the original golden tsinelas is back! <3

i can't believe my luck when we found a pair of grendha golden slippers - the exact pair/style which i lost a few months ago. and here's the bonus ... it's on sale! :) i really believe it was for me because when we found it, it's the only remaining style and color on my size. happiness!!!



the story behind the golden tsinelas: 2 years ago, when i was still working in sykes, i bought this cute slippers in shoe salon, gateway. it was priced at around 1600++ php at that time, a bit costly but i wanted it so badly. it was the only remaining slippers i had that stood the test of time. fast forward: middle of 2009, i left it on a taxi together with a pair of pants (which is also my favorite) on the way to a client. i was depressed for a time, until i replaced it with another golden slippers. even though it's durable and comfortable, it couldn't quite replace the old one i had.



last dec. 28, jel and i went to trinoma to watch a movie. after a while we lost the eagerness to watch and we window shop instead. after a few ikot inside landmark, i was surprised when he showed me this only pair of grendha slippers at Php777.00! it is the same color, style and size like the pair i lost. kahit wala akong pera binili ko siya (via jel's cc, thank you very much!). i promised to pay him the following day.



what's more amazing is that this specific design has been discontinued two years ago. ang galing-galing!



welcome back, my golden tsinelas... <3

Christmas Crunchtime

Four days left before Christmas and I haven't done my Christmas shopping (as if there's plenty of money to spend). Actually, Jel and I haven't done our shopping yet. We were supposed to go to Divi last Saturday/Sunday but unfortunately we were not able to wake up early due to lantern parade/impromptu reunion which lasted til 12 midnight. He was down with flu last week also so he needs a lot of rest. We went to Greenhills Saturday afternoon but we ended up buying clothes for ourselves (hihee). I got myself a nice blouse, a pair of shorts and skinny jeans. He bought a pair of pants. =)

Later I'll see if I can buy ingredients for the goodies I'll bake for noche buena and for the gifts. I hope they won't cost that much, though. :)

when God said no

(This blog is dedicated to my schoolmate, fellow HR practitioner, Sykes resignee and jobseeker, Krystel Lilac "Lilacables" Pena. Girl, you are not alone. This one's for us).

I just received the much-anticipated phone call from the Australian HR Director of the company I was applying in. Modesty aside, I was pretty confident with my application status: interviews and all exams are quite easy for me. So in my mind, the conversion might go something like this: 'Congratulations, we are extending you the job offer for the position of blah blah blah.."

Sounds nice, huh?
But no. It did not go that way.

She said that I might be more suitable for other position so they've accepted someone else. Oh well. Maybe because the work itself is going to be too admin type, and I am currently searching for a higher post. I said thank you and ended the call. I sounded fine, but at the back of my mind, I was thinking, "why not me?", and to think that I seem to be more competent than the other applicants. Yes. Angas UP na naman.

I got bitter for a while, but then I forced myself to think why it did not go as I expected. Then I thought, God is saying no.

Why is God saying no?
Maybe because it's not for me.
But why?
Because I got too confident and I forgot to ask Him for guidance and discernment.
Uh-oh. Guilty mode.

Yes. I forgot to ask God. And I got too excited about the prospect of having a better career opportunity. It's a fault on my part, but on the other hand, I also thought that maybe God is saving me from possible stress and misery at work. Maybe I am veering away from my goal, which is to find a better career opportunity. Maybe I am showing distrust; that I am not relying in His promise that he will not leave me nor forsake me.

God is so good. And God is so wise. I may not see His plans for me right now but I know they are beautiful. But of course, I need to rely on Him more and rely on me less.

So now, I'm back with job hunting. Still got a few active applications left. I just hope I won't forget the lesson that I learned this day.

Busy as a Bee, Lazy as a Log

December is really the busiest month for an HR practitioner like me. All of a sudden, all departments will ask for reports and all sorts of stuff - STAT! No to mention the renewal of HR-driven projects, 13th month processing, on top of the day-to-day support and admin. I cannot seem to enjoy my weekends anymore without thinking of my pending tasks for the coming week. I hate this kind of feeling -- I should be enjoying my rest days without any hint of guilt.

Oh well, such is life. This is the profession I chose so I need to deal with the "do or die" principles" of being an HR. I've been having stomach irritation for the past few days and my appetite fluctuates again. Signs of stress and restlessness again.

And not to mention the lack of sleep. I wish I could have more time to snooze, especially now that the air is soo cool and it's so hard to leave your comfy bed. Sometimes I wonder why I seem so tired after the end of the day when all I do is sit in front of the computer for 8++ hours. Hmm.

Honestly, I suck at time management now. I'm juggling three major things: my work, my part-time work and my job hunting for future work. You see, I already tendered my resignation effective next year, so I need to get a replacement for me and at the same time, I need to find a job for me as well. So aside from lurking all job portal sites, I am also doing part-time work by marketing a website which was launched just recently. It also takes time, though.

Sorry, I just need to rant for a while. My neurons will die soon from too much thinking if I don't get a breather. Whew. Got to go back to my work. An urgent report is badly needed.

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On Change

Una sa lahat, congratulations to our kababayan Efren Penaflorida for being the CNN Hero of the Year!

It's good to know that our country never runs out of selfless people despite every economic crisis, political bickering and calamities. Ang mga katulad nya ang dahilan kung bakit kahit paano ay mahal ko pa din ang Pilipinas at umiiral pa din ang Filipino pride ko. Nakakatuwa ding malaman na kahit sino, maaaring maging instrumento ng pagbabago.

Pagbabago. Uso to ngayon. Election eh. Bawat poster yata ng mga kakandidato merong salitang pagbabago. "Ako ang susi sa pagbabago". "Ang kailangan nyo sa pagbabago". "Progreso. Pagbabago". Eh paano nga ba ginagawa ang pagbabago?

Unang-una, bago ka magkaroon ng pagbabago, dapat meron kang VISION. Ano ba yung gusto mong mangyari? Ano ang gusto mong iimprove? Anong gusto mong baguhin? Ano ang nais mong marating? Kung wala nito, wala ring direksyon ang bawat galaw.

Pangalawa, dapat mayroong pagpaplano. Kumbaga sa teacher, meron kang syllabus o course outline. Ito yung magseset ng mga dapat i-accomplish para marating yung kung anong gusto mong marating.

Pangatlo, ang nasimulang vision at plano, dapat isagawa. Dito yata tayo medyo nagkukulang. Medyo kinakapos sa commitment at willpower. Nabibinbin ang mga nasimulan dahil kinakapos sa motibasyon, inspirasyon, pondo o kung anuman. Minsan high na high sa umpisa, paglaon ay tinatamad na.

At ang panghuli, ang ebalwasyon. Pagkatapos ng lahat, take a step back to see the overall picture of what we did, what we fail to accomplish and what could be improved on. Sa ganitong paraan, hindi nagiging stagnant at nakakapag adjust din tayo sa kung ano ang hiling ng panahon.

We all have the potential to be a catalyst for change. And that change can begin today.

(Pasensya na po sa mga nakakabasa kung hindi consistent English o Filipino ang blog na ito, ngunit sana ay kinakitaan ng kahit kaunting kabuluhan ang aking saloobin :) )

Haay...Krismas!

It's that time of the year once again. You can already feel the cool breeze and twinkling lights once again adorn every home and every store. That huge, huge green tree in Cubao is up and majestic amidst chaos in EDSA. And oh! Did you already hear Jose Mari and Lisa Chan singing their classic song "Christmas In Our Hearts"?

Yes folks, it's Christmas season.

I have always been fond of Christmas. It's like going to a happy, happy place where no problems exist and no sadness can be seen in anyone's eyes. But as I grow up, I have been aware on how our capitalism society "commercialize" the concept of Christmas so that no house is complete without a festive noche buena and no child could leave the house of ninong and ninang without a toy or two. And now that I have my own inaanaks, that might pose a problem for me, too. :p

I just hope that Christmas will not always be equated to new clothes or gifts or food or extravagant vacation. I believe Christmas is something more.

It's about Jesus.
It's about Him who was born in a simple manger to offer His life for all of us.

As what Channel 2's station ID says, "Ikaw Bro ang Star ng Pasko."

Amen. :)

question

If you can do something to make this world a better place to live in, what would that be?

Random Thoughts

- i would be extremely happy if i could travel now.
- i miss eating frozen yogurt with ripe mangoes as topping.
- i am addicted to sims (again).
- i would like to trying teaching for a change.
- but still, i love being in HR(and i would love to learn more).
- i haven't gotten my transcript of records yet.
- my HS diploma's gone. eaten by anay.
- i would love to watch the old peter pan cartoon series in abs-cbn again (the one dubbed by earl ignacio and wendy villacorta).
- i wish i have the energy and drive to continue my used-to-be daily crunches.
- i wish it's 5pm already.

Pet Peeves

Inspired by Lea Salonga's blog entry, here are my pet peeves:

1. uber wet toilet seat
2. wet muddy feet
3. mga pasahero sa jeep na hindi marunong mag thank you kapag inabot mo yung bayad nila sa jeepney driver
4. mga pasahero sa jeep na iaabot sa iyo directly yung bayad nila, hindi naman ikaw yung driver
5. mga nakakatapak ng paa na hindi marunong mag-sorry (ano ba! pag malambot, paa!)
6. mga nagyoyosi sa jeep or kahit saang public place at ibubuga sa mukha mo
7. napakabagal na internet connection
8. mga nagtatapon ng basura sa daan at dumudura kung saan-saan
9. mga sumisingit sa pila
10. mga bus conductor na medyo bastos

yun lang muna. :)

Work Motivation and Stress: Reverberating Thoughts from an Office Bum

Think of this scenario: it’s Monday morning and you are running late for work. You wake up a little late than usual because you accidentally hit the “stop” button instead of “snooze” of your alarm (which, obviously, would silence the alarm and send you off to dreamland again). You can’t seem to find your favorite belt and you realized you have coins to pay for your jeepney fare. And so, you went to the nearest panaderia to ask “ate pwede pong makipalit ng 100?” before leaving the house (you know how sensitive jeepney drivers are in the morning). Then you go from one jeepney terminal to another, then to MRT and endure the morning rush havoc, just so you make it to your 8am shift.

But it does not end there! You wait eternally for the elevator of your building to open and reach the 34^th floor. And when finally, you reach your destination point, you found out that your work area is covered with tons and tons of paper works either for review, for signature, for revision, for filing or for distribution.

You can just imagine how many of us in the entire labor force endures this kind of scene everyday. And that just covers around 1 ½ to 2 hours of the whole day. That does not include yet the endless meetings, the angry emails from a client or your boss, the phone calls asking “why did you deduct so and so amount from my salary?”, the never-ending search for the misplaced contract (which was misplaced already long before you were employed in that company), among other things. Sometimes you would think and wonder, “Is it all worth it?” But at the end of the day, you think of your family and your dream vacation and you say to yourself, “Hay, ganun talaga. Kailangan e.”

Saturdays and Sundays seem so far, and yet when they arrive they seem to pass quickly and before you knew it, it’s Monday again.

Why is it that some people’s jobs are also their passion? Or hobby? Or talent? They have fun while working and are earning megabucks! And for the rest of us, well, it is more of a need than a passion.

Whatever the reasons are for our circumstances, I believe there is always a way around it. When things get really tough and all I want is to walk out of the office, I sit quietly and think of how many people in the world would do anything and go anywhere just to have a steady source of living. And then, I would close my eyes and say, “Thank you Lord. I am so blessed.” When I feel that work is no longer satisfying, I would think of the employee who says she is grateful that I assisted her well, and I will be filled with happiness no amount of money can ever buy.

So what are the antidotes for stress and de-motivation? A grateful heart and a sense of purpose.

It is easier said than done. There will always be days when your body will succumb to the comfort of your bed, and there will be times when your work area will feel like hell for you. There will be times when being thankful is the last thing on your mind, and you won’t feel that your job is getting you anywhere.

It is up to us. We always have a choice. Surely, times like these will always come, but we know that we have the power to be in control of how we perceive things. And then, life, as it is…will look beautiful. :)

The (Blueberry) Cheesecake Experience

Today I was brave enough to try something a bit challenging: bake a blueberry cheesecake. Well, it is certainly challenging for a beginner like me, having no formal training nor experience in baking. But eversince I bought the small electric oven for my nephew's birthday (as requested by my sister, she wanted to cook baked macaroni for the kids), I have always wanted to try different recipes and bake different goodies with it. Me and my boyfriend are both fans of blueberry cheesecake, and so I decided to try one myself.

Here is the recipe I used. I got this from a cooking blog (sorry I'm not able to remember the site) but the author mentioned that she adapted it from Nigel Slater's Kitchen Diaries.

Ingredients:

2 225-gram blocks of cream cheese, softened
1 250-ml brick of all purpose cream (room temperature)
3/4 c. plus 2 tbsps. of white sugar
4 eggs
1-3/4 c. of graham cracker crumbs
1/3 c. of butter
1 can of blueberry pie filling

The procedure was quite easy but I had difficulty beating cream cheese together with the ingredients. After a minute or so in medium speed, my mixture still have lumps of cream cheese left. I was a bit hesitant to mix some more 'cause I read in a cooking guide not to beat the cream cheese too much (if you are making a cheesecake) or else there would be cracks in the finished product. What I did was, I got two spoons and manually break the lumps by getting a spoonful of mixture and pressing it against the other spoon. It kind of lessen the lumps but it was a bit tedious. After that, I got my small springform pan (which has the graham crust already) and pour the mixture until half the pan is filled. I baked it for about an hour.

Since I am still in the experimental stage, I used bain marie for the first cheesecake that I made. I also put aluminum foil at the bottom of the pan to make sure that the water will not mix with the cheesecake. For the remaining cheesecake mixture, I decided to use medium aluminum cups so I could pack it as baon for my sisters and my bf. I did not use bain marie here. I just hoped that they will not crack or burn. :p It only took 45 minutes to bake the second batch of cheesecakes.

Unfortunately, I was not able to get hold of canned blueberries in Puregold, so I asked my eldest sister to buy one for me in Landmark. The cheesecakes are already cooled and are in the ref now. I just hope my sister won't forget the blueberries I requested. :)

Here are the photos of the cheesecakes sans blueberries.

P.S. I tried a slice of my cheesecake and well, not bad for a first try. :) But I would still want to make a few improvements, like making the sides smoother and the consistency better. But the taste is okay (at least for me). Time to take my cheesecake to the ultimate scrutiny: the taste test.

My Golden Tsinelas: A Preview

I don't like wearing closed shoes. Since I studied in a university which requires me to walk at least half a kilometer to get to my next class, I learned early on that tsinelas is a major, major must. To walk in heels (or any uncomfy shoe) is murder.

And this sentiment did not stop after college. Being a regular commuter, I know how hard it is to keep your sanity intact during the 7-9am morning rush in MRT, LRT and EDSA.

One day I bought a really nice pair of slippers that I saw in a shopping mall. It's a bit overpriced for a footwear but I'm glad I bought it. My feet have been murdered several times by unknowing passengers of the same train or bus, but my tsinelas has saved me from aching feet at the end of the day.

My tsinelas has been there for me since eternity. Kahit saan yata ako magpunta, lagi ko siyang dala. Rain or shine, high tide or low tide, good times or bad times, bakasyon man o trabaho...lagi ko siyang bitbit. It got worn out and it faded, but the same comfort it gives never changed.

Then, suddenly...it's gone.

My fault actually. I was on my way to our client's office and running late. As I was walking towards the building, I realized that I left my paperbag inside the taxi. Yes, that paperbag contained my tsinelas (which I intend to wear after the client meeting).

It took a while for me to get over it. As I was pondering what made me attached to my slippers, I realized that it is because I did a lot of things, went to a lot of places, endured a lot of hard times and celebrated a lot of good times with it. It moves with me. It lives with me. And that made it valuable and special.

This blog site is, in a way, an attempt to encapsulate my memories and experiences when I still have my beloved tsinelas. But on the other hand, i hope this will help me (and you! yes, you!) be more inspired to live, to explore, to discover, to experiment, to not be afraid, to experience and to love what you have now and look forward to what lies ahead. This is what life is all about.


P.S.
To the lucky person who got my tsinelas: I hope you'll have good memories with it, too.