Lola Mana, one of the most important women in my life, is celebrating her 81st birthday. She's born on a leap year, Feb 29, so this year it's either Feb 28 or Mar 1.
I'm thankful she reached her 81st years of life without any serious health baggage. She's relatively healthy, except for the usual old-age discomfort of joint pains, light sleep, and hearing problem. She remains beautiful as she is. She still manifests deep sense of frugality, practicality & conservativeness. But more tolerant now with the 'odd' things that she sees around unlike when she was younger. She hated tagalog telenovelas, but now I learned that she avidly follows 'Kapamilya' shows & soaps (which surprised me)!
She used to ban us from watching tagalog shows, that's why. She would push English shows only! According to her, we (me & my siblings) must love English shows so we could learn the international language right away. When she would see us watching tagalog soap operas, she would nag us. The only Tagalog show we watched then was John & Marsha & only when Lolo Manuel (her late husband) was watching. All throughout the week were English - KnightRider, Mcgyver, Airwolf, The E. Team, Miami Vice, Mission Impossible, et. al. Likewise, our t.v viewing was filled with snap quizzes. Whenever she hears an English word she thought was worth memorizing she would quickly ask for its tagalog translation! When we don't know, she would patiently reiterate the word & its tagalog translation.
It's really refreshing & heartwarming to reminisce my experiences with Lola Mana. Bitter experiences (as I treat them when I was younger) that now are sweet and truly valuable (after realizing their worth)! She's not my real grandma. We are not related by blood at all. She was simply my parents employer. But since my family lived in her house, she & Lolo Manuel took the responsibility to teach and impart to us these great lessons & values.
I didn't understand her then. But now I know. She's so correct! Exposure to English language through watching English shows/soaps/movies is truly one of the easiest & fun way to slowly learn the English craft!
Thanks.Thanks. Thanks, Lola! My birthday prayer for you is that you continue to have peace of mind & healthy body. No more joint pains & hearing difficulty! Your sleep this whole year should all be sound!
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Reflections
I have been in bad shape since Monday. The first two days was because of the usual period cramps. Yesterday was because I got stressed at work. So today, I decided to telecommute. Good thing I did because I feel much better now although my throat still aches.
In between the moments when my mind was not busy with work I reflected on a number of things. I don't want to sound mushy, but I'm glad my reflection always ended with a happy thought.
One of my reflections was that of my stint in Stolt Nielsen, a global shipping company. When I filed my resignation, my closing statement was that I will forever be thankful to this company. Six months after, I'm amazed to find myself feeling more than thankful! And I can't contain my emotion that's why I wrote this post.
Stolt Nielsen made me feel so cared for as an employee. Very generous with benefits. Since it's multinational & relatively big I got exposed to diverse personalities & cultures. I gained great friends (both personal & professional)! I met & worked with amazing people! My bestfriend & I got to work in the same roof again that allowed me to enjoy more her company. I was given due recognition for my efforts that helped boost my self-steem. More than these, Stolt Nielsen opened up so many doors of opportunities for me that allowed me to grow more as a person and as a career woman. I don't say that Stolt Nielsen is perfect and that all had been sunshine in my entire employment. Just like any other organization, to my eyes, it had its own inefficiencies & politics. I struggled to fit in. My employment had its rainy & stormy days. In fact, I left with a heavy heart because of some misunderstandings with my immediate boss. And too bad, we weren't able to patch things up (although I'm hopeful we will, one day). But truly, the bitter-sweet memories of my Stolt days combined all together is a blast! I'm more mature, more confident, more knowledgable and more blessed because of Stolt.
And, this is the reason why I feel better now.
In between the moments when my mind was not busy with work I reflected on a number of things. I don't want to sound mushy, but I'm glad my reflection always ended with a happy thought.
One of my reflections was that of my stint in Stolt Nielsen, a global shipping company. When I filed my resignation, my closing statement was that I will forever be thankful to this company. Six months after, I'm amazed to find myself feeling more than thankful! And I can't contain my emotion that's why I wrote this post.
Stolt Nielsen made me feel so cared for as an employee. Very generous with benefits. Since it's multinational & relatively big I got exposed to diverse personalities & cultures. I gained great friends (both personal & professional)! I met & worked with amazing people! My bestfriend & I got to work in the same roof again that allowed me to enjoy more her company. I was given due recognition for my efforts that helped boost my self-steem. More than these, Stolt Nielsen opened up so many doors of opportunities for me that allowed me to grow more as a person and as a career woman. I don't say that Stolt Nielsen is perfect and that all had been sunshine in my entire employment. Just like any other organization, to my eyes, it had its own inefficiencies & politics. I struggled to fit in. My employment had its rainy & stormy days. In fact, I left with a heavy heart because of some misunderstandings with my immediate boss. And too bad, we weren't able to patch things up (although I'm hopeful we will, one day). But truly, the bitter-sweet memories of my Stolt days combined all together is a blast! I'm more mature, more confident, more knowledgable and more blessed because of Stolt.
And, this is the reason why I feel better now.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Fastest Thing!
This has been circulating on the internet. Our Pastor even used this as part of his humor last Sunday. The person who wrote this is not only amusing. He's also brilliant! And, if Eleuterio is real & a true-blooded Filipino, wow! Now, we can claim, we're not just happy people. We're also quick-witted! Hahaha!
Cherish the laugh!
-----------------------------------------------------------------The HR Manager at CISCO was given the task of hiring an individual tofill a job opening. After sorting through a stack of resumes he found four people who were equally qualified. .. An American, a Russian, anAustralian and a Filipino. He decided to call the four in and ask them only one question. Their answer would determine which of them would get the job.
The day came and as the four sat around the conference room table the interviewer asked, "What is the fastest thing you know of?"Acknowledging Dave, the American on his right, the man replied, "A THOUGHT". It just pops into your head. There's no warning that it's on the way; it's just there. A thought is the fastest thing I know of.""That's very good!" replied the interviewer. And now you sir?" he asked Vladimir, the Russian. "Hmm.... let mesee. A blink! It comes and goes and you don't know that it ever happened. A BLINK is the fastest thing I know of." "Excellent!" said the interviewer. "The blink of an eye, that's a very popular cliche for speed."He then turned to George, the Australian who was contemplating his reply. Well, out at my dad's ranch, you step out of the house and on the wall there's a light switch. When you flip that switch, way out across the pasture the light in the barn comes on. Yep, TURNING ON A LIGHT is the fastest thing I can think of."
The interviewer was very impressed with the third answer and thought he had found his man."It's hard to beat the speed of light" he said. Turning to Eleuterio, the Filipino, the fourth and final man, the interviewer posed the same question. Eleuterio replied, " Apterherring da 3 frevyos ansers sirrr, et's obyus to me dat the fastestthang known is " DIARRHEA "
WHAT!?" said the interviewer, stunned by the response. "O I can expleynserrr ." said Eleuterio . " YOU SEE SERR, DA other day I wasn'tPeeeling so good and I run soo fast to the CR, but, before I could THINK, BLINK, or TURN ON THE LIGHT, sus ginoo, I already had a big shyet in my pants. Eleuterio is now the new "Senior Lead Engineer" at CISCO
Useful Household Tips
This was forwarded to our maillist in Butter-N-Toast, Toastmasters. I find it very interesting & useful so I took the liberty to post it. I hope you learn something from it too.
------------------------------------------------------------
Peel a banana from the bottom and you won't have to pick the little 'stringy things' off of it. That's how the primates do it.
Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store. If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster.
Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil. It will stay fresh much longer and not mold! Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating.
Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.
Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef. It will help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking.
To really make scrambled eggs or omelets rich add a couple of spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream in and then beat them up.
For a cool brownie treat, make brownies as directed. Melt Andes mints in double broiler and pour over warm brownies. Let set for a wonderful minty frosting.
Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste of garlic and at the end of the recipe if your want a stronger taste of garlic.
Leftover snickers bars from Halloween make a delicious dessert. Simply chop them up with the food chopper. Peel, core and slice a few apples Place them in a baking dish and sprinkle the chopped candy bars over the apples. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes!!! Serve alone or with vanilla ice cream. Yummm!
Reheat Pizza. Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it really works.
Easy Deviled Eggs. Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg. Just throw bag away when done easy clean up.
Expanding Frosting. When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar and calories per serving.
Reheating refrigerated bread. To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.
Newspaper weeds away. Start putting in your plants, work the nutrients in your soil. Wet newspapers, put layers around the plants overlapping as you go cover with mulch and forget about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening plastic they will not get through wet newspapers.
Broken Glass. Use a wet cotton ball or Q-tip to pick up the small shards of glass you can't see easily.
No More Mosquitoes. Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away.
Flexible vacuum To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings.
Reducing Static. Cling Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when wearing panty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks and ... ta da! .. static is gone.
Measuring Cups. Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.
Reopening envelope. If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Viola! It unseals easily.
Conditioner. Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's cheaper than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried it in your hair.
Goodbye Fruit Flies. To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass, fill it 1/2' with Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dish washing liquid; mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever!
Get Rid of Ants. Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it 'home,' can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, especially if it rains, but it works and you don't have the worry about pets or small children being harmed!
------------------------------------------------------------
Peel a banana from the bottom and you won't have to pick the little 'stringy things' off of it. That's how the primates do it.
Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store. If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster.
Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil. It will stay fresh much longer and not mold! Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating.
Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.
Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef. It will help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking.
To really make scrambled eggs or omelets rich add a couple of spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream in and then beat them up.
For a cool brownie treat, make brownies as directed. Melt Andes mints in double broiler and pour over warm brownies. Let set for a wonderful minty frosting.
Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste of garlic and at the end of the recipe if your want a stronger taste of garlic.
Leftover snickers bars from Halloween make a delicious dessert. Simply chop them up with the food chopper. Peel, core and slice a few apples Place them in a baking dish and sprinkle the chopped candy bars over the apples. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes!!! Serve alone or with vanilla ice cream. Yummm!
Reheat Pizza. Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it really works.
Easy Deviled Eggs. Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg. Just throw bag away when done easy clean up.
Expanding Frosting. When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar and calories per serving.
Reheating refrigerated bread. To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.
Newspaper weeds away. Start putting in your plants, work the nutrients in your soil. Wet newspapers, put layers around the plants overlapping as you go cover with mulch and forget about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening plastic they will not get through wet newspapers.
Broken Glass. Use a wet cotton ball or Q-tip to pick up the small shards of glass you can't see easily.
No More Mosquitoes. Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away.
Flexible vacuum To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings.
Reducing Static. Cling Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when wearing panty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks and ... ta da! .. static is gone.
Measuring Cups. Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.
Reopening envelope. If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Viola! It unseals easily.
Conditioner. Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's cheaper than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried it in your hair.
Goodbye Fruit Flies. To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass, fill it 1/2' with Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dish washing liquid; mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever!
Get Rid of Ants. Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it 'home,' can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, especially if it rains, but it works and you don't have the worry about pets or small children being harmed!
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
BPI vs. Metrobank
Today I was given the chance to compare services of two banks - BPI & MetroBank.
I'm really a BPI account holder but I was forced to transact with MetroBank because my contractor's account is in the said bank.
Convenience. BPI is better. Transferring of fund to another BPI account is just a click of the mouse after it's enrolled. They have many branches & seem to be linked tightly to each other. Depositing from another branch is very easy. Good banking system, I should say! With Metrobank I experienced waiting for almost an hour because they cannot find the branch where my contractor has his account! Their directory is not updated!
Personal Touch. I still favor BPI. I don't know. It may be because the approach of the Metrobank Personnel I talked to was not to my liking. It was too "bakya" for me. I felt awkward with how they tried to sell the bank's investment products to me. More so with how they asked questions about me. It was too blunt & intruding!
Professionalism. I would like to give credit to the guy who attended me. He was good in customer service. Looks professional too in the way he handles irate client. Too bad I was not able to get his name. (I got mad because my contractor gave me wrong info about his account & the teller didn't want to process it). I felt sad however, to see how loaded he was while his two other colleagues in the new account section were just *flirting* with one male client (sorry for the word). But I don't blame them. It seems like that male client brings in so much cash in the branch. Anyhow, it's good that I still have not encountered a BPI Personnel exchanging kinky jokes with a male client.
Overall, I'm happy I'm a BPI client. But I still want to give Metrobank the benefit of the doubt.
I'm really a BPI account holder but I was forced to transact with MetroBank because my contractor's account is in the said bank.
Convenience. BPI is better. Transferring of fund to another BPI account is just a click of the mouse after it's enrolled. They have many branches & seem to be linked tightly to each other. Depositing from another branch is very easy. Good banking system, I should say! With Metrobank I experienced waiting for almost an hour because they cannot find the branch where my contractor has his account! Their directory is not updated!
Personal Touch. I still favor BPI. I don't know. It may be because the approach of the Metrobank Personnel I talked to was not to my liking. It was too "bakya" for me. I felt awkward with how they tried to sell the bank's investment products to me. More so with how they asked questions about me. It was too blunt & intruding!
Professionalism. I would like to give credit to the guy who attended me. He was good in customer service. Looks professional too in the way he handles irate client. Too bad I was not able to get his name. (I got mad because my contractor gave me wrong info about his account & the teller didn't want to process it). I felt sad however, to see how loaded he was while his two other colleagues in the new account section were just *flirting* with one male client (sorry for the word). But I don't blame them. It seems like that male client brings in so much cash in the branch. Anyhow, it's good that I still have not encountered a BPI Personnel exchanging kinky jokes with a male client.
Overall, I'm happy I'm a BPI client. But I still want to give Metrobank the benefit of the doubt.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Sonya's Escapade
Last weekend we had an opportunity to dine & tour at Sonya's garden through the invitation of our friend, Leo.
I appreciated the food, composed of veggie salad, bread, pasta & dessert. But poor hubby missed the usual rice & viand! Fortunately, he enjoyed the dalandan juice & dessert!
After our lunch we toured the place. Truly, our eyes feasted. The ambiance gave a refreshing feel I couldn't explain! The landscape & the simple beauty of the flowers & plants around naturally enchanted us!
It was indeed a refreshing escapade! Thanks to Leo!
I appreciated the food, composed of veggie salad, bread, pasta & dessert. But poor hubby missed the usual rice & viand! Fortunately, he enjoyed the dalandan juice & dessert!
After our lunch we toured the place. Truly, our eyes feasted. The ambiance gave a refreshing feel I couldn't explain! The landscape & the simple beauty of the flowers & plants around naturally enchanted us!
It was indeed a refreshing escapade! Thanks to Leo!
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