Though I did not get much sleep, I am so happy with how we spent our day. Alfred finally took me for some retail therapy where all the bargain hunters go - Divisoria! (Check other posts about Divi - the place to be! - here, here and here.

So this edition of Thursday Thirteen is all about my July 2 2008 trip to Divi!

This was the earliest I've ever been to Divi - we were there before 9am. I got off work at around 730 and we went there right after breakfast. We were able to beat the traffic because we passed through North rather than traverse the length of Quezon Avenue and España. Early is the best time at Divi!
We hopped on a jeepney from Divi to Morayta on our way home. Why is this worth mentioning? Because I do not commute (public transport) on a daily basis. I take a cab to and from work not because I'm rich or maarte but because it's the fastest, and actually the most practical way for me. If I were to go by public transport, it would take 2 rides and about 4 blocks on foot to get to work. I do take the jeepney if I only have to go somewhere "near." The ride reminded me that I should commute more often - ditch the cabs!
We set out to find these, and we did! All I need is magnets and can turn them into those. They were so cheap!

We also got two pairs of pants for myself with some embroidered embellishments on the pockets (not too attention grabbing, don't worry). (PhP 250 each)
I also grabbed a pair for my mom!
There are 2 shirts for dad too! (at PhP 250 for both!)
A black jacket for Alfred which really made his shoulders look broader than usual (I likey). This would hopefully curb his craving for an Adidas jacket. :)
Anime DVDs! (for Alfred too)
It rained so we had to purchase two big umbrellas (for 90 pesos or 2 US dollars each)
We used only 50% of plastic bags than we would normally have because I had my funky Envirosax tote!
Oh, and I got cheap fabrics for a project I'll be making this weekend. I'm not sure but I got the feeling that these were scraps or rejects or something. But the prints are awesome. No pictures for now because I'd rather post the finished product.
I got a muumuu for myself, and one for Alfred's mom. Okay, we don't call them muumuus here, we refer to them as dusters but that's the closest English equivalent I could find. And these 'dresses' I got are house-dresses, not what one would normally wear when going out. :)
Aside from the assault we did on Divisoria Mall itself, we were only able to look around the two streets leading to DM but there are so many other shops and sidewalk stalls in that area that we will have to scour next time we're there. If things go the way I want them to in terms of projects, we'd probably go there at least once every month. Yay!

Read my past TTs here and here.

Oh, Thank you for taking me there Babe!

July Desktop

2008-07-02T23:01:00.005+08:00

This is on my desktop, using the July freebie from Dani's Girls at GirlTalk.

That's my mom with 6 year old Esban, 11 year old Dalnes, and 9 year old Hannah.

The Hundred Secret Senses by Amy Tan

2008-07-02T04:57:00.003+08:00

The Hundred Secret Senses by Amy Tan. Where do I even begin?

I got the book months ago. When I finally picked it up from the pile, it took me weeks to finish. The beginning of the story didn't really capture my fancy, but once I committed to reading it through to the end, I was actually captivated by the stories weaved by Libby-ah and her sister Kwan.

While reading, I had this vision of China that was much like Bangaan, the province where my grandfather came from. Mountains, rice paddies, cool, misty and peaceful. That was the Changmian I saw in my mind. But it wasn't the same one I saw when Kwan was recounting stories of Miss Banner and the rest of them. In my mind I was seeing the China from the older Jet Li movies.

Kwan's disappearance puzzled me. I couldn't understand why she had to be gone. I guess it can't be perfect right? Did she know she was not coming back? It seems like so.

The World of Yin. I've talked about this before - how, nearing my grandmother's death, she sees visitors. Plenty of them who have come to see her. She often mentioned women, friends, who have passed away years ago, coming to ask her to go with them. For a long time, she chose to stay. But then we'd see her startled sometime, as if she was still seeing them there.

So do I think there's a World of Yin? I'm not sure really. But it's a comfort to know that when you go, you wouldn't have to be alone and afraid.

What Happens in Vegas (I <3 Ashton Kutcher)

2008-07-01T04:29:00.000+08:00

*Click the photo and it'll take you to the movie page in Yahoo.

Before I saw CSI on Cable on Sunday night, I watched What Happens in Vegas on DVD.

Predictably - Ashton Kutcher was disgustingly lovable! Haha.

I enjoyed watching and I had some laughs. I wasn't creeped out laughing on my own in the middle of the night . It was a fun movie to watch.

I have to agree with my friend though, they don't really make a cute couple, but I guess they were effective for their respective roles. It was quite easy to figure out the story. It makes for very light watching - no analysis needed. They did try to put something else into the story - like a background for why Jack was such a jerk, or why Joy was so uptight. But they just played on the same things over and over so there wasn't really much there...

But that's the up side to this movie too: just plain fun to watch.

Oh, here's a thought too. What made Joy bet on Jack? I mean, apart from him going to the retreat and saving her ass, what did Jack show her that made her bet on him? Or was she just saying it out of pity. I get how easy it was for Joy to be herself around Jack, and not to wish she was something or somebody else. But the other way around? I didn't quite get that.

Anyhoo. I still enjoyed the movie and would recommend it for anyone who's bored . I also agree that for any relationship to work, the individuals have to somehow come to terms with their own demons. If they can't rid themselves of it, at least they should know that they have quirky issues.

What Happens in Vegas also got me thinking: what does it really take to make a marriage last? What makes a union a marriage? My parents have been together for over 30 years. I was at my grandparents' golden wedding anniversary just before I started my freshman year at the university. I'd still like to believe that most marriages in the Philippines do last. Will Alfred and I make a good marriage?

Yesterday, he mentioned to me that he has casually told his parents our plans to get married in June of 2009. Casually. It was his eldest brother's despedida lunch and that brother's father in law casually asked his mom when Alfred had plans to tie the knot. So he told them. That was it. We don't know how we're going to tell my side of the family. It feels kinda weird. Haha.

Have we prepared ourselves for it already? Do we bring out the best in each other like Jack and Joy did? Though sometimes it doesn't look like it, I still think that we do.

SM Biodegradable Plastic Bags

2008-06-30T22:56:00.002+08:00

One night, alone in my bed, I couldn't sleep. My mind was working overdrive. My attention was somehow directed to the trashbag we had hanging by the doorknob of my bedroom. It was an SM shopping bag and I was puzzled by what was written at the bottom: BIODEGRADABLE.

I was itching to turn Alfred's laptop on and do some research right there and then. But I had already turned off the wifi router downstairs and I really didn't want to make myself up more by walking all the way down and then up again. So I decided to leave it until the next day.

I forgot all about it though. The next day, I wracked my brain for what I wanted to research but couldn't remember what it was. Today, I saw three or four blue SM plastic shopping bags on a chair - obviously my parents went shopping on Sunday afternoon. Then I saw it again: BIODEGRADABLE.

Was it possible? I asked Alfred. We finally looked it up.

I am disappointed that there is not much press about SM's - the largest shopping mail chain in the Philippines - initiatives like this. I mean, they should totally use it in their advertising. Here's one story I found on Google. And there are a lot of shoppers who blogged about this too. They have photos posted as well, which is what kept me from posting my own photo of the bag. Haha.

BUT. There seems to be a question of proper disposal still.

On the Wikipedia entry on Biodegradable Plastics, it says

"Proper composting methods are required to efficiently degrade the plastic, which may actually contribute to carbon dioxide emissions."

Okay, I'd really like to know more about bioplastics and the proper disposal of such. Like, would it better if we use the SM bags to line our trash cans or would that mean it would also end up in landfills and would still not be decomposed as fast as literature says it should? I'd rather not research much on it right now though. At least not now. So if you have any useful links that can tell me more about this, be sure to send it over?

I appreciate that SM is taking steps to address the problem of environmental degradation, at no obvious added cost for the consumers. Maybe Robinson's and Ayala Malls will follow suit? They should also encourage buyers to bring their own reusable bags.

CSI: Worrick

2008-06-30T03:13:00.003+08:00

I just watched an episode from the latest season of CSI, and though there was no crying or shouting, I felt like it was one of the most emotional episodes I've seen of the show. Granted, I hadn't seen what happened to Sarah earlier on in the season and I'd have to hunt those episodes down right after this post, but I was so engrossed today.

Bullet wound/s through the neck - will Worrick survive that? That's got to be tough. I was hoping that Nick would come out of the diner and see the undersheriff (from afar even) leaving the scene and then he notices Worrick slumped on the wheel. At least that way Worrick has a chance to survive?

I can't explain how I was feeling, you know? I'm not exactly a big fan of CSI, I watch on and off and I don't really care if I miss episodes (seeing as I don't know what has happened to Sarah). But it's just...

Worrick can't really be written of can he? He's gone through so much to keep his job as CSI. But I must admit, I saw it coming. There was a bittersweet vibe as they left the diner one by one. I thought it would happen as soon as he walked out the door. When I saw the under sheriff, that was it.

Anyway, wouldn't it be wonderful to work with people who truly cared about you? People who will hold no judgment and will look for that which will prove your innocence when you are being misjudged by others. They really pulled together for Worrick there. Would my colleagues pull together for me like that? Would yours?

Anyway, CSI New York is up and they're dealing with James Bond wannabe thieves. Gotta pay attention to that.

Attention: RANTING ahead

2008-06-28T19:23:00.003+08:00

Alfred was supposed to take me to the market today. I wanted to look for materials for a project I want to work on, including materials to make my own glass bead magnets. It didn't happen.

One of my former agents who happens to be his drinking buddy rendered his last day at work last night and so they and a bunch of other guys went out for booze after shift. I understand that and all, but he was the one who promised we'd go today. And it isn't as if he'd have time tomorrow either. He has a family thing to go to since his brother's leaving to work abroad in a few days. I wouldn't bet on Monday either.

Sometimes even when I feel like ranting about things like this (him not following through on something) I want to kick myself in the butt. After all, I don't have to let him ruin my plans. I should be capable of going my own way if I really have to. I mean, he doesn't always have to be around to escort me. There are also several other people I can ask to go with on outings like what I had intended earlier.

But, he's the only one I feel comfortable with for what I had planned out for today. I'm out on a specific mission and I would need his input.

Still. It's not as if I couldn't do it on my own.

I hate that I'm not really as independent as I believe myself to me. It's like I'm all talk, but when it comes right down to it, I can't do it. I can't do anything.

That's it. Whether anyone's going with me or not, I will go out tomorrow.

Okay, I won't exactly be going to Divisoria or Binondo on my own, but I will go somewhere else that I can navigate on my own.

Fused Plastic Bags

2008-06-25T01:54:00.002+08:00

Okay, I will admit it. I just had to turn the computer on before I went to work this (or yesterday) afternoon, and do a little more browsing. While going through the beautiful handmade products over at Etsy, I got several ideas and set out to learn what I could about them.

I saw a store that sold bags made from recycled plastic bags so I wanted to find out how those were done. I also remembered a comment on a blog post I read about a quilt made from coffee cup sleeves (amazing work). It was about fusing plastic and using that to water-proof the quilt so it can actually be usable. That led me to searching the net for fusing plastic bags.

It appears to be a very simple process. I can do it. I want to do it. But I have no idea what to make. You know, I wouldn't know what to use the fused plastic fabric for. The different sites showcase various uses for it, but not one thing that I would really want to make for myself or others that I know would be used everyday. Know what I mean? Ahh, me and my ideas. I really should have a partner in crime who is far more creative or artsy than I am. :)

If you're interested, head on to Etsy Labs for the simple tutorial, and you can check out this short video too.

Verabear the Social (green) Entrepreneur

2008-06-25T01:41:00.005+08:00

Envirosax really had me inspired. It's a great concept and I love that it has designs and comes in colors that make it look cool to bring your own shopping bag. I mentioned in a previous post how I agree that it is indeed a step in the right direction. The only thing that would make it even better (and cheaper) would be if the product was sourced and made locally. No more jet fuel to take it to the Philippines too.

I broached the possibility of producing and selling reusable shopping totes to my boyfriend, and briefly to my dad. They said it is a good idea. I hope Alfred doesn't forget that he promised to help me find the materials and assist me in my attempt to make them. As far as I know, there are no products like it in the Philippines. The canvass bags really just won't do because they are bulky and this kind of bag would appeal as a second (or third) bag that one can carry along with them everyday. The bayong wouldn't fit in my purse so that's no competition.

I'm thinking that sellers like Bags in the City and the Multiply community in the Philippines will help me sell these. I actually am excited. Perhaps finally, I've found a way to redeem my social conscience and still earn on the side. Maybe in the future I will enable others to create and earn for themselves too. All while helping contribute to a greener Philippines.

Me and my dreams.

Inspiring to Create.

2008-06-24T18:22:00.000+08:00

There is so much creativity in the world.

I visited the IkeaHacker on Monday night, and it led to me to this site and then finally to Etsy.
I saw so many handmade products that I wish I had thought of doing, some I would want to buy, and some I would love to learn how to make. But this, well, I KNOW I can't ever make anything like this (click on the image and visit iPAPERCUT's shop):

The closest that I would get to anything like this, would be the papercut snowflakes we used to make as kids. :)

From ColorMeBella's blog, what really prompted me to follow the links to Etsy was her attempt at making Marble Glass Bead Magnets. They don't cost much to purchase and ship and would make awesome whatever presents to friends and family and is okay for both young and old (whatever presents for me means whatever the occasion is). I was contemplating purchasing several sets from different sellers but it would also be neat to try making them myself (if I have the skills required to make them, that is). Trusty Google led me to links that will probably allow to me get this project going. I'd have to find out next if I can source materials easily (so far my chances look bleak). :(

Having taken a break from making truffles has had me thinking about another possible social entrepreneurial project. I am not yet sure if it will actually take off but I hope that it does. I want to keep it with the family for now, since nothing's been drawn up yet anyway. I will blog about it eventually - when it happens, or when it flops. ;)

It's my mom's birthday, by the way. Happy Birthday Mom! :)

Weekend with Frank (the Typhoon)

2008-06-23T17:28:00.009+08:00

After 36 hours of no TV, electric fans, computer and Internet - we are back online. Warning: extremely long post. You gotta give it to me, I itched to post!

Tropical Storm Frank changed course and hit Manila directly on Saturday night/Sunday morning. Alfred and I left work together and were both surprised at the strength of the winds and the rain that welcomed us as the glass doors of the building opened to let us out.

As the cab took a right on our street, it was so dark - there was no electricity in our neighborhood but those living right across the creek from us still had their lights on. Since the typhoon had cooled the house, we didn't mind not having electricity, we did hope that power would be restored when we awoke. It was not to be.

At 3PM, we went down to eat and then confirmed that not only was power still out, but that my grandpa's house had already been flooded though the water was already receding. My nephews had spent the day with my mom and dad and they even ate our share of lunch. Their moms and dads were already scrubbing their floors when I went out to check on them and the flood waters were already outside our gates. Our house was only built 6 years ago and the floor was elevated to the highest flood level recorded in this area, so we were safe from the flooding. My brother and his girlfriend got off work in the morning but were not able to come home because it was already flooded. They spent the day at Trinoma and were only able to come home at around 4PM when the water cleared.

Though it was still raining, the wind had died down and it was evident that the worst was over. We had also hoped that it meant that power would be restored very soon.

We had planned on malling because Alfred was on leave for Sunday night. We had not been to the mall since he moved to the night shift, and we were both itching to check out some shops. Off we went as soon as the water receded back to the creek and out of the road. We had to walk on the rip-rap though to avoid the stinky mud that was left by the flood. I had to concentrate on avoiding so much as glancing at the water lest I'd feel like falling into it. Eventually I asked Alfred to walk beside me on the sidewalk instead of behind me just so he could hold my hand. Haha.

Getting a cab was easy and so we were in Cubao in no time. The weather was conducive for a cup of coffee so we had some with muffins before we set off window shopping. When we finally went up to Gateway, we hit the shoe stores first but I didn't find anything I really wanted. Next stop was Fully Booked - since seeing it in Yummy mag, I've wanted to purchase an Envirosax and so I did.
This is how my lovely bag looks like and I am totally bummed out that I can't show you the pic of Alfred modeling the bag for me last night. After purchasing the bag, I met him at the mall's lounge and I went in to take a pee, leaving him with the rest of our stuff. When I came out, he had already unfurled the bag and put my purse in it. I also actually used the bag for shopping too. We went back in to Fully Booked and I finally got the sequel to the only Garth Nix book I've ever read, Sabriel. This one's titled Lirael and it's the first brand new book I've bought this year. I've just been buying previously owned books, remember? I also refused the Body Shop paper bag for my purchases and just plopped them in my reusable shopping bag. :)

Speaking of Body Shop purchases. White Musk is my new favorite scent and I love how the Chiffon Sheer Body Mist is so light - it feels soft, smells pretty, and you won't feel sticky when you spray it on. Mom had it and I just had to get one for myself too! I also bought a gift box that had small bottles of White Musk Sumptuous Silk Shower Gel and Smooth Satin Body Lotion. Body yum! (the shimmer fragrance in the picture is on my wish list)

I also asked the attendant if they still collected the empty bottles of their products and she mentioned that they still do and they returned them to the factory, but there was no promo for it, meaning I won't get anything in return if I took the bottles back. I don't care. Knowing that I returned those plastic bottles for recycling is enough for me.

Alfred has been wanting to checkout the Adidas sale since he heard about at the start of the month, so the Adidas shop right next to Body Shop was one of our stops. He didn't see any of the shoes he wanted on sale but he did see some jackets that he has been wanting to buy since time immemorial (of course he will only be buying one, if he actually gets to buy any). We'll probably go to Trinoma next weekend (after payday) because he wants to checkout the stocks there too.

Last stop before having dinner was grocery shopping and of course we came prepared with the reusable canvass bag. I restrained myself from buying anything unnecessary and I really do congratulate myself for it. :) After all our purchases were tallied I found that I had enough receipts to get a ShopWise card and earn points. The system was offline though, probably because of the intermittent power outages.

After dinner, we were confronted with a challenge - transport. There was a long queue waiting for cabs outside the grocery and after waiting in line for about 5 minutes and seeing no taxis, we decided to wait somewhere else. Out came my jacket (with hood) and our big umbrella and we walked towards Gateway. After another 15 minutes of waiting and only one other couple getting a cab we decided to move on to another stop, and then another. When we least expected to get a cab while walking towards the main road to just get public transport, we got one. :)

As we approached E.Rodriguez, we were hopeful because there were lights on the street and establishments. As we turned right at Sunny Side Drive and then through the streets of our barangay, there was hope because they too had power. Sadly - our street was still cloaked in darkness. Yes, just our street.

And I could not sleep. It wasn't hot, it was still raining a bit and it was still quite cool. There were a few mosquitoes buzzing around but they weren't bothering me - afraid I'd whack them I guess. But while Alfred was sound asleep, I couldn't. When he woke up, I was just drowsing off. Haha.

I had to call Meralco several times over the evening, early morning, and yes, until this afternoon, to follow up on the reactivation of our service. I swear, between me, my cousins an uncle, I can't count the number of times we've called their customer service hotline 16211. We understand that it's because of the storm and that they have to address consumers from all over the Metro. But we didn't even get an explanation for why were the only street that had no power for more than 24 hours already!

What's worse is that the first time I followed up on my initial report, they said that a crew was sent over and was already at the site - and since my report was specific to this street, naturally that's where I'd assume they'd be. We waited another hour, then two. Nothing. When we called back, the feedback was that power was restored. Well, duh?! Would we be calling back if it was? So they gave us a new report number. This time, response was not as fast. Up until 3PM all they can say when we called was that we were lined up on queue to be addressed. I asked that they trace whoever it was that reported that power was back in our area because obviously they didn't go to the actual street that was reported! After I asked for such a report, on the next call, the rep mentioned that the team didn't actually go to the site, but was just patrolling the area. That's clear misreporting and mishandling of the report! Ugh.

Anyway, I do not want to continue hating the power company Meralco. There's no use, right? I was upstairs when their crew finally came and I heard my cousin welcoming them sarcastically. They (including the kids) were singing the Meralco jingle that one would hear when they call the support number (their hold music). Apparently, they had to disconnect our lines yesterday because there was a tree that was in danger of falling due to the winds. They just didn't come back to fix it right away. Now why didn't they just note that in our reports and told us that in the first place? At least we'd know that they knew the reason why we didn't have power!

Please offer prayers for the victims of the tragedy also caused by typhoon Frank.

Anyhoo... I am off to browse and watch TV and DVDs, and charge my phone, and drink cold water, and just show appreciation for our electricity. Haha. :) Oh I do hope I still get to catch a sale or two in the digi world.

Sharing the Love

2008-06-21T05:11:00.004+08:00

I am honored to be the recipient of this very heartwarming award.

Thank you Tracy!

The rules of this award are: SHARE THE LOVE!!! Share this award with all those blogs out there that you love. All the people who make you smile. All those that make you laugh. All those that make your day. All those that leave uplifting comments on your blog. **All I ask, is that you include a link to this post with the award and ask your recipient to do the same**

Do read Crystal's post and learn about the origin of this award, hopefully it raises your awareness on Organ Donation too. Leave her some love while you're at it. :)

I'm sharing the love to the following:

Tracy (Lovin' you back!)
KimB - The world would be a happier place if more people were like you :)
Ganns - Keep making music that get people closer to the Lord.
Kris - Thank you for sharing your world.
Mec - Hot momma ;)
You (thank you for visiting, and for leaving your footprints)

Ces Drilon has been freed

2008-06-18T01:50:00.004+08:00

*If you don't like the music, please scroll down to my Juday post and click on the Stop button to turn it off. I can't make myself take out the embedded music player altogether. hihi.

Broadcast journalist Ces Oreña-Drilon, her camera man Jimmy Encarnacion, and Professor Octavio Dinampo have been freed by the armed group that held them hostage for 9 days. Another member of their crew was released a few days ago. Read the story from Drilon's network, the ABS-CBN news website.

I heard the radio interview with Senator Loren Legarda, herself a former ABS-CBN broadcaster, as soon as I arrived home at past 12 midnight.

My dad's work takes him to Mindanao (Davao and Cotabato specifically) and he works with NGOs and peace advocates in the area. He mentioned that he has met the Professor who was with Ces Drilon.

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I don't have any other interesting news today, other than I really pigged out and ordered a full meal, plus a side order of Mashed Potatoes (which turned out to be a full serving) and 2 free buttermilk pancakes. I ate at my boss' station while he was out, and one of my colleagues had the same idea so we shared the booth. I shared my mashed taters with him too. As it were, I didn't eat the meal (Eggs Popeye) because I was already full. I brought it home with me and it's in the fridge. I'll heat it for brunch later.

Edit.

What am I saying? No interesting news? But there is!

Just at the stroke of midnight for June 18, I booked 3 roundtrip tickets for Manila-Tagbilaran, Bohol. Yes, we are finally going on the Bohol trip that we thought would never happen. Sadly though, there seems to just three of us going, instead of the 5 that we originally planned for.

The trip was supposed to be this June but we couldn't afford the airfare. Or we could, but then there would be no money left for food, accommodations, and the land trip. My friend casually mentioned Cebu Pacific's low fare promo that was ending at midnight (yes I had to beat it) so I logged on and checked for available flights and coordinated with our friends for their availability.

I am still hoping that Joy would be available on the dates we picked (it's still in September) and that the promo is extended even for just one day so we can get her cheap fare too. Vanette can't come because she won't be able to go on a 2-day straight leave. I was kinda hoping we could work that out too...

Still, we are so psyched about it though it's just me, Alfred, and our friend Tengkie.

This will be my third visit to the province but the first that will be strictly recreational and on my own tab.

We have these, and more, to look forward too (the images are linked to where I got them on the web).

Yummy

2008-06-17T03:45:00.004+08:00

In May, I bought my very first issue of Yummy. I had seen it in stores at least once before but I thought it was an expensive glossy and that it wasn't local. I didn't bother to actually go close to the rack it was on to read anything. So anyway, I saw it at the Ministop in our building that one evening I was in the mood to buy magazines.

I had skimmed through its pages but I had to sit down again today and just really read and savor all that was yummy in there. I had already bought the June issue on Saturday but didn't want to actually start reading that without digesting the previous issue.

I truly enjoyed the magazine and I admit that it has stirred in me some interest in cooking, in a way that no Food Network show has. Haha. In fact, there are a couple of recipes from there that I have resolved to try in the coming months (I can't bring myself to say weeks because I know I won't be able to accomplish much if I do):

The Mango Mousse looks simple so maybe I'd give it a try. How do you puree mango? Do you simply put it in a food processor? I wonder if my chopper will do just the thing.
The Berry Trifle by Aileen Anastacio and/or Christine Jacobs' Chocolate Trifle.
I would definitely want to make the Chicken and Avocado Salad.
Sausage and Baby Potatoes Salad looks like something I would enjoy, and so would Alfred. It's a must try then.
The Asian Chicken Salad looked yummy too, I'm just not too sure about the chillies. I've got to give it a go though.
The Cojunudo is very interesting, if only by the use of quail eggs done sunny style to top everything ala Eggs Benedict.
Alfred mentioned wanting to try stir fry noodles so I am going to suggest he give the Stir Fried Rice Noodles with Pork and Basil a try. Yes, this one's for him. There's a Beef Curry recipe in there that he might just want to try, but I will leave it up to him.
I would be in charge of the Coconut Tapioca Pudding with mango and papaya.
I've never tried baking bread of any sort here at home but I might just start with the Ensaymada that they featured. Good luck.
The Garlic Adobo Flakes Benedict can be a joint project of ours. Alfred can take care of the chicken adobo.
The Mashed Potates in 3 ways must be tried too. We've only had homemade mashed taters a few times because we haven't perfected it. Maybe it's in one of the three recipes. My brother will sure enjoy that.

Aside from the food projects, I also picked up interesting stuff from the mag:

Envirosax - Reusable shopping bags/totes that come with lovely designs are now available in select stores here in the Philippines. I gotta check that out. We have canvass totes here at home that can do the job, but they are quite bulky to take with you and would not fit some of my smaller bags. It would be awesome if even big stores would actually allow the use of these alternatives to their own plastic bags. The next wonderful thing that could happen if bags like these were produced locally. It would be even more meaningful because it meant that the bags did not have to use jet fuel just to get here. But they (the makers of the product) are right, it is a step in the right direction.
The Lung Center Sunday Market - It has been featured in the papers before and my parents have gone there once or twice in the past (a very long time ago), but I've never gone there myself. Since I get off work at about 2AM on Sunday mornings and Alfred logsout a few hours later, it may be a good idea to go one of these Sundays. I'll just show him the pictures of what yummy food we can have there and he would probably say Yes!
Lori Baltazar's food blog Dessert Comes First. She writes beautifully about how she experiences food. I think I should add a different blogroll just for the food blogs I now have on my list.

I can already foresee the glossy mag being worn out over the years (unless my laziness overcomes me) like the recipe books my mom used she used to cook regularly. That's a mark of a good food magazine, in my opinion.

I am so ready to devour the June issue.

On stage

2008-06-16T01:23:00.004+08:00

Lea Salonga's My Life On Stage concert at the PICC was aired on TV tonight and I actually enjoyed watching it.

Two or three weeks ago, they showed the making of Cinderella and I told Alfred that I wanted to go see it at the CCP. I checked out her website and found that the premiere show is in July the 29th and there are still seats available! After seeing her concert tonight, I really do want to go see Cinderella.

I will have to ask a friend though, who may be more familiar with the CCP main theater, on what the best cheap seat would be. I don't want to be at Balcony II and end up not seeing Lea's facial expression. Haha.

I don't think Alfred would want to join me there, I hope he would be interested though. Maybe I'd ask my mom and dad but I don't really want to spend for all three of us. If I sponsor 50% of their tickets, maybe they'd agree. Hmm...

Have I mentioned before in the blog that I used to do theater? Well watching Lea reminds me of how I loved performing. I know I was good too. Haha - you've got to give it to me, I'm very confident. Haha. I wonder if it isn't too late to go back? I think PETA has adult classes... Nah, I wouldn't really.

If Juday can have a slim figure...

2008-06-15T02:29:00.005+08:00

Judy Ann Santos graces the June cover of Cosmopolitan Magazine in the Philippines. Now, I haven't purchased Cosmo in a long time, in fact, I didn't purchase glossy mags for awhile until last month when I got the Metro issue with Kris Aquino in the cover. On the same night, I also picked up my first copy of Yummy magazine (I bought one again today too).

Anyway, I admit, it was Juday that made me buy this month's issue. I'm probably not a true-blue Judy Ann fanatic but I must admit that I find myself liking her more and more as the years go by.

I used to watch her in Ula. On my first summer camp, we were in Tagaytay and we would call out to Ula, ang Batang Gubat while looking out to the lush greens in the mountains. I remember feeling grossed out by her lice shampoo commercial. Hehe. And then, the afternoon soap opera that truly truly made things happen for her - Mara Clara. How old was I then? I don't remember anymore.

I didn't watch any of her movies though, not even when they were showed on TV a year after the big screen release. I didn't particularly like her or her movies before.

The first teleserye I really watched her in was Krystala. At first it was mostly because it was the first new superhero in town that started all the super hero fantaserye we've had since. She had started to slim down by then. Then came her serye with Piolo - now what was the title of that series? The one where their last names are all last names of the Boy Scouts who died in the plane crash (street names in Barangay Laging Handa too). Waaah.

Whatever the title was, I watched that teleserye. I fell in love with Piolo there too. And now, boyfriend and I both love singing one of it's theme songs. This one:

Hay.

I think they had another teleserye before that one (pre-Krystala) but as I said, I was not an avid fan before. I also did not watch her teleseryes with Robin Padilla as her partner. I'm not sure why.

I also watched every episode that I could of her latest soap Ysabella.

Alfred loves watching Tagalog movies over at Cinema One. We always wish for either Aga or Juday flicks. We always enjoy watching those.

So why the sudden fascination with Juday? Is it because I really see the difference in her acting now? Yeah I do, but that's not it.

Is it because she's Ryan Agoncillo's girlfriend/fiance? Uh, so what?

I think, that it's because if Juday can lose significant weight and have a very toned and flawless body - then there's hope for me.

Wahaha.

Oops. Pardon the music stream that automatically plays. Just turn it off. I gotta find the code so that it would only Play when the button is clicked.

Tracy and Peter. Tracy and Peter :)

2008-06-14T10:53:00.003+08:00

The past two evenings, I've had the pleasure of chatting with Tracy (aka lovingsue) through Messenger (she through Yahoo, me through Windows Live). I have never met Tracy in real life, though she lives in the next City (which isn't that far, since this is Metro Manila).

Had we met each other in different circumstances, we probably wouldn't end up as friends. We don't have much in common, though it may not be wise to assume this since I don't know everything about her yet. :) But since we stumbled upon each other in this fun and warm community of digital scrapbooking, we are growing to become just that - friends.

It is wonderful to feel like I knew somebody, in this big wide world of digital scrapbooking. I mean, to really find an enthusiast close to home - that was awesome. And then to connect with her and strike a friendship - doubly awesome.

Only time will tell whether we will continue on with this friendship. :)

Tracy is married to Peter. I mention this because I know another couple with the same names. The thing is, while I know that this Tracy and her hubby are happily married, I know nothing about the other Tracy and Peter that I once knew (except where she works). I have no idea if they are still together or if they ever got married, or what they're doing now.

I used to know them through the NGO we worked with - ECPAT-Philippines. And they introduced me (and my brother) to the world of Rand Al'Thor and Robert Jordan, and Kahlan and Richard of the Sword of Truth. I'd like to think that apart from the working relationship I had with them in the past (shucks, working relationship? I was a teenager then!), that there was friendship too. I guess I wasn't much of a friend though, in hindsight. We didn't part in the best of circumstances. And that's just sad.

Anyway... It's a Saturday, I've got truffles to dip in chocolate and then I've got to head to work in a few hours too. So, tata! :)

P.S. I Love You - the movie

2008-06-10T18:30:00.003+08:00

P.S. I Love You - It's been a while since I watched this movie and yet I can't stop thinking about it. I am also bummed that boyf has not made an effort to watch it.

The first 13 minutes of the movie is definitely the best scene of all. The opening music sets the mood, not for the explosive scene, but for the overall tone of the movie. It has all the tendencies of becoming very emotionally heavy, and yet there are so many light moments too that make up for it.

I love how Holly is so worried and so serious and Jerry always has a joke to throw back.

I've got to warn you though, this isn't much of a movie review but more a comparison to my own love life.

What if this is it, Jerry?

There were times when I thought that way too. What it this is all there is to it? What if nothing else is ever going to happen in my life?

I know what I want because I have it in my hands right now.

I think I've heard Alfred say something like this before. Or at least he used to. And I swear I didn't like that facet of him, because I've always felt that he should always aspire for something more, to let himself dream and want to achieve something else. I mean, yes, be happy with what you have and accept your circumstances, but there's nothing wrong with striving to get more in life too. But now? I can honestly say that too. I have what I want and I am not asking for anyone else. I am no longer looking beyond or wishing that I fell in love with a more accomplished and career-oriented person. With all sincerity, I am happy with who I have.

And towards the end of their fight, how Jerry left, and then came back and asked:

Are we finished now Love? Can I come back?

And then Holly ran towards him and they made out. So hot! Alfred and I are so like that!

We're not a mistake just because we don't have any money.

So true of us too. We might not have the money to have our wedding now. But heck, I'll probably agree to forgo my dream wedding if I really had to. All that really matters is that our families and friends can be there and be witness as we say our vows in front of God. We also don't have money to do all the things I wish we would be able to do, but... So what?

And we are gonna last. You know how I know? Because I still wake up every morning and the first thing I want to do is see your face.

Aaaahhhh...

I get so afraid sometimes our life's never gonna start.

We're already in our life, it's already started. This is it. You have to stop waiting.

I have stopped waiting. We may not be married yet, and not officially living together, but I know we've already started living the lives we both wanted for ourselves. If we haven't yet, then we definitely are starting. We are so done with waiting.

You've got to have a plan Jerry.

Haven't I said that countless times too? We do have a plan, and we've set it in motion. But as I also mentioned, we are no longer just waiting for things to happen. You can't let happiness take a backseat because it isn't in the plan yet.

Apart from the opening, Jerry's funeral is also something. And the planning that went into all the letters and the trip to Ireland. Jerry did take care of Holly, even if it meant that it was his last act. Oh and Holly's karaoke stunt, that was something. I wonder when Alfred would take the mic and sing out loud too? He never does.

Holly had issues that needed sorting out even while Jerry was alive. I have my own issues too. I just hope it doesn't take a death of a loved one to overcome those issues.

I know I've found my Jerry.

I really did relate to the story in more ways than one. I am definitely going to look for a copy of Ahern's book. And the soundtrack too.

Oh, I know I said it before, someone get me an Irish man! Wahahaha, peace babe! :)

P.S. I love you

Alfred's 29th Birthday - June 8

2008-06-09T22:14:00.005+08:00

This is Alfred's Photo Mosaic. He gave me his answers to the questions and I ran the search and picked the photos from Flickr.

He turned 29 yesterday - Happy Birthday babe! :)

We spent the entire day with his family yesterday, something that we've never done before ever. So his birthday was also the day I got to meet his entire family (including cousins and nephews and nieces).

On my way to their home in Pasay, I bought a cake (ube, by their request) and my dad was kind enough to drive me to the store and then to the train station. Alfred was supposed to pick me up at the Taft station and we would walk to their house but he wasn't there yet when I arrived. I called him and I got the feeling there was going to be an entourage coming to pick me up. I wasn't wrong.

His two nieces, Ena and Pauline were there, plus his nephew Lance whom I've met and spent some time with before. So I met the two giggly girls and they were really nice sweet ones. At their home, I met his two older brothers and the girls' mom. They were all really warm and welcoming.

So we had lunch (his mom cooked Bulalo, Dinuguan, Hamonado and Pancit - all were very very yummy, no wonder he has a tummy like that). The plan was to have lunch there, and then go our own way after. But since I felt like they went out of their way to spend time with their Uncle Dodong and to meet me, why not spend more time with the kids? I asked if they wanted to come with us and see a movie - they did! We went to SM Mall of Asia and saw Kung Fu Panda. It's a hilarious movie, comparable to Shrek! Haha :)

After the movie, we headed back to their house because a cousin was there waiting. I met him before but that was the first time I met his girlfriend. Later on, this cousin's older sister, her husband and two teenage kids (boys) came along too. It was a full house, literally.

There were lots of laughter and cases of beer. I drank with them too though I'm not a real beer drinker. There were lots of stories to share and to catch up on. We ended up staying until midnight.

I know he's very happy, and I'm happy that he is.

Credits for the Mosaic photos:
1. King Alfred's Tower, 2. Chicken Adobo Bento, 3. My Old School, 4. one headlight, 5. Kianna Dior @ AVN Expo 2006, Las Vegas, 6. beer belly, 7. Paradise, 8. Leche Flan, 9. flambé, 10. "Norouz" is coming!..., 11. These little piggies, 12. Blue Devil

About Me Photo Mosaic!

2008-06-09T19:43:00.003+08:00

Here's a photo mosaic for a meme I found over at Dee's blog. I had fun playing along and if you decide to make one, show it to me okay? If you're wondering why the last block is empty, it's just because I don't have a flickr account and a search for verabear yielded no results. Hehe.

The instructions are below if you decide to make one too!

Credits:
1. beautiful vera, 2. choco truffles, 3. St Joseph's, 4. The Love Trail - Violet, 5. Brad Pitt, Maddox Jolie-Pitt, Angelina Jolie, 6. Coke Club, 7. Windmills, Oia, Greece, 8. Miniature Cakes, 9. The Lawyer's House10. Not available11. Not available

The concept:
1. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
2. Using only the first page of results, and pick one image.
3. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into Big Huge Lab’s Mosaic Maker to create a mosaic of the picture answers.

The questions:
1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food? right now?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. What is your favorite drink?
7. What is your dream vacation?
8. What is your favorite dessert?
9. What do you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. What is one word that describes you?
12. What is your flickr name?

What an awesome kick-off for a long weekend!

2008-06-07T04:49:00.004+08:00

A colleague from work, Kiss, wrote a very flattering review for the choco truffles I've been making. I love getting comments about what I make, because it affirms it for me. You know what I mean? I make them not so much because I want to make money out of them, but because I truly enjoy doing so. Knowing that they are appreciated is really the icing on the cake. :)

I'm already thinking of variations to the Oreo Truffles. I will be trying some things out during my long weekend, which officially started at 4AM.

Yes, I have a long weekend - 4 days - ahead of me. I usually have Sundays and Mondays off work but I volunteered to go to work this Monday since one of my colleagues was on vacation (and she still isn't back). To compensate, I'm off for Saturday. Then my regular off is here - Sun-Mon, and then I availed of a one day vacation for Tuesday so we can also attend a book launch.

The downside is that I have all this time, but I'm not going anywhere. I really was looking forward to finally going to Bolinao with friends. We've been planning a vacation for the longest time but it hasn't materialized yet. This time last year, we were in Sagada exploring the cave and going up and down mountains just to see the waterfalls (I wanted to provide a link to my Live Space album but the site is down). Anyway, the vacation may still become a reality, as long as everyone's still interested. There's still some sun left.

I have not been blogging much lately, and that includes blog-hopping. Part of it is because my PC is sick. Sick, I tell you. Just today, it took me almost an hour just to wait for it to boot up properly. I had to turn it on and off countless times.

Boyf has a pretty good idea what's causing it but we've been delaying dealing with it because I didn't want to spend for the computer again when I haven't even paid for the monitor in full. Since I received my leave conversions though, we're thinking of using some of that money for this. I was hoping it would be for our vacation though (specially since our birthdays are coming up fast).

Hmm.. Blogger now has a blogroll feature and I am going to give that a try in a bit. My blog list and blogroll are both getting longer and longer I'm not sure I want to keep both on the sidebar looking that way. I do like seeing the blinkies though. Oh well.

My dad just woke up and apparently, we're going swimming today! My mom's office has an annual summer outing and they get to take their families. This year it happens today. They didn't tell me beforehand probably because I'm supposed to be working Saturdays.

This means I won't be getting any significant sleep this morning, I don't really mind though! My nephew - if you know me or have been reading up on my blogs, you would be able to guess which one - Esban is of course tagging along.

Okay, I gotta stop and get some blog-hopping done before I take a shower or a quick nap.

Love, Dolly Parton and an Award

2008-06-02T00:08:00.008+08:00

What is Love? What a grade school slum book question. Hehe.

Ganns tagged me with this meme (weeks ago) where one is supposed to define love without using cliches. You should read his definition(s). Sweet. The day I read his post, I remembered feeling so loved just the night before.

Alfred spends a few nights every week here. We've found that that's the best way we could spend quality time with each other without being grouchy with each other. Anyway, as we tucked in to sleep (actually he already was asleep), I complained about having been bitten by a mosquito on my elbow. He reached over and scratched it for me. Aaaww. Haha. Oh yes, he was still sleeping. And I didn't ask him.

So what's love? Love is willingly going out of your way to do something for another. Um-hm. But it's when you don't feel that it's an inconvenience, when it's not being done out of obligation, when you do it with all of your being and there's no conflict in or outside of you. Yup, that's love.

Is that a cliche? Anyhow, I am tagging Kiss, Tracy and Dauphine. I hope you ladies play along!

Anyway, I signed up for the Live Search Club. Okay, it's not a real club. There are tons of games there that are powered by Windows Live Search. You earn tickets while playing, and those tickets can be redeemed for real prices. I've got my sights on a Kitchen Aid mixer or a 30Gb Zune player. I don't know if I'll actually get either one though. Haha. While playing the games on there, I thought about how cool it would be if my nieces would just play those games instead of browsing through Friendster. It would be a much better use of their time. I learned a lot playing!

One of the games is Celebrity Reveal. There are five trivia questions that would serve as clue as to who is the featured celebrity. One of those was Dolly Parton. Through the questions, and the search results that came out in Live Search, I learned about her Imagination Library. It's really a cool project for children's literacy. They mail free books to kids every month, from birth up to their fifth birthday. What a great way to encourage reading and learning. It started in her hometown but it's now all over the US, and also in Canada and the UK.

I hope there is something like that here in the Philippines. I wonder how I can start something similar? If I win the lottery, I swear, I will start something like it. Makes me want to sit with like-minded friends and brainstorm about a program we can actually make happen.

Reminded me of the pre-school classes we taught as part of a child rights and abuse prevention program we planned and implemented years back. The concept was about the importance of education in keeping kids away from abuse and exploitation. I miss my past life sometimes. :)

Okay, on to another tag. Dette awarded this to me, and Tracy did too months ago!

It's the Arte Y Pico Award.
Art y Pico Award Rules:

Pick 5 blogs that you feel deserve this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also for contributing to the blogging atmostphere (regardleess of what language).
Each award should have the name of the author with a link to their blog.
Award winners to post the award with the name and link to the blog of the person who gave them the award
Please include a link to the "Arte y Pico" blog so that everyone will know where the award came from.

I hereby bestow this award to Vicki, Susan of Raspberry Road, Jen, Brandy of Mega-Doodle Inspired and KimB. All awesome digital scrapbooking artists :)

Cake Mania 2 and Cake Mania Back to the Bakery

2008-05-29T04:18:00.005+08:00

I've been quite busy - playing Cake Mania! I finished Cake Mania 1 a long time ago and didn't get to the sequels until the other day. From the time I downloaded Cake Mania - Back to the Bakery, I played for HOURS stopping only for dinner! I slept very late and then played again in the morning so I finished the game already. I tell you, I enjoyed it. Haha :)

If only baking in real life was THAT easy huh? These days making choco truffles is what keeps me happy :) Seriously, there's no stress when I make those, and they are so yummy.

Team Number One

2008-05-26T00:45:00.003+08:00

Wow, the week just went by in a snap.

I had a really good week at work, seriously. Yesterday, I spent half the day filing my coaching forms on each agent folder. It was tedious because I had allowed a whole month's worth of documentation to accumulate for all eleven of them. But it was light, easy work.

My team has been having a phenomenal performance in the last 3 weeks. I am very proud of them. To think that 60% of them are newbies to the account and yet we're number one. That is truly a remarkable achievement. Even if things don't work out as well for the fourth week (but I'm crossing my fingers that it still does) it would still have been a magnificent run.

This tears my heart really.

You see, I have a chance to go back and do what I've always loved doing. This whole year that I've been a team manager, I've found myself looking at training classes and wish I was the one teaching them. I've looked at trainers and have been silently critical of them. Often I catch myself thinking if I was ever like this or that as a trainer. Was I slow to react? Was I full of crap?

Don't get me wrong, I have adjusted to my TM duties well and I love what I do. But I guess that training has always been my first love and you know what they say about that.

Nothing has been decided anyway. At the very last minute, I turned in my application for the training post that was opened, but I'm still giving myself a lot of room to think things through and weigh my choices. I am just greatful that I work with people and am in an environment that allows me these liberties to do what I really want to do.

On an entirely different matter...

Ka Bel was in the news again today (or was it yesterday's paper?). He was refused welcome and blessing in Roman Catholic churches in his hometown in Legazpi, Albay. Their reason? He was in the Aglipayan Cathedral in Manila for a few days. They claimed that that was a sign that he was of a different religion and they have nothing to do with funerals for people of a different belief. One - Ka Bel is Catholic. In fact, he and his wife renewed their marriage vows for their 50th wedding anniversary at a Catholic Church. Two - Ka Bel's funeral was held at the Aglipay church because that church is known to be supportive of the labor leader's causes. Three - How medieval of that bishop in charge there. Ugh.

On TV right now is Charisse Pempengco's new song and music video. It isn't bad. I think it's an original this time and not a cover of an older woman's song. Good for her. I didn't see the title though. I'm guessing it's "It could only get better."

On a more personal topic this time...

I calculated my expenses for the week and found out that I have spent WAY TOO MUCH than I should have. Seriously. Even without Zune's doctor fees, it's still way over budget. Talk about living beyond one's means. Major ugh.

Oh, have you seen the latest Indiana Jones flick? I don't think I'll be seeing it in the cinema. What with all the cost cutting I need to do. I'd probably wait to see it on DVD. Bummer.

7 more facts about me (verabear)

2008-05-23T04:29:00.007+08:00

I've been tagged by Angelica and Kimberly, who are both digiscrap designers. I was so surprised to see comments from both of them about the tag, I never would have expected it. This was the same tag that I did for Vicki awhile back, but I figured there's gotta be more than 7 random facts about me right? Wouldn't hurt to have another go! hehe.

1) Link your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2) Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3) Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs (now this is the part I will be having a hard time with)
4) Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Here are 7 more random facts about me :

1. It is 3:05 AM as I start with this list and I am watching a movie online. It's PS I Love You and it is an awesome movie. I love it! I cannot believe I didn't go see it in the cinema. The first 13 minutes - wow! I am adding it to my list of favorite movies. Oh - I want me an Irish man! Hahaha :)
--> First random fact: PS I Love You is one of my favorite movies.

2. I had intended to look into the ad sites I signed up for in the past two days so I could carefully place them in my blogs, and consider how I can place them in my verabear.com site too. See, I seriously want to make extra money with all the time I spend online. I can't for the life of me design anything for digital scrapbooking, so I had to find something else. Hopefully that really takes off soon.
--> Second random fact: I'm into making money online.

3. I think my boyfriend is really serious about marrying me in June of next year. I told him I won't be making any plans until I get a ring. That was just a joke of course. We'll see. ;)
--> Third fact: Plans to get married are underway. No one else knows but us. And YOU :)

4. I submitted an application at work today for a different position than the one I currently hold. If I get it, I'd be going back to training people - something I've really loved doing when I was doing it. I knew it was something I really wanted. But honestly, it was tearing me apart this afternoon deciding whether to turn in my papers or not. I've grown attached to my current team, it's as if I don't really want to leave them. And for once, I seem to be somewhere where things are going along just as planned. Oh, we'll see.
--> Fourth fact: I think my calling is somewhere along the lines of education -- in teaching, facilitating learning, training. My previous job was in this line too.

5. I will not make a very good housewife - I'm not good at cleaning house, I don't cook. Both could change though. That's the fifth fact -- I am not domesticated.

6. There were photography classes in a Summer Workshop I attended when I was 8 years old. I believe I took really awesome pictures that summer. I wonder where those are. I don't remember any of the things I learned then.
--> Fact number 6: I am a frustrated photograher. Hehe.

7. I secretly wish I was in Kris Aquino's staff. I think she shares her blessings with her. Kris is a local celebrity. Read her Wikipedia article to know more. I am not happy that there is no single site that features her beautifully!

That took a long time to list. Weird. I hope you learned some new things about me :)
Here's the very hard part, tagging 7 other people. Here goes (but going to their blogs and telling them they're tagged will have to wait until tomorrow, I'm pooped!):

Ganns
Dette
Dee (oh I hope you can find time for this)
Hummie
Arianne
Dauphine
Ugh. I am still one tag short!

RIP Ka Bel

2008-05-22T03:14:00.003+08:00

Rest in Peace Ka Crispin Beltran.

He is gone, but his spirit, his fight lives on.

Ka Bel died in a freak accident but I would not go as far as to say it was a senseless death. At 6 in the morning, he was up on his roof doing his job as the man of the house - checking on the roof that is supposed to protect his family from the coming rains. He is a Congressman, a Party List representative. Seated in Congress in behalf of the many workers, laborers and marginalized Filipino. Yet he has no qualms about going up the roof (with no safety equipment) to tend to what needs fixing.

What does that tell you about this man? How many Congressmen do you know who would do that (without cameras following them, that is)?

Since he first walked the halls of Congress as a lawmaker years ago, he's been tagged the poorest solon. That did not change until his death.

He may not have died alongside his comrades during a rally; he may not have been shot dead; he did not have to suffer in a prison cell in the last days of his life, yet his death is just as meaningful.

We surely can learn a lot from this old man's life, and the public officials specifically, can learn a lot from his death.

I first heard about Ka Bel and his struggles as a child. Though I did not have the privilege of meeting and working with him, I too mourn his passing.

Others have written about knowing and working with him, and remembering his legacy. If you want more, choose from a collection of links.

Hearing Mass. EcoWise at ShopWise. and a Boodle feast - Part II

2008-05-20T10:56:00.002+08:00

So hearing mass was the first part of the Sunday night. After the priest dismissed the congregation, Alfred and I parted with Joy. I would have wanted to take Joy up on her invitation to her new apartment and have some pasta that she prepared that afternoon. We had to turn her down though, for two reasons: Alfred really really wanted to eat at a particular restaurant, and we had some grocery shopping to do.

We've been to ShopWise several times already, mostly when we needed to buy Pedigree or Alpo for Zune. There was a also a time that we bought vegetables and fruits there for my week's diet. I've seen the banners and adverts they have regarding their reusable eco-friendly bags and always thought that that was a fantastic idea. I never bought one before because we had no real intention to make ShopWise shopping a regular activity. Last night, we decided to buy the bag because, well, as it turns out, we do visit ShopWise almost every other week.

I took pictures of the bag but I'm having a hard time uploading using my mobile phone. Argh.

So we got the bag and the cashier started filling it up with our items (it's a big bag) and then I read about the reusable bag and their double points promo. For ShopWise card holders, much like SM Advantage, you get points for your purchases. For people using the bag, they get double points for all items that fit in the bag. So the reusable bag has three purposes : 1) reduce the amount of plastic used by Shopwise customers; 2) have a sturdy big bag for your grocery items; and, 3) earn double points for your Wise card.

I really just bought the bag for it's eco-friendly purpose. I've also been declining plastic bags from Ministop, often just carrying or pocketing the stuff I purchase. I also wish they would allow us to bring our own canvas bags when shopping at SM. Or perhaps SM should have their green bags available for clothing purchases, etc., and not just for use in their Supermarkets and with conditions at that.

Anywho, we've been really conscious about plastics and waste lately, it figured in quite a number of our recent conversations. I've mentioned that the Choco Oreo Truffles ala Bakerella are a big hit and people are actually ordering it from me now. I can't help but think about how wasteful the packaging is. Yes, you've guessed it, it is plastic. So Alfred and I were thinking of alternatives and paper bags just don't seem a good idea so we got the microwavable plastic stuff (more expensive than the ones I've used) and then we'll just put tags on it to encourage buyers to reuse the container or give it back to us to take a small amount off their next purchase. We'll see how that goes.

Finally, we could sit down for dinner after running around that massive grocery store. Alfred originally wanted to eat at Hap Chan but I wanted a Boodle feast at Seafood Island. Either way we would be spending around 500 pesos for the meal. Just as before, we thought about how gluttonous we looked ordering a feast for 3-4 persons, while there was just 2 of us. We looked at a family of about 3 adults and 2-3 kids who also ordered one of the boodle feasts. Are they having the 3-4 version, or the 5-6? Hopefully the latter. In fairness, they had additional orders.

Hearing Mass. EcoWise at ShopWise. and a Boodle feast - Part I

2008-05-19T16:56:00.009+08:00

I have Sundays off but boyfriend doesn't so I usually spend the day here at home and wait for him to get off at between 5 and 7 PM. At around lunch time, we would start IM'ing back and forth - what are we going to do, where are we going?

Yesterday, we decided to hear mass. Now, this is not something we normally do. In our 8 years together, we've attended mass together only a few times. When we started going out, he professed to be an atheist. He was going through personal struggles at that time and I'd like to think that I helped him turn back and rediscover his faith. No, I did not bring him to Church - not to mine, not anywhere. I gave him a wooden cross instead (rather lent him) and told him he could always hold on to it. Maybe we prayed together too. Okay, I also remember saying a silent prayer for him every night we were out together in the garden...

After some time and many long discussions with his closest friends who also did not believe in established religion, he just started hearing mass again.

I'm pretty open-minded about different faiths and religion. I grew up mingling with other kids from different churches - my ecumenical circle :) I owe that to the fact that our church was a member of, and my mom worked at, the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP).

Anyway, since highschool I had it in my mind to visit other churches - a different kind of visita iglesia. At the time, one of my friends was a Catholic who went to Wednesday Novenas and my best friend was a Christian (she wasn't very active at church though at the time), so that for me offered opportunities to put that plan in to place. I was only able to attend a Sunday Service at my best friend's church once. I grew sleepy though. The youth service she invited me to some time later was more my thing. It was an afternoon event and she played the guitar. I actually enjoyed that. Sadly, boyfriend did not dig the praise music some of them were playing, he said he felt it was a little too loud. That's when I realized how he's not ready for that, he was raised and educated in Catholic institutions and though he respects other people's beliefs, he isn't ready for that much immersion.

Anyway, yesterday we decided to go hear Mass. There were no afternoon/Vespers mass in our Church at this time of year so I had to ask around for schedules at Catholic churches nearby. Because dining was also on boyfriend's mind and I was thinking of grocery shopping for Zune and oreo truffle ingredients, we decided to hear mass in Cubao. I asked my friend Vanette for the schedules in the Church near her apartment and asked her to tag along too if she wanted. It was my friend Joy who lived a few blocks away from the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish that took us up on the invitation.

I've only ever seen that Church from the outside a few times so I was surprised by its magnificence when we entered its doors. There was a lot of people too.

Sadly, I wasn't inspired. There was no misalet so I couldn't follow the readings and I could barely understand what was being read. I did try to pay attention to the Gospel reading and the succeeding sermon. The choir's singing was booming through the speaker system so I wasn't sure if the rest of the congregation was singing along, I know Joy and Alfred were, and I was trying too. Again, there was no misalet with the songs so I couldn't easily follow along. The only familiar song was what they sang at the end.

Everyone else was intent in their personal conversations with the Lord, I guess that's what is paramount. Sometimes I just feel that Sunday Mass is for celebrating your faith with others - it's a group event. If I was to have personal time with the Lord, I didn't have to be in Church with a hundred other people to do that. It reminded me of how family fits in my idea of church and Sunday services.

We didn't line up to receive communion too, which I've always found odd with some people.

Don't get me wrong, I am in no way trying to pass judgment on anyone or anybody, understand that I am searching for an outlet too and trying to understand myself and my faith.

Praise and Worship

2008-05-18T13:54:00.004+08:00

For my TT a post down I listed the things/thoughts I have wanted to post about but have not gotten to. Today, as I was bloghopping (late TT visits and going through my blogrolls), I chanced upon http://www.gannsdeen.com/ and read beyond his TT post.

At first I only thought of linking to his page for his David Cook Always be my baby stream because although I followed AI this season, I missed the Mariah episode. I am rooting for Cook. Archuleta is adorable but really, Cook has got it.

Then I read about the best decision he's ever made.

Here's item 5 on my TT: My thoughts on being a non-active Church member who does not attend Sunday mass (or any mass for that matter). I specifically want to dig through my thoughts and feelings about what I can do to be part of either the Youth movement or Sunday School. I know I have something to contribute, I'm just not making time.

See the connection? Okay, maybe you don't because it's all still in my head, and in my heart. This piece is probably just going to expose one part of it. I know there's more.

It started with the music. He's TT was about Christian songs that you should hear. One of which was his own composition. I listened to it and liked what I heard. Understand too that's it's early afternoon here and the toob is tuned to ASAP and they just had their GaryV 25th anniversary tribute/celebration. I have been singing along and my parents have had no choice but endure the sound of my voice. Hehe.

I went to an all-girl Catholic high school. Whether or not you were Catholic, you had to be around to attend the mass that would be celebrated every month or for every special occasion. I seriously didn't mind because the services were much like our own Church services, they provided an opportunity NOT to be studying, and I liked singing along and learning their Church songs. That was really what I enjoyed most about having to attend mass with a multitude of girls - praise and worship through song. Mass without singing is just plain boring for me.

At Church, we sing hymns and people read the music from the Hymnal. I like those too. There's also local, relatively recently composed songs that go into the Sunday Liturgy. I like listening to everyone's voice mingling with each other. As a kid I wondered whether the older people actually attended classes to learn those hymns, everyone just blended perfectly.

In Sunday School, we would listen to and learn Kids Praise (another memory of my Aunt I wanted to write about last month but didn't get to) - yes, Psalty was my friend and I am so going hunting for his CDs - the complete collection.

Really, isn't singing praises like 5 times more wonderful? I mean compared to just sitting and listening and reciting stuff at Church?

Anyway, so that's what got me to thinking (again) about what my beliefs are and how my faith manifests. I belong to a Church denomination that's fairly small - The Episcopal Church in the Philippines, part of the Anglican Communion. My family history is intertwined with this Church's history. Really, it's more like an extended family. That's what I like about our small Church, we are found scattered throughout the country from up north to down south, but it's all just like one big family. Growing up in what I consider the heart of the Church just gave me an awareness of its life.

I distinctly remember the last summer I spent active at Church. It was the summer we moved house. I was with the SKEP, the Church youth group, and we sat with the Cathedral choir. Really, I went to rehearsals and sang at the Sunday Mass. We even had an Easter Cantata, I think the first and last that it was done. We had an awesome conductor. I truly enjoyed that time. It made me think that perhaps that was my place, my ministry - in music.

My Cooking Master Boy and Thursday Thirteen #11

2008-05-15T11:27:00.008+08:00

Cooking Master Boy - that is Alfred's favorite anime. I enjoyed watching it too when it was on ABS-CBN but for Alfred, it's like a how-to guide for cooking. Seriously. He's been watching the series again, but this time through Youtube.com or Crunchyroll.com or some other video site that carry the any or all 52 episodes of the toon.

He's been wanting to cook the perfect Yangchow fried rice, or even just to simply perfect the art of adding egg to rice. The other day, after watching an episode of Cooking Master Boy, he claimed to know the trick to get it done. For breakfast yesterday morning, he got up and tried his newly learned trick. In fairness, he didn't disappoint. So breakfast was a big, fun event yesterday. :)

A couple of hours later, while we were at the mall looking for a chopper/food processor to make crushing Oreos an easier task for me, he still couldn't forget about his wonderfully cooked fried rice. He was disappointed at not having taken a photo; I said we'll capture it on film next time - if he can recreate it. :)

Today, I am bummed about NOT being able to post a decent TT in the past 3 or 4 weeks. Really, I had several ideas and posts written out in my mind but I never reached the keyboard to get them all out. Does that happen to you too? I think it happens to many of us - we actually think about stuff that's happening around us and react to them, and then later think what a great post that would turn out to be - and then not get to post.

So here's my thirteen posts I have yet to write.

A post for or about my Mom and our relationship. Of course with Mother's Day last Sunday, I thought about how we didn't grow up as 'good friends' but having an ok relationship nonetheless. Instead of posting those thoughts right away, I stopped to look for her pictures that I can scrap and include in the post.
My top freebie hunts for digital scrapbooking. I have long wanted to feature maybe two designer blogs at a time, as my little way of thanking them for all the wonderful designs they give away to cheap-o's like me who grab every freebie that comes their way. :) When I get to do this, the first one I would write about would be Susan of Raspberry Road.
My follow up post about our day at the beach waves of Club Manila East. I have not finished my layouts of our pictures. And I MUST talk about the indestructible paper bracelet.
Ramble about what I'm going to do for social change. As a young girl I was involved in many activities that contribute to society. I really was a child rights advocate and not just one who would talk about it. Now, I don't really do anything in that front and I wish I could change that.
My thoughts on being a non-active Church member who does not attend Sunday mass (or any mass for that matter). I specifically want to dig through my thoughts and feelings about what I can do to be part of either the Youth movement or Sunday School. I know I have something to contribute, I'm just not making time.
Our third anniversary in the company. On the 23rd, Vanette, Edsel, Bea, Joey and I would be celebrating our 3rd year at NCO. We're down to 3 from the original 24 (am I correct?) who started training as L2 TSRs. We were the special class that spent one week at Camelot Hotel. We were the class with a lot of potential.
I wanted to share an inspirational video that I watched while I was at work the other day. It's about how our attitude towards events and things in our everyday lives could be key to what becomes of us . At least that's what I remember about it. I will watch it again and get the link up here someday.
Ramble about friends and why I am not like others who spend so much time with friends. This is something I think about very often.
Budgeting and saving money; making money. I really would love to travel and go on trips but don't have the resources for it. I've been earning three times as much as I did three years ago and yet my bank account doesn't have much. I know I can be thrifty if I wanted to, so why am I not so? I also make a little money through my blog over at http://verabear.bravejournal.com but I'd also like to explore how else I can earn online.
Marriage/Wedding plans. Okay, there are no concrete plans yet
I have not added Steve Berry's The Third Secret to my bookcase. I read this weeks ago.
How my luck is turning and my team is performing well at work now. I wanted to write about each team member to go with the pictures of our videoke night. That's another item on my "to-scrap" list.
The baking courses and schools and I read about online and why I want to sign up. Last month, I had plans to sign up for baking courses (which would have started in May).

I will post about these things SOON. If not, well, at least they're on this list already. Hahaha!

Read my past TTs here and here.

Myanmar and China need aid

2008-05-13T00:36:00.004+08:00

I am working on the pictures from yesterday, I've decided to scrap them rather than simply posting the photos up here.

All night I've been tuned to CNN and getting updated on the crisis in Burma, and now also in China. We have had our fair share of disasters here in the Philippines, and I sure pray that we won't be next. Summer is almost over and we do have occasional torrential rains, still I pray that no big disaster comes our way anytime soon.

There's a page in CNN that has a collection of links to charity organizations that have the capacity to give aid in Myanmar. Please do consider visiting any of their web sites and make a donation.

From there I found a link to the diary of Save the Children's director in Burma. In the beginning when the cyclone just hit, it didn't sound as if there's much to worry about. But soon enough, his posts talk of his personal experience putting together teams to assess the situation, and eventually, the relief efforts. Save the Children also has a page with children's voices in the wake of disaster.

It is sad that in the face of disaster, where tens of thousands of people have perished and more in danger, Myanmar's military junta refuses to let aid in.

China has just been hit by a massive earthquake and an estimated 9000 people have already died. There's news of two chemical factories going down - that in itself could be a different disaster too. There was also a school where they estimate about 900 students are trapped; 50 bodies have been recovered from there. China is no stranger to earthquakes but we don't know how prepared China is to respond to a disaster of this magnitude. I pray that they are quicker and more capable to bring aid where it's needed and accept international help, unlike the Burma junta.

Sunburn, waves and water proof paper!

2008-05-12T15:39:00.005+08:00

I feel like I'm on vacation right now but I'm just on my regular weekend off. I had such a fun day yesterday - water fun under the sun! I had the best company ever - boyfriend, my friend from work Vanette, my niece Dalnes and my nephew Esban.

Vanette loves swimming. She's gone to two swimming courses in the three years I've known her. We've been talking about taking a dip for the whole month of April but didn't get to go then. Oh when we finally got to go, the sun was really on it's brightest and hottest! Yesterday seems like the only day in the past week that didn't have rains in the afternoon. There were threatening rain clouds at around 4PM but they didn't blow over Taytay (the municipality where the resort is at), and even when it started drizzling as we were on our way home, it was just brief like the wind just blew them over there.

We went to Club Manila East, a resort that's about 35-45 minutes away from here. This was the same resort that Vanette and I went to 3 years ago with 3 of our other guy batchmates from work (who are all no longer in the company). This visit was in stark contrast to the first one: we were practically alone there on that Friday afternoon while we shared the resort yesterday with hundreds of people! They have more pools this time around though so it didn't really feel very crowded, except perhaps in the Beach Waves pool.

As my dad drove us in to the entrance of Club Manila East (CME), we were overwhelmed by the number of people hanging around at the gate and the vehicles that filled the parking lot. Thankfully, the queue for tickets wasn't that long so we were in after about 5 minutes. While waiting, Alfred lifted Esban to see the people on the kayaks. We also saw the sign for surfing lessons up front. At first we wondering, how could they do it? Surely, the artificial waves wouldn't be that strong. Later in the day, we learned just how possible it was to really ride those waves!

The only thing that kept me from really enjoying the trip to the max was that I caught a cold the night before and it's just no fun swimming with colds. I also couldn't stand the intensity of the sun's rays. It was really awesome that one of CME's maintenance guys put up our table and chairs about five feet from this pool that had the least people in, and right under a mango tree! Shade! We had the coolest spot ever and we only had to pay 100 pesos for it. Before we got that spot we wanted to rent a hut or a cabana but all of them were already taken. That turned out to be a blessing in disguise really.

The kids really maxed themselves out swimming, it was fun to have them because they could both swim already so we didn't always have to fuss about them. All we had to was just make sure we had our eyes on them. They did venture out on their own to the Kiddie Pool on the other side of the resort. Dal is very capable to watch her brother though so I didn't worry too much. They came back in less than 15 minutes.

The first pool we checked out was Beach Waves. Of course, within 5 minutes of our arrival, the kids were on there. Good thing too because the waves just started. Us three adults didn't get to experience the waves yet in the morning, it's like the waves went on break or something. So we checked out the other pools and found our awesome shaded spot.

When our pool (yes, I claimed it) was closing at 5PM, we decided to go back to the Wave Pool. Vanette and I would not leave without getting a taste of it (not literally okay). Alfred and the kids went there after lunch so boyfriend already knew why Esban just couldn't get enough. So off we went and WOW, those are some waves. The whole time I was thinking, real waves are more forgiving! Haha. We stayed for like three cycles, the last one were just at the "shore" where the waves break. It was so much fun. I kept worrying about Esban though because as violent as the waves were, he kept taking them on and pushing forward! I had Alfred and Dal alternately chasing after him. Near sundown though, he was the one who said we should go - he was hungry and looking forward to going to SM Taytay!

The shower rooms weren't crowded as I though they would be. Thank God. There wasn't much hassle getting the kids cleaned and dressed up. Esban even came back for me asking me to hurry - that's just because we thought it was going to rain. We had to take pedicabs to the main street as the shuttle was no longer available (too bad, we were looking forward to taking a ride on those). And then we took a jeepney to SM Taytay. We really just wanted to check it out a bit and maybe find something other than Jollibee to eat, but we ended up eating at McDonald's! I figured it would be easier to get a cab from there too. Okay, it wasn't easy, but we did get a cab that agreed to take us home.

Esban fell asleep on the ride home, just as expected. He came up here after lunch to tell me he liked it at CME and wants to go back. That's just as expected too. I want to go back too sweetie :)

Any regrets on the trip? I guess only that I didn't borrow Edsel's camera pack to get the digicam water proofed. Another would be that we didn't ask other friends to tag along. There's always a next time. :)

Oh, this has turned into a long post and I haven't even mentioned the water proof paper bracelet they make you wear upon entrance. No worries, I'll have another post on this later with pictures! I've just transferred them from the camera and checking them out!