D: “Ayoko kumain ng pochero kasi may saging.”

Me: “Bakit? Ayaw mo ng saging? Ang sarap-sarap nga ng saging eh.”

D: “Ayoko ng lasa ng saging, kahit amoy. Gano’n na ko nung bata pa ko.”

Me: “Ah. Siguro the same way ayoko ng hipon. Ayoko ng lasa, kahit amoy.”

D: “Ayaw mo ng hipon?!?! Weird mo!!!”

Me: “Mas weird ka kaya!”

D: “Mas weird kaaa!!!”

Hahaha! I have crazy teammates!

Things I Love About My Job:

1) Our big boss is very admirable. As the SVP of our department, everybody looks up to him and really values every word that comes out of his mouth not just because he is boss, but because he just makes total sense every time (no BS!). He is not the bossy and power-tripping type, instead he acknowledges people and takes time to listen to them without being condescending. He also has his moments where he puts too much pressure on everyone that it makes you want to scream your head off, but you know that he doesn’t do it just for the heck of it, but for the good of the company.

2) My immediate superior is a smart, resolute, and supportive mentor. She makes it a point to guide us every step of the way, and once we get the hang of it, she lets us go like a mother would her baby birds, hehehe. And because she is an all-around digital and management person (web marketing, design, development, analytics, etc. ) I learn a lot from her everyday and I aspire to be like her someday.

3) Combining #1 and #2, my bosses are both web-savvy. They believe ONLINE is the “in” thing today and that it would drive more revenue to the company with lesser cost. I can run an idea by them and they will welcome it sincerely, questioning only if necessary to enhance and further challenge the idea. In other words, we all speak the same language. I imagine if I have to report to a traditional sales and/or marketing person who hasn’t fully embraced “online” yet, I will have to waste time and energy explaining something as simple as pay-per-click or web analytics every time!

4) There are so many materials to promote online. Based on past experiences, it is an online marketer’s problem to think of content and ideas on how to promote a particular website that, more often than not, leads you to a dead end if you have very few available materials. The “brand” I handle now is so diverse that my problem is actually how I can cover everything. More content = more ways to possibly attract traffic (and hopefully convert them).

5) Employees get a 90% discount on cruises. Sounds good to a semi-traveler like me! This discount also applies to my immediate family and the spouses/children of my siblings. 50% off for friends I share a cabin with. Kaya tara na, let’s cruise! :) I also like the fact that the company I work for is in the travel and hospitality industry. My secret dream is to work for this particular airline company whose online marketing campaigns I’ve always admired. (Hint: it’s not any of our local airlines! Lol.)

6) It only takes me 10-15 minutes to get to work if I take a cab from my place. I can get out of bed as late as 8:00am, leave the house at 8:50am and still make it to work on time, thanks to the SLEX Skyway! And our 15-minute grace period! Downside is, it is pretty difficult catching a cab in the morning and it hurts my wallet terribly. But this is my preferred commute the past two months because it is just so freakin’ hot outside! (Dear car, please come sooner…)

7) The company, particularly our department, is pretty lenient. We can come to the office late, leave early, take a leave of absence on short notice, and find that these are still acceptable. But only to a certain extent. Fortunately, my colleagues and I don’t abuse this “privilege.”

8) Salary is on time (sometimes even early), sick leave credits are convertible to cash, and HMO coverage is wide. Someday, I hope they can also arrange auto/housing loan for us employees and extended health benefits for our families.

9) I love my teammates and the bond I’ve formed with them. I get at least one hearty laugh with them everyday and an exchange of interesting personal stories over lunch/coffee or in the middle of work. I also realized that even though I can be a “one-man team” if need be, I work more effectively and efficiently when I’m in a team where collaboration is something that happens naturally. I value the times our team can all just sit down and share ideas.

10) And THIS JUST IN! Something that made me go “Hooray!” today (thus the title of the post) and made me open my blog. We were called into a meeting earlier this afternoon to break the news that starting this week, we will have a compressed 5-day work week, which effectively eliminates our Saturday work day. Can I get a YAY?! YAY!! I am so happy about this news that I’ve decided it’s definitely another concrete reason to stay in my current job. Or at least, a reason not to leave yet.

Of course I had to write this in my Happiness Project. It’s the highlight of my day. :)

As I’ve mentioned in a post before, work stuff for me can change drastically so I’m always watching out for surprises. But at this point in time, I’m just glad I was able to ponder on what I appreciate about my current job because it inspires me to be better at what I’m doing and be hoping for the best. But let’s see what happens in 3-6 months. After all, this one’s not written in stone.

Photo grabbed from their Facebook Page

“The Filipino Tenors: Finally In Concert!” was held at the Teatrino Greenhills Promenade in San Juan City last April 20. I came to the concert to show my support for my friend, Jenmai de Asis (yes! full name dapat!), but I left the theater as a fan of the whole group! I enjoyed the concert so much I found myself entranced by their powerful classical voices and bopping along to their fun Jersey Boys rendition. But several times while watching them, I couldn’t help giggling at Jenmai’s serious “performance-level” look on stage because I know how a kolokoy he is off stage, LOL.

I was only about 5 rows away from the stage. Smallish theater lang pala,
I really thought Music Museum was bigger!

Change costume… stylish Barong Tagalog naman as they sing Filipino songs.

I enjoyed this part of the concert, the Jersey Boys medley!

Special participation: Dulce, Ina Salonga, Hadasa, and Marie Anne Dominese.
Standing ovation talaga at the end! :)

The Filipino Tenors are so good they are already booked for a concert tour in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia this July 2013. Yes naman!!! I’m a proud friend!

Like them on Facebook or know more about them here. :)

Now at 1 year & 6 months, Leeland can say some simple words to tell us what he wants. I particularly love how clear and cute he says the word “apple” hehehe. I gave him a set of flash cards last Christmas and he already knows them all now! What a smart kid!

I haven’t seen Leeland in two months because their family is now residing in Batangas so I was a bit worried that he won’t recognize me anymore. But he did and he gave me a big hug upon seeing me! I miss him so much it makes me sad that I’m not able to visit him as often as last year.

My other nephew, Uno, is just sooo cuuute! I can’t help giggling whenever I play with him, and I can’t stop pinching his cheeks and arms and legs and everything! It is so easy to make him laugh, but maybe it’s because he’s at the age (almost 5 months) where he finds everything amusing? Hehehe. He loves watching nursery rhymes and cartoons on the iPad and BabyTV/Disney Junior channels so you can actually leave him for a few minutes (okay, seconds) and still find him glued to what he’s watching when you come back.

Baby Uno was unfortunately born with G6PD deficiency so we’re always extra careful with him, with what everyone around him eats, or what his environment is. But as his doctor says, babies/kids with this case are still able to lead normal lives so we’re not too worried about him. Plus, he is just too happy a baby that we know he’s just going to be alright!

This cute chinita is Akisha, Leeland’s cousin on his mommy’s side of the family.

Tita-nephew love! I’m excited for my forthcoming niece to join in the fun!

Before the wedding day of Deej’s uncle last April 4, I overheard their family talking about not hiring a professional photographer anymore to cut down the wedding expenses. So on the day of the wedding, I made sure I brought my camera with me in case they needed a spare one. True enough, the battery of the only camera they were using died just before the ceremony started so I volunteered to take pictures of the whole event. Hehe, bibong-bibo lang! I’m no expert obviously, but I had fun experimenting and pretending I knew what I was doing to make the guests think I was THE official wedding photographer, hehehe. I swear I tried not to say “O, wacky naman!” (because I really hate that haha) but the videographer they hired did it on my behalf so sige na nga lang. LOL.

In fairview, they were happy with the results of the pictures. But at zero cost they really can’t complain :))

Cheers to the newlyweds! :)

So on this last day of my March Vacation Leave streak, I woke up thinking I shouldn’t let it go to waste by just lying around. While helping out a hostee set up a new domain on her blog, I thought of finally sitting down to cross one item from my mental to-do list: to create a page promoting my blog hosting mini-business. Look, it has been added to the navigational menu above!

I’ve been offering blog hosting to my friends (and friends of friends!) for the last six years and today I thought of inviting other bloggers to take advantage of these very affordable blog hosting services. Fresh from the oven, click here to read what I spent hours composing today! Hehehe. Obviously, I am not very efficient when it comes to writing posts.

Please invite your friends to sign up with me, that would really mean a lot! As low as PHP 84/month lang! Murang mura! :)

OK, that’s all! Back to regular programming tomorrow!

Some years back when I was still blogging actively (yeaaah, I considered myself a “blogger” once! lol) and was starting to gain new friends from the Blogosphere (this is what we used to call it then, what do kids call it nowadays?), Google Reader was (and still is!) one of the most useful tools at a blogger’s disposal to stay connected/engaged with other bloggers. You can only call yourself a true blogger then if you know what RSS means! LOL. Along the way, I’ve tried other readers (web-based, software, Mac App, mobile, etc.) but I always go back to Google Reader because I am obsessed with its very simple user interface. So much so that whenever I tweak my blog or change my WordPress theme, and after trying out several font styles and sizes, I always go back to Arial 13px. Hehehe. Less is more, yes?

I may have stopped blogging at one point or another, but my Google Reader has always been bookmarked and is consistently open, even preceding my GMail, Twitter, and Facebook browser tabs so I’m still updated with my favorite blogs and news sites.

We still have 3 months to utilize our Google Reader accounts yet I’ve started to look for alternatives today. See, that’s how important my reader is to me! Or low EQ lang talaga?! I’m currently testing out Bloglines which I’ve actually tried years ago, and The Old Reader. I am leaning toward the latter because they say it’s the one that’s very similar to Google Reader. Sold agad! But with everyone looking for an alternative reader to move to today, the site is currently upgrading to cater to more users. I can almost imagine a virtual stampede happening right now!

The Old Reader

The silver lining in the whole Google Reader dying is we can actually export the OPML file from our Google Reader accounts and import our subscriptions to other readers. I guess it’s not really a complete loss since we don’t have to start from scratch.

So anyway, let me know which reader you’re using so I can also try! I prefer a web-based one.

Goodbye, Google Reader. I miss you already. (OK sorry, OA na. Haha.)

Today at the office was no different from other days. Until my brother, who mans our store in Makati, interrupted me in the middle of something important. At first I thought it was something urgent that he had to suddenly bombard me with private messages on Facebook. It wasn’t urgent, but it was definitely attention-grabbing!

My brother messaged me out of the blue to tell me the story of one of his walk-in customers at the store. Usually, the stories he would tell me are negative ones: grumpy and annoying customers, spoiled demanding kids, parents who would haggle incessantly, etc. But this time, it was about a guy who has been a long-time customer.

According to my brother, this guy would come almost every week to buy a pack of Instax wide films from him. He would come to the store with a smile on his face, pay for his order, and leave. He doesn’t haggle or make any fuss. For a long time, my brother thought that this guy was someone’s driver or personal assistant since he doesn’t look like he’s someone who’s fond of instant photography. Not to belittle the guy, but this was my brother’s impression of him brought about by his “looks” because it was actually a common thing that employers or amo would just ask their help (usually yayas or drivers) to go to our store to get them whatever (films, cameras, accessories). I’ve encountered this a lot of times, too. Today when this particular Manong dropped by the store again to make his usual purchase, my brother decided to strike up a conversation with him. He asked the guy where he’s from and who usually uses up the pack of film he buys from the store, expecting the guy to say that he has an employer who’s just crazy addicted to Instax. But he was surprised to hear when the guy said it was actually him who uses the films. How and why? It turns out, this guy owns an old Instax wide camera (perhaps an Instax 200) and every night he roams the KTVs and clubs in the Makati red light district and takes Instax pictures of strangers, mostly foreigners. He buys the films from our store since he just lives close by, then he sells the photos he takes at 120php each. It suddenly occured to my brother why the guy usually pays him with loose change, mostly 5-peso coins! This is the guy’s “sideline” (or maybe his only source of income, it wasn’t clear) to support his children.

There are two challenges that Manong faces in his photography raket: 1) his camera’s batteries run out quickly, so he still has to set aside budget for battery replacement; and 2) not all the photos he’s taking are being bought by his “subjects,” so each wasted print is, of course, considered a loss.

But assuming he is able to sell all his 20 prints, I imagine Manong earns roughly 1,300php for every pack of film he consumes. Definitely not bad for a sideline!

My brother told me that he was actually welling up when Manong was telling him his mala-MMK life story, and while reading my brother’s messages on Facebook, so was I! I guess we were deeply moved because we feel that somehow we are able to help this customer of ours make a living out of the films we sell. We decided that the next time he comes back, we’ll surely give him big discounts and freebies!

I told this story to my boss over lunch today and we both got rebuked because our usual financial concerns revolve around how payday is still a long way off, or how we’re both wishing to have a car for easier transport. Hehehe. Nakakahiya ang mababaw na concerns namin!

I have to admit, I am always annoyed when random photographers bother me at weddings/graduations/what-have-yous by selling me printed pictures of myself. But imagining Manong doing an honest living out of his trusty Instax camera only brings a smile to my face. I wish him well in his “business endeavor.” :)

Manong‘s story, of course, made it to my daily Happiness Project! <3

Aside from briefly looking at the stationary Panagbenga floats in the afternoon of Feb 24, we avoided places where most people were, so we dined in not-so-popular and a bit upscale restaurants and coffee shops. But mostly what we did in Baguio last weekend was to relax in Jeff and Van’s sofa watching movies and series on their ginormous TV! Lazing the weekend away, doing nothing in cool weather? Now that’s my ideal R&R!

Another major thing we did last weekend was EAT, EAT, EAT like it’s our last day on earth. I cut myself some slack from my no-rice & everything-else-in-moderation diet and ate anything I want, which I regretted immediately after, hehehe. I wasn’t able to take pics of our lunch at PNKY Cafe but the food was really good, too. Below are Instagrams I took of our very short trip.

We were told by Jeff & Van (the “locals”) that the usual Baguio tourist attire is shorts + jacket.
We can’t help it, these are the only clothes we brought! And we really are tourists! Lol.

An almost 3-hour body scrub + sauna + heavenly massage with the girls at North Haven Spa. When we asked the guys what they did while we were away, they answered, “Pillow fighting and polishing their nails.” I knew it!

We had lunch at this really nice restaurant called Forest House. I fell in love with the place because it looks like a quaint country cottage inside, complete with a fireplace and an awesome mountaintop view!

I had the Forest House Salmon for lunch. For some reason, I always order salmon when I see it on any menu.

A fridge magnet giveaway at Forest House for the Panagbenga Festival.

After our heavy lunch meal, to sweat it off a bit, we drove to Camp John Hay and
spent more or less 20 minutes traversing the Eco Trail. Parang nasa Forks lang!

Thanks to Jeff & Van, we will, for as long as they haven’t left the place, have an open invitation to visit their home in Baguio. Para na rin kaming may rest house, hehehe. See you again soon, City of Pines!

“What you do every day matters more than what you do every once in a while.”

Writing in a journal religiously was never my strong suit. Sure, I have accumulated journals from when I was a kid that I’ve been keeping somewhere (for my eyes only) but I never ever use them up. It’s a major achievement if I at least reach mid notebook!

So imagine my face lighting up when my boss gave me this super cool gift, The Happiness Project, for my birthday! One-sentence journal? It’s perfect! And I love that it’s a 5-year record of daily happy moments, so when I update next year (and the year after that, after that, and after that), I will be able to see what I’ve written exactly a year ago.

My boss also lent me the The Happiness Project guide but I haven’t started reading it yet. Self-help books usually make me go Zzzzz. Let’s see if this one doesn’t.

On my new simplistic journal, the challenge is to write down one sentence reflecting what made me happy in a day. Why is this a “challenge”, you ask? I’ve been doing this daily exercise since I got the journal and to be honest, it’s hard thinking about something that made me happy on days that were CRAPPY (ALL CAPS for emphasis). If you know me personally (and partly, through this blog) you know that I’m always a jolly, glass-is-half-full kind of person. But the truth is, I have my own episodes that make me go “FML“, “KILL ME NOW“, “WTF, WORLD?!” Yep, I’ve been having a lot of those, especially lately. I try to contradict those thoughts with my mantra: “In everything, give thanks.“, “This too shall pass.“, “Someday this would all make sense.” which I say to myself as I utter a tearful prayer. But I know most people would be able to relate when I say, it’s not always easy under-reacting to life’s negative circumstances. Person only!! (Tao lang.)

On a perfectly good day, it would be a breeze writing in the journal, but on a day that I want to question everything, I will force myself to be like Pat Peoples who always tries to look for the silver lining in every cloud. Whether it’s as simple as a fine weather, a successful online campaign at work, a good old-fashioned belly laugh with friends, a pleasant workout, a day out with family (which rarely happens nowadays), or a good book or movie — these should always beat the bad moments and make their way to my one-sentence happiness journal. Now THAT is the challenge.

There is a daily happiness quote on every page of the journal and here are some that caught my attention thus far:

Aim to live so that you don’t look back, at the end of your life or after some great catastrophe, and think, “How happy I was then, if only I’d realized it!”

Happiness is contagious. Happy people make people happy.

Happiness, not in another place but this place, not for another hour but this hour. -Walt Whitman

Challenging yourself to learn something new brings happiness because it allows you to expand your self-definition. You become larger.

“Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for?” -Robert Browning

I’m looking forward to finishing this Happiness Project in 5 years! Assuming I don’t lose the journal and/or if I’m still around then. :)

***

Every Day by David Levithan

This is a fantasy story about a soul named A, who wakes up every day in the body of a different person. This is something that’s been happening to him since birth and it’s not something he can help. At exactly 12:00MN, he is painfully transported to another person’s body, so he learned from experience not to fight it anymore. He lives a certain person’s life for a day but does his best not to get attached or mess anything up.

A is not exactly a “he” but in the story, while he is in the body of a person named Justin, A unexpectedly falls in love with Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon. So in the reader’s head, A is a guy. A lovestruck, hopeless romantic one. Every day since they met he does whatever he can to be close to Rhiannon, even driving hundreds of miles and skipping school. It’s tricky because, as mentioned, he wakes up every day in a different body and is usually hours away from Rhiannon. And it’s exactly this premise why I could not put the book down. Given that plot, wouldn’t you want to find out the ending of the story too?

I believe this book is for Young Adults but it gets you thinking (as a non-young adult :P) if you were in Rhiannon’s place, can you really love someone regardless of what they look like on the outside?

I rate this book 3 out of 5 stars, simply because it’s a unique story and it gave me a fleeting moment after I finished reading it.

***

The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick

The story is narrated by Pat Peoples, who has just gotten out of the mental institution (or what he calls “the Bad Place”), where he was staying for four years after a massive breakdown caused by his divorce. He is convinced that his life is directed by God and that he is destined to have a happy ending. Pat tries his best to get his life back on track until he is reunited with his ex-wife Nikki (or when, what he calls “Apart Time”, is over).

Pat is clearly delusional but in an adorable way, he is a character you can’t help rooting for. On the road to self-improvement, he eventually learns the real score between him and Nikki, with the help of his friend Tiffany. The last few chapters are crucial because it’s where all the issues (and a love confession) blow wide open.

In just one day, I finished The Silver Linings Playbook since the chapters are short and entertaining the whole way through. While reading it, I was also downloading the movie version starring Bradley Cooper (hot!) and Jennifer Lawrence (even hotter! lol). The film is different from the book in many ways (they focused more on the story of Pat and Tiffany and not on Pat’s personal journey pining for his ex-wife) but I liked both versions equally.

After I read the book and watched the movie (all in one day!) I honestly felt that I was becoming a little cuckoo, too! Pat’s philosophy in life is if you look hard enough for the silver lining, you will have a happy ending. It’s not exactly a crazy philosophy :)

This is a 4 out of 5 stars for me.

***

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

The story is about a 16-year old girl named Hazel, a medical marvel/survivor who was diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer. Hazel might still be sick, but with the help of her parents, she tries to live her life as normal as she can (even though she is tethered to an oxygen tank probably for the rest of her life). One day, she meets Augustus Waters at a cancer support group. They get to know each other and a wonderful love story begins. Together they face life, and the creeping doubt that death could be just around the corner waiting for either or both of them.

The Fault in Our Stars is a YA book, but it’s honestly a little heavy because it deals with sickness and loss. (Or maybe I just find it heavy because I relate it to my father’s death #IHateYouCancer.) The book is filled with good and funny life insights from the two protagonists, which I think are too much coming from teenagers. But this is just a light YA read so I shouldn’t read too much into it.

I rate this book 2 out of 5.

***

After these three recent light reads, I’m ready to go back to “long, serious, and heavy.” Game of Thrones Season 3 is looming, it premieres 03.31.13! Will now resume A Storm of Swords (third volume of the A Song of Ice and Fire series). The Casual Vacancy and 1Q84 are next on my list.

Any book recommendations for me? :)