Thankful

I've always wanted to make a list of things that I should be thankful for. I also read somewhere that it's good for the soul to write it down daily. I guess being a Chinese New Year, might as well start now:

1. Good health - I'm not technically the pinkest of health but I'm better off compared to those who are struggling with a debilitating illness. I can still walk, my senses are still working and any pain that I feel are tolerable (brought about by old age probably).

2. I have a husband who loves me and an adorable and healthy son - Just when I was resigned to living life as a single person, my husband came along and persuaded me to marry him. A year later, we were blessed with a really cute son. We celebrated our 6th anniversary last year and hoping for more years together.

3. I am gainfully employed - We all have gripes about our jobs. I haven't met a person who is totally 100% happy with his or her job. But taking all those minor things aside, I'm ok with what I do. Not really really happy because a lot of things happened lately that is beginning to take large withdrawals from my happiness bank. But nevertheless, I am still earning--not enough to sustain the bills--but at least I'm getting something.

4. I get to teach - I never intended to teach but the opportunity came and I grabbed it. It was a struggle at first but I was able to find my footing and hopefully, am able to inspire my students into being good managers and leaders in the future.

5. I can drive - Driving is now a life skill that everyone has to learn. Well, if you live in a country that has an efficient public transportation, the need is not immediate but nevertheless, it's a good skill to have in one's arsenal. You'll never know when you would need to drive an emergency vehicle.

That's it for now. I still have lots but I will try to count them everyday.

Happy Birthday, Basti!

When my son turned one, I swore I will write a letter to him every year on his  birthday but I never was able to do that. So now, I hope to continue that tradition.

Dear Basti,

It has been five years since you came into our lives and saying that my life irrevocably changed when you emerged from my tummy is an understatement.

I sometimes wonder if I was really that good to deserve someone as wonderful you. I guess all we can be is to be good parents to you and to give not only our best but our all. We sometimes struggle and think if we made the right decision but unfortunately, parenthood does not come with a manual.

Sometimes, I feel guilty because I don't get to spend as much time with you like other parents. At least you have your Dad with you to represent me. But again, this was one path that I chose to take. I hope someday, you'll forgive me for not being a full-time or active mom.

I also hope that one day, you'll realize that when I withhold something from you or say no to you, it is for the best. I do not want you to grow up thinking that the world owes you. It should be the other way around. We, including you, are all placed here for a reason. We spend our lives looking for that reason. I'm happy to say that I have found mine and it is you. I am a lot of things in this world but my main reason for living is giving birth to you.

I hope that you will do big things someday. It is my only wish that you grow up to be successful in your field and make the most out of your life. Enjoy the journey. It's not the end-goal that matters but how you get there.

Be a good boy and I hope that you will embody all the values that we have and will teach you. Always put others ahead of yourself. Selflessness is a value that is sorely lacking in this world. But then, leave a little something for yourself so you can continue to be selfless.

Take care and never forget us. I hope when you grow up, you'll still take some time to see me and your dad. To give me one of your wonderful and precious hugs. They always seem to have the power to take away all the stress and pain.

I love you, Basti. So so much. Seeing you now makes everything worth it.

Much love,

Mommy

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

The saying above best describes my week. It came to a point that I could not sleep as I did not know what path to take. In the end, I think I chose a path that was safe -- as in, not-rocking-the-boat safe. I would've argued further but I chose not too and I'm ashamed to admit that to myself.

When I shared my concern to the appropriate person and he validated my decision, it still did not feel right. Even if my actions were vetted by those concerned, I still can't help but feel bothered.

I would want to think that all of these things happened for a reason. I do know that my God will help me through this and will provide me discernment. I just hope that I can move on from this and I won't become jaded in the process. And I also hope that I will not lose my sense of self.

Manic Monday

It was another manic Monday for me. I don't know why I'm suddenly so busy nowadays. Maybe because of the projects being pushed one after the other, plus year-end reviews. And there's also this regulatory report that was assigned to me which I'm rushing to finish. Whatever it was, I left the office at around 730PM again. No wonder I'm not that keen on getting a class during second semester.

When I got home, I only had enough time to gulp down dinner before sitting down with my son and helping him with his Kumon assignment. I also saw his recent exam results. Maybe I'm such a perfectionist but I was aiming for higher grades knowing his potential. So I was a little disappointed when he did not get any perfect grades this quarter. Oh well, I'll be more proud when he sustains this come High School and College.

Awards Season

January usually heralds the start of the awards season in Hollywood. I was able to watch Golden Globes and I'm now watching the SAG Awards. I watch them not to find out who won (well, I do want to know who won but that's secondary) but for the skits, jokes and musical numbers. So far, my favorite hosts are Neil Patrick Harris and the tandem of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.

I like Neil Patrick Harris' performances for the Tony Awards. I think he has hosted it multiple times.  Here's a clip of his latest Tony Awards song and dance number.




As for Amy and Tina, I just saw them host last year at the Globes. They took over the acerbic Rick Gervais. I find them funnier than him. They also hosted this year's Globes although I like last year's monologue better which is featured in the clip below.



Of course, the awards season culminates with the Oscars on March 2. I think Ellen DeGeneres is hosting this year. Now, I can't wait to see how that will turn out.

Midterms

I'm happy to say that as early as the first month of this year, I surpassed my blog posts in 2013. When I saw how much I've neglected it last year, I resolved to post more this year and I think I'm making progress in that resolution.

Though it's too early to say but 18 days into the year, I'm still keeping with my one-rice-a-day project. I really hope I get to do this. If I can do it for a month then I can stay with it until the rest of the year. I'm planning to do it in tranches. Probably in a couple of months once my body is used to the level of carbs, I plan to cut down on sweets. And then oily stuff would go. Whew. I really hope I can do this!

The title of my post actually pertains to that day of the term where students are doubly nervous as this exam would be a big percentage of their final grade. It's also the middle of the term for me where I get to evaluate where I am with regards to the course.

It's only January yet I feel like a lot has happened already. We hit the year running and I think it's good for my health and soul (the stress is a good kind of stress). If I can literally run then that would better so I can lose all these excess weight.

Here's to the rest of the year and hope that I get to keep my resolutions and make most of my last 2 years as a 30-something.

Full Plate

It has been a very busy week. I think this was the busiest that I've been in the last two years that I've been with my current employer. Scrap that. I was very busy when I started as I learned the ropes. It soon normalized 6 months down the road that I found myself getting bored. I guess I got what I wished for.

I have 4 projects in the pipeline that is taking so much of my time. The first two projects entail talking to vendors while the last 2 is internal but requires a lot of meetings and running after people for their submissions. This is on top of my BAUs. I'm now relying on my team leaders more than ever as they have to handle the department while I'm going around the bank chasing papers. I hope that this are portents of good things to come.

This is on top of my teaching and being a mom to a 5 year old rambunctious boy. Sometimes, I wonder what I got myself into.

Charge!

I'm still cringing whenever I read my previous post. I remember when I was drafting it yesterday, I wanted to slam my laptop screen but I don't think my husband would appreciate me ruining his Christmas gift. :) Since nobody reads my blog anyway, I opted to post it and will just edit it again when I have the time.

I blame my poor writing skills last night to a very draining and tiring day. I was at a telecon with an foreign vendor for 3 hours straight and I was the translator of the group. Though everyone speaks English, my colleagues wants me to translate for them (funny. Communicator is not one of my 5 top strengths). We were going through more than 60 pages of documents and it's so difficult to explain what we wanted to happen due to the language barrier. I can't help but wonder how I survived this when I used to work in a foreign bank before. Back then, I would converse with my expat bosses and even our international counterparts without too much effort. I guess I must be out of practice.

Today was no different. I started the day literally running (I was printing confidential documents so everytime I would print one file, I would run to the printer and pick it up before anyone else can get it) and was only able to pause for a breath at lunch time. My friend and I decided to go to Market! Market! for lunch to de-stress. However, when I got back, I had to chase my boss as I needed his input for a meeting that I attended in Makati this afternoon. Then, I had to go back to the office after the meeting which ended around 6PM as I had to send out a report that was due today. I was only able to leave the office almost 8PM and would only sigh when I saw the traffic at SLEX. Now here I am, writing this blog post and procrastinating when I should be doing my midterms for my class this Saturday.

I have to prepare myself for tomorrow as I foresee another tough day ahead. I will again have another meeting the WHOLE day with another vendor. I can't recall being this busy and this stressed since I joined the company. I hope these are signs of good things ahead.

Ice Ice, Baby!

I've heard a lot about this animation by Disney that I bugged my husband for us to watch it. When we were able to do so, the first few minutes into the movie made me clap with glee. The little girl in me really let it go.

I grew up watching Disney cartoons. I could still remember the years when they came out with Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin one after the other and they featured the best songs from the Disney catalog ever. This movie, for the first time in forever, made me sing Disney songs once again. In fact, I've already downloaded from Itunes the whole album and have played the songs repeatedly that it has bordered to annoying (for my cubicle-mates that is).

The clip above is from the Let It Go sequence which left me amazed and impressed. Too bad we weren't watching in Imax because this would've been awesome in a very large screen.



This other clip which features another great song from the movie, For the First Time in Forever made me want to cry afterwards. The soaring ending and the pure voice of Kristen Bell really killed it.

Though I have a minor issue about the story (Anna basically grew up alone so why is she suddenly looking for "The One". I would want to think that she might be a bit dysfunctional in the romance department considering her limited interaction with the opposite sex), it did not deter me from enjoying this movie. I'm suddenly a little girl again and I so welcome the feeling.

It's interesting to note that the composer behind these wonderful songs is the same one that did Book of Mormon and Avenue Q (which both won Best Musical at the Tony's--2011 and 2004 respectively), Robert Lopez. And the guy who voiced Olaf the Snowman is none other but Josh Gad -- who played Andrew Cunningham in The Book of Mormon.

For those who wants to feel young and good again, go watch "Frozen". Not like the title, you'll feel warm all over afterwards.

Friendship Weekend

My daily routine comprises of home-work-home. It's seldom that I get to go out as I would rather spend it with my waiting son at home. That's why this weekend was a special treat for me as I got to see some good friends.

Capping the day at Bo's Coffee with Cessna

Cessna is a college friend who became a very good friend. She lives in the northern part of Manila while I live down south so it's really seldom that we get to see each other (though north to south is only an hour from each other through EDSA but that is only on Sundays or holidays). When she mentioned that she'll be in Taguig this weekend, we quickly made plans and resolved to meet up.

After class, I headed off to The Fort and parked at Serendra. I waited for her at Starbucks Fully Booked while staving off my hunger with a sandwich. When she suddenly appeared in front of me, we hugged each other very tightly that it brought tears to our eyes. I suddenly remembered why we are both godmothers to each others sons and why she is my BFF. I missed her so much and being with her reminded me of the good times that we've had.

We exchanged stories and quickly caught up with each others lives. Since we haven't had a decent lunch, we ate at Wee Nam Kee and had coffee afterwards at Bo's Coffee. It was the first time for Cess to visit both places which made our meeting quite special indeed.

When I dropped her off to her hotel, we promised each other that we won't let 2 years pass by again before we meet up. I hugged her as tightly as I did earlier and we both went off to be with our respective families.

rpgdlsu with Ching and her son

Today, my husband and my son joined me as I met up with my college barkada (rpgdlsu) and our honorary member, Ching (with her son, Liam). Ching was a colleague who became the girlfriend of a member of our barkada (I was instrumental in that pairing). When Ching and our friend parted ways, we continued to meet with her and still treated her as part of the group. Our friend has since moved to another country and has married. Ching has also moved on and married her soulmate and they went off to live abroad. When she found herself in town for the holidays, she contacted us and requested that we meet up.

So this morning, we left the house early to meet up with Rico and we headed off to Starbucks Greenbelt 3 -- the default meeting place of rpgdlsu for the last 10 years, I think. Ching arrived with her son and Allan, Jen with their son, Audric a few minutes later. After exchanging stories and taking numerous pictures of each other, especially of her adorable and happy son, we went to TGI Fridays at Greenbelt to have lunch. 

Eddie and Chris arrived and much to our surprise, Max with Nano breezed in together. It was a happy surprise as I haven't seen both for the longest time. Max seldom attends our Christmas reunions for unknown reasons while Nano has made a career of his painting. Unfortunately, we couldn't stay long as Basti was complaining of a headache and my stomach also felt unsettled. It would've been great to catch up with everyone. The above photo was also very sentimental as it's an almost complete photo of our college days together. 

Anyway, we have another planned meeting next week. Hopefully, we can have more time to talk. It was a good weekend for friends. Never mind if I still haven't cleaned up my Christmas mess.

Bloody Cold

I love the weather that we're having right now. Although I commiserate with those living within the polar vortex, compared to them, 25 degrees Celsius can be considered as balmy. But for me, it's cold! In fact, this is the temperature of our airconditioner.

Tonight is colder compared to the previous nights. We haven't turned on the aircon for days. Also, we're not turning on the electric fan tonight. That's a big deal for a tropical country like us. Too bad it won't stay this way for the rest of the year. My guess is the summer will be hotter than usual. That I can attribute to global warming.

Too bad I have to wake an ungodly hour tomorrow to make it to my 730AM class. I would so love to sleep in in this kind of weather.

Engage!

In one of my previous employers, employee engagement is a big thing. We would hold surveys and plannings to ensure that our people are happy and inspired with what they do. I was able to carry this and use it in my current job.

Ever since I came in, I tried to encourage and inspire people in what they do. Granted that our department has one of the most boring tasks ever, I try to make it fun for my people.

So far, we've had awardings, birthday lunches, outings and parties. Probably one of the best is the lunches as I get to interact and talk with my staff. I'm planning to introduce other activities such as having a newsletter which everyone can read and share. I've been sending out teasers about it and people have been wondering what it's about. Hopefully, I can hype it up so they can really enjoy what we'll come up with.

It's so hard when there's no budget to do all these engagement stuff. I just hope I can influence and encourage my people enough for them to be able to do their best.

Carpool

It's so hard to find someone to carpool with going to work. I have no choice but to bring my car to work because it's so difficult to commute. Not like when I used to hold office in Makati, it's just one shuttle ride to and from work. But now, I have to ride 2 buses to get to my office and it's not exactly the most comfortable (or safest) ride.

Good thing that a former carpool-mate kept me in mind when she moved offices to The Fort. Tonight was the first time I saw her again after a couple of years. I enjoyed the company as it's only me and my music that's been keeping me company on the long drive home. Talking with someone kept me entertained and helped me unwind.

Unfortunately, our schedules are hard to mesh but hopefully, she can ride with me again. I so enjoyed the company.

Happiness

I have a friend who's currently going through something right now. It has come to the point that people are noticing that there is something wrong. She is normally a bubbly person and she makes us laugh--a lot. For the past few days, she's been pretty quiet and subdued and for the first time in ages, I get to talk more than her. I've been giving her my two cents worth and have shared some of my words of wisdom with her. I thought I'd share it here so in case I would need to refer it to the future, I'll just bring up this link.

• Happiness is a decision and must come from within. It should not be dependent on a thing or another person. I love my husband and my son but they are not the source of my happiness. They are one of the reasons but they do not ultimately make me happy. I make me happy. What if something happens to the person or if the thing was taken away, where will that leave me? 
• There is nothing wrong in being sad. It actually makes me appreciate being happy more. Also, I give myself a deadline on my sadness. Whenever I feel depressed, I let myself wallow in it but I would consciously tell myself when enough is enough. I would tell myself, "Today, I will be happy," and somehow, it works!
• This too shall end. Whenever I'm going through a rough patch, I would tell myself, "This too shall pass." The world does not stop whenever I'm down on my knees. Life goes on and so shall too the hardships. I will overcome and I will conquer. And I will learn.
• Things happen for a reason. Always. I'm a true believer of this. Of all the hardships that I went through, I came out of it a better person. I believe that I am the person I am now because of all the things that has happened to me -- good and bad.

Playful

Nothing too profound.

I just realized that my son is growing up fast and he's quite a playful child.

In his early years, he was initially diagnosed with speech delay. We took some preventive maintenance steps and exposed him to more children. He was already going to Kindermusik and playschool at the age of 2. Eventually, he learned how to talk and he can now converse clearly and maturely. Not surprising as he's the only child in the house and he mostly spends his time with his grandfather.

This evening when I was spending time with him, he proclaimed that he's putting me in jail because he's a policeman. I couldn't help but laugh because he's finally playacting. His previous teachers said that that was one thing that he lacked. I'm glad that his imagination is now working overtime and he makes me laugh with his antics.

He's also quite social and "bibo". The other day while we were at my sister-in-law's house, he commandeered the microphone of the videoke machine. He sang Rey Valera songs one after the other with aplomb. After that, he greeted everyone Happy New Year and acted like he was the host!

Right now, I'm trying to teach him how to play hide and seek. Whenever I look for him, he would immediately come out. One day, I'm sure he's going to get it.

Cold Turkey

Not exactly cold turkey.

We had lunch at TGIFriday's earlier. When we eat there, I usually have Chicken Quesadilla or any of their pasta or burgers. But today, I ate what my health-conscious husband ate which was salad and soup. I conceded by getting their Cheese and Broccoli soup and shared a Caesar's salad with him. I also ordered the Chicken Fingers kids meal which was a smaller serving.

After lunch, we walked around a bit while I shopped for birthday gifts for my staff. I could feel myself getting woozy but struggled on. When we passed by the grocery, I was so shaky that my grip on the shopping cart caused it to wobble. My husband ordered me to sit down while he paid for the groceries.

I'm trying to figure out what's causing the nausea and dizziness. It could probably be that my body is adjusting to the lack of carbs and sweets. It happened to me before when I did Atkin's. My rice intake decreased a lot as I've been sticking to my one-rice-a-day resolution for the past five days. I'm also taking Metformin HCl for my polycystic ovaries and that's making my stomach churn since this morning.

I have a very long way to go. Hopefully my body will adjust to this soon.

Losing Weight

This has been my perennial struggle. Every year, I would wonder how I will finally lose all the poundage that I gained the past 15 years or so of working. I know I did it once but thinking of going through that torture again makes me weak.

I love food. I mean, the way for me to enjoy a new city or country is if I love the food. I loved NYC and Cebu because of the food that we consumed. I derive pleasure when something sweet or delicious touches my tongue. It maybe mental but it has always been this way for me for the past 30 or so years. Depriving myself makes me grouchy and short-tempered.

But if I am to have another child in the next two years and be more healthy, I have to lose all these weight. The first week is always the hardest so good luck to me.

I started off my limiting myself to one rice a day--meaning I either eat rice breakfast, lunch or dinner. So far on the fourth day of the year, I've been successful. I hope to maintain this streak for the rest of the year.

Probably in a month, I'll be cutting down on fried foods. I don't know why I'm babying myself like this when cold turkey always works for me. I've also taken to parking a long ways from the office so the walk will do me good. I just don't relish the feeling of sweat when I get to the office. I should think of wearing something else and just change when I get to my place of work.

And then I will cut the sweets. That will be the hardest but it's something that I have to do.

Road Trip - City Style

I always look forward to 530 as I get to go home to my family. My 30 minute drive in the morning turns to almost an hour in the evening as I go with the rush hour. I try not to schedule anything after work as I really want to get home and be with my husband and son.

This evening, I was looking forward to going home on time when my sister in the US reminded me that I need to bring her paintings to her friend who's leaving to return to the US on Monday. As I did not want to go anywhere this weekend, I resolved to do the errands tonight.

Thank God that traffic is still light as most people are still on vacation as well as the kids. I had to pick up the paintings at San Antonio Village at Makati first. As per advise of a colleague, I took Buendia from The Fort and then Jupiter. I made it to my dad's house under 30 minutes. Not bad considering that it's Makati.

I then consulted Google Maps and it took time before I found the address where I was supposed to deliver the paintings. I then pointed my car to where my phone was directing me and was able to find the place in Merville also in 30 minutes.


On a side note, I also got my own painting--that's the one on the left. It's by Edmund Mamuyac and his ink is coffee with water. Quite extraodinary.

All in all, I drove from 530PM to 8PM. Not bad on a Friday night. I look forward to just chilling at home this weekend as it will be all systems go next week when everyone gets back from their vacation. If the rest of the year will be like what the past 2 days has been like, my batteries would really need to recharge (or maybe my crankiness is due to my diet. Haaaay).

First Working Day of 2014

This day did not start the way I wanted it to start at all.

I've always been a stickler when it comes to my people's attendance. I send out reminders every year on what my policies are in terms of absences. One important item that I have always reiterated is that only two people per team can be absent on any given day. Being in operations and with a manually-driven process, manpower is an important component that I have to manage properly. When people were filing for leaves for today and tomorrow, I enforced the previously mentioned rule. I freaked out when one team had 5 people who wanted to go on leave today and returned the requests with instructions to fix the schedule. I went home last Friday thinking that I will not encounter anymore problems regarding this issue.

On  January 1, a staff requested for permission to go on leave today. As he caught me on my weak moment, I quickly agreed. However, I had second thoughts about my decision but since I already gave my approval, I let it be.

I was rudely awakened at 4 this morning by a text message that one staff also wanted to go on leave for another reason. It irked me as she used the same reason that she has always been using -- nobody would look after her son. My point is that I am also a working mom but I would ensure that my yaya problems will not interfere with my work. In fact, my son's yaya was supposed to return today but I insisted that she return last night so I will not have to worry about getting to work. Moreover, there was also another staff who wanted to go on leave today with a similar problem but I disapproved her leave. She then made arrangements to leave her son with another caretaker.

As if a signal, text messages started pouring in requesting permission to go on leave. What made matters worse was that the people who wanted to go on leave belong to the same team. That really got my goat and the team leader, who was unfortunately on leave today, got an earful (textful) from me. I did not answer any of the text messages and as per our rules, no acknowledgement would mean no approval.

I scolded my team leaders this morning as apparently, there were others who were absent and did not even text me. Only one team was complete and I'm rewarding them tomorrow with breakfast. I left instructions that no one was to go home until all work that was scheduled to be finished today was finished. If they have to render overtime on the first working day of the year, then they don't have anyone else to blame but those who are supposed to be present but for some reason, chose to be absent.

I did not want to start my new year with negative vibes and with sermon galore, but my people have to understand that there is a line that should not be crossed. It's hard to be consistent with a large team and it's always a never-ending balancing act. I just hope that everybody concerned learns from this lesson.

My 2014 Personal Projects

I barely made headway in my 2013 list. Hopefully, I will have much better luck on my 2014 list:

1. Limit myself to 1 cup of rice everyday.
2. Declutter (this was in my 2011 list and I was very successful. However, I again accumulated much stuff between the last 2 years).
3. Finish another cross-stitch project.
4. Learn a new craft.
5. Visit a city that I have never visited before.
6. Make a scrapbook.
7. Write at least one blogpost a week.
8. Run 3K (race or treadmill).
9. Close at least two credit cards.
10. Celebrate birthdays and anniversaries.

My 2013 Recap

I thought that I was not able to make a 2012 recap but upon checking my archives, I found one which I made late December. To remind myself of my 2013 highlights, I had to resort to checking my Facebook timeline. However, instead of going month on month, we'll just go with the events:

BALIKBAYAN VISITS
I mentioned in my previous blogpost about the visits of my balikbayan family. My twin sister came over early this year and we had a blast. We went around Metro Manila with her two kiddies and bonded. It was great seeing her again and I really hope I can get the chance to see her again this year.

The sisters of my dad also came over for a visit this Christmas. It was the most fun that we've had since my paternal grandparents passed away six years ago. At least I know my dad really enjoyed himself.

WEDDINGS AND CELEBRATIONS
I think I attended two weddings this year: that of Agnes, my friend from SFC and John and Hid, my colleagues from my former employer. The former wedding, I hosted the wedding reception. Fortunately, guests are not that young so I don't have to try to be too energetic. As for the latter, good thing I was just a guest so I was able to enjoy the celebration.

I also had the chance to test my make-up skills again when I did my own face for our Leader's Night. I was very happy that it was held just a few minutes away from the office. At least I didn't had to rush.

FAMILY
We switched Basti to a different school. Because of the new K12 system, the nursery/kinder grades got renamed. Actually, Basti has been going to school for the past 2 years. It's just this year, he's now in Pre-Kinder--which is still not yet part of K12. We tried putting him in this famous school but for some unacceptable reason, they didn't want to accept him. We decided to put him in another school near our house which accepted him with open arms. Nevertheless, my husband still wants to give it another try for this coming school year.

TRAVELS
Not much travelling in 2013 as much as I would like.  I did go to Cebu last June for a food trip with my bestfriend Kay but other than that, nothing. Oh, I did go to Liliw on the 30th of December on a roadtrip with my dad and a couple of my aunts. It was still fun though seeing the provincial roads and I did most of the driving. I wish more travels for the new year.

ARTS AND CRAFTS
I made headway in my arts and crafts. I finished one cross-stitch piece that I started before Basti was born. After stitching the last stitch, I shipped it over to my mom as she asked for it. She's asking me to make another piece but I asked her to wait as I have more pieces that I need to finish--especially one for my mother-in-law.

I also gave away some of my personalized stuff for Christmas. I made coasters and some clips. It was a hit but it drained me so much. I was not able to give presents to most of my list as I lacked the time to shop anymore and even the funds. Nevertheless, I hope to do more crafting in the future. My Ninang gave me a longstitch kit for Christmas so I hope to do something with that.

HEALTH
I had a small in-patient procedure done in the middle of this year. I tried not to make a big deal out of it as it will raise a lot of questions. Hopefully though, it will help me in our quest for another baby. Actually, everything is half-hearted now. I've somehow lost hope that we will have another baby as the odds seem to be against us. I guess if we are meant to give Basti a younger brother or sister, nothing will stop God's will.

TEACHING
I am the perennial substitute teacher. When I started teaching, it was because one of the teachers had to go on leave in the middle of the term. I gladly stepped in and found my teaching legs. I decided to return next term and was given another subject--Public Finance--which I learned from scratch. However, I didn't return the next term as my maternal grandmother passed away and there were so many things to be done. I went back this school year and I was given the same subject. However, I again became a substitute for another subject in the middle of the term. The additional income was not bad though. This term, I was only given one subject but I'm going to take in another subject next week. Good thing we only have less than 8 weeks left so good luck to me. I guess I must be good at what I'm doing which is validated by the faculty feedback that I've been getting. I wonder if I can sustain this?

DEATHS
I've lost count on how many funerals I visited last year. Probably the poignant ones are that of my paternal uncle who passed away due to cancer last October and the mom of my VSM friends in Mandaluyong.

NATURAL CALAMITIES AND OTHER EVENTS
Probably the biggest one was the big storm, Yolanda (International Name: Haiyan) that hit Central Philippines this November. Death toll was around 5K and obliterated most of Tacloban. We made the world news because of this sad event.
Other than that, there's the Janet Napoles scandal where she managed to siphon much of our taxpayers money to her pockets and gave numerous government officials millions of kickback. Until now, it's still unsolved although she's already in custody.

Overall, it's been a great year. I still have to feel something akin to overwhelming joy but I am still thankful for all the blessings. Here's to a better 2014.