What is Dieting?

Dieting is not starving yourself to get thin.  Basically, it is getting the right amount of nutrients that your body needs on a daily basis. There are a lot of sites that helps promote proper diet and this is based from our age and gender.  One may have more needed RDA (Recommended Diatery Allowance) if a person is pregnant or lactating, or if a person is younger or older.


You can identify your needed RDA by visiting the Diet and Fitness Today (RDA). Often, we may not be that conscious when it comes to the proper RDA that our body needs. We focus more on how much calorie intake we should take on a daily basis to make sure that we achieve the weight that we want.  I am guilty about this one because I focused more on my calorie intake rather than my needed RDA, well, it all depends on priority but we also need to be careful to make sure that we are still healthy.




On an average, a woman, should not take less than 1200 calories per day and for men it should not be less than 1500. Our calorie intake differs because it depends on; (1) your weight (2) amount of muscle you have (3) your activities.


What helped me find out my needed calorie intake was the Calorie Calculator.  This also showed me when I can achieve my ideal weight and being familiar with this made me create my own program for my weight loss.


Limiting our calorie intake may help us lose weight but generally it should always go hand in hand with exercise.  Best way to lose weight is to lessen your calorie intake by 500 (depends on the person) and lose more calories from exercise. 


This is when I started to read the labels of my food intake, I wanted to make sure that I am within my needed calorie intake.  

This took me some effort but I already got used to it.  Being familiar with our calorie intake is the first step in taking responsibility of our health and body.  We want to give the best for ourselves but moderation is always important.  What I did was to create my own spreadsheet, nothing fancy, but it helped  me monitor my calorie intake for the day and if I needed to compensate it for the entire week.

I was guided by the Food Browser of Calorie Counter and this gave me an idea about the calories that I took from food (for those that didn't have labels).  When I first tried this one, I had no time for exercise (Sedentary lifestyle) but it worked for me.  It also helped that I had the moral support of my husband!


Just a bit of evidence! :)


One intervention may be applicable to a person but may differ to another, so studying ourselves and looking at where we want to go and how far we want to do it will be our baseline in reaching our goals.  If we know that we can do more, then we can add a little spice with our diet and exercise; if we know that we can only achieve a little then that's it. We should take it one step at a time, not abrupt or we will just kill ourselves.


Have fun!

Let us play!

When I was a child, I remember that my favorite game was luto-lutuan. My mother bought me those miniature clay pots and pans.  

I will get leaves from our garden, cut it into pieces and mix them with water and I will cook my own meal.  I played with my brother (well, we were both young then) and we were very happy!  

That was 25 years ago, when for kids like us, having fun is playing with one another, picking flowers, laughing and sharing.  

I also remembered that we used to make bubbles out of Gumamela flowers; made bracelets and necklaces out of Santan flowers. It was just amazing how we can make things out of what we see in our environment. We used to play "Luksong Tinik" and "Luksong Baka" how fun to jump and hop. It was a lot of fun!

Now that we are at Generation Z a lot of internet gaming and gadgets are being introduced not only for adults but for kids as well.  Examples may include Laptop / Net-book, PSP, iPhone, iPad, Xbox and a whole lot more.  

Kids no longer play luto-lutuan, it has been replaced with Diner Dash or Restaurant City.  They might not also enjoy tree planting activities together with their parents because they just want to stay at home and play FarmVille.  Or maybe Farm Town, does not want to go out to sweat under the sun play because they'd rather play Tennis and baseball with their Nintendo Wii.

A lot about games has evolved but how are we "adults" are catching up?

* First, we need to accept that we are at the time of our lives where toy trains and barbie dolls are not that "in" anymore.  Where kids are more savvy with gadgets than us. 

 * Second, we need to learn how they did it! 

Personally, I am not into gaming, I do social networking but hardly play games online or via FB, iPhone or iPad.  Recently, I had all the time in my hands and had a very good opportunity to play not only one but three games (and many others on the side).


It all started when I was introduced to "The SIMS Social" one game in Facebook that made me interesting because I will be making my own home and socialize with friends.  I can create rooms and fill them with furniture and appliances and it will increase my house value, how cool!

I know this is kind of late, but I was also introduced to FarmVille!  I just do it for fun but I am not in a hurry to widen my farm yet.


Then another one is the "Bug Village", I play this one via iPad and I find it really cute because I am growing my own Village full of ants and bees.

Generally speaking, there are a lot of online games that we have right now.  No age required, for as long as you have the resources and the interest then you can go ahead and play them. One can stay at home all day and just play them all (no kidding! there are people who plays the entire day and night), in short, its sort of addictive.


There is nothing wrong with online games, I am not against it but we just need to remember that there might be negative impacts of being so engrossed with online gaming.  For kids, this lessens the interaction that they should be enjoying with other kids by playing hide and seek or running.  With this, kids should be guided by their parents or guardians in limiting the use of technology for playing.


Technology for learning is a different story all together.. :)

I also tried Boxing

In search of an effective way of loosing weight, another option that was presented to me by one of my friends, Yeyen, was boxing.  She was about to get married at that time and she needed to loose unwanted fats, thus the suggestion for me to join her.

I thought it would be fun, especially if I am with a friend. It is always encouraging and motivating when you are doing something with friends, it does not only help you achieve your goal, you are also building a relationship!

Yen already figured out which boxing gym to go to and so I went along with her.  We went at the Elorde Boxing Gym in Ortigas.    

I was excited because I will learn a new skill plus it will help me achieve my goal of loosing weight.  When we arrived, first thing we did was to register, we decided to get a membership so that registration will be cheaper every time we have a session.  We did boxing sessions for twice a week (if my memory served me right).

Boxing is also an entire body workout and will definitely help you loose those unwanted fats plus other benefits.  You will have warm up first and then you will do the punches, you have a trainer who will guide you along the way so nothing to worry about. Each session run for an hour.  Remember that it's not how long you have worked out that matters, it's how hard you've worked out.

We had several sessions before and one of which was when I was with our other friends, Erika, Gami and Dave!

We added fun with our workouts and thus made it even more exciting to come back!

This was a very nice comic made my Dave!

I believe I lost at least 8 lbs, i just did the following:

1. 2 months with twice a week session

2. Balanced diet

3. A lot of determination

Go ahead, try it.  It can be a way to loose weight, a good self defense, bonding time with family and friends and stress reliever.

You can be an inventor!!

We should all know who invented one of the greatest technologies that we have now, the telephone.  This was invented by Alexander Graham Bell last 1876 and after him, many other inventors invented the telephone.

This was made because of his interest in educating the deaf, this led him to invent the microphone and then the telephone.

For me inventions are always made out of curiosity, from an idea or thought. Something that you asked yourself, something that you want to do or to achieve.

One of the very frequent things that I think about and would like to do is to loose weight! Who would not want to loose weight?? For girls, it's like a trend.. we always want to loose weight, we always feel we are fat.  Have you ever heard a girl/woman who said they are thin? rarely! Almost everyone tells that they are fat.  Well that includes me!

For me, being in good shape is a gift that I can give to myself and everything else will follow.  Being fat is not bad at all but I always prefer to be fit and healthy.  I am not thin, thin, but I believe that I am just in the right shape. We always have this aspiration to get healthy but when and how to start is the next question.

It will definitely not happen over night, a week or over a cup of coffee. It will all start within us.  I have figured it out by myself with the use of a lot of interventions and I would like to share them!

From the movie My Big Love of Toni Gonzaga and Sam Milby, I captured the 5 very simple steps in loosing weight, just remember them by heart and we are ready to go!

1. Goal Setting - whether this is to save money, get thin or be promoted.  Everything starts in setting your goals. This is free of charge!

2. Start Today - or else your goals will just be goals, it will not move by themselves.

3. No shortcuts - do it the right way, no fast forward

4. Motivate yourself - how would you like to look like? do you have a dream body?

5. Be Happy!

When I thought of it, seemed pretty easy but in reality, it was not.  One should have the determination and discipline to start. My goal was to loose weight and to start a healthy living.  I will do this not just because I want to loose weight and be on top shape but because this will be a good way of living in the long run.  Starting to live a healthy life means not having the goal to loose weight at all since it's already a habit .

Now where did I start. I thought of the things that I needed to do to loose weight and one of the most common ways that I have read was to eat a balanced diet with proper exercise.  This way you are not just loosing your weight but you are also giving your body its needed nutrients.  Exercise seemed to be pretty boring for me, the mat, large mirrors, counting and everything so I thought of doing something that I enjoyed the most, Dancing! 

Doing something you enjoy and love means not doing the work at all, I don't need to drag myself to jump and stuff because I love what I do (this is a similar scenario in working).

I checked out videos from YouTube and found relevant dance exercises that I wanted and knew I will enjoy dancing.  I have created my own program (this worked for me, not sure if this will also work for another person but it should do with a little tweaking!).

Like any other exercise programs, we all start with stretching.  This will not only help us move but it will help our body perform at its best.  It does not only make our body flexible and at ease to movements, it will also prevent injuries for sudden movements and pressure.

Stretching can be done with our without music, but I prefer with music so I have a beat to follow.

Then I will proceed with the dance exercises that I have chosen. It really depends on us, on which type of music we want, what's important is that we are burning those calories.

1. Warm Up 1 (once)

2. Warm Up 2 (once)

3. Arms, Legs and Hips (twice)

4. Simple Arm exercises (twice)

5. Cardio (twice)

6. Arms, Legs and Hips (twice)

7. Arms and Legs (twice)

8. Warm up after the dances (once)

I just specified which body parts worked the most in the dances but dancing in general is an entire body workout. We let our entire body move and it also helps our breathing. Know more about the benefits of dancing to enjoy it even more!

Then it should not stop there, you also need firming. What I liked to firm up are my shoulders and abs, thus I did some exercises related to them. You can find some firming exercises at RedBook and you can also do Upper toning.

After completing everything, you have done an hour of exercise for the day. now whether you would like to do this on a daily basis (if you have luxury of time) or every other day it all depends on you.  Remember that it is not how frequent you exercise but how hard you exercise.

At the end of the day, it's what enjoys and excites us that matters. If you love to run, then loose weight by running or jogging. If you have any sport, then so be it.

I hope this article will be beneficial.

More about healthy eating in the coming days!

Kakaibang Bridal Shower!

One of the most awaited event for a girl's life is to finally tie the knot with the man that she would like to spend the rest of her life with. Aside from all of the preparations and panic, one pre event that future brides are looking forward to is their "bridal shower". For others, its like partying as a single person and doing so many things..        Et al.

Well i believe that's not always true for Bridal Showers.


Not like any ordinary bridal shower, with the drinks and everything, I had two! One in particular is far from all of the bridal showers that I have heard of and it was very conservative.


I really had to idea about it and it was arranged by Sweets and one of my close friends, Betchay.  I was informed that we will meet at Beth's house for my bridal shower.  For me that's totally fine for as long as I have my friends with me.


When Sweets and I are headed in their place, I told Sweets to stay a bit and eat something before leaving (one of the best things about Beth's place is that there were always plenty of food), then Sweets told me that there might not be any food.  For me that's totally weird.


Anyways, when we got there, Beth was there and was waiting for me, actually only the two of us was there (except for Beth's family and Sweets).  This had me thinking.. what are we going to do.


Beth finally spitted it out and told me that my Bridal Shower for the day is going to be cooking! Oh my! I know how to cook but there's more, I will cook two of the favorite dishes of Sweets -- Lecheflan and Pininyahang Manok. I have never tried both so it was really a challenge for me.


A bit of a background, Beth loves to cook and is very good at it, that's the reason Sweets gave the go signal to have that Bridal Shower.. meaning I am in good hands. :)

A few instructions from Beth and I am good to go, of course she is always there to guide me.. Since it was my first time to cook both, I was very excited and took note everything because that's two of the favorite dishes of Sweets.  Especially the lecheflan!


It didn't end there, Beth also prepared some other food to cook.
We have Maki, Carbonara, Pork Asado, Cake and many more!


This was when Beth was helping me make the Maki.

 of course we have the finish product! Pretty simple!

 Here we are!! All ready to eat!

Look at the table, it's as if we can eat all of them, we are all girls.
From left we have Leah (my BFF), Ning Ning, Kat Mallari, Me and Betchay!!


I will never forget the chocolate fountain.  This was not just an ordinary choco fountain because the chocolate flowing was Toblerone! Just mouth watering!

 To top the event, we have a cake and wine! Loveet!

It was a very unique Bridal Shower and I learned many things!


1. How to trust
2. How to listen
3. How to follow
4. How to cook
5. How to cook while smiling
6. How to eat without thinking of my diet!


Thanks Sweets for giving the go signal!
Thanks Betchay for sponsoring the Bridal Shower!
Thanks Leah, Ning Ning and Kat for attending and celebrating with us!

I am not Paris Hilton

Blast from the past.
From FB Thursday, July 28, 2011 at 7:17pm

43 days ago when I left my first Love (Accenture); close to two weeks that I have been with my Sweetest thing “Sweets”.  I have always wanted to be with my husband while he is working here in Malaysia and at the same time for me to find a suitable job that will help me buy my own iPad. :)  

Anyways, I feel and I believe I am able to do the things that I need to do as a totally “cool” housewife. 

Clean, cook, wash, wipe, open and close the door, what else?? Well almost everything else is done by me and Sweets so I am not that tired.  Then during my spare time (I’ve got plenty of time on my hands now) I browse the internet, look at openings, job sites, FB, Calorie Counter, aerobics and dances.  Of course not forgetting to feel and look beautiful because that’s one thing I don’t want to deprive myself from.  That’s just it, anything else?

I always feel and say that “This is what I want!”  I don’t want to spend my married life apart from my husband (that for me is just a weird thing, of course we have exceptions).

I may have forgotten what we have studied during college, that we all have our subconscious mind.  We may think about one thing but deep inside us another thought, feeling or emotion is pondering upon us while we are facing a new situation in our lives and for my case I never knew that my subconscious mind was thinking about something else.

That I am Paris Hilton! Nah, just kidding! :D

Just the other night, I dreamt that I was being chased by a Dinosaur... Don’t know the specie but we can picture it as a T-Rex (Big Guy, huh!).  I asked Sweets to look it up from the Dream Dictionary and it says “To dream that you are being chased by a dinosaur, indicates your fears of no longer being needed or useful.”  

DISCLAIMER: This chasing thing happened for about 3 seconds only! Yes dahil nagising na ako!

I paused for a minute and said, maybe that’s true! Maybe in my subconscious mind I have the feeling that I am no longer needed or useful.  When I was still working, I am earning my own money and I can buy whatever I want and I can give whatever I can to my family and friends.  Now that I don’t have my own money I cannot freely buy the things that I want, I cannot freely give anything to my family and friends – But does this make me no longer needed or useful??

I beg to disagree!

Money is not everything in this world (Yes it’s important but that’s still not all!).

Love, Care, Affection, Laughter, Happiness, Comfort, Warmth, Friendship, Sincerity, Faith – things money cannot buy and I know; with all the living cells in my body (borrowed this line from Bry) I can give all of them! It’s not always about the packaging but what’s the thought behind the action.  Realizing and deeply understanding the way the world works, we are not Paris Hilton, who may have everything she needs in her life. 

The things that we don’t have sometimes are the KEY in finding out what else we can give and we can share.

There is nothing else I can say only “Thank You”

Blast from the past:

From FB Wednesday, July 27, 2011 at 2:57pm

One month and five days ago when I received the “Farewell Messages” that were prepared by my team, this was when we had our last team dinner with Mimi.  They gave me the scrap book and a shirt that has “I love KL” in it and I was very touched, actually I was lost for words except to say “Thank You” from the bottom of my heart because I was so grateful that I have them as my last team in Accenture. 

Everybody tells me that I am that last person they would think who will leave Accenture, but hey, life is really a roller coaster ride and here I am and I am no longer with Accenture.  I also never imagined that my friends will do a farewell party for me.. its really ironic (Thanks Anna for arranging everything, Thanks Dave for the AVP, Thanks to all who attended the simple gathering!)

I have said my sincerest thanks to the people who have become a very special part of my journey in Accenture but I would like to say my “Thanks” again to those (almost the same people) who have spent their 5 minutes or so to write a simple note of “good luck and thanks” to me and to Sweets.  Simple notes that means a lot because one time or the other, I felt that I have “in some little way” touched their lives.  I am hoping to see all of them when I get back. 

My reason for not reading the notes when I was still in the Philippines was because I don’t want to be emotional and think of sad things etc. I want to read it once I am settled here in Malaysia, whether I have work or not because nothing is happier than a place with my husband.

So whether I just sent you an email, talked to you on the phone or you became part of my working days while in Accenture, from the bottom of my heart, I THANK YOU!!

My favorite Day is Monday!

Blast from the past
From FB June 18, 2011 at 11:39pm

After my college graduation, I immediately joined Canossian Volunteer Philippines for close to two months. After that, I was immediately employed as an HR Assistant in Lipa City Batangas.  I never had any chance to take a vacation or rest.  Similar to all within my background, I also wanted to grow my HR experience, that’s the time when I started to look for better HR exposure.  One year and ten months of staying in Lipa, I was then given an opportunity to be interviewed in Accenture as an HR Assistant!  I never knew what HR Assistant meant in a company like Accenture.  I admit, I was not that familiar with Accenture before, I really thought (and this was true) that Accenture was a call center (well at that time Accenture did not have any Call Centers yet).  Well then, I thought to myself, why not try to explore opportunities with Accenture, it will not do any harm at all.

After receiving the call from Accenture, I researched about the company and found out that it’s a Global Company; I said to myself “I should be persistent!”  I was the one following up my application, (I know this is not allowed) but hey, I still tried to call my recruiter (can’t remember her name anymore, but she was a lot of help).  All I knew was that I am applying for an HR Assistant in a Global Company.  I was initially interviewed by Ms. Irva Cruz and I really prepared for this interview... She asked me what Accenture was and what it does and so on and so forth, bravely I was able to answer all of the questions and then I told Ms. Irva that I learned everything about Accenture from the internet... Yes, I know how to browse the internet.  I was asked if I know Microsoft applications and yes I was aware of them all, and I thought Ms. Irva was impressed and then came the next question………….. “Do you know how to do pivot?”… Shet! (I said to myself, ano yun?”)... I told her I don’t know but I can learn it easily.   After that, I again followed up my application and then had my closing interview with Ms. Sheryll Quito and then I was hired! My journey with Accenture started last April 18, 2005. :)

Looking back with the things that I have experienced with Accenture, it makes me believe that “if we dream and we dream hard, we will get what we want”.  I now know how to do pivot and a lot more and I am no longer an HR Assistant!  This is exactly what Accenture thought me through the years that I have been with this organization.  Money is one thing to live, this is something that we need in order for us to survive but you can never buy commitment, trust, laughter, teamwork, mentor, learning, good bosses and many other things not seen in any department store rack. This is when I started to love Mondays, Mondays means that I will meet my office mates and friends, I will meet my project employees, I will answer emails, chats and I will talk to my executives.  Monday means, start of a whole new exciting week, start in attending all types of meetings or conference calls.  It is a start of a very exciting ride of my life, it does not matter if it’s a roller coaster ride or a carousel what matters is how I was able to ride it.  This is what Accenture has inculcated in me; it gave a different type of excitement to my very boring life.  It gave me the energy to always wake up to learn new things, challenge myself and help people.  With the Core Values that we have; it is something that I will never forget for the rest of my life.

Not to mention, this is the place where I met my husband, my LIFE!

Six years, 2 months of my HR experience with Accenture had passed and all I can think of are happy thoughts! It was a hard decision to leave but I know what my priorities are and I know that people understand where I was coming from.  I will never forget my stay, the work, the people and the values that Accenture built into my character!

It's like chocolate cake!

Don't get Tired!

Blast from the past:
From facebook, Monday, July 18, 2011

I joined Sweets when their company had their “Thanks Giving and Awards Night Party “ last night. I must say, it was a very cool gathering and very formal since 100+ tables were being served by individual waiters / waitresses.  Anyways, it ended close to 11pm already and we decided to get going because LRT will close at exactly 12 midnight.. we even ran to make sure we will not miss the train.  Unfortunately, when we arrived at 11:45 the gate was already closed.  Now we know that we should have been there by 11:30pm.

There was no other choice but to take a cab (they call it Teksi here in Malaysia). Since Kuala Lumpur is far from our condo (via cab) we had a hard time getting one.  Similar with the cabs that we have in Manila, they are requesting for arrangements if the place were far.  It was kind of hard for our part since we were all sleepy at that time.

One cab stopped and our friend (AZ) talked to the cab driver and told where we were heading to and  fortunately, the cab driver said “YES” and there were no arrangements whatsoever, just the meter. Good thing for us! When we stepped into the vehicle, our friend (AZ) sat  beside the driver and that’s the time the driver started talking to AZ and to us.

He knew we were Filiponos because of the english accent that we have and very coincidental because the driver’s wife is a Filipina (who is from Tondo).  He was born here in Malaysia and married this Filipina and from there he told us a lot of stories.. what he does in Manila.. etc.. During the ride, he even called his wife to tell her that he will be late becuase he will dropping us off to Petaling Jaya.

 Not sure if its was because we were Filipinos (or he is just kind) but he was very accommodating, he asked us if the arircon was fine and if the music was good.  Sweets and AZ told me (when we were out of the cab) that, that's the difference when a foreigner married a Filipina.  This made me realize as well that if a foreigner+ Filipina, the values that we have as a Filipinos lives into another person, they also become more caring and loving.

While we were talking, Sweets mentioned that we were tired because of the party and everything.  The cab driver then told us; in Life, we should not get used to telling ourselves that we are tired.  If we do, this then this becomes part of our system and then we become lazy.   To a person who is literal, this can be construed as just a word, an expression, but in reality, this may seem correct.

“I will not wash the dishes because I am tired from work!” 
“ I will  just do my assignment tomorrow since I am tired from school”
“I don’t want to exercise today because I was tired from cooking”

Many other examples but in essence, we feel what we say! Even if we are just telling that its just a word but eventually it will dwell into our system and we will always feel the what we say. Feel Tired!

Challenges and things in our lives are inevitable, it will come and go but what’s important is that we never get tired. We use them to learn and to be strong. We should not get tired of learning, loving, caring and many other things that we are used of doing.  We should always remember, that these acts, are not for ourselves nor for the people around us but for Him, who made everything possible.

So when you feel tired, just say “I need a hug!” and it should energize all of us! 

Am I at the wrong place at the wrong time??

Am I at the wrong place at the wrong time? One time or the other we have all asked this question to ourselves.  Simply because we are experiencing something that we believe we don't deserve or something unfortunate that happened to us that we don't have control over.  


I just remembered when I asked this question to myself and to my friends. It was 6 years ago, when I was with my first job.


It was more than a roller coaster ride (my TPC friends can attest to that!) and more than a horror train with a lot of zombies in it.  It was a twist of fate that I had to go through that very tough obstacle.  At that time I drag myself everyday to go to work because I don't want to see my Boss!!!


True enough with all of the articles that I have read. One does not leave a company because of a higher salary, it is because of ones boss! (this may not always be true). I am one of the many employees who can say that it was very much true!

But as a strong tree deeply rooted with the values I learned from my family, I know what to say and how to react with such negative vibes. It's all about acceptance -- acceptance that everything happens for a reason.  Of course, it should not end there, you should do something about it.


You can either:


1. Stay and Fight 
2. Leave and Move on

The best decision always rely on oneself.  You alone can decide which action to take because you know yourself better than other people.


With what happened to me, I tried to stay and fight but the relationship does not get better but worse! Now, that was the time I needed to leave and to move on. 


Moving on was not easy because it is like moving away from your comfort zones but it a way to heal, a way to forgive and forget.  It may mean removing yourself from one situation or being a coward but it all depends on the situation.  Moving on to another phase of your life is like growing up, it will always happen to us.


During that time, I always think about it as a nightmare or an endless tunnel but from the time I moved out and found my new place, the more I realized that it was a gift from God.  Had it not happened, I will still be there, still be the same old me.


Whatever situation you may encounter now, it is always His will and it is up to us on how are we going to look at those things.  Positively or Negatively?


Just a piece of advise from a person who sort of experienced a little bit of everything, we should always be positive in anything and everything that we do. It is the aura that brightens our life and it is reflected on how we deal with our friends and family. 

Last dinner with my Team

Blast from the past:


June 14, 2011


My last day in Accenture was June 15, 2011.  Before that time, I knew my team is cooking up something for me.  I just know since I am special to them (feeling!) and it's quite the trend in ABS that if someone will leave, a something something is about to happen.


I went through with my normal work, transitions and stuff until my second to the last day, June 14.  We still had our last team meeting because I also prepared a little presentation for them.  I wanted to let them know how special my stay with ABS HR was and that I wanted to "Thank" them all. I don't know if they were surprised but I know my presentation was from the bottom of my heart.

After the meeting, I know they have something for me and invited me to go eat dinner. I knew it, we will have dinner and they will give me their farewell notes and messages.


We ate at Dencio's (one of the near restaurants from our office).

Any food from this resto is just so good thus it was difficult to choose from them.

 Anyhow, we were able to choose the ones we like :)

This was my team!

From left, we have Mimi (our ever supportive manager), Love (she replaced my role), Joanna, Dalyn, Wena, Tin and me.  Was it because I am leaving or was it just coincidence that I was seating at the last seat. :D


I am expecting a lot! Haha! I know they will be giving something to me and I was not wrong, I just knew it! They gave me a scrap book.  Funny because Tin just wrote the note that it's for me seconds before she gave it to me.

I love writing letters to my friends and to Sweets and I also love to receive letters from my friends.  With the gift that they gave, it was not just letters for me but a memory that I will keep forever.  

Almost all of the messages were handwritten, expect for the messages that came from my friends from another location.  It was touching because the intention of making the scrap book for me and putting it together with artwork means they want it to be special. I felt special. ^_^

I browsed through it very quickly, i just wanted to see how they compiled everything but I did not read them. I wanted to reserve my time to read them. Plus, I don't want to be emotional because if I do, I know myself very well, I will not be able to say a word.


It did not end there, another very special present they gave me was the personalized shirt and I SOOOOOOOOOO LOVED IT!!!

Personally, I want gifts that I can use.  This one is just perfect! I have it with me here in Malaysia.


Good times with my team mates will never be forgotten.. not only I had a great team! I had a good bunch of friends who will always be a part of my life. 

A letter from a friend!

Last July, while I was fixing one of my drawers in San Pablo City I saw my old wallet.  It contained several letters from my very close friend, Ate Rina.  We call each other starting with “Ba” and thus I call her “Barins” and she calls me “Ba-K”. 

She became my officemate when I worked as an HR assistant in Lipa City Batangas (it was my first work after graduation).  Barins was with Procurement and Logistics but despite the difference in department, it never took us a long time to get along well.  She was very accommodating and very smart.  She taught me the things that I should do, how I should respond to my boss and so on and so forth.

We shared stories together, love, family and anything under the sun.  We had our snack, lunch and snack together.  It was one cool experience really since it was my first job and Barins was very supportive!

While I was reading the letters, I remembered the things that we went through.  It was something different, something a normal employee will never dare imagine happening to them.  But both of us became strong and we stood by each other to give our support with one other.

We will talk silently; we will cry together, that’s how it was.  I remember when we talked at the warehouse so that no one will see us. I also remembered when we shouted “Ha!” at the open field to release our anger (it felt good; one angry person should try it).  It was a good feeling to have someone you can lean on, someone who believed in you and someone who loved you as you are.

Even if it was hard for both of us, we decided to resign from the company. 

Even if it meant that we will no longer be together.  We needed to move on to leave the hell past behind, we needed to find greener pasture and we needed to grow.  

Both of us were able to find a work outside Lipa, she was in Ortigas and I was in Makati.  We never imagined that we can go that far.  For all the hardships and troubles, not only a window was opened for us but a whole new house  and it was very gratifying.

We said we should always get in touch! I attended her wedding and to see how happiness filled her eyes was just priceless.  She was very happy and I was happy for her.

Then, fortunately, her husband found a job in Norway. It was sad for me because it was such a far place, but was happy to know that a better opportunity is waiting for them there.  I was able to visit her one last time in their place at Marikina and that was the last time I saw her.

With the help of “Facebook” even if they are in Paris for a vacation, or any part of Europe and the world, we still get in touch and from time to time we talk and chat.  

I am really happy about facebook because it feels like Norway is just a step behind.  I get to be updated with my friend and her family and I am very happy for her.  

She is one close friend that I will never forget for the rest of my life!

XoXo to Barins!

What happened in Titiwangsa Lake Garden?

May 22, 2011

It was our first wedding anniversary and it is our first time to celebrate an occasion outside the country which made this event even more special.  To start the day right, we attended mass at St. John Cathedral to give THANKS for the first year that we had and to WISH for a lifetime of heaven!  After the mass, we returned to our house to share our lunch together with our housemates.

Nothing so special about our lunch, we just bought “lechon kawali” outside St. John and then we bought a small cake so we have something to blow for our wishes.

After our lunch, we (together with our dear friend Cedrick) went off to Titiwangsa Lake.  I was so excited to go there because I have researched that it was where Bea Alonzo and John Lloyd Cruz shoot a part of their movie “Miss you Like Crazy” and I want to see with my own eyes how it looked like.

We took two trains, Kelana Jaya LRT and then the KL Monorail.  After the monorail, we hailed a cab to finally go to Titiwangsa Lake.

My first impression: It was not that bad but not astounding as well.  It was a normal lake with a lot of activities in it.  We didn’t have the chance to do horse-back riding, paddle boat etc because (1) we didn’t have enough time (2) I have other activity planned.

What was my planned activity? Since I am a big fan of John Lloyd, I took a picture from the internet of him and Bea at Titiwangsa Lake and at their background was the famous Twin Tower.

I asked Ced to become the photographer, Sweets will be John Lloyd and of course, I will be none other than Bea :)

I wanted it to be the exact location, pose and angle and it took us 30 minutes to finally figure out the perfect match for the picture.  We even argued about which the correct location for the shot was.  We thought that new buildings were built after the shot was taken, thus the background is no longer the same; that trees were removed from the park... What a thought!

After like many shots (Ced was literally sweating!) we finally made the perfect shot (for me) and it was a relief to see and we all feel accomplished.

  

                                                             Of course we will not leave Titiwangsa if we haven’t taken serious pictures yet.  After our project, we then went ahead and took pictures of ourselves overlooking the lake and the Twin Tower.

Ced - our trusty photographer

After that we ate some snack before heading home.

It was tiring but it was fun because we accomplished something!

We will definitely go back to Titiwangsa, to finally do some activities there (aside from taking pictures).  My friend, Leah, will be visiting us here and I have included Titiwangsa in our itinerary!