Thursday, October 23, 2003
Sunshine, the Baker!
Friends have been telling me to open my own bakery or bakeshop. I've been baking/cooking more than usual these past few weeks with my officemates as my taste testers. They all gave positive reactions which made me seriously think about opening one. They also helped me think of a name for my shop. Some suggestions are: The Shop that Sunshine Baked, House of Sunshine, Sunshine's Bakery and so on and so forth. Maybe this Christmas, moreover with cookies as my giveaways. Who knows?
Monday, October 20, 2003
Glasses
I'm back to wearing glasses. My eyes are graded at 400 with astigmatism of almost a hundred. Since my contact lenses are useless, I conceded to going back being four eyes to at least bring down the astigmatism. According to my eye doctor, I can still wear my contacts but I have to wear my prescription glasses at least an hour everyday. That doesn't sound convincing so I'll get a second opinion. Nevertheless, I still got a new pair of glasses because my old pair has a lower grade.
I managed to catch "9 Mornings" in one of the local channels here last night. Piolo Pascual is absolutely GORGEOUS! I was practically speechless the whole time. All I can do was stare and gawk at him throughout the whole movie. I did not care if Donita Rose, who is as beautiful, was sharing the screen with him. Judy Ann Santos was right on the money when she said, "Mukha pa lang, ulam na." Yes, he is definitely good enough to eat.
Going back to work today was not as difficult as I thought it would be. My eyes are still swollen due to lack of sleep not to mention my eye bags growing heavier.
Something about my Baguio trip:
I went to Baguio for the Singles for Christ Metro Manila Leaders Conference. It was held at the Baguio Convention Center but we had to find our own places to stay. Fortunately, our chapter heads know a person who gave us the use of his condo unit near the Girl Scouts place. Getting to the condo was very tricky. Lots of twists and turns and upon getting there, we saw that it was in the middle of a bevy of privately owned vacation houses. The building was four stories tall with four units per floor. The creepy thing was that we were the only people occupying the whole building (other than the caretaker). It was very very creepy. The building smelled and looked old. There was also a garden of bamboo outside our bedroom window that added to the creepy feeling. Good thing we rarely stayed there since we were always out.
I managed to catch "9 Mornings" in one of the local channels here last night. Piolo Pascual is absolutely GORGEOUS! I was practically speechless the whole time. All I can do was stare and gawk at him throughout the whole movie. I did not care if Donita Rose, who is as beautiful, was sharing the screen with him. Judy Ann Santos was right on the money when she said, "Mukha pa lang, ulam na." Yes, he is definitely good enough to eat.
Going back to work today was not as difficult as I thought it would be. My eyes are still swollen due to lack of sleep not to mention my eye bags growing heavier.
Something about my Baguio trip:
I went to Baguio for the Singles for Christ Metro Manila Leaders Conference. It was held at the Baguio Convention Center but we had to find our own places to stay. Fortunately, our chapter heads know a person who gave us the use of his condo unit near the Girl Scouts place. Getting to the condo was very tricky. Lots of twists and turns and upon getting there, we saw that it was in the middle of a bevy of privately owned vacation houses. The building was four stories tall with four units per floor. The creepy thing was that we were the only people occupying the whole building (other than the caretaker). It was very very creepy. The building smelled and looked old. There was also a garden of bamboo outside our bedroom window that added to the creepy feeling. Good thing we rarely stayed there since we were always out.
Sunday, October 19, 2003
I'm Back!
Baguio was as beautiful as I remembered albeit more crowded and commercialized. Heck, SM is putting up an SM City branch somewhere in the middle of the city. I was sorry that we were not able to go around much due to our tight schedule but the weather there was wonderfully cool although my eyes did not agree to the thin air and cold climate. My eyes kept tearing up which unabled me to wear my contact lens.
I won't go much about the details of the conference/retreat but it was enlightening although last year's was definitely better. But at least I was able to bond with some of my friends.
The trip was very tiring. Six hours on the road is hell on the butt and on the back. I can't wait to go to my masseuse next week.
Will write more when I'm more coherent. I just got home an hour ago and I still have to unpack and do my assignments.
I won't go much about the details of the conference/retreat but it was enlightening although last year's was definitely better. But at least I was able to bond with some of my friends.
The trip was very tiring. Six hours on the road is hell on the butt and on the back. I can't wait to go to my masseuse next week.
Will write more when I'm more coherent. I just got home an hour ago and I still have to unpack and do my assignments.
Friday, October 17, 2003
Baguio, Here I Come!
The world is getting smaller by the minute. I just created my profile for a website called friendster.com. It's a system where you get to meet people through your own network of friends. You freak out when you find out that your friend actually knows one of your friends etc. etc., you get the drift?
I'm heading for Baguio tomorrow. Let me rephrase that, I'm heading for Baguio in three hours. I got home from work around past midnight and I spent the next hour packing. After which, I logged on and finished my friendster profile. I also found out that one of my friends know Lyndon Gregorio (Beerkada creator). I remembered when I first came upon that comic series. I was waiting for my friend at the second floor National Bookstore Tutuban. While browsing, I saw his first comic compilation on display. Since I had nothing better to do, I picked it up and began reading. Next thing I knew, the salesladies were giving me queer looks because I was laughing by myself. I did not hesitate to buy the book and the succeeding releases (I have all 3!).
I bought a dvd today entitled "God's Army". I later found out through Rico that it's actually titled "The Prophecy". I got all excited about it because I liked the premise of the story. Moreover with Christopher Walken playing Angel Gabriel. I like it when he plays the antagonist. Although I did like him as Brendan Fraser's dad in "Blast from the Past" and while he was dancing to that song who's title and singer (?) escapes me right now (Moby?).
Due to lack of sleep, I finished off one vendi mocha frap early this afternoon. It gave me a caffeine high turning me into a jukebox. My officemates had fun requesting for songs (even the old ones! Especially movie/tv theme songs) which gave me a bad case of LSS (Last Song Syndrome). Right now, the same song is still running around and around my head ("Does the moonlight shine in Paris after the sun goes down...").
Anyway, I need to lie down for awhile. I did not curb my packrat side and I literally packed the whole house into 3 bags. I need my strength to bring all those bags to our meeting place.
I'm heading for Baguio tomorrow. Let me rephrase that, I'm heading for Baguio in three hours. I got home from work around past midnight and I spent the next hour packing. After which, I logged on and finished my friendster profile. I also found out that one of my friends know Lyndon Gregorio (Beerkada creator). I remembered when I first came upon that comic series. I was waiting for my friend at the second floor National Bookstore Tutuban. While browsing, I saw his first comic compilation on display. Since I had nothing better to do, I picked it up and began reading. Next thing I knew, the salesladies were giving me queer looks because I was laughing by myself. I did not hesitate to buy the book and the succeeding releases (I have all 3!).
I bought a dvd today entitled "God's Army". I later found out through Rico that it's actually titled "The Prophecy". I got all excited about it because I liked the premise of the story. Moreover with Christopher Walken playing Angel Gabriel. I like it when he plays the antagonist. Although I did like him as Brendan Fraser's dad in "Blast from the Past" and while he was dancing to that song who's title and singer (?) escapes me right now (Moby?).
Due to lack of sleep, I finished off one vendi mocha frap early this afternoon. It gave me a caffeine high turning me into a jukebox. My officemates had fun requesting for songs (even the old ones! Especially movie/tv theme songs) which gave me a bad case of LSS (Last Song Syndrome). Right now, the same song is still running around and around my head ("Does the moonlight shine in Paris after the sun goes down...").
Anyway, I need to lie down for awhile. I did not curb my packrat side and I literally packed the whole house into 3 bags. I need my strength to bring all those bags to our meeting place.
Monday, October 13, 2003
I am Loved
I just came from a "retreat" this weekend held at Tagaytay. Up to now, I still don't know how to feel about it. I really did not want to go in the first place because my schedule was very hectic as it is. But out of guilt (which I have a great abundance of) and unwillingness to miss one of the major events at church, I did a lot of schedule shifting and sleep sacrifice just to be able to go.
I got home at 1230 am Saturday morning because I wanted to finish my work that I was supposed to do that Saturday. I spent the next hour or so packing for the trip and trying to sleep (I made the mistake of drinking mocha frap grande at 10 pm. I forgot that it keeps me awake).
I woke up at 5 am because according to the organizers, meeting time was at 6 am. So barely awake, I managed to drag myself off to the bathroom and do my morning rituals. I arrived at the meeting place at exactly 6 am only to learn that the reason we were asked to be there that early was for us to hear mass. I didn't mind that so I climbed to the second floor chapel and heard mass.
We left Villa San Miguel at 8 am, arriving at the retreat venue (Villa Santa Luisita) 2 hours later. Now that is a very beautiful and tranquil place. Their grounds are very expansive. Lots of space for one to roam around and commune with nature.
I won't bore you with the retreat details but I appreciated the theme of the whole retreat: "You are loved". I tried to apply it to my life and what do you know, I could relate with it.
Being in the state of singlehood since college can somehow make me doubt my "lovability". There was a time when I even entertained negative thoughts which brought me on the edge of despair. But I dragged myself off the edge and forced myself to think of and do other things, like taking my MBA for one.
Yes, I am loved. It's not the kind of love that my heart really wants, but I felt more at peace knowing that there are other people out there who really does love me and care for me. Moreover, knowing that God loves me and has blessed me with so many things in my life, removed the doubt that my prayers have been falling on deaf ears.
One of the activities during the retreat was for us to write a Psalm regarding God's role in my life. This is what I came up with:
The Lord is my Healer,
There is no sickness that He cannot heal.
No wound to deep,
No hurt too long,
No pain too harsh.
My heart He cleansed,
My soul He calmed,
My brokenness He made whole.
The Lord has healed me
And because of this, it is
In Him that I will trust
In Him that I will hope
And it is in Him that I will love.
I couldn't sleep during the lengthy break times that our parish priest/retreat facilitator gave us. Either the caffeine was still in my system or the youth that was with us was driving me up the wall with their infinite chatter and noise.
Our last activity for Saturday was done by 11 pm and by then, I was ready to conk out. I forgot that I was sharing the dormitory type room with 15 other teenagers. I have forgotten how it was to be young and have no cares in the world. I guess as we grow older, our priorities and perceptions of life changes. Their priority was to giggle and chat with their friends while my priority was to get some sleep and rest. I held on to my temper and tried not to scold them for giggling and running from room to room. I tried moving to a different room but to no avail. Eventually I fell asleep at 2 am.
Cellphone alarms woke me up at 5 am. By then, a headache decide to take up residence on my frontal lobe. I wanted to bang my head against the Tagaytay-cooled walls but I just prayed for strength and patience. We had our last activity that morning and Father Jun, bless his kind and understanding soul, announced that we will be leaving earlier than scheduled. By then I already decided that I will go straight to Megamall to have a facial and back massage. I was feeling so bad that I needed some pampering to help me feel human again.
I had the bus drop me off the Shaw and Edsa intersection at around 230 pm and I hurried off to Holistic Circle where I spent the next 2 hours getting a facial and back massage. I really needed the massage because my back has been hurting since Saturday morning. The lack of sleep and long travel aggravated the pain.
I appreciated the retreat because it will be the first and last time that our parish priest will be joining us due to the change of leadership of the Archdiocese of Manila. He will be assigned to another place. He also gave me lots of things to think about it. What I could not appreciate were the people I was with. Yes, it gave me the chance to get to know more people, but I could do away with the noise that never seem to end.
Anyway, it's going to be a long and bloody week for me. I spent the day today doing administrative stuff for our department and meeting my groupmates for our group presentation on Wednesday. Why do I feel like I'm the only one working on this case?
I also have a major quiz coming up on Thursday and then I'll be leaving for Baguio on Friday only to be back to work on Monday to attend a seminar.
I got home at 1230 am Saturday morning because I wanted to finish my work that I was supposed to do that Saturday. I spent the next hour or so packing for the trip and trying to sleep (I made the mistake of drinking mocha frap grande at 10 pm. I forgot that it keeps me awake).
I woke up at 5 am because according to the organizers, meeting time was at 6 am. So barely awake, I managed to drag myself off to the bathroom and do my morning rituals. I arrived at the meeting place at exactly 6 am only to learn that the reason we were asked to be there that early was for us to hear mass. I didn't mind that so I climbed to the second floor chapel and heard mass.
We left Villa San Miguel at 8 am, arriving at the retreat venue (Villa Santa Luisita) 2 hours later. Now that is a very beautiful and tranquil place. Their grounds are very expansive. Lots of space for one to roam around and commune with nature.
I won't bore you with the retreat details but I appreciated the theme of the whole retreat: "You are loved". I tried to apply it to my life and what do you know, I could relate with it.
Being in the state of singlehood since college can somehow make me doubt my "lovability". There was a time when I even entertained negative thoughts which brought me on the edge of despair. But I dragged myself off the edge and forced myself to think of and do other things, like taking my MBA for one.
Yes, I am loved. It's not the kind of love that my heart really wants, but I felt more at peace knowing that there are other people out there who really does love me and care for me. Moreover, knowing that God loves me and has blessed me with so many things in my life, removed the doubt that my prayers have been falling on deaf ears.
One of the activities during the retreat was for us to write a Psalm regarding God's role in my life. This is what I came up with:
The Lord is my Healer,
There is no sickness that He cannot heal.
No wound to deep,
No hurt too long,
No pain too harsh.
My heart He cleansed,
My soul He calmed,
My brokenness He made whole.
The Lord has healed me
And because of this, it is
In Him that I will trust
In Him that I will hope
And it is in Him that I will love.
I couldn't sleep during the lengthy break times that our parish priest/retreat facilitator gave us. Either the caffeine was still in my system or the youth that was with us was driving me up the wall with their infinite chatter and noise.
Our last activity for Saturday was done by 11 pm and by then, I was ready to conk out. I forgot that I was sharing the dormitory type room with 15 other teenagers. I have forgotten how it was to be young and have no cares in the world. I guess as we grow older, our priorities and perceptions of life changes. Their priority was to giggle and chat with their friends while my priority was to get some sleep and rest. I held on to my temper and tried not to scold them for giggling and running from room to room. I tried moving to a different room but to no avail. Eventually I fell asleep at 2 am.
Cellphone alarms woke me up at 5 am. By then, a headache decide to take up residence on my frontal lobe. I wanted to bang my head against the Tagaytay-cooled walls but I just prayed for strength and patience. We had our last activity that morning and Father Jun, bless his kind and understanding soul, announced that we will be leaving earlier than scheduled. By then I already decided that I will go straight to Megamall to have a facial and back massage. I was feeling so bad that I needed some pampering to help me feel human again.
I had the bus drop me off the Shaw and Edsa intersection at around 230 pm and I hurried off to Holistic Circle where I spent the next 2 hours getting a facial and back massage. I really needed the massage because my back has been hurting since Saturday morning. The lack of sleep and long travel aggravated the pain.
I appreciated the retreat because it will be the first and last time that our parish priest will be joining us due to the change of leadership of the Archdiocese of Manila. He will be assigned to another place. He also gave me lots of things to think about it. What I could not appreciate were the people I was with. Yes, it gave me the chance to get to know more people, but I could do away with the noise that never seem to end.
Anyway, it's going to be a long and bloody week for me. I spent the day today doing administrative stuff for our department and meeting my groupmates for our group presentation on Wednesday. Why do I feel like I'm the only one working on this case?
I also have a major quiz coming up on Thursday and then I'll be leaving for Baguio on Friday only to be back to work on Monday to attend a seminar.
Saturday, October 11, 2003
WORTHINESS
I sometimes wonder if everything I do is worth it.
Like today, for example. I was at work from 830 in the morning up to midnight. Funny thing was, I was not forced to be there, but it was my will to stay at work that late.
My boss and I had a nice chat this afternoon regarding my job description and my future with the bank. I had the chance to really think about my career plan and where I’m headed. She gave me a lot of work to do but I consider it a blessing. Most of the stuff she gave me I know I will enjoy doing and she assigned a specific task to me which utilized by analyzing skills and basically made me enjoy my job more. Yes, the added work could be a burden, but it’s also a chance for me to stretch myself and to learn more about my job.
Everything really falls on the proper attitude and the appropriate mindset. We have two kinds of people at work: the performers and the non-performers. I observed that what differentiates the two is attitude. Everyone has his/her own perception of things, but if you managed to come up with the right insight on an event, everything is easier.
An event could be a negative or positive one. Again, it differs on the person on how he/she perceives that event. My example of me being given added tasks could be viewed negatively thereby making me bitter and would result to non-performance. However, if I considered it in a positive light and seeing the brighter side of the situation, everything just falls into place.
I’ll be going to Tagaytay tomorrow for my second retreat of the year (the third and last one will be at Baguio next week). Hopefully, I’ll be able to reflect more on my chosen path and my future plans.
Like today, for example. I was at work from 830 in the morning up to midnight. Funny thing was, I was not forced to be there, but it was my will to stay at work that late.
My boss and I had a nice chat this afternoon regarding my job description and my future with the bank. I had the chance to really think about my career plan and where I’m headed. She gave me a lot of work to do but I consider it a blessing. Most of the stuff she gave me I know I will enjoy doing and she assigned a specific task to me which utilized by analyzing skills and basically made me enjoy my job more. Yes, the added work could be a burden, but it’s also a chance for me to stretch myself and to learn more about my job.
Everything really falls on the proper attitude and the appropriate mindset. We have two kinds of people at work: the performers and the non-performers. I observed that what differentiates the two is attitude. Everyone has his/her own perception of things, but if you managed to come up with the right insight on an event, everything is easier.
An event could be a negative or positive one. Again, it differs on the person on how he/she perceives that event. My example of me being given added tasks could be viewed negatively thereby making me bitter and would result to non-performance. However, if I considered it in a positive light and seeing the brighter side of the situation, everything just falls into place.
I’ll be going to Tagaytay tomorrow for my second retreat of the year (the third and last one will be at Baguio next week). Hopefully, I’ll be able to reflect more on my chosen path and my future plans.
Sunday, October 05, 2003
Hodge Podge
Working while studying part-time is not an easy task. They were not kidding when they said I had to make sacrifices—not that there is a lot to sacrifice. I literally don’t have much of a social life so there’s not much sacrifice there. It’s the small things that I have to deal with. I had to sacrifice my tv and movie time instead, have to hit the books and figure out statistical computations.
Studying at my house is a rather difficult endeavor. I live with 6 other people and the computer as well as the main study area cum dining room is right beside the tv/living room. Unfortunately, the tv is always on and it takes a big effort just to be able to concentrate.
For this night, my dad is watching Godfather. I can’t understand why so many guys absolutely find this movie the best movie series there is. I admit, the story twists (of what I’ve seen) are interesting but there are too many shooting scenes for my peace of mind.
For those who know me, they will argue that CSI is as gory. It's the investigation that interests me.
I went grocery shopping today with my brother. I love shopping for groceries. No doubt, it will be one past time I will enjoy doing with a boyfriend/husband if ever that happens. Grocery shopping can build bonds, I can tell you that.
The only thing I hate about grocery shopping is the crowd. Most people in the supermarket have no shopping etiquette. Going around the supermarket with a grocery cart is like driving a car. Everytime you stop to take something off the shelf, you're supposed to have some sort of consideration for other people and park your cart on the side. Majority would just leave their carts in the middle of aisle leaving you to figure out how to go around the cart and the other people picking stuff of the shelf. It's absolutely frustrating. That's why as much as possible I do my grocery shopping as the store opens.
Studying at my house is a rather difficult endeavor. I live with 6 other people and the computer as well as the main study area cum dining room is right beside the tv/living room. Unfortunately, the tv is always on and it takes a big effort just to be able to concentrate.
For this night, my dad is watching Godfather. I can’t understand why so many guys absolutely find this movie the best movie series there is. I admit, the story twists (of what I’ve seen) are interesting but there are too many shooting scenes for my peace of mind.
For those who know me, they will argue that CSI is as gory. It's the investigation that interests me.
I went grocery shopping today with my brother. I love shopping for groceries. No doubt, it will be one past time I will enjoy doing with a boyfriend/husband if ever that happens. Grocery shopping can build bonds, I can tell you that.
The only thing I hate about grocery shopping is the crowd. Most people in the supermarket have no shopping etiquette. Going around the supermarket with a grocery cart is like driving a car. Everytime you stop to take something off the shelf, you're supposed to have some sort of consideration for other people and park your cart on the side. Majority would just leave their carts in the middle of aisle leaving you to figure out how to go around the cart and the other people picking stuff of the shelf. It's absolutely frustrating. That's why as much as possible I do my grocery shopping as the store opens.
The Start of Something New
Making this blogspot is so difficult to do. It's actually embarrassing considering I managed to put up my own website before. Oh well, five years is a long time and I need to update myself on several webstuff.
Anyway, I've been influenced by a friend that's why I'm also putting up my own blogspot. Other than working for a bank, I'm also taking up my MBA. Since I don't want to be buried alive by figures and percentages, I decided to create my own journal up in the web to hopefully exercise my creativity and not let it rust.
Hopefully, this will be the start of something interesting.
Anyway, I've been influenced by a friend that's why I'm also putting up my own blogspot. Other than working for a bank, I'm also taking up my MBA. Since I don't want to be buried alive by figures and percentages, I decided to create my own journal up in the web to hopefully exercise my creativity and not let it rust.
Hopefully, this will be the start of something interesting.
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