Time After Time

It's been a while since my last proper post and I don't really have a valid excuse except to say that I've been lazy and was consciously avoiding my own blog because of an unforeseen circumstance. But today I found myself backreading Patty Laurel's blog and while I generally love all her posts, nothing affected me as much as her entry on Time.

In her August entry, Patty was able to describe my exact thoughts and feelings about being on time and people who aren't as conscious about being late. Being late is one of my top pet peeves. All my watches are advanced and I'm almost always early for my appointments. It may be a type A personality trait, but wasting time just rubs me the wrong way. Being late speaks so much not just about how you value your own time, but how your respect other people's time as well.

Here are two paragraphs from her entry that summarizes my view on the matter:

A person's relationship with time is very telling. Punctuality does not make you a stickler, it makes you considerate of others. Of course, the same consideration allows you to be flexible and allow for a bit of a grace period in between the minutes. You'll forgive a 9:07am arrival for a casual 9:00am meeting but if it's a visa application, job interview, or a client presentation 9:00am roughly translates to 8:30am if you really want to make a good impression. 

It's not cute or cool or funny to be late, if you think about it---it actually is quite rude. In other countries, being on time is the only way to go. I can imagine being late in Japan, Germany or Singapore is like having LBM---it's something that could happen to anyone but it's something you would try your very best to avoid, something you'd be embarrassed about and something that could ruin your entire day and your dealings with others. Unless you have a valid reason like an emergency or a health related issue, then being late shouldn't become an option. 

You can read the entire entry here.

Life Bits - Hello 2014!

Happy new year dear readers! I hope you had a wonderful celebration with your loved ones. New Year is one of my favorite holidays, and whenever I think about it I always imagine us jumping from the ending year into the new one. And although I know I won't grow an inch taller, I've made a tradition of jumping whenever the clock struck midnight. It's just more fun welcoming the year that way. :)

So a lot of people make resolutions at the start of the year. That isn't really my thing. What I do is take my planner and write down some goals. Usually it includes reading more books (in 2013 I read 20, yay!) and finish personal projects. I'm still working on my photo wall but I'm targeting to finish that this month. Making this new blog was one of my goals last year.

I haven't written any goals for 2014 yet, but I do have a mantra to go by. I've always been a creature of habit, and my brother calls me anal because I like order in certain things. I have my go-to items. Like in eating for example. I always go for the pasta dish and because I don't drink soda, my default drink is iced tea. If you look in my closet, you'd see a lot of blacks, whites, and grays. Jay noticed I often get flower-printed tops or dresses. Yada, yada yada, you get the picture.

So this year, I decided to...Try something new.

I started it back in December when I ended up eating at Mamou after a long day at work. Lorenzo's Truffle Cream is one of my comfort foods but having had pasta the day before, I ended up ordering the Kurobuta Sinigang. I ended up liking it! And then I realized, there is still so much to try, a lot of things to discover.

So for this year, whenever I get the chance, I will stray from the usual and try something off the beaten path.

What's your 2014 mantra? :)

Life Bits: Dealing with compliments

I saw this video on Ms. Tina's blog. I so agree with this! Most women or people in general do not know how to deal with compliments. They shrug it off and then say something negative about themselves. For example, when you tell them they lost weight, they'd say something like "No, I actually gained weight!" I do that sometimes too, but we should really not make a habit of it. Watch the video and tell me if this isn't true!



There was a time someone complimented what I was wearing and I said, "Oo nga e [ang ganda]. Thank you!" And she laughed because my reaction wasn't the usual "Hindi naman..."

I love when people compliment me and I thank them for it because it means I made the right choice in buying something or choosing to wear that something (a dress, a pair of shoes, a shade of lipstick).

Guys and girls, there's nothing wrong with saying thank you when someone throws you a compliment. It builds self-esteem. :)

It's Definitely Summer!

This heat is something else, huh? I'm a person who gets cold easily, and I still use a kumot (flat sheet) even when there's no air conditioning. But lately, I often wake up in the middle of the night with my neck and nape sweating, even when my fan is right next to my face. I have to turn on the aircon so I can fall back to sleep! And don't even get me started on going outside. I'm lucky I stay in the office most of the day. The five-minute walk from the MRT station to the office is horrible.Make sure to hydrate often! I just saw a headline that a councilor re-electionist died of heat stroke in Camarines Sur.

Summer goodies! Juicy strawberries & my ultimate comfort food: Good Shepherd Ube Jam.

Speaking of hydration, my mom just came from Baguio and she brought home strawberries for me. And that only calls for one thing: Strawberry Smoothies! :) It is so refreshing and what I like most about my homemade smoothie is it doesn't contain the syrup (read: liquid sugar) that most commercial fruit shake stalls use. Here are the four simple ingredients for my strawberry smoothie: fresh strawberries, ice, milk, and honey! Easy peasy.

Make your fruit smoothies at home! It's cheaper and healthier.

Now on to the real point of this entry. When I'm feeling down, I usually turn to this quote from Rita Mae Brown's Hiss of Death:

photo from Pinterest

And right now, I have two of the three things: someone to love (my boyfriend) and something to look forward to (an upcoming trip abroad). I just need something to do! No, my work doesn't count. We need to learn something new every day.

It's perfect because this summer, so many classes and workshops are happening that you just need to choose what interests you and voila! You add something to your noggin' and you make productive use of your time.

I am so excited because I've signed up for two classes happening this month and next month. I won't tell you what they are just yet, but I am happy because I know it's something I can further hone and who knows, maybe even earn from.

What are your summer plans? :)

My Birthday Week

I celebrated my 26th birthday on March 24, a Sunday, but a week before, I started posting photos on Instagram and kept using the hashtag #birthdayweek. There were just little treats I allowed myself to have since it was my birthday. But really, it was my excuse for spending money. Heehee. Here are some of the photos.

 One of my gifts to myself was a Casio Vintage watch in rose gold. I have been eyeing this model for months, but I was waiting for a good deal. I finally found one through Vintage Casio Watch, and one Saturday I met up with the shop's owner and got my watch. I chose this model because everybody else is wearing the A168 gold one, and I already have a gold watch. :)

On Sunday, I did my grocery shopping and cooked Chicken and Broccoli with Creamy Mustard Sauce. It was a very easy recipe, which I got from Pinterest (follow me!).

MAC lipsticks from the Archie Collection. I was so giddy when these babies arrived. I am an Archie fan so it was a real treat that they collaborated with my favorite make-up brand.

On Thursday after morning worship service, I went to Charlie's for a big breakfast. I got the Charlie's Platter, which included unlimited servings of buttermilk pancakes and your choice of sides. I chose two sunny side up eggs, bacon, and hash brown. It also comes with refillable coffee or iced tea. For P320, I think it's a good deal. It was so filling, I wasn't able to ask for a second serving of pancakes! If you live in the Kapitolyo neighborhood or Greenhills area, give it a try. They have other breakfast items on the menu, and they serve them daily from 7:00am until 11:00am.

Copies of Falling Together by Marisa Delos Santos and The Fault In Our Stars by John Green. I've been reading e-books since the year started and I just missed reading hard copies. I know I still have a lot of unread books, but hey, you can never have enough books in my opinion. :)

A day before my birthday, I treated my office friends Marye and Ten to lunch at Kasbah, The Fort. I got a good deal from Groupon which included a set meal for four. One of us wasn't able to make it so we had more than enough delicious food split among the three of us! Then they treated me to yummy cakes (Cookie Dough and Tres Leches) from Chelsea. We looked at Chez Karine, Gourmandise, and Larry's Bar before finally deciding on Chelsea.

More shopping finds. Organic soaps and Filipino artisanal chocolate from Echostore, and my best shopping find so far this year. I was looking for a dress for Holy Supper, and also bright jeans to go with a certain summer top. While we were at The Fort, we went to American Eagle Outfitters and I almost bought "jeans" (they were actually made of cotton) that cost P2000. Good thing I didn't because I found one at Forever 21 on sale! I didn't know about it and was ready to pay the full price, but I was pleasantly surprised when the cashier told me it was marked down to P719! Such a great steal. And the fabric was real denim too!

Of course, the highlight of my week was my birthday itself. On March 24, I performed my choir duties and received Holy Supper. As a member of the Church of Christ, this was an important occasion and I feel so blessed to celebrate it on the same day as my birthday. Because my family had their own church duties to fulfill (we live far apart) and my boyfriend is currently working in Vietnam, I didn't really have anywhere to go for lunch. So I ate Rub Ribs after church, then slept until the afternoon. Then my mom called to pick me up for my birthday dinner, yay!

We first went to Solaire to check out their offerings. Now I have to tell you that my mom is a frequent visitor of Resorts World Manila (I always joke around that she's a stockholder already), and it is her go-to place whenever she has visiting friends because we can eat at restaurants and shop with her card points. But since Solaire just opened, we wanted to check it out. Well, we ended up back at Resorts World, anyway! Haha. Mom wasn't too impressed with their buffet spread and prices so we went back to her first love (I'm joking mom!).

We ate dinner at Ginzadon, which is a Japanese-Korean fusion restaurant. RWM employees Ram and Karen joined us for dinner and Mom gave them the rundown about Solaire (she was there during the opening week). Just a tip, if you want to be good friends with my mom, talk to her about casinos. You'd instantly click!

To end my birthday on a sweet note, Ram and Karen gave me a free walnut cake from Maxim's Cafe! Such a treat. It looks so beautiful and tastes really good!

Throughout the day I received text messages, Facebook notifications, Twitter mentions and Instagram comments, all greeting me a happy birthday. That's what I love most. You get one day a year when people give you good wishes and are happy you were born and became a part of their lives. They can do that anytime, but birthdays are always special. So it's touching when even people who aren't that close to you make the effort. I even got a call from an old friend, who now works in Qatar! I was so touched.

Thank you every one and cheers to being 26! :)

Dear Future Self, this is you at 26.