Mousetrap

Appreciate...

It's ironic that a death is what breathes life into this dormant blog.

Death.

I lost my grandmother early this morning. She finally got the rest that she deserved after about two weeks of being in limbo. For her, I pray for peace.

A reminder of how the little things we usually take for granted are the things that we truly miss the most once they're gone.

A kiss on the cheek, a sweet smile, a gentle squeeze on the arm.

A lot of things have changed in the past couple of months since my last post. Moved out of my grandma's place in pasay into a 3br Condo unit in Mandaluyong with 2 other friends first week of June.

A taste of independence that I have been needing for the past couple of years. Along with the move, goes everything familiar.

A new start.

A new set of rules.

Just like learning to live without someone you've been so used to having around. Most of these changes aren't planned. Some of them happen when we least expect them, while others, give us a lifetime to prepare.

No matter how much time we are given, more often than not, we feel as if we would want more time to say and do the stuff that we put off for another time.

We should all be so lucky to be given an opportunity to say what we want at the one last time, and have our sentiments heard and understood.

Death serves as a timely reminder to not take life for granted. Enjoy life and cherish every minute of it. Appreciate every breath you take and think as if it were your last. Enjoy every waking day that you open your eyes to, as this gives you another day to be thankful that you can see. Another day to say what you feel, another day to appreciate what a beautiful day the Universe has prepared for you to experience.

Remember to take the time to appreciate the people around you let them know how they make your day just a little bit brighter or a little bit more interesting because they're there.

Appreciate the work that needs to be done because it means that you have a job and are capable of working.

A lot of things to be thankful for. A long list which I won't go enumerating. There are plenty to choose from, and much more to live from.

There are no set rules.

Feel free to improvise.

Starting now.

Cheese anyone?

No expectations...

Was able to catch some pretty interesting movies the past couple of weeks thanks to my being back to my preferred midnight to 9AM shift.

A couple of movies I was pleasantly surprised of was "Juno" and "Dan in real life". Didn't have any expectations as we got the tickets to the movie which is how most great movie experiences start off, i notice... Most of the time, since there are expectations from watching hyped up movies, you end up being disappointed once the movie's over.

*Mental note to self when watching movies:

No expectations no matter how good the trailers are =P

Came to a realization that worthwhile movies are those that give you something to take with you after the movie's over. It may be that catchy theme song that you find yourself humming to yourself when you least expect it...   That eerie feeling you get when you walk into a dark corridor because you remember scenes from that ghost flick you just watched... or the memory of the sights and sounds in movies that take you to faraway, magical and not so magical lands that hope to serve the purpose of keeping you entertained, make you forget your worries, make you forget the real world, even for just an hour or two without having to leave your seat.
An instant vacation.
Sure. Visually stunning, high budget films with big stars are fun to watch and sit through, but these can only give you so much.
Those that I really enjoy getting to watch are those that give you something to think about, those that end up reminding you of stuff you may have forgotten, or make you realize stuff that you never really thought about.

This may be a double edged sword as this may make you realize how lucky you are, or, on the downside, how much of what's out there that you are missing.

Of course it's ultimately  going to be your choice on how you decide to take these things... be it something good... or something bad. I, on most occasions would want to take the former as much as possible. (or if not, try not to dwell too long on being miserable and get back to thinking (as my rockstar sister would put it... "Happy Shiny Thoughts".  This, on some occasions, gets moved along with the help of some friends =P *You know who you are. Thanks*)

The most recent one that I have comes from movie "Dan in Real life". Go watch it! is all i'l say. (no expectations on your part then... some might think it was a good movie... some might say otherwise. You decide. I don't care.
I say: "I liked it " hehehe
Something I got from the movie:
"When living life... plan to be surprised."
Pretty neat if you ask me.
I could go on and on about this short quip but then again, this would probably be best reserved for a conversation over coffee.
So there.
See you at the movies.

=P

Valentine's Day...

"Valentines day is........

..... Single's Awareness Day"  =P

Probably the time of the year when most unattached, singular, "uncomplicated"(as opposed to complicated) people would wish to  erase from the calendar. A day in the year where most people not seeing anyone loathe having to wake up and go through.  I wonder: Why should we want to set just this one day as one in two or three days in the year that you make the extra effort to make someone feel extra special? (Hey that's a lot of extras right there....)  Wouldn't it be nicer if you live everyday treating others like it was Valentine's day? their birthday? or the way you do nearing Christmas? ... Birds chirping, Sun shining, Happy Happy Joy Joy feeling year round. OK... OK.... that's being too idealistic.  Honestly, with all the fuss over what to do on this so called "V-Day"  that has everyone scampering about buying last minute gifts, ordering flowers, chocolates, booking reservations for dinner or an evening out, i'd prefer to stick with the year round approach. Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that those who DO prefer to celebrate this should cancel all their plans and go home and just sleep it off instead. I just want to point out that in my opinion, i think it would be more endearing if you appreciate the everyday gestures that someone does for you. They say: "This would be one day to remind you." I say: "Why should you forget?" Sad but it happens all too often. Gadz! Cheese!! I know... I know... Something new i'm trying out, and as you may be thinking, this is something that you may not be accustomed to seeing here... Hey, i was told it was time for an upgrade. Latest patch is still uploading.  Unfortunately experiencing some technical difficulties. Upload encountering fatal errors that keep cyborg mode still the primary operating system. Several errors preventing the patch from being completed... Where's a good technician when you need em eh?... Currently running on safe mode til the upgrade completes.

Estimated time of completion: undetermined.

Happy Valentine's Day.

Cheese anyone?

iffy days...

Got out relatively early from the office. As i stepped out of my office building, I was greeted by the crisp midmorning chill still hanging in the air. The weather's been cool the past couple of days. Making it all the harder to get out of bed for work. This explains why I was 4 minutes late for my shift last night. I set the alarm two hours early. Enough allowance to take my time getting ready for work. Ended up using the snooze button one too many. I hate rushing. I tend to forget stuff or generally feel harassed the rest of the day. Decided to take my time still and leave it to fate if i'd make it on time or not. Apparently, the last stoplight to work didn't want to cooperate. I digress. Fast forward to the end of my night shift, stepping out of my office building. It was an nice day for a walk i thought to myself. Didn't really know where I wanted to go, or decided on what I wanted to do even... so, it was looking up to be another iffy day. Days like these would often lead me to just keep on walking and see where i end up. I can honestly say I enjoy long walks. Be it in the city or countryside. Paved road, dirt road, concrete, earth, grass, sand... (I miss the beach!). Name it. I usually walk to and from work from the mall, which is a good 30 minute leisurely paced walk. Id prefer this over a 5 - 10 minute cab ride on most days if i wasn't running late... Walking, i'd say is therapy for me. A patch for Wanderlust in small doses. I guess it's because there are times I feel like i'm not getting anywhere, or that i'm not getting there fast enough. Contradictory statements, since I often choose the safer alternative as opposed to taking risks and going way off from my comfort zone like what the former statement would lead you to believe... ahhh... another iffy day it is... can't even get to the point of what this post is all about. Started off as a futile attempt at wanting to put down how i felt earlier in the day... and ending in, well, it being like the rest of how this post has been going so far.... iffy.

: \

Complete...

It would be better if you stay with someone not because you feel that they complete you. Stay with them because they complement your complete-ness.

Cheese anyone?

=P

Jumpstart...

It's the new year.

Been a while since i got to post anything.

Been feeling a bit out of sorts the past couple of days. Some stuff coming up. Decisions i've thought i made, need rethinking. A message from a friend made me rethink a major decision. (being economically viable given the current situation.) ... i'm being vague on purpose... =P

We change schedule next month. I'm crossing my fingers on getting a "social life friendly" sched that doesn't start too early. 9PM's too early for me. Starts too early in terms of not having time for dinner out or a movie pre shift, and ends too early in the morning (6AM) for anything worthwhile to be open. (Not that starbucks isn't a worthwhile hang out place mind you... i *loooove* their toffee nut frappe. I think that's one of the main reasons I gained some around the waist during the holidays... damn those advertising gimmiks! (got my 2008 planner last december woohoo!)

I end up cramming all of my errands and going out during the two days that I don't have work. I used to be able to do most of my stuff before or after work in the evening... Man now i *really* feel my work sched is my "work sched".

*sigh*

Like most stuff this too shall pass so don't mind me.

On a lighter note: My best friends from Bukidnon are in Manille til next week. Yey! I get to see the kids again. Something to look forward to...

Thanks going out to Joey for sending out her *Exclusive* blog link... hence jumpstarting my blog. = P

Well, here's to the new year...

SMILE! it won't hurt you.

Remember that a raisin is a grape that worried too much... so, take it easy.

Cheese anyone?

on vacations....

End of the year draws near and I still have some Vacation Leave credits that I need to use up. We only get to carry over 5 for the next year. The ones you don't get to use up, you forfeit....   hmmm i think i'l just sit this one out and stay in the city.

Speaking of vacations, I can't get over the fact that it's only been about two weeks since I got back from my Boracay Vay-cay. I can now relate to the countless others who rave about the place and how they feel towards spending time there. Lazy afternoons on the beach.... staying under the sun... soaking yourself in the clear blue water... walking on the cool sand.... Food trips along the beach and generally spending relaxing carefree afternoons. This is one place where most people (including myself) would want whisk themselves to, whenever city life becomes somewhat of a drag. Looking at some of the pictures from my Bora trip bring me back to those lazy afternoons on the beach... remembering the relaxed, carefree feeling I was feeling the time that I took them.

There are times I wish life can be as simple as spending the afternoon on the beach building sandcastles... looking forward to the next day of having to outdo yourself with the previous day's creation... Walking along the beach and taking in all that the Universe has laid before you in all it's awesome-ness. Like most wishes, this would be far from what we end up having to put up with.

Things that most of us take for granted just because we are too busy being "busy". Busy about worrying about what other people would think or say about us, or too busy "Being in the city".

Work mode has been a bit slow to start but having a new team to train is helping move things along. With most jobs, one can't help but feel like a  hamster running an unending vicious cycle of working and sleeping. I'm glad to say that these, for me only come up on rare occasions. I guess it also has something to do with how you let the stuff around you affect you as you go about dealings with work and dealing with the people you work with.

I told myself that I would resolve to not be too busy to stop and appreciate the simple things in life.There aren't any set rules on how we should choose to spend our time, but one thing that I can definitely say is that we should stop the unnecessary worry that we subject ourselves to.

Stop worrying about stuff that you don't have control over, and don't be a martyr and start worrying about other people's so-called problems. You'll just end up making yourself and the people you're trying to "help" more miserable than you set out to keep from happening.

So, take a break and think Happy Shiny thoughts instead.

As my Rockstar sister always says... Remember that the Universe is Cool! and the Universe loves you.

I say: It's all good.

See you when I get back from my 5 minute vacation.

Cheese anyone?

= )

Graveyard...

Most people that I get into a conversation with regarding my working hours usually have the same question... They ask: "Don't you find it hard to adjust being awake at night and not sleep?" Shock as it may be to some, I still sleep.... and still follow a regular breakfast, lunch and dinner sched. It's just that we night people follow it at a different time zone than most folks. Di kami puyat... not unless we also didn't get the chance to sleep during the day that is...

A recent training scheduled at the office forced me to change one of my working days to the regular daytime shift... which I RARELY do... I've been on the graveyard shift for two years now and I don't have any plans of shifting to mornings anytime soon... hehehe

That recent taste of the morning office hours reminded me of some things why i enjoy working at night...

here are some of the reasons...

• I still get to go out during the day and have time for stuff you don't usually get to do if you had a 9-5 job. (Go to the bank, pay your bills,(not that i enjoy paying bills mind you... just used that as an example)
• I get to walk around in the mall and pretend like i'm one of those lucky people that don't NEED to work. No traffic. (A 20 minute ride to work translates to two hours of traffic in the daytime.)
• I still get to watch movies with friends before or after my shift (if i wake up early enough)
• DVD marathons during restdays to catch up with what you've missed.
• Buses are not crowded. Morning folk have it tough because they have to fight over the next available seat. They usually end up cramming themselves sardine-like in buses just to get to work on time.
• Usually don't need to line up for anything. (unless it's at the 7-11 or KFC, McD's or Chowking that has reeely slow service. Hey is this plug sponsored? hehehe) it's cool in the evenings on your way to work. (no sun... duh...)

Ok, ok. Just so's i don't paint too much of a perfect picture, here are some cons to working in the evening.

• If your shift starts reeely late, public transport is hard to come by. For food, you're limited to the 24 hour food places near where you work... This is either McD's, KFC, Chowking, 7-11, or Mini-Stop. (place advertisements here =P) Getting mugged or held up at gunpoint/knifepoint on your way to work. (But hey, even morning folk face these risks...)
• Depending on how many hours your shift is, or what time you start, by the time you end your shift, it's already midday and the weather outside is reeely hot. It's easy to lose track of what day or date it is.
• Most often, you sleep through the good stuff showing on TV.
• You often end up spending your rest days sleeping, or doing DVD marathons...

These are just some of the pro's and cons off of the top of my head. I'm pretty sure there are lots more that the others can think of... in case you have some more, feel free to add on the the ones i listed.

My listing down the reasons for why i love working at night wasn't really to prove a point... (well, not directly...) Just wanted to give you morning folk a glimpse of why i find it neat to work during evenings...

I've spoken to some who really couldn't get why i enjoy working at night... after hearing my reasons, some of them thought that working in the evening wasn't so bad after all... (No, i'm not subliminally recruiting for the Legion of People who work at Night or anything absurd like that ok)

Well, gotta wrap this up. The sun's setting and i need to get some sleep before my shift... ; P

Sporty sporty...

Was able to survive a couple of Capoeira classes... All I can say is you have to hand it to people who have the discipline to keep at it. The stuff they can do are waaayy cool! I just wished that there was an easier way to learn new stuff... like how they do it in "The Matrix" where they just download the new skill into their brains and in a few minutes, being off to doing it like a pro. Upgrade complete. In the Real world tho, one could only dream that it's that simple.

A neat thing about trying new stuff is that you get to know yourself and get to realize your capabilities and limitations.(Had to put in the word "capabilities" in so it wouldn't sound tooo negative hehe)

I for one finally accepted that i really am a slow learner when it comes to following combinations... I always knew that I wasn't the type who could follow a series of movements on the first run... And then there are others who could follow.

I figure I was trying too hard to learn instead of being there to have fun... So, there.  At one point during the class, I froze up and stage fright set in.(This is the stage that's set up in my head... there's wasn't really an audience who were watching. It's just my own insecurities making me antsy.) All this time I thought i've been well past having to experience stage fright... but when it was my turn to do the combinations, and I still couldn't get it, I just found myself refusing to budge and couldn't bring myself to get moving to try going through the motions. I reminded myself of a stubborn silly kid. Silly chicken-shit. =P

It was fun but i now know for a fact that i'm the type to be taught things like these step by step... I'd need to be with a reeely patient mentor hehehe. In the meantime, A good buddy of mine finally convinced me to try Underwater Hockey. It was cool too! ... tho having to dive and hold your breath, focus on the game and and keep moving all at the same time was a bit too overwhelming for me... I actually sorta used the snorkel as a drinking straw first time i tried one round at the game... it was like being in the middle of a feeding frenzy... It's exciting to want to be in the midst of it, that I forgot I had to go up for air hahaha so, panic mode again... and there's more to it than just pushing the puck around underwater and coming up for air. Like any team sport, it requires strategy, teamwork, and stamina. Pretty tough. This makes it all the more cooler to be a part of, and learn.

For now tho, i'm content being part of the audience... Till I find that right fit of what sport I want to concentrate on. Hopefully will get to try surfing too this coming weekend... Another first to try out hehe. Hope my sched at the office works out and the weather cooperates so i could join the group going up to Zambales. In the meantime, i'm moving back to the sidelines...

= P

CABIN FEVER....

Well, up until my last post, still haven't gotten to start with attending the Capoeira sessions... i hate how things didn't work out as scheduled... but i'm still pushing through with it...

Last time, our office activity didn't finish early enough for me to make the 4PM class in Katipunan. Then, a couple of days after that, i get sick. It's only now that i got to go online... 1 week's been the loooongest i've been cooped up in one room... for the time that i stopped watching TV, i think i made up for already... (can you say cabin fever?!? hehehe)

Isolated since i might infect my other relatives... got a check up today and found out i still can't go back to work for another couple'a days still.... arrgh!! and to think TRANSFORMERS is coming out this week... grrr...

Some viral infection i most probably caught at the office... (a recent outbreak of measles with 40++ infected from the other department in our office)

Well, like most stuff, i'm still thankful the effect of the virus on me wasn't that serious...Just fever for about 4 days, Sore throat (which is sore till now) and minor rashes... (as opposed to the typical ones one gets from measles... the itchy scratchy uncomfortable ones...) It's just the staying put part that i'm having issues with hehehe

Well, i hope it isn't another week till i get to go out again...

Time to head back to my isolation chamber now... hehehe

Cheers!

=P