My Soap Box

Getting By

2011-12-13T02:23:00.004+08:00

Its been almost 5 months since I quit my corporate job. Getting used to this kind of routine is both easy and difficult for me. For 5 years straight, I woke up early and went to work for 8 hours, sometimes more, and went home when its dark, have dinner with my hubby and go to bed. Same routine the next day for 5 years.

All this changed when my little bundle of joy joined me and my hubby. Having a difficult pregnancy, I has some doubts about being able to work 'full force' again once the baby came out. I finally decided to be a full-time mom and turned my back to corporate life. It takes getting used to, really. I used to handle around 50 teachers on a daily basis aside form my usual supervisory work. Now I just handle my precious baby who seems to have the energy of 50 teachers! Ah!

There are times when I wonder if I hadn't made the decision to stop working and just be a full-time mom...I wonder how I and my baby could have coped if I chose to work instead of taking care of her full-time. I never wonder for long because I already know the answer. With Ysabella, my first child, I chose to work because I needed to at that time. I was young and I needed to prove myself and of course I wanted my financial independence. I also needed the money for both of us. Now, she is 9 years old and has grown to be the most adorable little girl. I often wonder hos she really feels about me not being with her most of the time since she was 3 years old. I remember that I chose to quit my job in order to give more attention to both my daughters now.

So for now, I'm relearning how to be a good mom...I know its still not enough, especially for Ysabella, but I am trying. And when I set my mind on doing something, I will do it and I will do it well. That is, of course, with the help of the people I love and the people who love me.

And look at Skylar...What mom wouldn't quit any job for that face? It's great to be a mom.

Ultrasound Results

2011-08-10T14:19:00.002+08:00

I just came from my final ultrasound and it seems the baby is in correct position for a normal birth! Also my placenta is not blocking the cervix anymore. Whew, I feel happier knowing that there are no surprises anymore and that I will be giving birth to a baby girl in a normal delivery. As a bonus, I also saw her face in the ultrasound, the doctor was kind enough to go through each of the baby's features and parts of her body. I know that she will be a perfect baby girl and I am sooo excited to see her!

Normal Birth or C-Section?

2011-08-08T14:55:00.002+08:00

I am now in my 35th week of pregnancy and it seems only a few more weeks that I have to wait before I see my new baby girl. I am sooooo excited I can't express it much. I talk to my tummy everyday as if she is already outside. I encourage my hubby to talk to her too. She moves a lot. I was expecting her to be less active because she's getting bigger and her space inside might be getting cramped but it always makes me happy to see and feel her move a lot every time. It seems she has become more active than before!

I have packed our hospital bags in preparation. Now I'm just worried about the delivery. I guess normal birth or C-section is okay with me. I'm just worried about the pain, but who isn't? I know that its all worth it after seeing my baby....but you know...still I worry. During my first baby, I had a hell of a time. But I was young then...I think that with age comes more patience and understanding of giving birth. I love my baby and the pain will be nothing compared to the joy of seeing her for the first time.

I mentioned about C-section being an option because of the baby's position. From my last ultrasound, she is in a breech position. Also, i have a low-lying placenta. I am due for another scan this week to determine my final birth plan. I don't really know which method I prefer, normal or C-section and I'm doing a lot of reading of other women's experiences. I guess some prefer C-section but most prefer the normal method. Sigh. My hubby is also worried about me, but I told him that the baby and I will be okay, and I assured him that I am happy with any of the methods of delivery.

My Table

2011-07-03T13:44:00.003+08:00

I'm gonna miss sitting here...

Nursery Ideas

2011-07-01T11:54:00.007+08:00

After one chapter in our lives comes other chapters. The next chapter in mine is on being a full-time mom after working straight for more than 5 years, sometimes neglecting to spend time with my 1st daughter, now 9 years old. After deciding to finally quit my job, the idea of becoming a full-time mom is becoming lovelier as days pass by.

I am now in my 29th week of pregnancy and I am so excited to meet my 2nd baby daughter! I can feel her moving in my tummy as I write this post. I wonder what she looks like? I'm really so excited to see her. My hubby talks to her and tells her to come out now so he can play with her. But I read that although parents feel impatient to see their new family member, each day is crucial for the baby's development.

To pass the time, I decided to start planning for a nursery. I found some good sites that showed great nursery ideas. There are so many themes and colors to choose from. I'd better decide which one is suitable for her or I'll end up with a multi-colored nursery! These are some of the themes I saw.

A pleasant looking nursery is important I guess, but more important is a baby-friendly one. I just want a simple design, not too colorful. It must also be safe for my baby. For example, no framed pictures hanging above the crib! Or frilly beddings. I also read that it's easier to clean hardwood floors than carpeted ones.

As of now, I'm still finishing my 1-month notice at work but as soon as I'm free from work, I'll start decorating the nursery. That would keep me from being bored while I'm still waiting for her to come out.

(All pictures not mine)

Eve's Garden

2011-06-27T14:52:00.006+08:00

A workmate of mine and I were invited by our boss last year to have a business lunch in a very unique restaurant. The place is called Eve's Garden. I admit I had reservations for going to this restaurant because I heard that it was one of those organic or vegetarian places. I love a good steak and If someone would treat me a free lunch, I was hoping it would involve a good juicy chunk of beef! Anyway, we had to go there because it was a business meeting, I figured, I'd just have to "endure" the whole thing. Little did I know that, this new experience will open my eyes to new levels!

The place is located in Lamtang Road, Baguio City.Its a little difficult to find because its hidden in the mountains. You'll need to rent a car to get here or hire a cab. When we got there, there were no other customers around. I heard that customers have to make reservations before coming here for they had to hand-pick all of the flowers and the vegetables.

We were welcomed by one of the staff and were led to a table with a view of the mountains. We sat and admired the scenery as we waited for our food to arrive. The first course was a salad made of flowers! I was surprised that we had to eat flowers! I was expecting the regular lettuce salad but this was really different. The picture on top's what it looked like.

The drinks they served us were also organic, I didn't really know what it was made of or what it contained but there was a eucalyptus leaf floating on top. It was delicious too as it turned out.

The main course was of pork, rice and more flowers! By this time I was already full from the salad I had. There was also dessert served after the meal.

I later found out that the price of a full course meal per head is around 650 pesos. This is not exactly cheap in the Philippines, but to tell the truth, the experience is priceless. I hope to be able to bring my family here in the future to share this experience.

Time To Move On

2011-06-22T13:59:00.003+08:00

Yesterday, I handed in my resignation after 5 years of working in the same company. Before I talk about this more, let me mention that I am 7 months pregnant. My husband and I am very very happy about this pregnancy and I am so excited to meet my 2nd daughter!

At first, my initial plan was to just take a leave from work, consuming unpaid vacation leaves plus my maternity leave. But suddenly, a decision to just quit my job was made. My hubby and I had a long and thorough discussion about it Friday night. That night I couldn't sleep just thinking about this very big step. He assured me many times that he can support us financially and that I shouldn't worry about anything. I have my doubts personally but I love my husband and I want to trust him. He seems happy that I will be staying at home to build our family.

Looking back, I mentioned in my blog that I felt guilty for not giving enough time to my 1st daughter, Ysabella. All because I was a workaholic. A lot of you guys advised me that I should start giving time to my daughter before its too late. I look at her and I see all the years I wasted not touching her hand, not laughing with her, and missing out on her childhood. I don't want this to happen to my 2nd daughter. Ysabella is now 9 years old and I think I still have time to catch up with what I have been missing if I quit my job now.

As days go by, I am happier with the decision that I made. I am looking forward to being a good mom to both my daughters. And being a good wife to my loving husband.

As for working...well... I'm still young and I can start anew somewhere when the right time comes. But for now, I'm still enjoying the thought of becoming a hands-on mom. I may try building my own business...I have a lot of ideas. It may not be a sure success but it doesn't mean that I won't have fun trying.

Happy Heart's Day!

2011-02-14T13:41:00.003+08:00

Having nothing special planned and actually not giving much thought about Valentine's Day, I was pleasantly surprised to receive this balloon with a rose (rose not shown in the picture)from my team members. I guess today is still the day to show our love for people we care for. So after I got this, I, too, started sending greetings to the people I care for. Happy heart's day everyone!

A Day with Ysabella

2011-02-12T22:10:00.002+08:00

There was this really big dog that I've wanted Ysabella to see, So after some shopping I took her to this tourist spot in Baguio City where a big dog sat for pictures. She was a little scared at first but she later told me how soft the dog's fur was. For a long time, I've been thinking of buying her a pet puppy to keep her company but unfortunately she has asthma which I hope she outgrows in time.

The Greater Plan

2010-09-17T13:21:00.002+08:00

People usually tend to think of their own benefit and rarely consider other people's feelings, much less of what effect their actions might have on other people.

Working as a supervisor has taught me to be both selfish and selfless. This is where I have trouble. I don't know if my being selfish to some people and my being selfless to some people is good. I don't even know if what I'm doing is good altogether.

Since I started this job, I've rarely seen my daughter and have never really spent time to see her. She lives with my parents not so far away and yet I have never made the time to see her. The reason is that I have spent all my time and energy and money on trying to do an excellent job as a supervisor. I know that this is not a good reason. My daughter should be more important but somehow I can't do the right thing.

And this gives me a lot of stress. I try to justify my actions by telling myself that I'm working for her and that I do this so I can buy better things for her, but somehow I can't feel satisfaction. The guilt is really killing me but I can't seem to pry myself from my work. I should set my priorities straight, I know. One day, I know that she will hate me for all the time I spent away from her. I'm not sure if I can face that day.

Changes

2010-06-28T10:30:00.002+08:00

Ahahaha! I've been away from blogging for almost 5 months and it really sucks! teehee! I've really really missed blogging! Needless to say, I have missed my friends in the blogging world and I've missed what goes on in their lives too! I hope that I get the time now to visit all their blogs soon!

What happened to me? Well, a lot actually. From an ordinary teacher for 4 years in the same Korean Academy, I was promoted to a Head Teacher and in a matter of weeks, was catapulted to the position of OIC-Supervisor!
And after an observation period, will probably be one officially. So as you can imagine, the good old days of being nonchalant and carefree are over for me.

I am so busy right now that I haven't even the time to get a decent manicure! My hands are ewwww!!! I was supposed to get one yesterday but ...oh well.

Doing this new job was really stressful for me at the start, but I guess it was really a misconception that a supervisory position only entails sitting on one's ass all day. Its not true in real life, I tells yah! ( By the way, I'm doing this at work now, heehee...while my boss isn't here yet!)

And while doing this job, I found out that a big laptop wasn't that easy to carry around ( I had a Compaq 14"). So, I bought a Dell Mini. Its green and its really light so I can carry it around for meetings! And OMG, what meetings they have! Sometimes, we have as many as 5 meetings in a day!

Oh well, I better get on back to work, the office people are noticing me taking a snap of my eeewwwy hand.
So hope to visit you soon! Ciao!

I Miss Blogging....

2010-05-05T12:28:00.003+08:00

I've been away too long...

Too Busy At Work!!!

2010-03-04T21:19:00.000+08:00

It seems my company has changed the system of how everything works. As a result, all employees are experiencing some drastic changes in their schedules, management, and work descriptions. I got promoted to Head Teacher (whatever that means? But so far the only difference I'm seeing is that I have MORE work to do!!!) And so I must join the rest of the huddled masses in their way to the work house. In addition to this, my net connection seems to be sulking. Sometimes, my connection is good but, recently, I have no net connection at all. I will try my best to keep posting though and following your blogs. = )

A Smile To Start A Day

2010-02-22T11:02:00.001+08:00

I couldn't stop laughing when I read one of our friend's post about "How A Patient Gets Institutionalized".I was visiting Affection this morning and I am happy that this joke was shared on that blog. Please visit this blog too for great more reads. I'm sure that you will appreciate this wonderful blog too. Thanks for this Affection! So the joke goes:

During “The Bathtub Test” from
a visit to the mental asylum, I asked the director “how do
you determine whether or not a patient should be institutionalized?”.
"Well," said the director, "we fill up a bathtub, then we offer a teaspoon, a teacup and a bucket to the patient and ask him or her to empty the bathtub".
"Oh, I understand now," I said. "A normal person would use the bucket because it's bigger than the spoon or the teacup".
"No." said the director, "A normal person would pull the plug. Do you want a bed near the window?"

ARE YOU GOING TO PASS THIS ON, OR DO YOU WANT THE BED NEXT TO MINE ???

A Trip Down The Memory Lane

2010-02-17T23:06:00.005+08:00

I wasn't really a fan of Facebook before but I noticed that I could get in touch with long-lost friends from elementary school and high school days by using this social network. I tried Googling a name of a high school or elementary school friend, friends whom I haven't seen for more than a decade - and chances are - they have a Facebook account! I was amazed at how I was able to track, locate and contact these special people from my younger days!

Sadly, there are some people whom I would love to hear from but for some reason, their names don't come up the search engines.

But I was happy that I was able to contact friends I've lost along the way - and hope to re-establish our friendship.

Happy Hearts Day!

2010-02-15T20:33:00.011+08:00

Happy Valentines Day everyone! How did you spend your hearts day?

I spent mine with my daughter. We had a date! First we ate in KFC...

Then, we went to the park to see the flowers and the landscaping contest entries. February is the Flower Festival month in Baguio City. This is the time we show off our flower products. Can you see the flowers behind us?

These are some of the landscaping entries...

Ysabella took this shot of a butterfly. Pretty good huh?

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Hope you enjoyed the day!

Just Got Back!

2010-02-14T21:15:00.007+08:00

Hey hey, got back after a week of being literally away...guess bloggers were too busy and didn't feel much like guessing from my last post - Anatomy Of A Header. But I want to thank sssDawna for trying anyway - to guess which among the pictures I didn't take.

The answers are # 11 and #12. The graffiti was taken by one of our friends, his name is IO and he has a photostream here, check it out if you have time! And the staircase picture was taken by my hubby. That's actually me on top of the stairs.

By the way, sssDawna, the owner of Beauty and Budget has posted about her troubles with buying online from IBeautyNY.

Ever had a bad experience from a company and it's customer service? Read more from sssDawna's new post Do Not Buy From IBeautyNy. She's also selling some goodies for discounted prices. Check it out!

Anatomy Of A Header

2010-02-07T21:23:00.004+08:00

I don't know why, but I easily get tired of my blog designs. The longest time I had used a template is about three months. And that happened only once. Most template designs, I used for a month or the shortest - 2 weeks only. My hubby was a little annoyed when I first started blogging because he had to do most of the designs and the technical stuff. Unfortunately, I have no skill whatsoever about graphic designing, and even using photoshop is alien to me. But after all the template design changes over the months, I think he got used to this. Now, he just does all my designs with no questions and even goes out of his way to help me have a more pleasant blogging experience.

There are 12 pictures in my new header. Some of them, I already used here in my posts, some not. This header is composed of pictures that best describe me as a person. The things I love are somehow, someway represented in the picture. I took all these pictures except two.

From left to right:

1. The Beach - this was taken in the surfing capital of the country - San Juan, Philippines.
2. The Sunset - Long-Long, La Trinidad, Benguet, Philippines
3. Cosmetics - I'm not very conscious about brands, that's why I don't post about make-up but I love putting on make-up. I usually buy the cheap but good ones.
4. Laptop, Coffee, and Organizer - I drink coffee when write something. Helps me think.
5. My work - I have the collage of my students' pictures to represent my job as a teacher.
6. Books - I was an avid reader before I was introduced to the net. My books are Sheldon, Grisham, Ludlum, Trevaynne, Thayer, Sanford, etc.
7. The Yellow Toy - Represents my daughter, yellow for the joy she gives me.
8. Pad Paper, Candles, Pen - For doodling; Used to collect candles in university
9. Chess Board - Love to play this game. My hubby doesn't want to play with me because I get angry when I lose, haha. But I play this with my family.
10. Black Jeep - that's my hubby's car. We used it that day to go up a mountain.
11. Graffiti - A graffiti of my hubby's name and my name (written in the dialect)
12. Stairs - I love this picture taken in the Sagada Caves, Mt. Province, Philippines

Can you guess which 2 pictures I didn't take?

*** I'll be posting the names of the people who can guess on my next entry. Sorry there is no real price, haha, but I'll be sure to talk about your blog on my next post!

*** I will be gone for a week starting tomorrow. The place where I'm going does not have an internet connection so I guess I'll be hearing from you next week!

The World Was Not Made For One As Beautiful As Frances Farmer

2010-02-07T15:40:00.013+08:00

I read somewhere that Courtney Love wore Frances Farmer's wedding dress in her wedding with Nirvana's Kurt Cobain. Curious of who Frances Farmer was, I googled her name and was shocked at what I found out. I was also intrigued. Immediately I searched for more info about her and finally decided that I had to watch the movie based on her life, Frances. Though this movie is highly sensationalized, it tells about the hell that an intelligent girl and a fairly successful actress went through for more than a decade in her life.

Frances Farmer was always known for having a rebellious nature . In the movie, it was implied that her parents encouraged her to always go for what she wanted. At 16, she wrote a controversial winning essay, entitled God Dies. This caused a lot of negative attention from the people in her society and also from the media. Many people disapproved of what she wrote and thought her to be an atheist. Being very talented, she then won in another competition and her price was to go to Russia, which was a communist country. Against her mother's advice and the society's disapproval, she went to Russia, and from there, she got her ticket to Hollywood.

She became famous at first for some movies, but what made her really controversial was her nervous breakdown, violent and anti-social behavior causing the state to declare her mentally incompetent. She involuntarily went in and out of the mental hospital. This was orchestrated by her mother who insisted on controlling Frances, and when she didn't follow, she was sent to the mental institution where over the years, she was abused sexually and physically by the male doctors and staff. In the movie, she had a lobotomy, but this did not happen in real life.

Jessica Lange, who plays Frances, gives a very powerful performance that you could almost feel the pain that Frances is going through. For portraying this role, she got nominated for the Academy's Best Actress.

I really had a heavy heart when I watched this and was brought to tears not just once. It has a very strong effect on me until this time. The regret that such a beautiful person as Frances Farmer was 'misunderstood' during her time. It reminds me of Don Mclean 'Vincent'. I thought that she had a very strong spirit and that she was a really beautiful person.

Black, White, and Red?

2010-02-06T10:51:00.015+08:00

I'm enjoying my one-month vacation now and I am happy that I am able to do things that I simply didn't have the time for when I was working. For example - my house. Its a jungle, literally. We moved in two years ago, it was a present from my hubby's dad. He didn't want us renting so far way from the family so he had this small house constructed inside the family's compound. But as we were always busy from work, we really never got to beautifying or even finishing the interiors and exteriors of the house, we just moved in and 'lived in' without any decorating whatsoever.

I have always felt frustrated about this and every time I come home from work I always 'regret' coming home, haha. But now, I have nagged my way to having it 'fixed' especially now that I'm on a vacation. The walls and the floors are not even painted yet. So I promised myself that all of these are gonna get done before this month is over. I told my hubby that if it ain't so by March, I'll start looking for another apartment. I'm bluffing of course, but, I may just do so to get this done. If that's what it takes, haha.

And so, finally after 2 years, the carpenters and painters are moving in. They started with the walls last week, I'm gonna have it be painted tomorrow or definitely next week. Then the floors. I already have an idea of what it would look like.

I'm choosing black and white tiles for my floor and I'm still thinking about the wall colors, but most probably - all white. I want the floors to look like this:

Even in the kitchen. My house is not this big but I think checkered tiles would look great even in small spaces.

Now I have this really annoying and big ( and at the moment - UGLY ) stairs leading to the 2nd floor. I saw something great to do with it. Something like this: black surface and white under

Or LIKE THIS! I love those small, black and white tiles in different patterns for each step.

I also have this wall beside the stairs and this is what I'd do with it too - memories on the wall in monochromatic frames.

For the landing on the stairs - checkered floor and a mirror right in front of it.

Now, if all go as planned ( budget, weather, schedule ) then I could post my own home pictures by next month! I'm so excited.

P.S.

I was thinking of painting one wall RED, what do you think?

An Unfinished Life

2010-02-04T11:42:00.005+08:00

Jennifer Lopez ( yes, her ) plays Jean Gilkyson, the daughter-in-law of Robert Redford who plays the main character, Einar Gilkyson. His son died some years ago from a car accident where she was driving, causing him to feel resentment towards her. Years later, she returns to his land to seek shelter as she runs away from an abusive boyfriend. Einar meets his granddaughter Griff for the first time. As the story progresses, they all learn to deal with unresolved issues and even close some unfinished business.

I thought Robert Redford portrayed his character very well. I was used to seeing him play prince charming roles. I guess his character in Indecent Proposal stuck on my mind for a while. So I thought that Clint Eastwood would have been great for this role too. But seeing as he and Morgan Freeman had too many movies together already, maybe this was better.

I'm not really a big fan of JLO and thought that the role would have been better portrayed by another actress. She was simply too sexy for the role, haha. Morgan Freeman was, as always wonderful in the film. I liked the insults and the careless banter between his character and Einar. Plus factor for me is Damian Lewis' (Captain Winters in Band of Brothers) appearance as the abusive boyfriend. Love this guy.

I liked this movie though, and think the story is good, so I'm giving it 4 popcorns out of 5.

A Time To Be

2010-02-02T10:59:00.011+08:00

Ecclesiastes 3: 1

To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven. A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to reap that which is planted. A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to to mourn, and a time to dance. A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing. A time to get and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

I have always loved and believed this bible verse.

Every year, I take a 1-month vacation. It doesn't matter what month. there is no specific time of the year. Just once a year.

This is the time I stop working, stop thinking about money. Stop thinking about all people from my workplace. This is my time to take a long rest - physically and mentally. This is my time for ME. This is the only time of the year where I can be selfish and just do whatever I want. Be it sleep all day, watch movies all day or just do nothing all day! haha!

So this year, its February. It started yesterday, Feb 1st. I really don't have anything special planned, but I think that that's the point. I want everything to be unplanned, I don't want to think this month, kkk. I'm just gonna enjoy it!

I'm gonna try to lose weight though. That won't be fun! But I must try. When I'm working, I can't be starving, otherwise the words come out inverted and my students get confused. Or I might collapse in front of them. That won't do, really.

So now, that I have all the time to just sit down and not speak, I'm gonna give the weight goal a GO GO GO- again! So I'll eat more fruits and less meat. I'm also drinking this diet tea from China. They say its really effective, and I saw another teacher who really got bone-thin because of drinking this tea. I started it yesterday and I plan to drink 1 cup every night before I sleep. If I do this for 28 days, coupled with good diet, then, maybe, I can reach that goal this year! Wish me luck. = )

Hmp, that's about my plan for this month.

P.S.

BTW, have you read John Grisham's 'A Time To Kill ' ?

Strawberries

2010-01-31T18:47:00.002+08:00

Oh I forgot to mention that one of my hometown's products is the strawberry! Big, juicy, and sweet ones! We have strawberry fields here in La Trinidad, Benguet where people can go and harvest strawberries by themselves. The field owners give them a basket and they weigh the basket after the guests have picked their fill. I just buy mine from the market. Took pictures of them before eating though, haha. I wash them, remove the leaves, cut them in halves, then put cream and milk. Yum!

Jim Morrison and The Doors

2010-01-31T11:27:00.013+08:00

This weekend, as always, I watch movies for releasing stress from work. Haha,this method is both effective and enjoyable for me.

So this Saturday, I watched the movie about Jim Morrison of The Doors. Val Kilmer as Jim Morrison? I couldn't imagine it at first, but after an hour and 45 minutes, hmmm, I'd say Val Kilmer gave a convincing, in fact an excellent portrayal of The Door's frontman Jim Morrison. Although the problem lies in what Kilmer was portraying. A lot of people near Jim Morrison, including his surviving band mates say that the movie is far from who Jim Morrison really was. Oliver Stone had shown his own imagination of who Morrison was, a picture of who Jim was not, according to The Doors members. Jim was a gentle poet and a funny guy, but in the movie, he was shown to be a drunk,always with a bottle in his hand. In all biopics, we can't always expect exact events as they happened but in this movie, there were just too many inaccuracies.

Jim Morrison was said to be a genius, said to have an IQ of 149. He wrote poetry and films which were discovered and published after his death. He had many women in his life, but the most prominent was his long-time partner Pamela Courson whom he lived with even before his fame and fortune. After he died, he left all his estate and property to her. She followed him after 3 years with the same cause of death - drug overdose. She was only 27. After she died, her parents got the rights to Morrison's poetry and properties and it was at this time that Morrison's parents tried to contest for the rights to Jim's properties. Pamela was recognized to be Jim's common law wife, and upon her death, her parents naturally got what she had.

Then, there was Patricia Kennealy, a woman Jim married in a Celtic Pagan ceremony. A Presbyterian priest witnessed the wedding and the document the couple signed, but they failed to submit the documents to the state for official recognition.

After I watched this movie, I felt that it was such a waste that a talented person was lost because of illegal drugs. He was so young and he was so talented. Like most famous singers who died of OD, he was only 27 years old.The Doors are famous for the songs Light My Fire, The End, Break On Through (To The Other Side) and many others.

Val Kilmer is no doubt a great actor, but I'll give the movie 3 popcorns out of five. Too much emphasis on the drinking, the drug effects and the Indian guy. I think Morrison's life may be more than that.

Candles

2010-01-29T21:17:00.007+08:00

When I was in University, I collected candles. All kinds, scented, unscented, fruit shaped, and regular ones. I bought any candle that I saw with the limited allowance that my parents gave me. After graduation and I began working, I seem to have forgotten this hobby of mine. But nowadays, I find myself looking forward to collecting candles again. This one is from Thailand. One of my students gave me this tiny ship-shaped candles put inside a wooden box, the size just slightly bigger than a matchbox. It may be one of the most unique candles I've seen.

What about you? What do you collect?

Things Inside My Classroom

2010-01-28T21:25:00.003+08:00

I spend almost 8 hours inside my classroom and these are the things you can see inside.

On my window, I have this wall decor with a quote. I always find myself glancing at this saying even when I'm having a class. Its a kind of reminder for me.

Each class is 1 hour, actually 50 minutes, but sometimes a class could feel like 3 hours. So I bought this really big wall clock shaped like a cellphone! I thought it was funny at first, because of the shape. Looking at this clock makes the minutes fly so fast!

And of course, I have this collage of pictures of my students then and now. Its stuck on my wall. Whenever I feel I've lost the nerve to teach, I look at each of the faces of the students that I have taught... and once again, I feel happy to be a teacher.

2 Situations, Same Night

2010-01-28T21:18:00.004+08:00

Noisy street...

- 6pm @ Km 5. La Trinidad, Benguet

Quiet Road...

- 6:20 pm @ Tam-awan, Baguio City

It's That Time Of The Month Again...

2010-01-28T20:59:00.006+08:00

Today is the last day of our 1-month program in this English Academy where I teach. Some students are going back to Korea and some students are just moving up to the next levels. It's sometimes difficult to say goodbye to them, especially to good students. This month, I had really great ones. They are smart and I had a really enjoyable and fulfilling time with them as a teacher.

These are my two Korean students, Angel and Candy.

The City

2010-01-24T14:17:00.010+08:00

This is a local Catholic Church.

Bokawkan Road, Baguio City

This is a Jeepney Terminal near a small mall.

Tiangge, ukay-ukay or second-hand clothing stores are also a common sight.

Over-passes and Fly-overs, as we call, it loom around the city.

Under the mall.

Still under. Traffic Jam is big on Sundays.

Some people play billiards, cards or just loiter in the streets to relax.

A famous local University.

Busy people all in a rush to be somewhere. But where could they be heading to?

Last Christmas, the gov't placed these huge metal butterfly lights to decorate a pine tree. Poor tree, how heavy those might be.

Department Stores and the over-pass roof. Some lucky guy's pix on the billboard.

Intersection. Cabs. Yep, that's what they look like here.

Concrete horses drinking water, placed in the middle of the city. Yep, I wonder why'd they put something like that here too.

The Shawshank Experience

2010-01-23T20:44:00.004+08:00

So that was what the fuss was all about. OMG. If you haven't seen this movie yet, please take the time to see it. Originally a novel by Stephen King, it was made into a movie by Frank Darabont, with Tim Robbins as Andrew Dufresne and Morgan Freeman as Red. I can't say much about it, I feel that you must watch it to understand why its one of the greatest movies of all time.

Excellent performances from good actors like Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins. From a best-selling book and famous author Stephen King paired with a great director and writer Frank Darbont. And because I really loved this movie, I'm giving it 5 popcorns out of five.

Smile!

2010-01-23T20:36:00.007+08:00

I took this picture of an old building here in Baguio City, Philippines. I've always passed by this monastery but I never found anything strange about it until today. Do you?

Eerie Weekend

2010-01-23T18:50:00.008+08:00

Hmmm...lately I seem to be having a lot of this:

and this:

I know they're really not good for my diet, BUT, WOW! Who can resist them?

I remembered a TV show that really freaked me out when I was in elementary. The show's title is Twin Peaks. I decided to face one of my greatest fears and watched it again. I'm still in the 5th episode of season 1 and I think that the show is still freaky! Anybody who's seen this? Is it just me or do you agree the show is disturbing?
The main characters are Agent Cooper, an FBI agent sent to help solve the murder of Laura Palmer, and the local town sheriff, Harry. Contrary to typical situations, the two surprisingly click and become instant friends.

I have never seen so many beautiful girls all in one show, though. From left to right, Lara Flynn Boyle, who plays Donna, Laura Palmer's best friend; Sherilyn Fenn, who plays the rich man's daughter, Audrey Horne; and Madchen Amick, who plays the waitress,Shelly Johnson.

The show was canceled after just 2 seasons because of some problems between the director and the network.

I watch 1 episode every night, and the feeling I have - every time it's nearly over - is relief, haha.

Popcorn Day!

2010-01-10T09:46:00.008+08:00

Weekend! Of course I must watch some movies to relieve the stress from work. So I prepared to watch some old movies. Except for The Bounty and new movie Invictus, I have seen some of these movies when I was younger but my hubby hasn't so I recommended it to him. And then some of them are new movies like Invictus, watched those too.

1. Escape From Alcatraz - Clint Eastwood is an inmate in Alcatraz. He is famous for having escaped from many prisons in the past and so he was transferred to the prison where nobody escapes. But as the title suggests, he was able to do so. Although it wasn't said if he, together with his 2 accomplices were able to survive the swim from Alcatraz to land. My only comment about the film was that, the prison seemed so lax. For example, the inmates had leather belts with metal buckles. They even had access to a lot of carpentry tools that could be used for escaping or as weapons to harm other inmates and even to commit suicide. Its just that in other modern films about prisons especially about Alcatraz, the prison seemed more strict and more careful about possible weapons. Positive point? Of course Clint Eastwood's humor and good acting makes the slow-paced film passable. I don't mean to offend anyone but this is the most unconvincing prison film I've watched. Compare with Kevin Bacon's Murder In the First. Or Maybe Kevin Bacon's film was the exaggerated one. I don't know for sure.

2. Willow - If you're a Val Kilmer fan, then you must watch this. A fantasy film by George Lucas and Ron Howard, it's really entertaining and funny. A film for the family. I watched this when I was in elementary and really enjoyed it. Now that I've seen it again, I noticed some disturbing similarities with Lord of The Rings. Watch it and compare.

3. The Bounty - Starring Anthony Hopkins, a young Mel Gibson, Daniel day Lewis, and Liam Neeson in a muscle man role, haha. Anthony Hopkins is the captain of the ship The Bounty, an English ship on a mission to get 'breadfruit' seedlings for King George. Hopkins and his crew go to Tahiti to get the said plant, but had to wait for two months in order for the plants to grow. During this time, his crew adapts ( too well) to their new environment, some of the crew settling down with the native women of that place. Mel Gibson falls in love with one of the girls and because of this and other reasons too, causes a mutiny. Hopkins recounts what happened at the start of the movie.

4. Invictus - A story about how Nelson Mandela unites his country men through a game. He has just come out from being imprisoned, and he was the newly elected president of South Africa. He now thinks of a way of how to unite his country, the blacks and the whites. The World Cup is just around the corner and he talks to the captain of the rugby team, Francois, played by Matt Damon. He tells him of his vision indirectly, but Francois understands what the president means. The movie got high ratings and praises from critics, but I think that the movie is overrated. Sure Morgan Freeman is a great actor, we can say the same with Matt Damon and the director Clint Eastwood. But I had to fast forward some of the scenes out of boredom. But who am I to say, go ahead and watch it.

5. Carrie - An original Stephen King book, the movie is faithful to the story of a young girl who had telekinesis power. The setting is in high school where the main protagonist, Carrie White, is always being bullied by her schoolmates for being strange. Her circumstance is mostly due to her over zealous mother. A religious fanatic, she educated Carrie based on the book ( bible?) that she reads and her own interpretation of it. the movie culminates to the prom night where Carrie unleashes her anger and her power. Starring Sissy Spacek, and John Travolta. There is a TV remake of this movie that follows the original story but unfortunately changed the ending. And then there is The Rage, a Carrie Part 2 movie, which some people say is pure b**sh*t because the main character is supposedly the half-sister of Carrie from her father's side. It is even said that The Rage is so bad that Stephen King begged Hollywood not to do a sequel or a remake of Carrie after he saw this movie.

What I'm Listening To

2010-01-07T20:09:00.008+08:00

These are songs that I have just discovered, and some are rediscovered because they're songs from the past that I knew of when I was younger. And at the moment, these songs occupy my playlist.

1. The Story -Brandie Carlile. I heard this once and I fell immediately in love with the song. I play this over and over again in my MP3. She has a very powerful voice. I saw a video of their gig where the sound system had some problem so she had to sing this song live. She was really amazing, you can find that video in YouTube. There is now a male version by Cranius, if you you don't like all that shouting, haha. It sounds great too but I still prefer Brandie's version.

2. Paradise - Styx. I think this song wasn't released in the mainstream. It's a rare find for Styx fans. I would have liked this to be my wedding song. I love the band and when I listened to the song's lyrics... I simply sigh...and other times, I'm moved to embarrassing tears! With this lyrics by Dennis DeYoung, how could I not be?

'cause paradise is anyplace where I can be with you
And leave behind the heartache and the pain that I've been through
I'm safe in your arms
Safe in the world tonight
For you are my paradise

3. Masquerade - Karen Carpenter. Hers is the original version which is simply beautiful but I also like the George Benson version used in Will Smith's movie, Pursuit of Happyness.

4. Open Up Your Heart and Let The Sunshine In - Frente. I could never feel blue when I listen to this song. I am now trying to teach Ysabella, my daughter, this song.

5. I've Been Away Too Long - George Baker. This oldies makes me depressed whenever I listen to it but I can't stop listening to it!!! It's got me hypnotized!

6. Can't Stop Loving You Now - Matthew Fisher. Another oldies, but I'm touched by the helplessness of his inability to stop loving the girl he loves and goes on to say that he doesn't even know how to stop loving her.

New Year's Goals

2010-01-05T18:46:00.008+08:00

10 Things I Want To Achieve This 2010

1. To be a better Mom to my daughter

2. To be a better daughter to my parents

3. To be a better sister to my brother

4. To be a better daughter to my husband's parents

5. To be a better sister to my hubby's sister

6. To be a better wife to my hubby

7. To be a better teacher to my students

8. To be a better student to my teachers

9. To be a better me to all people around me

10. To buy my own CAR!!! ----------- It's gonna happen. THIS YEAR.

Welcome Year Of The Tiger!

2010-01-02T20:28:00.008+08:00

Happy New Year fellow bloggers! I hope you all had a great party last New Year's Eve!

I spent mine with my family in my parents house and well, I really had a great time. New Year is really the time for family bonding in the Philippines! There are some things that always make New Year's celebration complete in my country. The celebration is not complete without:

1. Barbecue
2. Booze - be it local or imported wines
3. Karaoke - haha, laugh if you want but we always have this!
4. Food - of course
5. Fireworks - drives the bad spirits away
6. Torotot in Tagalog or any kind of horn or trumpet - used for making loud sounds at 12 midnight

The last picture is a shot I took of the La Trinidad Valley. But somehow the shot came out like this. The lights look like musical notes. My hands must be shaking from the cold that night, haha.

Hope you had a great New Year's Eve!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-23T21:01:00.001+08:00

Celebrating the Holidays, we musn't forget the REAL reason for the season! Merry Christmas everyone!

Smile!

2009-12-20T16:09:00.007+08:00

I was aimlessly browsing the net this morning and I clicked on YouTube. Typing random words in the search box, waiting for something interesting see, when I saw this video entitled Ukulele boy. Curious, I clicked play and was amazed at the little boy's talent and his cute singing and childlike gestures. This video made me happy. Watch it and I'm sure you'd get an instant lift.

Christmas Party

2009-12-20T10:53:00.006+08:00

I did it. I really danced in front of 300 employees and lived to tell about it. It wasn't so bad actually. I just followed what the people were doing around me and before I knew it, the song was over.

After 30 minutes, when I got back to my seat, another familiar teacher asked me, "When is your turn to dance? I haven't seen you yet?" I guess Timoteo's advice for me was effective. I just positioned myself on the dance floor where nobody would notice me. I stayed at the farthest side of the stage.

Needless to say, I must have gulped 2 dozen cups of the "spiked" drink they prepared before our turn to dance. So I was a bit drunk for the rest of the evening.

I have to say, the other teachers really prepared for the night, the dances, the costumes, the hair and the make-up. The theme was the 80's so we really had fun with the make-up! And the hair! I also met my friends from the other company branches so it was like a reunion. The night turned out to be fun, I'm happy I decided to attend after all.

Ridiculous!

2009-12-17T20:08:00.007+08:00

I work in a fairly good company. The pay is better than other jobs here in my country, and the work is actually easy ( I've been here for a long time...sigh) for me now. I really don't have much complains about my job but there are times when I really think that what they're asking from the teachers are unreasonable. For instance, this Christmas, the company is hosting a party outside working hours ( 6pm to 10pm on a Saturday , for god's sake!

Anyway, if we don't attend this party, we get a salary deduction ( not a small amount at that )and we are required to dance! Now, my problem is, I really can't dance. I have the desire and the eagerness to learn how to, but sad to say, I would just be embarrassing myself if I did. I tried to practice the steps to the tune of The Foundations' famous 80's song ( yep, that's the party theme!), Buttercup, and even videoed myself dancing, but the result of my efforts just made me depressed. I'm that bad. I have to do this humiliation this Saturday night - in front of almost 300 employees. If we don't join the dance, we get no money.

I really think its unreasonable to force people to dance when they can't - AND DON'T WANT TO!!! I mean, can't we just eat and drink and be merry? I honestly believe that I came to this company to teach and not to dance. Don't you think so? It's really ridiculous! I feel like a monkey with a banana being wagged in my face!

Great Christmas Gift Ideas! (What I Really Bought !)

2009-12-16T10:00:00.016+08:00

I guess wish lists are really different from the real list. Somehow, in reality, I tend to be more practical. I made a list of the things I would probably give as gifts to my family, but now I've wrapped the gifts, I realized that wasn't able to buy what I wrote in my wish list. So here's what I really bought...some of them are boring...but as I said - practical. Haha.

1. For my Mom - an LV bag!

2. For my Dad - Art Supplies ( I mean, the works!) From the brushes, the oilpaints, the canvas. I can't find a shop that sells easels, so I didn't get that. My father has always fancied himself to be an artist!

3. For my Brother - a Jansport bag. These bags are very durable and he really needs to replace the one he's been using since university days.

4. For my Brother's Girlfriend - a sexy, silk night gown with short robe! The color is turquoise. I can't find any similar picture but it looks like this one.

5. For my husband's Mom and Sister - I got them the same stuff coz we're not really that familiar and I've asked my hubby what he thinks they'd like and he helped me choose for them. We finally settled for scented candles and a pot of Hot Oil Treatment for the hair. I think its good for relaxing because the Hot Oil treatment is mentholated, so it really feels cool in the scalp. And they could light up the scented candles and relax while the treatment works.

6. For my hubby's Dad - PJ's! A little boring, I know, but I think it's really practical and necessary.

7. Finally, for my daughter, Ysabella - aside from the usual clothing and shoes for gifts, I really went out of my way to get her this one. There are no dollhouses this big sold here in my country or in my hometown so I had it made by a good carpenter. I told him to copy the details to the dot, exactly as he sees in the picture. The dollhouse would be as big as my daughter too, like in this picture. The price he told me for it was quite expensive, but I believe that Ysabella would really love it. When I see the surprise and happiness on her face, I think it would be worth it.

8. For myself, I finally got the LV bag I've been wanting to buy. The funny thing is that, now that I have it, I don't want to use it.

And now, I have 9 days to buy my hubby a practical gift. He recently bought a new laptop with high disk space so, I guess he won't be needing the external hard drive anymore. I'll have to think about it as soon as possible.

Christmas comes only once a year, so whenever I can, if I have the money for gifts, I really enjoy shopping for presents for people I love. I love to see their faces when they open their gifts. That's the gift I'd like to receive.

Unfaithful

2009-12-16T08:26:00.005+08:00

After taking some time off from blogging, I had time to do other stuff, focused on other things, was happy for awhile...and was finally bored again. Then suddenly I remembered my first love for blogging. I remembered how I always looked forward to writing my thoughts and my feelings in my blog. I've always enjoyed visiting other blogs too and reading about other people's feelings and thoughts too.

The feeling that I have now is probably similar to that of an unfaithful lover. I felt that I two-timed or dumped someone because I got tired/bored with him, but now, I want to go back to him again. I almost feel guilty, haha.

Anyway, there are so many things that we can share to other people and so many things that we can learn from them too. I'm happy to be blogging again.

Christmas Wishlist ( and Shopping List! ) Part 2

2009-11-08T18:50:00.006+08:00

It's November and we only have a month before Christmas! Hmmm... what should I buy for my daughter, for my hubby, for my family and for his family?

I've already made a list of the things I'd like for myself in the Part 1 of my Christmas Wish List, but this time I'd like to make a list of the things I have to buy for the people I love.

Time to make my Christmas wish list and at the same time shopping list!

1. For my hubby - Yep, I think he needs this and it would really make him happy...a little expensive but certainly worth it, if we want to keep all those video files we've been collecting all these months. This is a Samsung external hard disk drive. He'd need one with a big disk drive space.

2. For Ysabella- A Ken doll, as in a male doll. She has a lot of Barbies but until now, she still hasn't a male doll for her Barbie. It's not so common here in the Philippines, so I'd have to really search for it this Christmas.

3. For my brother - A Samsung Mp3. I have one and I think that he would like to have one like mine too. I'd have to ask him later. Or do more fishing...

4. For my mom - I saw this knitted sweater coats in a department store and thought that they were so pretty! They're also warm and comfy! I think she'd love to have one of these!

5. For my Dad and hubby's Dad- I met an old man who was in his late 50's. He was wearing a hat just like this one, and I remember how he looked so attractive and charming with his hat on. I'd like to give my dad one of these and one for my father in law too.

to be continued...

Near Dark or Twilight?

2009-10-23T21:10:00.012+08:00

I watched the movie Twilight after all the hype and found that it wasn't that bad. In fact, I actually enjoyed the film. I'm afraid that I'm even kinda hooked on this teenage vampire thingy. I wouldn't admit it to anyone else but my hubby, but I may be so. When I first this movie I remembered not only Ann Rice' famous vampire, Lestat, but it also reminded me of another vampire movie that I have seen when I was in elementary school- Near Dark. It stars the actor that plays Nathan in the popular T.V. Series, Heroes, and then, there's Jenny Wright. A very sexy female vampire.

The movie, Near Dark in 1987, was the first vampire movie I remember watching and it left a big impression on me during my young years. Although its considered a flop now, but back then, when there was no Lestat yet, it was great to see this movie.

I also noticed some similarities in the two movies, in the story itself and even in the titles - Near Dark and Twilight. But no matter, I still enjoyed both movies. Now I'm reading the book, Twilight. I also have the series - New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn. I'd want to compare it with the movies.

Some people didn't really like Stephenie Meyer's vampire saga and have discouraged other readers of reading the book and watching the movie, but I'd like to find out for myself.

Brain Freeze

2009-10-19T20:52:00.008+08:00

I'm really sorry for not being able to put time on on my blog. As you may have heard, the previous typhoons have caused some accidents, misfortunes, and even deaths to so many of my countrymen here in the Philippines. I just couldn't find the time nor the passion to blog anymore. So, I will be on a vacation from posting here for the meantime. I promise to visit your blogs again after all these misfortune has passed.

I wasn't personally a victim of the calamity, but there were a lot of people who were unfortunate. This is a small gasoline station that was covered with mud during a landslide. My husband and I used to refuel here. Now it's buried in mud. The reports say that the cashier and one attendant were buried inside.

Now, another typhoon is lurking and we even haven't recovered from the damages caused by the previous typhoons.

It's just funny how some people like the Korean girl from Twitter, UglyYubin, could have the nerve to make fun of this very saddening situation. If she really said what she said in her Twitter account about the Filipinos drowning in the floods, then I really hope that nothing this unfortunate would ever hit their country and cause so many people to starve, suffer, drown, and be buried alive.

Patrick Swayze

2009-09-26T13:49:00.005+08:00

It's so saddening that another star has passed away. I actually liked Patrick Swayze. Last night, hubby and I re-watched his 80's movie, Dirty Dancing. We were surprised at how well he could really dance. One of our favorite songs from the movie was the one he co-wrote and sung, 'She's Like The Wind'.

MySpace Playlist at MixPod.com

Anyone who remembers the actress in Dirty Dancing, Jennifer Grey? Well, she's still active, but after the success of the movie, had a nose job that totally made her anonymous. Now, people don't even recognize her.

Smells Good!

2009-09-26T12:55:00.007+08:00

I have always used some flowery scent or a fruity one ever since I can remember. I especially love any Victoria's Secret Mist Spray. But my favorite is this one, the Pure Seduction.
Two or three years ago, I used a rose scented perfume. I really liked it but the company stopped producing it after some time. So I changed to Victoria's Secret scents.I also like Calgon, Take Me Away's fresh and breezy scents.
But last week, my male cousin gave a gift for my birthday and here it is!
At first, I didn't like the scent, but later, I actually came to love the smell! It's a Johann B Pink Moment Perfume for Women.

It's more matured and stronger that what I'm used to but I'm beginning to like it more and more.

(all other pictures not mine)

Mom and Daughter Time

2009-09-22T19:04:00.004+08:00

Last Saturday, my daughter,Ysabella and I went to her favorite kiddie fastfood. This is what we ate. After eating, we went shopping for some school supplies and bought more food to bring home. We had fun playing together.

'Wish' Bracelet

2009-09-18T21:43:00.008+08:00

I was really shocked when my supervisor gave me this charm bracelet this morning. She knows its my birthday so she gave me this present. She said that its a 'wish charm bracelet'. She said that she made a wish for me for next year, and told me that I have to wear it it my left wrist for the wish to come true.

I have to admit that I'm a bit surprised that she thought of giving me a gift since we were not that close. We are not exactly what you'd call friends. But here it is... I thanked her and thought - maybe, she's not so bad after all...

To Wear Or Not To Wear

2009-09-17T20:27:00.008+08:00

..I can't distinguish my friends from the other teachers - until they greet me. And that's the time I greet them too because NOW I know who they are from their voices....

A lot of my colleagues have often revealed to me that the first impression I gave them (and probably still give the new ones)is that of a snotty b**ch. Alarmed, I asked them why, and they always gave me the same answer. It seems I never looked at people when I meet them, I always look away from people, never making eye contact, and seems to be thinking of something deep (looking at far places).This gave them the impression that I was snubbing them.

The reality is, I can't see them. I often walk in the hallways and meet a bunch of teachers and just see a group of people. I can't distinguish my friends from the other teachers, until they greet me. And that's the time I greet them too because now I know them from their voices. Don't get me wrong, its not that I'm blind or something. It's just that I can't see things that are 4-5 meters away from me clearly. Everything else is a blur after that, haha.

Celebrating my birthday, and as a solution to this problem and the headaches and sometimes dizziness caused by my vision problem, hubby took me to the eye doctor and gave me my birthday present.

This is my first eye glasses and I love it! I chose a simple,black Elizabeth Arden frame.

I love this small detail at the edge of the frame. There is a small, silver and purple heart with tiny, diamond studs.
The case is a the classic style, nothing fancy but I love it too.

Now, I wonder which looks better, with or without the glasses?

Pancakes For Dinner, Anyone?

2009-09-17T20:02:00.001+08:00

A silly craving, really...

Strange Signs

2009-09-11T12:17:00.011+08:00

...honestly I don't understand why they prohibit sex. The students are all adults and I guess they know what they're getting into when they come here. To have a relationship is their choice and to have sex is really up to them...

Here are some more signs all around my work place. By the way, these signs are really big!

In addition to not being able to go out from the building during weekdays, the students are prohibited to do these things too!

This sign is for the couples inside the Academy. I don't know if they wrote the word 'Coupling' by mistake (because it's done) or was it written there intentionally? Do they even know what the word connotes?

The Academy has managers and assistant managers that go around at any time of the day or night barging into rooms, suddenly opening restroom doors to catch couples 'in the act' of doing something.

Haha, honestly I don't understand why they prohibit sex. The students are all adults and I guess they know what they're getting into when they come here. To have a relationship is their choice and to have sex is really up to them, isn't it?

I was even shocked to see that calling for food delivery is even prohibited! OMG, how they live in that building for a week, I can't imagine myself doing. But to eat only the food they serve is over the limit really. I guess they CAN order food if they ask permission from the managers!

They can't gamble and they can't cook their own food.
They can't bring alcoholic beverages inside the building.
They have to be back for the 12 midnight curfew on Saturdays, and 6pm on Sundays.
They can't smoke inside their rooms.
They can't visit other students' rooms after 9pm everyday.
The teachers can't enter the students' rooms.
They can't use a TV or Radio. Only laptops and Mp3's are allowed for studying English.

...this is their own way of disciplining themselves and a kind of reminder that the only reason for being here in the Philippines is to study English - and NOT to have fun...

And so many more rules...

Just thinking about it drives me berserk.

If they break any of these, they will be grounded for 1 or 2 weeks or will have to pay a corresponding amount of money, depending on the gravity of their violation. To be grounded means, they won't be able to go out on Saturdays and Sundays too.

But I think, this is their own way of disciplining themselves and a kind of reminder that the only reason for being here in the Philippines is to study English - and NOT to have fun. Koreans are really diligent people and they give high importance to education. Especially English education, nowadays. In high school, the students start class at 7 am and finish at 10 pm to 12midnight even.

I think this is very admirable - how they focus on their goals. The school's method is called the Sparta System. Personally, I think I won't last a day in a school this strict. Can you?

Birthday Wishes Part 1

2009-09-09T20:22:00.011+08:00

(picture not mine)

My birthday is coming up and there are some things that I'd really wish for when I blow the candles on my cake...

1. I wish that my daughter would have good health - ALWAYS. She has asthma and pneumonia since she was a baby so she has a hard time breathing at night and gets asthma attacks when exposed to the things that trigger her asthma.

2. I wish that I have the asthma and pneumonia instead of my daughter. I know its impossible but it really pains me that I am healthy and she is not.

3. I wish that I'd have the humility to accept my mistakes and the ability to ask for forgiveness to whomever I have hurt.

4. I wish that I'd have the humility to accept the apologies of the people who have hurt me and to be able to grant them forgiveness when they ask for it.

5. I wish that I could return all the love that I receive and be able to give more to the people who love me.

More...

Hangover Remedy?

2009-09-07T16:48:00.009+08:00

...felt like shit this morning. I woke up with a banging headache and the need to drink something cold (usually, a Coke would do wonders)...

Last night, hubby and I met with our friends for a night out. We had too many drinks and as a result felt like shit this morning. I woke up with a banging headache and the need to drink something cold (usually, a Coke would do wonders). Today, what I wanted was to drink watermelon juice. We decided to go out and buy some breakfast. There should be a medicine for hangover, but maybe they don't want to encourage drinkers.

Soup is a must when I have a hangover. It soothes my stomach, replenishes the nutrients I lost, maybe, haha.
This is a quail egg soup. It's a regular egg soup but they mixed little quail eggs and chicken.

After the soup, I ordered a heavy breakfast. This is a meal with fried rice, beef cuts, and vegetables. It looked so delicious, but when I started to eat, I find out that my stomach is still not ready for food. So we just ate the soup and had our meals for take-out.
Finally I drank a big glass of Iced Tea. Drinking something cold works for quenching my thirst, and alleviate my feeling of being dehydrated. I guess I have to promise myself again - not to drink too much!

Mom and Daughter Time

2009-09-07T13:23:00.007+08:00

...Ysabella was the one who stirred the sauce as I prepared the pasta...

Saturday is our mom and daughter time. Ysabella and I spend the whole day together playing and having fun. It doesn't have to be anything special, for instance, we just watch her favorite cartoons together, or she plays computer games while I watch TV. We also play word games, for example, I write an English word, then she has to write another English word starting with the last letter of my word. I do the same as we continue the game.

Or sometimes, we cook something. Last Saturday, she helped me make Baked Macaroni. Ysabella was the one who stirred the sauce as I prepared the pasta. After cooking, we call all family members so we can eat together.

I got carried away and actually made 3 pans of this! Oh no, there goes my diet!

Bags!

2009-09-07T13:01:00.009+08:00

...bought these bags for 180-200 pesos each! It was a great bargain!...

Last week, my mom went to Manila for some work-related stuff. Before she came back to Baguio City, she and her workmates had the time to go to Divisoria, the cheapest market in the country. You can buy anything in that place for very, very cheap prices. Among other things, my mom bought these bags for 180-200 pesos each! It was a great bargain! I'm using the black one now. I was taught never to sell anything about ourselves short but when you get great finds for dirt cheap prices, I guess some people have to brag about it!

Giveaways!

2009-09-05T08:58:00.006+08:00

The very artistic luthien has reached her 100th post! Yehey! Congratulations! And because of that, she is giving away this wonderful pendant with all her favorite things in it - the elven leaves, her favorite colors, blue, turquoise, and green, and a silver dragonfly. Don't you just love it? Join her giveaway now!

Random Pictures

2009-09-04T20:31:00.007+08:00

Ampalaya Leaves
Yellow Papaya
Empty Wine Bottles On The Wall

One Rainy Night

2009-09-04T19:35:00.008+08:00

Afternoon Delight

2009-09-04T15:20:00.009+08:00

Since our classes were canceled today, I had nothing much to do but sit around. I also spent much time thinking of what's good to eat.

It's been a while since I indulged in ice cream. My favorite flavor is Chocolate. A local brand has the chocolate flavor called 'Rocky Road'. It has marshmallows, cashew nuts and chocolate chips. Mmmm.This is a Philippine delicacy. It's Cassava Cake. This is also one of my favorite traditional desserts in the Philippines. I remember I used to help my grandma make Cassava cake when I was in elementary school. I had to grate the cassava, she would mix it with sugar and we had to steam it for 10 minutes. I was always surprised at the outcome when I open the pot - there it was a perfectly cooked Cassava cake. But nowadays, people just buy the ready made ones from grocery stores, like this one.

Ooops, after a few minutes, I've eaten almost half of the pint.
Then I fried some chicken...
And Voila! Hmmm... I gotta watch my weight!

Enjoy your afternoon!

Outbreak

2009-09-04T10:45:00.011+08:00

...What the f**k are we still doing here? Aren't they gonna cancel classes and send the people who were not yet sick (and don't want to get sick) home?...

Yesterday, when I arrived in school, there were many students sitting outside of the building with blankets around them. At first, they looked normal to me, but a close scrutiny revealed that they were ALL terribly sick. I was then informed by another teacher that 80 students have the flu and that all of them are going to the hospital now. Is it still the swine flu? I thought that it was over, but now all these people are sick. Some teachers are also getting sick, I even saw one male teacher barely able to walk up the stairs.

So I wondered, what the f**k are we still doing here? Aren't they gonna cancel classes and send the people who were not yet sick (and don't want to get sick) home? The teachers all waited for announcements until lunch time. It turns out, they're canceling the classes today, Friday. But yesterday, Thursday, we had to stay there for the whole day. This made some teachers feel that it was against our human rights to be made to stay there in a place where the swine flu might be spreading. By lunch time, we heard that 6 students had been admitted to the hospital , and still they were not telling us what the cause of their sickness is. All teachers actually didn't have any class yesterday - all students were too sick to attend. Some of them who were able to walk were loitering around talking to their teachers, but we had to send them back to their rooms to avoid the spread of the virus - whatever it was.

It was really weird in that place yesterday. If you saw the movie, The Happening, where the people were all walking in the park and they all suddenly started slowing down? That was how the sick people looked like in that building yesterday. I just wish the administration showed more concern for the health of the Filipino teachers.

(picture not mine)

Another Day

2009-09-02T18:11:00.021+08:00

Hey, thanks guys for sending me get wells when I wasn't around. I feel better now, maybe just got too tired, haha. Anyway, thanks so much!As usual I went to school early this morning, it was still about 7am. After I finished preparing for my classes, there were still no one around. I decided to take some pictures of my classroom - the place I'm literally in for almost 80 percent of the time I'm conscious, hahaha.

This is where I have all my classes. A group class is composed of 6 students, and this room is okay for that number.

This is the part of the room where I usually stand - near the board!

And this is the little corner where I dump all my stuff - school things and personal things. It's a jungle!
Funny how this tranquil hallway could turn out to be so busy and noisy when the clock strikes eight.

This is the time I think of great ideas for my classes, do some thinking about life, and the most of all, enjoy my cup of coffee as I look at the view from my window.

The sky is so clear at this time that sometimes, I can still see the moon in the blue, almost cloudless sky!

I'm TAGGING EVERYONE who read this to do a post and show pictures of their workplace. Please give me a shout if you do so I can visit you ASAP! Thanks!

Ooops!

2009-08-30T20:52:00.003+08:00

So sorry, I am quite under the weather nowadays. Too busy with a lot of things, I feel a little weak and must take things at a slower pace. I'm sorry that I won't be able to visit your wonderful blogs for a few days, and also I won't be able to make any new posts. I'll try to catch up as soon as I feel better.

Lazy Day

2009-08-26T19:59:00.011+08:00

...I just kinda snapped and decided, what the hell, I'd just sleep here all day and tell my boss that I wasn't feeling well...

Hahaha, yesterday, I was so tired that I just called up my Supervisor at work and told her that I couldn't go to work that day after all. I stayed up all night watching Charlie Sheen's Two and a Half Men. I really have no idea what time I slept, but I'm guessing it was already past 3am. I had to turn off the television because my hubby woke up grumpy from the noise I was making laughing at the character's dialogues. Haha. I really couldn't believe that I skipped work just because of watching a TV program. Wow, I felt good actually. For years, I have been the model employee, never absent from work, arriving at work first and always the last to leave the workplace. I always had something to prepare for my class so I came an hour earlier than my colleagues and left a good 30 minutes after them. Whew! But yesterday, I just kinda snapped and decided, what the hell, I'd just sleep here all day and tell my boss that I wasn't feeling well. Actually, my head was pounding from the lack of sleep. I missed a day's salary (no work, no pay policy, damn them to hell!) the teachers who substituted for my class and my students were probably mad at me, but I didn't care. For one day, I didn't care about them. I felt carefree and more importantly, I felt happy.

By the way, my rating for the show, 5/5. Watch it!

(picture not mine)

Own Little Space

2009-08-25T17:04:00.006+08:00

Last Saturday, I spent some time arranging my daughter's room. I realized that she didn't really have her own room since some of the other family members' stuff were somehow piled in Ysabella's room. I don't know how this happened, but as I cleaned her room, there it all was. So I had to move out all the other family member's stuff to give way to my daughter's own space in the house. After almost half of the day of moving around furniture and cleaning, she finally had her own room! I think she was quite pleased with it, although she didn't say so in quite so many words. I remember how important it was for me to have my own little space when I was a child too.

No Despair

2009-08-19T19:40:00.009+08:00

...does it actually mean, "CHEER UP! or "DON"T GIVE UP!?...

This sign is posted on the walls of all the floors of the Korean Academy where I teach. I was a bit surprised when I first saw this and thought it strange. I still wonder what it exactly means.

Does it really mean what it says, "NO DESPAIR" for the students? (This might be true because the students in my school can't go out of their dorm on weekdays - only on the weekends but still with a curfew. Who wouldn't despair, right? ) Or does it actually mean, "CHEER UP! or "DON"T GIVE UP!" but wasn't translated in the English language properly?

And why didn't they use a positive illustration, like a man climbing the stairs reaching for his goal? Or any picture that could actually cheer people up? Instead, the picture shows a man crawling and kneeling and pounding on the floor. Sometimes, when I feel unsatisfied with my job and want to quit, I glance at this picture and realize, 'hey, it works for the teachers too!'

Trinkets and Memories

2009-08-18T19:21:00.015+08:00

...She was so good at sales talking me that, even if I hadn't the intention of buying it, I was convinced to finally buy the pair....

I was admiring some women in my workplace especially about how they had the time to accessorize and look good before coming to work everyday. Usually, I don't even have the time to put on make-up in the morning! I know this is not good for a woman but I seem to have no time at all. Anyway, I still try to make effort to look pretty everyday. So, this evening, I decided to check on my accessories and I was surprised to find all these. As I went over them one by one, I remembered each story of how I got this particular piece of jewelry.

This pendant was my cousin's. I remember I begged her for it, but she wouldn't give it to me. We finally swapped; she took my silver hoop earrings and I got it. There was a necklace with it but it broke sometime ago. This white gold necklace is made in Italy, my mom gave it to me. Or maybe, I must have begged her for it too.

I bought this when I was shopping around the tiangge. The female vendor persuaded me to buy it for a cheap price. She was so good at sales talking me that, even if I hadn't the intention of buying it, I was convinced to finally buy the pair. It was funny because, I remember I didn't have much money on me at that time.

I bought this from a known cosmetics company that also sells accessories. You can guess, haha.

I got this from my mom's trinket box. It was so silly for her to have it that I asked her for it. I have never worn it though.

My mom gave this to me. It has multi-colored crystals that sparkle when I move my hand.

These is a Swarovski bracelet that I bought from my colleague who was selling it in school. It cost me a pretty penny, but I bought it because it was popular at that time to wear these crystals. I found the matching earrings from another teacher. She was not selling it, she was wearing it, but I showed her my bracelet and told her that I must have the earrings to match. She was convinced and sold it to me for a pretty penny too.
A three toned bangle set. One gold, one copper, and one silver, supposed to be worn together. But separately is also possible. My daughter, my mother and I were shopping in the mall when I saw this. I showed it to my mom, and she liked it. I wanted to buy her another set but it was sold out. Mine was the last set. It's very, very cheap!

This must be my mom's ring. I love it because of the intricate pattern design.

I bought these two gold earrings from another colleague who was in the jewelry business.

This too. It has a star and two circles. I don't know why but I think of gypsies when I see this earring.

I use this silver earrings for night-outs. I feel great when I'm wearing this at night. I also bought it from the cosmetics company that sells jewelry.

This one is my daughter's. It was a present from someone when she was young. I have to give it back to her when she gets older.

Another buy. Three toned heart earrings!
These two, I can't remember exactly where I bought them. But I'm sure I bought them at the same time because they look so alike.

Now that I've checked my trinkets, I have to at least wear one of them tomorrow. And maybe put on some make-up too.

Sagada Caves

2009-08-16T15:36:00.017+08:00

...the husband, wanting to be rid of his wife, left her in the deepest part of the cave to die...

Last year, my hubby and I went to the famous Sagada Caves in the Northern part of the Philippines. The drive from Baguio City to Sagada took 8 hours. It was long and tiring but it was fun to be on the road. We passed by many municipalities in our province and it was an adventure for us city slickers. We don't have much opportunity to travel because of our work schedule, so when we do, I really want to enjoy every minute of it. Well, let me and the pictures tell you of our trip.

On the way to Sagada, we passes by the highest peak of the mountains in the Benguet province. It really was the highest peak and it was so cold that people have to wear thick coats. There is a view deck here where tourists take pictures of the amazing view.

On the view deck of the highest peak of the mountains...

When we reached Sagada, we took a rest for the night and on the next day went to see the famous caves. It was famous for the beautiful limestones inside, which my hubby and I didn't see because I am claustrophobic. I didn't want to go in the cave. I once read a Sydney Sheldon novel where the husband, wanting to be rid of his wife, left her in the deepest part of the cave to die. She was attacked my bats and almost went insane, but was able to find her way out by some miracle. Kinda freaked me out, so, no.

This is the stairs going down to the cave ( upper) and this is the entrance of the cave ( below ).

This is how far we got. Just the entrance of the cave...

On the way back to Baguio City, we passed by this unique road. We call it the 'half-tunnel'. Imagine a tunnel but its only a half of a regular tunnel. The people carved a road on the mountain to make a road so here's what happened.

It was really misty when we were driving back...

We weren't able to go inside the cave, but it was okay. We'd have other chances to go back there, so maybe next time. Though, I seriously doubt that I would ever enter a cave on my own free will, haha. The most fun part of this trip was the time my hubby and I spent together alone, driving, getting lost, eating on the road, and finding reasons why we love each other.

P.S.
More about Sagada here.

Slumdog Millionaire

2009-08-15T18:58:00.010+08:00

I didn't watch this movie when it was at it's peak of popularity because I thought that it would just be following the hype and I somehow thought that it might not be that good, it's popularity just overblown by the awards it received (duh?). I was wrong though.

...a beautiful story of poverty, hope, love between brothers, and romantic love...

Last night, I finally had time to see it and I was the one who was blown by the beauty of the movie. I was expecting to see too much violence, sex and cursing , maybe a prejudice I had for foreign films that made it in the international market like Jandara (Thai) and Old Boy (Korean). Don't get me wrong, these two films are among my favorite films. But the things I expected to see in Slumdog Millionaire were not there. Even the 'song and dance' number typical of a Bollywood film was not included in the movie. Instead, I saw a beautiful story of poverty, hope, love between brothers, and romantic love at its purest. call me corny, but I loved the movie! In addition, the actors were all incredible and the two main characters had a certain charisma that I guess immediately won me over during the first 15 minutes of the story. My rating? 5/5. Go watch it if you haven't. You're missing out on a good movie.

New Look

2009-08-15T18:49:00.005+08:00

Look what my hubby made for me! It's my new look and I'm pretty happy about it. He made the layout and I just made minor adjustments with the fonts, and design. I've always changed and changed my layout because I easily get bored with something after a few weeks, but I realized that it might be confusing for readers and they might not remember my blog if I keep on changing my look, title and address (sorry guys!)and I thought of having something permanent, unique, and a look that's really 'mine'. So, I'm gonna be using this layout for a long time I guess, until the time he makes me another one!

On Students and Teachers

2009-08-15T14:05:00.011+08:00

For starters, I just borrowed this beautiful picture. And I was doing my weekend visits to the blogs I enjoy reading and I was touched by Ms. Kenia's recent post. Please take time to read it, its really inspiring.

So, I was writing my comment for her post and it turned out this long! I'd better post it here then. Thanks Kenia!

Hello Ms Kenia!
I didn't know you went on vacation? Sorry, I must have missed your note somewhere, haha. But that's great, 40 days, wow! I hope that you feel refreshed and recharged for work again. We need all the rest we can get.

I love this post. I truly would like to have touched the lives of my students, I hope in a positive way. I know that maybe some of them really call us teachers 'bitches' behind our backs, but I really pray that some are grateful for the labor of love that we have given them. We only want what's best for them (the students), but of course, each one of them have different ways of interpreting our methods of teaching.

8 years ago, when I was a fresh graduate, I taught in a Philippine University, I was still young and didn't know much about teaching. I didn't have any experience for it was my first time to teach. After a year, I quit that place and I knew that I had much to improve on myself as a teacher. I didn't think I'd have affected anyone in any way, at that time. I was just a rookie teacher, compared to the professors who had Master's degrees and much teaching experience.

Last year, I was hospitalized and there was a young male nurse who touched me on the shoulder and said, 'Ma'am, I was your student before, thank you for teaching me'. I didn't even recognize him, but I was so overwhelmed that he remembered me. It brought tears to my eyes, which I quickly blinked away. I smiled and congratulated him for now being a nurse.

Thank you for this wonderful post!

~hugs for you~

Cute Asian Poses

2009-08-13T21:29:00.018+08:00

Many Asians, especially Japanese, Koreans, and Filipinos ( although its a little different from these typical Asian poses) are fond of using hand symbols, signs, gestures, call them what you will, especially when being photographed. I saw this cute site where they collected all kinds of Asian poses that really cute Asians usually show when their pictures are being taken. They're really, cute! The thing is, these poses are only cute when Asian people do them. But hey, check the site out and you be the judge.

So I tried to find these poses from my students' pictures, but all I found was the 'peace sign', a "V" made by the index finger and the middle finger put apart. Sometimes, making the 'peace sign' but the two fingers are bent to a curve to make a hook instead of a straight "V". I don't really know what the hand gestures mean but what can I say? They look cute! It could also be a political statement. 'V' for Peace! Tell me of your ideas?

P.S. Please read the comments below from the dear readers for some trivia and fun facts for these typical Asian poses. Thanks!

You Were There

2009-08-10T21:00:00.010+08:00

The rain has stopped, the storm has passed
Look at all the colors now the sun's here at last.
I suppose that you'll be leaving but I want you to know
Part of you stays with me even after you go.
Like an actor playing someone else's scene
This could not be happening to me.
But you were there, and you were everything I'd never seen.
You woke me up from this long and endless sleep.
I was alone.
I opened my eyes
I'm not alone, no, I'm not alone.
I opened my eyes and you were there.

~ an excerpt Southern Sons' You Were There'

Ah! finally, the sun was peeping awhile a back. It graced us for a few hours and was again covered by the selfish clouds. But it still felt nice to see the sun again after two weeks! And I felt happy.

This song came to mind too as I felt the sunshine touch my arms...

MySpace Playlist at MixPod.com

Here are some pictures of the sun setting that I took from our bedroom window. Amazing huh?

Rain Rain Go Away!

2009-08-09T00:53:00.012+08:00

It has been raining for two straight weeks and the typhoons just come and go with a few days or no interval at all between them. Sometimes there are two typhoons at the same time. Hmp. It really dampens my spirits. I haven't seen the sun for two whole weeks! What's more its really hard to do the laundry. the clothes never dry fully and properly. They are either moist and have the smell of not-sun-dried or not fully dried clothes. This morning, although it was raining heavily, hubby and I decided to shop for coats and boots. Its really difficult to cope with the rainy season without the proper outfit. In my workplace, my colleagues have their own way of dealing with coming to work on a rainy morning without getting too wet! So, I decided to make a post on how to lessen the gloominess of a rainy day. Here are some ideas:

Dress up and try to look pretty even if the weather isn't too good. Here's a set ready for an outfit...

A Rainy Day In London by SomaRetro featuring Forever21

Wear bright colors to dispel some of the grays from the weather. I like this green trench...

or put on yellow boots!

Wearing red lipstick will wake you and other people up!

Avoid grays and blacks for these will only make the day worse. If you have any ideas you'd like to share with me about dealing with rainy days please do so. Thanks!

This one is added by sweet Manju, a colorful umbrella! Thanks girl!

How To Make Your HTML Code Box

2009-08-07T20:58:00.015+08:00

Wanna have your own link chicklet? Something that your readers can grab to link back to your blog? Check mine out. This is another thing I learned as a student of BlogU. Thanks Annie!

Grab this button and get a sweet link back to me!

1. Make your personalized chicklet/button by doing this or you can use any image that you want.
2. Go to Customize, click on Page Elements, then find the HTML/JavaScript Widget.
3. Copy the code here.
4. Paste this code in your HTML/Javascript Widget
5. Edit the code. Look at the colored text in the code and replace it with your info.

TEXT EXPLAINING WHAT IS IN THE BOX - write the title of your code box
LINK TITLE - this is your blog address
IMAGE URL - upload your image in Photobucket and hover over the image to copy the direct
address of the image. Paste it here.
WIDTH = 80
HEIGHT = 15
ROWS - adjust the size of your box

Now, your readers can put your button in their blogs for an easy and convenient link back to you!

How To Make Personalized 'Chicklet' Buttons

2009-08-07T19:12:00.013+08:00

Look what I made! Thanks to Annie, I was able to do this 'chicklet' or small button all by myself using this Brilliant Button Maker. This really makes me happy because I'm really ignorant about graphics stuff, and am a newbie at blogging, so even a small button like this makes me happy! plus, they're so cute! Here are some personalized ones I made. It needs a little trial and error but you'll get the hang of it after you make your first one. You can even use an image beside the text. Happy blogging!

Now if you don't have the time to make one, you can just 'steal' one from gtmcknight. The author of this cool site encourages people to 'steal' his buttons. Go get one!

Professionalism

2009-08-06T19:21:00.007+08:00

Teaching is one of the noblest profession in the world. A good teacher is a respected teacher. However, not all teachers have the passion to teach and the dedication to do their jobs and do it well.

In English Academies, it is not at all unusual for some teachers to have relationships with their students. I am not prude nor narrow-minded, but it saddens me to see some teachers using this noble profession of teaching to 'hook-up' with students. In the hallway and in the restroom, I hear female teachers chatting about 'hot' male students! In the smoking area, it's common for males teachers to casually discuss their 'dates' with their students. I'm so sick of hearing who's dating who. There was even a time I passed by a classroom and accidentally caught a teacher and a student holding hands. They withdrew their hand when they saw me pass by their classroom's glass wall. I mean, come on! This is a workplace!

As I said, I am not prude and not at all conservative, but am in fact open-minded about this things, but when it comes to being professionals, especially in the workplace, I really do not condone this kind of behavior. It is the teacher's responsibility to keep the line in the student-teacher relationship.

My Christmas Wish List - Part 1

2009-08-02T19:13:00.021+08:00

I know that Christmas is still far but I'm gonna start my wish list so that I could be reminded of what I'd be working hard for before Christmas!

They're not really big stuff, but just the things I have always wanted to buy but have always put off because of other stuff or I just didn't have the time to buy it. But this year,I'd like to give myself the following presents:

1. A Louis Vuitton Bag just like this one or something bigger. I like big bags, so I can throw everything inside. I checked the discounted price here and it now costs $154.29. The original price is 231.44

2. Dr. Martens Red Boots. I love red stuff, especially red boots. I saw this in a magazine before and I'm glad that it's actually available here for $114.95.

3. Laptop Case. It costs $21.99 here. Haha,I know I could buy this right now, but I'm really so busy, I don't have any time to shop! I really need this, too. I have a bag for my laptop but I rarely use it. Right now, I use a Burberry scarf that I sewed to make a laptop case.

4. Camera Case. The same reason with the laptop case, I just never got around to buying it. It's $39.99 here.

5. A Coat. I haven't bought a new one for years. I must buy a new coat. Any coat would do. I like this red DKNY double breasted jacket. It costs $63.90 at a discounted price here.

6. Expensive Sunglasses. I have lots and lots of shades but I don't have a signature brand yet. This year, I have to buy a really expensive one. Something like this maybe. It a Dior at $354.99, discounted here.

These are the only things I could think of at the moment. I'm gonna add to it until December and buy all of them as my gift to myself for being a hardworking girl!

What about you? I'd like to know what's in your Christmas wish list!

A Peek Inside My Bag

2009-08-02T13:09:00.012+08:00

I saw this idea from the Shirley and from Manju and I thought, wow that's so cute! I have to do the same post too. But OMG, can I do it? haha. They say that you can know a woman by the contents of her bag. Oh well, it looks fun so I gotta try it.

Okay, here's what I carry everyday in my gigantic bag ( my laptop can fit):

1. Big red wallet- red 'coz its lucky; big 'coz I don't like to fold bills
2. Cellphone
3. MP3 - I use it for my listening classes
4. Victoria's Secret Garden spray - I'm using Pure Seduction now
5. Sunglasses
6. Organizer - I'd be lost without it! Gotta write down everything!
7. Small notepad - in case I have any great ideas for a lesson or a class
8. A large flowery pencil case (tools of the trade)
9. Cassette recorder and player and blank tapes(tools of the trade)
10. Cosmetics and hygiene kit
11. Cool Air candy mints (blue pack)
12. My employee ID card
13. Apricot lotion (yum, yum)

*Not in the picture: a pack of Marlboro Lights and a lighter. Working in that place is just so stressful!

The Office

2009-08-01T18:02:00.014+08:00

After watching 7 seasons of Malcolm in the Middle, I've run out of things to watch. Hubby found this new series and so far, I'm enjoying it. It's about a dysfunctional office run by an eccentric boss, Micheal Scott. (Kinda reminds me of MY boss.) Steve Carell, the actor most remembered for the movie, 40-Year Old Virgin, gives a great performance for the boss role. This is originally a British TV series. Then later, this American version was made. At first, I didn't like the humor of the show. I thought it was boring and slow- paced. As I continued to watch it I begun to enjoy the show, too. The characters were all played very well. I especially like Dwight's character and hate Pam, the receptionist. It's not the best series I've watched and I wouldn't buy the DVD, but it's still entertaining. I'll give it 3/5.

Tagged - 6 Things That Make Me Happy

2009-08-01T13:11:00.021+08:00

Shirley of notesfromthetoothfairy tagged me for 6 things that make me happy. If you haven't dropped by her blog yet, please do 'coz I know you'll find great stuff!

I'm gonna be totally honest in this post! So here goes...The things that really make me truly happy are:

1. My daughter, Ysabella
She is the best thing that ever happened to me in my whole life. I can die knowing that I have something that I can always be proud of. She's the one that makes me truly happy. She's now 7 years old. She's so smart that she was accelerated to the 3rd grade in elementary even though girls her age should be in the 2nd grade.

2. Music
There's always a song for whatever situation I'm in. When I go through a great time, a difficult time, a time that sucks - there's always a song playin' in my head. And it makes me smile when there's always an appropriate song for the situation.

3. Shopping
I once read that it's not important what you buy. The idea is the going around, the searching, and the haggling. These are the things that count to remove stress and to relax me. And when I finally find that perfect thing, it makes me happier.

4. Ice Cream
Need I say more? Ice cream just gives me a different exhilaration, same with chocolate's effect on other people. I'm not a chocolate person so I go for ice cream. Any flavor is fine with me.

5. Night Outs
Whether it be with my hubby, with my family, with my daughter, with friends , or with colleagues. I'm a night person and I come alive when the sun sets, haha. I feel different from when I feel at daytime. So when I'm out with people I love, then it's double the fun. My favorite activity is going to a karaoke bar and singing my heart out!

6. Hubby
We met in junior high school. Now, he is the first thing I see in the morning and the last face I see at night. We have a playful relationship and that makes our relationship unique, very different from ordinary couples who have been married for a long time. And what we have really makes me happy.

Whew! That's it. I'm sure there are more, but these are the main things that make me smile everyday and make my life happy.

Now I'd like to tag Kenia, Sashindoubutsu, Aswani, Vijesh, Agnes, Wendy, Janet, Tarzan, Mayhem'sAngel, Addy and all others who'd like to share the things that make them happy!

Routine

2009-07-30T21:04:00.007+08:00

Today nothing special happened. During the weekdays at work, I just fall in the cycle of ordinary work routine. I wake up at five thirty in the morning, take a shower, dress up and go to my workplace. I arrive at 7am, though my job starts at eight. The reason is that, sometimes, I have to do some preparations for my class or just to enjoy the silence of the morning alone, before the building becomes filled with people. I love this time of the day, my head is all clear and I can plan my day ahead.

Patience at Work

2009-07-25T13:55:00.007+08:00

The other day, one teacher was absent from his class. He was given three group classes for this program. I was given two although I was an older teacher (in tenure) than him. But I don't want to get into that just yet.

Anyway, the teacher was absent. (He's a regular absentee, notorious for being gone for up to four consecutive school days in a month.) That means, his students would have to get a refund for the missed class. It was none of my business really. Just that I was pissed that the supervisor would give someone who was always absent more group classes that an employee who was never absent. Actually, I wanted to rub it in her face that she made a mistake for giving this guy more group classes.

As I said, I didn't really give a shit about the situation. His first 2 group classes joined with my own 2 group classes. His third group class wasn't my problem. But suddenly the supervisor said that I have to substitute for the absent teacher's 3rd group class. And what of my own classes? My students would have to get a refund for MY missed class. I wanted to smash the bimbo's face. But of course, I didn't. If I was younger, I would have done that. But a similar experience taught me that fighting with superiors in the job was futile. I would have to wait for the evaluation month, where we rate the supervisor, to get back at her. And get back at her for this, I will. I'd do it the proper way of course.

How To Make Your Label Cloud or Tag Cloud

2009-07-25T13:15:00.005+08:00

See my tag cloud? I was finally able to do one for my blog. Now, I have all the key words of my posts floating there for easy access. I've been wanting to have that since I moved to Blogger. It's a little bit complicated but I'm sure you can do it too. Just follow Phydeaux3's instructions carefully and in no time, you'll have your own Tag Cloud too! Thanks Phydeaux3!

How To Make Buttons and Badges For Your Blog

2009-07-25T12:55:00.008+08:00

I used to envy people who have knowledge about CSS and HTML and that stuff. I'm just a humble teacher who wants to enjoy blogging so I had to find out how to place buttons and badges on my blog the easy way. Here's what I do.
1. Choose an image for your button or badge. You can make your own by using programs like Photoshop or for text,GIMP.
2. After choosing an image or making your text, upload this in Photobucket and save.
3. If you hover below the image in your Photobucket Album, you can see the HTML code of the image or the Direct Image Location. Copy either of this (whichever you need, but usually, the HTML).
4. Go to Customize in your blogger,click edit layout,and click page elements.
5. Click Add A Gadget and look for HTML/Javascript. Open this and paste the code that you copied from your Photobucket. You can also use this for images in your posts! Enjoy!

Giveaways!

2009-07-19T21:22:00.013+08:00

They say that the best things in life are free. And it so happened our toothfairy is celebrating her 2nd month anniversary! Be sure to greet her as soon as you see this. On top of that she's giving away this wonderful item - a Gucci cosmetic bag! Check out the details here.

How To Change The Font Of Your Blog

2009-07-19T16:42:00.013+08:00

Thanks to Annie's BlogU, I have really learned a lot about customizing your blog to the way you want. Please drop by her blog too! Now I have just learned How to Change the Font of Your Blog. I was happy with original font of this template but, well, it was so common and I wanted my blog to be unique. If you want to change your font too, check this out.

1. First log in to Blogger.
2. Go to Customize and click Page Elements.
3. Click on Add a Gadget and scroll down to HTML/Java Script.
4. Choose a font style here. There's only Papyrus, Comic Sans, Lucida Handwriting, and Harrington. I'm using Comic Sans.
5. Copy and Paste it in the Configure HTML/Java Script box. Click save. Now you can enjoy a new font for your blog!

How To Add A Signature To Your Posts

2009-07-19T16:12:00.010+08:00

I always look for ways to make my blog look better. Although nowadays, I think my blog has too many colors. I have to decide on what color scheme really suits me. But I want to try everything first before I settle down on just one design or color. Anyway as I was browsing, I saw Annie's BlogU and wondered how she got her signature. It looks so nice and the posts seem more personal, like it was written by a real person. Maybe that's the effect of having a signature after your posts. Hmmm. So I thought, I must have that. There are a lot of ways to do this, as I found out from researching in the net, but the easiest way I could find is this method.

First, go to MyLiveSignature. You don't have to register, but it's better to have an account there to keep all your signatures.
1. After you register, click the Start Now button.
2. Click on Using the Signature Creation Wizard
3. It will take you step 1, which is writing the text of your signature
4. Step 2 lets you choose the font
5. Step 3 lets you choose the color. Unfortunately, there are only a few available colors. I chose purple.
6. After this, you can choose how slanted you'd like your sig to be.
7. Click Finish, and you have your signature. Now click Use This and Generate HTML Code. Copy the code and paste it in your posts.
8. Actually you can use this to write anything, but there is a limit to the number of letters. It's still useful, though. Enjoy!

Monday Blues

2009-07-19T13:08:00.015+08:00

A lot of women who've read the bible have blamed Eve for two things. One is for tempting Adam. Adam succumbed to the temptation and they were both punished by God. If it hadn't for Eve, then people won't have to get up early on Monday mornings and every other morning after that to go to work and earn money. Hmph. The second reason is, now, we have to wear clothes.

So tomorrow is another Monday, and of course I have to wake up early, and more importantly, I have to think about what to wear. We have a dress code in that school. They don't ask much from the employees really, just that we have to wear black slacks on Mondays, and semi-formal clothes until Wednesday. Thursdays and Fridays are practically free days. We have to wear presentable casual clothes, nothing rugged or with torn trimmings, no shorts and no loud colors. Same with all typical companies.

Anyway, I went out to shop today and I bought two pairs of slacks and three blouses that would hopefully get me through this week.

I'm not much of a fashionista, I just want to look pretty and at the same time feel comfortable with what I'm wearing. So here's what I bought. First, I bought two pairs of slacks since it is what we wear from Mondays to Wednesdays. I chose a pinstriped light brown slacks. I like the texture of the material they used. And I also bought a black nylon slacks that could match any color of blouse.I also bought this sensible yet cute office blouses. They have a collar, it looks presentable and they have ruffled cuffs. I got two colors, green and purple. Finally, I saw this really cute pink blouse. It looked so nice hung there that I couldn't resist buying it. the color looks loud and I haven't worn anything this bright before, but what the hell, I'll just buy it and figure out later if I'd ever have the guts to wear it. It has a tiny belt around it's waist and that convinced me. I tried these on when I got home but I still can't decide what I'll wear tomorrow. Oh well, I'll just have to wake up earlier. One thing's for sure though, I'll be wearing those black, three-and a half inches high heels.

* Sorry for the picture quality, my brother borrowed my camera. I'm using my laptop cam to take these.

A Bittersweet Cycle

2009-07-15T19:53:00.022+08:00

In the Academy where I work, we have a one-month program. So every month I get to have new students. The students get to have new teachers for the next program as they go to the higher levels. The system is divided into levels of learning starting from levels 1 to 3 for beginners, 4 to 6 for intermediate, and 7 to 9 for advanced learners.

Every month, I have to adjust to new students, get to know them, and of course help them. Sometimes I get great students, but sometimes, well...not so good students. Let's just say that I have met all kinds of students during the three years I've worked in this Academy. There are students that are so bad that you'd wish the program to be over quickly, but then, there are also great students that'd make you sad to part with when the end of the program comes. This month, I had a combination of both.

When I was a new teacher, I used to cry when my students go back to Korea. But after three years of seeing them coming and going, I just had to learn not to get too attached to my students.

Today, our program finished and I have to say goodbye to my good students - Kitty, Jade, Marie, Yoanna, and Shawn. I'll miss them, but I can't be too emotional about it. Next Monday, I'll meet new students and go through the same cycle again.

Sunday Afternoons

2009-07-12T13:46:00.015+08:00

I was doing my usual Sunday visits to all my blogging friends when I came across this award given to Aswani. Please visit his blog too, I'm sure that you'll find great stuff! And I was so grateful, happy and touched that he wanted to share the 'Spread The Love Award' to me, and that he considered me in his friends' list.

To continue spreading the love, I'd like to share this to some of my friends too, MAYhemsAngel, Tarzan, Shirley, our toothfairy, Vijesh, Ms. Kenia, Sir Diwakar, Wendy, Sashindoubutsu. Please take time to copy and paste this badge on your blogs, share with ten of your friends or whomever you want, and help us spread the love.

The rain has been non-stop here since morning. It's a bit chilly too, but this award has made this Sunday afternoon warmer for me.

Anime and Manga

2009-07-09T19:43:00.017+08:00

I can't do my lessons nowadays because I'm so hooked on watching anime and reading manga. I'm reading Hajime No Ippo from the time I get home until midnight. I've been following the anime series but I get so impatient in waiting for the next episodes that I searched the net if I could find the manga. And there it was. From then on, I can't stop reading it. The main character is named Ippo, a young man who used to be bullied in school, but was one day rescued by Takamura from the bullies beating him up. Takamura, a great boxer took him to the Kamogawa Gym, where he was treated for his wounds, and was introduced to the world of boxing. The anime shows the story of Ippo and his friends' journey and stuggle in the world of boxing - and how the boxers dealt with each fight especially with winning or with losing. this anime has both comedy and drama so it's not boring. Be it reading the manga or watching the anime - you will surely get 'hooked' by Ippo!

So Annoying

2009-07-07T19:05:00.010+08:00

I'm teaching Korean students in an English Academy. I enjoy my work and I love my job. I get a 'higher-than-normal' salary and the job is easy for me. I don't mean that it's an easy trade (it's, in fact, hard), it's just easy for me since I have worked here for a long time and experience has made me 'comfortable' with it.

I teach a couple of group classes that usually have five to six members for each class. Recently, the Korean manager deemed it his right to just barge in my class, sit down and maybe butt-in once in a while when I'm having my class. At first, he asked for permission to do so, but as days went by, he must have thought that it was okay with me, so he felt free to express whatever he wanted to say during my class- and worst - to cut me off when I'm explaining the grammar part of my lesson and more recently, explaining in Korean language the grammar that I have already explained a few minutes ago in English. It's actually comical, had I been in a better humor about it.

Picture this. I'm standing in front giving a lecture and he suddenly goes to the front, stands in front of me (actually covering me from the students' view!)so that I have to move away, lest I be knocked over. I hand him my 'teacher's pen' and he grabs it from my hands and proceeds to give a 'lecture' in Korean. I move to the back so I could see what he's explaining about. I'm careful to notice any slightest deviation from what I had already taught a few minutes ago. I mean, come on, I can't understand everything he says. I wasn't sure if what he was saying was the same as what I explained.

After a a full five minutes of re-explaining in Korean what I have already explained in English, he finishes. He hands me my pen back, I thank him, and attempt to continue with my lesson. After a sentence escapes my mouth, he cuts me off again, moves to the front and takes over my lesson again. I move to the sides, seriously thinking of going to the restroom to pee for a while since he's there doing my job anyway. But I stopped myself. I decided to count to ten. I was in '15' when he stopped. I didn't thank him this time. I got the paper for the next activity and handed it to my students, told them to answer it. I just couldn't explain more. Two reasons. One, he took all of my time to do that and two, I didn't know what he said to them so I didn't know where to continue.

I look at my students and they looked pissed. Some of them are doodling, some are looking down on the floor. Inquiring about it later, some said that they didn't really appreciate all this 'attention' from the manager. I guess they agree with me that English instruction is part of learning the language. Not just the content. I mean, comprehension and listening. I know this because I am a teacher. Would you rather learn the English language in Spanish or in English?

I guess, in his desire to help the students, to win them over, to show off his own English ability, or whatever reason he may have had - he forgot this. The whole situation annoys me. But after the attitude that my students showed him, I don't really know what to feel for him - annoyance or pity.

Malcolm In The Middle

2009-07-04T11:08:00.015+08:00

Recently, I've been watching this American TV series and I've found myself enjoying it's humor immensely. The show is about a genius kid named Malcolm trying to deal with living with his dysfunctional family. He has three brothers but the oldest, Francis lives far from them leaving the next child Reese,as the eldest child in the house, followed by Malcolm and Dewey, thus the title, Malcolm in the Middle. The mom, Lois, is a control freak who always resorts to shouting when something goes wrong, and the dad, Hal, just follows his wife around, maybe because he loves his wife too much or because he's like a little kid in a grown-up's body, as portrayed in many episodes.

Altogether, the characters play a powerful position in the show. During the first time I watched this, I thought that there were too many characters and didn't see the point of having four sons in the family. I even predicted that one of the characters might suffer from lack of attention or exposure, or might be taken for granted. I thought that the character of Reese wasn't so important, as Malcolm was obviously the main focus of the show. I didn't think Hal would play an important part in the show too because Lois was so dominating. That's what I thought at first, but three seasons after, I found out that each of the characters in this TV series play a very important role to make the show complete. I couldn't imagine one of them missing. Reese has proved to be the most stupid in the family thus doing the funniest antics. And Hal has proven his importance in holding the show up.

After seven seasons on air, each character has grown and matured. Francis became more responsible and Dewey has learned how to use his intelligence to play with people around him,especially with Reese, making him do what he wants and getting away with it. It's really enjoyable and hilarious, I recommend that you watch this show. I'm giving it a 5/5 rating. Check out the soundtrack 'Boss Of Me Now' too, played by 'They Might Be Giants'.

Music Playlist at MixPod.com

Murphy's Law?

2009-07-02T19:05:00.005+08:00

Ever thought that the world seems just a little bit unfair to you? Like when you have been doing all the things that you had to do and had done it well, but in the end, everything just doesn't work out the way you thought it should.

Take for example, your brilliant ideas that other people took credit for. A good deed that had gone unnoticed. Uncredited efforts. Useless passion and dedication, because nothing good ever results from it, anyway. You can't even reap what you had sown.

But still you plow on and go about as if everything's okay, hoping that somehow your bad luck would eventually run out. Awaiting the turn of events.

THIN: A Documentary About Eating Disorders

2009-06-19T20:38:00.015+08:00

THIN talks about the story of four women who were battling eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia. The film starts by introducing the four inpatients – showing how they arrived in the center, their history of eating disorder and compulsive dieting, and informing the audience of their weight (which are usually below 85lbs.) when they arrive. I guess this will be used to show their progress later.

Shelley

The first woman is Shelley, a nurse, who had a history of ten hospitalizations and had to be tube-fed for many years. She has an identical twin sister (whom you’ll see later in the film) who doesn’t have an eating disorder. When the sister visits her, she admits that she feels tired of always worrying about Shelley and wishes that her sister would just ‘get a grip’ of her sickness. She also says that she and her family just want Shelley to get better and move on with her life. Later in the film, a doctor in the facility confronts Shelley about hiding a burger in her room, she denies it, but the doctor tells her that she doesn’t trust Shelley and thinks that she may be lying. This was later resolved by investigations that revealed that it was another resident who hid the food and not Shelley. The doctor apologizes to Shelley in a meeting with the other staff.

Polly

Polly is another inpatient who seemed to be the strongest and at first showed positive signs towards recovery , and was the most receptive to the center, was later kicked out a week before her discharge after Shelley and another friend ratted on her about giving Shelley mood pills, smoking in the bathroom, and getting a tattoo on a day pass. Obviously, these are house rules. She says that dieting has been a very important part of her life.

Brittany

Brittany is only 15 years old and she’s already in the center. She has been dieting since she was very young. She cites that it was because she had ‘bad body shapes’. She has a liver problem because of it and her hair is falling. She seems to be the most negative about the treatment. She later admits that she doesn’t want to be treated and all she ever wanted in her life was to be thin. A particular scene shows her mother, who visited her in the center, picking through her food in front of Brittany. She also tells of ‘good times’ with her mom where they just ‘sucked and spit’ food.

Alisa

Alisa, 30, is divorced with two kids. She is a bulimic and says that it stems from an experience when she was 7 years old. She went to the doctor with her mother and the pediatrician asked her mother what she’s gonna do about Alisa’s weight. Her mother said that she was only 7 and that it was baby fat. Somehow this influences Alisa to start losing weight. The problem is, she goes on an eating spree and purges in the bathroom while giving her son a bath. After this, she goes out and does it all over again. She was the one who actually said the documentary's tag line, ' If it takes dying to get there, so be it.'

Comments and Reactions

All of these women went to the center for treatment of their eating disorders. They were subject to the rules in the facility once they entered it. They have diets to follow, prescribed by their nutritionists; they have counseling with psychiatrists, open forums with the community and they had to comply with other house rules during their stay. Other people have commented on the poor food shown in the documentary, for instance, pizza and cupcakes with a lot of icing being forced on Polly in a couple of scenes. Would the nutritionist really prescribe junk food? Another of the negative comments dwelled on the presence of 'not physically fit' staff in the center and that having those kinds of bodies were what drove these women to be anorexic or bulimic. Some of the staff are also shown to be uncaring or to have no compassion for the sickness of these women, as shown in Shelley's case. There are different opinions about these, though, from readers, and from former inpatients.

The Ending

At the end of the film, the text script says that Shelley returned to her old eating habits and was later given electroshock therapy for depression. Polly set up her photography studio but again battled anorexia. She died in 2008. Brittany, after discharge, lost another 20 lbs. And Alisa continued her struggle with bulimia and after an attempt to commit suicide, returned to the center where she was finally treated for her eating disorder.

The documentary shows their everyday life in the center, their emotions, and how they dealt with the daily anguish, being there to fight out their sickness. It’s a shocking and an eye-opening experience as to what really happens inside an anorexic’s or a bulimic’s life.

Why I Hate the Google Image Search Engine

2009-06-19T13:49:00.009+08:00

Warning: This post may have been written in anger. I apologize to anyone who'll be offended.

My hubby has a strange and close relationship with his friends, and although we were classmates in high school and we all know each other, their relationship goes way back than our relationship as a couple. Now you see, hubby is a graphic artist and he has a great talent in his craft. On birthdays of his friends, who are now my friends too, he creates a movie poster for the celebrant. It's like a real movie poster, its so beautiful actually, that it seems like the real thing. This is no problem for me, for sure. I mean the effort that he makes and the time that he spends to do this - makes him a great friend. Maybe. Anyway, the celebrant, our friend seems happy with it. And this has been happening for years,its like an annual thing for us.

Anyway, the reason why I'm angry is whenever I ask him to something for me using his skills, he acts as if its such a big trouble for him to do it. I've felt that I'm bothering him for asking this favor, making it difficult for me to ask this kind of thing from him. For example, I ask him to do my header for my blog, or to sketch an image for me so I can use it for my posts. This is his reaction. In order:
1. First, he pretends he didn't hear it even though I have spoken in a clear, well-modulated voice.
2. He makes me repeat my request. This is the part which is difficult for me since he always says okay to his friends right away.
3. He suggests I 'Google' the image that I need. By this time, I'm half angry but I humble down and tell him that I don't want to use an image from Google.
4. He complains and say that I'm just making it difficult for myself. I am embarrassed that I have to reach this point in asking him to do a simple thing so I keep quiet.
5. This is the critical situation. Four possible situations can happen at this point.
a.) I let it go and just Google the image I need.
b.) I keep quiet.
c.) He notices I keep quiet and does what I ask of him.
d.) This happened only today. I do letter B, he does letter C. But I proceed to do letter A and think that he's an asshole and that I would never, ever ask him to do this again. He shows me the crappy (and I'm NOT kidding), half-hearted thing that he did - and I SNAP!

I told him how he makes it so difficult for me to ask a favor like this from him and asked him why he does that. He says he does it anyway, I said yeah, but why do you put me in that situation where I'm almost begging you to do it for me? I told him that it embarrasses me. Isn't asking once enough? At this point, he gets up and walks out. Like he always does when I get nasty. Now, don't get me wrong, hubby is really a loving, sensitive guy in all ways. This only happens when it concerns graphic arts or designing. Suddenly, there's a wall there. I really don't understand.

Disclaimer: This post has nothing against Google.

Day 26 - Food Journal

2009-06-19T13:09:00.008+08:00

Rainy Days and Mondays

By this time, you may have guessed that I have given up on exercising. The stormy and rainy season that my country is experiencing now is sure to kill any happy, much more - active idea. The Philippines is known to have two seasons. The dry season or the summer which lasts from November to April and the infamous wet or rainy season which starts in May until October. Unfortunately for all schools in this country, the school year starts in June. So I expect, I am not the only person bitching about this weather. Come Monday, when I have to start working 'again', I bet I'll be bitching more.

What I ate: (this is gonna be bad...)

Breakfast: none

Lunch: none

Dinner: a plate of pasta
a cup of rice

Midnight Snack: 3 pieces of bread
a glass of milk

Ah, oh well...Its just so hard to do anything in this stupid weather.

Hollywood's War On God

2009-06-17T23:25:00.015+08:00

Two nights ago, I watched the documentary 'Hollywood's War On God'. The documentary talked about Hollywood's depiction of 'bad' guys as heroes. For example, a terrorist who bombs buildings (V for Vendetta) or a disturbed boy who floods his school (Donnie Darko).

More importantly, though, the documentary talked about satanic forces that use the most popular movies and actors of today, even music (Rolling Stones' Sympathy For The Devil) in fooling people, particularly Christians about what the bible really means or what God really wants people to do. The documentary also specifically targets the popular book, 'Da Vinci Code' by Dan Brown, which was later made into a movie, explaining that it is a con and that it misleads people.

And that all these contribute to an elaborate plan to confuse and deceive the world. In the book of Revelation, this is what should happen before the final coming of Christ.

Wow. A little far-fetched but when you think about it, most popular movies nowadays show that the bad guys are 'cool' and that they have a dark reason for doing the bad stuff. Somehow they justify the bad things. Satanism and the lack of belief in God is also subtly incorporated in the script of some movies. Ah, at first I couldn't believe what I was hearing in this documentary, so I checked the list and discovered that I have watched most of the movies mentioned. Well, I don't really know if there was an effect on me or none, but it might be subconsciously? Watch the documentary and tell me what you think.

*Watch the intro of the documentary here.

Day 25 - Food Journal

2009-06-17T14:28:00.005+08:00

Breakfast - none

Lunch - a cup of coffee
1 egg
1 cup of rice

Dinner: a serving of fried meat
a bowl of green veggies
1 cup of rice

Snacks: 3 pieces of bread and cheese
1 glass of milk