I'm back!

Hello, world! Sorry for being away for so long. My kids got sick last week. My baby girl had fever and suffered from LBM for four days (due to teething I guess), while my little boy was confined in the hospital for five days due to tonsillitis and on-off fever. I'm so glad that both of them are fine now. Thank God!

My husband and I were finally able to go back to work last Tuesday after being on leave for a few days. Oh well, don't ask about our workload -- it's kinda depressing. Hehe. I wish I had a laptop with me during the time that my son was in the hospital so I could still do my work every time he's asleep. Now I'm really considering getting one! I think I should start saving for it ASAP. I've been checking out some laptops online recently. And I'm surprised to find out that lots of people nowadays also spend money on laptop insurance. Whoa! I don't have extra money for that!

The Supermom Supplement

Do you know any supplements that could prevent me from feeling tired and burned out? Something that would give me extra-strength after many hours of work... Something that would numb my system, so I won't feel tired and sleepy ever again... Is there such a thing as 'supermom' supplement? Something that working moms can take so we can do all the things we need to do without feeling drained...

Sometimes I wonder...
Can we moms possess superpower like that of Clark Kent's? Hmmm...If so, I assure you...this world will be a better place. *wink*

I wish I were a Superwoman

For the past few months that I have been completely busy with work, I realized ruefully that I'm not doing too well at managing my time effectively. I came to a point wherein I asked myself if I can still keep my job and be a hands-on mother at the same time. I have to admit that sometimes, no matter how hard I struggle to balance all my responsibilities at work and at home, I still can't live up to what is expected of me. And that alone makes me sad.

I wish I were a Superwoman.
I want to do everything, all at the same time!
And I wish I had a laptop.
So I can blog everywhere I go. LOL.

I lost 2 pounds! Hahaha!

I bought some diet pills last month. The brand is probably one of the most popular local brands here in the Philippines. But I knew that it won’t really have any effect on me since I rarely exercise. I bought it anyway (just for the heck of it). I was instructed to take it 3 times a day every after meal. And so I did – without exerting a little effort to exercise at all. Why? Because I don’t really have the time and the energy to do so!

Anyway, I weighed myself when I woke up this morning and to my surprise, I lost 2 pounds! Hahaha. Weird.

Mom Bloggers Club

I came across this awesome website for mommy bloggers like me. If you're a mom, feel free to join us. See you there!

One day...

Greggy and his daddy went jogging early this morning while I was here at home struggling to finish my pending blog assignments. *sigh*

I guess the only thing that keeps me going is the HOPE that one day, I will have all the time in the world with my family. And I will move heaven and earth to make that happen... :-(

Check out these cool promotional pens!

Call Center life

Four years ago when I applied as a call center agent, the employment screening in our company was quite dreadful. It wasn’t a one-day screening process. It took me weeks to find out whether I made it or not. If my memory serves me right, I was interviewed four times by four different people at different dates and at different buildings (our company had four sites then – now we have five). I’d say it was quite tiring.

But nowadays, applicants are very lucky because of the one-day hiring process. At the end of the day, they would know if they made it or not. Thus, it will prevent them from applying at different companies while waiting for the result.

I want a dishwasher!

Having a Whirlpool dishwasher at home would be very convenient for a working mom like me. Which also means, I will have more time to play with my baby. Not only it is convenient and easy to use, it cleans and dries better too! With its heating feaure, you can guarantee that all your kitchen utensils are safe to use and are germ-free especially if you have a toddler to think about.

Dishwashers do not come cheap though. So you have to make sure that the brand that you'll be choosing has a good reputation and is known for its durability and performance.

Try getting a Whirlpool dishwasher and you'll get your money's worth for sure!

A Fresh Start

What a great gift to start off the year 2007.

Do you still remember this post?

Anyway, I just got the job that I applied for in one of our company's technical accounts. I was interviewed last January 3 and luckily I got accepted. I don't really consider that a promotion. Although doing the job means getting a salary increase coz it's more difficult and complicated. I am so excited! I want a fresh start. And this time -- with a goal in mind

I'll be transferring to a new account by the end of this month. I can't help but feel sad coz I'll be leaving my old friends behind. I work with such nice people. I soo love my Adobe family. But I really have to move on.

Playtime is over. LOL.

Anyway, look at our pictures during the holidays.


My little angel. Picture was taken on New Year's Eve before we slept. See his wrinkled nose? That's what he does when making pa-cute.Hahaha! He's turning 1 next week!



Taken a few minutes before the year 2007 came. Greggy did not sleep until it was over 12 midnight. He really waited for the new year to come! Hehe.




Greggy's first christmas.




January 1st was spent at my mom-in-law's house. We stayed there the whole day. Greggy received a very nice gift. Something that I've always wanted to buy --AVENT feeding bottles! My mom-in-law bought four. Wow! Isn't she generous? AVENT bottles are expensive. But it's really worth it. It has a very good quality. No leaks at all. And it also doesn't break easily no matter how many times you drop it. You can even use it for many years. Trust me. It's way way better than Pigeon.


He loves eating apples!


...with my in-laws.

Congratulations, Black Team!

Our team had a Cookout Event at Marabella Resort in Antipolo last week. Just a small but intimate gathering before the year ends. Geez, It was fun! We went there straight from our shift so medyo bangelya ang beauties namin.

Look at the picture of my teammates while preparing for the Cooking Competition. Well, as one of the leaders of the Black Team, I had a hunch that we'd win the contest. Hehehe...Pa'no ba naman, other teams kept visiting our table to taste the food that we prepared. It was Ella, the other leader, who actually thought of preparing Seaweeds and the judges loved it. Thanks for the bright idea, girl!




Black Team in action. We were busy preparing the Seaweed Salad. While other teams where busy grilling fish, squids, chicken, potatoes, etc.

After eating and exchanging gifts, it was time to announce the winner for the cooking competition. And guess who won? Of course, It was the Black Team! Yehey! (Team ko yan!).


"Hating Kaptid". We equally divided the two bags of groceries that we got as the prize. That was me in the yellow blouse. (lapad ng likod, grabee!).




I was one of the awardees for "The Top Performer Of The Month".*ahem* That was my Team Lead, Ian, at the back. Too bad he left my prize in the office. Nyak. :-) Anyway, congratulations to all the awardees for the month of September, October, November and December. Happy Holidays!


Greetings:

Happy birthday to my Lola Nory and my brother Ron. I love you both! I'll see you after work.

Sykes Rockstar Christmas Party 2006

It's my 3rd Christmas party at Sykes. And it was just as extravagant as the previous years. The food was excellent (served by Westin Philippine Plaza). The party was star-studded. Guests were Moonstar 88, Parokya ni Edgar, Mojofly and The Dawn. While the hosts were Iya Villania and KC Montero.

Well, the party was awesome. But I guess I was just a little disappointed because I never got anything during the raffle. hehe... What's new anyway? I never won a raffle my entire life! I was kinda hoping to get an Ipod or a trip to Disneyland or Palawan. While my husband, on the other hand, was hoping to get the Grand Prize --The Toyota Vios. But to no avail. Suntok sa buwan 'ika nga. Asa pa kami noh? LOL.

Guess what? The lucky babe who got the car is about to resign next week. Well, that's what we heard. Kinda sad, right? *envious* LOL. Some of my friends won. Mario got a gift certificate worth ten thousand pesos. Eva won a cellphone (she just bought a new phone the week before the party!). Joie, our Account Manager, won a Digital Camera and Jean won a gift certificate worth five thousand pesos! Can you believe how lucky they were? That's out of seven thousand employees! Grabe. Ganun ata talaga pag may balat sa pwet e! Minamalas. Hahaha!


Posing muna kami ni hubby before leaving the house. *wink* Wala pa ring laman ang Christmas tree namin. We haven't wrapped the gifts yet. Ano ba yan!



Sephie, Krista, Honney, Marvin, Shey, Sonny and Jean. (from the left


At the PICC Forum


Me and Sephie


Ice cream time!!!


My husband and his teammates


With my friend/officemate Sephie. Mas mukha pang girl sa akin noh? LOL


With Shey and Lucy.

No Guts No Glory

"Success isn't a result of spontaneous combustion. You must set yourself on fire."
-Arnold H. Glasow


I just woke up one day and realized that I'm sick and tired of doing what I have been doing for the past two years. It's like all of a sudden I couldn't breathe and wanted to break-free from it all. *sigh*

I don't believe that "good things" happen to those who wait. Coz once you decide to get out of your comfort zone, you just have to find a way to make things happen. Don't wait. Do something and hope for the best.

And that's exactly what I'm doing now. Catching up. Cramming. Contemplating. I hope it's not yet too late.

I know I should've done this a long time ago. But I was scared to get out of my comfort zone. I didn't want to complicate things and didn't want more responsibilities lying on my shoulders. I used to tell myself that It's enough that I work full-time and have a dime to call my own. What a lame excuse, isn't it? All these years, I have been sort of "procrastinating". Just letting every opportunity pass because I was so damn complacent with what I do. Now look at the years I wasted.

They're gone. And the agonizing truth hit me like a lightning. I can't have them back. And that's what reality is. It's no use crying over spilled milk.

Bill Cosby said, "In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure." Now, does it make any sense holding on to what he said?

Sure, it does.

So I guess it's time for me to set myself on fire then. Wish me luck.

In God's Perfect Time

I miss my former job...I miss my Korean students...I miss the gifts...the food...the "thank you" letters and cards that they used to give me...especially my kid students! Oh how I miss them. They taught me a lot of great things. Their culture...their language...their dishes, their music and the like. My students were the ones who taught me how to read and write Korean (Han-gul). Some of them came back here and asked me if I could still teach them. As much as I would love to, I can't go back to teaching anymore. My life is totally different now that I have a baby. Plus, all my students live in Quezon City -- I live in Taguig now. So I guess it's really goodbye...

For those who do not know, I worked as an English Instructor in a Korean school for three years and as a freelance tutor after school hours. I jumped from one village to another and went home after 10pm. I'd say those were the times when I really worked my ass off so I could support myself and my family (I sent my sister to college, by the way. She just graduated this year). I had lived away from my family since then and lived in an apartment near my workplace.

Looking back, I didn't know why I got into teaching. It all started when I was a freshman in college. I had a Korean classmate in my English class who asked me if I could tutor her friend (also a Korean). I accepted the offer and taught one male student for three hours after class. Then another student came...and the list went on. It was my first real job! Hahaha. I started earning money at 18 during my college days. A few months later, I was hired to teach at a non-formal English Center for Koreans as a student teacher. I could not believe my luck!

Then my dreams fell apart...I had to quit my studies. I could've supported myself but I had to help my family. It was one of our darkest days. I was able to go back to school the next sem but had to quit again. My college days were not fruitful and happy. I was a lonely and unproductive student, full of problems, had no friends. I felt like I was carrying the entire world on my shoulders. Fate was so unkind to me and my family...With a heavy heart, I left my dreams behind.

Oh -- I have to end this entry. Past is past. There's no point in getting into details anymore. And besides, I'm happy with where I am now...Thankful and happy. Period!

But I'm still hoping that someday...I could still reach for the dream I once left behind. Maybe not now...but in God's perfect time.

PS:

I visited the school's website. Ganda! They haven't updated their Faculty Members though coz my picture is still there. Gosh, I was sooo skinny!

Anyway, I know you can't read Han-gul so you won't be able to come across the Teachers Section. So just Click Here. Gotta go!

My First Time Ever

We had our account's team building in Batangas last July. It was my first time to join actually. It was a two-day trip and we had a lot of fun. I didn't go there to swim on the beach. Bonding lang talaga with my team mates, who have been really close to me ever since I got here. Somehow it makes me feel sad coz I would certainly miss them. It saddens me so much because I know that this will be the very last time... (sniff, sniff). Marami na ring nawala sa amin. Most of them started working from home since last year. So when I came back after my maternity leave in March, halos puro newbies na ang natira sa floor. Pero ok lang, mababait naman silang lahat.









For more pictures, click nyo na lang ito.

Oh By the way, just disregard the date on the pictures. It's wrong. It's supposed to be July 22 and 23. The date settings on my digicam had changed that day. Weird.

Congratulations to...

ME. hehehe... (yabang ko!)

 

I bagged both of our Account's weekly awards. "Agent with the most number of calls and lowest AHT.", which made me the Top Call Handler Of The Week. Cheers!

 

Goodbye, Macromedia...Hello, Adobe!

On Monday, Macromedia NA CS is officially dead!  We are now Adobe NA CS...new spiels, new workflows, new tools --but the same people of course!

 

Anyway, we're gonna have a party tonight. And of course, I'm not attending... for the nth time! Everyone thinks I'm KJ --so be it. Who can blame me if I want to devote my two rest days for my baby? lol. Maybe some other time though.

 

 

Another nose bleed...

I installed Fireworks 8 to see if I can get away with it without having to read tutorial articles. I tried inserting images to see what magic it can do. I clicked every tool icon to see what each one does. What I did was basically click, click and click! But the images had gotten so messed up! Arrggg...sumakit ulo ko. It's really hard to just play with the application. You really have to know it so it can create wonders! Well I guess I really have to read live documents about Fireworks. But the thing is, they are too long! I want to use it now! I want to create blinkies, special effects and other cool stuffs now! Hehehe...

Back to Work

Today is my first day at work after my 78-day maternity leave and I have 1,500 emails to read! arghhh... How can I possibly read them all in a day? (sigh...sigh...)

But I'm glad I was given two days to read all my emails and review our new workflows.

Wish me luck.

PS:

I'm in the process of updating everything on my website. Please check back from time to time.

I'm back!

Hi Guys!

Sorry for not keeping this site updated. I am just so busy with so many things....like baby shopping and stuff. I haven't even started my christmas shopping yet! (shame on me...hehehe). But hopefully next week I could finish everything that I need to do.

Bye for now... I am in a hurry.

A sweet success...

Happy 8th year Anniversary,
SYKES!!!