The Journey. It’s Mine. [My personal take on love, life, parenting and blogging.]

The ultimate rejuvination regimen:

Food? Check. Laundry done? Check. Afternoon nap? Check. ‘Imported labandero’? Check. Internet connection? Check.

Was hoping I can go back to regular blogging mode this weekend, but sleeping and resting got the better of me. Earlier today, I bought food that will last ’til Sunday. Now I can spend the rest of the weekend in total recluse.

I just realized that if you are commuting daily like me, the road (read: all the too many people and the vehicles on it) and the outside world in general can really get stressful. In fact, stressful compared to the actual work that you do in the office.

No wonder I’d rather stay inside my little apartment on weekends. And now that I am connected at home? I have an excuse to forget the outside world and relax on cyberspace instead.

Hello indeed. Daragang Magayon is still alive in kicking. ‘Factory worker’ at the moment, spending an average of 4 hours a day on the commute. It’s been a month since I moved into my own apartment. That was a huge accomplishment! No complaints so far, except the commute time just takes too long. So I’ll most probably be moving to Calamba in a few months — depending on how my contract turns out…we’ll see.

The best news however is that Globe Wimax was installed just now. So expect me to be more visible online in the coming days. Actually I’m so excited to blog again, (even if it’s just about top anti aging products and totally unrelated to what I used to do) I can still use the moolah you know.

To say that I miss blogging and having my own internet connection at home, is a huge understatement. Anyways, I’m just glad I haven’t been ‘fired’ by the blog network yet. Now I know what I’m gonna spend my nights and weekends on. He he.

Time flies and I’m still technically living in a suitcase. Now I know why God gave me many good friends who are practically family — because this day will come.

The family I’m staying with right now is spending their Christmas vacation in Singapore. They’ll be back after the New Year. Now I have their whole house to myself with a ‘very maasikasong yaya’ to boot. How cooler can things get than that?

Though I found the perfect room for rent (read: decent and affordable), it’s only going to be vacated by February. The current occupant is leaving for a scholarship in Belgium. The said room is currently on-hold for me and the nice lady who owns it used to work with my ex-employer here in LB. It’s certainly great to have old connections still intact.

Got an invitation to spend Christmas with my oldest bestfriend in the whole world and Raine isn’t crying anymore when I talk to him on the phone. Stuff are starting to look up, that’s for certain.

Once more, it is the holiday season and we all get caught up in the festivities, the never-ending shopping sprees, the gift-giving and all the material things that we want for Christmas. Amidst the beautiful trees and wreaths, the glistening colorful lights that adorn every home and the numerous parties that need attending to…we often forget the true essence of Christmas and the things that really matter.

It’s not about how beautiful your Christmas tree is this year, it is more about the loveliness of the hearts of the persons that put up and adorned that tree. It’s not about who’s got the brightest, most colorful and high-tech Christmas lights in the neigborhood, but it is more about whether you have ever shed light over those that are groping in the dark.

It is certainly not about the parties, the food and the gifts but it is more about essential things that feed the spirit, warms the heart and lifts the soul.  

What matters the most is that you have a loving family to come home to every night. In case you live away from them, you get huge consolation in the fact that they are just a phone call, a text message or an FB status away. I never thought that short lines such as “Pauwi ka na siguro…ingat. I love you.” , “Sleep well now, work bukas. I love you.” and “Mama I miss you, I love you.” could mean so much before now.

So much that I feel a whole lot richer than the 740-M lotto winner.

It’s a good thing we need to change into plant uniforms at the plant. Too much accessories, even something as cheap as Cubic Zirconia aren’t allowed inside.

Well I brought only a bag of clothes and other personal stuff with me that’s good for a week. All my other stuff are yet to arrive, that will all depend on when I can get my own place around here.

Christmas-related merryments have started in the workplace and I’m truly glad that I joined my new group’s Christmas party the other night. I needed that, despite the personal constraints I’m in right now. Constraints such as being away from my own family and some budget constraints that keep me from being totally merry for the holiday seasons. Not that money is the sole reason to be merry this Christmas, but you know what I mean.

I miss Raine a LOT. That alone is an understatement. But at this point in time, first things come first. And my top priority right now is getting my groove back at the workplace and finding the right spot for me under the sun. After that, all other things will fall into their right spots.

As much as I wanted to reside in LB once more, I’ll just have to settle for Calamba this time - to save on fare and lessen the stress of the daily commute. Well I guess I’ve been hiding inside the confines of my W-A-H hole for too long that I need personalized stress balls to handle the toll that too crowded ‘crossings’ are giving me these days.

Has it been that long or are there just too many people on the road these days? I feel like the numbers turned 5-folds since the time I’ve been commuting in these areas. And I thought my sleepy, provincial city is crowded already! No permanent address just yet, but at least I have established my morning routine already. Baby steps for now, we all make it somehow.

…time to rest.

Rest while doing the laundry.

Rest while blogging.

At least those activities keep me from missing Raine more.

Because it’s a non-working holiday today, I totally forgot that it’s Monday! It has been raining non-stop the whole day and it wasn’t really a good idea to get out.

While it’s Cyber Monday in the US, Filipinos flocked to the malls today for an early Christmas shopping. At least those who already got their end-of-the-month pay. It’s just the 29th after all.

Good thing I had no Monday blues today. It certainly felt like Sunday anyway and I did the laundry (despite the sun’s absence!) and some long-due cleaning up.

Hope everyone had a nice and restful long weekend! Tomorrow it’s back to the daily grind.

Oo natapos din ang masalimuot na kalbaryong pangkalusugan, at nasa aking palad ang kapirasong pagtitibay na kaya ko pang magkaron ng magagawa sa kabila ng aking dinaramdam (nakalalasong bosyo!). He he.

Nasimulan sana nung Lunes ang magagawa na aking tinutukoy. Subali’t nagligalig ng maigi ang mga bicolanong manggagamot na tumitingin sa akin. Maaring matapos ito sa susunod na limang buwan, kaya’t tulungan nyo naman po akong manalangin na sana ay mapalawig pa ito ng mga kinauukulan.

Ganyan talaga kung minsan, kelangan munang sumuot sa butas ng karayom.
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Throughout life, we sometimes find ourselves drifting with the tide. Sometimes bouncing like balls in many different directions. In the real world, some of us needed to walk down winding roads that never seem to go anywhere while some needed only a bit of luck to end up in the right place at the right time.

Fortunate are those who have figured out that they can fly long before they could walk. Fortunate are those who have found their other halves long before they realized what an other half really means.

Most fortunate are those who realized that they can still make something good out of the rotten tomatoes that life has been throwing at them. However, some of us are just too unfortunate to be growing tomatoes when the world needed apples instead. Either way, you still end up with rotten tomatoes!

(more…)

Been home alone since Thursday night, hoping I could do some decent amount of work without Raine in the house. (I sent him packing to Lola’s house after class on Thursday afternoon. Regular class for him resumes on Wednesday.).

Since he left though, the rain never stopped. It’s been the 3rd night and I have weathered heavy downpours and thunderstorms. I’m really surprised there is still electricity as that’s always the first to go even at just the sign of heavy rains. Fortunately, I just experienced flickering of electric power.

As far as the internet connection is concerned, the connection always slows down whenever it is raining. Is that really true for Smart Bro? I just don’t get it.  It shouldn’t be right? Anyways, I just used those down-times to get some much-needed sleep.

The internet connection is holding on for now. I’ve been ‘locked up’ here for days (I just went out once last night to stack the food supply) and it would be a disaster if I get disconnected to the rest of the world. I’m giving myself some 24 more hours here, then I’m off to the barrio to be with the family in time for the November 1 activity (All Saints’/Souls’ Day a.k.a. Day of the dead).

Election paraphernalias didn’t reach my barrio in time for Monday’s Barangay Elections. So like most Barangays here in my province, we all had to vote yesterday. Public schools have no classes yesterday (elementary and high school levels) as announced by DepEd. Most schools are on their semestral break this week anyway.

But Raine’s school doesn’t have a sem break and they held regular classes yesterday as previously scheduled. So I had to dash to the barrio after Raine’s lunch break to cast my vote.

Times like yesterday, I wish we can just vote online using a notebook computer. So we can vote anywhere we are, without leaving home or office.

Good thing there was no queue at the voting center when I arrived so I was able to vote without getting stressed out and harassed. Ours was a pretty quiet voting center yesterday. In fact, I spent more time waiting for the city-bound jeepney than voting.