Nokia 3315 and the Wednesday that was...

..and you thought I got engulfed alive by my reviewers, thus, my blog idled yesterday huh? (Thanks for those tags and comments..despite my absence, my blog's hits still surges. *kaway-kaway to my avid tambays here..especially to bloggigolo jigs).

Whew! And what busied my yesterday? Naahh, I was not even reviewing. I was out the whole day as my co-resignee and fellow former cashier at Tower 1 Jade and I, tried to finalize our Variance Resolution that would complete our Clearance. Oh yeah, almost three months have passed since I resigned and we're not still cleared (and worse for jade as she's resigned February pa)??? Thanks to GT talaga! You do really make great things possible...impossible! :evilgrin:

I don't want to go on whining here again as I've said enough with my work sentiments on one of my previous post here. I've suffered enough with the work I'd been through and the clearance process is just as equally sickening. (Siyempre pa, hanggang sa dulo pahihirapan ka.) Imagine, one has to complete the 3-page clearance sheet in which you need to hunt for about 50 signatories???? clueless as who they are, which particular floor in two head office towers, from which departments, their exact desks in their areas, beating their self-imposed cutoff times....and so on. I'm wondering why such a big company can't revise their processes and systems on this. I just can't understand why I still have to secure a clearance for inapplicable benefits (for example, on laptops and car plans) when in the first place, my position and band isn't qualified for such availments? It's not only my time that's wasted..I'm sure those "not applicable" signatories are quite irritable as well for their disturbed time.

It's just ironic talaga how they come up with advanced mobile technologies and yet internal systems nila...*two thumbs down*. Nakow, receipting system nga lang nila eh..hay! :big sigh: kung alam niyo lang. hehe!

With the Variance Resolution I'm talking about...well, it's just one of those cashiers' plight na kelangan gawin. Aside from the monetary payments, among our accountabilities included are all prepaid stocks..phonekits, call cards, simpacks, etc. The accounting of it (through ledger vs physical count) at the end of the day was one of the tedious task I hated which unfortunately, I endured it for my last 6 months with them. Documentation of any releases of such stocks should be properly documented which our auditors will check. Any shortages, if unresolved, shall be shouldered by the cashiers..no ifs or no buts. At times, notwithstanding the cashier's accurate monitoring and even if how organize he is, there would always be variances that arise. Minsan magugulat na lang kami, sold na yung serial na yun and yet lilitaw siya as variance meaning as per system daw, dapat on hand pa daw siya. O di ba? ang saya? Look how effective the present process is. Well, madali lang naman i-resolve ito as long as you have the copy of the Official Receipt or if it was released as free, submit the signed Delivery Receipt. This results to a problem when you can't present the necessary documentations. Just like what we're having trouble with for our final variance resolution. A Nokia 3315 Gizmo phonekit was availed during the Gizmo promo last 2004 at promo price Php 799. Since naging hit yung promo na yun, the supply of N3315 then diminished in a snap until pahirapan na to serve the still surging demand. Since awaiting na lang yung delivery ng unit, they allowed us to accept the payment in advance and the unit was just delivered the following day. Unfortunately, we no longer can't find the Delivery Receipt (DR) for one phonekit availed and that's the trouble we are into right now. We have the OR pero ang kelangan eh ang DR. Pero we're pretty sure with the completeness of all the documents we've submitted before. Otherwise, our auditors could've slapped us with an Exception Report if we indeed submitted incomplete requirements then. Pero wala eh..kaya ayan..we're working our ass off on it exhausting all means to recover and justify its issuance. Pag eto wala talaga by next week, hay no choice, we'll pay for it na lang kesa sa hindi namin makuha ang final pay namin dahil lang sa N3315 na yan.

Waahhh..Lord help us, we need a miracle! Sayang din ang Php 3,600. Daya noh? Eh may mabibili ka na lang na Php1000 na N3315 ngayon.

**********************************************

On the other hand, I feel relieved and disheartened at the same time with the condition of our beloved center. Only one cashier will be left on the coming weeks as the other had gone to a Maternity Leave already. With the workload, there's no way that a sole cashier can survive the heaps of daily transactions and payments. The head office can no longer send a reliever as the cashiers' number in centers dropped down dramatically because of the recent massive resignations. (See...di lang ako ang nauntog at natauhan hihi!). Relieved, kasi kung di ako nagresign, ako yung supposedly na matitirang mag-isa since nag-ML nga si Mel. Just a background, I started with our center na 4 kaming cashiers until umalis yung 2, I assumed the head role with Mel as my sole permanent buddy and a temporary reliever was sent weekly. With that setup of 3 cashiers, sobrang hirap na pano pa kaya kung mag-isa lang matitira? Buti na lang talaga...

Disheartened, kasi undermanned na talaga ang center. With the management's staff rationalization ruling, ang hirap ma-address ang manning problem talaga kahit na when I'm still with them. And I just can feel for that cashier na maiiwan. Siguro dapat niyan, she should bring with her a mattress, her whole week's uniforms into the office and bid farewell sa family niya (ala-OFW style) kasi sa office na siya titira. I'm not exaggerating. Promise.

************************************************

Had another cooking misadventure last night.

************************************************

We slept in Frisco these past 2 nights and with me finalizing my clearance, I set out with my hubby on mornings as he goes to work in Makati. To save on gas (hay! talk about oil's weekly inflation), we find ourselves rubbing elbows err armpits... in jampacked MRT coaches. While the first coach is provided for the female passengers, I want to stay with hubby kaya ayun nakikisiksik sa 2nd coach. Thank goodness, we were lucky to ride this morning's ghost train kaya nakaupo at nakatulog pa kami. hehe!

************************************************

Since a lot got curious with my nightmare the other night...sige na nga..eto na po. I dreamt of my hubby fathering a 2-yr-old baby girl with another much younger lass. So there ayun na...fortunately, I didn't see the girl's or the baby's face on my dream. Hehe! dreams nightmare lang naman yun kaya oks lang...pero siyempre as nightmare as it is, shuddering pa rin when you wake up di ba? Hehe! And yes..I know kabaligtaran lang yan sa totoong buhay. Naku hubby ko pa! hehe!

Siguro my unconscious mind got all my thoughts for that day mixed up. I just talked to a brokenhearted friend who confided in me his ex-bf's cheating activities (the nerves talaga..will post another entry on this). Tapos every night, I'm fervently praying for a baby. Kaya ayun..sa panaginip nagkanda-halo-halo na at the expense of my hubby na nanahimik. hehe!

************************************************

So there, that's how my Wednesday was...how about you?

Bored Tuesday...

No sensible post popping on my head right now...probably because of the oversleeping-manic in me striking again this morning. Woke up from 7 1/2 hours of sleep at 7:30 am, prepared hubby's breakfast and baon then dozed off again at past 8 am. Thanks to a nightmare that woke me up at 11 am. On second thought, no thanks pala to that bad dream, I can afford to sleep all day than having that come into reality. Bad trip talaga.. :( I ridiculed hubby over YM about my dream and he just laughed it off. Buti na lang talaga panaginip lamang siya. Uyy..naiintriga kung ano yung dream ko..hehe! Never mind..I don't want to recall and relive the sequences. Naiinis lang ako. Baka makita ko pa mukha ng girl na yun kung sino man siya. Grrrrr!

*************************************************

- munch some hotdog for breakfast

- turn on PC and check e-mails

- check out blog for tags and comments

- bloghop

- start today's entry

- watch Game Ka Na Ba (haha! I shoud've been a million richer kung andun ako. The million dollar category was NATO Phonetic Alphabet..letters to supply answers on are S,T,C,F,M,Q. Kadali di ba? The answers were Sierra, Tango, Charlie, Foxtrot, Mama, Quebec..same answers I had in mind. Would you believe, the contestant answered only 3..hmm it must be the pressure.)

- eat lunch (same bland adobo meal I had last night..buti na lang may sardinas na pangdagdag. Sabi ko nga eh I do really need to hit the grocery store this afternoon)

- resume blogging

- watch Wowowee's Willie of Fortune (Hehe! Pagbigyan..this portion do let me have good laughs.)

Later:

- get back on reviewing

- shop for grocery items at Shopwise

- try out a new recipe for tonight's dinner (Spareribs with Ketchup Sauce)

- might watch hubby's basketball game (depende kung di default daw ang game, hihi!)

- uwi to Frisco home tonight

- prepare for tomorrow's lakad. Myra, Jade and I will be finishing (finally!) our pending variance resolution for our clearance and hopefully we'll have na our final pays from Globe.

********************************************

A bit bored Tuesday indeed, thanks to mec for sending me this link...naaliw ako..hehe!

I Better Stop Procrastinating.

I promised myself this morning to somehow lessen my blogging (and bloghopping) time. I better stop procrastinating and hit those Civil Service Exam Reviewers before I totally forget about them. I'm sure Paul, who's a number 1 anti-cramming advocate, is having a big grin on his face while reading this. Don't worry bi, I still have more than a month to prepare..siguro pag one week na saka ako mag-cram..joke! I know you're happy of my realization today.

So there, I just did a round with neighbors' updated blogs (Thanks to blogrolling for easy reference). I've just also updated my two other blogs...

Wanna know how to spice that leftover rice for breakfast? click here.

Wanna peek my digiscrapped card I gave hubby on his birthday? click here.

I'm out of here...

/me serious geeky look with my reviewers :evil grin:

Surprise!!!

Yup I did it! Thanks for all those votes. Hmmm... I shall be back later with a longer, festive post. We're heading to SM to have one screwed PC repaired.

Logging back at 5:14 PM:

As promised, here I am..blogging..savoring the badge currently displayed on this page. I'm loving it! hehe! My heartfelt thanks to all those tireless fingers who clicked their votes for my blog for three consecutive weeks. You know who you are. Ayan makakapagpahinga na mga daliri niyo. :lolz:

My special thanks to Talksmart, for the exposure you've given my blog on your page. In just three weeks, my blog earned 3000 hits more..an average of a thousand visits weekly (huwaaww!). Salamat sa mahiwagang spotlight mo. And as mentioned, I do really need those page impressions for what? Basta (for a goal). hehe! Yun na yun!

This was my surprise #1 for the day.

****************************************************

It's a brand new week coming up and how do you suppose to start it right?

****************************************************

Hubby and I heard mass this rainy morning. The church was not overflowing with parishioners, perhaps, because they're still snoozing on their beds with the cold weather. Just like last week, we were late again for the 10 AM mass, and as always, we need not know who's to blame as Paul would only sing ala-FM radio jingle.."kelangan pa bang i-memorize yan?". Anyway, we were not that late naman...kaya ok lang kahit na mabagal akong magbihis. We were still able to find vacant seats (o dahil nga sa konti lang ang tao?) and we arrived before the Gospel naman.

Just to relate my title, surprise # 2 took place in the church during the communion time. As I'm on the queue waiting for my turn to receive the Holy Body, I got suddenly disturbed with an awful-scandalizing body part that caught my sight. A scantily dressed Mom just passed by with her cleavage seemingly displayed with pride. Err...excuse me...we Catholics aren't imposed of dress requirements unlike with the other religious factions but we should still be reminded of the proper dress codes to observe when inside the Church and moreso when receiving a Holy Sacrament.

Ala lang..nakakasira ng ambiance at concentration eh.

******************************************************

Surprise No. 3 got Paul affected to bits...hihi!

He was fuming mad when he found out that another computer screwed up. (He's been desperate as the computers bog down alternately these days...nang-aasar ba?) So there, the reason why we headed to SM North Edsa to have it checked. After few minutes and a mcdo merienda, we were heading home with two new USB keyboards and mouse in tow. Turned out, the PS2 ports for the keyboard and mouse are the culprits. Grrr..somehow, this got Paul rejoicing a bit and relieved. Keyboards and mouse are a lot cheaper than a motherboard.

*****************************************************

Don't know if I'll be having a fourth surprise..we still got several hours before this day finishes and 6 more days before wrapping up this new week. How about you? Have you gotten any good or unfavorable surprise yet?

****************************************************

By the way, just to correct my entry yesterday..kwek-kwek pala ang tawag sa meryenda ko and not tukneneng. Kwek-kwek consists of penoy eggs while tukneneng are the smaller ones kasi quail eggs yun. Hehe! mali..erase-erase.

****************************************************

And isa pa pala, you might have noticed the slight changes on my blog. Yup yup, I changed my content font size into 10 to make it more blog-reader-friendly. I know that some of you did find it hard to read my previous posts kasi nga ang liit ng fonts. Sorry po..kumain kasi ng carrots hehe! joke! I also altered some sidebar content alignments to make it more presentable. Hope you like it! :D

DD Copyworks on a Saturday

As it's Saturday once again...I'll tell you where you would find me and my dear hubby. Here:

....dakilang tagapagbantay at tagapag-time in and time out ng mga addict DOTA, Gunbound, O2jam, Pangya, Counterstrike, Rose Online, Flyff, PristonTale, Freestyle, GTA, Ragnarok players at iba pa. Ganundin ang mga adik-adik sa Friendster at Youtube. At siyempre yung mga ibang kapitbahay dito sa Frisco na nagchecheck ng emails at mga chat adik sa Yahoo Messenger.

It's Saturday and it's DD Copyworks day!

It has already been about three years since my mom-in-law put up this business initially set-up as a copy and printing center in Don Antonio Heights, Quezon City. Some of the services included photocopying, risographing, blueprinting and other printing services. One year after, they moved out to a much accessible and more spacious office in Hillcrest Condominium along E. Rodriguez. The new office has 2 floors, the first floor of which was meant for the copying and printing services while the second floor was left bare and empty. This prompted Paul to set-up a computer rental shop to maximize the space grabbing the opportunity that there are few schools near the place with a Chinese school just fronting the place. The shop started with 8 PC's then 2 units were added later. Sales from both printing and computer services were doing good but not enough to keep up with the increasing costs of the business. (What do we expect from our ailing economy?)

A year and a half later, we decided to transfer the shop here at home in Frisco. Just last April, our garage was renovated, transferred the equipments so here we are...testing the ropes of holding a business at home. Fortunately, the pros seem to outweigh the cons and we just wish that sales performance do better here.

One, there are only few computer shops within the vicinity and the target market is pretty favorable as there are lots of into-online-games kids and youngsters here.

Two, costs are definitely minimized. No need to allot for rent and transportation expenses. Basically, monthly electricity and labor costs are the only expenses to worry about.
Three, business hours are extended. When Paul gets home from work, we replace my mom-in-law and kuya rhomy in manning the shop until 11 pm.

As this is a family business, we do have our schedule in manning the shop and Saturday is our shift to do so. So here I am and as I'm blogging now, I can't seem to organize my thoughts and contain my words kasi ang ingay dito!!!! Boys shouting as their Rakion characters try to outpower their enemies, tambays cheering and awed by an O2jam addict expertly banging on the keyboard keys, kids getting excited as they hit their Pangya golf balls, shrieking teammates as they coach one another and direct where should their characters go in the DOTA map...and us shouting as we time out users from whom we usually get "extend pa po ng 30 mins ate/kuya" replies. Relaxing, actually, but there are other things as much as I can try to avoid... the side services especially photocopying..hihi! Well, sloth aside, nag-iingat lang naman po of the harmful radiation effects. I'm trying to conceive po eh..kaya ayan I'm leaving those tasks to them while here I am timing out users, blogging and feasting on this:

Yes..it's Saturday and it's a tukneneng kwek-kwek day for me! hehe! Yum yum!
*******************************************

At dahil sa Blog Jargon 101 post ni Jigs where my name was special mentioned (salamat bloggigolo Jigs), the blogwhore in me influenced my hubby to start a blog for DD Copyworks. It's on its "construction" page pa lang kaya not that complete pa. View it here.

By the way, it's Saturday din and today's the last day of voting for the Filipino Blog of the Week. So there..cast your last votes for me. This week may be my last time on the poll as I've been on the spotlight for two weeks in a row. So what are you waiting for? Submit your maipaul votes here and hopefully tomorrow, I get to display a new badge here. Thanks so much for those who've been voting for me...grabe! Love ko kayong lahat hehe!

Reunited..

and it feels so good
Reunited 'cause we understood...
There's one perfect fit
And, sugar, this one is it
We both are so excited
'Cause we're reunited....

As the song goes, it really does feel good if you get to bond once again with friends you seldom meet and moreso, friends you've seen for ages..doesn't it?

Reunion #1:

As I was busy editing my blog entry yesterday, a Yahoo Messenger (YM) conference invitation was initiated by an elementary classmate with the note: "Kahit dito man lang tayo sa chat mag-reunion...". I immediately joined the conference and I was just so glad to see the nicks of my St. Paul School Makati 6th grade classmates. I didn't have a hard time figuring out and associating their nicks from their real persona as I do have a good memory of my elementary years. Show me their pics and I can surely acquaint you their full names..and for some, middle names even. I could even narrate my advisers' names from the 1st until 6th grade. I could recall all 6 sections I belonged to yearly. Ask me about my college blockmates, I've only got a handful of memories to share. Hehe! Selective memory? I don't know..perhaps, I did enjoy my innocent youthful elementary years more than my tertiary days where you have to be dead serious.

*******************************************

Side blurbs: Have you voted for my blog yet? C'mon tick maipaul on http://www.salaswildthoughts.blogspot.com and let your votes be counted. The poll is until tomorrow night so please...let those precious votes take me to the Hall of Fame list. Thanks!

*******************************************

12 years is indeed a long time. We haven't got a one big reunion except for a classmate's wake 2 yrs ago, but the attendance is not that much. We were like only 14 then..we didn't get to bond so well as it's so ironic to celebrate in a wake. Looking into the coffin, I'm sure Cynthia felt so happy, wherever she is, to see her former classmates get to see each other again. Another small reunion was also organized last year at Red Box Greenbelt. But then again...only 11 out 0f 50 were there.

Back with the YM conference:

I'm so ecstatic to see my elementary bestfriend, Cindy there. She's bound to fly next month for US to pursue her nursing career.

Konch, a close buddy and one of those brainy members of the Siopao Gang (of which I was also a member..called such 'coz we love eating siopao for recess, then), is getting married this October. She's doing well with the wedding preparations and they're about to engaged with the hardest part of the preps..ang bayaran!

Haze, who used to be a bus mate, (or should I say servicemate? it's not a bus po eh, a tamaraw van) works with yehey.com and is already a mother to one-yr old cute baby. By twist of fate, I get to chat and interact with this lady through weddingsatwork as she's also bound for a church wedding soon. Her blog is also one of those I round frequently.

Jem, whom I fondly remember as the tomato girl in the class 'coz her face easily turns so red as a kamatis whenever she blushes, works for Mapua and is getting pataba ng pataba daw. That's quite a surprise as she was a patpatin like me way back elementary days.

Sige lang..laugh your hearts out.."bata pa si sabel pictures"

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to stay that long on the chatroom as I need to get dressed for another reunion.

Reunion #2:

At 5:30 pm, I made my way to Convergys (ayala) to meet up with my bestfriends-ex-colleagues from Contactpoint. I met with Jojo (have a guy appetite trapped in a woman's body and a fellow "i love rice" advocate), Bel (the group's Jimmy Santos because of her contagious shrieking way of laughing) and Chi (my ever reliable seatmate and checker of the payable vouchers I did). Unable to meet with us was Angie (the group's baby whose squeamish of pork..nah she's a Catholic but just have the tongue of a Muslim), because of her graveyard shift.

We stuffed ourselves of My Little Kitchen's food at Greenbelt (yummy!) and tired our throats of non-stop giggling and chit chats. I shared of how I'm doing as a new wife, Chi updated us with her intriguing love story, Bel just shrieking every now and then and told some stories, too..and Jojo just stuffed her tummy with food (hehe! joke lang Jo). I met these crazy girls at Contactpoint way back 2003 but sadly separated our ways for better opportunities outside a struggling call center. Bel and Jojo are now with Convergys, Angie transferred to El Nido but just recently resigned and moved back to a call center, Ambergris. Chi went to IBM, resigned, joined Angie in El Nido but later on moved back to IBM. While me on the other hand, got hired by Globe Telecom and after two years, here I am..a temporary bum...taking a much deserved break..and loving it!

I forgot to bring my digital cam, thus no proofs how crazy we were last night. I also forgot to bring our wedding mini-album (that's what you get for rushing) which chi would've loved to see as she missed our wedding last December.

Our bonding was cut short when Paul picked me up at Greenbelt as we would watch his female colleagues play in Accenture's Basketball League Finals. Bitin ang bondingan but with the basketball game....Yey! their team, CIO, won. Again alang pics...kasi naman kung bakit nakalimutan ko ang digital cam. grrrr!

*************************************************************************

PS:Forgot to include a preview of O2jam in my yesterday's entry so here it is..I played this morning to get a pic of it and there...I've just leveled up again to Level 23. Hihi!

This is me kicking some butts hehe! My character is the one with the cutest costume..with gumamela stucked on the hair, the demure look on a sunglass, wearing a sleeveless chinese top, a denim mini-skirt, butterfly-designed flip-flops, and playing a colorful keyboard. With the beat of White Christmas, one has to press the keys S,D,F, space bar,J,K,L as their corresponding bar drops down on the red line getting remarks such as cool, good, bad and miss depending on the timing of your key press. O di ba ala-dance revolution style..only with your fingers doing the trick.

Blogwhoring. Rakion.

On with the continuation of my entry yesterday...thus, with part 2. Kinda late in posting this entry today..just woke up from a morning power nap. Hehe! I slept again after sending off Paul to work. Now, to continue what interests me lately.

Blogwhoring.
As labeled by Jules, ako daw ay isang blogwhore ngayon. Oh well, let's just say that I've got a lot of utang entries and stories to my blog. I've started this blog a little over a year ago...and with the tedious wedding preparations I went through coupled with a daily 12-hour work, more often than not, blogging was meagerly done. I barely have time for leisure then. At kung meron man, I allot my spare time sleeping. And now since I have all the time for myself (that is if Paul is at work) as I've been a bum temporarily, I'm making up with my blog..kaya ayan..blog galore almost everyday. I'm just glad that somehow, I can now manage by myself some of the nitty-gritty html codes on my template. I have knowledge on html basics but not enough to come up with a one-superb-impressive page I can brag. In fact, I have to rely at times on my programmer hubby to help me out with the codes.

Albeit not that skilled with HTML and programming codes, still happy with the simple web explorations I have...one was the changing of the blog skin and the migration of old links and contents from the old to this new one, and another is the banner which I digiscrapped myself. If only I can further improve and manipulate the codes for it to be a Firefox browser-compatible... :sigh:

Being the blogwhore that I am and with the recent discovery of earning through blogging, I put up two new blogs to chronicle two other things that interest me now. One is my Pinoy Food Blog where I'll make entries on recipes I've personally tried and other adventures (and even misadventures) in the kitchen. I just love the skin I'm using for this blog...love its simplicity to bits. Check it out at http://www.tsibugan-na.blogspot.com.

Another one is my Photo blog - http://www.dgscraps.blogspot.com ...err but this is more of a digiscrapping blog where I'll showcase my digiscrap creations and other photo uploads.

I'm not still satisfied with the blog layout for this one...kaya it's yet to be further customized and redesigned. Nevertheless, I've started uploading my entries and masterpieces. :D

Rakion.

Hmm..another new fascination in the making. The makers of Gunbound, Softnyx, came up with a new exciting console game. Hehe...boyish eh noh? Well, aside from the computer rentals business we have in Frisco, my hubby, bro-in-law and my youngest brother are so adept and into online games kaya pati ako..nadadamay. Rakion is an online strategy action game that features sword-on-sword battles with RPG style characters and settings. Just like any MMORPG, the concept is basically gaining experience points to level up your characters. My current level: 1. (beginner pa eh)

I alsoplay O2jam, which is a music online game where you compete with other players ala-dance revolution style..it's just that instead of a dance pad, you have the keyboard to tap certain keys and keep it with the beat. Fingers battle ito! My current level: Level 22.

I also maintain a Gunbound account, of which involves battling with other players using unique mobiles with different offense powers. The setting has just been reformatted and it uses a new platform, Gunbound GWC, so I haven't peeked what my current level is. The last time I played and before the reformatting took place, I was a double silver axe.

The child in me still lingers on...hehe!

***********************************************************

Hey don't forget to vote for my blog here. Two more days of voting..kaya submit your maipaul votes na. :D

CSC. SPPI. UST. Blogwhoring. Rakion. Part 1

Hey before reading this long post of mine for the day ... click ka po muna dito: http//www.salaswildthoughts.blogspot.com and kindly vote for my blog. Please..please..please...I need to win this one to keep my page hits maintain its improving visit records. I'm on its last week na kaya pls bear with me hehe! Di me nangulit last week pero this time I realize I need it pala talaga. I cannot elaborate further what is this for...basta help me earn a few cents..ok?

************************************************************************

CSC.

I find myself heading to the Civil Service Commission (Banawe) Office yesterday morning. As mentioned, I'm supposedly scheduled to take the Paper& Pencil Test (PPT) type for my civil service eligibility examination on the 30th of July. Just recently, a new schedule for a Computer Assisted Test (CAT) was released, registration of which starts on July 3 with the first day of exam scheduled on August 1. At siyempre pa, as the word implies, better and I really prefer the CAT type. Aside from being paperless (of course), results are released a few minutes after the test. Dating back when I first register for a civil service exam last March, no more CAT slots were available thus resorted to a PPT..got no choice eh. Contemplating on the timeline and with the new announcement, I decided to forego and cancel the PPT scheduled on July 30, register on July 3 and as much as possible grab an Aug. 1 CAT slot. I need to pass that exam and get in at Transco the soonest time kasi uh-oh, our savings has been stagnant for two months already...and the pressure's not easy to deal with ha. (Maricel o, hala nangangarap na ng husto hehe!) It's shakingly coming into our senses the plight and hardships of Juan dela Cruz these days. Waah hirap ng buhay!

SPPI.

After CSC, I went to Scholarship Plans Phils. Inc.'s office along Quezon Ave. Anong ginawa ko dito? Well, for the nth time, nagfollow up ng long overdue claims ng bro ko (who's now in college) for his High School tuition and other fees reimbursements. Dealing with this insurance company has always been a pain in the ass...a MAJOR PAIN in is deepest sense. Nagmumura, nagagalit at mangiyak-ngiyak na parents sa inis at hopelessness at deadmang-sagad-sa-butong-insensitive na frontliners at officials ang karaniwang scenarios dito. Sayang nga eh kasi wala ako dun nung time na sinugod sila at ni-feature ng ABS-CBN's defunct Mission-X dahil sa complaints of not paying their scholars' claims and arrears. If I have known, nakidagdag sana ako sa complainants para makuha na namin yung pending 3 checks with a whopping value..and if I'm not mistaken, we're expecting 3 more for the coming maturity months. I don't know, madalas nilang sinasabi wala pa daw schedule of release. Ah hello? March 2005 pa po nung nagsubmit kami ng request letter na supposedly sabi niyo it'll only take 30 working days para maprocess at marelease ang check. Di po ata kayo nagpapalit ng kalendaryo ah or na-stuck ata kayo sa buwan at taon na yun...mag move on na po kayo..June 2006 na po tayo ngayon..ang tagal naman ng 30 days niyo! Memorize ko na nga linya niyo pag nagfo-follow up ako kulang na lang sagutin ko ang sarili ko sa pagtawag at pagpunta ko sa kanila para magfollow up... "Ah ma'am wala pa pong schedule of release at di ko rin kayo masasagot kung kelan tentative date..tawag-tawag na lang po kayo. Depende po kasi sa management ang approval ng scheduling eh." Pudpod na po daliri ko sa kakadial ng number niyo na laging busy naman. At mantakin mong nung tinanong ko kung ano ang hinihintay nila, media o demand later from a lawyer..aba'y parang may script na sinagot ako in a seemingly sanay na sanay tone.."Ma'am, right niyo po yun. Di naman namin kayo mapipigilan." O ha! may ready spiel na!

At may nalalaman pang sana daw intindihin sila Grrrrr! Anong iintindihin namin sa inyo? Kami ang clients dito kami ang intindihin niyo. Mahiya naman kayo..yung mga ibang clients niyo galing pa ng probinsiya, isang kahig at isang tuka ang buhay, sobrang inaasahan ang pera nila na galing sa inyo tapos uuwi silang walang napala? Buti sana kung sagot niyo pamasahe nila. Shame on you! May time pa nga dati na naka-ilang filed leaves ako from work kaka-follow-up at siyempre asa pa ako..wala akong nakuha. (Baka nagtataka kayo bakit ako ang umaasikaso nito, kasi nga po nasa abroad ang tatay ko at ako ang inassign na representative to deal with them on his behalf).

Wala kaming pakialam sa management decision niyo na maghold ng payments. At sa sumasagot sa mga follow-ups na laging nakakatanggap ng pangbubulyaw ko, wag na wag mong ire-reason out na maraming nagreresign sa inyo at ikaw na lang ang natira kaya walang sumasagot sa phone niyo. Hey hindi namin problem yan ok? Sa management ninyo mo sabihan yang mga reklamo mo. Dahil ang pakialam lang naman eh mabayaran niyo kami! At sa frontliner nun na kalalaking tao eh nakipagsagutan sakin...mahiya ka naman. How dare you raise your voice to me...yung binayad ng tatay ko noon sa inyo dun kumukuha ng pangsweldo sayo ang kumpanya mo. For four years I've worked as a frontliner sa bank at sa telecommunications company, we were carefully trained how to interact with an irate client..na never mong sasabayan ang init ng ulo, na kahit magwala ang client sa harap let him be..he has the right kasi nga siya ang CUSTOMER. In the first place di kayo mag-e-exist kung wala kayong clients. Anong klaseng customer service training meron kayo? Ay oo nga pala, kung pambayad nga ng claims wala kayong maibigay, makakapag-gastos nga ba naman kayo for personnel trainings and seminars? nuninuninu.

Hay tama na nga...I'm just wasting my time ranting about them eh mukhang kasing-tigas ng bato mga mukha nila. Kakatakot lang at baka matulad sa CAP and PEP..uh-oh wag naman sana.

UST.
Para mahimasmasan ako kahapon at since ayaw ko pang umuwi, ayun tumuloy ako sa aking alma mater UST. Naglakad-lakad at nagmasid. Daming pagbabago..daming renovations...Sayang di ko man lang naabutan ang "food court" na nasa multi-deck parking na dati eh pay parking lang ang tawag...Mcdo, Brother's Burger, etc. at ang paboritong kong KFC! akalain mong nasa loob na sila ng USTE. At dahil nga hiwalay na ang Accountancy sa College of Commerce, hiwalay na rin sila ng building at dun na nga sila sa taas ng multi-deck parking. Kaswerte naman nila, bago na building tapos nasa baba lang nila ang mga fast food restos.

Ang driveway sa harap at likod ng Main Building, just wondering puro bricks na..parang di na pwedeng dumaan mga sasakyan. At siyempre pa, ala na pala ang Nine Martyrs of Faith..uy yung mga ibang Thomasian alumnas/alumnaes diyan di nila alam ito. Ito po yung mga malahiganteng rebulto ng mga santo na pinangungunahan ni San Lorenzo Ruiz sa tapat ng Central Library dati.

Oo, wala na ito at may bago ng building na nakatayo. Sa likod naman ng Central Library ganun din, may construction..awww wala ng Coop (ka-miss ng fishballs at tukneneng dito) at Colayco Park kung saan tumatambay at nagpra-praktis ng mga may PE na dancing at mga kung anu-anong drama at program practices na karamihan eh mga AB gumagawa. Nakakamiss yung fish pond at yung butas-butas na estatwa ni Manuel Colayco. Bakit daw butas-butas..kasi mga namatay siya sa pakikipagbarilan nung gyera kaya ayun butas-butas din ang estatwa animo'y gawa ng mga balang kumitil sa buhay niya.

Ang UST Hospital ayun..under construction din. Ginagawan ng extension sa katabi..di ko rin alam kung ano ba yung andun dati..parang garahe na ewan sa tapat ng UST elementary na ngayon ay wala na rin pala. Ang alma mater ko namang UST High School kung saan kami naging magkaklase ng aking esposo straight for four years, ayun ganun pa rin naman ang building. Nung dumaan ako ng mga 3:30 pm kahapon, ang daming nakatambay na mga college students sa walkway na di mo aakalaing HS building siya kasi puro mga college ang tumatambay. Wehehe..naiintindihan ko sila kasi ganyan din ako dati. Karamiha'y mga first year college yun na graduate din ng USTHS at nagkikita-kita sila ng mga HS classmates nila na ngayon eh magkakaiba na ng courses. Siyempre bukod sa namiss ang isa't isa, payabangan at compare notes agad yan about their colleges and courses..at siguro ganun pa rin kalapit sa puso nila ang USTHS. Aba'y kung kami nga ng asawa ko nung college dun ang hintayan namin dati pagka-uwian. Commerce po kasi ako at siya naman ay Engineering. Oo alam ko di naman namin gitna ang HS building pero siyempre alangan naman sa Lover's Lane kami maghintayan kung saan nagmimistulang tambutso dahil daming tumatambay na naninigarilyo. Buti na lang ngayon, smoke free zone na ang USTE. Kaya wala ng mga yosi-kadiri hehe! Naalala ko may prof pa ako nung naninigarilyo sa klase habang nagtuturo hehe!

So yun pagkatapos kong maglakad-lakad at bago umuwi sa Frisco, nag-stay ako ng matagal at nagdasal sa simbahan...na kung di ka Thomasian, aakalain mong ang simbahan ng UST eh ang Main Building dahil sa Cross na nasa ibabaw ng building at pinaliligiran ng mga estatwa ng santo na may tali sa baywang nila. Bakit may mga tali..kasi sabi magbu-bungee jumping daw sila...* toinks *

At nga pala, busy ang UST sa pagprepare for its 400th yr of existence sa 2011. Grabe! Tagal na ng beloved alma mater natin. Kainggit nga eh kasi sa paglakad-lakad ko kahapon, nakita ko mga estudyante may mga black sling bags sila na may nakalagay "I am a proud Thomasian at 400". Waah! gusto ko rin nun!

Sa mga kapwa ko alumni ng USTE, meron na palang UST Sta. Rosa..yup yup, may branch na sa Laguna. Click here for the inauguration pics. Tapos eto po, pakisagutan na lang ang Alumni Survey as posted on the website.

O siya haba na pala ng entry ko..part 1 na lang muna. Bukas ko iblo-blog mga iba pang ginawa ko at pinagka-abalahan kahapon.

Ooooppss...I Did It Again!

Bumping it up...I suddenly realize, this is the last poll for me if ever sayang naman kung palagpasin ko pa..* as encouraged din by some friends of mine * kaya keep those votes coming in...pleassee!
***************************************************************

Nope..I'm not really a Britney fan..* and I never was *

I'm pertaining to my blog bagging once again on its 2nd week the spotlight at The Composed Gentleman's site. It was unexpected seriously since I didn't bug for votes that much na compared on my first week I got nominated. Yihee! flattering really...I'm surprised to see my blog leading the poll every time I visit Talksmart's blog. Well, for the second time, thanks for those kind souls constantly clicking for maipaul. As I've previously mentioned, I'm not that keen in gunning that Hall of Fame award. I'm more than satisfied to have been featured once...and as Jigs mentioned..winning for the second time is just a bonus. But then, if you may allow..winning for the third time? hehehe! Eh di extra bonus. Heheh seriously..thanks for constantly visiting my blog. You just don't know how much my increasing blog hits mean to me...and for that...thank you!

For My Beloved Papa Raffy and Papa Jun...

For the nth time as I browse over our wedding pics or view our wedding video where I see my dad bawling...can't help but be teary-eyed. Who wouldn't be?

When Paul officially asked my Dad's blessings a year before our wedding, he was sobbing. As Josh Groban's You Raise Me Up was being sung, lots of our guests found themselves dabbing their eyes as my dad walked me down the aisle crying as if we'll never ever see again. When my Dad and I swayed to Someone To Watch Over Me for our Father-Daughter Dance, he tried very hard to control his tears but there we were...tears filled up our eyes in silence. I tried to hush him and uttered some words of assurance that I'll always be her bunso eventhough I'll no longer use his surname, but I guess, the silence and sniffing said it all.

Now you know why my tears are also so shallow and do easily cry over cheesy and drama moments on the tube. Yes, I bet I got it from Dad..we all got it from him. We are all iyakin in the family. I guess, the tears come from within. May pinangagalingan kumbaga.

My sisters and I practically grew up in the absence of our mom and dad. We are one bizarre broken family. I don't want to go on to details as to how it happened as this blogging life of mine needs somehow be spared of some privacy too, y'know. Basta..all my life the setup has been like this: my dad toiled in Saudi for our living and education, my mom lives her own life in our province while my sisters and I enjoyed our childhood years with our stepmom in Manila. Our family wasn't perfect from the beginning but we tried to imprint perfect moments into each other's lives eventhough we're far from one another. It was not easy living without your real mom and dad but I know that our hardships were way far beyond the difficulties and hurt that my dad ordealed in a far away land for years. We were contented of the pasalubongs he would bring everytime he goes home for vacation. We were delighted everytime we would go to Duty Free and stock our carts with lots of chocolates, curls, gadgets and other stuffs. But our excitement couldn't even equalize the longing and the superb happiness he'd feel everytime we fetch him at the airport. I just admire how courageous my dad is...for 25 years he'd been sacrificing for us...notwithstanding the pain of living alone in a foreign land, hurting for a failed marriage and not being able to see his children grow up. I am sure he didn't like it but he had no choice. Basically, he raised us alone. He endured homesickness for the longest time just so we could be sent to the best schools and finish our degrees. He's hurting eversince he first flied in 1981 but he bravely faced the challenge just to nurture us with good foods and a decent home.

The distance may also had made my Dad overly protected of his girls. Yes..my dad was super strict. He wanted us to concentrate on our studies and be the best in our class. He wanted us to graduate with honors just as he did. He wanted us to be thrifty of the remittances he's sending and he hated enormous unnecessary expenses. He didn't tolerate us engaging in serious relationships while studying. In fact, he made clear to us we should never ever have boyfriends until we finish our college studies. Realizing the hardships of our Dad, we never failed him...or at least we really tried our best not to disappoint him. Hehe..I had my first serious relationship, with Paul, of course, way back third year college. I may have disobeyed my dad's condition but I tried my best to prove that it was not a hindrance to my excelling in studies. In fact, I was even a Dean's Lister during my junior year in college...(Papa has learned of Paul's existence in my life during my graduation na, though..hehe!) In spite of my late advise, he was warm with his approval naman hehe! Yes, that's how scared I was of Papa's strictness.

When Paul officially asked for his blessings last January '05 for our marriage, my dad cried like hell. It's not that he objects of the marriage, but the thought of his bunsong girl leaving his home creating a new life saddened him to the greatest extent. "Ang bunsong babaeng inalagaan ko, iiwan na ako." That's what he exclaimed while hugging me so tight. I'm the first among my siblings to get married and that's the reason why he's still unaccustomed of the changes about to happen. First time, ika nga. It's not that he's not happy of me getting married but he was just sad that I get to start a new life so soon that he even hadn't got the chance to be with me for so long...to watch me blossom into a lady. He regrets unable to spending much time with us as we grew up.

My Papa is so workaholic and it seems that the engineer in him is instilled in his system for life. My 2 sisters and I have already graduated and my bro's finishing college in 4 years time (his tuition funded by a pre-need education plan) but my Dad is still painstakingly working abroad as a consultant at 59 yrs old (turning 60 this year). He has retired but he was proposed of a consultant position and a good offer that he can't just resist. Being the prudent father that he is, he's still working daw to save for our family's future. Oh yes, ganun siya kaalaga. And yes..Papa is getting older na rin kaya nga we're rushing things to give him his first apo din. That's what he wished for during his speech on our wedding...na sana next na pag-uwi niya he'll be bringing home toys for his apo. Oh no..here we go again..pressure pressure. hehe! How I do really wish that when he goes home for vacation this year, eh we're already expecting that little bundle of joy.

So on this father's day, I know my Papa is lurking here in my blog some times...Papa, I know you'd really get to read this (and I bet he's crying na naman)..I want to wish you and remind you that you are remembered and highly honored this day. Thank you for all the sacrifices you've made for us. We miss you so much and hope you take care of your health okay? I heard lumalaki daw tiyan niyo..di kaya kayo ang buntis? niyehehe! Basta Papa, miles may keep us far apart but our love keeps us closer at heart. I love you Papa! :D From: Mai and Paul

/me blows a flying kiss
****************************************************************

At siyempre I also like to greet my father-in-law a happy father's day!

Papa Jun, eto naman po ang sa inyo:

*******************************************

Happy Father's Day to all dads, tatays and papas out there!

*******************************************

Credits: Lucky Star Kit Essential by Gina Cabrera of Digital Design Essentials

Father Wordarts by Tina Chambers

Blue Spring Kit by Marcee Dugar of DigitalScrapbookplace

Inspiration tag by Valerie Brumfield of DigitalScrapbookplace

Photos: Kenneth Uy

6th Months....

Time flies so fast..I almost forgot to greet my hubby...

Happy 6 months of marital bliss, bi! I love you so much!

Niyahaha...mushy mushy mode. :D

6 months after...spot the difference!

Happy Birthday Tiffany!

Here's one of the reasons why I wasn't able to blog last Thursday...

It's my niece and Paul's inaanak, Tiffany's 1st birthday. We partied with her at Jollibee PRC at siyempre pa nabusog to the max.

To Tiffany, we wish you all the best..may you grow healthy and be a good girl always..ok?

....

dot..dot..dot


Di ako makapag-isip ng matinong title...thus, with dot dot dot.


There are so much things cluttering in my mind and misery gets in my way by mere thinking of them...arggh! I hate it!


kaya I'd rather not blog about it anymore.


erase..erase..erase.


nabitin ba? I'll post an entry of it don't worry...that is, if I'll have the courage and the MOOD to scribble it here.


For the meantime, will work on two new blogs para malibang ako...nah..i'm not gonna leave this nook...will just add two new blogs for my interests...watch out for it.

Asado and Adobo Rice

Logged in: Mai

Blogging in a lethargic mode...grrr..and I'm hating it.

And what a lousy way to start this day...

Must've been the "still-bitin" 7 hour sober sleep?

7 hours na bitin pa rin? remember, i'm a sleepyhead?

Must've been the scent of the pounded garlic I sauteed for my hubby's adobo rice breakfast?

(Nyek..anong koneksyon ng bawang? aba malay ko..)

In fairness, my adobo rice went well:

2 cups of rice

a dash of salt

garlic and onions

cooking oil

and leftover adobo

Must've been the feelin-high hangover for accomplishing a good Asado last night that almost drained my energy?

It's not something superb...pagbigyan, yes I AM a struggling cook in this rookie wife world I live in..kaya when I say good..it must be something palatable and taste bud-friendly enough. I almost burst in frustration last night as I simmered the chicken..it surely didn't look like asado at first as I only saw dark toyo and oil bubbling the chicken. Nanay's (paul's grandma) asado is reddish. I've been stashing 7 Pinoy cookbooks (yeah yeah so plenty..kelangan eh..struggling nga) and all detailed different recipes for Asado. And how did mine go? Ah ewan halo-halo na...chicken breast, toyo, water, pepper, brown sugar, garlic, lots of onions...added some vinegar...haha! asado ba yun? experiment eh..didn't have star anise as the recipe book requires (ano ba yun?) .. sounds like adobo di ba? Paul called my mom-in-law and sabi may kamatis daw dapat kasama ng garlic and onion...niyahaha! kaya pala reddish yung asado ni nanay...no tomatoes stored in the ref. niyerks!

The verdict? Masarap daw sabi ni Paul...oh well, yan ang asawa ko..husband's point of view of course..kahit na anong niluto ng asawa masarap. :D

at yan din ang baon niya for lunch ngayon :D masarap nga ba talaga or no choice?

*********************************

* idle blogging mode *

/me reads CWL yahoogroups mails (hmm, a friend's quite disappointed with their wedding album..well, sino ba daming mali eh)

/me checks my Google Adsense account (hmm...8 clicks = $0.48, not bad) thanks for those precious clicks..onti na lang makakabili na ako ng bahay at lupa! ..(haha! sa paso?)

/me bloghopped (w@wies', blog neighbors, and wandered even more...) hmm..almost all of the blogs I stumbled upon entailed first day of school entries...from 13-yr olds to college studes..wahhh! i suddenly miss schooling. I miss my 7am-11am college classes, my college barkada, BA assignments and feasibility projects, Commerce Bldg's siomai, Almer's, walang pasok pag may bagyo or baha, makati home-school-home 1-hr commute time, Main Building's facade and of course my alma mater in general, UST. Go tigers go!...uyyy UAAP is nearing. :D

*********************************

* back to my blogger *

:yawns:

Ah..uhm...so much for now muna...feels like snoozing for a while can saturate my lazy mood in here...

Logged out: still sluggish Mai

PS: Don't forget to check my blog enjoying the limelight at The Composed Gentleman's site. Vote pa kayo kung gusto niyo but I'm not nangungulit na hehe!

PPS: C'mon..comment and tag naman diyan. :D

/me logged out....

Swimming Beach

I know I have already entries for our beach honeymoon getaway and the recent Laiya outing stashed in my blog's "baul" or the so-called Archives but I just want to share the never-before-seen photos we had. I created a sort-of MTV with these photos and there's no better music to cap the mood than Parokya Ni Edgar's Swimming Beach. Tara, kahit tapos na ang summer magswimming beach ulit tayo...

Filipino Blog of the Week...yahoo!

Wow! I couldn't contain how happy I am right now. Yes..finally! I get to proudly display this badge on my blog as I topped the poll for Week 7 with 28% of the total votes. Visit The Composed Gentleman's Blog and view my blog enjoying the spotlight. Naks! I was ecstatic even more when I read Talksmart's tag: "BIG congratulations!!! Wow! This is the best week ever for the voting!". I myself was surprised with the turnout of the daily votes. (I didn't know ganun pala ka-effective ang pangungulit ko haha!).


Well, I couldn't thank enough those who "habitually" voted for my blog at siyempre pa to those who gave in sa pangungulit ko. I'm still in the poll for Week #8 since the previous week's top 5 will still be included on the next polling week. If a winner gets to be the top voter for 3 consecutive weeks, he'll be included in the Hall of Fame list. I'm having second thoughts on achieving that Hall of Fame award..I believe we need not be greedy at all times and personally, topping the poll once and realizing how supportive my friends are, are enough. Pero kung mapilit kayo at gusto niyo pang bumoto..go go go! hehe! Basta I'm currently on a festive mood with this badge on my blog.

Conked Out Saturday and a Holy Sunday

Unfortunate Saturday:

1.) We were heading to our QC abode when Green Machine, as what we call our green Nissan Sentra EX Saloon car, conked out as we were driving along Rockwell Drive. We already heard a mysterious sound as soon as we got out of our Makati home driveway and Paul sensed something unusual from the tires as he turned his steering wheel. I told him to check it out pero sabi niya naging smooth naman na kaya no need and he just suspected na nalamigan lang or something yung brakes kaya ganun. We were driving along Rockwell Drive and nearing Plaza Drive (near PowerPlant Mall) when we heard a snapping sound off the rear wheels. Agitated, we were able to pull the car over on the side and as the car stalled, Paul discovered it got something to do with the brakes. The handbrake loosened and the brake pedal seemingly a little bit stuck...so with this, we can't risk to go on driving kaya we called home for help. We discarded the idea of a towing service as it costs more than a thousand bucks pala. A Rockwell guard helped us pull over the car to a parking space where we could wait for the mechanic. While waiting for the mechanic who'll still be coming from QC, we hang out in a nearby Starbucks and had the opportunity to have Paul help me with the Math problems in my Civil Service Exam reviewers. And of course, di ko pinalagpas...had some chillin' ever-fave-Mocha Frap hehe! After a while, dumating na rin yung mekaniko..he checked the tires..and ayun...the brakes on the left rear wheel snapped into two. So yun he did some "first aid" kumbaga just to let us drive safely home. Pagdating sa house he further fixed it and had some "rebonding" something sa brakes ng gulong. Buti na lang, it's not that serious naman pero still thank God na we were driving slow at wala pa kami sa EDSA..kundi automatic towed ang car at malamang nag-cause pa kami ng traffic. Another relief for Paul, he didn't spend much dun sa repair.

2. Our PLDT telephone lines (QC home) got busted..and still is until now...and of course wala ring myDSL internet connection. My Mom-in-Law informed us last Friday that some cables in a nearby post along our street caught fire causing the telephone lines to conk out within the affected area. I immediately reported this to PLDT's helpline 173 since andito pa naman ako sa Makati that time. At siyempre pa, kelan ba naging reliable ang helpdesk nila? It's difficult to get through the line and didn't provide any feedback as they promised me they would daw. Before we left our QC home this morning, di pa rin naayos yung mga sunog na cables, dead pa rin ang telephone lines at siyempre pa wala pa ring internet connection. It's just frustrating, sayang naman kita ng computer shop for 3 days na. Puro counterstrike lang at DOTA ang nalalaro. Hay!

*************************************************************

Holy Sunday:

We went on our yearly pilgrimage to our Our Lady of Manaoag yesterday. With Kuya Richard, my sis-in-law's hubby, knowing the shortcuts and detours in Tarlac to avoid the traffic, we could've arrived in time for the 11 AM mass but thanks to the under-construction-one-way-bridges in Urdaneta, the priest has just concluded his homily when we arrived. Nevertheless, we just finished the mass and instead of qeueing in a stretched line towards the miraculous figure, we just offered a prayer and lighted our candle offerings. It's already lunch that time and we were already starving. We ate in a nearby KFC resto for lunch then drive and made our way to Pampanga. We were supposed to attend the birthday celebration of my bilas' grandma pero with the heavy rains that poured while driving the stretch of Tarlac, we decided to go home. Medyo pagod na rin kasi katawan namin..my mom-in-law, Paul, Paul's brother and I squeezed in our bodies at the back of my sis-in-law's pick-up car..ang lalaki ba naman ng katawan ni Paul and ng bro niya. Medyo pagod man, Paul, still was delighted kasi hindi daw siya pagod from driving and that it's his first time na nakakatulog while on a long trip.

Freedom Day!

It's the 108th Anniversary of our country's independence today and I'm pretty sure, aside from the government's commemoration activities, rallies and mass actions on the streets would definitely be the news headlines tonight. While its true that these groups have their rights to fight for what they believe in, I'm disturbed with how these rallies end as they sometimes go over beyond their limit and what were they allowed of...thus, resulting to bloody engagements with the enforcers. They keep on bickering and blaming the government for whatever economic difficulties we have. Nakakalungkot lang, nakakalimutan nating tanungin ang mga sarili natin, what we CAN do to help. Sabi nga, "Ask not what your country can do for you: Ask what you can do for your country."

Let's take some time to reflect on how can we show our love for our country with our own simple ways. These things are a lot easier to do kesa sa magrally hehe!

1. Follow traffic rules.

2. Whenever you buy or pay for anything, always ask for an official receipt.

3. Do not buy smuggled goods. Buy local. Buy Filipino.

4. When you talk to others, especially to foreigners, speak positively of our race and our country.

5. Respect your traffic officer soldier and other public servants.

6. Do not litter. Dispose your garbage properly. Segregate. Recycle. Conserve.

7. Support your church (or charitable/civic organizations)

8. During elections, do your solemn duty.

9. Pay your employees well.

10. Pay your taxes.

11. Adopt a scholar or adopt a poor child.

12. Be a good parent. Teach your kids to follow the law and to love our country.

**Taken from Alexander Ledesma Lacson's book "12 Little Things Every Filipino Can Do To Help Our Country"

Tagged yah!

I'm sure..Paul's ecstatic and jovial at this moment...his team Dallas won over Heat at the NBA Game 1 Finals (90-80). So how's your pustahan doin', bi?
*********************************************************************
My adsense account is slowly picking up yahhhoooeee! Thanks for those precious clicks.
*********************************************************************
Have started browsing over my civil service exam reviewers last night..and oh boy! it ain't that easy as I thought it'd be. I need to go over some Math, Science, English and my Phil Constitution lessons. I have taken up Consti for one whole semester in college but it seems that my memory is not helping me and badly needs a tune up...arrgghh! Ngayon ko lang nalaman, according to the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees..a public official may receive gifts as long as it's given as a mark of courtesy. And I thought di pwedeng tumanggap in any manner and form and whatever the nature is. Hmm...kaya pala... hehe!
*********************************************************************
Anyhow, I've been tagged by a fellow w@wie Ann. This entry has been parked for so long in my blog draft template...so here it is..

Instructions: Name ten of life's simple pleasures that you like the most, then pick ten people to do the same.

One. Cooking for my hubby...
Two. and having Paul like and eat it (kahit medyo di successful)
Three. Paul's pasalubong na Waffle Time Belgian Choco Flavor
Four. Seeing new comments, tags, messages on my blog and seeing my blog leading the poll (and wouldn't be nicer if I bag first place this time? kaya vote pa kayo ng vote)
Five. The Sims on PS2 and O2jam on PC
Six. 8 hours (or more) uninterrupted sober sleep
Seven. KFC and siomai!
Eight. blogging, internet surfing and digiscrapping
Nine. Paul's goofiness lalo na't kalbo siya ngayon heheh!
Ten. my Google adsense account earning some $

Go ahead tag yourself. :D

The Senseless Me Strikes Again..

Sorry if I'll be coming up with another senseless entry...hehe! I'm just not in the mood to do anything...kahit na mag-isip. WALA..it's not and don't blame PMS kasi it has arrived already and it's killing me with this pain..arrrggh! * Kathy, sorry to burst your bubble dear..and I thought pareho tayo ng tinatahak na landas ngayon * :( Better luck next month na naman ang drama namin ng hubby ko.

Anyhow, what kept me busy today?...not much, I just did some errands...nagpunta sa bank..paid my credit card bills then off I went to Glorietta. Had my NBS Laking National Card renewed. It's about to expire this month and have to work on the renewal before I totally forget about it. I bought some Civil Service Exam reviewers. I need to start reviewing for my July 30 Paper & Pencil exam. Darn, can't find my ever-gutay-gutay thick Phil. Constitution book. I know it's just somewhere...and di ko lang alam eh kung nasa QC or Makati house ba. Oo seryoso ako sa exam na ito...have to do it one time lang...dahil gusto ko ng magwork ulit! waah! I terribly miss paydays na.

I forgot to see kung may available na Nicholas Sparks' At First Sight na paperback sa NBS. I saw one sa Powerbooks pero hardbound naman at tumatagingting na Php 800 siya...and didn't I just say that I miss paydays? grrrrr.....

Sabi ko nga eh..pagtiyagaan ko muna itong Google Adsense na ito...how I wish dumami pa ang magclick! :sigh:

Names. Wishes. Advices.

I was sorting some stuffs in our cabinet when I saw these:

In leiu of guest books or signature frames, what we had in our wedding reception was these DIY (do-it-yourself) guest sheets. Yes, we opted to have such and created them ourselves for certain reasons like:

1.) more guests would be encouraged to sign on their free time throughout the program as these sheets are readily placed with pens on the table.

2.) ease the guests' burden in thinking of what to write aside from the usual congratulations and best wishes greetings since there are questions (more of their forecasts for us) that they have to fill in.

3.) our prenups pics were utilized as we used them to embellish our sheets.

4.) excess papers we used for our DIY invites were not wasted as these paper were used for the guest sheets

5.) signed sheets are supposedly bookbinded afterwards (which until now di pa pala namin nagagawa)

I'm glad we pushed through with these guest sheets kasi sobrang sarap basahin at ulit-uliting basahin. Some are pretty serious and you'd feel their sincerity in their wishes and advices but with our "loko-loko" friends, we'd expected that most are going to be humor-filled forecasts and advices.

For the first forecast, when is the birthday of our firstborn?, 95% answered Sept - Dec 2006. Pwede nga naman 9 months to one year after the wedding. Err, sorry guys, we're halfway through with 2006 but seems like this is not yet the year of our first little bundle of joy's arrival. I know you're all excited for us pero don't worry..as we always psyched ourselves..all in God's time. Incidentally, three of our ninangs naman wanted us to enjoy each other muna and wait for the baby daw until 2007! Hmmm...pwede.

For the 2nd forecast, how many kids will we have?, majority answered 2-3 kids daw. Pero yung iba di ko kinaya ha:
- a dozen
- 4 dozens
- 365
- millions (exag! eba't adan ba?)
- high tide or low tide? (haha! pang ms. universe!)

For the 3rd forecast, names of our kids?, here are their suggestions:

Siyempre, majority yung derivations ng names namin na Pauleen, Paulyn, etc. Why not? (Btw, my nick "Mai" was derived from my real nick "maileen"). Pero siyempre nga dahil sa loko-loko most of our friends, eto yung ibang names na sinulat nila:

Haha! ang kukulit!

As for their advices and wishes, among our favorites are:
- Let Christ be the center of your lives
- Minimize disagreements and be understanding towards each other
- Always count your blessings and love each other for the rest of your lives
- Whenever you have indifferences, never sleep until it's resolved. Give and take always. Set aside pride.
- Keep on holding on to God. Never cease on thanking Him.
- Constant communication
- May you have a union blessed in Heaven, a life rich in happiness and few trials to keep your feet on the ground
- Long and happy marriage with lots of beatiful and handsome kids
- Have a simple but quality family life

At siyempre pa ang mga kalokohan na wishes and advices:
- basta walang manghahalimaw (hassle, halimaw? haha nice term!)
- may the force be with you
- succesful transplant for mai (waahh! gawin ba akong bakla?)
- sana sumikat kayo forever
- make it 4x a day..mai, don't close your eyes, ur kids will be gifted (niyay! aris, ano ito?!!?)
- multiply and add (genil & leia, ang alin?)
- buy "Lover's Guide" DVD..very essential in your married life. (jo and bel, fortunately, may nagbigay sa kin niyan nung bridal shower and masasabi ko lang...may tama kayo!)
- "Paul, wag mong sasaktan si Mai..or else, patay ka jan"
- "Mai, maawa ka kay Paul...wag mo masyadong saktan..onti lang.."

I'm sure with all the kalokohans they wrote, they had fun filling out our guest sheets as much as we had fun reading them. :D

"Sabog" Random Thoughts

Well, I can't seem to contain my thoughts at the moment and there are a lot of whirling sentiments that I'd like to blog about pero waahhh..I can't seem to organize it..in short, SABOG! (which might lead to another sabog entry):

1.) Feel so sleepy at the moment and have been a sleepyhead..read as MAS naging antukin.. these past few days. Well I know, yeah, antukin na ako dati pa at hirap talaga akong gisingin on early mornings pero lately, yawns ache my jaw because of its frequency despite coming from a sober sleep. :yawns:

2.) I wonder what time will my brother wake up. We're supposed to get the reimbursement of his school fees from Pryce Plans and deposit his check on the bank.

3.) First day of school today. Hmm..back to school once again and buti pa mga estudyante..back to hingi allowance na naman sila.

4.) I suddenly realized I miss schooling and there's something in me that wants to pursue masteral studies. Oh well, ok sana but we don't have the moolah. :(

5.) Monday morning and here I am again in my parents' house in makati. Well, for you to know, my hubby and I have been staying with my in-laws in QC temporarily as we save for a house of our own...no definite date of move out yet pero I hope it'll be sooner than our timeline. But for the past weeks, we find ourselves wandering to and from our Makati and QC homes like vagabonds most of the days in a week...clothes and Paul's office wear in tow.

One, my 16-yr-old bro is home alone..well, with a maid naman pero practically he enjoys "soloing" our house. Our parents are abroad, my eldest sister just flew to Qatar for good, my elder sister is busy with her business in Pasig and seldom goes home, and as for me yun nga..I was so-called "evicted from the house" as my bro labeled me when I got married last December. Sarap ng buhay niya noh? and he enjoys it ano pa nga ba! But being the caring ate that I am (caring daw o..hehe) and being an obedient child to my parents, I was tasked to oversee him once in a while. (..na ayaw niya naman..ah siyempre! as if he can run the household by himself). Thus, we sleep here on Sundays.

Two, since Paul's office is just a stone's throw away (10-mins-tricycle ride + a few meters of walking) from our Makati home, it's favorable not only for him but for me as well. Siyempre, Php 15 lang ang fare, di pa siya pagod and he can leave the house a few mins before 8 am without coming in late. No pushing and body squeezing in jampacked MRT coaches and muscle-straining commuting on early mornings. As for me naman, I don't need to get up that early to cook and prepare his breakfast and baon.

We need to go home sa QC once in a while since Paul has to attend to his computer business din. Lalo na on Saturdays as it's our turn to man the shop. Di niya mapabayaan kasi it's doing well these past few days. We just don't know how the rentals will be like now since pasukan na. Hope tumaas pa or at least, stays the same.

6.) Just got my credit card and mobile phone bills! grrr! pwede bang itapon na lang? Not that much naman ang dues but still bayarin pa rin! Ha! have to congratulate myself, though.. Php 500+ lang ang phone bill ko compared to an almost 900+ last month. Haha! If not only for the lock up period and the difficulty in changing a number, I would have shifted back to prepaid na lang. Credit card naman...niyay! haven't swiped it pero the annual charge is billed this month. :sigh:

7.) Just received a text message from a-fellow-wawie-turned one of my online bestfriends, Mec. She's asking for our prayers as her 2-yr-old nephew Pyro is undergoing a surgery today. The little angel has cancer and we all hope he finally surpasses this ordeal with this operation. A precious little angel doesn't deserve that pain he's been going through. Let's all whisper a prayer for the little boy. :)

8.) As of 10:34 am, got 14 votes already on the Filipino Blog of the Week..and it's a milestone. It's my first time to take the lead by 5 votes..and hope dumami pa ng dumami. Thanks for those who voted already and as I constantly say, pls make the voting a habit for this week ok? I need to bag first place this time. (hall of famer na si kevin eh, yehey!) So after reading this enty of mine, proceed on this URL- http://www.salaswildthoughts.blogspot.com and vote for my blog..check on maipaul. For more detailed directions...click here.

so there goes may sabog random thoughts... :D

I Bagged the 2nd Place!

After a week-long of voting and after a lot of "pamimilit's and pangungulit's" to friends, family and relatives, the results are in:

2nd place in the Filipino Blog of the Week poll at Talksmart's blog is good enough. I'm still proud for giving utakgago a good fight. Last time I peeped in the poll last night, I was 10 votes behind him 50-40 (and the 3rd placer was way behind us who has about 13 votes)...and I knew then I won't be able to cut his lead. * Congrats kevin! * I thought I gonna make it because there was one time he's only 3 votes away from me.

Nevertheless, it was fun promoting my blog and this poll to all of my friends. Thanks for those who took time to place their votes...wow! marami ang 40 votes ha! Well, a new poll has started today and will end Saturday night. Pls make me bag the first place this time, ok? Voting is daily so please make it a habit, after all, i know most of you are online everyday.

All you have to do is:

1. Click here to be redirected to Talksmart's blog.

2. Focus your eyes on the left column. Scroll down until you see the poll (see diagram on the left).

3. Check "maipaul" and submit your vote!

4. Go and tell your friends to do the same..hehe!

Destined...

Still can't get enough of the wedding? hehe!

Sharing my latest LOs. Credits to Meryl Barthou for the kit.

/me mushy-mushy mode

Marriage 101: How To Fight Fairly

I read this article from a blog of a fellow rookie wife, Alynn. I find it interesting and useful not only for newly married couples but even for those who are into any relationships. Read on...

Courage To Love When Your Marriage Hurts
by: Gerald Foley

Silence is a relationship killer...you need to FIGHT

Studies show that couples who fight have a stronger relationship and marriage. An old axiom says, "The dirtiest fighter is the one who refuses to fight at all." Someone who doesn't want to rock the boat, and skirts the issues to avoid conflict, ultimately damages the relationship. Fighting can actually get us through a conflict to a level of greater intimacy. So, Fight for your relationship...it's the best thing you can do.

Fight Fairly

Remember that you are trying to grow together. Often we learned unhealthy or unfair ways of fighting from parents or from our culture. These make winning at any cost the most important goal. If one spouse wins...both lose.

No Name Calling
Calling a spouse a name such as "stupid" simply backs that person away from a fight. Do not call each other names except the affectionate ones you normally use, such as "Honey" or "Dear."

Do Not Involve Other People

The argument is between the two of you. Young couples make the mistake of involving friends or parents (usually mothers). The damage comes later in several forms; 1) A parent will more than likely remember the issue long after a couple has forgotten. 2) The respect and perception once held by a parent for a childs spouse will decline. 3) A couple may feel uncomfortable facing the parent even after an incident has been resolved. 4) A parents natural reaction is to protect a child and this reaction may cause further damage to the relationship.

No Past History

If it's already been settled, don't bring it up again. It is irrelevant and merely a way to smear your partner. It is OK to go back to learn, but not to get something on your spouse.

Stick to the Subject

Stay focused. Find the issue and don't bring in other issues just to prove your point. When he comes home later and she feels taken for granted or unloved, deal with feelings to make the real issue apparent.

Don't Hit Below the Belt

Don't throw your partners weaknesses in his or her face. You may win the argument but lose more than you gain. On the other hand, don't be too sensitive to what your spouse says.

Don't Go to Bed Angry

Finish the Fight. Dragging a fight out is as life-draining as avoiding a fight. Unresolved anger can destroy intimacy.

Maintain a Sense of Humor

Laughter is sometimes the best medicine. It's good to be able to laugh at yourselves, but don't laugh at or make fun of your spouse.

Hold Hands and/or Look in Each Others Eyes

Being in contact with each other, rather than turning your backs, is the hardest rule. However, it takes the focus from the issue and places it where it belongs, namely on the most important person in your life.

***********************************************************************

Continue voting for my blog to be the Filipino Blog of the Week at The Composed Gentleman's site.