Hi, how are you?!?

I just happen to remember about this blog that I have and thought to check it to see if it's still working :P Lo and behold, it still is working eventhough my last post was waaaaay back May 2010.

As the Aussie greeting goes, "Hi, how are you?" I would like to reply, "Good, thanks! How are you?"

April 14

Last April 14, 2010 marked our 3rd yr wedding anniversary. The 2nd time that hubby is out of the country. I've actually met with my client that day and after two days, I went shopping! Well, that was one "happy" way to celebrate it, at least for me. :D

I got my 2nd lacoste bag (the 1st was also a gift from hubby) and a nice kenneth cole watch. I was leaning towards getting the imara keeva nike watch but hubby suggested i get a kenneth cole instead. Good thing i found a KC watch i like :)



oh and since the watch is on sale, i had the chance to get myself a havaianas slipper too!



Thanks to my dear hubby for giving me a budget to shop! Happy me!

Beware of a person named ARNOLD GOMEZ of GUESS Shop in MOA

I had a very terrible experience with a disrespectful, ill-mannered, and rude employee of a Guess Shop in SM Mall Of Asia.

I had a scheduled meeting with one of my December brides in MOA this afternoon and I decided to bring along Inigo and Mama since Ian can just pick us up there after he goes out of the office. Not knowing that Manny Pacquiao will be there at around 2pm, there were so many people gathered around the stage and within the area. We didn't even plan to watch hence, we decided to walk around and look for some place to eat instead. With the number of people in the area, you can hardly see where you are walking and you can hardly breathe. And since there are shops within the area, we decided to stop at GUESS boutique to catch some air and to let some people pass by since we are with Inigo and we are afraid that in any moment, there would be a stampede since Manny just came out of the stage and all of the people are trying to catch a glimpse of him and were running to the stage area.

We stopped at the front door of GUESS and after a few seconds, a guy was already telling us to go out. He is one of the staff of GUESS and he is standing beside the door. I told him that we will just let some people pass by since we are with a kid. He insisted and with a loud voice, he shouted at me saying "Ayan na o naglalakad na yung mga tao. Pwede na kayong dumaan!" At this point, i was fuming mad! Firstly, he should not be shouting at me. He could have said it in a more polite manner. He reasons out that we are blocking the entrance of their shop. Their door was wide open and at that point, we only occupy one side of the door. Nevertheless, he should have just told us to come inside so as not to block the door. I shouted at him also telling him that he need not to shout at me and I was asking him, "Baket, bawal ba dito?! Nakita mo nang madaming tao sa labas, hindi ba pwedeng maghintay ng saglit?" And at this point, we were already shouting at each other. Ian was not able to contain it also since he was hearing how the staff was shouting at me and reasoning out, Ian shouted at him also. I asked for the Store Manager and she was just staring at us when I saw her. She was apologetic however, she did not ask her staff to stop shouting and reasoning out.

The staff's name as what the Store Manager (Caludette Gaba) told me, is ARNOLD GOMEZ. I am planning to file a formal complaint to Calfiornia Clothing Inc., the distributor of GUESS here in the Philippines. I really feel that we were disrespected by this person and that their staffs should be given a training in customer service. Even if we just stopped by the store, we are still considered as customers and we should be given due respect. I have been a customer of GUESS ever since and I am really disappointed and upset about what happened.

I wasn't able to take a picture of ARNOLD GOMEZ but once I get hold a picture of him, i'll post it in this blog.

Thank you Tita Cory!

Me and my family joins the Philippine nation in mourning for the loss of one of our modern-day heroes, ex-President Corazon C. Aquino. I quote Fr. Mario Sobrejuanite, "Thank you God for the gift of Cory."

I hope that this will be a turning point as far as our government is concerned. Let's not put to waste what Cory fought for.

Salamat, Paalam at Hanggang sa muli Tita Cory!

Another year, another chance

God has given me another year and I consider it as a chance for me to become a better person. So much has happened in my life and I can not thank God enough for all the good things that happened at the same time.

I hope and pray that God will continue to guide me as I continue to journey and to try to be the best that I can be.

Andrea Laureen

We are happy to share with you another God's beautiful blessing to us -- Andrea Laureen!

I gave birth to another bundle of joy (this time, a baby girl) last Monday, 06 April 2009 at the Paranaque Doctor's Hospital thru C-section. Laureen came out at exactly 9:10pm weighing 2.65kls and a length of 48in.

On Being A Parent

I am a member of an internet yahoogroup called NewlyWedsAtWork and I have been learning a lot from the members of the group in managing our home. I would like to pick up the topic that was posted by a n@wie-mate Jeng Agustin and she posted a question "Why do you want to have children?"

I am so amazed with how the group members were able to share their insights regarding the topic. Yes, being a parent is a choice and it is a lifetime responsibility and I would like to share my insights:

Being a parent is a choice and a privilege.

A choice.

When hubby and I got married, we know that we both want to have a child. And we are blessed that we had a honeymoon baby :D Inigo is 6 months now and nothing compares to the kind of fulfillment that me and hubby feels. Yes, there are endless of sacrifices that we have to do along the way and as long as we live. But the fact that we chose to have Inigo in our lives makes us realize that it's all worth it.

A privilege.

Every child is a gift from GOD. No matter how hard we pray and how a couple wants to have a child, if they are not blessed by GOD, it won't happen. I know a couple who tries and tries to have a child but until now they haven't been pregnant. And all it takes is patience and faith to the Lord. The couple that I know will have theirs in God's perfect time.

I want to quote a n@wie-mate Mylene when she said. "But you know what, you'll never know how much love your heart can hold, until someone calls you a Mommy or Daddy :-)" She's hit the bull's eye!

Another thing, you will have an additional special day (aside from your birthday) every year - Mother's Day or Father's Day! Teeheee!

CHILDREN completes the FAMILY.

It's Raining, It's Pouring....

Something that the rain makes me feel - calmness. Raindrops make me stop and think for a while. I love feeling the coldness, i so love not getting out of the bed.

Today was spent playing with my kiddo. You bet, he's got some antics and stuffs now. Inigo can easily fill anybody's day. I miss spending my whole day with him. (Imagine how Daddy Ian misses those! :C)

Inigo tried his sweatshirt that me and Daddy Ian bought him a couple of months back at Rustan's. Thanks to typhoon frank 'cause I remembered the sweatshirt and tried it on to Inigo and finally realizing that 2 months from now, he won't be able to wear it and Inigo surely will outgrow the poor shirt! haha!

Here's what he looked like the entire day..

"HomeBound"

Whenever we fail to attend mass every Sunday, I see to it that we watch the Sunday TV Mass aired in channel 23. I am not really a "devoted Catholic" as what others may say but I am proud to say that I have a personal relationship with my Lord. I strongly believe that my faith and not my religion who will save me. :)

One of my favorite priests, Fr. Mario Sobrejuanite, SSP was the one who led the mass and I was again happy with his sermon. He talked about life - the life after death. Sure, all of us are so afraid to die and leave the earth. Most of us think that it is "the end" which in fact, it is "the beginning". Death gives a message not to the person who died but to the people still living. A message that death is something we must not fear but should be something we must look-forward to.

As I sit in front of the television, listening to Fr. Mario, I whispered a little prayer to my Lord. I asked Him to make my heart look-forward to meeting Him in my next life for I lift my life unto Him.

Looking-forward to be "home-bound"....

Missing them...

It's almost a month since we relocated here in Makati. I should say that we're pretty much happy with our decision. But of course, there's also a lot of things that we miss down south. Quite frankly, it's the friends that we left behind whom we missed.

To Pet, Farrah and Bhe:

The happy horse weekend sessions are truly missed (most especially by daddy ian.. hahaha) Hope to see you all the soonest.

The Signature

I have been working my butt at work since this week and I feel so blessed to be given the opportunity to share my knowledge as an HR Practitioner. The trust that my company has given to me is valuable and I am positive that I have found my own niche in the industry.

Manel U. Cosinas
HR Manager
OPTWIZE INC.
"Your Strategic Outsourcing Partner"
www.optwize.com


I missed sending emails with signatures. haha!

On our own...

After almost a year of living with my parents, hubs and I decided to finally get a place of our own to live. We decided to settle in Makati since hubs is working there and to cut cost on his meal and transpo allowance. By the way, the condo is just a block away from hub's office. :)

We hired a helper/nanny to help us looking after Inigo for the times that I have to attend job interviews. (I am still in the process of attending endless interviews with different companies and as of now, no job offers yet. That is another subject to be blogged. :))

We are pretty happy with the place though parking is very challenging. After a week, we still do not have a parking space so we just settle to pay the parking on a daily basis. Geesh!

I'm back!

After a looong break from the blogging world, i'm happy to say that I AM BACK! Yiheee!

Just an update on what has been keeping me busy for the last few days:

1. Scouting for a house in Makati
2. Holy week vacation at Silang, Cavite and San Pablo, Laguna
3. Yaya-hunting
4. Job-Hunting

Oh well. We are very excited and looking forward to transferring to our new condo in Makati by next week. Yeba!

Of Filipino Beauty Pageants...

I am not an avid viewer of each and every Filipino Beauty Pageant there is that is why I was not able to watch the coronation night however, I would like to pick up the controversy as they say, on the last Bb. Pilipinas Beauty Pageant. A friend forwarded a Youtube link in my yahoomessenger and I was so shocked when I saw the video.

I truly believe that sending the candidate in the Ms. World pageant will be a misrepresentation of a true Filipina. WE ARE BETTER THAN THIS. What happened to the judges?! I would understand if the decision was through text voting. Tsk. We really are better than this.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=xKwmseoKFCo

Awards: Lots and lots of them!

I was too happy to be receiving these awards from leah. Such a sweet person, doesn't she?!

Thanks much much!

Happy to be baptised!

I promise to write about how Inigo's baptism went last Feb 24. But for now, I just wanted to share this picture of my little angel who is like telling the world that he is so "Happy to be baptised!"


I did it!

"That very tiring day.."

I had to pass up my blogging for a couple of days last week because I was really darn busy! Here's a quick run-down of how my "day" went:

22 February
I spent my day tracing where Inigo's birth certificate has gone! I literally tracked it down from the time it was filed at Paranaque's Local Civil Registry, to the field NSO office upto the NSO Main Office!

I was as early as 8am at the Pque City Hall only to be told that I have to go to the NSo Field office in Buendia since they already forwarded the document to them. They gave me a transmittal slip and off I went to the office.

I managed to be at the Buendia branch at around 10am, this time only to be told that they already forwarded the documents to the main office just the day before! Haha! Lucky me, I was off to Quezon Avenue 30 minutes thereafter! Geesh! I felt like a participant of the Amazing Race by going through the different set of clues! Heehee!

12nn I was biting my nails while patiently waiting to be moved a millimeter every 10minutes since I was in a not-so short line of the counter 24 of the NSO Center. With my stomach already crumbling, I realized my nails would not solve my problem. Good thing I bought a waffle at the MRT station. I finished the waffle without even drinking water as I was not convinced to leave the line..

Oh well, at around 2pm I took my way back to the MRT station with the NSO receipt noted that I should go back on March 7 at 2pm to claim the birth certificate.

And so I went to Glorietta to have my passport size picture taken. And you bet, I looked as haggard as I can be! So what's another 5 years of me being reminded of "that very tiring day" everytime I look into my passport, eh?

The Sexiest Award!

It was so thoughtful of Anna (a co-n@wie and now my co-blogger) to have given me this award now that I am contemplating on how to loose my pregnancy weight. Just last week, I was looking for something to wear for Inigo's baptism. And to my dismay, I had a really difficult(as in difficult) time looking for a dress or even a blouse for that matter. I remember telling my friend, Ruby "grabe ang panget ng katawan ko! haha!" after going out of the fitting room.

But now, I am so touched to have received this award..

Anna made my day! Teehee!

"Leavin'" La Vida Loca

I am a Filipino and have been living in the Philippines all the 26 years of my life. But I should tell that a total of 7 years of it, our family had to live without our father at home. He used to be an OCW (Overseas Contract Worker, as what they termed before) in a construction company in Japan. Mama and Papa decided that way to give us, their 2 children, a better life. I can not deny the fact that their decision was a good one as far as giving us the life they wanted us to have. I remember, all my school stuffs are Sanrio items, Disney items, and I can still remember how some of my classmates envy and some of them even stole my tiniest pink eraser just because it had a Hello Kitty stamp on it. We went to good schools during our formative years. I just remembered that my first school, when I was 3, is a public day-care center that's just a few blocks away from our house. After that, Mama and Papa made sure that we get to good, private schools. Since Mama is a full-time housewife eversince, Papa's remittances provided and supported all our finances. We even bought our own house, also considering that at that time, hindi naman masyadong malaki ang kita abroad.. But we still managed to live somehow, a comfortable life.

When I was still single, I have never considered or even imagined working abroad. This is for the reason that my family is here, my friends are here, and I have my career here. But now that I am having my own family, I begin to realize that leaving the country for a greener pasture is a decision that I can and may consider. I am beginning to truly appreciate what Mama and Papa decided 20 years ago. It is sad, having heard the news, that the politics here in the Philippines is not doing any good to Filipinos at all. And I, as an expectant parent, could not imagine what kind of life my children would have 20 to 30 years from now should we still stay here. I still have a childhood memory when I was about 4 or 5 years old, where my cousins and I would play jeep-jeep-an and we just have to pay our "manong jeepney driver" 75 cents for the fare. Just imagine how much would be the jeepney fare 20 or 30 years from now.

Just today, I know two people who had their flights for a greener pasture overseas. One is a cousin, and the other one, a highschool classmate. They are both heading to the Middle East to be an Accountant and a Flight Attendant. Some of my grade school friends who finished nursing were already in the US practicing.

Reality begins to set in. More and more Filipinos are ever taking the risk of leaving the Philippines. Sad, but true.

My 1st Christmas

It's 21 days before Christmas. It is somehow a first Christmas for me - my first Christmas as a wife, a mommy (with the baby still in my tummy), a daughter-in-law, a sister-in-law, and as a daughter missing his father.

Happy, sad, and relieved at the same time..

Happy, as I will be spending it with my own family..
Sad, as I truly miss my father..
Relieved, because I know that my father is finally, home..

But just like anybody having their 1st Christmas for whatever reason, I am truly looking forward to it..