A Walk Through Life

No, it is not winter in this part of the world but there are really times when it feels like we're also experiencing this type of season in the office. I am not complaining about it, though, as I would rather shiver than sweat a lot, not to mention "smell badly", at work. LOL. I can't adjust the temperature of our air conditioner since almost everybody wants the coolness that way. Anyway, a colder office environment can be remedied by drinking a cup of coffee and a thicker wardrobe.  There are times, though, when an ordinary sweater wouldn't be enough to keep me warm at work; and for that, I am thinking of getting myself a fox fur jacket . Not only will this jacket keep me warm, it can also keep me fashionable. For the record, I  am planning to buy one that will not catch so much attention because I also hate it when I get noticed for what I am wearing. :-)

Here's one song that can help us handle whatever negative and unpleasant things we are going through at the moment and see them in a different perspective. It's called  "Blessings" from the Laura Story album. I wish I can get hold of a copy of her album before the year ends. Are you one of those who think that you've been bombarded with problems after another? Health reasons? Financial difficulties? Family problems? Loss of a loved one? Whatever problems we have at hand, it's time that we think of them as blessings and offer them to God.

Some three months ago, our Tita Sarah (my late mom's elder sister) passed away after more than 3 years of battling with the big C. For some personal reason, I earlier decided I wouldn't blog about death anymore but today, I am breaking my rule as we are again losing another special person in the family - our grandmother! I know she has lived even longer than my mom and my aunt (she was 88 years old) who already went ahead of her but still it's a sad passing for we weren't expecting she'd be gone last Thursday. Even though I wasn't able to visit her as often as I would have wanted to , I have also thought of her fondly. Hopefully, if she will be able to see our situation up close now, I'm sure grandmother will understand. Truly, I will miss her. Thanks to her, I had a mom who was just as caring, as  thoughtful, and as wonderful as she. Even though her memory would fail her already, her sweetness was already part of her nature that it wouldn't be su...

As an employee, there are many things that I love about Christmas. Aside from the 13th month pay which I look forward to receive (I'm smiling here), we also have our weekly Kris Kringle as a prelude to our company Christmas Party. It's really exciting to receive gifts even though we still have no idea who is giving us our presents every week. Anyway, we will find that out during the revelation. Here's what I received so far from my Mystery Giver Another thing that's just as exciting as the 13th month and the Kris Kringle is our Christmas caroling contest during the party. As for our group, we haven't been seriously rehearsing yet. In fact, we are still trying to agree on what karaoke version of the Christmas song to use.We can't seem to decide on the genre of the song yet. Some of us wants to sing the pop rock version while the others want the classic version. I am almost tempted to suggest that we buy cme wireless midi at Musicians friend so we can conve...

This early, many parts of the city are already glittering as homes and establishments have already put up their decorations and lights as their way of welcoming the Christmas season. Stores and malls have already made their themes even more Christmas-y than last year. Some weeks ago, I had been to J Centre Mall in Banilad (one of the newest malls here) and I just love how they have put up their decorations. Here's a picture I took of their entrance when I was there to buy some personal and office stuff. this one is at J Centre Mall entrance I love going to this mall because it's near my workplace and it is not too crowded yet. Moreover, the stores that are in this mall that I have been to are selling a lot of good stuff at reasonable prices. I'm pretty sure they also have plenty of activities lined up for this year's celebration of Christmas. I hope to be back soon.

Now that he's almost getting tired of waiting for the actual processing of his working visa for UAE, my brother told me he might not be able to hold his patience any longer that he'll probably just go into business. I believe starting  your own business is a pretty good idea especially if you are the type of person with excellent people and selling skills. Knowing my brother, I thought he's someone who really knows how to deal with and market to people; so, I told him that if he's really serious about going into business, I would support him on his idea. In fact, I should be able to help him market that business online. I told him to find something he loves doing and then we'll figure out a way to turn that into business. He told me he loves to drink beer and he wants to get into the business of selling beer. However, he wants to try making beer on his own so it can have a unique taste. I also learned he already found a good beer brewing kit that can help him get st...

Indeed, birthdays can be made special without spending too much. In our case, here's how we've basically done it and I am sharing this to my blog as fun tips to help enjoy birthdays without splurging way too much.:-) 5 Tips to Make Birthdays Special Without Spending Hugely 1. Keep a low profile so that only the very few significant people will know that your birthday is coming. Only when your birthday is over that people will realize that you just had a happy one. :-) 2. Don't feel pressured about having to hold a birthday spree. Some friends or workmates are likely to send you a hint or two that they're expecting a birthday blowout but if it is not within your budget, you can just politely smile or beg off. For friends who send their birthday wishes on your Facebook's timeline (which you forgot to turn off), you can also jokingly say to your well-wishers " Your greetings are good but I need cash! " or " Can I convert all your birthday greetings...

Many times I wonder if there is really some truth to that thing called "7-year itch" in marriage. I heard it is that stage when couples will purportedly experience too much familiarity with each other that would somehow cause a serious stir in their relationship. Like most people, that is not something that I look forward to happening in the next 2 years. Of course, I would like to believe that there is no such thing as a "7-year itch". Without sounding too presumptuous, I asked someone I know who's been married for more than 20 years if she has experienced that stage of her married life, although I am aware that not all marriages/relationships are the same. She kind of told me that it's normal for couples to have differences despite the love they have for each other. She told me that right now, though, the challenges in their married life started popping up again now that her husband appears to have lost the sharpness of his hearing. Many times, their arg...

Because there are less words to say today, I should let the photo speak for itself. :-) If only I can always capture all moments like this one in photographs, I would!

I extremely admire talented people - especially the ones who can sing and play musical instruments really well. Nowadays, I think aspiring local bands can have the chance to make it really big in the music scene if they are serious with their craft that they are willing to spend their time and money (although some have benefited a little bit from sponsorships) to create great music. I believe it takes a lot of things to really stand out as a band. Other than talent and skills, bands need to invest in the best musical gadget/equipment, an example of which is the marvelous Eventide effects processor, which will help them produce unique and impressive music, sound and recording. Moreover, most local bands have also gained a lot of following worldwide even by simply sharing their videos on Youtube and Facebook. Of course, I would personally suggest that they have their own website as well for branding and popularity purposes.

October was supposed to be a long month for me but it felt like I haven't had enough of those 31 days. There were things left unaccomplished and personal goals that were not realized but the month has already ended. Good thing, though, there's always another month to make up for it! So, now I am saying hello to November, my birthday month! Hopefully, this month will be a good month for me as I am planning to be a little more productive in all aspects of my life. Hopefully, I'll get to come up with that right balance in everything that I do so that I don't get to sacrifice my health, family and personal life. Thanks to the 2 holidays last Thursday and Friday, we were able to spend our weekend with dad in Medellin. Husband and I were supposed to go to the Compostela cemetery on November 1st but we couldn't sneak away from our daughter who's been begging to come with us wherever we go; but what with an extremely hot temperature, we decided it's defi...