Something to look forward to in 2009

I can't say that 2008 was a good year for us (although those bunch of foretellers predicted otherwise). This year proved to be tough and rough not only for me but for my whole family as well. Perhaps the only memorable thing that happened to me in 2008 was my trip in Paris and our vacation in Cebu at the start of the year. It was downhill from there.
I lost my job (uhmm well I resigned from my job) in March. It took me a while to accept that fact although I keep insisting to my husband that it's all good. Truth is, there are still pangs of regret whenever I look back and count all the years I spent working in the newspaper.
Lesson learned from this experience: Stand up for what you believe in. Not everybody may agree with you; in fact, there will be some who will leave you hanging BECAUSE of your beliefs. But in the end, you'll be so proud of yourself that you did. I am.
I got another job the same month that I put down the pen and paper. I moved to the other side of the fence. I didn't like it since day one. It wasn't what I wanted to do nor was it something that I wanted to learn. I guess it's not always true that you will grow to love something as days go by. Of course we all know what happened next. I resigned after only a month. I told myself that maybe I needed to relax a bit, to ponder on my decisions, and that's what I did. I just stayed home, took care of the kids, cooked meals, and polished my parenting skills for a month. Then it became two months...three months..four months..until it dragged on. Finally, I realized that I was already jobless for five months (except for the times when I did freelance writing jobs for my former boss and an NGO). I was desperate and so I finally put up myself in the job market. There were offers, yes, but nothing that I was really interested in. It was as if I was a fresh grad again. I had to learn how to write a resume, to dress up for interviews, and find my way thru the LRT and MRT (oh yes, I am a cheapie. I don't ride the taxi except when it's entirely necessary). Then an opportunity came. I knew I wanted to work for this company (where I am presently employed) the moment I walked in their small office in Roxas Boulevard. It was love at first sight. Believe it or not but I waited for two months for this job. I thought they would never call me again. But boy, was I so thankful that they did.
Just this month, my eldest was confined in a hospital due to a host of illnesses. Thank God that he has finally (but not fully) recovered. We could at least welcome the new year together.
Looking back, there are still things that I am so thankful for in spite of the glitches of 2008. On top of the list is my husband who had been so understanding and supportive of me. He stepped up and provided for the family, allowing me to stay jobless longer than we could have afforded under normal circumstances.
There are my sisters who always came to my rescue, looking after their nephews during those times when we had no yaya. I am also thankful to my in-laws and my relatives.
Two days to go and we will all be welcoming 2009. We have high hopes for the coming year. I haven't listed down my resolution but I and my husband have set some goals for 2009 that we plan to achieve. After reaching rock bottom this year, there's no way but up and I am determined to do just that.

The storm is over

I've spent the last couple of days in the hospital. Last Wednesday, we rushed my eldest to the hospital because he was complaining of dizziness, nausea and stomach pains the previous night. He was pale and weak, dark circles under his eyes, his lips dry. I was so nervous.
My pedia told us to confine him the moment he saw my son. A series of lab tests ensued. Our doctor advised us not to feed my son anything, including water for 24 hours.
I won't go into details how I spent the last three nights. The more important thing is we are going home this afternoon. I am so relieved. I want to cry.
I can't thank my company enough who's been so understanding and very thoughtful of my situation, allowing me to take the morning or afternoon off so I could stay with my son in the hospital. They even gave me a fruit basket for my son. My sisters are super! They've stayed with their nephew during the times when I had to go home so I could attend to my bunso. Thank you for all the prayers.

Dull December

While I love the cold weather now, I hate all the illnesses that come with December. My son has been down with cough for two weeks now, and the last time we checked with our pedia we were told that he has bronchitis which could mutate into pneumonia if we don't act fast. He has since been drinking this very expensive antibiotic and three sessions of nebulizer a day which I really hope and pray would work because my son is slowly losing weight due to his bad cough. We haven't bathe him for four straight days now, punas-punas lang muna, for fear that this might aggravate the situation further (okay, I attribute this "practice" to my grandmother). To make matters even worse, my son has developed mumps on either side of his cheeks/jaws. It couldn't have come at a worst time. First the cough, now this. As a result, he had to miss his third quarter exams and, if things don't improve anytime soon (God forbid), he might also miss his first Christmas party in his new school. Kawawa naman. He's been looking forward to the class party since last week. Please pray for my son and his fast recovery.
My youngest, Alamat, also has cough but a milder version (Thank God!). Last night, my husband arrived from work looking haggard and tired. Turns out, he too has the December flu. Ako na lang ang wala (knock on wood) maybe because I have stronger resistance and a full army of antibodies (inspite of my smoking habit). I hope these illnesses in my family will soon be over before the year ends.
Anyway, I hope my classmates (in journ) would forgive me if I missed our class reunion last Saturday because I really had my hands full over the weekend juggling maternal duties with take-home work. The guilt would kill me if I knew that my kids were sick back home and I was at some place drinking and partying the night away. Next time, promise. Count me in.

Intermittent absence

I have almost forgotten about this blog because I've been so preoccupied with take home work, house chores, and catching up on sleep that I barely open my laptop. In the office, I don't browse the net except for instances when we have to download some files from the FTP server. We are THAT busy. I know my life sounds so boring lately but oi, chronic boredom has its rewards. Yesterday, I and two of my colleagues were awarded Employee of the Month (November). I, too, was surprised because this is the first time that I received such commendation from my employer. (I worked my frakkin' ass off in that newspaper for seven years and not even once was I awarded for something or received any increase save for the mandatory yearly CBA salary hike which is more of a right of an employee rather than a privilege). Well enough of the sour graping.

Btw, this employee of the month thing has a set of criteria but I will spare you from the litany because it's quite a mouthful.

The awarding took place without much fanfare but I must admit that it felt good to be recognized by somebody for your efforts. I'm sharing this with you, not to brag or take credit for anything, but just to let you know how happy I am with my new work place. While we all have our own eccentricities and kababawan, my officemates are cool and super kwela. We always have a good laugh. I think that's the most important thing when looking for a place to work. It should make you laugh. As for the tough deadlines and my mundane office life, it's all good.

There's hope!

I was browsing the Internet earlier and thought of deviating from my routine for a while to check the airfare rates of Cebu Pacific. Ever since I made a ticker for my planned Boracay trip, I have been obsessing about it every night.
I already have a date in mind: either we go there from Feb. 27 to March 1 or between March 13 to 15. Guess what, I was blown away by the rates of CEB. I must say Cebu Pacific is the cheapest. Hands down.
Two round trip tickets to Kalibo would cost us about P6,565, not bad especially at a time when most airline companies are still recovering from their losses due to the past oil price hike.
But then, that's just the airfare. Unless we bring our own tents to Boracay, (that is, if they will even allow us to set camp at the beachfront), there's still the accommodations to worry about.
I checked the website called http://www.agoda.com/ for packages and found some hotels quite cheap. Actually I don't really care if we sleep in a bungalow or a one-star resort since we will be out most of the day anyway. But given the choice, I would like to try The Erus Suites Hotel at Boat Station 2. The rooms look nice (at least in the pictures) and carry different themese like modern pop art, baroque, zen, retro, country, etc. Taxes and all, a night at Erus will shave off about P8,000 from our meager savings. Hmm. Not bad. Not bad at all.
Any suggestions?

Comic relief

Allow me to post this compilation of idiocy courtesy of my officemate Ross. These are tongue-in-cheek jokes allegedly quoted from faceless and famous personalities. I hope it will make your day, just like it did with the rest of us in the office when this was forwarded to us. Cheers!


1. An Eat Bulaga contestant was asked by Joey and Vic: Ano sa Tagalog ang grasshopper? Contestant: Ahmm. . .Huling Hapunan?
2. It was an ex-PBB housemate (1st batch) who said this: Big Brother, ginagawa po nila ako laughing stuff
3. In Wowowee, the question was: Kung ang sigaw ay shout sa Inggles, ano naman sa Tagalog ang whisper? The contestant answered: Napkin!
4. While watchng the news yesterday about a kid killed by a bulldozer, our maid commented: Kaya ayoko mag-alaga ng aso eh
5. My friend and I were walking up the stairs of our schools new bldg. She said out of nowhere: Imagine mo kung di ginawa tong bldg, umaakyat tayo sa hangin?
6. My cousin at a DRIVE-THRU: Miss, puwedeng take out?
7. Nadia Montenegro promoting her movie: Please watch The Life Story of Julie Vega, opening na po on the twenty-twoth of November.
8. In a burger joint I heard a man say: Miss, isa ngang amusing aloha at saka kidney meal. Server: Dine in po ba or to go? The man answered: Ayoko ng sago!
9. I was making cookies at home when I ran out of cookie sheets, so I called our maid and said: Manang bili ka nga ng cookie sheet. And she replied: Ano po, solo o litro? (coke is it)
10. My friend said: Ang galing no, yung Ash Wednesday last year , Miyerkules din pumatak!
11. A non-Christian vendor selling a Last Supper painting: Maam bili po kayo ng frame, maganda po ito, Hesus and Company.
12. While watching Apollo 13, after she heard the line: Houston , we have a problem. My ex-girlfriend asked: Sino si Houston ?
13. My aunt was going to the US for the 1st time. She told us: Nagpapabili ang tita niyo ng autistic guitar. Saan ba nakakabili nun?
14. We were marketing for an org event, when one of my orgmates wanted to clear the definition of the types of sponsors (Major, Minor, Patron, etc.) So she asked her grandma: Lola, anong mas mataas sa Patron? Her lola replied: Patron? Eh di Shell!
15. Also in a gameshow. Host: Ano sa Tagalog ang teeth? Contestant: Utong!
16. I once heard an emcee say: Lets give her a warm of applause!
17. One classmate in highschool said, Ang cute naman ng sintas mo, luminou! I corrected him and said, luminous! Then he replied, Oo nga pala, plural!
18. Barker ng bus: Ah Cubao, Cubao, Cubao, Cubao, Cubao, Cubao, Cubao, Cubao, Cubao, Cubao!!! Pasahero: Boss, Cubao?
19. Sa isang gameshow, tinanong ng host: Anong P ang Tagalog ng storey o floor ng building? Contestan: PIP PLOR!
20. An officemate of ours told us a story about driving alone in her car: Alam niyo, pag nag-iisa ako, feeling kowala akong kasama
21. I had a customer on the line who had a password on his account. I asked for the password but he forgot. I gave him a clue: Its a 4-digit number. He answered, UhmROCKY?
22. I overheard a lady place an order at Starbucks: One cup of chino please.
23. An officemate once asked: Saan sa Quezon City ang Mandaluyong?
24. I had a meeting with a friend and I noticed that both of us were wearing stripes. He suddenly blurted out: Uy, stripes din! Its the color of the day!
25. My sister said of our neighbor who was our arch enemy: Mamatay na sana kapitbahay natin! I told her not to say that, coz it might bounce back to us. Then she said, Ah ganun ba yun? In that case, mamatay na sana tayo!
26. When I saw that I got a missed call, I said, Hey, I got a missed call! My friend said, Anong sabi?
27. From the gameshow The Weakest Link. Host Edu Manzano asked: Anong T ang ibinibigay ng konduktor pag nagbayad ka ng pamasahe sa bus? Ian Veneracion answered: TUKLI!
28. We were reviewing for an exam and we were already dead tired. A classmate said, Hala, brownout! Pagtingin namin, nakapikit pala siya.
29. A call center agent told a foreign customer regarding the changing of the due date of her credit card: Maam, I already changed your monthly period.
30. A home economics teacher asked us: How do you make wet floor and tow duff? Translation: How do you make wheat flour and tough dough.
31. During a shower party for my friend, the married women were giving tips on the dos & donts of sexual intercourse, when the bride asked: Hindi ba kasama yung betlog sa pinapasok?
32. Melanie Marquez: Ang tatay ko lang ang only living legend na buhay pa

Much ado about vampires..take 2!

People in the the U.S. especially teen girls had a lot to be grateful for on Thanksgiving, the first being the opening of "Twilight" over the weekend. Read on yahoo movies that the drama flick hauled in about USD70 million, USD20 million more than the expected digits it would make in the box office. However, we Filipinos should pray harder and hope that the movie will be screened sooner rather than later. In the meantime, you might want to book your seats earlier. Ayala Cinemas are selling tickets in advance.