What’s for breakfast?

One of the advantages of living alone is that I get to eat anything that my heart desires. I don’t have to consult someone else on what they want to eat. And most of all, I don’t have to worry on when would be the next meal. Your dinner might be my lunch.

I woke up at 10 this morning. I was hungry since I skipped dinner last night. I opted to watch tv and laid lazily on my bed until I fell asleep.

I decided to cook the baby potatoes for breakfast. Honestly, I am not fond of potatoes. Well, not the way how Filipinos used it for cooking probably. But with my own recipe – I think I got the inspiration by watching the Lifestyle Network too often – I learned to love it.

I simply sautéed the baby potatoes with the olive oil, put a little butter, add chopped garlic, dried oregano and rosemary. When the potatoes were soft, I topped with chopped cheddar cheese. This is my own way of enjoying the baby potatoes.

Just a phase

Just the other day, I thought I am going to lose my job. By the sudden twist of events, through hard work and faith, I am back to one.

I have been working with a sales company for 6 years now. When I started, there were barely 40 employees. Everyone seems to know everybody.

Lot of things has change since then. We moved from one floor of the building to another to cater the growing number of people coming in.

The biggest change was when the company was bought by a large company. It was a nice marketing strategy that puts the company in a better position.

The internal change didn’t happen overnight. It was a bit slow at first. But after 6 months or so, it became more evident. And though changes were anticipated since the acquisition, to most of us we still get surprised if not blown away.

Many of my colleagues have taken a different route while some remained. The past several months were very challenging for me that I thought it really stripped me down to the core. I could have taken similar route– simply leave the company before I would be asked to.

I never thought that I could cry like a baby in front of my managers and in front of the team. The thought of it is so embarrassing. But at that very moment, it doesn’t really matter. It is merely an impulse for someone who cares about her job and the frustration from not hitting the goals for months.

The situation I was in had made me realize the value of my job specifically this sales job. I had made a declaration for countless times that sales is really difficult but this is also the job where money comes in. Some times it would even felt like manna pouring down from heaven. But if it’s all because of the money, I could still have chosen to go away. It is absurd to stick with a job that feels like hell. Everyday is full of remorse. I can’t live each day like that. I might end up cold and floating in Pasig river.

Honestly, when I first started, I didn’t feel that I am suited for the job. But as times goes, I learned to love and enjoy what I do. And not only that, I enjoyed the camaraderie so much and the working environment that makes leaving terribly hard.

It is not definite on what is going to happen next. But this is what I am sure of right now, and that is I have triumphantly surpassed another challenging phase of my life.

Revisiting Paco Park

During the Spanish period, this park was once a cemetery for the aristocrats. Within its walls is a Catholic church dedicated to St. Pancratius.

It was converted into a national park during Diosdado Macapagal's administration. And through the efforts of Imelda Marcos when Ferdinand Marcos was the president, it was one of the chosen venues for cultural events.

We went there one Saturday morning before breakfast. As soon as we get in, it seems that we were taken back through time.  We walked through the pavement and stood amazed by its quaint wonders.

We had fun taking pictures.  Since the place has a romantic ambiance, we requested 2  of our colleagues to pose as lovers for us.  And to our delight, it looks very pleasing and we can't just stop from taking shots in different angles.

A visit to Old Manila

Together with my colleagues, we once again visited Intramuros, walk the old pathway, and be drawn by the ruins.

Before we started that memorable walk, we had to fill our empty stomach to give a boost to our declining energy. We just got out from our night shift and we might not make it unless we eat. We had breakfast near Manila Yacht club where also take a good pictures of our sole model with the harbor as the background.






Though the summer heat was intense that day, and we were sweating profusely, we had fun in taking pictures of whatever that caught our fancy. Well, of course our model/tourist guide make it all fantastic





For the nth time, we got fascinated with the old spanish buildings and the ruins.






We visited the Baluarte de San Diego.






Our session ended near Manila Cathedral where we parted our ways. Most have gone straight home, but for the four of us we decided to eat halo-halo at Chowking.

Adult life

During my younger years, I was so excited to get to adulthood. I was yearning for my independence. I’ve been wishing for my own place where I could arrange things the way I like it. I own my time – I can go out anytime I want, and come back very late. I eventually got what I wished for. It was exciting; I got my blood pulsing hard in my veins of anticipation of what is going to happen next. But later on, the fun and excitement declined. Right now, I am facing the fear of the unknown. I realized that adulthood is difficult. You can be happy at times, but it isn’t always like that. Just the mere thought of your responsibilities and the future can sometimes wipe the smile off your face.

I’ve been single for years; and I might be single for life. As of now, it is doing me good. There are so many things that I would like to do on my own. And there is still one thing that I want to do – travel in solo. I’ve always been a self-reliant person. Since a kid, my parents let me do things alone. I stayed with my aunt during my kindergarten years, and I even rented my own room during elementary. It is not surprising that I would grow up yearning for the same kind of life because I was brought up that way.

My single-hood seems to bother some people. But I am okay with it actually. And I don’t know why they worry so much. Some friends even tried pairing me up with someone. What’s pissing me really is when some would ask me why and looked at me like I am the most pitiful person in this whole wide world. Everybody doesn’t have to end the same way; everybody isn’t going to marry. I am not saying that I don’t want to marry, of course I’ve been praying for a life-time partner too. Somehow, I want to have someone who is going to love me not for what I am right now but who is going to be my long-term companion and who is going to hold my hands despite of my wrinkled skin and weak knees. And I do believe he is going to show-up when the time is perfect – that I would say would be God’s time. That time is not now.

Then I have my job. I really don’t want to say much about it but it is getting stressful everyday. Enough said! What is happiness with stress – None! But of course, it is my only source of income. How could I ever give up when I keep on thinking about my brother, liabilities and my bills. Gosh! How could I get out of the rat race!

Now that my father is gone, he silently left me with the responsibility to oversee my siblings. I may not be that effective but I am not irresponsible. As an eldest, I should be concern of the welfare of the family. My mother is old and I know that I should see her often but distance and money are my biggest obstacles. She and my 2 younger siblings are living in Misamis Oriental. Thanks to telecommunication technology, I don't have to write a letter and send it via snail mail and wait impatiently for the response. It is just recently that we kind of revive our relationship as a family considering a more than 10 years of absence. My parents got separated when were young but that is another story that I wanted to write next time.

The future is the outcome of my current decisions and actions. I have to do something very soon. Right now, it seems like I am watching things happen in my life. And I get lost while looking at the entire picture.

I get terribly sick. I’ve been in and out of the hospital a lot lately. I heard my body and my mind screaming halt. It is really getting tiring but I don’t have a room to be depressed. Everyday have been a conscious effort to have a dose of happiness despite of the challenges and pains of the adult life.

Dinner at AFC

Before Kentucky Fried Chicken had its place in Angeles City, AFC (Angeles Fried Chicken) was already known to serve Angeleños the tastiest chicken with very delicious gravy.

Last Sunday, we were again arguing where to eat dinner. And as an eldest of the group, I decided to take them to AFC. I miss that cozy ambiance.

The restaurant is located near Marlim Mansion. When you enter the establishment, you will first notice the covered patio. You can see the street from the inside because the walls were of glass windows. Another door will lead you to the dimly lighted main dining area. The waiters are all wearing their red uniform that perfectly match the tables clothed with checkered red.

We sat near the aquarium which is the coldest part of the restaurant.

We ordered 2 pieces of chicken, a big serving of AFC rice and a pitcher of Iced tea. I could barely finish my 2nd piece of chicken. It was a very satisfying meal yet we only paid less than P600.

Learning to unlearn

I am disgusted by the thought that I would be spending my lifetime as a corporate slave. I couldn’t bear the thought that I will get old living from paycheck to paycheck, setting aside just few pesos to save for my rainy days or worst is to save for my own funeral.

I thought about my father who died after merely couple months when he got diagnosed with cancer. His company didn’t provide him health insurance. Good thing that he was qualified to be my dependent in our company’s health card or else I wouldn’t have known where to get all the money to pay his hospitalization, medicine, among other expenses.

My father didn’t leave us with heirloom for us to live a comfortable life. He left us with a piece of land though and a great memory as a father and friend.

I love my father. I felt bad that he spent his entire life working hard to give us education and provide us with all our needs. And looking back, I thought that he really didn’t have a lot of chance to enjoy.

After he died, I was all broke. The situation put me in huge debt which I’ve been paying until this time.

All the liabilities hurt me so badly. This makes me realize that if I am to become a parent, I would like to make sure that I would leave a decent amount for my bereaved family, perhaps a decent amount to keep them going and to cover including my funeral expenses.

Whether I like it or not, the future will come. Whatever decisions or actions I will make at the present time will definitely create an impact in my future.

Right now, I obviously got money issues. I am a slave to my job because that is the only source of my income. I was hoping that instead of letting money control me, I should be in control of money and my life. Would that ever be possible? I am not losing my hope. I would slowly and willingly entangled myself to the wrong ideas about money, and start to learn on how to make money work for me rather than the other way around.