From the Diary of a Call Center Mom

Diary of an Overseas Filipino Wife

2010-10-25T20:43:00.000+08:00

I am inviting everyone to read my new blog and follow our adventures as we go through life in another country....

End of the road...a journey to a new life...

2010-10-25T15:55:00.002+08:00

This blog was written almost 6 months ago but which I was never able to publish at once. The reason behind this is because I had to do a lot of leg work in relation to family documents that I needed to process. Without further adieu... I hope you like my last blog under my callcenter diary....

It was in the year 2003 when thoughts of applying for a call center job seem to be the only option for me. I needed a job urgently as 3 months prior, I gave birth to my second child. Money was short and my husband and I have a daughter who needed to go to school. The very first call center I went to was VXi along Ayala Avenue, Makati City. I breezed through the exams and the first couple of interviews. I even passed the typing test but the final interview did not fit my "good instincts." When the interviewer asked me what I would do if my baby got sick and I needed to go home; I knew that the company was very stringent with their attendance. Though I am not a perenially absent employee, I know that I will always put my family first in case of an emergency, even at the expense of my job. Well, I did not land the job as most of you know, if you read my very first blog entry. I then applied on-line and received a call the next day, if am not mistaken, from PLDT. I stayed in the said company for almost 3 years before I decided applying at the World's local bank. I spent 4 years in this last call center job. And I must say that 7 years in the call center industry has prepared me for what lies ahead.

Over a year ago my husband left for Saudi Arabia...it was a joint decision for him to look for an overseas job. This was brought about by the fact that he is the eldest among 6 children. With no parents to take care of the younger siblings, he is left with that responsibility. Other than that we have 3 children with growing needs and a mortgage to pay. I was luckier because my siblings have jobs of their own and have parents who have enough means to live comfortably. The goal for us was to find work abroad and be able to help the younger ones and save enough for our children's bright future.

Hence, almost 6 months ago, when my husband went back to the Philippines for a month long vacation, we made plans. And one of them was for us to start preparing our documents so that we may follow and live with him abroad. I was left with the responsibility of fixing our documents locally, which is noteworthy to mention, brought so much heartaches and which left us with too much debt on our hands. I was asked to pay for certified true copies of our original documents, which by the way was around 50 to 65 pesos per page. Now I am left with 3 certified true copies wherein only 1 was actually needed entirely. Not only did I need to pay unnecessarily, I had to travel from Cavite to North Avenue in Quezon City several times a week. Again it was unnecessary travel, waste of time, energy and money had the people in the government agency adviced me the first time of the correct documents I needed to bring. Imagine I had to go back and forth 6 times before I got the correct information and finally have my children's documents processed! I felt terribly disgusted and angry but my husband, although far from me, kept me focused and constantly fed me good thoughts. Although it was not the darkest period in my life, it was one with so much anxiety. First, because I tendered my resignation already and therefore our financial means has decreased. Second, because I pulled out my kids after their 1^st quarterly exams as we were expected to leave right after. And third, our savings was dwindling fast and there were my husband’s siblings to feed. All throughout, we never wavered, we fought the war between good and evil, if I may so say, and we won. Six months later, we are now here, left with so much debt, but happy that we are together as one family. We know that we will be facing a lot of adjustments. We left, in the Philippines, my children’s nanny who has been with us for almost 5 years. We left her with my sister who has a baby I know my children, most especially my youngest, will miss her. Gone are the days, when we just need to call our dear nanny for errands. But I know it won’t be too hard, I am armed with lessons from my own mother. It is a good thing that I know how to cook... and have been trained with domestic work.

I am going to begin a new blog once I have settled in Saudi Arabia and hope that you will begin reading our journey through our new life...

Happy Wedding Anniversary!!!

2010-08-08T11:24:00.002+08:00

The first time I met you, I must admit that I had constant reservations on whether our relationship would work out. Why? Because from the start you were so strict (like my Mom) while I valued my independence you always wanted to know where I was going, with whom I was with -- things that I would rather keep at bay while we were not yet married. You never failed to amaze me with your deep understanding of the world around, you never faltered on your beliefs. You knew what you wanted to happen in your life. Early on the relationship you affirmed of a lifetime together while I did not want to hope and get hurt again. But you were true to your word after 2 years we finally got married. We planned everything together ... I saw the excitement in your eyes and felt how much you were looking forward for that to happen. I remember one night coming back from work … you were so excited and knelt in front of me. You then presented me with a ring and again proposed and told me how much you wanted to marry me. Timidly you said that it was not an expensive ring … daddy just to let you know … that did not matter to me… I saw beyond that ring … something more precious, something that can never be bought anywhere. And it was your love … you keep asking me if I have had any regrets over the years for not marrying a rich man. Wealth is nothing without the kind of love you have surrounded me and our children with. You are a fantastic self-made man I know there is no one else like you who could make me laugh as hard, smile for no reason, and with whom I can be myself. I love you my husband, my soul mate, the father of my children, my best friend and counselor, my critic and the love of my life. Thank you! Happy Happy Anniversary to us!

I chanced upon this poem written by Teri Sprinkel

When We First Met
When we first met,
in my heart I could feel
the warmth of your smile,
and I knew that we would
share something special
that many people
only dream of......

Though time has passed
since the day we first met,
I can sincerely tell you
that I love you more through time,
We've seen both good and bad times,
and I feel they have
strenghtened our relationship,
making it one we can always count on.
I thank you for always being there
to embrace me when life
becomes difficult,
for warming my spirit
and returning my strength.

I thank you for filling
my life, my heart,
and my dreams with unending love.

Done voting

2010-05-10T12:46:00.003+08:00

At last I am done voting! My parents, youngest sister and I, woke up early as we wanted to be one of the first ones to arrive at the voting polls. But when we arrived there we were met by a throng of angry people as the long queue were all mixed up. It was clear that everything was so disorganised to see people complaining already so early in the morning. By 9:30 am a lot of people had gone home disgusted about how things have all turned up. We were even given numbers which proved to be useless as we finally reached our precinct. We had to endure more than 3 hours to wait for our turn. All in all it was a disaster but the most important thing is that were able to cast our votes. Now all we need to do is wait for the outcome...

A call for change

2010-05-10T01:09:00.004+08:00

Tomorrow, 10th of May 2010, is voting time in the Philippines. This will also be the first time that we will be using the smartmatic machine which is supposed to make voting and the counting of ballots much easier. As a Filipino citizen, as a voter, and as a mother I am as anxious as the candidates because I would like to be able to vote and say that I made the right choice. I would like to be so sure that any choice I make now would not haunt me back in the future. I would like to make sure that the people I will be voting for are after the best interest of the Filipino people. Someone who would be able to make at least that much awaited single step towards change. Someone whom we, Filipinos, can be proud of. A president who would not be easily swayed by the bad elements that would surely surround him. And a president who will not put this country to shame.

For my countrymen, this is the moment that we have waited for. We want change and this is one avenue that we can take to elicit change in our country. So please....please vote wisely and responsibly!

Musings of an OFW

2010-05-08T17:51:00.008+08:00

I received this message through my email and this is something I would like to share to everybody. The article is written in my own vernacular I will try my best to translate it into English but will have to publish the said version on a later date. So to all my fellow Filipinos (wives, husbands, children, parents, brothers, sisters, uncles and aunties of our OFWs who work their asses off abroad) and to our beloved OFWs this is for you... I don't know who the author is but whoever wrote this (it could be Nicole...from where the article came), I hope you don't mind me sharing it to everyone.

MGA KABABAYAN PLS READ, LALO SA MGA OFW...GOT THIS BULLETIN FROM NICOLE

Sa may asawa, kapatid, anak, kaibigan, at kamag-anak na OFW. At lalo na sa mga gustong mangibang-bansa. Nais ko rin ibahagi sa inyo, ang natanggap kong email na ito. Maaaring makatulong ito upang lalong maintindihan ng bawa't isa ang tunay na ibig sabihin ng pagiging isang OFW. Tiyak na may mapupulot tayong aral dito.

Hindi mayaman ang OFW - We have this notion na 'pag OFW o nasa abroad ay mayaman na. Hindi totoo yun. A regular OFW might earn from P20K-P300K per month depende sa lokasyon. Yung mga taga-Saudi or US siguro ay mas malaki ang sweldo, but to say that they're rich is a fallacy (amen!). Malaki ang pangangailagan kaya karamihan ay nag-a-abroad. Maraming bunganga ang kailangang pakainin kaya umaalis ang mga pipol sa Philippines. Madalas, 3/4 o kalahati ng sweldo ay napupunta sa tuition ng anak at gastusin ng pamilya. Mahirap maging OFW - Kailangan magtipid hangga't kaya. Oo, masarap ang pagkain sa abroad pero madalas na paksiw o adobo at itlog lang tinitira para makaipon. Pagdating ng kinsenas o katapusan, ang unang tinitingnan eh ang conversion ng peso sa dollar o rial o euro. Mas okay na magtiis sa konti kaysa gutumin ang pamilya. Kapag umuuwi, kailangan may baon kahit konti kasi maraming kamag-anak ang sumusundo sa airport o naghihintay sa probinsya. Alam mo naman 'pag Pinoy, yung tsismis na OFW ka eh surely attracts a lot of kin. Kapag hindi mo nabigyan ng pasalubong eh magtatampo na yun at sisiraan ka na. Well, hindi naman lahat pero I'm sure sa mga OFW dito eh may mga pangyayaring ganun. Magtatrabaho ka sa bansang iba ang tingin sa mga Pinoy. Malamang marami ang naka-experience ng gulang o discrimination to their various workplaces. Sige lang, tiis lang, iniiyak na lang kasi kawawa naman pamilya 'pag umuwi. Besides, wala ka naman talagang maasahang trabaho sa Philippines ngayon. Mahal ang bigas, ang gatas, ang sardinas, ang upa sa apartment. Tiis lang kahit maraming kupal sa trabaho, kahit may sakit at walang nag-aalaga, kahit hindi masarap ang tsibog, kahit pangit ang working conditions, kahit delikado, kahit mahirap. Kapag nakapadala ka na, okay na, tawag lang, "hello! kumusta na kayo?".

Hindi bato ang OFW - Tao rin ang OFW, hindi money o cash machine. Napapagod rin, nalulungkot (madalas), nagkakasakit, nag-iisip at nagugutom. Kailangan din ang suporta, kundi man physically, emotionally o spiritually man lang. Tumatanda rin ang OFW - Sa mga nakausap at nakita ko, marami ang panot at kalbo na. Most of them have signs and symptoms of hypertension, coronary artery disease and arthritis. Yet, they continue to work thinking about the family they left behind. Marami ang nasa abroad, 20-30 years na, pero wala pa ring ipon. Kahit anong pakahirap, sablay pa rin. Masakit pa kung olats rin ang sinusuportahang pamilya - ang anak adik o nabuntis; ang asawa may kabit. Naalala ko tuloy ang sikat na kanta dati, "NAPAKASAKIT KUYA EDDIE!" Bayani ang OFW - Totoo yun! Ngayon ko lang na na-realize na bayani ang OFW sa maraming bagay. Hindi bayani na tulad ni Nora Aunor o Flor Contemplacion. Bayani in the truest sense of the word. Hindi katulad ni Rizal o Bonifacio. Mas higit pa dun, mas maraming giyera at gulo ang pinapasok ng OFW para lang mabuhay. Mas maraming pulitika ang kailangang suungin para lang tumagal sa trabaho lalo na't kupal ang mga kasama sa trabaho. Mas mahaba ang pasensya kaysa sa mga ordinaryong kongresista o senador sa Philippines dahil sa takot na mawalan ng sweldo. Matindi ang OFW - Matindi ang pinoy. Matindi pa sa daga, o cockroaches which survived the cataclysmic evolution. Maraming sakripisyo pero walang makitang tangible solutions or consequences. Malas ng OFW, swerte ng pulitiko - Hindi umuupo ang OFW para magbigay ng autograph o interbyuhin ng media (unless nakidnap!). Madalas nasa sidelines lang ang OFW. Kapag umaalis, malungkot and on the verge of tears. Kapag dumadating, swerte 'pag may sundo( madalas meron). Kapag naubos na ang ipon, wala ng kamag-anak. Sana sikat ang OFW para may boses sa Kamara. Ang swerte ng mga politico nakaupo sila at ginagastusan ng pera ng Filipino. Hindi nga sila naiinitan o napapaso ng langis, o napagagalitan ng amo, o kumakain ng paksiw para makatipid, o nakatira sa compound with conditions less than favorable, o nakikisama sa ibang lahi para mabuhay. Ang swerte, sobrang swerte nila. Matatag ang OFW - Matatag ang OFW, mas matatag pa sa sundalo o kung ano pang grupo na alam nyo. Magaling sa reverse psychology, negotiations at counter-attacks. Tatagal ba ang OFW? Tatagal pa kasi hindi pa natin alam kailan magbabago ang Philippines , kailan nga kaya? o may tsansa pa ba?

Masarap isipin na kasama mo ang pamilya mo araw-araw. Nakikita mo mga anak mong lumalaki at naaalagaan ng maayos. Masarap kumain ng sitaw, ng bagoong, lechon, inihaw na isda, taba ng talangka. Masarap manood ng pelikulang Pinoy, luma man o bago. Iba pa rin ang pakiramdam kung kilala mo ang kapitbahay mo. Iba pa rin sa Philippines , iba pa rin kapag Pinoy ang kasama mo (except 'pag kupal at utak-talangka), iba pa rin 'pag nagkukwento ka at naiintindihan ng iba ang sinasabi mo. Iba pa rin ang tunog ng "mahal kita!", "day, ginahigugma tika." "Mingaw na ko nimo ba, kalagot!", " Inday, diin ka na subong haw? ganahan guid ko simo ba". Iba pa rin talaga. Sige lang, tiis lang, saan ba't darating din ang pag-asa. Kung OFW ka at binabasa mo ito, mabuhay ka dahil ikaw ang tunay na BAYANI ng lahing PILIPINO!!!

Worldless Wednesday

2010-04-28T19:52:00.005+08:00

When we lose our children to drugs

2010-02-08T13:45:00.006+08:00

Just this Sunday past, I celebrated my birthday and I could say that it was not one of those birthdays that I would have wanted to look back on. I also celebrated my birthday in our province to attend my cousin's funeral. My cousin would have turned 47 this coming 14th of February. Her death came as a shock to many. She died on the morning the next day after her brother, who died from heart attack, was buried. My cousin, bless her soul, never had any kids of her own, thus 13 years ago when she was presented a male child who was then only 2 months old, she took it on her own to adopt this child whom she loved and adored so much. 13 years later she was stabbed by her adopted son 40 times to her death.

At 13, children like my cousin's adopted son should have had built healthy relationship with other children. But he was just different, he was high on drugs when he decided to stab his mother over and over even as my cousin was begging him to stop. I was very much affected as we continually live in a much different and dangerous world. I have three kids of my own, and I keep praying and hoping that I will be able to bring them up to be God-fearing, respectful, and very loving individuals. Drugs can alter people's perspective in life, ruin families, destroy life, and take away an otherwise bright future. Families should continue the fight against drugs and should focus on giving their children quality time. Monsters are created not born, and as parents we have the capacity to make sure that our children by blood relation or not, are strong individuals who will turn up alright. Children should not be spoiled nor abused. We must know how to balance our authority when dealing with our children because their future lies on the hands that feed them.

back to blogging

2010-02-08T13:18:00.002+08:00

I have not had any blog entries since last year and for a while I would not even take a peak on what is going on with my blog site. I have been busy doing a lot of things, juggling my time between making sandwiches and cooking pastas that I would be bringing to work (i sell them in the office), preparing for work, doing domestic errands and making sure that my children would have something to eat for dinner while I was at work.

There has been so many things I wanted to share but so little time and even today I am squeezing just a little of my time for my absence from the blogging world. I would not want to stop blogging entirely as this is will form part of the legacy that I will be leaving for my children.

Grrrrrrr!

2009-10-19T00:45:00.002+08:00

I had just finished an article when something happened and my blog entry disappeared. Normally, I would find unfinished entries in my draft but when I clicked on it nothing happened. Grrrr! And I have written a lot! Now it really sucks to be me (this time only)! I'd have to put it off for a couple of days, I can't think straight now.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-10-15T03:34:00.003+08:00

my Allen...

2009-10-12T13:18:00.006+08:00

While doing our groceries, I asked my youngest son whether he was really ready to go to school and with much enthusiasm, he said "opo mommy" (yes mommy). I told him "if you really want to go to school, you have to make sure that you know how to read well." My son answered that he already knows how to read, so I told him "ok if you know how to read, can you read this word?" (as I pointed at a big sign at the grocery aisle. My youngest son kept quiet for a few seconds then answered me "hindi ko sasabi mom, secret lang" (I won't tell you mom, it's a secret) then smiled sheepishly.

Then awhile ago, my Allen said, "mom aral na po ako" (mom i'm done studying). I then proceeded to test him and told him to read the word that I have written down. After a few seconds, my son told me, "kaw nga mom try mo basa!"(go ahead mom, try to read it). Haay...he has so many "palusots" and I have no idea how he is able to come up with them. :)

Now I can breathe...

2009-10-10T21:12:00.009+08:00

I finally found the perfect time to tell my Papa, "I love you" and guess what? He said "I love you" back :) I called a few days ago to greet my father as it was his 81st birthday and it just came out of my mouth...perhaps, my mind and my heart has been preparing for this moment. And am so happy it went well. I was even about to put the phone down and was not even expecting him to answer back but he did. I was smiling the whole day I was in the office. No one could break my stance, not even my angry and frustrated customer over the phone. I was still smiling when I went home. You know how it felt like? It felt so much like Anggat, La Mesa, Magat and San Roque Dams combined. It felt like the rush of water that's been kept contained for quite a while. All the emotional baggages I have stored in the recesses of my mind has been instantly cleaned of its cobwebs of doubt. And although those words were said over the phone I know it meant a lot to him as much as it did for me.

My father is a quiet man, he'd rather talk to the nails he pounds on the wood at the back of our ancestral home than say what runs deep in his mind. But...

Papa, thank you for putting this family together. Thank you for being the calm after the storm. Thank you for teaching me how to drive, for giving me 10 pesos each time I wash your car :)

For teaching me and my sisters to ride the bicycle, for teaching us to love animals...especially cats. Thank you for giving us a home...for making sure we graduate from college and for putting up with what happened in between.

Thank you Papa for being present on major occasions in my life, for being there on my graduation, and for walking me down the aisle on my wedding day. There are so many memories that you have been a big part of Papa and I am sorry I was not able to say "I love you" on several instances. I thought doing so required some form of Herculean task but I was wrong. But there...I've said it...we can now both breathe and let go of our silly fears and doubts. :)

Pasta a la calabaza

2009-10-10T16:00:00.012+08:00

I recently discovered ways of creating healthy food using squash. I've done it a la lumpiang shanghai with corned tuna, I've also used it as a binder for cooking "tortang dulong" (which, according to google is also called, anchovy fry). And my kids loves it! Just the other day, i experimented again, this time with pasta. I sauteed, corned tuna in olive oil and lots of garlic then mixed it with squash which i have mashed earlier. As seasoning I included lots of ground pepper and italian herbs...i did not even include tomato sauce as I think this would not match well with squash. And that was it...I just poured it over spaghetti noodles and topped it with cheese and my kids just loved it to bits! Instead of corned tuna perhaps you may want to try using ground beef or pork for it to taste meatier.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-10-08T05:30:00.001+08:00

(last) Friday tags

2009-10-05T12:02:00.005+08:00

I was tagged by my blogger sis - Ria of It's my party (and I'll cry when I want to). Yes, sis it's been a while too since I last did a tag.

So, let's see here...hmmmm

What are your middle names?
~ Mine is C while my husbands' is C as well.

How long have you been together?
~ a lifetime...

How long did you know each other before you started dating?
~ since our previous life .... :)

Who asked whom out?
~ My husband did.

How old are each of you?
~ Now that is a big secret hahaha

Whose siblings do you see the most?
~ My siblings. His siblings are scattered all over Luzon

Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple?
~ Being far apart and making ends meet.

Did you go to the same school?
~ No

Are you from the same home town?
~ No

Who is smarter?
~ My husband is very good with numbers and Logic...and yes finances. While am good at arts, english, science and practical sense.

Who is the more sensitive?
~ ME, myself and I

Where do you eat out most as a couple?
~ Shakey's Pizza, Dad's

Who has the crazier exes?
~ I think we both have. Though he'd rather not talk about his exes (not sure if there were many! hahahaha) but mine were dysfunctional individuals. I think I was a magnet (then!) for major losers! hehehehe....

*** Ria, I have the same answers for most of the questions i was also a magnet for the sweet type turned whacked out playboy losers type back in College hahaha...

Who has the worse temper?
~ definitely, that would be me. My husband is also a very patient man. I tend to just snap when I reach my "boiling point".

Who does the cooking?
~ I cook a lot...I love cooking and the only food my husband has done so far is fried chicken, and the best tomato omelette. Cooking is part of my territory...

Who is the neat-freak?
~ I am very OC when it comes to organizing our stuff. My husband is too in some ways but he is messier hehehe. Am sure my husband will react :)

Who is more stubborn?
~ My husband says I am more stubborn.

Who hogs the bed?
~ our children...

Who wakes up earlier?
~ when my husband was still in the Philippines, if am not too tired from my shift i wake up and fix him breakfast. but during weekends, he would wake up first then wake me up too.

Who is more jealous?
~ Both of us are.

How long did it take to get serious?
~ as soon as we got to know each other. I think he was more into the relationship during the first few months. He was already talking about marriage then while I was still in doubt whether the relationship would work. It's this way since I have been from relationships that did not work out so...there

Who eats more?
~ We both do. But I think my husband eats more because I remember coming home from work he'd eat as if he has not eaten for a week.

Who does the laundry?
~ When we got married, he made sure I did the laundries because when I was single I never touched my soiled clothes. So for a few weeks he made sure I did but then he saw my hands, he decided to have someone wash our clothes for us.

Who’s better with the computer?
~ I would say he is far better than I am with computers.

Who drives when you are together?
~ whenever we go out he would drive but when I see him tired na as in really tired then I do the driving.

Thanks to Ria for tagging me! Am tagging my blogger buds as well...have not visited you guys for a long time...

Mommy Gen, Jennifer, Nhil, Call center gal, Wendy, Jane, Qumang, and Karen.

After the storm...

2009-10-04T23:13:00.006+08:00

I remember years back when I would challenge my best male bud to race along what used to be a crater like road, in Bacao, Cavite. With our company borrowed stainless jeepneys (or better known as Owner-type jeepneys), we would race the long stretch and I would always win. I remember years back when I would dare agree to try out the most "stomach churning" amusement rides in Tokyo Disneyland and our very own Enchanted Kingdom, or those times when my father would ask my help in fixing the antenna on the roof, and I would bravely climb up... or even those occasions when my sister and I would climb up the Aratilis tree on our backyard and pretend that we were Wonder Woman or Darna. That was so many years ago when I was still single. These days you won't even find me near an aratilis tree, encouraging my children to climb up and see the first one who gets to break their bones. I think my mother was braver than I credit her for. Me? I palpitate and panic a bit when I hear my children cry. Eversince I've become a mother, my fears were more centered on my children. Hence, when typhoon Ondoy (international name: Ketsana), decided to wreak havoc and leave hundreds of people dead and millions homeless...i felt more scared. Oh! I am very thankful that our place was spared from the floods and feel so sad for my countrymen and friends who were not so lucky. But as a mother, I cannot help but wonder about the "what ifs???" how would I have handled such a situation?, how would I proceed in saving my family?... Ughhh! it just scares the s**t out of me! But then what can we do? As mothers...as parents...we can only do as much then put all our trust in the Lord. Because no one really knows the plans He has for us, only He holds the blue print of our lives. Only the Lord....

Seventish

2009-09-17T17:50:00.003+08:00

It was my mom's 70th birthday yesterday, 16th of September and it was our wish to spend it festively if not lavishly. However, we found out that our relatives from the States where coming over and has planned a party of their own. Still everything went well...our mother spent her 70th with people who mattered to her all those years ... her family ... and although some of our relatives were not able to attend. They made their presence felt through the text messages and phone calls she received that day.

Happy Happy birthday Mama! Enjoy the rest of the day with family and friends....

Birthday road trip...

2009-09-15T23:12:00.004+08:00

The "date" that I had with my daughter yesterday went great! We went to Tagaytay and had lunch at Leslie's. I made sure that i brought along a drawing book and some art stuff that my daughter and I can do while waiting for our order. She drew the Taal Lake, which was a bit foggy though but the view was a sight to behold! After Leslie's we proceeded to Starbucks due to "insistent daughter demand" it was her first time :) And on we went to Pink Sisters we stayed there and joined the adoration sisters in their midafternoon prayers. Then we met an old lady who requested to ride along with us till she can get to Aguinaldo highway. She was about 75 to 78 years old perhaps and she says that she has been in the Philippines for 11 years serving a Catholic Organisation called Focolare. She came from Italy, and I noted to my daughter that Italy was where she could find the best pasta and pizza. She was a very nice old lady who reminds me so much of my Lola Belle. I know I surprised my daughter today by letting a stranger join us but I trusted the Lord right that moment. I would like to think that I made a positive mark to my daughter. However, I also reminded my daughter that this is something that we do not do often and that we need to trust our instincts when someone approaches and asks for a ride as given the current times it's best to be on the defensive. We were supposed to watch a movie but my daughter and i decided to go home early as we wanted to celebrate the rest of the day with her two younger siblings.

baaaloow me down...

2009-09-15T22:24:00.010+08:00

Blowing air into a balloon is no simple task yet this was the first thing I did as soon as I arrived home from an 11-hour shift. My two sons prepared a "birthday poster" while their Ate Ally was in school. So, at the last minute I thought the poster would look more festive if i threw in a few balloons, as I wanted the said poster to be the first thing my daughter sees as soon as she wakes up. The "air pump", however, that i bought last Christmas was no longer working so I had to go manual. By the time I finished the fifth balloon, I was so breathless and felt as if I've lost 20 pounds lol.

pre-birthday prep for my Ally...

2009-09-13T23:43:00.011+08:00

My daughter and I will spend "bonding time" on her birthday, I have plotted my vacation leaves early hence, will be on leave this coming Tuesday. For Ally's birthday I bought her gel pens which am sure she would love, as she has been hankering me for this for a month or so. It's not too much but my kids are more like my dad they like simple gifts but of course when they receive more than simple gifts...this lits up their faces more than a 1000 watt bulb would. My children know that they should be happy with what they have, my husband and I would always emphasize this to our children. And though they have questioned this at times, am glad that this is a rule they seem to have taken by heart.

Along with this gel pen, I have this sort of journal that I am going to give my daughter. It's something that I have been working on for a month. My daughter, I have noticed, is at times evasive about the "goings on" in her life. She would share most things with her Ate Sheila than she would want to share with me. Am not hurt or insulted but am just concerned about the reasons why she has chosen to keep things from me. Hence, this journal...this would serve as our correspondence "thingy" for stuff she has a hard time telling me face to face. As a child, my mother would always pressure me in telling me things that I would rather put in writing. And I am now wondering whether this is the same thing that my daughter is going through. So rather than pushing her away, I thought this "shared" journal would do good. ...well, hopefully...

no longer a baby...

2009-09-13T00:03:00.007+08:00

I was lost in space one afternoon when I heard my daughter giggle and say "Aaay si Aljur!" (Oh! it's Aljur!)... Aljur is one of the most sought after young stars that has grazed local television. It felt weird because when I was her age, I had this huge crush with Shaun Cassidy, one of the Hardy Boys kids. I never imagined that I would someday hear my own daughter do that particular giggle. I used to be the reason for her giggles...when she was a baby and I would tickle her pink little toes. Now stars like Aljur can get her undivided attention even when I have called her name ten times. This can be so infuriating...hahaha now I know how my mom felt all those times I pretended not to hear her. I remember, my mom used to buy me "Shaun stuff" and I would feel so happy knowing that I was one of those who owned a Shaun Cassidy album and poster. So far, my daughter has never asked me to buy her anything Aljur...so far...but her birthday is coming up though am pretty sure "Aljur stuff" would not top her list of "what-I-wants" for her special day. Still...let's see :)

"Project Mommy"

2009-09-12T14:06:00.012+08:00

I've been thinking since last week about a sort of project that I can have my children do and this is what i have come up with.

Borrowing some of the ideas from my work place, I gave my children a cardboard; each bearing 3 index cards. One of the cards would show "My Goals", the other "Good things I did today", and the last "What I need to change."

I told my children that this would be done on a weekly basis for their goals to be easily achieved. I want my children to be able to set goals and manage them this early.

I think goal setting would help them be able to develop a sense of discipline in everything they do; being an effective tool in measuring progress.

So let's see if one of my "Project Mommy" will work... they did this enthusiastically so, here's how their boards look like...

This is Alloy's....

While, this is Ally's...

I told them that they will earn a star for every goal they achieve , for every good things they do, and for every things they are able to change, and whomever has the most number of stars will receive a prize from me. They already are excited :) I hope this works though...

Does God exist?

2009-09-03T15:28:00.003+08:00

I saw this video of how the existence of God was explained by a child. Watch this and find out who this child portrayed...

Does God exist? (Exista Dumnezeu?)- Watch more Videos at Vodpod.

runs in the blood

2009-08-25T13:51:00.004+08:00

My youngest son and I were both watching this movie that showed a machine filtering huge bulk of cotton. When my son saw this his instant reaction was "wow ang sarap" ("wow! that looks delicious!".) So I asked him what he was referring to and he said it was the white stuff being fed into the machine. I asked him "what's so delicious about cotton?" his reply was "no, that's not cotton, that's rice, rice, rice, rice". I tried to correct him and said it was cotton and he said "no it's not, it's rice." My son repeated this several times to my amusement I told him "Allen you are so stubborn!" And then he made this sign....

...which meant "bog sa yo, talbog sa yo, lahat ng sinabi mo pwera lang sa kin." I don't know how to translate this in english in it's exact words but it meant something like "think all you want but whatever you say will just bounce back to you." For once in my life, I did not know what to say. I shared this to my husband and he told me well, your son took after you. Grrrrrr!

On job hunters and social networking sites

2009-08-24T12:52:00.005+08:00

It's been on the news that job hunters will also be using social networking sites, such as facebook, friendster etc., as a tool to do background checks on hopeful applicants. This "may" be feasible if the company is wanting to learn more about an applicant's personality and be able to see beyond what their resumes don't say. It's a good tool however, my question is, is this a reliable method in finding out a person's ability to contribute to a company she is wanting to be a part of? And are there any legal implications because it would be like going into the nitty gritty detail of a person's life. Such may be perceived as not giving everyone equal opportunities in the "job arena" whatever their profile may say. Well, am not an expert in the recruitment process but I must say that people who frequent and are members of these social networking sites may or may not be who they really are. I mean there are probably a number of people out there who want others to perceive their current status as perfect as compared to what really lies within. Just my thoughts...

my silver lining

2009-08-20T15:41:00.005+08:00

Every cloud indeed has a silver lining just after that storm on my call that went bad, I got another call. This time I needed to strain my ears to be able to understand exactly what the customer was saying and what he wanted done. He garbled endlessly and then would suddenly stop and ask me if i heard and understood what he just said. Then he would apologise endlessly as he was often that way due to a medical condition called Dyspraxia which according to him is almost like Dyslexia but the other way around. He asked me where the call was routed and I told him he was speaking to someone from the Philippines. He welcomed such opportunity to speak to people overseas like his previous calls which was coursed through Malta and India. We were on the phone for about 45 minutes which hurt my AHT really bad but I would say this was one of those calls that keeps me from leaving my job. Of course I was able to provide him the information he needed after patiently and repeatedly giving this out to him. He needed to write everything down so that he does not forget. But I laughed when he said he was afraid that he would forget what he has written down. I even suggested he writes it on post it notes so that it would be easy for him and he says that the walls of his house were already covered by it and he could not remember what each of them were for. He was pretty jovial about his condition and i thought it would hurt him more if I did not see the mirth in it. At the end of the call he was very thankful that I have been so patient with him and how delighted he was for being able to speak to me. I was overwhelmed with the downpour of praises but deep down I felt good to the roots that I was able to make one customer happy that day.

bloody blunder...

2009-08-20T14:59:00.009+08:00

Just a few weeks ago, we started using our new system in the office which would promote speed in assisting our customers, which in turn will lower our AHT and facilitate us when we do multi-tasking. My first call using the system went really bad and up to this time it would still haunt me every now and then. As customer reps we must always practice caution especially for lost and stolen qeues. The reason behind, is of course, we would not want stopping the wrong cards. Unfortunately, one can never be lucky everytime... I have always been extra careful with my calls and would even let alone having to do the extras just to be able to concentrate on what I was doing at that precise moment.

Yes, I have stopped a wrong card, made my customer tremendously frustrated and drove me to ask myself again if I was in the right job. Of course, I was very much apologetic as there clearly was a misunderstanding. He went on with his tirade and I let him vent until there was nothing else for him to say. So I told him that I will be taking full responsibility for what happened even if this meant losing my job. At that particular instance I did not care if I would, because I felt that since I have failed my customer I did not only fail myself but I also failed my team and the company I worked for.

A Mother's Prayer

2009-08-13T16:40:00.013+08:00

My son Alloy arrived home from school today and showed me his seatwork. They were asked by their teacher to accomplish this page in their Science workbook. The topic was "What I want to be" and this is what Alloy drew....

Hence, my prayer..

Oh God, I pray to you, make my son worthy of becoming your priest
Help him understand his true calling,
let my son hear Your voice loud and clear
Help me guide him to you my God…
to the right path let me lead him…

May the Holy Spirit enlighten him so that he may truly know the vocation where he can best serve You. Guide him in this journey, occupy his heart and not let his mind go astray. I ask this through Jesus Christ,our Lord. Amen.

Across the Miles...

2009-08-08T11:13:00.006+08:00

I always look forward to this day, 8th of August, as 9 years ago this is the day I walked down the aisle and exchanged vows with my husband...

I was not even thinking of settling down after a couple of failed relationships but my husband changed all that when he showed me how much he was ready to take care of me. So, nine years ago when he went down on his knees and proposed marriage I just couldn't say "no." And I am glad I said "Yes" to my husband, "Yes" to share a life with him forever, "Yes" to build a family with him and to stay with him in sickness and in health...in richer and in poorer...till death do us part.

This will be the first time that we are spending our anniversary apart though. So, Dad, if you are reading this, allow me to tell you and the rest of the world how much I love you and how much you have filled my life with love. I am so thankful that you are the man I married, I am so proud of you and your accomplishments. May the Lord bless us on this day of our anniversary daddy! We all miss you here!

Anniversaire heureux à travers les milles!

Good cure

2009-08-08T03:00:00.006+08:00

I discovered one way of curing colds or allergic rhinitis...

Just awhile ago when I viewed my blog, I was just a nanosecond away from sneezing when I noticed that my technorati blog authority dropped from 19 to 1. My sneeze did not go as planned and I never sneezed again the rest of the early morning. I got so depressed that I had to remove the widget from my site. I know it's largely my fault as I have not been updating my blog for a long time. So that's okay... I hope to be able to get back into the habit of regularly updating my blog though...

So...people if you want to get rid of your colds and rhinitis, try not blogging for over a month and check your technorati. That should cure it :)

Happy Birthday Sheila!

2009-08-04T14:58:00.007+08:00

Sheila has been with our family since January 2006. My youngest son was then only 7 months old. She arrived a month after I drove my former maid out of my house for the following reasons:

1) She gets herself drunk while taking care of my baby,

2) She leaves my kids in the house while she meets up with her lover

3) She got pregnant

There are a lot more reason why I decided to let her go but such would fill out needless space. Sheila came at a time I needed help with my growing family. During the time without "nanny-help" I would bring my two sons to my mom's house while my daughter is at school. When I arrive home in the morning I would pick up my older son and have him sleep beside me till I wake up at noon while my daughter and youngest son would stay at my parents' until further notice. Sheila was recommended by Abi, a very good friend of mine, who was based in Iloilo and I immediately asked her to fly over to Manila. Sheila has been a constant blessing eversince and I never once doubted about her capacity to take care of my 3 children while I am at work. She is such a good person, second mother to my children, my extra pair of hands.

When I am at work she would make sure that my 2 kids have done their homeworks... she reviews them to prepare for their exams. I would at times arrive home from work at 4:00 in the morning and find her preparing my daughter's reviewer. She prays the rosary with my children when I am at work. And when I pay her monthly wage she would send 90% to her family and the 10% left with her she buys stuff for my kids.

Sheila, thank you so much for the time and effort that you spend for my children. You are no longer a stranger to us, you're already part of our family. Thank you for being so selfless...for being patient with my kids, for loving them as if they are your own. Thank you!

Happy Happy Birthday! May God bless you and may you have many more birthdays to come!

Just sharing...

2009-08-04T14:43:00.003+08:00

Sigh... I have to get over this silly fear. My children and I spent last Sunday at my parents' house to celebrate Sheila's birthday (Sheila is the nanny of my 3 kids). Everyone especially Sheila (0f course) and my parents enjoyed the day, as my kids and my sisters' kids danced and sang to their delight! What I just felt pathetic about is the fact that when we were preparing to go home, I had this huge desire to hug my father and was trying to gather strength to tell him how much I love him, but as usual I got stuck with "Pa, we're leaving bye..." Then my sister Minpi said her "byes" as well and I heard her say "I love you Pa" i was trying to hear whether my father replied back or not but I just started to "mock cry". My youngest sister heard me and kept laughing because she knew how hard it was for to do just that. Then when I was at the garage that's where I shouted "I love you Papa!" hahaha well...it's a start okay? Perhaps next time I could shout it outside the kitchen door until such a time that I can be close enough and brave enough to tell my father how much I love him. :) haaaayayayay...tsk...tsk...enid....enid...enid

2009-08-03T14:04:00.000+08:00

Farewell President Cory Aquino

2009-08-01T13:51:00.008+08:00

To many Filipinos, former President Cory Aquino stood as a symbol of hope. From the persevering and devoted wife of Ninoy, she rose to become the Philippine's first woman president. And she stood as the Filipino's nurturing mother, she was an honorable President, a person who valued truth above all. Cory Aquino is leaving the Filipino people with a great legacy...our freedom and our quest for truth and real democracy. Hence, when I woke up this morning to find out that she has passed away, I cried incontrollably. I cried because our "light at the end of the tunnel" is gone, I cried because our country has lost a good mother...a principled woman. I am sure her children and grandchildren are proud of her accomplishments. The Filipino people likewise are... Cory will always remain in our hearts and in our memories. For most of us, Cory Aquino will always be our President. I have faith in our people.... I have faith that the Filipinos will continue her quest. Let us not put all our beloved former President's efforts to rest. Once more let us join hands and show her our support by driving for truth, transparency, and good governance. To the family that Cory left behind, our condolences.

A mother's greatest achievement

2009-07-28T14:49:00.002+08:00

Kids can say the most wonderful things! And as a mother I feel so fulfilled and accomplished when my own flesh and blood just hug me and show me how much I am appreciated. More than anything else, my greatest achievement, I may say, are my 3 jewels. Just today my youngest son suddenly hugged and kissed me and told me "Mom, hinding hindi kita ipagpapalit" roughly translated this would mean something like "I will never ever want anyone else but you." Sure your partner, lover, boyfriend, or husband can tell you the same thing and such would make you tingle all over. But our children... they give more meaning to this phrase than anyone else can!

"Purpose driven life"

2009-06-07T01:07:00.003+08:00

Borrowing the title from Rick Warren's book The Purpose Driven Life, I find myself in the midst of a career turmoil. Everyday I go to work I drag my feet and ask myself if this is the road I want to trudge everyday of my working life. My youngest sister is spending the weekend over at my house and before she slept just a couple of minutes ago, we were discussing our respective jobs. We both agree that if we were given the chance, we would rather be doing something else. The kind of work that we can perform with passion; the type of job that we would just love doing from sun up to sun down. I mean I love my current job, I love the company I am connected with, and I love speaking with our clients overseas... but most times in the middle of it all, especially after a call gone bad, I'd start thinking and ask myself if this is all worth it. It's good that early on I could see my daughter's potential. I see how passionate she is when she works on her drawings. I hope, as a mother, I push her towards the right direction. So that one day, she would find a job that she will put her heart and soul into and drive her to succeed.

Post Mother's Day greeting

2009-05-12T23:53:00.007+08:00

Nope I am not guilty as I have greeted all the mother's in the whole world through my facebook account, in most languages, so don't point your fingers as if I have missed blogging about this hahaha...although yeah...i did missed blogging about Mother's day. For what it is worth for all my blogger mother friends out there Belated Happy Mother's day!

Mothers are quaint, I should say, in the most adoring, dominating, resourceful, mind-boggling, loving, selfless, "drama queen" way. I could go on and on adding more adjectives ... but it's a long list... a never-ending list. Before we became mothers, we were women who had our own lives, who could go anywhere we wish, do anything we want pursuing our own dreams and ambitions. As women we know what we wanted, when we wanted and how to get what we want. But as mothers, we have always placed our children's best interest before our own. Because when we became mothers we have just fallen in love with that tiny being we carried inside our womb for 9 months. And that is when we decided to give up our own dreams to make way for the dreams of our children, to be nurturing mothers, to be by our children's side at all times. So, as mothers it hurts us so much when our children forget how we cared, nurtured, fed, clothed and educated them even if such were beyond our means. The Filipinos are very clanish people, most have extended families, others even have double extended families. Generally, Filipino mothers enjoy the comforts of their own home even to their last breath. Hence, it is very sad to see mothers who are in the nursing home, facing their twilight years alone and forgotten by their very own children.

Mothers are not perfect beings, but we cannot continue blaming our mothers for our failures as this is the reason why we were given the power of choice. We cannot continue blaming them for the wrong choice of partner, for our career failures, for our own frailties, for our broken dreams. If only children would love or even learn to love their mothers ... beyond their imperfections, the world would probably be a better place to live.

Happy Birthday mi amore

2009-05-08T13:07:00.007+08:00

It is my husband's birthday today and this is the very first time that we will be celebrating it apart. It's a good thing that we have all the means to communicate these days. Because in the past we would only have the snail mail, to name one, to rely on which either comes late or does not arrive at all.

So to you my wonderful husband, your children and I greet you with much warmth from the Philippines, enjoy this day although apart.

You brighten up my life
With memories and dreams
As the years pass
They get better it seems

You're someone I can count on
When I need a helping hand
You're compassionate and loving
You always understand

Oh yes you have your
Off days too
However those days
Are but numbered few

I'm so thankful to have
A husband like you
There is no other
Who could fill your shoes

Thank you for being such a wonderful husband, responsible and loving father to our children, and a respectful son-in-law. I must have done something good in the past to have found someone like you. Thank you for being very demonstrative to our children, for always saying "I love you" to them, for hugging them and always making them feel how much they are loved. For making me feel how much our family means to you. The Lord is blessing you because of this and I know He will continue to bless you as I can see how much you love your own mother and your siblings. Happy Birthday my husband! We love you so much!

***I would like to acknowledge that the poem is not written by myself but a poem I saw on the internet, I will be looking for the website to include the name of the person who wrote this wonderful poem.***

Pacman

2009-05-03T23:54:00.005+08:00

I cannot help but feel proud to be a Filipino...it is at times like these when the Philippines just stops, hold breaths, ceases fire and as a whole nation prays that the "Pambansang Kamao" wins again. And once more, Manny Pacquiao did not leave the Filipinos dissapointed. He fought and he fought hard, it only took him up to the second round to claim his victory...the Filipinos' victory...

I am not a Manny Pacquiao fan but I am proud of the victories that he has won and continues winning for the Filipinos. And yes, I stand my ground that he never considers politics. I hope he continues doing what he is good at...winning at boxing, making the Filipinos even more proud, and helping his "kababayans". Congratulations to Manny and his family!

Father of mine...a daughter's woe...

2009-04-28T10:46:00.007+08:00

Over a cup of coffee, my youngest sister, Coco, shared how her "heart" "hurt" when she heard our Papa say "I love you" back to our other sister, Minpi, the other day. To be honest, I felt a sharp twinge in my chest as I, too, long to hear my father say that to me. Because although I already am a grown up, a mother, and a wife - I am still a daughter who longs to feel a father's love and a confirmation of any sort that I, too am not only a daughter out of my mother's womb but also someone he cherishes since the day I was born. Needless to say, I brought this up with my sister Minpi and she said that she too, was surprised when our Papa replied back. She said that it was a huge effort she put on and that it was all worth it. My sister said that she started saying "I love you" to our Papa last year and that everytime ... our father would say nothing but just hug her back.

I was just staring at my father awhile ago and realise how old he has become and probably feels alone in the confinement of his feelings for his daughters. I wish I had the same courage of my sister Minpi, who for 1 year, persevered and just waited and waited until my father gave :) Perhaps once day soon I would follow suit but as of this time I am so afraid of being rejected specially if the person who would do the rejecting is someone very close to my heart.

Rainy Summer

2009-04-25T19:41:00.005+08:00

My skin automatically turns dark during the summer season even if I don't go to the beach hence, it's normal for me to expect my officemates to pressure me into telling them where I went swimming. Grrrr! Well, I guess this summer is different as I am not darker since the sun never shines that long. I guess such weather changes is brought about by the effect of the thinning of the earth's ozone layer. I am not an expert in these things but one can notice the difference when compared to the summers past. My sisters and I are planning some sort of a family outing before summer ends and am very excited. I tried on some swimsuits this afternoon and decided against it hahaha my husband and I made some sort of a dare and am going to let him win this time. Yep am chicken! So, there... you win husband...but only just because.... :)

Happy Birthday son! ...my future Priest

2009-04-12T17:04:00.008+08:00

My son celebrated his 6th birthday this past Maundy Thursday, I bought pancit canton (Chinese noodles), cake (good thing Red Ribbon was open that day), and puto (rice cake). The weekend before he kept asking about his birthday as he was very excited to be 6 years old. He said after this birthday, I will now be 7 and I can start being an altar boy. The future is something that I do not really hold in my hands right now, but my son has always told us that someday he wants to be a priest. Last Maundy thursday, after blowing the candle, my mom told Alloy to make a wish. You know what he wished for? He said "gusto ko po maging Pari (I wish to be a Priest someday)". Here watch this video...

My 2 boys

2009-04-04T21:44:00.005+08:00

I have been dropping entrecards while thinking of what to write next on my blog when my 2 sons who were playing "pretend" suddenly stopped and asked me two different questions at the same time. Their questions gave me a good laugh and a reason why I have something to share with you :) My son Alloy, who is 5 (yep he is the one who got a medal just recently), said "Mom, my birdy is still sticking to my groin." He actually asked me this question before and I told him that I did not know the answer to that but that he could try putting powder hahaha. Well, he ended up asking his grandpa, who jokingly answered that he thinks he needs to have it cut. It's funny because my son feels that it is such a big problem for him I just told him awhile ago to text his dad may be he could get some tips on how to deal with his "problem." My 3-year old son, Allen, on the other hand, whispered.... at first I could not decipher what he was trying to tell me so when he whispered again, this is what he said "Mom, ganda mo, sexy mo! "(Mom, you are pretty and sexy!), then he whispered again "Ako mom? sabihin mo macho and pogi! (Mom,whisper to me too, tell me I am macho and handsome!)...

Okay so did he just tell me I was pretty and sexy because he wanted me to say something to him too? hahaha Oh well, I hope he was sincere when he said that :)

March Top 10 droppers

2009-03-29T00:39:00.001+08:00

The Lady Programmer	14
Wonderful Things in LIfe	14
Self Improvement	11
Treasure Nature	10
Whateverebay	9
Speak Wealth Now!	9
Justin Germino	9
Wedding Cake Hints	9
Stock Market Bliss	8
The Designers Blog	7

Congratulations Alloy!

2009-03-27T22:13:00.004+08:00

My children and I attended my son, Alloy's recognition yesterday ... I am a proud mother of very smart kids. My husband and I were hoping our son could bag the first honor and get a gold medal but as I keep telling my children -- there are things that they have to work extra hard for. Just the same he was awarded a medal for ranking first for Academic Excellence. Such honor is awarded to students who have consistently performed well during the schoolyear.

To you my son, continue learning ... pursue the road to greatness and persist on being top of your class and whatever you do always.... :)

Fallen Hero

2009-03-27T07:51:00.007+08:00

While I am not entirely a Manny Pacquiao fan (just because I do not fancy boxing), for me he has stood as a person I have come to admire for being able to rise from his humble beginnings to being one of the world's greatest boxer.

Just a couple of days ago I was talking about Integrity and how this shapes a person's character. Today our national hero in the world of boxing has fallen, his character has been tested and now he is being judged. It is true how money will put to the test a person's moral fibre, one way or the other if you let money rule you then this will not only rule your mind, but your heart and take over everything you have worked for. And I feel terrible about this lost, I thought he was different. Someone who could put his head firmly on his shoulders and his feet planted on the ground. Manny Pacquiao is the Filipino people's hope, a contemporary hero the whole nation is proud of. It is on the news today how a television network has promised Manny support in the forthcoming election. And this scares me, for how could these people endorse someone who turns his back on a live contract because of a bigger offer? Tsk! Tsk! Tsk! I hope this is a fight Manny can win, it will be one long haul but for the sake of his children, I hope this is something he is able to resurrect himself from...

And please if you are thinking of joining politics...for the sake of our country DON'T because corruption will eat your soul not to mention the high number of vultures waiting for you out there!

Integrity

2009-03-22T22:55:00.007+08:00

When your work is involved in confidential matters and you suddenly find out that there was a breach, you suddenly feel vulnerable. Why? Because you know that the same thing could happen to you. How can one defend a wrong that was done? a wrong done not only to the company but to its employees and most especially to the customers that the company provides the service to. What is even overwhelming is the fact that these are employees who has been with your company for a long time.

Our parents try to bring us all up the best way they can and one of the first things we are taught at home is honesty. So that you will have the integrity to look every one in the eye, because you know that you have never lied to and cheated your co-employees, your staff, or people around you. As a company you treat your workers well in the hope that they work agreeably for the business. (salaries are on time, bonuses and 13th month computations are correct.) As an Administrator or a Manager you make sure that you are decent enough to admit when you have erred and even bolder to rectify an error. As an employee, you make sure that you give back to the company what is due and even more by going an extra mile.

Yes!, we are not perfect but we were born with life choices...why then is it difficult to say NO to a wrong than a YES to a right?

Ocean Park, Manila ... a glimpse of a world under the sea ...

2009-03-18T23:26:00.004+08:00

It was my first time at Ocean Park in Manila and anywhere else where there is an Ocean Park in the world :) My son Alloy and I woke up at 5am and prepared for the ride. We picked up my niece and off we went. Well to start off we had a terrible first engine run so-to-speak as I am used to driving a matic. We had to use my dad’s car, a Honda civic-manual drive, as I felt that it was reliably lighter to drive than our Nissan super saloon. I had difficulty with the clutch only to find out that I was stepping on the brakes and not the clutch pedal heehaw. I know my sister Coco was really getting worried about my driving skills at that very moment that if I yelled "boo" she would have fainted on the spot. We arrived at Ocean Park at 6:45am, I had to drive in frenzy to beat the time as we were only good until 7:30 before the car turns into a pumpkin. See here, the car can’t be seen coursing through the streets of Manila as we didn’t want to violate the traffic rules on color coding. So there goes… we spent our waiting time walking around and watching the group of Chinese veterans exercising and slowly dancing to the tune of some Chinese "folkloric" song in the background. They were a sight to behold. One of the reasons why Chinese people are good at what they do. You can just see how disciplined they are. By the time we knew it, it was time to go and see the insides of Ocean Park. I could just tell you one word to describe what my small companions and I saw. Amazing! And yet this very word lacks the mmmph to it for me to really describe what this extraordinary place would mean for me and my little companions for the rest of our lives. It was a hell of an experience, my son for once, resisted the temptation to run around as he went from one big aquarium to another oggling at how beautiful and rich the ocean is. We all marvelled when we entered this tunnel like aquarium where all the different fishes including stingrays and other sea creatures would swim above us. It was our first time to see a shark up close their eyes were like painted over. They were eyes of the predator that they are. We saw the longest fish, the electric eel that contains 500 volts in their bodies, we also saw and were able to touch the starfish. I know the kids enjoyed the sights the only fish and sea creatures they knew before this trip was bangus, tilapia, galunggong, crabs, shrimps and squid. Makes you appreciate more our Creator for His beautiful handiwork. I wish I could have brought my youngest son and my only daughter. They too would have been in awe. It was Ocean Park’s soft opening hence, there were other places that were still being constructed but I vowed to bring my 2 other children and my husband there once it has been completed. I swear I left the park with my mouth still open in amazement. hahaha

"To Doubt or Not to Doubt"

2009-03-18T23:24:00.003+08:00

Some things (or should I say most things) are no longer sacred…life…be it that of a child’s, a woman, an old lady or a man of cloth…everything has been turned into travesty. It is such a dismay that men have managed to make a mockery of themselves. I belong to the vast majority of Filipinos who "invades" the internet everyday in the hope of finding greener pastures abroad. I have (as some may put it) wasted time, at times deprived my children of attention, cancelled rendezvous with friends just to be able to speed up the possibility of leaving the country for a better life or what not. Hence, last week when I received an email of a job offer in Canada, I almost fainted. I began fabricating dreams that would include bringing my parents, sisters, and other relatives sightseeing. In my momentary space in time I was opening an account for my mother and sister-in-law so that we could send them money and that they may never be deprived again. I hurriedly visited my mother and decided to break the news, reminding here even, that for now this job offer would be hush-hush until I receive the visa. My mother stood in front of me teary eyed and in a split second I was squished into her very tight embrace. It was at that point that we began crying both softly at first which turned into incoherent sobs. I could but hear part of what my mama was saying “don’t worry….sacrifice….bright future….grandchildren….pray….”. I told her this time Canada will be her second home (yeah!). And so I went on to fix my documents and suddenly in the middle of doing so, I felt strange and decided to check out their website which was legitimate enough. However, I still felt that there was something amiss so I emailed no less, the VP of the said company and did not have to wait long for a reply. I've been had! ....well....almost.... I was advised not to send out any money in case the fraudster should ask for such. Of course I felt devastated but more relieved that I did not go as far as giving out pertinent personal details. I started to cry as I just spent 1,000 pesos for my documents and gas which was supposed to be money spent for “bonding time” with my children. Nonetheless, looking back everything seems to be comical even if it was such awaste of time and energy but of course in all that has happened this is one lesson very well learned!

The "what happened next?"

2009-03-18T23:24:00.001+08:00

Okay the homeschooling thingy did not work out as originally planned, as something came up. You will find the "what came up" on my next "past blog." By the time everything has been discovered and settled, enrollment for homeschooling was no longer being accepted... :(

Homeschooling

2009-03-18T23:20:00.003+08:00

I’m about to embark on a journey to the unknown and you bet am anxious, excited, and a whole bunch of other emotions that I cannot seem to put my fingers on. I have heard about homeschooling from gossip magazines (not that I am keen on the lives of our local moviestars haha) as most child actors and actresses are unable to attend regular schools. I am a teacher’s daughter. My mother has served as a teacher in one of the Philippine’s finest schools for more than 30 years. So regular school was and is the byline of normal or should I say ordinary people and not so ordinary people. The only beings exempted from attending regular schools are, as i mentioned awhile ago - are actors and actresses and some children with special needs. The next time I heard about homeschooling was from an officemate who was homeschooled by their mother until she and her other siblings reached the "after-highschool" age. I was bewildered…I was amazed that a person like my officemate, who was very fluent in English (working in a callcenter this is a MUST), who was very good in making our customers understand, and who is very good in selling our company’s products, is actually a product of homeschool. I browsed through the internet and found out that most of the homebased schools are from other parts of the world. So I tried to look for more information, and found out that there was a school in the Philippines that offered a homebased study program and was Catholic nonetheless. I sent CFA (Catholic Filipino Academy) an email wanting to get more details about their program… I did not have to wait for long. Someone from CFA called me and invited me to a seminar that they were sponsoring on March 6. I attended the seminar and my mind opened to a new world which would include bonding, patiently educating, and preparing myself everyday for this - shall I say - passage to a world sans the regular teacher, the regular school, uniforms, schoolbus, endless projects, endless school fees and fieldtrips. Yes, I am quite perplexed but with my husband’s full support (and am grateful that he is supporting me on this one) I know I can make this happen. I will keep tabs on what happens next…thank you for reading….

"Blog Transfers"

2009-03-18T23:18:00.000+08:00

If there are such things as money transfers, cash transfers, transfer of ownership I would like to think that there could also be "blog transfers" :) I have a couple of blogs which are kept hidden in my friendster account that I wish to share so I am now transferring them here. Not being the one who can keep more than 1 blogsite, I'd rather concentrate on just one blogsite and look into producing another when I am ready. Anyways the next blogs would be stuff that happened way back but which I still would like to share, as I said these blogs were doing nothing on my friendster account so there....

My 100th blog!

2009-03-18T22:06:00.010+08:00

...okay so i have actually forgotten what to write on my 100th blog as I was too engrossed about a lot of things. I don't have any specific subject so I would like to think that the addition of my first ever 3 blogs which were originally posted on friendster should be a sort of reminiscing on when I first started blogging.

My first ever blog, entitled Homeschooling, was created on March 6, 2008 this was followed by Ocean Park and the last (on friendster) To doubt or not to doubt which were created on March 16 and 25 respectively under my site which I called "Halo-halo ...excerpts from my amazing life" For the Filipinos "halo-halo" is a blend of shaved ice, beans, fruits and milk topped with ice cream, for my blog it was everything that I wanted to rave and rant about. I have thought of blogging even before my husband formally introduced me to it. I guess I can say that friendster paved the way and my husband's persuasion incited my passion for writing.

So as my 100th blog anniversary I am introducing to you my first 3's...

Drizzle-Sniffle

2009-03-16T22:43:00.006+08:00

Sorry I am a bit under the weather today...last Saturday's drizzle instantly gave me this combo colds and flu... it's a good thing that I have plotted today as my VL otherwise, I would have done badly on my calls or called in sick, which I can't afford. My friend, Abie, who is currently residing in the US, called earlier this morning. It was an unexpected call but at the same time something that I welcomed. I just feel sorry that I was not as responsive as I normally am and this is because of this overall feeling of malaise. Oh and before I forget I would like to say thank you to Robyne, my officemate, who sacrificed attending their team building by taking my thursday and friday shift. Thank you because of you I was able to send my husband off to the airport with my children. I owe you one!

Big sacrifice

2009-03-14T01:13:00.004+08:00

It is 1:14 in the morning and my three children are sound asleep, while i've been tossing and turning as sleep eludes me. At about 8pm last night, my children and I brought my husband to the airport as we have both agreed that our children's future is of top most importance. Hence, the need to explore greener pastures abroad. It was a tearful goodbye more so when back at the parking lot, my youngest son asked me if his Daddy would be coming back tomorrow... One funny thing though is when my husband started hugging and kissing our children, while our son Alloy was promising his dad that he will make sure that he bags the first honor, our eldest daughter, on the other hand, said "Dad do not marry another girl abroad" to his amusement.

My husband... my source of strength, my shock absorber, my comforter among other things has called four times before boarding because he feels the same way I do. I noticed from his strained voice how much he is fighting off a lot of emotions especially when he heard me sobbing over the phone. All the while he kept repeating that this was a sacrifice that he must do for our family and for our children's future. I have been feeling perplexed and anxious and wondering whether we have made the right decision. Because everytime I hear OFW horror stories I become an inch short from freaking out.

The worldwide credit crunch is affecting a lot of people especially families who have to stay apart to survive. And this is our family's response to the global crisis...it is a blessing though that despite such my husband was still able to find a job overseas. I just hope everything turns out alright...

Perplexed!

2009-03-12T01:38:00.004+08:00

There's this song that starts with that line "If a picture paints a thousand words...." it's a song by the group Bread. This picture below depicts how I feel right now and I will tell you why in the next couple of days.... I have just one word for now which perfectly fits how I feel ... read the title :(

The Right to sell

2009-03-12T00:42:00.008+08:00

My team leader just told me that I have earned the right to sell -- I was a very happy customer service representative for almost a year since the time we were told not to sell any products. Am not afraid of selling, I guess I just do not want to bother people because being a customer myself I do not want to be bothered by sales talk over the phone or anywhere else unless I find myself in need of a certain product or service. I do not even stop, breathe or blink whenever a family first employee blocks my way and tries to trick me into listening to them. But crap! I am now part of the team who are supposed to offer. But who am I to complain? We were warned and forewarned that "sales" will be returned and be part of our metrics again eventually. I remember my first time on the floor, fresh from academy (some would refer to academy as nesting period), when my first ever team leader encouraged me to sell, sell and sell. But before doing so he asked me my fears and why I was very hesitant -- my reply was because I dread being rejected, I did not feel comfortable selling a product, I can instantly put myself in the customer's shoe so much so that I understand their need not to be offered anything over the phone. Selling is not my cup of tea but because I agreed to be flexible on the job then I guess there's really not much that I can do except.... okay I have been quiet for a couple of days because I needed to find out how I could incorporate selling or offering a product or service in the calls I get. Of course from the number of sales training that I've been through I learned that...

Offering or selling a product is not really about sales bonuses, it's more of being able to identify your customer's need. How? Offer a customer a loan, how does this help? If your customer is paying 16.9% to 22.9% interest annually on a credit card and a loan only costs 7.9% interest, would you not offer consolidating his debts by taking out a loan instead, especially if he has 2 or more credit cards? Or if your customer gives you free information that he is paying too much for rent, try offering him a mortgage with easy repayment plans -- the list could go on but the more important thing is that you capitalise on the information that your customer gives to be able to provide better service. Do not offer just Because, offer because it is Just.

Circadian Rhythm

2009-03-08T22:59:00.001+08:00

I have always had difficulty sleeping eversince I joined the call center industry. Even as I arrive home from work I would normally browse through the internet first or toss and turn before I am finally able to sleep. Even during my off days I find myself following the same sleep pattern... I am normally up from 12 noon till 3 or 4am. I miss those times when I would wake up early and enjoy the fresh morning breeze. According to bits and pieces I have picked up from the web such is a result of the disruption of one's circadian rhythm. Our body is used to sleeping during the evening hence, once our circadian rhythm is disrupted certain health risks may develop. Hence, when I do get the chance to doze off I make sure that my phone is on silent mode, draw my curtains and use my "eye mask" so that my eyes are adequately covered.

Top Entrecard droppers for the month of February

2009-03-04T00:05:00.003+08:00

Sorry!!! My bad really! I have kept putting this off because I wanted to be able to post this on the last day of Feb but I am getting more forgetful these days. Again, my apologies...

I would like to thank the following Top 10 blogger friends!

1. Speak Wealth Now!
2. The Single Parent Talks
3. InvestSound
4. Call Center Gal
5. Sonnie's Porch
6. Work at Home
7. Rewards Of Working From Home
8. Girls Are Made of Sugar and Spice & Everything Nice
9. Master and Student
10. The Lady Programmer

Maraming Salamat! Thank you! Domoのarigato, obrigado, muchas gracias!

But Lolo said....

2009-03-03T23:24:00.007+08:00

Today is my first "off" day from work but mommies like us never run out of things to do, errands to accomplish, and runny noses to wipe. This is just one of those days when I had to skirt through Aguinaldo highway in the aim of avoiding slow moving cars and meeting my sister in law in time for her job interview. I tagged my 3 year old son along who was probably annoyed at the way I drove the car because of his futile effort to eat the hotdog he brought along (his head kept bobbing which made it difficult to grab a bite off the "elusive" hotdog). I got to my sister in law in time, paid my electricity bill, fed my son lunch, went to my mom's house to return the chairs i borrowed 3 months ago :), and did my groceries. Anyway, this is not really about my hectic schedule but during the ride to my mom's house I was asking my son what he wanted to eat for "merienda" (afternoon snack). My son's initial response was that he wanted to eat cake but later changed his mind and said that he wanted to eat ice cream. I reminded him that he has just gotten over his cough to which he immediately replied "No, Lolo said I can eat ice cream, hot ice cream..." (my sons figured that they can always eat ice cream even if they have cough as long as it is not cold ice cream hahaha). Then I asked my son "Are you sure that Lolo said that? Because we are going there right now, I will ask him if he told you that." My son did not say anything but just kept nodding his head.

When we reached my parents house I told him "C'mon Allen, Lolo and Lola are waiting for us, besides I have to ask Lolo if he really told you that you that you can eat ice cream." Allen said with his sweet baby voice "Mom, I'll just stay inside the car, I will wait for you here!" :)

What's in a sneeze?

2009-02-26T11:52:00.005+08:00

My children especially my 2 sons, and my husband often has the case of the "sniffles" and that is every month since we moved to Cavite. My children's pedia is also baffled, she has cleared my oldest son from primary complex. However she also mentioned that their colds which eventually would lead to cough and fever may be due to an allergic reaction to pollen. As our home is situated in a place that used to be a farm and which is near acres of farm land, my kids were given medicines which they need to maintain to keep them off the allergy. This is of course going to be costly, so i am wondering if there are any home remedies that could cure their allergic reaction. I have in my garden fresh oregano that my children's yaya makes into tea and that has worked so far for ordinary cough. If you have any home remedy suggestions I will appreciate any inputs you can share on this ... :)

Call Center Survival Kit for Newbies

2009-02-25T01:40:00.001+08:00

In my almost 6 years with the call center industry I see csr's younger than myself apply, resign, go call center hopping in the hope that they find the perfect company. Some will leave because of higher offers, better benefits, boredom, current account is too difficult, office politics, and other varied reasons...endless reasons... So how does a newbie survive in a call center? Go ahead and take some of these useful tips with you when you decide to join the bandwagon.

1. Be prepared to work nights or unholy hours

2. Be flexible, be prepared to face the inevitable. You may have been told that you would be handling a particular queue...still be prepared to have 2 or more added to your current process.

3. Avoid office politics and rumor-mongering

4. Be a team player, if you are having a problem with your team or your team leader talk this out with them first

5. All calls are recorded so make sure you do not say anything that will sound bad in the recording.

6. Be prepared to talk to customers from different parts of the world -- and be prepared for anything when your customer asks you where the call was routed and you tell them -- Manila, Philippines.

7. Take lots of liquids and vitamins especially vitamin C because attendance is always an issue. One cannot be absent for long nor often tardy.

8. Expect that the first few weeks on the job you will be dreaming of the calls you have had,which would include numbers - card numbers, telephone numbers sometimes your opening and closing spiels, and those that you need to say verbatim.

9. You will also be exposed to activities that will involve call disconnecting, "hadukens", "petiks" (for clarification please go and visit NIGHTSHIFT)

10. If you are a non-smoker or a non-drinker then for goodness sake, stay as you are. Do not try to learn to smoke or drink just to look cool and in the desire to belong.

Life Lesson

2009-02-24T18:27:00.004+08:00

I received this forwarded message from a friend and found it so funny that I want to share it with you...read on:)

Why you should always check your children's homework

When asked to draw a picture of what they wanted to be when they grew up, second-grader "Sarah" turned in the lovely drawing shown below. Needless to say, the teacher was a bit surprised -- Mrs. Smith had always seemed like such a conservative woman. So she sent a note home to the girl's mother asking for clarification as to the picture's meaning. (read Mom's reply below the picture)

(Here's the reply the teacher received the following day)

Dear Mrs. Jones,
I wish to clarify that I am not now, nor have I ever been, an exotic dancer.
I work at Home Depot and I told my daughter how hectic it was last week before the blizzard hit. I told her we sold out every single shovel we had, and then I found one more in the back room, and that several people were fighting over who would get it. Her picture doesn't show me dancing around a pole. It's supposed to depict me selling the last snow shovel we had at Home Depot.
From now on I will remember to check her homework more thoroughly before she turns it in.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Smith

The curious case of Allen's gameboy

2009-02-19T08:24:00.007+08:00

I remember how as a kid I would open the back of my mom's radio in the hope of discovering where the sounds came from. I thought my mom's battery-operated radio produced sounds because little people were living inside and I wanted to see how they looked like. I guess this is the same reason why my youngest son is into experimenting with whatever toy he had within his "visceral perception." Remember the time when I shared with you how I saw the gameboy inside the freezer? This time he decided to see whether it would float so, he placed the gameboy in a water-filled container and discovered that it doesn't...

Rejuvenated!...a Valentine hangover...

2009-02-17T11:57:00.004+08:00

My husband and I spent our Valentine's weekend at Clark, Pampanga... it was the first time, since we got married that we've ever been together sans our children. And I should say that it was such an exhilirating experience. A time of renewal, rediscovering and reminiscing. We both had fun going the rounds of Clark, watching the airborne shows at the Hot Air Balloon Festival, taking each others' picture, laughing together, laughing at each other, (and sometimes hahaha) at other people, having henna tattoed and being together...alone...at last! In the past my husband and I would always plan weekend dates but often find ourselves going back home because I would tell him that I already miss our children. I sure wish we had done this earlier as it brought me and my husband closer together. We stayed at the Oxford Hotel which was located inside the Clark Freeport Zone. We had dinner at the Oasis Hotel and we enjoyed the buffet and the acoustic songs being rendered by the poolside. This Valentine's I got a ring from my husband and my favorite chocolate (which still brought me "kilig moments"). I hope that 10, 20, 30 and pushing it even...40 years from now we would still remain as close, as sweet, as caring, and as intensely in love as the first time we laid eyes on each other.

Celebrations of the Heart

2009-02-12T06:07:00.006+08:00

For two people in love, Valentine's Day is only icing on the cake... it renews feelings, bring out those "kilig" factor ("shivering" feeling), brings you back to the time you first fell in love with your partner, boyfriend, husband. This Valentine's my husband and I are planning something different and already am very excited! Normally, we go out and have dinner then watch a movie but this year we have decided to make it extra special. And since Love is in the air and Valentine's just around the corner... here goes my never ending affair with my love for Kahlil Gibran's "lits"... read on this is something worth sharing....

Kahlil Gibran on Love

When love beckons to you, follow him,
Though his ways are hard and steep.
And when his wings enfold you yield to him,
Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.
And when he speaks to you believe in him,
Though his voice may shatter your dreams
as the north wind lays waste the garden.

For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning.
Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun,
So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth.

Like sheaves of corn he gathers you unto himself.
He threshes you to make you naked.
He sifts you to free you from your husks.
He grinds you to whiteness.
He kneads you until you are pliant;
And then he assigns you to his sacred fire, that you may become sacred bread for God's sacred feast.

All these things shall love do unto you that you may know the secrets of your heart, and in that knowledge become a fragment of Life's heart.

But if in your fear you would seek only love's peace and love's pleasure,
Then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love's threshing-floor,
Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh, but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears.
Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself.
Love possesses not nor would it be possessed;
For love is sufficient unto love.

When you love you should not say, "God is in my heart," but rather, "I am in the heart of God."
And think not you can direct the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.

Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself.
But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires:
To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.
To know the pain of too much tenderness.
To be wounded by your own understanding of love;
And to bleed willingly and joyfully.
To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving;
To rest at the noon hour and meditate love's ecstasy;
To return home at eventide with gratitude;
And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips.

A Toast to Friendship

2009-02-10T07:45:00.004+08:00

It is such a nice feeling to be surrounded by family and friends, especially if these are friends you have kept in contact with in whatever way. Of all the birthdays I have celebrated I could say that this is the most significant. Very good friends in highschool came, Cindy, Ish, Marlette, and Arlene; followed by my college buddies, Seth and husband Bobby, Shin, Aileen, Tony and wife Tina, and Gina. Sadly other close friends - Jesusa, Iza, Joids, Kuya Rico, and Therese were not able to make it due to unforeseen events. I would also like to acknowledge another good friend of mine, Weng (currently in Korea) who called to wish me well on this special occasion. Of course the same goes to my blogger friends, Ria, Rex, Gem and Drey not to forget my well wishers at facebook there are just so many.... :) I know I sound like someone who won at the Oscar's but the feeling is akin to one.

To all of you let's toast once more and celebrate life in the company of our family and friends... I hope you like this poem as much as I do....

On Friendship by: Kahlil Gibran

Your friend is your needs answered.
He is your field which you sow with love and reap with thanksgiving.
And he is your board and your fireside.
For you come to him with your hunger, and you seek him for peace.

When your friend speaks his mind you fear not the "nay" in your own mind, nor do you withhold the "ay."
And when he is silent your heart ceases not to listen to his heart;
For without words, in friendship, all thoughts, all desires, all expectations are born and shared, with joy that is unacclaimed.
When you part from your friend, you grieve not;
For that which you love most in him may be clearer in his absence, as the mountain to the climber is clearer from the plain.
And let there be no purpose in friendship save the deepening of the spirit.
For love that seeks aught but the disclosure of its own mystery is not love but a net cast forth: and only the unprofitable is caught.

And let your best be for your friend.
If he must know the ebb of your tide, let him know its flood also.
For what is your friend that you should seek him with hours to kill?
Seek him always with hours to live.
For it is his to fill your need, but not your emptiness.
And in the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures.
For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.

Reflections on my birthday

2009-02-04T08:57:00.006+08:00

In two days I will be celebrating my birthday, another milestone, another year added to my existence... and I am so grateful! Many years back during my troubled solitude, I have often pondered about a lot of things...will I marry or stay single? Will I or will I not have children? Will my mother and I ever see the best from each other or never? Will my father start regarding me as someone with whom he can share his views or not? Will my sisters ever see me as an “ate” they could depend on? Will I ever be taken seriously? Will I ever get a stable job? So many questions….always left unanswered… Never knowing what my purpose in life is. And then you discover that your purpose is not given to you on a silver platter but takes some time of soul searching and life experiences before you touch base. Now I could say that I have travelled at least half the way of my full circle and as such, contented where I am. My loving husband and three wonderful children are constant reminders of the blessings that I have. If I used to shirk on my birthdays now I embrace this with pleasure because every year that I happen is always another year with the people I love. And each time I thank our Lord God that He has given me the wisdom to make His plans for me my own and to completely entrust my life unto Him.

On my birthday, I would like to spend this time not only with my family but with friends who have remained steadfast all throughout the years! You know who you are so see you soon! :)

Wedding Anniversary and Kahlil Gibran's thoughts on Marriage

2009-02-03T06:36:00.007+08:00

Then Almitra spoke again and said, "And what of Marriage, master?" And he answered saying:

You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.
You shall be together when white wings of death scatter your days.
Aye, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.
But let there be spaces in your togetherness, And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.

Love one another but make not a bond of love:
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf.

Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone, Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.
Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping. For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.
And stand together, yet not too near together: For the pillars of the temple stand apart, And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.

--excerpt from Kahlil Gibran's "The Prophet"--

I remember sometime ago, when my mother coming home from work brought a seemingly old hardbound black book with her. I vividly recall that the only words you can see at the front cover were its title --- The Prophet. My mom and dad are voracious readers hence, my sisters and I shared the same passion when we were younger. I was curious about the black book that I began reading it and by the time I was done, I was so into Kahlil Gibran that up to this day I refer to The Prophet once in a while especially at times when I feel I am at a crossroad.

However, today, I am quoting Kahlil Gibran’s message on marriage because tomorrow, the 4th of February, my parents celebrate their 42nd Wedding Anniversary. When I was younger, I used to think that my parents were just there and just that. I never realised how much one has to work hard for a marriage to survive. As kids growing into “hormone frenzied” teenagers we’d think that Love and having a boyfriend was all sugar and spice and everything nice while Marriage is a bed of roses. While I bear no complaints about my own marriage, I do agree that, Marriage is serious hard work. I am thankful that my mother taught me and my sisters to cook and do house chores. Although no one can maintain the same standards my mom has at least these skills had us prepared. 42 years of Marriage is indeed a milestone, these days, couples are lucky if they get past 10. I am proud to have parents who have done everything for our family to survive. I am a proud daughter to parents who has instilled in us the value of kinship hence, this is the same thing I do with my own children today.

I continually pray that my own marriage would follow the same path that my parents has taken, luckily my husband’s parents (although my father in law has passed away years ago) holds the same belief.

To you Papa and Mama Cheers on your 42nd Wedding Anniversary! May you have more years together so that, we your daughters, and your grandchildren continue to bear witness to your love story...

Kids talk that way

2009-02-02T07:25:00.002+08:00

My sister told me yesterday that she was asking her daughter the other night to describe her. When Hope said "you have pretty eyes and polka-dotted nose..." then my sister said "okay, what about me as a person?" and to this my niece said "an angry person" (hmmm...)

Then my sister continued asking her what about your Lola, how do you describe her? Hope's reply "she's a belt person" (hahaha...we know...)

And your Lolo? "He's a handsome guy..." (whoaaa!!! you get some Lolo points)

And here's the best part....

How about your Ninang, how do you describe her? Hope said "she's beautiful" then my sister says what about her as a person? "yes, she is beautiful...she has a beautiful heart...." (now that is honesty!) hahaha....

Uncalled for

2009-02-02T06:53:00.006+08:00

I was raging mad last Saturday when I got a frantic call from my mom telling me that their recently hired maid, who was my maid's sister, suddenly told her that she was leaving and that a certain man will pick her up that same day. I felt the strain in my mother's voice and was very much concerned about her going through a stressful emotion. My mom complained that a certain Dondon, claiming that he was my maid's relative called her, and threatened to bring a DSWD as my parents hired a maid "claiming" to be underaged. I was so mad that I asked for the cellphone number of this man who harassed my mom and called him. I told him that I was not calling to talk about his issues with my mom's maid but because of the fact that he dared threaten my mother. I added that he does not know my family to begin accusing us of keeping a minor as a maid. This stupid man who did not even try to find out, and mind you who was not even our maid's relative (close or distant), just got my mother's landline, got her address including mine and threw all kinds of threats to my mom not knowing that his call can cause her another heart attack. I cannot fathom how some people can be so stupid and head on doing what they "feel" is right without knowing or even trying to find out first the facts of the matter. Turned out as told to us by my maid and their mother that all the things that this certain Dondon said were all lies...all made up stories and that all he wanted to do was "pirate" my mom's maid because he needed another one. This stupid man who was only thinking of himself had no sense whatsoever of the ill-effects his accusations could lead to belongs to the stench of the earth who continually pollutes our surroundings.

Am sorry I am just ranting and raving but often when your family is harmed in any way, you get hurt to the core and just want to protect them from rotten people like this humbug! This is for you... hmph!

Sad week...but then again

2009-01-29T14:47:00.003+08:00

Eversince I took an indefinite leave, my blog catalog rating went down and that's sad for everything that I have worked for since I joined the blogosphere last year. Not only that but I have also lost 2 blog followers and it's just a boo-hoo (sob!). But looking at the brighter side I still have followers who have not given up on me (hopefully.... wink wink) and entrecard droppers and advertisers who have constantly stayed (whoo-hoo!). And most of all my parents are well, I know taking a leave from my blog has taken its toll but at least I have served that time making sure my parents were alright. February's just around the corner and so far so good...my parents are better than ever! Now I could pick up where I left off... that's it for now as I have to prepare for work!

"Magical"

2009-01-27T06:25:00.002+08:00

I got to speak to one of our customers, an 80 year old lady, who needed some assistance she then proceeded to ask where she was calling or where her call was routed to. She said she was speaking to someone from Malta and India earlier. When I said that she was speaking to someone from Manila, Philippines she was so amazed and said that it sounded so "magical" to be speaking to someone from different countries. Then she asked me how the weather was in the Philippines and whether it was snowing here and I said it was quite chilly in the early morning and evening but then we do not have snow here as it is a tropical country. She even asked me whether I have seen snow and I said I have had the opportunity when I was assigned in Japan 10 years back in which she commented "you know snow only looks good in Christmas cards...you know like those in Hallmark... but snow is slippery and dangerous..." She proceeded to say that she found it very interesting how I could speak good english when am not "English" and that she wouldn't have guessed that she was speaking to an Asian. The call ended with a resounding "God bless you" from my very engaging customer, and mind you which lasted for 30 minutes affecting my AHT (average handling time) but I did not mind I had a very good conversation with her.

Little Acts of Kindness

2009-01-24T23:43:00.004+08:00

My sister in-law, who went to Manila and was in dire need of a job, dropped by my husband's office to seek his help in preparing her resume. She had with her a brown envelope that contained her original birth certificate, NBI, SSS and other pertinent documents that she needs to bring with her on Monday. On their way back home, while at the train station where they just alighted from, she noticed her envelope missing. Hurriedly my husband, had this fact brought to the attention of the guards and had it paged. After minutes of trying to find my sister in-law's stuff they were adviced to go back to another station as they had with them a brown envelope that was handed to them by a kind commuter. Had it not been for the guards at the LRT stations who coordinated with each other, had it not been for the commuter who found the documents, my sister in-law would have wasted not only her time and effort but her savings as well. There is every bit of good in everyone, and when people make that extra mile...they stand out among the rest...

Friday Tag A to Z

2009-01-24T22:57:00.005+08:00

Okay I know I won't be able to blog about this tomorrow since I have work... this is a Friday tag but will advance this today. I am such a sleepyhead after an 11 hour shift so really sorry about that but anyways, as always would like to thank Ria of It's my Party (and i'll cry if I want to)! blog for remembering me on this fantastic tag.

A. Attached or Single? Attached--married
B. Best Friend? Yep! That would be Therese and Kuya Rico, my bestfriends since College, then there's JoRam and Weng from my previous work, and Jhoidz from my current work.
C. Cake? or Pie? Pie...blueberry pie is good, apple pie is just fantastic!
D. Day of Choice? Friday
E. Essential Item? Toothbrush and hand sanitizer
F. Favortie Color? Avocado Green

G. Gummy Bears or worms? Gummy Bears
H. Hometown? Las Piñas City

I. Indulgence? Getting a footspa, a ped and a manicure

J. June or July? June, my youngest son's birthday
K. Kids? thareee.....
L. Life is not complete without? my husband and my children
M. Marriage date? - 8th of the 8th O2
N. Subscriptions? None
O. Orange or apples? Orange
P. Phobias? tall buildings and enclosed areas
Q. Quotes? No one can make you feel inferior without your consent by Eleanor Roosevelt
. Reason to Smile? when in the midst of a tiring day I suddenly remember a smart remark by my children or a private joke that my husband and I share.
S. Season of choice? when I was assigned in Japan it was winter it was the first time for me to see, feel, and walk in the snow. I just love the cold season
T. Tag 5 people - Kengkay, Gem, Mom Gen, Iyrel, and Dhemz
U. Unknown facts about me? I was betted against Lea Salonga to play Kim in Miss Saigon... and then I suddenly woke up! Waaaahhhhh! It was all but a dream hahaha...
V. Vegetable? I love bitter gourd and all kinds of veggies
W. Worst habit? i just love buying small stuffs at the Hardware store. It's the first thing I go to when I go to the mall alone.
X. Xray or Ultrasound? Ultrasound
Y. Your favorite food? Chinese, Italian, Japanese, of course like Ria I still love my Mom's cooking best of all!
Z. Zodiac Sign? Aquarius

Have fun!... I did! :)

Precious Awards

2009-01-24T20:51:00.010+08:00

Thank you Ria for including me in your list for these awards! I really appreciate them... and as promised I am posting them today...

And lovely are the blossoms

That are tended with great care,

By those who work unselfishly

To make the place more fair.

And, like the garden blossoms,

Friendship’s flower grows more sweet

When watched and tended carefully

By those we know and meet.

And, if the seed of friendship

Is planted deep and true

And watched with understanding,

Friendship’s flower will bloom for you.

The Award above is presented to bloggers who display consistency in any one or a combination of these conditions:

1. The Blogger manifests exemplary attitude, respecting the nuances that pervades amongst different cultures and beliefs.
2. The Blog contents inspire; strives to encourage and offers solutions.
3. There is a clear purpose at the Blog; one that fosters a better understanding on Social, Political, Economic, the Arts, Culture and Sciences and Beliefs.
4. The Blog is refreshing and creative.
5. The Blogger promotes friendship and positive thinking.

For these awards I would like to tag everyone on my blog roll as you all deserve them! Don't forget to link back... Enjoy your weekend!

Catching up...

2009-01-23T02:31:00.003+08:00

Ooooh I have a lot of catching up to do... I have posted 2 articles today and there are just a lot to share but too little time. I still have to check Ria's tag invites for me... so Ria hang in there I'll just need tomorrow to spend for work then finish all the tags over the weekend. It's 2:35 in the morning, Manila time. Good morning Philippines and to the rest of the world let there be Peace among men!

Friday Google Tag

2009-01-23T01:10:00.018+08:00

I got tagged by Ria of It's my party and I'll cry if I want to... thank you, you have always managed to make my blog fun with the tags that you share with me :)

Here are the simple rules to follow:

Use Google Images to search for the answers to the questions below. Then you must choose a picture in the first page of the results and post it as your answer. After that tag 7 people.

1. The age of my next birthday
Pass…it’s a super duper secret that I have sworn myself not to say to anyone… sorry guys but I have to respect myself hahaha

2. Place I would like to visit

3. My Favorite Place

4. A Favorite Thing

My Dopod

5. My Favorite Food

My mom’s Chinese pork asado

6. My Favorite Color

7. The city where I currently reside

8. City where I was born

9. My college major

10. Name of your First lover

...I know... Isn't it great?! Truth be told, I was his first too hahahaha!!!

11. A bad habit

12. A Hobby

Whatever strikes my fancy

13. My current wish lists ( Max of 3)

Have fun with the tag everyone! I am tagging: Dhemz, Wendy, Bola, MomGen, Simple Married Life, Hapi, Call Center Gal, Kengkay, and Iyrel

In retrospect...

2009-01-22T22:13:00.009+08:00

The Year 2008 was the year of the Rat, and though Chinese charts say that it would be a favourable year for the monkey. I should say that it was not as good as I hoped it would be as my family and I faced one of the most difficult challenges in our life. All throughout 2008 starting January, I realised towards the year end ,that our parents have been in and out of the hospital, that my children got sick almost every month, that our finances were so bad and had no other recourse but to borrow money left and right and to make matters worst ,other "on the side jobs" have gone from good to nill. However, I, too realised that not all was terrible, it was in the year 2008 when we acquired our own home, finished paying for our car, when my son Alloy made it from 2nd honor to 1st honor, when my friends sent financial help for my mother, when our house was finally "blessed". It is also the year when our annual family Christmas reunion was held with a mass and where my relatives and my husband's relatives were able to attend. The year may have started out unfavorably but it was also a year of burying hatchets between erring family members, an insightful year geared towards making the following year a better one. May we all live in peace this Year of the Ox! And may we always call on our Lord for guidance as we persevere in everything we do throughout the year...

Awards and Tags from friends...

2008-12-22T02:27:00.002+08:00

Hello to my ever constant friend Ria and Wendy! Thank you for the awards and the tags you sent I am unable to follow through yet as I have been very busy with various things. Thank you so much!

More tags...

2008-12-22T02:23:00.002+08:00

Hubby List

Can you remember the day you first met your hubby? Etched in memory

When was that? (doesn't have to be specific)More than 7 years ago

First impression. Too serious.

Were you attracted to him?
Not much (aw c'mon!) but we got a long well in any kind of conversation

Were you friends before he became your bf? Nuh-uh...we went down to business ASAP! :)

What was the sweetest thing he did for you?
So many things but one of the most memorable was when he gave me a necklace and told me that it was his first time to give someone such.

What are the things about him that you are thankful for?
My husband’s patience with me, the way he loves me unconditionally. His being such a responsible man, loving husband and father.

2008-12-22T02:06:00.002+08:00

Ria of It's my Party and I’ll cry when I want to has tagged me on this one. I find this very interesting because you get to know the person who tagged you more and you share something as well that others would find very amusing. So here they are:

1. Have you ever been on TV? Yes! As an unwilling contestant on a show in Channel 13 along with my friend. Funny, because the judge, who the host introduced as a principal of a certain school was actually someone from the audience who was minding her own business…

2. Have you ever sung in public?Oh Yes! A lot of times and I enjoyed every moment. I used to dream of becoming a singer someday.

3. Have you ever dyed your hair blond? Not blond but brown…

4. Have you ever eaten frogs' legs? Eeeeewwww!

5. Have you ever received a present that you really hated? Nope.

6. Have you ever walked into a lamp post? not a lamp post but a “No parking sign”. This happened years ago when my cousins and I were playing cops and robbers.

7. Have you ever cooked a meal by yourself for more than 15 people? Always.

8. Have you ever fallen or stumbled in front of others? Yep! I was running very fast I did not stumble though. However, my “foot brakes” were not working that I collided head on with my female classmates and to make matters worst my hand were outstretched that by the time we literally “bumped” into each other my hands were on her “chest.”

9. Have you ever done volunteer work? A lot during my University days as well…

Okay guys, it's your turn to tell me about yourselves: Wendy, Call Center Gal, Bola, Dhemz, MomGen

As I look forward to the following year...

2008-12-22T01:04:00.003+08:00

This year by far has seen the most trying times as my dad and mom went in and out of the hospital for various ilnesses. More than a month ago, my mom was brought to the hospital as she suffered her 3rd attack while last week to conclude this year's "health related events", my Dad was rushed to the hospital. He is fine now and will be coming back home tomorrow.

Busiest month of the Year

2008-12-22T00:40:00.003+08:00

Since December 1st my rest days have always been filled with so many things to do... a bit of shopping here and there, planning for our house blessing (finally!), hobbling between work and the kids. My sisters and I earlier agreed to parlay gift giving as we need the funds for her angioplasty. However, my husband disagreed and reminded me that this is something that should not be taken away from our traditional family reunion every Christmas Eve. And it's quite surprising how much time you can spend looking for nice presents that would not cost that much. I am happy with the things that I was able to buy, however, I would not want to broadcast how much I bought the pretty pretty shirts I discovered being sold somewhere in Imus, Cavite and to give you a rough idea, your 500 pesos will get you more than a dozen shirts that you can give as gifts to your god children and they are even brand new! I showed them to my mom and she said she would never be able to guess how much the shirts are as the materials are quite good. It's already the 22nd and yet I am not done with my Christmas shopping ... aaarggghhh! I hate cramming!

First Communion

2008-12-11T00:03:00.002+08:00

Last Saturday, the 6th of December was my daughter's First Communion. She looked so pretty with her veil, white dress all the way down to her white shoes. It was a family event, being my Mama's favorite and their first grandchild, my parents were present to witness the occasion. It was a solemn one held at the St. Joseph the Humble heart Church located inside Golden City Subdivision in Imus. The day before her communion they said confession at the same Church, when I asked my daughter how she felt during the confession she said that she wanted to say more but her teacher told her to confess only 5 sins. I had a good laugh I told her "so that means you still have a lot to confess then? why don't you start confessing to me? hahaha my daughter just rolled her eyes ")

Bye Bye Bunny...

2008-12-10T23:37:00.003+08:00

So much has happened during the days that I was not visible online and one of the loneliest "period" in my children's life was when they lost their bunny. Bunny's name is Ferrity named by their cousin, Hope. My children decided not to change its name as they are already used to it. Part of our agreement before we got Ferrity was that they would be responsible enough to clean his (yep bunny is male but was named Ferrity) cage and feed him daily. Which they did without much prodding. Until one Saturday afternoon I told my daughter to clean his cage and wash Ferrity's feet that I was met by loud shouting at the back of the house only to fnd that the poor rabbit was not well. My younger children blamed their ate as she shot the poor rabbit with her water gun which frightened him, made him panicked and induced a bad fall. I was so mad but did not want to stress my children especially my daughter who was already crying her heart out. That same day I decided to take her for a ride on my way to the grocery and asked her how she was feeling. She admitted feeling bad that Ferrity died because of her. I told her that it was an accident and such do happen. But stressed out that the next time they decide to have another pet how responsibility plays a big role in doing so. I told my daughter to take care of burying Ferrity which she did she even said a little prayer and was joined by her two little brothers in a eulogy of some sort for their very first pet.

A Few Good Men

2008-12-10T23:22:00.002+08:00

Nope this is not about the movie...and at this point I don't think there are only a few good men out there. It is true that during very trying times you realise how much you and your parents are valued by friends. I experienced this and up to this day I feel overwhelmed by the help that we get from all of our friends. To everyone thank you! I know our family is so much blessed, bonds are strengthened. Our courage soars as you bring hope to our family with your prayers, your kind words, the financial help and your genuine concern for our Mama. To my blogger friends, thank you so much for visiting my site and leaving earnest messages. Thank you....

Back from a long "vacation"

2008-12-06T20:57:00.001+08:00

It is so good to be back! I miss blogging! But before anything else I would like to greet my youngest sister the best birthday ever. This birthday greeting is long overdue as I have had no time to update my blogs ... but am back! And everything is alright. We spent her birthday (November 16th) in the hospital while our mom was in the ICU, my "bunsoy" (what I call my youngest sister), was even sick on her birthday. My mom, always the "generous one gave my papa money to buy some food to share on my sister's birthday. It was a happy day for us as my mom was much better but not so as my sister, on the other hand, had such a bad flu.

Well sister, this message is for you...

I know how lonely sometimes life can be, I have been in that situation. Remember that time...several Valentine's ago when you and Minpi were out on a date while I had to go home because I had no one? I remember coming from work, with a rose given by my staff, dragging my feet and opening the gate to our house. I was greeted by Mama who said that she and Papa just came back from a dinner date. I felt utterly miserable because I had no one... then I saw our dog with another dog who was trying to court him at our backyard... I did not know whether I wanted to laugh or to cry...so I told Mama - "Look Mama, even Chapay has a date... while I have only myself..." I can't recall what Mama's reaction was that time but I felt how sad it is to be alone when you know how much love you have inside that you want to share with a special someone, only if there was one. That is probably the reason why I do not hear the melody in your voice when you laugh, you used to have a very infectious laugh. These days, you always look so tired... I miss the way your eyes light up when you smile. I miss listening to you sing early in the morning and before you go to sleep. You no longer find mirth when everything used to touch you silly.

Bunsoy, look back if you must and if only to find lessons you had to learn but look forward to the future with much optimism. Lift everything up to our Lord who understand the pain you have inside your heart, He will heal you as He has healed me; He will lead you as He has led me; and He will find that special someone who will not only love you but love that little Hope in your life as well. Have faith and rediscover happiness.

Happy Happy Birthday! My wish for you is to find peace and be healed.

Call Center Momie notice

2008-11-18T01:00:00.003+08:00

Most of you may be wondering why I have not been dropping EC's and blogging lately -- I have to take an indefinite leave from my blogging activities as my mother suffered her 3rd heart attack. We were told that had she been brought to the hospital a couple of minutes late the attack would have been fatal. I cry deep down in the recesses of my soul for my mother. I don't think any son or daughter is and will ever be ready to lose a parent. I cry because I find myself financially limited in helping my ailing mother. I cry because she is there lying in the ICU alone and I know how much she continues to worry about my father. My mother has been the light of our lives and although we have had rough times in the past all those are water under the bridge. Yesterday we got to talk to her doctor who strongly advised us that we needed to have her undergo an angiogram which would eventually lead to have her go through an angioplasty. My mother refused to have the procedure done on her as it would cost a lot of money and she kept telling her cardio that she did not want to bother anyone with the expenses that was needed to defray such. My mother is very quick in helping anyone in need while disregards her own, selfless and always willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for the good of others. I know my sisters and I at this time don't have much but we have faith that our good Lord will lead us in these troubled times. I appeal for your prayers my friends...please include us in your prayers...

Raining Random facts and an Award

2008-11-12T16:37:00.018+08:00

This tag is from Gengen of Wonderful Things in Life thank you for both the tag and the award.

HERE ARE THE RULES FOR :

A. FOR THE BUTTERFLY AWARD

1. Put the logo on your blog.
2. Add a link to the person who awarded it to you.

3. Link 10 other bloggers with whom you would like to share this award

B. FOR THE CUTE'S 2008 BLOGGER AWARD

1. each blogger must post this

2. each blogger starts with ten random facts/habits about themselves

3. bloggers that are tagged need to write about their own 10 random facts please post these rules and tag 10 others of your choice.

4. don`t forget to leave them a comment telling them that they've been tagged and to read your blog .

NOW HERE ARE MY 10 RANDOM FACTS:

1. When I was about 17 or 18 years old I conspired with my youngest sister and dressed up as a pregnant woman. I rolled several clothes placed them inside a sack and tied it around my waist. We then went to McDonald's in Alabang town center wanting to see how people would react. It was fun seeing some of the crew whispering to each other when they thought I was not looking. (Pilya! hahaha)

2. Whenever my sisters and I went to SM Makati (then Shoemart), we would play a game (usually out of boredom) we would feign to comfort our youngest sister pretending to have a very big problem -- while we go on and secretly observe the reactions of the sales ladies who overhear us. (Super pilya! )

3. I was sent to Japan by a previous electronics company for training. One day I literally found myself standing rigid with a matching confused smile at a grocery counter when the cashier said something which for the life of me I could not understand nor decipher. It was a good thing another trainee came to the rescue and told me that the cashier was just asking me whether I wanted to purchase an extra plastic bag for the groceries. Whew! And I kept saying "wakaranai wakaranai" as it's the only word I remember during our language training :)

4. I used to take care of lizard eggs (i don't know why) ... i would find them at the back of my mother's sewing machine and collect them put them inside a box and let them hatch there.

5. When my youngest sister was only 10 years old I kept saying a particular expression made up by my then group of highschool friends. My sister was so curious about what it meant, so I told her that I promise to tell her on her 16th birthday. Being the gullible little girl that she used to be, she agreed. On the morning of her birthday she came running inside my room and asked me what the expression meant. I fell off the bed laughing when I realised that she still wanted to know about it when actually it did not mean anything. She was so mad at me saying she waited for 6 long years for nothing hahaha....

6. I wore retainers from highschool to college and my grandmother referred to it as my "teeth antenna"

7. When I was in highschool I was so not into sewing, that most of my projects were done by my grandmother.

8. One lazy day back in highschool I had this great urge to just stay home so I crammed lots of crushed garlic in my armpits in the hope that I would feel hot to touch (i learned this from a classmate) before telling my mom I had to make sure it worked so I checked my temperature. Realising that it was not working I dipped the thermometer into a warm glass of water ... of course my mom just told me to stay home hehehe....

9. The only man in the family is my father so everytime he would have to climb up the roof and fix our antenna or fix whatever, I was always the one up there with him. Even up to this day I am very able when it comes to "some" home repairs.

10. When I was little, I opened our transistor radio because I thought the sounds came from small people living inside the radio ... :)

There...you've noticed that most of the random facts about me are things that you as a mother would not expect your daughters to do. I feel the same....I hope my daughter would not do the crazy things I did hahaha I could not imagine how my mother was able to cope though!

Now I am going to give this award and tag to the 10 people who I know deserve this:

Kidz@Work and Night Market

2008-11-12T14:28:00.006+08:00

We will be having our 2nd Kidz@work and am very excited...I know it would be pretty much the same thing as the activities last year. But am sure my children would be thrilled once they learn that they will be going to the office again. Kidz@work is a yearly date with the employee's children and younger siblings whilst invited to a myriad of activities set for them. Such activity would include a tour of the office, a peek at the kind of work that their parents, siblings handle, some games and eating afterwards. This will be held on December 05.

On the other hand, our night market will be held at the parking lot on December 12.

Orange Octa Volunteer

2008-11-09T00:10:00.009+08:00

I have been up and about since 10:30 am Friday morning to attend a volunteer reading session at the Alabang Public School. One of HSBC's advocacy is to be able to spread their love for reading and share it with the less fortunate especially the children. Although back in College I have had the chance to be a volunteer teacher at Caritas Manila, I was a bit apprehensive because I did not know what to expect and what were expected of us. We were divided into groups of 4, where 2 would read and 2 would be for crowd control. Surprisingly the school that we visited was huge and well-kept, not for anything else, but I have visited other schools years back that were worn-out and dilapited. The first classroom we entered had grade one students who instantly greeted us with a deafening "Good morning visitors!". After introducing ourselves we started reading to them about Orange Octa, a story about an octopus who was different. The story was in english but realising that most of the children had difficulty understanding some of the words used in the story, we had to pause and explain to them the meaning. Afterwards, armed with candies we began asking them questions to find out if they understood the story that we just read. Most of them would just raise their hands in the hope of getting some candies but what bothered me the most was the fact that 95% of the children are not familiar with a lot of words that children their age should already know. The second classroom we went to was the same and even quite depressing as we only saw 10-15 students inside the classroom while the rest were either watering the plants, cleaning the corridors or doing some errands. I would not want to judge why this is so, as their subject perhaps at that time was ... i don't know ... home economics??? ... but just the same even as they were older students than the first group we visited, their language comprehension was quite poor. I just hope that our government can do something about this as good education builds better lives, while language breaks down barriers. We will have another reading session this coming Friday, the 14th of November. It actually is a "feel-good" experience as all the other volunteer work I have done in the past and this is something that I want my children go through even at an early age. hmmm... I guess this Christmas season would be a good time to start a personal advocacy with my children as little volunteers. This is going to be fun! :)

More on President Obama...

2008-11-06T13:45:00.004+08:00

Hi! am back I just can't postpone this ... I won't be able to do any blogging entries or have time to drop entrecards as today is the start of my work week. So to continue, as I was listening to the newly elected President Obama’s speech yesterday, I felt that he could well be the United States' most influential leader. However, with the crisis that he has to attend to, not only will he feel the strain of putting America back at its feet but he would also have to face the close scrutiny of those who did not vote for him plus give or take 6.7 billion of the world’s population. He was a very popular choice not only in America but all over the world. This is the first time I have ever been interested in another country’s President and you would be amazed at the things he has accomplished (I read this at Wikipedia). I was even telling Ria of It’s my Party and I’ll cry if I want to, that President elect Barack Obama came at a time when his country was at its lowest, America needs change they say. Reflecting on this made me think of my own country, if American needs change, then my country needs overhauling!

"Little Beach"

2008-11-06T00:56:00.012+08:00

I heard on the news today how other countries hailed the victory of Obama as the 44th President of the United States. I listened to his speech and was quite emotional it seems that people from all over the world has been waiting for this historical event. Obama's being voted President is a welcome change in the life of the American people and evidently the whole world. I am not an American, I was born in the Philippines and yet felt as if I had casted my own vote. Congratulations to President Obama, his family and to the American people! I still have something to add to this but because it is late I have to take my forty winks but will be back tomorrow...

Top October droppers

2008-11-04T21:47:00.003+08:00

My apologies dear readers I should have accomplished this last week but was swamped with work hence, the delay.

I would like to thank the following top droppers for the month of October (drum roll please)...

Thank you so much! I hope to see more of you!

Friendship Tag

2008-10-31T13:13:00.005+08:00

"We need friends for many reasons, all throughout the season.We need friends to comfort us when we are sad, and to have fun with us when we are glad.We need friends to give us good advice.We need someone we can count on, and treat us nice.We need friends to remember us when we have passed on..."

Thank you for this friendship tag from Ria of "It's my Party and I'll cry if I want to" for including me in her list of friend and for this wonderful poem!

Over the past two months that I have started blogging it is such a wonderful feeling being surrounded by blogfriends. I believe that everything happens for a reason and people you chance upon in any circumstance is always a blessing. With this on mind I would like to share this friendship tag to Wendy, Call Center Gal, Iyrel, Simple Married Life, Rex of A Bum's life, Demcy, $Best jobs abroad$ and Gem

Have a great weekend everyone!

My 50th Blog Post

2008-10-30T13:57:00.012+08:00

And because this is my 50th entry I would like to dedicate this space to my loving husband Ranel. The first time I met you, I must admit that I had constant reservations whether our relationship would work out. Why? Because from the start you were so strict (like my Mom) while I valued my independence you always wanted to know where I was going, with whom I was with -- things that I would rather keep at bay while we were not yet married. You never failed to amaze me with your deep understanding of the world around, you never faltered on your beliefs. You knew what you wanted to happen in your life. Early on the relationship you affirmed of a lifetime together while I did not want to hope and get hurt again. But you were true to your word after 2 years we finally got married. We planned everything together ... I saw the excitement in your eyes and felt how much you were looking forward for that to happen. I remember one night coming back from work … you were so excited and knelt in front of me. You then presented me with a ring and again proposed and told me how much you wanted to marry me. Timidly you said that it was not an expensive ring … daddy just to let you know … that did not matter to me… I saw beyond that ring … something more precious, something that can never be bought anywhere. And it was your love … you keep asking me if I have had any regrets over the years for not marrying a rich man. Wealth is nothing without the kind of love you have surrounded me and our children with. You are a fantastic self-made man I know there is no one else like you who could make me laugh as hard, smile for no reason, and with whom I can be myself. I love you my husband, my soul mate, the father of my children, my best friend and counselor, my critic and the love of my life. Thank you!

I chanced upon this poem written by Teri Sprinkel

When We First Met

When we first met,
in my heart I could feel
the warmth of your smile,
and I knew that we would
share something special
that many people
only dream of......

Though time has passed
since the day we first met,
I can sincerely tell you
that I love you more through time,
We've seen both good and bad times,
and I feel they have
strenghtened our relationship,
making it one we can always count on.
I thank you for always being there
to embrace me when life
becomes difficult,
for warming my spirit
and returning my strength.
I thank you for filling
my life, my heart,
and my dreams with unending love.

My 8 Random facts...

2008-10-30T10:28:00.008+08:00

I was tagged by Gengen of Wonderful things in Life, I had one earlier hahaha so this will be 16 total random facts about me already :) Well, here goes....

1. I love smelling my children's armpits hahaha

2. When I was little (around 5 or 6) while playing with my sister I accidentally inserted my eraser inside my nose and accidentally sniffed which made it go up further and stay lodged inside the upper portion of my nose. My mom had to make me blow my nose several times in order for it to be taken out. So all mothers out there beware of what your children do with their erasers haahaha

3. I used to hate Math when I was still a student I wanted to learn so hard but my brain just would not cooperate

4. I gave birth a month before my due date because I got scared of a cockroach which made me jump and which in turn ruptured my water bag.

5. I love experimenting with food and have come up with a few pasta and meat recipes

6. I have won in singing contests held in town fiestas in Batangas -- I even won First place in one event but guess what? There were only 3 contestants hahaha so for those out there who dream of bagging the top prize make sure that the contest you join would only have 3 aspirants including yourself hehehe

7. The longest I have worked for a company is 6 years, which could have been longer had the company not closed down due to bankruptcy.

8. I taught English language to Korean students years back and now they are good friends of mine just don't ask me if they have learned a lot from me hahaha

There...that's me the second time around...having fun though! I won't tag anyone this time but if you feel like joining go ahead and help yourself! Have fun!

Name Game

2008-10-30T01:40:00.008+08:00

Okay here are a couple of blogthings I discovered while dropping some ECs ... I found quite hilarious how my name turned up in every "category" here goes....

My 1920's Name is:

Octavia Oma

What's Your 1920's Name?

This is even funnier...

My Rockstar Name Is...

Kiki Zombie

What's Your Rockstar Name?

My Rapper Name Is...

MixMaster Pesos ... yeah!

What's Your Rapper Name?

And of course in time for Halloween....

My Monster Profile

Psychotic Cannibal

You Feast On: Fried Chicken

You Lurk Around In: Corn Fields

You Especially Like to Torment: Emo Kids

What's Your Monster Name?

Go ahead find out what yours would be :)