Thought Bubbles...

musings, rantings, and what-have-you, about my own small part of the world, and my 'sometimes' not so-ordinary life...something to read and reflect on, and which hopefully will bring a smile to your face... :)

Sunday, January 30, 2005

Daily Scripture

Just added something new to my blog. Check out the daily scripture and hope this inspires you and helps you go through the day... :)

Saturday, January 29, 2005

Writer’s block

Was gearing up to do my 2nd speech for our Toastmasters, but for the life of me, couldn’t decide on a topic! More accurately, couldn’t think of a good topic that I could write about! I wrote down all the topics that came to mind, but couldn’t find a topic that felt “right”. So am still plagued by “writer’s block”. Granted, I still have 2 weeks to prepare, but am thinking this is the perfect time for me to be distracted from job-hunting, etc., and work on achieving/reaching a goal!

Well, anyway, one thing that I have been able to do, is to get on the “after six” diet again. I remember that when I went on this “diet” a few years (?) back, I lost quite a number of pounds and inches! So starting this week, I was able to forego dinner. As soon as 6 o’clock struck, I wouldn’t allow myself a bite to eat and would limit my intake to water or tea. Plus, have started exercising again! And you know what? My clothes fit better! After just one week! So now, it’s just a matter of deciding how long I can stick to this. Hopefully, will be able to stick to this and lose these pounds permanently. And then i'll celebrate with a slice of the richest chocolate cake that i can find! JOKE! Ha ha ha... no way! :)

Friday, January 28, 2005

Week’s news

Just sitting here at home, watching tv with the kids. Every few minutes I hear the kids’ laughing at their own antics. One time, mimicking Spongebob and Patrick Starfish and knowing exactly their dialogue! Another time singing and dancing to the tunes they hear on the radio. Endearing, yes! But then, it’s not always like this. There have been quite a number of times when the kids would be laughing so loudly, then a few minutes later, fighting and shouting. Admittedly, it is during these times when I would just shout “Aaargh”! Hey, I’m only human.

So rather than lose my temper (and my mind!) I "sweetly" suggest (read: strongly recommend) that they play outside. Short of pushing them out the door... ha ha ha! joke! :) This is especially true during the day when I’m in front of the pc, checking out the online postings and trying to compose an answer to the compulsory application question. I definitely need the peace and quiet.

What else has been keeping me busy these past few days? Well, have been going out almost daily running errands, like paying the bills, going to the bank, etc. Paolo had his entrance exams at Don Bosco last 26th. After his exam, and to de-stress, we all decided to go to the mall for the afternoon. The kids played video games as usual, then off to the toy store we went. Didn’t get too much of a chance to window-shop with the kids in tow, but still, was able to buy the kids a new set of clothes. And on sale pa! Call it a talent, if you will. He he he… :)

Also got a chance to meet up with some high school friends this past week. Snack, shopping, and non-stop chatting and giggling with girlfriends, what more can a girl ask for? :) The conversation ranged from the inane to the serious… job-hunting, high school memories, old boyfriends, new (?) boyfriends, family/work problems, future plans, and what have you! Can’t believe the range of topics we covered in just one afternoon! As usual, promised to meet up again soon when our schedules permit.

This past week, also got a chance to drop by my old office to drop off pictures taken during my ‘despedida’ party. Former co-workers did mention that I looked relaxed. And I agree! Definitely, minus the stress I not only looked better, I felt better too!

Right now, the only stress is thinking of what to prepare for lunch/dinner, what new dish to try. And okay, I admit, the stress of finding a better job. Hopefully soon! But right now, I don’t want to dwell on it. I only want to relax and take it easy. :)

Saturday, January 22, 2005

Pasta & bowling / Anybody know...?

Just got home from having dinner at Aveneto at Visayas Avenue. It was my best friend's son's 7th birthday, and the party was at Aveneto. So trudged on over to QC and had our fill of pizza, carbonara, pesto pasta, and cake! (which reminds me, will need to burn off those calories...)

Anyway, was planning to prepare pesto pasta for snack earlier but since we got the invite, decided to forego my plan and will prepare it tomorrow instead. Still have some pesto which i prepared last week...used fresh basil leaves, crushed walnuts, parmesan cheese, and extra virgin olive oil. Bought fresh spinach and will add that to my pesto and use it as sauce for spaghetti.

On our way home earlier tonight, the kids suddenly had the idea to go bowling so gave in to their whims and let them play one game at Puyat Sports at Star Mall. Our first time to go there and there were hardly any people. So didn't have to wait for a lane to be available. Limited the kids to 1 game, then went home. Enjoy naman sila. :)

============

Just realized it's January 22! It's a dear friend's birthday. Met him while we were candy stripers at Phil. Heart Center way back summer of 1997. He became part of one of the first batches to join 'Doctors to the Barrios', and have since lost touch with him. I wonder how he's doing and where he is now. Anybody know Dr. Michael "Mike" Mañago?

Friday, January 21, 2005

Accomplishment report

I can’t believe it’s Friday already. Decided to do an accomplishment report to gauge how much work I’ve actually done. Feeling ‘corporate’ pa din. He he he. :) So I went over my list…

As far as my application is concerned, have updated my resume’ and registered for an online recruitment search. A headhunter friend of mine is also referring me to her clients. So can afford to sit back and wait in the meantime. I find it so convenient to apply online! Imagine, just staying at home and (borrowing the slogan for the yellow pages), to let my fingers do the walking. Isn’t technology great?

Was able to clean out our filing cabinet and arrange my files into it. So that’s one thing less on my list. Then last night, finished 4 handwritten letters to relatives abroad, including my parents’. And that was difficult ha! I guess I’ve been so dependent on using the pc and keyboard that writing actually took a lot of effort! To think that they were just short letters, couldn’t believe that my hand felt sore after that. So anyway, went to the post office earlier to mail my letters. Believe it or not, this was my first time to ever step into the post office. Considering I’ve lived here almost all my life, I'm embarrassed to say that I had to ask directions pa from my brother where the post office was. True! Shame on me…

This week, was able to prepare 2 types of dessert (Mango Refrigerator Cake, and Creamy Fruit Gelatin), and the kids loved it! Honestly, even the kids’ yaya is happy that I’m around. For a number of good reasons! One, she gets help doing the chores, and taking care of the kids, and secondly, she hardly needs to cook at all when I’m here! The bad thing lang is that I’m afraid I’ll be gaining weight from all my cooking (and eating…). Boo hoo hoo…

All throughout this week, have been going out daily to do errands. Went to the bank, drugstore, grocery, photo shop, whatever! Patrick is my erstwhile companion/bodyguard while his kuya Paolo is still at school. Funny thing is, whenever we go out, we always end up bringing even more food when we return. Losing weight is gonna be an especially difficult battle... :)


Thursday, January 20, 2005

Pictures

Had some extra time on your hands (so what else is new?!) :) , and tinkered around with flickr. posted pics and now it's linked to my blog! pretty neat! i posted pics taken last Christmas Day and during our trip to Villa Escudero. check out the flickr daily zeitgeist... :)

Wednesday, January 19, 2005

User Stats

Viewed my profile recently and noticed that the user stats wasn't updated. statistics for things like "# of posts", "# of profile views", etc. were supposed to be updated each time a post was made. was beginning to think that something was wrong with my blog or that i forgot to put a link or something... (shows you how much time i have on my hands if i get to notice these things!!! ha ha ha! :D )

anyway, asked blogger support why the numbers stayed the same, and here's their answer...

"We have had to temporarily disable stats collection, which means that post stats and links will not be updating correctly on your dashboard or profile. We plan to restore this functionality in the short term but have needed to stop collecting the information for now in order to stabilize the database servers. We apologize for any inconvenience this problem has caused."

so there. mystery solved! :)

Online postings

Went online, and was so surprised at the number of job postings for HR! All different types of industries to choose from. Have used online recruitment in my past jobs, but got to admit, this is the first time that I’m applying online myself!

So many job openings in various industries. Take your pick. Call centers? Hmmm, not really too keen on call centers. But then, I heard they pay high salaries. What the heck? I guess it’s worth a try. Now to finally buckle down and do some applying online…

Tuesday, January 18, 2005

To do

So this is how it feels to be jobless. I woke up 9 a.m. (well, actually woke up earlier than that, but didn’t get up until 9), stretched, yawned, then lingered in bed some more… I can get used to this! Ha ha ha! Seriously, I knew I had to get up and wake myself up or else I’d waste the whole day in bed. So many things to do!

Got up to shower, then after breakfast, went out with Patrick to the bank for some errands. Then before preparing lunch, prepared dessert – Mango Refrigerator Cake. With cream, condensed milk, mangoes, and graham crackers, this is a treat that the kids enjoy!

Actually, Monday was my first day “in between jobs” (a nicer term to use than ‘jobless’… he he he) but that doesn’t count since I was out for a training simulation. It’s actually still part of the application process for this company I’m applying for, but since it was the WHOLE day and there were so many activities, it felt like work! Really! All I wanted to do when I got home was to lie in bed and sleep.

Am treating the next few days as a ‘mini-vacation’, but I want these days to be productive. Don’t want to wake up at the end of 2 weeks, and find that I wasn’t able to accomplish anything! No way. So I plan to write down all the things I plan to do, chores I’ve inadvertently put off, and cross off my list as I go. So, here’s my ‘to-do’ list:
* Update my resume’!
* Arrange my kids’ photo albums (a year’s worth of pictures!)
* Clean out our filing cabinet and arrange my files
* Give away (or throw out) the kids’ old toys and clothes
* Cook/prepare new dishes
* Arrange new payment options for paying for my bills (credit card, utilities, etc.)

Got to go, got to update my resume’ now. :)

Sunday, January 16, 2005

Bowling Day

Yesterday afternoon was my cousin Niña’s birthday and she treated all the cousins to bowling. Met at Paeng’s Eastwood Bowl in Eastwood City 4:00 p.m., and the kids were psyched! Patrick started shouting “yehey, bowling!” the minute we got there. The kids had a lane all to themselves and you can bet they were as competitive as we were! Bowled till 7 p.m. and by that time, I was tired, as were most of my other cousins. But the kids were still at it. If we hadn’t stopped them, they would have started another game. : )

Dinner was at Super Bowl of China and the food was delicious! But what made the meal especially good was the great company, plus the fun and laughter we all shared. : ) Can’t wait till the next clan get-together… : )

****************
Ooops, just remembered… I have a training simulation tomorrow, as part of my application to this global training consultancy firm. I still haven’t finished my preparations, so have to sign off for now.

Wish me luck for tomorrow!

Saturday, January 15, 2005

News flash!

Yesterday was my last day at work! YES!!!

Honestly, it was a decision I was agonizing over. Not whether to resign or not, because it was a given that I was really going to resign anyway. What I was agonizing over was ‘when’.

I tendered my resignation last week also, and I was so surprised when they offered that I stay on until I found another job. And once I found another job, I only had to give them a day’s notice and they’d let me go. I couldn’t believe that they would offer such an arrangement. Would you? Well, maybe they knew they couldn’t stop me from resigning anyway.

So anyway, I was considering staying on if even just for a few days more. My mind was telling me to grab that offer, thinking of the practical reasons. But my heart was telling me differently. Guess who won… ;)

Instead of detailing the reasons why I left, suffice it to say that I didn’t “fit” the organization, and the organization didn’t fit me. I had really been considering resigning for the longest time. I felt it when I would have trouble pulling myself out of bed, and when Sunday nights, I was already dreading Monday morning and going to work. I wasn't happy, i was stressed out, and i was exasperated! So when I finally decided to go through with my plan of resigning, it was as if a burden had been lifted from my shoulders, to tell you honestly! It was the first time in weeks that I had restful sleep. :-)

So what do I plan to do with my free time? Well, Monday is already booked as I’m scheduled to undergo a training/sales simulation with a global training firm. (Which reminds me that I’ll have to buckle down and finish my pre-work materials tomorrow, Sunday). Tuesday, am going to Paolo’s school to pick up his report card. Then the rest of the week, I PLAN to organize, organize, organize. I just realized I’ve got more than a year’s worth of pictures that I haven’t put into our photo albums yet! I really want to make this a productive “mini” vacation (I hope!).

Touching (2)

Was checking my email and surfing the net when my son very quietly creeped up on me. His kuya was already sleeping soundly. Then he asked, "Mommy, di ka pa sleep?" Told him i was just checking my mail. So he sat on my lap and waited. Then decided to show him the presentation i mentioned here yesterday.

At first, he was bubbly, making comments about the presentation. "Ay, si Jesus...bata yun...nood Pao...ay, 'mulan! snow..." he kept at it until i noticed that he got very quiet. When i looked at him, i saw tears welling in his eyes. When i asked him if he was crying, he didn't reply. He just wiped his tears on his shirt and continued watching. So while he was watching the presentation, i was watching him... trying to stop from crying.

I thought it was so heartwarming that he at such young age, could understand and be moved by that presentation.

So here it is again, please do click on the link :
http://www.donghaeng.net/english/duty.htm

Thursday, January 13, 2005

Touching...

Got an email from a dear friend, recommending this site to me. It's a simple, yet VERY touching presentation. watching the presentation had such a profound impact so decided to share it here on my blog. just click on the address below or copy/paste on your browser... hope you enjoy it as much as i did! Kudos to the one who did this presentation! Sooo nice... :)

http://www.donghaeng.net/english/duty.htm

Tuesday, January 11, 2005

So- so...

Whenever people ask me how my new job is coming along, i answer, "so-so". And people instantly ask why. They seem so surprised that things aren't going as well as expected. I guess it's because the general feeling is that if you left your old job for this one then this should be something better. Right? In the ideal world, yeah! but in reality, sometimes the grass is NOT greener on the other side.

heck, doesn't mean i regret this decision. Am just thinking that this is a necessary process for me to go through, learn from, then move on...

so definitely, more changes are going to take place in my life, specifically in terms of my career, and i'm bracing myself for the 'ride'.

keep posted!

Sunday, January 09, 2005

Nothing new...

Last post was January 1. And trying to think back now to what happened this past week.

Well, we did have dinner with relatives last Thursday, and this was the highlight of my week! It was a ‘despedida’ party for my 2 aunts who went back to the US last Friday. The last time they visited was ’99 so definitely, a lot has changed. It was really nice to see them, and spend time with them again. Now that they’re back in the US, they will surely be missed...

Aside from that dinner, nothing else is worth mentioning. A lot of things happened in the office, none of them pleasant, so definitely none which I’d like to recall… so let’s leave it at that. Hopefully things will get better until I get a new job! Ha ha ha! :D (*sigh* I need to cheer myself up)...

Oh, by the way, just remembered... last January 2, finished a project with the kids.
What kept the kids and i busy the whole day was a big "Movie Madness" puzzle. Finished the big puzzle (500+ puzzle pieces) which we planned to frame and hang in the bedroom. But unfortunately, we finished the puzzle and it was missing 17 pieces! Hated that… but that didn’t matter to the kids. They want to start another puzzle. Maybe next week though. For now, their attention is focused on their newest toy, the Monopoly board game. So eto ako, sawang-sawa na sa kalalaro ng Monopoly… Hay naku… :)

Saturday, January 01, 2005

New Year 2005

As planned, yesterday (New Year’s Eve) had dinner at the usual time, then went to sleep. I distinctly remember what happened last year, with Patrick throwing up so many times that we hardly got to sleep. Turns out that a neighbor gave him sparklers to play with (without our knowledge), and we suspected then that he may have accidentally ingested some of the powder from the sparklers. Maybe from eating without washing his hands? Who knows?! I just remember our hospital stay from the ‘poisoning’, on the very first day of the year 2004! Also, the smoke from the firecrackers is terrible, so I don’t want my kids outside the house during the New Year’s eve celebrations. Knowing how easily they get coughs and colds, didn’t want to take the risk of them getting sick again.

So anyway, I think we were the only ones in our neighborhood who actually stayed inside that whole time. The kids were in bed, and asleep by 10:30, and it was a wonder they were able to sleep soundly considering the loud noise from the firecrackers/works outside! Patrick at one point, covered his ears, but still stayed asleep. Cutie! :)

New Year’s Day...Met with the rest of our clan, and we spent the day eating, laughing, and as expected, the board games were brought out. Board games marathon...let the games begin! “Taboo”, “Cranium” then “Outburst”! Lots of fun, and definitely addictive. Afterwards, felt drained...tired from thinking too much! Ha ha ha! :D

On a more serious note, can't help but wonder what's in store for me this new year. A new job perhaps, so early in the year? Am really looking forward to this new year. Need to write out my goals, and more importantly, my plans to reach those goals. Keep posted for the details... ;->

My immediate goal now is to get some well-deserved sleep. Nighty-night! :)

Again, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Here's praying for a great 2005! GOD bless us all!