Coffee While Blogging

It rained hard on the way home. All the streets we passed by were flooded. Imagine, EDSA was flooded, even the flyover in Cubao was flooded. Tsk, tsk. But then what else is new. Good thing, the traffic was bearable. 'Pag ganitong umuulan, hinahanap ko ang kape. Kahit anong kape, 'wag lang yung nasa dispenser ng Nescafe. I don't like it. It could be the paper cup they're using. The coffee tastes like paper. Anyway, finally home, I got my coffee.

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Everything's quiet now. Mommy 'obligations', all check. I've a paper due on June 4. I've to start with it now. But blog first to set the mood. :) Good excuse to procrastinate.

I'm glad I've taken up the Leadership class this semester. I have to admit I thought of skipping this subject till the next term and take a more 'relevant' subject. Half of my class 'ditched' Leadership for the same reasons I had on my mind. We all know about leadership. We've read so many books about it, we've attended so many seminars and team buildings to understand how it is to be a leader and develop people to become the leaders that they are. I've been taught about it since my girl scout days. I can again read a book now and interpret it on my own. Gahhh, I don't need anymore of this.

But then nothing beats hearing an expert's words, and my professor proved to be one fellow who sees leadership in a different perspective. He goes deeper, more on a personal level. From my assessment, he made the course an understanding of one's own leadership. How it affects the lives of the people you interact with. And what else one can do with it. I like it that he doesn't sugar coat his lectures with big
words and big stories. Because we talk about our own heroes, our own crossroads, our own life book.

I must say this course reminds me to keep grounded. With all the decisions I have to make in my daily life at work, with all the interactions I have to do, I always have to uphold personal humility and professional will.

Lunch Out with the Mommies of Pinoy Moms Network

So I attended, I'm glad I did! Like Feng and Salen, I have no expectations really of what will go on. I just want to meet whoever will attend and have a hearty lunch with them, have fun. Big thank you to Noemi and Connie for setting up the lunch-out. Great idea.

I do read posts of other bloggers of course though I don't go around much. I am so sure I was the least known among the attendees. Much as I want to post and post, and blog hop, there's time constraint. But honestly, after this mommy lunch, I got really enthusiastic to get to know them better and interact more. Not just the ones in there but the others as well. The good thing though is all of them are very accommodating and I did not experience any awkward moment conversing with them even if they are not familiar with me. The truth is it's as if this is not our first meeting. It was easy connecting with them.

One pleasant discovery, Julie, Cess and me live in the same area. The three of us can easily meet up and shop! Haha. I only got three pictures on my camera because I spent most of the time talking to the moms, listening to them, especially those sitting near me. I'll just steal request copies of pictures from the others. :) I would have wanted to go around, it's just one table afterall, but time was kind of short. I came in thirty minutes late and the lunch ended around 2:30 pm. Next time, I'll take the opportunity to meet and greet everyone.


(Row 1, L-R) Jane, Salen, (Row 2, L-R) Rachel, Me, Noemi, Connie, Dine, Feng, Julie, Lissa with her little Lex, (Row 3, L-R) Chat, Cess




Pretty moms, I'm thankful I signed up for this first meeting. I hope too this will be the start of our friendship and more bonding moments.

Colorful

Jelly beans, aren't they colorful? My husband loves munching on those while watching television, grape flavor is his favorite.

This is a habit already, I "consult" my daughter what could be the most appropriate picture to post in my weekly photo hunt. While browsing on my photos for "colorful", she leaned on my shoulder and said, "Am I not the one giving color to your life?". That's verbatim. She has always been sweet and expressive of her thoughts and feelings. But I never thought she already understands what phrases like those mean. My heart melted. She's my Little Miss Sunshine. :)


See the bunch of stuffed toys behind her inside the glass box? That's where her daddy caught the cell phone holder on her hand. It was fun playing that little machine, you put in two five peso coins (roughly a quarter) and you have to catch the toy by manipulating the button to move the mechanical grip. It's frustrating if it's almost there and you lose the grip. So you try and try until you ran out of coins. It was fun though. :)

Mid-Week

This week had been full of presentations - me, presenting and giving them answers to what seems like endless questions - me, watching others make their presentations, and commenting/giving feedback/asking questions that might seem endless to them too - and these are both at work and school. Days pass just like that. It's mid-week and I thought it's only Tuesday. The class extended till ten in the evening because our topic interests everyone. What else interests everyone but Money. Wink wink. I was there with my partner presenting about supply of money, the Federal Reserve and local currencies for about two hours.

I did not feel the stress from preparing all these presentations and meetings with different sets of people from all these simultaneous activities until after class tonight. But even so, I felt so relieved. I just want to relax now.

And while I am at it, here are the Thirteen Things that relaxes me.


1. Snuggling with my daughter after a busy day.
2. Calling my daughter in the middle of a hectic day at work.
3. A trip to the beauty salon of course - for foot spa and hot oil especially. Scalp massage definitely relaxes me.
4. My husband's massage. (It's a running joke between us that we should set-up a spa business and he'll be the head trainer for Swedish Massage.)
5. Comfort food like chocolate ice cream and champorado. Yum-yum!
6. A feel-good movie or tv show like Prison Break, haha! I'm giving my Prison Break DVDs a rest for a while. I've memorized all of Wentworth Miller's lines by now. It came to a point that I minimize my player when my husband comes in so he won't see I am watching Prison Break for the nth time. It gets embarrassing sometimes. Now, I'm into Heroes and he is too. But definitely, Scofield is not forgotten. That would be sacrilege. :)
7. Blogging - updating mine and reading other people's blogs.
8. Pillows all around me and soft sheets soothes me.
9. Meeting up with my friends with conversations going just about anywhere gives me a light feeling too.
10. Taking pictures gives me some fun.
11. I don't have a green thumb like my mother but flowers, plants relaxes me.
12. A good shower at night.
13. Soft music.

Of course a good sleep relaxes me. And I'm going to do just that. I'm the only one up at this hour in this house. Time to put myself to sleep. :)

Cooked/Cooking

Squidballs is one of the fun foods that I really enjoy. It's popular here in the Philippines. There are food carts and kiosks in almost all of the malls here selling dimsum including fish and squidballs. I read in one website, which I cannot remember right now the address, that there will be a squash-enriched squidball to promote a healthier 'pig-out' food. Most prefer to dip these in chili sauce but some opt for banana sauce which is a little sweet.

These meatballs are of Chinese origin. Fishballs were the first to become popular in this country since it's cheaper and it used to be classified as a street food, meaning, it was peddled by ambulant vendors in various communities like residential areas, schools, even near office establishments. They still do but as its popularity became strong, we saw a lot of improvement as how it was prepared and how it was presented. Squidballs followed suit. It made its entry too in the 'go and grab' food category. As we know these meatballs are often a part of hotpots, it's chewy characteristic is a good match for noodles. There are a lot of things we can do with these squidballs - can be soup or curry, there's even squidball ramen.

One can buy ready-to-fry frozen squiballs in supermarkets. Or you can DIY if you're that patient. :)

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I think I have to elaborate some more about squidballs. :) Based on some comments, they are thought of as something else, like literally squid balls. Squidballs are made of squid meat wrapped in flour and egg for some, a little of salt and some spices. This is the generic way to do it but click here for some Chinese Squidballs recipe if anyone's interested. :)

Goofin' Around

My first Wordless Wednesday.



My daughter loves to make faces in fun, crazy ways and this is one of her series of goofy pictures. She's actually playing The Doll Palace here and it's taking time for all the graphics to appear that's why the face. :)

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Tag: Seven

This is long overdue but it's pretty exciting to do this, posting my seven not-really-deadly sins. :) I was tagged by Bonggamom a few days back. Here goes.....

1. Lust - I will use lust here on the context of "having an overwhelming desire or craving for something". After finishing season 2 of Prison Break (PB), I have this extra urge to browse on Fox Network's site on the said series. I communicate with my fellow "inmates" on PB anonymous and indulge on my daily fix. Is this a sin? Well, not really but my husband shakes his head when he sees me peeking again on anything about the Miller guy and PB. It's a harmless indulgence. :)

2. Gluttony - I can control eating when I'm at the office. I don't take rice when I am out but when I'm home, I E.A.T. I think the appropriate word is devour. My husband and I love exploring restaurants too. I'm always the first to ask the food server what's their bestseller and that's what we usually order.

3. Greed - I'm greedy about my books. Sometimes I don't want to lend them out. It's like books are very personal things for me that I just can't let them be used by anyone. But I've mellowed down now. Knowledge is best shared. :)

4. Sloth - When will I visit the gym? I postpone it everytime providing reasons like I'm too loaded already with work and family. The thing is if one really wants something, there are ways and there are ways of accomplishing them.

5. Wrath - There are times when I am so pressured at work and the team cannot give what they are supposed to produce, I let off steam by saying things that first comes to mind not thinking of the "interpersonal management" we should always uphold in the organization.

6. Envy - I tend to wish for a lot more things. There's nothing wrong about that but sometimes I know I just have to say thank you for all the blessings we have. And sometimes, I tend to see the glass is half-empty before realizing I should maximize the half-filled glass to make it full to the brim.

7. Pride - I am proud of what I have achieved so far in my family life and my professional life. I take pride that most of them are through hard work which I have made on my own (not to belittle the guidance and inspiration my parents gave me and continue to give me of course). I am also very proud of my daughter and most of the time, my conversation with my family and friends always end up about her.

Maybe these aren't exactly sins but maybe few of them are habits I have to break the soonest. :)

Randomness on Election Day

Today's The Day, Election 2007. The indelible ink, look! It's a mess but I did my duty and practiced my right as a Filipino citizen. My husband and I didn't know that there is a lunch break. We used to be really early when we vote but this morning we woke up a little late than usual so we arrived at our designated precinct around twelve noon. We thought there's shifting.

The whole voting procedure was quick. It's just that it was so hot. Reaching home, there's just one thing on our minds...eat ice cream! I wanted some chocolate but there's none in the freezer so I settled for the mocha flavor. I had a bright idea to have some chocolate taste for it. I used the Hershey's Shell Topping which freezes in seconds. Great! It was a great match for the mocha ice cream. It gave us some relief from the heat. The ice cream shot does not look good but you get the picture of what I'm saying. :)



Just an update, as of this time, 11:20pm, the ABS CBN STI Media Count which shows that Francis Escudero is leading the pack! This is partial and unofficial but I am not complaining with the results so far.

Before Monday ends, let me share my dose of Monday Madness.


Which web browser do you prefer?
I prefer Firefox because so far it does not crash online as frequently as I had experienced with IE before. At the office though, it's IE and I still downloaded IE7. I use it a few times when I have to check if my template is also compatible with IE.

Are you a PC user or MAC user?
I'm a PC user though I'd like to have MAC too.

Will your next computer purchase happen within the next year (do you think)?
I don't think so. I just had replaced my laptop September last year and I have a new company issued laptop and the desktop does not need updating yet.

Will you purchase your next computer at a local store or via the internet?
The last time it was through online shopping. But I guess next time, I'd have it via a local store.

Have you had any experience with Windows Vista?
None yet.

What are your feelings about this new operating system (if any)?
I'm pretty excited about it. I was able to read the new features it carries. And it's just me to be excited and really curious about what is new and something that will be more efficient and effective for me.

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Posts to come, my meme from Bonggamom, the Mother's Day piece, the family trip to the north, and my food talk on various restos we visited the past days/weeks. Obviously, I need extra hours for a fair attention to my blogging life. :)

Five

I just got from my dentist for my oral rehab routine. Surprisingly, a simple filling turned out to be a root canal. I shudder at the thought. So next week I have to be back together with my tooth x-ray so my dentist-friend can start the procedure. I am having goosebumps right now. Anyway, it's Photo Hunt once again and looking for pictures was a good distraction from a little pain I have right now due to my tooth extraction. Oh, that rhymes. :)

Here's a picture of my daughter when she was five, with a flower on her ear. Count the petals, they're five! Exactly what I need. My daughter loves it whenever I post something about her on my blog. Oh, mommy can't be happier too. This picture had been our desktop wall paper for some time. Most of my computer wall papers are pictures of my daughter and my family.


This was taken in a resort in Manila on a Holy Week. This was the time when my daughter was on her second year in her swimming lessons. She loves the water so much. It takes her quite long even taking a bath. And checking on her, she's just there, under the shower, letting the water flow all over her. :)

Five

I just got from my dentist for my oral rehab routine. Surprisingly, a simple filling turned out to be a root canal. I shudder at the thought. So next week I have to be back together with my tooth x-ray so my dentist-friend can start the procedure. I am having goosebumps right now. Anyway, it's Photo Hunt once again and looking for pictures was a good distraction from a little pain I have right now due to my tooth extraction. Oh, that rhymes. :)

Here's a picture of my daughter when she was five, with a flower on her ear. Count the petals, they're five! Exactly what I need. My daughter loves it whenever I post something about her on my blog. Oh, mommy can't be happier too. This picture had been our desktop wall paper for some time. Most of my computer wall papers are pictures of my daughter and my family.


This was taken in a resort in Manila on a Holy Week. This was the time when my daughter was on her second year in her swimming lessons. She loves the water so much. It takes her quite long even taking a bath. And checking on her, she's just there, under the shower, letting the water flow all over her. :)

Childhood

I am kind of frustrated because I wasn't able to do my intended sharing for this week's photo hunt theme. It would really take so much time that's why I postponed it. I have to go over all our childhood pictures and have to scan and maybe photoshop them. I just didn't have the time. It will come in another post. Another option I wanted to post was my husband's pre-school graduation picture. Haha. But he sure didn't want it to be posted here for all the visitors to see. So anyway, here's my take on my "childhood" photohunt.

These are two of the oldest books I was able to keep. Part of my childhood, late childhood I would say. I had them since I was thirteen. Juvenile books if there's such a thing. Girls in my age bracket then go for Sweet Valley High, Sweet Dreams and the college kids go for Mills and Boon. I choose my books randomly and I have a variety of interests from Catcher in the Rye to Roald Dahl books but these two books were my favorites back then. Well, just because.




You know the story, high school girls whose friendship disintegrated because of one overachieving girl who wants all the attention all to herself. I like their names, Jennie, Hillary and Emily, known as the Awesome Threesome. Junior high's take on popularity, jealousy, forgiveness. There's one character here I love so much, Paul "Classified", smart and good looking, the guy with the silent presence, you're just aware when he's around. Haha. So high school. What I liked about this book is that it was written diary type. Each characters write their stories on their life book and that's how each chapter unfolds.

The other one, Was it Something I Said, is about Bonnie (what a name) who just have to see the best things in her to earn that confidence in dealing with other people. And what I love about this book, she dumped the popular boy. Haha. Anyway, look at the pages, they're all brown and quite battered. Oh yes, I do put a plastic cover on all my books. :)

How May I Help You?

We just had a Pizza Hut delivery. My daughter loves cheese so much and I love this new product of PH, Cheesy Pops. It's so cute, even their tagline is cute (24 pullable pops) and the commercial with the three yuppies dancing is quite catchy. Anyway, we do food deliveries every so often. I couldn't help but chuckle whenever I hear customer service reps (CSR, the one who takes our orders over the phone) from different food chains say their script.

KFC: (usually in monotone) Thank you for calling KFC Delivery. This is blabla speaking. Phone number please.

Jollibee: (usually takes a while to ring and takes around four rings before any CSR answers): Thank you for calling 87000. This is blahblah speaking. How may I help you?

McDonald's: (Recorded voice on their new product. It used to be like a kilometric voice over. Good thing now they shortened it. Ringing tone follows.) Thank you for calling McDo delivery. This is blabla speaking. Can I have your phone number please?

Pizza Hut: Thank you for calling PH delivery. How may I help you?

I can't understand why they have to ask "how may I help you". Of course it's for delivery. The thing is when I answer "I'd like to have a delivery of (insert product here)", the CSR would answer, "phone number please". They don't even acknowledge what I had just said. Then after encoding my number, they will ask now what I will order when I have just told them what I wanted. Lol. They strictly follow a script. I grin from ear to ear when I hear this. It never fails to amuse me. And never learn. Why don't I just say my number first. :) They should be taught how to go with the flow when talking to a customer. They can do that without deviating the idea of their script. Don't their higher ups call their delivery service and take note of this awkward script?

Though it sounds so impersonal, it's better that after all the greetings, they ask for the phone number. They ask so they can see from their data base if you're an old customer. They don't have to ask you your address but just confirm if the delivery will be on the said address. Then they ask your order. It's faster that way. In spite of the booboo on their script, Pizza Hut has the best customer service representative so far. They compensate it on other things. They have nice speaking voice for one. They ask you first if you want to know more about their promo. They do suggestive selling the right way. And they are sensitive enough not to push their products if they sense you've made up your mind on your orders. They're the most professional among all other delivery services.

While I'm at it, I hope the food chains will take time to be true to their advertisements when it comes to product presentation. A lot of times they are presented so well on their menu boards only to be disappointed when it's handed to you. Like this one for instance. Sometimes it makes me lose my appetite. When I was in the food industry, we always have this reminder to the managers and crews that what should be given to the customers should be "pang-commercial" so that they won't feel shortchanged.


It was like this.
When it was supposed to be like this.

*2nd picture originally from here.

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I'd like to post my Monday Madness on this Tuesday evening. MM On television shows. :)

Currently, what television commercial is your least favorite?
Political advertisements especially those from politicians I wouldn't vote for.

And which commercial is your most favorite?
Oh I love that commercial of Nescafe with the very pretty and sexy girl doing some dancing on a very hot day. Makes me want to have my own cold coffee mix. And I love the reggae theme. Check the youtube video here if you want.

Of the sitcoms that are on during "prime time" how many do you watch on a regular basis? Please share.
I'm afraid there's none that I watch regularly. Only those I tend to catch when there's nothing else I have to do. Will and Grace is one.

Is there a television series that you enjoy watching that is ending this season?
Well I do buy copies of my favorite shows on DVDs so I don't really know if they are ending on television or not.

Is there any type of program you'd like to see more of on television?
Shows like Twilight Zone, X-Files, Twin Peaks maybe. There's Supernatural but sometimes it's too predictable.

Is there any type of program you'd like to see less of on television?
Reality shows that borders on the insane. Haha. Like Bachelor show or something. Less also of those 'tween' shows in Disney Channel and Nickelodeon which don't really promote anything of real value to our tweeners. And then I won't have to do much screening with what my daughter watches if there's less of these or none at all.

Is there a series that is no longer aired that you wish would come back?
Friends, Sex and the City. Seinfeld. I miss these shows.

Do you watch re-runs of anything on television?
Yes, the ones I've mentioned above.

If I may add to these MM questions, if there's one series I'd like to see non-stop, it's Prison Break. :)

Wentworth Miller of Prison Break. But I watch it because the story is exciting. Believe me. (Picture lifted here.)

Ehem, now back to being a wife and mother. :)