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.