candies at clark

Yesterday, I was tasked to go on an off-site plant visit in Clark, Pampanga. I left the office early with five other colleagues to inspected two industrial plants. Personally, I love plant (or site, for that matter) visits because I am amazed with what goes on there. It is just so out of the ordinary and something you just don't see everyday. It's kind of like watching How Do They Do It on NatGeo (or is it Discovery) except it appeals to more senses -- smelling the industrial chemicals, feeling the hot furnace, touching *some* of the work in process. It's amazing, and it's one of the things I love in working in this industry.

Anyhoo, we were done by lunch time, and my colleagues decided to pass by a grocery. We all know that Clark is an air base, a duty free zone and is home to several economic/industrial parks which makes it a melting pot of expats and foreign militia and one can expect exclusively imported and cheaper (duty free, remember) products in their stores. 

My other colleagues spent thousands buying imported canned goods, snacks (Piknik has been scarce in the local grocery) and candies. A lot of the items there were readily available at S&R and selected local groceries, so I didn't really bother to shop. I was originally looking for M&M's Orange (which I first bought at Subic Duty Free several years ago), but I have a feeling it has been discontinued. Plus the Clark Duty Free selection wasn't as extensive as those in Subic. I did however, find two candies that were to my liking. 

Image Source

Image Source

wander and wonder -- or vice versa ;)

On Sunday, as part of my really good friend's birthday celebration, we had planned to visit the Mind Museum at The Fort. We've been wanting to drop by ever since he saw in the newspaper that a modern science museum was being constructed. It was very fortunate that my company had sponsored part of the museum, which they honored by placing a marker inside the museum and by giving us free vouchers for distribution during our Vendors' Night. And because I was one of the few who labored for that event, I made sure that I would be rewarded with at least two vouchers. Otherwise, Adult Tickets cost Php600, but discounted tickets are available for students and teachers.

 

 

ceremonies and country men

What a way to start the week. For the second time since April, I have been asked to be the master of ceremonies (emcee) for the Monday morning flag ceremony at our company.  Today's program was good run, better than my first one, since I have gained courage to cut my script and do a bit of adlib. I hate public speaking but I recently learned how to swallow my shame and just get on with it. Perhaps the reason why I was more confident today is because I had caused a blunder, only a month ago, also on the same stage which was quickly forgiven by the whole company.

 

On September 03, following our successful Vendors' Night in Makati Shangri-la (arranged with the leadership of yours truly) I was asked to lead the recitation of the Panatang Makabayan (the old version, which IMHO is more beautiful) during the flag ceremony (featuring the previous night's festivities). I thought to myself that if I had survived emcee-ing two weeks into my work, I could handle this short segment. What I failed to realize was that the Panatang Makabayan was to be said in Filipino.

 

So I go up the stage, and start, and stutter through the word, "kapakipakinabang". I tried to say it, around 5 times until finally giving up, apologizing (yes, I said "Sorry", out loud), taking a breath and got through the word slowly. I was very much grateful for the crowd as they waited for me to gather myself. It was embarassing, more so because I found myself having a harder time talking in my mother tongue.

 

I recalled this incident to my friends from another company when we met and after laughing at me (or should I say, with me), we went into a conversation about the beauty of the Panatang Makabayan.

Image Source: http://onwardphilippines.blogspot.com/2012/03/true-pinoy-defined-in-panatang.html

 

southbeach and size 12

It's been more than a week into October! My, my, how the days pass by so quickly. WAKE UP, for September has already ended. It is the fourth and final quarter of year 2012, and what a busy quarter this is.

I would like to start this quarter by making an announcement. I AM ON A DIET. Yes, I had to say it because I have to see it through. Why, you ask? For one thing, my clothes don't fit me anymore! I've been wearing (and buying) dresses and stretchy skirts for the past six months that it didn't occur to me how much thicker I've been growing. Aside from the obvious large pooch that is my stomach, and the larger than average size of my tighs, my normally great-fitting bras feel a tad uncomfortable already. Secondly, we have a bikini baring vacation in a months time and I want to at least look decent in my photos!

I do not want to dwell on how I got to this point and I do not want to say that it was due to my rekindled romance with baking. What is important is that I am going to try and go back to that beautiful place I was before, when I felt more confident felt light on my feet and loved going out. My ever supportive mother has convinced me that the best way to go about this quest is to try the South Beach Diet.
 

A few years ago, she had gone through this diet and lost a lot. My brother was another success story. Now, I'm hoping that I will be too. So I spent the better half of the first weekend of the month preparing my meals for this week. Since I work worlds away from where I live, I don't have much time when I get home so I pre-prepared my breakfast, lunch, some dinner, and snacks for the weeks ahead. The diet requires me to skip carbs and sugars (including fruits) for 2 weeks. I've survived the first week with only one incident of hyperacidity. And even kept my commitment through a triple celebration dinner at a dessert restaurant. Yey me! :) Here is a sample of my office lunch during a good day:

Kani Asupara Mock Maki, Chicken Satay & Miso Soup (just add water!)



pretty as a princess

I feel pretty today. It has been a good day. :)

Loving the red lip. Been playing around with newly bought Maybelline Gel Liner and Very Cherry Sensational Lip Color.

I've not felt this pretty since coming home from the Vendors' Night wearing Bloom Cream Liner and remnants of Revlon Lip Butter in Tutti Frutti.

That's the farthest I go with make up. Some liner and lip color. I don't think I'll get farther than that, but whatevs.

Fourth and final quarter of the month. It's going to be a marathon. I can't wait!

<3, dee

a note to GLOBE

Dear Globe,

 

 I have been a loyal subscriber for 13 years (and counting) and throughout this time, your telecom service has been well within my tolerance, even recently what with all your major connection fails. I wish I could say the same for your customer service. I find it has degraded as the years passed by.

 

 I’ve encountered multiple bouts of terrible customer service from your company and I am saddened because these past few months, I have been campaigning (albeit passively) that GLOBE’s customer service is still better than SMART’s (partly because I really believe so, taking from friend's experiences; also because I work for a sister company; and because I would like my contacts to remain in the same network) but goodness, my arguments has become very old and invalid. It is frustrating that we, mobile users, have to choose the lesser of two evils. It is disheartening that you spew your taglines of having things MY WAY and giving it HASSLE FREE, yet give your customers anything but what you promised.

opera and oven mitts

I am so very grateful that a lot of international artists are bringing their shows to the Philippines. I am particularly happy that a lot of broadway productions have made their way to local stages. This enabled me to quickly scratch of an item in my bucketlist ("Have a night in Broadway") when I got the chance to watch Mamma Mia just a few months ago.

This week, I got to scratch it off again. About a few weeks ago, a college friend asked us if we wanted tickets for The Phantom of the Opera (Manila), because she could get some through her company for half the price. My theater buddies were up for it, and being the kaladkarin that I am, I decided to join in on the fun. Truth be told, I had little idea what the show was about. I knew that it was about a very talented composer who had a physical deformity who fell in love with the theater's singer. I wasn't even familiar with the songs.

We had tickets for the September 20 show and little by little, the excitement grew within me more, since I didn't know what to expect. Finally, the night of the show came and I met up with my friends and proceeded to CCP. The events that happened once we stepped into the theater is a blur in my mind. I was blown away. Perhaps because it was the first time I encountered the story,I was so moved. Or maybe it was because of how the Phantom sang his songs. I cry. I have no other words. It was  magnificent, emotional, engaging, simply beautiful. I particularly loved "Point of no Return" and "The Music of the Night". Not only are the lyrics beautiful, but the Phantom sang it with such emotion.


Pardon the very poor quality, this was all my phone could do.

beach braids

During my beach combing days I put on my ever reliable braids to keep my hair in place. I prefer a braided mane because it's a refreshing departure from the regular ponytails, it can tuck in thick hair better even up against strong winds, sea water and sand, and of course it looks fancier in pictures. I'm really glad my hair is "textured" (it's been 9 months since my last rebond!) so it can hold do's better.

fantasy fashion

I've been MIA since forever! Pardon the absence, I shut down when I encounter drama and it took about two weeks for me to recover. But by then it was summer, so you know. I went to here and there. Can you believe this year's heat? So perfect with sand and sea. Anyway, I would gladly recount my summer trips (the count is down, but both were amazing) but I'm saving the reminiscing for the upcoming rainy days.

And so I'm rambling.

During the past month, I have been scouring the web for outfit ideas since I'm running out of things to wear for the office. During this hunt, I stumble upon Polyvore, which I am familiar with as it is used by multiple bloggers. I signed up and the next thing I knew, I started creating sets. Most of my sets are lightyears away from my reality, but I enjoy it just the same.

set can be found here

Have fun with the rest of the day!

<3, dee

deep and desperate

I just need to get this out of my head -- so I can focus on all the other things I need to finish.

It's been a year since we became "friends" and we'd already had two episodes. It's just recently that I realized that I have developed feelings for you. Or maybe it was because I heard you were finally single that I admitted it to myself. I guess I should've asked for your confirmation first before I had gone and let myself go. What am I going to do with these feelings now that you've told me that you were not yet single. I'm tired of playing the waiting game because I couldn't seem to catch a break. But I'm not going to wear my heart on my sleeve this time -- it's not strong enough for that yet.

Oh hell. Protect me from what I want.

to know unconditional love

My dog died today. I remember looking into her eyes yesterday,asking her to get better. I think she already knew. I wish she'd held on for me.

I wish she felt from me what I felt from her.

I don't know if I would have felt better if I'd seen her as she passed. Maybe it was good that I didn't.

I'm not ready. I just can't... :'(

Vienna at 3 months

<3, dee

01101100 01101111 01110110 01100101

Not to come off a bitter but I've always believed that Valentine's day is a pointless "holiday", exaggerated by advertisements for the profitability of capitalist. It is a highly commercial day when people spent loads of money for gifts that die or expire easily.

In my 25 years of existence, I have never had a valentine. Even worse, my ex boyfriend and I broke up on Feb 14 last year. Imagine us ending our relationship amid a sea of doe eyed couples. Just perfect. 

But this year, I feel indifferent. I mean, to each his own. I don't have any other words for it. But for those who relish this day, here's an awesome representation of what you're celebrating. I hope you have a good day!

cover artwork of the book Strange Attractors -- Poems of Love and Mathematics
Binary Heart : Love is either a Yes or a No :)

Leaving you with a poem from the book, entitled Counting by Philip Larkin

Thinking in terms of one

Is easily done --

One room, one bed, one chair,

One person there,

Makes perfect sense; one set

Of wishes can be met,

One coffin filled.

But counting up to two

Is harder to do;

For one must be denied

Before it'd tried.

<3, dee

of backpacks and baggages

Yesterday, I went to climb Mt. Pinatubo with the couple who took us in while we were in Netherlands. It was my first time to go and I was quite excited because I've seen picture of the crater and it looked amazing.

We left home at 3 o'clock in the morning and reached the jump off in Capas, Tarlac before 8 am. Because the "skyway" was destroyed by Ondoy back in 2009, the 4x4 ride was only for an hour, and we had to trek for two more hours to reach the crater. But boy, the exercise was so worth it. The crater lake took my breath away. Never mind that the wind was cool and strong and I was wearing a dri-fit shirt, I felt so warm and tingly as I took a mental snap shot. I haven't gotten a copy of our pictures so the snapshots will have to remain in my head for now.

More than the crater, what I loved most from my Pinatubo trip was this segment of river that had a bed of red rocks. The first time I saw it as we rounded a corner, I immediately thought: blood -- in the good sense, though. It looked like flowing blood, so graceful in it's fluidity, so regal in the color. And it brought out the poet in me.

In the arena that is alive

with the clouds so divine

dost thou take away

your breath, nay, mine.

As the water hums

with the whisper of the wind,

the river bleeds red

for a heart ready to mend.

Tomorrow will return,

heavy albeit small.

Because I didn't want that,

I wanted it all.

<3, dee

dots and stripes

It's errand day today! :) And also nail grooming day! I had to skip on the polish to let my nails rest a while, plus my new company is a bit conservative and discourages loud polishes. Still, one of the simple joys in life is having very very very clean nails.

Speaking of my new job, yesterday was my 8th day and so far, it's been fun! I'm so lucky to have my training group mates because we are so in sync with the things that matter. It's so weird because there are times when I keep thinking that I have already met the two of them sometime in the past. They seem so familiar but I cannot figure out when or where I met them or who they remind me of. I told one of them that I feel deja vu-ish with him and he said, "If you're having deja vus, then it means you're on the right track". And I would like to believe so. This year started so right, I hope it goes on well. :)

Anyway, errand outfit!

Top - Terranova

Skirt - Dorothy Perkins (they're culottes with pockets, FTW!)

Belt - Gene Gozum

Happy Weekend!

<3, dee

purple rain

It seems I am attracted to the color purple these past few months. Last month alone, I think I have bought or worn 4 purple items of clothing.

I wore purple to work on Friday. My new company doesn't really have "casual" Fridays so I didn't want to wear jeans. So I wore the new dress I bought from Promod the other week. It's a knit dress and it made me warmer than usual, which I loved because it was really cold in my seat at the office. 

Dress - Promod
Cardigan - Landmark
Belt - Gene Gozum
Shoes - Twinky

hope helps

Yesterday, I finally had my license renewed. I was supposed to do it last Friday but LTO couldn't connect to their servers so the system was down, NATIONWIDE. I went back a day after my birthday, because of course I didn't want to spend my birthday doing errands. I got it renewed and paid an extra Php75 as penalty for late renewal. I was so pissed off because it was partly their fault that I had to come back today and not finish it last Friday as planned. I asked the cashier about this and this was how our conversation went:

     D: Wala po ba kayong consideration dahil nasa application for renewal ko naman po, January 27, pati medical po nung Friday natapos na.
     C: Nasa system na kasi yun. Basta late may penalty.
     D: Pero di ba kayo naman po may kasalanan bakit hindi na-process nung 27. Kasi down ang connection.
     C: (very defensively) Hindi ako ang may kasalanan, ha!
     D: Ah. O sige po, kasalanan ng LTO...
     C: Dapat kahapon ka nagpa-renew.
     D: Kasi po birthday ko kahapon, may plans po ako. Kasi nga po dapat nung 27 pa tapos.

And she scolds me, saying that I could renew my license at least 60 days (not sure) before it expires. I was angry, not because of the measly fee. I thought about how this incompetency affects the working class -- who has to sacrifice leaves, or worse a whole day's pay to take care of this things, and how we cannot do anything about it. And what about the fact that out of all the arguments I was saying, she picks up on the "kayo naman po may kasalanan" and defends herself? Shouldn't employees, both in government or private sector, be representatives of their organization, even just from 8am to 5pm?

I looked around the place to see if there was a hotline to call or an address to send a complaint to but there was none, and that made me even more frustrated. Sometimes, when we are unsatisfied with the product or service we get, it really is a big thing to have an outlet (preferably a branch manager, direct hotlines, etc) where you can give feedback to. There may be no guarantee that this complaint will be heard, much less acted upon, but at least a message that it is not tolerated was sent. I think that's one problem our nation has: we are so tolerant, so understanding that we become complacent and just take things as it is. But who can blame us? Who would want to frustrate themselves over things they know they have no power to change? I do. I hope you do. I believe we do. Because even if we complain day in and day out, I know lots of people still love this nation so much. And so we care about it. And so we hope. :)

I'm glad I wore this outfit yesterday, brightened up my mood immediately. :D

Top - F&H (very old, used to have puff sleeves but I ripped them out because they turned my arms into sausages)
Cardigan - gifted from Australia
Pants - F&H (i think they are men's pants)
Shoes - Keds (teal wedges!)

I love those shoes to death because it's so comfy to move in and it has waded with me through the thigh high flood along Espana to Taft (from Algeciras to Pedro Gil) during Falcon's heavy downpour (June 23, 2011). I had it thoroughly washed after that with lots of water and detergent, and it's still in one piece! The (half) price I bought it for was totally worth it!

Oh, it's the first day of my new work today! But I'm too sleepy to talk about it, so...

Later! :)

<3, dee

finders february

Having a new job means being on payroll again which ultimately means that I will have my own money again! I've zeroed out my savings during my two bum months (which included Christmas and two four-day getaways). I cannot wait for the first salary day when I can finally cross off things from my wishlist. Savings be damned -- I will spend half of what I get to go shopping.

Here is my wishlist for February.

It's unfortunate that the End-of-Season sales will end by Feb 2, not quite in time for my first salary. I do hope I can find any one item from this list to be within my budget (anything more than Php500 is expensive,  I'm cheap thrifty that way) even without the mark downs. 

It's going to be a scavenger hunt this coming month. I'm so looking forward to it. :)

<3, dee

Green Floral Kimono Shrug Warehouse, Beige Printed Kimono Shrug Top Shop, Shimmer Cardigan and Sequined Blazer Zara, Pink Electric Pleated Skirts Bazaars, Open Toed Nude Pump Payless, Open Toed Nude Wedges and Nude Wedge Pump Christian Loubotin

happy birthday

Aside from painting my nails silver to mark my 25th birthday, I have decided to create a new blog. If I follow my routine, this post would contain packets of information about myself and what I would probably be posting about -- an abstract if you must. But considering the success of my previous blogs, I'm going to forego the tradition and let succeeding entries form my complete self; I am bound to talk about everything about me sooner or later.

I would like to think that I will still have the time and energy to blog once I rejoin the ranks of full-time employees, while attending masters classes two nights a week. I only have a day left before starting in my new work and it would most likely be spent completing my driver's license renewal and application for an SSS ID. (I have been working for three years, and I haven't gotten my SSS ID yet.) I am very excited to start working again, I am both thrilled and nervous for what I'm going to do and who I'm going to meet. More than that, I am also looking forward to work in close proximity with my old-work friends (my new office is in the same compound -- we share canteens, sports facilities and parking areas). I know this is going to be really good. I hope other people can join me in continuing my awesome journey.

What is a first post without an introductory photo, right? Here goes!

25!

Later!

<3, dee :)