Just thinking out loud! ;-)

Hi guys..it's been awhile since my last post. up until now, my internet connection is still a dream...hehe...not that my boss doesn't want me to have one...it's just that my computer unit is the oldest in this part of the regional office...it is not internet-ready..and it doesn't have a sound-card--for pete's sake... well, i must admit i miss my mini-laptop back at ONB... even my IBM antique unit...whew!

nevertheless, things are doing really great with me here (despite not being able to receive my salary for the last 30 days yet and experiencing all the disappointing things here in gensan.. i'e, traffic violators, drivers who take advantage of their passengers, smelly market place..etc..)... people here are nice and friendly... there's not much pressure with my job and i get to go home early (like 4:30pm) during most days... it's a completely different routine from the one i had for the last 7 years! SEVEN YEARS! i couldn't believe i spent that long in a "pressure-heavy job"... but i really don't consider it a waste of my time...there had been so much learnings with that experience...

okay, stop the melodrama! let me just tell you about the people i work with here...
i am currently working as data encoder here at the regional office... my work is sooo clerical... i think that if i am too low in self-esteem, i'd die in frustration and disappointment..hahaha! but hey! i'm not! so thank GOD... i chose this, after all... basically, i am working with three other people here at the Operations Department of the REgional Office... Mam Luz (the BOA Head), Sir Ike, and Ivie...

Mam Luz is motherly. I like her. She always buys food for merienda..hehe
Sir Ike is very funny... His punchlines are wacky... people here say he's suplado... i also think so, but nevertheless, i like him because he brightens my day with his crazy, wacky punchlines...we often laugh around when he is his funny self... ;-)
Ivie is sweet... she really made me feel at home during my first days here... she's so young... just 21..but she's good...---- well,no doubt..MSUan man gud! hehehe...

All in all, I am getting by here. Things are less complicated... SErene... despite not having all the renumeration i had back then (as if it was soo high..hehe)... truly, money is not everything... it could not buy peace and happiness...

Well,that's all folks...See you all on tating's bridal shower. miss you so much...


BORA

Just thinking out loud! ;-)

My Cagayan de Oro Trip

Yes, guys, I am writing this at 1:14 AM. - VIP Hotel (CGY)

As of the moment, I am in Cagayan de Oro. As much as I don't want to travel as what the elders would recommend for a bride-to-be, I have no choice. I have to do my job. My counterpart had been on maternity leave and I need to cover for her! HAY!

I left Davao yesterday at 1:00 PM. It was a long 10-hour bumpy bus ride going here. The on-going road constructions seemed endless. When I arrived, muntik pa ako maluko ng driver ng taxi. (When could we Filipinos learn the value of not taking advantage of your fellow poor kind? hehehe)

Well, the trip was worth it. I was able to do what I intended to do here.
Bonald and I were supposed to meet. However, our schedules didn't meet.

Hers, I'm sorry, I wasn't able to reply to your text (as always)...I will get back to you once I finalize my list. Thanks for understanding =)

Later, I will be traveling back to Davao again! =(

DARNA!

Russell is turning FOUR

Our most favorite son is turning four on the 30th day of April.
Pre and post gifts are very much appreciated.. :-)

Papa and Mama loves you so much! See you soon son.



Bordie and Weng

...the Exodus...

Finally!!! I have transferred to my new house. Weng and Bordie adopted me for almost a month!!! And now.....

I'm still struggling with the clutter...the house is still a mess...but me and my housemates are slowly getting by. Soon enough, it will be okay.

Several stuff are still with the Carillo's ( Weng and BOrdie, that is, in case you don't know...hehehe... )...the fridge, the AC, the washing machine. I'm thinkng of selling these things out as my housemates have the same appliances as mine so I don't think I need them right now.

My room is soooo cute, literally, 'coz it's like 5 square meters and I'd have to deal with all my "buting-things"...yah know... I still keep the mementos y'all have given me since college ( mushy huh??? ) and the latest ones I've gotten last Christmas. I have now reserved a space for the souvenir/s I'll get from the Porsuelo-Battung nuptials...hehehe...

By the way,I have not reported for work since last Friday becoz of the move ins and outs. My boss I think is fuming with rage ( na-ah, I think she loves me 'coz I know I'm lovable :) ). My body is suffering from sooooo much pain, what with all the adrenaline I've used up for the past days. Feels like I'm a dead meat!!!

And gosh, let me share with you the summer heat we're experiencing here!!! It's soooooo freakingly hot!!! I take a shower like 3 times a day just to cool down a little. And a few minutes later, I am drenched with my perspiration again!!! And I so-so hate sweating 'coz it's lke ewwwwww...( maarte???? )

Okey guys, so much for my ka-OA-yan ( which Weng still struggles to keep up with, but I'm sure in time she'll manage to hek-hek ). I hope y'all are doing great.

Vhora, I forgot to greet you on your exact bithdate but I think I was the one who greeted you 2 or 3 weeks in advance. Bonald, I seldom reply to your text messages 'coz the Sun doesn't shine so bright in this side of the country (gets?). Sandy, it's the other way around with you!!! You don't reply to my texts!!! But I know you're so busy so I understand. Gaga, wazzup with you gurl? One moment you're online, the next minute you're off and that happens a lotta times in a day! Betchay!!! Your comments in the Sperbag box are really funny, you sure haven't changed a bit gurl. And oh, I have Binsoy's YM now and he's as busy as a bee these days. Adrian, our future mayor (Hera texted us you were in a radio program the other day). The former vice mayor on the other hand has been silent for quite some time now. Minda? And boy, look at Elj's pix!!!! Hell he enjoyed his Bangkok trip so much. Jasper? How's PICHA Hut? Vyena finally sent me a message thru FS and I can tell she has trimmed down!! And Palyn? Busy sa lovelife??? Pag sure teh...

LAstly, Weng and BOrdie I can't thank you enough for the help. I invaded your privacy but you still managed to do your "thing" while I was there..hehehe..si Weng pa?! Dili palabot wala'y BLEEEEPPPP. Last na lng ka....

@lecz

Happy Birthday, Vhora!

Thailand Adventure

Unya kalimtan ang mga t'yan????
Unya kalimtan ang mga t'yan?????

The Beauty Queens!!!!!
The Beauty Queens!!!!

Vhora's Initial Birthday Celeb! (w/ Vigil)

Happy Natal Day

Bora-sang,

Let me be the very first one to greet you: A VERY VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY. I'm sure there are more to come. You deserve the life you have now. Love you friend!!!

@lecz

Surviving the Middle Crisis

Hi guys, since you are now starting to talk about midlife and all, I think this article will help us to prepare when we reach 30ish (also for those who are now in their mid-life)....

Not all experts believe there is such a thing as a midlife crisis. "For most people, middle age is not a crisis but a challenge and a relief," writes David Chiraboga in "Midlife Myths." However, most writers seem to agree more with Jim Conway who says, "Escaping the midlife development crisis is probably as likely as the child escaping adolescence."
Author Gail Sheehy adds a warning: "Some people appear to go through calm, uneventful midlife transitions. But by the time they are in their 50s, when some life accident inevitably brings home the mortality issue, it throws them into a deeper, darker, crisis."
How do you recognize a midlife crisis? What are its symptoms? According to "New York Times" Editorial Page Editor Howell Raines, "it typically begins with mild twinges of dread, disappointment and restlessness that tiptoe in on little cat feet. Then in some cases, the cat feet turn to elephant feet."
Yet if you or your spouse is in the middle of such a crisis, you don't care about whether experts believe it exists, and you certainly don't need to know how it feels (you hear the sound of the elephant feet on a daily basis). What you want is to know how to survive it. I have three suggestions.

Don't give way.
Midlifers in crisis are often overwhelmed with fear. Everything they once relied on--both physical and emotional resources--seems ready to collapse. The tendency is to panic, to give way to the onslaught of anxiety. If these words describe your feelings, relax. What you are experiencing is both normal and temporary. Not only will you see a brighter day; you will emerge a better person.

Don't give in.
With panic often come thoughts of escape. Midlifers sometimes try to flee their problems through things such as extramarital affairs, or to hide from them, maybe behind a bottle of alcohol. But these stop-gap measures, while providing temporary relief, will eventually cause much grief. It's like taking anti-inflammation drugs for appendicitis. It stops the pain for now, but will hurt much more in the long run.
Change, however, is different than escape. You should feel free to make changes at midlife. These changes are part of what will bring you successfully through the crisis. Just be sure to change in ways consistent with your values.

Don't give up.
Finally, midlifers in crisis describe themselves as trapped in a dark tunnel with no light at the end. Why keep crawling toward the end if, one, we aren't sure in which direction the end lies; and, two, we don't know if there will be light there when we arrive?"
This is where faith comes in. At midlife, we must decide what we believe in and struggle toward it even when our progress seems negligible. Like astronauts circling the back side of the moon, we trust the principles that began our journey to complete it, even when our destination is hidden. And like the same astronauts, we will see our sun again, quite possibly in a richness and splendor unnoticed in former days.
I'm not saying all this is easy; it isn't. But it is our hope, and it's hope that eventually will see us through the midlife crisis.

-best regards from Sg, ELJ =)

...this thing called LIFE...

Yup, it's already April friendz. We're on the 2nd quarter of 2009. And yup, it's 2009!!! A lotta things have happened in the months that passed... more so in the years that had gone by. How times really fly sooooo fast. Now, we're nearing the 30-ish stage. In a blink of an eye, we'll be in our mid-life!!! But I'm sure, most of you will have to agree that WE LIVE OUR LIVES TO THE FULLEST.

NO one can ever say that we regret who we are right now. That remorse is just lurking around the corner ready to eat us up whenever it feels like to. You know what I mean? That WE ARE WHAT WE ARE because we chose to...not because somebody forcibly dragged us into where we are at now. Needless to say, we are leading the path we chose to take.

I'm not really sure if all of us can say that "gone were the days of immaturity". That we all now face the challenges that come our way head on. I feel like it. I take every obstacle as if it has always been there waiting for me..not taking it by surprise..na-ah not at all. And more often than not, I win every challenge..I'd like to think so..'coz after every storm I am still WHOLE, shaken but not broken.

At this period of our lives, we might have come into thinking: Am I really happy? Have I made the right decisions? Did I make my parents, friends and people around me proud? Can they learn and take some things from me? Am I living my life with a purpose?

We might not answer YES to all of these questions, but if we say at least three out of five, then we are good to go. But hey, we are still yet to reach the midlife!!! Plenty of time guys...a whole lotta time...

@lecz

Once in a LIFETIME TRIP.....

Agent Matilda: Thank you for calling OneWay Ticket Only! My name is Matilda. How may I help you today?
Customer Mersand: I would like to purchase a ticket from Single Life to Married Life.
Agent Matilda:That would not be a problem. Can I have your birth date please?
Customer Mersand: Why do you ask for my birth date?
Agent Matilda: It is for us to identify that the passengers are not minors. Because unaccompanied minors will be denied boarding, flight to Married Life is for passenger with legal age only.
Customer Mersand: So, what you mean is I should be of legal age before I take the flight?
Agent Matilda: Correct. Without your birthdate we cannot issue any ticket. Can I have your birthday please?
Customer Mersand: Ok my birth date is August 2, 1981
Agent Matilda: I also need the birth date of your companion.
Customer Mersand: I would be traveling alone and my companion will just follow on a different date.
Agent Matilda: I’m sorry Ma’am but the flight to Married Life requires a companion. Without a companion, ticket will not be issued.
Customer Mersand: Ahhh so another requirement is that you have a companion?
Agent Matilda: Yes.
Customer Mersand: Oh well. Okay, his birth date is October 18, 1979.
Agent Matilda: So, I see that you and your companion are of legal age and are allowed to travel to Married Life. Can I have the names of the passengers?
Customer Mersand: Ms. Melizza _ (spelled the name) and Mr. Elmer _ (spelled the name)
Agent Matilda: Thank you very much. When is the travel date and time that you prefer?
Customer Mersand: I would like to travel on May 21, 2009 at 2:30PM, is that flight available?
Agent Matilda: Let me check with my system here.
(Agent checks and verifies with the system if there’s availability and gets back to the customer).
Agent Matilda: Ok, I see here that there are 2 seats available on the flight from Single Life to Married Life on May 21, 2009. It will depart Single Life at 2:30PM and will arrive in Married Life at 3:30PM at the terminal called St. Michael the Archangel Parish.
Customer Mersand: That’s perfect. So, much does it cost?
Agent Matilda: I have great news! The flight From Single Life to Married Life is free of charge. Zero fare.
Customer Mersand: Really, that’s wonderful! (customer smiling)
Agent Matilda: Yes, the flight is free. However, there are applicable taxes and fees mandated by the Philippine Government and the Church and other surcharges.
Customer Mersand: Ha!? I though it’s free. And how much will it cost me?
Agent Matilda: These fees are mandated by the law and we can’t do anything about it. The cost of the taxes and fees will depend on where the travelers get the required documents, package of the reception and church fees and miscellaneous. It is the sole discretion of the travelers with regards to their spending limit and OneWay Ticket Only does not interfere with the traveler’s decision. We only issue the ticket.
Customer Mersand: Oh I see then. Okay (sigh) we will take the flight.
Agent Matilda: Alright then. But before I issue the ticket let me read to you the rules of this ticket.
Customer Mersand: Okay.
Agent Matilda: This ticket has a very restrictive rule.
Customer Mersand: What do you mean by that?!
Agent Matilda: Cancellations and changes made before the departure date is allowed. Cancellations and changes made after check-in is not permitted. It says here that the ticket is nontransferable, non refundable and non-changeable once you checked-in.
Customer Mersand: What do you mean by these rules? Who do I call for changes?
Agent Matilda: Just dial the number that you dialed today and an agent will assist you. Just provide the birth date of the passengers for us to view your flight. With the rules, it means that once you crossed the border of Single Life there’s no turning back. Taxes and fees will not be refunded and you cannot change the date of travel, name of companion and the destination. This is a very restrictive ticket. And also this is a one way ticket to Married Life. Issuance of return flight to Single Life is not permitted.
Customer Mersand: How can that be? What if I decided to go back to Single Life? Is that possible?
Agent Matilda: OneWay Ticket Only does not offer roundtrip ticket of Single Life-Married Life-Single Life. The ticket that we issue is solely for Single Life to Married Life destination only. We do not offer cars, hotels or package. We only issue flights. For the return flight to Single Life, a different department handles that case and it can only be taken advantage once you’ve crossed the border of Single Life. I’m sorry but we cannot disclose any other information regarding the return flight to Single Life.
(agent took a deep breath and continued) I see here that the rule applies when you’ve checked in, but you can change or cancel the flight prior to the day of travel. (agent pause) It means that if you decided not to leave Single Life, all you have to do is call and cancel the flight.
Customer Mersand: Do I get refund of the taxes and fees.
Agent Matilda: I cannot assure you of that. Church, hotel, reception and City Civil Registrar have their own policy in regards to refunds. You may deal with them directly.
Customer Mersand: I see then. So, this means that once we get to Married Life, there’s no turning back.
Agent Matilda: Exactly! You have to live with each other as long as you both live. Married Life is not a destination. It is a journey that you and your companion would take hand in hand.
Customer Mersand: Okay. How about the baggage?
Agent Matilda: As for the baggage, you can take as much baggage as you want. There is no limit as long as you both can handle it.
Customer Mersand: That is so great! I will purchase the ticket.
Agent Matilda: There are few reminders that you need to bring and present in the check in counter. If you prefer Civil Wedding, please don’t forget to bring the copies of Application for Marriage License issued by the Civil Registrar of your local government, Name of witnesses at least 2 witnesses (1 male and 1 female) and the rings. For Church Wedding, please don’t forget copies of Application for Marriage License issued by the Civil Registrar of your local government, Name of primary sponsors (godmothers and godfathers), Rings, Coins, Veil, Cord, Bible, Candle and Secondary Sponsors if you have. Without these requirements you will be denied in boarding. Please be reminded that the Church and Presiding Judge have the right to void the flight if you did not comply with the requirements.
Customer Mersand: We have that all ready and I’ll bear that in mind. I will place all of that in my carry on luggage.
Agent Matilda: Another thing is that, it is a must that the Primary Sponsors should affix their signature in the copies of Application for Marriage License issued by the Civil Registrar of your local government or else you will be both deported to Single Life.
Customer Mersand: Okay, I have take note of that.
Agent Matilda: Okay then, so do you agree with the rules and restrictions imposed by the flight from Single Life to Married Life?
Customer Mersand: Yes, I fully understand the rules and restrictions of the flight.
Agent Matilda: Alright then, you’re ticket has been issued and you are ready to go! Will there be anything else that I may assist you regarding this matter?
Customer Mersand: Uhmm, I think that would be all. When do I get our tickets?
Agent Matilda: Ahh, your tickets. Okay, here you you, this is a ticketless ticket and all you have to do is give your confirmation code to the check in counter. Do you have a pen and paper ready?
Customer Mersand: Yes, I have. What is the confirmation code?
Agent Matilda: Confirmation code for Elmer _ is "Will you Marry Me?", and for Melizza _ is "Yes, I do".
Customer Mersand: Okay, I got it.
Agent Matilda: Oh, by the way, don't forget to pack a lot of LOVE, TRUST, UNDERSTANDING and FAITH in GOD. This will bring joy and happiness in your stay in Married Life.
Customer Mersand: Yes we will.
Agent Matilda: Already! Thank you for calling OneWay Ticket Only and have a safe and happy journey to Married Life!