Long vs. Short

At long last, I have finally decided to have a hair cut last Saturday.  It’s been years since I changed my hair style. I can still remember the day when I had a drastic change of hair style. It was in December of 2002. From shiny long black straight hair to ordinary looking bob cut. I went from a Rejoice wannabe model to hey-pare-what’s-up-with-you hairstlyle. Everyone got surprised with that 360-degree change in my mane do then. The hairstylist even asked me, “Ma’am, nagbreak ba kayo ng BF mo? Bakit biglang iksi ang gusto mo?” So kelangan, heart-related ‘pag magpapagupit? Hehehe!

Anyhow, my new hair style is not as drastic as that. I just got a bit tired my boring mala-shampoo commercial look for quite a while now so I had some inches cut off. Here’s the before-and-after shot:

I know what you are going to tell me: “Mas ok yung long hair!” A friend already told me that he likes me with a longer do. Eh nagupit na noh?! Hahaba din yan! Hehehe! I’m still thinking though if I should have it cut a bit shorter. Abangan ang susunod na kabanata… hehehe!

But you know, there are some pros and cons with this new hair length:

Pro: Some fresh new look for me.

Con: Still not trendy looking.

 

Pro: Lighter feeling.

Con: Can no longer tie it using a chopstick (I have a talent for that! LOL!)

 

Pro: Less shampoo consumption.

Con: Need to use styling products to keep it more prim.

 

Pro: Easier to get dry.

Con: Need to blow dry to prevent fly aways.

 

Bottomline, my long hair is much better and easier to manage. So, why the change of hair style??? Nakipagbreak nga sa BF! Whehehe! Wala lang, just wanted a new look! LOL!

February 2009 Calendar

Thy Will Be Done

I was gazing at a painting which looked back at me. It observed me anywhere I went. It was Christ inviting me to see myself teh way He sees me. Sometimes it simplu takes closing my eyes and taking a deep breath amidst all that surrounds me… not thinking anymore, not even feeling, but simply being aware of His presence in my canvass, in my brush and palette. Thy will be done. Everything feels all right. My painting has become my prayer.

Joey Velasco

 

Kinda freaky…

My weekend mall strolls are often spent with my mom. But last Sunday was a different one as I spent it with my 19-year old niece and young lady neighbor. Well, we basically went to the mall to watch Brad Pitt’s recent movie, Benjamin Button. Oh sorry, I’m not talking about that one as I’m no movie critic. But hey, it was really good! LOL! 

We were apparently late for the 3pm screening so we opted to eat lunch first as we were all dead hungry. Yep, we haven’t eaten lunch and it was past 3pm. Yay! And so, just to pass more time, we decided to do some window shopping (read: Winkie did not buy anything for herself — yep, I successfully did that! Yipee!!! LOL!).

As we were strolling inside the mall, our lady neighbor asked that we go to Book Sale. Since I’m not much of a book fan, I just browsed those from outside the store. And this particular book caught my attention:

 I was kinda surprised to see something like this. I jokingly asked my niece if she want to buy it and she said, “P140?! Ang mahal naman, ‘Ta! Kung P80 lang yan, bilhin ko.” Had it been P8o and my niece would really buy that freaking thing??? *goosebumps*

I even got more surprised when I read the warning tag:

And they really have to tell that “Voodoo really works”??? LOL!

 

Dragons in 2009

I’m really not into this Feng Shui or astrology thing but I enjoy reading predictions. I read horoscopes from time to time and checks whether it will come true or not. And if positive things don’t come true, no biggie. As I said in my previous post, I really believe that we make our own fate. 🙂

Anyhow, I tried to check what is in store for a Dragon babe like me. And here’s what I got from moonslipper.com:

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The Dragon

Assertive, energetic and talented are all words to describe the Dragon personality. On the other hand, the Dragon has a tendency to be condescending and tactless without realising it. They generally enjoy robust health and tend to be very successful in anything they turn their hand to.

Forecast for 2009 Most Dragons will have an increase in income during 2009 which will be very welcome. They will be strong and focussed in pursuing their objectives for the year. Dragons should take their time and appreciate any valuable advice they are given. Time should be made to enjoy with hobbies and fun activities. Gossip could feature strongly during the year and all Dragons should take care not to indulge in idle chit chat lest in backfires on them! Socially, May to August will be a fun time with many Dragons taking their romances more seriously. March and April will bring intriguing job offers for those seeking a change in direction.

Interesting Dragon Facts:
Zodiac Stone: Amethyst
Special Flower: Sweet Pea
Best Hours: 7-9 am
Season: Spring
Horoscope Colors: Black, Gold

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Hmmmm… seems like a nice forecast for 2009, eh?! But let’s try to scrutinize some of them:

• Most Dragons will have an increase in income during 2009 which will be very welcome. Do I smell moolah here??? Well, my cute little wallet is way too accommodating for bunches of bills to come. Pasok lang ng pasok! Hehehe!

•  Time should be made to enjoy with  hobbies and fun activities. Does this mean travel and shopping? LOL! Lemme think about that first because I feel it’s not practical to travel and shop these days. But given the chance and moolah, I’d like to go and see Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia or Thailand. Pero pag limited budget, Baguio lang, ok na! Hehehe!

• Socially, May to August will be a fun time with many Dragons taking their romances more seriously. Yey, I smell lovelife!!! LOL! May to August daw… abangan natin yan ah! Hehehe!

•  March and April will bring intriguing job offers for those seeking a change in direction. New assignment? Another transfer? Pirate agreements? What could this be? Even I got intrigued by this. Is being a housewife an intruiging job offer? Pwede di ba? Hehehe!

On those interesting facts though, I beg to disagree in most of them:

• Zodiac Stone: Amethyst (I hate violet kaya!)
• Special Flower: Sweet Pea (Eh violet din ‘to noh?!)
• Best Hours: 7-9 am (Tulog pa ako sa oras na ito!)
• Season: Spring (Haller, walang Spring sa Pinas!)
• Horoscope Colors: Black, Gold (As in gold? Black pwede pa!)

Anyways, I really hope that the Year of the Ox brings good fortune not only for Dragons but to all the animals in the zoo us all.

Happy Year of the Ox

It was indeed a happy Chinese New Year’s celebration at work yesterday. I came in a bit late (in fact, I came early as usual, LOL!) and saw a bunch of officemates, close to a hundred pax I guess, all lined up at the ground floor lobby. I initially said to myself, “Darn, the elevator is broken again! Haba ng pila ah!” Then I recalled, “Oh yes, it’s Chinese New Year!” So, I hurried to my workstation, settled my bag in my mobile, dragged my colleague and went back down to join in the celebration.

But before joining the pile of colleagues, I passed by the altar-like area which was plagued by incense wishers. Of course, I wouldn’t let that chance pass by so I grabbed a stick, lit the incense and put it in a bowl full of sand. Sabi magwish daw, kaya habang tinusok ko sabi ko, “Boyfriend lang po!” Kuha pa sana ako ng lima for the same wish para matupad talaga! Hehehe!

Our Socials Committee did their opening salvo activity with a bang as there were dragon dance and laughing Buddah. (My apologies, I wasn’t prepared. Just took pics using my ever-lowtech cellphone :-P)

That's the Dragon Dance at the lobby.

And the Dragon went inside our Main Branch to bring more blessings and fortune.

And another one, dancing outside the office for some festive feel.

I guess, any Chinese celebration wouldn’t be complete without those fortune cookies. So, I grabbed one and hoped to have a better fortune this year.

This cookie holds my fortune.

And when I cracked the cookie, I found a white paper inside that said: Willingness to compromise is often a sign of great strength. Then I though, “Ok, not too exciting message.”

One department head approached me and said her message doesn’t fit her. I read her fortune and asked her that we exchange fortunes. Her’s said: Prepare yourself for a grand time. An admirer steps up to make your heart soar.

Oh di ba naman, I fulfilled my first fortune. I did compromise with my colleague and got a better fortune (as far as I’m concerned). LOL!  Besides, they say that it’s better to make and choose your own fortune… so I now choose to stick on that 2nd one! Makes sense, eh?! LOL!

And as they say in Chinese, Kung Hei Fat Choi!

Little messages to God…

As a standard practice, I would always turn on my pc and open my office email as soon as I get in the office. But before clicking on the official mails, I would normally read the personal ones first. And there was one email entitled “Little Messages to God”. I opened it quickly and learned it was sent by a colleague from the neighboring department.  That one funny email really made me laugh. It was basically a compilation of some funny letters slash wishes to God as written by innocent little kids.

I guess, you have already encountered this email before. But still, I want so share some of the best messages that gave me chuckles. (Naughty side comments are from me, LOL!) 

(Note: The email did not include the source of these photos so I could not post any source links here.)

Hmmm… in fairness, magandang suggestion ito for popoluation control. Very good, Jane! Very good suggestion! 😉

 

Medyo conservative si Neil ah! Hehehe!

 

Hahaha! Baka naman pag nakakita ng puncher itong si Ruth eh magbago opinyon nya! Hehehe!

 

Query lang naman! Malay ba nya kung di American si God… baka di maintindihan ang prayers pag English! 😛

 

Whahaha! Ano ito? Customer complaint? Gusto pa yata isoli ang baby brother nya!

 

Malamang may galit itong si Nan sa magulang o kapatid nya! Hehehe!

 

Di naman obvious na galit talaga si Denise dyan sa Jennifer Horton na yan! 😀

 

I-bribe ba si God? Pero pinagdamutan naman ng pera at chess set nya! Hahaha!

 

Hahaha! Kung magkasama pala sila sa isang room ng kapatid nya he nagpatayan na rin sila! Heheheh! Oi Larry, kina Adam and Eve ka nga magreklamo ha… wag kay God! Hehehe!

These innocent tots are indeed very hilarous, don’t you think? 😀

Happy weekend everyone!

Thanksgiving, indeed…

This year, January 17 was a special day for the company I work for. The most awaited Thanksgiving Day was celebrated. It’s normally held on the 3rd Sunday of the year and usually attended by the top honchos, valued officers (rank of managers and up) and top performers of the bank. (Hey, I wasn’t there because I’m a valued officer or something. I just needed to assist my boss with the awards — yep, just like the Oscars! With trophies and all :P).  The event is basically a celebration of the collective efforts and hardwork of all employees  for the past year. It is normally commenced with a Eucharistic celebration (this is one of the best things I like with the company I work for, they always put God first). Then, our Chairman would take the rustom for a while to make a performance review of the past year then segue to the new challenges for the current year. This takes some time and ends just before lunch time. The entire afternoon is then spent to give awards to worthy-to-recognize performers of the bank. And the most awaited moment of all and the highlight of the event (I guess, I’m just speaking for myself) is the distribution of those brown envelopes… or the so-called, profit sharing payslips! 😉

Ang haba ng intro, profit sharing lang pala tumbok noh?! Hehehe! Well, that’s indeed one heck of a blessing to thank for 😉

I think that our corporate themes are always well thought of. Last year, we lived by the theme Go for G.R.E.A.T. in 2008 and the acronym G-R-E-A-T stood for our specific goals. This year, in the midst of the global economic crisis, our corporate battle cry is G.E.A.R. up in 2009! Oh yes, the G-E-A-R acronym stands for the company’s thrust for this year.

Our 2009 battle cry was taken into another level as our advertising department displayed a nice race car in the lobby slash meeting hall of  the Manila Polo Club. It simply conveyed the message that we truly are in a stiff competition this year and should aim to win the race ;). And I didn’t think twice to have my photo taken in that GEAR Up photo op area.

Ang haba na naman ng segue, gusto lang pala ipakita ang picture! Hehehe! So here’s my solo shot.

But hey, I look like I was in Formula 1 in Singapore, di ba? LOL!

And now, a group shot with some other young officers…

 That hot race car was truly an eye candy in that Thanksgiving event… and one helluvah nice photo op venue for most of the attendees! LOL!

My Many Firsts in 2009…

It has been 4 days since I finally configured migrating all my posts from friendster to wordpress. And so, as my first entry here in wordpress, I’d like to welcome y’all to my new online home. No new spice on this new site though. It’s the same old A-Journey-Inside-Wingkai’s-Mind blogsite… just a collection of my thoughts blogged out in the open. 😛

But before I go on, I want to give some credits to two friends: revsiopao for bugging me to transfer to wordpress so he won’t be able to experience difficulty in loading my page 😛 and snglguy for walking me through in this migration thing and giving me a nice url name ;-). Salamat ng marami uli! (Yan na ang listahan ng fans and followers ko. Todo na yan! Hehehe!)

So, aside from my first post here in wordpress, here are the other “firsts” I experienced slash happened as opening salvo for my 2009:

Attend Feast of the Nazarene. I’m no Nazarene devotee but Mommy has made a personal tradition to hear mass in Quaipo every January 9. She used to go to there alone as she could not force me to hop out of my bed to hear the 5am mass. But when we learned of her cataract problem some months ago, I no longer allow her to leave the house alone. And so this time, I was forced to accompany her to Quiapo despite the thought that we need to brave those sea of devotees that will plague Plaza Miranda. Oh well. I was darn right. Here are some of the devotees who got stucked at the underpass exit and opted to hear mass at that very same spot.  

Mommy and I opted to hear mass on that same area for a while but later on moved to a more conjusive spot… away from those vendors and manangs who irritatingly sell their stuff to praying church goers.

Despite my not-so-happy Quiapo experience, I was glad I was able to accompany Mommy and did not let her miss her personal Nazarene tradition.

See a Dermatologist. I’m really not gifted with flawless “malasutlang” face so I would normally go to a facialist for my not-so-regular skin maintenance. But my recent zit problem was really way too upsetting that I had to see a fulltime slash accredited dermatologist for a professional check up. Oh well, I opted to use my HMO so I get to save on consultation fee. My HMO referred me to one in Manila Doctors. It was a tiring experience for me though to wait for my name to be called as I was way too sleepy and tired then. And after an hour, it was my turn.

The doctor had her usual routine to ask my history, usual regiments and other things that may have caused my zit problem. On top of the usual medications, she did cortisone injection on each of my zit. This irritating zit thing really cost me a lot as I had to buy these loads of stuff: 

Yes, I have saved on the P500 professional fee but my pocket wasn’t spared from these expenses:

Cortisone Injection….     P1,000

Benzoyl Peroxide ……     P1,000

Sunblock Lotion………      P400

Tetralysal (14 cap)…..     P980

Cetaphil Bar Soap……      P360

That darn zit cost me a freaking P3,740. But hey, being happy with the result….. PRICELESS! And I need to go back to that same derma sometime next week for some facial cleaning. Darn, it will surely cost me more moolah! Oh well, now I have  agree that it really pays to be beautiful. Ay teka, parang mali ah?! I think it should be: I need to pay to be beautiful! Huhuhu!

Meet a Pro-Blogger. After that derma stint, I finally had the time to hand my calendar promise to a pro-blogger who recently frequents my site. (Sorry Kuya Rudy, I had to include this. At Lolo, wag ka na magreklamo, pro-blogger talaga ang gustong kong term! Whehehe!). It was a kinda cool experience for me to personally meet someone from the blogosphere and make new friendship.

Stroll at Trinoma and Eat Pizza at Bigoli. Snglguy was kind enough to take me to Trinoma when he learned that I have been to that mall. Yeah, it’s really a bit too surprising for a mall rat like me to have not been able to step in to the holy grounds of such grand mall in the metropolis. And other first for me was to eat at this nice resto called Bigoli. Am not sure though if I got the name right. Or was it Big Oli? Anyhow, here’s the photo of that very nice resto. 

 We opted for some Bacon Strambolli and All Meat Pizza (large!).

 

These two scrumptuous foods were way too filling… and truly very yummy!!! Not to mention, quite affordable huh?! 😛

(To Kuya Rudy, salamat po uli sa treat! :-D)

File an Emergency Leave. Oh, this one is not a happy thing. You see, ELs are filed only when something bad happened. Apparently, I needed to go on EL today to take care of my Mom as she slipped last night on our way back home from SM Manila for an unscheduled mid-week grocery. She doesn’t feel too well as of this writing, but have rested and slept the whole day. She looks a bit well now though as compared last night. But on times like these, we don’t miss to make the situation a bit lighter. I even teased her that she would no longer be able to come with me in my future out-of-the-country strolls if she doesn’t get well soon. That’s bad of me, eh?! LOL! And sorry, this is not photo supported! Di ata photogenic si Mommy ngayon eh! LOL! Seriously though, I want to ask a big favor to please include in your prayers Mommy’s fast recovery  🙂

Cook Chix Adobo. Oh yes, you read it right! After 3 long decades, I finally tried to cook the most famous Filipino dish of all… the ADOBO! Kitchen is really not my place in the house and never did I try to squeeze myself in to that part of the house. I felt it’s a bit too crowded for Mom and me. LOL! Naaah, that’s not the real reason. I just hate doing those tedious pre and post meal activities (read: cooking and washing the dishes) so I try to stay away from the kitchen. And whenever Mom asks me to cook, I would offer a trip to the mall as my usual chefs namely Mr. Bee, McDonie, Kenny, Wendy, Capt. Shakeys and the like are always ready to serve my hungry little stomach.

Oh well, this Mommy-knocked-off-today incident broke that let’s-go-to-the-mall ritual as I tried my hands on my very first chicken adobo.

O di ba naman, parang nilaga lang sa dami ng sabaw?! LOL! But hey, it got served!

Mommy and Pam, our home companion, said my adobo tasted good! Pandilatan ko ba naman sila eh! Hehehe!

Happy with Globe, Sad with…

I got a surprise call from Globe Telecom this morning. Apparently, they were following up the result of a complaint I filed last month. In fairness, they were very prompt huh?! More than 30 days! *sarcastic*

Oh well, sometime early December, I experienced this SMS problem. I can’t send text messages to a number in Ireland. Ooops, don’t ask who is the owner of that number… I definitely won’t tell. Some other time, may be! LOL!

Anyhow, my friend and I were really pissed to know that we can’t do a two-way SMS. You see, my friend can call and text me from Ireland and he (oops nadulas, male friend! hehehe!) can’t receive anything from me. Pero naisip ko, parang mas maganda yun kasi di ako magagastusan ng husto. Ang mahal kaya ng international text, P10 per send!!! Hehehe! (Shhhh… tagalog muna gamitin ko, baka magawi dito yung kaibigan ko at mabasa itong post ko. Hahaha!) But still, I made an effort to call friends working for Globe to check on my problem and even made more effort to go to business centers to file my complaint. Imagine that? Just for a text issue huh?!

I was a bit too disappointed with their initial reply. They claimed that nothing is wrong in terms of sending SMS to Ireland and pointed the other provider’s possible technical problems. Duh?!?! That Ireland telecom can send me text messages nga di ba??? Ano vah???

Since I felt that my complaint was going nowhere, I opted to use  Sun Cellular for this international texting thing. But it wasn’t really the solution to my problem. My friend and I later found out that I can’t receive txt messages from that number. How unlucky could we get?! LOL! And so, I ended up with a work-around solution… I just used 2 sim cards: Globe for my friend’s incoming SMS and Sun Cellular for my outgoing text. So, I needed to bring 2 cellphones all the time. And I hated that! Hmp!

Going back to this morning’s call, I was happy to know that my complaint didn’t go unnoticed. And guess what? I can now send sms to Ireland! Yey! (Pero di pa rin ako masyadong masaya ha! Mahal nga kasi talaga ng text! Hahaha!)

And so, I’m back to being a happy and satisfied Globe subscriber.

Oh, about that sad thing in my title… it’s a ZIT! And not just a zit… a very big one! And it’s making me way too upset. Haaay…

 

P.S. This is not a paid post by Globe Telecom. But if Globe wants give me some financial credits  for this, oh well, I would gladly accept the moolah! Whehehe!

January 2009 Calendar

It’s my second year to purchase this special inspirational calendar from the Salesians and just like last year, I shared it to select friends and relative as my gift to them. And as promised in one of my blogs, I will continue on sharing with you each of Joey Velasco‘s painting as my monthly opening salvo.

So now, here’s the January painting:

 

Hele

Something within tells me not to receive communion at that 3:00 pm Sunday mass. I felt gripped by a sense of shame and deep turmoil. As I warmed my bench, I saw three young men, all with Down Syndrome, stand up from different pews and fell in line to receive the Eucharist. I whispered to my wife, “Buti pa sila mangungumunyon.” She smiled and just looked at me, “Ano, ipe-pain mo na naman sila?” More than the visual interest, I closed my eyes and wanted at that moment to enter their world.

With the distinct line across their palms called Sydney palmar line, the received the Host. They have small hands and short fingers but their touch can move the unmovable, and thaw the coldest of hearts. I noticed that they have different shades of almond eyes that only seek the goodness in people; they are neither cynical nor judgemental. Their mended little hearts love unconditionally and forever. All these years, I thought that they just have extra chromosomes, only to discover the gracious reality that they are extraordinary children loved by God.

– Joey Velasco

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

As I was typing this entry, I had short recollection on that great story about those special kids. I’m really not new to kids like them. When I was in grade school, I was personally exposed to and had direct contact with them. It was then when I realized that they are indeed very special. And I have always thought that their innocence make them extra-special.

Just like artist Joey Velasco, I also hope that we all have the same innocence… I guess, it’ll make life a little less complicated.

Happy January and a blessed 2009 to all!