2010 Personal Projects

Out of the 10 items in my 2009 Personal Projects, I'm happy to say that I was able to cross off almost all items except for45 #1 and #8. Not bad, not bad at all.

2009 Personal Projects
# 1. Eat healthier
# 2. Practice driving
# 3. Go back to school
# 4. Decide on my career
# 5. See old friends more often
# 6. Visit another place out of the country
# 7. Visit another place in the country
# 8. Finish our photo albums and scrapbooks
# 9. Give birth to a healthy baby
# 10. Celebrate our second year wedding anniversary

For 2010, the following our my Personal Projects:
# 1. Lose 20 lbs
# 2. Try to commute more to save on expenses
# 3. Cook more often
# 4. Successfully defend my OCE and get my MBA degree
# 5. Take up another language after my graduation
# 6. Visit another place out of the country that we haven't visited before (Hongkong or Cambodia)
# 7. Visit another place in the country that we haven't visited before (Cebu or Davao)
# 8. Take up a new hobby
# 9. Celebrate Basti's first year birthday party
#10. Celebrate our third year wedding anniversary

2009, My Year

My 2009 has really been an extraordinary year. One of the years that I will definitely remember throughout the rest of my life. This was my year in a glance.

January
I started the year with a bang by giving birth to my son on January 26. It was a life changing moment for me as I finally saw this human being that has been growing in my tummy for 9 months. I didn't really cry when I saw him but I was filled with awe that someone so beautiful can grow in me.


February
I finally learned how to drive this month. As I took driving lessons before I got pregnant, its just the matter of practicing what I learned. With Papa's permission, I took the Civic to church to fix Basti's baptismal requirements.

March

We had Basti's baptism on March 15. We only had two sets of godparents: my sister, Cheryll; Leo's brother-in-law, Chris; my good friends Cessna and Allan.




April
I decided to go back to school to finish my MBA. I drove to La Salle using my newly acquired driving skills and enrolled for the next school year.

May

Watched the David Cook and David Archuleta concert at MOA. It was one of the best highlights of the year. I've always been a fan of both Davids, especially Cook, and was an ardent watcher of Season's 7 AI.







June

Filed my resignation from SCB. I couldn't sleep the night before I spoke with my boss but I felt very relieved when I gave my resignation and he reluctantly accepted.





July

Started my new job at BDO. Had a two day orientation at Ortigas and I reported to work on July 20. I was an hour late on my first day. That was quite embarassing.






August

We celebrated our 2nd year anniversary two weeks earlier by going to Bohol. We stayed at Alona Beach Resort.Bohol met and exceeded my expectationS. It was too bad that I got sick before we went home and I had to fly with a horrible cold.


September
I finally started my STRAMA subject which is an MBA integrating course. The last subject before I defend my paper OCE and hopefully will lead to my graduation. I've already let this draw out for so long that I just want this to get over with.
This was also the month that I experienced being stuck in in SLEX for four hours due to typhoon Ondoy.

The rest of the year was a blur. Second year anniversary on September and preparing for our first Christmas with Basti and doing my Strama paper for the rest of the year.

Other than the first Christmas with Basti, Leo and I went to Malaysia after Christmas. It was our first time there and I crossed off another item from my 2009 To-Do List.

Christmas 2009 Wishlist

With Christmas two weeks away, people have been bugging me what I want for Christmas. Some people have even remarked that I'm a difficult person to give Christmas gifts to. So, to make gift-giving easier (and as per my tradition), I'm posting my Christmas 2010 Wishlist:

1. Alarm Clock
Every year, somebody gives me a clock but somehow, I still haven't found one that I really like. I want an alarm clock that I can easily turn off when it buzzes so it doesn't wake up Leo. Digital or glow-in-the-dark numbers would be great so I can see in the dark.

2. Desk Organizer
My desk at home is a mess. I need to fix it especially when we're also reorganizing our room.  

3. Statio
I love stationeries. I correspond with a friend writing in longhand and the statios would come in handy there. Or when I need to write a note to people.

4. Picture Frames
There was a time when I would receive a lot of picture frames, but after awhile, I don't get them as gifts anymore. I would appreciate them now so I can display Basti's pictures.

5. Twilight stuff--especially a Twilight Desk calendar
Yes, I'm a Twilight fan. I have the Twilight shirt...any other novelty item with anything Twilight on it would be nice :)

6. Desk Calendar
There are several desk calendars at Powerbooks. I'm still searching for that elusive Twilight desk calendar but if there's none to be found, any of them would be nice (Dilbert, Simpsons, Baby Blues)

7. Handbag
Mind you, not just any handbag. It should be able to stand on its own when placed on the desk and should not be slouchy.

8. Checkbook wallet
My checkbook has it's own plastic case courtesy of my bank but I don't like the look of it. I saw leather ones before but I can't remember where I saw it.

9. Wallet
My wallet can hold 7 plastic cards and has space where I can place more. It also holds money and other IDs which I carry. Unfortunately, I can't find this type of wallet anymore and it's going to give up on me anytime soon. I wish I can find a replacement. It is 2" thick, almost 8" long and has a width of 4". If somebody can find a wallet for me with that specification, it'll be the best gift I'll receive this Christmas.

10. Vanity Kit bag
I have a separate make-up bag and toiletries bag in the office. Though I know it's not possible to combine the two due to the amount of make-up that I have, a vanity bag would be nice (for my toiletries) as my current bag does not close.

Goodbye, Yaya

I cannot recall crying over any household help that left us. Some of them, I would not even bother saying goodbye as they were quite a nuisance while there are some who are extraordinarily good of taking care of us but it was only fondness when we bad her goodbye.

At this instance, Yaya will be leaving in a few hours and I'm already crying as it is.

Amy has been with us for barely a year. We got her as Basti's yaya and she came to us January 10, 2009, a day after I learned I was 2cm dilated. When Basti came out, she was Basti's caregiver in the morning while Leo and I were left with taking care of Basti in the evenings. Eventually, we both gave up and called Amy for help as the 2-3 hours sleep were getting to us. She slept in the other room with a baby monitor by her side and she will just attend to Basti when he wakes up in the middle of the night.

Basti is now 10 months and she has taken care of him very well. Basti never got sick and is growing up rather well. He was not prescribed any vitamins as he's growing at the right rate and his appetite is healthy. Leo and I have come to depend on her and I've learned so much from her as well.

On my birthday, Leo called me up saying that Amy needs to leave as her middle child left home. Understanding that her family is her priority, we sadly let her go and she agreed to stay until today. Fortunately, her replacement also arrived this morning.

I know that this is a reality for working parents with kids--yayas coming and going--but I guess I never prepared myself for it. We treated Amy like family and with her leaving, I felt like I lost a member of our family as well.

We were lucky to have Amy when we needed someone to help us raise our child. Someone who will love our child as much as we love him and God sent her to us.

I wish her luck with her family and I hope that next time I get pregnant, she'll be available to work for us again.

December, Here I Come!

The next two weeks will be very interested indeed.

I have four events/deadline happening on the 1st week of December that I don't know what to prioritize first.

There's no definite date yet but my STRAMA paper (the success of which will be dependent if I'll be able to defend it next term which is the last hurdle for my MBA diploma) is definitely due on the first week of December. We will also be having our division Christmas party on Dec. 3 which also happens to be my birthday. Unfortunately, I was roped into organizing and participating in our group's presentation. Being a new employee, it's difficult to say "no" when you know that the big bosses are in attendance and they're quite particular of people not attending the parties.

Next week we'll have practice on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. However, I'll be on leave on Thursday to work on my STRAMA paper and there's the St. James Bazaar starting Friday which I intend to go to as it won't be too crowded. That leaves me Saturday to Monday to hopefully finish my paper.

At the onset of December, we will no doubt be cramming for our presentation and doing last minute practice sessions.

Our KL trip at the end of December would be very welcome considering how hectic my Christmas holidays will be.

Oh, have I mentioned that I'm also organizing Basti's first birthday party as well? (sigh)

Oh well, at least I'm watching New Moon in a couple of hours which I'm so looking forward to. A reprieve before the stress starts.

Hindi Ka Nag-iisa (Noynoy Aquino's MTV)

I can't help that my eyes teared up over this MTV and will no doubt have thousands and probably millions vote for the only son of the country's martyr, Ninoy and his equally loved wife, Cory. There's still a part of me doubting though whether he can do the job as he was pretty "quiet" when he was in the Senate. But considering the other presidentiables, I think Noy will do.

Bad Service

I don't know what is it about bad service that I've been getting these past few days. Makes me think whether I've been expecting too much from people and establishments as I've been getting disappointed.

Don't get me started on my rants (refer to my previous post) as negative emotions are bad for me but I can't help but get pissed. Just this evening when I was at Festival Mall, everything seemed to go the other way. First of all, the cashier at Bench took forever to ring up my purchases. The cashier beside her already checked out three customers while my cashier was still struggling with the register. Lucky me that I got a trainee.

When I went to Red Ribbon to purchase Basti's cake, the POS was not working so I had to pay in cash (I was using my BPI Credit Card as I already got a lot of freebies just by using that card).

Now, I found out that the CD that Picture Company gave me contained the wrong pictures. Moreover, they didn't tell me that it would take two weeks for them to make our Christmas postcards. Ano ba????????????????????????????????????? What is going on???!!!!

Rustan's FSP RANT

I initially wrote this post for an egroup, but I decided to also post this here. Sorry for the taglish language. I wrote this in anger.

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Medyo long read at rant ito. Pasensya na. Uminit kasi ang dugo ko nung weekend.

Kumuha ba kayo ng bagong Frequent Shopper's Card ng Rustan's? Matagal ko na kasi gusto kumuha nito kaya yung nag-launch sila two to three months ago, kumuha ako. The date on my receipt is Sep. 12. Ang promise sa akin, I'll get my card within 2 to 3 weeks.

After 2 to 3 weeks, I called their customer service in Alabang (where I filed my application) and they said wala pa raw yung card. Sige, mabait naman ako so I waited for another week and called them again. Wala pa raw. Medyo nairita na ako and I called again until last Tuesday, they told me may dumating daw na batch at punta nalang daw ako. Na-excite ako kasi marami na ako gustong bilhin sa Rustan's (for gifts) pero nagpipigil ako kasi hinihintay ko lang yung card para ma-credit naman yung points ko (sayang ang points!). So punta ako doon only to find out wala pa yung card ko. Ok lang sana sa akin pero I didn't like the way they handled my complaint. They only gave me blank looks na parang wala silang pakialam kung wala pa yung card ko which made me more angry. They just got my name and number and said they will follow-up with the head office.

Kahapon bumalik ako to find out about the status of my card. Siyempre, wala na naman sila maibigay na sagot sa akin. Sabi ko, hihingi nalang ako ng refund pero sabi hintayin ko nalang daw. Tinanong ko pa sila kung puwede bang bumili ako ngayon and then they'll just manually credit the points. puwede naman daw. Pero nanigurado ako at pumunta ako sa isa sa mga cashier nila. Sabi, hindi daw at dapat dala ko yung FSP ko para ma-credit ang points ko. Ay naku, nag-shoot up yata ang BP ko doon. Yung husband ko hinila na lang ako palabas ng Rustan's kasi nararamdaman niya na ge-guerahin ko na yung customer service at cashiers nila. Gagawin ko talaga yun kung di ko lang kasama ang baby ko.

Kung tutuusin, hindi naman siya gaano big deal pero mataas ang expectations ko sa kanila. They're Rustan's for pity's sake and their customer service should be exemplary considering their clientele! Alam kong hindi naman matunog ang last name ko tulad nina Zobel or Ayala or whatever pero, I have minimum standards set for them. SM has better customer service than them considering masa market sila. Worse pa, I paid 350 pesos for a privilege that I can't even use!

Does anyone know where I can write a complaint letter? Kailangan ko kasi talaga mailabas ito sa kanila. Hindi ko alam kung mabibigyan ng action pero hindi ko talaga kayang palampasin ito. In all my years in shopping with them, ngayon lang talaga ako na-dismaya sa kanila. Sabi ng brother-in-law ko, hanapin ko nalang daw ang store manager at siya ang kausapin ko. Kung letter daw kasi, wala daw talagang sasagot nun. Hay naku talaga.